Truthdig tips its hat this week to Edwin O. Guthman, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, World War II veteran, professor and former press secretary to Robert F. Kennedy. Guthman, who died Aug. 31, was a true class act, a mentor to many and, as the Los Angeles Times noted, a top-notch editor who earned the No. 3 spot on President Richard Nixon’s enemies list for what the Times called his “aggressive pursuit of Watergate stories.” Updated
Truthdig tips its hat this week to former Army Sgt. Adrienne Kinne, who has defied her one-time higher-ups by speaking out about how military officials knew that a target list in April 2003 contained the name of Baghdad’s Palestine Hotel, which was shelled by a U.S. tank on April 8 even though embedded reporters were staying there. Two journalists were killed in the attack; one of them even filmed his own death.
Truthdig tips its hat this week to South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who took the Anglican Church to task for what he called its “homophobic” attitude, declaring in a recent interview with BBC Radio 4 that, “If God, as they say, is homophobic, I wouldn’t worship that God.”
For decades Burma’s ruling military junta has governed through terror, determined to meet dissent with intimidation, detention and murder. It is because of the military’s particular cruelty that the story of the Buddhist monks of Burma is so compelling.
Truthdig tips its hat this week to Jack Goldsmith, who speaks out about his experiences during his nine-month tenure as head of the Office of Legal Counsel during a crucial phase of the Bush presidency in 2003-4 in his troubling and illuminating new book, “The Terror Presidency: Law and Judgment Inside the Bush Administration.”
Truthdig tips its hat this week to California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, who did her constituency proud by heading off potential voting disasters in her state by ruling out the use of Diebold and Sequoia direct recording electronic (DRE) voting systems in upcoming elections, with exceptions made for disabled voters.
Truthdig tips its hat this week to William Odom, a retired three-star general who has proved his patriotism and loyalty to U.S. troops serving in Iraq by truly keeping their best interests at heart and advocating for their mental and physical well-being—as well as for their speedy and safe withdrawal from Iraq.
Truthdig tips its hat this week to Washington Post reporters Barton Gellman and Jo Becker, whose four-part exposé on Vice President Dick Cheney leaves little room for doubting his sinister influence on President Bush.
Truthdig tips its hat this week to Army Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba, whose 2004 report about prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib was damningly thorough and truthful—and who thus found himself contradicted and chastised by Pentagon and Bush administration officials for doing his job right.
Truthdig honors Mary Tillman this week, on behalf of all the mothers whose children have been lost or are risking their lives at war. Her brave search for the truth about the fate of her son and others sacrificed in the Iraq or Afghanistan war underscores the true significance of Mother’s Day.
Truthdig tips its hat this week to Baron Davis, not just because he played a crucial role in steering the Golden State Warriors to their first NBA playoff victory in 16 years, but, more important, because he has used his celebrity status to draw attention to key issues such as the underrepresentation of African-Americans at top-notch universities.
Truthdig tips its hat this week to former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel, who commanded the stage at Thursday’s presidential debate with a fiery and candid performance, taking other Democratic candidates to task for their positions and policies and maintaining a fiercely antiwar stance throughout. Loud and clear, Mr. Gravel.
Truthdig tips its hat this week to Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who proved to be one of the most forceful, and appropriately relentless, interrogators of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales during his grilling (or perhaps broiling is a better word) by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.
Truthdig tips its hat this week to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who drew criticism from the Bush administration for meeting with Middle Eastern officials, including Syria’s president and members of Saudi Arabia’s advisory council.
Truthdig tips its hat this week to César E. Chávez, the Mexican-American labor organizer and activist who fought for more than 40 years for the rights of farm workers, Latinos and other disenfranchised groups. Happy César Chávez Day!
Truthdig tips its hat this week to Valerie Plame Wilson, who packed quite a punch Friday during her first public testimony since her 2003 outing as a covert CIA operative. The ex-agent proved she was no slouch when it comes to speaking truth to power with her strong words about the Bush administration’s role in leaking her identity in 2003.
Truthdig tips its hat this week to Patrick J. Fitzgerald, whose talent for tackling high-stakes court cases without flinching or yielding to partisan pressures made him the ideal prosecutor for the I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby trial.
Truthdig tips its hat this week to Dana Priest and Anne Hull, the Washington Post reporters who revealed the shameful treatment of wounded military veterans and shoddy conditions at Washington’s Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Truthdig tips its hat this week to David Geffen, the powerhouse producer who decided on principle to break ties with Hillary Clinton and support Barack Obama’s bid for the White House instead.
Truthdig tips its hat this week to the CNN White House correspondent who has doggedly exposed the contradictions between the Bush White House and the U.S. military on Iranian involvement in Iraq.
Truthdig tips its hat this week to the Defense Department watchdog who reported that a top Pentagon official served up “inappropriate” intelligence reports to lead the country into war in Iraq.
Truthdig tips its hat this week to the U.S. government scientist who braved certain backlash from the Bush White House for pushing through the most authoritative report yet on the dangers of global warming.
Truthdig tips its hat this week to the newly elected Democratic senator from Virginia, who delivered a blistering response to President Bush’s State of the Union address.
In honor of Sen. Ted Kennedy’s passing, we’re re-posting one of his classic moral stands. This 2007 speech against the escalation of the Iraq war was so good we had to give him the Truthdigger of the Week award back then.
Update: Yahoo!‘s Kevin Sites interviews Watada.
We tip our hat this week to Army Lt. Ehren Watada and the dozens of uniformed military men and women like him who have publicly refused deployment to Iraq.
America Performs Its Familiar Role of Propping Up a Dictator
