Corrine Brown
Congresswoman Corrine Brown, I salute you.
Greg Palast talks about the events that led up to this remarkably principled statement. Her comments themselves though are not really the big news - the big news is that her comments were stricken from the record in an unsettlingly Orwellian attempt to obscure the articulation of 'taboo topics'. Corrine Brown has this to say about the affair.
It's also revealing that the votes to censure her were cast according to party lines. It seems that one wing of the house is especially keen to marginalise this kind of protest... no prizes for guessing which. It is recorded in the floor proceedings with the following line:
5:07 P.M. - WORDS TAKEN DOWN - During the course of debate on the Buyer amendment exception was made to comments uttered by a Member.
Incidentally, these comments were made in a discussion about allowing the UN to monitor US elections. This is a great idea, but one that was shot down in flames after Congressman Buyer proposed an amendment effectively prohibiting any Federal employee from using US funds to make any such request to the United Nations:
An amendment to insert at the end of the bill (before the short title) a new section stating that none of the funds made available in the Act may be used by any official of the United States Government to request the United Nations to assess the validity of elections in the United States.
The votes for this were cast as follows.
The great thing about the internet is that this kind of censorship is virtually impossible... it's like God blotting the remembrance of the name of Amalek from under the heavens. It can't be done, and the act of censorship in itself is a permanent record.
Greg Palast talks about the events that led up to this remarkably principled statement. Her comments themselves though are not really the big news - the big news is that her comments were stricken from the record in an unsettlingly Orwellian attempt to obscure the articulation of 'taboo topics'. Corrine Brown has this to say about the affair.
It's also revealing that the votes to censure her were cast according to party lines. It seems that one wing of the house is especially keen to marginalise this kind of protest... no prizes for guessing which. It is recorded in the floor proceedings with the following line:
5:07 P.M. - WORDS TAKEN DOWN - During the course of debate on the Buyer amendment exception was made to comments uttered by a Member.
Incidentally, these comments were made in a discussion about allowing the UN to monitor US elections. This is a great idea, but one that was shot down in flames after Congressman Buyer proposed an amendment effectively prohibiting any Federal employee from using US funds to make any such request to the United Nations:
An amendment to insert at the end of the bill (before the short title) a new section stating that none of the funds made available in the Act may be used by any official of the United States Government to request the United Nations to assess the validity of elections in the United States.
The votes for this were cast as follows.
The great thing about the internet is that this kind of censorship is virtually impossible... it's like God blotting the remembrance of the name of Amalek from under the heavens. It can't be done, and the act of censorship in itself is a permanent record.
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