Excerpt:
Here's a tough problem they didn't teach at Government Spokesman Preparatory School. Within a few hours of the president's signing of a press freedom bill — with much pomp about his love for the liberty of the media, ironically followed by a refusal to take questions from real live reporters — State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley was asked this:
Do you have any comment on Pakistan's blockage of … YouTube and other Internet sites?
Pakistan had just made the decision to block certain sites because some carried pictures of Muhammad. How would P.J. Crowley respond? Fortunately, the State Department prepared a statement for him:
Obviously, this is a difficult and challenging issue. Many of the images that appear today on Facebook were deeply offensive to Muslims and non-Muslims alike. We are deeply concerned about any deliberate attempt to offend Muslims or members of any other religious groups. We do not condone offensive speech that can incite violence or hatred.