Free Speech in New England

A local blogger in Maine is being sued by that state's tourism office for posting advertising he pulled from the state website. Apparently the ad had an incorrect phone number that went to a phone sex line. Embarassing, perhaps, but enough to prompt a $1 million dollar lawsuit that seems likely to be thrown out for violating the First Amendment?

I think not.

There's a long tradition of free speech in New England, going back to the Revolutionary Era, though perhaps not much further, given the Puritan nature of the first settlers. I'm not going to style Lance Dutson the next Tom Paine, but he deserves the blogosphere's full support, and, given the excellence of attorneys he had retained, think he will find the law is on his side as well.

Sometimes, you just have to be there.

Michael Yon has consistently written thoughtful pieces, accompanied by extraordinary photojournalism, from the front lines in Iraq. I write "front lines" because it's hard, from here, to imagine where the lines, back or front, begin or end in such a conflict.

That being said, here's an incredible piece from his blog. The nod goes to the Belgravia Dispatch for the link.

New Beginnings

As my last blog needs to be left behind, for a number of reasons, here begins my newest effort. Necessarily, it will be an adjunct to the blog I maintain for work, but I still want an outlet for my own opinions.

This is only a place holder for more to come, so hold on. This could get interesting.