cannabisnews.com: Who's The Enemy? Who's The Enemy? Posted by FoM on August 29, 2000 at 12:57:28 PT Star-Telegram Editorial Source: Star-Telegram National drug czar Barry McCaffrey seems quite concerned about the media. It appears that the office of the nation's drug czar is not operating in the good faith and openness that should be the model for government.`Newsweek' magazine reports in its current issue that White House drug czar Barry McCaffrey taped conversations with members of the media without necessarily informing them that the conversations were being recorded. This is not a legal question -- it's not against the law to make these kinds of tapings in Washington. This is, instead, a question of ethics and honesty.According to reporter Michael Isikoff: "The existence of the tapes was a closely held secret until this summer, when the drug office belatedly turned over two dozen audiocassettes in response to a 1997 demand for evidence in a lawsuit. (A McCaffrey aide says they were only recently found in a storage closet.)""In a storage closet" sounds vaguely familiar to another story from this White House about missing evidence.Earlier this year, Salon.com revealed "a hidden government campaign to insert anti-drug messages into TV programs." The writer, Daniel Forbes, went on to explain how TV networks were given money (about $25 million so far) by the Office of National Drug Control Policy to insert anti-drug messages into prime-time programs.The office of the drug czar appears to have its priorities misplaced. It should be fighting drugs, not members of the media.Send comments to letters star-telegram.com Published: August 28, 2000Source: Ft. Worth Star-Telegram (TX)Website: http://www.star-telegram.com/Contact: letters star-telegram.comCopyright: 2000 Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, TexasForum: http://www.star-telegram.com/comm/forums/Related Articles:The Drug Czar and His Secret Tapes http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6846.shtmlIs the Drug Czar Skirting the Law? http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6836.shtmlPropaganda for Dollars - Salonhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/4/thread4317.shtml CannabisNews McCaffrey Archives:http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/McCaffrey.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by Mitchell on August 29, 2000 at 14:15:22 PT: It's A.M. in America Cures Not Wars Has an editorial by A.M. Rosenthal concerning Soros from 1996, about the time he was puckering up to mccaffrey on tape. http://www.cures-not-wars.org/rosenthal.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by kaptinemo on August 29, 2000 at 13:55:10 PT: Wake up and smell the burning Constitution, you bonehead!Sorry for venting my spleen, folks, but this media type is of the demi-conscious sort, the kind that sees the damage being done by the DrugWar, sees the wrack and ruin of innocent lives taken, familiies destroyed, careers trashed, hundreds of thousands of non-violent people incarcerated, but somehow never seems to connect the dots between ineffective DrugWar and vicious DrugWarriors. Between useless attempts at stemming something as old as time, and the damage done in the effort.Yet, this member of the Fourth Estate is whining about how his class is being treated by the antis' boss. As if there was some special arrangement exempting him from the treatment meted out to all other Americans.The very core of the DrugWar revolves around paranoia. Fear. The black market created by it thrives upon fear. The antis literally feed themselves from the fear their laws generate. And once a "Us vs. Them" mentality is engendered, the paranoia goes so deep, it's automatic. The paranoia of the DrugWarriors is extended even unto their *allies*; why do you think those tapes of Barry's little kaffeeklatches with other antis seeking to overturn Prop215 were made? (Children, can you say, 'blackmail'?)This poor excuse for a journalist was no doubt one of those who saw nothing wrong with Barry-ola trying to covertly influence public opinion. And now he finds himself bitten by the very snake he lay in bed with. I have to laugh. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: