Pope John Paul II has been rushed to the hospital amid problems breathing during a bout with the flu.

This kind of story in the news biz is to put it bluntly the kind of story where a beloved or famous figure is aging or sick and the press starts to cover their health closely due to an anticipated sad outcome. The details:

VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul II was rushed to a Rome hospital on Tuesday night, "as a precaution," after his flu worsened and he developed breathing problems, the Vatican said.

The Pope, 84, was taken to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, three days after it was announced he had flu and was forced to cancel all of his appointments. According to a Vatican official the Pontiff has flu and acute laryngeal tracheitis.

The Pope is not in intensive care.

"The influenza which has affected the Holy Father for three days is complicated this evening with acute breathing problems … for this reason it was decided to urgently hospitalize [the Pope]," said a statement from Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls.

Pope John Paul has been in poor health for many years, but he has seldom let that get in the way of his official duties. He regularly says mass and greets pilgrims who travel to the Vatican.

We’ve just received this email from a mysterious source indicating this shows one of the U.S. military said to have been seized by terrorists in Iraq.

Some are skeptical about an an earlier image, but we can’t understand how they can be…

Are newspapers edging out the middle as they opt for "red-meat" ideological columnists hired for their clear cut positions, rather than giving columns to reporters who’ve put in years of reporting?

Veteran columnist Georgie Anne Geyer thinks so — and she makes a good argument for this position. Indeed, over the past 20 years columnists, op-ed pages, and television seem to have chosen conflict and controversy as the goal versus a more tranquil discussion of ideas. Why? Readership/ratings (duh). But Geyer, a veteran foreign reporter on the old Chicago Daily News (I was writing for the CDN as a "stringer" in New Delhi, India in those days)  as well as other assignments presents an intriguing argument.

She starts out:

WASHINGTON — Two cases of prominent conservative newspaper columnists being paid by government agencies for their work, emerging within a matter of weeks, may seem to attentive Americans as if they are one and the same.

Really, they are quite different. But both cases are examples of a sobering trend in opinion writing that I call the "ideologicalization" of commentary: The far left and far right have taken over much of the commentary in newspapers and on TV, and we are lacking the intelligent middle.

She then recounts the cases that came to light of columnists getting money from various parts of the Bush administration — then points out this:

Columnists — and in particular, syndicated columnists, who are bought by many papers across the country and have a special niche in journalism — are uniquely necessary. They allow readers to pit themselves, day after day and year after year, for or against the ideas of one thinker. But syndication, wonderful as it is, does not pay well; you just have to do other things.

I, for instance, have never done any work at all for "the government," but I do appear on a Voice of America show called "Issues in the News," which goes around the world and in which three journalists discuss the news of the week. We say exactly what we want and, lest anyone leap to untoward conclusions, we earn such a pittance that I would be embarrassed to note it here, for fear of the hilarious laughter that would ensue.

I think we have two issues here: the ideologicalization of commentary, a la the far right, that we have spoken of, but also the privatization of the public relations of government agencies, which reflects this administration’s intense secrecy and isolation from the mainstream press.

Fair enough, although some will argue the way those statements are framed. More:

I  consider myself a politically moderate, well-traveled, constantly reporting columnist of the old style — I came up completely through journalism and not through special-agenda politics, like so many columnists today. But many newspapers have played into the new ideologicalization and privatization, as well. At one point, the prestigious Los Angeles Times unbelievably divided its commentary page into "Left" and "Right," as though such a division could possibly explain the world.

Indeed, you note the same phenomena on programs such as CNN’s Crossfire, Fox News’ Hannity and Colmes and a host of other programs where they pit a central-casting style cliche liberal viewpoint against a central-casting cliche style conservative viewpoint. "On the other hands" oftentimes need not apply.

There have been happier times in history for those in the middle in terms of the  prevailing connotations of the word "centrist," the electoral strength of moderates — and the whole way debates are now framed in campaign primaries (candidates in both parties tend to run more towards the right or left, then move a bit towards the center in the general election).

And she ends with this:

If columnists keep coming up from the ideological ends of the spectrum, and if editors continue to cosset them because they are provocative instead of insisting upon commentators with deep journalistic backgrounds, then we’re going to keep having these problems. The real world is made up of complexities that transcend ideology, and those are almost always the realities of the middle.

Here is where I differ with her:

1. There is indeed a new consensus on the part of many Americans that it is not a virtue to be a centrist or a moderate because that means you’re wishy washy. That’s puzzling but on the other hand I can understand it (and THAT sentence is snark, so don’t flood me with emails). BUT:
2. It’s an error to say only those with journalist background can be columnists and think in terms other than ideological.
3. Georgie Anne Geyer is a highly respected reporter with a solid track record. But some who have "deep journalistic backgrounds" can be those who got where they did by learning how to play the brown-nosing corporate game to advance and by doing some office-politics back surgery  on co-workers. The problem with putting a premium on deep journalistic backgrounds is that there is more to working for a newspaper or magazine than just reporting and writing. It also requires skills in advancing — and surviving — in a corporate world. (On any number of publications a new editor may come in and force the old team out to get his own crew in).

Will this trend continue? If you listen to talk radio on the left and right, and watch some of the cable news/talk shows, it often seems as if America has undergone the Jerry Springerization of news.

But there ARE outlets for those in the middle who choose to discuss issues without name calling. For instance, read The Christian Science Monitor.

So is the middle vanishing? Yes, it’s smaller than it was.

Is this contributing to polarization? Yes, because young people born into this new political culture think that’s the way it should be — because that’s what they see.

But there are news outlets and blogs that are identified as left and right that definitely have a perspective yet are thoughtful and insightful rather than emotional and in constant campaign mode.

And here’s a little secret: knee-jerk reactions are not limited to those without deep journalistic backgrounds.

The extent to which Dan Rather has sandbagged his own career as it draws to a close is never more evident than in a New York piece, Black Days At Black Rock.

We were first alerted to this article via an email from RatherBiased.com, the news site that started scrutinizing Rather and news a few years ago. (They have a great overall synopsis of this article with readers’ comments). What’s striking is that in the end future generations will be looking at articles like this for their journalism projects or research — and it’s evident more than ever how tarnished Rather’s (and CBS’s) legacy now is.

Some key quotes:

–When CBS News President  Andrew Heyward talks to staffers after he has fired some bigwigs over the 60 Minutes Memogate fiasco staffers sense CYO, bigtime:

“I’m here to put a human face on today’s sad events,� the CBS News president said solemnly.

“Then why didn’t you get a human being to come over here and do it?� one producer was heard to mutter. Many in the room felt Heyward’s words rang particularly hollow, given that he had not demonstrated any particular humanity by sacrificing the careers of his trusted lieutenants and friends, while managing to preserve his own. When Heyward stopped speaking, he was met with stony silence.

–CBS Staffers feeling The Elite of their organization live on despite their mistakes:

In the aftermath of that day’s traumatic events, there remains a strong sentiment among many CBS News insiders that the punishments don’t fit the crimes—and that those most responsible have gotten off far too lightly. Much internal anger has been directed at Leslie Moonves, the chairman of CBS and co-CEO of its parent company, Viacom. It was Moonves, after all, who spared Heyward from being fired and instead removed West, Howard, Murphy, and the story’s producer, Mary Mapes, from their jobs. And now Moonves is personally overseeing the news division’s makeover of its last-place CBS Evening News, which will be without a permanent anchor at 6:30 P.M. on Thursday, March 10, for the first time since CBS News began a nightly fifteen-minute newscast in 1948.

–A paragraph about Rather that will be quoted for years by his die-hard enemies and anyone who does a profile on him:

Rather knew full well the story’s implications for the presidential election then only two months away. The anchorman’s experience at going after sitting presidents is well known, as is his dogged pursuit of tough assignments. But Rather’s reputation as a Bush hater, true or not, has allowed journalists to wonder whether Rather helped rush the story on the air partly for political reasons. “Elections have consequences,� the anchorman had been heard to mutter around the CBS News hallways last year, an apparent reference to his feelings about the crucial importance of replacing Bush this past November.

–Yet MORE indications that Rather seemingly forgot the most basic training journalism students receive and sacrificed solid confirmation to get a story first:

One fascinating, largely overlooked paragraph in the commission’s report strongly supports the theory that Rather actively pushed the story through without adequate concern for its factual basis. While Rather told the commission that he warned Heyward of the story’s “radioactive� nature, Heyward denied to the commission that Rather ever said such a thing. Indeed, Heyward—once Rather’s executive producer at the Evening News—told the panel that when he warned Rather, the weekend before the story aired, to make certain the documents were real, Rather replied simply: “Of course.� In a later conversation, Heyward recalled Rather’s saying he did not want to “lose the exclusive.� Heyward recalled getting the impression from Rather that they were trying to beat another news outlet to the “scoop.�

–And then this quote which suggests Dan Rather may have learned something from his nemesis the late President Richard Nixon about hunkering down no matter what:

“Should Dan resign for his part in this story? Yes,� says one CBS News executive. “Will he? No. It’s just not his style.�

CBS’s failure is not forcing him out, given his clear journalistic sins. The fact you see a quote like this shows that the inmates are running the asylum (not meant literally, of course…).

But, then, if CBS goes through with its plans to cancel Rather’s 60 Minutes Wednesday Show, it’ll represent nearly the same thing — cushioned within a face-saving exit for the red-faced network. How can viewers live without Dan? If you look at the ratings, apparently quite easily….

Our occasional everything-on-it linkpizza. MANY different political viewpoints are offered for your consumption. Opinions do not necessarily represent the views of The Moderate Voice.

THE TRIAL OF THE KING OF PERPS POPS BEGINS and Jeff Jarvis is (rightfully) cringing:

Oh, gawd, the Michael Jackson trial begins. We watch him going to lunch. We watch him coming back from lunch. We watch the poor guy whose job it is to hold an umbrella over the poster boy for the dangers of fame. We watch MJ being wanded — no pat-downs here. We watch reporters fill time. And it’s just the first day. We’re sentenced to months of this.

They said on TV today that 1,000 journalists had applied for credentials to cover the trial. Why, lord, why?

The Inimitable James Wolcott has lots to say on the Iraqi elections. He MUST be read in full (whether you agree with him or not) but here’s a small part:

Indeed, (the Iraqi people’s) example should shame Americans, who have curled up into a fetal position with cowardice since 9/11, wanting to the state to make them feel "safe" no matter what the cost to civil liberties and personal freedom here and abroad.

What I dread is how this day will be used by the new centurions. The Iranian blogger Hoder with whom I had the pleasure to lunch when he visited New York (something I haven’t mentioned previously, for worry it would ruin his rep and get him de-linked by certain sulky bloggers), sensibly, succinctly observes today, "On the one hand I’m really excited that Iraqi people have been able to start the path to a potentially democratic political system, on the other hand I’m really upset that this will embolden neoconservatives and will be seen as a confirmation of their dangerous plans for the world."

DO TOP CONSERVATIVE BLOGGERS TALK ABOUT A SELF-CORRECTING BLOGOSPHERE WHILE TURNING OFF THEIR COMMENT HOSTING? Kevin Drum thinks so and gives you specifics. But aren’t there really many possible reasons for this? Just think if Glenn Reynolds, aka InstaPundit, had commenting on and all of the name calling he’d experience, plus the cuss words. Not to mention spams. I know of several bloggers that have been almost burned out due to commenting. (We have even had some minor problems on this site, but most readers offer useful suggestions. PS: I took my computer and tried and but it won’t fit up there.) Bottom line: the reason why a given blogger doesn’t use comments probably has less to do with ideology and an unwillingness to deal with opposing viewpoints than whether factors combine to make comments useful or too much of a hassle (deletions due to obscenties, porn, excessive name calling).

GUESS WHO PROTESTERS IN BRAZIL HAVE LABELLED THE NUMBER ONE TERRORIST? I’ll give you one guess (and he’s not a guy with a mangy beard).

DETAILED INFORMATION ON THE COLORADO PROFESSOR WHO’S IN HOT WATER AFTER CALLING 911 VICTIMS "LITTLE EICHMANNS" has been compiled by Wes Roth here. Note that he’s writing this for a South Dakota blog. His zippy Drudge-like Wes Roth Report is worth visiting frequently (but it is MORE RELIABLE than Drudge in terms of not running exclusives that don’t hold up and disppear…and he has never run a headline about "Jew groups.").

DOES THE US NEWS MEDIA HAVE A DOUBLE STANDARDL ON THE HOLOCAUST? The Basque blog Ingeleraz thinks so.

MORE ON THE IRAQI ELECTION RESULTS from Kevin Featherly, who has a long analysis which must be read in full. An excerpt:

I will confess that I did not believe this turn of events was likely to
happen. I will spare some reservations for exactly what it means; it
could be that the elections weren’t disrupted more broadly because the
insurgents have some other bigger plans. Or it could be that Iraq has
turned the corner on the insurgency, and will now beat it back with
their ballots. It is impossible at this stage to know. We won’t even
know for 10 days or so the exact outcome of the elections.

But one thing is undeniable. The Iraqis turned out at a rate of
about 57 percent nationwide, or about 8 million voters. And in
Baghdad–in the heart of the Sunni triangle, where walking the streets
is normally perilous, let alone during an election that terrorists
threatened to derail–turnout was huge….

And that was true despite obstacles that undoubtedly would have brought
turnout rates in an American election down to something like single
digits……It isn’t that the terrorists took the day off. There were in
fact attacks: Nine suicide bombers managed to kill some 36 people.
Iraqi citizens were taking chances with their lives in order to
exercise their democratic right to vote.

IS THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY STARTING TO RESEMBLE A MONTY PYTHON SKETCH? According to Roger Morrow it is.

INDIA COMES OF POLITICAL AGE: Daniel Drezner has a great post about post-tsunami India…and clearly India has grown. This is MUST READING since it must be read in full. But as someone who was a dedicated student of Indian politics and affairs; interned on the Hindustan Times in New Delhi; and worked and wrote there as a freelance for papers such as the Chicago Daily News and The Christian Science Monitor, I can tell you: Dresner’s post really reflects a shift. India was long considered the world’s clunkiest bureaucracy, aside from being the world’s biggest democracy. But if you read his post you see how India has begun to live up to the expectations many political scientists have had for many years — of it becoming a true regional power.

YOU KNEW this was going to happen one day, right?

NEW YORK (AP) — Old school: The body is a temple.

The Next Big Thing, according to 31-year-old Joe Tamargo: The body is a billboard.

Tamargo, who runs a Web site LivingAdSpace.com, has started a new enterprise, selling advertisers the opportunity to permanently tattoo their messages on his body.

After posting his offer on eBay, the responses began to trickle in.

Two advertisers earned spots on his right arm — and put a little more than $1,000 in his pocket. A California pharmaceutical company last week posted an ad for pilldaddy.com for $500. On Thursday, Tamargo earned $510 to have "Save Martha! It’s a good thing. SaveMartha.com" permanently etched farther down the same arm.

"They say there’s nothing better in advertising than word of mouth," said Tamargo, who lives on Long Island. "I figured, this might be better."

Maybe he has something there, since tattooing has come a long way.

There was a guy who had a map of the United States tattooed all over his body. His private parts contained Arizona. They even wrote a song about him that had the lyric: "By the time I get to Phoenix, she’ll be rising…"

And then there was the guy who had a prenuptial agreement tattooted on his private parts. It didn’t stand up in court.

The Washington Post has a story "Decoding Why Few Girls Choose Science, Math" which looks at Thomas Jefferson High school. And it reaches some conclusions — but runs smack, dab into the rational analysis of Betsy Newmark, who is also a teacher.

Read her entire post but here’s a small taste about how she picks apart research that’s generalized - and asks some questions that beg to be answered before any stock is put in this research:

I somehow doubt that boys are more exposed to blocks than girls. Every
little girl that my daughters played with had sets of blocks. And the
girls played with them, but the girls definitely liked the stuffed
animals and dolls better.

Why don’t they turn the stories around and look at the boys who aren’t exposed to dolls in their childhood?

Excellent question…And:

Why have a computer systems lab where you downplay the presence of
computers? Huh? Isn’t that the purpose of the class? Do you think girls
are so dumb that they won’t realize that the class is about computers?
And what girl is intimidated by the mrere presence of a computer?

I
say that if the school can turn out successful students who go on to
have great college careers, don’t mess with success by tinking with
things here and there to cater to some perceived problem with gender
balance. The article doesn’t mention if there is the same gender
disparity in the advanced humanities classes. I suspect that there
might be. Why isn’t that a problem to be addressed?

Perhaps because it wouldn’t  make for such a high-profile "high concept" study, because it’d get into too many grey areas that make a simple broad-brush conclusion more difficult?

The AP reports that an American G.I. has allegedly been captured by "insurgents" — which means terrorists – who threaten to behead him in 72 hours if all Iraqi prisoners aren’t released.

UPDATE: But some websites now conclude the photo shows….an action doll figure.. A hoax(?).. Read this before you read the original post below. Then this. MUST READING!!!!

We will give you our original post below here anyway (the points are still valid if someone is seized):

Clearly (NOT so  clearly now…JG):

• This is a demand that they know can’t be met.
• This is the second shoe dropping after the first shoe dropped — Iraqis defiantly going to the polls to vote and endorsing democracy despite death threats from terrorist forces and even violence on election day. This is their ANSWER.
• If it’s confirmed that they have an American G.I. it’s unlikely this will have a happy ending. Brace yourselves.

But this is the kind of act that some analysts predicted would come soon on the heels of the election which not only brought praise for the way in which democracy was ushered in, but a vow from Al Qaeda that it would conduct a holy war in Iraq.

It looks like that second war may have been formally launched today:

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Iraqi militants claimed in a Web statement Tuesday to have taken an American soldier hostage and threatened to behead him in 72 hours unless the Americans release Iraqi prisoners.

The posting, on a Web site that frequently carried militants’ statements, included a photo of what appeared to be an American soldier in desert fatigues seated with his hands tied behind his back. A gun barrel was pointed at his head, and he is seated in front of a black banner emblazoned with the Islamic profession of faith, "There is no god but God and Muhammad is His prophet."

A statement posted with the picture suggested the group was holding other soldiers.

"Our mujahadeen heroes of Iraq’s Jihadi Battalion were able to capture American military man John Adam after killing a number of his comrades and capturing the rest," said the statement, signed by the "Mujahedeen Brigades."

"God willing, we will behead him if our female and male prisoners are not released from U.S. prisons within the maximum period of 72 hours from the time this statement has been released," the statement said.

The claim, carried on the Web site ansarnet.ws, could not be verified.

TMV thanks Backcountry Conservative for the tip.

UPDATE: THIS JUST IN! Just look at this. It’s said to be ANOTHER IMAGE of another captured military hostage…

Here’s a new sign that the average computer may be getting smaller — and more powerful:

Hewlett-Packard Co. researchers will introduce groundbreaking nanotechnology
today that could replace traditional transistors on computer chips with tiny,
molecular structures — a development that could make smaller, more powerful
machines possible.

The work is part of the $213 billion semiconductor industry’s mad dash to
find new ways of miniaturizing computer chips and overcoming the physical
limitations on how small transistors can be shrunk.

The industry is constantly trying to build smaller devices with more
computing power. The current boom in miniature music players and cell phones
with multiple capabilities are examples of smaller chips making handheld devices
more useful and marketable. The promise of even-smaller chips holds similar
business opportunities for Silicon Valley and beyond.

Stanley Williams, director of HP Labs’ Quantum Science Research in Palo Alto,
said Monday he believed the traditional way of making chips by squeezing more
transistors on a piece of silicon will hit an insurmountable wall by 2011 or
2012.

"We know that the (current semiconductor technology) will come to an end, "
he said. "What this provides is an opportunity for the functionality of the
electronics to get much better after (chips) run into that roadblock."

Even if the breakthrough is adopted by the chip industry, experts don’t
expect it to be market-ready for at least another seven years.

HP, the venerable Silicon Valley giant, is not alone in its quest to build a
smaller mousetrap, so to speak. Other high-tech behemoths, such as Intel Corp.
and IBM, also are looking at ways to build chips using new materials and
manufacturing processes.

What this means is: a)your computer will not be outmoded immediately (although by the time you buy a new computer it is basically outmoded already), b)the computer as we know it — particularly the big desktop computer — will within decades be as outmoded to computers as a crank-powered Victrola is to a CD player.

A top GOPer seems to be systematically laying the groundwork for a 2008 Presidential run — the son of a famous politician, and now governor of a major state…but his initials aren’t J.B.

They’re M. R.:

Friends and supporters of Governor Mitt Romney have established a political action committee that has lavished more than $250,000 on Republican candidates and county GOP organizations across the nation since July, apparently laying the groundwork for a potential presidential run for the Massachusetts politician in 2008.

The Commonwealth PAC has pumped more than $35,000 into the campaign coffers of Republican candidates for the US House and Senate in 17 states and has created state subsidiaries that have distributed tens of thousands more in four key states: Iowa, South Carolina, Michigan, and Arizona.

Romney’s allies insist the donations do not indicate he plans to run for president, but political operatives and lawmakers on the receiving end of the cash say the Massachusetts governor is following the same path of other successful presidential nominees in the past. Other potential candidates for 2008 have also established PACs to distribute money.

”What the governor is doing is smart politics," said Luke Byars, executive director of South Carolina’s Republican Party, which hosts the first presidential primary in the South. ”Our motto at the Republican National Convention was, ‘We elect presidents.’ If you’re going to be successful in your run, you have to come through South Carolina."

One factor in his favor: it’s increasingly clear that Senators don’t have as much success in running for President as Governors. A few factors working against him: whether Jeb Bush will run (this assuming that by 2008 the Bush name is still the equivalent of political gold for the GOP) and whether a new election cycle will kick in, where voters opt for a Democrat after 8 years of GOP White House dominance.

….at two SUPERB blog news aggregators.

First, there’s the new blog Pundit Drome which is super cool. It displays boxes showing 30 blogs from varying viewpoints (TMV is highly honored to be one of them) and lets you view these constantly updated blogs on an easy to read screen. This is a GREAT place to check out a wide variety of ideas — and because it’s constantly updated you can visit often. We just discovered it and it’s already a favorite.

A similar concept with a different layout, different mix of varying viewpoint blogs (but some overlaps) can be seen by visiting the great Centerfield News Aggregator, which bills itself as "A Politically Balanced Aggregator of Centrist, LIberal and Conservative Blogs" — and it is. It’s the product of Centerfield’s Rich Heller. Once again, it’s constantly updated. Scroll down and at any minute of the day you can read  what many different blogs are covering.

Both of these are worth bookmarking and visiting often. They save you a lot of time because you can read an excellent cross section of weblogs in one spot. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

You just KNOW there will be lots of speculation — and jokes — about this:

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton collapsed Monday during a speech but aides said the former first lady quickly recovered from what they described as a fainting spell triggered by a 24-hour flu and continued on to a second public engagement.

She’s fine," aides to the junior senator from New York told NBC News.

An aide to the 57-year-old Clinton, who spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said the senator had been suffering from a flu bug but pressed ahead with an appearance at the private Saturn Club before a group of women voters.

She was speaking about Social Security in a warm room in front of 150 people when she briefly lost consciousness, according to the aide.

That Social Security issue will do that to you (I’ll wait and see it when it’s turned into a movie).

And that is one of the more tasteful jokes  (rotten) you’ll see. The 24-hour-a-day Hillary haters will have a field day with this one. (I don’t belong to that club and I just came up with — and deleted — three tasteless jokes.)

The fainting spell is bound set off some speculation. In normal times, an aide saying it’s the result of a flu bug would be enough — but these are highly political…and polarized…times. So we are sure to see follow up stories.

The bottom line is, no matter what the cause, fainting while giving a political speech is not generally considered a good career move. it’s the AUDIENCE that should be left breathless…

If you were expecting young people to be at the forefront of protecting the first amendment for themselves and future generations you are apparently mistaken.

It sounds as if quite a few young folks consider the First Amendment (not to be confused with the inalienable right to party) boring and nothing to get all that worked up about:

WASHINGTON - The way many high school students see it, government censorship of newspapers may not be a bad thing, and flag burning is hardly protected free speech.

It turns out the First Amendment is a second-rate issue to many of those nearing their own adult independence, according to a study of high school attitudes released Monday.

The original amendment to the Constitution is the cornerstone of the way of life in the United States, promising citizens the freedoms of religion, speech, press and assembly.

Yet, when told of the exact text of the First Amendment, more than one in three high school students said it goes “too far� in the rights it guarantees. Only half of the students said newspapers should be allowed to publish freely without government approval of stories.

“These results are not only disturbing; they are dangerous,� said Hodding Carter III, president of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which sponsored the $1 million study. “Ignorance about the basics of this free society is a danger to our nation’s future.�

Indeed, it sounds like a lot of young people believe:

1. Government knows best.
2. Government has the right to decide which opinions get expressed or published. (Some bloggers won’t make a big deal out of that one until the day comes when someone proposes or successfully implements controls on what bloggers write.)

More:

The students are even more restrictive in their views than their elders, the study says.

When asked whether people should be allowed to express unpopular views, 97 percent of teachers and 99 percent of school principals said yes. Only 83 percent of students did.

That’s not THAT big difference. And then there’s this:

The results reflected indifference, with almost three in four students saying they took the First Amendment for granted or didn’t know how they felt about it. It was also clear that many students do not understand what is protected by the bedrock of the Bill of Rights.

Three in four students said flag burning is illegal. It’s not. About half the students said the government can restrict any indecent material on the Internet. It can’t.

“Schools don’t do enough to teach the First Amendment. Students often don’t know the rights it protects,� Linda Puntney, executive director of the Journalism Education Association, said in the report. “This all comes at a time when there is decreasing passion for much of anything. And, you have to be passionate about the First Amendment.�

The partners in the project, including organizations of newspaper editors and radio and television news directors, share a clear advocacy for First Amendment issues.

We DO have the right to self-expression although there are limits (spell that one J-a-n-e-t   J-a-c-k-s-o-n-’-s  b-r-e-a-s-t  o-n  l-i-v-e  n-a-t-i-o-n-a-l T-V).

…and so was the child.

PS: Some parents are dumb. Can’t we demand they get licenses before they conceive?

Last week Jack Grant and Greg Piper were gracious enough to fill in as Guest Bloggers for us and they did a superb job. Jack is a scientist. And Greg Piper has just been hired to be fulltime reporter for a newsletter publisher.

You can read about it here — but the most interesting fact is that he landed a job bigger than the one he applied for.

That means his employer is exceedingly smart. (And his employer is letting him continue his blogging).

ANSWER: As low as humanly — and inhumanly — possible: