That headline is accurate, but sounds pretty scary.
Part of the point of this post, apart from highlighting this incident, is to point out how something that sounds scary as it should, turns into people likely rushing to defend their 'side' once the specifics are listed - oh, it's MY party doing it, well then let's look for why it's a good idea!
One of the reasons not to limit false information too much - as I've said in a post arguing we be careful about limiting Fox lies - is that if you limit lies, then when the political powers that be can decide what is a lie, they have just gotten the power to censor the truth as well.
That's the case here IMO - the GOP calling an ad that tells the truth a lie and demanding that in American, the ad not be allowed to air, to discuss the issues.
Republicans should share in the outrage for this - the better ones will.
The ad attacks the Republicans for trying to end Medicare. They do. The Republicans try to lawyer their way into it being a lie - the new program they replace with Medicare, they'll still call Medicare, to Medicare wasn't killed; the woman in the ad looks old enough she's in the grandfathered clause before Medicare is ended. Whoop de do.
This is pretty outrageous as an attack on free speech.
The Republicans have shown they'll do about anything for power.
Supress voting? Check. Pass measures to make it harder to vote for the same purpose? Check. Commit historic abuse of the filibuster? Check. Blackmail the President threatening to block approval of all his appointments? Check. Shut down the government if their demands aren't met? Check. Fail to increase the debt ceiling and protect America's credit if their demands aren't met? Check. Send a horde of GOD Congressional staffers to riot and disrupt a reocunt of votes for President? Check.
There are many more, but now we can add free speech to the list of things they'd kill for power.
Here's a link to the story:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...2011/03/03/AGDHN3HH_blog.html?wprss=plum-line
Interesting coincidence, that a Republican (but Obama appointed, further endearing him to us progressives) FCC commissioner just voted to approve a mega merger by Comcast and then announced her resignation to join the new company as an executive - you might have thought Comcast would have done their friends a favor, showing the sorts of conflicts of interest that happen. For once, Comcast deserves credit for not doing as the Republicans demanded.
Do you support the party making this demand to censor free speech, whether or not you agree with them on the issue of Medicare?
Part of the point of this post, apart from highlighting this incident, is to point out how something that sounds scary as it should, turns into people likely rushing to defend their 'side' once the specifics are listed - oh, it's MY party doing it, well then let's look for why it's a good idea!
One of the reasons not to limit false information too much - as I've said in a post arguing we be careful about limiting Fox lies - is that if you limit lies, then when the political powers that be can decide what is a lie, they have just gotten the power to censor the truth as well.
That's the case here IMO - the GOP calling an ad that tells the truth a lie and demanding that in American, the ad not be allowed to air, to discuss the issues.
Republicans should share in the outrage for this - the better ones will.
The ad attacks the Republicans for trying to end Medicare. They do. The Republicans try to lawyer their way into it being a lie - the new program they replace with Medicare, they'll still call Medicare, to Medicare wasn't killed; the woman in the ad looks old enough she's in the grandfathered clause before Medicare is ended. Whoop de do.
This is pretty outrageous as an attack on free speech.
The Republicans have shown they'll do about anything for power.
Supress voting? Check. Pass measures to make it harder to vote for the same purpose? Check. Commit historic abuse of the filibuster? Check. Blackmail the President threatening to block approval of all his appointments? Check. Shut down the government if their demands aren't met? Check. Fail to increase the debt ceiling and protect America's credit if their demands aren't met? Check. Send a horde of GOD Congressional staffers to riot and disrupt a reocunt of votes for President? Check.
There are many more, but now we can add free speech to the list of things they'd kill for power.
Here's a link to the story:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...2011/03/03/AGDHN3HH_blog.html?wprss=plum-line
Interesting coincidence, that a Republican (but Obama appointed, further endearing him to us progressives) FCC commissioner just voted to approve a mega merger by Comcast and then announced her resignation to join the new company as an executive - you might have thought Comcast would have done their friends a favor, showing the sorts of conflicts of interest that happen. For once, Comcast deserves credit for not doing as the Republicans demanded.
Do you support the party making this demand to censor free speech, whether or not you agree with them on the issue of Medicare?