November 26, 2003 – As we reported recently (see story here ,) President Bush wants the press to be Pravda, the old Soviet Union news source that was not actually a news source at all but just one-party-supporting propaganda - in that case, the Communist Party of the U.S.S.R.
President Bush does not like - or allow for - the American press to operate freely. He, in fact, demands that they only cover what he wants them to from the angle that benefits his re-election prospects.
Well, he is getting so bold in his hubris that he is now issuing edicts - in writing - commanding that the press only, "Write positive stories," covering his visit yesterday to Ft. Carson in Colorado. In fact, he handed out a 10 commandments to all members of the press, which he labeled "10 ground rules" for covering his visit to the base, as reported by Jim Spencer of the Denver Post (see column here.)
In the first place, the President and his people swear they do not politicize the war and attack the Democrats for doing so. This memo shows that to be an obvious lie, as the President is not concerned about talking to the soldiers or the families of those who lost people in Iraq, but only in the ensuring the proper press image - timed, not-coincidentally, to exactly coincide with the Democratic Debate in Iowa. Yes, like during the 2002 election, the President used the war to try and drown out the Democrats, back then by demanding the war resolution on Iraq be passed by Congress and voted on by the UN just in the weeks leading up to the election, this time by demanding a slew of "positive" coverage of a visit to an army base.
All of that is disgusting and anyone one with an IQ over 6 who pays attention to things knows this already.
But yesterday, the President began taking it to the next level - to the level a Soviet Premiere, third world dictator, or nut job power freak like Napoleon would when he is about to turn a Democracy into an undemocratic empire.
Among the "10 ground rules" handed out to all members of the press, according to Spencer, were:
Rule 9: "Write positive stories about Ft. Carson and the U.S. Army."
Rule 3: No talking to soldiers or their families before, during, or after the event.
Talk about un-American - the soldiers must serve their commander but not even their families can be talked to to get their opinions about how the war is going so people can do what people do in democracies, namely decide if they want to keep their leader or not.
Rule 6: "No roaming."
In other words, we want to be able to keep an eye on all of you - we are watching you - and so will not allow the free reporters of the free press in free America to so much as move out of our sight. Wow.
Rule 2: "Remain in press riser at all times; you will be escorted to the bathroom."
They wouldn't even let them go on their own to the bathroom, because they didn't want to lose sight - or control - of them for a single second.
Rule 1: "No video at Butts (the base) until the President arrives."
Again, only cover what we say to cover when we say to cover it - which is the President and his pre-written speech. Not only do they demand complete control of the text, banning interviews and demanding 'positive' coverage, but they want complete control of the images, prohibiting recording images that are not exactly what they want the people to see (God forbid a parent who lost a son in the war might be seen crying or being consoled for a second.)
And then, in true dictator style, they add a sarcastic rule number 10:
Rule 10: "Have fun."
That is the second part of the abuser's game: do something horrible, but then tell the person it is not horrible what is happening and they should just be happy and act as if nothing horrible just happened. That, my friends, is propaganda 101, abuser/addict behavior 101, and, as we see, President Bush 101.
As Spencer reports, this memo is an escalation by President Bush. Neither President Clinton nor President Bush had previously used such horrible, "heavy-handed smack(s) at the First Amendment."
Spencer says, "When then-President Clinton honored the crew of the USS Cole after it was targeted by a terrorist bombing in Yemen, reporters roamed the crowd getting quotes. When Bush spoke to sailors at the Norfolk Naval Base earlier in his administration, reporters were equally free to seek the thoughts of those who heard him."
But Bush's arrogance and sense of absolute power is growing beyond control. His tolerance and allowance of the freedoms inherent - indeed, central - to America are vanishing at alarming speed.
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