Letter to the editor

I had to laugh when I read Mark Runnels' letter, (7/20/2004) entitled "It shows what 'established media' downplayed" (referring to Fahrenheit 9/11). He wrote "One wonders if somnolent publishers, editors and reporters will continue the vacuous cheerleading so evident over the last four years."

Would these be the same publishers, editors and reporters who gave Fahrenheit 9/11 unprecedented front page coverage, Mark? Or could you be referring, perhaps, to the coverage of the "sixteen words" of Bush's 2003 State of the Union speech, which was front page news and the lead story on all major TV news programs when Joseph Wilson revealed that Bush had "lied" about yellowcake uranium and Niger, for example?

You're right when you say "..the media have failed the public with the sin of omission." But you're right for the wrong reasons.

Recently we've learned that Wilson lied about what he found in Africa (his report actually CONFIRMED the stories), lied about his wife's involvement (his wife actually PROMOTED him for the trip) and lied about the forged documents (he never SAW them). Furthermore, the British Butler report states unequivocably, ". . . we conclude that the statement in President Bush's State of the Union Address of 28 January 2003 that `The British Government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa' was well-founded."

You remember Joe, don't you Mark? He is the author of "The Politics of Truth" which rips apart the Bush administration for lying about Iraq trying to obtain uranium in Africa. The darling of the left. Feted on all the networks. Front page news for weeks about 12 months ago.

Oh, you say you weren't aware that Wilson lied? Well, Mark, that's because your "somnolent publishers, editors and reporters" whom you claim are "vacuous cheerleaders" for Bush, haven't told you this. Oh, it's been all over the Internet, but you haven't seen it in Time, Newsweek, the NY Times, ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, Fox or even in your favorite paper, the Dallas Morning News.

You see Mark "BUSH LIED!!!!" is front page news. The fact that Bush DIDN'T lie and Wilson DID isn't even worth a mention on page 16 of the Metropolitan section.

Since the News never publishes my letters, I'm posting this to my blog, http://antimedia.blogspot.com, as well. You probably won't see it, but at least I'll have the satisfaction of knowing that others will.