Most Underreported Stories of 2004
Published December 27, 2004
Eleanor Clift has her own list over at Newsweek. But here are some of my personal favorites from Project Censored:
Reinstating the Draft: "The Selective Service System, the Bush Administration, and the Pentagon have been quietly moving to fill draft board vacancies nationwide in order to prepare for a military draft that could start as early as June 15, 2005. In preparation several million dollars have been added to the 2004 Selective Service System (SSS) budget. The SSS Administration must report to Bush on March 31, 2005 that the system, which has lain dormant for decades, is ready for activation. The Pentagon has quietly begun a public campaign to fill all 10,350 draft board positions and 11,070 appeals board slots nationwide.
Bush Administration Manipulates Science and Censors Scientists: "In Washington, D.C. more than 60 of the nation's top scientists, including 20 Nobel laureates, leading medical experts, and former federal agency directors, issued a statement on February 18, 2004 accusing the Bush Administration of deliberately distorting scientific results for political ends and calling for regulatory and legislative action to restore scientific integrity to federal policymaking.
The Media Can Legally Lie: "In February 2003, a Florida Court of Appeals unanimously agreed with an assertion by FOX News that there is no rule against distorting or falsifying the news in the United States.
for more underreported stories: www.politicalthought.net
- Most Underreported Stories of 2004
- Published: December 27, 2004
- Type:
- Section: Politics
- Writer: Igor Volsky
- Igor Volsky's BC Writer page
- Igor Volsky's personal site
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Anita,
While you are correct that the draft did not happen in 2004, nevertheless, the furor might have had some role in decision making, and the story itself cited is that the posts on the SSS board were filled, which is true.
What I would object to in the same breath is the term, used twice - "quietly" - that puts a partisan spin on the reportage itself, which is as bad as censorship, IMHO.
I'm just wondering why the story of Bush's refusal to attack Zarqawi isn't on this list. More here.
When it comes to fighting terror, I would have expected a policy of "preemption" to be a bit more... well, preemptive.
Eleanor Clift's list was typically idiotic and ill-informed. Half of her neglected stories were either obvious to anyone who can read a newspaper and didn't need more exploration or were covered exhaustively in the main stream media.
Your list from the Phillips book is a lot more intriguing, though the draft reinstatement story is a complete fabrication - mostly of left wing bloggers who Michael Moored together unrelated events to come up with a fake conspiracy.
Dave
Eleanor Clift!! Talk about a liberal who needs to f@#k more. Damn, I wish Pat Buchanon would just jump up and slap her one morning on that McLaughlin Group show.
Don't forget who introduced the bill to reinstate the draft: Charlie Rangel, D-NY.
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You do realize that the reason the draft story was underreported is that it's not true?
Or, rather, it is a collection of half-truths twisted and distorted out of context. It was a politically-motivated whisper campaign that taken as a whole is false.
Don't be taken in -- and don't be party to spreading false Internet rumors and urban legends. This is one story that it was better to have left underreported, because it is not true.