I first blogged about it here (So isn’t this an ‘election advertising’ web site too?) on April 15, and here (Off to the government offices!) on April 18.
I’ve already gotten into trouble with a web site I threw up one day (I was too busy really, and ran out of time to actually do anything with it, but it’s there). It is a site in opposition to the BC NDP leader Carole James. (By the way, DON’T VOTE NDP in BC on May 17, THE NDP ARE THE WORST CHOICE!)
The web site is called CaroleJamesSaid.ca which, if I’d had time, would have been a bunch of ill-spoken quotes she’s made (there’s some there now, just not many). It also has a forum where people could have submitted their own reasons for NOT VOTING FOR THE NDP which they most assuredly should not.
I was immediately hit with an official notice from our benevolent government bureaucracy telling me under no uncertain terms that I must duly register myself with the benevolent government authorities located at government offices throughout the land and then post on that site certain official verbiage indicating who I am, who I represent, and making my address and phone number available. (They aren’t terribly concerned about the “family being harassed” factor, nor the “letter bomb” factor, apparently, nor even basic privacy and freedom of speech).
So I went out and rented a postal mail box so letter bombs—and big labour union moonbats and teachers and pierced-nipple-people and the like wouldn’t arrive here with truckloads of manure as they did one day at our premier’s house (…but I did the unusual for me: instead of going to the local free enterprise Mailboxes Etc outlet as I normally would, I made sure my new postal box was rented at a state-run Government of Canada/CanadaPost/Postale Royale Du Canada Postal government outlet of benevolence, which was the only thing that gave me joy and a little snicker that day).
I did as I was instructed by the government authorities and filled out forms and posted the appropriate verbiage on the evil anti-socialist web site and also spoke on the phone at length with one government bureaucrat who phoned me to say I’d done it all wrong (I’d failed to name all the people who are on my official “Proud To Be Canadians” people’s assemblage which I just started for that purpose as I thought I had to do as per official government instruction) and so I must henceforth make official corrections, which I did, over the phone, for which I was to get a faxed copy of the changes, which I never did. I simply changed my people’s assemblage called “Proud To Be Canadians” to “Joel Johannesen”, thus avoiding having to name the official cadre of people who run my brain.
While I had the young tired-sounding lad on the horn I took the time to mention the fact that I also operate ProudToBeCanadian.ca, which he immediately surfed to while we were on the phone, and then I heard a lot of “huh… hmmm… well… I see…” (and so on); and that I operate others too at which I not only tell people to not vote for the NDP (WHICH THEY MOST DEFINITELY SHOULD NOT!), but I ensure that that’s the type of sentiment that all any of the several columnists here espouse too, and that I only have columnists who are anti-socialist and pro the right-wing candidates and who all urge voters to vote against people like Carole James, and some, like me, who advocate in the strongest possible terms that people should VOTE AGAINST CAROLE JAMES in particular, in this or any election.
I tried to impress upon the bureaucrat that we only advocate the conservative viewpoint here and the same over at our sister site, ConservativeGroundswell.com too. So, I said, if CaroleJamesSaid.ca was in violation of the election Act, so was this site and by extension all blogger sites, and that he’d better put a few suggestions in the staff suggestion box at the government office at which he toils daily for The People. He was notably unmoved and confused. He indicated he would have to clear his brain, ask his superiors about it all, and then he said he’d get back to me, which he never did. This was weeks ago, and the election is 4 days from now.
I blogged about it here (So isn’t this an ‘election advertising’ web site too?) on April 15, and here (Off to the government offices!) on April 18.
Now I read this:
Blogs are advertising: Elections B.C.
Last updated May 12 2005 11:29 AM PDT
CBC NewsVANCOUVER — Elections B.C. is having a hard time keeping up with a boom of bloggers who are publishing partisan messages during the current election campaign.
They’re supposed to register themselves as advertising sponsors if they post a partisan position on a candidate, party, or referendum question.
“Under the Election Act, it will fall within the definition of election advertising, and we would ask them to register,” says Jennifer Miller, of Elections B.C.
LINK: Elections B.C. — Advertising Sponsors
Miller says the volume of sites is overwhelming, and doesn’t rule out asking for a change to the Election Act.
“If we feel certain parts of the act can be amended to make it more effective and efficient, we will definitely make that recommendation,” she says.
INDEPTH: B.C. Votes 2005
That’s not sitting well with bloggers like Mike Culpepper of Nelson, whose website advocates the “no” side of the referendum on the single transferable vote.
He says Elections B.C.‘s definition of blogs as advertising is akin to calling a letter to the editor advertising.
And he says that going after bloggers sends a chill over the right to free speech. “If you start looking on each person as an advertiser, then you begin to suppress political debate.”
In the meantime, Culpepper says other bloggers who have asked Elections B.C. for guidelines are being told to register as advertisers — so he’s decided not to ask.
UPDATE 8:01 AM: Also see this web site—hurry though! It’s under investigation by the benevolent government authorities! http://www.ndppolicybook.com/. It has a hilarious and extremely well-made movie clip advising people to NOT VOTE FOR THE CRAPPY NDP! Also read this Vancouver Sun story about this site.
PTBC was founded by Mr. Johannesen in 2000.
Contact Mr. Johannesen about this article using this form. Please refer to article's title.
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