Bailouts: From Dangerous, to Stupid, to Unconstitutional?

When the Feds bailed out the banks, I thought it was dangerous. When they bailed out the automakers, I thought it was stupid. Now, the bailouts are just plain unconstitutional.

Connecticut lawmaker Frank Nicastro sees saving the local newspaper as his duty. But others think he and his colleagues are setting a worrisome precedent for government involvement in the U.S. press.

Nicastro represents Connecticut's 79th assembly district, which includes Bristol, a city of about 61,000 people outside Hartford, the state capital. Its paper, The Bristol Press, may fold within days, along with The Herald in nearby New Britain.

That is because publisher Journal Register, in danger of being crushed under hundreds of millions of dollars of debt, says it cannot afford to keep them open anymore.

I already spoke about the absurdity of bailing out newspapers when I thought it was theoretical.
It is time to stop talking in theory. Bailing out newspapers is unconstitutional. We have a free press. That means it is free of government interference or control. Any money that comes from the government will by its nature corrupt that freedom. It matters not whether the government actually gives any overt indication in the way in which the news should be covered as a result of this money. The very fact that the government is giving a newspaper money means the newspaper is no longer free of government interference. That is a clear violation of the first amendment.

That any elected official would propose something so obscene and unconstitutional is immediate grounds for their recall. State Senator Frank Nicastro should no longer be allowed to legislate. Anyone that can't understand the basic principles of our Constitution shouldn't be making laws. Any day that he continues in his role is a day that the state of Connecticut should feel total shame. It's bad enough that bailouts are dangerous and stupid. It is not acceptable that they be unconstitutional. Any politician involved with this aversion to our Constitution needs to be removed from any power immediately.