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Obama Appointee Sunstein Favors Infiltrating Online Groups
megamerican writes "President Barack Obama's appointee to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs advocated in a recent paper the 'cognitive infiltration' of groups that advocate 'conspiracy theories' like the ones surrounding 9/11 via 'chat rooms, online social networks, or even real-space groups and attempt to undermine' those groups. Sunstein admits that 'some conspiracy theories, under our definition, have turned out to be true' Sunstein has also recently advocated banning websites which post 'right-wing rumors' and bringing back the Fairness Doctrine. You can find a PDF of his paper here. For decades (1956-1971), the FBI under COINTELPRO focused on disrupting, marginalizing and neutralizing political dissidents, most notably the Black Panthers. More recently CENTCOM announced it would be engaging bloggers 'who are posting inaccurate or untrue information, as well as bloggers who are posting incomplete information.' In January 2009 the USAF released a flow-chart for 'counter-bloggers' to 'counter the people out there in the blogosphere who have negative opinions about the US government and the Air Force.'"
Let me know when that actually happens, rather than "hope". And exactly what would you accept as "being crucified" analog?
I will be surprised if anything is made of this other than the "ooops, I got caught" apology, and maybe a slap on the wrist. Nothing would make me happier than if I had to eat some crow.
He should be FIRED. He is not qualified to be in that position if that is how he thinks.
Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
Damn sand always gets in my underwear and leaves me doing the "Elaine dance". Screw Saudia Arabia if you were to just drop a couple of nukes to glass the place, the whole problem would go away.
She got people with two brain cells to rub together worked up because she was monumentally unqualified and unprepared for the job, and choosing her was such an obvious sop to the same emotional whackjobs the parent was complaining about.
Hail Eris, full of mischief...
E pluribus sanguinem
If you read what Sunstein writes, you'll see that he wrote that paper as a legal scholar, not a public official, and he's presenting the dilemma of how best to react to concerted efforts by extremist groups to undermine society and government. He doesn't say that websites should be "infiltrated". I'd like to see anywhere that Cass Sunstein suggested that any website should be "banned", either. He only discusses the "Fairness Doctrine" in the context of public airwaves carrying stations owned by a very small number of corporate entities, severely limiting the diversity of opinions that can be heard on the air.
Nowhere does he actually advocate anything but, as you have said, fighting "bad" speech with more speech.
Sunstein is a real civil libertarian and great believer in a free society. I really hope he ends up on the Supreme Court.
Glenn Beck did this kind of smear on Van Jones, who's an exceptional man who has made a huge improvement in poor areas of California, spreading a message that "cleaning up an environment" isn't just something for rich white folks, and that by paying attention to the environment, at the most local and basic levels, can be socially and economically advantageous even for the poor. He got run out of the administration because he said that "Republicans are assholes" which is demonstrably true. But the free speech of this private citizen wasn't as important to Glenn Beck than being able to hang the pelt of a (black) liberal on his wall so he did this kind of smear on Jones on a nightly basis until he had to resign rather than keep the spotlight on himself.
Fox News has a long "enemies list" of people it believes should be forced to resign from public life. This is how they work.
You are welcome on my lawn.
Browse digg and sometimes Huffpo and you'll find that that's not entirely true. Obama has a definite fan club...
I agree, but when people suggest that certain people shouldn't be allowed to say certain things because they're wrong, it's kind of frightening.
I fully support his right to say that. We need a good laugh after such a tragedy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairness_Doctrine
So people know what we're talking about. And people should really read the linked documents in the story, and respond to the facts, rather than the implications.
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
Actually, I think the reason why they want to bring back the "Fairness" (yea, right!) Doctrine is because the number of people completely pissed off at the government keeps growing larger and larger, and they're not staying quite anymore. This is a desperate attempt by a political party that knows that they're going to be tossed out on their asses in next years elections trying to manipulate the media to calm down the rising tidal wave of dissent.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." ~Thomas Jefferson
Yeah it's amusing to hear right-wing loons like the GP say such things while they ignore that even renowned conservatives like Ronald Reagan weren't above executive branch power grabs such as these. While this doesn't excuse Obama in this, as his administration is despicable for even proposing such a thing, the legacy of the Patriot Act and Bush's legions of Executive Orders paved the way for such a thing to happen.
So... you're saying that this is Bush's fault? Really? Sure, Bush allowed government to do more to fight terror and the like but never really abused it except to fight terror and the like. Obama abuses it against his political foes (Sunstein has also recently advocated banning websites which post 'right-wing rumors') and it's Bush's fault?
Sorry, nothing in the PATRIOT Act allows the government to shut down private websites because of political speech.
There is no "I disagree" mod for a reason. Flamebait, Troll, and Overrated are not substitutes.
The only times Obama has been attacked by the left is for not acting enough like a dictator. More than half of the country is pissed that Obama is trying to force through Obamacare as (in Obama's own words) "a first step to a single payer system". The left is pissed that Obamacare isn't jumped straight to complete government control.
So yes, he's been attacked by the left - but only for not acting even worse than he already does.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." ~Thomas Jefferson
Hey all you Obama-maniacs....how's that hope & change workin' out for ya? In all fairness, he isn't the only one...this has been going on for generations. 1984 was just a couple of decades late.
My simple point is that there's a large group of people willing to let Obama say and do things they opposed Bush doing, simply because he's Obama. Nothing more.
Is there a reason you use the (Republican Party created) term "Democrat party", just out of curiosity? It paints your whole post as mere partisan hackery, especially after reading some of your previous posts. I'll make this clear: I am not a Michael Moore fan. I hate propagandists and shills. That being said, I have made a habit lately of catching Rush Limbaugh's program on the radio. The other day I listened to this man opine about how it would be irresponsible to expect taxpayers to pay for a lifesaving operation if you could not afford it yourself. Just die if you can't pay was the message.
I'm sorry, but the man is a worthless fucking pig who pollutes the airwaves, and comes damn close to directly inciting violence: "The dream end of [Operation Chaos] is that this keeps up to the convention, and that we have a recreation of Chicago 1968 with burning cars, protests, fire, and literal riots and all of that, that is the objective here." I don't think he should be forcefully taken off the air, as that would be censorship, but I do think that programs like his need to be VERY clearly advertised as entertainment and nothing more. Easily lead people end up, well, easily lead.
...and really, a Dittohead? Barack the Magic Negro and all that? I find that very sad.
and apparently only the 1st Admendment, as both have the brain and body of a sea slu
Once again, liberals resort to personal attacks. And this from a party with some dried up dike in charge of the house of representatives, and a racist white people hater as president.
This is my sig.
While I'm grateful too, that we're not going into any other conflicts right now, and with all due respect to you, I'm not really concerned with how my leaders make life easier for any other country in the world but mine own....and right now, he's fucking bankrupting us over here. Yes, other administrations started it, but, he's piled on top of it two-fold...that reason alone (among many others) gives me worry about surviving his 'reign' for the next 3 years.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........