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( OT ) Bush administration: Fake news is A-OK
Bush administration: Fake news is A-OK
Remember those fake video news reports the Bush administration has been distributing to local television stations? Back in February, the Government Accountability Office warned federal agencies to stop pushing the phony news reports on the grounds that continuing to do so would amount to the distribution of domestic propaganda in violation of federal law. That might have been the end of the matter, but the Bush administration has other ideas. Last week, budget director Josh Bolten and a Justice Department lawyer named Steven Bradbury issued their own opinion about the fake news stories. Their conclusion: The GAO is wrong, and the fake news reports are perfectly legal. Moreover, as the Washington Post reports today, Bolten and Bradbury said that legal advice for the executive branch is supposed to come not from the Government Accountability Office but from the Justice's Office of Legal Counsel. That would be the same Office of Legal Counsel that issued a legal memorandum in August 2002 defining torture out of existence and opining that the president's commander-in-chief power gives him authority to defy federal law in the name of national security -- and the same Office of Legal Counsel that retracted that memo in December 2004, just in time for Alberto Gonzales' confirmation hearings. The OLC may well be the right entity to provide legal advice to the executive branch, but that doesn't mean that its advice is any better on the fake news stories than it was on the torture of detainees. In words that could have described either issue, the head of the GAO told the Post yesterday that the administration's approach to the fake news stories is not just illegal but wrong. "This is more than a legal issue," said Comptroller General David Walker. "It's also an ethical issue and involves important good government principles, namely the need for openness in connection with government activities and expenditures. We should not just be seeking to do what's arguably legal. We should be doing what's right." A government that aspires to morality and not just to the bare minimum of legality? The notion seems so . . . quaint. Tim Grieve -- Salon |
#2
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So what your problem? The administration has already said that reality is
whatever they decide it is............ And the "sheeple" buy anything as long as it's wrapped in the flag and supported by religious wackos! "Jim," wrote in message ... Bush administration: Fake news is A-OK Remember those fake video news reports the Bush administration has been distributing to local television stations? Back in February, the Government Accountability Office warned federal agencies to stop pushing the phony news reports on the grounds that continuing to do so would amount to the distribution of domestic propaganda in violation of federal law. That might have been the end of the matter, but the Bush administration has other ideas. Last week, budget director Josh Bolten and a Justice Department lawyer named Steven Bradbury issued their own opinion about the fake news stories. Their conclusion: The GAO is wrong, and the fake news reports are perfectly legal. Moreover, as the Washington Post reports today, Bolten and Bradbury said that legal advice for the executive branch is supposed to come not from the Government Accountability Office but from the Justice's Office of Legal Counsel. That would be the same Office of Legal Counsel that issued a legal memorandum in August 2002 defining torture out of existence and opining that the president's commander-in-chief power gives him authority to defy federal law in the name of national security -- and the same Office of Legal Counsel that retracted that memo in December 2004, just in time for Alberto Gonzales' confirmation hearings. The OLC may well be the right entity to provide legal advice to the executive branch, but that doesn't mean that its advice is any better on the fake news stories than it was on the torture of detainees. In words that could have described either issue, the head of the GAO told the Post yesterday that the administration's approach to the fake news stories is not just illegal but wrong. "This is more than a legal issue," said Comptroller General David Walker. "It's also an ethical issue and involves important good government principles, namely the need for openness in connection with government activities and expenditures. We should not just be seeking to do what's arguably legal. We should be doing what's right." A government that aspires to morality and not just to the bare minimum of legality? The notion seems so . . . quaint. Tim Grieve -- Salon |
#3
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On Tue, 15 Mar 2005 16:08:56 GMT, "MMC" wrote:
So what your problem? The administration has already said that reality is whatever they decide it is............ And the "sheeple" buy anything as long as it's wrapped in the flag and supported by religious wackos! Not to mention that Clinton was doing the same damn thing, and no one uttered a sound. No bias there, is there? -- John H "All decisions are the result of binary thinking." |
#4
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On Tue, 15 Mar 2005 14:42:26 GMT, "Jim," wrote:
Bush administration: Fake news is A-OK I guess, in your rush to post some anti-Bush stuff, you missed this: Here's the headline and first couple paragraphs: ************************************************** ***** Under Bush, a New Age of Prepackaged TV News By DAVID BARSTOW and ROBIN STEIN Published: March 13, 2005 It is the kind of TV news coverage every president covets. "Thank you, Bush. Thank you, U.S.A.," a jubilant Iraqi-American told a camera crew in Kansas City for a segment about reaction to the fall of Baghdad. A second report told of "another success" in the Bush administration's "drive to strengthen aviation security"; the reporter called it "one of the most remarkable campaigns in aviation history." A third segment, broadcast in January, described the administration's determination to open markets for American farmers. To a viewer, each report looked like any other 90-second segment on the local news. In fact, the federal government produced all three. The report from Kansas City was made by the State Department. The "reporter" covering airport safety was actually a public relations professional working under a false name for the Transportation Security Administration. The farming segment was done by the Agriculture Department's office of communications. ************************************** Now, the implication is that Bush has started some new manner of deceiving the public. Not until almost halfway into this "news article" do we get to: *************************************** The practice, which also occurred in the Clinton administration, is continuing... ************************************ Yup. That's unbiased reporting. -- John H "All decisions are the result of binary thinking." |
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John H wrote:
On Tue, 15 Mar 2005 14:42:26 GMT, "Jim," wrote: Bush administration: Fake news is A-OK I guess, in your rush to post some anti-Bush stuff, you missed this: Here's the headline and first couple paragraphs: ************************************************** ***** Under Bush, a New Age of Prepackaged TV News By DAVID BARSTOW and ROBIN STEIN Published: March 13, 2005 It is the kind of TV news coverage every president covets. "Thank you, Bush. Thank you, U.S.A.," a jubilant Iraqi-American told a camera crew in Kansas City for a segment about reaction to the fall of Baghdad. A second report told of "another success" in the Bush administration's "drive to strengthen aviation security"; the reporter called it "one of the most remarkable campaigns in aviation history." A third segment, broadcast in January, described the administration's determination to open markets for American farmers. To a viewer, each report looked like any other 90-second segment on the local news. In fact, the federal government produced all three. The report from Kansas City was made by the State Department. The "reporter" covering airport safety was actually a public relations professional working under a false name for the Transportation Security Administration. The farming segment was done by the Agriculture Department's office of communications. ************************************** Now, the implication is that Bush has started some new manner of deceiving the public. Not until almost halfway into this "news article" do we get to: *************************************** The practice, which also occurred in the Clinton administration, is continuing... ************************************ Yup. That's unbiased reporting. And YOU neglected to mention that bush in a little over 4 years has already spent *DOUBLE* what Clinton spent in 8 |
#6
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On Tue, 15 Mar 2005 22:35:03 GMT, "Jim," wrote:
John H wrote: On Tue, 15 Mar 2005 14:42:26 GMT, "Jim," wrote: Bush administration: Fake news is A-OK I guess, in your rush to post some anti-Bush stuff, you missed this: Here's the headline and first couple paragraphs: ************************************************** ***** Under Bush, a New Age of Prepackaged TV News By DAVID BARSTOW and ROBIN STEIN Published: March 13, 2005 It is the kind of TV news coverage every president covets. "Thank you, Bush. Thank you, U.S.A.," a jubilant Iraqi-American told a camera crew in Kansas City for a segment about reaction to the fall of Baghdad. A second report told of "another success" in the Bush administration's "drive to strengthen aviation security"; the reporter called it "one of the most remarkable campaigns in aviation history." A third segment, broadcast in January, described the administration's determination to open markets for American farmers. To a viewer, each report looked like any other 90-second segment on the local news. In fact, the federal government produced all three. The report from Kansas City was made by the State Department. The "reporter" covering airport safety was actually a public relations professional working under a false name for the Transportation Security Administration. The farming segment was done by the Agriculture Department's office of communications. ************************************** Now, the implication is that Bush has started some new manner of deceiving the public. Not until almost halfway into this "news article" do we get to: *************************************** The practice, which also occurred in the Clinton administration, is continuing... ************************************ Yup. That's unbiased reporting. And YOU neglected to mention that bush in a little over 4 years has already spent *DOUBLE* what Clinton spent in 8 Bush has done twice as many things to brag about! -- John H "All decisions are the result of binary thinking." |
#7
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And YOU neglected to mention that bush in a little over 4 years has
already spent *DOUBLE* what Clinton spent in 8 John H wrote: Bush has done twice as many things to brag about! Like what? C'mon put your money where your mouth is... name a few of the Bush Administration's major accomplishments... DSK |
#8
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DSK wrote:
And YOU neglected to mention that bush in a little over 4 years has already spent *DOUBLE* what Clinton spent in 8 John H wrote: Bush has done twice as many things to brag about! Like what? C'mon put your money where your mouth is... name a few of the Bush Administration's major accomplishments... DSK Record national Debt involvement in an unnecessary war 1500 dead 10,000+ wounded working to destroy Social Security cut aid to states ignored the bill of rights ("patriot act") opened the southern boarder to infiltration Cost of gas doubled cozy with the "professional Christian"? Churches how many more do you want? |
#9
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On Tue, 15 Mar 2005 18:09:28 -0500, DSK wrote:
And YOU neglected to mention that bush in a little over 4 years has already spent *DOUBLE* what Clinton spent in 8 John H wrote: Bush has done twice as many things to brag about! Like what? C'mon put your money where your mouth is... name a few of the Bush Administration's major accomplishments... DSK You've *got* to watch something besides Dan Rather! -- John H "All decisions are the result of binary thinking." |
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