Freedom should never be taken for granted. The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression offers sixteen reasons why:

The Sixteenth Annual List of the Jefferson Muzzle “Winners�

The unprecedented degree of political interference in communicating government-funded scientific research to the public has earned the Bush Administration a 2007 Jefferson Muzzle. For the sixteenth straight year, the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression is celebrating the April birth date of its namesake by calling attention to some of the more egregious or ridiculous affronts to free expression that occurred in the preceding year.

The Bush Administration is one of sixteen recipients of a 2007 Jefferson Muzzle. “Undoubtedly, the 2007 Muzzles are the most eclectic of any in the sixteen years of the program, says Robert M. O’Neil, director of the Thomas Jefferson Center. “Santa Claus, Philly cheese steak sandwiches, Native Americans, Detective Andy Sipowicz of the television show NYPD Blue, and evil Teddy Bears — all play a role in this years awards.� As in past years, the “winners� this year come from every level of government. Indeed, even private acts of censorship can earn a Muzzle, says O’Neil. “Because the importance and value of free expression extend far beyond the First Amendment’s limit on government censorship, acts of private censorship are not spared consideration for the questionable distinction of receiving a Muzzle. For example, this year we awarded a Jefferson Muzzle to the NCAA for its policy prohibiting the use of Native American names and imagery in collegiate athletics.�

The Thomas Jefferson Center has awarded over one hundred and sixty Jefferson Muzzles in the past sixteen years. O’Neil says that a survey of this and past years’ Jefferson Muzzle recipients reveals that “threats to free expression come from all over the political spectrum and are not the byproduct of a particular outlook or ideology. The presidential administrations of George Bush and Bill Clinton, former Attorney Generals John Ashcroft and Janet Reno, and both the Republican and Democratic national parties are among those who can claim the dubious honor of receiving a Muzzle.� [full text]