Propagada letter spreads....

[Robb]

Many of you know about a pro-Bush, pro-war letter to the editor that I spotted last week in my tiny newspaper, and have subsequently found in 20 more small papers nationwide (the letter is archived in this DU thread). It is from a "Kim Hester", a "a patriotic American working in a dangerous corner of the world...."

Please check with your friends in small towns for this letter, and PM me with the name of the small paper if you find it. Most newspapers of this size are not online, and the only way to effectively track this thing is through groups like DU.

Help keep this kicked, if you would; below is the current list of newspapers who received and printed the letter. Thanks.

--
Ashley County Ledger (Hamburg, AR)
Bald Knob Banner (Bald Knob, AR)
Sonoran News (Cave Creek, AZ)
Willits News (Willits, CA)
Ouray Plaindealer (Ouray, CO)
Ridgway Sun (Ridgway, CO)
The Northeast Georgian (Cornelia, GA)
Central Kentucky News-Journal (Campbellsville, KY)
News-Democrat & Leader (Russellville, KY)
Barnstable Patriot (Cape Cod, MA)
Hudson-Litchfield News (Hudson, NH)
Weirs Times (Lake Winnipesaukee, NH)
The Desert Journal (Truth or Consequences, NM)
Fulton Valley News (Fulton, NY)
Brady Standard-Herald (Brady, TX)
Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, TX)
The Mineral Wells Index (Mineral Wells, TX)
Box Elder News Journal (Brigham City, UT)
Uintah Basin Standard (Roosevelt, UT)
The Lusk Herald (Lusk, WY)
--

[trogdor]

1. Google turns up 17 hits.

Pretty much the same papers you're listing. Damn. I was hoping to see the Utica Observer-Dispatch in my Google search.

[oasis]

2. Kick the chimp out of the White House. (eom)

[frylock]

3. kick

[theorist]

4. kick

:kick:

[democratreformed]

5. Thanks for the update n/t

[tom_paine]

6. I think these Bushevik monsters have extended their fraudulent e-mail

campaign to include fraudulent letters, as well.

Future historians, if there is such a thing in the 21st Century Age of Totalitarianism, will look on Imperial Amerika as a texbook scenario of how to destroy democracy as seminal as the Nazi methodologies were seminal to today.

Fucking monsters.

[Nadienne]

9. e-mails...

sheesh, you wouldn't believe some of the crap my innocent little sister sends me. I never fail to point out why I disagree with her e-mail. I don't know if she really understands yet... but I will not give up hope...

And I will watch for the letter...

[Robb]

7. late addition:

The Pilot-Independent (Walker, MN) has printed the letter as well, becoming the 21st small paper in the 14th state.

Thanks for keeping this kicked, everyone!

[SharonAnn]

14. Sheesh, you'd think they'd recognize the verbiage is the style

of the GOP "Astroturf" letters. I can spot them a mile off. Real people don't write like that, but political consultants do.

[Eloriel]

8. Are you notifying the papers?

Are you following up with any of the reporters who covered the original astro-turf letters? Or with FAIR or other media-watch orgs?

Eloriel

[Robb]

11. Looking for a contact for Ledyard King

...the reporter that broke the first wave of letters in October. :shrug:

[loudnclear]

10. Kicking...Important to show the phoniness of this administration

eom

[Cleita]

12. Another

:kick:

[Spazito]

13. Kick

:kick:

[RebelOne]

15. This is too much. Kick

[Insider]

16. columbus (OH) federal voice

http://federalvoice.dscc.dla.mil/federalvoice/031203/letter.html

--snip--
Editor's note: Mr. Hester is a former Marine who currently is a civilian living and working in Saudi Arabia as a teacher in the petroleum industry. He has been in Saudi Arabia about nine years.
--snip--

[AmericanDem]

17. Has this been talked about in major media?

If so, which. If not, are there plans for getting this info out to them?

[Robb]

18. I've hit a few people

...and of course feel free to bother anyone you might know who has access to a typewriter. :)

Here's what I've got now; if this description of Kim Hester in the Columbus Federal Voice article as a former marine is accurate, then he probably authored this piece. And if he's a teacher, sharing that PO box at Dhahran airport, he probably works at Ecole Francaise d'Al Khobar, in the Eurovillage Compound.

So, who's got cheap long distance? ;)

[Patriot_Spear]

19. I've been Emailing the papers...

Perhaps they can be shamed into not being tools of mass deception.

[oasis]

20. kick

[Patriot_Spear]

21. Tipped off some of the papers, here's one response...

"Thank you for pointing this out. We will be running an editorial in Monday's newspaper explaining to our readers that this letter was Astroturf and letting our readers know what measures we will be putting in place to prevent it from happening again. I will e-mail you a link to the editorial once it's published. Again, thank you for bringing this to our attention.'

[ACK]

24. Way to go!

What a reasonable and excellent editorial response.

Printing an editorial pointing out this nonsense is great.

[ibegurpard]

26. Most excellent!

:toast:

[AmericanDem]

30. Good Job

Thanks for the work.

[Imalittleteapot]

22. kick

[chocolateeater]

23. Kick

:kick:

[Patriot_Spear]

25. kick n/t

[VOX]

27. Excellent BS-buster, Robb. Kick. n/t

:kick:

[Robb]

28. Right on, Patriot_Spear!!

Couple more for the list, thanks DUers!! 17 States!

--
Ashley County Ledger (Hamburg, AR)
Bald Knob Banner (Bald Knob, AR)
Sonoran News (Cave Creek, AZ)
Christian Examiner (El Cajon, CA)
Willits News (Willits, CA)
Ouray Plaindealer (Ouray, CO)
Ridgway Sun (Ridgway, CO)
Baxley News-Banner (Appling, GA)
The Northeast Georgian (Cornelia, GA)
Central Kentucky News-Journal (Campbellsville, KY)
News-Democrat & Leader (Russellville, KY)
Barnstable Patriot (Cape Cod, MA)
Pilot-Independent (Walker, MN)
Hudson-Litchfield News (Hudson, NH)
Weirs Times (Lake Winnipesaukee, NH)
The Desert Journal (Truth or Consequences, NM)
Fulton Valley News (Fulton, NY)
Columbus Federal Voice (Columbus, OH)
Westview (Bellevue, TN)
Brady Standard-Herald (Brady, TX)
Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, TX)
The Mineral Wells Index (Mineral Wells, TX)
Box Elder News Journal (Brigham City, UT)
Uintah Basin Standard (Roosevelt, UT)
The Lusk Herald (Lusk, WY)

[bvar22]

29. This letter is as phony as bush*s....

Thanksgiving Turkey, Turkey!