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There just might be a big boost in government honesty soon, as both houses of Congress have now passed with two-thirds votes and sent to the states for ratification a potential 28th amendment to the U.S. Constitution bearing the unofficial title "The Truth in Advertising Amendment." This is the text as passed by Congress:

Amendment 28

Preamble: The first through tenth articles of amendment to the Constitution of the United States are hereby repealed.

A powerful new film on what's wrong with the U.S. media is now being screened around the country. It's called Shadows of Liberty and you can set up a screening of it as part of an upcoming international week of actions for whistleblowers called Stand Up For Truth. Or you can buy the DVD or catch it on Link TV. (Here in Charlottesville I'll be speaking at the event, May 19, 7 p.m. at The Bridge.)

Judith Miller is on a rehabilitative book tour; the Washington Post recently reported that a victim of Baltimore police murder broke his own spine; and recently leaked emails from the State Department asked Sony to entertain us into proper war support. The proposed merger of Comcast and Time Warner was just blocked, for now, but the existence of those mega-monopolies in their current form is at the root of the problem, according to Shadows of Liberty.

Seven prominent national security whistleblowers Monday called for a number of wide-ranging reforms — including passage of the “Surveillance State Repeal Act,” which would repeal the USA Patriot Act — in an effort to restore the Constitutionally guaranteed 4th Amendment right to be free from government spying.

Several of the whistleblowers also said that the recent lenient sentence of probation and a fine for General David Petraeus — for his providing of classified information to his mistress Paula Broadwell — underscores the double standard of justice at work in the area of classified information handling.

Speakers said Petraeus’s favorable treatment should become the standard applied to defendants who are actual national security whistleblowers, such as Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden and Jeffrey Sterling (who has denied guilt but who nevertheless faces sentencing May 11 for an Espionage Act conviction for allegedly providing classified information to New York Times reporter James Risen).

As they took roll on April 22, teachers at Grove City High School noticed that Ben Swanson’s seat was empty… again. But the junior had another excused absence.
   Swanson, who, at 17, became the youngest player signed by Columbus Crew SC last October, was on a plane headed to Medugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina to participate in three international friendlies with the United States Under-18 National Men’s Soccer Team.
  “I found out (I was being called up) about three weeks ago. I had to contact my school and they’ve been great with everything and (Crew SC sporting director and head coach Gregg Berhalter) was all for it,” said Swanson, whose team played against Siroki Brijeg on April 25 and the Bosnia U-18s on both April 28 and April 30 during its nine-day stay. “It’s definitely an honor and you’re excited to represent your country.
  “It’s an opportunity for me to develop as a player and play against some of the best teams in the world. When you get called up with the national team, no matter what age group it is, there’s a little bit of a swagger in your walk. I’m excited for it.”

Columbus Clippers fans should have plenty to ring their bells about this season. Our hometown heroes are loaded this year, and it promises to be a fun summer of baseball at Huntington Park. The Cleveland Indians' AAA affiliate is stocked with an abundance of talent, and should score runs by the boatload. But there is one very special reason to head to the ballpark this summer. The team features the crown jewel of the Tribe's farm system, 21-year-old shortstop Francisco Lindor. The 8th overall pick of the 2011 Major League draft, Lindor has made a rapid progression through Cleveland's farm system, and will complete his baseball undergrad work right here in Columbus. The switch-hitting Puerto Rican has been rated as high as number four among all minor-league prospects by various scouting services.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has already expanded from theaters to television with ABC’s prime-time series Agents of SHIELD. Now it’s entering another increasingly-popular medium — online streaming services — with the Netflix-exclusive Daredevil, a 13-episode series starring a blind vigilante named Matt Murdock who’s a lawyer by day and fights crime with his superhumanly-enhanced other senses by night.

  And they seem pretty confident that they’ll succeed here. So far Marvel and Netflix have announced not only the just-released Daredevil (which was confirmed for a second season before it had been out even a month) but also shows for Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist, to culminate in a Defenders mini-series.

Madison's Music: On Reading the First Amendment, a new book by Burt Neuborne, at first appears an unlikely work to serve much purpose today. Who wants to celebrate slave owner James Madison's view of freedom as embodied in a long outdated Constitution in desperate need of updating or rewriting? And who wants to hear it from a former legal director of the ACLU who just signed a petition supporting the hiring of Harold Koh, defender of drone murders and presidential wars of aggression, to teach human rights law at New York University, a petition by a bunch of stuffy corrupted professors countering the moral stand being taken by students?