Knowledge is Power, not a Distraction

By Gregory Parker

Information seems to be anathema to the Obama administration or at least that is the message being preached by the leader in chief and lived by his minions. In Congressional testimony yesterday our Attorney General was being questioned by the assembled panel and asked why he opposed the new law in Arizona which broadened the authority of law enforcement officials when dealing with potential or possible illegal immigrants. He was asked if he had read the new Arizona law and his reply was simply “No, I have not had a chance to look at it.” Outraged the congressman questioning Mr. Holder explained that the bill was only 10 pages long unlike the 2,900 page Healthcare Bill and that the congressman found it odd that Mr. Holder would make the rounds on the Sunday talk shows denouncing the bill and threatening to launch federal suits to stop it if Mr. Holder hadn’t even read the bill.

Rewind to this past weekend as President Obama spoke at a commencement ceremony, he told the Hampton University grads he was addressing, "You're coming of age in a 24/7 media environment that bombards us with all kinds of content and exposes us to all kinds of arguments, some of which don't always rank that high on the truth meter….” He continued on, “And with iPods and iPads and Xboxes and PlayStations -- none of which I know how to work -- information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation." Really!?!. Information according to the anointed one becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment rather than a tool of empowerment! It enslaves us and prevents our emancipation! Really!?! Furthermore I am supposed to believe that this man, the man who caused a stir when he wanted to keep, no had to keep his BlackBerry even when the Secret Service advised against it, the man we call POTUS (President of the United States) ushered a new phrase into our Presidential phrase lexicon BOTUS (BlackBerry of the Unites States) has suddenly shunned technology and the evils that it delivers?

Our founding fathers have earned their place in our history, they were men who led this country through its formation and with their blood, sweat and tears and often their lives, and their writings disagree with the notion that there could ever be too much information. Contrary to the sentiments of our current President I quote Former President Thomas Jefferson, from a reply to the American Philosophical Society in 1808, “I feel... an ardent desire to see knowledge so disseminated through the mass of mankind that it may, at length, reach even the extremes of society: beggars and kings." The writings of Jefferson are replete with references to the pursuit of information, of knowledge and the importance of an informed citizenry. Contrast that with the absurd ranting of the current President and his assertion that “…information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation." Jefferson also reminded us in this famous quote that “Information is the currency of democracy.” He showed in just 6 words that information is the power that drives the greatest social and economic engine the world has ever known. So the question becomes, Why is our president so worried about his Bosses (American Citizens) having access to information? After all this was the man who ran on transparency, on putting everything on the net so that the American people could be active participants in their own government, so that those elected to represent us could be held accountable for how they conducted business and spent our money. Why the sudden condemnation of the one thing that Jefferson showed us is the currency of democracy?

The answer is simple, information is not only the currency, it also translates into power. He who controls the power can make the rules that we all have to live by and this President has shown his lust and thirst for power. His agenda is rife with issues that transfer power to the federal government. Just look at the government grabs of healthcare, the financial institutions and the auto sector with designs on controlling utilities through the pending Cap and Trade legislation, the fairness doctrine as well as pushes to control the population through an expanded and very liberal immigration policy. Make no mistake here folks, this administration knows the value of information and they are quickly becoming adept at manipulating and controlling the message. Take for example the latest piece of propaganda put together by the Obama administration and keep in mind the sheer hypocrisy and irony in this little factoid. Just one day after Obama told the graduating class at Hampton University that “information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation” the White House used Flickr, Twitter, FaceBook and WhiteHouse.gov to promote the nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court with what amounted to nothing more than a staged mock journalistic interview of the nominee. Now explain this to me again Mr. President because history and real historical figures, men of honor and accomplishment seem to have summed it up a bit better than your trite attempts at self serving subterfuge.