“Weblogs bring Second Amendment logic to the First Amendment. The Second Amendment means everyone gets to have a gun. The First Amendment means everyone gets to say what they want to say. But a limiting factor on freedom of speech has been that the tools of mass communication have been unavailable to most individuals. Some people are more equal than others. Now push-button publishing onto the Web means everyone gets to have a printing press and a distribution network. Weblogs won't undo professional media, any more than personal gun ownership has undone the military. But many Second Amendment advocates believe an armed citizenry provides a check on the government. Arming people with weblogs certainly provides a check on corporate media and the government. If the pen is mightier than the sword, this could be a very positive development.“

Ed provides an interesting comparision to the First and Second Amendments but I think he overstates the importance of gun ownership as a check on the government and weblogs as a check on corporate media and the government. Weblogs are just one of several  tools provided by the internet. Separately these tools have little effect corporate media and government policy. It is the combination of these tools that have become a very effective check on corporate media and the government.