At 9:06 AM -0700 6/10/97, Bill Frantz wrote:
At 5:27 PM -0700 6/8/97, Tim May wrote:
(Oh, and it almost goes without saying that the same "lies" William and others are so worried about in "commercial" speech happen all the time in non-commerical speech. For every example of where commercial speech involves lies or fraud, I can find similar or fully equivalent non-commercial examples, ranging from lies like "I love you" to get a partner into bed to deliberate misstatements to mislead an opponent. Why should such "lies" be protected while putatively commercial speech is to be subjected to an increasing number of limitations?)
The only justification I can think of off hand is that a presumption of truth may make for more efficient markets. On the other hand, it also has very bad effects when applied to political speech.
I was speaking of justifications in the Constitution. There is of course a little phrase about "the power to regulate commerce," by which was meant (until this century) the power to set tariffs and a very few other things related to commerce. This century, though, this clause has been used to to what I think are severely unconstitutional things, like place restrictions on certain items (tobacco, alchohol, drugs). And advertising. And the airwaves. And so on. A pernicious reach by Congress into the choices of vendors and consumers. As for Bill's point that a mandate on truth would possibly make for more efficient markets, I doubt it. Who determines truth? And a populace which believes everything it is told must be true because the government requires truth will necessarily lose critical thinking abilities. --Tim May There's something wrong when I'm a felon under an increasing number of laws. Only one response to the key grabbers is warranted: "Death to Tyrants!" ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@got.net 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Higher Power: 2^1398269 | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."