Proof That the First Amendment is Being Phased Out

A USA Today story relates how a study guide for would-be U.S. citizens coveniently omits freedom of the press. According to the story, a set of flash cards from the Government Printing Office contains the problem:

Question 80 on the flashcards asks, “Name one right or freedom guaranteed by the First Amendment.” The answer lists freedom of speech, religion, assembly and the right to petition the government — but omits freedom of the press.

The head of the U.S. citizenship office said,

“The person who developed the test was not necessarily a civics or constitutional scholar. The content is not very good. It's very trivia-based.”

Sure, whatever you say...

Some of us would trace the omission to a couple of other possibilities:

1.) What with the possible use of the call database to out whistleblowers, perhaps the Feds want to start making people forget about freedom of the press?

2.) Perhaps it's just an editorial statement about how worthless the mainstream media is these days?

3.) Or perhaps a commentary on the fact that 90% of the press is owned by big, scary corporate entities?