White House Press Secretary Dana Perino promised reporters yet again that the staged news conference organized on Tuesday by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would not happen again, and said the White House would never employ such tactics at its own press briefings.
That sure does sound nice, doesn’t it? Are you reassured? However this isn’t the first time that the administration has done this nor will it be the last. Several years ago in 2005 the administration gave White House press credentials to a male escort working for the made up Talon News Service. When this became public the White House backpedaled gushing with just the same feigned surprise that Perino this week displayed. They apologized for their inattention to detail yet never explained why a male escort was signed into the White House 96 times.
At that time in 2005 Republicans controlled both the House and Senate and it is to their credit that they would not extend press credentials to the Talon News Service. But just days after Talon News imploded it was replaced by Cybercast News Service but within a week it found it’s self mired in its own scandal. While attempting to present themselves again as an independent media organization their first and only client was exposed to be GOPUSA.com.
In March 2005 the Nashua Advocate confronted Scott Hogenson, Executive Editor of CNS, about it’s practice of Google bombing. A practice through which the structure of a media organization's intranet allows it to appear countless times on search engines with a single news story. The Advocate had previously notified CNS by e-mail that it would lodge a complaint with Google News if CNS did not cease its so-called "Google-bombing" operations. Hogenson, claimed to the surprised and dismayed by The Advocate, and termed its e-mail request as "belligerent."
What would Ms Perino have had to say about CNS? Would she admit to having ever heard of them? Or would she simply assert that this would never happen again?
Yet you have to ask yourself, are they that good at this? Or are they that bad at this? During Hurricane Katrina Brownie had an endless supply of softball interviews on the so-called real news media outlets. Only as the reality of desperate Americans without food or water emerged did the questions then become more pointed. Then came the President standing in front of idle coast guard helicopters saying, “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.” Those helicopters were far better employed as stage scenery for the President than what they were originally purchased for.
The President then returned to Jackson Square to pour out his promises and concern for the unfortunates, loaded down with generators and light towers. Jackson square looked more like the scene of an Andy Williams Christmas special than a government trying to help in a disaster. But when the press conference ended the President left and took his generators and mood lighting with him.
But to the media it was all about what the administration thought about the disaster not what the people thought about the administration. But when the Vice President came to New Orleans the truth flew in the window, “Go f-ck yourself Mr. Cheney go f-ck yourself. The CNN reporter asked, "Are you getting a lot of that Mr. Vice President?" Cheney responds, "First time I've heard it, Must be a friend of John..., er, ah - never mind."
I’m certain that the Vice President was telling the truth about that, he had probably never had heard it and the reason is simple he doesn’t want to hear it. He doesn’t want camera’s to take pictures of the caskets of dead Americans, dead because of the administration’s bright ideas. If the scientific reports run counter to the administrations position just change them to point out the good aspects of global warming. If a scandal breaks in the Vice Presidents office do exclusive interviews on Fox an Rush Limbaugh to explain how you have no idea how this could have ever happened.
Numerous media pundits and news organizations have since admitted that they where mislead during the run up to the Iraq war. Then they bow and shake their heads as if wondering how could this have ever happened to them, how could they have been so wrong? None are outraged by the administration that misleads them in fact they’ll go right back tomorrow and ask the President, “But you definitively believe Iran wants to build a nuclear weapon?”
“I think so long -- until they suspend and/or make it clear that they -- that their statements aren't real, yeah, I believe they want to have the capacity, the knowledge, in order to make a nuclear weapon. And I know it's in the world's interest to prevent them from doing so. I believe that the Iranian -- if Iran had a nuclear weapon, it would be a dangerous threat to world peace.”
Look at the operative words in the President’s answer, I think, I believe, in the world’s interest, to have the capacity and if. If? A mighty big word is if, with a mighty big meaning to be held up by two frail letters. Meaning, never mind what the truth is, I believe, I think and in the world’s interest. I’ll ask again, do they foist these phony new conferences on us because they can get away with so much at the real ones? A dog and pony show with nothing to offer us but dog turds and horse crap which the media then portray as smart purebreds and high stepping trotters.
From the administration standpoint, why not replace them? What do you need with real reporters that baa in unison? Why not outsource them with your own people? Perhaps a Blackwater News Service? All the news coming right down the barrel to you, it would give a whole new meaning to the term a newsmagazine.
But after six years of these faux pas, this press conference was neither an accident nor an error in judgement. It was a fraud from start to finish planed and premeditated just like all the other frauds perpetrated on the American people. We are light years away from the place where they can turn around and feign surprise. The administration that moves six nuclear tipped cruise missiles to an Air Force base used to stage transfers to the Iraq theater and then when it’s exposed once again says oops. How stupid do they think we are? And how stupid are we?
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