Little Green Footballs

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

The Bush Admin. and the death of Blogging

How desperate is the Bush Administration to spin the Iraq War? How about this desperate! Not happy with buying off certain bloggers in the past, buying news coverage, planting stories....they're now creating embedded bloggers to publish their PR.

Citizen journalists on SourceWatch have been investigating and exposing the many Republican connections and the partisan pro-war political agenda behind Vets for Freedom, a new organization with mysterious funding and a flashy website designed by Campaign Solutions, part of the Donatelli Group. Vets for Freedom's hollow claim of "non-partisanship" took another blow Sunday, June 25, when the Buffalo News published a front page story by Jerry Zremski, their Washington correspondent, linking Vets for Freedom to the Bush White House.

Describing Vets for Freedom as a "pro-war group with deep Republican ties," the Buffalo News revealed that Taylor Gross, who until last year worked as a spokesman for President Bush under White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, is conducting PR work for Veterans for Freedom. Gross attempted to convince the Buffalo News and other papers that two decorated military veterans with the group, Wade Zirkle and David Bellavia, could report cheaply for the newspapers from Iraq while embedded with the US military.

While pitching Zirkle and Bellavia to the Buffalo News and other papers as "balanced and credible" reporters, Taylor Gross neglected to identify himself as a Republican operative who had done PR work in the White House press office until just last year. Gross left his White House job to form the Republican public relations firm the Herald Group with his political cohorts Matt Well and Doug McGinn.


How long before Vets for Freedom starts getting linked to by the usual suspects of the Chickenhawk Right? They already are.

Via Commondreams.org

UPDATE: Here's a snippet of the kind of crap that Vets for Freedom consider accurate, fair and balanced reporting.

the Iraqi army is taking real estate from the enemy. Seeing these men in action is amazing. The people of Ramadi trust them. THey give them bread and tea. Kids are playing soccer and riding donkeys in the street.

[...]

There is loss being taken in Ramadi. THe enemy's days of confidence in this city are over. I can't tell you what seeing this mission first hand has meant to me. What a great experience. What a great Army.

2 comments:

phleabo said...

I like the writing sample; it reads like a ten year-old describing his summer vacation.

Bobby Dazzler said...

These fellas were both involved in heaving fighting, saw some of their best buddies killed.....

and are now writing government approved/sourced propaganda. Big fucking wow!

If you would rather believe reporting from guys who post stories from the green zone and never go outside the wire

You mean journalists rather than goverment paid shills like vets for freedom....yes I would rather believe them.

know what the fuck is really happening

What like the report we quoted from. That was a childs 'what I did in the summer' report not serious journalism.

. I hope you and the other hacks who read this are ashamed!!

I am not ashamed. You are shameless.