Feb. 17, 2005 - 19:31 MST

THE WONDERING JEW

Blindfolded

Sometimes current events or non-events leave me shaking my head. Seems like this is an ever recurring thing. Todays Rocky Montain News had a short item in its editorial page anent this. In Full:

Repoprters face time for no crime

"So how did this pointless CIA leak investigation get so far afield ? This week a three-judge federal appeals panel ruled that reporters Matt Cooper of Time and Judith Miller of the The New York Times must dvulge their confidential conversations with government sources or do up to 18 months in jail."

"The probe is intended to find who in the administration "outed" CIA agent Vallierie Plame, the wife of administration critic Joe Wilson. Miller did some reporting on the disclosure but never wrote about it and Cooper wrote about it only after columnist Robere NOvak published the original leak. It's not ever clear what law they violated."

"The district and appeals courts have ruled that reporters have NO special privileges under the First Amendment to refuse to testify in a criminal inquiry. The two reporters plan to appeal -- to the Supreme Court if necessary."

"But as we've said before, none of this would be happening if there were a federal shield law in place that protected journalists from being compelled to reveal confidential sources. One is in the works, too late to help Cooper and Miller."

"To make this whiole case even more unsettling, the prosecutor SUBMITTED SECRET EVIDENCE TO THE COURT THAT COOPER, MILLER AND THEIR LAWYERS WERE NOT ALLOWED TO SEE. MIller neatly summed up the unfainess of this whole probe when she told her newspaper, "I risk going to jail for a story I didn;t write, for reaasons a court won't explain." "That is your basic CHILLING effect on a free media."

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If I have an opinion, do I risk having some ding-dong presenting "secret evidence" to a kangaroo court that will slam me behind bars ? ? ? ? ? I dunno, but I'm gunna opine anyhow.

Seems to me that the Fit Hits the Shan when things come out that would embarass the bareass folk. So, here we go again.

If I tell someone something in confidence and later see that my confidence was violated, will I ever dare tell anyone anything ? There was a leak and if I remember rightly there was a lady killed because of this leak, but, what ever - - - - the publics right to know is in grave danger if witch hunting is rife among us. Now it seems somewhat true that Justice Is Blindfolded . . . . . . . . .