(UPDATE, 11:40 a.m.: AmberAlert.gov is working again.)
In yet another news story which has bubbled up through social media and the blogosphere and which will test the establishment press's willingness to ignore obvious news, the Obama adminstration's Department of Justice under Attorney General Eric Holder has taken AmberAlert.gov offline.
To the extent that it interrupts what DOJ has identified as one of the three components of its national AMBER strategy for "a Coordinated AMBER Network," the move could make locating and saving missing and exploited children more difficult. Meanwhile, the 83% of the government which isn't shut down includes the following:
Yes indeed, LetsMove.gov, First Lady Michelle Obama's healthy eating children's initiative, is operating normally.
To be clear, the privately run AmberAlert.com web site is still up and running. But, as Examiner.com's Christopher Collins notes, "Amberalert.com does coordinate with the Department of Justice which could interrupt amber alert services around the country."
It's hard to argue with a sentiment expressed by MichelleMalkin.com commenter "Bobby Parnell" two days ago: "When you begin intentionally inflicting harm and hardship on those you govern just to prove your power then you have crossed the line from leader into tyranny."
Whether or not this is all genuine news, especially considering the disparate treatment involving the First Lady's pet project, isn't any kind of close call. The establishment press has mostly ignored reporting the details of the Barrycading petulance at the nation's parks and monuments and Democratic Party officials' intemperate remarks, up to and including Harry Reid's "Why would we want to do that?" response when questioned why he would deny NIH funding for cancer research if it could help one child.
There wouldn't be a millisecond of hesitation to give these matters saturation coverage if a Republican or conservative president made moves like these or if Republican or conservative politicians went down these rhetorical roads.
This move by DOJ certinaly ups the ante, and further tests the press's "la-la-la" response when it comes to stories which could hurt Dear Leader.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
