Propaganda

President Bush today told his cabinet members that paying columnists to promote their policies is not to be done anymore. I would think that this would go without saying. Government payment of the media to promote policies seems to be a conflict of interest on the part of the reporter and propaganda on the part of the government. As I said, this idea should go without saying but apparently it doesn't because the Department of Education paid conservative columnist Armstrong Williams $241,000 to promote the No Child Left Behind Act. He claims that he believes in the idea so he wasn't spouting propaganda. Whether he believed in the act or not, it was a conflict of interest, reporters shouldn't be in bed with government. This story came out about a month ago and the question was asked whether other columnists were paid to promote government policies. It came out a couple of days ago that another conservative columnist, Maggie Gallagher, was paid $21,500 by the Health and Human Services Administration to promote Bush's $300 Million Marriage Initiative. Two reporters have been found to have received payment from the government in a month. These are just two that have been caught. How many more are there? Was Robert Novak paid to out Valerie Plame as a CIA operative? I don't pay attention to many conservative columnists so I don't know the names of any others but after the first two, I have to wonder how many have the integrity to stay out of the government's pocket.

Music: Breeders - Juliana Hatfield
Book: Paradoxes From A to Z by Michael Clark
Iraq: January - 87
Total - 1420