When Bush gets caught ordering secret police state measures, he
attempts to prevent media exposures of these outrageous crimes.
Executive
editors from the Washington Post and the New York Times have been
called in to meetings at the White House in attempts to prevent
the newspapers from running stories revealing secret CIA detention
centers
in Eastern Europe and secret warrantless spying by the NSA. These
meetings, where a president attempts to convince the media not to
publish damaging stories, are a rare event in American history, and are
only another demonstration of the Bush regime’s grab for increased and
unquestioned power. All this is justified in the name of national
security, which according to the Bush regime, justifies everything from
torture, illegal and unconstitutional grabs for increased and
unchallenged executive power, and now attempting to prevent the media
from exposing any of this.
While the two forementioned stories were eventually published, they
did leave out significant information at the administration’s request.
Furthermore, this is consistent with the payment of Iraqi newspapers
for stories favorable to the US, and prosecution of journalist Judith
Miller for reporting on a CIA agent whose identity had been revealed by
Bush administration officials. Just think: no major media exposed
Bush’s lies about WMD’s in Iraq before the war despite the
preponderence of evidence, and now there’s meetings at the White House
when reporters discover the ugly crimes of the Bush regime.
At the same time, as the truth about NSA spying has come to light,
this has caused outrage throughout society, calls for investigation and
impeachment from politicians and in the news , and even a conservative
FISA judge resigning in protest. The weight of public opinion, the real problems Bush is facing, and
the conflict inside government provide much more openings to
mobilize millions to drive Bush from power. This is the kind of
opportunity that can truly change history, if we seize on it.
January 31st, when Bush gives his state of the union address, take
to the streets and demand “Bush: step down, and take your program with
you!”, and bring this demand to Washington DC the following Saturday,
Feb. 4.
(source: “Bush Presses Editors on Security”, Washington Post, 12/26)