TECHDIRT 2 Hours Ago New York State Starts Walking Back On Transparency; Grants Gun Owners Exemption From Disclosure Of Public Records by Tim Cushing from the first,-they-came-for-my-interactive-map... dept The backlash against the publication of gun owner data by the Lower Hudson Journal News late last month has turned into a backlash against "freedom of information" laws. Putnam County officials started this regressive ball rolling by refusing to comply with the Journal News' request, breaking a state law in the process. No matter, Sen. Greg Ball was there to share the limelight and offer to rewrite the state law to limit gun owner date to prosecutors and law enforcement. As was noted then, making exceptions to freedom of information requests on the basis of public outcry is a giant step in the wrong direction. Holding back public records or granting disclosure exceptions simply because the information might be used in an unpleasant way just makes it easier to m...

NEWS.INVESTORS.COM 3 Hours Ago Obama's Use Of Children In Gun-Control Debate Is Dishonest To understand why President Obama surrounded himself with a human shield of children last week as he ordered a tightening of our nation's gun controls, you have to remember this is an administration that never lets a "crisis" go to waste. Nor does it resist the use of a superficial prop to divert attention from serious deliberation. It also has a history of claiming urgency to pass solutions based on misinformation without careful reflection. That anyone would use children in such an overtly political manner or hijack a tragedy like Sandy Hook to further their political aims is repulsive in itself. But also remember this an administration that knowingly walked hundreds of semi-automatic weapons and rifles across the Mexican border with little regard for the resulting slaughter of innocent people or the death of a U.S. Border Patrol agent. This is also a president who has...

NEWS BUSTERS 2 Hours Ago ABC, CBS and NBC All Refuse to Identify Indicted Nagin as Democrat by Brent Baker All three broadcast network evening newscasts on Friday night ran short items on the federal corruption indictments against the bumbling former Mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, but skipped his party affiliation, a fact Reuters considered newsworthy – if not until their sixth paragraph: “Nagin, 56, and a Democrat...” ABC anchor Diane Sawyer generously described Nagin as “the face of Hurricane Katrina...then the Mayor of New Orleans fighting for his city.” On CBS, anchor Scott Pelley conversationally relayed: “We heard today that Ray Nagin, the former Mayor of New Orleans, was indicted on federal corruption charges...” The toughest line came from NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams, but also he left out the identity of Nagin’s party: “Ray Nagin, who as Mayor of New Orleans gained notoriety for his erratic behavior during Hurricane Katrina when the city needed a steady ...