Democratic and Liberal blogs blocked from Kentucky gov computers.

[alfredo]

http://bluegrassreport.org/


BluegrassReport.org Being BLOCKED By State Government

I've gotten a handful of e-mails this morning already that BluegrassReport.org has apparently been blocked to state computers by the Commonwealth Office of Technology. Readers in three different cabinets have e-mailed to tell me they get a "blocked" message when they try to access the site.

Nothing like a little censorship with your breakfast. Welcome to the People's Republic of Kentucky.

UPDATE: I'm getting flooded with e-mails and a couple of phone calls from readers in other cabinets -- and other elected constitutional offices -- that the site has been blocked. But what's interesting is there's no problem allowing state workers to access the Republican Party of Kentucky or Fox News or Drudge Report or at least one conservative Kentucky blog. Pathetic.

UPDATE #2: The Bluegrass Institute's blog is accessible, as are the political blogs run by Mark Hebert and Pat Crowley. Looks like BGR is being targeted. What are they afraid of?


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I see Bluegrass Roots is also blocked. I have worked with the owner of that site. He's a good guy. One Republican site it blocked. Maybe they criticized Gov Ernie.

[rodeodance]

1. i hope kentuckians are SCREAMING loud and clear.

[alfredo]

12. We are. I have already contacted the local media.

and have talked to some local activist.

[rodeodance]

2. What can we do to help?????

[alfredo]

6. Send this news to the media.

[JAYJDF]

3. Sounds like law suit time

It's either all blogs or none. Otherwise it's biased and should be illegal.

[KingFlorez]

4. The Soviet Union must have moved to Kentucky

I never thought I'd see such actions by a government

[treestar]

5. When they think what you have to say is enough of a threat

that for people not to be convinced by it, they have to be blocked from it, you've proven you think your own side of things will sink.

As if when they leave from work they can't read anything liberal.

The RW is so totalitarian.

What morans.

[alfredo]

8. Gov Ernie is a minister, so he was the mouthpiece of God. He was also a

doctor, so he believed he was God. He rules our state as if he is above the law.

[annabanana]

7. What a stupid thing for them to do!

The story seems to have gone National already. The Kentucky Statehouse is in for it...

[alfredo]

9. Make sure the media knows.

[MallRat]

10. Update: Specific TPM Muckraker article blocked, rest of site accessible?

Latest update:

They've got a hell of a filter - while COT has not blocked talkingpointsmemo.com, they HAVE blocked the TPM Muckraker article talking about the governor blocking BGR.

If the cover-up is worse than the crime, how much worse is the cover-up of the cover-up?

Shameless. These communists should rot in hell.

-MR

[Davros]

11. Anyone know of web proxies to use?

For those IT folk on the board here, would allowing these folks to use a web proxy connection allow them to bypass Kentucky ISP restrictions and be able to surf the net as if they live elsewhere through a web proxy? Just a suggestion.

Maybe as a work around, they can go to http://babelfish.altavista.com/ and put the blocked websites in the "Translate a Page" URL field. Even though they are not translating the page, it could bypass a firewall. After putting the URL here, they can choose "Translate from Dutch to English" just so it loads up the blocked page(s).

[alfredo]

13. update

Okay, the scandal-hobbled Gov. Ernie Fletcher started this morning banning the site of one of his biggest critics (who's successfully moved the scandal now engulfing his administration). That was the bluegrassreport.org. Then they blocked TPMmuckraker.com and now TPM too. Paul Kiel called the state tech folks and at first they denied it. But now they're not taking any questions.

-- Josh Marshall

[adwon]

14. Will he ban newspapers next?

I really hope Ernie doesn't think this will solve the problems he has coming due next year. Block all you want, you'll still be a private citizen after the next election, bud.

[alfredo]

15. he's the best thing, outside of bush, for the Kentucky

Democratic Party.

[adwon]

16. Most definitely

Ernie is a free ad for why 40 years between GOP governors isn't long enough.

[alfredo]

17. It seems that Republicans across the board do not have the

moral fiber needed to be in leadership positions.

[Craig3410]

18. KICK for importance.

[dusty64]

19. Me too.

:kick:

[Doctor_J]

20. This is a trial balloon

if it works, they'll start censoring all anti-Smirk web sites.

[alfredo]

22. Maybe Ernie won't be happy until his approval

rating is in the teens.

[dusty64]

23. Thats the whole idea

of giving the internet to their corporate masters and they get to rob us blind at the same time.

[alfredo]

24. They see the empire falling so they are taking all they can

from us.

We are old news to them. Asia is the future. Faster growth, higher profits is what they desire. We can't do that anymore.

[Lusted4]

21. Kentucky, Georgia, Kansas little facsist island's in American waters. n/t