Score one for media integrity; the Commerce Committee passed Kerry - Lautenberg legislation that would require the government to identify their video news releases. The more stringent requirement for an advisory to be displayed throughout the broadcast of the VNR's was dropped, however, and the House version was adopted. Senator Kerry was on target though, when he said, "Any administration, Democrat or Republican, needs to take a long, hard look at itself when it must hide behind phony newscasts to speak to Americans."

That is why I am troubled, to use the vernacular, by the B&C's report that "the bill's provisions do not apply to the government's authorized, legal intelligence activities." I am not clear what this is referring to, but I certainly hope it is not authorized "news" outlets like the BalkanTimes.com, a DoD enterprise sponsored by the U.S. European Command. I wrote about this operation back in February and I can't think of anything that fits "covert propaganda" any more than this does. Just as our government shouldn't need to hide behind phony newscasts to speak to Americans, it also shouldn't need to hide behind phony internet sites to speak to the rest of the world.

The legislation passed today addresses one aspect of this administration's insidious use of the media to further its agenda. It doesn't appear to address the payments to columnists like Armstrong Williams to promote Administration policies, or the use of journalists like Judy Miller to circulate questionable "inside information" from equally questionable sources.

"Now the American people will know when their hard-earned tax dollars are being wasted on this kind of fraud," said Senator Kerry. I applaud Senator Kerry in making this strike against "covert propaganda", but I also want to know about any kind of media fraud related to the dissemination of information from my gLovernment. We've got a long way to go to reverse the sinister course this Administration has taken us down.

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