Joe Lieberman, Would-Be Censor

[cal04]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/opinion/25sun1.html?ref=opinion

The Internet is simply a means of communication, like the telephone, but that has not prevented attempts to demonize it — the latest being the ludicrous claim that the Internet promotes terrorism.

Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut is trying to pressure YouTube to pull down videos he does not like, and a recent Senate report and a bill pending in Congress also raise the specter of censorship. It is important for online speech to be protected against these assaults.

Mr. Lieberman recently demanded that YouTube take down hundreds of videos produced by Islamist terrorist organizations or their supporters. YouTube reviewed the videos to determine whether they violated its guidelines, which prohibit hate speech and graphic or gratuitous violence. It took down 80 videos, but left others up. Mr. Lieberman said that was “not enough,” and demanded that more come down.

(snip)
While it is fortunate that Mr. Lieberman does not have the power to tell YouTube that it must remove videos, it is profoundly disturbing that an influential senator would even consider telling a media company to shut down constitutionally protected speech. The American Civil Liberties Union has warned that the “Homegrown Terrorism” bill and related efforts “could be a precursor to proposals to censor and regulate speech on the Internet.”

Not only do these efforts contradict fundamental American values, it is not clear if they would help fight terrorism. Even if YouTube pulled down every video Mr. Lieberman did not like, radical groups could post the same videos on their own Web sites. Trying to restrain the Internet is a game of “whack-a-mole” that cannot be won, says John Morris of the Center for Democracy and Technology. Having the videos on YouTube may even be a good thing, because it makes it easier for law enforcement officials, the media and the public to monitor the groups and their messages.

[Mojambo]

1. Ayatollah Lieberman - (I) Vermont. n/t

[sellitman]

4. He is from CT

He has always been Conservative but he totally whacked out when he lost the Democratic Primary to Ned Lamont in the last election.

[midnight]

2. So what kind of Dem. was Lieberman?

[Larkspur]

3. A Bill Buckley Dem

It was BucPAC that helped fund Lieberman's 1988 campaign against Lowell Weicker. Republicans, like William F. Buckley, wanted to purge the Republican party of those who voted for Nixon's impeachement. Weicker was one of the few Republicans who did.