House Republicans had the maker of a film about the dangers of fracking for gas arrested in Washington yesterday for attempting to film a public session of a congressional subcommittee hearing.

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Josh Fox (“Gasland”) was handcuffed for attempting to further shed light on the meeting. This revealed plenty about gas producers’ apologists in the Republican Party. They could have easily waived a rule requiring so-called proper credentials to exercise First Amendment rights in Congress, but took a break to round up votes to be SURE they could shut down Fox.

What do you bet that the gang of gas industry shills that paraded around Arkansas yesterday to oppose a reasonable severance tax on gas taken from Arkansas yukked it up over Fox’s arrest?

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Perhaps Sen. Jason Rapert, the frackers’ champion, will decry the suppression of a free press by his Republican colleagues in Washington.

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