This is turning out to be an incredibly busy week at my day job (which I’m not giving up, thanks for asking). In turn, I have not been able to do the kind of work that is required to put out thoughtful, organized blog posts that my imaginary readers have come to expect.

Instead, let’s talk about stationary. Because it’s easy.

I’m not a writer. But I do write a lot. And, I have found a solution to the problem I was having with figuring out what devices to use when sitting down to actually work on a "manuscript" (or, in my case, a mockuscript — that thing that people who are pretending to be writers are pretending to write).

Anyway, I kind of decided to go with a yellow legal pad. It was kind of working, but then — suddenly — another solution presented itself, when I stumbled upon an old, disused padfolio; it’s basically the kind of thing a corporate drone would take to a training class (I actually got mine at one of these functions, where I was at my droniest).

It actually works pretty well. It’s got pockets and a pen-holding loop of fabric, and I can zip it up and carry it away. I cannot stress the importance, what with my incredibly thick skull, of a device that is able to carry paper and pen in one convenient package, because I sure as hell can never remember to have both.

Also: for when you’re on the go, I really like the combination of the fake Moleskine and the Fisher Space Pen. There is one thing about the pen though: You will lose it. It will get lost.

A few weeks ago, I pretty much declared that the First Amendment does not, for most practical purposes, exist. The short version of that post is this: Freedom of speech protects you from the interference of the government (except where danger or obscenity are involved), whereas it does NOT protect you from interference from private interests; in all cases, property rights trump speech rights. And since everything is owned by somebody… we’ll, you get the point.

Of course, when you comment on somebody’s blog, your head swimming with the ease and convenience of saying your piece, you might forget that, while you are entitled you your opinion, the blog’s owner is not obligated to allow your comment. Because that blog is his/her property and, say it with us now, for good or for ill, property rights trump speech rights every time.

So, Scalzi gets tons of comments, some of which he decides to get rid of. This, sadly, is one of the many duties of a committed blogger; to defend one’s site from assholes and advertisers. But Scalzi, see, has recently had to address the issue of a commenter who resorted to arguments about freedom of speech in defense of some dumbass comment she left.

Occasionally people — usually the trolls — will tell me I can’t stop them from posting what they please on my site. Then once they’re dropped into the ban queue, I read their increasingly foamy, otherwise unseen messages, saying that I’m just another censoring tool or whatever.

(See Eric Burns-White’s excellent post on this subject, by the way, for an explanation of censorship is — or the Scalzi post.)

So, you’ve submitted a comment, and it got rejected. And now, in a fit of comment-blocked fury, you start to wonder: "What damn good is the damn stupid First Amendment anyway, if it doesn’t guarantee my ability to post total bull-caca!"

In spite my rather despairing attitude about the state of free speech in America, there are situations where the you might be protected by the First Amendment in a blog context.

Case 1: You, yourself may have a blog. Yeah, they’re free. Now, if you have a blog, your posts might be protected by the first amendment. If it’s the government who wants you to remove them; and if your posts don’t violate federal, state, or local laws; and if your posts are not libelous or defamatory; and if your posts don’t violate your host’s terms of service; and if your webhost is willing to go to bat for you; and if you have the time, money, and sheer guts that are required to fight the U.S. government; and if you get a sympathetic judge, jury, or Supreme Court; then yes, the 1st Amendment will protect you.

Case 2: You might post a comment to someone’s blog; in that case, all the if’s from the previous apply, with the addition of one more: If the blogger who owns the blog is willing to stick up for your and has the time, money, &c.

Oh yeah, you might want to give the ACLU a call.