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My newspaper column re: Downing St Memo. Thoughts?

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Moloch Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-13-05 10:03 PM
Original message
My newspaper column re: Downing St Memo. Thoughts?
Now that Wacko Jacko finally has the prosecutors off his back-o, I am hoping that the mainstream media outlets will give the sensationalist drivel a rest for a while and focus on real news. Far too much real and actual news was swept under the rug in favor of oh-so-important topics as "Jesus Juice" and Wacko Jacko showering with young boys. Eww.

That's why I think newspapers are a superior medium to television news. High-quality newspapers, such as this one, haven't reported on the Jackson trial at all. When you read newspapers, you don't have to sit through all the boring crap and ridiculous tabloid fodder that Faux News has made such a staple of its programming over the past couple of years, you can just ignore an article.

Incessant and irrelevant "news" items like the Wacko Jacko case and the missing and presumed dead blonde-haired Caucasian woman of the week only aid the Bush administration in its efforts to obfuscate its dealings with everything from the economy to the war on Iraq. Bush's allies at CNN and Faux are only too happy to help him.

One of the things that Bush is glad you haven't heard much about is what has been dubbed "The Downing Street Memo." The memo, revealed by the Sunday Times of London on May 1, details the minutes from a meeting of the staff of British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Dated July 23, 2002 (Eight months before the invasion of Iraq), the memo states that intelligence indicated that Iraq was not a threat to its neighbors or the United States and that its WMD-manufacturing
capability was less that North Korea, Iran or Libya.

"Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD," wrote Matthew Rycroft, author of the memo and foreign-policy aid to Blair. "The intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy. The NSC had no patience with the UN route, and no enthusiasm for publishing material on the Iraqi regime's record. There was little discussion in Washington of the aftermath after military action," he continued.

British officials have not denied the authenticity of the report and the Bush administration has "no comment." Lucky, Democrats in the House of Representatives and Senate will have, by the time you're reading this, made an inquiry into the misdoings. John Kerry plans to call for impeachment. Sour grapes? No. A great American standing up for what's right. Woo hoo.

If you would like, the full text of the memo is available here: http://www.downingstreetmemo.com/memo.html

What could be worse than a leader lying to the world to start a war that has caused the lives of 1,701 U.S. soldiers and between 22,248 and 25,229 (According to the Iraq Body Count project) Iraqi civilians? Would that leader have to systematically order the deaths of an entire ethnic group? Start a Communist revolution in which the goal is to move residents from the city to an agrarian socialist paradise, all the while executing between 50,000 to 100,000 "dissidents"?

What does Bush have to do to spark an outrage?


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dweller Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-13-05 10:07 PM
Response to Original message
1. where, or when
Edited on Mon Jun-13-05 10:12 PM by dweller
does Kerry call for an impeachment?

you'd need a link to that, imo.

but from Kerry, not a right-wing rag.
dp

edit: a better point would be a link to the 500K citizen signees to Conyers' letter.
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Moloch Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-13-05 10:11 PM
Response to Reply #1
2. Here's a DU thread..
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1525291

You're right. Most of the hits I got about it were from NewsMax and Free Republic.

More research..
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dweller Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-13-05 10:14 PM
Response to Reply #2
3. you probably will not find a link
trusted that Kerry said that.

see edit, post #1.

dp
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Moloch Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-13-05 10:16 PM
Response to Reply #3
4. Thanks!
I was probably thinking of the Green Party call to impeachment and Rep. Conyers.

I tend to do that when I am writing all angry.

thank you.
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dweller Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-13-05 10:51 PM
Response to Reply #4
6. the Green Party call is legit,
and Conyers' letter has the numbers.

:thumbsup: for your LTTE.

dp
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Moloch Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-13-05 10:48 PM
Response to Original message
5. Nobody else has any comments? :(
Edited on Mon Jun-13-05 10:49 PM by damkira
If you think it sucks, please say so.
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bling bling Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-13-05 10:59 PM
Response to Original message
7. I think it sounds great.
If you're looking for suggestions I only have one. I would tie the first couple of paragraphs into the last sentence by extending it to say:

"What does the President of our country have to do to spark an outrage worthy of the headlines of Jack-O?"

Or something along those lines. Or not, I think it's good the way it is, too.
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cry baby Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-13-05 11:05 PM
Response to Original message
8. Good points in your letter.
Maybe it will open some eyes!
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EFerrari Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-13-05 11:18 PM
Response to Original message
9. If you want notes, these two paragraphs need point.
These are the edits I would make to graph #2:

Newspapers are a superior medium to television news because< > High-quality newspapers, such as this one, haven't reported on the Jackson trial at all. When you read newspapers, you don't have to sit through all the boring crap and ridiculous tabloid fodder that Faux News has made such a staple of its programming over the past couple of years: you can just ignore an article.



(This paragraph is too oblique in its last two sentences. Most people won't get it. Check behind me.)

What could be worse than a leader lying to the world to start a war that has caused the lives of 1,701 U.S. soldiers and between 22,248 and 25,229 (According to the Iraq Body Count project) Iraqi civilians? Would that leader have to systematically order the deaths of an entire ethnic group? Start a Communist revolution in which the goal is to move residents from the city to an agrarian socialist paradise, all the while executing between 50,000 to 100,000 "dissidents"?
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FormerOstrich Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-13-05 11:35 PM
Response to Original message
10. Excellent Letter...
I have a couple of comments tho....

1) I would change the first paragraph. I think you will lose part of the audience you are trying to reach because it seems glib. Otherwise, I am afraid you will be singing to the choir (as the saying goes)

2) I think it was mentioned already but I don't believe Kerry is/has/will call for impeachment. I'm pretty certain that has been refuted.

3) I think * did deny the DSM in the press conference with Tony. I believe he said "Nothing further from the truth" and something about neither wanting to use their military. But aside from that comment you are correct in that the silence has been rather noisy.

Just points to mull over....no one has accused me of being mainstream lately so I might be wrong.

The greatest thing is your are writing and submitting it!!

:thumbsup:
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