AfterDowningStreet.com, a coalition of veterans' groups, peace groups, and political activist groups, has called for a rally in Lafayette Square Park on June 16 to coincide with Rep. John Conyers' scheduled hearings on the Downing Street Minutes and an "attempt to deliver to the President a letter signed by 500,000 Americans asking him to reply to questions". Indymedia readers may recall that the U.S. Indy site was one of the first in the nation to cover the discovery of what journalist Greg Palast called the "smoking gun" memo That was almost a month ago, yet the corporate media continues to keep the public in the dark.

The heat is being turned up on the White House now by high-profile Dems like Conyers, Senator Ted Kennedy, and liberal supporting groups such as MoveOn.org and Progressive Democrats of America. However, the U.S. corporate media, following their business-as-usual approach to journalism, continues to ignore the story and its potential damage to the Bush regime. Apparently the MSM has quickly forgotten the lesson it was supposed to have learned from their mistaken cheerleading of the initial invasion of Iraq for reasons that were revealed to be bogus.

Once again, the duty falls on the shoulders of activists and other concerned citizens to do what the news media is supposed to do: report the news, shed light on the forces of darkness, and save the nation from far-right ideologues.