Freedom of Speech or the Lack Thereof

I am currently VERY frustrated. It's very hard for someone who loves politics as much as me to be so far away during a presidential election year. It seems even harder because there are so many interesting candidates, several who I am vehemently opposed to (i.e. Mitt Romney), that I would like to know more about. As a government teacher I'm missing out on all the things that I am currently teaching about, watching the American democratic process in action. And on top of that I think I have missed the primary elections. I'm registered to vote by absentee ballot, I think I'm the only one in Bedford City. They mail me the forms and the mail has not been very reliable lately.

To make matters worse, it has become increasingly difficult to get information in Turkey. I would like every person in America who is reading this to take a moment and thank God for your freedoms. Today was just another example of a website that I could not connect to because it has been blocked by order of the Turkish courts. Freedom of speech is very limited in Turkey. Youtube has been blocked again. This is very saddening because almost all of the speeches and commercials have been uploaded on youtube, even debates. CNN has been a good resource for me, but today when I tried to access an article on Huckabee and McCain, it was blocked. This is not the first time that has happened. What it could that article possibly have said that is against Turkishness? Because yes, that is what the law actually says.

Article 301 of the Turkish penal code says that anyone who "publicly denigrates Turkishness, the Republic or the Grand National Assembly of Turkey be punishable by imprisonment of between six months and three years.” Straight from the Turkish Constitution "The exercise of these freedoms [speech & press] may be restricted for the purposes of protecting national security, public order and public safety, the basic characteristics of the Republic and safeguarding the indivisible integrity of the State with its territory and nation, preventing crime, punishing offenders, withholding information duly classified as a state secret, protecting the reputation and rights and private and family life of others, or protecting professional secrets as prescribed by law, or ensuring the proper functioning of the judiciary." It is illegal to insult Turkishness or Atatürk.

Well at this point I'm praying that Huckabee can pull out the Republican nomination. Though based on history, it will be unlikely considering the key states McCain has won. I feel so uniformed. Cherish your freedoms!