The Missouri Press Association is worried that Sen. Kit Bond wants to chill the ability of government whistleblowers to leak important information that public officials don't want you to know.
Bond introduced a bill this month that would make it easier to prosecute leaks of classified information. The association, which represents most of the state's newspapers, told him by letter last week that his bill could prevent the public from learning about "government wrongdoing, waste and mismanagement."
"A delicate balance is continually sought between the public's right to know and the need of the government to protect secrets," the letter stated.
Bond proposed the bill in response to recent newspaper disclosures about secret government efforts to track the financial dealings of terrorists and acquire Americans' telephone records.
Defending his bill, Bond wrote in an op-ed piece that it's only intended to cover government employees or contractors who deliberately leak classified material to unauthorized people. "It does not affect the media, business, or private citizens...We must send a message that leaks will not be tolerated."
Posted by David Goldstein
Kit Bond has never exhibited concern for "rights" of the people or their journalists.
Kit Bond has one agenda: Kit Bond. Missouri has re-elected this narcissistic clown one time too many.
Posted by: Political Moderate | August 14, 2006 at 08:39 PM
Why do I think that the Republicans will pass Bond's bill and then take every opportunity to classify ANY info that relates to government. My crystal ball sees some poor guy in chains for whistleblowing because he reports torture abuses a la Abu Ghraib.
The entire push by this administration to ink over transparency is frightening. There's a fine article in the Washington Post that relates to exactly this issue. "Increasingly, Bush Escapes the Media Pack" http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08
/11/AR2006081101834.html?nav=hcmoduletmv
Posted by: Patricia Williams | August 14, 2006 at 11:08 PM
Actually, Kit bond used to be what was called a moderate Republican -- the kind that had some interest in protecting the rights of the people, the general welfare, etc.
But -- in what is ironic, given the right-wingers opposition to science -- Kit had to evolve or go extinct to fit in the right-wing swamp that has become the Republican Party. Sort of an odd reverse type of "evilution" where having a brain big enough to notice that the earth is not really flat is a disadvantage.
Whether it is this sort of thing or his late-night raging against non-existant vote fraud, his towing of the party line is all the more embarrassing because of what he once was.
As bad as what the Republican Party has done to the nation is what they have done to themselves. The Party of TR has become the Party of Halliburton.
Posted by: KC Cicero | August 15, 2006 at 05:19 PM
KC Cicero---Please expound on your thesis. Why would a guy that once was pretty okay, decide it was critical to abandon his life-long sense of justice?
I'm not disagreeing...I'm asking?
Posted by: Political Moderate | August 15, 2006 at 06:53 PM
BTW, does this statute apply to Karl Rove and Dickie Cheney for exposing Valarie Plame as a CIA agent?
Posted by: Political Moderate | August 15, 2006 at 10:04 PM
Kit Bond has turned his back on our country. He is a puppet of global corporations. He swore to uphold the constitution but I'm not sure he even understands why it was written. Whistleblowers are patriots who risk thier freedom to protect ours and I believe they should be protected. He is afraid of what him and his party has done being exposed and is trying to block any attempts to shed light on thier crimes.
Posted by: John Evans | August 16, 2006 at 10:57 PM