Why do I know more about the Plame Leak than paid journalists? (Bloggers Know more than MSM)

Another Rovian Conspiracy ^ | 10/31/05 | ARC: St. Wendeler

[areafiftyone]

Why do I know more about the Plame Leak than paid journalists?

After watching the Sunday morning shows and the primetime "exclusives", I'm amazed at the lack of knowledge on display by the journalists. It's as if they haven't been following the details of the case, as uncovered by bloggers like Tom Macguire at Just One Minute. In order to clear the air, here are some key items that seem to escape the MSM. Everyone should know the following and be able to shut down the Leftist attempts to make this a bigger scandal than it is:

1. Plame wasn't covered by the 1982 Intelligence Identities Protection Act (minor detail, eh?)
2. Wilson's assertion that his trip to Niger contradicted the Bush Administration position is false. The Senate Intelligence committee reviewing the materials found that his "mission to Niger" actually supported the Bush administration's position that Iraq had made contacts with Niger for yellowcake.
3. It's unlikely that there was malice on the part of the Bush administration, at least as it regards to Valerie Plame (ie they did not intend that she be harmed, nor did they likely know that she had "undercover" status back in the 90s). Rather, they were trying to explain why someone so critical of the administration and its foreign policy could have been entrusted with such a critical intelligence mission, thus the need to explain exactly how in the heck this idiot was selected. He was given the mission on the recommendation of his wife, despite his lies to the contrary.
4. It is unlikely that this was the first instance of Plame's identity being made compromised. In fact, she was pulled from undercover status precisely because it was felt that her identity was compromised by Aldrich Ames.
5. Perjury is a serious crime and that's why Libby was indicted and will face the consequences. (If only the Left was as consistent on this issue as the Right has been.) It's instructive that only Libby was indicted.
6. The damage from this is not as serious as Mr. Wilson is portraying it to be. According to the Washington Post:

   There is no indication, according to current and former intelligence officials, that the most dire of consequences -- the risk of anyone's life -- resulted from her outing.

   And this from Bob Woodward (that right-wing partisan that he is):

   WOODWARD: ... They did a damage assessment within the CIA, looking at what this did that Joe Wilson's wife was outed. And turned out it was quite minimal damage. They did not have to pull anyone out undercover abroad. They didn't have to resettle anyone. There was no physical danger to anyone and there was just some embarrassment.

7. Just because you say "What did he know and when did he know it?" does not make this the Watergate scandal.
8. Others haven't been indicted (for perjury or the original focus of the investigation) and it's unlikely that others will be indicted.

The only place where I saw even a few of the above items mentioned was Fox News Sunday during the panel discussion (which is the most balanced panel on Sunday).

If you're a mainstream journalist, I recommend that you spend a day and go through Tom Macguire's archives so you don't look like a fool. At least read this, this, and this... and then go through his archives. You should also check out these three bloggers:

1. Jeff Goldstein at Protein Wisdom (here and here);
2. This post by Patterico about Wilson's lies; and
3. This post by Jay Tea at Wizbang.

The fact that you don't know this information and continue to hang on to every one of Wilson's words shows that you're either stupid or unconcerned about the facts. In either case, instead of writing for the St Louis Post-Dispatch or appearing on network news I recommend that you submit your "news" here, here, or here.

***UPDATE***
Be sure to read this post from the American Thinker:

The Mediacrats are fearful that the Valerie Plame story may not have legs. Karl Rove has not been indicted, and may never be, and other than a few Washington insiders, nobody has ever heard of Lewis (Scooter) Libby before.

The solution is to push two themes: 1) this is really Cheney’s treachery and a White House hatched conspiracy, and 2) Americans are and should be very upset about it.

Your Co-Conspirator,
ARC: St Wendeler

Link to source

[areafiftyone]

No wonder Journalists and the MSM want an end to bloggers!

[Fenris6]

Bingo. They've had a monopoly of information dissemination. The CBS memo hoax fell to the blogosphere in the waning days of the last election. I'll be curious to see how the Dems do in 08 without the MSM fronting for them.

[saganite]

I'm pretty sure they're aware of all those facts but reporting isn't about news. It's about "shaping public opinion", something a lot of people are waking up to now that the internet allows access to facts (like yours) not reported by the MSM.

[Mo1]

Why do I know more about the Plame Leak than paid journalists?

I think we know that answer

[areafiftyone]

but reporting isn't about news. It's about "shaping public opinion

That is the biggest mistake the MSM is making.

[CharlesWayneCT]

The Washington Post Sunday paper had an article detailing the entire affair, which was false on many details presented as fact.

There is simply no way to fight this type of wholesale re-writing of history. Or is there? The President could give a major speech about this now that the investigation is over -- at least then the press would have to address why they think they are right when it contradicts what the president says.

I think the president has been kept from putting out the truth on this matter because of the leak investigation.

[Asfarastheeastisfromthewest...]

It's about "shaping public opinion"....

Boy, ain't that the truth. I didn't see a thread here today on the live Couric interview with Wilson on the Today show this morning but what an amazingly slick sleight of hand interview. Joe Wilson is a confirmed liar through and through and yet somehow Katie bent over backwards to make it seem like she was being oh so sensitive to his ‘terrible encounter with the dastardly deeds by the White House’ (to satisfy her leftist audience) while giving the pretense of being ‘the tough interviewer in the controversial areas’, (to make sure the right wouldn't supposedly correctly charge her with a lopsided bias). What a joke – the transparency couldn't have been clearer with all the easy outs and soft balls she delivered up so that Wilson could continue the weave of his monstrous lies unabated. At one point, she rattled off 3 or 4 of the problems there are with his story - but then changed the subject so that he never was put on the hook to answer them. It couldn't have smelled worse of collusion, too much advance preparation on both the interviewer and interviewee’s part to ‘get exactly the right message out’ and pure unadulterated bias on Couric's part. Anybody with half a brain and an inquisitive mind could figure out what Couric's objectives were. (The exact opposite of what she tried to in the Louis Freeh interview by the way.) Frankly, it stunk and I hope that the public will figure it out that this was just another common-garden-variety-Rather moment – this time at NBC.

[right right]

They are talking heads reading from their script written by others. Actors of and in the news. MSM Journalism is dead.

[DJ MacWoW]

Journalists know all the facts but the truth doesn't fit their agenda.

[ClaireSolt]

Has anyone else wondered if this current episode could, in fact, be a sting by the justice department? It seems odd that the charges against Libby seem to have come mostly from the recent events (testimony of Miller and Cooper). Also, some have noted how nervous Fitzgerald seems. Wilson is taking the bait and shooting his mouth off. So is Galloway. The connection? I think you will find Wilson up to his ears in Oil for Food and treason with French Niger uranium documents. Berlesconi is coming to meet Bush this week. Nigergate is a big issue in his reelection campaign.

Coalition leaders are all working hard to crack the international conspiracy that first undermined the sanctions regime and then embarassed their intelligence agencies. Chirac is hiding behind executive immunity, but I think they will get him, in the end. I may not be right on every detail, but I think this is a tiny piece of a hugely important international investigation. As usual, the left cannot see the forest for the trees, but we should be looking to connect the dots.

[Reaganghost]

The primary function of the media during the 20th century was not reporting the news. The primary function was to present the news in a fashion that served or advanced the interests of socialism, the main focus of the left. The media in the United States are and have been propaganda agents for socialism. It has never been about informing the public; the media is focused on forming or shaping public opinion through manipulation of the news.

Public schools and public education are and have been a part of this ongoing propaganda function. Public education is an oxymoron. MSM (main-stream media) is an outright lie and serves to empower its effectiveness as a propaganda weapon.