Politics

Propaganda? What Propaganda?

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Dec 13, 2005 "There is no U.S. footprint" is the proud boast of one of the Pentagon's propaganda contractors, and it prompts the questions: Why not? What are they ashamed of? One thing is that most of us in this democracy did not know we were paying for this vast official propaganda operation until we read it in Jeff Gerth's excellent investigative piece in The New York Times. A truly free press is our most valuable export, and its reputation should not be undermined by the Bushies' addiction to government propaganda. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

An Agnostic for President — and a Woman at That

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Dec 12, 2005 How refreshing that there is one democratic nation — Chile — where a leading candidate has the courage to suggest that the impact of the clergy has not always added to enlightenment, particularly as to the place of women in society. Jefferson lives. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

U.N. Agency That Found No WMD Gets Peace Prize

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Dec 10, 2005 How telling that the Nobel Peace Prize has been granted to the United Nations agency that Bush kicked out of Iraq after it failed to find weapons of mass destruction that he just knew were there See BBC story Meanwhile, there are some Democrats who have some explaining to do. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

The Frist File

Staff / Truthdig Dec 8, 2005 Was Frist playing doctor when he pushed legislation for medical reform or just lining his pockets? Get background on the accusations of Medicare fraud, conflict of interest and insider trading facing Sen. Bill Frist. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Tonto’s Revenge

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Dec 7, 2005 The outrageous rip-off of Native American tribes by a top Republican lobbyist is leading inexorably to a reckoning for the allegedly morally superior religious and political right. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Texas Roundup

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Dec 6, 2005 No get-out-of-jail-free card for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay A Texas court upheld a felony indictment for DeLay on charges of money laundering in connection with a 2002 Texas election A separate indictment for criminal conspiracy was dismissed . Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Friends Don’t Let Friends Use Torture

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Dec 4, 2005 Condi Rice is so tired of Old Europe and its human rights complaints. Big deal, so the CIA is using Soviet era torture camps in Eastern Europe to stash "war on terror" prisoners. Don't those fusspots in the EU understand that our use of torture is fundamentally different because we are the good guys and that Eastern Europe has been liberated? That outmoded European slogan of "friends don't let friends use torture" is so over. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Congress Should Probe U.S. Propaganda in Iraqi Press

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Dec 2, 2005 Now that the Pentagon has admitted to subverting the fragile efforts to build democracy in Iraq, will Congress begin an investigation of how this happened? The first question should be who in the Pentagon decided that he or she had the right to put words in the mouth of the Prophet Muhammad. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Who Will Rule After Bush’s ‘Victory’?

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Dec 2, 2005 The big winners in Iraq will be Iran's ayatollahs, sponsors of their fellow Shiite theocrats who are the main U.S. surrogates on the ground in Iraq. To make sure, they've arranged a double whammy: Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

How Bush Created a Theocracy in Iraq

Juan Cole / Truthdig Dec 2, 2005 Retracing the steps of Shiite religious leaders and parties who have come to dominate the post-invasion process. Dig deeper ( 10 Min. Read )

Jack, Not Iraq, Is the Biggest Threat to Bush

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Dec 2, 2005 Prediction: It's the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, not Iraq, that will unravel the Bush empire. Abramoff will follow the lead of his partner, Michael Scanlon, in copping a plea bargain with prosecutors, whose likely targets include Tom DeLay, many other congressional Republicans and key players in the administration. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

U.S. Occupation Is Worse Than Hussein

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Dec 1, 2005 It is time we called a halt to our mindless messing in the Iraqi people's lives. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )