"Bush Taps Bolton for U.N. Post"

Sub-title is "Recess Appointment Angers Democrats".

How else might this article, written by Washington Post writers Jim Vandehei and Colum Lynch, been headlined by the VNews? After all, when you rely on others for national news, as a paper the VNews' size must, headlining, trimming copy and placement is all you have as control. Which is quite a bit. There could have been much more on exactly what paperwork the White House refused to share, which is why the vote had been delayed for so long. What was the White House hiding?

Why did the VN not mention Bolton being interviewed by the Plamegate special prosecutor? Why no mention of Bolton lying to the committee that he was not involved with any on-going investigations? Why no mention of at least the possibility of Bolton being involved in the procurement of Valerie Plame's status?

Jon Appleton reminds us that the NG is over "there" and the porous borders are over here. Also a good editorial on the plight of wounded military and how the costs of this war fall on just a few shoulders.

There is a voice, Daniel Yergin, sounds like an expert, saying the oil shortage is just temporary. Hmm. Did anyone else see The End of Suburbia? Are we or are we not running out of petrol?

Letter to the Editor 8-1-05

Lincoln Kerney II from Quechee takes Derek Levin to task for asking in a letter to the editor some days or weeks ago for asking those who voted for Bush to perhaps consider apologizing now, and then doing something about it. I don't have Derek's original LTTE in front of me.

Perhaps Mr. Kerney would not have written this in the same way had the Valley News published prominently [if it did at all] the latest Gallup and other polls that show Mr. Bush's approval ratings in the lower 40s and heading to the 30's. He is at his lowest approval ratings since his election the first time, which you may remember was with 2 million or so fewer votes than Mr. Gore.

He then slaps Helen Crowe for a letter I missed where she challenges Mr. Sununu for not dropping his support of John Bolton as UN Ambassador. Again, if the full facts and implications of the Bolton fiasco were in our hands via the VNEWS, perhaps Mr. Kerney would be too embarassed to bring it up. It seems, by the way, that Bolton lied to the committee regarding his being involved in any on going investigation, since he was interviewed by the Fitzgerald team. It is possible/plausible that Bolton was the source of the information that Valerie Plame, undercover CIA operative working in the area of WMD, was Ambassador Wilson's wife, and that is why the White House has refused to pass along a number of documents related to Bolton.

Finally this morning, in little tiny letters, 16 American dead this week in Iraq. We are just a few shy of 2000. Let's whisper it. 2000.

I hope the word gets out on this blog, and that we have some good discussions focused on what the VNEWS does or does not cover. Looking to hear from you!

A One Newspaper Town [or Towns]

I don't intend to trash the Valley News. It's a good local newspaper. I've known a lot of folks who have worked there over the years. I think it does a great job of local news, and they try very hard to be part of our 30 or so communities.

But the greater picture, the global and national view, seems a problem right now. What got me thinking of this at all was reading on some blog, www.dailykos.com I believe, that 8 US military had died in Iraq on Sunday. Did you see that? Did I see that? I might have missed it.

I might also have missed the big articles on the Rove/Bush/Cheney Traitorgate, a story that dwarfs Watergate and certainly makes Monicagate, which grew out of a joke called Whitewatergate, into an even bigger joke. There's been some writing, but it's small and understated. so far. Did you get to read about the 8 or so CIA officials who gave testimony on this affair?

I certainly missed any references to Jeff "Male Prostitute/Friend of the White House" Gannon. Most people in the Upper Valley would stare blankly if I asked who Jeff Gannon is and why he was a news story.

So we're going to look at article size, placement, and tone compared to what we know via the full story out on the web. Look, articles on strawberry crops and store openings, fine, but we, as a people, are being asked to know something about the crucial stuff. Is the Valley News doing its job? Stay tuned!