By: Diane Benjamin
April 28th will mark 12 years for BlnNews.com. I only started writing because I saw lousy local reporting on things that matter.
The 1st Amendment guarantees Freedom of the Press – unless government has other plans. There is a hearing going on today in the House because they are considering a Press Freedom bill. Sharyl Atkinson and Catherine Herridge, both formerly of CBS have been targets of the Federal government. Herridge is currently held in contempt of court for not revealing confidential sources.
Think about that one folks, government wants sources eliminated if they reveal truth to a reporter. Without a FREE PRESS their is no freedom. Expect zero coverage today if you watch main stream media. It’s disheartening to need a bill when the 1st Amendment is perfectly clear.
Respect for media decreases daily because many people know propaganda when they see it. A 25 year NPR employee just wrote this story lamenting where NPR went wrong: https://www.thefp.com/p/npr-editor-how-npr-lost-americas-trust?utm_source=tfptwitter
If you aren’t on social media I’m sure you never saw it. Is NPR going to return to journalism? I doubt it because of this:
Just a random NPR story: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/04/11/1243954362/bird-flu-spread-cattle-mutations-respiratory-human-risk
Most stories on social media have “Share” buttons because many readers is usually the goal of writing. Look at the “Share” buttons in this story:
The middle on is some kind of magazine, otherwise this story can only be shared to FacebooK or emailed.
What’s missing?
So far the local NPR affiliate, WGLT, hasn’t caved to the national censorship. A random WGLT story: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2024-04-10/former-isu-athletics-director-sheahon-zenger-named-illinois-wesleyans-new-president
What share buttons do they have?
X, formerly Twitter, is missing from the national NPR stories. WGLT includes X and LinkedIn.
Why would NPR national not include X? Twitter used to be ruled by progressives and government propaganda. Since Elon Musk bought it now it’s a Free Speech zone. NPR evidently can’t handle free speech.
Yes, I will be watching to see if WGLT adopts the national NPR policies. I predict Uri Berliner will be “retired” soon from NPR. That would prove truthful reporting is not the goal of NPR.
Meanwhile I have no plans to retire.
Well Diane, I told Carol Davis recently at an event with Ben Berquam a couple of weeks ago , “I want to be the next DIANE BENJAMIN!” I didn’t know how long you have been at and now I do. That’s why I am attending the Training this Saturday. My holdback is my age and a bit Electronically Challenged. I want to get a blog already set up, and all I want to do is write. Hope you can give me some tips Saturday. Thanks for all you do. Sangamon County and the Capitol City of Springfield, Illinois have absolutely NO ONE reporting the news, To me it is actually scary!! We have no idea what’s going on! I was just interview by a Free lance writer from the Illinois Times, he is writing an article about our Senior Building, The management is terrorizing seniors. So glad he stepped up to help us! Watch the city scramble when it come out!
Laws are created every month at the federal and state level stripping away our basic civil rights for “increased security”, or “enhanced means of tracking bad guys”. These are just a couple of the excuses used to defend the continued suppression of our freedoms, liberties and rights as US citizens.
But, just one example, simultaneously the government is allowing and even protecting, funding and promoting an Illegal alien (1st illegal act-crossing the border illegally) who had illegally obtained (2nd illegal act-obtaining the firearm) an illegal firearm (3rd Illegal act) to now have a Judge issue an order allowing that same Illegal Alien the RIGHT to possess it without the required restrictions (FOID CARD) placed on the law abiding citizens and gun owners of Illinois.
These laws restricting citizens rights are created to protect the government, and those in power.
The red-flag laws and the latest additional restrictions added to them. “Law-enforcement must confiscate the firearms.” No longer can the accused relocate their property to another FOID card holder temporarily. Additionally, once the police confiscate the firearms, there is no process to regain the those firearms. They are gone forever. Additionally, the accused has no right to confront their accuser in court, they lose their 6th Amendment rights as the Red-Flag law is “Ex-Parte” with “anonymous” as an acceptable form of accuser.
Theoretically, “anonymous” can disarm every gun owner and every illegal citizen can the. Be armed according to this latest court case in Illinois. But, if you’re a law abiding citizen you must first obtain a FOID card, which the ISP, conducts a background check on every two days on each holder of and at every firearm purchase.
I wonder who owns the business doing those background checks?
“Shall not be infringed!” Didn’t include permission or require a card to be shown to buy a gun or allow the government to add exorbitant “Tea Tax” on ammunition, add cost through the use of “LAWFARE” in the courts by suing gun manufacturers and scaring owners with phone calls from law-enforcement.
Civil Rights are God given and that scares these people, because they can’t take them without convincing us that they have the power.
At least NPR has acknowledged and responded to the critique https://www.npr.org/2024/04/09/1243755769/npr-journalist-uri-berliner-trust-diversity
Yep, it went over their collective ability to process.