Facism On The March

Fascism on the march: from the San Francisco Chronicle:

• Trying to censor blogger: Owner of conservative radio station KSFO demands liberal critic quit using audio clips.

KSFO is a far right-wing talk radio station; the blogger was posting clips and mailing links to advertisers asking, "do you want to support this speech?" He drew a clear distinction: he was not asking advertisers to violate the First Amendment rights of the hosts, simply raising the question of whether they wished to fund people who said such things. Of course both sides display a common ignorance: the First Amendment deals only with government action. If a radio station fires you for something you say on the air, the First Amendment has nothing to do with it, and no "right" of yours has been violated.

KSFO also displays common ignorance of the idea of "fair use." Short clips of copyrighted material, duplicated for purposes of commentary and criticism are explicitly allowed under copyright law. If I could post audio, I'd post them. Instead, I'll just point to them.

And, of course, while I'm picking on usage, let me make it clear that I am using "fascism" in the sense of "a powerful force (ABC/Disney) suppressing its opposition," not in the literal political science sense of a one-party state that consorts with oligarchic capitalists. Or, as Orwell suggested, I'm simply using it as an amped-up, more-offensive synonym for bully.