Manalapan has a blog critical of the local government, called 'da TruthSquad'.
What?! You thought Plainfield Today was the only blog critical of local government shenanigans? Poor benighted you. (You might want to check out some of the blogs in my sidebar to the right, 'Blogs of Note'.)
Seems the blogger, who is anonymous, needled the local pols enough they tried by subpoena to discover the blogger's ID.
Not so fast! said Internet free speech freaks -- and the courts agreed, calling the request 'an unjustified infringement on the blogger's First Amendment rights', as the Ledger reports today in a story by blog beat reporter Kelly Heyboer, updating the case (read story here).
Not only can bloggers remain anonymous if they want to (though you all know who I am), the courts give them large latitude to criticize pols, who are regarded as 'public figures'.
But there is a new wrinkle in Manalapan, an ex-pol who hasn't held office in 24 years, is computer-illiterate, and is hopping mad that people talk about him on the nj.com forums.
He wants to know who are the people behind the anonymous posts that call him a crook, a bum, a liar -- and worse.
Maria recently commented on these forums, calling them a 'snake pit'. I agree, and I seldom visit them and even more rarely post on them (the handle is 'plaindan', which would be hard to figure out, right?). Besides, I'm not interested in ex-pols -- unless they can pick the public's pocket.
At any rate, my tactic is to use a subject's own words or actions to illustrate my points (see an example here).
Whatchagonnado in that case?
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