homeland security

It is often said that you should not do certain things because you will wind up with your name on a list, or on “the list.” There have always been rumors of a semi-mythical list the government keeps of subversives or radicals, or enemies. In truth, the government, all governments, have always kept lists of enemies. This is not unique to fascists, or people who fetishize Prussia, or people who try to contact J Edgar Hoover on Ouija boards. In America, we have lists. No-Fly lists are a start.

The Trump administration has instructed it's DHS personnel to build a database of journalists and “media influencers.” Presumably since the President equates “fake news” with “said bad stuff about the me” this database will be used to retaliate either through direct punishment or denial of access or both. The Free Speech and Freedom of the Press implications are obvious and are being discussed, but not with the details of implementation. Those details do not make the implications more palatable to anyone who lacks a totalitarian heart.

When a systematic case of a hate group taking over the entire apparatus of a state's law enforcement happens one would think mainstream media outlets would be equipped with intelligent questions. When this is impossible without federal collusion and top secret security clearances, one expects many intelligent questions.