How much does the Bush administration spend to disseminate propaganda to American citizens? 1.6 billion!

How much is good press worth? To the Bush administration, about $1.6 billion.

That's how much seven federal departments spent from 2003 through the second quarter of 2005 on 343 contracts with public relations firms, advertising agencies, media organizations and individuals, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.

Armstrong Williams, the conservative commentator, had been unmasked as a paid administration promoter who received $186,000 from the Education Department to speak favorably about President Bush's No Child Left Behind law in broadcast appearances.

Around the same time, a spat erupted between the GAO and the White House over whether the government's practice of feeding TV stations prepackaged, ready-to-air news stories that touted administration policies (but did not disclose the government as the source) amounted to "covert propaganda." The GAO said that it did. The administration disagreed, saying spreading information about federal programs is part of the agencies' mission, and that the burden of disclosure falls on the TV stations.

This is one of the most egregious examples of the depths that this administration is willing to go to control what information Americans receive and how it is presented. It is illegal for our government to disseminate proganda within the United States of America! And yet it was done!

We should rise up and demand to be treated like grown ups. Do not spoon feed us lies like we are children. If what our government is doing has to be covered up or softened up then it is most likely wrong! We need to know what this administration is doing in our name, here and around the world.