Are We Watching The End Of A Free Press?
By Thom Hartmann A...
Just a few months after Donald Trump told us all how much he loved Wikileaks, his Justice Department wants to arrest its founder - Julian Assange.
No matter what you think about Wikileaks or Assange - this is a serious threat to the freedom of the press.
Amid reports that the Justice Department was preparing a case against him - Attorney General Jeff Sessions confirmed Thursday that arresting Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was a "priority".
"We're going to step up our effort and already are stepping up our efforts on all leaks. This is a matter that's gone beyond anything I'm aware of. We have professionals that have been in the security business of the United States for many years that are shocked by the number of leaks and some of them are quite serious. So yes, it is a priority."
So, is the New York Times next? It appears so, here's Jeff Sessions last week on CNN:
Kate Bolduan: "Should folks be concerned this would also open up news organizations like CNN or the New York Times to prosecution?"
AG Jeff Sessions: "That's speculative, and I'm not able to comment on that."
Shouldn't we start protecting acts of journalism, not just journalists?
Comments
#2
So what does the New York Times have to do with "journalism", at least recently? Aside from that, Sessions and his ilk should be stuffed down the barrel of the nearest 16" battleship gun and fired into low earth orbit. What an absolute asshole! What we need to protect is a) the internet and, b) publications like "The Nation" and "In These Times" along with a host of other independent (and struggling) news and opinion sources. And stecoop01 is absolutely right. It's happening right under our noses.
#3
OMG
America is one evil place
Think it will be at the centre of human demise as we know it now
Where is the good in that country?
#4
Assange conspired with Putin and successfully destabilized our democracy, but that isn't why Beauregard III has made Assange's arrest a "priority." Why would anyone buy into this based on the Trump/ Putin/Assange triangle? This is just more propaganda to make it appear there isn't a collusion connection between all of these self-puffed nutbags.
Sessions has perjured and committed treason....southern man better worry about his own arrest.
The economy will fall apart before the fascists have a chance to snuff out what little is left of the free press...at that point a panic will set in like we haven't seen since 1929. It will be the bitter end of the Teapublic.
#5
This is a Skokie moment. Personally, I don't have a problem with what Wikileaks did. However, many people do and I understand it. But, if we do what Sessions wants, it sets it up to do it to other news organizations. Just as I didn't like what the Nazis stood for, i supported their right to march.
Glenn Greenwald laid it out with Amy Goodman. Their strategy is to enforce a danerous policy against someone many people don't like so they will get support for it. Once they are successful, a dangerous precedent will be set to use against the media that opposes them.
Be afraid! Be very afraid!
#6
I don't think there's any question but that we're watching the end journalism. Media---Left, Right or whatever---is controlled by the corporate interests; the Oligarchy which rules this nation now. It has an agenda, and it the "duty" of the media to promote that agenda, be it manipulation of public opinion, manufacturing issues, or destorying anyone who stands in their way with a contrary message.
#7
Maybe its time for Julian Assange to start releasing all the emails between Trump and his Campaign folks and the Russians- I am sure someone out there has them all- not to mention hacking into his tax returns....
#8
The so-called "greatest democracy on Earth" was not so great after all; it was defeated without firing a shot! All it took was tiny factions of traitors operating out of secret cells hidden in plain sight at the top of gleaming towers.
In less than forty years, when neocons and plutocrats under Reagan first began sharpening their teeth, a 200-year old republic -- founded on strong, progressive principles intended to protect the many from the predations of the few -- was quietly dismantled behind the scenes by the greediest of the greedy, who weaponized their wealth, captured politicians, and occupied the media.
The most effective strategy to conquer a people is simply to control the flow and veracity of information. A flood of lies and a trickle of truth -- the basic formula for tyranny -- is what finally destroyed the dreams of our Fathers.
#9
deepspace: I agree, control of the message is everything. For decades that message has been a purposeful lie intended only to concentrate the wealth and power of the few at the expense of the many.
John Locke and our founders would agree we have justification for revolt. The contract has been broken.
#10
Resist with every breath!
#11
Today's press has become what A.J. Liebling meant when he described the press as "the weak slat under the bed of democracy." The epitome of such is where was the press in the buildup to the invasion of Iraq, and this farce of the press giving in to its own tactics and strategies in reporting stories as opposed to stories relevant to consumer decision making plummets ever more with each news cycle. The problem lies today with schools of journalism who are turning out students ever more as described by the late Walter Lippmann who said journalism is "the last refuge of the vaguely talented."
Journalists, the problem lies with "you." Accept ownership and deal with it. The problem lies not with me, the consumer. One needs to look no further than writers at the newspapers who report and write articles loyal to their own kind, where they define narrowly democracy to include only people like themselves.
Though I just freelance as an essaygrader I'd say that journalism is geared to capitalism and to corporations where they have more power than any aggregation of the rest of us in society. Unless journalists are willing to take ownership of their own failures instead of attempting to share their shortcomings with me, then journalists are fast approaching the reality that contemporary journalism actually matters very little. Journalism matters! I know that, you know that. If you do not take ownership, though, for "your" failure then individuals like DJT will assume ownership, and he will be the journalistic model by which we obtain our daily news.
#12
Thom's Blog Is On the Move
By webmaster
Hello All
Thom's blog in this space and moving to a new home.
Please follow us across to hartmannreport.com - this will be the only place going forward to read Thom's blog posts and articles.
Images of Thom
With His Holiness The Dalai Lama, at His home in Dharamsala, India (Synthesis Dialogues - made into a movie narrated by Harrison Ford)
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"Thom Hartmann channels the best of the American Founders with voice and pen. His deep attachment to a democratic civil society is just the medicine America needs."
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"Thom Hartmann is a creative thinker and committed small-d democrat. He has dealt with a wide range of topics throughout his life, and this book provides an excellent cross section. The Thom Hartmann Reader will make people both angry and motivated to act."
From Unequal Protection, 2nd Edition:
"Beneath the success and rise of American enterprise is an untold history that is antithetical to every value Americans hold dear. This is a seminal work, a godsend really, a clear message to every citizen about the need to reform our country, laws, and companies."
One of the first steps in creating a dictatorship is taking control of the media, by fear or by force. Der Fuhrer's SS are starting to take form.