I’ve been away from blogging for a while, concentrating on the infrastructure of my web sites which I hope is much better than it was. However, something has arisen that I must speak about: the prospect of regulating Blogs.

There was a hearing at the Federal Election Commission (FEC) yesterday about how it would regulate, or not regulate, Internet political speech. That such a hearing could take place at all is ridiculous and is of course the bastard offspring of that foul, over-reaching piece of legislation, McCain/Feingold and an equally odious court decision.

The notion that this blog, which represents my opinions and mine alone, could be censored or regulated in any way flies in the face of the freedoms supposedly insured by the First Amendment. Many voices on the right and the left have noted that if there is any speech the First Amendment intended to be protected from government regulation and censorship it is political speech.

By what right does the federal government presume to tell me what I may and may not write on my own web server? I cannot force anyone to read my opinions, in fact I’m not even sure any do, yet it remains my right to utter them. And not mine alone, but the right of anyone to speak any opinion, especially on political topics, by any means they can afford.

I am urging you to write your Senators and Congressmen in support of Senate Bill S.678, the “Online Freedom of Speech Act”, which would specifically exempt Internet communication from the definition of “public communication” in McCain/Feingold. This would not prohibit regulation of Internet speech, but would insure that people we actually elected, not some unelected bureaucrat, debate and decide what regulations, if any, are imposed.