"The Fear is Right in This Room"

Those are the famous words of Edward R. Murrow when his See It Now production team started to confess to minor Communist connections for fear their upcoming subject, Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy, might finger them. Murrow wouldn't hear of it and the show went on the air, helping to end McCarthy's witch hunts.

Unfortunately, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, is showing the same paranoia as Murrow's staffers by putting the kibosh on two stories which rely on leaked documents and confidential sources. It appears that self-censorship of the American press has begun. As if it isn't bad enough when reporters throw softballs so they won't lose access to a source.

We don't need McCarthy, we've got Karl Rove and a special prosecutor. Instead of the Hollywood Ten, we've got Judith Miller. Joseph Welch, where are you when we need you?