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Media Bias
As we have discussed in this space many times, the media skews right. It's almost impossible not to notice the mulititude of conservatives vs. neutral reporters/very occasional progressive, on Sunday morning newschat shows. And yet we have seen something of a debate taking place over at Media Matters over just that fact.
Media Matters produces a study, states its methodology, and then the television folks from the traditional media strain credulity in their eagerness to refute the study's findings. In separate letters/columns to Media Matters, CBS's Public Eye's Vaughn Ververs, and Meet The Press' Executive Producer Betsey Fischer snipe at Media Matter's findings for not studying things that Media Matters never claimed it was studying in the first place, and, in fact, specifically claimed it wasn't going to study. It's roughly the equivalent of me doing a study on Idaho potatoes and including the methodology that I was studying only Idaho potatoes, and you sniping at me because I didn't include in my study the fact that there are also potatoes grown in parts of Russia.
Here's an excerpt from the back and forth between Media Matters and Fischer:
Betsy,
You ask why our report did not discuss Clinton's first term, and you say that "perhaps it's because statistics from Clinton's first term do not support their ill-defined 'conclusion.' " Later, you call our study "intellectually dishonest." You seem to be suggesting that we analyzed the data from those years, decided it didn't fit the point we wanted to make, and thus excluded it from our public report. That would have been appallingly dishonest, and it is frankly offensive for you to suggest that we have done so. I have been asked in a number of interviews why there is an imbalance on the Sunday shows, and I am always careful to say that we ascribe no sinister intentions to the producers. It is unfortunate that you apparently couldn't bring yourself to extend us the same courtesy.
Let me be clear: We didn't examine the guests from those years, so we have no idea what doing so would have showed. We decided to go back only as far as the second Clinton term because there were gaps in the Lexis-Nexis data, and we had to stop somewhere. Gathering and analyzing the data for all the nine years was itself an enormous task. Since you seem to have a complete list of guests on Meet the Press available, if you send it to us, we would be happy to analyze the first Clinton term.
As for the numbers you provide, it is you who have mixed apples and oranges. You say that for the first Clinton term, the guest breakdown was 56 percent Democrats to 44 percent Republicans. Since you are speaking only of Democrats and Republicans, the relevant comparison in our data is not the overall guest list, which includes not only elected and administration officials but all guests, including journalists; the relevant comparison is the list of elected and administration officials.
The complete inability for the traditional media to even hear the word bias, let alone be willing to examine that bias honestly and forthrightly is disturbing. This sort of snarky knee-jerk response that Fischer gave to Media Matters provides nearly as much insight into the problem as the Media Matters study itself. For how can you solve a problem, when you spend all of your time denying its very existence?
For how can you solve a problem, when you spend all of your time denying its very existence?
Posted by Casey Morris at February 17, 2006 08:10 AM
You can't... which is why absolutely ZERO problems have been solved during the Bush years, because according to them, problems don't exist.
p.s. On my way to dropping the chimps at school this morning, saw a car with like 10 American flags flapping off the windows, and I have to say, I was embarrassed.
Do you have any idea how horrible that makes me feel?
I don't mean to be crass here, but isn't it the equivalent of a drunk refusing to admit they have a problem with alcohol even though they've been passed out in the middle of the highway?
Pa leeese! Enough is enough media. There are so many people 'wise' to your ways and WE the people will make sure that everyone KNOWS your incompetence and your bias.
I like to read NewsBusters too, which is a rightwing site which believes the media has a liberal bias.
& I like to read NewsMax, which is a rightwing magazine that "tells how they think" (so I do not have to watch Fox, let alone tv).
It's hell having a vivid imagination - I got a full night's sleep but woke up thinking continuously about war & torture - couldn't shake it!
Camp Casey
Tampa Bay Peace Vigil
by Tampa Bay Veterans For Peace
Camp Casey Tampa Bay Peace Vigil has been notified of a Presidential visit on Friday afternoon. President George W. Bush will first fly into MacDill Air Force Base the headquarters of the U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations and then go to a Republican Fundraiser or just to plan for an invasion of Iran.
We will stand vigilant as his motorcade passes us at the busy intersection of Gandy Blvd and South Dale Mabry Road just north of the main gate.
The President and motorists will see our vigil and our visuals of the U.S. Military Deaths and Days since the March 19th, 2003 invasion of Iraq. We also want him to know that we Support Our Troops, and want him to Bring them Home - NOW!
We also demand a similar meeting as other citizens done outside his ranch in Crawford, Texas last August to explain the meaning of his statement of a "noble cause" for which many have perished in a unilateral and illegal invasion, then occupation and now a bloody counterinsergency in Iraq and Afghanistan and soon to happen in Iran.
We will form up between 11 AM to noon at the Publix/Target parking lot next to the Gandy and Dale Mabry intersection
Hopefully before he arrives at his Port Tampa speech at 1:30 PM.
Roads will be closed down during the visit so be on time.
(If we have enough people we can cover all the access roads from the base as Bayshore and Bay to Bay, MacDill and Gandy , and West Shore along Gandy.)
We need you...and bring your own sign!
So we can give him a nice Florida welcome....
..... fit for a neo-carpet bagger!
Democracy is not a spectator sport
WAGE PEACE
I also am SO not diggin' how the domestic spying issue is in the process of being swept under the rug.
Senator: White House agrees to FISA changes
So what about the part where the LAW WAS BROKEN by the POTUS?
Another Mulligan?
Mike Hersh posted a really thoughtful comment on the Hackett and Brown situation in Ohio in our forum...
http://www.democracycellproject.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=1024&view=findpost&p=3971
check it out.
One of today's NYTimes editorials (in its entirety -- apologies). Read it and then take action, as recommended below the editorial...
Doing the President's Dirty Work
Is there any aspect of President Bush's miserable record on intelligence that Senator Pat Roberts, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, is not willing to excuse and help to cover up?
For more than a year, Mr. Roberts has been dragging out an investigation into why Mr. Bush presented old, dubious and just plain wrong intelligence on Iraq as solid new proof that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and was in league with Al Qaeda. It was supposed to start after the 2004 election, but Mr. Roberts was letting it die of neglect until the Democrats protested by forcing the Senate into an unusual closed session last November.
Now Mr. Roberts is trying to stop an investigation into Mr. Bush's decision to allow the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans without getting the warrants required by a 27-year-old federal law enacted to stop that sort of abuse.
Mr. Roberts had promised to hold a committee vote yesterday on whether to investigate. But he canceled the vote, and then made two astonishing announcements. He said he was working with the White House on amending the 1978 law, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, to permit warrantless spying. And then he suggested that such a change would eliminate the need for an inquiry.
Stifling his own committee without even bothering to get the facts is outrageous. As the vice chairman of the panel, Senator John Rockefeller IV, pointed out, supervising intelligence gathering is in fact the purpose of the intelligence committee.
Mr. Rockefeller said the White House had not offered enough information to make an informed judgment on the program possible. It is withholding, for instance, such minor details as how the program works, how it is reviewed, how much and what kind of information is collected, and how the information is stored and used.
Mr. Roberts said the White House had agreed to provide more briefings to the Senate Intelligence Committee — hardly an enormous concession since it is already required to do so. And he said he and the White House were working out "a fix" for the law. That is the worst news. FISA was written to prevent the president from violating Americans' constitutional rights. It was amended after 9/11 to make it even easier for the administration to do legally what it is now doing.
FISA does not in any way prevent Mr. Bush from spying on Qaeda members or other terrorists. The last thing the nation needs is to amend the law to institutionalize the imperial powers Mr. Bush seized after 9/11.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/17/opinion/17fri1.html?hp
ACTION: Call ALL members of the Senate Intelligence Committee (an oxymoron...) and demand that they continue with the investigation rather than changing the FISA law...
http://intelligence.senate.gov/members.htm
I've been trying to read the best nominations at the Wampum site. It's so awesome reading stuff that I missed before.
This one particularly touched me:
http://tinyurl.com/chwgz (from bottleofblog)
Here's a diary over at Kos that's on topic here and has info about the Maryland politics & the Baltimore Su's first amendment rights (or lack thereof)...
Fourth Estate Shame
When I look at our Fourth Estate, our independent, truth seeking, objective press, I hang my head in shame. Not because they are not doing their jobs, and they aren't. But because they are cowardly. They are scared. They have no honor. They have no integrity.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/2/17/8435/88458
...continue with the investigation rather than changing the FISA law...
Posted by: madame defarge at February 17, 2006 09:16 AM
Which brings me back to my original question... if the law needs to be changed, doesn't that imply that it was broken, and if it was, who is held accountable?
Shoot first, change the questions later... and it's working... again.
That is a good blog post, sparrow. Thanks for mentioning it.
Minnesota DFL CHAIR CALLS FOR MISLEADING AD TO BE TAKEN OFF THE AIR
Today, DFL Chair Brian Melendez called on all Minnesota TV stations to follow the lead of KSTP TV and pull the ‘Midwest Heroes’ ad off the air. He was joined at a press conference at the State Capitol by Congressional candidate and veteran Tim Walz.
The ad states that the media only reports negative stories, a comment that is patently untrue. As reported on WCCO’s ‘Reality Check,’ only 6 out of 10 news stories are negative and the majority of Sunday political news show pundits are conservative.
The ad then states that the enemy in Iraq are the same terrorists responsible for 9/11, and images of Saddam Hussein are shown along with the Twin Towers. This tactic is misleading at best, as the 9/11 Commission Report states that there is no connection between Iraq and the 9/11 terrorist attack.
“Minnesota has the chance to take a stand against this kind of misleading propaganda,” said DFL Chair Brian Melendez. “Right now, our state is a testing ground for this particular ad, and we can be sure that many more will follow this election season. Minnesota TV stations should pull this ad and send the message that we will not tolerate this kind of swiftboating anymore.”
“WCCO has called this ad ‘misleading’ and only ‘partly true,’ said Chair Melendez. “Well, partly false advertising insults Minnesotans intelligence. We won’t stand for propaganda that can’t be backed up with fact.”
Click here to watch the WCCO ‘Reality Check.’
http://www.wcco.com/video/?id=14609@wcco.dayport.com
=======================================
I've seen these ads and it is a huge understatement to call them "misleading." They use soldiers in one ad, and the parents of soldiers who were killed in another ad. The ad flat out states a connection between Iraq and 9/11, which is a lie. It flat out states that "to a man, U.S. troops are supportive of the mission in Iraq," which is a lie. And it flat out states that ALL media coverage of the war is negative, which is also a flat out lie.
LIE, LIE, LIE...
Call your local TV and radio stations, and if they're running this ad (or planning to), urge them to pull it. Get your Senators and Reps involved, and go get 'em. This is beyond 'misleading.' It's flat out lies. In the worst tradition of propaganda.
The media shouldn't be televising actual lies. I don't care what they get paid for it.
NonnyO & Victoria,
This diarist is following up on those ads that you've seen. He's getting some results too. He explains the background of them and who's creating them and what's false about them. Perhaps you can add your voice to his in contacting some of the organizations in MN.
He has lots of embedded links to other background sources that you'll find of interest.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/2/17/92648/2272
Why are more people seeking alternative sources of news and information @ outlets like [xxxxxxxx.com]?
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"How much damage can Bush do?" is essentially what most of us thought in 2000 when the Supreme court installed him. Another fraudulent election later, and many installed partisons later, we now see how much damage Bolton will do.
Check this out:
http://tinyurl.com/cfzzw (yahoonews)
Thanks, Dwahzon... They're test driving this garbage in Minnesota, but you know it's just a start.
Apparently, the stations that are running it are getting deluged with calls from angry viewers.
This could get interesting.
p.s. On my way to dropping the chimps at school this morning, saw a car with like 10 American flags flapping off the windows, and I have to say, I was embarrassed.
Posted by: monkey at February 17, 2006 08:43 AM
Nationalistic &#*@$^@(*&$%.
Even the French, who are notoriously proud of their country, don't do that crap. I've been to a dozen countries worldwide, and the only country that even comes close to our ridiculous nationalism is the former fascist Republic of (South) Korea.
Posted by: AllyMcLesbian at February 17, 2006 12:19 PM
Hate to quote myself, but oh well.
The average American: "We are the most powerful, the most advanced, the most innovative country in the world, blah blah blah..."
The average Korean: "Our four distinct seasons are the best in the world, our alphabet is the most scientific, we are the most ethnically pure in the world, blah blah blah..."
See the parallel? The former fascist dictatorship drilled these nationalistic talking points into every Korean, and W is doing the same to every American.
Last year, I was making a rest stop on a South Korean expressway, and I saw gas stations lined with as many national flags as possible - proof that the fascism may be gone, but the nationalism is not.
And this also explains why Korean-Americans, who know nothing other than hardcore nationalism from their two home countries, are more apt to support W's fascism than anyone else.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aRHOBMXuvCE8
Libby Request for Reporter Notes Should Be Dismissed, U.S. Says
Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) -- I. Lewis Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, isn't entitled to communications between reporters and government officials to help his defense against perjury charges, prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said.
The government handed over more than 11,000 pages of classified and unclassified documents, including records from Cheney's office, said Fitzgerald, the U.S. attorney from Chicago who is in charge of the case against Libby. Libby's lawyers are seeking more material, including reporters' notes and daily briefings prepared for President George W. Bush.
``The government has produced all documents and information to which defendant is entitled,'' Fitzgerald said in a federal court filing in Washington late yesterday. ``Requiring the production of the additional materials sought by defendant would unreasonably encroach on legitimate interests of national security, grand jury secrecy and executive privilege.''
Fitzgerald asked U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton in Washington to deny Libby's request for the material. The judge scheduled a hearing for Feb. 24 to consider Libby's request.
(more at link)
Feingold has some important statements on his website. Daily Kos may have action item diaries tomorrow with guidance from Sen. Feingold on who to contact about his "Patriot" Act amendments.
FEINGOLD BLASTS FAILURE TO INVESTIGATE DOMESTIC SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM
Feingold: “The Intelligence Committee Has Abandoned Its Oversight Role.”
February 16, 2006
Washington D.C. – U.S. Senator Russ Feingold released the following statement this afternoon following the Intelligence Committee Meeting.
“The Intelligence Committee’s failure today to begin an investigation of the administration’s illegal domestic surveillance program is inexcusable. The Senate Committee charged with conducting oversight of intelligence matters has a responsibility to look more deeply into the President’s illegal secret wiretapping of Americans. The President has broken the law and Congress needs to hold him accountable.”
Statement of Senator Russ Feingold
On the Latest on the Patriot Act
February 16, 2006
"The Majority Leader's concession to put off final votes on the Patriot Act deal for almost two weeks gives the Senate time to consider whether this deal is good for the country, and allows the American people their chance to be heard. Contrary to an erroneous news report, I will continue to oppose this flawed deal, insist that the Senate jump through every procedural hoop, and demand the right to offer amendments to improve it. As Chairman Specter noted, the deal makes only "cosmetic" changes to the Patriot Act. No amount of cosmetics can disguise the fact that it fails to protect the rights and freedoms of law-abiding Americans."
I think Feingold's NSA investigation petition is still up: Please Sign Sen. Feingold's petition to INVESTIGATE NSA and to HOLD BUSH ACCOUNTABLE FOR HIS ILLEGAL ACTIONS AGAINST THE CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
http://www.progressivepatriotsfund.com/
Isn't it Arlen Spectre's committee that was going to investigate the electronic spying and not the intelligence committee. Just wondering.
The judiciary committe, right? I know they started some testimony on it this week- I'm not sure how important Sen Robert's opinion on the subject is anyway.
If the judiciary committe says it's illegal, who has the upper hand, the intelligence committee or judiciary?
Alley and monkey:
It's odd isn't it? Why in some situations does seeing the flag or hearing the anthem bring tears to our eyes, yet in others it just annoys us?
Even the Flying Tomato got teary eyed standing on an Olympic podium while the flag was raised and the anthem played. Seeing the flags at the local library at half staff on my way to work brings tears to mine.
It's not ridiculous nationalism to have pride of place, or even to feel a bit patriotic on the 4th of July. We have become cynical because of the actions of some, wrapping themselves in flags to support a view that we cannot agree with. They do it in the belief that by waving a flag it will make those who disagree with them appear wrongheaded and less than patriotic.
We who currently dissent from the current administration must not buy into that, nor should we buy into the opposite view that it makes all displays of the flag "nationalist' or mere "flag waving".
To every thing (turn turn)there is season(turn turn) and a time for every purpose under heaven.
The Byrds
Per this thread at DU,
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2113537
Lou Dobbs has done a segment on Bushco giving away control of the ports to a UAE company. There's a poll on his website that you might want to hit here...
http://edition.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/lou.dobbs.tonight/
and per another post at DU, even the posters in Freeper land are freaking out about this...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x446111
and then there's this item...
a WSJ op-ed from Peggy Noonan, former speech writer for Reagan and Bush 41...
on who should replace Dick Cheney ... "the hate magnet" as VP...
http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=110007972
Posted by: dwahzon at February 17, 2006 01:52 PM
I read that one... What scares me more is who they would replace him with...and how it would be a setup for the 2008 elections...
Madame- I'm betting on the right wing actually getting the message and being willing to take the devil himself on the 2008 ticket, just to keep power. (The devil, of course, being John McCain.)
And we're going to need a powerful candidate to beat him. In reality, if McCain gets the nomination, he'll win. Not trying to be too pessimistic though, because my whole theory is based on the right actually voting for McCain in the primaries, and that would be a huge thing.
Posted by: madame defarge at February 17, 2006 01:56 PM
Exactly! And I don't think we should be giving Cheney or Bush a free pass on this illegal spying stuff.
Posted by: Ladytechie01 at February 17, 2006 01:45 PM
Ladytechie01,
Wrapped in flags and wrapped in religion. It is the American taliban.
And I just got an email from some fundies on why Jesus Christ wants us to support our troops... Why they opted to send it to me and not my mom is speaking in itself I think.
nolies,
I think Jesus wants us to follow his guidelines--turn the other cheek, and all that...Maybe remind them of those items.
After years and years of waiting for this FOIA request, the FBI locates 780 pages on Cheney.
http://tinyurl.com/axtae (Rawstory)
I say let the jerk stay there--impeach Bush and get democrats and progressive independents elected so we can put a choke hold on the out of control corrupt republicans. I'd be more than happy to see some Republicans stay but ONLY if they start standing up to the neoCON mafia!
But until they do, they're not the party that speaks for me.
Posted by: nolies32fouettes at February 17, 2006 02:09 PM
It was sent to you my dear, because they think you'll be the next Arianna Huffington!
but don't over look my point, it applies to religon as well... just because a meme, or a symbol is misused it does not take away from the orginal intent of the symbolism. A flag is just a symbol, just as is a cross or star of david . In the true liberal spirt, which holds that "I might disagree with what you say but I will defend to the death the right to say it" (Descartes) we must respect at least the original intent of the symbol, even if we disagee with it.
"If he'd been in the military, he would have learned gun safety."
-- Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), quoted by the Omaha World Herald, on Vice President Dick Cheney's hunting accident.
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=2300&u_sid=100089382
Posted by: Victoria Ellen at February 17, 2006 09:56 AM
VE: Technically those "test" ads full of lies and vague and barely half-truths of war propaganda are reaching residents in FIVE states: MN, WI, IA, SD, ND. There was a different (second) war propaganda ad broadcast last night by the same people - end of last thread is my rant about it. The second ad that I saw last night is the one Hesiod on Kos is writing about.
Pat Kessler is the guy who does the Reality Check segments on Wed. nights on WCCO. If you want to add your voice to mine (since you're another MN resident), he's the one to contact. Click on his picture on the Reality Check section of WCCO's web site to get the email form to come up. There's a disclaimer by the general manager of WCCO about political ads on another section of their web site. Might not hurt to contact him. I plan to do so, too. IMHO, it is the height of irresponsibility to run propaganda full of LIES, and I don't give a damn if they lose money by refusing to run the propaganda that people in FIVE states see/hear. Idiotic commercials one can choose to 'tune out' by hitting the mute button are one thing; outright war propaganda and political LIES are quite another thing...!
A large reason WHY The Cretin has been allowed to get by with acting like a spoiled brat that everyone is indulging while he's been breaking laws and trashing the Constitution is because media has chosen to broadcast all the propaganda that's come out of the White House and the Pentagon since 2000, whether any of it is true or not (and we know most of what they put out is LIES!). That needs to stop, and media needs to start broadcasting the TRUTH about the administration's LIES for the last five years. Even legislators are using that vague 'terrist' rhetoric without any specifics (do they know what they're saying, or are they only mimicking neoCon propaganda?), and that must stop, too. Yes, I plan to do more writing to my legislators about the language they use and how their sentences are constructed.
I'm not afraid of terrorists - they can do damage and murder, yes, but more people die in car accidents involving drunk drivers annually than when a terrorist blows himself and others up; I AM afraid of what this administration is doing by following the lessons of Hitler in the lead up to his dictatorship and his power to open death camps, and The Cretin is following in Hitler's footsteps with "detention" camps and holding prisoners and torturing them without any just cause. (Courts are not allowed to use testimony acquired by torture or coercion because it's usually not the truth - people will admit to ANYTHING to get the pain of torture to stop; the administration is forgetting that little fact, too!)
Media is also forgetting that reporters and journalists and owners of media outlets could potentially be the first targets of enforced roundups of American citizens who could be sent to 'detention' camps for broadcasting or publishing any opinion that opposes the party line of the wanna be dictator who is running this country into the ground. And, quite likely, the people the administration are illegally spying on may be the people who are the media right now. Besides political opponents, the neoCons need to be heard in the media, and any media outlet (and people responsible for those outlets) are sure to be targets of illegal domestic spying to see what they are broadcasting......
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Posted by: dwahzon at February 17, 2006 10:08 AM
Thanks for the link, and MANY THANKS for quoting Victoria Ellen and me! I'm pleased and surprised. I'm glad something I was writing in my absolute fury last night after listening to the 10 pm news and hearing that second ad had some relevance. I'm not signed up to post anything on DailyKos, but it looks like I'll have to get myself signed up so I can post on their web site and give you (and Hesiod) a big thumbs up! I like the header on that Kos diary, and I want to go back and check out ALL the links on that story, too, but I did already read the posts. The whole thing of getting media to tell people the TRUTH is a major interest of mine, just as it is for (I think) everyone on this blog, since that's one of the major reasons this blog was even started in the first place. If people had straight FACTS (without media spinmeisters "interpreting" - lying - about what they see as truth or not truth), I suspect most ordinary people could figure out what's what regarding this idiotic war and the absolute shame of stooping so low as to "allow" The Cretin and his Criminal to sanction and approve of torture and detention camps in *our* names. I, for one, disapprove with every fiber of my being, and I do NOT sanction or condone ANY of it under ANY circumstances whatsoever!!! What the administration is doing in *our* names insults all of us; it insults our collective integrity, our honesty, our honor, our dignity, and our ability to know right from wrong as our parents taught us, not to mention the fact that it insults the dignity and honor of the innocents who have been rounded up and placed in those detention camps without due process and tortured. Detention camps and torture are JUST PLAIN WRONG, all the time, every time, no matter where it happens or who does it. Period. There are very few absolutes in this world, but (IMHO), that's one absolute that most people can agree on. (I mean, my gawd, for years The Cretin and his Criminal Cabal have been compared to Hitler and his goons, fer pete's sake, and they are acting more and more like them every day with each new atrocity committed in *our* names! How low can anyone, or any government, get?!?!? We will be hanging our heads in shame for many generations over this!!!)
IF anyone believes the war propaganda in those lying warmongering commercials, they will be condoning and sanctioning illegal detention camps and the torture of our fellow human beings. I have to wonder if they really believe detention camps and torture of our fellow human beings is really necessary - or if they believe The Cretin when he says 'we do not torture.' If they've imbibed too much kool-aid and believe that LIE, they need to be de-programmed....
The posters who suggested contacting Franken and Kellior are spot-on, too. They both have a national audience. Also, I'm not forgetting that Norm Coleman has his seat in the Senate by default - Wellstone was killed in a plane crash a few days before the election, so Coleman was put in office over the body of a dead man who was well-respected in this state.
Hesiod said he (she?) wanted to prevent the ads from going national. I'm not forgetting that the ads have already been broadcast in FIVE states, not just the 'target' state of MN!!!!! The air waves do not stop at the state border....!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
p.s. On my way to dropping the chimps at school this morning, saw a car with like 10 American flags flapping off the windows, and I have to say, I was embarrassed.
Do you have any idea how horrible that makes me feel?
Posted by: monkey at February 17, 2006 08:43 AM
Yes, I do have some inkling. I never thought I'd be ashamed of seeing the flag of *my* country expoited to stand for approving of an illegal, unjust, immoral, unethical - and dishonorable - war; and I certainly NEVER thought *my* flag would stand for approving of torture and detention camps where people are stripped of their rights. There are no words for this ugly feeling of shame and revulsion and embarrassment I get when I know that's what *my* flag stands for now. None. I'm now wondering if I'll ever be proud of my flag again. How can I feel "patriotic" when *my* flag now stands for everything I'm against, and stands for everything against what my parents taught me about right and wrong?!? My dear parents (both good Dems), who grew up during the Depression and WWII must be spinning in their graves. Sorry to say it, but at this moment in time I'm "glad" they're dead so they don't have to witness the shame and humiliation that we are going through as a nation right now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I will be busy this afternoon and early evening, but will get back to you all later. I also have letters to write - to media.....
It's not ridiculous nationalism to have pride of place, or even to feel a bit patrtiotic on the 4th of July. We have become cynical because of the actions of some, wrapping themselves in flags to support a view that we cannot agree with. They do it in the belief that by waving a flag it will make those who disagree with them appear wrongheaded and less than patriotic.
We who currently dissent from the current administration must not buy into that, nor should we buy into the opposite view that it makes all displays of the flag "nationalist' or mere "flag waving".
Posted by: Ladytechie01 at February 17, 2006 01:45 PM
Your post LadyTechie01 gave me an idea!
To counter the accusation that progressives and independents are non-patriotic because they think for themselves, what would it do if we embraced the red white and blue, and the flag as part of our mantra? I think it would subconsciously give these guys more trouble than they are willing to have to deal with.
Posted by: Victoria Ellen at February 17, 2006 09:56 AM
Victoria and NonnyO,
We need to keep a CLOSE eye on this one, to see how it develops.
Being your neighbor, I saw an ad not too long ago that wasn't as strong as the ad being run in MN, but it was definately glamorizing war and being a soldier. It was more than a regular run of the mill join the army ad. It was definately glamorizing the "ordeal".
They are testing ads no doubt. They will be throwing EVERYTHING at us but the kitchen sink from now until November '06. Then they will be trying to tell us how nice and compassionate they are for another year while we are waging war in three countries. Then in '08 all hell will break loose. Count on it.
Fitz is still fighting the good fight...Let's hope the judge sees it Fitz's way. And how brilliant of Fitz to use Cheney's own words to convince the court that it's against national security to give these documents to Libby's defense team. We need more Fitzs, but I think he's unfortunately one of a kind.
Judge Weighs Libby's Request for Documents
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A former White House aide's wide-ranging demand for classified intelligence documents to aid his defense in the CIA leak case would sabotage the case if granted, the prosecutor is charging.
Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald suggested that lawyers for I. Lewis ''Scooter'' Libby were trying to torpedo the government's case by pressing for the documents, including nearly a year's worth of the Presidential Daily Brief, a summary of threats to the U.S. that the Bush administration has fiercely guarded in the past.
In court papers filed late Thursday, Fitzgerald also asserted that granting such a request would damage national security and presidential executive privilege. He called it ''nothing short of breathtaking.''
''The defendant's effort to make history ... is a transparent effort at 'greymail,''' he said, referring to past attempts by government officials charged with wrongdoing to derail their prosecutions by trying to expose national security secrets.
--snip--
In a 32-page response to Libby's requests, Fitzgerald said he already has turned over more than 11,000 pages of classified and unclassified evidence to the defense -- more than required under law.
But the defense also is seeking access to every Presidential Daily Brief from May 2003 to March 2004, amounting to 277 intelligence reports.
The prosecutor quoted Vice President Dick Cheney, Libby's former boss, as describing the PDBs as the ''family jewels'' of government, and warned U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton that turning over such highly classified documents would provoke a lengthy legal battle with the president.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-CIA-Leak.html
Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at February 17, 2006 02:58 PM
Scroll up.. look at the title.. note the color scheme!
We already have.. the flag isn't just red or blue, it's both. It is a symbol, just that.
But isn't it amazing how powerful that symbol is. As we take back our country maybe we can take back the meaning of the symbol.
If this is flag waving. flag waving can you think of a better flag to wave? George M Cohan
In the meantime, is there ANYTHING we can do to help Dems step forward and take a leadership role? Write letters to all Dem reps?
We need to see more structure, mon. And leadership.
Posted by: Ladytechie at February 17, 2006 03:09 PM
:-)
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Minnesota DFL CHAIR CALLS FOR MISLEADING AD TO BE TAKEN OFF THE AIR
Today, DFL Chair Brian Melendez called on all Minnesota TV stations to follow the lead of KSTP TV and pull the ‘Midwest Heroes’ ad off the air. He was joined at a press conference at the State Capitol by Congressional candidate and veteran Tim Walz.
The ad states that the media only reports negative stories, a comment that is patently untrue. As reported on WCCO’s ‘Reality Check,’ only 6 out of 10 news stories are negative and the majority of Sunday political news show pundits are conservative.
The ad then states that the enemy in Iraq are the same terrorists responsible for 9/11, and images of Saddam Hussein are shown along with the Twin Towers. This tactic is misleading at best, as the 9/11 Commission Report states that there is no connection between Iraq and the 9/11 terrorist attack.
“Minnesota has the chance to take a stand against this kind of misleading propaganda,” said DFL Chair Brian Melendez. “Right now, our state is a testing ground for this particular ad, and we can be sure that many more will follow this election season. Minnesota TV stations should pull this ad and send the message that we will not tolerate this kind of swiftboating anymore.”
“WCCO has called this ad ‘misleading’ and only ‘partly true,
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I called the T.V. station, WCCO, about this ad today at 612-339-4444. I asked if they were still running the ad and the person said, Yes. I then asked who took out the ad and where is this organization located. She said she didn't know and transferred my call to "Jennifer Castle" who I assume has something to do with advertising. I left a message with her about the ad and who exactly paid for it....
Good work Ralph, Nonny and Lady Techie... We've got to stay on them about this.
Bush says war on terror takes commitment
JENNIFER LOVEN
Associated Press
TAMPA, Fla. - Appealing for patience, President Bush said Friday that Americans should not be discouraged by setbacks in Iraq and said the nation must realize that it is still at war.
The president said there is a "tendency of folks is to say this really isn't a war. People kind of want to slip to the comfortable."
But he said the nation still faces a ruthless enemy in Iraq that has no regard for human life.
"We shouldn't be discouraged about setbacks, short term setbacks, or the enemy's capacity to take innocent life, because we've seen democracy change the world in the past," Bush said.
His remarks reflected the tough-on-terrorism theme that proved so successful during his re-election campaign. White House aide Karl Rove already has advised Republicans to make national security the top partisan issue in the November midterm elections.
Bush spoke at a cruise ship terminal at the Port of Tampa, pacing the stage with a microphone in his hand. He spoke before an invited audience arrayed around him on all sides. Before his address, the president received an update on the war on terror in a private, hour-long briefing at the U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base which oversees forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
As of Thursday, Feb. 16, 2006, at least 2,272 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes six military civilians. At least 1,781 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.
Bush spoke before a friendly audience and took questions after his prepared remarks. The first questioner said the nation was blessed to have Bush as president. The next questioner referred to Florida Gov. Jeb Bush as "your great brother."
http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/breaking_news/13891624.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
p.s. I'm gonna hurl.
Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at February 17, 2006 03:10 PM
Yes
More soon
p.s. I'm gonna hurl.
Posted by: monkey at February 17, 2006 04:54 PM
I hope you have a huge hurl bucket.... I'm afraid I have to join you....
"WHAT ENEMY"?!?!?" is my first logical question when I read stories like that. Dumbya has referred to "the enemy" before, and I've always wanted to scream that question out to him, and to all of our politicians and media who refer to "our enemies" or "the enemy." Has anyone in Lamestream Media ever ASKED The Cretin or the Vice Cretin or members of their Criminal Cabal or members of our Cluless Congress who use the same vague phrase that question??? "WHAT ENEMY???"
We did not have any enemies until The Cretin ordered the attack on Iraq, a country that had nothing whatsoever to do with 9/11...!!! The Iraqi people are NOT our "enemies." That the Iraqi people have now imported al Qaida members (a nation-less 'organization') to help them get rid of the US military force occupying their nation - even if they don't approve of al Qaida otherwise - means that the Iraqi people are desperate to get the US military out of Iraq. Members of a criminal organization without ties to any country may be self-described "enemies" of MANY nations, but the Iraqi people are still NOT our "enemies"!!! It was Bu$hCo who ordered the attack and invasion of an innocent country who originally did not have any ties to al Qaida!!!
Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at February 17, 2006 03:06 PM
I'm afraid you're right. The ads targeted at MN that are also reaching parts of WI, IA, and at least the eastern sections of SD and ND are pure war propaganda.
It could be the tip of the iceberg, since my gut feeling says that the Pentagon and The Cretin's administration are behind this (could be they've supplied taxpayer money to the organization(s) producing the ads, too). It's psy-ops brainwashing propaganda being used against the people of this nation, trying to get them to buy into the false notion that 'we' have all these ephemeral 'enemies' who need to be 'defeated' in the false 'war on terrorism.'
Deconstructing the scripts in the ads, and deconstructing the words of the people who have already drunk too much kool-aid and sending the logical questions to media outlets may get a few general managers to wake up and start asking the same logical questions we've been asking for more than five years....
I certainly hope the ads do not go national, but I'm very, very afraid they will. Buckle your seat belts, people, and stock up on sore throat lozenges. It's gonna be a bumpy ride while we try to shout logic at illogical war propaganda....
William Rivers Pitt | The Enemy
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/021706A.shtml
We hear a great deal about enemies these days, writes William Rivers Pitt, both real and contrived. It is difficult to imagine, however, a more perilous enemy than the one operating out of Washington today. The difference between the enemies we hear about and the one in Washington is simple and deadly: only the enemy in Washington can annihilate the constitutional government we have enjoyed for more than two centuries.
{{{Excellent article...!}}}
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060217/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_060217202922
Iran Demands British Troops Quit Basra
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iran's foreign minister demanded the immediate withdrawal of British forces from Basra on Friday, saying their presence had destabilized Iraq's second-largest city.
p.s. I'm gonna hurl.
Posted by: monkey at February 17, 2006 04:54 PM
Hurling is not enough.
Repeating lies enough times turns them into The Truth, and both the W propaganda machine and their Dominionist Christian followers have exploited that to the fullest, turning the real truth and reason into lies in the process.
Saddam masterminded 9/11.
Saddam masterminded 9/11.
Saddam masterminded 9/11.
Saddam masterminded 9/11.
Saddam masterminded 9/11.
...
God guides W every day for our benevolence.
God guides W every day for our benevolence.
God guides W every day for our benevolence.
God guides W every day for our benevolence.
God guides W every day for our benevolence.
...
(If the Christian God did guide W, I would beat the crap out of him - or die trying. But I know that God is too good a figure to ever guide someone as lowly as W, and W is too dumb to ever understand *Her*...)
Iraq Economy Falls Below Pre-War Levels
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/021706C.shtml
The Bush administration on Thursday conceded that key sectors of the Iraqi economy had fallen below pre-war levels because of the insurgency. According to latest statistics - which Ms Rice did not mention - crude oil production this month is running at 1.7m barrels a day, down from a post-invasion peak of 2.5m in September 2004 that was close to prewar levels.
Excerpt:
Donald Rumsfeld, the defense secretary, told a separate House budget hearing on Thursday that political and economic progress was being made. "For the most part, the country is functioning," he said. It was not "a pretty picture", but not everything was horrible. "We're not there to do nation-building. It's going to be an Iraqi solution ultimately," he said.
{{{Interesting that Rummy is using this sentence: "We're not there to do nation-building." That is straight out of the 2000 presidential debates between Gore and The Cretin, and at that time The Cretin said he wasn't 'going to do any nation building.' When The Cretin said that during the presidential debates of 2000, his body language was SO lying, and that's the EXACT moment I KNEW he planned to attack Iraq to finish his daddy's war if he was elected.... And, if the US is not in Iraq to do any nation-building, then can Rummy tell us just exactly WHY we are in Iraq?!?!? Hmmm..??? The "reasons" we were given years ago have ALL been debunked as LIES. So, tell us Rummy, just WHY is the US military still in Iraq?!?!? Anyone? Hello-o-o-o-o-o.... I'll take a logical and truthful answer from anyone in the administration.... Knock, knock... anyone home...?}}}
It could be the tip of the iceberg, since my gut feeling says that the Pentagon and The Cretin's administration are behind this (could be they've supplied taxpayer money to the organization(s) producing the ads, too). It's psy-ops brainwashing propaganda being used against the people of this nation, trying to get them to buy into the false notion that 'we' have all these ephemeral 'enemies' who need to be 'defeated' in the false 'war on terrorism.'
Posted by: NonnyO at February 17, 2006 05:42 PM
W's team (W is too dumb to do it by himself) has studied all the successful fascist regimes of the past 200 years (Hitler, Mussolini, Pinochet, Park, etc), and is playing straight out of their battle plan. Propaganda works, especially when there is no independent media to confirm or deny the facts (as is the case in today's America). Glorifying W as a messenger of God sells this propaganda easily to the Christian community; that's the only thing W is good for in the whole game plan.
And I don't think the enemies are so ephemeral. When we are done fighting the Iranians, the Syrians, and maybe the North Koreans, I think we will turn our attention to Europe and punish France for "giving aid and comfort to the enemy" - Saddam's Iraq.
This will be extremely devastating for all of Europe, whether it splinters into pro-American and anti-American camps (as it did during the Iraq War) or unites into one anti-American entity to defend France. And of course, the US will be in shambles, due to the astronomical cost of all these wars.
Sure, after France, there will be more "enemies" to crush, but the nation will be too exhausted to do anything, much less launch another war.
Niger Uranium Rumors Kept Alive by White House, DoD
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/021706E.shtml
The Los Angeles Times examines the seemingly independent intelligence reports on Niger Uranium and why the story refused to die.
I didn't have a computer and internet access in the lead-up to that stupid war in Iraq, so the info in this article gives background and timeline info I've not understood before.... I did not know France owns the plants in Niger that produce the yellow-cake uranium. They knew all their supplies were accounted for... which is how they knew the story we were told in the US after the forged documents appeared were a lie - French officials had already seen the documents and knew they were forgeries. Certainly explains why France didn't support invading Iraq on LIES..... Interesting article.
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Minnesota DFL CHAIR CALLS FOR MISLEADING AD TO BE TAKEN OFF THE AIR
Today, DFL Chair Brian Melendez called on all Minnesota TV stations to follow the lead of KSTP TV and pull the ‘Midwest Heroes’ ad off the air. He was joined at a press conference at the State Capitol by Congressional candidate and veteran Tim Walz.
The ad states that the media only reports negative stories, a comment that is patently untrue. As reported on WCCO’s ‘Reality Check,’ only 6 out of 10 news stories are negative and the majority of Sunday political news show pundits are conservative.
The ad then states that the enemy in Iraq are the same terrorists responsible for 9/11, and images of Saddam Hussein are shown along with the Twin Towers. This tactic is misleading at best, as the 9/11 Commission Report states that there is no connection between Iraq and the 9/11 terrorist attack.
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The ad "Midwest Heroes is sponsored by a group called Progress for America Voter Fund. Their website is at http://pfavoterfund.com/ and
http://progressforamerica.org/
The ad itself has its own website:
http://www.midwestheroes.com
Posted by: AllyMcLesbian at February 17, 2006 06:50 PM
Logically, the US can't invade and fight anywhere with an understaffed military - unless it reinstates the draft, or hires mercenaries employed by Halliburton subsidiaries (and others) whose salaries are paid by US tax dollars.
True, The Cretin can order an invasion wherever (he'll have to figure out which LIES might not be questioned closely, 'cuz I don't think even Lamestream Media which has broadcast his propaganda so faithfully would let him get by with it without some in-depth questioning 'next' time), but it would be folly to start another war with an understaffed military.
And, if he did, I suspect most of the rest of the world would unite against the US, and then we'd be in deep, deep doo-doo....
Posted by: ralpheh at February 17, 2006 07:41 PM
Sick stuff, ain't it...?
Thanks for calling WCCO today! I suspect we'll need all the help we can get to defeat those bastards....
Ex-CIA official Paul Pillar was interviewed on C-Span's Washington Journal on Thursday. I was surprised at how cool and unemotional he was about the way the CIA was used to concoct lies an skewed analysis to come up for a reason to go to war with Iraq.
He seemed to suggest, somewhat, that the problem was "mechanical" in nature; i.e. that Bush was not at fault (indeed neither Bush nor Cheney's names came up as I recall) and what we needed was a non-partisan, non-biased Intelligence watchdog agency some akin to the Government Accountability Office GAO employed by Congress.
Pillar was asked in a long, compound question about the Downing Street Memo, but Pillar forgot to address the DSM. It would have been interesting to here what the CIA personnel's reaction to the DSM was. The DSM says IN BLACK AND WHITE that Bush had decided to go to war with Iraq AT LEAST AS EARLY JULY 2002 (probably earlier). It didn't matter what the CIA told or didn't tell the President about Iraq etc....
Nonnyo
They did say they would try to use terrorism and fear again in the 06 elections.
Maybe the fear of having a job and putting food on the table and having a roof over they're head will trump the false fear of "the sky is falling, the sky is falling...it's Al Queda...!"
I heard Bush preaching from Disneyland (car radio) - he thanked "the Allmighty" for freedom. He ranted at high volume and was obviously emulating a fundamentalist minister. He raised 3 million bucks for the Republican party.
Then they played Cheney, speaking to the Wyoming Legislature, in his usual bored, uninspired tone. Then they played his victim, who apologized for being shot.
I am ready for a weekend.
Ally
If US invades France I might switch sides.
Posted by: sparrow at February 17, 2006 09:23 PM
And if those two commercials that have aired on WCCO are any example, "they" (neoCons) are starting early in five states....
Last night's war propaganda began with the line "These people are out to get us." WHO has been out to get us has never been defined in all these years, but Dumbya sure refers to all these vague 'terraists' and 'terraist plots' often enough that anyone already paranoid is hiding under their beds at night shaking in fear of the unknown.
After five years of Dumbya yakking about 'they' and 'terraist' and 'those people' - anyone listening just 'gets' the subliminal message that 'they' are the 'terraists'... and if Lamestream Media is any indication of the lack of questions, very few people ever ask "Who?!?" I haven't heard anyone ask "Who?" yet. Fifty years ago in grade school I was taught that good writers asked "Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How?" and answered those questions implicitly in what they wrote. I'm thinking most people in Lamestream Media either didn't have a good grade school teacher for English, or never learned to ask those questions in Journalism 101.
I am just going to assume by sometime in October there's gonna be a 'terraist' alert, and the neoCons are going to speak about and air more warmongering ads to reinforce their ongoing rhetoric that sets up a xenophobic 'us vs. them' mentality that teaches people to fear the unknown something-or-other that will remain vague in their allusions to 'terraists.' And, still, by that time, there will be no names or faces or countries named in connection with these vague 'terraists' - nothing concrete to point to to say 'we need to be afraid of that person, or this group with this list of persons, and their pictures are right here, and they reside at this address.'
Everything is too vague and hokey....
Current Administration Seems to Relish Media's Anger
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0217-09.htm
Steve Osborn | What Happened To My Country?
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0217-31.htm
Conservatives Endorse the Fuhrer Principle
Our leader über alles
By Paul Craig Roberts
Last week's annual Conservative Political Action Conference signaled the transformation of American conservatism into brownshirtism. A former Justice Department official named Viet Dinh got a standing ovation when he told the CPAC audience that the rule of law mustn't get in the way of President Bush protecting Americans from Osama bin Laden.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11968.htm
How Will We Know When We Have Lost, America?
By N K. Anderson
We will know we have lost when we do what we have done in Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, Diego Garcia, Bagram and the other entirely secret and not so secret CIA and military detention centers round the world. We will
know we have lost when the first target in the massacre of a village or city is its hospital.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11963.htm
Abu Ghraib leaked report reveals full extent of abuse
· 1,325 images of suspected detainee abuse
· 93 video files of suspected detainee abuse
· 660 images of adult pornography
· 546 images of suspected dead Iraqi detainees
· 29 images of soldiers in simulated sexual acts
By Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington
Nearly two years after the first pictures of naked and humiliated Iraqi detainees emerged from Abu Ghraib prison, the full extent of the abuse became known for the first time yesterday with a leaked report from the US army's internal investigation into the scandal.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11969.htm
Flamethrowers
By Chris Floyd
A militarist state must have war: to justify its draconian rule (and those $550 billion "defense" budgets), to find new fields for dominion and swag, and to seal with blood its illegitimate compact with the people, seeking to make them complicit in its crimes, which are committed in their name, for their "security."
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11962.htm
{{{Highly recommended reading. Long list of links at the end, and I recognize some of the titles of the articles referenced, as well as some of the authors' names, and some have been posted on this blog in the past, I believe.}}}
David Martin: The Long War — George Bush’s War Without End :
Now that the cakewalk that was to be our invasion of Iraq is nearing its third anniversary and the roses that were to be thrown at us have turned into improvised explosive devices, it has become official — we are engaged in a long war. Make that “The Long War.”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11971.htm
Michel Chossudovsky: The Dangers of a Middle East Nuclear War:
New Pentagon Doctrine: Mini-Nukes are "Safe for the Surrounding Civilian Population"
http://tinyurl.com/dtjao
Excerpt:
If it were to be launched against Iran, it would result in radioactive contamination over a large part of the Middle East - Central Asian region, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, including US troops stationed in Iraq:
{{{But then, what's a little "friendly fire" that could kill our own as well as many, many, many innocents...? Now, remind me again why Iran is so 'dangerous'? Could it be that American oil corporations headed by The Cretin's and Vice Cretin's cronies may lose a million or two here and there if they lose access to Iran's oil fields???}}}
Reports: China, Iran near huge oil deal:
China and Iran are close to setting plans to develop Iran's Yadavaran oil field, according to published reports, in a multibillion-dollar deal that comes as Tehran faces the prospect of sanctions over its nuclear program.
http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/breaking_news/13896836.htm
Charles Sullivan: The Making of a Zombie Culture :
The systematic torture of captives is a non-event for the consumers of the corporate news, whose minds have been deftly manipulated to reach this conclusion without their knowledge.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11972.htm
{{{THIS is why the neoCon war propaganda commercials could be successful, IF television stations are not pestered to check the fictional vagueness and claims that sheeple already think is 'fact.'}}}
The Fourteen Defining Characteristics of Fascism :
Flash Presentation
http://www.bushflash.com/14.html
{{{The link to this has been posted before, I think, but I looked at it again. I think some of the pictures on the flash presentation have been updated? In any case, it doesn't hurt to be reminded again that we're fighting those 'fourteen defining characterists of fascism' daily....}}}
http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20060216/tc_pcworld/124741
FBI Director: Cyberthreats 'Fluid and Far-reaching'
Spying Probe No, Patriot Act Yes
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/021706J.shtml
The Senate Intelligence Committee decided today not to investigate President Bush's domestic surveillance program, at least for the time being.
Excerpt:
Mr. Feingold was the only senator to vote against the Patriot Act, which broadened government surveillance powers, when it was passed by Congress shortly after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The senator has insisted all along that the act impinges too much on personal liberty in the pursuit of national security.
"We still have not addressed some of the most significant problems with the Patriot Act," Mr. Feingold insisted today.
Joining him in voting "no" were Senators Robert C. Byrd, Democrat of West Virginia, and James M. Jeffords, an independent from Vermont. Mr. Byrd is first in seniority in the Senate and a jealous guardian of what he considers Congressional prerogatives against intrusion by the executive branch.
{{{Unless a majority of Dems are eating from the same corporate pig trough as the neoCons, there just is no rhyme or reason to their voting record since 2000. That idiotic Patriot Act should have been allowed to expire!!! There also needs to be a probe into The Cretin's spying on American citizens!!!}}}
White House Defends Sale of Six Major American Ports to Arab Company
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/021706O.shtml
The Bush administration on Thursday rebuffed criticism about potential security risks of a $6.8 billion sale that gives a company in the United Arab Emirates control over significant operations at six major American ports.
{{{"Fight them over there so we don't have to fight them here." That's what the warmongering propaganda ad says.... Aren't "these people" allegedly "our enemies"?!? So why give the UAE control over "SIX major American ports"?!?!?!??? Gee, I wonder if the warmongers who put out the propaganda commercials know about their fearless leader's fraternizing with "the enemy" by providing a port of entry for the "terrorists" he's been blathering on about that we're supposed to be so afraid of??? The hypocrisy of the Bu$hCo administration knows no bounds....}}}
Wow, NonnyO, do you ever sleep?
It's really nice to check in in the morning and catch up with your links. Thanks!
Here's two interesting links from D.U.
1. Texas redistricting:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=180x26653
2. Pelosi wants an ethics probe of a bill that Bush signed into office without the 'benefit' of it passing both House and Senate (because the leadership signed different versions).
http://tinyurl.com/cd83r (Yahoo news)
Gee, I wonder if the warmongers who put out the propaganda commercials know about their fearless leader's fraternizing with "the enemy"
Posted by: NonnyO at February 18, 2006 04:24 AM
Gee, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say, NO. Bush apologists pay no attention to the details, and live in the world of hypocrisy to the point where they don't even notice it.
They can all kiss my prehensil tail.
CHENEY SAYS SHOOTING OF FELLOW HUNTER WAS BASED ON FAULTY INTELLIGENCE.
(The Daily Wipeâ„¢) 02/12/2006
"Kicking (and kissing) Ass For Oil Since 1948"
Believed Shooting Victim Was Zawahiri, Veep Says.
Vice President Dick Cheney revealed today that he shot a fellow hunter while on a quail hunting trip over the weekend because he believed the man was the fugitive terror mastermind Ayman al-Zawahiri.
Mr. Cheney acknowledged that the man he sprayed with pellets on Saturday was not al-Zawahiri but rather Harry Whittington, a 78-year-old millionaire lawyer from Austin, blaming the mix-up on "faulty intelligence."
"I believed I had credible intelligence that al-Zawahiri had infiltrated my hunting party in disguise with the intent of spraying me with pellets," Mr. Cheney told reporters. "Only after I shot Harry in the face and he shouted 'Cheney, you bastard' did I realize that this intelligence was faulty."
Moments after Mr. Cheney's assault on Mr. Whittington, Mr. al-Zawahiri appeared in a new videotape broadcast on al-Jazeera to announce that he was uninjured in the vice president's attack because, in his words, "I was in Pakistan."
An aide to the vice president said he believed that the American people would believe Mr. Cheney's version of events, but added, "If he was going to shoot any of his cronies right now it's a shame it wasn't Jack Abramoff."
A DOD spokesman announced that as a result of Mr Cheney's accurate shooting, he would be awarded the Army's Basisc Marksman Medal.
"We know he regrets that those 5 deferments prevented him from serving," said the spokesman.
At the White House, President George W. Bush defended his vice president's shooting of a fellow hunter, saying that the attack sent "a strong message to terrorists everywhere."
"The message is, if Dick Cheney is willing to shoot an innocent American citizen at point-blank range, imagine what he'll do to terrorists," Mr. Bush said.
Molly Ivins: The buck stops... where?
Again, the White House can't face up to a mistake
-snip-
I am not trying to make a big deal out of a simple hunting accident for partisan purposes -- just thought it was a good chance to pay tribute to old Harry, a thoroughly decent man. However, I was offended by the never-our-fault White House spin team. Cheney adviser Mary Matalin said of her boss, "He was not careless or incautious (and did not) violate of any of the (rules). He didn't do anything he wasn't supposed to do." Of course he did, Ms. Matalin, he shot Harry Whittington.
Which brings us to one of the many paradoxes of the Bush administration, which claims to be creating "the responsibility society." It's hard to think of a crowd less likely to take responsibility for anything they have done or not done than this bunch. They're certainly good at preaching responsibility to others -- and blaming other people for everything that goes wrong on their watch.
Of course the Cheney shooting was an accident.
But is it an accident if your home and your life are destroyed by the flood following a hurricane? Especially if the flood was caused by failed levees, a government responsibility?
Is it an accident if you are born with a clubfoot and your parents are too poor to pay for the operation to fix it? Is there any societal responsibility in such a case?
Is it an accident when your manufacturing job gets shipped overseas and all you can find to replace it is a low-wage job at the big-box store with no health insurance, and your kid breaks his leg, and you can't pay the bill, so you have to declare bankruptcy under a new law that leaves you broke for good, with no chance of ever getting out of debt? Or was all of that caused by deliberate government policy?
Cheney is much given to lecturing us about taking responsibility. When and where does societal responsibility come in?
Cheney has a curious, shifting history on issues of blame and responsibility. He was vice chair of the congressional committee that spent 11 months investigating the Iran-Contra affair and author of its minority report. As John W. Dean highlights in a recent essay, the 500-page majority report concluded the entire affair "was characterized by pervasive dishonesty and inordinate secrecy." But Cheney's report said the Reagan administration's repeated breaking of the law were "mistakes ... were just that -- mistakes in judgment and nothing more."
Those of you who saw Cheney's interview with Jim Lehrer last week may recall the passage on Darfur that ended with this:
Lehrer: "It's still happening. There are now 2 million people homeless."
Cheney: "Still happening, correct."
Lehrer: "Hundreds of thousands of people have died, and -- so you're satisfied the U.S. is doing everything it can do?"
Cheney: "I am satisfied we're doing everything we can do."
His head still tilts over more to the right when he lies.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/02/14/ivins.cheney/index.html
LIST OF MISSTATEMENTS REGARDING THE HUNTING ACCIDENT;
(I know this seems relatively minor in compared to other Bush scandals but it is classic in the way they deal with bad news and the press...)))
By CALVIN WOODWARD and NANCY BENAC, Associated Press Writers
Sat Feb 18, 3:52 AM ET
Vice President Dick Cheney said he didn't immediately disclose his hunting accident because he wanted the confusing details to come out right. Instead, authorized accounts came out slowly — and often still wrong.
The result: a week of shifting blame, belatedly acknowledged beer consumption (not "zero" drinking after all) and evolving discrepancies in how the shooting happened, its aftermath and the way it was told to the nation.
"There's a reason they call this crisis management," said corporate damage-control specialist Eric Dezenhall, "and that's because it's a mess."
___
BLAME
In the first days after the vice president wounded attorney Harry Whittington while shooting at quail last Saturday in Texas, blame was placed on the victim for not announcing his presence to fellow hunter Cheney.
"The vice president did everything right," Katharine Armstrong, the ranch owner approved by Cheney to disclose the accident, said Monday. Whittington, 78, should have shouted that he was rejoining the hunting group after drifting off to retrieve a downed bird. "The mistake exposed him to getting shot," she said. "It's incumbent on him. He did not do that."
The White House picked up on that theme the same day in attempting to deflect any responsibility from the vice president. "If I recall," Bush spokesman Scott McClellan said of Armstrong, "she pointed out that the protocol was not followed by Mr. Whittington, when it came to notifying the others that he was there."
The about-face came Wednesday when Cheney made his first public comment on the accident.
"It was not Harry's fault," he said. "You can't blame anybody else. I'm the guy who pulled the trigger and shot my friend."
___
DRINKING
Although there is no evidence that beer impaired Cheney's judgment, initial denials that he had consumed alcohol were wrong.
"No one was drinking," Armstrong said at the outset. "No, zero, zippo." She said the hunters washed down lunch with Dr Pepper. Later, she qualified her comments and said beer might have been in the cooler but she did not think anyone drank any.
The investigating officer from the Kenedy County sheriff's department, after interviewing Whittington in the hospital, reported that the victim "explained foremost there was no alcohol during the hunt."
Authorities did not investigate the accident until the next day. The Texas Parks and Wildlife accident report, dated two days after the shooting, checked "No" on the question of whether Cheney appeared under the influence of intoxicants. It did not address whether the hunters had been drinking at all. (The report also included a diagram depicting Whittington's wounds on the wrong side of his body.)
Cheney acknowledged Wednesday, "I had a beer at lunch" several hours before the group's afternoon hunt, asserting "nobody was under the influence."
___
VICTIM'S CONDITION
In the rush to assure everyone Whittington was "just fine," some important details were left out.
Initial reports had him treated at the scene, then taken by ambulance to the hospital, where in no time he was cracking jokes with the nurses. It turned out that after being taken to the emergency room of a local, small hospital, he was flown by helicopter to the intensive care unit of the larger hospital in Corpus Christi.
According to Armstrong's initial account of the accident scene: "He was talking. His eyes were open." Later, Cheney said that when he rushed up to the stricken man and talked to him, Whittington had one eye open and did not respond. He was, however, conscious.
Doctors said Tuesday that Whittington suffered a mild heart attack while in the hospital when one of the pellets migrated to his heart. He was released Friday.
___
LICENSE
Cheney did not have all his hunting papers in order, as suggested by the White House and initially stated by Texas authorities.
On Sunday, a spokesman for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said Cheney was legally hunting with a license he bought in November. While that was true, the department's accident report the next day stated that he was in violation of a law requiring him to have an upland game bird stamp.
___
DISCLOSURE
The accident raised questions about the flow of information into and out of the White House communications apparatus.
Asked why no one released news of the shooting on Saturday night, McClellan said "the vice president's office was working to make sure information got out" but that details were slow to reach Washington that evening.
Armstrong, for her part, said no one at the ranch even discussed releasing the news on Saturday.
She said her family realized Sunday morning that it would be a story and decided to call the local newspaper, the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. She said she then discussed news coverage with Cheney for the first time.
"I said, 'Mr. Vice President, this is going to be public, and I'm comfortable going to the hometown newspaper,'" she told The Associated Press. "And he said, 'You go ahead and do whatever you are comfortable doing.'"
___
TELLING WASHINGTON
McClellan said President Bush was told shortly before 8 p.m. EST Saturday that Cheney had shot Whittington, less than half an hour after Bush first heard there had a been an accident of some sort involving Cheney's hunting party. Confirmation that Cheney was the shooter was obtained when deputy chief of staff Karl Rove called Armstrong, McClellan said.
However, McClellan said he didn't personally know Cheney was the shooter until the next morning, about 6 a.m. EST Sunday, when he was awakened with the news.
He said he only knew the previous evening that someone in Cheney's party had been involved in a hunting accident.
Ralpheh:
Please read and respect the "copyright fair use" notice that the DCP has included just to the right of the box in which you post your comments.
The original AP article that you chose to repost at full length and without complete attribution or a linking URL here on our website also concluded with a short and simple statement that you didn't bother including in your repost:
"Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed."
There are reasons why it says that at the bottom of each AP article posted online, and there are reasons why the DCP asks that you respect it here. Please remember that. Thank you.
hope this helps,
Otter
Posted by: ralpheh at February 18, 2006 09:14 AM
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- The United States lags dangerously behind al Qaeda and other enemies in getting out information in the digital media age and must update its old-fashioned methods, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Friday.
(I mean, if they cant get the story of a simple accidental shooting of a friend in the face out thru the media effectively... oh, never mind)
Fact or fiction? Anyone know?
http://tinyurl.com/ey565 (DU poster kpete)
Fact or fiction? Anyone know?
Posted by: sparrow at February 18, 2006 09:31 AM
Well, that's at least a $500 billion dollar question, isn't it?
If I were a betting man...
Ahem... in all fairness to Ralpheh and that earlier repost... it's a real problem online in general and it has been an issue for the DCP in the past also -- hence the necessary inclusion of the "copyright fair use" notice next to the comment box as referenced in my previous post.
I didn't mean to single Ralpheh out in that regard just because of one post in particular; but it's something that more than a few people posting here have been known to get pretty slack about also, and it's something that really can have negative effects on the DCP's legal status.
Plus, in at least some instances it's just plain sloppy and wrong for posters to ignore such necessary niceties. It's not that I'm trying to be an annoying noodge about these things, but intellectual property issues are very much of a slippery slope in the age of the internets, and I'd hate to see the DCP get bit in the butt as a result of non-attention to details.
just my overly-analytical $.02,
Otter
Posted by: monkey at February 18, 2006 09:39 AM
Ah ha!
That's what I thought.
I apologize if this is a repost.
Republican files suit againt Bush and NSA spying.
http://newsblaze.com/story/20060217114414nnnn.nb/newsblaze/TOPSTORY/Top-Story.html
The flag, the cross, whatever symbols
My symbols are Kwan Yin, the planet earth flag
I didn't choose a country to be born in and it is not necessary to adopt the dominant religion. Bush says The Almighty gives us freedom what that depends on what he means by The, by Almight, by Gives, by Us and by Freedom.
His God is not mine, that I know.
His Freedom is not mine, that I know.
FDL talking about the Republicans going for the church directories already.
http://tinyurl.com/d6v67 Firedoglake
I found this thread at D.U. to be deeply moving.
http://tinyurl.com/cdyhk
Posted by: sparrow at February 18, 2006 07:38 AM
:-) Well, yes, I do sleep. But I sleep longer and better when I'm not so PO'd I can barely think straight and have insomnia as a result... and when my cat doesn't wake me up at the crack of dawn after I've been up writing snarky letters all night - and reading e-newsletters and posting links to some of the stories I think people here might find as interesting as I did.
Last night's 10 pm news on WCCO featured that second war propaganda ad - again - and it was also aired later. Uh huh. That set me off. I went to that horror of a web site for the people who sponsored the ad and downloaded the horrible thing so I could get the quotes right, I'm debunking it, and writing to both the general manager of WCCO, AND Pat Kessler, the guy who does the Reality Check segment on Wed. nights. Kessler only partially debunked the first ad, which is what prompted my first letter to him. I realize he's dealing with a time constraint for the segment, but IF WCCO is interested in telling the whole truth, they need to air a Reality Check segment that will debunk all of the LIES and errors and misconceptions of both ads, and not put a time constraint on it.
And since I got too wordy and snarky, I'm trying to edit out the snarkiness and excessive wordiness, leave in bare bones facts, and then I'm going to send it off. I do want these people to "get" what I'm saying and listen, not blow it off.
But I'm just SO hopping mad that they even considered running the ads in the first place and are spreading the war propaganda and LIES that I can barely write coherently...!!! No doubt, since WCCO didn't pull the ads by last night, they'll run all weekend, too.... Aaarrghh!!!
Posted by: sparrow at February 18, 2006 09:31 AM
That plan began BEFORE 9/11, because in the pres. debates of 2000 there was a segment about "nation building" and Dumbya said then that he didn't plan to do any 'nation building' - eerily quoted by Rummy in one of the above links, after we're already there, I notice. 9/11 was just the excuse - they had to concoct LIES to make it seem like Iraq was involved and/or a threat to the US as "justification" to invade. In the several links I posted about the Iranian Oil Bourse a while back, at least one of the writers speculated an excuse to attack Iran would have to be made before March 20, the date the IRB is set to open (at which point the oil companies would lose a lot of money). At least one of IRB stories said the attack on Iraq was timed to stop the Iraq Oil Bourse from opening. I got the links to the Iran Oil Bourse stories in the Information Clearinghouse e-newsletter, if memory serves. I saved the links, can repost all of them if you wish.
Posted by: monkey at February 18, 2006 08:48 AM
I plan to send that story/link to WCCO, too. Might even include the other TV stations in the Cities while I'm at it, and cc the DFL, too. (In MN the Democratic party is officially called the Democratic Farm Labor party, just called DFL by most everyone in the state). I also wonder what our not-so-trustworthy Clueless Congress (both senators and reps) think about selling SIX ports of entry to the UAE? Do they even know about it? Are they a party to the sale? Who owned the ports and profited from the sale?!?!? (Follow the money.......)
IMHO, that story potentially has legs - long giant legs. How can Bu$hCo "fight the enemy over there and not here" if they sell SIX ports of entry to the US to the UAE?!?!? That bit of idiocy just unlocked and opened the biggest doors possible for any "terrorists" from any other countries, particularly from the Arab countries which is allegedly where most 'terraists' are from. Yes, I know most people forget that most of the 9/11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia - and the brainwashing scripts put out by the warmongering neoCons just conveniently "forget" to mention that little detail. Why not put up a big "welcome to the terrorists and other acquired enemies of the USA" banner over the docks, roll out a red carpet to cover the docks, and throw them a ticker tape parade while they're at it?!? Oh, and include "welcome illegal immigrants," too. Isn't that allegedly why Halliburton is building the 'detention center' in CA??? To house illegal immigrants? One of those links I posted last night says Halliburton has an "open ended" no-bid contract to build "detention centers" [plural, more than one, apparently] around the US... so how many are they going to build and where are they going to get enough "illegal immigrants" to make the "detention centers" profitable???
Yeah, I smell a few large rats - and loopholes - about 'detention centers' built by Hallilburton. So, are they going to import illegal immigrants as justification for Halliburton to build 'detention centers?' Or are they going to put renditioned prisoners from other countries in those 'detention centers?' ... With a back-up plan to put American citizens in those 'detention centers' if they start rounding up those of us who see exactly what they are doing to us mirrors Hitler and Nazi Germany and charge us with being 'enemies of the state'??? I'm not forgetting the fact that America had no enemies until AFTER Dumbya was Selected and then ordered the attack of Iraq, a country that had NO connection to 9/11!!! Now The Cretin has gained both real and his own imaginary enemies for this country....