Rezko investigations, Sanchez bill point to clampdown on US freedom of press

Every senator and representative should be required to read and study the US Constitution before taking office. Then they should have a written test. If they fail the test, they should not be seated.It’s hard to believe, but England’s regressive libel laws are impinging on freedom of the press in the US. WikiLeaks, the website hated by politicians of all persuasion, has just taken England’s libel laws to task over convicted felon Tony Rezko’s associations. Apparently media outlets attempting to investigate have been stymied by legal threats. The analysis at WikiLeaks is pretty complicated, but it’s substantial enough to cause concern.

This is a perfect example of the danger of over-globalization, as I call it. I brought this up at The US Report in an article about state sovereignty, mentioning President Barack Obama’s pick of Yale Law School dean Harold Koh for the position of Legal Advisor at the US Department of State. Rick Santorum wrote about Koh for The Philadelphia Inquirer, saying Koh believes the courts have ‘a central role to play in domesticating international law into U.S. law’ and should ‘use their interpretive powers to promote the development of a global legal system.’

If Koh’s perspective doesn’t trouble you, consider a new bill the Dems are pushing. Democratic Party representative Linda Sanchez (Calif.) has introduced HR 1966, the Megan Meier Cyberbulling Prevention Act. The bill allegedly addresses potential for harm to children bullied on the Web, stating, “Whoever transmits in interstate or foreign commerce any communication, with the intent to coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to a person, using electronic means to support severe, repeated, and hostile behavior, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.” Technically President George W. Bush could sue The New York Times (or MSNBC for that matter) under the language expressed in this law. I wouldn’t mind seeing that happen, but let’s face it, we really don’t need government controlling our messaging any more than they do at present. I may not like what someone writes, but I will defend his or her right to express it.

Sanchez’s bill is named for the child who was duped by an adult presenting herself as a young boy. The child, Megan Meier, committed suicide. That is a tragedy, but I do not believe impeding freedom of the press will prevent such tragedies.

I’d suggest Sanchez and Koh read the US Constitution. And I’d suggest all in Washington uphold the oath they take to defend this country and the document that has created what may be the freest society in the history of the human race. We certainly don’t need a clampdown on US media, whether someone’s using a foreign court, misguided ideas about rewriting our Constitution or ineffective ideas about protecting children (isn’t that a parent’s job by the way?) And really, ask yourself how the Dems can claim intellectual superiority when someone like Sanchez can get a bill that is technically unconstitutional moving along anyway. If freedom of the press goes out the door, your individual freedoms will be right on its heels.