3.28.2004

Uncovered: Truth vs. Deception

TRUTH

I know it's been a while since this site was updated, but today, I saw a documentary that was truly great. If you get a chance, see "Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War". It is "the story of how truth became the first American casualty in Iraq."

When there's an administration talking about weapons of mass destruction (WMD's), it gets attention, and after 9/11, the whole country listened....we listened to an administration tell us that there was an imminent threat to our security....an evil man who has WMD's, and we know he has them and we know where they are....

That changed. Once the US troops got into Iraq and the war was "over", the confidence about WMD's decreased, while the rhetoric increased. "he's got WMD's and we know where they are" soon became "they're in an area near Tikrit, somewhere east, north, west, and south of there." Well, that narrows it down. We can now say that the WMD's are in a direction (i guess the specific direction is classified, huh?) of a city in a country in the Middle East. You can go to Hollywood and get a much more detailed "map to the stars".

Next, the entire country was told that Saddam has ties to al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden or "UBL" on Fox News. That's interesting considering that UBL considered Saddam a "socialist infidel". I know I always call my close associates "socialist infidels". Maybe it's a term of endearment to them....

There is so much more to the misleading that is better told from the experts, the CIA analysts and the UN weapons inspectors, the ones featured in "Uncovered".

To see uncovered, visit MoveOn.org and TruthUncovered.com.

DECEPTION

Sometimes, some things just make you laugh, but then you realize that you find humor in something that other people take seriously as factual evidence. I'll explain.....

World Net Daily (WorldNetDaily.com), a conservative news source, had an article on it's main page with this title: "Gun-toting Outkast rapper featured at Democrat event: Member of soul duo pictured brandishing firearm part of fund-raiser with ex-presidents, candidates."

The way this article is worded, it sure sounds like a member from Outkast was brandishing a gun at a Democrat event. Democrats are the ones who have historically pushed for tougher gun laws, fighting such strong conservative-supporting groups like the National Rifle Association (NRA). (For more on the NRA and gun-control, watch the oscar-winning film "Bowling for Columbine" by Michael Moore.)

The article states that Presidents Carter and Clinton were there at this "star-studded fundraiser".

The article leads the average person to ask: "Why was a member of a rap group brandishing a weapon at a Democratic fundraiser?"

The answer is simple: He wasn't. That's right, Andre3000 of the rap duo "Outkast" was not brandishing a gun at this event. He was performing at the event, but there was no gun.

Misleading, yes. The title would have you believe something happened that didn't. Luckily, I read the article and figured out what was going on.

Apparently, World Net Daily went to the Outkast web site (outkast.com) and saw a publicity photo (that was obviously staged) of Andre holding a gun with smoke rising from the barrel.

Somehow, the creativity of the World Net Daily author got the best of him/her, and instead of making a headline that was non-deceptive, he or she decided it would just be more fun to make it seem like Democrats have fundraisers and gunshows all at the same time.

On the World Net Daily site, the picture of Andre appears with this phrase underneath it: "Outkast member brandishing gun."

When I was in college, Journalism and Creative Writing were two separate classes.

more info:
MoveOn.org
Uncovered
Bowling for Columbine
Michael Moore
World Net Daily article featuring Outkast
Outkast