Ben-Veniste on "The Path to 9-11"

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I don't mean to be hitting you on the head with YouTube clips, but I'm catching up with a backlog of things I've been meaning to get to.

This one is a clip of Richard Ben-Veniste, a member of the 9-11 Commission (a commission that the Bush administration fought tooth and nail to not even have formed in the first place, but that's another blog entry) who appeared on Countdown with Keith Olberman.

Ben-Veniste rightly points out that it's a free country and that people have the right to creative freedom. Bravo and right on. But, he also correctly points out that if a movie is being made on 9-11 and it claims that it's based on that commissoin, then it should be accurate.

Truer words were never spoken.

A few quick points about the movie:

1. Awfully interesting that Olberman points out the movie was distributed to right wing pundits pre-release for examination, critiques and analysis, but not to liberals or members of the Clinton administration, many of the latter portrayed in the film. There's a surprise.

2. Has anyone considered that this movie and its portrayal of the Clinton administration is more than accidental? ABC is owned by the Disney Corporation, and its no mystery figuring out where its loyalties fall on the political spectrum - just take a look at its campaign contributions over the last 10-15 years. I'll save you the legwork - it's to the GOP, of course. Don't believe me? Look it up yourself.

3. Shame on Tom Kean. He's a model American, and a Republican I've always respected and listened to. Now - not so much. As a paid consultant and the 9-11 Commission Chairman, he owns America more than this. He owes it to all Americans that a project of this scope, seen by millions of people, be as accurate as possible. That hasn't happened. And that's a shame, because far too many people get their news (and their history) from movies and pop culture these days.

This movie is a borderline criminal rewriting of history.