Just say yes to an English Al Jazeera

So Al-Jazeera set to debut its English version in the states later this month. Buried in the article, was this little nugget:

A recent poll found 53% of Americans opposed the launch of the channel and two-thirds of Americans thought the US government should not allow it entry to the US market.

The author of that story doesn't reference which poll or under how the question was framed, so I think it's suspect. In fact, it would surprise me if it were true. If 2/3 of the country thought we should start explicitly censoring news and information, well, certainly we are not the country we think ourselves to be.

It's worth considering why it's important to welcome Al Jazeera with open arms - and no dear readers from either nutted wing, it isn't because I agree or disagree with their editorial point of view. We should welcome Al Jazeera with open arms, watch it, support its advertisers because doing so is an example of the power of freedom of speech and the power of a liberal republic that gains its strength from a rich marketplace of ideas. It would be a living breathing open communication channel back to the very hearts and minds we seek to win. The alternative is to slam the door and place our message of freedom in the hands of spin pimps like Rove and Karen Hughes.

Of course the other reason I welcome them is so that they will compete with the mainstream idiots over here. Who do you broadcast the most footage of either of the two major political conventions in 2004? It was Al Jazeera. No talking heads, no stupid, stupid pundits. Just the unvarnished camera pointed at speakers.

Check out Foreign Policy's debunking of popular Al Jazeera myths. Free speech? Yes, we have heard of it in

America. Welcome Al Jazeera.