Congress Colludes With Press To Make Public Dumber
The House passed the federal shield law tonight. Orwellianly, they call it the "Free Flow of Information Act," but it serves to do nothing but restrict the flow of information.
What this law does is make sure that politicians and government officials can say almost whatever they want to the press without any repercussions, while at the same time providing professional journalists -- mere "bloggers" need not apply -- with exclusive access to stories and sources.
It's a game that's been played for a long time, of course, but now they are making it law. In other words, the things most people hate most about journalism are only going to get worse. You will see more and more unsourced stories, from fewer and fewer diverse perspectives, making sure you have less and less information with which to make informed opinions.
But since they talk about it in terms of "fundamental freedoms," which is another Orwellian trick to make you believe the absolute lie that there has ever been a fundamental right of the press that normal citizens do not have, well, I guess we should be happy about it, because, um, it's freedom. And stuff.
Make no mistake: this law is not for you and me. It's for government officials and the press, to give them more "freedom" to help themselves, instead of serving the public.
What this law does is make sure that politicians and government officials can say almost whatever they want to the press without any repercussions, while at the same time providing professional journalists -- mere "bloggers" need not apply -- with exclusive access to stories and sources.
It's a game that's been played for a long time, of course, but now they are making it law. In other words, the things most people hate most about journalism are only going to get worse. You will see more and more unsourced stories, from fewer and fewer diverse perspectives, making sure you have less and less information with which to make informed opinions.
But since they talk about it in terms of "fundamental freedoms," which is another Orwellian trick to make you believe the absolute lie that there has ever been a fundamental right of the press that normal citizens do not have, well, I guess we should be happy about it, because, um, it's freedom. And stuff.
Make no mistake: this law is not for you and me. It's for government officials and the press, to give them more "freedom" to help themselves, instead of serving the public.
"It is the common fate of the indolent to see their rights become a prey to the active. The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt."
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