The Path to Mickey

Catch this video while you can – before the Disney lawyers make YouTube.com take it down. Recap of the past few hours:

More former Clinton administration officials have weighed in, including Bruce Lindsey. That's a sign that while Bill Clinton may not be saying much publicly about this matter, behind the scenes he's piping mad and has set the dogs loose. [UPDATE: Greg Sargent at TPM Cafe has the text of the letter from Clinton's lawyer, Bruce Lindsey.]

• Editor and Publisher magazine has found even more significant errors in the TV show.


• The Democratic Party issued a vicious letter attacking Disney for interfering with the national elections, and implying quite strongly that Disney may pay a price with their broadcast licenses. Video


• A Disney/ABC insider's email leaks proving that the intent behind this show is to blame Clinton for everything, and causing Disney/ABC a major embarrassment.


• 9/11 Commissioner Richard Ben-Veniste goes on national TV to blast the show. Video


• A top former Bush counterterrorism official goes on national TV to blast the show. Video


• The FBI agent who consulted on Path to 9/11 says he quit halfway through because ‘They Were Making Things Up.’


• The Washington Post writes a damning front-section story on the entire affair for tomorrow's paper.

And the Families of September 11 issued the following statement:

As we mark five years since 9/11, we are inundated with the media’s portrayal of that tragic day. Television miniseries, Hollywood films, comic books and countless "documentaries" are dramatizing and sometimes distorting the events leading up to and happening on 9/11.

Disney's Chairman of the Board is former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell (D-ME). Senator Mitchell has a long and distinguished career both inside and outside government and he knows how important it is to accurately represent historical events. Email him and remind him that 9/11 was a national tragedy, and that politicizing and flagrantly misrepresenting the facts about 9/11 is wrong. george.mitchell@dlapiper.com

Disney/ABC crossed a line in the sand, and then compounded their mistake by letting their hubris be their guide. I honestly don't see how Disney/ABC can even air this program any more. It's become a laughing stock.
Senate Democratic leadership threatens Disney with legal and legislative sanctions

This letter was sent today by the entire Democratic leadership of the US Senate. This letter is such a major shot across the bow of Disney, it's not even funny. It is FILLED with veiled threats, both legal and legislative, against Disney. The Senate Democratic leadership [effectively] threatened Disney's broadcast license. Note the use of the word "trustee" at the beginning of the letter and "trust" at the end. This is nothing less than an implicit threat that if Disney tries to meddle in the US elections on behalf of the Republicans, they will pay a very serious price when the Democrats get back in power, or even before.

US Senators don't make threats like this, especially the entire Democratic leadership en masse, unless they mean it. This raises the stakes incredibly for Disney. [As Bravo-TV would say, “Watch what happens!”]

Scholastic, Inc. distances self from Disney/ABC mockumentary about September 11

Scholastic is now backtracking on its support for the TV show, though they're trying to cut the baby in half. First, they say their study guide is flawed and will be thrown out. Then they say that they still think kids should watch the TV show, and that they've created a new study guide to go along with the show – apparently in an effort to prompt a discussion about the merits of presenting false information to children.

First off, where does Scholastic get off saying "oops" after they've already sent the study guide to 25,000 teachers (Disney/ABC said it was more like 100,000 teachers)? Only now Scholastic does a "thorough review" of their teaching materials? Isn't that a bit like editing a paper only after you get an F on it?

But even worse, where does Scholastic get off suggesting that it's a good thing there's controversy about the TV show being a disaster, and we need kids to discuss this too. Well, uh, maybe. But you don't show kids the disaster and then say "really kids, some of it wasn't true, let's talk." If that's the case, then let's give the kids a version of the TV show where Bush and Cheney were behind the 9/11 attacks. Sure, it's not true, but hey, it would prompt a lively discussion.

Scholastic is trying to have its cake and eat it too. Either is supports giving our children fictitious political propaganda disguised as truth or it does not. Which one is it?

- John Aravosis, AmericaBlog.com

LSB: Shit is hitting the fan!