After writing the post Global Censorship and Corruption, I did more research and discovered that Reporters Without Borders ranked the United States 20th in their 2009 Press Freedom Index.
In 2008, when G. W. Bush was president, that rank was 36 of the 175 countries listed.
The People’s Republic of China was ranked 168.
Saudi Arabia, a staunch ally to the US and an important source of foreign oil, was ranked 163 – not far from China, yet we seldom hear or read complaints about censorship in Saudi Arabia.
James E. Hanson, who worked for NASA, appeared on 60 minutes and said that the G. W. Bush White House censored climate-related press releases reported by federal agencies to make global warming seem less threatening
Does the U.S. Constitution allow freedom of press and expression for government employees? It doesn’t look like it.
In addition, if an employee for an American corporation speaks to the media without permission, he or she may be fired.
The September 2010 AARP Bulletin had a piece about books banned in America.
Did you know that the Harry Potter series was burned in New Mexico and challenged in 19 states and the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin was frequently censored from 1789 to the early 20th century? Source: AARP Bulletin
I do not agree with what President Bush’s White House did to James Hanson’s report about climate change.
However, if the U.S. government can censor government employees, why can’t China’s government do the same to their employees?
To learn about China’s Constitution see Dictatorship Defined
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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too.
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