A few people--fewer than I expected, actually--took issue with my bashing some of the "Founders" for being oppressive hypocrites. So let's get specific, here.

The Sedition Act of 1798 made it a crime to "write, print, utter or publish... any false, scandalous and malicious writing or writings against the government of the United States, or either house of the Congress of the United States, or the President of the United States," with the intent to defame them or to bring them "into contempt or disrepute," or to "excite against them... the hatred of the good people of the United States." And, of course, since crooks always deny being crooks, the politicians would treat EVERY accusation against them as being "false" and "scandalous," and therefore CRIMINAL. I dare say that, under that law, just about everyone reading this message would qualify as a criminal.

And the Act passed a mere SEVEN YEARS after the First Amendment (and the rest of the Bill of Rights) was made part of the Constitution. (Incidentally, as Thomas Jefferson pointed out at the time, the Act obviously violated not only the First Amendment, but the Tenth Amendment as well. Where in the Constitution is Congress authorized to regulate or forbid ANY speech, anywhere, in any