An Open Letter to the residents of Baltimore and the Press Corps: I read with interest a lengthy article, in the New York Times, documenting the journalistic fraud committed by Jayson Blair, former employee of the Times. The Sacramento Bee ran an article on it in Monday, 12th Metro Section. I find it puzzling, however, that while the journalists are willing to expose one of their own who has violated a sacred journalistic code, as well as some moral edicts, the outright lies of the Bush administration can go on unabated and unchallenged. Perhaps the same pattern of “limited journalistic oversight” seen in the Blair case still infects the Times and almost all of the major and minor newspapers in this country. Where are the weapons of mass destruction so thoroughly touted by Bush and Powell? Where is Hussein and why is he not being sought? And what ever happened to Bin Laden? Are these stories merely concoctions, or are they just old news? My problem with this and other issues in this country that are not being discussed by our media is that the information is readily available, and still our national press refuses to discuss it. The lack of interest in stories that are clearly and obviously relevant to a democracy trying to survive the onslaught of lies, half-truths, and second-hand, third-hand, fourth-hand and just plain made up stories issued by the Bush administration is frightening. It tells me that we have lost the war to protect our democracy from dying for lack of the one thing it needs the most – information. Those of us in the private sector, without direct access to a news vehicle to launch our concerns and to give the results of our own investigations, are at the mercy of the media. If you won’t question it, or report it, or even mention it, what has become of the alleged role of the press – that of providing information to the electorate? As an anthropologist, educator, and humanist, I argue that newspapers in this country have not only abdicated the responsibility to protect the electorate from the inaccuracies of Jayson Blair, but have failed as journalistic organs to report the inaccuracies, deceits, lies, distortions, and outright criminal behavior on the part of the current administration. For example, I have seen the photos that are spread from one end of the internet to the other – completely world-wide – of the Pentagon building immediately after the “impact” of what was alleged to be “Flight 77”. No 757 or 767 ever made created that small hole. Where is the debris? Why was the lawn of the Pentagon covered immediately with sand? The pictures of the aftermath show no crash site or damage to the area – yet it was covered completely. Go and look at the damage yourselves instead of hiding behind some “doctrine of journalistic integrity”. I looked at the data from Andrews Air Base in the aftermath of the 9/11 disaster. Why were the jets not scrambled for nearly an hour, and only after the Pentagon was “struck”? Why were there conflicting stories coming from our government, and why in any other case of planes deviating from a flight plan are Air Force jets routinely scrambled within minutes? I challenge you to find the truth and report it. I challenge you to stand up to the criminal deceit of the Bush administration instead of cowering in the darkness of “unpatriotic” fear, and I challenge you – I dare you – to live up to the expectations of an increasing angry electorate who will not take the lies, distortions, and deceit much longer. While president cowboy – president top-gun – cavorts to the obvious pleasure of the media and flaunts his disgraceful message of environmental demise, his disgraceful tax credits to the corporate oligopolies who already have their hands in the taxpayers pockets, his disgraceful butchery of innocent civilians in Iraq, his disgraceful insider contracts to Halliburton in the aftermath of the “war” in Iraq, his disgraceful scuttling of health care in a society where over 40 million people have no health care at all, and his disgraceful gutting of programs directly affecting over 30 million poverty-stricken, homeless, hungry, and unemployed people in this country, one of our most trusted news media takes the time to right wrongs committed in its own house by one of its own employees. Thanks for cleaning up the “house of journalistic truth” – we will all sleep better tonight for that one, but that is not enough to buy back “journalistic integrity”. Why not get off your dead – but oh, so patriotic – asses and cover the real stories. Jim Snoke Anthropologist, Educator, and Humanist 2816 Hillcrest Drive Cameron Park, CA 95682