NOTE: Entries on these pages contain excerpts from the news stories or external pages to which the entry is linked.

January 2005
Government Approved

    

One in three U.S. high school students say the press ought to be more restricted, and even more say the government should approve newspaper stories before readers see them, according to a survey being released today.

The survey of 112,003 students finds that 36% believe newspapers should get "government approval" of stories before publishing; 51% say they should be able to publish freely; 13% have no opinion.

Continue Reading "Government Approved" » »

Excerpt made on Monday January 31, 2005 at 01:44 PM | View Full Entry »
Covert Propaganda

    

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration paid a prominent commentator to promote the No Child Left Behind schools law to fellow blacks and to give the education secretary media time, records show.

A company run by Armstrong Williams, the syndicated commentator, was paid $240,000 by the Education Department. The goal was to deliver positive messages about Bush's education overhaul, using Williams' broad reach with minorities.

Continue Reading "Covert Propaganda" » »

Excerpt made on Sunday January 09, 2005 at 03:55 AM | View Full Entry »
Faith-Based Parks

    

Washington, DC -- The Bush Administration has decided that it will stand by its approval for a book claiming the Grand Canyon was created by Noah's flood rather than by geologic forces, according to internal documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).

Despite telling members of Congress and the public that the legality and appropriateness of the National Park Service offering a creationist book for sale at Grand Canyon museums and bookstores was "under review at the national level by several offices," no such review took place, according to materials obtained by PEER under the Freedom of Information Act. Instead, the real agency position was expressed by NPS spokesperson Elaine Sevy as quoted in the Baptist Press News:

"Now that the book has become quite popular, we don't want to remove it."

Continue Reading "Faith-Based Parks" » »

Excerpt made on Sunday January 09, 2005 at 03:51 AM | View Full Entry »