Class Clown Dana Milbank of the Washington Post
Dana Milbank successfully defended his title as class clown of the Washington press corps in a column that was so divorced from reality one wonders if he even attended or watched the hearings. He began with this:
"It seems that we are hosting an anger management class," Republican Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas told his colleagues on the House Judiciary Committee yesterday morning.
"He had a point." Washington Post, July 26, 2008
He continued by endorsing Republican committee member wise cracks and disparaging Chairman John Conyers (D-OH) handling of the event.
Milbank wrote a 2005 hit piece on Conyers in which he mocked the hearings held by the Michigan Democrat on the Downing Street Memo. Labeled "Secret and Personal - for UK Eyes," the July, 2002 secret report by a British foreign policy aid described meetings with Bush-Cheney representatives which included plans for war based on political not security reasons.
"Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy.
"It seemed clear that Bush had made up his mind to take military action, even if the timing was not yet decided. But the case was thin.
Matthew Rycroft, July 23, 2002, reported in the London TimesOnline, May 1, 2005
Milbank failed to note the tens of thousands of deaths and injuries suffered by U.S. soldiers. He missed the 1.0 million plus dead Iraqi civilians resulting from the civil strife caused by the invasion. And one wonders if he even knew about the 5.0 million Iraqi children orphaned by the war.
These highly relevant facts were an inconvenience to Milbank who brushed them aside for his humorous approach to the national tragedy enabled by gross violations of the Constitution and a total lack of common decency. The facts are also more than inconvenient for the paper that supports his tasteless humor, the Washington Post, which has so faithfully supported the aggressive and violent foreign policy.
Maybe Milbank and his editor should read their own poll on the public assessment of their man: "Nearly 6 in 10 -- 58 percent -- said they have doubts about Bush's honesty, the first time in his presidency that more than half the country has questioned his personal integrity." Washington Post, Nov. 4, 2004
The Paper that thought Judith Miller fit to print - New York Times
The New York Times didn't think that the hearing was worth covering. A July 27 search of their news database, "newest first," resulted in nothing for "John Conyers, Jr." A similar search produced nothing since January 25, 2008 for "Kucinich." It's not hard to understand why The Times wants to avoid a hearing about "fraudulent representations" by the Bush, Cheney, etc. leading to death, destruction and national bankruptcy. They were full participants in the national disaster through their relentless barrage of propaganda offered up by their once star reporter, Judith Miller.
At least the Times had the decency to avoid the wildly inappropriate humor and flippant mockery that the Post endorsed from columnist Milbank.
Associated Press - Los Angeles Times
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
