Subject:
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Re: Scary Survey results about the US First Amendment
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Thu, 5 Jul 2001 22:08:37 GMT
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Viewed:
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593 times
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Duane Hess wrote:
> > * 46% said the press in America has "too much freedom to do what it
> > wants." By contrast, only 36% think there is "too much government
> > censorship."
> >
> > * 71% think it is somewhat or very important for the government "to
> > hold the media in check."
Yuck. The only checks on the media should be free market and property
rights.
> I think that the government *does* need to step in in cases of public
> interest and libel. Otherwise, if you don't like what you are reading - stop
> reading. On the other hand, those are both restrictions, so obviously I feel
> that governmental interference is necessary at some point. What that point
> is and where the line is drawn, I can't answer at the moment.
Protection against libel is a property right.
> The situation that comes to mind though, is the Dale Earnhardt autopsy
> photos. Are they suitable for the general public? No. Are they suitable for
> a third party investigation into the cause of the crash? Yes. I'm glad that
> they have been sealed from public view out of respect for the family. Yes,
> it violates the first amendment, but I feel it's justified to keep them out
> of the general public's eye. I am curious to see what a third party examiner
> has to say about the evidence present in the photos though...
Things like autopsy photos should be adequately protected by property
rights. The family most certainly has property rights to the condition
of a deceased family member (said property rights being assigned by
default in the absence of a will or other documented express wish of the
deceased). Now if the cause of death is suspicious, the police may force
the family to make the autopsy photos available for investigation (or
even force the autopsy to be done in the first place).
I suspect this survey is somewhat skewed to produce alarming results (of
course it could also be skewed by those in favor of suppressing free
speech).
--
Frank Filz
-----------------------------
Work: mailto:ffilz@us.ibm.com (business only please)
Home: mailto:ffilz@mindspring.com
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