Anonymity: a shame-free zone where Internet bloggers can inflict shame on others?

Stanley Fish, a professor of humanities and law at Florida International University in Miami, writes for the NY Times on education, law and society. I’ve been reading Fish’s column for several years.

Fish has long been a standard bearer for civility, even on the Internet, and he was one of the few members of the media to consistently protest the vulgar sexism and misogyny so prevalent in the 2008 Democratic primary that targeted Hillary Clinton. He also defended Sarah Palin against similar attacks in the general election.

In today’s column, Fish discusses the abuse of free speech by too many anonymous Internet bloggers. He writes:

The practice of withholding the identity of the speaker is strategic, and one purpose of the strategy (this is the second problem with anonymity) is to avoid responsibility and accountability for what one is saying. Anonymity, Martha Nussbaum, a professor of law and philosophy at the University of Chicago observes, allows Internet bloggers “to create for themselves a shame-free zone in which they can inflict shame on others.” The power of the bloggers, she continues, “depends on their ability to insulate their Internet selves from responsibility in the real world, while ensuring real-world consequences” for those they injure.

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Insurgency in the Obama Camp: Our Way or the Highway

Obama's massive computer savvy following turns out in Oregon. Photo credits: AP

Hordes of Obamaphiles have swarmed the Internet since day one of the Democratic primary, migrating by the thousands 24/7 to and from message boards on the extreme left at the Huffington Post and the Daily Kos to the more balanced MSM sites such as the Washington Post and New York Times. The voices of Clinton supporters have been frequently overwhelmed or driven completely off message boards, e.g., over at the Daily Kos.

Readers’ comments left by Obamaphiles have typically been aggressive, crude, and frequently sexist in attacks on Obama's leading opponent in the Democratic primary, Hillary Clinton. At the same time, these technologically literate, but usually grammatically illiterate, participants in the democratic process have browbeaten anyone for daring to criticize Obama, twisting even the most innocuous remark into a racist barb.

The power of Obama’s minions has not been limited to the Internet, however. They’ve shown up in force at the Pied Piper’s rallies to participate in his call and response speeches delivered in the familiar cadence and style of evangelical preachers.

God help the news outlet perceived by Obamaphiles to have mistreated their idol. Recall the debate between Obama and Clinton hosted by ABC in Philadelphia last April. Moderators Stephanopoulos and Gibson audaciously questioned Obama in the style Clinton alone had been subjected to in previous debates. In other words, they asked Obama some hard questions that threw him off his game.

The pushback was predictable: Obamaphiles pummeled the ABC network with thousands of emails protesting the mistreatment of their not-to-be criticized under any circumstances candidate. And if I remember correctly, the moderators were coerced into issuing an apology.

I mention all of the above as a preface to a recent development in which Obama’s followers are feeling mistreated by the Democratic party's presumptive nominee who, ever since his coronation, first announced by the late Tim Russert and eagerly confirmed by the party elite, has been rapidly abandoning his left-wing principles and dashing toward the center in a demonstration of political opportunism that competes with Romney’s makeover in advance of the GOP primary.

Bob Ostertag at Huffpo is reporting that it’s Reality Time at MyBarackObama.Com. It seems Obama’s technologically advanced followers are rebelling at his social networking site and launching a powerful insurgency against their leader’s recent decision to support legislation granting legal immunity to telecommunications companies that cooperated with the Bush administration's program of wiretapping without warrants.

Ostertag posted yesterday at 5:15 p.m.; at that time over 12,000 Obamaphiles had joined the protest movement called "Senator Obama -- Please, No Telecom Immunity and Get FISA Right."

Obamaphiles have the power of sheer numbers on their side. It’s worrisome to read threats by left-wing leaders to do whatever it takes to win the election for Obama in November and post inauguration, hold his feet to the fire if he dares deviate from the favored positions of the far left.

In sum, here’s what the Democratic party elite and its media allies have wrought: If Obama is elected president, the nation is in danger of being ruled by an anarchy of thousands of blatantly sexist, but otherwise extreme left-wing, computer savvy supporters who have no patience for negotiation or compromise. It’s their way or the highway, and where have we heard that one before?

As I’ve remarked previously, the extreme left and the extreme right are mirror images; either way, democracy is imperiled.

To help keep the Democratic party democratic and ensure that Hillary Clinton's name is on the ballot at the convention in August, go to the Denver Group.

Coming Soon: a Data-Flooded Internet

Chris Gaylord writes in today's Christian Science Monitor:

More and more, Americans are treating their PC as a second TV. Few are ready to place a couch in front of their monitors, but millions are plopping down in front of Internet services such as YouTube, Joost, and television network websites to watch online shows and movies.

Streaming video will surge from 7.3 percent of all US consumer Internet traffic in 2006 to almost 33 percent by 2012, according to the market research firm IDC of Framingham, Mass.

But remember, that's just a percentage. Along with video's increasing share, total Internet traffic is expected to double every two years, industry analysts say.

Some warn that this rush will overwhelm service providers if they don't prepare for it. And the forecast for an ever-rising flood of data has some asking, is the Internet outdated? READ MORE.