I was recently reading a book about a President ending his term of office with an unpopular war raging. Members of the opposing party were condemning everything from his mishandling of the war and his entire record in foreign policy. His poll ratings were the lowest ever recorded in history. Ironically, the President I was reading about was Harry Truman. Time, along with real historical research into his life and career, has placed him in the top ten of all time Presidents. I really don't expect President Bush to ever be considered more than a mediocre President; he has too much other baggage. But I do believe history will look at his Presidency more positively over the years. The Democratic leadership and their propagandists, who dominate the media, try to suppress any positive news for this Administration before the ink is dry on the story. Time will prove, yet again, that the truths that the propagandists in the media try to smother, will tell a much different story with historical perspective. I wonder how different history would have been without the sacrifice of those brave Americans to keep South Korea free. Think the whole Korean peninsula as in North Korea.

There is a Disconnect not only between Government and "The People," but between the Mainstream Media and the truth! The First Dictator of the Soviet Union, Lenin, once said; "A lie told often enough becomes the truth." President Kennedy said, "The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie... but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." We are a country skeptical of the words coming out of Washington, D.C. From the beginning of U.S. History, there were numerous newspapers, pamphlets, and other periodicals that people could use for information. Also, there were numerous discussions in taverns, coffee houses, on street corners and in kitchens over meals. In the end, most Americans relied on their own intuition and seldom accepted information from any source, without challenge. Now, the Networks say all we have to do is get our news from them.

The Twentieth Century brought changes to the dissemination of information. Radio, telephone, photos and eventually moving pictures evolving into television. The last part of the century brought us the internet age, which increased the tempo and volume of information published. On the other hand, it also brought in the ability to distort the information to support a position held by those in power. This is what we call propaganda today. Nazi Germany was one of the first to have a Propaganda Minister. Hitler created an opinion making Ministry headed by Joseph Goebbles. His work continues today, even after a defeated Germany ceased to be a threat. Today his model is carried on by some in today’s media. There is a distortion of the Truth, promulgating half-truths and not presenting the whole story in context.

The lack of credibility about information sourced from the government is yet another legacy of the Viet Nam War. Presidents Johnson and Nixon were  back to back Presidents most responsible for this decline in the confidence in government information. Actually, there was a time in the late 1960s when the “Most Trusted Man” in America was Walter Cronkite. Unfortunately many Americans believed him without question. Walter Cronkite's reporting was a blatant misrepresentation of the truth about the Tet Offensive in 1968. It was the beginning of reporters presenting their own viewpoints as real news. Wikipedia online encyclopedia has the following line in its description of the Tet battles; “According to one view the Tet Offensive was an overwhelming victory for the United States which was mis-reported by the media as a defeat for the United States. Cited in support for this view is the well known report by Walter Cronkite.” Even North Viet Nam’s leading General, Giap, wondered why the Americans never followed up their victory after his failed offensive. In fact, in early April of 1968, the North Viet Namese agreed to peace talks, and the Viet Cong never functioned again as an organized fighting force. The War was won by the North Viet Namese after we pulled out and quit providing any support for South Viet Nam..

The issue here isn’t the War, President Eisenhower warned America about the perils of involving U.S. troops in guerilla warfare or insurgency. Almost all Americans now believe it was foolish that his sucessors did not pay attention. However, the dishonor heaped upon millions of Americans in the Armed Forces who went there and were never driven from a battlefield is a story most Veterans find reprehensible.There is real danger country to this distortion of the truth about what the military really did in Viet Nam. Have you noticed the bad guy in Entertainment is always a Conservative Republican or Military Man? The leadership in the Democratic Congress is already talking about reenacting the so called "Fairness Doctrine." This will be an attempt to supress the popular Conservative media.  Free speech is for those who belittle American values and traditions, not for those of us who believe in the the promise of the Founder's USA.

Several months ago General Ricardo Sanchez gave a press briefing. The New York Times, not know as a beacon of truth, preferred to accent and magnify his remarks about the War in Iraq being a "nightmare." They neglected to quote his opinions about the media. His quote, "It seems that as long as you get a front-page story there is little or no regard for the 'collateral damage' you will cause. Personal reputations have no value and you report with total impunity and are rarely held accountable for unethical conduct." He further stated; "The death knell of your ethics has been enabled by your parent organizations who have chosen to align themselves with political agendas." He also mentioned that politics were more important to both Republicans and Democrats struggling for power in Washington and that struggle; "...had greater priority than our national security objectives." The very lives of those whose service to our Country, allows the Beltway Bunch to gain wealth and power."  I recently read that Vermont anti-war liberals want to succeed from the USA. I wonder what their plan is to protect themselves?