The Earth is Flat Award
A celebration of the inane, insipid and asinine...
web posted July 22, 2002
Remember
those halcyon years of the World Wide Web just ten years ago? We were
promised unlimited information that was free of censorship. No government,
the prevailing mantra went, would be able to stop the free dissemination
of ideas. Of course, when you've got Yahoo! who needs the government?
A spokeswoman for the Internet Society of China reported last week that more than 300 companies, including Yahoo!, had signed a voluntary pledge to purge the Web of content that China's communist government deems subversive.
While some of the pledge agenda is appropriate -- promotion of Internet use, prevention of cyber crime, fostering healthy industry competition, avoiding intellectual property violations -- others are less so.
Those who sign the pledge must refrain from "producing, posting or disseminating pernicious information that may jeopardize state security and disrupt social stability." The prohibition also covers information that breaks laws and spreads "superstition and obscenity." Members must remove material deemed offensive or face expulsion from the "Public Pledge on Self-discipline for China Internet Industry". Signers also pledge to monitor content of foreign-based Web sites and block those containing unspecified harmful information.
In the end the Internet's famed ability to route itself around censorship proved to be less than touted. By taking on the role of censor, Yahoo! essentially absolves the Chinest government blame for any attacks on Internet freedom for Chinese web surfers, making no it different from the government. By the way, "Enter Stage Right" can't be found on Yahoo! China or in its supplementary search.
There is an old Serbian proverb that says vinegar in freedom tastes better than honey in slavery. This award is meant for events and people Enter Stage Right considers to be positive.
web posted July 22, 2002
Since
we likely won't have long before James Traficant is expelled from the
U.S. House of Representatives, we here at Enter Stage Right would
like to take the time to grace the Ohio Democrat with an honorary Vinegar
in Freedom Award for services rendered to his nation.
Like Paul Weyrich mentions in his essay this week, we don't know if Traficant is being punished for his outspoken brand of politics. Being convicted of bribery, racketeering and tax evasion seems to suggest that the man was guilty of the ethics violations that he was accused of and yet this wouldn't be the first time someone was persecuted for attacking the established order.
That said, Traficant was a rare bird in politics. He said it like he saw it, something that earned him some measure of fame for his "one minute speeches," ones always contained a near exasperated "Beam me up!"
For example, addressing the Federal Aviation Agency's proclivity to mailing pilots licenses to people in Iraq Traficant stated:
Mr. Speaker, while Congress continues to pass airline security measures, pilot licenses are flying to foreign countries faster than bin Laden's been running.
Unbelievable, but check this out. My investigation shows the FAA regularly sends pilot licenses in the mail to places like Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Libya and Pakistan. Now, if that is not enough to drench some fire hydrant, these licenses are being sent to post office boxes, no less. Beam me up. I am asking that the GAO investigate this madness.
I yield back the fact that the FAA may have supplied bin Laden with an air force legally certified to attack America.
Or on China's alleged double dealing:
Mr. Speaker, reports say that China is two-timing Uncle Sam big time. With one hand China slaps Uncle Sam on the back and wishes us well in Afghanistan. With the other hand China sells missiles and weapons to Iran and Iraq and continues to funnel support under the table to the Taliban. Bottom line, China continues to aid and abet our enemies.
Beam me up.
I yield back the fact that the Taliban are a fly on our face, but China is a dragon eating our assets. Think about that.
Or a Clinton era slap against trading with China:
Mr. Speaker, America's trade deficit for September hit $35 billion for one month, $35 billion. America is heading for a $420 billion, 1-year trade deficit.
Unbelievable. If this continues, America will have a crash that will make 1929 look like a fender-bender.
What is even worse, China is now taking $100 billion of cash out of our economy, buying missiles, and pointing them at us.
Beam us up, all of us.
We must be stupid. Ronald Reagan almost destroyed Communism, and the Clinton administration has reinvented it, is now subsidizing it, and is now stabilizing it.
I yield back any common sense left and any patriotism left in this Congress.
Of course, we could sit here all day and quote Traficant's one minute speeches but you can read them for yourself at his web site while they are still up. Traficant's contributions to American politics are more important than impassioned speeches. He was a politician with a rigid belief system, something that earned him the enmity of Republicans and Democrats alike. While he wasn't always right, Traficant at least had the guts to fly the flag of his convictions without embarrassment, something that few politicians seem capable of today. That's why he was so popular among his constituents and many watchers of the political scene. You knew when James Traficant opened his mouth you were going to hear something entertaining and heartfelt.
Good luck James.
Have someone you want considered for the Earth is Flat Award or the Vinegar in Freedom Award? E-mail ESR with your candidates!
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