With his boots on

Yes, yes, I know I'm supposed to hate Christopher Hitchens because he supported the US invasion of Iraq, etc. I've never been able to work up a lot of venom toward him, though. He may be unequaled as a polemicist, and he's an all-around interesting guy.

Now I've found something else to like about him: His response to the news that he probably doesn't have very long to live.

Here's an interview he gave to The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg last week. Enjoy.

Thiessen confirms the establishment definition of "responsible journalism"

Lapdog \Lap"dog`\, n. 1. A small dog which is or can be fondled in the lap. [1913 Webster] 2. One who does the bidding of another; a servile follower. [informal] [PJC]

From Marc Thiessen's puling complaint versus Julian Assange of Wikileaks ("Sorry, Time, Assange is a criminal, not a journalist," Washington Post, 08/04/10):

Unlike reputable news organizations, Assange did not give the U.S. government an opportunity to review the classified information WikiLeaks was planning to release so they could raise national security objections (such as, for example, the fact that they contained the names of Afghan informants who are now being hunted and killed by the Taliban as a result of his disclosures). Providing such an opportunity for review is common journalistic practice. ... let’s not pretend that Assange is a journalist who is simply doing what other responsible journalists have done for years.

From the perspective of the political class, "responsible journalism" subsists in telling the public what the state wants it to hear, zipping your lips against anything the state doesn't want the public to hear, and giving the state advance notice of and access to reportage so that it can make sure you're toeing the line.

Fuck that noise.

The Era of Secret Government is over

That's my opinion, anyway, as expressed in my latest C4SS column, "The Valley of the Shadow of Wikileaks." Teaser:

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange holds up a copy of the Guardian newspaper during a press conference at the Frontline Club in central London, July 26, 2010. REUTERS/Andrew Winning (BRITAIN - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST)

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange holds up a copy of the Guardian newspaper during a press conference at the Frontline Club in central London, July 26, 2010. REUTERS/Andrew Winning (BRITAIN - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST)

The state (any state, but in this case the United States) claims a right to keep secrets from those whom it governs, from those upon whose consent its purported "legitimacy" rests, from those who are taxed to pay in the first place for the activities which generate those secrets.

Ixnay on that aimclay!

It's the equivalent of the janitor telling the building owner "it's none of your business whether or not I cleaned the toilets, and if you try to have a look yourself I'll hit you over the head with my mop and lock you in the broom closet. Now hurry up and sign my paycheck, I've got a date tonight."

That the US government considers publication of the Wikileaks Afghan War Diary even remotely controversial shatters the whole "consent of the governed" myth. The state doesn’t work for you and in this matter it's not even pretending to.