Treason, The Press and Waking Up
A couple of days ago I did something I didn’t want to do. I banned a frequent Donklephant commenter from the site for suggesting that a NY Times editor should be handed over to terrorists. Why was he so angry that he said something like this? Well, because the NY Times printed information about the government searching through our bank records.
Those comments got me thinking, particularly about how many people are crying “Treason!� Not only in the right-wing blogosphere, but also in supposedly fair and balanced media.
As I considered that, I realized that these people are actually calling for journalists to be killed for the “secrets� they’re reporting. Yes, death.
So while those who cry treason proclaim the press to be the most dangerous institution in the country, I’m pointing the finger right back in their faces.
Read the rest of my thoughts over on Donklephant.
5 Responses to “Treason, The Press and Waking Up”
On some tips/leaks from government insiders the media should out of common sense reasoning have “some” reservations.
But this “Swift” thing is ridiculous.
Doesn’t bush and his bunnies figure that by now, after four or even more years, that the terrorist organizations on their own, all by themliloleselves, at least guessed that the U S government had long ago tapped into their money transfer process and didn’t need the NYT and other news publications to tell them about it?
Who’s kiddin who here.
bush n company aren’t fooling anyone but themselves.
But we all better watch out for that rubberstamping fascist, Nazilike right wing bunch in congress to be pulling the same thing the real Nazi’s of the 30′s and 40′s did…rewrite law and enact new law that totally suppressed and stopped all forms of media publications that didn’t conform to Nazi propaganda.
And that friends the congress has the power to do, even to the point of thwarting all efforts of the U S Supreme Court. And there are enough near brain dead rear window bobbleheads in Congress’ right wing that can be talked and swayed into going along with the fascists,,,just as they have already done.
First, the government wasn’t searching through your bank records, unless you were wiring around large sums of money through international banks.
Secondly, the NY Times also posted the location and security layout of a couple administration high-rankers. I’d consider that pretty treasonous, in a “if I did it to an NY Times editor, I’d get sued off my ass” sort a way.
Do you honestly believe that the terrorists knew that they could bypass the USGov’s monitoring by keeping transactions limited to 999 USD or less each? Or a list of which banks used this more?
I’m doubtful. Even if they did know (which is a bit harsh to say, given that we kinda traced a couple convicted terrorists with it), we still forced them to waste manpower using fairly inefficient methods to avoid what they thought was a very wide net. The Times decided to give them exactly the minimum they’d have to do to avoid.
Despite very few Americans being checked into. Despite NIL United States laws being broken. Despite Congress being briefed.
I can’t quite suggest handing them over to terrorists (I’m of the opinion that prison sentences are so much more educational), but the far opposite edge, that the Times should be given a Pulitzer for this load of crap, isn’t exactly honest reporting either.
Well put gattsuru. Chippedchips repeats the standard “but they must have known” crap that passes for an intelligent response from the left – but the fact is they did not, until NYT’s intervention, know details.
According to the NYT themselves, the program was legal, was working, and had congressional oversight in place. If they felt that any of these was not in place or insufficient to the task of ensuring privacy, they could have run a story without revealing specific details of the program.
The problem is that the NYT and many lefties do not understand or agree that the West is at war. That is the only non-treason-related explanation for this incredibly counter-productive behaviour.
Anyone that suggests the authors of this travesty should be put to death or given to terrorists is clearly ridiculous. But they certainly should be held to account and made to reveal the identities of the leakers (perpetrators of the actual crime).
it is of course wrong to hand NYT editors over to terrorists. They are entitled to a due process of law.
And under said due process, they wouldnt be convicted of treason. Treason requires intent to aid the enemy, which Im sure cant be shown to exist.
But I think we as readers and citizens have every right to be angry with the NYT.
The only real legal definition for treason I’m aware of is “whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States,” 18 U.S.C. § 2381. I don’t believe it’s necessary to prove intent, only action.
All that’s required is to prove comfort (pretty much a given) and aid (which would likely be provable within the SWIFT events, regardless of how well or poorly SWIFT worked). If we really want to be nice, we can grab two TimeSelect readers, if there are that many, as witnesses.
But it’s not politically viable to arrest and imprison journalists, for some reason.