Adelbert C. “Del” Marsh, a Republican who refers to himself as a “conservative champion,” is a member of Alabama’s state Senate. He’s also an individual who apparently feels that the constitutional protections of our freedom of speech and freedom of the press should no longer apply if you are someone who covers Alabama politics.
In a recent editorial to the Montgomery Advertiser, Mr. Marsh called for government bureaucrats to be given the authority to “license” journalists who cover local politics in order to protect citizens—read politicians—from “shady, fly-by-night websites offering purposely skewed and inaccurate interpretations of hard news.”
“I recently asked the Secretary of the Senate to put together a definition of what qualifies as a legitimate journalist,” the Republican said. “Every organization and profession has standards that must be met. Because the Legislature does not have a definition of what constitutes a ‘journalist,’ anyone with a smart phone or a Facebook page could demand press credentials.”
Yeah, except for that last part, you can definitely see that Marsh is totally in favor of freedom of the press.
Unfortunately, this attitude about the freedom of speech and press isn’t unique to this idiot. There are politicians in Washington, D.C. that feel the same way, as I wrote in an article last June titled, Joseph Goebbels would love Lindsey Graham. Here’s an excerpt:
Enter Lindsey Graham and the, so-called, “Media Shield Bill.” In a recent interview, he shared the frustration he and (Chuck) Schumer were experiencing as they hammer out the details of what this new legislation should look like:
“Who is a journalist is a question we need to ask ourselves,” he said. “Is any blogger out there saying anything—do they deserve First Amendment protection? These are the issues of our times.”
Who is a journalist? Can a blogger say anything? Yeah, I can see how that would be the “issues of our times,” but only if you believe it’s the goverment’s job to answer those questions. Apparently, Senator Graham thinks it is.
Yeah, I can see where shutting down free speech is a more important issue than the war on terrorism, amnesty for illegal aliens, and doing something to help fix this pathetic economy. Who cares about such petty items when there’s an American citizen with a laptop and an opinion?
As I mentioned in an earlier article about the Court of Appeals judge who considers the right to privacy “over valued,” the Constitution and our God-given rights are under assault. And as you can see, it happening in every branch of government—regardless of party affiliation.
Thomas Jefferson once penned these words:
“The Tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
I hope it doesn’t come to that, but I do believe that we need to fight back against this rising tide of tyranny. If we don’t, we could see the day John Adams warned us about:
“A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.”
