Fans of the show know how much we love Project Veritas. Their latest viral video exposed the scam that is the Obamacare "navigator" - supposed non-partisan nonprofits that counsel people to lie to the government to scam the new system and have too close of a working relationship with progressive Leftist political organizations.
The response from the left has been a typical line that we've heard before: that James O'Keefe is twisting the context of conversations, with demands for "unedited" footage.
In a statement, the Urban League of Greater Dallas said it has “taken immediate steps” in response to release of the James O’Keefe video but also is investigating “the full context of what occurred.” It says it’s seeking a copy of unedited footage taken during the undercover visits to its offices in Oak Cliff and Irving.
“Unfortunately the full context of these comments is not reflected in the video,” it says.
Seems legit, right? Wrong. This is actually dangerous to you and your fundamental right to free speech.
Did anyone ask to see the "unedited" footage when 60 Minutes aired a segment on "what really happened in Benghazi" to show their work in vetting their source - a source that turned out to be bogus? Did anyone ask Dan Rather to release all his notes and raw footage during "MemoGate"? No. Because the Mainstream Media is infallible.
But O'Keefe, who time and again has out-scooped the mainstream media, must regularly go above and beyond the standards of good journalistic practices for the "mainstream" to take him seriously. It's something he regularly does anyways, but he shouldn't have to do anything more than any "mainstream" outlet has to do.
This double standard - this media elitism - has a chilling effect on free speech. The First Amendment rights of bloggers and citizen journalists are not only under attack in the court of public opinion, it is under attack in the hall of our government. Lest you forget, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee led by Chuck Schumer have attached an amendment to Senate Bill 987, which would give the Department of Justice power to determine who qualifies for protection as a journalist under the First Amendment. Even Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham has fallen for this line that seeks to erode our rights.
If you treasure your fundamental right to free speech, then we the people must stand up to those who seek to separate the citizens from journalism. We cannot allow government or the mainstream media to get away with their continuous hypocrisy.
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