On Tue, Sep 17, 2002 at 10:19:13AM -0700, Chuck Murcko wrote:
> Probably because we have this pesky 1st Amendment thing here. Still,
> lots of us in the States have developed a disturbing tendency to shout
> down or (in recent years) shackle in legal BS opinions, thoughts, and
> individual behaviors we don't agree with.
>
Except that parroting the party line doesn't really require much
freedom of speech. Now if you had posted something from a left of
center source, you would have been shouted down in flames, buried in
ad hominem attacks, and probably get your name added to an FBI list.
Besides the basic rule in the United States now is "I'll defend your
rights to say anything you want, but if it isn't appropriately
neoconish, well, don't expect to work":
HHS Seeks Science Advice to Match Bush Views
By Rick Weiss
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 17, 2002; Page A01
The Bush administration has begun a broad restructuring of the
scientific advisory committees that guide federal policy in areas such
as patients' rights and public health, eliminating some committees
that were coming to conclusions at odds with the president's views and
in other cases replacing members with handpicked choices.
...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26554-2002Sep16.html
Owen

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"Stephen D. Williams" <sdw@lig.net>, johnhall@evergo.net,
	fork@xent.com, lea@lig.net
From garym@canada.com  Tue Sep 17 23:29:41 2002