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View Full Version : Bush claims fake newscasts legal, ethical.



frindevil
03-16-2005, 07:24 PM
http://www.reuters.com/printerFriendlyPopup.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=7923729

Bush Defends Packaged News Stories from Government
Wed Mar 16, 2005 03:16 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush said on Wednesday that the U.S. government's practice of sending packaged news stories to local television stations was legal and he had no plans to cease it. His defense of the packages, which are designed to look like television news segments, came after they were deemed a form of covert propaganda by the Government Accountability Office watchdog agency.

GAO, an arm of Congress, said this ran counter to appropriation laws and was a misuse of federal funds.

But Bush cited a Justice Department opinion that disagreed with the GAO.

"There is a Justice Department opinion that says these -- these pieces -- are within the law, so long as they're based upon facts, not advocacy," the president told a news conference.

Among the packages the GAO looked at was one produced by the Health and Human Services Department to promote the Medicare prescription drug law. The story included a paid actor who narrated the piece in a similar style to the way a television reporter would.

"The entire story package was developed with appropriated funds but appears to be an independent news story," the agency said.

It added that some stations were airing such pieces without a disclaimer saying they were produced by the government.

Bush said government agencies, such as the Agriculture Department and the Department of Defense, had been producing such videos for a long time and he said it was appropriate so long as they were "based upon a factual report."

He said it was up to the local news stations to disclose that the segments were produced by the government.

It was not the first time the Bush administration has been criticized for blurring the line between media and government. Earlier this year, the Education Department acknowledged that it paid conservative commentator Armstrong Williams $240,000 to promote the No Child Left Behind Act.

Gold9472
03-16-2005, 07:31 PM
This sickens me.

Gold9472
03-16-2005, 07:34 PM
They are NO different than the Nazis.

somebigguy
03-16-2005, 07:58 PM
Of course it's ethical. Gold told him it was...

Gold9472
03-16-2005, 08:01 PM
Of course it's ethical. Gold told him it was...

The thing that gets me is that every once in a while, I get this overwhelming feeling like we're in 1930's Germany. I keep thinking that we learned our lesson. There's no need to go through it again, etc...

This is one of those times.

somebigguy
03-16-2005, 08:37 PM
The thing that gets me is that every once in a while, I get this overwhelming feeling like we're in 1930's Germany. I keep thinking that we learned our lesson. There's no need to go through it again, etc...

This is one of those times.
I meant God told him, not Gold!!

Haha, freudian slip.

Gold9472
03-16-2005, 09:26 PM
I meant God told him, not Gold!!

Haha, freudian slip.

Yeah, I could see how someone could mix that up...

OrlandoMary
03-18-2005, 12:02 AM
How does one mix up God and Gold? It did give me my laugh for the day


I don't feel like we are in the 1930's Germany as much as George Orwell's 1984 and newsspeak/doublespeak -- re-writing the news.

In the book "1984" the "people" never knew truth and reality for the controllers, "Big Brother" changed the facts to suit their agendas.

Sound familiar?

frindevil
03-18-2005, 12:01 PM
I'm keen to follow up and see if anythign becomes of these proposed hearings and investigations into the ethical areas of what Bush done. If anyone has extra info, shoot me an email please or post=) (frindevil@gmail.com)

Also if anyone wants a gmail account, mail me!

- Frind

Gold9472
03-18-2005, 01:05 PM
How does one mix up God and Gold? It did give me my laugh for the day


I don't feel like we are in the 1930's Germany as much as George Orwell's 1984 and newsspeak/doublespeak -- re-writing the news.

In the book "1984" the "people" never knew truth and reality for the controllers, "Big Brother" changed the facts to suit their agendas.

Sound familiar?

Yes, it sounds very much like the Republican paid propaganda used by the Nazis during the 1930's. :)

danceyogamom
03-18-2005, 03:39 PM
How does one mix up God and Gold? It did give me my laugh for the day


I don't feel like we are in the 1930's Germany as much as George Orwell's 1984 and newsspeak/doublespeak -- re-writing the news.

In the book "1984" the "people" never knew truth and reality for the controllers, "Big Brother" changed the facts to suit their agendas.

Sound familiar?

I'm inclined to agree with this comparison

However, (and granted its been a while since I read 1984) it seems to me that enough of the people in 1984 did know the truth. They accepted the ongoing re-writes/changes of political alignments as part of life and didn't care to do anything about it. Or were too afraid to do anything about it ...

Gold9472
02-25-2006, 12:22 AM
bump