| FURTHER TEXT OF THE LETTER
"While Shays has not been able to bring home the bacon - Connecticut stands next to last in the return on its federal tax dollars - Rove made certain that Shays, nevertheless, was rewarded with some prime photo ops just before the last election. Seven times, senior administration officials visited our district - at taxpayer expense - in the six months before the election. In one case, Shays held a press conference, attended by a federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration official, to announce the contribution of a $23 radio to an elementary school. Given that this event must have cost a good deal more than the radio, it was a shameful example of Much Ado About Nothing."
"Shays thrives on public relations: He tries to position himself as a centrist; but his votes on the most important issues that confront the country and our state prove otherwise. A vocal supporter of the Iraq War, illegal wiretapping and a cut in the federal student loan program - to mention just a few positions for which he is yet to be held accountable - Shays was an ideal candidate to benefit from the largesse of Karl Rove."
THE RESULT
Not surprisingly, this letter was deemed unsuitable for publication in either the Greenwich Time or The Advocate. Here was my response to the Letters Editor:
"I want you to know that I'll be posting my rejected letter on My Left Nutmeg -- and asking the question: Why did GT/Advocate fail to carry this story? Our great country, and its grand experiment with democracy, currently is at greater risk than at any other time in our history. The mainstream news media -- not just your publication -- has become complicit in what could be freedom's demise, often serving as a propaganda machine rather than an important investigative tool to ensure some measure of control over the abuse of power."
"Letters to the Editor in your papers and others like it remain the only place (in most papers) where dissenting views now can be expressed. [The so-called "news" pages are hopeless.] But while important events pass us by, I have been treated this past week to numerous letters in The Advocate about the (admittedly unfortunate) reduction in hours that the Stamford Public Library will remain open. Perhaps a letter about the "trickle down" reasons for this reduction might get a more favorable reception; but frankly, so many other issues scream for attention that one wonders what has happened to responsible journalism."
"There is a reason that blogs are becoming the more popular source of news. The failure of GT/Advocate to cover Karl Rove's just recently divulged intervention to support Chris Shays' return to Washington should be important information to voters in the 4th district, especially in light of Shays' callous refusal to entertain any serious effort to end the senseless and already-lost Iraq war -- which Connecticut's citizens overwhelmingly desire."
"Freedom of the press has been turned on its head. These days, the press is free not to print anything the paper's owners would rather not disclose. It's a sad day on Black Rock Turnpike. . ." |
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