Silence - Or The Town Will Pay To Silence You

In life, if you don't like what someone says, you have da right not to listen. If you don't like what da blog says, click on "exit." If you don't like what is on TV, change the channel, or on da radio, then listen to something else. If you don't like what da newspaper says, cancel da subscription. If it's a free newspaper, then leave it on your wet lawn. These are all very simple rules, and yet they're not even rules. It's common sense.

Over 229 years ago, a great battle was fought against British troops under da command of Sir Henry Clinton by Continental soldiers led by General George Washington. Da Continental soldiers faced 100 degree heat and hardened British troops. They fought and bled on that hallowed land. In da end, Washington's troops suffered 361 casualties, including 37 that died of heatstroke, others killed by British troops, or maimed, or injured.

I can tell you these brave men, and a woman known as "Molly Pitcher" didn't fight and die for nothing. They went into battle to repel an invading army. They went into battle because they believed in something even bigger than they were.

After that battle was won, a group of individuals got together and worked on a document that would become da law of our land. The Constitution of da United States has lasted through the Civil War, 2 World Wars, conflicts on our soil, and disasters. The Constitution has been amended only 27 times since it was adopted in da name of "Da People." Da first 10 amendments, all added on December 15, 1791 are known as Da Bill of Rights. Da very first amendment includes da Freedom of Speech. Other amendments would abolish slavery and give women rights. Basically, all of da amendments gave people freedoms and more rights - and never did any amendment take any rights away.

Now you have to remember that solders have died on battlefields on our soil, and in other lands to protect that very document and what it stands for. One of da men who wrote da laws of our land was a gentleman and hero named Benjamin Franklin.

You may not know this, but in 1722, a series of letters appeared in a newspaper called da New England Courant which discussed events and poked fun at various aspects of life, much like what daTruthSquad has done. Da letters were funny to some, and made others quite unhappy, especially Harvard University. Da letters were penned by a middle-aged woman named Mrs. Silence Dogood. Nobody knew who she was, because she did not use her real name. People were fixated on Mrs. Dogood, who as we would later find out was neither a middle-aged woman, nor was she a woman at all. Mrs. Silence Dogood was da pseudonym of a 16-year old boy - a boy named Benjamin Franklin, who by all accounts may have been da first blogger on American soil, and a hero of daTruthSquad.

Recently, a town in da United States has decided to, in my opinion, turn their backs on da very same document that our great country was founded. Da town has decided it did not like what a certain blogger has written, and they have decided that "For All Da People," they will remove that blogger's right to free speech, to tell all sides of a story, to even describe what da future might be like.

What da town is trying to do is silence Silence Dogood. It is saying that, in essence, if we don't like what you are saying, we will spend da taxpayer's money to silence you. It is saying, in essence, we will not care about how much of da townspeople's money we will spend, because whether da town likes you or not, 3 people who run da town don't like you, so we will spend that money to silence you and reveal your identity - and more.

Should this worry you? Absolutely, because it can happen to anyone, whether you write a blog, or even comment on a blog or leave a comment on any website. A town has retained a large law firm in an effort to gain private information about a blogger, about da blog, including IP addresses and many other items related to da blog. Exactly how much da town has paid in their lawsuit so far is unknown. Before it's over, you can expect that figure to increase - a figure you da townsfolk and not those who vote in a local government setting are paying for.

DaTruthSquad has not forgotten, and some fine folks who know a little something about da First Amendment and right & wrong recently reminded daTruthSquad about that. They fight for da bloggers against those who wish to do away with da First Amendment of da laws of our land they know too well when rights of individuals are removed it damages all of us. And, those who wish to remove an individual's First Amendment rights tarnishes da memories of da very same Americans who shed blood and died in battles from Monmouth to Baghdad, Iwo Jima to Berlin.

What is this lawsuit da town is funding about - read this for yourself! In essence, da removal of freedom of speech of an individual - and those who comment on what is written. Apparently da 3 folks who voted to have over 34,000 people pay for their lawsuit may have forgotten those who shed blood right down da road on Monmouth Battlefield and what they died for.

DaTruthSquad is back -- And that's daTruth.