Hastert thinks 1st Amendment kills Americans

What House Speaker Dennis Hastert said this week reminds us all why we need a new House Speaker after November's midterm election:

Declaring that "loose lips" kill Americans, atop congressional Republican leader said on Wednesday the House ofRepresentatives will debate a resolution condemning the U.S. media forexposing details of secret intelligence programs.

Themove heaps more criticism on The New York Times and other newspapersthat reported last week on a secret program by the U.S. TreasuryDepartment that tracks private bank records.

"Whatwe're talking about is people who are leaking classified information.It's not news. It's classified information our government is using tofight terrorists," said House Speaker Dennis Hastert, of Illinois.

First of all, "loose lips" do not kill Americans, loose-minded policies kill Americans.  We have 2,500 soldiers that have died in a war that I would like to believe was fought to help protect our 1st Amendment right to move our lips freely.

Also, isn't it interesting that every Republican lawmaker and pundit is jumping at the New York Times?  The Wall Street Journal reported the same thing.  Oh wait, could it be that they are attacking the New York Times because it is liberal, and not attacking the Wall Street Journal because it is conservative?  Gee, I wonder.  If anything, loose lips put CIA agents like Valerie Plame in danger.  Of course, that's an issue that Republicans don't want to talk about because, as usual, it's an ongoing investigation.

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Other blogs writing about this issue: The Sun is Not Hot, First Draft, Thorn Tree, Chatter, Tom's Irrelevant Musings, Orthopraxy.