E. J. Dionne Jr. Getting the chills:( or keeping facts from people) W O W

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6394-2004Dec16.html

Getting the Chills
By E. J. Dionne Jr.
Friday, December 17, 2004; Page A33

Dear citizens, are you feeling the chill?

There is a quiet campaign being waged against your right to know things. God forbid that ordinary folks should learn more about what government officials and others among the powerful might be up to. Consider a few episodes of a larger story:

Last week Army officials barred Denver Post reporters from Fort Carson in Colorado. Were the scribes getting in the way of our troops? Nope. The Army was angry because the newspaper had published a story about soldiers who were unhappy with their health care.



Now, according to The Post, the Justice Department has been asked to consider opening a criminal investigation into leaks about the satellite program. Will laws designed to keep secrets from our enemies be invoked to keep secrets from the taxpayers?


All these cases are too often cast as instances in which journalists and "media organizations" are protecting themselves and their friends. But newspapers and networks will keep making money whether inside information flows like a mighty river or trickles like a sad little creek. Who is hurt most when citizens fail to learn about bribe-taking, discontented soldiers or out-of-control intelligence programs? You know the answer, and it's chilling.