No brotherly love for blogs in Philly

Well, it was going to happen sooner or later, I suppose.

At one time, blogs used to be a fiefdom of the Right. Blogs buttressed right-wing attempts to discredit the Bush National Guard memos, for instance. Although the documents were never actually debunked, the right-wing take on these memos still looms large.

Today, however, blogs are a credible alternative to the dinosaur press. Dissenters against the right-wing order can finally afford to get into the blogging biz - and the tide finally began to turn.

This does not sit well with city rulers in Philadelphia.

The city is now billing bloggers $300 for a business license - even though some of these blogs are nonprofit, and most that aren't don't even bring in $300! One blog made only $11 over 2 years.

It's unclear what political affiliations (if any) are displayed by all of these blogs - though it's clear that some aren't conservative.

I strongly doubt that the broken remains of the Bulletin - a right-wing Philly paper that seems to now limit its activity to occasional online articles - is being forced to pony up. If the Bulletin had to pay this fee, you can bet your bottom dollar YOU WOULD HEAR ABOUT IT.

This is so plainly a case of censorship by right-wingers that one wonders how the city can get away with it. The attack on bloggers is in effect a journalism license. In democratic republics based on the free flow of ideas, we don't require licenses to practice journalism.

My solution: If I lived in Philadelphia, I would not pay up. It's that simple. I refuse to pay to exercise my right to free speech.

(Source: http://citypaper.net/articles/2010/08/19/blogging-business-privilege-tax-philadelphia)