Norman Nescio wrote... "Thank God for the protection of anonymity. With people like Tim May throwing around death threats towards those who say the wrong thing, this may soon be the only way we can communicate without fear. Please join me in condemning this savage trampling on principles supported by all men of honor." Well, I might be willing to "condemn" the letter of May's post, but I'm not so sure about condemning the spirit of it. Basically, if a newspaper claims to be doing objective reporting of the facts, and they then become merely an arm of 'law enforcement' (which in turn enforces the momentary whim of local dictators no longer constrained by law due to the 'Patriot Act'), then all hell's broken loose already. And while I can't get with the notion of killing somebody for doing something I don't like (unless they're trying to hurt me or my family), a brick through a window might be an appropriate response. -TD

From: Nomen Nescio <nobody@dizum.com> To: cypherpunks@lne.com Subject: Re: Fake News for Big Brother Date: Tue, 29 Apr 2003 20:50:11 +0200 (CEST)

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On February 14, a Florida Appeals court ruled there is absolutely nothing illegal about lying, concealing or distorting information by a major press organization. The court reversed the $425,000 jury verdict in favor of journalist Jane Akre who charged she was pressured by Fox Television management and lawyers to air what she knew and documented to be false information. The ruling basically declares it is technically not against any law, rule, or regulation to deliberately lie or distort the news on a television broadcast.

It's significant that a United States Court of Appeals has a stronger commitment to the First Amendment than supposed arch-libertarian Tim May. Look at May's response when confronted with the idea that a newspaper has the right to print what it chooses:

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But the journalist and his editors are still alive.

When they have been necklaced and lit, we can rest easier.

Burning down the entire newspaper office would maybe be overkill, but, hey, what the hell.

Fuck them dead.

That's right: Tim May believes people should be tortured and killed for saying the wrong thing in their own newspaper. Apparently he believes that he has the right to set rules which everyone else must follow in what they say, under penalty of a horrific death. Needless to say, nothing could be further from the letter and spirit of the First Amendment.

Thank God for the protection of anonymity. With people like Tim May throwing around death threats towards those who say the wrong thing, this may soon be the only way we can communicate without fear. Please join me in condemning this savage trampling on principles supported by all men of honor.

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