In an outrageous suggestion made by MSNBC host Katie Phang and echoed by Dem Rep. Eric Swalwell, the idea of censoring Fox News from being viewed by our troops has been brought to the forefront. This suggestion is nothing short of an attack on our First Amendment rights and should not be tolerated.
In the interview aired on her Saturday program, Phang made the obligatory disclaimer that “we all respect the First Amendment.” Then, in the same breath, she suggested to Swalwell that there should be “congressional oversight, regulations, some type of gatekeeping” of Fox News. This inappropriate suggestion was then followed up by Swalwell, who floated the possibility of denying US troops the freedom to watch Fox News.
Fox News has been a source of news and information for millions of Americans for many years. It is a critical part of our democracy and an integral part of our freedom of speech. To suggest that our troops should be deprived of this right is absurd and goes against the very values that our military fights for.
The suggestion made by Phang and Swalwell is yet another example of liberals attempting to censor those with different points of view. It’s a common tactic used by the left to silence those who disagree with them. They would rather see Fox News censored than have to face the fact that many Americans disagree with their views.
This kind of censorship of our troops is unacceptable and goes against everything we stand for as Americans. Our military men and women have the right to choose what news sources they consume and should not be denied this right. We must stand up for our rights and refuse to allow the liberal agenda to take away our freedom of speech.
Having thus been teed up, Swalwell teed off in a disturbing direction, floating the possibility of denying US troops the freedom to watch Fox News.
And just like Phang with her phony expression of devotion to the First Amendment, Swalwell piously professed, “I don’t want to get into the business of telling troops what they can and cannot watch.”
But he proceeded to suggest just that: “I don’t want to get into the business of telling troops what they can and cannot watch. But if you have a news station that a court is going to rule is, in its evening hour, perpetuating dis- and misinformation, I don’t know if I disagree with [inaudible, maybe “those”?] that saying that we need to take a look at how this is being broadcast to our troops.”
I am not a big fan of Fox News. They’re still part of mainstream media in my eyes but I am against anyone who suggests censoring information to our troops. Carlson, right now, has a HUGE target on his back after he released damning footage of the J6 protest and what really happened inside the Capitol so it doesn’t surprise me that his name was pulled into this.
Erica Carlin is an independent journalist, opinion writer and contributor to several news and opinion sources. She is based in Georgia.
