THE U.S. GOVT. vs. THE FIRST AMENDMENT

If you think you are getting the whole story about the BP oil spill and subsequent efforts to contain and clean it up, guess what: You’re not. In fact, the story has been stymied from all quarters since the beginning of this catastrophe. First, it was BP stalling the press from getting the whole story or photographing the unfolding tragedy. Now, the U.S. government has weighed in with unreasonably punitive new rules of its own.

U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen, the National Incident Commander for the government’s response to the BP spill, has routinely been less than transparent about what is happening along the coast of Louisiana and surrounding areas. But now, his secrecy has taken a giant leap. Last week, Allen announced tighter restrictions on press coverage of the spill. The new rules invoke a 65-foot required distance from all animals, workers and equipment related to the spill. Violators will face fines of up to $40,000 and possible Class D felony charges. A Class D felony charge carries the potential of a jail sentence of up to 25 years. Admiral Thad Allen calls the 65 feet rule a “safety and security zone.”

Allen defends the new rule by saying local government officials have complained that there could be safety and security issues involved. So far, not one local government official has owned up to those concerns. So what is really going on here? Watch:

Add to this the fact that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has already imposed air restrictions that prevent planes from flying below 3,000 feet over the entire spill area. So, we are not allowed to see clear images from the sky or on the ground. How do you feel about that? Me? I’m not feeling too good about it. As I see it, my First Amendment rights are being violated by the U.S. government, and by BP, a public corporation. After Allen’s new proclamation, BP was quick to issue an open invitation to the media. Reportedly, cards went out from BP to 40,000 cleanup workers informing them that they can talk to the media if they want to. How interesting that BP believes it has the authority to give American citizens “permission” to speak to other American citizens. Arrogant would be an understatement. But BP evidently felt it needed to do quick damage control after the government effectively issued a media blackout. Good cop, bad cop, you might say.

BP’s new open policy toward the press apparently did not reach the security department of BP’s Texas City, TX refinery. Photographer Lance Rosenfeld, covering the spill for ProPublica was detained by a BP security officer, local police and a man who identified himself as an agent of the Department of Homeland Security. Listen to what Rosenfeld had to say about the experience:

What happened here is in direct violation of the U.S. Constitution. And if you think that this form of censorship is an isolated incident within our government, consider the new directive issued by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. Back in February, Gates announced the Pentagon would lift the ban on coverage of dead military personnel, whose bodies routinely arrive at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. That seemed like a step in the right direction. However, recently General Stanley McChrystal, senior military commander in Afghanistan, was relieved of his command after statements he made to a Rolling Stone Magazine reporter, criticizing President Obama. Very few Americans disagreed with the decision to replace McChrystal. However, after this incident, Gates imposed new restrictions on media interviews with military personnel. No interviews will take place now without first being authorized by the Pentagon. Again, this is your government controlling the flow of information from your military. As a reporter, I can only imagine the hoops one would have to jump through to get the Pentagon to approve an interview. Those hoops equal delays of information, which equals keeping the public (you) in the dark about issues that directly affect your life.

So, what are we citizens to conclude from the disparate Gates directives? Should we conclude that the Pentagon is okay with media coverage of the dead, but not comfortable with reportage about living military figures? And there’s more: Nothing was made public about the memo Gates issued regarding the new restrictions. The New York Times reports that the memo was funneled to the newspaper by a Pentagon official who was not authorized to release it. So, Gates, who has been repeatedly verbal about his determination to provide transparency and access to the press, evidently decided to restrict the media without even letting media organizations know about it.

Keep this in mind: Any time you lose a freedom in the country, you are not likely to get it back. We have already lost most of our right to privacy. Technology and cultural shifts intersected to cause that. Moves like the ones described herein threaten our freedom of expression. What’s next? Will private citizens be prevented from criticizing the President? Will oil spill cleanup workers be forced to sign confidentiality agreements? Will newsworthy photographs have to be approved by the government before they are made public? Every one of us, including the restrictors, loses when the free flow of information is interrupted or prevented. The national conversation and everything that informs it is critical to the democracy. The democracy may not be perfect, but the last thing it needs is arbitrary censorship.

Are you listening Secretary Gates? How about you, Admiral Allen? And how about you, citizens?

THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS!

In The 60s there was a TV show called That Was the Week that Was. Such a great title, right? Well, if ever there was a news week that was, it was this week. Here are the stories that filled the week’s headlines:

Iran’s Post-Election Uprising: Even though the Iranian government did everything they could to put the kibosh on media reports, private citizens still managed to get the word out about widespread dissent after the election. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad “won” the election, but hundreds of thousands of Iranians took to the streets to dispute the outcome. By taking cell phone videos and photos, and using Twitter to get the word out in 140 characters or less, the whole world has been watching Iran turn upside down. You can follow minute by minute Twitter reports of the upheaval. It is compelling stuff. For a good summary of the election situation published earlier in the week, read Omid Memarian’s “A Coup Manual,” at Huffingtonpost.com. Fascinating.

New Missile Crisis? It was revealed this week that there is credible evidence to suggest North Korea will fire a missile toward Hawaii around July 4. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says we are prepared to intercept it if it is launched. Both Russia and China have reportedly approached North Korean President Kim Jong-il about retreating from his increasingly aggressive nuclear stance, but to no avail. President Barack Obama calls the situation a “grave threat,” and pledges not to reward the country with any incentives in return for them to back down. It sounds like a standoff.

Of Senators and Sex: The David Vitter Memorial Hall of Senatorial Erections inducted its newest member this week. He is Republican Sen. John Ensign of Nevada. Early this week Ensign came forward to admit that he had an affair with a female staffer last year. Ensign, known for his hard-liner stance on family values, was consistently vocal and outraged at Bill Clinton’s behavior during the Monica Lewinsky debacle. Later in the week more details emerged, such as the fact that the woman in question has a husband who also worked for Ensign, and who was getting ready to go to the media about the affair. There were even allegations that the husband was blackmailing Ensign – so far this is unsubstantiated. And even later in the week it was revealed that the woman’s salary doubled during the time she was on Ensign’s staff. I mean here’s a guy who looks like Ted Baxter from the old Mary Tyler Moore show, a seemingly straight arrow (pardon the pun), who holds a full press conference to reveal his indiscretion. Ensign was chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, the fourth-ranking spot in the leadership, but by week’s end he had resigned that position. He’s still a Senator…but then so is David Vitter, okay? Juicy, juicy, right? We probably haven’t heard the whole story yet, but what has come out so far definitely takes its place in the annals of Washington, D.C. sex scandals.

The Business of Show: Morgan Freeman, 72, had sex (allegedly) with his step-granddaughter, 27, from the time she was 16; Bruce Willis and his new wife had S & M photos published in W Magazine; and Billy Joel, 60, is splitting from his 27-year-old wife of five years. There are whisperings about Katie Joel’s wandering eye and some serious time spent with an Israeli designer named Yigal Azrouel,
not 60. Oy.

Memo to Morgan: So not cool, M. Do the words Woody and Soon-Yi ring a bell?
Note to Bruce: Bruce, at 54 most of us try to keep our shirts ON. That other part’s over now.
And, finally, a few words for Billy: “I've lived long enough to have learned - The closer you get to the fire the more you get burned.” Uh, Billy…you wrote that, remember?

Now, that was quite a week that was, right?