Outrageous

Just when you thought it was safe to blog to your heart's content on things political, San Francisco thinks that it is time to regulate blogs. A proposed city ordinance by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors would require local bloggers to register with the city Ethics Commission and report all blog-related costs that exceed $1,000 in the aggregate.

Blogs that mention candidates for local office that receive more than 500 hits will be forced to pay a registration fee and will be subject to website traffic audits, according to Chad Jacobs, a San Francisco City Attorney.

Political speech is under attack by those who see free speech as a threat to their continued power.

This is a huge issue that lies at the heart of what our nation's founding fathers fought for. The right to criticize the government and be free from government interference to do so. That right, enshrined in the First Amendment is under attack and most people don't yet realize this.

It's time that people speak out.

UPDATE 04/04/2005 2:24PM EDT:
Confederate Yankee reminds us of the growing scandal North of the border, where the Canadian government appears to find the notion of free speech unpalatable for those who criticize the government's advertising scandal. Individuals who link to Captain's Quarters might get prosecuted by the Canadian government for violating a publication ban (which does not apply to US bloggers.

Once again, the notion of jurisdiction is blurred online, as what would consitute a violation of the ban? A Canadian living in Canada but blogs via a US blogging company? An American who blogs via an American company about the situation? Very confusing, but the key detail is that people are curious about what the Canadian government is up to, and are looking to US bloggers to find out what is happening because the Canadian press is silent.

This too is a free speech issue, and it would be nice if the international press would pick up on what is at stake here. [ed: fixed link above]