Obama is not the only one with audacity. Wee though I may be, I have the audacity to call myself a member of “the press”, the great public press, the new press, the real press, the open press, the complete press. Freedom of the press applies equally to the New York Times, Huffington Post, Random Thots and the guy next door who started his first blog last Tuesday.
There is beauty, trash, idiocy, and profound thinking available to all, on the internet. There are lies too outrageous for the National Enquirer to publish and truths too enlightening for the New York Times to put in print. It’s there, the good, the bad; and the ugly. It’s all there. It is for the reader to discern and choose the good from the bad, the same as one does when choosing friends and companions. When government is given the power to control what our our eyes may see and what our ears may hear, the end of freedom is at the door.
The founders of this great nation trusted the people of this great nation more than they trusted the government of this great nation. The very first Amendment to the Constitution guarantees freedom from government control of speech, religion and the press. End of rant.
Why the rant? News anchors Kyra Philips and John Roberts, members of the press no less, are calling for the government, or someone to control the press, that’s why the rant. They don’t want CNN to be censored, of course, only the blogs.
Roberts:
“there’s going to come a point where something’s going to have to be done legally”. [legally = government]
Philips:
“There has to be some point where there’s some accountability. And companies, especially in the media have to stop giving these anonymous bloggers credit,”
Then this idiocy – Roberts first points out that some countries, like Iran, are closed societies where the internet may be their only source of uncensored reporting, then adds:
“But when it comes to a society like ours, an open society, do there have to be (sic) some checks and balances, not national, but maybe website to website on who comments on things?”
Huh? Because ours is a free and open society we need to control the blogs? Mr. Roberts, as you might put it, ‘there do not have to be’.
Fear not, Congress will never enact a law rescinding freedom of speech. If however, it ever comes up in a referendum, at least 3 votes would be assured, those of Roberts, Philips and Rather.
Bob B
RANDOM THOTS 