BlueInGreene.org reports today that Will Pflaum, who first exposed what he called "Sleepergate," has shut down his blog Hudson Sunshine and explains the situation the caused Pflaum to take this action.
Did the blogger offend some obscure statute? That would certainly become an appropriate police action.
Otherwise, libel is for the courts to deliberate.
In addition to a civilization-wide anxiety that Western governments are leaning tyrannical on the issue of internet freedom (outside of terrorism, espionage or vice, police interference with typical blog contents may be unprecedented in the US), the City of Hudson happens to be the site of the most important libel case in our nation's history.
People v. Croswell was a case that figured into the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, a case that forever established the definition of libel for American jurisprudence, and a case that ultimately liberated press freedoms to an unprecedented degree in human history.
Depending on many things, this could end up being a gigantic story.
Well the police presence has certainly been growing over the recent years. Are there boundaries anymore or are we now living in an unannounced 'police state.'
For instance, if Mr. Pflaum had been seriously threatened by someone, the police might recommend taking down his blog temporarily pending an investigation.
In that plausible scenario, we'd all agree that the police would then be "the good guys."
I'm not suggesting that I know any more details about this case than anybody else does. But when you read the following Supreme Court decision from three months ago which used the word "vendetta" 17 times to describe the situation against Mr. Pflaum (e.g., "a relentless vendetta"), it's no stretch to imagine a threatening atmosphere in Stuyvesant Falls.
The following YouTube video shows an example of law enforcement at its best, defending our civil rights at the Albany airport last week.
Perhaps law enforcement is taking the same care in the Stuyvesant story. I mean, after reading that Supreme Court judgement ... whew!
Notice that the "good guys" in the video - the protesters, the officer and the sheriff - are all young people.
In contrast, when the Register Star lost its principled young reporters and editor, most watched from the sidelines and did nothing. Indeed, everyone still patronizes the newspaper!
In Hudson it's hard to know where anyone stands, or whether anyone stands for anything at all.
I'm glad people care. Thank you for paying attention. I'll blog a bit in a month or so, maybe less. In general, I look forward to blogging less and filing no more lawsuits. "And then the bad guys won" is a terrible ending. If I can find a better one, I'm done.
There are just too many unanswered questions.
ReplyDeleteDid the blogger offend some obscure statute? That would certainly become an appropriate police action.
Otherwise, libel is for the courts to deliberate.
In addition to a civilization-wide anxiety that Western governments are leaning tyrannical on the issue of internet freedom (outside of terrorism, espionage or vice, police interference with typical blog contents may be unprecedented in the US), the City of Hudson happens to be the site of the most important libel case in our nation's history.
People v. Croswell was a case that figured into the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, a case that forever established the definition of libel for American jurisprudence, and a case that ultimately liberated press freedoms to an unprecedented degree in human history.
Depending on many things, this could end up being a gigantic story.
Well the police presence has certainly been growing over the recent years. Are there boundaries anymore or are we now living in an unannounced 'police state.'
ReplyDeleteLate yesterday Mr. Pflaum added a correction to the Blue & Green blog's story:
ReplyDelete"I'm hoping the cops are the good guys and they didn't ask me to do it ... exactly."
This story must be extremely interesting. We just can't know what it is yet.
For instance, if Mr. Pflaum had been seriously threatened by someone, the police might recommend taking down his blog temporarily pending an investigation.
ReplyDeleteIn that plausible scenario, we'd all agree that the police would then be "the good guys."
I'm not suggesting that I know any more details about this case than anybody else does. But when you read the following Supreme Court decision from three months ago which used the word "vendetta" 17 times to describe the situation against Mr. Pflaum (e.g., "a relentless vendetta"), it's no stretch to imagine a threatening atmosphere in Stuyvesant Falls.
http://yesi.am/book1.pdf
The following YouTube video shows an example of law enforcement at its best, defending our civil rights at the Albany airport last week.
ReplyDeletePerhaps law enforcement is taking the same care in the Stuyvesant story. I mean, after reading that Supreme Court judgement ... whew!
Notice that the "good guys" in the video - the protesters, the officer and the sheriff - are all young people.
In contrast, when the Register Star lost its principled young reporters and editor, most watched from the sidelines and did nothing. Indeed, everyone still patronizes the newspaper!
In Hudson it's hard to know where anyone stands, or whether anyone stands for anything at all.
Here's how you stand for something:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-G8k44m3VE
I'm glad people care. Thank you for paying attention. I'll blog a bit in a month or so, maybe less. In general, I look forward to blogging less and filing no more lawsuits. "And then the bad guys won" is a terrible ending. If I can find a better one, I'm done.
ReplyDeleteDude, you are so awesome!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you.