The Center for a New American Security hosted a panel today to coincide with the release of their new study, "Contested Commons: The Future of American Power in a Multi-Polar World". CNAS chose to hold the panel in a luxe and beautiful conference room at The Newseum in Washington DC. For those of you who don't know, The Newseum is museum dedicated to the press and the role the press has in our Democracy--much of its funding has come from big, corporate press interests.
On the front facing facade of this magnificent structure is etched the words of the First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
It struck me as ironic that a building dedicated to the protection of that amendment would have been erected by an industry whose interests drive it to so vocally dispute ACTUAL free speech--free, corporate, political speech such as that upheld by the Supreme Court last week.
I'm looking forward, as a stockholder, to voting early and often on my companies' planned contributions to political free speech. Ah, the power of the ballot box.
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