Maceo Parker - Roots & Grooves DOUBLE CD

Heads Up/Telarc/GmbH/EMI

Where most saxophone players gravitate towards Coltrane, push themselves in the direction of melody and flowing solo's of traditional jazz, Parker took a different route: aligning himself more with the works of Ray Charles and James Brown. Parker was actually a key member of James Brown's group, and later went on to play extensively with George Clinton and P-Funk, only furthering his long list of accomplishments as a professional saxophonist.
Roots & Grooves, an album a long time in the making, is a two part masterpiece: the first disc is a Ray Charles tribute, the second a winding funk dream sequence. The Ray Charles disc is outstanding. As a big Ray Charles fan, I feel this is an incredibly tasteful tribute. Songs are taken, not stolen. Singing on tracks like ÒHit The Road JackÓ sound so similar to the original it takes a few seconds to realize that this isn't him. The second CD is actually just a continuation of P-Funk and their legacy. It just sounds like them, minus Clinton's unreplicable voice. Together, this is an unstoppable set.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I can still hear James Brown at the Apollo Theater in Harlem screaming "Maceo! Maceo! Maceo! Give me some horn!", and of course whatever James wanted, he got. Maceo Parker did a great job then, and is still doing so today.

Si Kahn with Ygdrassil - Thanksgiving

Strictly Country

Coming in at almost exactly one hour, Thanksgiving is, in my humble opinion, one of the best modern folk albums. With over thirty years of history embedded in his music, Si Kahn's minimal orchestration (read: one acoustic guitar) is the perfect accent to his voice. Oh, his voice. While there isn't anything remarkable about it per say, it is the best voice I have heard for this genre. His range isn't jaw-dropping, his voice isn't booming or anything of that sort; rather, it is fine tuned for this specific purpose: soulful, spoken heart-felt, and fully immersed in the soul of whatever topic he's speaking on (usually labor and race struggles).
On the note of topics, this recording is worth owning for the storytelling alone. I wouldn't call this is the resurrection of Guthrie, this is hand in hand with the original. Collecting 2 songs from all of his previous releases plus a few brand new tracks, Thanksgiving gives hope to music today.

Five for Fighting - Live: Back Country CD & DVD Set

Aware/Columbia/Sony BMG

A live Five For Fighting release has been talked about for years, and it is great that it finally came to be. Grammy nominated and relying on semi-cult status, the brainchild of John Ondrasik has been at it for almost ten years now, releasing albums at a slow but steady pace.
I wouldn't quite call this country, though there is certainly a silver lining of it here and there. Think more of a singer/songwriter version of Coldplay, or perhaps Bono getting in touch with his more organic sounding roots: less on the heavy production and more on the songwriting. Amazing piano playing backs the live CD from start to finish, and Ondrasik's vocal melodies are simultaneously original and accessible.

Billy Taylor and Gerry Mulligan - Live at MCG

Manchester Craftsmen's Guild

Pulsating with groove, Billy Taylor and Gerry Mulligan's performance on Live at MCG is outstanding. They have an intense love for the genre, which literally shines through every moment of this duo's incredible work together.
As two life-long friends, Taylor and Mulligan seem to know the ins and outs of each others personal styles: they play off each note as if their lives depend on it. You can actually hear them working in between each other's jokes during post-song intermissions. Their abilities to fully understand the essence of jazz is beyond the comprehension of most, and, with the unfortunate passing away of Mulligan last century, this is a great way to remember one of the best saxophonists in recent history.

54 Seconds - Postcards From California

Rock Ridge/ADA/BMG

My first thoughts on this record? Really annoying. Singer Spencer Gibb's crooning sounded like a country artist gone wrong, and obnoxious keyboards only work under some instances.
After taking a step back from it, I realized I was just straight wrong. The country elements are more hidden than I originally thought, buried deep within the textures of the effect drenched keyboards and guitars. The crooning grew on me; it's less a whiny form of singing, it's an emotional expression. And the more you hear this, the more it grows on you. Exploring sounds within the confines of traditional alternative rock, 54 Seconds makes points to create different sounds and currents within their music without sounding Òout thereÓ. This is further pointing out that first impressions are not always the best.

Samara Lubelski - Parallel Suns

Social Registry

Speaking of something breathtakingly original and good, Samara Lubelski is one of the most outstanding new pieces of music I've heard in quite some time. While psychedelic music is not particularly my thing, Lubelski makes it actually work: using the drugged out rhythms of the 70's more as a shawl than as an actual direction.
She coats her pop melodies in strange textures and interesting tones, burying her voice deep in the mix to give it an even more strange vibe. Parallel Suns doesn't lose it's pace, doesn't have low points, and puts all psych-folk to shame. Lubelski worked with members of Metabolismus for her third album on Social Registry. This is simultaneously beautiful and eerie as all hell, and I love it.

Various Artists - A Compilation of Warped Music

SideOneDummy

So many bad things came about at the turn of the last century. A president worse than the previous, the rise of the worst hip-hop trends in history, and the unfortunate beginnings of such Internet phenomenons such as Friendster and Myspace. One of the few fond events for me from that time was the launch of Warped Tour. While originally not a punk festival, its mutation into the corporate-sponsored youth subcultural event that it is today not only shaped many of us, but also led (and still leads) to the rise of a large percentage of popular punk music today.
A Compilation of Warped Music takes some of the best, and most embarrassing, bands from the last decade and puts together in a fairly well rounded festival support CD. While some went on to bigger and brighter futures (Mighty Mighty Bosstones had their biggest hit shortly after this release), a good number of these bands broke up and only left a few over-grown fans to remember their names: Dance Hall Crashers, Furious IV, 22 Jacks, and Strung Out. Most of the bands are out of the spotlight today, except for perhaps NOFX, but all still give off the angsty teenage vibe that was the quintessential characteristic of late 90's punk. Oh, the memories!
************LATE BUT GREAT***********

Collin Herring - Past Life Crashing

Self Released Ð RELEASE DATE MARCH 2008

Storytellers make great musicians, and it's usually better when the storyteller is talking about the destruction of their own lives. Collin Herring took two years to write Past Life Crashing, writing and rewriting, recording and re-recording the album until its sound matched where he was in life.
Since his last release, he got married and divorced and put into rehab twice. Not that I take enjoyment out of others misfortunes, but you can't fake real pain like this. Herring's modern singer/songwriter approach to classic 60's rock makes this original, yet still accessible.
For a moment I thought there was a Bono guest spot, but no, Herring's voice just has quite a dynamic style to it. His songwriting is all over the place, at points reminiscing of Costello and the next track going to ÒPink CadillacÓ, while punching in a few moments of southern charm here and there just to balance it all out. Soul and heart mean a lot, and Herring has enough of both to go around.

Suzy Bogguss - Sweet Danger

Loyal Dutchess

It's rare that artists reinvent themselves to become leaps and bounds better than the original. Bogguss's early work was unimpressive to me: country pop songs that did nothing but blend in with the countless other's I've heard in my lifetime.
Sweet Danger, on the other hand, is a far stretch to even imply country elements. This is a new and improved Suzy Bogguss: jazzy, poppy, and a bit folky. Heavily produced and lightly tweaked with elegant latin-jazz guitar, Bogguss is more pop than anything else now. Sweet Danger is heavily reminiscent of Suzanne Vega for me. I don't think it's a strong comparison, but one that works. A confined Vega with less interest in new sounds and more stoked on jazz.

Richard Boulger - Blues Twilight

B-1/City Hall

While the time of legendary jazz musicians has gone the way of the dinosaur's and VHS tapes, once and a while there will be an album that will pop out at you, and question god's will as to why it didn't come to be 50 years prior.
Blues Twilight flows in a way that you can't learn about in Jazz Theory classes or taught in textbooks: it rains down on you like a wave of calmness that you can't get outside of a few things (sex, alcohol...). Boulger, only having released his debut The Calling in '99, has a mastery of jazz incarnate: each note, each accent, all purposeful in their creation of the emotional arc each track brings in and takes away.
His work is very modal in feel, and unsurprisingly takes a few notes from Coltrane, but in no way could they be confused. This is a different look at the same greats that we all know. Driven by strong piano leads, and even tighter trumpet playing, Blues Twilight is another jazz album for the record books.

Randy Thompson - Further On

Jackpot

While at first I didn't care much for Randy Thompson, something about Further On grew on me. Maybe it took me a few minutes to fully get a grasp of what it was, or maybe I was turned off by the out of place honky tonk vocals (which really only appear on the first track), but somewhere around track 5, entitled ÒOl' 97Ó, I decided that this is stellar.
With a full cast of characters (Don Helms, Rickie Simpkins, Garrick Alden, and Thompson's own son, Colin), Further On takes place in that small crevice in between Americana dreams and rock & roll fantasies. Heavily finger picked guitar and banjo lines, coupled with a bright slide guitar (played by Colin, age 15) makes this fun to listen to, while still keeping an intensely serious vibe. Elder Thompson's voice at points sounds like he just lifted melodies from Springsteen, and decided they would work great over a raw collection of bluegrass-drenched Americana. He was right.

Various Artists - The Songs Of Woody Guthrie

Righteous Babe

Here is yet another Guthrie tribute album. Under almost any other circumstance I would be outraged with the worshiping of a dead man, but this is one of the only cases where I will accept it. Maybe Joe Hill also. But as far as Guthrie goes, I can never get enough of him.
Even better, I can't get enough of the people who worship him: Billy Bragg, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Arlo Guthrie, Ani Difranco, and even Bruce Springsteen, who all preform on this CD. This was recorded live at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a tribute to the legendary phenomenon: complete with stage banter as musicians turn the spotlight onto the next wonderfully well executed tribute song by musicians more than worthy of keeping Guthrie's legacy alive.

David Guetta - Pop Life

Perfecto/Ultra/Gum/Virgin/EMI

David Guetta's Pop Life is a eccentric new view of modern dance music. While I think most of this genre just sounds like pop music to me, somehow Guetta is making a statement with it, to the point where his second American release's is named after it.
Complete in the CD jacket is Guetta playing with a bra like a cat would a ball of string, which gives you an understanding as to what we are talking about here: over the top synth beats, pop singing that won't get out of your head no matter how cold the shower, and innuendos soaked in layered vocal effects. Reaching #2 in France, this album is his biggest success to date. With a style like this, and his current success, it won't remain so for long.

The Steeldrivers - Self-Titled

Rounder

The Steeldrivers' have an interesting sound. The first thing that you grasp is bluegrass, up and down. After listening to a few songs, you start to notice that it doesn't quite fit the label: it has elements and progressions that are a little odd for the style.
When it comes down to it, I would say this falls under the all-encompassing title of ÒfolkÓ: sung by individuals, from the heart. They heavily apply the doctrine of bluegrass to their singer/songwriter feel, and make it both similar and original. Yes, another band successfully doing something new and great! If only this trend would continue on.

The Starting Line - Direction

Virgin/Capitol/EMI

The Starting Line, another in the long line of Drive-Thru flunkee's, are trying to take their sound in a little edgier direction. Instead of the consistent pop punk, and moments of indie-rock flair that put their name on the map, Direction is, well, a different direction. Instead of more pop punk, or indie rock, or even punk for hell's sake, they decided to do what so many before them have decided to do: just write pop ballads for a full album.
They still do some interesting things: song ÒIslandÓ incorporates a make-shift Hawaiian sound during a breakdown, and the album's namesake seems to align itself more with the bogus metalcore/pop rock that surfaces more and more each day. As we know, this genre itself is cheesy, but sometimes it works out. Better luck next time.

Nicole C. Mullen - Sharecropper's Seed Vol. 1

Word/Curb/Warner Bros.

Spiritually based in her views, Nicole C. Mullen's faith is what keeps her music afloat. While I don't care much for god, this has enough emotion to it that I can look past this small detail. Creating a hybrid of folk and soul, Mullen's writing is definitely commercial-success worthy.
Well developed progressions of musical ideas, as well as interesting structures to the music (ÒSo In LoveÓ is a vocal driven melody with backing by double bass, somehow turned into a full song) creates her original sound. Folk moment's shine through, which just as quickly transform themselves into a Motown-esq flair of genius musical technique. Most of the tracks, as I stated above are about faith and god. This is one of those few instances I can look over this and fully appreciate a spiritual album.

Daniel & Amy Carwile - Col Arco

DAC

Married musical pairs works better. It's just true. The Carwile's Col Arco treats music-styles like their wardrobe, putting together songs with whatever melody and style they feel like doing that given day. Don't let their orchestral theme fool you: there is a lot to be said for bowed instruments.
Everything from fiddle driven old-timey tunes to up tempo swing and all the way around to Native American/Western styled orchestration are housed on this release. With very few people writing music like this, it's wonderful to hear something as different and unique (and beautiful!) as Col Arco.

Saving Jane - One Girl Revolution

Toucan Cove/Alert/Fontana/Universal

Saving Jane is the newest, and hippest, female-fronted pop group out there. With a pseduo-feminist take on mainstream media (song ÒOne Girl RevolutionÓ seeks unity between all women who don't feel inclined to be viewed as a sex symbol), Saving Jane takes off from where Avril Lavigne's first album left: a semi-punk but mostly pop group bent on selling records, but still holding onto the desire to make descent music. Lots of well developed pop-rock songs, enticing hooks, and front woman Marti Dodson's facial dŽcor makes this if nothing else an interesting pop album.
***So Nice, Gotta Do It Up Twice (Created by the Original NYC DJ, Jocko, 1955)***

Bitter:Sweet - The Remix Game

Quango

I feel I am at a bit of a disadvantage here. While I listen to this, love it, and try to absorb all that is going on from beginning to end of this record, I realize this is not Bitter:Sweet as originally intended. This is a tainted and obscured Bitter:Sweet, but not worse for wear. Remixes from beginning to end, and I still haven't heard the original, which is a problem I'll soon need to fix.
They have been ranted and raved about all over, hailed as the second coming of Portishead, which is not so far from the truth. Difference is is that where Portishead exists as an electronic orgy of hooks and synth-loops, Bitter:Sweet takes a step back off the edge, relies less on the trenched electronics and more on organic sounds. Many of these remixes use a lot of Brazilian style percussion and styles (best portrayed in opening track ÒHeavenÓ), but remain solid pop tunes. Remixes include Nicola Conte, Thievery Corporation, Yes King, Solid Doctor, Roy Dubb and JAB/Menez One.

Jinnrail - Million Lifetimes

Girlfight

There was a time that mainstream rock wasn't completely soulless. Or at least I keep telling myself that. If I can deceive myself into this notion, it would only make sense to say that Jinnrail would be much better suited to that time period. Being compared to everyone from The Doors to Nirvana to The Who and back to The Cult, this band is somehow all of these and none at the same time. They take notes from all of the above, but reinvent rock, meticulously making a new sound to try out on for the charts. Unfortunately, it falls short of the mark.
The conglomeration of traditional rock and roll with contemporary energy and styles just makes it come out a little awkward. I respect this because it isn't a boring heap of rehashed nonsense, but it just doesn't work for me. Lots of Jim Morrison influence in the vocals, but it just sort of clashes with most of what everyone else is doing. As I said earlier, this is for a time when mainstream rock wasn't a corporate sham, and falls on deaf ears today.

Kelly Willis - Translated From Love

Rykodisc

NPR called her the Òalternative country's golden goddessÓ, and I am in no position to argue. Translated from Love is a well rounded collection of new work from Willis and cohorts. With a 18 year recorded history under her belt, this is the perfect place for someone like Willis to be: writing and recording great songs, stellar covers, and the freedom to be with her four children, 3 of which came to be since her last album.
While Translated From Love was originally supposed to be a covers album, Willis and trusted producer Chuck Prophet dropped the idea in favor of this: a solid mix between original songs, direct from Willis' heart, and a handful of reimagined tracks (Adam Green, Damon Bramblett, Jules Shear, and Iggy Pop's ÒSuccessÓ, which is a step above the rest, if for no other reason than the novelty of a honky tonk version of a Iggy Pop song).
Willis' style lies a bit outside the radar of most mainstream country today. She relies on band work rather than her voice to lead, which is always a good idea in my book. She also retains quite a bit of country sound, while using elements of rock and roll when and where she pleases. This, in turn, accents the country elements, rather than creating a whole different sound. Heavy on the acoustic instruments, and a terrific voice, Translated From Love is a heart-melter. center>

***If You Like Music, You're Gonna' Love This!***

The {Downing Street} memo says...

...We gotta work to make the facts fit the false charges
Pull the wool over the eyes of the filthy masses
Stab the people in the back for the corporate choice
Roll the propaganda out using The People's Voice


We don't want to talk about it...

The press scribble scribble every half-truth spoke
Then shoot it round the country like an April Fools joke
Hype the nation for a Desert Storm love affair
Wave the stars and stripes like you just don't care!

They talk it up all day, they talk it up all night
They talk until their face turns blue - Red white and blue!
But when the truth escapes the night and crawls into the day
We find the picture still askew

They don't want to... talk talk talk talk talk about it
They wanna tiptoe, walk around it
Wave the flag and mindlessly salute
They don't want to talk about it
They wanna tiptoe, walk around it
Wave the flag and cowardly salute

And on the TV screen...
...Diversion and aversion is the flavor of the day
Was it WMDs? Or Democracy?
Blame it on MI-6 or the CIA
The White House Press Corpse only has one thing to say...

"We don't want to talk about it!"

The White House boils over, "Al Jazeera got it wrong!"
The Press Corpse jumps onboard singing the White House song
While over in Iraq thousands are dead because of lies
The spineless war drumming-press corpse have taken lives

They talk it up all day, they talk it up all night
They talk until their face turns blue - Red white and blue!
But when the truth escapes the night and crawls into the day
We find the picture still askew

They don't want to... talk talk talk talk talk about it
They wanna tiptoe, walk around it
Wave the flag and mindlessly salute
They don't want to talk about it
They wanna tiptoe, walk around it
Wave the flag and cowardly salute

Fires fueled on endless lies
Black shrouds coat desert skies
A nation's viewpoint blurred and led
As embeds report what they're fed

We don't want to talk about it...
We don't want to talk about it...
We don't want to talk about it...
We don't want to talk about it...

(We don't want to talk about it...)
We don't, don't want to, we don't wanna talk about it
(We don't want to...)
We don't, don't want to, we don't wanna talk

They don't want to... talk talk talk talk talk about it
They wanna tiptoe, walk around it
Wave the flag and cowardly salute
They don't want to talk about it
They wanna tiptoe, walk around it
Wave the flag and cowardly salute

Political Article: CBS Falsifies Iraq War History By:Robert Parry Back To Top ThereÕs a cynical old saying that the victors write the history. CBSÕs Ò60 MinutesÓ demonstrated how that process works on Jan. 27 in airing Scott PelleyÕs interview with the FBI agent who de-briefed former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. In a world of objective reality, a reporter might say that the United States launched an unprovoked invasion of Iraq on March 19, 2003, under the false pretense that Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction, even after Iraq had repeatedly - and accurately - announced that its WMD had been destroyed in the 1990s. On Dec. 7, 2002, Iraq even sent to the United Nations a 12,000-page declaration explaining how its WMD stockpiles had been eliminated. In fall 2002, HusseinÕs government also allowed teams of U.N. inspectors into Iraq and gave them free rein to examine any site of their choosing. Those inspections only ended in March 2003 when President George W. Bush decided to press ahead with war despite the U.N. Security CouncilÕs refusal to authorize the invasion and its desire to give the U.N. inspectors time to finish their work. But none of that reality is part of the history that Americans are supposed to know. The officially sanctioned U.S. account, as embraced by Bush in speech after speech, is that Saddam Hussein Òchose warÓ by defying the U.N. over the WMD issue and by misleading the world into believing that he still possessed these weapons. In line with BushÕs version of history, Ò60 MinutesÓ correspondent Pelley asked FBI interrogator George Piro why Hussein kept pretending that he had WMD even as U.S. troops massed on IraqÕs borders, when a simple announcement that the WMD was gone would have prevented the war. ÒFor a man who drew America into two wars and countless military engagements, we never knew what Saddam Hussein was thinking,Ó Pelley said in introducing the segment on the interrogation of Hussein about his WMD stockpiles. ÒWhy did he choose war with the United States?Ó The segment never mentions the fact that HusseinÕs government did disclose that it had eliminated its WMD. Instead Pelley presses Piro on the question of why Hussein was hiding that fact. Piro said Hussein explained to him that Òmost of the WMD had been destroyed by the U.N. inspectors in the Ô90s, and those that hadnÕt been destroyed by the inspectors were unilaterally destroyed by Iraq.Ó ÒSo,Ó Pelley asked, Òwhy keep the secret? Why put your nation at risk, why put your own life at risk to maintain this charade?Ó After Piro mentioned HusseinÕs lingering fear of neighboring Iran, Pelley felt he was close to an answer to the mystery: ÒHe believed that he couldnÕt survive without the perception that he had weapons of mass destruction?Ó Wanting an Invasion? But, still, Pelley puzzled over why HusseinÕs continued in his miscalculation. Pelley asked: ÒAs the U.S. marched toward war and we began massing troops on his border, why didnÕt he stop it then? And say, ÔLook, I have no weapons of mass destruction,Õ I mean, how could he have wanted his country to be invaded?Ó ItÕs Bush World, with Pelley - like other prominent U.S. news correspondents - ignoring the well-established facts of the run-up to war and following the made-up story first presented by Bush four months after he forced the U.N. inspectors out, when he began claiming that Hussein had never let them in. On July 14, 2003, as the U.S.-led WMD search also was coming up empty, Bush began asserting that it was all HusseinÕs fault because he had never let the U.N. inspectors in. Bush told reporters: ÒWe gave him [Saddam Hussein] a chance to allow the inspectors in, and he wouldnÕt let them in. And, therefore, after a reasonable request, we decided to remove him from power.Ó Facing no challenge from the White House press corps, Bush continued repeating this lie in varied forms over the next four years as part of his public litany for defending the invasion. On Jan. 27, 2004, for example, Bush said, ÒWe went to the United Nations, of course, and got an overwhelming resolution - 1441 - unanimous resolution, that said to Saddam, you must disclose and destroy your weapons programs, which obviously meant the world felt he had such programs. He chose defiance. It was his choice to make, and he did not let us in.Ó As the months and years went by, BushÕs lie and its constant retelling took on the color of truth. At a March 21, 2006, news conference, Bush again blamed the war on HusseinÕs defiance of U.N. demands for unfettered inspections. ÒI was hoping to solve this [Iraq] problem diplomatically,Ó Bush said. ÒThe world said, ÔDisarm, disclose or face serious consequences.Õ É We worked to make sure that Saddam Hussein heard the message of the world. And when he chose to deny the inspectors, when he chose not to disclose, then I had the difficult decision to make to remove him. And we did.Ó At a press conference on May 24, 2007, Bush offered a short-hand version, even inviting the journalists to remember the invented history. ÒAs you might remember back then, we tried the diplomatic route: [U.N. Resolution] 1441 was a unanimous vote in the Security Council that said disclose, disarm or face serious consequences. So the choice was his [HusseinÕs] to make. And he made a choice that has subsequently caused him to lose his life.Ó In the frequent repetition of this claim, Bush never acknowledges the fact that Hussein did comply with Resolution 1441 by declaring accurately that he had disposed of his WMD stockpiles and by permitting U.N. inspectors to examine any site of their choosing. Journalistic Group Think Prominent Washington journalists have even repeated BushÕs lie as their own. For instance, in a July 2004 interview, ABCÕs veteran newsman Ted Koppel used it to explain why he - Koppel - thought the invasion of Iraq was justified. ÒIt did not make logical sense that Saddam Hussein, whose armies had been defeated once before by the United States and the Coalition, would be prepared to lose control over his country if all he had to do was say, ÔAll right, U.N., come on in, check it out,Ó Koppel told Amy Goodman, host of ÒDemocracy Now.Ó Of course, Hussein did tell the U.N. to Òcome on in, check it out.Ó But he did so in the real history, not in the faux reality that now governs Washington and pervades AmericaÕs top news programs, including Ò60 Minutes.Ó In PelleyÕs historical formulation, the question is not why did Bush invade Iraq in violation of international law, causing the deaths of nearly 4,000 American soldiers and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, but rather ÒHow could [Hussein] have wanted his country to be invaded?Ó This strategy of repeating a Òbig lieÓ often enough to make it sound true was famously described in the writings of Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels during World War II. However, given the relatively free U.S. press, many Americans feel they are protected from Òbig lieÓ techniques, counting on journalists to call lying politicians to account. But that clearly is no longer the case - and hasnÕt been for some time. Facing career pressure from well-organized right-wing attack groups, American journalists act more like triangulating politicians, fearful of accusations of Òliberal biasÓ or unpatriotic behavior or softness on terrorism. To have challenged George W. Bush in July 2003 - when he was near the height of his popularity - or even now with his approval ratings at historic lows would carry career dangers that few American reporters want to risk. So, discretion - or in this case the acceptance of a lie as truth - is the better part of valor.

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