February 6th, 2009 at 9:03 am
Update:
Rep. Stephen Hartgen, R- Twin Falls, has modified his proposal by introducing a new bill that extends phone harassment laws to the Internet:
http://www.magicvalley.com/articles/2009/02/06/news/local_state/154433.txt
To see why Steve hates the Internet so much, free speech fans can gain some insight by reading the comments of Max Hatfield and Dave Easterly, linked at the bottom of the MagicValley.com discussion forum.
Max Hatfield wrote a great letter about this in today's Times-News:
ReplyDeleteHartgen bill would silence the common person
How would you like to spend a year in jail or have a felony conviction and spend even longer in jail, all compliments of Idaho Rep. Steve Hartgen?
One of the only avenues of free speech left open to the common person is the Internet. The Internet is the last way people without a massive amount of capital can communicate with the other folks around the world. The press, radio, television, periodicals, telephones and the media in general are all controlled by big money, governments, religious groups and powerful people with massive resources.
Despots, dictators, robber-barons, clerics and totalitarian regimes throughout history and today do and have used various treacherous methods to silence the common person and stifle his voice. These unscrupulous and unsavory tyrants use words like "annoy, terrify, threaten, intimidate, harass or offend" and then, for good measure, they add a few words like "lewd, profane, threats of violence and disturbing the peace" just to cloud the issue and destroy any person who dares to speak out against them. Punishment involves, among others, cutting off one's head, incarceration, the infamous iron mask, disappearing, destroying one's livelihood and the ability to provide for one's family.
Rep. Steven Hartgen, a former newspaper publisher from Magic Valley, just introduced bill HB82 to the Idaho Legislature that would provide for the common person who uses the Internet to spend one year in jail or, for those audacious offenders who do not get the message the first time, a full-blown felony conviction. Of course, the tribunal that would decide the severity of your crime of free speech will be controlled by the same power elite that now controls the government, press, radio, television, periodicals, telephones and the media in general.
Big Brother grows bigger each passing day.
MAX D. HATFIELD
Dallas, Texas
Here's the link to his letter:
http://www.magicvalley.com/articles/2009/02/12/opinion/letters/154937_47.txt