HALLIBURTON!
From the New York Times:Federal investigators are scrutinizing television segments in which the Bush administration paid people to pose as journalists praising the benefits of the new Medicare law, which would be offered to help elderly Americans with the costs of their prescription medicines.
The videos are intended for use in local television news programs. Several include pictures of President Bush receiving a standing ovation from a crowd cheering as he signed the Medicare law on Dec. 8.
The materials were produced by the Department of Health and Human Services, which called them video news releases, but the source is not identified. Two videos end with the voice of a woman who says, "In Washington, I'm Karen Ryan reporting."
But the production company, Home Front Communications, said it had hired her to read a script prepared by the government.
Another video, intended for Hispanic audiences, shows a Bush administration official being interviewed in Spanish by a man who identifies himself as a reporter named Alberto Garcia.
Another segment shows a pharmacist talking to an elderly customer. The pharmacist says the new law "helps you better afford your medications," and the customer says, "It sounds like a good idea." Indeed, the pharmacist says, "A very good idea."
Matt's Chat
But buried in the story this little nugget is revealed...Lawyers from the General Accounting Office, an investigative arm of Congress, discovered the materials last month when they were looking into the use of federal money to pay for certain fliers and advertisements that publicize the Medicare law.I'm sure that will stop other hamsters in the media and the blogosphere from misleading their readers.
In a report to Congress last week, the lawyers said those fliers and advertisements were legal, despite "notable omissions and other weaknesses." Administration officials said the television news segments were also a legal, effective way to educate beneficiaries.
Mark's Remarks
Wow, it is OK to call a President Hitler, but it is not OK to try and educate people (since the mass media is doing such a crappy job of reporting) about the changes and increased benefits of the Medicare program. You see, liberals and their hordes in the media love to confuse the people, because then they will turn to idiot hamsters like Rather and Brokaw and Jennings to explain the confusion to them, and of course these moronic obtuse hamsters will spin it so it looks bad for Bush. Don't believe the hamster hype.
