I really enjoy the show Prison Break. Sure the last season was just awful, but the addiction was still there from the first two terrific seasons. It used incredible suspense, action and government corruption. None of those things shock anyone anymore, though. We've been hearing about those things our whole lives.
One thing on the show that I thought was interesting was that when news hit the media that actually hurt the President, influential members of the administration used their influence to make sure that the news covered something else. Once they control the media, they're basically no longer accountable for what they do.
Interestingly enough, in the past few days, right in the midst of Scott McClellan's "shocking" book release, the United States Senate Intelligence Committee had a release of their own: a 200-page "Phase II" report on how the Bush administration used-- and abused-- pre-war intelligence in the run-up to the war in Iraq.
Wait a minute! We would have heard about that, right? I mean, if we had proof through the government lied about going to the war we all wish we weren't in, that would be in the news, right? Here's what the report found:
Statements and implications by the President and Secretary of State suggesting that Iraq and al-Qa'ida had a partnership, or that Iraq had provided al-Qa'ida with weapons training, were not substantiated by the intelligence.
Statements by the President and the Vice President indicating that Saddam Hussein was prepared to give weapons of mass destruction to terrorist groups for attacks against the United States were contradicted by available intelligence information.
Statements by President Bush and Vice President Cheney regarding the postwar situation in Iraq, in terms of the political, security, and economic, did not reflect the concerns and uncertainties expressed in the intelligence products.
Statements by the President and Vice President prior to the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate regarding Iraq's chemical weapons production capability and activities did not reflect the intelligence community's uncertainties as to whether such production was ongoing.
The Secretary of Defense's statement that the Iraqi government operated underground WMD facilities that were not vulnerable to conventional airstrikes because they were underground and deeply buried was not substantiated by available intelligence information.
The Intelligence Community did not confirm that Muhammad Atta met an Iraqi intelligence officer in Prague in 2001 as the Vice President repeatedly claimed.
Plus more here.
OK, so the government lied. They told us they had evidence when they didn't. We went to a war not only illegally and unconstitutionally, but led by dishonest and deliberately misleading men and women. They played off of the emotions of scarred Americans who had just seen insane terrorists crash planes loaded with innocent people into buildings full of innocent people. Of course America wanted blood, and this adminstration lied to get the blood that they wanted.
Now just think of yourself as a journalist. If a story like this breaks, are you rushing the white house and stabbing a microphone at anyone without the common sense to be hiding from you, or are you online choosing McCain and Obama's potential VP? Of course, we know which one has seen more press from every major news source in the country.
It appears like we've all seen a little bit of Prison Break.
One thing on the show that I thought was interesting was that when news hit the media that actually hurt the President, influential members of the administration used their influence to make sure that the news covered something else. Once they control the media, they're basically no longer accountable for what they do.
Interestingly enough, in the past few days, right in the midst of Scott McClellan's "shocking" book release, the United States Senate Intelligence Committee had a release of their own: a 200-page "Phase II" report on how the Bush administration used-- and abused-- pre-war intelligence in the run-up to the war in Iraq.
Wait a minute! We would have heard about that, right? I mean, if we had proof through the government lied about going to the war we all wish we weren't in, that would be in the news, right? Here's what the report found:
Statements and implications by the President and Secretary of State suggesting that Iraq and al-Qa'ida had a partnership, or that Iraq had provided al-Qa'ida with weapons training, were not substantiated by the intelligence.
Statements by the President and the Vice President indicating that Saddam Hussein was prepared to give weapons of mass destruction to terrorist groups for attacks against the United States were contradicted by available intelligence information.
Statements by President Bush and Vice President Cheney regarding the postwar situation in Iraq, in terms of the political, security, and economic, did not reflect the concerns and uncertainties expressed in the intelligence products.
Statements by the President and Vice President prior to the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate regarding Iraq's chemical weapons production capability and activities did not reflect the intelligence community's uncertainties as to whether such production was ongoing.
The Secretary of Defense's statement that the Iraqi government operated underground WMD facilities that were not vulnerable to conventional airstrikes because they were underground and deeply buried was not substantiated by available intelligence information.
The Intelligence Community did not confirm that Muhammad Atta met an Iraqi intelligence officer in Prague in 2001 as the Vice President repeatedly claimed.
Plus more here.
OK, so the government lied. They told us they had evidence when they didn't. We went to a war not only illegally and unconstitutionally, but led by dishonest and deliberately misleading men and women. They played off of the emotions of scarred Americans who had just seen insane terrorists crash planes loaded with innocent people into buildings full of innocent people. Of course America wanted blood, and this adminstration lied to get the blood that they wanted.
Now just think of yourself as a journalist. If a story like this breaks, are you rushing the white house and stabbing a microphone at anyone without the common sense to be hiding from you, or are you online choosing McCain and Obama's potential VP? Of course, we know which one has seen more press from every major news source in the country.
It appears like we've all seen a little bit of Prison Break.
