Internet Free Speech: Morons Run Amuck

By Paul Levine

We love the democracy of the Internet.

We love its free speech.

We love saying what we want on our own blogs. Or posting pithy comments on someone else's.

With newspapers (you remember those, right?), there's a problem. Readers can comment on stories right on the papers' websites. Unlike letters to the editor, there's no selection process. At least not initially. Case in point.

I'd missed the score of last Saturday night's Miami/Virginia football game, so around midnight I went on the website of The Miami Herald to learn that the winded Hurricanes had lost 48-0. Within minutes, the weasels -- cloaked in anonymity -- came crawling out of their holes. A few examples:

"The Negroes Miami recruits are lazy. That's why they suck. End of story."
Posted by: Smoke dope everyday
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"I be ebonics majer at una'diversity ob mi'ami. i thinks my daddy be benni blades, faymiss hurri'cane footzbal playa."
Posted by: Quantavian Blades
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"God doesn't like Miami because there are too many queers."
Posted by: Queer hating nation
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"[University President] Donna Shalala has destroyed UM Football. This sawed off runt has single handedly ruined what was once a powerhouse. Her hand picked affirmative action coach is a disaster. He doesn't know which end is up, but hey...he's black and that makes you look good, right Donna? Enjoy the skybox with your snobby communist friends at Dolphin Stadium."
Posted by: FRED FREEP
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"South Florida is a turd world country; Miami is Castro's toilet!"
Posted by: Che Guevara, Havana
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"Donna E. Shalala must be getting Mandingo action from Shannon. It's the only plausible explanation for keep that no talent excuse for a coach at the helm."
Posted by: J. Moss


By yesterday morning, the comments had been removed by Herald personnel. But I wonder. Is that good enough? What can (or should) be done about racist, misogynist, homophobic and other crude, rude and lewd postings? With a traditional letter to the editor, you must give your name and a phone number for verification. What about the Internet? Any thoughts?

LOS ANGELES TIMES RIGHT ON WRITERS


Here's the lead on today's column by Patrick Goldstein in the Los Angeles Times.

As the strike enters its second week with the two sides as far apart as ever, it's hard not to take the writers' side. I'm not sure I'd go as far as Paul Haggis, who called the dispute "another example of massive corporate greed." But he's on the right track. When Tom Freston was fired from Viacom in 2006 he received $60 million in severance pay, more than all of the DVD residuals paid to WGA members that year.

THE REAL STEVE SOLOMON WRITES A BOOK WITH ACTUAL FACTS

Regular readers of the Naked Scribblers know that Steve Solomon is the co-protagonist of my "Solomon vs. Lord" series of legal thrillers.

But did you know there's a real Steve Solomon who writes non-fiction, and that we've been friends since our days at Penn State? That's right. I stole a pal's name, and he hasn't sued me, even though he's a lawyer and his fictional namesake lives by a somewhat unconventional legal code: "When the law doesn't work...work the law."

Professor Stephen D. Solomon teaches at NYU and has just written "Ellery's Protest: How One Young Man Defied Tradition and Sparked the Battle over School Prayer."

It's the story of 16-year-old Ellery Schempp, who protested his high school's compulsory Bible-reading period. Schempp, a Unitarian, was tossed from class for reading from the Koran. The A.C.L.U. took up the cause, and in 1963, the Supreme Court ruled, 8-1, that requiring prayers and Bible reading in public schools was unconstitutional.

I agree with the decision but regret that it(along with Roe v. Wade a decade later) helped spark a conservative backlash that allowed right-wingers to take over the Republican party, the country, the world, and several solar systems.
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BEST MARGARET THATCHER ANECDOTE OF THE WEEK

Even if apocryphal, here's s a great anecdote from Peggy Noonan in the Wall Street Journal, and I say this even though the conservative columnist used it to pillory Hilary as a crybaby who plays the gender card:

The story as I was told it is that in the early years of her prime ministership, Margaret Thatcher held a meeting with her aides and staff, all of whom were dominated by her, even awed. When it was over she invited her cabinet chiefs to join her at dinner in a nearby restaurant. They went, arrayed themselves around the table, jockeyed for her attention. A young waiter came and asked if they'd like to hear the specials. Mrs. Thatcher said, "I will have beef."

Yes, said the waiter. "And the vegetables?"

"They will have beef too."

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BEST FRANK SINATRA ANECDOTE OF THE WEEK

This comes from "The King of Ring-a-Ding-Ding," James Kaplan's profile of songwriter Jimmy Van Heusen ("Swinging on a Star," "Come Fly with Me,") in "Movies Rock" magazine. Van Heusen and Sinatra were drinking and womanizing buddies who both lived in Palm Springs.

At 4 or 4:30 in the afternoon, Sinatra would call Jimmy up and simply turn on a blender full of ice next to the phone. Not a word was spoken; none needed to be. Margaritas were in process, the fun was starting.


Paul