Letters to the Editor
CarolynC
Published Letters: 202 Editor's Choice: 6
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Why the indifference by the press to the imprisonment of journalists?
[Read the article: Only America-hating traitors believe in due process for journalists]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Glenn writes, "This is one of the most striking aspects of the story - the press' utter passivity in the face of these attacks on press freedoms. Even a minimally functioning political press would protest things of this sort before they protest anything else."
One possibility is that they are truly scared that their own outfits will be targeted by the government. The tactics the Bush administration uses at home are slightly more subtle, for now, but they are chilling. Administration officials call up heads of tv network news organization and complain about shows and reporters; their proxies on Faux News, the Weekly Standard, Rush Limbaugh, etc. all say the reporters and organizations are traitors and speak darkly about reviving the Sedition Act. It appears to be the consensus that CBS was punished financially for running the story about Bush's avoidance of military service by making sure it was slapped with huge fines for "indecency" on a show that was no more indecent that those on other networks, who presumably had not displeased the administration in this way.
Maybe they are silent because they see the way the wind is blowing and they fear being smeared, ridiculed and worse.
Or maybe it's simply indifference. The corporate media is brain-dead and marching in lockstep so much of the time now, that they have abandoned even the pretense that they are practicing journalism.
Whatever the reason, the silence is indeed deafening and is yet another indication that the press in this country is part and parcel of the whole, rotted political culture in this country.
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Fascinating quote from Juan Cole today
[Read the article: Only America-hating traitors believe in due process for journalists]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]that does not speak directly to today's post, but several commentors have mentioned the recent events in Pakistan, so I thought I'd share it. On his Informed Comment blog today, Cole writes about the imposition of martial law in Pakistan and the opinion of many that it will not be lifted soon. Then he adds,
"If Bush and Cheney are ever tempted into extreme measures in the United States, Musharraf has provided a template for how it would unfold. Maintain you are moving against terrorists and extremists, but actually move against the rule of law. Rubin has accepted the suggested term of 'lawfare' to describe this kind of warfare by executive order."
I don't believe that anything like Musharraf's actions would be possible in the U.S. today, given the strength of our traditions, but so many once-unthinkable events have taken place over the past six years, that nothing would really surprise me anymore. Still, we are witnessing a slow-motion coup that appears to be succeeding inexorably, slow enough that few appear to be alarmed. No need for a sudden coup when a gradual one works just as well, without the risk of galvanizing a response.
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Reminds me of that the film, "Winter Soldier"
[Read the article: We are the Thought Police]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]the documentary containing testimony by Vietnam War veterans about atrocities committed in our name. I recently watched it with my two teenage boys, and they grew silent and absorbed as the horrifying stories were told. In our small, sheltered American community, several miles from a major military base, they are inundated with images and slogans intended to present a false and reassuring picture of the American military and the righteousness of its mission. In this environment, a film like "Winter Soldier" evokes shock and amazement.
I fervently hope that some brave Americans will be inspired by films like "Winter Soldier" and produce a new version, only with Iraq war veterans, like the ones quoted in this article. Then, it's my fantasy, that everyone who registers to vote in this country should be required to view it before being allowed to enter a voting booth.