Lost in the Gulf Oil Disaster news last week was the probing in Washington of ways to prop up the legacy news media. Since the word ‘bailout’ has become a hot button among Americans, the administration has come up with a more benign word to describe it. They call it reinventing the media, which is nothing more than a money shift from you to the media via more taxes.

Taxing internet websites and the technology used to access them. What?

As this article explains, the sending up of trial balloons for policy issues or potential legislation is used to test the waters for public acceptance. And to see what form of deception is needed in order to screw the public and do something they don’t want anyway.

For now, the idea of the gadget tax has been dropped. But has the motive behind it?

Despite the retreat on the electronics tax, it appears Mr. Leibowitz and his staff have not abandoned the opinion that the problems facing journalism can and should be solved by government – even if the exact form this control would take is open to negotiation. As the Obama administration has demonstrated its willingness to ignore negative public opinion in order to expand government involvement in areas such as health care, it is important for Congress to step in and deflate the FTC’s latest trial balloon. Government subsidies will destroy, not save, journalism.

Does funding the press, in any way shape manner or form, fall within the scope of responsibility of the federal government?

Link: EDITORIAL: FTC dodges Drudge Tax questions – Washington Times.