Free Press....YOU BET>>> Check out this LETTER in a ReD StAtE

[greenbriar]

Free press

I'm writing about the ongoing controversy over the revelation by The New York Times of the Bush administration's secret financial spying. Many -- including columnist Cal Thomas ("New York Times giving aid, comfort to enemies," July 5 Opinion) --have suggested that the release of such information is treason. Such poppycock!

The administration, Thomas and their ilk want to have it both ways. They leak information to the media when it suits their politics (such as the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame), but whine when a leak does not serve them. We saw no such outrage over the leak by Karl Rove and company regarding Plame.

Remember, people: Even the most despicable dictator or tyrannical regime allows "freedom of the press" when it suits its purposes. If you really want to reside in a country without freedom of the press, try Iran or North Korea, where the media are free to report whatever the government tells them. The media should not simply be a cheerleader for an administration (can anyone say "Fox News"?).

To paraphrase Thomas Jefferson: If I had to choose between newspapers without government or government without newspapers, I would choose newspapers.


http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/editorial/14996487.htm