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The dying media is an embarrassment and Durbin needs to be stopped

Friday, Dec 4, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* You’ve often seen me complain about the Peoria Journal Star’s political coverage - mainly their silly columnists who don’t seem to know much about politics.

But you’ve never once seen me complain about Adriana Colindres, the PJ Star’s Statehouse bureau reporter. Colindres is top notch all the way. She’s one of those real reporters who gets down to the nitty gritty. She’s not flashy, a bit on the quiet side (OK, more than a bit), and her stories are always solid.

Colindres’ paper laid her off yesterday.

What a stupid, stupid move, but all too common these days. Sacrifice state coverage for local puff pieces.

Best of luck, Adriana. If there’s anything I can do, just ask.

* Meanwhile, if you want to learn more about Mother Tribune’s new CEO, take a look at this Salon piece from 2001. I’m not gonna excerpt it because it’s kinda racy, and if your employer would frown on that sort of thing you might want to wait until you get home. When you do look at the piece, search the page for “Behind the mike.” The juicy part starts there. Or, click here and scroll down to the excerpt. I’m sure all Trib Co employees are super proud this week.

* And speaking of embarrassments to Illinois, I give you Sen. Dick Durbin…

Senators Diane Feinstein and Dick Durbin are attempting to narrow the definition of a journalist in the federal shield law under consideration by the Senate Judiciary Committee this morning. Their amendment would limit protection from testifying to professional journalists working for “a newspaper, book, magazine, or other periodical.” Not included: student journalists, amateur bloggers, or even freelancers working without a contract.

Markos Moulitsas had the news last night. I’ve been on the phone this morning with people who have worked on the bill, and the consensus is that Feinstein and Durbin are introducing the amendment out of national security concerns: If the shield law is too broad, they reason, it could afford protection to criminals and terrorists who claim the mantle of journalism. Neither senator’s office has returned my calls, and it’s not clear if the amendment will be adopted at today’s committee meeting.

The version of the shield law already passed by the House (H. 985) defines a journalist in monetary terms, covering only those who gather and disseminate information “for a substantial portion of the person’s livelihood or for substantial financial gain.” The Senate has waffled between a similarly professional definition and one that would cover amateurs. The White House, which had dragged its feet on the shield law over national-security concerns, is said to support the broader definition.

A number of news-industry groups, including the Newspaper Association of America, are also supporting coverage for amateurs. Kevin Goldberg, general counsel for the American Society of News Editors, told me today: “There are already exemptions for national security in the bill. If the concern is that the guy holding the video camera for an Osama bin Laden tape is not going to have to testify, that’s a little far-fetched.”

So, Durbin’s not worried that terrorists will strike Illinois if we move Gitmo prisoners to Thomson, but he’s actually fretting that a terrorist will be shielded as a journalist, even though there is already a provision in the bill that forbids shielding terrorists? Give me a break.

Frankly, I don’t want the government taking any role in defining who a journalist actually is. They’ll just screw it up and make life difficult for too many people.

Contact Durbin’s office by clicking here. The amendment is here.

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Doom and the embarrassment of desperation

Monday, Nov 16, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

[Updated with related stories, bumped up for visibility and comments opened.]

* A proposal to move less than 100 Gitmo detainees to the empty Thomson State Prison is setting off some extreme partisan fireworks…

Rep. Mark Kirk, the leading Republican candidate for Obama’s former U.S. Senate seat, rattled off a letter to the president warning that “if your administration brings Al Qaeda terrorists to Illinois, our state and the Chicago Metropolitan Area will become ground zero for Jihadist terrorist plots, recruitment and radicalization.

“As home to America’s tallest building, we should not invite Al Qaeda to make Illinois its number one target,” Kirk also wrote.

And…

In addition to Manzullo and Kirk, Republican Reps. Judy Biggert of Hinsdale and Peter Roskam of Wheaton came out swinging against the proposal Saturday.

“Terrorists have no place on American soil,” Roskam said.

Biggert, whose district covers parts of DuPage and Will counties, said, “These detainees pose a unique threat to America’s security. They should (be) kept away from our shores, and far from America’s heartland.”

There’s most certainly an important federal policy debate here and they should definitely have at it. We need to have a debate in Illinois as well. For instance, should we be doing this just because the locals want some economic development and the state could use the cash?

But before we do anything, let’s try to calmly look at the facts instead of getting all crazy and predicting the end of the world. For instance…

According to data provided by Traci L. Billingsley, spokeswoman for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, federal facilities on American soil currently house 216 international terrorists and 139 domestic terrorists. Some of these miscreants have been locked up here since the early 1990s. None of them has escaped. At the most secure prisons, nobody has ever escaped, period.

So, despite Congressman Roskam’s claim, lots of terrorists are already locked up in American prisons.

And…

Of the total number, 35 [terrorist] inmates are housed in federal prisons in Illinois, including Ali al-Marri, who pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring to provide material support to al Qaeda. Al-Marri is serving eight years and four months at the federal penitentiary in Marion, Illinois.

They’re already right here in Illinois.

And…

But the apocalyptic rhetoric rarely addresses this: Thirty-three international terrorists, many with ties to al-Qaeda, reside in a single federal prison in Florence, Colo., with little public notice.

Detained in the supermax facility in Colorado are Ramzi Yousef, who headed the group that carried out the first bombing of the World Trade Center in February 1993; Zacarias Moussaoui, convicted of conspiring in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001; Ahmed Ressam, of the Dec. 31, 1999, Los Angeles airport millennium attack plots; Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, conspirator in several plots, including one to assassinate President George W. Bush; and Wadih el-Hage, convicted of the 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Kenya.

Those are very evil people who did very evil things. Yet, nothing has happened to the area and the local politicians don’t seem to be screaming bloody murder and predicting an apocalypse.

And…

Q. Is this a done deal?

A. No. It will likely require approval by Congress and at least the ‘OK’ from Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn.

Q. How many detainees would come to the Thomson prison?

A. Not clear. The Obama administration will only say a “limited number.” U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin says it will be “fewer than 100.” […]

Q. Is the Thomson prison secure?

A. It is a maximum-security prison with eight compartmentalized, 200-cell units. On the 146-acre site, the prison is protected by a dual-sided electrical stun fence, 312 cameras and armed towers. The Obama administration would also plan to upgrade security, making it one of the highest security prisons in the country. Detainees would be kept apart from the general population.

The locals seem fine with it…

News that the federal government seems interested in transferring detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the Thomson Correctional Center was greeted warmly in this small, rural farm town along the Iowa border.

After holding out hope that the sprawling $145 million prison might improve the economic conditions in this remote area of the state, residents say any prisoners would be a welcomed sight.

“It would help the businesses here, and God knows we could use that,” said Kay Lawton, 59, a Thomson resident. “It doesn’t matter to me who they bring here.”

Again, this shouldn’t be done just because that part of the state needs jobs. And it shouldn’t be done just because the state government needs money. And it shouldn’t (and won’t) be done until it is thoroughly debated in Congress.

Despite the evidence, nobody can say for sure that Congressman Kirk is wrong, of course, and that helps make his scary outburst so politically effective. And as clear as it is to me that history shows there’s no serious threat, I’m still not completely comfortable with this Thomson idea. Kirk may look like the boy who cried wolf, but, to me, the proposal makes Illinois look downright desperate. It reminds me a little of the cash-strapped counties which take in garbage from wealthier counties to make a few bucks. As a citizen, I’m embarrassed about the whole situation.

* UPDATE: Related…

* Durbin: Gitmo plan opponents play on fears: An Illinois prison that may house terrorism suspects now at Guantanamo will be inspected by a federal team today, a day after Gov. Quinn and Sen. Dick Durbin stumped for the plan — calling it “a dream come true.”

* Durbin, Quinn see economic boon

* Quinn, Durbin discuss benefits of Ill. prison housing Gitmo detainees

* Quinn, Durbin discuss plan for Gitmo inmates

* Pols square off on detainees

* Illinois prison in running to house Gitmo detainees

* $140 mil. prison little used since it was built in ‘01

* Gitmo detainee transfer proposal draws mixed reactions

* Officials to inspect Ill jail for Gitmo inmates