If Freedom is to be Abused, it Must be Taken Away

That's always been the idea behind the neo-con Rethug political philosophy, but up to now they've pretty much kept it hidden. No more. Now Sarah Palin (aka Caribou Barbie*) has come out on the propaganda arm of the Rethug party (Faux News) with the following statement:

As we send our young men and women overseas in a war zone to fight for democracy and freedoms, including freedom of the press, we've really got to have a mutually beneficial relationship here with those fighting the freedom of the press, and then the press, though not taking advantage and exploiting a situation, perhaps they would want to capture and abuse the privilege. We just want truth, we want fairness, we want balance.

Okay, that's typically Palin -- hazy, disjointed and weird, and you don't really come away having a clue as to what she said. But there's a gem in there. Boil all that crap down and you get this: "freedom of the press ... abuse the privilege".

Sarah, I don't quite know how to tell you this, but "freedom of the press" is guaranteed in the US Constitution, in the First Amendment -- arguably the most important of all the amendments:

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. (Emphasis added.)

Sarah, it's not a privilege that can be taken away. It's a guaranteed freedom under our constitution. Maybe you ought to read it sometime, since you apparently were in the process of school-hopping when they covered it. There are things in there that would surprise you.

BTW, it's especially galling to think that she finally got a degree in, of all things, journalism! I don't know about today's J-School education, but back in the Dark Ages, when I was an aspiring hack and took a bunch of journalism classes, the concept of Freedom of the Press was still alive and well. Now it seems to be on life support, and if these two manage to steal this election, they'll be more than happy to pull the plug.

* HT to Stephanie Miller for this terrific nickname.