UPDATE ON "CONSPIRACY THEORY" CENSORSHIP
http://blog.memphisdailynews.com/?p=1331http://www.rollcall.com/news/-201224-1.htmlCohen: We Must Hold the Media Accountable
* By Rep. Steve Cohen
* Special to Roll Call
* Dec. 7, 2010, 11:17 a.m.
The press is often referred to as the fourth branch of government because of the role it serves in monitoring and reporting on what takes place in the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government.
But when the media purposely
distort the facts to create confusion and mislead people, they must be held accountable. Unless we actively debunk false and misleading reports, we risk leaving the public with a dangerously skewed vision of this country. From the existence of health care “death panels” to the horribly inflated costs of presidential travel, the media is proliferating myths that only serve to deepen the mistrust of government that many people feel. As a fervent defender of the First Amendment, I believe that the best way to fight bad reporting is with good reporting.
As an example, I was recently the victim of bad reporting myself. A network owned by Turner Broadcasting System and Time Warner — truTV — aired a story on Nov. 12 called “The Police State Conspiracy” that contained grossly inaccurate information, insulted victims of the Holocaust and accused me and other elected officials of breaking the law.
The show, “Conspiracy Theory,” is hosted by former wrestler and Gov. Jesse Ventura and focused on legislation I co-sponsored with my colleagues, H.R. 645, which has never even passed out of a subcommittee. The bill would establish emergency operations centers to share information and provide assistance in case of emergencies and natural disasters. But in Ventura’s “report” he claimed that it created concentration camps across the country run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
This, of course, is an outrageous distortion and outright lie, but to tell viewers that there is a government conspiracy to drag innocent Americans to FEMA-run concentration camps is dangerous and irresponsible.http://www.africanaonline.com/2010/12/the-real-conspiracy-behind-trutv%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Cconspiracy-theory%E2%80%9D/TruTV’s program “Conspiracy Theory”, hosted by former governor Jesse Ventura, may have created their own new conspiracy. The documentary, in its second season, follows Ventura, along with a group of investigators consisting of skeptic Alex Piper, reporter June Sarpong and investigator Michael Braveman, and examines various conspiracy allegations involving numerous controversial subjects such as global warming, the 9/11 attacks, secret societies, government surveillance and secret weapons projects.
Whatever is really going on, it is clear that this particular episode got a little too close to the truth and is making some powerful people very uncomfortable. It is like a real life X-Files story. The bill discussed in the episode, H.R. 645, authorizes the FEMA centers, and does list a provision, that the camps can be set up “to meet other appropriate needs, as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security”. On Alex Jones’ website,
www.infowars.com, you can still view the controversial episode. Google the bill and check out the show while you still can.
Rep. Steve Cohen goes to the mat with TV's Ventura over 'Conspiracy Theory'
Cohen, a co-sponsor of a bill that would create FEMA camps for people temporarily displaced by hurricanes or a potential Mid-South earthquake, sat for an interview with Ventura in his Capitol Hill office on Sept. 16. Parts of that interview are reproduced in the segment.
In an op-ed in the newspaper Roll Call Tuesday, Cohen writes that, "
when the media purposely distort the facts to create confusion and mislead people, they must be held accountable. Unless we actively debunk false and misleading reports, we risk leaving the public with a dangerously skewed vision of this country."
The "Conspiracy Theory" episode shows Ventura sleuthing through Washington after seeing what Cohen writes are an Immigration and Customs Enforcement center in Texas and a low-security federal prison in California, both sheathed in razor wire.
"Now I've seen enough evidence," Ventura tells his audience. "I want to know why our congressmen think we need prison camps for ordinary citizens. They put it right in a Congressional bill."
The bill Ventura refers to, H.R. 645, would establish six "national emergency centers" on military bases for temporary housing and to coordinate emergency responses to natural disasters if it ever becomes law. Cohen notes in his opinion piece that the legislation hasn't even made it out of a subcommittee. And the current Congress will adjourn within weeks, if not days.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL EMERGENCY CENTERS.
(a) In General- In accordance with the requirements of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish not fewer than 6 national emergency centers on military installations.
(b) Purpose of National Emergency Centers- The purpose of a national emergency center shall be to use existing infrastructure--
(1) to provide temporary housing, medical, and humanitarian assistance to individuals and families dislocated due to an emergency or major disaster;
(2) to provide centralized locations for the purposes of training and ensuring the coordination of Federal, State, and local first responders;
(3) to provide centralized locations to improve the coordination of preparedness, response, and recovery efforts of government, private, and not-for-profit entities and faith-based organizations; and
(4) to meet other appropriate needs, as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security.
SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF MILITARY INSTALLATIONS AS NATIONAL EMERGENCY CENTERS.
(c) Location of National Emergency Centers- There shall be established not fewer than one national emergency center in each of the following areas:
(1) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Regions I, II, and III.
(2) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Region IV.
(3) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Regions V and VII.
(4) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Region VI.
(5) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Regions VIII and X.
(6) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Region IX.
