Orwell Spins In His Grave

An article in the New York Times asks whether Jon Stewart of Comedy Central's Daily Show has become the most trusted man in America, pointing out that his fake news comedy show has emerged in recent years as a "genuine cultural and political force." While 24-hour news networks like FOX, MSNBC and CNN have been pumping out infotainment-style news about topics like dead celebrities and sexual predators, the Daily Show has been critically tracking the cherry-picking of prewar intelligence, the politicization of the Department of Justice and the efforts of the Bush Administration to increase the power of the executive branch. Stewart has proven to be a master at calling out government and corporate spin, hypocrisy and red herrings, and helping his audience see them, too. A 2008 study from the Project for Excellence in Journalism at the Pew Research Enter for the People and the Press found that the Daily Show has had an impact on American dialogue and that it is "getting people to think critically about the public square."

“The Daily Show” resonates not only because it is wickedly funny but also because its keen sense of the absurd is perfectly attuned to an era in which cognitive dissonance has become a national epidemic. Indeed, Mr. Stewart’s frequent exclamation “Are you insane?!” seems a fitting refrain for a post-M*A*S*H, post-“Catch-22” reality, where the surreal and outrageous have become commonplace — an era kicked off by the wacko 2000 election standoff in Florida, rocked by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 and haunted by the fallout of a costly war waged on the premise of weapons of mass destruction that did not exist. - NYTimes

buzzflash.com/orwell

Today, we struck a blow against propaganda, and for transparency and accountability.

In early 2002, the Pentagon began cultivating retired military officers who frequently serve as media commentators to help make the case for invading Iraq. The pundit program continued -- promoting the Bush administration's stance on the Guantanamo Bay detention center, warrantless wiretapping and other controversial issues -- until New York Times reporter David Barstow exposed its existence in April 2008.

Thanks to Blake Hall of our IT staff and senior researcher Diane Farsetta, now you and anyone with web access can search the massive cache of military documents detailing the Pentagon's illegal attempts to shape U.S. public opinion. The New York Times first obtained the documents. After the Times reported on the covert pundit program, the Pentagon posted the documents online in a desperate attempt at damage control. But the documents weren't text searchable, making systematic analysis of this important information nearly impossible.

But we've now cracked the Pentagon's code and made the 8,000 pages of Pentagon documents fully text searchable, posting them all on our SourceWatch website, for journalists, researchers and concerned citizens.

Please help us continue this important work. Make a tax-deductible donation to CMD today by going to www.PRWatch.org/donate.

The Pentagon documents reveal the worst of the U.S. military-industrial-media complex. As pundits, the retired military officers were paid to give supposedly independent analyses of military and security issues to news audiences. The emails, briefing notes and other internal correspondence revealed in the Pentagon documents make clear how Defense Department officials viewed the pundits - as "surrogates" and "message force multipliers."

Where is the outrage over this massive propaganda campaign? U.S. mainstream media - the same outlets that paid, and sometimes still feature, the Pentagon's pundits - have failed to report on this issue. One of very few national television shows to report on the Pentagon pundit program was PBS's "NewsHour," which featured a debate between CMD executive director John Stauber and Robert Zelnick, a former ABC Pentagon correspondent who defended the propaganda program and criticized the New York Times!

Governments should obey the law. The news media should expose, not partner with, illegal government propaganda campaigns. When both fail, it's left to watchdogs like we here at CMD to sound the alarm and fight for all of our rights to clean government and accurate, factual journalism.

If you appreciate CMDs work in widening and informing public debates, please make a generous contribution today by going to www.PRWatch.org/donate or by sending a check to the address below.

We're proud of this important work, and happy to help elevate the scrutiny, criticism and condemnation that this illegal propaganda campaign has received. Thanks to your support we've made the Pentagon more transparent to citizens like you.

Best,

The staff of the Center for Media and Democracy

P.S. Dig into the documents yourself! They are at http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pentagon_military_analyst_program:_Documents

I BELIEVE BARAQ OBAMA CAN BE THIS KIND OF LEADER.

He is a better man than I. He has intelligence and compassion, and he speaks from experience about all aspects of American life. He is the embodiment of America's collective dreams, and he just may just have the right stuff to do the job.

This election is far too important to loose. The 2008 Election will decide if the American Experiment is over. Will this be the year that our Democratic Republic fades into history, to be replaced by a corrupt corporate fascism? If our once precious American Liberty is to continue to brighten this world it will require sacrifice. We must be the leaders we have been waiting for, else it will be extinguished by those who would return all free people to the yoke of an elite royalty of economic empire.

It is my belief that anyone who votes for the Neo-Conservative Republicans in this upcoming election is voting against American Values of Liberty, Justice, Equality, and Self-Reliance. These are the TRUE American values, they go far beyond the petty 'Family Values' of our opposition. They are not values limited to any one party, race, religion, gender, or nation. These values are not owned by any group of people, they are FUNDAMENTAL AMERICAN VALUES, and it is time, we need to embrace them.

THE TIME OF ACCOUNTABILITY HAS COME.

In just 84 days we must decide the fate of our nation.

I've had some trouble expressing just how important the 2008 elections are to my fellow Americans. It is frustrating, that as we near election day, the long beleaguered losers, the Democratic Party, smelling blood in the water, have decided to go into a feeding frenzy. There are so many things that need to be corrected by this election, yet the Democrats it seems would sacrifice our most fundamental freedoms and rights to accomplish their agendas. To guarantee a super-majority of the house and senate, they would play at the same division-ism that Republicans have so well mastered.

This man, Obama, upon who we have through process of elimination pinned our hopes and dreams for a future, is only a man, but his popularity, and his cunning have given the Democratic Party delusions of grandeur. They think that they can ride his coat tails to victory, without earning that victory with courage and successful arguments. Without opening the Democratic Party to ALL Americans and incorporating the best ideas and arguments that we have to offer, it will be a hollow victory. That is not democracy, it is demagoguery, it is politics.

The 2001 Anthrax Terrorists Have Been Found - And THEY ARE US

Bruce E. Ivins -- died Tuesday night, apparently by suicide, just as the Justice Department was about to charge him with responsibility for the attacks.

The 2001 anthrax attacks remain one of the great mysteries of the post-9/11 era. After 9/11 itself, the anthrax attacks were probably the most consequential event of the Bush presidency. One could make a persuasive case that they were actually more consequential. The 9/11 attacks were obviously traumatic for the country, but in the absence of the anthrax attacks, 9/11 could easily have been perceived as a single, isolated event.

By design, those attacks put the American population into a state of intense fear of Islamic terrorism, far more than the 9/11 attacks alone could have accomplished.

The question is: "Would the American People rolled over so easily and gone to war in Iraq again in 2001 if there had been no Anthrax attacks?"

As a first responder who has participated in a mock anthrax attack drill, and seen the level of resources allocated to the pretend threats, the boogie-man of the 21st century, and seeing what the Bush administration has done to secure that this war will continue, for economic and political reasons, It is plausible that there is more to the 'suicide' of Mr. Ivins than meets the eyes.

More at Salon.com

Waco, 1993 - The Rules of Engagement

In 1993, the ATF and FBI attacked a small cult of christians in Waco, Texas. In defending themselves, these people, know as the Branch Davidians, killed four ATF officers, and wounded twenty others in a hours long shootout caught on video tape. Then for 51 days the Federal Government laid siege to the small church compound, bringing the full force of our government against a group with about 130-150 people, men, women, and children.

The press and other local law enforcement agencies were kept out of the area, and neither were allowed to work within the negotiations. In the end the government of the United States used tanks and fired automatic weapons, in a military type assault, and gassed the compound with high concentrations of flammable cyanide tear-gas. The compound burned, ultimately killing nearly everyone inside.

In the investigations that followed, the evidence showed that government officials at various levels lied, and that many mistakes were made by the ATF, FBI, and others, before, during, and after the siege. The church camp was mischaracterized as a fortress, the group labeled as child-abusers, and their legal weapons reported as 'stock piles'. There also seems to have been an extensive cover up by the government agencies involved as the crime scene was destroyed and CSI evidence lost.

The tragic end was unnecessary, and the church leader, a man named Vernon Wayne Howell, known as David Koresh, was never proven to be guilty of any crimes. To this day some still see him as a Messianic figure, that fact would not be likely if this incident had been resolved differently. This incident is also known as a motivating cause for the Oklahoma City Bombings one year later.

This kind of incident shows the inept stupidity inherent in our Federal law enforcement and military systems, where politically appointed bureaucrats and military goons clumsily try to impose their world views upon civilians.

Today, the project of 'Homeland Security' is in place, and the Executive branch has used legal maneuvers like the 'Patriot' Acts and the Defense Authorization Bills, that circumvent the very checks on power that used to protect us (See Habeas corpus and Posse Comitatus Act), there is noting to prevent more Waco type incidents from occurring. The new twist is that now our government can hire 'Private Security' Mercenary forces (like Blackwater) to do such evil things, thus keeping those responsible safe from being accountable.

Watch this Film: WACO - The RULES Of Engagement

Art for Obama

Barack Obama's historic candidacy has sparked an unprecedented artistic outpouring. Now, in partnership with Shepard Fairey and his Obey Giant collective, we're offering a new way for artists—anyone with a pen and paper qualifies—to share their talents and help elect Barack Obama at the same time.

It's called Manifest Hope, and it's a new Obama art contest for 2D and 3D art, from painting to photography to sculpture. The winners will be shown at the Manifest Hope Gallery online and in Denver during the Democratic convention alongside works from dozens of established and influential artists.

If you think you might want to enter, or want updates on the contest, please let us know here:

http://pol.moveon.org/mh/signup/?id=13385-9524527-EMwNhsx&t=3

If not, can you pass this on to friends of yours who might be interested?

Anyone can enter. You don't have to be Picasso, you just need to be inspired by Barack Obama and willing to donate your creativity and time to the cause.

But you need to get started soon. The final submissions deadline is August 18th at 11:59 a.m. ET. That's not much time to conceive and create a piece of art, so get started today.

All submissions will be judged by a distinguished panel of judges—artists from Obey Giant, contemporary art curators, and multi-talented musicians. Finalists will be asked to auction off their pieces, and donate the proceeds to progressive organizations.

Denver will be buzzing during the convention, but this gallery is going to be one of the coolest places to visit there. Plus, the gallery's going to have an amazing party with live performances by Death Cab For Cutie, Moby, and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.

We're not going to send any more emails to the full MoveOn list before the submission deadline. So if there's any chance you might be interested, you have to sign up for contest updates now:

http://pol.moveon.org/mh/signup/?id=13385-9524527-EMwNhsx&t=4

Thanks for all you do.

–Peter, Karin, Laura, Ilyse and the rest of the team

P.S. It's okay to enter a piece of art you've already created, as long as you're willing to offer it up for auction if it becomes a finalist. If you're ready to enter right now, you can upload your entry here:

http://pol.moveon.org/mh/enter/?id=13385-9524527-EMwNhsx&t=5