THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 6, 1996 TAG: 9603060012
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 37 lines
Your editorial on House Bill 980 (``Prisoners and the press,'' Feb. 23) is a blatant example of the liberal press speaking with a forked tongue.
It is no surprise that you would support giving convicted felons complete access to the media while ignoring that the purpose of incarceration is to deny felons the rights of citizenship. They forfeited the privileges of ordinary citizens by committing crimes against society. You must defend them because if you did not you would be committing heresy to the liberal philosophy. However, when you state that: ``For a democracy to survive the press must be the watchdog of government,'' you are really stretching the truth.
If the media are watchdogs of the government, possibly you can tell the 58 percent of Americans who did not vote for Clinton why you have ignored the improprieties of the Clinton administration. Where was the watchdog press during the outrageous rape of the White House travel office? Where were you guardians of the public trust in the adulterous affairs of Mr. Clinton; the pillaging of a savings and loan in Arkansas, which in the end will probably cost the taxpayers $75 million? Where were you watchdogs in monitoring the phony $300,000 SBA loan to a Susan McDougall at the urging of Slick Willy when the woman was worth about $2.5 million as reported by an unbiased and conservative press?
I think you watchdogs are sleeping.
C. W. CARR
Virginia Beach, Feb. 23, 1996 by CNB