For decades, we have sat helplessly watching as a government intended to be of, by and for the people became increasingly all about the Party.all about the politics and the politician.
So there is a good reason why the Internet is now the new target for censorship by Washington insiders and media elites alike.. Network news ratings are tanking, newspaper circulations are plummeting and Washington elites are growing weary of answering a steadily increasing volume of mail from we the people. This isn’t how it is supposed to work (in their minds).
We the people are supposed to go to the polls every two years or so and return to our daily routines assuming our elected officials are doing what they promised when they asked for our votes. The press is supposed to be the people’s watchdog, keeping us informed on a need-to-know basis, shaping the headlines to keep us up to speed.
The Internet has messed up everything . Things in Washington generally happen at a snail’s pace. It takes time to gather a consensus and make anything happen there. Meanwhile, information on the Internet is moving at light speed and the people’s reaction to that information is almost instantaneous.
Recent casualties of the people’s new weapon, John Kerry, Dan Rather, arlen Specter and Mary Mapes to name a few, are unnerved by this growing power of the people to gather information on their own and engage in the process of self-governance, becoming their own watchdogs. We no longer need the press shaping our opinions by shaping our headlines. In fact, it turns out that the more aware we become of that practice, the more they get shoved to the ash heap of history.
It is really this simple. When elected officials act in their own self interests, or party interests at the expense of those they are sworn to represent, say by giving themselves a golden parachute retirement plan exclusive to them at our expense while bankrupting the paltry system they force down the throats of us pee-ons, then government is no longer of, by or for the people. No getting around it.
a friend of mine, retired FBI agent Robert Hallett recently inquired in a letter to his Congressman Rush Holt (D) New Jersey, why the FBI was not investigating the forged documents incident at CBS? after all, forging government documents is a federal offense, as is attempting to unseat a President via the use of such documents, constituting "improper use of federal military government documents". Who better to ask the question than a retired FBI agent who spent years investigating such things?
However, in a letter dated January 19, 2005, Congressman Holt’s official response to Mr. Hallett opened with, "Like you, I believe that news broadcasters must be very careful to ensure that the news they report is devoid of partisanship or ideological slant". But Mr. Hallett didn’t ask about partisanship in the press, we’ve come to expect that. He asked about fraud in the press.
Congressman Holt went on to say "The role of news broadcasters is to report the facts objectively. I also agree that news organizations should take pains to ensure that the evidence they use is valid and substantiated." But again, Congressman Holt is simply agreeing with himself, Mr. Hallett raised no such issue.
Congressman Holt said "I believe the matter has been properly handled by CBS." (Referring to CBS’s internal investigation). But since when do we allow private companies involved in federal offenses to investigate themselves? Why didn’t Martha Stewart get to investigate herself? Who is investigating Tyco, or Enron or Halliburton? Why isn’t an internal investigation adequate in these cases?
Surely an overt press attempt to unseat a sitting President using forged government documents rises to the level of these cases, or beyond? Doesn’t it?
Then Congressman Holt ended by saying "as you may know, Dan Rather announced his retirement (effective March 9, 2005) before the investigation concluded. More recently, CBS announced the firing of five people involved in reporting the story, including its lead producer."
In other words, shut up and go away.it’s been handled! The problem is, this last statement of Congressman Holt’s is an outright fabrication, a simple regurgitation of falsehood taken straight from the party playbook, without any regard for the accuracy of the statement. a fact pointed out in Mr. Hallett’s follow-up letter to Holt dated February 28, 2005.
One CBS employee was fired, Mary Mapes. Dan Rather was not fired, not asked to resign and he did NOT retire. He is simply changing job titles, remaining in charge of 60 Minutes II, the show responsible for the original mishap and subsequent cover-up. The other four he mentions were asked to resign, and so far, I believe only one of them has complied with that request.
Clearly, Congressman Holt’s collective statements are of, by and for the party.not the people!
But guess what. Mr. Hallett is not only a retired FBI agent, a former Corporal in the 4th Infantry Division once stationed in Frankfurt Germany in 1956, he is also Internet savvy! He is self-informed and fully engaged in the process of self-governance. and he is among a growing group of people intent upon holding their elected officials responsible with this new found power.
This explains why Congress, the FCC and FEC have a sudden interest in what is going on all over the web. See FEC to extend campaign-finance to Web
Before al Gore invented the information super-highway, we the people were held hostage by the gatekeepers of information. Held at bay by miles of government red tape and layers of diplomatic insulation keeping access to our elected officials just far enough out of reach, that many had thrown in the towel concerning the idea of real self-governance.
My first article of this new year, Meet Big Brother’s BIGGER Brother. was written on this very topic. But even I had no idea how fast Washington would seek to recapture control over the free flow of information.
People like Robert Hallett live all across this nation, they are online, becoming aware and engaging in the process of self-governance. as a result freedom and liberty are on the rise again in america. It is vital to this process that those of, by and for the party keep their grubby mitts off of free speech on the Internet.forever!
Shame on Congressman Holt for even attempting to hoodwink the public today. Has no one told him about the information age? as for those hoping to once again silence their constituents.well, we’re watching..