Corydon Dunham is a former TV network executive and general counsel, and author of , "Government Control of News."

On Tuesday, President Obama spent much of his address to the United Nations General Assembly discussing free speech in an era of global instant communication.

"I know that not all countries in this body share this particular understanding of the protection of free speech," he said.

Meanwhile, under his administration the FCC is holding a plan for a new balance, diversity and localism rule that would enable the U.S. government to suppress television news and restrict speech.

The new rule is similar to the old Fairness Doctrine, which the FCC and courts revoked in 1987 when they found it was against the public interest. FCC investigations had deterred and suppressed television news, restricted speech, and prevented criticism of incumbent administrations.

As my book reveals, the new localism rule would have similar results or worse. One new member of the FCC staff who helped draft the localism rule has written that freedom of speech and press is not his "objective," and that free speech "is warped to protect global corporations and block rules that would promote democratic governance." He also concludes the new localism rule could be used to take away licenses in place of the "misnamed Fairness Doctrine."

Another wrote that television is a "powerful source of homogenization and pabulum," and recommended using burdensome FCC regulations to "hasten the demise of broadcasting" (later reworded.) That writer applauded a rule which would make broadcasting local events more difficult so "local viewers are less likely to watch the local broadcasters."

A special report recommended in June 2011 that the localism proceeding be ended because of its destructive burdens. Over opposition from other commissioners, the FCC chairman appointed by President Obama continued it and, after the November election, the FCC could move to adopt it.

The Chief of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, a fellow law professor of President Obama, has long urged that the government should take control of news to achieve its political and social purposes. Another former law professor, since appointed by President Obama to the Supreme Court, wrote an article also urging the government to manage news, saying this would be constitutional if news coverage were not "ideal" at a particular time, and government was changing news to that end.

The great historian Gordon S. Wood writes, "Remember that the United States has always been to ourselves and to the world primarily an idea." Ending this country's free press and free speech traditions would certainly destroy that idea.

About Corydon B. Dunham

Corydon B. Dunham is a Harvard Law School graduate. His Government Control of News study was initiated at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Smithsonian Institute, and expanded and developed for the Corydon B. Dunham Fellowship for the First Amendment at Harvard Law School and the Dunham Open Forum for First Amendment Values at Bowdoin College. Dunham was an executive at NBC from 1965 to 1990. He oversaw legal and government matters and broadcast standards. He was on the board of directors of the National Television Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Corporate Counsel Association, and American Arbitration Association among other posts.

Way back in Election '08?which, like every presidential election, was the most important ever?the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now collected over 1.3 million voter registrations and joined forces with a broad coalition to spread the good news of "quality, affordable healthcare for all Americans" to nearly fifty million potential voters deemed least likely to cast a ballot because they were poor, minorities, or the youth.

Miguel Esteban was one of them. A young, Puerto Rican-American, starving artist who walked in the door of Orlando ACORN looking for a part-time job, he went from zero to hero after blowing the whistle on a conspiracy to commit voter registration fraud in early 2008. Because of his efforts, news of eleven Miami ACORN workers forging voter registrations did not make headlines until after Election Day, and Esteban went on to become an unlikely political operative upon his promotion to the national ranks of ACORN's "PolOps" division?Project Vote?where his official job title was, no joke, Quality Control Czar #2.

What really happened during ACORN's infamous 2008 campaign? How widespread were the electoral shenanigans that prompted the FBI to investigate ACORN in numerous swing states? In this era of SuperPACs, secret money and Web 2.0 "voter targeting" technology, how nonpartisan are the nonpartisan campaigns unleashed by groups such as ACORN each election cycle? Can the now defunct ACORN family of organizations best be described as AntiPoverty, Inc.? Is it true that ACORN not only perpetrated widespread voter registration fraud, but also helped cause the housing meltdown that precipitated the Great Recession, and if so, why wasn't the organization bailed out by Uncle Sam? Were ACORN's "redshirts" communists? Un-American? Neo-progressives struggling to save America from itself?

Explore the answers to such questions and more in Ring of Fire 2008: My Wild Ride to the Bleeding Heart of ACORN's Last, Greatest, Voter Registration Drive; which is scheduled for a three-part release: Part 1, which is 80,000 words in length, is available now; Part 2 is scheduled for release in early October; Part 3 is scheduled for release in late October. The full version, including hardcover, is scheduled for release during the holiday season.

eBook formats (with photographs) only $3.33:

Kindle: www.amazon.com/RING-FIRE-2008-Registration-ebook/dp/B009DU8QT0

Nook: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ring-of-fire-2008-miguel-esteban/1112939187

EPUB (compatible with most eReaders) & PDF: www.smashwords.com/books/view/237414

Apple iStore, Google Play, Sony, Kobo & more: COMING SOON

Paperback (170 pages w/out photos) only $7.99: www.createspace.com/3939225

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Friday, September 21, 2012

Grassley: Justice Department Fails to Answer Questions about Alleged Threats to News Reporter

WASHINGTON -- Senator Chuck Grassley continues to press Attorney General Eric Holder for a complete accounting of a June incident in Louisiana where a senior civil rights lawyer for the department reportedly threatened a journalist.  Grassley initially asked the Attorney General about the incident in July.

Grassley said he was disappointed in the response from the department which failed to answer the vast majority of his questions and to produce the documents requested.  The alleged incident occurred at a meeting advertised as a public event to address the employment practices of a local fire department.

"I'm very concerned about what allegedly occurred in New Iberia.  If the news reports are accurate, the conduct by the Justice Department would strike at the very heart of a free press.  The department's failure to answer questions and to produce relevant documents is unacceptable on a subject so fundamental to this country's founding," Grassley said

Grassley said he expected complete answers to his letter by September 28.

Here's a copy of the text of the letter.  A signed copy can be found here.  Grassley's July 17 letter can be found here and the department's response can be found here.

September 20, 2012

Via Electronic Transmission

The Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr.                           

Attorney General                       

U.S. Department of Justice                       

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.                          

Washington, DC 20530                         

Dear Attorney General Holder:

I write regarding the Department of Justice's letter dated September 4, 2012 from Acting Assistant Attorney General Judith Appelbaum.  Ms. Appelbaum was responding to my July 17, 2012 letter to you.

In my letter, I expressed my concern about reports of an incident at a public meeting in New Iberia, Louisiana involving a Senior Trial Attorney in the Civil Rights Division.[1] A letter from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press summarized the reports on the incident as follows:

It is our understanding that on [June 12, 2012], Ms. [Rachel] Hranitzky arrived at the meeting and immediately asked if any journalists were present. When a Daily Iberian reporter attending the meeting responded in the affirmative, she informed him that he could neither record the meeting nor quote her statements. According to other attendees, the meeting had been advertised as a public meeting intended to address concerns with the city fire department's hiring and promotion process.  However, citing 'special rules' of the Department of Justice for agency attorneys, Ms. Hranitzky instructed that her statements be neither recorded nor quoted. When the reporter questioned this instruction on the basis that Ms. Hranitzky was speaking at a public meeting, she apparently threatened him with the possibility that the DOJ could call his editors and publisher, and warned that he would not 'want to get on the Department of Justice's bad side.' Furthermore, it is our understanding that Ms. Hranitzky demanded the reporter leave the meeting, although?after making his objection known but agreeing not to quote her?he was ultimately allowed to remain.

The reports about the incident in New Iberia and the existence of a DOJ policy or "special rules" which were the cause of the incident are troubling.  Consequently, I wrote you and asked several direct questions and made requests for documents.

The September 4 response letter ignores the vast majority of my questions and does not provide all of the documents I requested.  Accordingly, I am attaching a copy my July 17 letter and ask that you directly answer all of my questions and produce all of the documents that I requested.

Also, the September 4 response letter raises a new question.  The letter states that "the [Civil Rights] Division has taken steps to ensure that its employees are fully aware of the Department's consistent policy that public meetings are open to the public, including the press."  Describe in detail each of the "steps" taken.

I ask that you provide written answers and documents by September 28, 2012.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Grassley

Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee

Cc: Hon. Patrick J. Leahy, Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee

Patty Cockrell and I are sisters and best friends, and we wrote a children's book series, "Tukie Tales: A New Beginning for a Better Tomorrow,'' (www.tukietales.com), after seeing way too many sad things on the evening news.

The terrible things happening around the world distressed both of us. It was very sad to see the way people bullied each other and we realized it was harming so many people.

After a particularly tragic event -- the death of a small child in England at the hands of two boys not much older than him on Feb. 12, 1993 -- we were devastated. We knew we had to try to do something to change what we saw happening. We didn't know what to do or how; we just knew we had to do something.

We want all children to be safe, to have honest values, and care about the world we live in. We decided that we needed to start with very young children. Since we read to our children when they were young, we thought the best way we could help was to write stories for children with full, color illustrations so they can enjoy looking at the pictures while the story is being read to them.

We started to write our stories on Feb. 15, 1993. It has been a long journey to complete the books, get them illustrated, and published, but we're finally there! The first in the series, "Lost!", is available as a free e-book at TukieTales.com because we believe its message can save young lives. The second, "I Can Do It!", is available for purchase on the site, and the entire series of five will be available on or about Thanksgiving Day.

We wrote our stories in honor of all victims of violence. We wrote them with compassion and love in our hearts for all of our world's children in the hope of making a positive difference.

We created our characters knowing we first had to capture the young child's imagination. They needed to be fun and different. So, the Tukies are from another planet and they have special powers that humans don't have -- telepathy, telekinesis and invisibility. They use these to help others - well, most of the time! The youngest Tukie is very mischievous and likes to play little tricks on his friends, much to the delight of young children.

Each book is a complete story using positive reinforcement to teach children important life lessons. The stories give valuable insight that doing good makes us feel good, and they help enable children to build their life on a secure, solid foundation of safety, positive values and caring about nature. All the stories leave the child feeling empowered and eager to repeat the positive values.

We believe today's parents are ready for something different, and "Tukie Tales" is ready to deliver. Imagine a world where people treat each other with respect, kindness, and care about other living things. Some may say this ideal is not possible in today's world. We believe it is.

Humanity can achieve great things when we all strive to make it happen. Children hunger for knowledge and acceptance. We need to be proactive and uplift them to give them the tools they need to succeed. Having strong, positive values is so important. Together, we can all make a difference for our children's future. Join us on our mission to make a better world for them.

About Debbie Burns & Patty Cockrell

Debbie Burns and Patty Cockrell were determined to instill honest and wholesome values in their children after establishing their families. Deeply affected by the bad news of the world, they decided to promote a better experience for children. The "Tukie Tales: A New Beginning for a Better Tomorrow" series is written with compassion and love for all of the world's children in the hope of making a positive difference.