Something Fishie: BlogBurst Friday - Spy Novels and Bad Guys

Guilty pleasure confession time: I’m a fan of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan novels. For at least fifteen years, I’ve read and reread the exploits of Jack Ryan as he squared off with Soviet agents; I’ve thrilled as agents and spies around the globe dodged danger and threats from other spies and tyrannical regimes. There are always heart-in-the-throat moments where characters to whom I’ve grown attached are in great peril, and I hang on every word until the danger has passed. I’ve enjoyed those parts of the stories more than anything else in the books, flipping pages as fast as I can read the words. There’s a romance to a good spy story; the stakes are the highest you can imagine, and the hero is plunged into ever-more dangerous situations, until he ultimately prevails and saves the day, the girl, the nation, the future.

We’ve had it so easy in a country where we’re free to express ourselves; in spite of Political Correctness and Campaign Finance Reform and other restrictions, we’re still extremely free. Witness the blogger explosion in the past few years. Hundreds and thousands of political blogs have emerged, tackling everything from local to national issues. Twitter has helped publicize even the smallest of blogs, and conservative bloggers build networks at events such as Right Online and Blog Con. And there’s no tyrannical force oppressing them, censoring them, threatening them.

Or is there?

During a recent extended chat with Liberty Chick on Own theNarrative, I heard about bloggers being targeted for harassment by progressive mischief-makers. Some attempts sounded like mere nuisances, others more serious. It seemed like small news at first; so a few bloggers get inconvenienced, that’s not unusual. But as the story unfolded on the show, and then the following week in blogs, it occurred to me that this was every bit as dangerous as landing in a spy novel.

A lefty political activist suing and harassing bloggers would have every bit the same effect in the long run as living under the harshest of despotic regimes. When someone steals a blogger’s reputation, they steal his voice. They marginalize and silence him. But it doesn’t stop there. It also silences others who write, others who speak, others who conduct in-depth research and provide information not available from traditional media, as they shy away from taking risks. Then follow that to its natural conclusion; a state-directed narrative delivered by a lapdog media with no voices left to challenge it. The only steps skipped in the mad dash to tyranny are a few state-sanctioned pogroms against the Blogging Class and a conspicuous disappearance of a high-profile blogger or two.

Fantasy?

Not really. It’s happening now. Robert Stacy McCain (TheOther McCain) is dealing with this right now. Several other bloggers have found themselves targeted as well, in gut-punch, sick and horrifying ways. And in spite of wide dissemination in the blogger community, few people outside the blogosphere are aware of this happening.

So today is BlogBurst Friday, where bloggers all over the internet are drawing attention to the story of Brett Kimberlin, and I wanted to join in and do my part. I hope you’ll help by sharing these links on your social media. Post and hit the “share” button on Facebook. Use the hashtag #BrettKimberlin on Twitter and get it trending. Pin articles on Pinterest and create pinboards devoted to Kimberlin. Get creative and use every social media platform you can think of.

As I find more posts about Kimberlin throughout the day, I will add them to the linkroll in this post. Please check back throughout the day and pick up the new ones and spread them around. It’s a small investment of your time to help make this terrorist and bully a household name, and a pariah.

The only way to defeat bullies is to stand up to them. He can’t take on all of us. Overwhelm him. Overwhelm the attempt to squelch free speech, from any blogger – right, left, center - with MORE speech.

We can do this.

START READING HERE

Domestic Terrorist Now Using "Lawfare"

Lying Felon Can't Stop Lying
The Lack of Interest in Brett Kimberlin

BlogBurst Friday

Stalking the Blogosphere

Standing With Stacy McCain

Brett Kimberlin News Roundup

Nonprofit of Terrorist Bomber Received Tides Foundation Funding

How To Kill The First Amendment

Violent Convicted Terrorist Bomber Given Millions by Progressives

Standing in Support of Conservative Bloggers