Wednesday, November 21, 2007

What is Happening to the NY Times? Not One Single Word About McClellan's Bush Bombshell


Former White House Press Secretary Scott McLellan caused quite a ruckus Tuesday with the startling (but certainly not surprising) revelation that his former bosses instructed him to outright lie to the American public over the Valerie Plame CIA leak case.

In his book "What Happened," due out in April, McClellan accuses the Busheviks of orchestrating a campaign of lies and deception over the Plame case. Consider this explosive excerpt:

"I stood at the White House briefing room podium in front of the glare of the klieg lights for the better part of two weeks and publicly exonerated two of the senior-most aides in the White House: Karl Rove and Scooter Libby," McClellan wrote. "There was one problem. It was not true. I had unknowingly passed along false information. And five of the highest ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice president, the president's chief of staff and the president himself." At the time, the chief of staff was Andy Card.

Let's take a minute for some quick background: The Busheviks lied about Iraq's alleged WMD arsenal in the run-up to the invasion. They also claimed that Niger was selling Yellowcake uranium to Saddam Hussein. They sent Ambassador Joe Wilson to Africa in '02 to investigate. He came back and reported that he found nothing to substantiate this claim. Despite this finding, Bush re-stated the claim in his January '03 State of the Union Address to bolster his case for war. Angered by this blatant lie, Wilson wrote an op-ed piece in July '03 titled "What I Didn't Find in Africa." This pissed off the Bushies, and in a criminal act of retaliation they revealed the identity of Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, who at the time was a covert CIA operative. And then they told former Cheney chief of staff Scooter Libby to lie about it all during special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's CIA leak investigation. And then, as payback for his cover up, Bush commuted Libby's sentence after he was convicted of obstruction of justice, perjury and lying to investigators. And now it's being revealed by McClellan that he was instructed by his bosses--including the president and vice president--to stand before the media and voters and lie about it all as further protection against the erupting scandal.

Wow. Bush and Cheney shouldn't just be impeached...they should go to jail. Which is exactly where you or I'd be if we manufactured WMD evidence, outed a covert CIA agent as revenge against her whistle-blowing husband, and then obstructed justice with more lies and a criminal cover up.

But where the hell is the NY Times on this story? Nowhere. Incredibly, not one solitary word in Wednesday's newspaper. This is a huge bombshell with monumental ramifications--criminal behavior on the part of Bush, Cheney, Rove, Libby, Card-- which could and should finally take down this corrupt, disgraceful administration. Could be the biggest political scandal since Watergate. And how is it covered by the Times? It's not. I'm starting to think this once relevant newspaper must be secretly owned by Rupert Murdoch.

Where is the firebrand journalism that the venerable Washington Post demonstrated back in the 70's in serving to take down the corrupt Nixon administration? How is it possible that a story this important goes unreported in the NY Times? It's a sad commentary on the mainstream media overall. They've given this corrupt, criminal administration a virtual pass since it stepped inside the White House in 2000. It's allowed the Busheviks to lie, cheat, deceive, steal and bully with impunity. All you need to do is watch a Bush press conference in the White House press room to see just how neutered the press is. Bush is nasty, condescending, unrevealing, taunting and cavalier as he side-steps the issues and offers inane muck instead. And the press allows it. You can see the fear in their eyes, hoping that Bush doesn't publicly ridicule them, as he has done so often when he hears a tough question he doesn't particularly like. The media ought to be ashamed of itself. And now the Times seems to have joined this pathetic group.


On another note, we could use your help at The The Adrienne Shelly Foundation. We are a tax-exempt, non-profit organization dedicated in my wife's honor to help carry out her spirit and passion, with the goal of assisting women filmmakers. Adrienne was brutally killed in NYC on November 1, 2006. Through the Foundation, her commitment to filmmaking lives on. We've established scholarships, grants, finishing funds and living stipends at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts/Kanbar Institute of Film; Columbia University; American Film Institute; Women in Film; the Independent Feature Project; the Nantucket Film Festival; and the Sundance Institute.

Adrienne's film "Waitress" opened in theatres May 2nd to rave reviews from the NY Times, LA Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Time, People, Entertainment Weekly, Ebert & Roeper ("Two Thumbs Up"), Leonard Maltin and others, and has so far grossed $19-million domestically and almost $1-million internationally. The DVD will be released November 27. It's a truly wonderful film that you're sure to love. A link to the trailer is below. Enjoy.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/waitress/trailer/

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

NY Times Reports Big Progress in Baghdad. What Kind of Objective Crap is That!?


In it's huge front page story Tuesday, the NY Times, that venerable bastion of alleged left-wing media bias, practically gushed with excitement and enthusiasm for the progress reportedly being made in this city, the heart and capital of Iraq. Certainly would appear to confirm that the Bush "surge"--30,000 additional U.S. troops deployed to Baghdad five months ago--is working. Here's a little snippet from the Times' story:


..."The security improvements in most neighborhoods are real. Days now pass without a car bomb, after a high of 44 in the city in February. The number of bodies appearing on Baghdad’s streets has plummeted to about 5 a day, from as many as 35 eight months ago, and suicide bombings across Iraq fell to 16 in October, half the number of last summer and down sharply from a recent peak of 59 in March, the American military says. As a result, for the first time in nearly two years, people are moving with freedom around much of this city. In more than 50 interviews across Baghdad, it became clear that while there were still no-go zones, more Iraqis now drive between Sunni and Shiite areas for work, shopping or school, a few even after dark. In the most stable neighborhoods of Baghdad, some secular women are also dressing as they wish. Wedding bands are playing in public again, and at a handful of once shuttered liquor stores customers now line up outside in a collective rebuke to religious vigilantes from the Shiite Mahdi Army."

But wait, isn't the NY Times supposed to be a pawn of the left? A biased, radical fringe rag that never gets it right, especially when partisan politics is involved? Don't the Repugs always summarily dismiss anything written there as nonobjective, liberal trash? "Oh, you read it in the Times," they say mockingly. "The Times slants everything to the left," they taunt. "The Times literally makes things up to support the Democratic agenda," they incredulously claim.

But I bet they love the Times today! Oh, you can bet the Busheviks and the right-wing spin-monkeys like Sean Insanity and Rush Limp-baugh are gonna have a field day today with this one. "Bush is/was right," they'll say. "We're now winning the war in Iraq," they'll boast. "See, it's even in the NY Times!," they'll beam. These lying hypocrites will put the Times on a virtual pedestal today, but for one day only. You can bet your lefty ass that the nanosecond the paper reports something they don't like, the Times will no longer be this great source of truth, and instead will once again return to being a disgraceful puppet of the left.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

A Message to My Readers...


Many of my readers have written to me wondering why I've been writing so infrequently these days. It's simple. I've been crazy busy putting together the Adrienne Shelly Foundation's inaugural fundraising gala and Ebay auction, both of which are tomorrow night (Monday Nov 12). The gala is in NYC, and will feature music by Alanis Morissette, and a reading of Adrienne's script THE MORGAN STORIES, featuring Edie Falco, Matt Dillon, Mary-Louise Parker, Ally Sheedy, Gina Gershon, Jason Patric and others. The auction runs through next Sunday. I've also been busy producing SERIOUS MOONLIGHT, a script Adrienne wrote after WAITRESS, which is directed by Cheryl Hines and shoots in LA in 3 weeks. We will soon be announcing an amazing cast. As for politics, my Republican pals will be pleased to know that in just another week or two I will be able to get back to much more frequent writing. I know how much you guys miss me when I'm gone. And to my terrific Lib loyalists, who've always stood by me patiently during this past year of tragedy, thanks for the support...and see ya soon.
Andy

......TICKETS ARE NOW ON SALE for the November 12 inaugural Adrienne Shelly Foundation Fundraising Gala at New York University's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. To learn more about our mission, to make a tax-deductible donation, and to purchase tickets, please visit our website. Every contribution helps preserve Adrienne's legacy, allows us to help others, and creates something positive out of this tragedy.

Our very exciting Ebay Auction includes about 25 celebrity items and experiences like walk-ons and set visits to your favorite TV shows (Jon Stewart, Ellen, Rachel Ray), lunch with various celebs (Edie Falco, Paul Rudd, Cheryl Hines, Rosanna Arquette, etc), celeb-autographed items, Sundance Film Fest VIP passes, and concert tickets with meet & greet (Maroon 5). Click here for more items and auction details.