[Newspoetry] Psst-Don't tell Shrub about Newspoetry!

[Mike Lehman]

Bush files complaint
                  against website
                  Claims 'there ought to be
                  limits to freedom' to parody


                  By Jon E. Dougherty
                  © 1999 WorldNetDaily.com

                  Attorneys for the George W. Bush presidential
                  exploration committee have filed a complaint with the
                  Federal Election Committee against a website claiming
it
                  may be violating rules governing published political
                  materials.

                  But the site, according to owner Zack Exley, is merely
a
                  "lampoon" of Bush's candidacy, and is not designed to
                  be taken seriously, despite claims to the contrary by
                  Bush campaign officials.

                  In May of this year during a press conference, Bush's
                  agitation over the contents of the site became obvious

                  when he labeled the material published there
"garbage,"
                  adding that Exley "was obviously a garbage man."

                  However, Bush ignited a firestorm of protest from
                  conservatives and First Amendment advocates when he
                  also said, "There ought to be limits to freedom," a
                  reference to the FEC regulations that ostensibly could

                  prohibit the publishing of similar political lampoon
sites
                  in the future.

                  Bush officials also complained that the site closely
                  mirrors the official Bush 2000 site, saying that could
give
                  voters the wrong impression about which site is
                  attributable to the real Bush campaign.

                  WorldNetDaily initially spoke with Bush media
officials
                  in an attempt to get clarification on the story, but
they
                  did not respond as promised, despite repeated
                  telephone and e-mail requests.

                  In the meantime, Exley launched an Internet-based
                  petition drive claiming "political web sites should
not
                  have to register with the government," He is asking
                  visitors to sign the document and send it to federal
                  election officials.

                  According to an account published on Exley's site,
                  "When asked at a press conference whether 'the plug
                  should be pulled' on a web site, that discussed drug
use
                  in his past Bush said, in front of several television
                  cameras, 'Yes,' and added, 'There ought to be limits
to
                  freedom.'"

                  "The Internet takes freedom of speech to a new level
by
                  making every person' s speech available to anyone in
                  the world who wants to listen," the site says. "Our
                  leaders should be working to expand this new freedom,
                  not to limit it."

                  Among other things, the site contains an altered
graphic
                  showing Bush snorting cocaine, a story claiming Bush
                  had turned himself in for past drug use, and a link to
an
                  American Spectator story reporting on Bush's
                  connection to the oil business and the sale of the
Texas
                  Rangers baseball team.