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Web site on Bush drive to Iraq war pressures media
San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 7/4/5 | Alan Gathright

Posted on 07/04/2005 2:50:40 PM PDT by SmithL

Bob and Gina Fesmire of Sunnyvale are hardly political firebrands.

Bob, a Silicon Valley public relations man who sports a ponytail, grew up in a Republican home and embraces Libertarian values favoring small government that stays out of individuals' lives. Gina, a graphic designer, is more left- leaning, but she stresses that they both are registered independents who focus on issues -- not ideology -- during elections.

However, outraged by what's now known as the "Downing Street Memo" and the scant initial coverage of it in the U.S. media, the Sunnyvale couple teamed with a Chicago law student and a Canadian civil servant to create downingstreetmemo.com.

On May 1, the Times of London broke a story about a 2002 British government memo revealing that the Bush administration had decided war with Iraq was inevitable and had fixed the intelligence to justify using military force to oust Saddam Hussein, eight months before the Iraq invasion.

The goal of the Fesmires' Web is to "Awaken the mainstream media" to the series of eight leaked Blair administration memos on the Iraq war. It has drawn more than 700,000 visits since May 13 and has been covered by newspapers ranging from the New York Times to the Times of London.

"This project has taken on a life of its own,'' said Bob Fesmire, 37, who regularly pulls his wife away from the computer at midnight. "We call it our baby surrogate, because it's very demanding and we don't get any sleep.''

Political partisans may debate whether the documents are smoking guns or old news. But the Fesmires' Internet crusade -- boosted by legions of like- minded bloggers, some demanding a congressional inquiry -- shows "how the ordinary citizen can play a role in national and even global politics,"...

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: britishmemo; desperatedems; fakememogate
Political partisans may debate whether the documents are smoking guns or old news, but in fact, they are fictions created by the lying media to further an agenda.
1 posted on 07/04/2005 2:50:40 PM PDT by SmithL
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To: SmithL
who focus on issues -- not ideology -- during elections

I may comment once I stop laughing.

2 posted on 07/04/2005 2:52:00 PM PDT by Darkwolf377 (6/30/05 budget deficit down http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0620/p17s01-cogn.html)
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To: SmithL

Original title: Ailing MSM Tries To Breathe Life Into Dead Story


3 posted on 07/04/2005 2:52:51 PM PDT by Darkwolf377 (6/30/05 budget deficit down http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0620/p17s01-cogn.html)
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To: SmithL
Bob ... man who sports a ponytail

This is the point where I stopped reading.

4 posted on 07/04/2005 2:55:20 PM PDT by softwarecreator (Facts are to liberals as holy water is to vampires)
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To: SmithL

Political independents, vote only on issues, grew up in a Republican home, blah, blah, blah. And these two are so fired up about the "no there, there" Downing Street memo. Yeah, we believe you, uh-huh.


5 posted on 07/04/2005 2:55:36 PM PDT by Theresawithanh (As long as Dean's the head of the D-N-C, it just looks better for the G-O-P!!)
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To: SmithL
This article is so outlandish it boggles the imagination. A real headline would read;

Website named FreeRepublic causes Democrats to move to Mexico.

6 posted on 07/04/2005 2:56:32 PM PDT by aimhigh
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To: SmithL

Give San Francisco back to Mexico.


7 posted on 07/04/2005 2:57:15 PM PDT by popdonnelly
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To: SmithL

Wasn't there a nearly identical story a week or so ago? Is the Chronicle going to give weekly updates on this "non-partisan" couple and their pathetic website?


8 posted on 07/04/2005 2:58:07 PM PDT by RedRover
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To: SmithL; All
I have followed, documented, and debunked this fake, but accurate memo:

Downingstreetmemo- Smoke, but where's the Fire?

...to a fare-thee-well.

Yet I note 'true believers in the perfidy of the infinitely clever and evil ( yet too stupid to walk & chew gum at the same time ) "Boosh!"' remain unconvincable- they really think they can topple this administration with baked wind and monkey doodle ( hat tip to P.J. O'Rourke )-- so be it. Tilt at windmills and call them Giants- they're still windmills...





9 posted on 07/04/2005 2:58:50 PM PDT by backhoe (Just an old Keyboard Cowboy, ridin' the trackball into the Sunset...)
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To: popdonnelly
Give San Francisco back to Mexico.

Wonder if we could pay them to take Boston, NYC and Chicago as well.

10 posted on 07/04/2005 3:02:08 PM PDT by madprof98
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To: RedRover
Is the Chronicle going to give weekly updates

Only until the rest of the media properly acknowledges their little story.

11 posted on 07/04/2005 3:19:26 PM PDT by SmithL (There are a lot of people that hate Bush more than they hate terrorists)
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To: SmithL

Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!


12 posted on 07/04/2005 3:22:57 PM PDT by RedRover
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To: SmithL

This sounds like one of those wacky Liberal "it's doesn't matter if the charge is true, it's the SERIOUSNESS of the charge that's important" things. Liberals are such jugheads.


13 posted on 07/04/2005 3:30:26 PM PDT by FlingWingFlyer (We did not lose in Vietnam. We left.)
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To: SmithL
How many frelling times is this "news story" going to be run? I think it has been in every newspaper in the country running as though it is new.
14 posted on 07/04/2005 3:42:55 PM PDT by roylene
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To: SmithL

"This project has taken on a life of its own,'' said Bob Fesmire

Maybe you should just GET a life of your own, Bob.


15 posted on 07/04/2005 3:47:53 PM PDT by hsalaw
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To: softwarecreator

When I first read this story I said, OK, one each girly-man doofus with a liberal past and an ugly wife. Gaspar wins again!


16 posted on 07/04/2005 4:18:04 PM PDT by gaspar
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To: gaspar

Yep, too obvious!


17 posted on 07/04/2005 4:24:31 PM PDT by softwarecreator (Facts are to liberals as holy water is to vampires)
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