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Bush End Game
George W. Bush's presidency since 2007

Bush - Second Term
George W. Bush's presidency from 2005-06

Bush - First Term
George W. Bush's presidency, 2000-04

Who Is Bob Gates?
The secret world of Defense Secretary Gates

2004 Campaign
Bush Bests Kerry

Behind Colin Powell's Legend
Gauging Powell's reputation.

The 2000 Campaign
Recounting the controversial campaign.

Media Crisis
Is the national media a danger to democracy?

The Clinton Scandals
Behind President Clinton's impeachment.

Nazi Echo
Pinochet & Other Characters.

The Dark Side of Rev. Moon
Rev. Sun Myung Moon and American politics.

Contra Crack
Contra drug stories uncovered

Lost History
America's tainted historical record

The October Surprise "X-Files"
The 1980 election scandal exposed.

International
From free trade to the Kosovo crisis.

Other Investigative Stories

Editorials


   

Why We Deserve Your Help

By Robert Parry
April 7, 2008

We know that times are tough and there are plenty of worthy causes deserving of your financial support. So why help us at Consortiumnews.com? A fair question – and here’s our answer:

We’ve been in the fight for honest journalism for a long time. Our Internet operation started in 1995, the infancy of the modern Internet.

From that moment on, we’ve worked hard to provide readers with information about important events that were getting short shrift from a mainstream news media, which was growing frivolous, cowardly and corrupt.

Indeed, many important chapters of recent U.S. history exist largely because of our work at Consortiumnews.com.

Our first series of articles revealed secret documents about the sinister Reagan-Bush “October Surprise” operation in 1980; we alone told the real story of George H.W. Bush’s attempted “Passportgate” smear of Bill Clinton in 1992; we disclosed the extraordinary admissions of the CIA’s inspector general regarding Nicaraguan contra-cocaine smuggling of the 1980s; and much more.

While breaking these historic stories, we also provided a unique perspective on why the U.S. press corps had deteriorated from the heroic Watergate days of the 1970s to the prolonged silly season of O.J., Monica and WMD fantasies.

Most of my career has been spent as a mainstream Washington journalist, working at the Associated Press, Newsweek, PBS Frontline and elsewhere. That experience gave me insights into the inner working of the U.S. press corps – and has informed our coverage of how this media distorts reality.

During Campaign 2000, for instance, we reported on the double standards applied to Al Gore and George W. Bush. The mainstream media twisted Gore’s words beyond all recognition to support a narrative of “Lyin’ Al,” while Bush and Dick Cheney got mostly a free pass on their actual distortions and lies.

We were out front, too, on the illegitimacy of Bush’s “election,” and we went against the grain during the early years of the Bush administration, even as most of the Washington press corps fell into line after 9/11.

During the critical days of late 2002 and early 2003, we challenged Bush’s honesty and questioned his case for war with Iraq. When Bush was at the height of his power and popularity, we stood up to him. We didn't wait until his poll numbers had sunk to the 30s. We wrote critical articles even when his poll numbers were in the 80s and 90s.

None of this was smart for our careers. Nothing here made us rich or popular in the insider world of Washington. But it was the right thing to do for journalism, for the principles of democracy, and for the American Republic.

[For details on the past 12 years of Consortiumnews.com stories, see our last three books: Lost History; Secrecy & Privilege; and Neck Deep.]

So, we ask for your support now so we can continue to do what we’ve been doing for the past dozen-plus years: to lay out a truthful narrative of this troubling era and to provide the American people with the necessary information to regain control of their country.

For our spring fundraiser, we have set a modest goal of $25,000, but we must reach that mark if we are to continue operation much longer.

So, please make a tax-deductible donation today. Or, if you know someone involved with a charitable foundation that’s interested in an informed public, you might urge them to contact us.

To make a secure, tax-deductible donation by credit card, click here.

Or you can send a check to: Consortium for Independent Journalism (CIJ); Suite 102-231; 2200 Wilson Blvd.; Arlington, VA 22201.

(For readers using PayPal, address donations to our account, which is named "[email protected]".)

Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories in the 1980s for the Associated Press and Newsweek. His latest book, Neck Deep: The Disastrous Presidency of George W. Bush, was written with two of his sons, Sam and Nat, and can be ordered at neckdeepbook.com. His two previous books, Secrecy & Privilege: The Rise of the Bush Dynasty from Watergate to Iraq and Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, the Press & 'Project Truth' are also available there. Or go to Amazon.com.

To comment at Consortiumblog, click here. (To make a blog comment about this or other stories, you can use your normal e-mail address and password. Ignore the prompt for a Google account.) To comment to us by e-mail, click here. To donate so we can continue reporting and publishing stories like the one you just read, click here.


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