Next time you’re in Moscow, the TV in your hotel room will have limited channels — all of them totally controlled by the Russian government.

There might be unrest on the streets, Russian attacks on a neighboring nation, or incoming drones that damage local apartments and military sites.

But the TV shows will consist of comforting recitations about the national economy that is doing great, or the wheat yield in North Caucasus, or the new Tupolev bomber that compares to America’s B-2.

School children will be heard and seen singing patriotic songs while wearing Soviet Union era uniforms, and waving happily as cameras click.

We tell you this to make a point: In the past 12 months, our U.S. Government has slowly taken over the release of information from the Pentagon in the same structure that Russia operates its media.

Last week, the Pentagon announced that Stars and Stripes will no longer be operated as an independent news medium as been since 1861. American military personnel serving overseas have always depended upon this news source for information about their homeland, and the issues facing those wearing American military uniforms.

Yes, Stars and Stripes proudly shows the weapons of war, with press releases written by Pentagon sources, and there is always a pro-American agenda that editorials push. That’s the nature of the beast — some propaganda to go with the news.

But news has always been written by reporters without agendas. They write international stories about the economies of countries, wars that don’t involve the U.S.A., and even some entertaining columns and feature stories. After all, military personnel are humans, too, and they like their sports, entertainment and opinion articles.

But starting this week, the Pentagon says it has taken over editorial content decision-making for Stars and Stripes. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote in a statement, “We will modernize its operations, refocus its content away from woke distractions that syphon morale, and adapt to serve a new generation of service members.”

The newspaper will be “custom tailored to our warfighter” with a focus on war fighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability, and all things military.

Sound familiar?

It should. Such regimentation of information became the national crier for the nation of Germany in the 1930s and ’40s. Same with North Korea and China.

All during the Civil War, American troops read Stars and Stripes to learn about their country and its struggle to stay afloat.

In World Wars I and II, millions of GIs, sailors, airman and Marines grabbed their “Stripes” anytime they could find one. They knew the bar of truth was maintained in this publication. It remained so with future battles in Korea, Vietnam, Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan.

But be on notice: truth will be filtered in future editions of Stars and Stripes.

Add this to the recent kicking out of free press reporters from the Pentagon, and requiring up-front approval for all military news, and one might imagine the Russian hotel room TV with its scenes of blandness.

The sound of crickets is deafening from Republican members of Congress on this announcement. Only Democrats are protesting it.

Why is that?

Kansas Press Association Hall of Famer Rudy Taylor started his career in journalism while serving as reporter for his high school FFA chapter. He is the publisher of Taylor Newspapers.