Documenting Instanity

The Dems have lost their minds

Hugh covers the firing of ultra-insane Robert Scheer by the LA Times. The interesting thing isn't so much that they fired Scheer but that 24 Democratic Congressmen took this opportunity to send a letter to the publisher asking him to reconsider..... in their official position as Congressmen..... HELLO!!!! There is no separation of Church and State in the U.S. Constitution but my copy distinctly calls for the FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. And their argument is "backed" with a list of topics that Scheer "covered" in their favor. You cannot read this letter and not read between the lines. "He was always on our side, please don't take away his platform to help us." Avoiding things like this is exactly what FREEDOM OF THE PRESS means. That aside, how could somebody actually sign something that begins:

We, as Members of Congress, object to the dismissal of Robert Scheer, a 32-year veteran of the LA Times with a long history of excellence in reporting and op ed pieces.

He might argue for the same things I do some times but I wouldn't sign anything that purported that Michael Savage represented excellence in broadcasting. Hugh has the whole letter. You have to read it to believe it.

The whole point of freedom of the press is that government officials do not tell institutions of journalism what to print or who to print. This is an outrage. If the individual congressmen who actually read the LA Times wanted to complain as news consumers, fine. To put the names of 24 sitting Congressmen (16 of whom don't even live in CA) on a letter to the publisher "suggesting" he reconsider a personnel decision is beyond the pale. They have lost their marbles and violated their oaths.

posted by mailgeek @ 5:13 PM