Did you know press freedom is actually authoritarianism?
Judge Laurence Silberman, a Reagan appointee on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, is very concerned that media outlets have a little too much protection from government suppression — the the news organizations he considers to be liberal, that is.
Silberman, you may recall, was the judge who got utterly whipped by a Black clerk last year when he tried to argue that the Civil War wasn’t about slavery.
Is this the same Silberman David Brock of Media Matters worked closely with before his epiphany? Quick check–yes. Silberman, despite his lifetime appointment to be a judge–I had no idea he was still around–has been a GOP dirty trickster and a hack of the highest degree long before hackery had been raised to the nefarious art form perfected by the GOP. Wow, still slinging his **** at age 85. He needs to go. The GOP has completely gone over to “do harm” side of things–they enjoy it and have no interest in anything to do with a democratic society. So of course, he’d LOVE to shut down the NYT!
The jokes just write themselves about McCarthy not being the brightest bulb.
When asked by CNN for his reaction when he learned he possibly had Covid-19, McCarthy said he was shocked and added, “I didn’t know it … nobody on my staff got it either.”
One of the weird things about this is that he doesn’t seem to recognize how overturning this ruling might work against the loony-right media. They defame democrats every day. (Or maybe his point is that since companies like Dominion can file completely justified suits against right-wing media figures, right-wing types should be able to file bogus suits against the mainstream media just as easily.
Also: who are Silberman’s clerks? Because I am pretty sure at 85 he didn’t write this screed entirely without help. They’re the hatchet boys/girls of the next generation.
This old fart is on Senior Status since November…he should be keeping his trap shut rather than being allowed to take part in any case: Just go away…NOW.
It should be borne in mind that the first step taken by any potential authoritarian or dictatorial regime is to gain control of communications, particularly the delivery of news. It is fair to conclude, therefore, that one-party control of the press and media is a threat to a viable democracy. It may even give rise to countervailing extremism. The First Amendment guarantees a free press to foster a vibrant trade in ideas. But a biased press can distort the marketplace. And when the media has proven its willingness—if not eagerness—to so distort, it is a profound mistake to stand by unjustified legal rules that serve only to enhance the press’ power.
You can almost hear him justifying the insurrection (“countervailing extremism”) and blaming cancel culture.