Congress shall make no law 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.
How do the people learn that there is a grievance that requires redress?
Isn't the heart of journalism the uncovering of that which others want kept secret?
News is what somebody, somewhere wants to suppress; all the rest is advertising.
Lord Northcliffe
What should the people say and do, when their president and his DOJ pursue a journalist for uncovering lies that lead us to war, the use of torture in the conduct of that war, the use of illegal wiretaps against citizens who opposed the war, and other crimes and possible crimes?
IOKIYAD?
Jim Risen is a NY Times investigative journalist and author of the book State of War. He is largely responsible for what we know about the crimes and/or excesses that lead us into the War on Terror and turned us into a nation that spies on its citizen and kidnaps and detains its enemies.
The Bush administration originally pursued Risen to reveal his sources and then let it drop, but the Obama administration has picked up the torch and has subpoenaed Risen. Risen is one of 5 whistleblowers the Obama administration is persecuting. That is more whistleblower prosecutions than all previous presidents combined according to the same ABC article referenced above.
The Obama administration should be pursuing those in the CIA who have been spying on reporters to learn their sources, rather than pursuing the reporters who bring the truth to the American people. Jefferson said that if forced to choose between an elected government and a free press, he'd opt for a free press. It is that critical.
Without a free press, we the people can't do our job in making informed decisions and votes. It is just that simple. That is why it is in the first amendment to our constitution.
As pointed out in this analysis, the actions in question all go back to the Bush administration. Why is the Obama administration willing to "look forward, rather than back" when it comes to the crimes of the past administration, but so intent on hounding those who brought those crimes to our attention?
Mr. President, call off the DOJ pursuit of journalists who are doing the people's work. Make the Transparency in Government award you were given a legitimate honor, not the sick joke that it is today.