The Skepticians - A new conservative Web 2.0 blog - with a twist.

My blogger friend, James Richardson has started The Skepticians, along with Tommy Jardon. They write on Art & Culture, Entertainment, Sports, Humor, and Technology - pretty much all the stuff that we really care about, no?

James is the former RNC Online Communications manager, and Tommy is the Vice Chair for the RNC. This promises to be an interesting blog, so check it out!

Is it Illegal to Link to a Government Website?

From Paul Jacob’s Common Sense:

Shocker: Criminal Web Links!

Aliens take over government! Soviets control U.S. weather! Ancient Mayan temple has Sandisk flash drive!

If you’ve ever been to a supermarket, you’ve seen these and other ludicrous mile-high headlines blaring from the newsstands.

Here’s another impossible headline that might issue from the pen of any zany, unscrupulous tabloid fabulist: BLOGGER TREATED AS CRIMINAL FOR POSTING WEB LINK TO CITY AGENCY!

Not a concoction, I’m afraid. The city of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, did indeed harass a blogger named Jennifer Reisinger for linking to the website of the city police department. No alleged libel, alleged copyright violation, or other alleged crime. Ms. Reisinger and her lawyer believe the threat was retaliation for her role in trying to recall the Sheboygan mayor, Juan Perez.

Intimidated by the unprecedented cease-and-desist order she received from the city attorney, Reisinger at first removed the link. But then, after being threatened with a criminal investigation for her dastardly providing of information, she hired a lawyer. The lawyer advised her to restore the Web link, which she did. The mayor’s office dropped its threat, but Reisinger is suing anyway.

Mayor Perez and his henchmen deserve to be stomped in court — if only to pre-empt similar stupidity and contempt for First Amendment rights by other vindictive politicians.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

For more info, see:

• Harvard Info/Law: Again with the Linking
• Out-Law.com: Mayor’s opponent sues city over order to remove web link
• WebProNews: Don’t Link Me Bro
• Sheboygan woman files landmark case over Web links
• The Citizen Media Law Project

The Internet Patrol

(Updated with Video and Local News Coverage) Defending the American Dream Summit - “Bloggers Row” (#AFP08)

10/16/08: ARMAD has a reader account from Emery McClendon with photos of the event on Indiana’s News Center

Also - Larry Gilbert has done a very good job of covering the Summit in four parts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4

10/15/08: ARRA News Service has a summary of CBN’s coverage of the event. Erik Telford, Maggie Thurber, and Robert Bluey are interviewed.

10/11/08: Video, courtesy of Bob Weeks, of Wichita Liberty:

 

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For many years, it has been customary for public events and some private events to acknowledge “press passes,” for members of the TV and print press to allow those reporters “special” access to areas of the event not open to all members of the public, or all of the attendees. Press areas often include special accommodations for all of the video, electronic, and wireless equipment involved in reporting and recording an event.

In recent years, event managers are slowly realizing that it can be helpful to also include access for bloggers - who are not members of the “press,” but often will give free online publicity for the event. The access for bloggers is often called “bloggers row.” The bloggers usually, however, are not given the same respect or access as the press. In fact, at several events I’ve attended, I’ve voluntarily given up my seat on bloggers row, because it was in a room separate from the event altogether, or so far back in the event that I could get better photos as a member of the public.

At the AFP Dream Summit, however, we, as bloggers, have been in virtual paradise. We’ve had all of the access of the press, plus our own private room for meeting, for interviews, and for training opportunities. In addition to that, we had several hours worth of training opportunities today on online activism, social networking, citizen journalism, blogging, online video, and identity management, and using wikis effectively. These workshops were presented by new media experts such as Emily Zanotti, Eric Odom and Allan Fuller of the Sam Adams Alliance, Leslie Graves of the the Lucy Burns Institute, and the and Robert Bluey, Mary Katharine Ham, Christopher Malagisi and William Beutler with the Leadership Institute.

This, of course, is in addition to all of the other activities, workshops, panels, and seminars available to all of the summit attendees. As with any adult training program - you get out of it what you put into it. Erik Telford, the AFP New Media Manager and the Americans for Prosperity, is doing an excellent job of helping bloggers network with other activists, and find the resources we need to do what we love to do, more professionally.