Just when you think this President has reached an all time low he finds a way to sink even lower. I am refering to the recent staged videoconference where our congenital liar of a president didn't even have the backbone to tell his own distortions. No longer satisfied to prevaricate on his own, he now has to enlist young, American troops to assist in his outrageous propaganda. I am of course refering to the recent, staged video conference in which a group of American GIs were told what to say prior to a supposedly "spontaneous" conversation with our sociopathic Demander and Thief. The last I knew an event is neither spontaneous nor honest if it is rehearsed and coached ahead of time. Of course, this would only hold true in a normal world, and if we know anything about the Bush regime it is this: the only way it would ever tell the truth would be if it do so by accident.
In case the link doesn't work I shall print the entire article below. Otherwise it may be found at:
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_3118811?rss
Bush Videoconference With Soldiers Gets Flak For Being Staged
By Warren Vieth and Mark Mazzetti Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON - President Bush touched off a new round of controversy over his policies in Iraq Thursday when he conducted a videoconference interview about this weekend's constitutional referendum with a small group of hand-picked troops stationed in Iraq who reinforced his upbeat view of the conflict. The closely coordinated exchange drew disapproval from Democratic war critics as well as some Pentagon military leaders. The soldiers were coached. Before the session began, a Pentagon communications official, Allison Barber, was heard asking one of them, ''Who are we going to give that [question] to?'' Barber later told reporters the soldiers were told only about broad themes Bush wanted to discuss, not specific questions.
White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said he did not think the soldiers had been told what they could or could not say. ''The troops can ask the president whatever they want,'' he said. ''They've always been free to do that.'' The president did not invite the soldiers to ask any questions, however, and none did. Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita later issued a statement saying, ''On behalf of these fine young men and women, we certainly regret any perception that they were told what to say. It is not the case.'' The president spoke into a video screen to 10 U.S. soldiers and one Iraqi officer seated outdoors in Tikrit, Iraq, Saddam Hussein's hometown.
''What's your strategy, and how do you think it's going?'' Bush asked. Capt. Brent Kennedy of the Army's 42nd Infantry Division said U.S. and Iraqi forces were working together to secure more than 1,250 polling places for Saturday's vote. ''We're working right alongside with the Iraqis as they lead the way in securing these sites,'' Kennedy said. With Iraqi troop readiness at the center of the war debate, Bush's discussion with the troops was questioned by war critics including Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who complained that it was ''highly scripted,'' and by military officers. ''Officers are upset that military people would be coached as to how to talk to the president,'' said a senior military official who spoke on condition of anonymity. ''It's against everything that people in uniform stand for.''
Editor's note, by Brandon
What can I say? It isn't enough that his war of choice has resulted in the unnecessary deaths of nearly 2000 young American Soldiers. Now he has to exploit them on top of it all. Please--no more rhetoric from the far right about decency and morality. Bush is not decent and he wouldn't know a moral if it bit him in the ass.
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Sergeant Ron Long, an Army combat medic, was one of the participants. He gave his side of the story (which the media has chosen to ignore, of course) on his personal blog (http://278medic.blogspot.com/). "I believe that it would have been totally irresponsible for us not to prepare some ideas, facts or comments that we wanted to share with the President," Long noted. He explained further:
We practiced passing the microphone around to one another, so we wouldn't choke someone on live TV. We had an idea as to who we thought should answer what types of questions, unless President Bush called on one of us specifically.
President Bush told us, during his closing, that the American people were behind us. I know that we are fighting here, not only to preserve our own freedoms, but to establish those same freedoms for the people of Iraq. It makes my stomach ache to think that we are helping to preserve free speech in the U.S., while the media uses that freedom to try to rip down the President and our morale, as U.S. Soldiers. They seem to be enjoying the fact that they are tearing the country apart. Worthless!
Sgt. Long is dead-on. The smearing of our troops, who were accused of helping stage the capture of Saddam and now stand accused of staging their support for President Bush's goals in Iraq, is especially galling to military family members who have watched the media shamelessly manipulate and fake the news with impunity for years.
Indeed, as NBC News was indulging in its Bush-deranged feeding frenzy over the "staged" talk with the troops, one of the network's crack reporters, Michelle Kosinski, was rowing a canoe in a few inches of water in New Jersey to create the illusion of dangerous flood conditions. The illusion was comically destroyed when two men walked in front of the camera with water barely reaching their ankles.
NBC News, of course, knows all about staging events (you remember those faked GM truck crash tests). The rest of the mainstream media know whereof they speak as well — from Cokie Roberts' faked U.S. Capitol backdrop on ABC News to CBS's manufactured National Guard memos on "60 Minutes" to the bogus reports of Jayson Blair, Mike Barnicle, Janet Cooke, Diana Griego Erwin, Mitch Albom, Stephen Glass, Eric Slater and Jack Kelley.
As they spin the Saddam trial and deride our soldiers in Iraq, the lesson is clear: These media masters of theater are incapable of delivering real drama and good news unless they control the script.
Fortunately, you control the remote.
POINT: Sergeant Ron Long, an Army combat medic, was one of the participants. He gave his side of the story (which the media has chosen to ignore, of course) on his personal blog (http://278medic.blogspot.com/). "I believe that it would have been totally irresponsible for us not to prepare some ideas, facts or comments that we wanted to share with the President,"
ANSWER: That's nice spin, but the fact that the man was willing to go along with a staged event that was passed off as unstaged tells us that he is hardly a source to be taken seriously here. It seems to me that anything he has top say about the event now is nothing more than damage control, falling ons his sword to protect the Demander and Thief. Moreover, this seems a little suspicious when you remember they were actually trying to decide which soldier would handle each question. In what sense is that not a staged event? But I like your Orwellian use of language here--a planned spontaneous event. How cute.
POINT: Indeed, as NBC News was indulging in its Bush-deranged feeding frenzy over the "staged" talk with the troops, one of the network's crack reporters, Michelle Kosinski, was rowing a canoe in a few inches of water in New Jersey to create the illusion of dangerous flood conditions. The illusion was comically destroyed when two men walked in front of the camera with water barely reaching their ankles.
ANSWER: And this relates to what? Are you denying that there was flooding in the Eastern Part of the United States? Do you really think that this is the moral (or should I say immoral or amoral?) equal of a president who started a war of choice, which resulted in the deaths of 2000 American troops, and tens of thousand Iraqi civilians? If you think your boat-rowing story rises to the same level of depravity of an inept, disingenuous president, then I would humbly suggest that tou have a few problems in the old morality department.
Also, I liked your use of the term "bush-deranged feeding frenzy," which suggests that the feeding frenzy was caused by the President's derangement. Thanks much.
Of course you also need to remember that this is the same administration that was was using a planted "reporter" named Joe Gannon who turned out to be a political hack and a male prostitute. But then again, no one said this Adminisration didn't have balls. The only thing we can't figure out is if they were being bought ot sold and by whom.
POINT: As they spin the Saddam trial and deride our soldiers in Iraq, the lesson is clear: These media masters of theater are incapable of delivering real drama and good news unless they control the script.
ANSWER: Pretty big talk coming from someone whose favorite administration tried to establish an official office of disinformation that would seed both, the US and foreign press with slanted or even phony news stories. Considering the fact that the Administration openly admitted that it wanted to get a known liar (read former Iran Contra goon, former Admiral John Poindexter) to run this bargain basement propaganda ministry, I really don't think you have a lot to talk about.
It seems to me that the Administration and its merry band of propaganda spinners decided that they could brainwash the American People and that 28 percent of the American people can still have their common sense flushed out with a light rinse.
As for our aleged control of the remote....We aren't in charge of hiring and firing. The remote is safely in the hands of the right wing corporate owners who do the hiring and firing and who control the agenda from the top down.
But keep those cards and letters coming. We really do enjoy hearing from you around here. At least it makes a break on a cloudy, Monday night.
Have a good one
Daniel.
CPL. JEFFREY B. STARR: WHAT THE NYTIMES LEFT OUT
By Michelle Malkin · October 28, 2005 10:49 AM
On Wednesday, the NYTimes published a 4,625-word opus on the "2,000 dead" milestone--a "grim mark," read the headline--on page A2. Among those profiled were Marines from the First Battalion of the Fifth Marine Regiment, including Cpl. Jeffrey B. Starr. Here's an excerpt from the Times' passage about Cpl. Starr:
Another member of the 1/5, Cpl. Jeffrey B. Starr, rejected a $24,000 bonus to re-enlist. Corporal Starr believed strongly in the war, his father said, but was tired of the harsh life and nearness of death in Iraq. So he enrolled at Everett Community College near his parents' home in Snohomish, Wash., planning to study psychology after his enlistment ended in August.
But he died in a firefight in Ramadi on April 30 during his third tour in Iraq. He was 22.
Sifting through Corporal Starr's laptop computer after his death, his father found a letter to be delivered to the marine's girlfriend. ''I kind of predicted this,'' Corporal Starr wrote of his own death. ''A third time just seemed like I'm pushing my chances.''
Last night, I received a letter from Corporal Starr's uncle, Timothy Lickness. He wanted you to know the rest of the story--and the parts of Corporal Starr's letter that the Times failed to include:
Yesterday's New York Times on-line edition carried the story of the 2000 Iraq US military death[s]. It grabbed my attention as the picture they used with the headline was that of my nephew, Cpl Jeffrey B. Starr, USMC.
Unfortunately they did not tell Jeffrey's story. Jeffrey believed in what he was doing. He [was] willing put his life on the line for this cause. Just before he left for his third tour of duty in Iraq I asked him what he thought about going back the third time. He said: "If we (Americans) don't do this (free the Iraqi people from tyranny) who will? No one else can."
Several months after Jeffrey was killed his laptop computer was returned to his parents who found a letter in it that was addressed to his girlfriend and was intended to be found only if he did not return alive. It is a most poignant letter and filled with personal feelings he had for his girlfriend. But of importance to the rest of us was his expression of how he felt about putting his life at risk for this cause. He said it with grace and maturity.
He wrote: "Obviously if you are reading this then I have died in Iraq. I kind of predicted this, that is why I'm writing this in November. A third time just seemed like I'm pushing my chances. I don't regret going, everybody dies but few get to do it for something as important as freedom. It may seem confusing why we are in Iraq, it's not to me. I'm here helping these people, so that they can live the way we live. Not have to worry about tyrants or vicious dictators. To do what they want with their lives. To me that is why I died. Others have died for my freedom, now this is my mark."
What Jeffrey said is important. Americans need to understand that most of those who are or have been there understand what's going on. It would honor Jeffrey's memory if you would publish the rest of his story.
Mr. Lickness also told me: "Even more than a Marine, Jeff was a man of God. At a recent memorial service at Camp Pendleton for the 16 Marines from his unit killed in Iraq we got to meet the men who were with him when he died. They told us of his bravery under fire, his leadership, his humor and his humanity. America lost the best it has, but the family knows he's with his Heavenly Father and we will see him again."
Now you know what the Times left out. Now you know the rest of Corporal Starr's story.
You can pay proper tribute to Corporal Starr here.
More about Corporal Starr from his uncle here.
Thank God for men like him.
As for the Times, what do I always say? It's always more informative for what it leaves out than for what it puts in.
***
Yes yes. And here in Wisconsin we have a Gold Star Father who wants a referendum on our support for the war placed on the ballot for the people to vote on. The upshot being that this father and his surviving son have turned on the war and now want to bring home the troops.
Your move.
Maidas To Appear At Peace Event
The Capital Times
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Ray Maida and Chris Maida will speak in Madison Thursday at an event sponsored by Military Families for Peace.
Ray is the father and Chris is the brother of Mark Maida, an Army sergeant from Madison who was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq in May. Chris is an Iraq war veteran.
Since Mark's death, the family has become increasingly critical and outspoken about the war in Iraq. The family's story was featured on "Nightline" earlier this month.
Thursday's event will start at 7 p.m. at Union South, 227 N. Randall Ave.
FROM http://www.madison.com/archives/read.php?ref=tct:2005:10:26:532337:METRO
A solemn rally downtown tonight as the lives of 2,000 soldiers who died serving in Iraq are remembered.
46 names were read by candlelight at the vigil at the University's Library mall. They are the names of the Wisconsin soldiers who died while deployed in Iraq.
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More than 100 people showed up to honor the dead, and support our troops. Among them, Ray Maida who's son, Mark, died after his humvee hit a roadside bomb. Ray Maida says he's talked to a soldier who was in his son's humvee and knows that his son wanted his story told. "Mark and I talked that as soon as we got out of the Army, got back to the United States, that we would go to every get out of Iraq rally we could. Mark can't do that so I'm here tonight to support you, support this effort and I will continue to do that for my son."
Ray Maida is schedule to share more about his son on Thursday when he speaks tomorrow night at Union South
FROM:
http://nbc15.madison.com/news/headlines/1924977.html
My move? Anyway, the point of my posting that piece by Michelle Malkin was to point out first of all the obvious bias of the NY Slimes, and of course to make you aware that you only get the bad news, the protestors, the Bush haters. Good for Ray Maida, i'm glad he's protesting, he has that right. He has that right because his son and people like him fought for it. As CPL Starr said "If we (Americans) don't do this (free the Iraqi people from tyranny) who will? No one else can."
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