mactastic
Jan 7, 2005, 12:03 PM
Link (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6798618/)
The U.S. Department of Education paid Armstrong Williams, one of the nation’s most prominent black commentators, $240,000 to promote President Bush’s No Child Left Behind education initiative and to urge other black journalists to do likewise, it was reported Friday.
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Citing documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, USA Today said that in exchange for the payments, Armstrong was required “to regularly comment on the (initiative) during the course of his broadcasts” of his nationally syndicated television show and to interview Education Secretary Rod Paige for TV and radio advertisements that aired on his show in 2004.
The newspaper quoted Williams as saying that while some might consider the arrangement unethical, “I wanted to do it because it’s something I believe in.”
But Rep. George Miller, the senior Democrat on the House Education Committee, deemed the contract “probably illegal” and told USA Today he would request an investigation.
The payments to Williams’ were included in a $1 million Education Department contract with the Ketchum advertising agency, which resulted in the production of “video news releases” designed to look like authentic news reports, the newspaper said. It noted that the Government Accountability Office investigated similar releases created to support the administration’s Medicare prescription drug plan and deemed them an illegal use of taxpayers’ dollars.
White House spokesman Trent Duffy was quoted as saying that he could not comment on the matter because the White House is not involved in departments’ contracts.
In addition to advancing the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act, which dramatically increased the role of the federal government in guaranteeing the quality of public education, the U.S. Education Department arranged for Armstrong to use contacts within America’s Black Forum, a group of black broadcast journalists, to “encourage the producers to periodically address” the issue, the newspaper said.
Radio and television personality Steve Harvey invited Paige to appear twice on his program at Williams’ urging, the newspaper quoted Harvey’s manager, Rushion McDonald, as saying.
Armstrong, 45, is a former aide to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and one of the leading black conservative voices in the United States. He hosts "The Right Side" television program and writes op-ed columns for newspapers.
You just shake your head and wonder sometimes. The feeling that they are above the law seems to permeate this administration.
So... who's being paid to hype the SS crisis I wonder?
The U.S. Department of Education paid Armstrong Williams, one of the nation’s most prominent black commentators, $240,000 to promote President Bush’s No Child Left Behind education initiative and to urge other black journalists to do likewise, it was reported Friday.
advertisement
Citing documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, USA Today said that in exchange for the payments, Armstrong was required “to regularly comment on the (initiative) during the course of his broadcasts” of his nationally syndicated television show and to interview Education Secretary Rod Paige for TV and radio advertisements that aired on his show in 2004.
The newspaper quoted Williams as saying that while some might consider the arrangement unethical, “I wanted to do it because it’s something I believe in.”
But Rep. George Miller, the senior Democrat on the House Education Committee, deemed the contract “probably illegal” and told USA Today he would request an investigation.
The payments to Williams’ were included in a $1 million Education Department contract with the Ketchum advertising agency, which resulted in the production of “video news releases” designed to look like authentic news reports, the newspaper said. It noted that the Government Accountability Office investigated similar releases created to support the administration’s Medicare prescription drug plan and deemed them an illegal use of taxpayers’ dollars.
White House spokesman Trent Duffy was quoted as saying that he could not comment on the matter because the White House is not involved in departments’ contracts.
In addition to advancing the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act, which dramatically increased the role of the federal government in guaranteeing the quality of public education, the U.S. Education Department arranged for Armstrong to use contacts within America’s Black Forum, a group of black broadcast journalists, to “encourage the producers to periodically address” the issue, the newspaper said.
Radio and television personality Steve Harvey invited Paige to appear twice on his program at Williams’ urging, the newspaper quoted Harvey’s manager, Rushion McDonald, as saying.
Armstrong, 45, is a former aide to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and one of the leading black conservative voices in the United States. He hosts "The Right Side" television program and writes op-ed columns for newspapers.
You just shake your head and wonder sometimes. The feeling that they are above the law seems to permeate this administration.
So... who's being paid to hype the SS crisis I wonder?
