Sound off: Where the views and opinions of our staff and others are expressed on various topics that relate to Bush

Sound off: Where the views and opinions of our staff and others are expressed on various topics that relate to Bush: "BLOOD IN BEIRUT: $75.05 A Barrel | by Greg Palast | July 26, 2006

The failure to stop the bloodletting in the Middle East, Exxon's record second-quarter profits and Iran's nuclear cat-and-mouse game have something in common -- it's the oil.

I can't tell you how it started -- this is a war that's been fought since the Levites clashed with the Philistines -- but I can tell you why the current mayhem has not been stopped. It's the oil. I'm not an expert on Palestine nor Lebanon and I'd rather not pretend to be one. If you want to know what's going on, read Robert Fisk. He lives there. He speaks Arabic. Stay away from pundits whose only connection to the Middle East is the local falafel stand.

So why am I writing now? The answer is that, while I don't speak Arabic or Hebrew, I am completely fluent in the language of petroleum.

What? You don't need a degree in geology to know there's no oil in Israel, Palestine or Lebanon. (A few weeks ago, I was joking around with Afif Safieh, the Palestinian Authority's Ambassador to the US, asking him why he was fighting to have a piece of the only place in the Middle East without oil. Well, there's no joking now.)

1984! Who would have imagined that history would prove so easy to rewrite in a democratic nation with a free press? 50% believe Saddam had WMD !

Rozius: Paul Krugman: Reign of Error: "Friday, July 28, 2006

Amid everything else that’s going wrong in the world, here’s one more piece of depressing news: a few days ago the Harris Poll reported that 50 percent of Americans now believe that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction when we invaded, up from 36 percent in February 2005. Meanwhile, 64 percent still believe that Saddam had strong links with Al Qaeda.

At one level, this shouldn’t be all that surprising. The people now running America never accept inconvenient truths. Long after facts they don’t like have been established, whether it’s the absence of any wrongdoing by the Clintons in the Whitewater affair or the absence of W.M.D. in Iraq, the propaganda machine that supports the current administration is still at work, seeking to flush those facts down the memory hole.

But it’s dismaying to realize that the machine remains so effective.

Here’s how the process works.

First, if the facts fail to support the administration position on an issue — stem cells, global warming, tax cuts, income inequality, Iraq — officials refuse to acknowledge the facts.

Sometimes the officials simply lie. “The tax cuts have made the tax code more progressive and reduced income inequality,” Edward Lazear, the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, declared a couple of months ago. More often, however, they bob and weave.

Consider, for example, Condoleezza Rice’s response a few months ago, when pressed to explain why the administration always links the Iraq war to 9/11. She admitted that Saddam, “as far as we know, did not order Sept. 11, may not have even known of Sept. 11.” (Notice how her statement, while literally true, nonetheless seems to imply both that it’s still possible that Saddam ordered 9/11, and that he probably did know about it.) “But,” she went on, “that’s a very narrow definition of what caused Sept. 11.”

Meanwhile, apparatchiks in the media spread disinformation. It’s hard to imagine what the world looks like to the large number of Americans who get their news by watching Fox and listening to Rush Limbaugh, but I get a pretty good sense from my mailbag.
...
Whatever the reason, the fact is that the Bush administration continues to be remarkably successful at rewriting history. For example, Mr. Bush has repeatedly suggested that the United States had to invade Iraq because Saddam wouldn’t let U.N. inspectors in. His most recent statement to that effect was only a few weeks ago. And he gets away with it. If there have been reports by major news organizations pointing out that that’s not at all what happened, I’ve missed them.

It’s all very Orwellian, of course. But when Orwell wrote of “a nightmare world in which the Leader, or some ruling clique, controls not only the future but the past,” he was thinking of totalitarian states. Who would have imagined that history would prove so easy to rewrite in a democratic nation with a free press?

We need 100,000 Megaphone users to make a difference. So, please distribute this mail to all Israel's supporters.

The Truth Will Set You Free: 100,000 Whiners for War Crimes: "100,000 Whiners for War Crimes

Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called for 100,000 apologists for Israel to spam web sites reporting the Israeli Death Forces' horrors in Lebanon. Just like Israel bombed the UN and bombed the USS Liberty, get ready for Israel Firsters to bomb your web site with Bu**sh**. The following notice is being circulated to potential supporters of Israel's genocide and war crimes:

Please go to www.giyus.org, download the Megaphone, and you will receive daily updates with instant links to important internet polls, problematic articles that require a talk back, etc.

We need 100,000 Megaphone users to make a difference. So, please distribute this mail to all Israel's supporters.

Do it now. For Israel.

Amir Gissin

Director Public Affairs (Hasbara) Department
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jerusalem
Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs understands that today's conflicts are won by public opinion. They mobilize pro-Israel activists to be active and voice 'Israel's side to the world.' The Megaphone desktop tool, built by Giyus, which means 'mobilization', sends desktop alerts on key articles on Israel and surveys, online polls where activists could click on the button to support Israel and click alerts to easily voice pro-Israel opinions. The tool tracks down online articles and polls that members should act upon. After installing the tool, members receive alerts on those articles. With this tool Israel's Foreign Ministry obviously thought it would help Israel's fight in cyberspace. However, having used this tool, for others, it is quit useful as well. There is also a weblog and a forum."

Report Shows Department of Defense Surveillance of UC Berkeley Students’ Plans to Hold Protest

The Daily Californian: "Government Monitored Anti-War Group E-Mails | BY Kaitlin Anderson | Contributing Writer | Thursday, July 13, 2006"

Newly surfaced government surveillance reports reveal that the U.S. Department of Defense monitored anti-war and anti-military e-mails sent by UC Berkeley students in April.

The students' e-mails contained plans to host a campus protest against the war in Iraq and against the presence of military recruiters on campus.

The reports, released on June 15 following a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network in January, contained information copied from an e-mail circulated by student group UC Berkeley Stop the War Coalition regarding a protest planned for April 21, 2005 on Sproul Plaza. ..

$1 million Defense Department grant 'to limit the scope of the Freedom of Information Act.'

MySA.com: Metro | State: "Bob Richter: Going after the Freedom of Information Act is a slippery slope | Web Posted: 07/09/2006 12:00 AM CDT | San Antonio Express-News

The Express-News reported Friday that St. Mary's University's Center for Terrorism Law has received a $1 million Defense Department grant 'to limit the scope of the Freedom of Information Act.'

Journalists get slippery-slope worries when we hear the Pentagon wants to alter a law that allows the sun to shine on what politicians and government officials do behind closed doors.

As a federal judge in Michigan (Damon J. Keith) said a couple years ago: 'Democracies die behind closed doors.'" ...

did you know that in April President Bush went to Stanford but was not allowed on campus? students blocked Bush's access

A Republic or an Empire?: "By Paul Craig Roberts

07/09/06 'Information Clearing House' -- -- Gentle reader, did you know that in April President Bush went to Stanford University to speak to the Hoover Institution fellows at the invitation of former Secretary of State George Shultz but was not allowed on campus? The Stanford students got wind of it and blocked Bush's access to the campus. The Hoover fellows had to go to Shultz's home to hear Bush's pitch for war and more war.

A person might think that it would be national news that Stanford University students would not allow the President of the US on campus. It happened to be a day that hundreds of prospective freshmen were on campus with their parents, many of whom joined the demonstration against Bush. I did not hear or read a word about it.

Did you? I learned of it from faculty friends in June when I attended Stanford's graduation to witness a relative receive her degree. The June 16 edition of The Stanford Daily reprints its April 24 report of the episode."

this week the entire conservative movement declared war on the very idea of an independent press.

Media Matters - "Media Matters"; by Paul Waldman: "'A declaration of war

This week, the conservatives declared war.

Not on The New York Times. Not even on the media in general. No, this week the entire conservative movement -- from the White House to Republicans in Congress to Fox News to right-wing talk radio to conservative magazines -- declared war on the very idea of an independent press.

They declared war on the idea that journalists have not just the right but the obligation to hold those in power accountable for their actions. They declared war on the idea that journalists, not the government and not a political party, get to decide what appears in the press. They declared war on the idea that the public has a right to know what the government is doing in our name.

This is a profound threat to our democracy, and we underestimate it at our peril.
...

There is a reason the Founders singled out the press for special protection when they wrote the Bill of Rights. It was because they understood that without an independent, free, aggressive, courageous press, democracy itself is impossible. When the government decides who gets to report the news and what they get to say, we no longer live in a free society. When journalists live under threat of prosecution and even violence, we cease to be citizens and become only subjects.

The right has kept the media under constant assault for decades, and the response from the media has been to bend over backward to prove they aren't biased -- by being harder on Democrats. They should have learned long ago that the "liberal bias" charge has absolutely nothing to do with the content of the news. It is a political strategy, a way of "working the ref" and providing easy excuses for public rejection of the right's goals. But what we have seen this week is something qualitatively different.

Given the constant drumbeat of criticism directed at the media from conservatives, it might be easy to dismiss this latest expulsion of bile as just more of the same. But it's worth stepping back to take a look at exactly what has occurred over the past week. Members of Congress have suggested revoking the Capitol Hill credentials of journalists, so that only news organizations that do not displease the ruling party may be permitted to report from Congress. Other members have accused members of the media of "treason" and advocated their prosecution. A conservative television and radio personality suggested that the government establish an Office of Censorship to screen the news. Another said, "I would have no problem with [New York Times editor Bill Keller] being sent to the gas chamber." The House of Representatives passed a resolution saying it "expects the cooperation of all news media organizations."

In short, the right assembled a posse this week -- vigilantes stalking television studios, radio airwaves, print, and the Internet, their apparent goal to revoke the First Amendment. ..

Terrorist attack by Israel - another terrorist attack by Israel, a Palestinian school was hit in Gaza, during a missile salvo against civilian targets

Terrorist attack by Israel - Pravda.Ru: "Front page / Opinion / Columnists | 02.07.2006

Israel commits another act of state terrorism using military hardware against civilian targets. Tel Aviv replies to kidnapping with war crimes. Palestinian school destroyed by Israeli armed forces.

Tel Aviv has lost the propaganda war, the hearts and minds of the international community and the war of intelligence, descending to knee-jerk, primary reactions of the crudest form of violence, playing into the hands of the terrorists on the Palestinian side and proving for many that after all, the Israeli camp is no better – and perhaps even deserves what it gets.

If firing shells at Palestinians enjoying themselves on a beach provoked the kidnapping of the Israeli corporal, responding by kidnapping Palestinian Ministers did nothing to create a situation whereby diplomacy could take over, which is exactly the territory in which the terrorists thrive, as has been seen time and time again in different parts of the globe. Tel Aviv, in failing to see the writing on the wall and in failing to learn the lessons of history, is consigned to defeat in its quest to stubbornly occupy lands that do not belong to Israel and whose occupation goes against international law. If Israel does not abide by international law, why should the Palestinians?

Last night the terrorist attack against the Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya’s office in Gaza was paramount to the Palestinians firing Qasim rockets at civilian targets in Israel. What after all is the difference between a Jewish civilian being murdered by a Palestinian terrorist and a Palestinian civilian being murdered by an Israeli soldier or airman?

Bullseye! Israeli terrorist attack destroys school

In another terrorist attack by Israel, a Palestinian school was hit in Gaza, during a missile salvo against civilian targets on Saturday night. For Israel, this was no doubt a successful military operation against terrorist targets. Today a child, tomorrow a terrosist, is that the motto?

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY

Right-Wing Blog Asks Readers to "Hunt Down" Info About NYT Editors' Children

Right-Wing Blog Asks Readers to "Hunt Down" Info About NYT Editors' Children |by Hunter | Sun Jul 02, 2006 at 05:44:19 PM PDT

...
This, the right-wing bloggers assert, is an intentional "exposure" of Cheney and Rumsfeld to terrorists, done with malice by the New York Times. No, I'm not kidding.

There's only a few problems with this "theory", as Greenwald admirably points out with the help of others in the blogosphere. First, noting the astonishing fact that Cheney and Rumsfeld have vacation homes in St. Michaels is hardly new information. In addition to being public information, it was printed in a similar soft story in the Washington Post last year. So did, in fact, NewsMax -- one of the rightwing outlets now pretending that publishing that information now is treason.

Second, the New York Times printed a similar story in 2003 about the Clinton's Chappaqua home, demonstrating that these puff pieces are, golly gee, done all the time. Guess how many right-wing bloggers had a very public and ceremonially overdressed cow over that one? Yeah.

So essentially, this "affront" to the delicate sensibilities of these overstuffed sausages known as the "right" is a completely bogus story. It's all spin; there's no "there". None. NewsMax itself could tell you where Cheney lived -- they even cited the Washington Post story as their source, in their article.

But here's the nasty part. The "response" the right wing blogs have decided on, as a result of this hidden menace that they and only they can see, is retaliation against the reporters and editors who enabled this story. From one right-wing blog (no link; see Greenwald if you must):

So, in the school of what's good for the goose is good for the gander, we are providing this link so YOU may help the blogosphere in locating the homes (perhaps with photos?) of the editors and reporters of the New York Times.

Let's start with the following New York Times reporters and editors: Arthur "Pinch" Sulzberger Jr. , Bill Keller, Eric Lichtblau, and James Risen. Do you have an idea where they live?

Go hunt them down and do America a favor. Get their photo, street address, where their kids go to school, anything you can dig up, and send it to the link above. This is your chance to be famous - grab for the golden ring.

Their homes. Their children. Go report on where their kids go to school, and it's "your chance" to "do America a favor". Find out where their kids go to school, so you can "grab for the golden ring".

Yeah. And that particular blogger isn't the only one encouraging such actions, and in fact numerous right-wing blogs have begun to publish the information; phone numbers, street addresses. Maps to get to those houses. And encouragement to grab for that ring. ...

Indictment of suspected terrorists contains little evidence of plot ... no explosives or weapons

KRT Wire | 06/23/2006 | Indictment of suspected terrorists contains little evidence of plot: "BY MARISA TAYLOR AND LESLEY CLARK | Knight Ridder Newspapers

WASHINGTON - Even as Justice Department officials trumpeted the arrests of seven Florida men accused of planning to wage a 'full ground war against the United States,' they acknowledged the group did not have the means to carry out the plan.

The Justice Department unveiled the arrests with an orchestrated series of press conferences in two cities, but the severity of the charges compared with the seemingly amateurish-nature of the group raised concerns among civil libertarians.

'We're as puzzled as everyone else,' said Howard Simon, the director of the Florida chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. 'There's no weapons, no explosives, but this major announcement.'

The seven men are charged with conspiring to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago and FBI buildings in five cities. Prosecutors said they swore allegiance to al-Qaida after meeting with a confidential government informant who was posing as a representative of the terrorist group.

But after sweeps of various locations in Miami, government agents found no explosives or weapons. Investigators also did not document any direct links to al-Qaida." ...

Ann Coulter hasn't lost any of her 100-plus newspaper clients ... despite her nasty remarks in her new book about 9/11 widows

Newspaper Clients, and Syndicate, Stick With Coulter: "By Dave Astor and Greg Mitchell | Published: June 16, 2006 1:40 PM ET updated 4:00 PM

NEW YORK Ann Coulter hasn't lost any of her 100-plus newspaper clients, or the support of her syndicate, Universal Press Syndicate, despite her nasty remarks in her new book about 9/11 widows and her comment in an online interview implying that, perhaps, U.S. Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) should be "fragged."

A Universal spokesman said there were no discussions going on there about dropping the columnist.

Why is Coulter keeping all her subscribers? "Ann's client newspapers stick with her because she has a loyal fan base of conservative readers who look forward to reading her columns in their local newspapers," Universal Director of Communications Kathie Kerr said in a statement, after being queried today by E&P. ...

BBC NEWS | Programmes | Panorama | Climate chaos: Bush's climate of fear

BBC NEWS | Programmes | Panorama | Climate chaos: Bush's climate of fear: "Watch Panorama on Sunday 4 June at 2215 BST on BBC One or live or on demand on this site to find out if the Bush administration has covered up the findings of global warming scientists.

A US government whistleblower tells Panorama how scientific reports about global warming have been systematically changed and suppressed.

Some of America's leading climate scientists claim to Panorama that they have been censored and gagged by the administration.

One of them believes the publication of his report, which catalogues the unprecedented rate of ice melt in the Arctic, was delayed as Americans prepared to vote in 2004.

The scientists claim that when Bush came to power in 2000 his administration selected advice which argued that global warming was not a result of human activities and that the phenomenon could be natural.

But one of the people who suggested the president adopt that position explains to Panorama how he has changed his point of view: "It's now 2006. I think most people would conclude that there is global warming taking place and that the behaviour of humans is affecting the climate. I am not the administration. What they want to do is their business. it has nothing to do with what I believe." ...

High court trims whistleblower rights

High court trims whistleblower rights - Yahoo! News: " By GINA HOLLAND, Associated Press Writer Tue May 30, 5:54 PM ET

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court scaled back protections for government workers who blow the whistle on official misconduct Tuesday, a 5-4 decision in which new Justice Sam Alito cast the deciding vote.
...
Critics predicted the impact would be sweeping, from silencing police officers who fear retribution for reporting department corruption, to subduing federal employees who want to reveal problems with government hurricane preparedness or terrorist-related security.

"I can't imagine a bigger chill on free speech and the public's right to know ...

Attorney Gen.: Reporters Can Be Prosecuted - Yahoo! News: "Sun May 21, 3:31 PM ET

WASHINGTON - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Sunday he believes journalists can be prosecuted for publishing classified information, citing an obligation to national security.

The nation's top law enforcer also said the government will not hesitate to track telephone calls made by reporters as part of a criminal leak investigation, but officials would not do so routinely and randomly.
...
Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said she presumed that Gonzales was referring to the 1917 Espionage Act, which she said has never been interpreted to prosecute journalists who were providing information to the public.

"I can't imagine a bigger chill on free speech and the public's right to know what it's government is up to — both hallmarks of a democracy — than prosecuting reporters," Dalglish said. ...

O'Reilly: Young Americans "have no idea what's going on" because they "get their news from Jon Stewart" ... [study] found Daily Show viewers informed

Media Matters - O'Reilly: Young Americans "have no idea what's going on" because they "get their news from Jon Stewart": "O'Reilly: Young Americans 'have no idea what's going on' because they 'get their news from Jon Stewart'

Summary: Bill O'Reilly asserted that '[m]any Americans ages 18 to 24 have no idea what's going on,' stating that they 'get their news from [Comedy Central host] Jon Stewart and their point of view from bomb-throwing entertainers.' In fact, studies have shown that viewers of Comedy Central's The Daily Show with John Stewart are consistently better informed about current events than consumers of other media, and Daily Show viewers are significantly better educated than viewers of The O'Reilly Factor. Further, consumers of Fox News in general have been found to be significantly more misinformed about current events than consumers of other mainstream media."

During the May 23 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, Bill O'Reilly asserted that "[m]any Americans ages 18 to 24 have no idea what's going on," stating that they "get their news from [Comedy Central host] Jon Stewart and their point of view from bomb-throwing entertainers." In fact, studies have shown that viewers of Comedy Central's The Daily Show with John Stewart are consistently better informed about current events than consumers of other media, and Daily Show viewers are considerably better educated than viewers of The O'Reilly Factor. Further, consumers of Fox News in general have been found to be significantly more misinformed about current events than consumers of other mainstream media.

In 2004, the nonpartisan Annenberg Public Policy Center released its National Annenberg Election Survey, which found Daily Show viewers to be better informed on campaign issues than consumers of other late-night television programs, newspapers, network news, or cable news. In a press release, Annenberg senior analyst Dannagal Goldthwaite Young said: "Daily Show viewers have higher campaign knowledge than national news viewers and newspaper readers -- even when education, party identification, following politics, watching cable news, receiving campaign information online, age, and gender are taken into consideration." ...

Bush 'planted fake news stories on American TV'

Independent Online Edition > Americas: "Bush 'planted fake news stories on American TV' | By Andrew Buncombe in Washington | Published: 29 May 2006

Federal authorities are actively investigating dozens of American television stations for broadcasting items produced by the Bush administration and major corporations, and passing them off as normal news. Some of the fake news segments talked up success in the war in Iraq, or promoted the companies' products.

Investigators from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) are seeking information about stations across the country after a report produced by a campaign group detailed the extraordinary extent of the use of such items.

The report, by the non-profit group Centre for Media and Democracy, found that over a 10-month period at least 77 television stations were making use of the faux news broadcasts, known as Video News Releases (VNRs). Not one told viewers who had produced the items.

"We know we only had partial access to these VNRs and yet we found 77 stations using them," said Diana Farsetta, one of the group's researchers. "I would say it's pretty extraordinary. The picture we found was much worse than we expected going into the investigation in terms of just how widely these get played and how frequently these pre-packaged segments are put on the air." ...

News Hounds: "Special Report" Edits Rumsfeld Video

News Hounds: "Special Report" Edits Rumsfeld Video: "Reported by Janie - May 05, 2006

In a segment that sent chills down my spine, 'Special Report with Brit Hume' attempted to rewrite history last night (5/4) by editing the video of Rumsfeld's discussion with former CIA agent Roy McGovern during a speech in Atlanta.

Hume opened the segment with, 'Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, meanwhile was trying to take it guff during a speech today in Atlanta where he shrugged off a couple of hecklers, and then took on an audience member who said he had worked at the CIA for 27 years, and accused the Bush Admin.. Rumsfeld and the Bush Administration of lying about whether or not Iraq had WMDs.'

Hume then cut to the heavily edited video of the event.

Ray McGovern: ' Why did you lie to get us into a war that was not necessary, that has caused these kinds of casualties. Why?'

Donald Rumsfeld: 'Well, first of all, I haven't lied. I did not lie then. Colin Powell didn't lie. He spent weeks and weeks with the CIA people and prepared a presentation that I know he believed was accurate, and he presented that to the UN. The President spent weeks and weeks with the CIA, and he went to the American people and made a presentation. I am not in the intelligence business. They gave the world their honest opinion, it appears there were not WMDs there.'

RM: 'You said you knew where they were.'

DR: 'I did not. I said I knew where suspect sites were.'

Comment: This was the first portion of the video that was edited. This is the portion that was removed:

RM: :You said you knew where they were Tikrit, Baghdad, northeast, south, west of there. Those are your words.'

DR: 'My words.... my words were that .... no, no, no wait a minute, wait a minute. Let him stay one second. Just a second.'

RM: 'This is America, Huh.'

DR: 'You’re getting plenty of play, sir.'

RM: 'I’d just like an honest answer.'

DR: 'I’m giving it to you.'

The disgusting propaganda continued ...

New York Times omits Colbert at correspondents' dinner ... President and First Lady unamused

The Raw Story | New York Times omits Colbert at correspondents' dinner: RAW STORY | Published: Monday May 1, 2006

The New York Times' article Monday on the White House correspondent's dinner failed to include any mention of Stephen Colbert, the deadpan host of Comedy Central's Colbert report, RAW STORY has found.

In fact, the paper didn't mention the comic's appearance at the dinner at all. The discovery was first made by a diarist at Daily Kos.

According to Editor & Publisher, the comic's jokes left the President and First Lady unamused. The press, reports said, reacted uncomfortably to the stinging humorous attacks on the press and the Administration.

'Colbert, who spoke in the guise of his talk-show character, who ostensibly supports the president strongly, urged Bush to ignore his low approval ratings, saying they were based on reality, 'and reality has a well-known liberal bias,'' wrote Editor & Publisher's Joe Strupp, who was at the dinner." ...

Air Force Censors Liberal Websites, But Leaves Conservative Ones Alone

Daily Kos: State of the Nation: "BREAKING: Air Force Censors Liberal Websites, But Leaves Conservative Ones Alone | by AmberJane | Mon Apr 24, 2006 at 09:31:33 PM PDT

Earlier today, a friend of mine who flies for the Air Force sent me an email reporting that sometime in the middle of the day today, the Air Force's IT people put a block on DailyKos. He was on a coffee break and wanted to show a colleague a diary about energy policy, so he told me (probably one of Jerome �Paris'). Although it was possible to do that this morning, by around two o'clock (or however they say that in the Air Force) DailyKos was blocked.

So was Atrios.
So was TalkingPointsMemo, for crying out loud - and they're all policy and minimal invective over there!
On the other hand, Free Republic and Little Green Footballs came through just fine, thank you very much."

Media largely ignore ex-CIA official's disclosure that White House dismissed contrary prewar intelligence on Iraq's WMD

Media Matters - Media largely ignore ex-CIA official's disclosure that White House dismissed contrary prewar intelligence on Iraq's WMD: "Media largely ignore ex-CIA official's disclosure that White House dismissed contrary prewar intelligence on Iraq's WMD

Summary: On CBS' 60 Minutes, former high-ranking CIA official Tyler Drumheller proved that the Bush administration dismissed clear-cut evidence undermining President Bush's central case for war -- that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. But in the nearly two days since this explosive report aired, the media have almost entirely ignored the story.

On the April 23 edition of CBS' 60 Minutes, former high-ranking CIA official Tyler Drumheller offered first-hand evidence that, months before the United States invaded Iraq, the Bush administration dismissed clear-cut evidence undermining President Bush's central case for war -- that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. But in the nearly two days since this explosive report aired, the media have -- with the exception of MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann and several brief wire articles -- entirely ignored the story." ...

Tony Snow [new Press Secretary] On President Bush: ‘An Embarrassment,’ ‘Impotent,’ ‘Doesn’t Seem To Mean What He Says’

Think Progress � Tony Snow On President Bush: ‘An Embarrassment,’ ‘Impotent,’ ‘Doesn’t Seem To Mean What He Says’: "

Fox News’ Tony Snow is expected to be named White House Press Secretary. Here’s some of what he’s had to say about the President:

– Bush has “lost control of the federal budget and cannot resist the temptation to stop raiding the public fisc.” [3/17/06]

– “George W. Bush and his colleagues have become not merely the custodians of the largest government in the history of humankind, but also exponents of its vigorous expansion.” [3/17/06]

– “President Bush distilled the essence of his presidency in this year’s State of the Union Address: brilliant foreign policy and listless domestic policy.” [2/3/06]

– “George Bush has become something of an embarrassment.” [11/11/05]

– Bush “has a habit of singing from the Political Correctness hymnal.” [10/7/05]

– “No president has looked this impotent this long when it comes to defending presidential powers and prerogatives.” [9/30/05]
...
– “When it comes to federal spending, George W. Bush is the boy who can’t say no. In each of his three years at the helm, the president has warned Congress to restrain its spending appetites, but so far nobody has pushed away from the table mainly because the president doesn’t seem to mean what he says.” [The Detroit News, 12/28/03] ...

Are US campuses in the grip of a witch-hunt of progressives asks Gary Younge

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Are US campuses in the grip of a witch-hunt of progressives asks Gary Younge: "Silence in class |
Tuesday April 4, 2006 | The Guardian

University professors denounced for anti-Americanism; schoolteachers suspended for their politics; students encouraged to report on their tutors. Are US campuses in the grip of a witch-hunt of progressives, or is academic life just too liberal? By Gary Younge
...

As chair of African American studies in Yale, Paul Gilroy had a similar experience recently after he spoke at a university-sponsored teach-in on the Iraq war. "I think the morality of cluster bombs, of uranium-tipped bombs, [of] daisy cutters are shaped by an imperial double standard that values American lives more," he said. "[The war seems motivated by] a desire to enact revenge for the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon ... [It's important] to speculate about the relation between this war and the geopolitical interests of Israel."

"I thought I was being extremely mealy-mouthed, but I was accused of advocating conspiracy theories," says Gilroy, who is now the Anthony Giddens professor of Social Theory at the London School of Economics.

Scot Silverstein, who was once on the faculty at Yale, saw a piece in the student paper about Gilroy's contribution. He wrote to the Wall Street Journal comparing Gilroy to Hitler and claiming his words illustrated the "moral psychosis and perhaps psychological sadism that appears to have infected leftist academia". The Journal published the letter. Gilroy found himself posted on Discoverthenetworks.org, a website dedicated to exposing radical professors. The principle accusation was that he "believes the US fabricated the threat posed by Saddam Hussein".

Then the emails started coming to him and his colleagues, denouncing him. "Only one person said anything," says Gilroy. "Otherwise, nobody looked me in the eye. There was something about the way it never came up that made me realise how nervous and apprehensive they were." ...
...
Earlier this year, Fox news commentator Sean Hannity urged students to record "leftwing propaganda" by professors so he could broadcast it on his show. On the web there is Campus Watch, "monitoring Middle East studies on campus"; Edwatch, "Education for a free nation"; and Parents Against Bad Books in School.

In mid January, the Bruin Alumni association offered students $100 to tape leftwing professors at the University of California Los Angeles. The association effectively had one dedicated member, 24-year-old Republican Andrew Jones. It also had one dedicated aim: "Exposing UCLA's most radical professors" who "[proselytise] their extreme views in the classroom". ...

...
In February, Horowitz published a book, The Professors: the 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America, in which he lists, in alphabetical order, the radical academics whom he believes are polluting academe with leftwing propaganda. "Coming to a campus near you: terrorists, racists, and communists - you know them as The Professors," reads the blurb on the jacket. "Today's radical academics aren't the exception - they're legion. And far from being harmless, they spew violent anti-Americanism, preach anti-semitism and cheer on the killing of American soldiers and civilians - all the while collecting tax dollars and tuition fees to indoctrinate our children."

The book is a sloppy series of character assassinations, relying more heavily on insinuation, inference, suggestion and association than it does on fact. Take Todd Gitlin, a journalism and sociology professor at Columbia University. Gitlin was the leader of Students for Democratic Society, a radical anti-war movement in the 60s. Today, his politics could be described as mainstream liberal. He supported the war in Afghanistan but not in Iraq and hung out the Stars and Stripes after the terrorist attacks on September 11. He has recently written a book, The Intellectuals and the Flag, calling for progressives to embrace a patriotic culture that distinguishes between allegiance to one's country, which he supports, and loyalty to one's government, which he does not ...

Buried in Washington Post, White House official admits Bush authorized Iraq leak

The Raw Story | Buried in Washington Post, White House official admits Bush authorized Iraq leak: "RAW STORY | Published: Friday April 7, 2006

From the Washington Post, Page A9:

[The White House refused to comment directly on the court filing, except to point out that Bush's very decision to disclose classified information means he declassified it -- an assessment shared by independent legal experts.

A senior administration official, speaking on background because White House policy prohibits comment on an active investigation, said Bush sees a distinction between leaks and what he is alleged to have done. The official said Bush authorized the release of the classified information to assure the public of his rationale for war as it was coming under increasing scrutiny.]
...From the Washington Post, Page A9:
The allegation that President Bush authorized the dissemination of secret intelligence as part of an effort to buttress his case for war with Iraq introduces a new dimension to the long-running CIA leak investigation, while posing troubling new political problems for the administration.

Until now, the investigation had been about aides to Bush and their alleged efforts to attack the credibility of a vocal administration critic, including by possibly leaking classified information. Bush cast himself as a disinterested observer, eager to resolve the case and hold those responsible accountable.

But court papers filed late Wednesday night by Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald, in the perjury case of former White House official I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, implicate Bush as knowing about efforts to disseminate sensitive information -- and also as orchestrating them.

Although Fitzgerald specifically said Bush was not aware of the leaking of a CIA agent's affiliation, the allegation that the president was involved at all in a leak campaign unleashed a torrent of criticism from Democrats.

"The buck doesn't stop anywhere with this White House. Now we know why the president hasn't been straight with Americans," said Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.). "Two and a half years ago, President Bush said. 'If there is a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is.' He said he'd fire whoever leaked classified information, and now we know the president himself authorized it. Now we know that the president's search for the leaker needs to go no further than a mirror." ...

77 TV stations aired 'fake news reports'

The Raw Story | 77 TV stations aired 'fake news reports': "Ron Brynaert |Published: Wednesday April 5, 2006

A study by a group that monitors the media reveals that, over a ten month span, 77 television stations from all across the nation aired video news releases without informing their viewers even once that the reports were actually sponsored content, RAW STORY has found.

One "news report" that aired on three stations relied on a video news release (VNR) produced by a PR firm on behalf of General Motors which was even apparently based on a "false claim."

Center for Media and Democracy's Fake TV News: Widespread and Undisclosed is "a multimedia report on television newsrooms' use of material provided by PR firms on behalf of paying clients," containing video footage of the 36 video news releases (VNRs) cited in the report, plus a map and spreadsheet of the stations cited. ...

Bush: "You tapped your phone — I tapped your phones. Yes. No, that’s right. Yes, no, let me finish...."

Think Progress � VIDEO: Bush Event Goes Off Script: "

Read below for the full exchange:

Q You never stop talking about freedom, and I appreciate that. But while I listen to you talk about freedom, I see you assert your right to tap my telephone, to arrest me and hold me without charges, to try to preclude me from breathing clean air and drinking clean water and eating safe food. If I were a woman, you’d like to restrict my opportunity to make a choice and decision about whether I can abort a pregnancy on my own behalf. You are –

THE PRESIDENT: I’m not your favorite guy. Go ahead. (Laughter and applause.) Go on, what’s your question?

Q Okay, I don’t have a question. What I wanted to say to you is that I — in my lifetime, I have never felt more ashamed of, nor more frightened by my leadership in Washington, including the presidency, by the Senate, and –

AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Booo!

THE PRESIDENT: No, wait a sec — let him speak.

Q And I would hope — I feel like despite your rhetoric, that compassion and common sense have been left far behind during your administration, and I would hope from time to time that you have the humility and the grace to be ashamed of yourself inside yourself. And I also want to say I really appreciate the courtesy of allowing me to speak what I’m saying to you right now. That is part of what this country is about.

THE PRESIDENT: It is, yes. (Applause.)

Q And I know that this doesn’t come welcome to most of the people in this room, but I do appreciate that.

THE PRESIDENT: Appreciate –

Q I don’t have a question, but I just wanted to make that comment to you.

THE PRESIDENT: I appreciate it, thank you. Let me –

Q Can I ask a question?

THE PRESIDENT: I’m going to start off with what you first said, if you don’t mind, you said that I tap your phones — I think that’s what you said. You tapped your phone — I tapped your phones. Yes. No, that’s right. Yes, no, let me finish. ...