Tag Archives: free speech

Dick Durbin isn’t sure Bloggers are covered by the First Amendment:

You gotta be kidding me. How repugnant.

Durbin is backing a ‘media shield law’ alongside Lindsay ‘I need to be primaried’ Graham that seemingly wants to go beyond the various state shield laws protecting reporters from divulging their sources. Key quote from Durbin Via Daily Caller:

“But here is the bottom line — the media shield law, which I am prepared to support, and I know Sen. Graham supports, still leaves an unanswered question, which I have raised many times: What is a journalist today in 2013? We know it’s someone that works for Fox or AP, but does it include a blogger? Does it include someone who is tweeting? Are these people journalists and entitled to constitutional protection? We need to ask 21st century questions about a provision that was written over 200 years ago.”

Dear Dick Durbin: It’s called the First Amendment. Everyone has the right to free speech. Yes, that includes bloggers. Here’s a reminder:

“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.”

Is Durbin suggesting we need to create a media class? Our “media” is already running amok and can barely bring themselves to do their jobs. To designate a special class, protected in what they write, lends itself to even further abuse. Suggesting that there needs to be some kind of journalist class pushes the idea that there then needs to be registration of some kind. Who would do that registration and credential giving? The obvious answer is the government and voila, welcome to State Run Media.

Nick Gillespie makes the similar points to mine:

It’s easy to understand why he would be bothered by unwanted leaks in his administration. But his problem is the press’s gain. By definition, any media-shield law is predicated upon the government defining just who counts as a “journalist” and is thus worthy of protection—and who doesn’t count and is thus subject to prosecution. Thanks, President Obama, but we don’t need no stinking press badges, especially in an age where all sorts of decentralized reporting and unconventional news gathering come online faster than the next second-term scandal. The First Amendment is all the shield law any American needs, especially when it’s supplemented by the protections offered by the Fourth and Fifth Amendments. What we really need is a president who lives by the Constitution more than he nods to it.

EXACTLY. Read the whole thing.

As a blogger, I see things locally and nationally that others might not see. I report on those things to those who subscribe to me or wish to listen. I am one of millions out there and that is a very good thing. We need more voices, not fewer. Giving different perspectives, opinions and information is essential for a free society. It is the need to speak out and offer a different opinion that started me blogging in the first place. I don’t get paid for this. I do this because I believe in what I write and I have every right to be heard. I do this so my kids will have the same ability to speak out that I have. Right now, with Durbin’s statement and the mounting scandals in this administration, that fight is more real than I truly ever wanted to imagine.

Bottom Line:

No one select group of people should have an official stamp on news and information or have a soapbox all their own. That is how freedom and liberty die and dictatorships are formed. Continue reading →