OK, you've signed John Conyers' petition, what else can you do?

[paineinthearse]

received from moveon

Dear MoveOn member,

Thank you for joining Representative Conyers's call to demand that Bush explain the deceptions detailed in the Downing St. Memo. We’ll let you know when the petition reaches half a million and tell you how the delivery to the White House goes.

One of the other ways we can make a difference on this crucial issue is to contact the national media and demand further coverage of this scandal. While foreign journalists have given the memo wide exposure, American media remains eerily quiet. The national TV network news shows in particular have haven't covered the memo at all <1>.

However, this is a problem we can help to solve. Readers of the New York Times recently demanded coverage of the British memo, and the newspaper finally wrote a full story <2>. We can do the same for network news.

Please call or email the nightly news programs you watch, at:

ABC World News Tonight
Phone: [phone]
[e-mail]

CBS Evening News
Phone: [phone]
[e-mail]

NBC Nightly News
Phone: [phone]
[e-mail]

PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
Phone: [phone]
[e-mail]

Identify yourself as a viewer, then say something like:

"Please investigate and report on the British 'Downing St. Memo' suggesting the Bush administration manipulated intelligence to support its longstanding plans to invade Iraq. We need to know what really happened. Thank you for your time."

It's important to track our impact. Please let us know you're calling at:

http://www.moveon.org/mediacorps/britishmemo.html

The American media's failure to question the Bush administration led to an unnecessary war. Now the media's failure to cover the war is making it impossible for Americans to unite behind an exit plan. This won't get better until we demand more coverage of the war.

Thank you for all that you do,

--Ben, Noah, Wes, Micayla, and the MoveOn.org Team

Sources:

1. "Network Viewers Still in the Dark on 'Smoking Gun Memo,'" FAIR, May 20, 2005 http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2520

2. "New Public Editor Looks at 'Downing Street Memo' Coverage," New York Times, May 24, 2005 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=734

[WilliamPitt]

1. PDA is about to come out with an action, too

Everyone is running in the same direction on this. I love it.

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. It just took how long?

[WilliamPitt]

4. Right?

Grr.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3814537

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. the news programs I watch

WOW the BBC is aware of the memo

;-)

[deutsey]

5. Also, get involved in (or start) counter-recruiting efforts

in your community.

Here are some links to help get you started:

http://www.afsc.org/pacificsw/counter-recruitment.htm

http://rncwatch.typepad.com/counterrecruiter/

http://www.projectyano.org/

[luxpara]

6. done and bumped

WAKE UP PEOPLE!

The media only moves if we bitch, it's so frikken sad...

[paineinthearse]

8. Holy batshit, I love the photo!!!!!!!!!!!!! nt

[deutsey]

10. That pix of Bush cracks me up every time I see it.

Condi actually looks better. :evilgrin:

[MelissaB]

13. Me, too! I made it my background last night.

:)

[deutsey]

7. Kick

[kittenpants]

9. nominated n/t

[mzteris]

11. I just emailed

NPR... then came on here to find this!

(Great minds think alike, I guess.)

[Triana]

12. SAMPLE letter:

I am a viewer of PBS, NBC, and CBS and I would like to kindly ask that you
investigate and report on the British 'Downing St. Memo' and other
corroborating video and documents I note below suggesting the Bush
Administration manipulated intelligence to support its longstanding plans to
invade Iraq.

The American Public might be interested in the BBC presentation below on the
subject, or significant segments thereof:

http://www.overcast.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/warofterror/iraqtonytruth.htm

Also, evidently around the 18th Sept, 2004, a set of 6 papers from various
members of the Blair set were leaked via the Daily Telegraph. Just so you know
that these papers do exist and they are legitimate, there was more about that
from the Guardian at the time:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1308368,00.html

I cannot locate these with a Google search, as the documents have since been
pulled. With your media connections, you could undoubtedly obtain them for your
own perusal and I encourage you to do so. These papers are in .pdf format and
are as follows:

straw020325.pdf
manning020314.pdf
meyer020318.pdf ** contains statements made in video above, verbatim
ods020308.pdf
ricketts020322.pdf
fcolegal020308.pdf

One of these was a memo, dated 18 March 2002, from then British ambassador to
Washington, Christopher Meyer to a Downing Street foreign policy advisor, David
Manning, who later replaced Meyer. It reported on a meeting between Meyer and
Paul Wolfowitz.

**There was plainly a strategy, also alluded to in the Downing Street Minutes,
of forcing an unmeetable ultimatum on Saddam with the weapons inspection, so
that when it was not met, a convenient pretext for invasion would be provided.
This is clearly alluded to in the second paragraph of the Meyer memo, as the
need to "wrongfoot" Saddam. THIS IS ALSO SHOWN IN THE BBC VIDEO I'm providing a
link to, above.

All this, in combination with the fact that John Bolton orchestrated a firing
of Jose Bustani because this Brazilian was trying to send chemical weapons
inspectors to Baghdad, which might have helped defuse the crisis over alleged
Iraqi weapons and undermine a U.S. rationale for war, paints an even more
complete picture of Bush and Blair's real intentions before the official
invasion of Iraq, and gives the lie to Blair's protestations of innocent
intentions vis-a-vis the inspections program and a peaceful resolution. It also
explains why George Bush is so intent on having John Bolton on the UN.

More about that Bolton story here:
http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-bolton-un-firing,0,7826877.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines

Also, apparently without informing Congress, George Bush diverted $700 million
from funds allocated to the Afghanistan war "to pay for early preparations for
war in Iraq". He diverted these funds in July of 2002. The date on the Downing
Street Minutes? July 23, 2002. Coincidence? The link to that story is as
follows: http://www.sunherald.com/mld/thesunherald/news/world/8458386.htm

And The Downing Street Minutes:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1593607,00.html

People might like to know the true facts surrounding our invasion of Iraq,
particularly those who've lost loved ones in this war. It has always been
incumbent on the US media as a service to the American public to provide the
public with this type of investigative reporting.

Taken collectively with the DSM, all of this information does seem to paint a
disturbingly clear picture that looks as if a case for invasion of Iraq was
secretly and intentionally built up around a predetermined course of action.
Your continued service to the Public in thoroughly investigating and reporting
on all aspects of this story is requested, and appreciated.

Regards,

[Griffy]

14. Mention PNAC too... tell them to connect ther dots! nt

[roguevalley]

15. Done

[dooner]

16. done.. keep it simple

You are a concerned viewer. You've been hearing a lot about "the memo"..
what is it all about. The last thing you want is to sound like a form letter from Move On!


Kicked!

[Mnemosyne]

17. .

:kick: :hi:

[stubtoe]

18. Thanks for this, I did send out emails

I may be slow, but I do eventually get my activism done.

Much appreciate your post from MoveOn with email links to the media. The link for the News Hour opens up another DU thread, though..

[Beam Me Up]

19. kick

.