Comments on: Kentucky Bans Blogs

By: McGehee

McGehee — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 16:11:44 +0000

You can agrgue about Drudge being either a blog or an â��officiallyâ�� conservative site...

Drudge is neither a blogger nor conservative unless you define conservative as "not liberal." If they blocked him it could be argued they'd have to block a Yahoo! front page with headline links. Limbaugh's site is in no way, shape, matter or form a blog. If they blocked it one could argue that websites for other traditional-media opinion sites should be blocked.

This leads strongly (tho not conclusively, Iâ��ll admit) to the conclusion that blocked sites are chosen individually and specificallyâ�¦

Is there any other way of blocking blogs? Is there some secret URL segment common to all blogs, but exclusive of non-blogs, that can be used to ensure that all blogs, but only blogs, are blocked? Legion, don't be a blockhead.

By: legion

legion — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 22:18:15 +0000

Unfortunately, McG, there is no transparency to website blocking lists - without inside knowledge of KY state gov't's software, it's impossible to catalog precisely without trial-and-error on every site & seeing if it's clear or not. However, according to BGR:

So far this morning, the following conservative/Republican websites are still available for state employee viewing: -Drudge Report -The Republican National Committee's blog -Rush Limbaugh -Hugh Hewitt -Hot Air -Captains Quarters -Outside the Beltway I'm going to do this everyday to show the fraud of this administration's attempt at censoring political speech.

You can agrgue about Drudge being either a blog or an 'officially' conservative site, but several of those sites ought to be in the same categories as BGR, so any defense that the site got caught up in a 'broad category' blockage is crap. This leads strongly (tho not conclusively, I'll admit) to the conclusion that blocked sites are chosen individually and specifically... And while companies may have the right to limit their employees' access based on their own whims, the state gov't doesn't.

By: anjin-san

anjin-san — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 22:09:51 +0000

What's the problem here? Bush has been waging war on free speech and the free movment of information since day one. Why are you upset that other members of the GOP are joining in?

By: McGehee

McGehee — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 21:09:44 +0000

Many left-wing blogs have been blocked, while many right-wing blogs are not.

Within the conditionsw of this assertion, it remains possible to retort that, "Many left-wing blogs are not blocked, while many right-wing blogs are." "Many" doesn't tell us anything about quantity relative to the whole number of blogs that might be affected, Legion.

By: legion

legion — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 20:45:06 +0000

And it was originally BGR because it's arguably the largest political blog in KY, and has been quite persistent in its reporting of Fletcher's utter corruption. This is the guy who, if you haven't been following it, ordered members of his cabinet to ignore the state's merit system in doling out state jobs & promotions. Then, when the investigations started, he pro-actively pardoned his entire cabinet, before any charges were even filed. He's now under indictment for the croyism, solely because he's not allowed to pardon himself.

By: Politics In Alabama » Blog Archive » Kentucky Bans Blogs

Politics In Alabama » Blog Archive » Kentucky Bans Blogs — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 20:41:36 +0000

[...] H/T Outside the Beltway [...]

By: legion

legion — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 20:40:24 +0000

Well, if you read the regular updates at BGR, it looks very much like Midkiff is flat-out lying. Many left-wing blogs have been blocked, while many right-wing blogs are not. And the people who've contacted the state about this have not been informed of any sort of review prior to this article's publication. That, combined with BGR's blocking the day after it was mentioned in an NYT article about Fletcher's legal problems, and TPM Muckracker's blocking immediately after reprinting some of BGR's info, leave gaping holes in the state's explanations... FWIW, I'm originally from KY, and I've heard many many anectdotal stories of the corruption and cronyism of Flethcer's gov't for years now. This pathetic stab comes as no surprise...

By: James Joyner

James Joyner — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 20:40:01 +0000

matt: It's not just liberal sites; just one liberal site complaining loudly and getting quoted by AP. It's a blanket thing.

By: madmatt

madmatt — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 20:38:05 +0000

And why only liberal sites?

By: Bithead

Bithead — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 20:35:14 +0000

And what of newspapers?
Radio?
TV?