A little “Casual Friday” blogging today as I catch up on stories that I think are important but where I don’t think I can add much that is original:
Free Speech, Get Your Free Speech Here…While You Can
The consequences – unintended or perhaps intended – of McCain-Feingold Act may be moving from an infringement of free speech to a direct assault after a recent court decision overturning the Internet exemption and comments by a member of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) that bloggers can be prosecuted under the act have stirred a lot of attention. Whether it’s as dire as it sounds, or an attempt to whip the blogosphere into a froth in the hopes that it might discredit itself in some way (a dubious strategy if so), here are some interesting perspectives: from Jeff Jarvis at Buzzmachine, and a great letter and call to action from Captain Ed, some excellent analysis from Bogus Gold (be sure to read the Don Singleton comment), and an authoritative take – in the words of James Madison – provided by Jay Reding.
MOB Hits
In the short time since I started this blog I’ve had to explain to many friends and family members what blogs are. I’ve also been checking in with “the neighbors” – the other members of the Minnesota Organization of Blogs (MOB). Those of you trying to familiarize yourself with this new media, below are some posts from MOB blogs that caught my eye this week (besides Bogus, Captain Ed and Jay already listed above).
A sharp comparison of public vs. private education by Craig Westover.
A dead on translation of Dan Rather’s comments from the Letterman show by Sandy on the MAWB Squad site (who also earns a special place in my heart for being the first to post a comment to the Night Writer site).
Astute observations from the Ice Palace by Psycmeistr on two multiple homicides.
There have also been many, many excellent and moving posts on the Terry Schiavo story throughout the MOB. One that particularly caught my eye is here, from Shock and Blog.
