XM MLB Chat: US government acting as agent and partner of BP to keep truth away from public-Greenwald. Where are Woodward and Bernstein?

Too much information can be "bad for democracy:"

7/5, from Salon.com, "The BP/Government Police State," by Glenn Greenwald (or here):

"It's been documented for months now that BP and government officials have been acting in unison to block media coverage of the area; Newsweek reported this in late May....

The very idea that government officials are acting as agents of BP (of all companies) in what clearly seem to be unconstitutional acts to intimidate and impede the media is infuriating.

Obviously, the U.S. Government and BP share the same interest -- preventing the public from knowing the magnitude of the spill and the inadequacy of the clean-up efforts -- but this creepy police state behavior is intolerable...

there are DHS agents and local police officials acting as BP's personal muscle to detain, interrogate, and threaten a photographer. BP's destructive conduct, and the government's complicity,

have slowly faded from public attention, and there clearly seem to be multiple levels of law enforcement devoted to keeping it that way, no matter how plainly illegal their tactics are."...***

7/01, "According to a news release from the Unified Command, violation of the (oil spill) "safety zone" rules can result in a civil penalty of up to $40,000, and could be classified as a Class D felony."..., "Media, boaters could face criminal penalties by entering oil cleanup 'safety zone'," Times-Picayune

Obama says one set of facts is best for "democracy", 5/2/10: "This of course requires that we all agree on a certain set of facts to debate from, and that is why we need a vibrant and thriving news business that is

separate from opinion makers and talking heads....

Today's twenty-four seven echo chamber amplifies the most inflammatory soundbites louder and faster than ever before. ... we now have the option to get our information from any number of blogs or websites or cable news shows.

This development can be both good and bad for democracy."...***

7/5/10, "Homeland Security seizes control over BP oil spill website", Nick Doms, Huliq.com

"Effective immediately, the Department of Homeland Security will now control all content and distribution of information to the American and international public....

The announcement, first reported by the Associated Press, was frowned upon by many news agencies and reporters. According to a DHS spokesman, the website will change its address

from a dot-com to a dot-gov address but the content will remain the same....

it is questionable why the DHS would get involved in an environmental disaster that has no immediate impact on national security and therefore would not be considered to be placed under their control and jurisdiction."... ***