Taricani gets home confinement

Last month, I commented on the federal government's case against Providence reporter Jim Taricani. Given the free speech implications of this case and how many revelations have come out in the past week, I've wanted to pen a longer comment on it. But here's the scoop in a nutshell: Taricani is not going to prison, but he shouldn't have even been tried anyways because the federal prosecutors already knew who his secret source was more than 2 years before his trial.

That bears repeating.

A reporter was, essentially, placed on a show trial by Bush administration federal prosecutors because he wouldn't reveal the identity of one of his sources. The federal prosecutors already knew who the source was, but they decided to try Taricani anyways, without providing evidence in court that they already knew who the source was.

This is some scary shit. Say goodbye to freedom of the press under Bush, folks, because if reporters dare to use secret sources when reporting about corruption in the government (any type of government, apparently, since Taricari's expose was limited to Providence City Hall) the Bush justice department will make sure you pay. It's all part of Bush's agenda to make that pesky media just another rubber stamp body for his obviously unquestionable "mandate."

This guy is a fucking dictator. I'm just waiting for him to grow a skinny little mustache...

...Additionally, the cruelty of aspect of this should also be noted. Taricani had a heart transplant in 1996 and needs special medical attention, yet the prosecutors brought him to trial and get a 55 year old man with a medical whose life is threatened without proper medical care in prison. Unbelievable.