CONFIRMED: Scholastic Still Promoting Path To 9/11
CONFIRMED: Scholastic Still Promoting Path To 9/11
Scholastic has been promoting ABC’s Path to 9/11, and associated “discussion guides” to teachers around the country as a way of getting “important information” to students about the terrorists attacks. These materials, as Media Matters has documented, are “rife with conservative misinformation.”
Yesterday, All Spin Zone and other bloggers noticed that Scholastic had taken it’s Path to 9/11 materials off its website. There was speculation that Scholastic had ended its association with the film. It’s turns out that isn’t happening.
ThinkProgress contacted Scholastic this morning. According to a Scholastic spokeswoman, the materials are “temporarily down” but will “be back up later.” She could not confirm whether any changes would be made.
UPDATE: Scholastic has announced that it is dropping support for Path to 9/11.
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Oh joy. Just when we think we’ve got one in our corner, it turns out not to be true. This movie is really screwing up my mental well-being!
September 7th, 2006 at 9:26 amAmerica’s Least Wanted
I Knew IT!!!
I just posted in the last Scholastic thread that I wasn’t so sure we won this round.
Those sneaky bastards!
Well, I printed out Media Matters and the TP threads that show the errors, and I’m taking them to the HS Principal today.
September 7th, 2006 at 9:27 amClinton wants the movie yanked.
Stop I Am Cuba
September 7th, 2006 at 9:29 amDLC,
September 7th, 2006 at 9:30 amDid he say he wanted it yanked?
Where do you hear it?
Though I’m in college, I have many contacts with my old high school. I’ll have to make sure they’re not watching this garbage
September 7th, 2006 at 9:30 am#3 Anyone who cares about the truth wants the movie yanked.
September 7th, 2006 at 9:30 amTHE INFO IS BACK UP
September 7th, 2006 at 9:34 amON THE SCHOLASTIC SITE, IN ADDITION THEIR EMAIL IS DOWN…..SEEMS A LITTLE CONVENIENT ! CONTAQCT YOUR LOCAL AFFILIATE OF ABC, AND RAT OUT ALL REPUBLICAN OPS, IN SCHOOLS, ON TELEVISION, IN THE ALL MEDIA …. IF OUR VOTES DONT COUNT THIS TIME, WE MUST TAKE TO THE STREETS !
We need to let our School Boards know that we don’t want fictional propaganda circulated in our schools.
September 7th, 2006 at 9:38 amAs a Substitute teacher in Denver, regular teachers often have a Scholastic as a “time filler”. Well..I will never use it again. Your decesion to promote the flawed Path to 9/11 demonstrates a crediblity as deeply flawed. Most kids buy their first books from you. What are you thinking?
Richard Edmondson Denver, CO
September 7th, 2006 at 9:38 amThis is heinous and criminal.
September 7th, 2006 at 9:38 amAll of these corporations know there is no accountability anymore. This company knows that the major shill news networks are not going to expose them. As long as the White House paid propaganda machine is spewing out lies and spin it’s the Wild West out there. There is no sheriff in town.
September 7th, 2006 at 9:38 amHas anyone here actually downloaded and read through the ’study materials’?
If you haven’t. I strongly suggest you do.
From the context of the study guides, it is clear that the makers of The Path to 9/11 intend it to be taken as fact by the students, their disclaimers notwithstanding. This rewriting of the past is pure propaganda, and presenting it as fact in a classroom environment to indoctrinate young minds into the neocon worldview is beyond reprehensible.
I only hope that the teachers in this country are intellectually honest enough to keep this poisonous garbage out of their classrooms and their students’ heads.
September 7th, 2006 at 9:39 amteachers need to massively boycott the Scholastic Corporation immediately.
September 7th, 2006 at 9:39 amor tell the students that this is a hallmark of fascism to which this democracy is rapidly descending??
September 7th, 2006 at 9:40 amI’d suggest a preemptive call to your local School Board to make sure they know you’ll be checking.
September 7th, 2006 at 9:41 amWankers.
September 7th, 2006 at 9:41 amWhen 76% of americans decide to boycott ABC, Disney, Scholastic and all of the sponsors of this propaganda, it will send a clear message that we’re fed up with the lies, truth twisting, and disgusting tactics of this administration. Shameful is the only word to describe their level of amoral behavior.
September 7th, 2006 at 9:42 amHit the school board phones NOW!
September 7th, 2006 at 9:43 amtaken it’s Path to 9/11 materials off it’s website. There was speculation that Scholastic had ended it’s association with the film. It’s turns out that isn’t happening.
Could somebody please correct the errors here? Just for fun?
September 7th, 2006 at 9:44 amWaPo’s Howard Kurtz finally writes on this story, leaves out Scholastic angle, on page 9 (sigh).
Link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/06/AR2006090601819.html
September 7th, 2006 at 9:44 amThe spindoctors of untruth would like you to believe that there is nothing you can do…..trust me, our collective voices can and will be heard. If we choose to sit back and do nothing to stop this propaganda, then we become complicit. A true patriot does not sit back when they know that their government is dishonest.
September 7th, 2006 at 9:44 amZooey
And they are wanking all over your kids. Kinda sick, kinda twisted, kinda SOP for the Republicans.
The time for talking is passed. Boycott Disney products, and boycott anything that even looks like a Disney product. It is time for the mouse to die.
September 7th, 2006 at 9:46 amRemember that Scholastic was a nearly defunct company until JK Rowling, out of sympathy as a teacher, designated them to publish Harry Potter.
September 7th, 2006 at 9:48 amKeep in mind who publishes Harry Potter…
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter #6)
by J. K. Rowling, Mary GrandPre (Illustrator)
ISBN: 0439785960
September 7th, 2006 at 9:48 amISBN-13: 9780439785969
Format: Paperback, pp. 672
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Sales Rank: 657
yea… thats what i thought last night…
September 7th, 2006 at 9:48 amremoving that infor looks even worse for them though…
whatcha tryin’ to hide thar? hm?
http://scholastic.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/scholastic.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php
bombard em…
September 7th, 2006 at 9:48 am[...] Write ABC. Call Channel 7. Boycott Scholastic for pushing this shit in our schools. Don’t let them rewrite history. [...]
September 7th, 2006 at 9:48 am[...] Liberal bloggers are up in arms about ABC’s upcoming docudrama, “The Path to 9/11″. Even that ABC pull the show, unless changes are made. [...]
September 7th, 2006 at 9:52 amremember when Mr. Eisner ran Disney? Remember when he said this about Michael Moore’s F9/11:
Disney chief executive Michael Eisner said Wednesday the company “did not want a film in the middle of the political process where we’re such a nonpartisan company and our guests, that participate in all of our attractions, do not look for us to take sides.â€
Damn, can’t we just get a nonpartisan such as Michael Eisner back at Disney corporation?
ABC=Another Bush Channel
September 7th, 2006 at 10:00 amIf I read an earlier report right, the targets of this crap are high school students? Well, then, you can petition Scholastic, and the schools, alright, but don’t forget to work the students. There’s no better source of loud, in-the-streets protest than an angry mass of kids, as you may remember from the recent immigration controversy.
September 7th, 2006 at 10:01 amAnd they are wanking all over your kids. Kinda sick, kinda twisted, kinda SOP for the Republicans.
Comment by Bruce Gorton
Not my kids, they’re out of school, but I’m not prepared to throw my friends’ kids under that bus either. You’re right, this is sick and twisted.
September 7th, 2006 at 10:02 amthreaten not to buy the last Potter book!
That oughtta scare ‘em!
September 7th, 2006 at 10:07 amScholastic better get their shit figured out, because I have to read the last Harry Potter book!
If they don’t, I’ll have to white knuckle it and get on the waiting list at the library, because I won’t give them money.
September 7th, 2006 at 10:09 amHow is it that a scene from Desperate Houseshit where Marcia Cross blows some guy can end up on You Tube before airing and President Clinton can’t get a copy of this Rovian fantasy? There are lots of jokes in there for someone who knows what they are doing.
September 7th, 2006 at 10:10 amHow about they offer Fahrenheit 911 and this film as “study guides” to 9/11 and let the kids decide which is more right. I certainly don’t remember you all squealing like this when Fahrenheit 911 was launched as a “documentary” on these very same events. FYI the more you squeal the more people will watch the show.
September 7th, 2006 at 10:11 amYou need to develop a “companion workbook” signed and sealed by the principals: Clinton, Berger, Albright, Clarke, etc.. Get it published and demand “Scholastic” ship it with each copy of the DVD. Insist it be used to educate our children about the difference “documentary” and “propaganda”.
Level the ground.
September 7th, 2006 at 10:14 amI certainly don’t remember you all squealing like this when Fahrenheit 911 was launched as a “documentary†on these very same events.
Comment by Retired Republican Soldier
No, but I remember people like you squealing. Fahrenheit 9/11 was not launched as a documentary — that’s what people like you said — it was launched as an opinion piece. An opinion piece which was fact-checked within an inch of its life. People like you can’t be bothered with little things like facts, especially when teaching your children.
September 7th, 2006 at 10:14 amI’m curious if the factual inaccuracies in the movie carry over into the handouts. I did notice several biased statements in the first informational .pdf, as well as the picture of Bush with the megaphone, but is there anything specific that makes the falsehoods part of the questions?
September 7th, 2006 at 10:17 am#37, Zooey,
**SNAP**
September 7th, 2006 at 10:21 amOT
Bolton’s conf hearing was taken off the schedule for today.
September 7th, 2006 at 10:22 amWonder why……..???
Someone should put together another study guide about the 9/11 movie and media responsibility and post it for distribution in the schools. This is a teaching moment, and the lesson is the need for skepticism toward private corporations, the media and government, and the corrupting role that money and influence play in politics. Not the cheeriest lesson for the nation’s youth, but it seems one of increasing necessity. And that the answer to speech with which we disagree is more speech. These steps have to be part of the response.
September 7th, 2006 at 10:23 amThis is the text of an e-mail I sent yesterday to our superintendent of schools, school board president and high school principal:
Dear ^,
I was disturbed to learn that Scholastic, Inc., which bills itself as “the
largest publisher and distributor of children’s books in the world”
(http://www.scholastic.com/aboutscholastic/), has partnered with the ABC television network to distribute a “discussion guide” for the ABC miniseries “Path to 9/11.†(see http://content.scholastic.com/browse/lessonplan.jsp?id=415.) Although ABC is promoting this miniseries as a “docudrama” or a fictionalized account, it also describes the miniseries as “a dramatization of the events detailed in the 9/11 Commission Report” (see id.) Furthermore, one of the co-chairs of the 9/11 Commission, Thomas Kean, former Republican governor of New Jersey, is listed as
one of the program’s producers. Note that former Gov. Kean’s son is now a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate.
More to the point, however, despite its patina of authenticity, the “Path to
9/11″ miniseries has been roundly criticized as an overtly political attack on former Pres. Bill Clinton. (See http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003087654.) Worse, the miniseries apparently contains blatantly false information, including a scene where CIA operatives and members of the Northern Alliance (the Afghan resistance to the Taliban government, pre-9/11) have Osama
bin Laden trapped and the CIA phones the Clinton White House for authorization to kill or capture him – but the White House refuses to authorize the action. Richard Clarke, who was “counter-terrorism czar” under both Clinton and George W. Bush, has stated that that scene is an outright fabrication. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former National Security Advisor Sandy Berger have also indicated that the miniseries contains false information, and, although ABC has provide
d advanced copies to the likes of Rush Limbaugh and various right-wing bloggers, it has refused to provide copies to Ms. Albright, Mr. Berger, or former Pres. Clinton. (See http://thinkprogress.org/2006/09/06/abc-dvd.)
More recently, Richard Cressey, who also served in both the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, stated on former Republican Joe Scarborough’s television program:
“Joe, it’s amazing, based on what I’ve seen so far is how much they’ve gotten wrong. They got the small stuff wrong such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed instructing Ahmed Rassam to carry out the millennium attacks. Then they got the big stuff wrong, this fantasy about how we had a CIA officer and the Northern Alliance leader Ahmed Massoud looking at Bin Laden and they breathlessly call the White House to say we need to take him out and the White House said no. I mean it’s sheer fantasy. So, if they want to critique the Clinton administration and the Bush administration, based on fact, I think that’s fine. But what ABC has done
here is something straight out of Disney and fantasyland. It’s factually wrong. And that’s shameful.”
(See http://thinkprogress.org/2006/09/06/bush-official-blasts-abc/)
Shameful, indeed. Imagine how some parents would feel if Scholastic was distributing study guides to Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11″ – do you think they might be just a little upset? Well, I can see no principled difference between promoting Mr. Moore’s film and promoting this miniseries.
While we can do nothing to prevent ABC from airing the miniseries, nor to
prevent Scholastic from promoting it, the Oak Park Schools do not have to be an unwitting tool in promoting anyone’s political agenda, whether left, right or otherwise. For this reason, as a life long resident of Oak Park with three children enrolled in District 97, I demand that the Oak Park public schools consider terminating any relationship they may have with Scholastic, Inc., or any affiliated organization. Just as we do not permit our teachers – or outside organizations – to proselytize their religious views in the classroom, so to should we prevent anyone from force-feeding their political viewpoints to our children on school time. If Scholastic lacks the judgment to avoid endorsing a politically motivated “docudrama,” or if it indeed wishes to advance that same political cause, it should not be permitted to do business with the Oak Park schools, or with individual administrators or teachers.
Above all, Scholastic should not be permitted to solicit my kids’ business so long as it is associated with the “Path to 9/11″ miniseries.
I would appreciate a prompt reply.
Cordially,
David P. von Ebers
September 7th, 2006 at 10:23 amSince the teachers unions are supposed to be the democratic party’s back pocket, why aren’t they doing anything about this?
September 7th, 2006 at 10:27 amYou can email Scholastic at:
http://scholastic.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/scholastic.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php
September 7th, 2006 at 10:28 amRRS (No. 35) – Why should kids be exposed to political propaganda in school? Of course they should hear “both” sides, but not in a distorted fashion. If I say “Day is night,” and you say, “No, day is day; night is night,” one of us is factually correct and one of us is factually incorrect. Presenting “both sides” of our debate isn’t “fair and balanced,” especially if both views are presented as though they have equal validity.
Conservatives (and others) have challenged the factual accuracy of “Fahrenheit 9/11,” not just the validity of its conclusions, and liberals (and others) are now challenging the factual accuracy of “Path to 9/11.” In my view, given the serious questions regarding both films, neither should be used to “teach” our kids.
If you want kids to engage in a debate about whether Clinton or Bush (or both, or neither) bears responsibility for not stopping 9/11, that debate should be based on facts, given to our kids as accurately as possible. No form of political distortion, from the left or the right, should be tolerated in the classroom.
September 7th, 2006 at 10:32 amLet’s ask our local bookstores and libaries to get the REAL Harry Potter from the UK publisher instead of the Americanized version from Scholastic. Who wants to be “dummed down” anyway.
September 7th, 2006 at 10:55 amThanks plunger….I will be sure to contact them and give them my support. I also intend on sending this to every person I can. You guys had no problem with the boldface deception and lies in F911 but now you fear the truth. Clinton was in office for 8 years. They did not plan 911 in 7 months. Clinton left the US vunerable because he was a scammer. We know where is interests were and they were not on national security.
September 7th, 2006 at 10:55 amContact Scholastic TOLL FREE AT 1-800-SCHOLASTIC
September 7th, 2006 at 10:57 amLet them know that you will be contacting your School Dist to complain about fiction being portrayed as fact. Then follow it up with a call to the School Dist.
Thanks R Smith … I’ll be sure to give them a call and tell them that I intend on calling our School Board and offer my support of this project. I will also be forwarding the number to everyone I can think of. Thanks again.
September 7th, 2006 at 11:02 amhttp://www.nea.org/aboutnea/contact.html
Contact the NEA and ask them to ask their members not to use this material.
Then contact your local school board and demand that your tax dollars not be spent spreading misinformation to students – they should instruct their teachers not to utilize the Scholastic “study guide.”
September 7th, 2006 at 11:06 amI just spoke with the Curriculum Dept of the School District of Philadelphia, and they are not promoting the film or the Scholastic study materials.
September 7th, 2006 at 11:09 amI’ve contacted my local ABC affiliate to complain about the “docudrama” and am beginning to contact their advertisers as listed on their website. I urge everyone to do the same thing.
September 7th, 2006 at 11:11 am#35
#
How about they offer Fahrenheit 911 and this film as “study guides†to 9/11 and let the kids decide which is more right. I certainly don’t remember you all squealing like this when Fahrenheit 911 was launched as a “documentary†on these very same events. FYI the more you squeal the more people will watch the show.
Comment by Retired Republican Soldier — September 7, 2006 @ 10:11 am
I would take that challenge in a heartbeat. I wouldn’t even care which one they saw first. Fahrenheit 9/11 isn’t a reenactment. It uses news footage and interviews with real people. It presents facts that simply haven’t been refuted. The right doesn’t even attempt to challenge the facts of the film. As I recall, Michael Moore wasn’t offering an advance screening to liberals only. He wasn’t putting it on TV for free, either. He took his chances with movie audiences and theater owners and ended up with a hit.
September 7th, 2006 at 11:16 am#48
Hey, Ben, give us one lie from Fahrenheit 9/11.
Here’s one lie from you:
Clinton left the US vunerable because he was a scammer. We know where is interests were and they were not on national security.
September 7th, 2006 at 11:23 amYo Ben……. what flavor is the kool aide this week?????
September 7th, 2006 at 11:24 amYou can buy your Harry Potter from Bloomsbury in the UK or Raincoast Books in Canada. No need to go with Scholastic. Scholastic edits them differently from the Brit version, anyway.
No Scholastic book fairs for my kids any more!
September 7th, 2006 at 11:28 amHere is a number for Scholastic customer service: 212-343-6400. The mailbox is full and you get transferred to an operator. She is giving the same “blah blah blah, I understand”, but says that the only way to communicate with Scholastic is to send an email.
What bull – I hope others contact Scholastic and let them know what they think about promoting propaganda as academic “standards and benchmarks” and as apprpriate educational materials.
September 7th, 2006 at 11:30 amAccording to a Kossack who knows a Scholastic sales rep, the best thing we can do is e-mail our school boards asking them to cancel their orders of Scholastic books — and to CC: Scholastic higher-ups, so that they know we’re following through on our threats.
September 7th, 2006 at 11:40 amactually, I think Ben has been through this whole F9/11 tirade before. when confronted with show us your facts, he will post “Fareinhype 9/11″ which has had every single point debunked. he thus disappears
September 7th, 2006 at 11:41 amTake care BEN
Hi — the word “it’s” is a contraction of “it is.” No apostrophe is needed when using “its” possisively.
September 7th, 2006 at 11:44 amThese people are taking a page right out of the Goebel’s play book. Is there anyone who thinks the release of this garbage is a coincidence with the election two months away? I guess we know where ABC stands on “fair and balanced” This is truly outrageous.
September 7th, 2006 at 11:53 ami just tried the original link where I downloaded, and the link posted above, and I am getting no response. This could mean it is pulled or that the system is being overwhelmed which is not a bad thing. They are feeling the heat. Meanwhile, please check out this excellent post at dkos by someone who has a family member on the Scholastic sales force.
September 7th, 2006 at 11:58 amHere are 4 lies in Moore’s F911 film that are available on many websites that have critiqued the film for accuracy. How is any of these not accurate? Be specific.
A simple example of blatant, mean-spirited deception in Fahrenheit 911 is
found in Moore’s accusation that Representative Peter Goss does not have an
800 number for the public to report problems with the Patriot Act. This
gives the definite impression that no toll free number is available even
though Goss insisted there is one. Moore makes Goss look like a liar.
The Truth: Toll free numbers beginning with “800″ are no longer available
so Goss’s office had to get the toll free “877″ number which is the same
thing as an 800 number and Moore knows this. Instead he chose a cheap
deception using the literal truth that his office had no 800 number. This
is the same thing as telling the lie that there is no toll free number when
there is one.
Critics have found over 50 flat out deceptions in the movie Fahrenheit 911.
Since most people do not have the patience to read through so much detail
let us cover thirteen obvious ones.
Here is a second deception: The movie craftily opens with Al Gore having a
victory celebration in Florida, apparently because he thought he won
Florida and the election. The narrator says “It was election night 2000
and everything seemed to be going as planned.”
Truth: Al Gore never had any celebration in Florida on election night, but
was in Tennessee. There was no celebration by either Bush or Gore on
election night. The clip of Gore celebrating was from another time and
place.
Third Deception: All the media were declaring Gore as the winner until the
evil Fox news “called the election for the other guy.” The narrator then
says: “All of a sudden the other networks said, ‘Hey, if Fox said it, it
must be true.’”
Truth: It was CBS, not Fox that first called Florida for Bush at 10 PM.
Fox did not follow the tide until four hours later. Moore twisted the
facts to make it look as if Fox was conspiring with Bush by calling the
election for him.
Fourth Deception: Moore quotes CNN analyst Jeffrey Toobin as saying that
if the recount continued, “under every scenario Gore won the election.”
Truth: Moore found a media person voicing a mistaken opinion and used it
September 7th, 2006 at 12:17 pmas the gospel truth. A six-month study in 2001 by news organizations
including The New York Times, the Washington Post and CNN found that even
if the Supreme Court had not stopped a statewide recount, or if a more
limited recount of four heavily Democratic counties had taken place, Bush
still would have won Florida and the election.
I started pre-term labor, I have contractions.
September 7th, 2006 at 12:26 pmI don’t believe we’re discussing Michael Moore’s documentary, Ben – that’s another blog but nice attempt to hijack this discussion anyway. Too bad it won’t work.
September 7th, 2006 at 12:30 pmWhat Scholastic is proposing in labeling this work of “pure fiction” as historical docudrama is unconscionable and they need to be reminded that the american public’s outrage will ruin their “scholarly” reputation as well as highlight their real “agenda” when it is removed from the classroom shelves.
September 7th, 2006 at 12:31 pmBen’s a lying troll (isn’t that redundant?) – not worth reading or dialoguing with.
September 7th, 2006 at 12:33 pmgopisalaughintstock – hey moron read #60. Just responding to the cupcakes on here.
September 7th, 2006 at 12:45 pm“Fahrenheit 9/11 was not launched as a documentary.” Ahem, that’s the category it won for at the Canne’s, that’s what it was advertised as, and no I didn’t squeal when it came out because I knew it was a bunch of phooey. For some reason the ABC show has struck a chord with the left. I believe that is because they truly believe that Bush alone is responsible for 9/11. I haven’t seen it yet but the basic bitch so far is that Clinton and his staff is not shown in the most flatteringly light…tough shit. If you think that they were totally infallible then you really have a problem with hero worship and really need a dose of reality.
September 7th, 2006 at 12:57 pmThe blatant disregard of past media practices and ignorance of most of the comments on this site is truely incredible. GOP – name calling that is a wonderful trick that most politicians have perfected. It is so pathetic that most people in this country are sheep and depending on which side of the fence you were herded to by parents, teachers, professors, or friends you defend that side with total blindness. This is not the first to the media has protrayed an event in partial truths, and surely it won’t be the last. Just because it says something inaccurate about your guy doesn’t mean it should be censored. America it is time to wake up and take control of this country away from divisive politicians and media outlets. If you can’t accept the truth that Clinton’s administration failed, wake up. If you can’t accept that the Bush administration has failed as well, wake up. Politicians are out for two things, your money and themselves. No longer is the greater good served and that is disgusting. Stop being so thin skinned and see these snakes for what they are.
September 7th, 2006 at 12:57 pmThere’s some PDFs of articles written by Will Pitt debunking ABC’s mockumentary here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364×2067300
Great if you want to print out some leaflets to leave around your area…
September 7th, 2006 at 1:05 pmDon’t just email and write to Scholastic, keep their phone lines buzzing!
1-800-724-6527 Mon.-Fri. 7am to 9pm, Sat. 8am to 5pm CST.
Even if we don’t talk to anybody important you know it will make it’s way to the top
September 7th, 2006 at 1:11 pmI just called the Utica Community Schools where my children attend and ask them not to use this propogranda in our schools – Please call your local school districts.
September 7th, 2006 at 1:18 pmThe Harry Potter books are published by Scholastic, and i’m sure make up a large portion of their profit. Complain to JK Rowling, maybe she’ll find another publisher.
September 7th, 2006 at 1:22 pmSuggest Scholastic be given a copy of Clinton’s attorney’s letter. It should give them pause about getting involved with this piece of propaganda.
September 7th, 2006 at 1:26 pmI started pre-term labor, I have contractions.
Comment by For Truth
Congratulations are in order! I’m sure the rest would say the same, were they not busy, battling trolls . . .
September 7th, 2006 at 1:41 pmHi — the word “it’s†is a contraction of “it is.†No apostrophe is needed when using “its†possisively.
Comment by Third Triange
You’ve fallen victim to “corrector’s syndrome,” (which I know well from personal experience): Whenever correcting someone online, you will invariably misspell, mis-puntuate, or make a mistake of grammar. It’s unaviodable!
September 7th, 2006 at 1:47 pmBen and RRS, c’mon, guys, at least address the real issue here. I don’t know whether Ben’s criticisms of “Fahrenheit 9/11″ are fair or not; I DO know that Scholastic hasn’t, so far, tried to issue “study guides” to Moore’s films so that our school kids can be indoctrinated in his political ideology. THAT’S the issue here, fellas.
Also, RRS, it seems a bit disingenuous to say that the only criticism of “Path to 9/11″ is that it shows the Clinton administration in an “unflattering light.” If that were true, I might agree that ABC should be left alone. Still, I’m not so sure I’d want a one-sided, but technically accurate, “docudrama” presented to my kids in a school setting. In any event, any number of individuals – Clarke, Albright, Berger, Cressey – have asserted that there are outright falsehoods in this picture. If that’s true – and so far, the film’s promoters have made little or no effort to refute the charges – then you can hardly say the film merely shows Clinton “in a bad light.” No, it LIES about Clinton. (Again, folks, it’s quite simple: Truth = good; lies = bad.)
And peddling lies to school children, for political reasons or otherwise, is unacceptable.
Do either of you have kids? If you do, I would think you’d understand parents’ outrage over Scholastic’s complicity here. They appear to be directly peddling or facilitating the peddling of right-wing propaganda to our children. As a parent, I won’t stand for it. And if you are parents, you shouldn’t either.
“Fairness” is a 2-way street. No one, whether liberal or conservative, has the right to shove political propaganda down my kids’ throats (or anyone else’s kids, for that matter). Period. End of story.
September 7th, 2006 at 1:54 pmAnd for the record, RRS – no, I don’t think Clinton was infallible. I doubt anyone else here thinks Clinton was infallible. (We all remember Rwanda, for example – a far better example of Clintonian mistakes.) Still, everyone – including ABC and Scholastic – ought to try to stick to the facts. (Oh, and that includes Michael Moore, too, in case you were wondering.)
September 7th, 2006 at 1:58 pmMust… brainwash… the children…. Must… brainwash… the children…. Must… brainwash… the children….
September 7th, 2006 at 2:10 pmI started pre-term labor, I have contractions.
Comment by For Truth — September 7, 2006 @ 12:26 pm
is this for real???!!! do you mean this in the literal sense???
i mean – this could be the first TP baby, that i know of!!!
CONGRATULATIONS!
your first? whatever – best wishes to you!
September 7th, 2006 at 2:24 pmbreath and concentrate! :-)
i think scholastic screwed up BIG time. however, i do not think it was intentional. i don’t think they were paying attention and they’re going to have to ammend their business practices to keep this from happening again.
but i firmly believe that they’re going to make things right.
hopefully we’ll see soon.
September 7th, 2006 at 3:35 pm[...] One of the most upsetting twists to this story, is that Scholastic has actually partnered with ABC to present discussion guides and class materials to contribute to the brainwashing of schoolchildren. [...]
September 7th, 2006 at 4:28 pmThe body of my letter to the school board (with copy to the local newspaper):
I am writing to express my sincere offense about the materials offered by Scholastic to high schools teachers meant to promote ABC’s docudrama, The Path to 9/11. By many accounts, these materials present a fictionalized political environment that blames the Clinton Administration while holding harmless the Bush Administration for the attacks of 9/11. Additionally, ABC has misrepresented the miniseries as based upon the findings of the 9/11 Commission when this is not the case.
As reported in The Washington Post, former secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright called one scene involving her “false and defamatory.” Former White House aide Bruce R. Lindsey, who now heads the William J. Clinton Foundation, said: “It is unconscionable to mislead the American public about one of the most horrendous tragedies our country has ever known.”
Despite disclaimers to the contrary, it is clear that the writers of The Path to 9/11 intend it to be taken as fact by students. Presenting this propaganda in a classroom environment would be reprehensible. It is my earnest desire that you designate these neoconservative talking points disguised as educational materials as unfit for use by teachers in Berkeley County, and that you ban their use immediately.
September 7th, 2006 at 4:41 pmI am a teacher who has used scholastic programs and materials for over the past twenty-five years. I just called them, to tell them I would no longer be using their products, when the telephone operator informed me that scholastic had pulled out of the whole deal. Pulled out of everything.
September 7th, 2006 at 5:14 pmAngela, you are another example of the FINE job that teachers are doing today. All of all schools are in terrific shape. Keep that censorship up okay. Especially when something disagrees with your point of view.
September 7th, 2006 at 5:32 pmAngela, it’s even better than that. They have REPLACED the 911 materials with materials concerning Media Literacy, Critical Thinking, Geography and Culture and the background of events in the Middle East that led up to 9/11.
This is perhaps the most wonderful and positive thing ANY American company has done in response to public concern. Scholastic needs to hear from EVERY ONE OF US that what they have done is nothing short of miraculous.
When I trained in Southern California to be a Paramedic, the training centered around “Critical Thinking.” I know the value of being able to make a decision based on the actual evidence rather than simply what is being told to you.
Perhaps there is hope for the next generation, due in no small part to the fantastic people at Scholastic.
September 7th, 2006 at 6:32 pmThis is the message I sent to Scholastic earlier today:
“I have two school-age children, and I’m concerned that Scholastic will be promoting right wing propaganda in the form of a factually untrue account of the events leading up to 9/11. As you know, purposely publishing lies with the intent to defame (…public figures or not) is LIBEL. If you carry this propaganda, I will have no choice but to boycott Scholastic materials under the assumption that I cannot trust any of its content to present truthful, unbiased facts.”
September 7th, 2006 at 7:11 pmBen, are you physically incapable of responding to the arguments I laid out? Really, dude, accusing people of “censorship” and attacking teachers who don’t want political propaganda in the classroom? What the hell?
September 7th, 2006 at 9:27 pmAnother off shoot of all this is that now Scholastic is now on the progressive radar. Just look at their description of the Mexican election:
http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=7420
While there are some basic facts which are correct, their article fails to mention the possible election fraud which is being alleged. There appears to be a decidedly right wing spin to Scholastic’s articles. I think all parents now have to pay much more attention to the information which is being disseminated to their children by this company, and others.
September 8th, 2006 at 5:08 amScholastics’ parent company is Grolier. I worked there years ago and just called their main number and a customer representive from Scholastic answered. The number is 203-797-3500, physical address: Old Sherman Turnpike, Danbury, CT 06816. I would suggest contacting them through either of these. I’m sure once the complaints start coming they’ll just leave the phones off the hook – it was one of the worst parts of being on their switchboard, leaving me to deal with the numerous complaints that came in from customers. Scholastic had a habit even back then to hire people to work fulfilling orders from the warehouse that could not speak and read English, so a lot of orders were sent out wrong. I left after complaining about getting a .25 raise after a year of working there, never missed a day, and had to put up with the most miserable people – both onsite and customer base! Good luck reaching them – the customer service department are masters at hiding.
September 8th, 2006 at 8:44 am[...] And to compound matters, Scholastic Inc, has sent “study guides” for “The Path to 9/11″ to over 100,000 teachers, urging them to have their students and students’ families watch the show, as if it were an accurate and objective historical account. [...]
September 8th, 2006 at 2:21 pmAnyone that says this film should`nt be shown is guilty of cowardice at the highest level. IT HASN`T BEEN SHOWN YET!WHY ARE YOU COMPLAING? You`re the same people that touted `farenhype 911` as a must see just before the election. No wonder Dems cant get a dog catcher elected. We`re going to lose again just when we thought we were going win.
September 8th, 2006 at 4:08 pmWow, are these really the only arguments you can find against this movie? ALL of Moore’s films are laired with lie after lie, yet when a filmmaker takes an honest look at how Clinton’s lack of action helped lead to 911, you look to disregard it before it even comes out? Do you not even want the truth?? A simple look at history will show that Clinton’s lack of action did indeed lead to the terrorist events of 911.
September 8th, 2006 at 4:27 pmJust curious as to why the poster “Ben” chooses to lie. It seems such a waste of energy.
For the record, his “Fourth Deception: Moore quotes CNN analyst Jeffrey Toobin as saying that if the recount continued, “under every scenario Gore won the election.†is not a Deception. The fellow should read the final report, where we find that under every senario, under every vote review standard (tough or loose), Gore would have won Florida if the final Florida Supreme Court vote recount order, which ordered a statewide review of both under counts and over counts vote rejections to find ballots where the intent of the voter was clear enough under the review standard so that the vote should be counted, had been allowed to proceed to the actual deadline of the electorial vote count announcement in January (and there was precident for waiting that long before giving the final electorial vote count).
What Ben is hanging his hat on is no doubt the newspaper stories which, being afraid of the above result, focused on recount results not ordered by the Florida Court and indeed types of counts never considered by the FSC as being proper. In several of these non-statewide counts – often only a couple of counties – and often not reviewing the “undercount” where no vote was recorded because say the person voted for Gore AND wrote in his name – Bush had a higher adjusted vote total -of course a meaningless, not under the rules of the Court, victory – but a way the media could avoid the headline “BUSH STOLE ELECTION VIA SCALIA USSC VOTE”.
September 8th, 2006 at 4:56 pmBen and Cody seem a bit truth challenged as to the media run Florida statewide recount. The result was indeed that if the Florida Sup. Court ordered procedure/recount had been allowed to proceed, the statewide over and under vote changes would have made Gore the winner under every rvote review standard tested by the media (loose or strict standard for determining the intent for those previously uncounted votes).
September 8th, 2006 at 5:03 pmBen! This is so funny. Some failed lib challenges you to post lies from F911. You post several of them and you obviously have 100s more at the ready. Then some clown says “nice try at trying to change the subject Ben!” Then none of these brain-dead liberals refute the lies of Moore.
Also, thank you to everyone on this forum who posted links or email addresses to Scholastic and/or ABC-Disney. I have written them all expressing my support and I have also written all their sponsors and my local school board expressing my support for this great movie, The Path to 9/11. I am going to go buy the popcorn now and invite a bunch of friends over to watch this important movie. I will also tape it and make them available in all the area schools.
Thank you ABC and Scholastic for getting the truth out, and THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH and TROOPS for protecting our freedoms and our safety!! The libs are on the run!
September 8th, 2006 at 5:57 pmSeptember 8th, 2006 at 8:31 pm
Never thought I’d see Bill *I did not have sex with that girl* Clinton demanding the truth! The apolcalypse is well and truly here. ;-)
September 8th, 2006 at 11:06 pmTo Ben, #48:
I video taped a Clinton presidential press conference where he was attempting to talk about Bin Laden and terrorists. He was interrupted by reporters yelling remarks such as “We want to know about Monica Lewinsky!”
You republicans and the right-wing press were not interested in anything else other than smearing Bill Clinton. It is incredible that he was able to function well enough to leave this country in the best condition it has been in before or since!
September 9th, 2006 at 12:05 amPersonally, I think it’s a quite immature and senseless for our culture to be producing non-documentary productions of the story of 9/11 (this includes the movies too) this soon after the event. It’s not a story to profit from. It’s not a story that has any sort of happy outcome nor a story that I would personally want to see in the theater or on the small screen (trust me, the gravity of the situation was apparent on 9/11 when I woke up to see the first tower fall). It is CERTAINLY not a story to embellish or rewrite. A documentary of 9/11 (or the events leading up to it) today would still not harness the true meaning of everything that happened that day let alone what has come from it (good or bad). I will personally make sure I never watch an ABC show, news cast, or Disney movie again. This is just sick! Has the United States of America lost so much of it’s soul that we can only make political rivalry out of tragedy?
September 9th, 2006 at 12:12 amFYI… I am neither a Democrat or Republican. Both parties are so far away from the pulse of life (let alone this nation) it makes me sick to listen to either sniveling cowards side. A true patriot does not give in to terrorism nor does a true patriot try to bastardize the truth to make a buck! Long live the true patriots of this world and god help the USA…. with stuff like this running ramp id we will need it. How could we have diminished to this after having over come a feat like WWII?
I cant believe you liberal Idots. No one has to smear Clinton he did it himself all over Monica. If he was busy defending our country like a real president , instead of playing with cigars, over 3000 people from the Twin Tower could be here debating this with you. Its about time our schools taught our kids what really happened and who they will be up against when they grow up and take over this great country. Unless the unspeakable happens and you Idiots take is over and theres nothing left, God help us.
September 9th, 2006 at 12:55 amIn response to ben. The emperor has no clothes you know. To point out what is truth is not censorship, it’s reality. The problem with schools today has more to do with reading the talking points then it does with empowering students to think outside the box. Five core concepts provided to teachers by the Center for Media state the obvious. 1. All media messages are “constructed.” 2. Media messages are constructed using a creative language with its own rules. 3. Different people experience the same media message differently. 4. Media have embedded values and points of view. 5. Most media messages are organized to gain profit and/or power. We need to begin with basic truth for school age children not propagandized fantasy.
September 9th, 2006 at 1:05 amDeliberatly distorting thuth about 911 is apalling and disgusting. It should not be allowed – end of story!
September 9th, 2006 at 1:46 amAngela,
If you are the example of Teachers today and a representative of our school systems, just tell the kids to jump off a bridge, they would be better off.
Let the film roll!!!!! I wasn’t even going to watch it, but now I can’t wait.
September 9th, 2006 at 1:50 amRemember the early criticism that the Bush administration couldn’t “connect the dots” during the 7 months before 9/11? Now that someone has discovered that LOTS of dots went unconnected in the 8 YEARS before 9/11, the Dems and other liberals are whining and “gently suggesting” that ABC’s sstations are [currently} licensed by the FCC…. (Next they’ll soil their didees!)
I understand that “Path to 9/11″ isn’t very kind to the Bush administration, either, but what’s 8 brief years to seven entire months, right?
September 9th, 2006 at 2:30 amWatch this movie….it is important. I applaud ABC for having the courage to film and promote this event. The fact that the Clinton’s are wanting this yanked is a solid indicator that what they hoped would be silenced is about to be known to the world. My educated Democratic friends are embarassed by the outrage shown from leaders in “their” party over this film. . They know that the previous administration dropped the ball in more areas that will ever be known. God Bless America…and God bless those who are fighting for the right to keep web-sites like this open.
September 9th, 2006 at 7:48 amSHAME ON the liberals for wanting us to forget 9-11.
What liberals really want is for 9/11 to disappear. For us to just bury it forever in the history books.
There are several reasons why:
Because much of the blame for 9/11 so clearly points to the Clinton Administration.
Because it is not possible, with any intellectual honesty, to fault the United States for “deserving” the attack.
Because liberals are loath to make judgements about cultures or religions, such as militant Islam.
Because liberals despise any legitimate trigger for the use of American military might.
And because 9/11 is prima facie evidence of the existence of evil. A liberal cannot stomach that.
Liberals like neopost, with their loathing of the military, obstinately cling to the “terrorism as crime” model.
I know that some people question if America is really in a war at all. They view terrorism more as a crime – a problem to be solved mainly with law enforcement and indictments. After the World Trade Center was first attacked in 1993, some of the guilty were indicted, tried, convicted and sent to prison.
But the matter was not settled.
The terrorists were still training and plotting in other nations, and drawing up more ambitious plans. After the chaos and carnage of Sept. 11, it is not enough to serve our enemies with legal papers. The terrorists and their supporters declared war on the United States – and war is what they got.
But let us be candid about the consequences of leaving Saddam Hussein in power…the Kay and Duelfer reports identified dozens of weapons of mass destruction-related program activities and significant amounts of equipment that Iraq concealed from the United Nations. Had we failed to act, the dictator’s weapons of mass destruction programs would continue to this day. Had we failed to act, Security Council resolutions on Iraq would have been revealed as empty threats, weakening the United Nations and encouraging defiance by dictators around the world. Iraq’s torture chambers would still be filled with victims – terrified and innocent. The killing fields of Iraq – where hundreds of thousands of men, women and children vanished into the sands – would still be known only to the killers.
For all who love freedom and peace, the world without Saddam Hussein’s regime is a better and safer place.
September 9th, 2006 at 8:27 amLighten up people… most of you have not seen it (nor have most of the people making a big deal over it in the media) nor have you read any factual detail about the movie. Let it run and let each person make their own decisions from there. Remember that little concept called “Free Speech” .
September 9th, 2006 at 8:49 am“The Path to 9/11″ documentary provides evidence that Bill Clinton and his administration officials undermined attempts by the CIA and to capture or kill bin Laden.
1. In one scene, Clinton’s National Security Adviser Sandy Berger — played by Kevin Dunn — denies authorization to CIA agents about to capture bin Laden in Afghanistan. Berger is seen as refusing authorization for a proposed raid to capture bin Laden in spring 1998 to CIA operatives in Afghanistan who have the terrorist leader in their sights. A CIA operative sends a message: “We’re ready to load the package. Repeat, do we have clearance to load the package?” Berger responds: “I don’t have that authority.”
2. In another scene, despite being warned, Secretary of State Madeline Albright alerts the Pakistani government of an imminent cruise-missile strike that, in fact, only narrowly missed killing bin Laden. The Pakistani government apparently notified their Taliban allies who informed Bin Laden, allowing him to escape. CIA Director Tenet is depicted as challenging Albright for having alerted Pakistan in advance of the August 1998 missile strike that unsuccessfully targeted bin Laden.
“Madame Secretary,” Tenet is seen saying, “the Pakistani security service, the ISI, has close ties with the Taliban.” Albright is seen shouting: “We had to inform the Pakistanis. There are regional factors involved.” Tenet then complains that “we’ve enhanced bin Laden’s stature.”
3. In another scene from the documentary, an FBI agent and a CIA operative complain about red tape frustrating their attempts to pursue terrorists, according to a front-page story in the Post that refers to Clinton as “Bungle Bubba.â€
4. The movie then cuts to a close-up of Clinton maintaining that he did “not have sex with that woman†— Monica Lewinsky — demonstrating that the Lewinsky scandal was distracting him from the bin Laden threat.
5. The documentary provides testimentiary evidence that Clinton was too preoccupied with the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal to care about apprehending Osama bin Laden-even when he had the chance.
September 9th, 2006 at 9:34 amI would suggest to those of you who are planning to watch ‘the Path to 911′ to instead read the 911 Comission report. You can then better distinguish between fact and fiction. As a teacher, I would like to give my student the tools they need to interpret information for themselves. To analyze information and assess just what ’story’ the author is ‘telling’. To jump into the abyss of manipulation because you don’t have the tools to think for yourself is something teachers are trying to avoid for their students. If we are able to teach them to think for themselves, they would not have to ‘drink the kool-aid’ and let someone else decide what is real. I found a letter that was sent by Scholastic, to teachers, right after 911. It stated, “In the wake of the recent attacks on the United States, our thoughts are with those who have lost loved ones, as well as with teachers like you, who have the profoundly important responsibility of helping our children cope with loss and the fear of terror. Please accept this gift of The Pledge of Allegiance book and poster as a token of our thanks and esteem for helping build a better world. Like you, we still believe in the value of reading, learning, and understanding to strengthen and protect America’s children. Let us remember our shared values and our profound responsibility to future Americans by renewing our commitment to freedom and justice.” Maybe someone at Scholastic re-read this letter and rembered their responsibility to today’s children. They pulled the materials from their web site. They did the right thing. Do the right thing. Think for youself.
September 9th, 2006 at 10:01 amAt first I was appalled by the Scholastic connection to this endeavor–as a teacher i have always trusted their material as inciteful , balanced and unbiased. Though I do not have access to their fully revised teacher’s manual–I read their sample pages–and I am thrilled!!! The objectives of the unit are include:
# Analyze media messages through a critical lens.
# Identify the purpose of media messages. (i.e. inform, entertain, persuade)
# Consider how the media may be affected by social, economic, political, and other factors.
YES YES YES
The actual lesson assignment includes this activity:
# Have your students select a scene from The Path to 9/11 miniseries, such as the depiction of the USS Cole bombing in Yemen. Instruct your students to write a brief summary of the event as shown in the miniseries.
# Then have students visit http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/index.htm to download a free copy of the 9/11 Commission Report. Students should search the report for information pertaining to the same event they selected in step 1.
# Once the students have found the information in the 9/11 Commission Report, have them compare the depiction of the event in the miniseries to its representation in the report.
# Have students consult a second print news source for another example of how the event is portrayed in print media versus the miniseries and report.
What better way to teach students how to think critically in the media-entertainment-dominated world! We can not tell our students what to believe–we need to give them the tools to critically evaluate events/media spin so they can think for themselves.
I will be interested in seeing the rest of the material–but so far I think Scholastic is on the right track.
September 9th, 2006 at 11:38 amThanks guys I never knew this film existed until you started crying about it. Now I can’t wait to watch it. Because if it pisses off the moonbats then it has to be good.
I’ll be sure to burn it to DVD for free distribution, etc. It worked for Dylan Avery right?
September 9th, 2006 at 3:49 pmAs a middle school teacher, I am simply appalled by Scholastic’s blantant support of such an ignorant, arrogant administration. It’s shameful and alarmining that a company meant to enlighten and educate is so willing to shackle itself to the lies of the GOP in an attempt to pass off propaganda as education. I have let Scholastic know that I will no longer use its prducts and will permanently boycott all of the materials. I can also assure you that the majority of teachers I know are doing the same and we will pursue dropping our biannual Scholastic bookfair for alternative options. Teachers understand first-hand (not that others don’t) the damage the Bush administration has wreaked upon American education, and the NEA is made up overwhelmingly of teachers who DO NOT support Bush or the neoconservative agenda. Scholastic has proven it doesn’t think much of its customers by making this deal with the devil. I understand that the company is backtracking in a feeble attempt to cover up this heinous error, but the damage to its reputation will be permanent, at least for this teacher.
September 9th, 2006 at 3:58 pmVirginia Frederick, thank you for revealing the true nature of the Scholastic materials…they are fair and balanced and cause students to think critically and read the 9/11 Commission Report. Liberals are squealing like stuck pigs because they want to keep the kids dumbed down and not knowledgeable about the Clinton failures that led to 9/11/01. It’s pretty funny to see all the squealing liberals and then see the actual Scholastic materials that are very fair.
I also watched and taped The Path to 9/11 last night and will watch and tape tonights 2 hour episode (with the Bush speech from the Oval Office right smack in the middle of it! Gotta love it!).
I found the movie to be very fair and balanced, yes it showed the failures and the waffling by the Clintonista’s but so what? We need to understand how liberals failed on terrorism so we never put ourselves in danger by putting them into office again.
Thanks to ABC for standing up to the Stalinist tactics of the Clinton thugs! The Clinton’s have no power to threaten anyone any more because they are yesterday’s news. American has woken up to the damage liberals like Clinton can cause America.
Lisa Marie…yes, we know the NEA union thugs are against Bush because he demands accountability from teachers and he demands that students learn. He measures progress and the NEA teachers union thugs CAN’T STOMACH being measured! They just want to be paid on their “good intentions” and they want to just continue with their feel good moral relativism and warping of American history. Well, we have news for you: we are not going to let you get away with that anymore!
What liberals really want is for 9/11 to disappear. For us to just bury it forever in the history books. We won’t let that happen, either. We will never forget 9-11-01!!!
Thank you Bush and Troops for keeping us safer for the last 5 years!
September 11th, 2006 at 3:59 pmIf you would like to see an actual documentary that is fair and balanced, about 911, you can watch “911 Press for Truth”. You can watch it at http://www.video.google.com, in its entirety, for free.
September 11th, 2006 at 7:47 pmBy the way, did you watch the nightline special after the ABC movie? The NEWS report that refered to the movie as fictional? You did see that didn’t you? You informed people out there?
Yes, Angela, I watched that…and the nightlight special “news” report was more biased, and had more factual errors than The Path to 9/11. The liberal drive-by media no longer has control. In the past, ALL we would have been able to see is the biased Nightlight report and whatever Katie Couric wanted us to know. NO MORE! We now have blogs, talk radio and Fox News to tell us the fair and balanced truth!
September 12th, 2006 at 4:26 pmPTS, you are aware that you’re posting on a liberal leaning site, right? And ‘Fox News’ is an oxymoran.
September 12th, 2006 at 9:03 pmYes, so angela, address the logical and factual issues I and others have raised…don’t just have the knee-jerk and typical reaction of bashing Fox News. Join us in the arena of ideas.
September 13th, 2006 at 12:40 pm‘I read the news today, oh boy.’ Calling fox news an oxymoron is not a knee jerk reaction. It’s a logical fact. Using careful and correct reasoning I have come to a true statement. The ‘facts’ you have raised are not facts at all. They are opinionated spin applied to political propaganda spoon feed to you by this administration. Bill Clinton? Bill Clinton stopped ,the Al Qaeda milennium hijacking bombing plots,he stopped a planned attack on the Pope, stopped planned attacks to blow up the UN and FBI headquarters, he stopped a planned attack to blow up 12 US jetliners, he stopped plans to blow up the Israeli Embassy in Washington-the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels in NY- and the George Washington Bridge in NY. Bill Clinton legislated to Congress to: tighten airport security, to allow for better tracking of terrorist funding, to add tagents to explosives to allow for better tracking of explosives used by terrorists. Bill Clinton increased the military budget by an average of fourteen percent, tripled the budget for the FBI for counterterrorism, and created a national stockpile of drugs and vaccines including forty million doses of the smallpox vaccine. And on, and on and on.
September 13th, 2006 at 7:04 pmWhat did George W. Bush do? Oh yeah, he let terrorist fly planes into buildings. Facts sir, facts.
So why can’t you answer a simple, logical question then, angela?
So you disagree with Bill and Hillary Clinton on the WMD issue then?
Bill Clinton > December 17, 1998 “Earlier today, I ordered America’s armed forces to strike military and security targets in Iraq. Their mission is to attack Iraq’s nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs and its military capacity to threaten its neighbors.”
“If Saddam rejects peace, and we have to use force, our purpose is clear: We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction program.” — Bill Clinton, February 17th, 1998
Hillary Clinton > October 10, 2002 “In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical- and biological-weapons stock, his missile-delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al-Qaeda members.â€
September 19th, 2006 at 7:22 pmPTS- It’s 2006. Why don’t you reference quotes from Hilary and Bill from 2006? You need to read more current facts. Here is a Clinton quote from this year, “I’m sick and tired of being told that if you voted for authorization you voted for the war. It was a mistake, and I would have made it, too… The administration did not shoot straight on the nuclear issue or on Saddam’s supposed ties to Al Qaeda prior to 9/11.”
September 20th, 2006 at 6:44 pmIf you want to base your opinion on old quotes, I’ve got one for you from Geoege W. Bush, refering to Milosevic’s loss in Yugoslavia and whether the US should get involved and take him out, Bush said, “…I wouldn’t use force. I wouldn’t use force. Because it’s not in our national interest to use force. I would keep pressure. I would use diplomacy. And it’s up to the people in this region to figure out how to take control of their country. ” In reference to when the US SHOULD use force in the world Bush said,”Whether or not the mission was clear, whether or not it was a clear understanding as to what the mission would be. Whether or not we were prepared and trained to win, whether or not our forces were of high morale and high standing and well-equipped. And finally, whether or not there was an exit strategy,” ” I would be very careful about using our troops as nation builders. I believe the role of the military is to fight and win war and, therefore, prevent war from happening in the first place.” “…if we don’t stop extending our troops all around the world in nation-building missions, then we’re going to have a serious problem coming down the road.”
A quote from Hilary from last November, “I voted for the resolution to authorize the Administration to use force in Iraq. I voted for it on the basis of the evidence presented by the Administration, assurances they gave that they would first seek to resolve the issue of weapons of mass destruction peacefully through UN sponsored inspections, and the argument that the resolution was needed because Saddam Hussein never did anything to comply with his obligations that he was not forced to do…Based on the information that we have today, Congress never would have been asked to give the President authority to use force against Iraq. ” “…we never would have agreed, given the lack of a long-term plan, paltry international support, the proven absence of weapons of mass destruction, and the reallovation of troops and resources that might hve been used in Afghanistan to eliminate Bin Laden and al Qaeda, and uproot the Taliban.” And so PTS, update your references. That would be the logical thing to do. Information may change over time. After all, Reagan was once a democrat, but I wouldn’t use that word to describe him now. Would you? Laura Bush too!
Yes, of course angela, Hillary tried to weasel out of her responsibility for voting for the liberation of Iraq. But she relied on the same intelligence, from the Intelligence community (note: NOT from “Bush!” ;-) when she said:
“In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical- and biological-weapons stock, his missile-delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al-Qaeda members.â€
So yes, now she wants to go back and revise history, and try to call Bush a “liar” ;-) But sorry, Hillary and the Drive-by media do not have the power they had in the past, when they were the only, liberal, game in town. We now have the alternate media, the blogs, talk radio and Fox News to expose their deceit and lies!
September 29th, 2006 at 4:07 pmI don’t know if you heard, but the drive- by consertive media has been challenged. They do not have the absolute control over the propaganda they spew to the heedless masses any more. The truth is out there. The bloggers, the alternative international press, and the liberal talkers of radio now have a main stream voice; Keith Olberman. He has pulled the curtain back and exposed to the world the truth about America. We know the truth. We have always known the truth. We now have a daily, on air voice, to tell the rest of you the truth. Listen, you may learn something. But Olberman is not the only voice of reason out there. He has ‘energized the base’, so to speak. People have responded in droves. And they are on the move. People can’t sit silently by any more. The lies are so blatant , that not even the morons on fox could spin them. Soliciting minors, ignoring pdb stating ‘Bin Laden determinted to strike in the US’, in house fighting with Condi and Rummy, the CIA document stating that the Iraq war actually increased terrorism, cherry- picking information, and on and on. . . Conformity to fact and reality – TRUTH. Finally at last. The TRUTH.
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