Today Peter Thiel and his clandestine proxy lawsuit successfully shut down Gawker. A site I was never a devoted reader of, but one I respected for running the stories other media outlets wouldn't touch.

This isn't about losing a site that millions of people visited daily though, it's about how anyone with enough money and an axe to grind can not only force someone out of business, they can do it while hiding behind what was effectively a shell corporation and funding someone else's attack since their own was unsuccessful.

I understand the meaning of "freedom of speech", but that speech isn't really free when someone who doesn't like what you have to say can sue you out of existence.

It's a sad day for the internet and journalism in general.