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ABC ignores Democrats, won't pull The Path to 9-11docudrama [Is this the last word?]
Sun-Sentinel ^ | September 8 2006, 9:50 AM EDT | Hal Boedeker

Posted on 09/08/2006 9:53:34 AM PDT by BenLurkin

Top Senate Democrats urged the Walt Disney Co. on Thursday to cancel The Path to 9-11, but ABC said it would air the epic docudrama about events leading up to the terrorist attacks five years ago.

"Presenting such deeply flawed and factually inaccurate misinformation to the American public and to children would be a gross miscarriage of your corporate and civic responsibility to the law, to your shareholders and to the nation," Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and four others wrote.

Reid and his colleagues sent the letter to Bob Iger, Disney's chief executive officer. The senators warned Iger that if the miniseries aired, "The reputation of Disney as a corporation worthy of the trust of the American people and the United States Congress will be deeply damaged."

A network spokeswoman said ABC has no plans to drop the five-hour program, which will air Sunday and Monday. WFTV-Channel 9 will air the commercial-free program, General Manager Shawn Bartelt said.

The program depicts events in The 9-11 Commission Report, starting with the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. In a statement, ABC acknowledged that, like other docudramas, the miniseries contains fictionalized scenes and composite characters.

"No one has seen the final version of the film, because the editing process is not yet complete, so criticisms of film specifics are premature and irresponsible," the ABC statement said. "We hope viewers will watch the entire broadcast of the finished film before forming an opinion about it."

But Democrats weighed in fiercely on the $40 million production. The Democratic National Committee called the production "irresponsible, slanderous, fraudulent" and asked Democrats to tell Iger "to keep this right-wing propaganda off the air." The Democrats said they had collected more than 100,000 signatures in an online petition addressed to Iger.

(Excerpt) Read more at sun-sentinel.com ...


TOPICS: War on Terror
KEYWORDS: abctv; disney; fifthanniversary; pathto911
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To: BenLurkin

Airs Sunday and Monday @ 8:00 ET

http://abc.go.com/movies/thepathto911/index.html


NIGHT ONE
September 11, 2001. Teams of terrorist hijackers board four American airliners and take control of the cockpits. Passengers and flight controllers quickly learn something is terribly wrong....

February 1993. On a similarly ordinary day, New York is stunned by a deadly bombing at the World Trade Center. The discovery of a traceable van part at the site leads to the arrest of one of the conspirators, and he is linked to a mosque led by the Blind Sheikh, a radical cleric. A valuable FBI informant helps bring down the cleric and his cell. A manhunt for elusive WTC bomber Ramzi Yousef ensues, and he narrowly escapes capture in Pakistan, where he is linked to the attempted assassination of Benazir Bhutto. Yousef travels to the Philippines, where he tests an innovative small bomb that kills a flight passenger and comes close to bringing down the plane as well. He's almost captured again when a fire at his bomb-making lab exposes to Manila police his plot involving the simultaneous bombings of a dozen airliners.

Yousef is finally brought down when an informant in Pakistan tips off a team of agents working in coordination with FBI counterterrorism expert John O'Neill. Yousef's trail leads them to a rebel named Usama bin Laden.

In 1998, journalist John Miller's interview with bin Laden is broadcast, and O'Neill and others in Washington are alarmed by the al Qaeda leader's fatwa against the U.S. CIA field agent "Kirk" contacts bin Laden's primary opposition, General Massoud of Afghanistan's Northern Alliance, and they concoct a plan to capture bin Laden and bring him to the U.S. to face justice. The plan is never approved for action, but the simultaneous bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa push the Administration to respond with an ineffective missile strike that some think merely elevates bin Laden's stature in the Muslim world. Arrests of al Qaeda operatives at the Canadian-U.S. border and in New York on the eve of the millennium provide further evidence that Muslim extremists are bringing their holy war to America.

NIGHT TWO
The October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole sends O'Neill and his team to Yemen, where he runs afoul of the U.S. Ambassador, who tries to have O'Neill recalled to the States. The investigation in Yemen stalls, but the White House, confident bin Laden is behind the attack, continues to debate how to stop him.

In 2001, counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke's warnings about bin Laden are downplayed, as is an FBI agent's warning to his superiors that some suspicious individuals are learning to fly jet aircraft. O'Neill butts heads with the CIA over their lack of shared information, and while intelligence agencies squabble, al Qaeda terrorists, under the radar, continue with their hijacking plot.

O'Neill, his career stalled by an incident wherein he lost his laptop, and tired of the bureaucracy, retires from the FBI in August and takes over security at the WTC. Shortly thereafter, the Northern Alliance's Massoud, who had pressed the U.S. for assistance against the Taliban and warned that bin Laden might strike, is assassinated by al Qaeda agents. Two days later comes September 11, and O'Neill dies bravely, along with thousands of others, in an attack by the enemy he had devoted his career to thwarting.

In the aftermath, the 9/11 Commission is formed to study the events leading up to that fateful day and to form recommendations to confront the threat of terrorism.


41 posted on 09/08/2006 10:05:29 AM PDT by Lonesome in Massachussets (NYT Headline: 'Protocols of the Learned Elders of CBS: Fake But Accurate, Experts Say.')
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To: nina0113
What would they put on instead, a Mork and Mindy marathon?

I'm sure that the Dems would be happy with Fahrenheit 9/11 or maybe a movie about the virtues of socialized medicine or maybe that movie where President Bush is assassinated.
And don't you right wing nut jobs dare say anything....freedom of speech don't ya know!
42 posted on 09/08/2006 10:05:56 AM PDT by socialismisinsidious ( The socialist income tax system turns US citizens into beggars or quitters!)
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To: BenLurkin
My prediction:

They will still run the movie, but they will amke changes to it to appease the Democrats.
43 posted on 09/08/2006 10:06:00 AM PDT by Happy Valley Dude
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To: cripplecreek

Or Limbaugh's "Keep Our Own Kids Safe"


44 posted on 09/08/2006 10:06:00 AM PDT by dfwgator
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To: psjones

She must be a good actress if she had that effect on you. It speaks of her talent, not the character she portrays..........


45 posted on 09/08/2006 10:06:17 AM PDT by Red Badger (Is Castro dead yet?........)
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To: Lucky9teen
I know. me too. 24 forever.

And I believe the lady is older than Condi, or maybe just looks older.

As far as the expression goes, Condi has some pretty grim looks in her repertoire.
46 posted on 09/08/2006 10:06:37 AM PDT by altura (Bushbot No. 1 - get in line.)
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To: BenLurkin
I'm really trying to ignore the movie too. I ain't having much luck. Did anyone think a movie would change any minds. We have morons on TV talking about Cheney and controlled demolition of WTC. Heck, we let them in our colleges and my son just informed me that he is "Required to View" An Inconvenient Truth for class.
47 posted on 09/08/2006 10:06:40 AM PDT by BallyBill (Serial Hit-N-Run poster)
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To: nina0113

That would be much appreciated. I've always liked looking at Pam.


48 posted on 09/08/2006 10:06:40 AM PDT by montomike (If you didn't find this funny and were offended...have a riot.)
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To: mewzilla

I heard the director on Al Rantel's radio show yesterday. Didn't hear him mention he was out of the country.

As for it being about money, Disney said it was running the show with no commercial interruptions, does that still stand? Anyone knows?


49 posted on 09/08/2006 10:07:24 AM PDT by psjones
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To: Gordongekko909

Actually, the dimocrats have asseerted that the scene with administration refusing to authorize the killing of Bin Laden is a lie, yet the 911 Commission Report contains that same perspective on the events! And even names the CIA operative named in the docudrama!! Democrat leadership is a pack of liars and degenerates, so what do we expect from them. sadly, ABC is sycophantic to the democraps.


50 posted on 09/08/2006 10:07:28 AM PDT by MHGinTN (If you can read this, you've had life support from someone. Promote life support for others.)
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To: BenLurkin

And what's this about Bush do a primetime speech on Monday???

Dang!!! I want to watch this thing provided they don't doa hack job on it.


51 posted on 09/08/2006 10:07:40 AM PDT by jackv (just shakin' my head)
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To: BenLurkin

the democrats are in full blistering panic.

REAL PANIC!

They have even spoofed www.pathto911.com to lead DIRECTLY to their protest letter to ABC.

(still can't believe this is ABC!)

This is not even the civility of "thereagans" protest.

This is the 9/11 report. This is what was IN THE REPORT! The democrats WROTE the report! The deomcrats WANTED this report!

and no the democrat party (hitlary) is panicing because the got what they wanted. I guess they never expected people to READ the report. They just wanted a prop to waive around like a voodoo doll.


52 posted on 09/08/2006 10:07:46 AM PDT by longtermmemmory (VOTE! http://www.senate.gov and http://www.house.gov)
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To: BenLurkin

OMG, wait til Hillary finds out! There will be Hell to pay


53 posted on 09/08/2006 10:08:04 AM PDT by Republicus2001
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To: mewzilla

Bill Clinton is in the editing room as we speak. LOL!


54 posted on 09/08/2006 10:08:20 AM PDT by TommyDale (Iran President Ahmadinejad is shorter than Tom Daschle!)
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To: Red Badger

yeah, she played a good baddie, just like President Logan.

I also remember her from Deep Space Nine.

But I never liked her, something about the expression, I guess.


55 posted on 09/08/2006 10:08:29 AM PDT by altura (Bushbot No. 1 - get in line.)
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To: Only1choice____Freedom
"Presenting such deeply flawed and factually inaccurate misinformation to the American public and to children..."

Yeah I'll bet. - for the children we lie, cheat, steal and corrupt. We will even demolish the constitution. /s
Bastards.

56 posted on 09/08/2006 10:09:14 AM PDT by WorkerbeeCitizen (Religion of peace my arss - We need a maintenance Crusade)
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To: oolatec
That wasn't the issue. It was all about editing it to suit the DNC whims.

I don't think so. Even if they are in "final editing" that is to do things like in-betweening, fade outs, cleaning up editing spikes, foley, etc. It would be IMPOSSIBLE to make any substantial cuts in the material at this point. There is too much of a chance that a cut will mess something else up.

They may add a disclaimer or 2, but that is about all they can do.

57 posted on 09/08/2006 10:09:21 AM PDT by freedumb2003 (the war on poverty should include health club memberships for the morbidly poor)
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To: altura

If she's always cast in "bad bitchy" roles, she may be type cast forever. Remember Margaret Hamilton?......


58 posted on 09/08/2006 10:10:21 AM PDT by Red Badger (Is Castro dead yet?........)
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To: BenLurkin
Presenting such deeply flawed and factually inaccurate misinformation to the American public and to children would be a gross miscarriage of your corporate and civic responsibility to the law, to your shareholders and to the nation," Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and four others wrote.

As opposed to the well known and proven facts presented in, by, or regarding
Fahrenheit 911
The Day after Tomorrow
Darwinism
The 'right' to live here
The 'right' to an abortion
Gender Confusion
Gay Marriage
The World Court
Global Warming
The vast right wing conspiracy
The complete lack of WMD in Iraq

59 posted on 09/08/2006 10:10:33 AM PDT by Semper Vigilantis (Any aid to the Arab world should be delivered from 40,000 feet - 1000 lbs at a time.)
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To: jackv

democrat are demanding ABC edit the movie so after the GWBush speech the documentary goes into saying "just kidding" its all GWBush's fault.

(/s)


60 posted on 09/08/2006 10:10:49 AM PDT by longtermmemmory (VOTE! http://www.senate.gov and http://www.house.gov)
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