The Daily Mislead from moveon.org

[Boomer Chick]

RUMSFELD MISLEADS ABOUT PRISON ABUSE

Speaking yesterday in Phoenix, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld claimed that there was no way that he and other top military officials could have known about the abuse and torture that took place at Abu Ghraib and other prisons. Rumsfeld said, "if you are in Washington, D.C., you can't know what's going on in the midnight shift in one of those many prisons around the world."[1] But a classified portion of a report by three Army generals (the Fay report) - obtained by the New York Times - found that the atrocities that took place in military prisons were the result of actions taken at the top of the military hierarchy.

According to secret sections of the Fay report, the former top commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez "approved the use in Iraq of some severe interrogation practices intended to be limited to captives held in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and Afghanistan."[2] Moreover, "by issuing and revising the rules for interrogations in Iraq three times in 30 days, General Sanchez and his legal staff sowed such confusion that interrogators acted in ways that violated the Geneva Conventions."[3]

A separate investigation headed by former defense secretary James R. Schlesinger "faulted the Pentagon's top civilian and military leadership yesterday for failing to exercise adequate oversight and allowing conditions that led to the abuse of detainees in Iraq."[4] Rumsfeld was cited specifically for contributing to "confusion over what techniques were permissible for interrogating prisoners in Iraq."[5]

Sources:

1. "Rumsfeld: No plans to resign ," Arizona Daily Star, 8/27/04, daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1922896&l=52360.
2. "Army's Report Faults General in Prison Abuse," New York Times, 8/27/04, daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1922896&l=52361.
3. Ibid, daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1922896&l=52361.
4. "Top Pentagon Leaders Faulted in Prison Abuse," Washington Post, 8/25/04, daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1922896&l=52362.
5. Ibid, daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1922896&l=52362.

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[Boomer Chick]

THE DAILY MIS-LEAD
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SWIFT BOAT VET GOT $40M CONTRACT FROM BUSH

The Bush White House has denied any connection to the Swift Boat Veterans
for Truth[1] - the group that has been airing factually unsupportable smear
ads against Sen. John Kerry's war record. But a new report today shows that
one of the key accusers in the smear ads was a lobbyist for a company that
recently received a massive federal contract from the Bush administration.

As the Washington Post reports, Rear Admiral William L. Schachte Jr., the
man who claims Kerry was not under fire when he received his first Purple
Heart, is a top lobbyist for a defense contractor that recently won a $40
million grant from the Bush administration. According to a March 18 legal
filing by Schachte's firm, Blank Rome, Schachte was one of the lobbyists
working for FastShip's effort to secure federal contracts.[2] On Feb. 2,
FastShip announced the Bush administration had awarded it $40 million.[3]

Schachte has other connections to the Bush administration. The Washington
Post notes David Norcross, Schachte's colleague in the Washington office of
Blank Rome, is chairman of this week's Republican convention in New York.[4]
Records show that Schachte gave $1,000 to Bush's 2000 and 2004 campaigns.[5]
Additionally, Schachte helped organize veterans' efforts against Sen. John
McCain (R-AZ) and for Bush in the 2000 South Carolina primary.[6]

This is not the first member of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth who has
been revealed to be connected to the President. The Bush-Cheney campaign's
top outside lawyer was forced to resign after he admitted providing legal
services to the veterans group.[7] The Bush-Cheney campaign's veterans
adviser was also featured in one of the smear ads.[8]


Sources:

1. "Press Gaggle by Scott McClellan," WhiteHouse.gov, 8/20/04,
daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1922896&l=52656.
2. "A Swift Shift in Stories," Washington Post, 8/31/04,
daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1922896&l=52657.
3. "FastShip, Inc. to Receive $40 million in Federal Support for Marine
Cargo Terminal in Philadelphia," FastShipAtlantic.com, 2/02/04,
daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1922896&l=52658.
4. "A Swift Shift in Stories," Washington Post, 8/31/04,
daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1922896&l=52657.
5. OpenSecrets.org, 8/04,
daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1922896&l=52659.
6. Charleston Post & Courier, 2/17/2000.
7. "Bush-Cheney Lawyer Advised Anti-Kerry Vets," Washington Post, 8/25/04,
daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1922896&l=52660.
8. "Bush Campaign Drops Swift Boat Ad Figure," Washington Post, 8/22/04,
daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1922896&l=52661.


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[Boomer Chick]

BUSH MISLEADS ON TAX CODE COMPLEXITY

Last night, accepting the Republican nomination, President Bush said a "drag on our economy is the current tax code, which is a complicated mess, filled with special interest loopholes."[1] Bush noted that the American people were saddled with "6 billion hours of paperwork and headache every year," and said that he was the candidate to create "a simpler, fairer" system.[2] But during the last four years, Bush has pushed through changes to the tax code far more complicated and burdensome for taxpayers.

According to official Internal Revenue Service estimates from 2000 to 2003, "the time required for the set of forms associated with the 1040 has increased by 3 hours and 8 minutes."[3] The average taxpayer spent 1 hour and 20 minutes longer filing his or her taxes in 2002 than in 2003[4]

Worse, while the tax cuts themselves have gone overwhelmingly to the wealthiest Americans, "the increased time spent filling out forms has been more democratically distributed."[5] Many taxpayers not getting much of a reduction at all have to fill out the same forms that save others millions.

Sources:
1. "Text: President Bush's Acceptance Speech to the Republican National Convention ," The Washington Post, 9/02/04, daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1922896&l=53415.
2. Ibid, daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1922896&l=53415.
3. "Economic Snapshot," Economic Policy Institute, 9/2/04.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.

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