Excerpt from Truth and Duty: The Press, the President, and the Privilege of Power by Mary Mapes

"...As I watched the postings pile up and saw the words quickly become more hateful, it dawned on me that I was present at the birth of a political jihad, a movement conceived in radical conservative back rooms, given life in cyberspace, and growing by the minute. It fed on political anger and the deep-seated belief that CBS News was a longtime liberal stronghold out to get the president.

This bias on the part of some viewers had been around for decades. These were people who hadn't forgiven Edward R. Murrow for taking on Joseph McCarthy, people who still referred to CBS as the "Communist Broadcasting System."

That was something a man in rural Texas actually said to me not long after I started at CBS in 1989, when I approached him and asked if he would do a quick interview on a new boom in oil drilling.

"CBS?" he sneered. "Don't you mean the Communist Broadcasting System"? I was dumbfounded.

To these people, there was no such thing as unbiased mainstream reporting, certainly not when it came to criticism of the president, no matter how tepid. To them, there was FOX News and everything else — and everything else was liberal and unfair..."- From Truth and Duty: The Press, the President, and the Privilege of Power, Mary Mapes, St. Martin's Press, 11/2005


Bush breaks first commandment of governing
Administration gives us Waste, Fraud and Abuse galore

"I'm sorry, there are no exceptions: The first commandment of governing is Thou Shalt Not Steal the People's Money. Ronald Reagan came into office in 1980 on the mantra that he would rid the nation of Waste, Fraud and Abuse. He proceeded to raise the national deficit by $2 trillion with tax cuts and spending on the military in the face of a collapsing Soviet Union. This led to the peppy military procurement scandals of the late '80s and early '90s -- the $435 hammer and the $640 toilet seat." - Molly Ivins, Creators Syndicate, 9/27/05


A Letter to All Who Voted for George W. Bush from Michael Moore, 9/11/2005

"To All My Fellow Americans Who Voted for George W. Bush:

On this, the fourth anniversary of 9/11, I'm just curious, how does it feel?

How does it feel to know that the man you elected to lead us after we were attacked went ahead and put a guy in charge of FEMA whose main qualification was that he ran horse shows?

That's right. Horse shows.

I really want to know -- and I ask you this in all sincerity and with all due respect -- how do you feel about the utter contempt Mr. Bush has shown for your safety? C'mon, give me just a moment of honesty. Don't start ranting on about how this disaster in New Orleans was the fault of one of the poorest cities in America. Put aside your hatred of Democrats and liberals and anyone with the last name of Clinton. Just look me in the eye and tell me our President did the right thing after 9/11 by naming a horse show runner as the top man to protect us in case of an emergency or catastrophe." - Michael Moore, 9/11/2005
 

Social Security: On With the Show
President's 'Conversations' on Issue Are Carefully Orchestrated, Rehearsed 3/12/05

"...The White House follows a practiced formula for each of the meetings. First it picks a state in which generally it can pressure a lawmaker or two, and then it lines up panelists who will sing the praises of the president's plan. Finally, it loads the audience with Republicans and other supporters."- Jim VandeHei and Peter Baker, Washington Post, 3/12/05
 

"With God on Their Side: How Christian Fundamentalists Trampled Science, Policy, and Democracy in George W. Bush's White House" by Esther Kaplan, The New Press, 10/2004

While organizations that provide abortion or help to prevent HIV see their funds cut, church groups receive millions in federal dollars to promote sexual abstinence and marriage (provided, of course, it is heterosexual). Bush has appointed a Christian right dream team to the federal courts, dedicated to rearing down what one such judge calls "the so-called separation of church and state" Religious zeal even shapes Bush's foreign policy, as Christian belief in the end times spurs the administration's support for hard-line policies in Israel. George W. Bush has become America's most extreme example of a president, as Ron Reagan, Jr. has put it, "wearing his faith on his sleeve to gain political advantage." The question is what lasting harm will result from his unholy alliance with the Christian right. - From the Publisher


Secrecy & Privilege: Rise of the Bush Dynasty from Watergate to Iraq, by Robert Parry, 9/2004

"If you ever ask yourself, “How did America get here?” – then you simply must read this book. It’s the most clear and concise history of contemporary politics including Watergate, the October Surprise, the Iran-Contra Affair, the arming of Saddam Hussein, U.S. support of death squads in Latin and South America, the birth of the right-wing media, the witch hunt of Bill Clinton, Al Gore’s unfair shake from the press, Bush’s failure on September 11th, and his lies to invade Iraq." - Buzz Flash Recommendation, 10/2004
 

The dunce: His former Harvard Business School professor recalls George W. Bush not just as a terrible student but as spoiled, loutish and a pathological liar; 9/16/2004.

President Bush: Flip-Flopper-In-Chief

Fraud: The Strategy Behind the Bush Lies and Why The Media Didn't Tell You, by Paul Waldman, 1/2004

"In Fraud, leading political and media analyst Paul Waldman exposes the truth behind the rise of George W. Bush. What is revealed is more shocking than just a pattern of lies and incompetence. It is the story of how a clever political machine built a high-stakes game of deception, a policy of lies to capture the highest office in the free world, a fraud that continues to this day.- From the Publisher, Sourcebooks Inc, 1/2004

Dick: The Man Who Is President, by John Nichols, The New Press, 9/2004.

:When a lone gunman started shooting outside the White House on a weekday morning two years ago, Secret Service agents rushed to secure the leaders of the free world. They found Dick Cheney in his office talking on a speakerphone, reviewing material on a computer screen, and directing aides who were gathered around his desk. President Bush? He was in the gym.
Dick Cheney, says John Nichols, runs the country. He sets energy policy. He guided the nation into war with Iraq, and, working closely with Karl Rove, he oversees the political infrastructure that allows corporate interests and the religious right to control lawmaking."- from the Publisher , The New Press, 9/2004
 

"Deserter: Bush's War on the Military and His Past, by Ian Williams," 7/2004

"Deserter looks objectively at the military record of George W. Bush, his role in the armed forces, and his treatment of them. Drawing upon military and former-military sources, Ian Williams convincingly argues that the president is guilty of breathtaking hypocrisy, cynical doublethink, and egregious neglect of the actual defense of the United States." - from the Publisher, Thunder's Mouth Press, 7/2004; See also: THE AWOL PROJECT: An Examination of the Bush Military Files

chicken hawk
(CHIK.un.hawk) n. A person who now advocates war but who once took special measures to avoid military service- The Word Spy

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." Theodore Roosevelt
 

Former Swift Boat Commander Backs Kerry on Vietnam

"PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - An American journalist who commanded a boat alongside John Kerry (news - web sites) in Vietnam broke a 35-year silence on Saturday and defended the Democratic presidential candidate against Republican critics of his military service and integrity."- Carol Giacomo, Reuters, 8/21/04. See also: Navy Report Backs Kerry Role in Incident, 8/26/04; Political drama unfolds as letter carriers fail to deliver, 8/26/04 & Vets’ lawyer quits Bush campaign, 8/26/04


"In a Larry King interview, Ronald Reagan Jr. indicated that Bush and Cheney Lied to start the War. That he's against it and that his father wouldn't have started that war. He also said that Bush is scary when he sites "God" as a pretext to war and likened him to Osama. He said he would vote for the viable alternative to Bush. When asked if he'd vote for Bush, he said flat out no. When asked if he would vote for Nader, he said he is not viable." - Ronald Reagan to Vote for "any viable candidate opposed to Bush, 6/23/04
 

"Former White House counsel and New York Times bestselling author John Dean reveals how the Bush White House has set America back decades—employing a worldview and tactics of deception that will do more damage to the nation than Nixon at his worst.

Nobody knows more, both from firsthand experience and legal expertise, about the abuse of presidential power and its dangers than John W. Dean, former counsel to President Nixon. In WORSE THAN WATERGATE, Dean delivers a stunning indictment of the current Bush administration, and issues an urgent alarm to the nation: The Bush team's obsession with secrecy and their willingness to deceive make them even more dangerous than Nixon's men. Dean brilliantly explores Bush's emphasis on image over substance; his angry, mistrustful personality; his excessive fear of leaks; his reversal of the work of his predecessors in opening up government; his imperial governing combined with deeply flawed decision making; and his serious abuses of national security secrecy. From the administration's refusal to explain the precarious health of the powerful vice president to hiding the identity of those setting the nation's energy policy, from obstructing 9/11 investigations to unprecedented secrecy in the name of fighting terrorism, Dean exposes the dangers of a presidency that is using weapons of mass deception against the American public." From the publisher of "Worse Than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush," by John Dean, Little, Brown & Company, 4/2004


"The man in the Whitehouse is as naive and stupid as the men of the 60's who bled the nation in war to pursue an ideal and escape fears known only to themselves- saving those not seeking salvation and damning them all the while." Lowell Greenberg

When thinking about President George W. Bush's leadership over the last two years, one can't be but struck with what is lacking- personal brilliance, humility, truthfulness, thoughtfulness and reflection, a President tirelessly working for peace and innovativeness (versus a corporate management philosophy that while focused, can't seem to grasp the whole). When Americans elect a President, they are not electing a corporate cheerleader, nor are they electing a person who can marshal bureaucracies to maintain the status quo (with only the appearance of change).

The President, touting himself as a healer has been anything but- whether it is opposing & reversing environmental protections, attacking and weakening personal freedoms hard won over 200 years, interspersing ideology into science, pathetic special interest appointments such as Harvey Pitt (now deposed) and Thomas White, cynical executive orders & Madison Avenue packaging of executive policy, unbridled government secrecy (even Republican members of Congress and oversight committees are frustrated), flawed economic policy with disastrous long term consequences and favoritism towards the wealthy, offending our principal allies, spreading fear and doubt about U.S. intentions throughout the world, spurning our enemies (encouraging their worst proclivities), the list goes on and on. The first principle is always, "thou shall do no harm."

Wake up President Bush- it is only through silent reflection that truth is uncovered and favorable opinion polls will be drowned out by history and the tribulations of future generations. Relying on short sighted willful advisors will not suffice. Who is the real George Bush? A tool of special interests (this far demonstrated) or a bold, innovative leader untiringly pursuing world peace?

See also: "Fortunate Son: George W. Bush and the Making of an American President"

Doris "Granny D" Haddock speaking at International Women's Day Peace March and Rally in Washington, DC Saturday, March 8, 2003

"We meet in disturbing times but we must not be disturbed. We must be calm and peaceful, for peace cannot come from hearts disturbed and angry. And peace, if it is to come, must come first from our own hearts.

Here are some things to give us some calm comfort. France and Germany are together in something at last, and our man in the White House deserves a Nobel Peace Prize at least for that, if for nothing else.

The man in the White House is the best political organizer we have ever had. He generated the largest protest demonstrations the earth has ever seen last month. He has us organizing on the peace front, the civil liberties front, the environmental front, the domestic budget front -- everywhere, people are waking up after a long sleep. It is a dangerous time, but a great time -- a great awakening -- and we must give credit to the man whose monumental presumption has made this possible.

Will our hearts be on a roller coaster of his design? Will he control our happiness and our anger? We must not give him that. There is only one way off this roller coaster, and that is to focus our lives now on November 2nd, 2004. That is the mountaintop we must have in the center of our vision.

Here is what we must do. We must of course find a good candidate who can represent all of us well, including the moderate middle of American thought, where elections are won. We must not look for the perfect candidate, but for a candidate who believes in the value of life on earth and who will uphold the Bill of Rights, which is now under attack by Bush's wildly unpatriotic Patriot Act and the proposed Patriot Act II, which is a treason.

The man in the White House believes that, when our American soldiers start coming home to our communities in coffins, we will rally 'round him -- that we will forget what he did to our budget surpluses, our Social Security funds, our Medicare, our pensions and stocks. Merciless rulers from time out of mind have tried that bloody distraction. We are not distracted by the blood of our own sons and daughters, Mr. Bush. Each drop of that precious blood calls our hearts to an election next year and we are an army of people who come against you at the ballot box. Harm our children and watch us.

In the 2004 presidential election, we must not split our vote between Greens and Democrats. I know the Greens have party building to do, but, if Mr. Bush wins again, there will be no America for them to build their party in. So they must defer this time and earn our respect and admiration for doing so.

Here is what you and I must do. We must arrange to vote by absentee ballot in the general election, so that we can go to the swing states and work to get out the vote on election day. I will do that, will you?

If you live in a swing state, of course, you can do your work in your own neighborhood. But if you live in a state that is clearly on one side of the ledger or the other, you must get in your car or a bus or an airplane and go, at your own expense, to an area where you can do some good getting people to the polls. You can also do some good in advance of that to make sure that people are registered to vote.

We can be happy in this great adventure, upon which so much depends. We will not let anger and frustration poison our lives. We will get busy and make our plans. We look now to November 2nd, 2004. Sign up with me as a swing state suffragette on GrannyD.com or Swingstate.org. Let's build an army and be happy about it. When you were a child, did you not want a chance to save the world? Well, be happy. We have been given that job.

And a final word, let's stop agreeing to unreasonable police demands when we do our peace marches and rallies. The police have a duty to provide for the public's safety, but that isn't just auto traffic. We are the public and we have a right to peaceably assemble and we don't need permits to do so. They are our streets and our parks. We must stand up for our Bill of Rights and use the peace movement as the crowd to do it. No more cooperation with any police departments who do not take seriously their sworn duty to uphold the law, the highest law of the land being the Constitution and its Bill of Rights.

Be happy. Enjoy this great awakening. Sign up at SwingState.org. Enjoy the beauty and love of this great time.