Obama staffer wants 'cognitive infiltration' of 9/11 conspiracy groups, page 4

I'm not sure of Cass Sunstein's true intentions, we can be easily swayed when we look at the OP's initial post, and the argument cannot simply be dismissed.

However, when looking in Wiki regarding Mr Sunstein, I am not convinced that his intentions are solely against free thought and speech.

I can't say that I have read any of his publications, but looking at the titles I would have to believe that the man ain't all bad:

After the Rights Revolution (1990),
The Partial Constitution (1993),
Democracy and the Problem of Free Speech (1995),
Legal Reasoning and Political Conflict (1996),
Free Markets and Social Justice (1997)
One Case at a Time (1999),
Risk and Reason (2002),
Why Societies Need Dissent (2003)
Laws of Fear: Beyond the Precautionary Principle (2005),
Radicals in Robes: Why Extreme Right-Wing Courts Are Wrong for America (2005)
Are Judges Political? An Empirical Analysis of the Federal Judiciary (2005)
Infotopia: How Many Minds Produce Knowledge (2006),
Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness (2008)

Cass Sunstein - Wiki

In his book Democracy and the Problem of Free Speech Sunstein says there is a need to reformulate First Amendment law. He thinks that the current formulation, based on Justice Holmes' conception of free speech as a marketplace “disserves the aspirations of those who wrote America’s founding document.” The purpose of this reformulation would be to “reinvigorate processes of democratic deliberation, by ensuring greater attention to public issues and greater diversity of views.” He is concerned by the present “situation in which like-minded people speak or listen mostly to one another,” and thinks that in “light of astonishing economic and technological changes, we must doubt whether, as interpreted, the constitutional guarantee of free speech is adequately serving democratic goals.” He proposes a “New Deal for speech [that] would draw on Justice Brandeis' insistence on the role of free speech in promoting political deliberation and citizenship.”

I'm not convinced that his intentions might not just be to broaden peoples perspectives, where by a lot of people may tend to focus solely on their own world view without considering the broader possibilities.

I could also be wrong.

[edit on 14-1-2010 by Koka]