Properly Subversive
Even though my old newspaper, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, spent many-a column inches chronicling (and sometimes exposing) the self-serving duplicity of Nevada’s late U.S. Senator Harry Reid, I didn’t say a thing when McCarran International Airport was re-named after him.
McCarran was a scoundrel in his time, so why not keep the tradition going. Plus, if we’re going to be honest (and I always strive to be when writing to you in these columns), Reid was an unqualified big deal for Nevada. Perhaps the most influential Nevadan ever to serve in Washington, D.C. Yes, Howard Cannon was influential in his day, as was Paul Laxalt. But Reid eclipsed them both, in my view. Of this, I believe historians will agree.
So sure, if you want to call the airport “Harry Reid” instead of “McCarran” airport, I’m not going to whine (too much) about it. But I may have to draw the line at the naming of a youth football field wedged near the flight path of the airport.
Last Saturday, our son let us know that grandson, Clark, was playing football at 4 p.m. He gave us the address and we went. It turned out to be a football complex named after, you guessed it, Harry.
“This is too much,” I whispered to my wife. “Does this mean that the refs are open to influence and that the goal line can be moved periodically?”
She said, “Hush, honey. Enjoy your grandson’s football game.”
And so, I did.
FASCISM
Beware the American government’s clear and present danger of using third parties to censor information. This report from Matt Taibbi lays out this American style fascism.
“Monday, the independent website Consortium News filed suit against the United States of America and Newsguard Technologies. The complaint targeting both the government and a private media ratings service is an important one, putting the censorship-by-proxy system on trial.
“On September 7, 2021, the U.S. Department of Defense gave an award of $749,387 to Newsguard Technologies, a private service that scores media outlets on “reliability” and “trust.” According to the suit, roughly 40,000 subscribers buy Newsguard subscriptions, getting in return a system of “Nutrition Labels” supposedly emphasizing “safe” content.
“Importantly, Newsguard’s customers include universities and libraries, whose users are presented with labels warning you that CBS is great and Tucker Carlson is dangerous.”
The point, of course, isn’t whether you like CBS over Tucker Carlson or vice versa. The point is the government has no business creating systems that censor one brand of news over the other. Keep information free and unfettered.
Independent information. Local independent information. It’s the only way to keep the Great American Experiment going.
ONE MORE THING
Thanks for reading a Battle Born Media newspaper. Until next time, avoid soreheads, laugh a little and always question authority.
“Properly Subversive” is commentary written by Sherman R. Frederick, a Nevada Hall of Fame journalist and co-founder of Battle Born Media, a news organization dedicated to the enhancement and preservation of community newspapers. You can reach him by email at shermfrederick@gmail.com.
