PamRotella.com

Internet "Protection" (CIPA) filtering out political criticism
[Posted 22 November 2005]

I was checking e-mail from a library today, and surprisingly finished the non-spam correspondence with time to spare. I started to cruise the internet, and decided to check the latest political humor on PresidentMoron.com. PresidentMoron is political satire, and it isn't even updated all that often. But as soon as I punched the site up, I received a message that the site had been blocked because it was "adult political humor." Off to the side of the computer terminal, there was a notice that seemed to be saying that kids couldn't access sites like Playboy from the library's computers. Here's what the little yellow cardboard notice says:

"Web Filtering installed on this Computer"
"To comply with the Federal Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) of 2003, this computer has Web Filtering installed.

"Every requested website is checked against millions of categorized websites through iPrism, an Internet access management tool to help enforce the library's Internet Acceptable Usage Policy.

"iPrism categories are updated daily to block hostile environments including pornography, hate speech, and violent web sites.

"If adult patrons feel that sites have been blocked in error, they can request that the library staff turn off filtering on this particular computer. Patrons must still complly with the local library's Internet policies. Parents should not assume that every offensive site will be blocked and should carefully monitor their children's Internet usage in the library.

"More information on CIPA can be found online at www.ala.org/cipa."


Why am I not surprised that CIPA is being used as a way of blocking political free speech? It seems logical, when you consider that the Bush Republicans passed the "Help America Vote" act, stipulating that America must switch over to the same computerized voting machines proven as the culprit in several stolen elections, including the Presidency. So now they're "helping" parents protect their kids from web sites -- including the ones criticizing their dirty political dealings, of course.

I'm sure the act wasn't sold to parents as blocking humor critical of our President and his Congressional lackeys. And who doesn't joke about George W. Bush, the most dishonest and intellectually impaired President ever? But now web sites are blocked without consulting parents or anyone outside of the software company providing the blocking software. Do parents and kids really need that kind of "help?" Shouldn't they be able to make their own decisions on what to block, and whether to block at all? Isn't that a core American value, freedom of speech? Without Uncle Sam butting in to tell us what we can and cannot read?

And then there's the reality of what children use computers for. When I've had to use libraries to check e-mails (when internet cafes aren't available), all I've seen kids doing on library computers is playing games. They slow down the connection for everyone, make a lot of noise, and mess up the machines pretty badly. Their parents aren't around at all, so obviously most don't care what their children are doing -- they don't even bother to show up. I'm sure they must know that their kids are only interested in games. If any child is honestly interested in PresidentMoron.com, I can assure you, the kid is a GENIUS compared to most children on library terminals. Let that kid read about politics! He or she is obviously destined for college and beyond. So it seems pretty obvious that the blocking software isn't meant for children -- they're not the ones interested in politics. It's meant to make reading dissent as difficult as possible for the adult patrons.

And speaking of protecting children, most of the computer games I hear at libraries sound pretty violent, since just about every loud gang of kids playing them is talking about "killing" this or "wasting" that. OK, I just asked the little blonde boy next to me what he uses the library computers for. He just sat down, so it's not like I could pre-select him. He said codes for GAMES. There ya go. His parents aren't around either.

And here's another kicker -- when the librarian looked up the user ID and password to turn off the filtering for me (obviously the request didn't happen a lot), she said it would only turn that particular site on for ONE HOUR. Yes, don't get too comfortable reading PresidentMoron.com. The Republicans in Congress don't like you reading criticism of their regime.

Well, I'll help you get the scoop on what you're missing. Here's the quote of the day from PresidentMoron.com.

The article starts out with a photo of Dick Cheney with his usual mean Popeye expression (I won't bother you with the photo here, for fear of driving readers away with his ugliness), with the caption "Shut up, or I will 'Swift-Boat' you so fast, your head will spin!"

Then it continues:
WASHINGTON, DC - As The MORONARCHY falters in the conduct of its immoral, illegal invasion and occupation of the foreign sovereign nation of Iraq, more and more Americans are coming out from under the ether. THE DICK doesn't like that! As US Representative John Murtha of Pennsylvania -- who served thirty-seven years in the Marines (rather than take five deferments to dodge the draft), earned two Purple Hearts and a Congressional Bronze Star and has been an absolute champion of veteran's affairs -- called for the redeployment of troops from Iraq, he was immediately trashed by the Banana Republicans. Representative "Mean Jean" Schmidt of Ohio -- who has never served in uniform, and has been a Congresswoman for a whopping two and a half months -- called him a COWARD on the Floor of the United States House of Representatives; spineless MORONARCHY Press Secretary Scott "Ongoing Investigation" McLellan issued a press release defaming him by comparing him to Michael Moore (we should all be so stingingly insulted!); and THE DICK said questioning the lies he told to start this war of choice for his own personal gain was (get this) "revisionism of the most corrupt and shameless variety." When THE DICK said this, he was not at a comedy roast, and he was not speaking into a mirror; he actually expected his audience to apply that description to someone other than himself! He then went on to promise that the smear campaign he would launch against anyone who questioned him would make his CIA torture games feel like a cake-walk. The MORONARCHY is collapsing. And as usual, there is only negative output; they cannot win the war, they cannot convince the American people that they have a plan, they have run out of people to blame (except for Bill Clinton, of course), and they have nothing truthful to say, so they have resorted to the one and only thing they do well: the politics of personal destruction. One by one, as each public figure dares to come to the reasonable conclusion that The MORONARCHY lied, he or she can expect to have his or her patriotism questioned; can expect to have the basest, most disgusting, falsehoods about him or her whispered by "unnamed sources" to media dupes; and can expect that the smokescreen created by those falsehoods will completely obscure his or her message. Character Assassination: it's what they do."


So that's what Big Brother didn't want you to see. Don't want those kids thinking too much, after all, or adults either. They might start questioning lies we were told about the Iraq War, or take an interest in what John Murtha has to say.

Dick Cheney's recent outbursts, covered by the above article, are being discussed all over the media, seen largely as nothing more than a smear campaign against a decorated veteran, Representative John Murtha. That's obvious to anyone paying attention to the news lately, so why do sites discussing it have to be blocked?

Years ago, before Bush & Cheney started the war, wasn't the alternative press already aware the war was based entirely on lies? That it was nothing more than a ploy for stealing oil and winning no-bid contracts for Haliburton? Of course we did -- I was reading that stuff myself, putting some of it on my web site. If there's any VALID criticism of Democrats (or Murtha), it's that most were too spineless to say so until the opinion polls showed most Americans had tired of the war. Most Democrats were willing to go along with the war to keep their jobs, not thinking of the thousands of people who would be killed because they were too timid to tell the truth and question the war/lies. That's a big problem, and Democrats need to address it. It's time to start being the opposition instead of a poll-studying pushover party, and this is a big part of why Howard Dean was so popular in the Democratic primaries. Republicans use the media to manipulate public opinion, mostly through lies, and someone has to counter that with observations on the dishonesty, telling people that they're being misled for the purpose of corporate profits. It shouldn't take an opinion poll to start that kind of honest discourse.

But of course Dick Cheney isn't talking about THAT -- he's just engaging in more lies or "spin" as they call lies these days, saying that it's "irresponsible" to challenge the war. But people can finally see through him. Basically, the desperate Bush regime is trying to hold onto its illegal oil revenue a little longer. They're finally aware that Iraq can't be kept by America, that we don't have the staying power -- another thing published widely in the alternative press BEFORE the war. So they're just trying to hold off dissent a little longer, make a few more profits before it all collapses. They were only in it for the money from the outset, after all. And the money is the only reason they want to stay. Now, you don't want your kids reading THAT, do you? Even though according to opinion polls, you now most likely believe it yourself...

(Will that kid sitting next to me turn the volume on his game down? Where are his parents, anyway?)




UPDATE: 23 December (Wednesday) I returned to the same library today to check e-mail again (am expecting an important one), and decided to try a few more political sites. Check it out -- there's no bad language in most of these sites, and some are just plain mild. But there's one thing in common -- they're all critical of the Bush regime. So, is CIPA really to block porn from kiddies, or is it the start of a process to crush political dissent? After all, after a few years of CIPA, they'll have legal precedent to determine what can and can't be seen on all of the internet, not just library terminals. The erosion of free speech continues. And guess which sites will be blocked? Not Rush Limbaugh's. You can get his hatespeech site at this library. But the following sites on the other side of the political aisle of course CAN'T be seen. I did talk to the library's director today, by the way, and she has promised to talk to the software company about unblocking political sites. I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, check out how CIPA is being used to block political dissent:

The requested page is currently unavailable
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Your organization has chosen to limit viewing of this site (http://www.presidentmoron.com/), due to the rating of its content (mature humor,politics).

If you feel that you have received this page in error, please contact:
Your System Administrator


The requested page is currently unavailable
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Your organization has chosen to limit viewing of this site (http://www.toostupidtobepresident.com/), due to the rating of its content (tasteless).

If you feel that you have received this page in error, please contact:
Your System Administrator


The requested page is currently unavailable
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Your organization has chosen to limit viewing of this site (http://www.bettybowers.com/), due to the rating of its content (intolerance/extremism).

If you feel that you have received this page in error, please contact:
Your System Administrator


The requested page is currently unavailable
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Your organization has chosen to limit viewing of this site (http://www.whitehouse.org/), due to the rating of its content (adult,mature humor).

If you feel that you have received this page in error, please contact:
Your System Administrator


The requested page is currently unavailable
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your organization has chosen to limit viewing of this site (http://www.comedyzine.com/), due to the rating of its content (adult).

If you feel that you have received this page in error, please contact:
Your System Administrator


The requested page is currently unavailable
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Your organization has chosen to limit viewing of this site (http://beanmag.com/), due to the rating of its content (mature humor).

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Your System Administrator


The requested page is currently unavailable
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Your organization has chosen to limit viewing of this site (http://www.homestead.com/prosites-prs/), due to the rating of its content (adult,politics).*
*Note from Pam: Strangely enough, right-wingnut looney Michael Savage doesn't have a web site called MichaelSavage.com, but instead has the above link as his home page. Despite his obviously half-baked ramblings, I still don't think his right-wingnutjob views should be blocked from the public.

If you feel that you have received this page in error, please contact:
Your System Administrator


The requested page is currently unavailable
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Your organization has chosen to limit viewing of this site (http://allhatnocattle.com/), due to the rating of its content (mature humor,politics).

If you feel that you have received this page in error, please contact:
Your System Administrator



Readers are welcome to write in with more political and/or humor sites they've found are blocked. If possible, cut and paste the network blocking message into your e-mail, and send it to comments@pamrotella.com. Try to find out the name of the software which is blocking the site. I'll post the messages here, and double-check the libraries in my area to see if the same sites are blocked here.

Here's a link someone sent me on the issue, which quotes part of the Supreme Court decision allowing filtering at libraries:
Internet & First Amendment; Filtering


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