Comments on: Reporter Bill Gertz Ordered to Testify on “Newsworthiness” http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2008/07/newsworthiness.html Secrecy News from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy Sat, 28 Nov 2009 00:31:30 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 By: Ed Stone http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2008/07/newsworthiness.html/comment-page-1#comment-1642 Ed Stone Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:01:19 +0000 http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/?p=1839#comment-1642 Effwit suggest that Gertz might fess up to being a Moonie and having a jihad against our partner in freedom, China. Alternatively, Gertz might simply say something like "The Constitution of the United States protects my publisher's right to publish content of his choosing, without prior restraint. An investigation into the "newsworthiness" of an article creates the spectacle of a government review of first-amendment-protected content against an unstated, and therefore arbitrary and capricious standard. Hearing no authority for the government to evaluate newsworthiness, and seeing no standard against which any submission on our part in defense of newsworthiness might be judged, kindly pound sand, or alteratively, provide the authority for review of newsworthiness and the standard that will be applied and we will gladly review both and determine our course of action." Effwit suggest that Gertz might fess up to being a Moonie and having a jihad against our partner in freedom, China. Alternatively, Gertz might simply say something like “The Constitution of the United States protects my publisher’s right to publish content of his choosing, without prior restraint. An investigation into the “newsworthiness” of an article creates the spectacle of a government review of first-amendment-protected content against an unstated, and therefore arbitrary and capricious standard. Hearing no authority for the government to evaluate newsworthiness, and seeing no standard against which any submission on our part in defense of newsworthiness might be judged, kindly pound sand, or alteratively, provide the authority for review of newsworthiness and the standard that will be applied and we will gladly review both and determine our course of action.”

]]> By: Effwit http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2008/07/newsworthiness.html/comment-page-1#comment-1621 Effwit Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:49:35 +0000 http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/?p=1839#comment-1621 You gotta love the bit about the judge ordering Gertz to testify on the “newsworthiness” of one of his regular anti-PRC stories. The judge can see that something out of the ordinary is afoot, hence the unusual inquiry into Gertz's motivation. It would be nice to be in the courtroom for the answer to the court. "Well you see, your honor, I wrote the article as part of an ongoing information operation against the People's Republic of China. The newspaper that I work for is owned by the Unification Church, which has long been involved in all sorts of international political skullduggery. And besides, I happen to be a Moonie myself, so there are freedom of religion issues here as well as First Amendment concerns." LMAO. You gotta love the bit about the judge ordering Gertz to testify on the “newsworthiness” of one of his regular anti-PRC stories.

The judge can see that something out of the ordinary is afoot, hence the unusual inquiry into Gertz’s motivation.

It would be nice to be in the courtroom for the answer to the court.

“Well you see, your honor, I wrote the article as part of an ongoing information operation against the People’s Republic of China. The newspaper that I work for is owned by the Unification Church, which has long been involved in all sorts of international political skullduggery. And besides, I happen to be a Moonie myself, so there are freedom of religion issues here as well as First Amendment concerns.”

LMAO.

]]> By: Maury Siskel http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2008/07/newsworthiness.html/comment-page-1#comment-1612 Maury Siskel Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:28:07 +0000 http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/?p=1839#comment-1612 Some years ago, the federal Congress lost understanding of the phrase "... the Congress shall make no law ..." and of the phrase, "... ex post facto ..." and more recently of the plain English phrase, "... increase supply ...". Now we have the spectacle of a federal judge who demonstrates that he still has not learned of the legal necessity for a reporter to protect his sources. Sigh.... Maury&Dog Some years ago, the federal Congress lost understanding of the phrase “… the Congress shall make no law …” and of the phrase, “… ex post facto …” and more recently of the plain English phrase, “… increase supply …”.

Now we have the spectacle of a federal judge who demonstrates that he still has not learned of the legal necessity for a reporter to protect his sources.

Sigh….

Maury&Dog

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