Letters to the Editor
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Use of "Anonymous" posting for non-sensitive posts
seems downright cowardly to me. I understand why the functionality is there - the topic of rape, in particular, might benefit from anonymous posting (a poster may wish to share a rape experience, but not have it thrown back at her/him when posting at another time on an unrelated topic). But to expect your ideas to be taken seriously when you consistently hide behind the "Anonymous" function is ridiculous. If you don't have the courage to put a name (and not even your real name!) on your ideas, why should you have the right to attack the ideas of others, and why should anyone respect what you have to say?
Heck - most of the time I STRONGLY disagree with brightstar, but at least he has the chutzpah to put a name to what he has to say.
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Misandry, oh boy!
Female teachers molesting students. Unlike male teachers who molest, female teachers don't get their actions hushed up and reassigned. Every single one of these women have been convicted and have done time.
Citations please. That's complete nonsense.
Are your facts often this wrong? If so, how can we trust anything you say? Oh, that's right we can't. You're just another echo-feminist.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11943967/
Charges dropped in teacher sex scandal
Decision in Lafave case means teacher, student won’t have to testify
http://crime.about.com/od/sex/ig/female_pedophiles/Katherine-Tew.htm
The jury found Tew guilty of taking indecent liberties with a student and will be required to under go a psychological evaluation, relinquish her teaching license for at least two years, perform 36 hours of community service and register as a sex offender.
http://crime.about.com/od/sex/ig/female_pedophiles/Amber-Jennings-.htm
Amber Jennings, 32, a former English teacher at Shepherd Hill Regional High School in Dudley, Mass., pleaded guilty to "disseminating harmful materials to a minor," in a plea agreement with prosecutors. According to reports, Jennings, who went by the screen name "Redsox6606," admitted to emailing a 16-year-old former student nude pictures of herself.
Two additional charges - posing a minor in a state of nudity and depicting a minor in sexual conduct - were dropped.
http://crime.about.com/od/sex/ig/female_pedophiles/Kristen-Margrif.htm
Margrif is a 27-year-old former high school teacher who prosecutors say had sex with an eighth grade 16-year-old student, while in her car and at a store where the teen worked.
To avoid a trial, the Michigan woman pleaded no contest to three counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a student. She is scheduled to be sentenced on May 20, 2006.
Margrif has never admitted she is guilty.
http://crime.about.com/od/sex/ig/female_pedophiles/Amber-Marshall.htm
n Northwest Indiana, Amber Kay Marshall, 23, worked as a teacher's aide in the learning disability classroom when she was arrested for allegedly having sexual intercourse with one student and oral sex with two students.
One 14-year-old student told police Marshall performed oral sex on him in her car and later had intercourse at a Super 8 Motel. The student also told police Marshall gave him alcohol while at the hotel. Other sexual encounters occurred at Marshall's home.
A 16-year-old student told police Marshall performed oral sex on him in her car and at the Super 8 Hotel, but that the two did not engage in intercourse.
When police arrested Marshall, she confirmed what the boys told police and offered more details of what occurred.
Marshall, who turned herself into authorities, was charged with two counts of sexual misconduct with a minor and one count of child seduction.
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Waah! I disagree with them but they have all the facts and sense.... I HATE ANONYMOUS PEOPLE AND WE SHOULD BAN THEM!
Emmers, your post is decidedly anti-american.
Go back to russia, commie!
http://www.eff.org/Privacy/Anonymity/
Anonymity
Many people don't want the things they say online to be connected with their offline identities. They may be concerned about political or economic retribution, harassment, or even threats to their lives. Whistleblowers report news that companies and governments would prefer to suppress; human rights workers struggle against repressive governments; parents try to create a safe way for children to explore; victims of domestic violence attempt to rebuild their lives where abusers cannot follow.
Instead of using their true names to communicate, these people choose to speak using pseudonyms (assumed names) or anonymously (no name at all). For these individuals and the organizations that support them, secure anonymity is critical. It may literally save lives.
Anonymous communications have an important place in our political and social discourse. The Supreme Court has ruled repeatedly that the right to anonymous free speech is protected by the First Amendment. A much-cited 1995 Supreme Court ruling in McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission reads:
Protections for anonymous speech are vital to democratic discourse. Allowing dissenters to shield their identities frees them to express critical, minority views . . . Anonymity is a shield from the tyranny of the majority. . . . It thus exemplifies the purpose behind the Bill of Rights, and of the First Amendment in particular: to protect unpopular individuals from retaliation . . . at the hand of an intolerant society.
The tradition of anonymous speech is older than the United States. Founders Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay wrote the Federalist Papers under the pseudonym "Publius," and "the Federal Farmer" spoke up in rebuttal. The US Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized rights to speak anonymously derived from the First Amendment.
The right to anonymous speech is also protected well beyond the printed page. Thus, in 2002, the Supreme Court struck down a law requiring proselytizers to register their true names with the Mayor's office before going door-to-door.
These long-standing rights to anonymity and the protections it affords are critically important for the Internet. As the Supreme Court has recognized, the Internet offers a new and powerful democratic forum in which anyone can become a "pamphleteer" or "a town crier with a voice that resonates farther than it could from any soapbox."
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has been involved in the fight to protect the rights of anonymous speakers online. As one court observed, in a case handled by EFF along with the ACLU of Washington, "[T]he free exchange of ideas on the Internet is driven in large part by the ability of Internet users to communicate anonymously."
We've challenged many efforts to impede anonymous communication, both in the courts or the legislatures. We also previously provided financial support to the developers of Tor, an anonymous Internet communications system. By combining legal and policy work with technical tools, we hope to maintain the Internet's ability to serve as a vehicle for free expression.