Jackson Jambalaya

I felt the need to hurry up with this column before the Congress passes a modernized version of the Sedition Act.

A little history: the Sedition Act of 1798 was passed just seven years after the adoption of the First Amendment which constitutionalized free speech protections. The act made it illegal to publish "false, scandalous, and malicious writing" against the government, Congress, or the President. Notably, the act ignominiously died two years later.

Much like the Federalist Party wanted to suppress speech critical of President John Adams and his administration, the Republican Party may be pressured to suppress speech critical of President Donald Trump and his administration.

The hand writing is on the Truth Social wall.

“I am proud to announce that, effective immediately, I am banning Fake News CNN, MSNOW…and Politico…from the White House as a result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS! Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America. Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow….President DONALD J. TRUMP.”

(Even Fox News objected to this.)

Now that a federal judge has issued a TRO undoing the ban, the likelihood Trump seeks Sedition Act legislation in Congress escalates.

All this follows Trump saying that news critical of him is “almost treasonous, actually.”

It also follows vigorous tactics by Trump and his top administrators to deploy the might of the federal government against comedians and talk show hosts (and the corporate entities behind them) who are critical of the president e.g., FCC Chair Brendan Carr threated action against ABC over a Jimmy Kimmel segment.

It follows labeling peaceful dissenters as domestic terrorists, prosecuting nonviolent demonstrators, defunding liberal universities, investigations of targeted nonprofit groups, and others who have opposed the President or his initiatives. 

It follows the sacking of alleged “disloyal” employees across government agencies, exemplified by targeted firings in the Departments of Justice, Defense, and Health and Human Services.

Then there are the truth management progenitors of criticism – the tailored truths, half-truths, and false truths – from the White House on down, demonstrated by claims that the MMR vaccine is “quite lethal,” that Ukraine started the war with Russia, that a BLS commissioner rigged job growth numbers, etc.

“The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy” – Proverbs 12:22.

Crawford is an author and syndicated columnist from Jackson.