Freedom Isn't Free...

...and it may cost Google more than a buck 'o five.

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The biggest buzz in the Techie News today is the $15 Million lawsuit being waged on Google by a blogger after she was outed due to a court order. Outrage abounds over the issue, yet many bloggers and commentators are applauding the issue. Proponents view it as a step in the right direction, stating this could be the beginning of the end for Cyberbullies. Opponents say that it's a violation or hindrance of The First Amendment.

A similar issue which has recently come into the news is the White House's "fishy" e-mails fiasco which happened earlier this month; it has equally garnered outrage and cries of breach of The First Amendment.

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All of this raises the question: Does this constitute a violation of The First Amendment? The answer is no.

The First Amendment - Freedom of Religion, Press, and Expression, does not promise freedom of anonymity.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

You, as an American, have the right to express yourself freely. You may do so at any time and any place. However, you do so at your own risk. Exercising and standing up for your rights takes courage and resolve. Whenever you do so, you have to know that you will more than likely be doing so alone, and you will have to go the distance. Many wars have been fought and much blood has been shed for these rights. To think that you're the one who's going to get a free pass is terminally naive.

Should Ms. Port sue Google? Absolutely. When you start a Blog on Blogger, it tells you that you can remain Anonymous, that they only use your personal information for their use, and they will never give out that information. Blogger also suggests to you that you should keep your Blogger identity anonymous as things you do and say may upset people and lead to various acts of retribution. If Google is going to give it up the minute a Judge slides his hand up their skirt, then why offer that option to begin with? It's a complete fraud.

Whether or not she has a legal leg to stand on, I have no idea; I'm not a lawyer. That being said, I hope she takes them for everything she can get. I too, write this Blog anonymously. I never really had any illusions that this would remain so forever, but the idea of a hacker finding my identity came to my mind quicker than Google actually handing me up to the sharks on a silver platter.

As for the Obama Administration and their "fishy" e-mails, the same point applies. In Senator Cornyn's letter to King Barack, he states:

I am not aware of any precedent for a President asking American citizens to report their fellow citizens to the White House for pure political speech that is deemed "fishy" or otherwise inimical to the White House's political interests.

I would refer the Senator to one of his former Alumnists, Senator Joseph McCarthy. Although his actions were not condoned by the Truman Administration, who was often a target of the Senator, both Eisenhower and Kennedy were proponents of McCarthyism. This set up a precedent for such behavior. He goes on to say:

By requesting that citizens send "fishy" emails to the White House, it is inevitable that the names, email addresses, IP addresses, and private speech of U.S. citizens will be reported to the White House. You should not be surprised that these actions taken by your White House staff raise the specter of a data collection program. As Congress debates health care reform and other critical policy matters, citizen engagement must not be chilled by fear of government monitoring the exercise of free speech rights.

Once again, you have to be naive to think that you can stand up and oppose the U.S. Government via a public forum or media and maintain anonymity. When you let your voice be heard, you are giving away your position. You're saying, "Hey, everybody. I'm here! Look at me!"

We all like to think that our elected officials have some character and moral compass, especially the one who sits at the top, but this is seldom the case. The turmoil which is encompassing this nation right now is largely due to the corruption and greed of the elected officials who presently hold office. It's so bad that the only way to tell them apart is when they tell us if they are Republican or Democrat, Conservative or Liberal, Right or Left.

There are too many people screaming about First Amendment violations, and they're doing so to the detriment of the very right they're invoking. Although government and judicial retaliation for expressing yourself is reprehensible, the freedom to express yourself does not give you the freedom to be a coward. If you are going to stand up for yourself and express your opinions and beliefs, then you'd better be willing to take the punches.