Obama Administration: Effective Reporting From The Gulf Is A Felony

Joe Schoffstall | July 13, 2010
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President Obama has made effective reporting from the Gulf nearly impossible, which will now be considered a felony that carries a penalty of up to $40,000. Lachlan Markay of NewBusters wrote:

Effectively reporting on the Gulf oil spill is now a Class D felony, punishable by a fine of up to $40,000. That's right, the most transparent administration in history has made it a felony, effective July 1, to get within 65 feet of what the Coast Guard determines are essential recovery efforts. According to Anderson Cooper, officials tried to up that number to 300 feet. Cooper, who claimed federal officials prevented CNN on two occasions from taking photographs in the gulf, seemed frustrated when he reported on the new laws the day they went into effect. The press is "not the enemy here" he pleaded. The new policies, he said, make it "very easy to hide failure, and hide incompetence." Cooper also let loose this zinger: "Transparency is apparently not a priority with [Coast Guard Commandant] Thad Allen these days." Ouch (full video and transcript below the fold - h/t Ron Robinson).

Here's an excerpt with Anderson Cooper reporting in early July:

Alexander Higgins posted pictures from the Gulf on his blog that the Obama Administration probably prefers you don't see, since it certainly can't help-- given we're on day 84 of the oil spill with no considerable progress (July 13, 2010).

Here are a couple of the pictures:

AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

[caption id="attachment_1357" align="aligncenter" width="594" caption="John Moore/Getty Images"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1360" align="aligncenter" width="611" caption="AP Photo/ Charlie Riedel"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1361" align="aligncenter" width="594" caption="Win McNamee/ Getty Images"][/caption] For more pictures from the Gulf, go here.

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