Express Yourself!

<p>Apparently the Bush administration is taking literally the idea of selling its policies to  the American people by targeting key pundits and bribing them for their support.  Columnist Mike McManus is the latest to be found out.  <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/02/09/white.house.reporter/index.html">According to CNN</a>, <font color="#ffff00">&quot;<strong><font size="2">The Department of Health and Human Services said Friday that a third conservative columnist was paid to assist in promoting a Bush administration policy.&quot;</font></strong></font>  McManus joins <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050131&s=alterman">Armstrong Williams</a> and <a href="http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/8974">Maggie Gallagher </a>as pundits receiving administration payola.</p><p>Personally, I can think of better ways to spend tax-payer money than bribing columnists.  How about putting some money behind your &quot;No Child Left Behind&quot; initiative, rather than paying Armstrong Williams nearly a quarter-million dollars to support his flawed policy.</p>

<p>In President Bush's<a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/01/20050120-1.html"> inaugural address</a> he states the following:</p><p><font color="#ffff00">&quot;The great objective of ending tyranny is the concentrated work of generations. The difficulty of the task is no excuse for avoiding it. America's influence is not unlimited, but fortunately for the oppressed, America's influence is considerable, and we will use it confidently in freedom's cause. &quot;</font></p><p>How about ending corporate tyranny right here in this country?  How can we battle tyranny in other countries, when we permit working conditions that are similar to those at the turn of the century, as described by Upton Sinclair in <em><a href="http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Literature/Sinclair/TheJungle/">The Jungle.</a></em> Christopher Cook's wonderful book, &quot;<a href="http://www.thenewpress.com/newbooks/dietplanet.htm">Diet for a Dead Planet&quot;</a> describes how immigrant workers working in the meat packing industry are denied bathroom breaks and suffer repetitive motion problems at high rates due to excessive line speeds that are set by the <a href="http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdahome">USDA</a>.  Other problems such as contaminated meat also result from this.  So, hey Bush!  Slow the lines down!</p>

<p>In the January 11 edition of the Boston Globe I was struck by the unbelievable level of irony posed by a pair of articles.  The first article, <font color="#ffff00">&quot;4 fired at CBS for report on Bush&quot;</font>, discusses how four high-level CBS employees were fired for their handling of the 60 Minutes piece concerning George W. Bush's service record.  The second article, <font color="#ffff00">&quot;Despite false claim, his star rises&quot;</font> discusses how <font color="#ffff00">Robert G. Joseph</font> insisted that Bush make the claim that Saddam Hussein was seeking uranium for nuclear weapons, and now he is likely to become undersecretary of state for arms control and international security.  </p><p>The irony stems from the consequences of each group/person's laxity of fact checking.  In the case of Joseph, tens of thousands of innocent lives have been lost and hundreds of billions of dollars squandered as a result of the war with Iraq, so he is being promoted.  In the case of CBS, their journalistic integrity has suffered, but Bush was still reelected, and they are being fired.</p>

<p><span class="date">January 6, 2005</span> · <a href="http://www.npr.org/about/people/bios/mbrand.html"><font color="#ffffff">NPR's Madeleine Brand</font></a> talks to Tess Vigeland of <i>Marketplace</i> about the latest turn in the WorldCom accounting scandal. Ten former WorldCom board members reportedly have agreed to pay millions of dollars <strong><font color="#ffff00">out of their own pockets</font></strong> to settle some pending lawsuits.</p><p>Using the phrase, &quot; out of their own pockets&quot;,  has a similar effect as saying &quot;out of the goodness of their hearts&quot;.  The money was effectively stolen from employees and investors, so a phrase reflecting that should be used.  For example, I would say WorldCom board members are agreeing to repay some small portion of investors' money.<!-- end center column --><!-- start resources in center column --><noindex /></p>