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“Rathergate” still doesn’t change the facts

Okay, let me get this straight.

An “independent” investigation of the 60 Minutes September 2004 report on discrepancies in President Bush’s National Guard service record cost the jobs of 4 CBS staffers. Senior vice president Betsy West, 60 Minutes executive producer Josh Howard and senior broadcast producer Mary Murphy have all been asked to resign. Producer Mary Mapes was dismissed for what was called a “Myopic zeal” in reporting the story based on documents that may have been forged.

Yet the investigation could not state conclusively whether the documents were forgeries or not. The report also found no evidence that political bias was a factor in the network’s journalism.

http://www.fair.org/press-releases/cbs-memogate.html

The secretary for the General who’s signature appeared on the documents said the documents weren’t real BUT the information contained in them was correct.

http://www.fair.org/activism/cbs-memos-knox.html

Also the same discrepancies were reported by different news organizations during the same period of time (September 2004) using different sources.

http://www.fair.org/press-releases/cbs-bush-documents.html

Meanwhile, the stories reported in the New York Times prior to the invasion of Iraq that said there were Weapons of Mass Destruction caused not even a whimper of outrage. Even after the Times admitted the reporting was “insufficiently qualified or allowed to stand unchallenged,” the reporter who wrote the stories still works of the paper and reports on Iraq.

So as FAIR comments: it does matter who you piss off rather than what the truth is.

http://www.fair.org/press-releases/cbs-memogate.html

Ironically, the information in the “fake” memos has been reported as not true – which is not the case. Once again the President gets a pass.

Sad.

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Well Christmas time is here

It is the time of year when people shop till they drop or indulge until they pass out from all the food and drink. It is a time to hang out with the family even when they hate you on the other days of the year.

One of my favorite Christmas activities is watching the classic Christmas cartoon specials on TV. Most were produced in the mid to late 1960’s but even 40 years on they haven’t really become dated.

My favorite of the bunch is “A Charlie Brown Christmas”. From the lame tree Charlie buys, to the hip jazz music from Vince Guaraldi, I love the show.

There is a point near the end where a frustrated Charlie shouts about being told what the real meaning of Christmas is. He is mad at the crass commercialism of the holiday represented by Snoopy winning the decoration contest. Linus then recites the Christmas story from the Bible and peace is restored.

Actually Christmas has little to do with the birth in the manger 2000 years ago and never has. The holiday is a collection of religious and non-religious mid-winter celebrations.

You have your winter solstice – used to mark the deep of winter and hope for the coming spring which included putting evergreen trees inside your house. Then you have “Wassailing” – an early version of trick or treat, with drunken singers banging on doors, demanding food, drink, or money in exchange for going away. The part that included the birth of Jesus was added by the Romans to replace the pagan celebrations of the time.

The debauchery got so prevalent that when Puritan Oliver Cromwell became dictator of the UK, he outlawed Christmas. Puritans in Massachusetts banned Christmas observances in 1659.

It wasn’t until 1822 that the Christmas in the form that we know it was introduced. That form is Santa Claus and crass commercialism.

So Linus was wrong. Happy Xmas!

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Ok, I finally got a real picture for my Blog. Now Leave me alone.

After intense public and private pressure, I broke out the digital camera and snapped a real photo of myself for this blog.

The tipping point was the nasty article on Page Six of the New York Post that took me to task for the lame stick figure of a block of cheese to represent me. They thought the icon of blogging needed a better icon.

My friend Swiss Cheese was not happy to be given the boot. He told me, as he was leaving, that since being the “icon” of my blog he has had to beat the fans off with a stick. He also claims he had an easy time with the ladies.

I don’t believe him. He hasn’t had “an easy time with the ladies” since high school. That was before he was befriended by a block of Limburger. He is still working on ridding himself of that stank.

Meanwhile, I also thought of using the following picture as my head shot:

Then I thought some would not take it for the humor intended – like the FBI.

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Clarkson’s new single ROCKS!

I was surfing the TV channels the other night before Thanksgiving and Fox was having some kind of American Idol Christmas special with Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, and Fantasia. The format was they would each sing a song of their own and then some Christmas tunes. I wasn’t planning on watching the show but Kelly’s set pulled me in.

She sang the first single off her new album “Breakaway” called “Since U Been Gone”.

WOW!

She just blew me away with the song and her performance.

“Since U Been Gone” is going to Number 1 I predict. It is a great song and Kelly sells it.

It is rare that I would like a Top 40 song but it rocks.

Go to the website and watch the video.

http://www.kellyclarksonweb.com/
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