Mother's Day NEWS THAT IS NEWS

In honor of Mother's Day: No tall tales, no fabrication, no spin. News that is hard and real.

Simply stated and with a hard edge

Mothers demand truth from their children. Look me straight in the eye and say that again please. As a citizen and patriot I demand the same from those who are elected to represent us, or those who weren't "elected" to represent us.

The news posted today is what I believe is real news - not fabricated, Bush propganda, corporate interest or PR bought spin.

NY Post calls Republicans "Party of BLOAT." The Libertarian Cato Institute releases report that tells how how of control Bush spending is.

Excerpt:
Republicans who have stuck by the party's leadership mainly because of the War on Terror will begin to feel it in 2006 and 2008, when they realize that Big Government Conservatism is not a strategy or a philosophy — but a sellout.

PARTY OF BLOAT

Found on Raw Story: 88 MEMBERS OF CONGRESS CALL ON BUSH FOR ANSWERS ON SECRET PLAN TO INVADE IRAQ.

John Conyers and 88 lawmakers sign petition demanding to know what happened in 2002 when Bush and Blair fixed intelligence to conform to their policy to get Saddam. (John, your mother must be so proud of you for you are a courageous man with principles and integrity - an apparent rare commodity inside the Beltway, as they call it in Washington).

TELL US ABOUT YOUR IRAQ FIX

The John Conyers demand for answers on secret plan to invade Iraq makes it to MSM - The Chicago Tribune. Thank you, Chicago.

"BUSH MEMO: US DATA MANIPULATED FOR IRAQ WAR" By Warren Strobel and John Walcott. You guys win the Mother's Day Award for Honesty and Courage.

Barbara, I know that we mothers can have a soft part in our hearts for our sons. But we must always hold our children, including our sons, accountable, responsible and honest. Our children cannot profess to be Christians, hard core Christians at that, and lie wily nily to the citizens of this country to promote their personal or special interest driven agenda. On National TV. In the national press. At the tragic cost of lives. What would Jesus say?

MANIPULATED DATA

"LAURA BUSH'S MISSION ACCOMPLISHED"

A priceless piece by Frank Rich in the NYT Op Ed today. Frank is all over the place in the world of journalism in this article. He writes about the state of journalism today, brilliantly and ironically - the fake news, the PR paid for news, the Gannon gate whore news as well as the behavior of those in attendance, i.e. the "journalists" at the White House Correspondents (i.e. transcriber) dinner. I read this today in the NYT but also found it on Buzz Flash.

Now, Laura, we understand that your role was scripted and you did what your husband asked you to do. But what kind of example are you setting for your daughters? You see, you lied. On national TV. You say you are a Christian, yet you lied. You said you watched Desperate Housewives while your boring husband went to bed, but it seems that you have never seen Desperate Housewives. Laura, I live in Texas and work with a few fundamentalist Christians, just like you and your husband. They would NEVER IN A DAY watch Desperate Housewives. They believe that it is an unacceptable and amoral show. You can't play it both ways, Laura. You can't pander to the religious right, then try tp pretend to be an average Jane watching a TV show. That is an un-Mother's Day thing to do.

LAURA'S LIE

"THE PRESS IS IN DECLINE" Great piece by Michael Kinsley of the Washington Post. Michael, you win the Mother's Day Award for positing sad realities in an amusing fashion.

Excerpt:

Newspapers are essential to every American, and none more so than the fools and ingrates who have stopped buying them. It is up to us, as members of the last generation that experienced life before computer screens, to make sure that future generations of Americans will know what to do when it says "Continued on Page B37." In a recent survey of Americans younger than age 30, only 26 percent said "Look in Section B," and a pitiful 13 percent chose the correct answer, which is "Look FOR Section B. It's around here somewhere." As a service to humanity and because I like my job, here is a seven-point plan to save the newspaper industry.

PRESS IN DECLINE

Another journalist wins the Mother's Day Award for his reflective and soul searching oberservations, honesty and courage in writing about his personal struggles and cultural conflicts and challenges in reporting news from Iraq. From the Courier-Journal of Louisville Kentucky

"Home from Iraq" ' Journalist urges Americans to search for truth, freedom'" Found on Buzz Flash.

Excerpt:

The intimidation to not work on this story was evident. Dexter Filkins, who writes for The New York Times, related a conversation he had in Iraq with an American military commander just before we left. Dexter and the commander had gotten quite friendly, meeting up sporadically for a beer and a chat. Towards the end of one of their conversations, Dexter declined an invitation for the next day by explaining that he'd lined up a meeting with a "resistance guy." The commander's face went stony cold and he said, "We have a position on that." For Dexter the message was clear. He cancelled the appointment. And, again, this is not meant as any criticism of the military; they have a war to win, and dominating the "message," or the news is an integral part of that war. The military has a name for it, "information operations," and the aim is to achieve information superiority in the same way they would seek to achieve air superiority. If you look closely, you will notice there is very little, maybe even no direct reporting on the resistance in Iraq. We do, however, as journalists report what the Americans say about the resistance. Is this really anything more than stenography?

SEARCH FOR TRUTH