If your newspaper carries Armstrong Williams' columns CALL THEM TODAY

[blm]

and demand they drop him for being on the White House payroll.

Ask for the editorial page editor.

CALL TODAY. We can have his column dropped ALL OVER THE COUNTRY by Monday afternoon.

For Immediate Release
DATE: Thursday, January 06, 2005
CONTACT: Phil Singer 202 224-2939

Lawmakers Demand President Bush STOP Paying
Journalists to Promote Administration Policies
Reid, Lautenberg, Kennedy Also Ask President If His
Administration Has Paid Other Journalists to Promote
other Policies, including Social Security Privatization

WASHINGTON, DC – In light of alarming news that the Bush administration paid a popular conservative radio commentator and columnist almost a quarter of a million dollars to skew his reporting to promote the No Child Left Behind Act, United States Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Harry Reid (D-NV) sent a letter to President Bush today demanding that he recover the money paid to Armstrong Williams, citing federal laws that prohibit such activity. In addition, the lawmakers also asked President Bush to disclose any payments to other journalists to push Administration policies, including President Bush’s decision to privatize Social Security.

In news reports today, it was revealed conservative pundit and commentator Armstrong Williams was paid $240,000 to promote President Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act on his syndicated radio program and in addition, to urge other pundits to routinely hype the law during their own appearances on other programs.

In their letter to President Bush, the Lawmakers cite federal laws that prohibit taxpayer funds from being spent by the Executive Branch for “Covert Propaganda”.

“In addition to the illegality of these actions taken by your Administration, we believe that the act of bribing journalists to bias their news in favor of government policies undermines the integrity of our democracy. Actions like this were common in the Soviet Union, but until now, thought to be long extinguished in our country,” wrote the lawmakers in their letter to President Bush sent today.

These revelations regarding Mr. Williams are the latest – and most disturbing – in a series of actions by your Administration to manipulate public opinion through covert propaganda. On May 19, 2004, the GAO found that your Administration illegally spent taxpayer funds on covert propaganda by paying Ketchum Incorporated to produce fake news stories promoting the image of the new Medicare law.

The links below are examples of syndicated columns published by the Tribune Media Company from Armstrong Williams in support of the No Child Left Behind Act.
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/Armstrongwilliams/pr...
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/Armstrongwilliams/pr...
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/Armstrongwilliams/pr...
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/Armstrongwilliams/pr...

[Hieronymus]

1. Williams is a disgusting individual, at best, but.........

this is an outrageous thing.:wtf:

[jasmeel]

2. Here are the newspapers Armstrong Williams says he writes for

There may be more.

Armstrong Williams’ column is distributed by the Chicago Tribune Media, and currently featured in a wide array of African-American and mainstream newspapers including:


New York Amsterdam News, Washington Afro-American, Washington Times, Detroit Free Press, Los Angeles Times, Seattle Times, Tallahassee Democrat, Winston-Salem Chronicle, Myrtle Beach Sun News, The State, Florence Morning News, Greenville News and Charleston Post & Courier.


There's a link to stations his show is on at his website:

http://www.armstrongwilliams.com

[Buns_of_Fire]

25. According to Keith Olbermann just a few minutes ago...

Tribune Media just announced they've dropped Mr. Williams. :thumbsup:

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[jasmeel]

4. His columns are archived on his website. n/t

[prolesunited]

5. I must have missed this

Could you post a little more info so we could make a better case?

[blm]

11. Added Reid's press release to op.

.

[Octafish]

6. Just one of many, IMO.

The bum can't write, too.

[forgethell]

7. My paper doesn't

carry him.

What did he say?

[jasmeel]

8. He's paid by the WH to support No Child Left Behind

[forgethell]

9. Does he do this as a

journalist or as an opinion writer? Or does he do it separately? I think this makes a difference.

[tjdee]

12. No it doesn't. The White House shouldn't be purchasing support from writer

s.

That's the big thing here, IMO. Not so much that some POS like Williams took the money, but that taxpayer dollars went to something like this.

[gollygee]

16. And supposedly independant writers shouldn't be taking money

from the white house.

If he's a paid mouthpiece he should say that upfront.

[AlCzervik]

10. Williams will be on Crossfire today

that should be interesting, i try and stay away from cable news but i may watch that.

[prolesunited]

15. That should be quite interesting

Looking forward to the recap

[BurtWorm]

13. What does "paid by White House" mean exactly?

Did he actually receive taxpayer money? Not that getting paid at all isn't disgusting, but if he got taxpayer funds, that's a scandal, and I bet there's more where it came from.

[tjdee]

17. $240,000 from the Department of Education.

We fund the Department of Education.

Not cool.

It makes me pretty fucking mad.

[BurtWorm]

19. Holy shit!

That is a scandal. Imagine the Clinton WH paying Paul Krugman to push tax hikes! Jesus fuckin' Christ! Krugman is right: It's okay if a Republican does it.

[blm]

21. This is the most unethical WH in history, imo.

And I think history will prove that to be true.

[gollygee]

14. If the white house has paid one, chances are they've paid a bunch

Will we hear about other columnists paid by the white house to spew propaganda?

[Robbien]

18. It is not if, it is a fact according to the USA Today story

If this one got paid for No Child Left Behind, how about the other programs pushed on us? The Medicare Prescription Drug Cards was pushed hard by many of the pundits.

[blm]

20. Like Robert Novak and his evil spawn who pushed Swift Liars?

.

[Taxloss]

22. The links are 404ing - is this victory?

And do you have a link for the story you quote?

Edited for typo

[blm]

23. oops. the full links didn't copy. mea culpa....

the story is in USAToday and it's posted in LBN.

[blm]

24. Call the newsrooms. They're at their desks on weekends, too.

.

[Octafish]

26. Wonder how many PRESSTITUTES were paid before Nov. 2?

If Armstrong Williams got a quarter mil to shill the gutting of public ed, the mind reels to imagine the numbers paid to create all the overt support for the crazy moron through the Mighty Whorelitzer.

Gee. The Smear Boat vets only cost a quarter-mill to get started, although the un-Admirable Schachte's company did get the $40 million contract.

http://www.misleader.org/daily_mislead/read.asp?fn=df08312004.html

[AlbizuX]

27. VIDEO OF ARMSTRONG ON CROSSFIRE - RESPONSES

http://movies.ziaspace.com/Crossfire.wmv

Here's his response to this on Crossfire.

[Bozita]

28. Tribune Media just dropped him -- decision "wasn't close"

Thread is in LBN

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=1131779&mesg_id=1131779

[blm]

29. Great. That includes Knoight-Ridder papers, too.

My call to the local paper was SCATHING.