Dr. Samuel Johnson, the great British man of letters and compiler of the first English language dictionary, once had occasion to remark on the protests in the American colonies against taxation without representation.

“Why is it,” Dr. Johnson wondered, “We hear the loudest yelps for freedom from the drivers of Negro slaves?”

Superhawk circa 2005 wonders “Why is it we hear the loudest yelps for free speech from the ones who wish most to regulate it?”

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors have been famous for their lenient attitude toward all kinds of free “speech” including nude dancing, sexually oriented “performance art”, gay bath houses, adult bookstores, massage parlors, and any number of pornographic and prurient outlets for their extremely broad interpretation of the First Amendment.

But when it comes to blogs, the Board has developed a case of blue nosed puritanism:

Just when you thought the Federal Election Commission had it out for the blogosphere, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors took it up a notch and announced yesterday that it will soon vote on a city ordinance that would require local bloggers to register with the city Ethics Commission and report all blog-related costs that exceed $1,000 in the aggregate.

Blogs that mention candidates for local office that receive more than 500 hits will be forced to pay a registration fee and will be subject to website traffic audits, according to Chad Jacobs, a San Francisco City Attorney.

Maybe if bloggers were to lobby for an exemption if they post in the nude…

I suppose the crackdown on blogs had to start somewhere and I find it extremely significant that it’s happening in San Francisco. The fact that the good liberals on the Board of Supervisors think nothing of regulating the free flow of information proves that no bloggers are safe anywhere. The representatives of the nanny state believe we mere children are incapable of differentiating between fact and opinion. Plus, there’s just too much information out there for the average voter to read and digest.

I have no doubt that this ridiculousness will be repeated nationwide by both liberals and conservatives as a way to both intimidate and ride herd on the new media.

Perhaps the way to approach this is for thousands of bloggers outside of San Francisco to post like mad on the city’s primaries and elections. Then send emails to the Board of Supervisors with links to your post telling them if they want their goddamn registration fee they can come and get it!

The email address for the Board can be found in the link above.

Cross-Posted at Blogger News Network

UPDATE:

At the moment, it’s unclear whether this new regulation would apply to all bloggers or just those that accept money from a candidate to promote their campaign. The statement (not quoted) by the City Attorney would seem to indicate otherwise. I’m sure we’ll hear something on this later today at which time any clarifications will be posted here.

UPDATE II:

Bil Quick is also blogging the story and has this to say in a comment about whether or not the law targets all bloggers:

Unfortunately, as we have learned too many times to our dismay, it doesn’t matter what the intent of the law is. It matters what the law permits. And if it permits regulation of blogs, whether that was the intention or not, sooner or later, that’s what we’ll get.

I’ve been observing government for going on 30 years and I have to agree with Bill. If someone wishes to use this law to regulate bloggers in the manner outlined in the post, it won’t be that difficult to do. This is why our Founding Fathers were so adamant about Congress making no law to restrict free speech. Those guys had been in and around government most of their lives and they knew full well what people were capable of.

For a different take, there’s more here and here.

I find it interesting (or perhaps just a coincidence in this case) that those pooh-poohing the idea of blanket blog regulation in this case are liberals. Just as the Democratic appointees to the FEC did when Commissioner Smith came out with his warning (which later turned out to be absolutely true).

Do I detect a trend here?

UPDATE III

Like any decent capitalist, Ace is trying to make a buck off this attack on our constitutional rights:

Take a stand against The Man and buy a t-shirt.

You guys don’t… like tyranny, now do you?

Jeez…What do you think he would have done during the revolution?

Hey! Get your George Washington Tee-Shirts here! Guaranteed worn only once by the General hisself! Get your GW tees right here…!

Other views and updates:

LGF brings out the irony of the birthplace of the free speech movement now regulating it.

Polipundit urges action.

Bill at INDC thinks it’s “wacky overreach.” That just about sums it up.