Weekly column: Wacky New Jersey politico wants to outlaw anonymity [fs]

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

[Apologies for Politech's unscheduled hiatus. I've been traveling 
(speaking at the University of Pennsylvania a week ago and then 
elsewhere on the east coast). I'm also finishing up my pilot's license 
and have an check ride with an FAA examiner later this month, and that's 
taking me more time than I had anticipated. I'll start going through the 
Politech backlog, little by little, starting with the most recent. --Declan]

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Text of bill:
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2006/Bills/A1500/1327_I1.HTM

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http://news.com.com/The+problem+of+thin-skinned+politicos/2010-1028_3-6046090.html

Perspective:  The problem of thin-skinned politicos
By Declan McCullagh
Published: March 6, 2006, 4:00 AM PST

A New Jersey politician is hoping to outlaw anonymous speech on the 
Internet, claiming that civility must be mandatory in political debate.

State Assemblyman Peter J. Biondi, a Republican from Somerset County, 
recently introduced legislation that would require any "public forum Web 
site" to solicit the legal name and addresses of everyone who can post 
messages to it.

What irks Biondi, a top Republican in the state assembly, is the 
political free-for-all that has grown around the New Jersey 
Star-Ledger's discussion site at NJ.com. The site's forum for Somerset 
County--that is, Biondi's home district--is home to a slew of 
pseudonymous posts that tend to be less than kind to local politicians.

[...remainder snipped...]
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