Speaking of freedom..

FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting) has an Action Alert out:

The Federal Emergency Management Agency prohibits journalists from having unsupervised interviews with Hurricane Katrina victims who have been relocated to FEMA trailer parks, according to a report in the Baton Rouge Advocate (7/15/06).

“If a resident invites the media to the trailer, they have to be escorted by a FEMA representative who sits in on the interview,” FEMA spokesperson Rachel Rodi is quoted in the article. “That’s just a policy.”

The alert goes on to describe stuff that would seem natural in a police state, like security guards refusing to allow a reporter to give a victim her business card, not allowing photographs or interviews, and being "chased by the guards in golf carts, who said they would be taking down our license plate and that we couldn't return."

FAIR recommends that you follow the advice on FEMA's website which

urges citizens to report "allegations of civil liberties or civil rights abuses" to the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general, who is Richard L. Skinner.

CONTACT:
Inspector General Richard L. Skinner
Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528
E-mail: DHSOIGHOTLINE@dhs.gov

Link courtesy Prem Panicker via email.