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Subject: Re: Hanson's Sept 11 message in the National Review
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Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2002 09:39:00 EDT


In a message dated 9/19/2002 7:46:37 AM, chuck@topsail.org writes:

>That means *you* can't say anything may not be FoRKed or printed or 
>whatever. You have the choice to ignore it


That's not what the First Amendment says at all. It says that Congress cannot 
say what can't be FoRKed. FoRK can establish any rules it wants. Similarly, 
The New York Times gets to choose what news IT thinks is "fit to print." If 
the Times chose not to print anything about, say, Rosie O'Donnell, it would 
be exercising its First Amendment rights, just as much as it would be if it 
chose to print something Rosie O'Donnell doesn't like. The necessary 
corollary of the freedom to say/publish what one wants is the freedom to 
refuse to publish or say what one doesn't like. The alternative is a 
state-controlled press that reprints government press releases and calls them 
news.

The question of what is or is not FoRKed is (except for libel or other 
specific exceptions) not a matter of law, but a matter of what the 
"publisher" (if any) decides or the "community" (if any) negotiates or does 
as a matter of custom.

For my part, I'd rather people didn't use FoRK as a place in which to dump an 
expression of their political beliefs.

Tom


