I have already sent two e-mails to ABC. I will continue to contact them about this issue.

Do we have any clue on who they are trying to get to sponser this mini-series? I'd love to start sending e-mails out to the people considering advertising during this program.

brian, if ABC would like to take a second try at putting out an accurate dipiction of the Path to 9/11 and actually allow those depicted to preview the movie rather than build up right wing hype then by all means let them.

People are perfectly within their right to remind Disney that their profit line and their advertisers profit lines depend on public acceptance of their message.

The network pulled "The Reagans" made-for-television movie, because the conservatives were offended. At least everyone was allowed to pre-screen it.

God Bless America!

This movie is propaganda pure and simple. Why should it allowed to be aired when it's goal it to lie about the responsibility our government had to go after Bin Laudin prior to 9/11? Bill Clinton tried to advise Bush about Al Queada and Bush wouldn't listen, and not only did he not listen he was so busy rearranging the military that Al Queada fell to a back burner. This is the real truth about 9/11 and ABC's lies are only designed so that people don't know the real truth.

Is it possible that ABC's "drama" could be considered contributions in kind to the election campaigns of congressional republicans and hence would fall under the campaign finance laws? Perhaps the threat of legal action would give them pause.

Terry...WOW...I hope you are on to something!!! Any lawyers reading this???

Brian111,
Either you are a republican activist, or are extremely gullible. You need only to watch Bush, Cheney, Rice, etc. for a short time to realize that once a lie is debunked, it's too late. Unfortunately for our democracy, many voters make their decisions on the last piece of information they happen to see, or the information that gets the most press (just ask John Kerry). Attacking this travesty after the fact is not the way to react. It's good to see that we democrats are finally waking up, and acting pre-emptively to control the message. In an ideal world this would not be necessary, but in an ideal world these hacks wouldn't be in charge.
Joe

I'm with Brian111 on this one. If ABC or any other repectable media player wants to put together a drama that plays loose with the facts and the very worst that happens is that it supports the fiction that the administration wants us to believe, then they have a patriotic right...no...responsibility...to do so, and if Americans are too lazy to read the 911 Commission's report to get another view, well, phooey on them.

Besides, this is all consistent with the new American pusuit of truth. If you don't like the truth, write your own stories and get them published in Iraqi newspapers so that you can then say "You're not reporting on all the GOOD news over there." If you feel uncomfortable with the questions you're getting from the press corps, as occasional as they may actually be, hire a male escort to join the WH press corps and call on him for some high soft ones. And if the op ed columnists are turning against you, pay some "friendlies" to write some puff pieces in your favor.

No biggie.

Brian111 is right...there's nothing to get in a hissy fit over here. Hey - it's only "drama" anyway, right?

Karl_Rove,
Have you gotten that brown stuff off your hand yet?
Joe

I believe that Democrats need to see this new docudrama as pure entertainment and not a factual documentary from a historical point-of-view.

Just remember, we have 'Freedom of Expression' and 'Freedom of Thought' in this country, without the which, much of what is said on this blog would not be possible.

Let the Republicans have the flick aired their way...then, let the public decide.

Isn't this the 'American Way'?

Read: 'the Lonely Professor' - get 'enlightened'

http://thelonelyprofessor5.blogspot.com/

If saying "watch it and then decide" is being a "republican operative", then count me one. Why is it that when somebody jumps on this public site and says anything that goes against what the DNC puts out, that person is an "operative'. God forbid they be thought of as just another citizen.

Hey conservatives,

Is THIS the "liberal media" that you keep complaining about?

EricSmith...

Whether Democrat or Republican - our 'core values' should be the same.

Isn't this our argument with the Republicans...that they have strayed too far from our mutual 'core values' under this administration?

People who critisize what others have the right to say (for better or worse) become the same evil monster they think they are defending us against.

I, personally, am a Republican recently turned Democrat because I haven't liked what this Administration has been doing since 9/11.

As I see it, the resistance has been good for the country.

Can you imagine how things would be right now if everyone had jumped on the Bush War Wagon the moment he cried 'Wolf!'.

9/11 occurred because there are those who have been at the brunt of American foreign policy; and, because of this experience became angry enough to attack the country the way they did.

Not having the technology to deal with us the way we do them, they resort to desperation...like blowing themselves up while making the biggest impact that they can.

Because of our reluctance to unleash the might of our technology against a foe less armed, we often loose sight of the fact that when someone is willing to blow themselves up, or to volunteer the lives of loved ones for the same cause...that these people are engaged in an act of 'total war' against us.

Think of it in this context:

Imagine Bush going down to Ft. Hood and asking for a hundred volunteers for what he admits beforehand is a 'suicide mission' in Iraq...which means that these troops would know beforehand that they wouldn't be coming back.

How many volunteers to you think he would get?

How many of our soldiers actually volunteer for a second tour in Iraq to fight for the cause?

The irony is that the insurgency in Iraq has no shortage of young Arab volunteers from upper and middle class well-educated families for their cause.

And this is something that everyone needs to think about before committing one way or the other on Iraq.

Read:
http://thelonelyprofessor5.blogspot.com/

tLP

Guys, you need to be going after their ADVERTISERS, not just ABC. Watch ABC prime-time tomorrow, make a list, and then post all of the phone numbers online so we can start flooding their lines...

Why, DNC, don't you post the e-mail addresses of the major advertisers for this piece of propaganda?

E-mailing the advertisers is much more effective than e-mailing the network, and we don't have to wait until the show airs.

Somebody knows RIGHT NOW who the advertisers are! Please tell us.

Dave is right.

Pretty funny you losers would like to suppress this form of free speech. Aren't you the ones that usually support the right of everyone to voice their opinion?

Oh, sorry, that's only the anti-Americans like Ward Churchill whose free speech rights you support.

Guess you're afraid that any viewpoint reminding Americans about the nature of the Islamo-fascists we face will undercut your efforts to pretend the real enemy is President Bush, and the only threat to peace in the world is your own country.

Good luck with that whole fall election thing. If you are this open with your anti-Americanism, I really doubt you have a prayer.

Bet you losers are celebrating the President being "forced" to call the residents of the Club Gitmo resort POWs, and give them Geneva Convention status.

Hope so.

'Cause, here's the thing:

POW's have NO DUE PROCESS RIGHTS AT ALL.

That's right, ACLU MAMBLA supporters. Now that they are POWs, they can be held for the duration of the war. No hearings, no appeals, no judicial process, as long as we treat them in accordance with the Geneva conventions.

So, how does it feel to be outsmarted by the President... again?

For those of you saying just let ABC go ahead with this Biased propoganda piece, WHAT PART OF THE 60,000,000 who foolishly voted for this POS did you miss? The american people are gullible and naive and easily led. You tell lies enough times, and they are believed by that portion of the population who do not pursue finding out the facts.

We have to imagine these people, watching these lies and believing them as the truth, just like the Swiftboat Liars ! They sure convinced enough people with their lies!

These were my comments on the DNC petition:

I'm 56yo and grew up with one of the most american of dreams... Mr. Walt Disney...
You shame his memory as much as our current president shames the office he holds.

Stop this propaganda film now and prove that you are REAL americans.

ANTITRUST... it's time has come back again... oil, telecom and media! Let's dust off the regs and start putting them back to use.
56yo UPstate NY 'i'NDEPENDENT | 09.06.06 - 11:12 pm | #

ANTITRUST... Oh, I forgot BANKS/CREDIT CARDS too!

Hey ho,

Why doesn't someone make an accurate drama of the events preceeding 2001 hijackings? Maybe in time for the 2008 elections?

And get it on a major network? Right.

Some nasty sheet hitting the public airwaves, rewriting history for the unattentative.

I think that only a fool could deny at this point that we are in a proxy war with radical Islamic extremists for world domination of petroleum resources and public opinion ...given the nature of Islam and due to the fact that Islam itself has become the fastest-growing religion in the world.

The we of the western world also have reasons of our own to want to dominate access to petroleum resources that are getting in short supply...resources that are critical to the continuance of our civilization as we know it.

But, in the end...it all boils down to a conflict over 'methodolgy'.

We don't like the way the Islamic extremists are waging war against us...we call it 'terrorism'.

They don't like the way we have swaggered our way around the world...they call it 'world domination by western imperialists'.

To say that they hate us because they envy our wealth is nonsense...for many Arab and/or Muslim countries are better off than we are; ie. the people pay no taxes, there are no import/export duties on goods and commodities, and in many Arab/Muslim countries people pay less than an equivalent of $1.00 a gallon for gasoline.

Yes, I would say that one reason why the Arab World resists 'the Americanization of their World' is 'for economic reasons'...but not for the reasons most of us have been trained to think.

The other reason they resist is rooted in the teachings of Mohammed...and I don't have to go into that with you...for we all know what the story is about 'infidels'...and that how they are appointed to the slaughter according to the teachings of Mohammed.

But the point is, the Arab people may not be enjoying freedom and democracy as we do in the West, but surely they 'do' enjoy some benefits that keep them loyal to their rulers...benefits that a lot of us here in America wish we had - like cheap gas at the pump and no taxes to pay.

My opinion is that the Iraq War is a 'fools errand'...fueled by vengence for 9/11 and a quest by a few in the Administration to gain control of Saddam's oil fields.

The actual 'outing' of Saddam was a personal thing between the Bush family and Saddam.

And don't forget...at one point Saddam was 'one of the good ole' boys.'

But none of these conditions are reasons that would have allowed us to invade Iraq under international law...

Which brings us to 'the weapons of mass destruction' issue.

Which Iraq didn't have in any quantity to justify an invasion of its soveriegnty.

So basically, the Iraq War has been a complete fiasco for the American people.

But, not such a fiasco that we should forget who we are as Americans and the common bond that unites us all, Democrat or Republican.

We want to remove the Bush Administration for its mishandling of our foriegn policy since 9/11, for nearly 'bankrupting' our country in the name of 'homeland security' and for bringing America to a place in time where we realize that after all these things have been done to us and all the money has been spent, we are not any safer than we were before 9/11.

The reason: too much lashing out, not enough interspection. The first thing we should have done about 9/11 was to begin overhauling our foreign policy to reduce the possibility of such an event ever happening again on American soil.

But, there was too much lashing out with the military which is exactly what brought us to 9/11 in the first place.

What options do we now have in Iraq?

Not any more than we had in Viet Nam.

As long as nuclear technology exists in our world, peace is the only alternative.

Insistance upon war can only mean an eventual annilation for the human race.

The 'real war on terror' is a war against any behavior that promotes misunderstanding, mistreatment and conflict between peoples and nations.

The real target for a 'war on terror' should be a war to fix what's been wrong for so long with our foreign policy.

Fix that and we won't see so many folks out there that are willing to give up their lives to kill a few of us.

My blog: http://thelonelyprofessor5.blogspot.com/

tLP

it is true that many have not seen this movie, but some have seen the movie- in fact, it seems extremely interesting that the only individuals who have had the opportunity to screen it are those from the right-wing noise machine.

what has been said so far makes it hard not to see this as anything more than a huge propaganda push by one of the biggest media/entertainment conglomerates in this country- it's a "docudrama" all right- and plans are reportedly in the works for it to be shoved down the throats of students by abc with the help of Scholastic, Inc. (although it is also now being reported that they have removed the "educational" materials from their website)- it is not hard to find critical commentary on the lies that the movie reportedly tells about the previous administration- some of that commentary, in fact, is coming from key figures on the right- including a key figure in intelligence in the present administration

this administration and its corporate backers are pulling out all the stops for the big anniversary leading up to an election that they know will either cement their hold on power over democracy in this country or will be the beginning of investigations that many believe will ultimately bring what this administration and many corporations have been doing to our government out of the shadows and into the light of day-

the fear of being exposed for the charlatans that they are is palpable in the behavior of this administration and its backers (some of whom show up here now and again)- you can see it in the pathetic squealing voice of bush this week in these speeches he is giving- you can hear it in the nonsense that we have heard in the past couple weeks from field marshall rumsfeld and ms condi-

"docudrama's" like this one- coupled with a lame attempt to market it children in our schools- only serve to make those who care about democracy in this country more angry at this administration- maybe this too can be an exhibit in the long list of propaganda that this administration and its corporate cronies have tried to feed this country over the last six years- one hopes that the exhibit can be filled in and brought to some use in restoring our democracy once the democrats take back congress and restore the checks and balances that are so necessary in dealing with petty tyrants like those in this administration

I'M EXTENDING A HUGE THANK YOU TO TOM MC MAHON FOR SOUDING THE ALARM AND GIVING US A COLLECTIVE OPPORTUNITY TO VOICE OUR CONCERNS AND TRACY RUSSO FOR POSTING IT HERE.THANK YOU BOTH FOR TAKING THE IMMEDIATE ACTIONS THAT YOU DID.I SIGNED IT.

THANK YOU

THANK YOU

THANK YOU

THANK YOU

;P

Well, one of the worst things to happen for the Republicans would be for Bush to start quoting false events as premise for policy decisions.

Let him do it...then use that as political ammunition.

But trying to censor the press over what is tantamount to political difference of opinion, for the time being - is 'unacceptable'.

Perhaps the Democrats are into a little 'book-burning' too?

Lets not forget who we are folks...Americans.

tLP

Again, I'm with Brian111.

We can't condone the suppression of free expression in this country. If we are truly a free country, ANY topic should be acceptable. ANY topic at all. For instance:

A docu-drama that details the events of the day when George W. Bush stole away from his little war to the TV room with two dogs to watch a few NFL wild card playoff games. In a coke-induced haze snorted up some pretzel crumbs rather than his tenth or twelfth line of snow, fainted and smacked his head against the porta-bar.

Nothing wrong with that, right? Just a little drama. Let the public decide.

Or how about a docu-drama about Cheney's energy confab back in 2000? Let's "spice it up" a little bit and depict the reps of the oil companies providing Cheney the locations and specifications of all the oil wells in Iraq - BEFORE 911 - to prepare for an invasion of that country. We'll even let one of the millionaires applaud the invasion as a means of helping out "the poor Kurds" and we can have the guy playing Cheney snort, "Who?"

Just a little drama. Let the people decide.

And how about Katrina? We can pump that up, too. We can lead with Bush playing guitar doing a cover of Led Zeppelin's "When the Levee Breaks." Or maybe something more familiar - we can have him read stories to school children again while thousands of Americans had their lives ruined. Just because that happened on 911 doesn't mean we can't use it again and again and again and again...you know...like our president does to justify everything he does down to changing the bankruptcy laws.

Just drama - let the people decide.

But it is ironic, isn't it, that while a President is playing fast and loose with his analaogies to Nazi Germany, that we're now condoning media being used as a propoganda tool for the government?

Wait a minute. What am I talking about?

No!

Let the people watch, listen and decide! It's the American way.

You rock, Brian111. You're my favorite American. A true free speech fanatic, you are, boy.

Say - when you get a chance, give up your secret of getting within mile of the president when he speaks to protest something he does, would you, you free-speecher, you? There are people on this website who don't have a solitary clue about how free speech really works in this country. What dopes, huh?

Thanks, Brian111!

Admit it...it's a lot easier to breathe once you take off that "independent" costume of yours, isn't it?

Seig Heil, babe.

brian111, I do not believe may be a good time bring up Michael Moore in this context. This is turning into the pubs F/911.

Isn't it interesting when trolls presenting themselves as being Democrats, express exactly the same talking point...'that it is just a movie' no big deal....

while arguing that poor, poor Disney is somehow being attacked by liberals on the basis of freedom of expression.

In the meantime, ABC has not allowed advance copies of the movie to be shown to the people it slanders including president Clinton.

olderwiser, the difference is, F911 was the TRUTH. Michael Moore had his documentary seen by many, many attorneys to see if there was anything that could come back as lies, and there was nothing.

We have richard Clarke, the guy in charge of Terrorism with Clinton and then Bush saying the FACTS are presented untruthfully in this show.

If ABC wants to put out a movie, report the facts like they happened, then let them.

We had enough Swift Boat Lies and distortions last election.

NOW FOR THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN AN EFFORT TO FORCE DISNEY/ABC TO DROP THIS DISTORTION OF WHAT HAPPENED, HERE IS THE INFORMATION FOR DISNEY STOCKHOLDER'S INVESTOR RELATIONS. NOTHING WORKED AS WELL WITH SINCLAIR PROJECT, THAN TELLING THE SINCLAIR INVESTORS YOU WERE REVIEWING YOUR PORTFOLIO FOR THEIR STOCK AND DIVESTING YOURSELF OF IT.

see this page:

http://corporate.disney.go.com/investors/shareholder_contact.html

call, fax, or if you have your hands directly on your Disney account numbers, use the email text.

Tell them you are dropping your Disney stock, unless they tell ABC not to show this biased, slanted, Distorted piece of work. Hit them where it really hurts! And spread this link and information to every blog and email list you possibly can.

Obviously, if what is alleged is true, ABC should not broadcast this program, but we should not become like our opponents and damn things we haven't seen. I haven't seen this program, and I imagine a lot of folks here haven't, so I am uncomfortable about signing my name to related petitions

How can good Democrats condem this film? Some people celebrated Michael Moore's film which we all know was fabricated. Why does this offend the Dems so much? What comes around goes around!

Disney, ABC needs to know that propaganda shows disguised as public service is a costly endeavor.
If you want them to be fair and stop this,you have to hurt them in the pocketbook. It takes a commitment and it has to permanent. Turn of ABC and throw the know away. Never buy a ticket to a Disney anything again. That's all you have to. If every person that thinks propaganda is wrong does this, it won't happen again, be assured. You can write until you fingers get tired and it will have no effect. Do you fight or complain?

Disney, ABC needs to know that propaganda shows disguised as public service is a costly endeavor.
If you want them to be fair and stop this,you have to hurt them in the pocketbook. It takes a commitment and it has to permanent. Turn off ABC for ever. Never buy a ticket to a Disney anything again. That's all you have to do. If every person that thinks propaganda is wrong does this, it won't happen again, be assured. You can write until you fingers get tired and it will have no effect. Do you fight or complain?

Bill Clinton has sent a four-page letter to ABC demanding that the show be changed or not broadcast. These are good links to send to your local affiliates: The New York Post, which broke the story, or the less flashy NewsMax

"The content of this drama is factually and incontrovertibly inaccurate and ABC has the duty to fully correct all errors or pull the drama entirely,” reads the letter, written by Bruce Lindsey, head of the Clinton Foundation, and Douglas Bond, a top lawyer in Clinton’s office.

It's great seeing the Democrats actually fight back on this.

It seems like a simple matter to boycott all ABC advertisers. Besides ... I can imagine most people with morals would choke on the products anyway.

"How can good Democrats condem this film? Some people celebrated Michael Moore's film which we all know was fabricated. Why does this offend the Dems so much? What comes around goes around!

Posted by Firedog on September 7, 2006 at 10:44 AM"

Firedog: Talk is cheap, especially from uninformed, biased people who won't take their own advice and who make statements based on nothing but their own opinions. So, prove the statement you made above about Michael Moore's film having been fabricated.

Additionally, like most uneducated Republicans, you got the saying wrong: It should be: "What goes around comes around."

Tom I hope you keep up the good work. Nothing ensures excellent viewer numbers than when politicians try to shut down free speech. Moore did cut and paste, you did not squark then. As for the validity of content, how much of the records stolen by Sandy Berger could prove otherwise? We will never know because he destroyed them. And how many were returned changed or edited?

Would you people prefer hemp or piano wire?

Who would have expected tbis? Democrats are openly promoting censorship. As best I can tell, there is nothing that can't be said about President Bush or Republicans. Free speech is absolute. At least, it's absolute when it serves the correct ends.

What happened to the idea that the proper response to facts and an interpretation you don't agree with is to present a rebuttal?

I love this explanation:

"The miniseries, which was put together by right-wing conservative writers, relies on the old GOP playbook of using terrorism to scare Americans. "The Path to 9/11" mocks the truth and dishonors the memory of 9/11 victims to serve a cheap, callous political agenda. Help keep this propaganda off the air."

You can be sure that if they were left-wing, liberal writers it would be OK. And can anyone seriously claim that Democrats don't do and say things to serve a political agenda. How about people who say "I support our troops" and, in the same breath, say that the Iraq war is wrong? Wouldn't "I oppose our troops in Iraq" be the honest response? Talk about dishonoring the memoroes of those who died...

Ibrodsky has a good idea: Get left-wing, liberal writers to do a mini-series and get it on TV.

'How about people who say "I support our troops" and, in the same breath, say that the Iraq war is wrong? Wouldn't "I oppose our troops in Iraq" be the honest response? Talk about dishonoring the memoroes of those who died...' Once again, a Republican has it wrong ... and also can't spell. If Ibrodsky had had a proper education he would know that "I support our troops" and "the Iraq war is wrong" are two different things. The only people who dishonor the "memories" of those who died are the ones who believe the reason for which they died. Ibrodsky: Are you of an age to volunteer for the service and go to Iraq? It seems that you could really make a statement by doing that very thing.

Also, Bush is starting to paraphrase Dante's "Inferno". Are the readers familiar with this? Ibrodsky, do you know this work?

Mensakie -

"You haven't seen the screen copy of this yet, but its by no means friendly to Bush's 1st year either, yet there are no massive outcries to re-edit from the Republicans..."

We weren't invited to your personal viewing. Was there popcorn served? Or was it the usual pretzels and coke (small "c")?

Thank you Tom McMahon for standing up to the propaganda machine. I have written emails to Scholastic, ABC, my local ABC affiliate and my local HS principal (who agreed it should not be shown). Next, Disney.
It's about time the Dems showed some backbone. We're so busy fighting fair, while they're kicking us in the back.
Dems need to place Trust Busting the Media at the top of the agenda. Bring back the 7-7-7 rule and the Fairness Doctrine.

Ibrodsky has a good idea: Get left-wing, liberal writers to do a mini-series and get it on TV.

Yeah, sure. No problem. It's the "and get it on TV" that is the problem when 5 major companies own the airwaves. "Syriana" had to be produced independently.

I'm with Ibrodsky on his "support the troops" thought. We should support the troops, although I must admit that I'm uncomfortable with his notion that the way to support them is to keep them in a place where we can be assured more of them will end of dead or maimed.

But like Ibrdosky, I do support the troops.

Sorry Rally and Jetcat. As a former liberal Democrat, I know that when you say you "support our troops" it's just rhetoric. Our troops there right now don't benefit from your opposition to the war. But our enemies derive great encouragement from it. They know that if they keep mass murdering people and you keep shouting "Bush lied!" we will eventually pull out--letting them turn Iraq into another Islamic fascist state.

I'm glad to know Democrats only voice opinions on wars they are eligible to serve in, never make typos, and have read part of Dante's Divine Comedy.

You are evading the issue: Liberal Democrats used to be champions of free speech, but over the last decade or so have slowly descended into authoritarianism.

I apologize in advance for any typos. At least I do not make the much bigger mistake of supporting censorship.

You all should be ashamed.

Ibrodsky -

A "former liberal," huh? Opposed to censorship and authoritarianism, eh? Which eyes do you look through to see a Bush administration that opposes authoritarianism and promotes free speech and exchange of thought? The liberal eyes, or the current "former" liberal eyes that count your tax cuts?

Go put another little yellow ribbons on your car and sleep well tonight knowing you "support the troops." You'll waks up the same fraud that went to sleep the night before.

Symptom #1 of Creeping Authoritarianism

When you can't defend your censorship campaign, resort to ad hominem attacks.