Third columnist caught with hand in the Bush till

Salon exclusive

Jan. 27, 2005 | And three makes a trend.

By Eric Boehlert

One day after President Bush ordered his Cabinet secretaries to stop hiring commentators to help promote administration initiatives, and one day after the second high-profile conservative pundit was found to be on the federal payroll, a third embarrassing hire has emerged. Salon has confirmed that Michael McManus, a marriage advocate whose syndicated column, "Ethics & Religion," appears in 50 newspapers, was hired as a subcontractor by the Department of Health and Human Services to foster a Bush-approved marriage initiative. McManus championed the plan in his columns without disclosing to readers he was being paid to help it succeed.

Responding to the latest revelation, Dr. Wade Horn, assistant secretary for children and families at HHS, announced Thursday that HHS would institute a new policy that forbids the agency from hiring any outside expert or consultant who has any working affiliation with the media. "I needed to draw this bright line," Horn tells Salon. "The policy is being implemented and we're moving forward."

Horn's move came on the heels of Wednesday's report in the Washington Post that HHS had paid syndicated columnist and marriage advocate Maggie Gallagher $21,000 to write brochures and essays and to brief government employees on the president's marriage initiative. Gallagher later wrote in her column that she would have revealed the $21,000 payment to readers had she recalled receiving it.

The Gallagher revelation came just three weeks after USA Today reported that the Education Department, through a contract with the Ketchum public relations firm, paid $240,000 to Armstrong Williams, a conservative African-American print, radio and television pundit, to help promote Bush's No Child Left Behind program to minority audiences.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/01/27/mcmanus/index.html

this policy reaches.

If multiple agencies are involved, it's a dictum from the White House.

Another lame-ass excuse from Bush Corp!!!
Where does the buck stop....?
Blaming the Department Education or HHS is a total psych-ass job designed to pacify the Bush minions (sheep)...

...yet nary a peep on this highly unethical propaganda machine.:boring:

delving into governorships and State Secretaryships.

It would be a terible, treasonable offense if they found out Novak was paid to reveal the CIA agents name.This would take them down just as Nixon went down.

You may have a winner! I would LOVE for that to hit the fan.

Novak had to know he was breaking the law when he did it. He was probably promised a pardon if he's prosecuted but I'm sure he would need a little something to make it worth his while.

indeed, Novak had to have known what he was doing was wrong, so how on earth could he have proceeded while maintainig any kind of regard for the law?
Indeed, he proceeded with the confidence of impunity.

No checks and balances anymore...

But I'm afraid unless the 'Murkin People storm the Capitol and demand something be done, this all R Government is not going to do one damn thing about it.

There will be no "Nixon" with * because both the Government and the Media are corrupt to the core. NOT everybody; but there are not enough of real statesmen/women in the Congress to do any real damage.

That's par for the course, too. And didn't the judge in the Plame case suspend the grand jury for a time or something (the investigation was stalled last I knew) because it had gone in an "unexpected direction"? Well, someone paying him a big sum to do it would certainly garner attention, now wouldn't it?

And then.... these stories come out regarding paid "journalists". Paid by the WH. It all ends up at the top.

The clouds of justice are hovering over DC! Between this, election fraud, Iraqi genocide and prison torture, this administration is doomed!

DOOMED!

:evilgrin:

I hope Dems get enough backbone to speak out and moderate Repubs have the decency to admit that their party and leader has gone awry.
http://www.cafepress.com/liberalissues.16472020

whether it's quid pro quo "in kind" services- or straight up payments, CNN is nothing but a propaganda mill. The worst of the worst.

Oh, and welcome Newbie! :hi: I like your screen name!
(No...it's NOT 2008 yet. Though I have a feeling things will turn around long before then! Keep the faith!)

:eyes:

Michael McManus, a marriage advocate whose syndicated column, "Ethics & Religion,....

The column is to be re-named "Ethics for Sale & Religion of Mamon"

God and mammon?

My Encarta dictionary defines mammon as wealth as evil influence: wealth and riches considered as an evil and corrupt influence

The embarassment this must cause for so many bushbot officials and pundits is well worth any wasted tax dollars.

Im so sick of it all. I sent out numerous emails to media people who 'seem' to finally be showing true things. You know, stuff people have been screaming about for a couple years. Instead of playing the 'where did the wounded go' game CNN finally did lengthy on wounded and med staff.
Matthews had someone comment on our soldiers not being cowards. JEEZ, SOLDIERS ARENT THE COWARDS.....THOSE WHO SENT THEM ARE COWARDS.

Can we, maybe do we, finally now the coronation is over, have some media with backbone(now that POC is lameduck)?

sigh.;(
Why dont my smileys show? All I get is symbols.
Opps, got a smiley this time. Guess its the last ones on list are problems.

in the government bear fruit. It will boggle us all. Perhaps William Safire quit for a reason.

It was like the election, the local gop "volunteers" were all paid. Their policies are so revolting that nobody would actually stand up for them without quid pro quo.

ol.If they start talking about "mediawhores" on all the mediawhore shows would be a strange development.

oops...sorry...It's all come clear just now...

The US has been having one for years now.

The hypocrisy of the so-called moral majority is unfreakin' believable.

I don't see a difference between the government and the Republican party.

How much is your PAYOLA Cut...maybe you should re-negotiate... send to O'Liely.

We can place a cloud of mis-trust of the MSM finally...Should be one of the Daily talking points...How much of the Payola pie did you get >insert MSM title here<

against Social Security privatization. They sent letters to 46 financial services corporations, demanding that they denounce Social Security privatization.

Similar letters should be sent to Ann Coulter, Bill O'Lielly, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, etc, demanding that they denounce taxpayer-financed government payoffs to supposedly independent opionion-makers. Whether they do or don't respond to such letters, they're opening up their own backgrounds and archives to comparison with FOIA findings on goverment-funded "conferences" and PR campaigns to promote goofy ideas. Goofy ideas such as taking food out of the mouths of poor children and clothes off their backs to fund college courses in marriage for the upper middle class, and calling it "welfare reform".

Researching connections between goverment payoffs and columnists' writings should be pretty easy. The time between getting the check ("honorarium", "travel expense voucher", etc) and seeing the bought-and paid-for words in print should rarely be more than a month or so.

Too bad most of us poor peons don't regularly get checks for tens of thousands of dollars - that amount of money actually makes an impression on me.

are a clue the dam is breaking.

day! I spew my lies and I cash my check and I go to the lavatry!"

Priceless, really.

our hard-earned tax dollars.

Where's the box to check on the 1040 when you DON'T want it to go straight into Maggie Gallagher's pocketbook? (Or Halliburtons, et.al, as well?)

I thought that happened in the Soviet Union or in Nazi Germany...

But here?

In these United States of America?

I am speechless.

column seem suspicious too? Is he trying to avoid a thorough probe of possible tit for tat in his voluminous archives?

I'd be quite surprised if Safire HADN'T received some Federal money or swag sometime from some Republican administration over his interminable tenure on the Times op-ed page. Just think of all the humdreds of completely goofy ideas he advocated over the years. They all had to come from somewhere. And, if not cash, odds are that Christmas gifts, wining and dining, luxury accomodations and first-class travel at taxpayer expense must have been exchanged during Safire's long long reign as most prestigious right-wing columnist.

If and when the comprehensive list of paid propagandists masquerading as legitimate journalists surfaces, it will offend the sensibilities of even the most ultra-competitive of right-wingers. They seem to believe that their false ideology has attained such power through fair play alone.

When otherwise good-intentioned conservatives realize that their free will is being compromised by state-run media; when they find out their strings are being pulled from behind the scenes, their outrage will be enough to run these criminal manipulators out of office for good.

Bush isn't a Democrat, so he won't get punished for it.

We should be. Even the names of the agency people who are supposedly 'hot on the trail' of snuffing this out. I bet they have interesting backgrounds too.

Horn-Gallagher-Williams, the list is just beginning, I'm sure.

Great reporting Salon!!!

:kick:

I'm so glad we have our own left wing echo chamber now, to amplify this. It will be on AAR and on the blogs. Couple this news with Kennedy's bill, and it seems the planets have shifted a bit to the left!

:puke:

Glug glug glug! At this rate it won't matter a wit what the Senate or House sees fit to prosecute or persue. The rats are already starting to climb the mast. They need to be re-elected or re-employed after they leave the Emperor's side. And self-preservation is an instinct that isn't easily ignored. Sooner or later one will have to spill his guts just to get off the listing frigate. Then two... then four... as the Bushtanic tilts up... skyward...

then ...

d
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Third columnist caught with hand in the Bush till
Michael McManus, conservative author of the syndicated column "Ethics & Religion," received $10,000 to promote a marriage initiative.

- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Eric Boehlert



Jan. 27, 2005 | And three makes a trend.

One day after President Bush ordered his Cabinet secretaries to stop hiring commentators to help promote administration initiatives, and one day after the second high-profile conservative pundit was found to be on the federal payroll, a third embarrassing hire has emerged. Salon has confirmed that Michael McManus, a marriage advocate whose syndicated column, "Ethics & Religion," appears in 50 newspapers, was hired as a subcontractor by the Department of Health and Human Services to foster a Bush-approved marriage initiative. McManus championed the plan in his columns without disclosing to readers he was being paid to help it succeed.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/01/27/mcmanus/

Three. Three now. This is starting to break. Pundit Payola for Propaganda.

Propagola.

Propa-Gate?

Propa-gate: a scandal, and 'to spread or expand'.

I like that...

:shrug:

That's it exactly, thanks!
:)

The finest "journalism" money can buy!

LOL, I like it. We should find a way to get it out.

I like all of those.


hmm... Payola Pundits..
pundiganda (na, sounds dirty...)
wait - it already has several names...

7 entries found for payola.
Main Entry: bribe
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: payoff
Synonyms: allurement, bait, blackmail, boodle, buyoff, compensation, contract, corrupt money, corrupting gift, enticement, envelope, fee, fringe benefit, gift, goody, graft, gratuity, gravy, grease, hush money, ice, incentive, inducement, influence peddling, kickback, lagniappe, lure, payola, perk, perquisite, present, price, protection, remuneration, reward, sop, sweetener, sweetening, take, tip
Source: Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.1.1)
Copyright © 2005 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved.

Main Entry: corruption
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: dishonesty
Synonyms: bribery, bribing, crime, crookedness, demoralization, dishonesty, exploitation, extortion, fiddling, fraud, fraudulency, graft, jobbery, malfeasance, misrepresentation, nepotism, payoff, payola, profiteering, racket, shadiness, shady deal, shuffle, skimming, squeeze, unscrupulousness, venality
Antonyms: honesty, incorruption, incorruptness, scruples
Source: Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.1.1)
Copyright © 2005 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved.

Main Entry: extortion
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: cheating
Synonyms: arm, badger, bite, blackmail, coercion, compulsion, demand, exaction, force, fraud, leg pulling, oppression, payoff, payola, pressure, protection, racket, rapacity, shake, shakedown, squeeze, stealing, swindle, theft
Source: Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.1.1)
Copyright © 2005 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved.

Main Entry: kickback
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: bribe
Synonyms: cut, gift, graft, payment, payoff, payola, percentage, recompense, reward, share
Source: Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.1.1)
Copyright © 2005 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved.

Main Entry: pork barrel
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: political patronage
Synonyms: back scratching, favors of office, logrolling, melon, patronage, payola, perks, perquisite, plum, political favor, pork, public crib, public till, public trough, spoils of office, taxpayer funds
Source: Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.1.1)
Copyright © 2005 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved.


http://www.thesarus.com

wow. None of those sound good, legal, or ethical. So, have the other Policy Pushers started Roving these people, claiming they are secretly deviant liberals or gay or French or something? It won't surprise me when it happens.

Another interesting point: we cannot afford to take our eyes off the ball at this point. I doubt these people just happened to find our money. No wonder SS is having a crisis... :eyes:

If not, we need to do an "Al Capone" treatment on them and lock them up.

If i had to guess, I'd say they did not report this income, given the love of secrecy this admin has.

Taking the money is unethical but not breaking the law. Taking the money and not reporting it on your taxes is a felony. That was the first thing I thought of when Armstrong Williams was caught. He would owe a lot of back taxes on $250,000.00.

If it should come out that there 50 or so media whores not paying taxes on their bribe money it would be a god send.

and completely unethical.

Still waiting for any mention of this story in my local Gannett rag.

and religion.............hmmmmmmmm........

and no religion, imagine, it's easy if you do

At which point, I will cash the check, take out a full page advertisement in a Westchester County, NY daily (that's much cheaper than The Times but close by) and expose the entire plot. BushBots, please PM me with arrangements to provide my pay-off.

A Pulitzer and two cement boots to the reporter who pulls it off.

edit: not that that's what I want- it's not!! It's just a colloquialism, and nothing more. :)

Tip of the iceberg.

If they received cash, and did not report the income, they need to go to the GrayBar Hotel..

Machine!!!

sounds like he's a bushel short on the ethics part.

I hope someone compiles a list (I expect more names) and publishes it so that the public can't miss it.

People should know that their "news" is paid (specifically paid for) propaganda.

Fat Boy. How much did these treasonous bastards make?

I doubt if they will run it, they are also in the Bush camp.

This scandal keeps growing. This is fantastic. The press coverage of this, even by the MSM has been steady, thankfully.

I found out that the RNC was sending out fundraising e-mails asking for money to bypass the "liberal media filter." These went out on the very same day Bush suddenly developed a conscience and announced he wouldn't be paying any more columnists to report propoganda.

I forwarded this info to a Congressional aide working on the Democrats' new anti-propoganda bill. I suggested that they add an amendment to prohibit political parties, 527s and other partisan groups from paying journalists to "report" propoganda, noting that this may be the next Republican dirty trick now that direct pay-offs from the government have been exposed. Paid political ads should be identified as such.

I got an e-mail back from the aide, who was extremely interested. He thanked me for sending the info, asked for links to the RNC mailer (which I provided) and promised that they would look into it and consider amending the bill!

To any of you who know how to do an FOIA request, please start requesting them to see if there are links between the RNC, 527 groups, conservative think tanks etc. and so-called journalists promoting Bush programs.

The Rethugs (and it's thugs we're dealing with here, let's be honest) have handed us this entire badly damaging issue on a silver platter holding a whole turkey with all the trimmings. There are three journalists who have been caught now. This is a pattern, and it points to a larger one. Another thing to mention would be the IRS question. Did these journalists report their extra income from this? If not, isn't that a crime as well?

Paging Al Capone.... Al Capone.... paging.......

I knew there would be something we could use eventually. This is it, and the best thing is they did it all to themselves.

I wonder if they could be kicked out of any professional associations they might belong to, such as American Society of Journalists & Authors, Author's Guild, Society of Professional Journalists, or the National Writers Union.

Anyone who is a member of these groups should inquire about ethical rules. If they don't have a rule barring journalists from accepting payment from anyone other than the publisher of their work, please suggest that your organization adopt an anti-propoganda rule.

http://www.rcfp.org/foi_letter/generate.php

The above link also contains another link to the online guide, How to Use the Federal FOI Act.

As Rocky would say, "Go for it."

Question each and every one. Bring it up every day. All the time. Every time blathering O'Reilly opens his mouth, ask him how much tax money he's getting. Which dept. is payiing you, Bill? Health and Human Services? Keep it up. Call Sean Hannity. Call Rush. Call Boortz. Ask them how much their check was for from the U.S. govt. Be relentless. Bush bought the press. Let's open this up until the last wingnut with his/her head in the sand knows they're listening to propaganda. Propaganda paid for with their money.

A name that ought to rankle right-wing older Cold Warriors is that of Victor Louis, a grubby Soviet-era "journalist" with ties to the KGB and privileges the average Soviet didn't possess.

If I were a right-winger with something even loosely approaching integrity, I'd hate to be compared to Victor Louis.

Wow.

Rotten to the core, just as we always suspected. I bet if you just dug a tiny bit deeper, you'd find even more. Like a rotting piece of wood infested with maggots.

Not a bettin man, but.... hmmm.... five live smelt to the predictor of the next slimeball's identity. (If I'm correct, I'll take minnows. They're easier going down.)

There was nary a question in this country at to the motives for going to war. They all repeated the WH line like it was Gospel no questions! I bet the payola started way back then!

:grr:

A joke:

(Q) How does a right-wing Bushista apologist/"journalist" resemble a pond frog?

(A) S/he's also on the pad!

If so, we should organize an effort and get everyone going sending letters, e-mails, etc.

Anyone?

DEMS need to be jumping on this and making this a household scandal.

want to get a divorce cuz they say we gotta be hetero marrieds. Anything they say we gotta do with our tax dollars that involves "personal choices" like marriage just ain't something that feels right anymore.

I remember reading somewhere on these boards that the wingnuts are going against cohabitating straight couples, straight married couples who don't have kids, and straight married couples who want to get divorced. In some states, they're coming out with "covenant marriage," which makes it a nightmare to get divorced, even if your spouse abuses you.

I have a feeling that, pretty soon, a new McCarthyism will evolve: If you're not married, you must be a "fag." And if you and your spouse don't have kids, you are "selfish" and "shameful."

http://www.cafepress.com/liberalissues.14741193

write their scripts, and then "offer" their services to the willing accomplices...the press, magazines, and tv stations.

What surprises me, is why it took so long for the "outings" to begin.

Of course it's "safe" to out the people now, and cut them off the payroll.. The election has been "won" and their services are not as crucial now..

Does any thinking person believe it's a co-inkee-dink that on any given day, there are a dozen or more shrill voices on all the shows and a dozen more scribblers penning "articles" about the same thing...using virtually the same language and phrases?

That's precisely what their think tanks DO.. They come up with the "arguments" for whatever the talking points for the day are to be. They even WRITE the policy sometimes.

The White House and the various agencies are merely "funnels" through which the money flows..

and call it an "Oath of Integrity". Once a pundit signs it they are basically saying they have never been paid off. That way we can sort out whos on the payroll by who won't sign.

Hey *, where's my check? Oh, you wouldnt try that with me, as I actually have some prideto avoid being paid off and lying :evilgrin:

i have a simple chant we coud use at the next protests--How Many MORE? :bounce:

You can't just say "oops, sorry" and "move forward" after you do something that is breathtakingly offensive with my tax dollars. When do we hold these criminals accountable for their grossly unethical (illegal?) actions? Heads never roll in this administration. Even national security advisors who let 9-11 happen under their watch GET PROMOTED!!

"Gallagher later wrote in her column that she would have revealed the $21,000 payment to readers had she recalled receiving it."

Even later, Gallagher wrote that she was blessed with a conveniently bad memory.

is taking secret payments from the Bush Administration and lying about it to his editors and readers.

Good. Very good.

expended.

...three times and it's enemy action.

Fuckin' ARGH, man! I am just out of epithets to heap on these people.

!!!!!!!,

The Plaid Adder

I've worked on federal grants and projects in the past and there used be a clear rule that you could not spend any dollars on public relations. You couldn't even build it into your proposal. at least, that was my experience.

By paying "journalists" to shirll, the public trust is broken. But were any laws broken? Any idea if the DoJ or any Congressional oversight committees are investigating?

Talk about a tax cut ... I want my money back!!

Three cases, PROVABLE, within this short a time is smoke that must be from quite a fire! There is almost zero probability that these three are it. It was too easy to find this information out, it happened too quickly, and the Bushbots are running for cover too furiously for this to be it.

There are probably DOZENS of such arrangements.
The Professor

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/26/politics/main669432.shtml

Also Wednesday, the House Committee on Government Reform released a report on the use of taxpayer dollars for public relations campaigns. It found the administration spent a record $88 million on government-funded public relations contracts in 2004 — more than double the amount spent in 2000, according to the report prepared for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other Democrats.

Oh, what a tangled web we weave,
When we first practice to deceive!

The bigger you are, the harder you fall!

It's well "OVERDUE" for "SOMEONE" and/or "SOME ORG." to begin a full-sweeping investigation! I smell something coming. Gut feeling.

Didn't GATES just buy SALON from MSNBC? GATES was on stage yesterday in Switzerland w/CLINTON, BLAIR (NO BUSHITES)... and CLINTON had very, very strong words about IRAN, IRAQ, SS and SCARE TACTICS, etc... he looked gravely concerned about the Iran thing stating there was no reason to be concerned. After telling it like it was (I mean, GATES was there), suddenly and without warning the screen went dead and that old colored wheel showed on C-SPAN.

This was not the same as shown last night. Totally different. You know who pulled that plug.

:think:

I don't remember the details exactly, but it seems like, since Gates owns Microsoft, it would be more correct if he was selling Slate, not buying it.

But you're not the only one who has noticed mysterious "technical difficulties" every time our side really comes out strong. Anyone else remember the episode of Face the Nation at the RNC? One guy was out interviewing protesters, but when they went to his segment, nothing came up. It happens all the time.

They tow the White House "line" 100% of the time. They might as well have Scott McClellan on there instead.

:kick:

CBS/AP) A syndicated newspaper columnist received at least $4,000 from the Department of Health and Human Services for work in support of President Bush's effort to promote marriage, USA Today reports.

Mike McManus is the third commentator to receive money from a federal agency to boost Bush policy initiatives. The newspaper said McManus got the money to train marriage mentors.

USA Today also said Marriage Savers, a non-profit organization operated by McManus, received $49,000 from a group that receives HHS money to promote marriage to unwed couples who are having children.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/26/politics/main669432.shtml

Payola seems to be fine... err propaganda...

He was a bargain.

We should tell him that.

But what do you call Williams? His price wasn't cheap.

His "non profit" receives HHS money to "promote marriage to unwed couples who are having children" then he writes about in his column. Gee wonder if all that money influenced his objectivity?

"All our Cabinet secretaries must realize that we will not be paying commentators to advance our agenda," Mr. Bush said. "Our agenda ought to be able to stand on its own two feet." :crazy:

The poll at the end of this story has been freeped:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=542&ncid=703&e=2&u=/ap/20050129/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/bush_paid_columnists

His job in freeperland is to fan the fruitcakes, get em all excited and worked up in a freeper mob! freeks

:puke: :puke: :puke: :puke:

"You mean the one BUSH IS BRIBING?"

HA!