Juxtaposition

Today's Washington Post covers both what Republicans want you to think because it's untrue and what Republicans don't want you to think because it is true.

First, the falsities the Right Wing desperately wants you to internalize, covered in Ruth Marcus' column:

Does it matter that ABC invented and distorted history in its "warning: this is not a documentary" docudrama, "The Path to 9/11"? After all, the first night of the faux drama was trounced by the brother-against-brother actual drama of "Sunday Night Football."

But consider: The gripping final report of the Sept. 11 commission (budget: $13.5 million) became a surprise bestseller at 1.5 million copies. The not-so-gripping, not-so-accurate ABC production (budget: $40 million) was seen by about 13 million viewers on the first night.

Ms. Marcus goes on to outline some of the more blatant inaccuracies, both what's included and excluded, pointing out that one of the foremost experts on the Clinton Administration's counter-terrorism efforts, Richard Clarke, now works for ABC.

So the Right Wing is attempting, through their media proxies, to falsify Clinton's anti-terrorism efforts. Nobody's pointing out that all the shock around the whole "Path to 9/11" thing is that ABC went along with it, not that various 'Wingers are trying to slander a former President.

The other thing nobody's pointing out is that the current President's counter terrorism efforts have garnered this:

BAGHDAD, Sept. 13--Nearly 100 people were killed or found dead in a series of bloody incidents throughout the Iraqi capital over the past 24 hours, authorities said.

At least 62 unidentified bullet-riddled corpses--all bearing signs of torture--have been found throughout the city since last night, said Brig. Gen. Abdullah Mahmood of the Interior Ministry.

Some of the bodies had been beheaded. Attacks on police patrols killed an additional 27 people this morning, officials said.

Oh, and the military announced that two more Americans have been killed too. That brings the total to 2672 killed and 19910 wounded. As of July 18, the U.N. puts the number of dead Iraqis at 14,000 for the first half of 2006 alone.

And Osama bin Laden is still. not. captured.

We have the luxury of having the truth bear out the failures of the Republican's Global War on Terror^tm. We are NOT safer. The war in Iraq has allowed Afghanistan to drift slowly back towards Taliban control. Iraq is drifting quickly towards a civil war. Iran is building nukes. North Korea already has a bunch. The Islamic world is watching the violence and, rightly or wrongly, becoming ever more radicalized. Leaders, even pro-U.S. leaders, are forced to make concessions.

And, lest we forget, the U.S. government can listen in on your call to Aunt Maria in Italy without a warrant, hold U.S. citizens without charge or access to counsel, hold indefinitely any person they declare to be an 'enemy combatant' and torture people because it gives certain people in certain places a hard on.

Where is our response to "Path to 9/11"? We don't even need to lie! Why no docu-drama depicting the myriad of failures that the Republicans President and his Republican rubber-stamp congress have caused, to the shame of every American?

And then there are the disasters at home. I posit "Path to Katrina" as a possible response. We can even use actual footage of Bush ignoring warnings, then claiming nobody ever warned him...

War in Iraq War in Afghanistan War on Terror Path to 9/11 Terrorism Lost Freedoms Democrats Republicans

Scholastic's Integrity

Scholastic has replaced it's "Path to 9/11" Classroom guide with an exercise on 'Media Literacy and Critical Thinking.'

From their Press Release:

Scholastic, the global children's publishing, education and media company, today announced that it is removing from its website the materials originally created for classroom use in conjunction with the ABC Television Network docudrama, "The Path to 9/11," scheduled to air on the ABC Television Network on September 10 and 11, 2006. A new classroom discussion guide for high school students is being created and will focus more specifically on media literacy, critical thinking, and historical background.

"After a thorough review of the original guide that we offered online to about 25,000 high school teachers, we determined that the materials did not meet our high standards for dealing with controversial issues," said Dick Robinson, Chairman, President and CEO of Scholastic. "At the same time, we believe that developing critical thinking and media literacy skills is crucial for students in today's society in order to participate fully in our democracy and that a program such as "The Path to 9/11" provides a very 'teachable moment' for developing these skills at the high school level. We encourage teachers not to shy away from the controversy surrounding the program, but rather to engage their students in meaningful, in-depth discussion."

The new guide clearly states that Scholastic had no involvement with developing the ABC docudrama, and that the company is not promoting the program, but that the program can provide a springboard to discussion about the issues leading up to 9/11, terrorism and the Middle East.

Good for Scholastic. I'm sure they didn't make the change out of altruism, so thank you to everybody who threatened to stop buying their products.

Now let's see if we can get a similar result with ABC...

What must really kill the GOoPers is that their propaganda has been replaced with this:

1. Media Literacy - what is a docudrama; how does it differ from a documentary; what are the differences between factual reporting and a dramatization?

2. Background to 9/11 - what are some of the causes of unrest in the Middle East and other parts of the world that give rise to attacks on the U.S. and other countries?

3. Geography and Culture -- there is a long history of conflict in the Middle East. How well do students understand each of the countries involved and what influences their behavior?

None of it anything that the GOP wants you thinking about near election time!

Scholastic Path to 9/11 ABC

"Path to 9/11"

I would like to quote a Mr. Ed Gillespe, RNC Chairman:

And I think it was important that it be historically accurate. And if they didn't intend to make it historically accurate to make sure
that viewers understood that it was not intended to be historically accurate but a fictional portrayal. So we made two requests: One is having historians review it for accuracy if you're going to broadcast it. And if you're unwilling to do that, inform the viewers that it's not historically accurate. That's not censorship, that's common sense...

He was talking about the successfully deterred CBS mini-series "The Reagans" but I think the point still holds.

I've spent the last few hours going crazy emailing people and running up my cell phone bill about this. This diary at DailyKos has the email address and phone number of every person or organization involved. Please, make use of them all but if you're short on time, here's a few form letters:

The Democratic Party

Think Progress

ABC's 'Contact Us' page

ABC has stated that it would, "continue to make edits to strengthen a project right up to the broadcast date." I guess they realized that some of the people involved (say, Bill Clinton) might sue them later...

Path to 9/11 ABC Ed Gillespe Bill Clinton