This space is dedicated to the proposition that we need to know the history of the struggles on the left and of earlier progressive movements here and world-wide. If we can learn from the mistakes made in the past (as well as what went right) we can move forward in the future to create a more just and equitable society. We will be reviewing books, CDs, and movies we believe everyone needs to read, hear and look at as well as making commentary from time to time. Greg Green, site manager
Saturday, May 09, 2015
Chelsea's
free speech & press Guardian Op-Ed, Bill
We have the right to criticize govt without fear: Chelsea's
new Guardian op-ed
Chelsea Manning calls for an
increase in freedom of information and transparency in her May 6th
Guardian opinion article, "We're citizens, not subjects. We have the right to criticize
government without fear."
"The American public needs more access to what the government is doing its
name," Manning states. When the public does not have access to,
"what its governments and militaries are doing in their names, then they
cease to be involved in the act of citizenship"
However, since 2006, "there have been more national security and
criminal investigations into journalists and prosecutions of their
sources than at any other time in the nation’s memory..."
Chelsea Manning, Guardian OpEd May 5, 2015 When freedom of information and transparency are
stifled, then bad decisions are often made and heartbreaking tragedies
occur – too often on a breathtaking scale that can leave societies
wondering: how did this happen? Think about the recent debates on torture, assassination by unmanned
aircraft, secret warrants and detentions, intelligence and surveillance courts,
military commissions, immigration detention centers and the conduct of modern
warfare. These policies affect millions of people around the world every
day and can affect anyone – wives, children, fathers, aunts,
boyfriends, cousins, friends, employees, bosses, clergy and even career
politicians – at any time. It is time that we bring a health dose of sunlight to
them.
Chelsea Manning's idea for Congress: the National Integrity and
Free Speech Protection Act of 2015
A day after her Guardian op-ed where she
suggests, "a media 'shield' law with teeth," Chelsea Manning
illustrates her point by proposing a, "Bill to Re-Establish the National
Integrity and to Protect Freedom of Speech, and the Freedom of the
Press." #NIFSPA
Chelsea explains via Twitter that NIFSPA would amend the Freedom of
Information Act to make records more accessible to the public,
narrow the Espionage Act and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to
apply only to those intentionally harming the US and anyone else, and
create a federal privilege for journalists and their sources
without any nat.l security exemptions.
Chelsea can continue to be a powerful voice for reform,
but we need your help to make that happen. Help us support
Chelsea in prison, maximize her voice in the media, continue public education,
fund her legal appeals team, and build a powerful movement for presidential
pardon.
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