WARNING: This blog is longer than my longest blongs, but the information that it contains needs to be read by anyone who cares about freedom of speech.
Images of Freedom of Speech by L. Liwag
“There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of justice.” ~ Charles de Montesquieu
Outing Mudflats: Doogan is a DoDo
I just found out from visiting one of my regular sites, WillPen’s World, that something truly incredible has happened to one of my favorite blogs: Mudflats (http://www.themudflats.net). I’m sure that many of you probably read Mudflats as it is a very well-written, informative political blog. In fact, Mudflats was voted best political blog of 2008, and I helped to put it there, me along with thousands of other faithful readers.
However, I recently learned of something very dismaying: Representative Mike Doogan of Anchorage, Alaska has gone out of his way to out the writer of Mudflats. That’s right, he spent his time finding out the real name of the author so that he could out her.
Here is what Doogan had to say in outing this blogger:
Anonymous Blogger Anonymous No More
The identity of the person who writes the liberal Democratic Mudflats blog has been secret since the blog began, protected by the Anchorage Daily News, among others. My own theory about the public process is you can say what you want, as long as you are willing to stand behind it using your real name. So I was interested to learn that the woman who writes the blog is Anchorage resident Jeanne _____.*
Best wishes,
Apparently, all of this ill-conceived, pompous drivel was a result of Doogan’s unhappiness with the Mudflats post on the politician’s rude e-mails to his constituents and took it upon himself to find out the real identity of the popular blog’s moderator. How very mature of him.
“If you don’t understand that you work for your mislabeled ‘subordinates,’ then you know nothing of leadership. You know only tyranny.” ~ Dee Hock
As Dawn Teo reveals in her post on HuffingtonPost.com about Doogan’s actions, ” He had saved up all of the emails from constituents on the Troopergate issue, and in December he responded to all of them at once, CC’ing a list of about thirty perfect strangers together in one email, telling them,
Are you people nuts? You send me—and everybody else in the legislature, from the looks of things—Spam and then lecture me on email etiquette—as if there were such a thing? Here’s an etiquette suggestion: Abandon your phony names, do your own thinking and don’t expect everybody to share your obsessions.
Yes America, this is how an elected official actually responded to concerned constituents. I know that I would be supporting and campaigning for someone who addressed me in this fashion. Apparently, Doogan doesn’t care about being re-elected, or at least, that is how it appears. But what really torqued Doogan out of shape was when AKMuckRaker of Mudflats posted an entry in which Doogan’s rudeness is made public for all to see; in addition, the moderator (whose name I will not use out of respect for her desire for privacy, even though she has been outed), took Doogan to task for his lack of etiquette in e-mail.
Even though Mudflats was completely within its rights to voice opinions anonymously under the guise of AKMuckRaker, Doogan’s vanity got the best of him, and he made it his quest to find out the moderator’s name, even e-mailing people to try to get them to identify her. Of course, no loyal reader would reveal such information.
Obviously, Representative Doogan does not know his history. Consider the anonymous authors of The Federalist Papers—Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison, who published their 85 letters using the name “Plubius.” Or how about Thomas Paine’s anonymously published Common Sense, or for that matter all of the work that Benjamin Franklin published under the pseudonym Silence Dogood. We’re talking about the nation’s founding fathers and favorite citizens. Doogan, in his self-righteous justification for outing the blog author, forgot one of the most important lessons of U.S. history: Opposing political views are what made this country.
“The framers [of the Constitution] knew that free speech is the friend of change and revolution. But they also knew that it is always the deadliest enemy of tyranny.” ~ Hugo Black
What Doogan did not count on was the support that Mudflats enjoys nationwide, nor did he stop to consider that bloggers are a very steadfast and loyal group. We look out for our own as we realize that if something like this can happen to one blog, it can happen to all blogs. Bloggers come from all walks of life, countries near and far, different religious and political backgrounds, but we all realize that being able to write about issues that concern us is a precious right, one that we will not cede without a fight.
As a former journalist, Doogan should have had better sense than to make public the name of someone who deliberately chose to remain anonymous. In fact, what Doogan did could be considered illegal as defined by the U.S. Supreme Court:
As JJEagleHawk pointed out in Daily KOS:
Justice John Paul Stevens wrote that “an author’s decision to remain anonymous, like other decisions concerning additions or omissions to the content of the publication, is an aspect of the freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment.” In a concurring decision, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote “we should determine whether the phrase ‘freedom of speech, or of the press,’ as originally understood, protected anonymous political leafleting. I believe that it did.” Please note that, in this same decision, Justice Stevens also said that anonymous speech protects “unpopular individuals from retaliation—and their ideas from suppression—at the hand of an intolerant society.”
A lawyer who contacted Daily KOS made this very insightful point:
This is a violation of federal law and of the state common law right to privacy. The fact that he did it on state time and in his capacity is what is called “state action” for a section 1983 civil rights claim. The Mudflats blogger, who was absolutely entitled to comment on matters of public interest and equally entitled to do so anonymously, has a significant lawsuit against this clown . . . In addition to awarding damages, they also award attorneys’ fees. That is the only way to stop this sort of abuse of public position.
“I can remember when Democrats believed that it was the duty of America to fight for freedom over tyranny.” ~ Zell Miller
By the way, did Democrat Doogan use his state office and state computer in his search for vengeance? Was it on the time of the citizens of Anchorage that Doogan chose to behave like a schoolyard bully? How did he obtain this information? Did he use his political connections?
Important things that should make the people who elected this man to office might want to consider. And consider they are. I have read many blogs posts reacting to Doogan’s petty antics in which they promise to vote for anyone but Doogan and to offer monetary support to anyone willing to take on Doogan in the 2010 election. Count me in on that pool; I’ll add Doogan to Michele Bachman as people I will help to defeat even though they do not represent my state.
Fortunately, the support for Mudflats’ moderator has been very vocal and has not been limited to small-time bloggers. For example, Scout Finch on Daily KOS had this to say:
Whatever your reasoning, you’ve certainly caught our attention. And if you think we are going to scuttle back into the shadows and let this pass, you’ve got another thing coming. Your petty, vindictive, unprofessional, unethical, and perhaps even illegal actions are certain to come back to haunt you.
But one of the responses that really speaks to the heart of the matter is by DemFromCT in The Patrick Henry Press News:
I’m sure Alaskans can appreciate your focus on outing a blogger who is most known for exposing the hypocrisy, questionable ethics, and corruption of Alaskan officials. I’m sure they appreciate your focus on warring with bloggers instead of taking on the difficult economic and social issues Alaskans find themselves faced with this winter, including those who can’t afford to heat their homes. But, instead, here you are — gloating about your efforts to ruin somebody’s life.
For her part, the moderator of Mudflats was been extremely professional and considered in her response, especially considering that she is not the professional writer and Doogan was. Here is a sample of Mudflats’ comments in regards to the whole situation:
I was a bit surprised to see my real name, as you can imagine. But after the initial surprise wore off, it really hit me. This is an elected State Representative, of my own political party, who has decided that it’s not OK for me to control the information about my identity; that it’s not OK to express my opinion on my own blog without shouting from the rooftops who I am.
“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.” ~ C. S. Lewis
I know that I am a bit late in joining the game, but I’ve never let that stop me before. What Representative Mike Doogan of Alaska did is reprehensible, but at the same time, it shows exactly how insecure he is.
I have enjoyed visiting Mudflats ever since I began blogging last year. During the election, it was the one source to which I turned to find out what was really going on with the Governator. This blog has been an incredible resource, both through its moderator and through the comment threads. What Doogan did was unconscionable, not because we now know the author’s name as she should be proud of what she has created here, but because a politician should not have the time to go searching for a blogger’s identity.
Politicians should be working on fixing this country, fixing their states. The economy is in the crapper, Doogan. Your ignoramus of a governor is going to refuse money from the Federal government without considering how much Alaska needs this support. As for yourself, look at your state and tell me that the time you spent in outing an intelligent, well-versed, source of news for thousands of people is more important than the bigger issues facing your constituents and all Americans right now.
Doogan, your priorities are incredibly out of whack. Oh, and about 2010? I wouldn’t count on it if I were you. Unfortunately for you and those of your ilk, bloggers have a very long reach, which too many politicians tend to forget.
See these other blogs for more information about Doogan:
http://progressivealaska.blogspot.com/2009/03/mike-doogan-outs-mudflats.html
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/3/28/714126/-Response-to-Rep.-Mike-Doogan
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/3/28/714053/-Open-Letter-to-Alaskan-Rep-Mike-Doogan
http://patrickhenrypress.info/?p=586150
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dawn-teo/famed-anonymous-anti-pali_b_180313.html
Lola's Curmudgeonly Musings 
Why do we not run the world like this? The basic reason tyranny is around would be eliminated with what is below. We can all be with all we ever need all of us. Below is how.
The People’s Voice
As someone that is in my 60’s I have seen many changes in Canada but the ones happening now are frightening. The new internet legislation proposed by the Conservatives appears to be a re-make of much of old world Russian Communism.
In the days of Stalin there were spies everywhere reporting your every move.
Now because of the advent of technology we now do not need this anymore, We can do it all electronically from the comfort of the office. By passing this new internet legislation we will have every key stroke monitored. They will have a spy in your home 24/7. You could have police show up at your doors at any time because your activities were not approved. Even if they promise to never use it that way it is not good enough. They should never be allowed to have it.
This will lead to fear of usage and fear to speak freely, fear like the people in old world Russia used to experience.
Yes this will be much like things were under Stalin in Russia. And what is proposed today is so much more effective than human spies and police. I often said that with today’s technology, if a dictator ever got in power we would all be in real trouble. We are in trouble now. Despite this, I do not believe that we will have goo-lags, or internment camps as these cost money. Capitalists would rather fine you with nit picking useless laws, taking food from your children in the process. By doing this through use of the courts they will get to pocket it without much cost. Their children eat well I am sure.
As for the internet itself it was free 30 years ago and as usual a few were given everything without any of “we the people” ever being told before hand, or ever given a chance at ownership ourselves. No, as usual free for us was made into another expense for the average person, owned as usual by the same few. We have nothing free anymore.
They take it all, exactly as the Nazis and communists did from their people.
Should the conservatives have put through this legislation for child molesters only I would have supported it whole heartedly. But this is not the case. And like the capitalists always do they included this with the rest so we would take the bait, and their absolute control over our every dollar would increase.
Fellow Canadians please before it is too late, understand were we are now as a society.
Under communism all things were owned in common, but in reality a few very few administered it in conjunction with the government, and the rest of the people got what they got.
Under Fascism, the companies were private enterprise, owned by a few that ran them in conjunction with the government, and the rest of the people got what they got.
Under capitalism, after all the corporate mergers are complete and a few own everything, and run it in conjunction with government and the rest of us get what we get, what are we. No different than Stalin’s Russia or Hitler’s Germany.
At this point there is no difference, none. We literally have communism for Corporate convenience. This is where our voting habits and hidden legislation have led us. We must register to vote and make a massive change.
With what the conservatives are doing to us we must never elect them again.
This will only happen if every working person that is sick of always paying through the nose for everything shows up to vote at 100% and defeat them in every single riding. Even if they back off they should never be elected again just for trying.
YOUTH IN YOUR 20’S JOIN US OR SETTLE FOR BEING MIDDLE AGED BEFORE EVER BEING ABLE TO OWN A HOUSE.
I believe the rich are trying to remove most peoples ability to buy houses. That way all will have to pay monthly rent to the same few that own everything now. This is how things were under Russian communism. There most never owned houses or property either.
This is an alert. YOUTH GET OUT AND VOTE PLEASE.
One of the reasons we are in this mess is because we are without information. Please do not ever believe our press is free. The fact is that they are dependent on advertising and because of this are careful not to offend their corporate paychecks. This allows corporations to stop stories. If our corporate leaders are openly with holding information from us by restricting the press, what does this make them??? The answer is communist.
The restrictions are the same as the Russian press had under communism.
Please do not tell me that our free elections make a difference because they do not. I am an average working person, and could not even think of taking time off from work to run for elected office. Neither could most of you. The few heavily mortgaged assets we have would be taken.
This by the way is the western way of creating communist conditions, while making the laws capitalist.
Look around and see. How many areas are we free in law but freedom is then removed by making it too expensive to access. This removal of freedom is the difference between western democracy and communism. It does not matter if it is too expensive or made illegal. The result is the same.
Example: On the books, you are free in law to run for office but the reality is that you could never take the necessary time off to actually present you message. Do you see the communist result created by removing freedoms through making them too expensive to ever access. The fact your assets would be taken is a punishment for use of a freedom a few do not want you have. They want this for themselves only.
Example: Have you ever wondered why the supreme court in Canada is priced at pocket change prices for corporations and governments, but at prices that would bankrupt the average person. This is a big example of freedom in law that is made financially inaccessible to the average person. Under communism the people were never allowed to access any courts to plead for their freedoms because of laws preventing it. We allow freedom on paper and then make it too expensive to ever use, effectively creating the same results as communist legislation in Stalin’s Russia did. Understand that this restriction of our freedom, for any reason, makes us communist as well.
Think about this. We the average people get our choice of business people only to vote for, as they have arranged society to make sure they will be the only ones with the money to run for office.
Years ago, about 1960 we had a person come to our school in Wembley Alberta and told us that we did not want to be communists. As farm kids that had never seen a television set. Our first question was what is a communist. The answer this person gave us was that communists made the mother and father both work so when we kids came home there would be no parents there for us. We did not want to be communists did we. We all shook our heads and said no. Today we have exactly the conditions of communism with the capitalist system taking ever more, to where two people now have to work to support a family or live in poverty, never owning a home. This is identical to communist conditions in the old Soviet Union. Our children no longer have parents to come home to either.
There is a solution
One thing that has become increasingly obvious over my life is the hopelessness of trying to make any real changes to this system because of the way our societies are currently structured under economics. Next quarters corporate profits will always come first. Add to this the fear of adding more dollars to most nations already unmanageable debts, is something many societies consider no longer to be an option.
In short the world can never be changed as long as some corporations can be bankrupted by the changes. All politicians know that there has to be several zillions of hours of employment to have house payments, utilities, credit cards, and more paid for by families each month. This is reality under our present world order.
It can not be changed with the current economic system.
First one has to understand that our system of commerce is barbaric and left over from early man. It is no more than a fossilized dinosaur that can never be made to serve our needs. We all can see it serves its own self interests only. The problem with this is that economic interests are not in any way aligned with the needs of our planet or most of its people. Instead they are discriminatory and harmful.
Examples:
1. Any system that has seniors pension eroded through inflation, so corporations can profit through the raising of prices on goods and services, is horrible. Good government would have pensions indexed to this inflation. Not doing this is the abandonment of the old, destroying them economically, leaving them to die in poverty. This is life under the capitalist system. This is an atrocity equivalent of any done by any other tyrants throughout history. The truth is under our system of currencies there is not enough money to prevent this.
The price, decency and a civilized attitude toward the old are sacrificed to economics.
2. One child having everything while the next gets nothing shows how barbaric our system is. It is a horrible and demented the leadership that allows children to learn discrimination on the basis of money. This is a system ran by monsters; Liberal and Conservative monsters in Canada to be exact, as they are the only ones to govern in our history.
3. Students are often in over 100,000.00 dollars in debt for taking higher education to be greater in their contributors to our earth. This is allowed by government, while criminals get checks on leaving prisons. How pathetic is our liberals and Conservatives for allowing this. Why do they do it, because of money. Our intellectual future is sacrificed to economics. Many young feel that is pointless to go to school as there will be decades of debt and interest to pay back afterword. They will become old before being able to break even. Add this to the sacrifice for years of learning without income and many bright youth are just going to work.
Increasingly only the children of the ever richer will be educated with the rest of us unable to afford the cost.
While the laws will say we are free, increasingly economics insures that we are not. We are becoming ever more a land of rich and surfs like middle ages England.
This seems to be the corporate dream.
Maybe the cure for cancer gave up on school and now drives a Kenworth.
4. Any time a person is turned down for a mortgage their constitutional right to own property is violated. In Canada this is allowed because it benefits some corporations. This is a violation of our very charter or freedoms. Even so it is allowed every day by government.
It does not matter if you are turned down for a loan, or the house itself, the result is that you can never own a home, just like the people of Stalin’s Russia.
Nothing green can be done with present economics because corporations could be hurt, and every politician knows there has to be work for average people to pay bills. Without jobs there would be no votes. With this form of blackmail available we all know corporations really rule our society, not the elected politicians.
In truth we are no longer a democracy, at least not behind the scenes.
The culprit behind all this is economics. This takes away from the ability to adjust society to what is right, and make the changes needed. As you can see this is not a system that can be made to work from within, nor can it be adapted to be any better than it is today. So many have tried and gained little or nothing.
The current system has to be replaced.
This is what I am writing you about. I can fix all these problems with one change but it is a big one, and would forever make the world better for all. This is monumental but like I said, but the results will be worth it.
If we want to make real changes it will require breaking the backs of all corporations at once without a war, in a way the people would embrace and vote for what we present. It would have to be done without any new debt, giving back personal freedom to the Canadian people with the privileges and status of millionaires, all at the same time.
I can do all of this with a single idea. This idea will also bring freedom for individuals and families like never before in human history.
This is how it must be done and how it will work.
In this new world there will be no such thing as poverty. Everyone that is gainfully employed will automatically have all the benefits of society. To achieve this each person would receive a card with 45 years of hours at 8 hours per day, 5 days per week, less stats and say a month’s holiday per year plus your birthday. Once the hours run out you will be allowed to retire and still have all the benefits of society, till the day you die.
No more senior’s poverty.
Think Armloads of gifts for the grand childern forever!
This is what I am offering to all on earth starting in Canada.
Children would have school supplies and lunches guaranteed. They all would have new computers, bikes, toys and more.
No more childhood poverty. All children would eat well and live well with all of societies benefits.
A university student would graduate with no debt and be entitled to all the benefits of society for the full duration of the years of their degrees learning process.
They would have to be passing with decent grades of course.
No family would need to have their children raised in a daycare center just for a mortgage because there will be no more home loans.
Families would have all the benefits of society with one adult member working full time.
This would include a home with deeded title, utilities, in fact everything would be yours. You will even raise your own children again in this new world. No child will have their parents removed just to benefit the economics of corporations.
We call ourselves a free society yet we make it economically impossible for one income to support a family, using economics to create the same forced labor conditions as in Stalin’s Russia.
This the result of voting Liberal and Conservative.
Please consider this.
If any elected official allows a corporation to pay such low wages that an employees child can not even eat quality food, let alone grow up having all the benefits of society, does that not make them along with the corporate leaders that pay the low wages, nothing more than a group of child abusers? Are they really fit to lead if they allow this to happen to any child, as the Liberals and Conservatives have always allowed?
We will change the world like this.
IN THIS WORLD THERE WILL BE NO MONEY.
The very concept would be eliminated and all who are gainfully employed would have all societies’ benefits from cradle to grave.
By this single change we could eliminate so many wrongs.
First the planned obsolescence would go as there would be no expense to doing it right the first time. With in years we could gear the planet down and stop much pollution on this one change alone.
We would all own our homes outright from the date of purchase, our utilities would be guaranteed, and would include our phone, satellite, cable, and internet.
No more zillions of hours needed to pay bills. Our society would produce good as needed with our needs being much smaller because things would made to last. If you need food you would go to the store and get it. No one gainfully employed would ever go hungry because of money ever again. The handicapped, seniors, and university students would also all have all the benefits of society.
Our laws could make quick effective changes under this new system.
EG. Since it would be no cost to anyone, we could legislate solar panels on the south side of every roof, or windmills where possible, and water power in Eco friendly ways. Stores full of non polluting products for all.
Imagine! Everything could just be done just because it is right, human right, green right , and just because it is right in every other way.
We eventually would catch all the important changes.
At this point and could shorten work weeks, or have earlier retirement, or or, or??? saving even more resources for future generations, while allowing more hours for the enjoyment of life. Doing what you want instead what you have to in order to survive. Any one besides me tired of all a persons waking hours being spent on survival.
I would like to also leave you with some final thoughts and two DVD’s to watch.
Final thought one. To do this we will have to form a political party to run in the next election. More below.
Final Thought Two. I have shown you how our system is now Communist. If you love freedom from economic slavery we are the choice. I have offered all working people the status of millionaires, with unparalleled human freedom. What more is there to give. Join us please. It is that or ever more harsh economic slavery under the presents system.
If you want to see one of the most corrupt decisions I have ever seen made in a Canadian court as well as see how far these corporations want to go to take away all our human freedom go online and watch “ The Future of Food”.
If you are not afraid to vote Conservative or Liberal after seeing this there is nothing that will influence you.
Wal-Mart makes money by insuring employees lives and collecting on their deaths. This is reported in the DVD Capitalism A love Story by Michael Moore. There is much more thought provoking content as well.
Wal-Mart’s wage structure is one of the ones that would prevent employees children eating well.
I hope you will read this and pass it on to all people possible and they will also do the same.
THE BEST WAY TO ACHIEVE THIS CHANGE IS BELOW. LOOK BELOW.
If you are sick of the hypocrisy, and spin doctor statements that are too far from reality even for fantasy land, lets do something. Lets change the world and I mean it. To do this would any of you be interested in starting a political party to run in the next federal election. One made up of working people, highly educated people, university students, the handicapped, seniors, and the poor. You have read what I have in mind. The time is now and think.
Life would be so much more fair.
Let me know at Realchangeformankind@gmail.com.
As a post script there is only one form of protection available for the average working person under economics and that is the trade unions. I suggest all people that are underpaid join one. There is no other form of protection for the working person, and this is not communism. I have already shown you communism earlier in this document. Call the most local hall in your area and ask how to get better wages and benefits so as to raise our children in a manner that is going to give them life’s privileges. For now these are our only hope.
In conclusion. People, I feel it is the right solution to both human and planetary problems and should be considered. Our current system and those leading it are total failures and I am convinced we vote for it only because alternatives are never presented. I believe that is solved here in this document. Life will be so much more fail and equitable if we succeed.
Thank You for your time.
The e-mqil is wrong in the post. It is obbnobs@hotmail.com and not the real change for mankind above.
Harvey,
Thank you for visiting my blog and for posting such a thorough examination. I don’t live in Canada, but I believe that your ideas and concerns could be applicable in most places.
Excellent article!
I hope she takes him to task in a law suit although the publicity of that would completely strip any anonymity she has retained. People like Doogan need to be taught a lesson about our political system and our foundation as a nation. His childishness needs to be responded to strongly, not just in blogs or by loosing his seat (although both are powerful answers to his actions). I wonder if the local media will take this up. I hope she finds vindication for such irresponsibility. The least that should happen to him is loss of his seat.
Dee
Dee, I’m so glad that you came back to my site! You are absolutely correct in labeling his actions childish. I was quite serious when I said that I will be donating money to whoever runs against Doogan and that lunatic Michele Bachman. They both need to go back to their own houses and stop ruining ours.
Hi Lita,
Thank you so much for this information. I was going to say I am surprised but really I am not. Censorship and political interference is happening everywhere, not just there.Our Freedom of Speech is being eroded, ever so gradually but it is.
Perhaps I am overeacting but George Orwell’s 1984 is still fresh in my mind.
A terrific piece Lita.
Take care
Maureen
Oh yes. Orwell’s 1984 was so on the money, just dated a little too soon.
I was so incensed when I heard about this situation that I was almost spitting at my screen as I typed. You would think that in this global economy crisis politicians everywhere would focus on the things that really matter to people as opposed to their own petty grievances. But I don’t know why I would think that politicians as a whole would act honorably.
Lita