Full Disclosure

Hugh Hewitt is a twat.

James Capozzola paid for the removal of the banner ad on my site, and I thanked him for it on the blog.

Glenn Reynolds is a legacy hire at a fourth-rate law school and lacks the reasoning skills of a ferret. He writes, poorly, for an astroturf site, Schmuck Central Station.

Someone once offered to send me a review copy of a book. I didn't have time to read it and offered to pay for the book, but the sender declined my offer. I will read that book one of these days. Or maybe I'll give it to someone.

Mickey Kaus is a hairless hack who associates with the proprietors of bulletin boards for bigots.

A reader generously bought me a blog ad on Talk Left and I thanked her for it on the blog.

Jonah Goldberg is a halfwit doughboy, raised by a bat.

I once thought about adding blog ads, but it involved technical stuff and work, and possibly buying a hosting site for the images (I never figured that out). And I didn't have any reason to think people would buy them.

Howard Kurtz, Tim Russert and Howard Fineman are pathetic G.O.P. shills, whether or not they are paid for it.

As far as I can tell, no progressive billionaires read this website. If any do, they should send me large amounts of money. Especially today. Anyone else can just send me an e-card, if they like.

The Big Trunk? Not according to his wife.

I once worked, briefly, for a Republican politician.

Patrick Hynes would have to work his way up to twat.

I have no interest in collectively building a culture online where we figure out norms for people who both consult and write online so that readers can have the tools to be skeptical, active participants.

George Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice and their respective flacks lie to you. Repeatedly. Willfully. Without remorse. And they will continue to do so. Today. And tomorrow.

That is all.

Roger Gets Results

Well, not really, but I'll take the credit anyway.

WASHINGTON (AP) - A member of the Federal Communications Commission said Thursday the agency should investigate whether conservative commentator Armstrong Williams broke the law by failing to disclose that the Bush administration paid him $240,000 to plug its education policies.

Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein, a Democrat, said the agency has received about a dozen complaints against Williams.

"I certainly hope the FCC will take action and fully investigate whether any laws have been broken," Adelstein said at the commission's regular monthly meeting.

None of the other commissioners responded to his statement during the meeting. Afterward, both FCC Chairman Michael Powell, a Republican, and David Solomon, who heads the agency's enforcement bureau, declined to comment.

Generally, the FCC reviews letters and complaints before determining if there should be an investigation. Powell said he had not seen the complaints filed against Williams.

Adelstein wants the FCC to look into whether Williams violated federal telecommunication law that requires disclosure of any payment or gift for airing any material for broadcast, like a radio disc jockey being paid to play a particular recording.

Although "a dozen" certainly sounds like the total number of my readers, I'm sure it's just a coincidence. (Although the fine folks who visit here -- and not me -- can probably take credit for half of those.) I realize graft isn't as great a threat to the Homeland as Mickey Rooney's ass, but sometimes ya got to take a stand.

But, seriously, this has been plently of other places, including TAPped (where I first read about it), and on Air America. And I hope the FCC doesn't just investigate Williams; the real target should be the payor, not the payee. Williams should cut a deal and name names.

p.s. to the media -- Please send all inquiries to the fastmail address.

p.p.s. -- Yes, that is a joke.

Unless you're Howard Fineman.

You're next, Duck Boy!

(Thanks to a reader.)

Well, They Were Going To Be A Fire Hazard

Meet Your Liberal Media: Asses-R-Us Edition

Meanwhile, the so-called liberal Washington Post engages in character assassination and blame-the-victim advocacy, in an op-ed that has Victoria Toesspot trolling for clients. The right-wing mouthpiece and her co-author write:

There is even more telling CIA conduct about Plame's status. According to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence's "Report on the U.S. Intelligence Community's Prewar Intelligence Assessments on Iraq," when the agency asked Plame's husband to take on the Niger assignment, he did not have to sign a confidentiality agreement, a requirement for just about anybody else doing work for an intelligence agency. This omission opened the door for Wilson to write an op-ed piece for the New York Times describing his Niger trip. Did it not occur to our super sleuths of spycraft that a nationally distributed piece about the incendiary topic of weapons of mass destruction -- which happens to be Wilson's wife's expertise -- could result in her involvement being raised?

Ya see, the real criminals were not the ones who violated the confidentiality laws, but the ones who didn't attempt to gag Wilson. By not engaging in prior restraint, the CIA practically forced Administration stooges to violate the law!

Bruce W. Sanford isn't an advocate for the First Amendment, he's a bought-and-paid-for clown. (A clown with a history of teaming up with Reagan Administration hacks to carry Karl Rove's water [.pdf file].)

Of course, the piece is built on a foundation of unwarranted assumptions, the most dubious being the assumption of Bob Novak's honesty.

If you parse the article, what it actually says is that if we assume that Plame wasn't really covert AND that her covert status was the subject of much gossip AND that the leakers were merely careless AND that the leakers were idealists attempting to expose wrongdoing rather partisan hacks bent on smearing truthtellers, but still acted unintentionally AND that Novak is telling the truth AND that Toensing has any credibility whatsoever, THEN maybe there wasn't a crime. Watch how the game is played by Toesspot and Sanford:

Merely knowing that Plame works for the CIA does not provide the knowledge that the government is keeping her relationship secret. In fact, just the opposite is the case. If it were known on the Washington cocktail circuit, as has been alleged, that Wilson's wife is with the agency, a possessor of that gossip would have no reason to believe that information is classified -- or that "affirmative measures" were being taken to protect her cover.

From "fact" to fantasy in zero characters.

(And the paragraph makes no sense. What the authors say, though they mean something entirely different, is that "Merely knowing that Plame works for the CIA DOES provide the knowledge that the government is keeping her relationship secret.")

Why would the Post publish this fact-free apology for potentially criminal Administration conduct? Maybe the jokers who wrote this ass-u-me article will explain in their little on-line chit chat. More likely, they'll just delete the tough questions.

Rather Pathetic

Atrios has an important story concerning a report revealing massive dishonesty and politically-motivated lying on an issue of the greatest importance. It's one you won't read about on the sites of the weenie-wagging Keyboarders, because it doesn't involve Debbil Dan Rather. And the word "accountability" will never escape the lips of the weenie waggers, unless it's in the context of the fantasy that Bush was mislead to the conclusion that he directed his stooges to reach.

Four months after Charles A. Duelfer, who led the weapons hunt in 2004, submitted an interim report to Congress that contradicted nearly every prewar assertion about Iraq made by top Bush administration officials, a senior intelligence official said the findings will stand as the ISG's final conclusions and will be published this spring.

President Bush, Vice President Cheney and other top administration officials asserted before the U.S. invasion in March 2003 that Iraq was reconstituting its nuclear weapons program, had chemical and biological weapons, and maintained links to al Qaeda affiliates to whom it might give such weapons to use against the United States.

Thousands of Americans and tens of thousands of Iraqis have died because of this fraud on the public. Put down your feces, Keyboarders, and say it with me: Bush lied, many thousands died.

"However, what the hell are we doing in Iraq? No one can explain to me in a reasonable manner that I can accept why we're there, why we went there, and why we're still there."

p.s. to Bill Keller: Joyce Wadler is annoying, not funny.

Rather Sad

The crybaby Keyboarders have declared war on their newest enemy: Richard Thornburgh. The wingnutosphere is crying "whitewash" following the release of the independent report analyzing the 60 Minutes piece on AWOL Bush. Thornburgh, a Republican, served as an Attorney General for Reagan and Bush. In 2002, the present Attorney General, Johnny Asscrack, called Thornburgh "a person of integrity and independent stature." The wingnut bloggers believe if they pout and stamp their tiny feet hard enough, Thornburgh will be revealed as a stooge of the Communist Broadcasting System.

As far as I can tell, the droolers' major beef is that Thornburgh and his law firm failed to attribute partisan motives to Rather and CBS, stating that there was no evidence to support such a charge. The claim of Rather bias is a favorite fairytale the 'wingers tell themselves; they accept it as an article of faith and therefore need no proof. The lesser beef is Thornburgh's refusal to make the story one of blogger heroics, another sad delusion of the Barcolounger Brigade.

In any event, the 'wingers ignore the most important truth of the story. As TBogg puts it, "Four lose their jobs...one still hasn't shown up for his."

Queer As A Five Dollar Bill

Everyone from Gore Vidal to Richard Brookheiser is weighing in on the question "Was Abraham Lincoln Gay (or Bisexual)?" Adam Yoshida has penned a subliterate essay, riddled with inaccuracies and grammatical errors, on the subject (no link), and even the Nation has a strange cartoon with Abe's head on the body of a voluptuous woman. The controversy even has loathsome homophobe John Derbyshire confessing that he has slept with men.

So: Was Honest Abe the Old Tailsplitter? Did he call his beard Mary Todd? Did he Plow-the-Speed? Given the historical record -- the absence of chat line recordings, a highly-paid chief of staff, or a sexual harassment lawsuit -- we may not find a definitive answer. And it may not matter. With today's neo-Confederate G.O.P., the outrage from the right side would be greater if we learned that Jeff Davis carried a cross-shaped torch for Robt. E. Lee.

Another Victim Of The Bush Economy

More than two months after the November 2 presidential election, FOX News host Bill O'Reilly urged viewers to find a job for Steven Gardner, a member of the discredited anti-Kerry group Swift Boat Vets and POWs for Truth, and did not challenge Gardner's dubious claims that he was fired in retaliation for his attacks on Senator John Kerry.

...


When O'Reilly pressed Gardner further on whether Millennium's decision was politically motivated, Gardner again suggested that it was, noting that the company had "heaped accolades" on his performance prior to his public criticism of Kerry. But this fact appears irrelevant, since Gardner admitted moments later that the company had told him that his termination was not the result of poor job performance but rather that, "for purely financial reasons, we had to reduce management expenses," as its statement explained.

South Carolina went for Bush by 58-41 percent. Surely an honest, hardworking veteran shouldn't have any trouble finding employment in a blue-state Bush economy.

O'Reilly would have hired Gardner himself, but Gardner's boobs weren't spectacular enough.

Roger's Media Meritocracy Award

My New Year's Resolution was to do more positive stories. So here's one:

NEW YORK The Los Angeles Times dropped the daily version of "Garfield," the most widely distributed comic in syndication.

"Garfield" has received mixed reviews in recent years, but the Times is one of the few papers to ever dare pull it. Reader reaction? "We are getting complaints," said Jennifer James, a Times editorial aide, but she declined to reveal how many.

The Times dropped the daily "Garfield" effective two days ago -- while keeping the Sunday "Garfield" -- to make room for "Brevity," a new comic by Guy Endore-Kaiser and Rodd Perry of United Media (E&P Online, Dec. 9).

More Whores?

On today's Republican Roundtable aka Press the Meat, Al Hunt suggested there are more Bush employees masquerading as journalists.

MR. HUNT: Well, I don't know what the law is. It strikes me that it's not a very good use of taxpayers' money. It's certainly as egregious a journalist violation as one could engage in. Mr. Williams' column was yanked, as it should be. I will say this. Armstrong did deliver his promise, because I occasionally worked out at a gym and Armstrong's there, and he told me several times, you know, "Why don't you write about No Child Left Behind." I don't know if I'm going to be on one of those government expense accounts or not but...

MR. RUSSERT: How many columns did you do?

MR. HUNT: I didn't do any. So I let him down. I'm sorry, Armstrong. Listen, I'll tell you this. I'll bet that there will be a great market for FOIR, Freedom of Information Requests, in the next couple weeks because I suspect Armstrong Williams is not alone. There have been other people who've been doing this.

And then Andrea Mitchell jumped in before Hunt could name names.

Maybe we should be looking for the bloggers, radio blowhards and Clownhallers who are remaining mum on this story. Avarice and idiocy aren't mutually exclusive.

The Armstrong Of The Law

Does Michael Powell really care about the rule of law? We shall see:

Section 317 of the Communications Act, as amended, 47 U.S.C. [section]317 requires broadcasters to disclose that matter has been broadcast in exchange for money, service or other valuable consideration. The announcement must be made when the subject matter is broadcast. The Commission has adopted a rule, 47 C.F.R. [section] 73.1212, which sets forth the broadcasters' responsibilities for sponsorship identification.

Section 507 of the Communications Act, as amended, 47 U.S.C. [section] 508 requires that when anyone pays someone to include program matter in a broadcast, the fact of payment must be disclosed in advance of the broadcast to the station over which the mater [sic] is to be carried. Both the person making the payment and the recipient are obligated to disclose the payment so that the station may make the sponsorship identification announcement required by Section 317 of the Act. Failure to disclose such payments is commonly referred to as "payola" and is punishable by a fine of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than one year or both. These criminal penalties bring violations within the purview of the Department of Justice....

Complaints should be sent to: Federal Communications Commission, Enforcement Bureau, Investigations & Hearing Division, 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20554.

My letter to the Tit-Monitor:

Dear Commissioner Powell:

Credible evidence has come to my attention that two individuals, namely, Armstrong Williams and Secretary of Education Rod Paige have violated 47 U.S.C. 508, which prohibits "payola." Please refer these matters to the Justice Department and insist that Attorney General Ashcroft or his successor prosecute these criminal acts.

Specifically, Mr. Williams accepted from Mr. Paige or his Department at least $240,000 to broadcast matter (propaganda regarding the "No Child Left Behind" Act) without disclosing the payment to the stations on which the matter was broadcast. It appears that neither Mr. Williams nor Mr. Paige disclosed this information to the stations.

Per your request, I provide the following information:

(1) The call letters of the station: According to Mr. Williams' website, the following broacast stations are involved: WTTO - Birmingham, Alabama; WEAR - Mobile, Alabama; KOVR - Sacramento, California; WTCN - Tampa, Florida; WYZZ - Bloomington, Illinois; WICD - Champaign, Illinois; WICS, Decatur - Illinois; WIWU - Marion, Indiana; KGAN - Cedar Rapids, Iowa; KDSM - Des Moines, Iowa; WDKY - Lexington, Kentucky; WGME - Portland, Maine; WBFF - Baltimore, Maryland; WNUV - Baltimore, Maryland; WGGB - Springfield, Massachusetts; WSMH - Bay City, Michigan; WUHF - Rochester, New York; WSYT - Syracuse, New York; KVWB - Las Vegas, Nevada; KEBT - Las Vegas, Nevada; WLOS - Ashville, North Carolina; WXLV - Greensboro, North Carolina; WUPN - Greensboro, North Carolina; WGME - Greensboro, North Carolina; WLFL - Raliegh-Durham, North Carolina; WSTV - Cincinnati, Ohio; WSTR - Cleveland, Ohio; WSYX - Columbus, Ohio; WKEF - Dayton, Ohio; WRGT - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; WBPH - Allentown, Pennsylvania; WPGH - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; WLOS - Anderson, South Carolina; WTAT - Charleston, South Carolina; WPDE - Conway, South Carolina; WZTV - Nashville, Tennessee; KABB - San Antonio, Texas; WRLH - Richmond, Virginia; WAZT - Woodstock, Virginia; WVAH - Charelston, West Virginia; WCHS - Huntington, West Virginia; WVAH - Hungtington, West Virginia; WMSN - Madison, Wisconsin; WVTV - Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

(2) the city and state where the station is located: See above.

(3) a tape or other documentation showing the failure to provide the required sponsorship identification: See, among other sources, U.S.A. Today, The Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post. Unless Mr. Williams and Mr. Paige disclosed these payments to the above-referenced television stations (which does not appear to be the case) or the foregoing articles are inaccurate, it appears the law has been violated. I believe that, according to the FCC's definition of payola, the nondisclosure to each station constitutes a separate violation which requires imposition of a separate fine and term of incarceration.

(4) documentation (e.g., copies of agreements, memoranda or other written documents) demonstrating that the broadcast material in question was broadcast in exchange for payment to the station or to an employee of the station: See above. (Note that subdivision (b) of 47 U.S.C. 508 does not require the recipient of the payola to be a station or employee of the station.)

I look forward to your prompt, personal response to this e-mail. This is potentially a criminal matter. Given your reputation for the enforcement of broadcasting laws for the protection of the public, your failure to act on this matter could only be seen as a gross dereliction of your duties to America and its families.

Sincerely, etc.

cc: FCC Commissioners
Attorney General John Ashcroft, U.S. Dept. of Justice

Anyone should feel free to send their own copy of this e-mail to the FCC. It's WLBBWD.

(Inspired by TAPped.)