Michael Crichton, Press Censorship and a Technology Czar
Bestselling author Michael Crichton dies at age 66.
Members of the Bureaucrash Activist Network join forces with free speech activists to protest press censorship in Egypt.
President-Elect Obama plans to appoint a Chief Technology Officer or “Tech Czar” for the federal government.
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1. CULTURE
Bestselling author Michael Crichton dies at age 66.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: President Fred L. Smith, Jr. on Crichton’s legacy:
“Michael Crichton was a challenging individual. His books generally centered around some controversial policy issue: medical malpractice, airline safety, biotechnology, sexual discrimination, Japan’s economic dominance, nanotechnology, and—the issue that brought us to each other’s attention—global warming. His approach was unique—he would spend about a year reading everything he could find on the topic, then take one side of the controversy, and lock himself away for a month to produce the novel. His was a highly disciplined approach that created a range of always readable, enjoyable, novels. And he made money—lots of it—even when he challenged Chattering Classes’ orthodoxy.”
2. LEGAL
Members of the Bureaucrash Activist Network join forces with free speech activists to protest press censorship in Egypt.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Crasher-in-Chief Pete Eyre on the case of Kareem Amer:
“An Egyptian student named Kareem is in prison for the crime of blogging. I’m a blogger, and you may be too. Imagine if that were you. Would you want someone to stand up for you?”
3. TECHNOLOGY
President-Elect Obama plans to appoint a Chief Technology Officer or “Tech Czar” for the federal government.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Vice President for Policy Wayne Crews expresses his skepticism of the idea:
“The role as described seems limited to ‘bringing government into the 21st century.’ But would the role remain circumscribed? ‘Czars,’ like commissions of various sorts, are tempting for politicians, and can end up as barriers and stumbling blocks to non-political solutions to normal problems and challenges. A drug czar wages a hugely expensive war on drugs; An education czar ends up supporting funding of education programs from Washington, D.C.”
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