BUSH 43 ADMIN'S FAKE PRO-MEDICARE BILL TV "NEWS" STORIES RULED ILLEGAL

Well, those fake news spots the Bush 43 Admin produced and sent to television news rooms around the country have been found to be illegal, according to a UPI article at the Washington Times website. From the May 20, 2004 article:

The General Accounting Office has deemed the Bush administration's videotapes about Medicare propaganda and illegal, the New York Times said.

The investigative arm of Congress said the videos were a form of "covert propaganda" because the government was not identified as the source of the materials, which were broadcast by at least 40 television stations in 33 markets.

The same article ends with the following:

William Pierce, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, which helped develop the videos, said the tapes were not covert.

"TV stations knew the videos came from us and could have identified the government as the source if they had wanted to."

Does anyone inside the Bush 43 Admin realize how incredibly corrupt they make themselves look? I've SEEN one of the spots - it looks for all accounts like a real news spot - complete with fake reporter "Karen Ryan" narrating the spot. If the TV stations were supposed to say where the reports came from, how were they to do that exactly? How about this:

"And now message from the US Government that includes half-truths, omissions and outright lies. ENJOY!"

Read the UPI article for yourself over at the Washington Times website.

Read how I covered this story back in March of 2004.

From WashingtonTimes.com:

Ruling: Medicare video was propaganda

Washington, DC, May. 20 (UPI) -- The General Accounting Office has deemed the Bush administration's videotapes about Medicare propaganda and illegal, the New York Times said.

The investigative arm of Congress said the videos were a form of "covert propaganda" because the government was not identified as the source of the materials, which were broadcast by at least 40 television stations in 33 markets.

The GAO said a specific part of the videos, a made-for-television "story package," violated the prohibition on using taxpayer money for propaganda.

People seeing the videos in a newscast would "believe that the information came from a non-government source or neutral party," it said.

The accounting office said the videos were "not strictly factual news stories" and were flawed by "notable omissions and weaknesses" in their explanation of the Medicare law. But the main problem, it said, is that they were "misleading as to source."

William Pierce, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, which helped develop the videos, said the tapes were not covert.

"TV stations knew the videos came from us and could have identified the government as the source if they had wanted to."Copyright 2004 United Press International