The article is here, if you haven't read it.
So we're the news today. Let's talk about it.
Here's what happened. On several occasions in the past, a poster posting under the name "Harry Reid" and another posting as "Barak [sic] Obama" have left weird, pro-Lieberman messages, and have responded to posts questioning their identity. They appeared to be a strange sort of ineffectual satire, and no one appeared to be taking them seriously. I decided to let them be, as they were neither grossly offensive nor slanderous.
But now an investigation has been opened into these comments to see whether or not someone in the Lieberman campaign posted those messages in an attempt to give the senator some kind of boost. If this is the case, they need to find a more productive use for their time.
But that does raise some questions. Who posted the comments? Does it matter, if it wasn't someone in either campaign? Should the FBI be involved? Where does satire stop (if indeed satire it was) and violation of campaign law begin? Am I, as administrator of this site (I don't own it--Blogger does) responsible in any way, if a violation has in fact occurred? Is Blogger? Will this site exist tomorrow?
Not easy questions. I can't even begin to think about the political effects of this. So there you are. I still haven't heard from the FBI (although I probably wouldn't be allowed to tell you if I had). We'll see what happens next.
23 comments:
It's worth posting this from the Blogger terms of service:
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The Service makes use of the Internet to send and receive certain messages; therefore, Member's conduct is subject to Internet regulations, policies and procedures. Member will not use the Service for chain letters, junk mail, spamming or any use of distribution lists to any person who has not given specific permission to be included in such a process.
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I think perhaps a belated policy is in order: no using the names of political figures as your handle.
Of course, what about actual political figures who post here, like Paul Vance?
Can we reliably tell the difference?
No, I have access to neither the IP addresses of posters nor their email addresses. Blogger has all that information, but I don't.
You can pull anyone's IP address up at the site meter and it's fairly easy to do.
I'll take you by the hand:
1. Find out when the person posted the comment(s) in question.
2. Go to Site Meter and do a cross check based on the times when the comments were posted. For instance, lets say Harry posted a comment of May 9 at 6pm, May 11 at 7pm and May 12th at 9pm. By looking at Site Meter, you'll probably be able to isolate an IP address around those times (I'd look back about a half an hour as most people don't post a comment as soon as they go to a site).
Also, this is why Haloscan is such an important program to use with your blog. Haloscan gives me the IP address of every person who has posted a comment on my blog which would be very handly in this case.
I'm going to take TrueBlueCT times he said Harry posted a comment and see if I can track Harry's IP down. It shouldn't be hard since I have to do this type of stuff on my blog when I need to ban someone.
3. Eventually, by sniffing through the IP addresses, you'll be able to figure out the IP address of Harry.
I forgot, free site meter only gives you the last 100 people (recent visitors). I would find out if you can go through your further back by being a site meter paid subscriber.
In any case, blogger should have the IP information also and I'm sure they will give it to you.
I must say that I am a little stunned by all of this.
First, did anyone seriously believe that two Senators would be spending so much time on a blog about local politics in Connecticut. I mean, really. I realize that many in the blog-world use pseudonyms, and I'm sure that just about everyone else does as well.
Next, suppose it was a staffer of Lieberman. So what? I think the only "problem" with that is if the staffer were accessing this blog from the Senate, as those computers are really supposed to be used for business purposes only.
But I don't think anyone really believed that this was Harry Reid or Joe Lieberman, and I can't believe that 1) people would complain and 2) the FBI would investigate this.
Are campaign staffs not allowed to contribute to blogs without identifying themselves? Has campaign finance reform gone so far that this type of forum is illegal for them to participate in? That seems rather absurd.
TrueBlueCT -
CNTRL-ALT-PRNT SCRN then go to word and CNTRL-V
Hey Rubenstein, just for the record: I don't hate any lawyers. Most of the one's I know are perfectly capable of making proper distinctions between attempts at satire and mendacious behavior -- because they have senses of humor. Do you really believe that "Harry Reid's" remarks are capable of convincing otherwise intelligent Democrat delegates committed to Lamont that they should switch their vote to Lieberman? How many delegates at the convention told you that they switched their votes because they were fooled by “Harry Reid?” I don’t need their names; a total number will do fine. Apparently in the post you responded to, my writing was not banal enough for you; banality does not cause such explosions.
I thought this thread was satirical in nature at first glance. Is this how the FBI keeps us safe, by investigating some silly post by someone who was obviously not Senator Harry Reid.
truebluect said: Anyway, can you imagine if I registered as Michael Rell, and then started posting the racist jokes that Young Republicans tell in private? Awful, awful, awful.
Let me let you in on a little secret:
Real Republicans simply don't make racist jokes. PERIOD
The Republican Party is no place a bigot should even feel safe from physical harm. We should all revere the actions of Connecticut native, Abolishionist John Brown.
-ACR
My name and # is in the phone book, if someone is posting something funny or poignant under my name, it is me. If it is obnoxious or rude, it is someone else. :)
truebluect said: "how I wish nationally the GOP had the strong character of so many New England Republicans."
Naaah; you just don't know enough Republicans and you may tend to take what you see on TV seriously. (please don't do that; just remember - TV's for entertainment!)
The so called Republicans that embarrass the other 99% of us always get lots of airtime, no question about it.
-ACR
The FBI has nothing better to do other than investigate posts on a blog?
The Architect nailed it.
I mean COME ON! The f-in FBI going after a poster on this blog.
Hey, here's an idea. I hear there's a person who put anthrax in the mail a few years back...can the feds spend their time going after that guy instead of wasting my tax dollars doing silly stuff.
Ugh! Makes me wanna holla like Marivn Gaye.
Hey Rubenstein. Just a few questions. Why don't you take a couple of deep breaths and stop behaving like a bully in the schoolyard? Nobody is afraid of your banal suits. Are people on this site supposed to quail and duck under the covers evey time you mention slander? Have you ever heard the expression: If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen? Do you think a blogger who rats out another blogger to the FBI might possibly have a chilling effect on Blogdom USA? Is the Daily Kos feeling the chill?Sheesh!!!
wow, i thought most of us in connecticut were civilized. i guess i thought wrong.
Hey Rubenstein. You write, "You and i both know that no one will ever know how many folks were convinced to vote for Senator Lieberman due to the postings."
Sure, sure. But YOU know -- I don't -- how many delegates to the Democrat convention told you they were switching their votes from Lamont to Lieberman because they had seen "Harry Reid's" parody on the Connecticut Local Politics site and were fooled into thinking that the fake "Harry Reid" was the real thing. So, why don't you give us a number? Was it one person, more than one? A non-banal answer would be much appeciated.
As usual, my thoughts on this are fairly verbous, so instead of cluttering up things here, I've put my thoughts on my own blog.
Like Paul Vance and Dave Mooney, I am posting under my own name and you can call me up and talk about my blog posts.
If anyone should have complained to the FBI, it should have been GC. The funniest part in the article is when GC said he had heard nothing about the investigation. Why don't you take the stick out of your ass, Rubenstein?
I thought Republicans were Law and Order people,LOL.
If the FBI finds out this was a Lieberman staffer I'm going to enjoy the 5lb lobster Liebermans money is going to buy at the Party Bruce will throw with the settlement money he gets.
I've got my suspicions who did this.I think it was a regular poster here.
Whomever it was would be smart to admit it,apologize and MoveOn but Cowards never do the right thing.
Well, at least I can live with the knowledge that you can't phrase your remarks any better Rubenstein.... complaining about me making what you call a "personal attack" by personally attacking me. Laughable.
Hey Rubenstein. There are no last words. Good show Bluper: You've provided a nearly perfect example of satire. Here's a suggestion: Who needs lawyers to tell us what satire is. Let a satirist come forward, examine all "Harry Reid's" posts and tell us whether it's satire or not. In the meantime, Rubenstein can call off the FBI hounds, and the satirist's judgement will be final. I'll trust a saterist to an FBI agent anyday. Any nominations?
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