I am getting tired of the art of leaking. Some politicians use it to advance their agenda by undermining the process of government and the need for security. Then disgruntled employees of government use it to undermine their employers. We really don’t need to know everything all the time at the time of it happening.
Agree, I worked in politics for years. Leaking to the press was standard procedure when trying to undermine opponents and control the narrative. As I wrote, leaking national security secrets is bad, but these lines can be blurred.
Perhaps, if lives of a military or secret service active operations are genuinely involved,....however, seems this is a "catch all" to silent exposure of wrongdoing,...& really, what is a national security secret? ....especially when clearly it is not? In my view it is & has always been, anything they say to hide wrongdoing. Typical Big Bro gets it wrong and goes after the citizens here with a wrong "solution" RATHER than the seriously going after the terribly corrupt FBI, CIA & Judiciary that pursued & prosecuted Trump for years & years with fake Russia-gate claims and fake re "Russia collusion & vote influencing" connections .....They ALL knew they were fake & they are the ones ought be prosecuted not harmless whistleblowers. (And NB I am no Trump fan...just a Truth & Justice fan!)
The very word 'secrecy' is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths, and to secret proceedings.
Maryanne notes "And history shows that no government, Left or Right, can resist the temptation to censor or punish dissent." Quite right! The hallmark of all dictatorships is they begin by "criminalising/imprisoning or murdering" folks for free expression - (and this frightens everybody to remain silent about terrible things). Really, this is just the same by THREATENING journos & anyone with "financial murder", "selective prosecutions" & "law-fare" eg. Mary Kosakidis. BTW it also corruptly enriches others from ridiculously long "legal" processes for years & years. Assange was never even charged and was effectively "detained" by use of "law-fared" for about 15yrs. These rules are further dangerous departures from rights of free expression in USA & our traditional "rights", which BTW, are defined as inalienable rights under The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
And then TNI is journalists censoring their own international journalist group
For those unaware of its global reach:
The Trusted News Initiative (TNI) is a global partnership launched in 2019 by the BBC to combat misinformation and disinformation, especially during critical events like elections and health emergencies. It brings together major news organizations and tech companies to coordinate real-time alerts on harmful false narratives. TNI targets disinformation involving vaccines, COVID-19, elections, and state-sponsored propaganda. Members include the BBC, Reuters, AFP, AP, CBC/Radio-Canada, ABC (Australia), The Washington Post, Meta, Google/YouTube, Microsoft, and Twitter/X (formerly). Critics argue it can lead to over-censorship, while supporters view it as vital for protecting democratic information integrity.
What this article underscores — and what genuinely troubles me — is the growing normalization of censorship through bureaucratic mechanisms dressed up as “safeguards.” We’ve seen this technocratic mindset thrive in recent years: a class of unelected officials, agencies, and intelligence insiders quietly expanding their power to control narratives, often under the guise of protecting national security or public order. While Trump’s return promised a bold pushback against this machinery — and his executive order on free speech was a welcome start — Bondi’s memo feels like a step in the opposite direction. It reasserts control through the very same structures that many of us hoped would be dismantled. If we’re serious about restoring liberty, we must remain just as vigilant under this administration as we were under the last. Free speech isn’t safe simply because the rhetoric has changed — it’s only safe when power is constrained, no matter who holds it.
I am getting tired of the art of leaking. Some politicians use it to advance their agenda by undermining the process of government and the need for security. Then disgruntled employees of government use it to undermine their employers. We really don’t need to know everything all the time at the time of it happening.
Agree, I worked in politics for years. Leaking to the press was standard procedure when trying to undermine opponents and control the narrative. As I wrote, leaking national security secrets is bad, but these lines can be blurred.
Perhaps, if lives of a military or secret service active operations are genuinely involved,....however, seems this is a "catch all" to silent exposure of wrongdoing,...& really, what is a national security secret? ....especially when clearly it is not? In my view it is & has always been, anything they say to hide wrongdoing. Typical Big Bro gets it wrong and goes after the citizens here with a wrong "solution" RATHER than the seriously going after the terribly corrupt FBI, CIA & Judiciary that pursued & prosecuted Trump for years & years with fake Russia-gate claims and fake re "Russia collusion & vote influencing" connections .....They ALL knew they were fake & they are the ones ought be prosecuted not harmless whistleblowers. (And NB I am no Trump fan...just a Truth & Justice fan!)
The very word 'secrecy' is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths, and to secret proceedings.
John F. Kennedy
JFK kept some secrets that should be aired and are being so today. I don’t really rate the man as an upright leader with integrity.
Maryanne notes "And history shows that no government, Left or Right, can resist the temptation to censor or punish dissent." Quite right! The hallmark of all dictatorships is they begin by "criminalising/imprisoning or murdering" folks for free expression - (and this frightens everybody to remain silent about terrible things). Really, this is just the same by THREATENING journos & anyone with "financial murder", "selective prosecutions" & "law-fare" eg. Mary Kosakidis. BTW it also corruptly enriches others from ridiculously long "legal" processes for years & years. Assange was never even charged and was effectively "detained" by use of "law-fared" for about 15yrs. These rules are further dangerous departures from rights of free expression in USA & our traditional "rights", which BTW, are defined as inalienable rights under The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
And then TNI is journalists censoring their own international journalist group
For those unaware of its global reach:
The Trusted News Initiative (TNI) is a global partnership launched in 2019 by the BBC to combat misinformation and disinformation, especially during critical events like elections and health emergencies. It brings together major news organizations and tech companies to coordinate real-time alerts on harmful false narratives. TNI targets disinformation involving vaccines, COVID-19, elections, and state-sponsored propaganda. Members include the BBC, Reuters, AFP, AP, CBC/Radio-Canada, ABC (Australia), The Washington Post, Meta, Google/YouTube, Microsoft, and Twitter/X (formerly). Critics argue it can lead to over-censorship, while supporters view it as vital for protecting democratic information integrity.
So our ABC is a member of a censorship group
What this article underscores — and what genuinely troubles me — is the growing normalization of censorship through bureaucratic mechanisms dressed up as “safeguards.” We’ve seen this technocratic mindset thrive in recent years: a class of unelected officials, agencies, and intelligence insiders quietly expanding their power to control narratives, often under the guise of protecting national security or public order. While Trump’s return promised a bold pushback against this machinery — and his executive order on free speech was a welcome start — Bondi’s memo feels like a step in the opposite direction. It reasserts control through the very same structures that many of us hoped would be dismantled. If we’re serious about restoring liberty, we must remain just as vigilant under this administration as we were under the last. Free speech isn’t safe simply because the rhetoric has changed — it’s only safe when power is constrained, no matter who holds it.
Maryanne, the Democrats destroyed Journalism long ago. Mainstream Journalists are just a treasonous arm of the Democrat party.