Lauderdale: You'll mourn the day they kill freedom of the press
Even if it was filed tongue-in-cheek, I have real problems with a South Carolina bill that would force newspaper reporters to register with the state.
And so should you.
One common thread among the most oppressed people of all time is that the state controls their press.
If state Rep. Mike Pitts, a Republican from Laurens, wants to live in a society with state-run media, he would love North Korea. Perhaps he would prefer China. And if he decided he did not like China and wrote a letter to the editor about it, he would enjoy a Chinese prison.
Pitts now says he punked the press by introducing the "S.C. Responsible Journalism Registry Law." He wanted to show that we would go nuts railing for the freedoms of the First Amendment while demonizing the gun freedoms of the Second Amendment.
He's full of bull. He wants to control the thoughts of others. He wants anyone who disagrees with him to be silenced, criminally charged and eliminated. If this sounds familiar, you are among the dwindling number who remember what was at stake in World War II and why so many people died to keep our nation out the clutches of dictators.
Pitts wrote on his Facebook page: "I filed this legislation as an experiment to make a point about the media and how they only care about the constitution when it comes their portion of the 1st Amendment."
It is not "their" portion. It is his portion. It is everyone's portion. And it will be until ISIS -- or the ISIS business model -- takes control here.
I'm not getting the yuk-yuk, gotcha, sporty feeling of this unconstitutional bill.
You are constantly being told that the "mainstream media" is trying to mislead you. Bull. When anyone says that, mark it down: That person is trying to mislead you.
We see it every day. A politician violates federal elections law by not reporting $1 million in loans used to campaign. The facts inconveniently clash with his preferred storyline. And who's to blame here? Not him. No. The gullible masses were told to blame The New York Times.
The newspaper's fair and square reporting of facts, checked and double-checked, with all parties given opportunity to tell their side of the story, was a "hit piece." That's bull. Don't you believe it.
People, you are going to mourn the day you let them take away the freedom of the press. You're going to want to cry out in protest, but it will be too late. If you do, you will be thrown in jail or killed.
Thanks for reminding us, Pitts.
Follow columnist and senior editor David Lauderdale at twitter.com/ThatsLauderdale and facebook.com/david.lauderdale.16.
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This story was originally published January 23, 2016 at 5:06 PM with the headline "Lauderdale: You'll mourn the day they kill freedom of the press."