Buzzflash headliens of the day

Today's Top 5 headlines email I got from Buzzflash is particularly disturbing, so I'll rip off a couple and throw them on here.

First link: Killed in Iraq. 240 Soldiers Dead Since Bush Told Us "Mission Accomplished." 174 GIs Dead Since Bush Said, "Bring Them On." 2176 Reported Wounded. Returning Dead Hidden from the Public View by Bush. He Betrays Our Troops and Our Nation.

Second link: CBS Will Cancel Its Airing of Reagan Mini-Series, Sources Say: Then They Should Change Their Name to Cowardly Broadcasting Service or the Censored Broadcasting Service. GOP Turns Television Into Soviet-Style Propaganda Tool.

The first headline speaks for itself. On the cancellation of the Reagen miniseries, here's my favorite paragrpah from that article: "CBS executives have been reworking the film over the last week, trying to fix what many critics - none of whom had seen the film [emphasis mine] and were relying mostly on a report in The New York Times about its contents - called inaccurate and unfair portrayals of the former president."

This is just absolutely ridiculous. We can't be critical of our prior presidents unless they are Democrats, then they are fair game? Given the treatment that Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton have received, by the same Republican Hit Squad who shot down CBS for this Reagan miniseries, the answer is a very hypocritical yes.

And don't give me this, "Reagan is dying in his bed and he's suffering and we have to leave him alone" whine whine whine bullshit. The man's a former president, that alone makes him fair game. But that's not the point. Actions like this stifle democracy. When the media is not allowed to criticize the government, no matter who the representative of it is, our democracy is damaged. If the Republicans were actuallly concerned about the health of our democracy, they would allow the media to do their jobs. The right might scream and howl about the "liberal media", however untrue that myth is, but if people don't like it and they want to hear the Republican point of view, they can just goto Fox News. We're supposed to have choice in what we want to watch on television, but appearently Republicans just don't believe in that. They would much rather have the media kiss their ass, just like Fox News already does, and then say things are "fair and balanced" while forcing us to watch their propaganda.