Slashdot Mirror
Bill Could Restrict Freedom of the Press
WerewolfOfVulcan writes "The Washington Post is carrying an article about a disturbing Senate bill that could make it illegal to publicly disclose even the existence of US domestic spying programs (i.e. NSA wiretaps)." An aide to the bill's author assures us it's not aimed at reporters, but the language is ambiguous at best. From the article: "Kate Martin, director of the Center for National Security Studies, said the measure is broader than any existing laws. She said, for example, the language does not specify that the information has to be harmful to national security or classified. 'The bill would make it a crime to tell the American people that the president is breaking the law, and the bill could make it a crime for the newspapers to publish that fact,' said Martin, a civil liberties advocate."
...counting the days until Bush is out of office. Seems that only after that will we have a chance to recall all of this crappy legislation.
I had trouble believing the DMCA happened... yes I know it's not from the current administration, but it could never be pulled until Bush is gone. I'm still in disbelief over the powers of "Homeland Security" and there is no sign of that being balanced in any public way. I have started having trouble sleeping since before the patriot act was passed, but with each new mention of it, it seems to get worse. And this? My initial reaction was "Hahha... this would be impossible! The media would never let the public hear the end of it resulting in public outcry against it." But then I think about the previously mentioned crap... there's strong possibility that it could happen in spite of how obviously this flies against American morality.
It's 3am here and I wonder if I will be able to sleep again tonight...