When Journalists Join U.S. Cover-Ups
As embarrassing as the Judith Miller case is for the New York Times, the fiasco underscores a more troubling development that strikes near the heart of American democracy - the press corps’ gradual retreat from the principle of skepticism on national security issues to career-boosting “patriotism,” according to Robert Parry at ConsortiumNews.Com.
Miller - and many other prominent Washington journalists over the past quarter century - largely built their careers by positioning themselves as defenders of supposed American interests. Instead of tough reporting about national security operations, these reporters often became conduits for government spin and propaganda, he says.
Comments
The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) Blog
The official weblog of the Project On Government Oversight (POGO).
Libby Leaked Plame's Name to Oklahoma Indie Rock Band
By Nick Schwellenbach on Miscellaneous
File this one under bizarre, but POGO pal LC was listening to the Starlight Mints, an Oklahoma band often compared to the Flaming Lips, and noticed that Track 5 of one of their CDs is titled, "Valerie Flames." From one of her sources, New York Times reporter Judith Miller incorrectly jotted down in one of her notebooks the name "Valerie Flame" instead of "Valerie Plame." Plame is the CIA operative wife of Ambassador Joseph Wilson who publicly called out the Bush administration on its false assertions that Iraq was attempting to obtain yellowcake uranium from Niger.
You can listen to a sample of the song in Windows Media format or in Real Player format.
The album is titled "Dream That Stuff Was Made Of." It was released in 2000, so the album doesn't quite fit the Plame affair timeline since Wilson didn't write his New York Times op-ed until July 2003 and no one publicly mentions the trip before May 2003.
If you haven't been following the Plame investigation a good place to start is this Washington Post article, or check Laura Rozen's continuing coverage over at her blog.
Note: Mickey Kaus beat us to the punch earlier in the day.
Posted by: tab gilbert | October 19, 2005 10:02 AM