**Biased Journalism** : a net magazine designed to compensate for the shortcomings of the professional news media. Copyright 1995 Shelley Thomson; all rights reserved. Mail, articles and comment may be directed to . Netiquette will be observed with all communication, except for the following: harassing or threatening mail will be posted to the net immediately. Read at your own risk. This is **Biased Journalism**! The following essay by Arnie Lerma is presented without comment as a public service: Liberty, Freedom & the Internet "Cyberspace", "Internet", "newsgroups", "hackers", .... All buzzwords of an evolving technology growing, at an unprecedented rate. Much has been written describing the perils and adventures awaiting mankind in the years to come, as well as, most importantly, what controls, if any, should be imposed, and by whom they should be administered. What follows is my view, after just celebrating my first year upon the "Internet", which was celebrated with a raid upon my home, as US Marshals stood by, when employees and officers of the cult of $cientology pawed through my personal belongings, seized my computer, modem, scanner, spare computer parts, keyboard, monitor, mouse & more than 400 diskettes & backup tapes, on Saturday August 12th at 9:30 AM, by means of a civil writ for search and seizure. Allow me to provide some background, in which to frame these recent events... Let's go back in time to before the American revolution for independence. There were small communities, hamlets, villages - in short, there was a sense of community so lamentfully lacking in today's urban sprawl. At or near the center of town, oft-times at the fork in the road, was often a large tree, typically an Elm, (this was of course before Dutch Elm disease nearly wiped them out), which served the purpose of bulletin board, public notice board, newspaper, and legal notice section of the contemporary urban newspaper. If there was to be a barn-raising, a citizen would post a written notice upon the tree. When an official decree or warrant, was wished to be known by all, a copy would be posted upon that tree. When a citizen had a complaint or petition, or perhaps, just news from a letter from England, the information was posted to that tree. It was the first information system of the colonies beyond word of mouth. The Perot Movement As an activist in the early Perot Petition drive, and as editor and publisher of "The Arlington Volunteer's Newsletter", which for a few issued was the 'official' 'Perot' Newsletter for Virginia, I was intimately familiar with the spontaneous awakening amongst citizenry throughout Virginia of the obligation to take action to make government accountable to 'the people'. I turned to the Public Library system, and researched, here in Arlington Virginia as well as in Savannah, Georgia, various accounts of pre-Revolutionary America in search of parallels to what I was witnessing in the present, in order to gain insight into what might occur next and how to preserve and nourish this awakening of citizenry to the true responsibility of government to represent the body of the people, as opposed to interests with money, influence and power, despite the mismanagement and heavy handed tactics of Perot's organization, which, while wearing clothes woven of 'grass roots' brandished a club called totalitarianism. The Sons of Liberty & John Wilkes In many descriptions of the early years prior to the American Revolution, I found vague references to groups called "Sons of Liberty", which spontaneously, and independently organized throughout the colonies, in response to abuses to liberty by agents of the Crown at the time. I proceeded to do extensive keyword searches for 'Sons of Liberty'; what follows is a description of what I found and how it relates to the Internet today, and the events concerning the cult of $cientology in particular. The 'Sons of Liberty' were a secret society, with many members of influence, who wished not to be known; one of the famous members was Paul Revere, in Boston. The Boston Sons of Liberty would meet in the 'Long Room' above a tavern called 'The Dragon', which had a copperplate of a dragon on its sign out front, that had turned, as copper does, green with age and corrosion, and was known to its patrons as "the Green Dragon". It was in this long room, above the Green Dragon, that the various protests and demonstrations were planned, including the Boston Tea Party. John Hancock, shipper and rum smuggler, was the financier of this Boston group's activities. The 'hero' of the Sons of Liberty, was a Member of the British minority party at the time, one John Wilkes, son of distiller, who published a political rag called "The Penny Advertiser". In the 45th issue of this newsletter, John Wilkes said the following. "A man is a sovereign unto himself, and may only be ruled by his own consent." John Wilkes was most popular, and was elected Lord Mayor at one point. Reading these populist writings, in his home north of London, in the early 1760's, that said that elected officials should truly represent the interests of 'the body of the people', was a man named Thomas Pain. When Thomas Pain came to America, and began his writings, he signed his name with a flourish that was misunderstood by the Americans to be an 'e', and tiring of correcting people, he began for the sake of brevity, to call himself Thomas 'Paine'. I found these accounts fascinating, as well as puzzling, that so little of this story of the roots of liberty are taught in the American Public School system...I considered this 'lost knowledge'. Knowledge I now consider essential for maintenance of that Liberty that our forefathers sought in coming to this 'New World'. The Sons of Liberty begin to dedicate Trees of Liberty. It was these trees, used by citizenry, for communication, that became the subject of dedication in the name of Liberty. Silas Downer, member of the Sons of Liberty of Rhode Island, said the following, at a dedication of a Tree of Liberty, in 1766. It is this dedication ceremony, which brought me the understanding of what 'Liberty' truly is. Note well the line containing the phrase 'under trees and in the wilderness', it was this line that made me realize, what 'America' and 'Liberty' really were all about. "We do therefore, in the name and behalf of all the true SONS of LIBERTY in America, Great Britain, Corsica, Ireland or wheresoever they are dispersed throughout the world, dedicate and solemnly devote this tree to be a TREE of LIBERTY.---- May all our councils and deliberations under its venerable branches be guided by wisdome, and directed to the support and maintenance of that liberty, which our forefathers sought out and found under trees and in the wilderness. ---May it long flourish, and may the SONS of LIBERTY often repair hither, to confirm and strengthen each other. --When they look towards the sacred ELM, may they be penetrated with a sense of duty to themselves, their country, and their posterity:--And may they, like the house of David, grow stronger and stronger, while their enemies, like the house of Saul, grow weaker and weaker. AMEN The Stamp Tax The stamp tax was a cleverly designed tax, that required that a 'stamp' be purchased, and affixed to all public documents, newpapers, bills of laden, court decrees, etc and POSTERS. It was a nominal tax, but one of its intents, was to end 'anonymous' postings upon these trees at the center of communities, and to suppress criticism, of the government. This tax was never allowed to be implemented, and an uproar ensured throughout the colonies, led by The Sons of Liberty. Local, community, posting trees, were quickly dedicated by citizenry, as TREES of LIBERTY, and festooned with imagery, - A boot, with a devil effigy climbing out, was the symbol for Lord Bute, - the King's agent in the House of Commons, who led the effort to tax and discipline the 'Colonies' in opposition to populist, John Wilkes. The number 45, in celebration of the 45th issue of John Wilkes Penny Advertiser. The phrase "Liberty & Property", used by John Wilkes, and chanted by crowds in support of Mr. Wilkes, protesting his imprisonment in England for his outspoken statements about the inalienable rights of man, by the Americans. A tarred and feathered effigy of the local 'Stamp Tax collector' And "Long Live John Wilkes"... Along with various exhortations to rally citizenry against whatever incendiary actions the Crown was pursuing at the time. Which brings us back to today, on the internet. And who shall rule it. I consider the worldwide Internet, to be merely a way for citizenry from far flung physical locations, to form, 'virtual Communities', around 'Trees' called mailing lists and newsgroups. If a citizen does not like a particular community of ideas, he may MOVE, effortlessly, instantly, at the touch of a keyboard. If a citizen, considers a particular poster's ideas offensive, he may choose to not read them, automatically.... However, when any individual or group, tears these posters from this virtual tree of liberty, or seeks to censor, harass or prosecute those who post upon this tree, this is an affront, to Freedom, Liberty and the constitutional guarantees of our Founding Fathers to Free Assembly, (upon a newsgroup), Free Speech, separation of Church and State, and Free association. It is also my opinion, and only an opinion, that the PUBLIC INTEREST should be SENIOR to any fine points of copyright law. Actions such as above, should be considered the gravest threat to Liberty, and it was these same threats, two hundred and thirty some years ago, that produced the American Revolution. "The Internet is the Liberty Tree of the 90's." Arnaldo Lerma (c) Arnaldo Lerma 1995 - all commercial & for profit duplication rights reserved, non-profit distribution encouraged. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The End