AFA Alert

[johnridley]

The narrowmind sez:
I went out and voted "no" on a poll by the American Family Association, and they started sending me these action alerts. I asked recently if I should repost them here so my friends could be aware of what these narrow-minded hater-trolls are up to.

I don't really want to turn my LJ into a political action arena, so I may just set up a new user for these things if they start getting in the way.

It bothers me a bit that they're probably counting me as one of their faithful members since I'm on the mailing list, but I figure I can make up for that by forwarding the emails here to some people who will help work against them.

I was considering editing this to avoid hitting their copyright, but then noticed that it says "please forward to as many friends as possible" so here it is.

Donald E. Wildmon Founder and Chairman

	May 11, 2007 Please help us get this information into the hands of as many people as possible by forwarding it to your entire email list of family and friends. Liberal Democrats are out to silence you! Urgent Telephone Alert on the Meehan Amendment (H.R. 2093)! Dear XXXXXX, I  wrote to you in January about legislation in the U.S. Senate that could have silenced grassroots communication from groups like American Family Association. Thankfully, that part of the legislation was defeated after you and other concerned citizens let your voices be heard. Unfortunately, the House Judiciary Committee is expected to reconsider the "grassroots gag order" when the Meehan Amendment (H.R. 2093) will be offered on Tuesday, May 15, during debate on a broader "lobbying reform" bill. This amendment, sponsored by Rep. Martin Meehan (D-Mass.), would establish, for the first time, federal regulatory authority over efforts aimed at motivating citizens to communicate with their representatives about bills moving in Congress. This threat is so serious that American Family Association has joined with other pro-family groups, as well as organizations from the left of the political spectrum, including the ACLU, to oppose the bill. Last week, we signed a joint letter calling on members of Congress to reject this dangerous effort to exclude men and women like you from the democratic process. To read the letter, click here. The full House of Representatives is expected to act on the "lobbying reform" legislation on May 22. Depending on what happens in the Judiciary Committee on May 15, the full House may also vote on whether to include the Meehan provision in the broader bill. Take Action Click Here to be shown the phone number for your representative's office, and an appropriate suggested message -- one message if he is a member of the Judiciary Committee, and a different message if he is not. This is urgent -- please act today!   If you think our efforts are worthy, would you please support us with a small gift? Thank you for caring enough to get involved. Sincerely, Donald E. Wildmon, Founder and Chairman American Family Association P.S. Please forward this e-mail message to your family and friends!

American Family Association | P O Drawer 2440 | Tupelo, MS 38803 | 1-662-844-5036 Copyright 2006 All Rights Reserved

Comments

[marsgov.livejournal.com]

The AFA is right on this one, IMO; and you'll note they claim that the ACLU supports their position. It boggles my mind that the government continues to impose reporting requirements, spending restrictions, and similar constraints on the right of citizens to freely assemble and redress their government.

[madtechie2718.livejournal.com]

It seems very strange that the AFA and the ACLU should be on the same side...

(I may be demonstrating my ignorance of the American political process here, not that ours is any less arcane!)

Shorn of all the political rhetoric, what is this bill trying to do?

[marsgov.livejournal.com]

This bill is one of a class of bills that regulate how citizens and groups lobby the US government. In particular, the bill provides that the US government can regulate lobbying groups if that lobbying group asks citizens to contact the government. A nicely-detailed critique of the bill is available here.

In my own view, the rise of the Internet over the past few years, which helps citizens organize, diminishes the power of the press to influence elections, and reduces the inherent values of incumbency, has given rise to a backlash of laws that attempt to restore the previous status quo. Not only politicians but traditional power groups (political parties, the press, and unions) all favor restrictions on new rival power centers and on diffuse activities (e.g., email campaigns, advertising) that diminish their influence.

Many of these bills take explicit aim at lobbying groups and others who express opinions and seek to restrict their freedom of expression (e.g., lobbying groups cannot run advertising in a thirty or sixty day period prior to an election). Every election, the Federal election commission will investigate complaints that a news story constitutes illegal lobbying — in other words, even core news reporting experiences the chill of restrictions on freedom of speech. Even blogging can be construed as a lobbying activity under these laws, and it remains to be seen what restrictions will be forthcoming.

[johnridley.livejournal.com]

Thanks for that. I hadn't looked into this one in particular before posting it, and I intend to just forward everything they send me. Almost everything they send me is intended to deny some group their rights, mainly homosexuals. After a few dozen of those, I just start knee-jerking to oppose anything they say.

It does indeed seem like they're on the correct side here.