Report: US Drops to 46th in Press Freedom - during most "transparent administration"

[Tsing Tao]

As a result of the Most Transparent Administration in History...

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2014/02/12/American-Journalists-Are-Losing-Ground

According to Reporters Without Borders, America dropped 13 spots on the World Press Freedom Index 2014, designed to rank 180 countries in terms of the freedoms journalists enjoy and the regulations placed on them by government authorities.

The Index, published Feb. 11, shows that America now ranks number 46, below countries like South Africa and France. The Index has been published annually since 2002, but the 2014 ranking for America marks one of the most significant declines ever reported.

According to Christophe Deloire, the Reporters Without Borders Secretary General, the World Freedom Index is based on seven criteria: the level of abuses, the extent of pluralism, media independence, the environment and self-censorship, the legislative framework, transparency and infrastructure.

Investigative journalist James Risen believes the Index rightly shows the drop in American journalists’ freedoms due to crackdowns on reporters and whistleblowers and the efforts of the Obama administration and the National Security Agency to limit the amount of information America has concerning the “War on Terror” and other subjects.

“I think 2013 will go down in history as the worst year for press freedom in the United States modern history,” James Risen said.

Risen, who has reported for the New York Times since 1998, said he has personally felt some of the backlash of the guarded Obama administration and has seen some of his colleagues suffer repercussions as well.

Rather than pursue journalists, the Obama administration has focused on their sources—the two most scrutinized whistleblowers being Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden.

“We have an administration that came in claiming that it was going to be the most transparent in history when in fact it is one of the most secretive in history, and certainly the most aggressive anti-press administration in modern American history,” Risen said.

The day after Obama’s inauguration in 2009, he signed an executive order into law that would hold the government accountable to the American public.

“Transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency,” Obama said.

However, the Associated Press, the NSA, and IRS scandals have marred Obama’s reputation for transparency.

 

[LEAPup]

Obama mr transparent. That's like Rosie odonnel claiming to be "the sexiest woman ever." Anytime Onazi says something in public, expect the complete opposite to be his intention. After all, libs have proven themselves to be without any integrity whatsoever.

 

[Lucrum]

As a result of the Most Transparent Administration in History...

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2014/02/12/American-Journalists-Are-Losing-Ground

According to Reporters Without Borders, America dropped 13 spots on the World Press Freedom Index 2014, designed to rank 180 countries in terms of the freedoms journalists enjoy and the regulations placed on them by government authorities....

 

[Lucrum]

(CNSNews.com) -Vice President Joe Biden told fellow Democrats they should be optimistic about the state of the nation, “in spite of who’s president.”

 

[Lucrum]

http://cnsnews.com/commentary/jen-kuznicki/where-are-adherents-constitutional-oath


If the President of the United States can change a law without consulting Congress, what makes him different than a King?

Article I Section 1 of the United States Constitution, of which this President swore to uphold, on a Bible containing the Word of God, grants the powers to Congress, which in Section 2 describes the House and Section 3, the Senate. Big deal, eh? Who cares that Sections 4 and 5 have to do with elections and rules, because if we have a King, it doesn't matter.

If that is all true, then why in Article I Section 6 do we bother to pay the House members or the Senate?

And I'm still waiting for an answer on why the law Obama keeps unlawfully changing is still a law, since it did not originate in the House of Representatives, as all revenue raising bills are to do as described in Article I Section 7.

Or are we just skipping the first 7 sections and going right for the meaty, "Congress shall have the power to lay and collect taxes" and to borrow money and make laws and so on as found in Article I Section 8.

Woe to the current leadership of Congress and present occupant of the White House, for they are certainly not giving the people much confidence in their actions, and are punishing us for their lack of courage and clarity of thought, but especially because they swore on the Bible they would defend that Constitution and protect us from enemies foreign and domestic.

Not only that, but they work in slow motion when the people who are actually defending the Constitution are targeted by the administration, I mean, where is the leadership, and why do the citizens even have to say something? They are supposed to uphold the Constitution for us!

President Barack Hussein Obama has refused to enforce laws, and has promised to continue to do so. He has enacted new law by his own word, he has sued certain States and declared the Congress in session when it was not, and unconstitutionally appointed officials overriding Congress. To offend so cavalierly the sense of justice to the American people is a direct act of High Crimes and Misdemeanors mentioned in Article II Section 4, and if impeachment will not be pursued by this Congress, perhaps the next will consider it.

But since I, and many have very little faith that Congress will do what is necessary to uphold the Constitution, there is always an Article V Convention of States, for which one State so far duly applied, and many others are considering.

We have to find better Statesman, who don't just put their hands on the Word of God and hold it meaningless. For that matter, we must get back to the Word of God, for secularism has spread, and we can't possibly expect anything good to come from a culture that rejects Him.

There are plenty of us who look at what is happening and feel helpless and angry. Every day requires the strength of ten men to simply listen to the news and what is now happening to our once great nation. Some of us have thrown up our hands, some of us have left it to Providence, and some have given up caring at all.

But we cannot sit by and allow this unjust administration to continue altering our lives, when the will of the people is supposed to be considered.

When Obama said he was going to fundamentally alter our nation, we feared it, but we held the confidence that we and others would resist it, and fight it. When Obamacare was signed we came out of the woodwork to thwart any future acts, only to be faced with a feckless leadership who holds us in contempt. What will we do this time?

Regardless of political party, Congress must adhere to the Constitution.

If we have a King, and no one will stop that, then we have no Constitution, and no justice. If we have a King, we have no personal authority. If we have a King, we have no freedom of speech, no free press and no freedom to pray. If we have a King, we have no right to bear arms or rights to private property. If we have a King, the police can descend upon our homes for no just reason.

If we have a King, we have no rights, period.

This nation is a nation of good people, who work to improve the lives of themselves and their families. We are not treated as we should be, and those who defy the Constitution they swore to defend, will rue these times of social and political upheaval, because God himself blessed this nation, and He alone is King.

 

[LEAPup]

Great article Luke! And yes, the guy is a King, and anyone with more than three brain cells know it. Maybe we won't need another revolution. If the "King" keeps up, hopefully, the House and Republican-ran Senate will do something about it after November. I just wonder if the country can hold on 'that' long...

 

[AAAintheBeltway]

>>According to Christophe Deloire, the Reporters Without Borders Secretary General, the World Freedom Index is based on seven criteria: the level of abuses, the extent of pluralism, media independence, the environment and self-censorship, the legislative framework, transparency and infrastructure.<<

It's a wonder we're even 46th. Look at the criteria:

"Pluralism". The media are virtually 100% liberal to extremely liberal. There is one exception, Fox News, which has been attacked repeatedly by the ruling party.

"Media independence." This is almost a joke. Whereas the Soviet Union paid "journalists" directly and made no secret of their status as purveyors of the official line, we are slightly more circumspect. We do have our own Pravda in NPR and PBS, but all the major media, print and broadcast, again excepting Fox, have displayed a clear agenda to support and protect this administration. It is so obvious and embarrassing that the President even mocked them for it at an insiders dinners a few years back. The revolving door between the WH and big media also undermines independence.

"Self censorship." This is perhaps the media's biggest weapon. By choosing what to report, they have the ability to decide the version of reality we will be told. By now this has become too obvious to require explanation. Summary, Obama/Hillary = good, republicans/conservatives = bad.

The tragedy is journalists in many countries actually risk their lives to do their jobs. Here, other than a paper cut or liver disease, the biggest risk is getting professionally blackballed for not pushing the liberal agenda hard enough.