'Suffocating Pressure' - White House 'censorship'

[boomerang]

What country is it that we're living in again? Mr. Jilani can be expecting his IRS audit any day now.

‘Suffocating pressure’: Former ThinkProgress writer describes White House ‘censorship’

Zaid Jilani, a former blogger with the left-wing think tank Center for American Progress, explained this week how the Obama administration frequently tries to censor the progressive organization’s content when it departs from the White House’s agenda.

In a post titled, ”How Working in Washington Taught Me We’re All A Little Like RT America,” Jilani explained how the White House frequently played the part of the Kremlin — leaning on management to push their writers in a particular direction, and punishing them if they strayed from the party line.

“One of the controversial topics that was very constrained in our writing at ThinkProgress in 2009 was Afghanistan.,” he wrote. “CAP had decided not to protest Obama’s surge, so most of our writing on the topic was simply neutral — we weren’t supposed to take a strong stand.”

Jilani had just published a story — “one of the most successful things [he] had ever written at that point” — which indicated troops levels at the end of Obama’s Afghan “surge” would actually be higher than at any point in the George W. Bush administration. And it came complete with a graph, which congressional opponents of the war took into committee hearings on Capitol Hill.

The Obama administration was furious.

“Phone calls from the White House started pouring in,” Jilani claimed, “berating my bosses for being critical of Obama on this policy . . . Soon afterwards all of us ThinkProgress national security bloggers were called into a meeting with CAP senior staff and basically berated for opposing the Afghan war and creating daylight between us and Obama.”

 

[UberNeuman]

Ah, the grand life of a shut-in.....

 

[boomerang]

Well that's it then. I'll do three posts a day on the liberal brain defect. It's on your head.

 

[Thebobo]

Um its a progressive think tank not a news organization.


http://www.americanprogress.org/about/mission/

A think tank offering policy proposals, talking points, events, news and columns. Weekly email newsletter)

How we work
Through dialogue with leaders, thinkers, and citizens, we explore the vital issues facing America and the world. We develop a point of view and take a stand. We then build on that and develop bold new ideas.
We shape the national debate. We share our point of view with everyone who can put our ideas into practice and effect positive change. That means online, on campus, in the media, on the shop floor, in faith communities, and in the boardroom. Our progressive partners—including the CAP Action Fund—take our ideas to Congress and statehouses.

 

[Thebobo]

Just wanted to makes sure you all get your tickets ~

 

[boomerang]

Um its a progressive think tank not a news organization.

You must be having another great Friday night. Congrats. I post a link about the experiences of a former writer for thinkprogress.org and you, in what must be a high degree of altered state of consciousness, think my post has something to do with americanprogress.org. I could go farther with this but I'll leave it at that.

This isn't the first time you've completely misunderstood what you're reading. So is it related to a substance abuse problem or is it more genetic? A shorted in the gene pool kind of thing?

 

[First]

lol

 

[Zaap]

What's funny to me is the total oxymoronic nature of a "progressive thinktank".

LOL!

Talk about an empty vessel.

 

[piasabird]

Russians believe in controlling the press in the same way as the President. Are we that different from the Russians? We invaded Iraq and they invaded Crimea.

 

[Jhhnn]

Oh, wait... Jilani is complaining about his employer, not the White House, for having him toe the line. Apparently, somebody told him that the White House had magical mind control powers over his bosses, and he believed 'em, huh?

Boomerang sure did.

 

[Fern]

Oh, wait... Jilani is complaining about his employer, not the White House, for having him toe the line. Apparently, somebody told him that the White House had magical mind control powers over his bosses, and he believed 'em, huh?

Boomerang sure did.

Maybe it'll help if it's pasted twice:

Jilani explained how the White House frequently played the part of the Kremlin — leaning on management to push their writers in a particular direction..

“Phone calls from the White House started pouring in,” Jilani claimed, “berating my bosses for being critical of Obama on this policy . . .

Fern

 

[Thebobo]

You must be having another great Friday night. Congrats. I post a link about the experiences of a former writer for thinkprogress.org and you, in what must be a high degree of altered state of consciousness, think my post has something to do with americanprogress.org. I could go farther with this but I'll leave it at that.

This isn't the first time you've completely misunderstood what you're reading. So is it related to a substance abuse problem or is it more genetic? A shorted in the gene pool kind of thing?

Admit it you were duped

The daily caller threw out the hook and you bit.

Here let me make it simple for you lets pretend you are a writer for God Guns and Guts and you write an article how you might think that moderate gun control is ok. Well the NRA gets wind and Wayne LaPierre calls and tells your boss to tell you to back off. SO WHAT? happens all the time.

 

[Thebobo]

Maybe it'll help if it's pasted twice:

Fern

Who cares that's what they do.

Surprised you fell for the disingenuous article. Trying to fool folks to be outraged.

Censored no edited yes.

 

[monovillage]

Oh, wait... Jilani is complaining about his employer, not the White House, for having him toe the line. Apparently, somebody told him that the White House had magical mind control powers over his bosses, and he believed 'em, huh?

Boomerang sure did.

I'd point out what a lying sack of shit you are and how you totally lack any credibility, but Fern did a much nicer job of it.

 

[DominionSeraph]

Good for him. The whiny far left needs a talking to every now and again to keep them from spinning themselves up into self-entitled hyperventilation.

Conservatards, it's called "leading." Look it up.

 

[Spungo]

In Soviet Russia, people is scared of government!

 

[Jaskalas]

Russians believe in controlling the press in the same way as the President. Are we that different from the Russians? We invaded Iraq and they invaded Crimea.

Lot more people died in Iraq.

 

[Jhhnn]

Maybe it'll help if it's pasted twice:



Fern

Oh, I read it. Jilani repeats what he was told, not necessarily the truth of it. His organization certainly wasn't dependent on White House funding, was it? So his bosses made a conscious choice, didn't they, to support the Admin's line on Afghanistan? Which, according to Jilani, makes the White House oppressive & not the people he worked for. Funny that.

If his bosses received pressure from the White House, I doubt that's unusual in any Admin, particularly when dealing with the friendlies. Nonetheless, it remains their job to publish what they want & their freedom to do so, provided they have the integrity for it.

 

[chucky2]

Good for him. The whiny far left needs a talking to every now and again to keep them from spinning themselves up into self-entitled hyperventilation.

Conservatards, it's called "leading." Look it up.

<laughing so hard....>

 

[Jhhnn]

I'd point out what a lying sack of shit you are and how you totally lack any credibility, but Fern did a much nicer job of it.

Heh. Fern didn't do shit, and you just doubled down on emptiness. Jilani's bosses told him what to write, because they could, not the White House, who obviously couldn't.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Heh. Fern didn't do shit, and you just doubled down on emptiness. Jilani's bosses told him what to write, because they could, not the White House, who obviously couldn't.

And your partisan hackery couldn't possibly understand that the White House of any administration shouldn't be putting pressure on people, right or left. Not surprising.

 

[ivwshane]

And your partisan hackery couldn't possibly understand that the White House of any administration shouldn't be putting pressure on people, right or left. Not surprising.

It shouldn't but you should also be aware that this isn't unusual at all. Shall I name the last admin who manipulated the press to push a narrative? That doesn't make it right of course but it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that has been paying attention and it certainly doesn't warrant a "what country do we live in again?" response.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

It shouldn't but you should also be aware that this isn't unusual at all. Shall I name the last admin who manipulated the press to push a narrative? That doesn't make it right of course but it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that has been paying attention and it certainly doesn't warrant a "what country do we live in again?" response.

It was crap then and it's the same now. Surprising? No, but disappointing that the "unbush" turned out to be more like him than not, and of course Bush wouldn't be the first. The country we live in is "the same old thing all over again". What strikes me isn't that it's done so much as people will defend it.

 

[ivwshane]

It was crap then and it's the same now. Surprising? No, but disappointing that the "unbush" turned out to be more like him than not, and of course Bush wouldn't be the first. The country we live in is "the same old thing all over again". What strikes me isn't that it's done so much as people will defend it.

I don't see anyone defending it. I see people acknowledging it and explaining how the system works.

Now what I don't see is anyone from any party or anyone on this board saying how this kind of stuff needs to stop. All I see is mud slinging because the "other team" got caught.

Propaganda comes from all sides of the isle and from all walks of life, it's never going away. The only thing that can counter propaganda is a person who is willing to verify the truth and knows how. It's why I always try to point out obvious propaganda and get on people for repeating talking points who obviously haven't fact checked the information they are repeating.

 

[MagickMan]

I'd point out what a lying sack of shit you are and how you totally lack any credibility, but Fern did a much nicer job of it.

I'm enjoying all the deflections from the Left so far; attack the person posting, attack source, unveiled personal attack, entirely unrelated derailment attempt, etc. etc.. Of course, the more irrational and abusive they become, the more you know how much an issue bothers them, though they can't admit it, being the muppets that they are. :awe: