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Congress Shall Make No Law...
Monday, November 22nd, 2004 03:29 pm...respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
From alert reader joythree:
Right-Wing Chilling Effect Makes 'Reproductive Rights' Too Hot for Public Radio
Jim Lobe, OneWorld, US
"WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov 22 (OneWorld) The refusal by a North Carolina affiliate of National Public Radio (NPR) to run an underwriting announcement by a local group that carries out family-planning activities abroad is raising fears that the leadership of federal regulatory agencies may try to enforce a new kind of right-wing political correctness."
Full story here
It is worth noting that the actions of the radio station (WUNC) are self-censoring; that is, the station manager is afraid that the FCC will decide that discussion of "reproductive rights" constitutes a political statement, which WUNC, as a non-profit broadcaster, is forbidden to air. Should the FCC decide this, the station would be penalized retroactively, and the station manager is therefore in her judgment erring on the side of prudence in protecting her station from the possibility of punishment.
Congress therefore having made no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, you'd think I had no beef. And you'd be wrong. The present administration is establishing a mode of using its regulatory agencies to intimidate the free press and organizations dedicated to furthering equality and health.
In case it slipped under your radar, I give you the IRS investigation of the NAACP:
"The Internal Revenue Service has threatened to revoke the NAACP's tax-exempt status because the civil rights group's chairman, Julian Bond, "condemned the administration policies of George W. Bush" during a speech this summer, according to documents the group provided yesterday." Full story here.
Oh, and by the way -- the federal budget passed, with the anti-abortion language intact. And today, after hearing from Outraged Politicians(tm) yesterday that no one would "defend" language allowing two committee chairmen to access anyone's tax return, we have this which -- yep, you guessed, it, defends the inclusion of the language as a poor-but-honest attempt at "oversight" and asserts that "nobody's privacy was ever jeapardized."
And one more thing, while I'm on a roll. Rhode Island reporter Jim Taricani has been convicted of criminal contempt for refusing to name his source -- specifically who gave him an FBI tape showing a city official taking a bribe. Mr. Taricani faces up to six months in jail for honoring his duty to protect his sources. He will be sentenced on December 9. Full story here
From alert reader joythree:
Right-Wing Chilling Effect Makes 'Reproductive Rights' Too Hot for Public Radio
Jim Lobe, OneWorld, US
"WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov 22 (OneWorld) The refusal by a North Carolina affiliate of National Public Radio (NPR) to run an underwriting announcement by a local group that carries out family-planning activities abroad is raising fears that the leadership of federal regulatory agencies may try to enforce a new kind of right-wing political correctness."
Full story here
It is worth noting that the actions of the radio station (WUNC) are self-censoring; that is, the station manager is afraid that the FCC will decide that discussion of "reproductive rights" constitutes a political statement, which WUNC, as a non-profit broadcaster, is forbidden to air. Should the FCC decide this, the station would be penalized retroactively, and the station manager is therefore in her judgment erring on the side of prudence in protecting her station from the possibility of punishment.
Congress therefore having made no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, you'd think I had no beef. And you'd be wrong. The present administration is establishing a mode of using its regulatory agencies to intimidate the free press and organizations dedicated to furthering equality and health.
In case it slipped under your radar, I give you the IRS investigation of the NAACP:
"The Internal Revenue Service has threatened to revoke the NAACP's tax-exempt status because the civil rights group's chairman, Julian Bond, "condemned the administration policies of George W. Bush" during a speech this summer, according to documents the group provided yesterday." Full story here.
Oh, and by the way -- the federal budget passed, with the anti-abortion language intact. And today, after hearing from Outraged Politicians(tm) yesterday that no one would "defend" language allowing two committee chairmen to access anyone's tax return, we have this which -- yep, you guessed, it, defends the inclusion of the language as a poor-but-honest attempt at "oversight" and asserts that "nobody's privacy was ever jeapardized."
And one more thing, while I'm on a roll. Rhode Island reporter Jim Taricani has been convicted of criminal contempt for refusing to name his source -- specifically who gave him an FBI tape showing a city official taking a bribe. Mr. Taricani faces up to six months in jail for honoring his duty to protect his sources. He will be sentenced on December 9. Full story here
