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Media Reform: The Media is Dead. Focus on the Living.
The latest in our series to heal the politically afflicted…
As regular readers will know, two weeks ago in this column, I requested that my friends at the DCP send letters outlining their political woes… Today, I will be responding to one of those letters.
This one comes from our friend “NonnyO,” a regular poster and contributor at the DCP. Her plea for assistance in the area of Media Reform caught my attention. After all, can there really be a democracy without a free and unbiased press? I think if you’ve watched or read mainstream media in the last five years, you know the answer to this question. Nonny wants to know what we can do. Here is a part of her letter:
Dear Polly –
One of the original stated objectives of this blog was "media reform." How do you suggest we educate the media?
All of Nonny’s post can be seen on this thread titled "The Voice of the People".
In the meantime, I will attempt to provide some insight on this critical issue.
These days, the media sucks. Actually, that may not be the correct verb form. I’m always unclear on how to correctly say the media sucks, because the word “media” is theoretically both singular and plural at the same time. So I’m never sure if it should be “the media sucks” or “the media suck.” But whether you are working with the singular or plural media concept, the media suck(s). They’ve ceased to exist. They no longer perform the task so vital to a functioning democracy: An unbiased and relevant reporting of FACTS, which are left to the viewer to interpret. Remember those days? I do.
But let us look at Nonny’s question: “How do you suggest we educate the media?”
Well Nonny, here’s what I think:
We don’t. We don’t educate the media because they do not wish to be educated. They have become a pointless, shifty middle-man between the White House and the general public – a greedy, smarmy little guy who’s in it for his share and doesn’t give a damn if the buyer ultimately gets a fair deal.
So here’s what I propose. We stop trying to educate the middle-man, and go directly to the buyer – the American people. Stop wasting your time writing letters to CNN, MSNBC, CBS, PBS, NBC, FAUX, ROTC, COPD... They don’t care. Every time you want to write a letter to a media outlet, slap yourself briskly, make a martini, and write a letter to your local newspaper instead. A letter which will be read by actual people. Fill that letter with facts. The truth is unbiased.
In other words, let’s eliminate the middle-man, and take our case directly to the consumer – the people. They need the facts, and they’re not going to get them from the media. And I don’t mean just writing letters. I mean use every tool there is: make films, make podcasts, make flyers, call the radio show, take pictures and hang them in the coffee shop on the corner, make brochures, make websites, write a play and perform it, make meetings in your neighborhood, make hotdish and tell the truth to your friends, make art, make music, make noise. Put the truth everywhere, so the people can find it.
And here’s what will happen. People will stop listening to the official mouthpieces, and begin to want the truth. They will stop tuning in because they know it’s a lie. And then, the media will stop making billions of dollars in advertising money, and they will notice that nobody is watching or listening anymore…
And THEN, AND ONLY THEN, WILL THE MEDIA CHANGE.
We don’t have to reform the media. We just have to do their job. As a wise man once said, “If you build it, they will come.”
So go build it.
See you at the coffee shop.
Your friend,
Polly
And as if to prove the point:
Via Atrios from today's WaPo we have this:
Tim Russert, making his first appearance [at the Gridiron Dinner] as a new member, decked out in a blue dress and a shiny blond wig as one of the cable news bunnies. But there were also some true clunkers. Singing about torture, subbing "rendition" for "tradition" and borrowing the "Fiddler on the Roof" song was not funny at all. The chumminess of the politicos and the press corps can be cloying.
--------
Stupid and sick. Utterly, utterly sick.
I can only imagine the vertigo the late great Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan must be enduring, spinning enlessly in his grave over the activities of his former protege. Were Pat alive, he would slap the crap out of him, I have no doubt.
I'd help.
----------
And speaking of helping, my letter to the Editor(s) today will be about healthcare. The healthcare my governor received and the healthcare my Congressman received. Each of them, could have died, but for the fine and EXTENSIVE services they received.
I bet they were glad they had insurance. Should make for some REAL interesting campaign questions, too.
Dear Polly -
Triple espresso straight up for me! That ought to give me enough caffeine to keep me awake for 24 hrs. in a row to get a few things done. ;-)
Thanks for answering my query.
Your suggestions are apt, and to whatever degree each of us has time or resources or ability, I think we can do something to make an impact.
Here's to affecting change... (raising my cup of coffee to salute you)....
NonnyO
Both of these links technically go with the last couple of threads, but I only found them on the last e-newsletters I get:
Sally Kalson | Is This War Worth the Price?
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/031206A.shtml
Pittsburghers were captivated this week by the seven-year-old Iraqi boy who arrived here for reconstructive facial surgery at Children's Hospital, having been badly disfigured in an American bombing raid in 2004. Sally Kalson argues that his presence has done more to inform the citizenry than a thousand presidential speeches.
{{{Pix included. Cover the half of the boy's face that was disfigured, and see what a handsome face the little fellow has. Then look at the other half of his face and see how US weapons disfigured the other half of the boy's face. He's only one child among many. So, pResident Cretin, is your stupid illegal war of choice worth it?!?}}}
~~~~~~~~
How the Central Intelligence Agency Played Dirty Tricks With Our Culture :
The C.I.A., it seems, was worried that the public might be too influenced by Orwell's pox-on-both-their-houses critique of the capitalist humans and Communist pigs. So after his death in 1950, agents were dispatched (by none other than E. Howard Hunt, later of Watergate fame) to buy the film rights to "Animal Farm" from his widow to make its message more overtly anti-Communist.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article12302.htm
Growing Bid to Give Bush the Boot
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0311-05.htm
Excerpt:
Lewis Lapham, the outgoing editor of Harper's magazine and one of the country's most outspoken Bush critics, makes the case for impeachment in the March issue of his magazine.
It includes this indictment:
"We have before us in the White House a thief who steals the country's good name and reputation for his private interest and personal use; a liar who seeks to instil in the American people a state of fear; a televangelist who engages the United States in a never-ending crusade against all the world's evil; a wastrel who squanders a vast sum of the nation's wealth on what turns out to be a recruiting drive certain to multiply the host of our enemies.
"In a word, a criminal — known to be armed and shown to be dangerous."
John Nichols | Port Deal Question: What's the White House Still Hiding?
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0312-31.htm
Excerpt:
Kucinich, the ranking Democratic member of the House Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations, has invoked the House's little used "Resolution of Inquiry" procedure in an attempt to force the Bush administration to turn over documents relating to whatever security review was conducted with regard to the port deal.
Specifically, Kucinich is demanding that the White House and the Department of Homeland Security turn over to Congress:
1. All documents in their possession regarding the December 13, 2005, Coast Guard Intelligence Coordination Center document – materials which could show that the Bush administration had been informed of security concerns regarding the UAE firm.
2. All documents in their possession regarding discussions between the White House and Dubai Ports World relating to the Committee on Foreign Investment process for approving the acquisition – materials which could show that the administration worked with the UAE firm to help advance the deal.
3. All documents in their possession regarding discussions between the White House and the Carlyle Group between October 1, 2005, and March 2, 2006 – materials which could shed light on whether the president's enthusiasm for the port deal might have been stoked by contacts with international business interests with which his father remains closely associated.
How far will Kucinich get with his demand for documents from a White House that is never forthcoming when it comes to cooperating with Congress? That depends, in large part, on his fellow House Democrats, and on those scared House Republicans who were so busy claiming to the cameras that they wanted to "get to the bottom" of all the issues raised by the port deal.
Under House rules, when a member introduces a Resolution of Inquiry, it must be taken up by an appropriate committee – in this case the House Financial Services Committee -- within 14 legislative days. If the committee, which of course has a Republican majority, votes to votes to squelch the resolution, then the White House is off the hook. That's likely to happen unless House Democrats pick up Kucinich's call and make enough noise to keep this issue alive.
{{{I wrote my Rep to ask him to support Kucinich. I'd write to the other Dem reps, but (unlike senators), the rep web sites block any but emails from constituents in their own districts/states. I am totally convinced that whatever "American entity" takes over control of Dubai Ports, the deal will enrich the coffers of the administration - from the top down. I suspect it will be either Halliburton or Carlyle or one of their subsidiaries. Question is: Will anyone in Lamestream Media tell us about it???}}}
Think Beyond Impeachment, Says Former U.N. Weapons Inspector
By Nathan Diebenow
Ritter explained that more people should be held accountable for supporting the current war in Iraq than the Bush Administration, including members of the Clinton administration, congressmen, senators, the U.S. media, and the American people.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article12306.htm
Excerpts:
Ritter said that the last three presidential administrations deliberately misled the American people about the reality of Iraq.
“When people say we didn’t find any weapons in Iraq in 2003, I’m here to tell you that, no, it wasn’t a mistake,” said the former U.N. weapons inspector. “The CIA knew in 1993 that there were no nuclear weapons programs in Iraq. The CIA knew in 1994 that there were not chemical weapons in Iraq. The CIA knew in 1995 that there were no biological weapons in Iraq.
“The CIA knew that Iraq had been disarmed, but that’s not the CIA’s job,” he added. “The CIA’s job is not to disarm Iraq but to create the conditions for the removal of Saddam Hussein. This is important because that same pattern of deception that you saw in Iraq is taking place today when it comes to the issue of Iran.”
Until 2000, the United State waited for someone like a Sunni general who could be like Saddam Hussein without being Saddam Hussein and be called to assassinate Hussein and take over control the Baathist Party and Iraqi government, Ritter said. “Then we’d be happy.”
~~~~~
Ritter stressed that U.S. presidents are in essence forced to lie to the American people about going to war in the Middle East (by using the excuse that the nation in question poses a threat) because the United States is addicted to its lifestyle based on cheap oil.
“We consume far more than we produce as a nation. Therefore, this lifestyle that we are all addicted to requires our government to gain access to resources we need to sustain this lifestyle, and to gain access to these resources on terms that are economically beneficial to America, so we have to have a foreign policy in place that guarantees we have this access,” explained Ritter.
He added, “A president can’t flat-out say, ‘I have to feed your addiction to oil, so I’m going to gain total 100 percent control of the Middle East. I’m going to get rid of every government in the Middle East ... that doesn’t march to our tune.’ What president is going to be honest enough to say that? Not a single one of them.
“So they are going to come up with excuses: ‘Saddam Hussein is a threat to our security because he has weapons of mass destruction. We need to get rid of Saddam. Iran is a threat because of a nuclear weapons program. We need to get rid of the Iranians. The Saudi Arabians are a threat because they finance global terror.’ That might actually be a true statement, but we’re not marching on Riyadh anytime soon.”
~~~~~
[Regarding using weapons and depleted uranium:]
“And you better understand that when you give me those weapons, and I use those weapons, there are repercussions. When I pull that trigger on a DU weapon I’m creating conditions that are harmful to American service members. I’m creating conditions that are harmful to innocent civilians that have to live in that area. If you don’t want that, don’t send me to war.”
Democratic Group Endorses Plan for More Early Primaries
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/031206D.shtml
An influential Democratic committee on Saturday endorsed the idea of adding as many as four state primaries and caucuses to the early presidential nominating season, now dominated by Iowa and New Hampshire.
{{{I do not believe I have enough info on this to have an informed opinion about this one way or the other - although in the past early primaries have irked me because I have thought some worthwhile candidates pulled out of the races much too soon. What do you think?}}}
US Found in Violation of Native Americans' Rights, Anti-Racism Treaty
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0311-07.htm
Henry Porter | Add to Bush's Follies the Rape of his Own Country
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0312-30.htm
{{{The (apparently British) author starts out talking about blowing the tops off of mountains in KY & WV to get to the coal, and at one point later in the article references the movie "North Country" and strip mining in MN. I think he does not realize MN does not have any mountains, and that iron ore is what's mined on the Iron Range in MN - the elevation in the state of MN is at sea level, mostly flat, and the highest points are only high hills, nothing that qualifies as a 'mountain.' The rest of the points the author has to make are valid, so should not be discounted.}}}
'Tipping Point': Pollution Soaring to Crisis Levels in Arctic
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0312-03.htm
{{{If I were living in a coastal city, I would seriously consider moving to higher ground inland....}}}
SAS Soldier Quits Army in Disgust at 'Illegal' American Tactics in Iraq
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0312-07.htm
Arianna Huffington | Abramoff: Will Janitor Jack Sweep the GOP Out of Power in 2006?
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0311-22.htm
David Sirota | Bush, Pundits and Dems Feign 'Concern' for National Security
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/031206G.shtml
With the termination of the Dubai ports deal, President Bush now says he is "concerned about a broader message this issue could send to our friends and allies around the world, especially in the Middle East." According to David Sirota, this line has been parroted by the punditocracy, which claims that legitimate questions of national security are "ethnic profiling" (aka. "racial profiling").
{{{NOW The Cretin is concerned about racial/ethnic profiling?!?!? After five plus years of propagandistic yammering about all those nameless "enemies" of the US (meaning people in Iraq, Afghanistan, now Iran, etc.), virtually brainwashing the citizens of this nation into xenophobia, he's NOW concerned about stereotyping... just when he or his corporate criminal cohorts can make a killing off of the deal?!?!?}}}
Nonny,
Scott Ritter lives in my area. If you want to hear a live interview/podcast on these issues, you can probably find it at www.wamc.org.
This is the url of Northeast Public Radio. The President of Northeast Public Radio, Alan Chartock has long been a supporter of Scott's right to free speech, despite the "attempts", shall we say, to smear him (a la Richard Clarke). Dr. Chartock (Professor and Chairman Emritus of the Political Science Department at SUNY) has interviewed him a number of times for sometimes an hour at a time. Fascinating stuff.
Dr. Chartock also plugs the Democracy Cell Project three or four times everytime I am on. Very nice and good supporter of all things democracy.
Also--
The Koufax Awards voting has been extended until midnight tonight EDT. Go show your favorite bloggers some love.
I hear there are some new entrants this year...
And in case we all haven't said it enough, the writers at the DCP thank you for your support.
And by support, we mean compliments AND criticisms. We are ALL here to learn.
From Dwahzon on the last thread, via Firedoglake:
The details on how to vote are in this entry as are links to all the individual categories and their entries. This round of voting will take the lists down to a list of 6-10 finalists in each category which will then be publicized for the final round of voting.
http://wampum.wabanaki.net/vault/2006/03/002457.html
We are nominated in the following categories:
Best Blog (non-professional)
Best Series
Most Humorous Blog
Best Post
Best Blog Community
Best Writing
Best New Blog
NonnyO:
I know from what your posts at the end of the previous thread that you fear the Feingold motion to censure Shrubya won't get any significant coverage in what you term the Lamestream Media.
(I personally think the widespread use of 'MSM' or 'Mainstream Media' in this and other blogs is a misnomer, since those using it are almost always referring to only four cable news channels, a handful of web-dominant newspaper sites, the regular broadcast news programs, and possibly NPR if radio coverage even occurs to them. The real range of mainstream media is much, much broader than just a dozen or two sources, especially when those same few sources are being regurgitated through multiple e-newsletters.)
In any event, I don't think you have to worry about the censure-motion news not getting out to the rest of the nation. A quick search for "Bush censure" returned 572 results from Google News and 399 results from Yahoo News. But, of course, that's where most bloggers go to get their 'mainstream media' news, so you probably already know that.
On the other hand, you (and the other news junkies reading this, ahem) really should check out http://www.topix.net if you want to get more info from news sources large, small, and in between. (You can try searching there just by your zip code, and you'll probably be surprised by some of the off-'MSM' sources they draw their feeds from.) In this case, a search of TopixNet for "Bush censure" returned 3,700 hits -- quite a difference in scale from the Google and Yahoo results, nu? So you might want to make TopixNet a regular part of your daily news-junkie fixes, too.
I also highly recommend bookmarking http://www.refdesk.com -- it's a horribly-designed website, as ugly as the south end of a northbound bullmoose, but it's also a treasure trove of incredibly-varied reference and information sources. Scroll on down through the top page -- it's a long one, and things tend to get broken up into different parts of it -- but it can link you to literally hundreds of newspapers, broadcast feeds, and other news sources from the US and all around the world. You can spend your entire day just surfing around RefDesk's links and still never get to even half of them. (Which, come to think of it, isn't such a bad idea on a cold, rainy Monday...)
more nooz you can yooz,
Otter
Hey Kids!
Look what is on the daily calendar at my university!
Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2006 00:01:13 -0500
From: For Your Information
Subject: A Day in the Life of a CIA Analyst
Subject : A Day in the Life of a CIA Analyst
Date/Time : 03-28-2006 (4:00pm to 7:00pm)
Location : Stamp Student Union
During this event, student can hear first-hand of what it is like to contribute to our nation’s strength and security by providing timely, objective and relevant analysis of national security threats and foreign policy issues facing the United States.
Light refreshments will be served.
THIS EVENT IS OPEN TO ALL, BUT STUDENTS MUST BE US CITIZENS TO WORK FOR THE CIA.
For more information contact:
LIGHT REFRESHMENTS TOO!
"as ugly as the south end of a northbound bullmoose,"
Most people just use the traditional "Good morning", Otter. I will carry THAT lovely image today as I go out in the world.
thanks for sharing, you little dickens.
Really, that should get posted on AmericaBlog so we can get a massive turnout of gay activists to show up and ask questions about recuitment of gays.
I disagree with Ritter (who has been tacking toward the middle lately)
Ritter said that the last three presidential administrations deliberately misled the American people about the reality of Iraq.
“When people say we didn’t find any weapons in Iraq in 2003, I’m here to tell you that, no, it wasn’t a mistake,” said the former U.N. weapons inspector. “The CIA knew in 1993 that there were no nuclear weapons programs in Iraq. The CIA knew in 1994 that there were not chemical weapons in Iraq. The CIA knew in 1995 that there were no biological weapons in Iraq.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
BUSH TOOK US TO WAR IN IRAQ BASED ON LIES - (not generated by the CIA, but generated by the Office of Special Plans and Douglas Feith's "special intelligence office" in the Pentagon. From the beginning the C.I.A. doubted the Niger uranium claim; so did the State Department)
CLINTON WAS PUSHED TO START A WAR WITH IRAQ BY THESE SAME NEOCONS (P.N.A.C.) IN 1998 AND SAID NO.
Bush is president (Clinton is in retirement)
Polly,
That (shifty,greed, smarmy and pointless middle-man) is the reason I call our media The Bushco Propaganda Machine. It is succinct and accurate.
Posted by: Otter at March 13, 2006 06:53 AM
Thanx for the links & tips.... :-)
Actually, my furry friend, the people I worry about are those who commute two hours a day, work eight or more hours a day... and some have children to take care of and places to drive them after school, on weekends, etc. They do not have the time, quite frankly, to do searches and research for the truth behind LIES of the administration, even if they are connected to the internet; after they get home they have meals to fix, kids to feed, laundry to do, housecleaning, etc., and they still have to get to bed in time to get some few hours of rest before starting the same routine all over again. (Relatives of mine have days like that, and my days used to be similar.)
The most they'll ever have of political news is what's on their car radios or, if they're lucky, they can catch the evening news - likely not until the in-state news at 10, if they're still awake. Only very rarely are they home for national or in-state news at 5 & 5:30. They're interested, but just simply do not have enough hours in the day to do much in the way of research. (Research, for me, has come second-nature; I've done it for one topic or another all of my adult life.)
That's why my focus is on in-state media to broadcast something more than administration propaganda regurgitated for in-state viewers or listeners. I want people to get something in the way of truth from their local or in-state media outlets, even if I have to spoon-feed the producers of the 'news' shows info and/or leads to stories....
If I thought the producers of the in-state news shows had gumption enough to go after the truth, or even balanced news coverage, I wouldn't bother with them in the least... but they've mostly proven to me that they - like their national counterparts - can't be trusted to do much in the way of independent research and seek for balance and truth in the news they broadcast....
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/13/business/media/13knight.html
Newspaper Chain Agrees to a Sale for $4.5 Billion
Knight Ridder, the nation's second-largest newspaper company, agreed Sunday night to sell itself to the McClatchy Company.
{{{Besides several other regions of the US, this will also affect MN papers, and apparently a Grand Forks, ND paper.}}}
Posted by: Casey Morris at March 13, 2006 06:27 AM
Until I get DSL this spring "after the ground thaws" when my ISP can get to the cables, I've been staying away from most things that take forever to download on a dial-up connection.
Interested, yes I am... but since getting a computer, I've acquired the attention span that expects things to appear on a computer monitor or over computer speakers in mere nanoseconds - anything longer and I get impatient!
Maybe I've acquired adult ADD??? ;-) Or else I'm drinking too much coffee??? ;-)
Since India is now our new best friend, here's an interesting revelation from their news...
Pakistan weekly spills 9/11 beans
New Delhi, March 12: The Pakistan foreign office had paid tens of thousands of dollars to lobbyists in the US to get anti-Pakistan references dropped from the 9/11 inquiry commission report, The Friday Times has claimed.
The Pakistani weekly said its story is based on disclosures made by foreign service officials to the Public Accounts Committee at a secret meeting in Islamabad on Tuesday.
--snip--
It claimed that some of the commission members were also bribed to prevent them from including damaging information about Pakistan.
“The disclosure sheds doubt on the integrity and honesty of the members of the 9/11 inquiry commission and, above all, the authenticity of the information in their final report,” it said.
--snip--
The Pakistan foreign office defended the decision to hire the lobbyists, saying it was an established practice in the US.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060313/asp/nation/story_5962372.asp
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/12/AR2006031201016.html
U.S. Campaign Is Aimed at Iran's Leaders
Uneasy About Tehran's Nuclear Plans, Bush Administration Tries to Build Opposition to Theocracy
Excerpts:
"We may face no greater challenge from a single country than from Iran," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in Senate testimony last week. "We do not have a problem with the Iranian people. We want the Iranian people to be free. Our problem is with the Iranian regime."
~~~~~
Bush decided to push more overtly for a democratic Iran. "Tonight," he said in his State of the Union address on Jan. 31, "let me speak directly to the citizens of Iran: America respects you, and we respect your country. We respect your right to choose your own future and win your own freedom. And our nation hopes one day to be the closest of friends with a free and democratic Iran."
~~~~~
Now that the nuclear issue is at the Security Council, the U.S. strategy is to escalate gradually rather than force an immediate climax. The first step would be a statement by the council president declaring Iran in violation of nuclear treaty obligations and demanding it suspend uranium enrichment. If that fails, the council could be asked to impose economic sanctions or pass a resolution allowing military force to enforce compliance. Russia and China, which have veto power, seem unlikely to support either move.
"There's a clear desire to have a broad coalition," a senior U.S. official said. "The question is, how do you get any action out of it?"
{{{OK. There seems to be an echo chamber in my head. I've heard this before, haven't I? Oh... yes, right... three years ago when The Cretin and his Criminal Cabal were LYING to all of us leading up to the illegal, unjust, immoral, unethical, dishonorable war of choice in Iraq when they advocated the downfall of Iraq's leader.... The rest of the article is worth the read to check out how the Criminal Cabal is gearing up for another war, a reminder about how it all happened the first time (as if we could forget!). If a majority of the American people fall for this line of doo-doo (LIES) a second time, I'll have no choice but to wonder why the average IQ of so many people, legislators included, has sunk below that of a rock. So, in this news story, the administration is keeping up their xenophobic rhetoric against another country/culture.... and in the next...??? See below....}}}
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/13/politics/13prexy.html
A Bush Alarm: Urging U.S. to Shun Isolationism
Excerpt:
So starting on Monday, just a few days shy of the third anniversary of Mr. Bush's order to topple Saddam Hussein, the president will begin an effort to explain his Iraq strategy anew in the changed environment of increased sectarian killings.
He acknowledged on Saturday that "many of our fellow citizens" are "now wondering if the entire mission is worth it."
But rather than simply delve into the familiar talk about the need to root out terrorists abroad so they cannot strike Americans here, the White House plans to have Mr. Bush expand his discussion of the need for the United States to embrace a new role in the world, even if that means explaining the benefits of globalization to a nation that does not appear to be in a mood to hear that message.
It is yet another change for a man who came to office talking of a "humble foreign policy," and after Sept. 11 used the hammer of the world's sole superpower around the globe.
To his critics, the internationalist approach is too little too late — the price Mr. Bush has paid for a foreign policy that seemed relentlessly focused on building defensive walls and hunting enemies. A search of the White House Web site confirms that Mr. Bush, who in the days before he took office kept the take-no-prisoners speeches of Teddy Roosevelt on a table at his ranch, made little mention of "globalization" for much of his first five years in office, even when European leaders brought it up.
{{{More on link. IMHO: This is Shrubya Speak for pursuit of World Dominion per PNAC objectives.... There is no balance between minding our own business and trading with other countries. He wants it all his way or no way - with him being the world dictator, of course.}}}}
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/13/politics/13medicare.html
Pharmacists Say Drug Plan Threatens Their Income
WASHINGTON, March 12 — Pharmacists say they have been losing money under Medicare's new prescription drug benefit, and they have taken their concerns to the White House, forcing the administration to confront political problems caused by the rocky start of the program.
In a meeting last week with Karl Rove, the president's senior adviser, the druggists said many independent pharmacies might have to shut their doors because they were not being paid adequately or promptly under Medicare. In the last two months, they said, pharmacists have given away millions of dollars' worth of medications for which Medicare drug plans should have paid.
The pharmacists who visited the White House were all from Texas. Several have close ties to Mr. Rove and President Bush. But their concerns are shared by retail pharmacists across the country, who said that Medicare drug plans were paying them less than it cost to fill prescriptions for the beneficiaries.
Bill C. Pittman, a former president of the Texas State Board of Pharmacy who is chairman of Pharmacists for Bush, a political fund-raising group, arranged the meeting, held on Monday at the White House.
Richard E. Beck, one of the Texas pharmacists who met with Mr. Rove, said, "Pharmacies are losing money on Medicare." Slow payment by Medicare drug plans has caused cash-flow problems for many pharmacies, he said.
Mr. Pittman said he told Mr. Rove and other officials: "If pharmacists don't receive immediate relief, some will go broke. Others are hurting so bad that they will choose not to participate in Medicare and Medicaid."
Mr. Bush has described the drug benefit as "the greatest advance in health care for seniors since the founding of Medicare" in 1965. Administration officials said beneficiaries were saving large amounts of money because prescription drug plans had negotiated deep discounts with drug makers and pharmacies.
{{{More on link. I take it to mean that now the pharmacists want the government to bail them out like they did the savings and loans.... I find it interesting that the cast of characters are from TX and they all have ties to Rover and The Cretin - notice the "Pharmacists for Bush" in the above paragraph. Tsk, tsk, tsk.... this could get interesting.}}}
The Pakistan foreign office defended the decision to hire the lobbyists, saying it was an established practice in the US.
Posted by: madame defarge at March 13, 2006 09:50 AM
Way to go, Bu$hCo.... Export the worst of the political system in the US....
Darn! Reading all this is making me realize that I got mixed up on nights and didn't go see Scott Ritter!
There is so much irony and hypocrisy in this headline, my skull almost exploded...
U.S. campaign aimed at Iran’s leaders
Bush administration tries to build opposition to theocracy
more... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11790084/
Moussaoui Trial In Jeopardy
An angry federal judge has abruptly called a recess in the trial of confessed terrorist conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui to consider whether alleged government coaching of witnesses should remove the death penalty as an option.
The defense said that they have learned that someone from the Federal Aviation Administration had contacted people on their potential witness list in an attempt to coach them, CBS News correspondent Barry Bagnato reports.
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema cleared the courtroom for a recess and is considering a mistrial. She lectured the government for the second major misstep in as many days of the trial.
"This is the second significant error by the government affecting the constitutional rights of the defendant and the criminal justice system in this country in the context of a death case," Brinkema told lawyers in the case outside the presence of the jury.
more... http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/13/terror/main1392573.shtml
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060313/pl_afp/usuaeportpolitics_060313125538
UAE bank chief rebukes US over ports row
DUBAI (AFP) - The governor of the UAE central bank has sharply criticised US Congress opposition to the acquisition of six US ports by Dubai Ports World (DPW) and called for a reassessment of US trade links.
~~~~~
Both Democrats and Republicans had attacked the deal, citing the fact that two of the 19 men involved in the September 11, 2001 attacks against New York and Washington were UAE nationals and said that most of the funds used in the attacks were channeled through the oil-rich Gulf state.
Some even alluded to the fact that the UAE government was among a few in the world to recognise the fundamentalist Taliban regime in Afghanistan before it was ousted in a US-led operation at the end of 2001 for failing to hand over Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who masterminded the US attacks.
A Republican congressional delegation was in Dubai Sunday to minimise potential fallout from the DPW controversy particularly given US eagerness to boost trade ties with the UAE, which currently has stronger business with Asia and Europe.
"The prime minister showed tremendous leadership in urging Dubai Ports World to transfer the operation of the ports to a United States entity," said Senator Saxby Chambliss, a Republican from Georgia after meeting Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, who in addition to being Dubai's ruler is prime minister and vice president of the seven-member UAE federation.
The delegation which included another senator and two congressmen, all from the southern state of Georgia, met also port officials in Dubai.
"We thanked the leadership for understanding the sensitivity of the situation," said Senator Johnny Isakson. "The UAE is our partner in the war on terrorism."
In another sign of the UAE's disappointment over the ports deal, Suwaidi said the central bank was considering converting up to 10 percent of its hard currency reserves into euros from the present two percent ratio.
{{{Okay, you schmuckky, smarmy legislators from Georgia: 'Splain to us dummies WHY you went to kiss up to the UAE (with shady Taliban and OBL connections), and WHY you believe that the UAE government that owns Dubai Ports, the government who once supported 9/11 hijackers and laundered money for them, is now suddenly "our partner in the war on terrorism"??? Hm-m-m-m-m??? You can't have it both ways - and your seaports would be included - and vulnerable - if the deal went through. The last I heard, leopards do not change their spots for the simple reason the skin of cats is the same color as the fur. Even if you dyed the fur of a leopard (assuming you could get even get that close), the dye/rinse job would wear off and the hair would grow out to be the same color again. What are you getting in a deal with The Cretin's administration that made your delegation to UAE so important???}}}
Top story at Daily Kos right now is "5 Minutes, for Democracy's Sake," (which doesn't seem original!!) but they're recommending for lots of people to contact their Senators about co-signing to Feingold's censure resolution.
427 sources already (Google news) - hard to keep this one under the basket (Feingold Censure motion)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4801578.stm
Posted by: DiAnne at March 13, 2006 10:31 AM
Way to go DKos! :-)
Besides the letter to Feingold that I also posted on the last thread, I additionally wrote to Dayton to urge him to support Feingold's Resolution to Censure, and then I additionally wrote to my Rep's local office (he has two regional offices, one is in town, so sometimes I call and other times I send emails to the fellow) and urged him to support Kucinich's inquiry into the Dubai Ports deal - which, incidentally, includes correspondence dealing with Carlyle, Pappy Bush's company.
NonnyO said at 9:59 AM: "I take it to mean that now the pharmacists want the government to bail them out like they did the savings and loans.... "
No, the pharmacists want the RoveCo Administration to get on the stick and pay them what they're already owed, funds supposedly guaranteed under the Dubious Dubya Drug Deal but that the gummint is reneging on. To wit, quoting from that same article:
"...many independent pharmacies might have to shut their doors because they were not being paid adequately or promptly under Medicare. In the last two months, they said, pharmacists have given away millions of dollars' worth of medications for which Medicare drug plans should have paid... ...their concerns are shared by retail pharmacists across the country, who said that Medicare drug plans were paying them less than it cost to fill prescriptions for the beneficiaries... ...slow payment by Medicare drug plans has caused cash-flow problems for many pharmacies..."
In other words, Shrub & Friends set up a deal that might be okay for the huge pharmacy chains that can pay lobbyists to push their megacorp agenda -- but they're basically screwing all the little guys along the way, because they're a lying bunch of rethuglican bums who are welshing on their debts. Again.
and ethically bankrupt too,
Otter
Bush is going to give a series of speeches again, designed to boost his sagging poll ratings and win the hearts and minds of the public. His usual Saturday radio address is part of it. The thrust is that things are going well in Iraq, despite a few bumps in the road. (That's my paraphrase).
Posted by: DiAnne at March 13, 2006 10:51 AM
IF we are lucky, this story won't hide under a basket like the Downing Street Memos, and other stories that barely got a passing mention in Lamestream Media, if that....
IF people are paying attention, they will realize this involves their own Fourth Amendment right to privacy, and they can't be so dumb as to say 'well, I've got nothing to hide.'
Me, neither. I'll talk or write for ten hours about my genealogy research and bore people senseless about it all, and I've published the info I know about on my web sites... but y'know what? It's none of the government's danged business. If they want to know the new info I found that I haven't put online yet, it's still none of their danged business unless they ask me.
Pick a topic and replace it with my example. My stuff is perfectly legal, too, and no one but another genealogy researcher for the same family would be interested and I know it. But it's still none of the government's danged business to illegally spy on me doing genealogy research - or any other kind of research - without a warrant...!
So, IF we're really, really lucky, there will be something on in-state and/or national news about Feingold's Resolution to Censure....
Bush gave a series of speeches designed to improve his numbers and give more in depth details to the American public on Iraq just a few months ago, "Strategy for Victory" Tour '05.
This is gonna be more of the same pile of nothing.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/iraq/iraq_strategy_nov2005.html
IF EVERYONE WHO READS THIS, CALLS, IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE.
IF NOT, EFFORTS FAIL.
Posted by: Otter at March 13, 2006 10:57 AM
Yep... they'll put the mom & pop pharmacies in little towns out of business so the corporations can take over. Corporations who will then plead poverty and beg for more money from Medicaid....
Scumbags....
C-SPAN-2 - talking about the economy of the US....
C-SPAN COVERS HARPER'S MAGAZINE IMPEACHMENT FORUM
This notice I just received from John Conyers:
Watch the Harper’s forum
You can watch “Is There a Case for Impeachment?” online here:
www.c-span.org/search/basic.asp?ResultStart=1&Result
Count=10&BasicQueryText=impeachment&image1.x=0&image1.y=0&image1=Submit
Become a Citizen Cosponsor:
I have introduced House Resolution 635 to create a special committee to investigate whether the president's misconduct rises to the level of impeachment. 29 Members of Congress have already joined me as cosponsors. Lend your support. Help build momentum to enact this legislation by joining the more than 42,000 concerned Americans who have already signed on as Citizen Cosponsors at:
http://johnconyers.com/citizencosponsors, or encourage your friends to sign up.
Whoops C-Span's coverage of the the Impeachment Forum:
http://www.c-span.org/search/basic.asp?ResultStart=1&Result
Count=10&BasicQueryText=impeachment&image1.x=0&image1.y=0&image1=Submit
STILL WRONG
Harper's Magazine Panel on Case Bush Impeachment
Harper's Magazine hosts a panel ?Is There a Case for Impeachment??, discussing President Bush and his policies. Forum speakers include Lewis H. Lapham, Editor of Harper?s Magazine; Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Ranking Member of U.S. House Judiciary Committee; and Michael Ratner, President of Center for Constitutional Rights.
3/2/2006: WASHINGTON, DC: 2 hr.
hERE I HOPE IS THE CORRECT LINK:
A friend thought you'd like this streaming media. Play it now with your RealPlayer:
http://switchboard.real.com/player/email.html?PV=6.0.12&&title=Harper%92s%20Magazine%20Hosts%20an%20Impeach%20Bush%20Panel&link=rtsp%3A%2F%2Fvideo.c%2Dspan.org%2F15days%2Fe030206%5Fharpers.rm
Here I hope, is the link to the Co Sponsor John Conyers:
http://johnconyers.com/index.asp?Type=SUPERFORMS&SEC={29336D51-F9AE-474D-8C08-8D69902D5149}
Ralpheh
Thanks for posting Conyers.
Someone just sent me that & I wanted to make sure someone had put that on here. I of course reminded that person to remind everyone to encourage Legislators to support Feingold.
The publisher of Harper's magazine came out blasting, saying that the constitution is threatened and exploring impeachment is entirely legitimate.
When Conyers was announced as a panelist, he got a huge ovation........
JUDGE HALTS MOUSSAOUI CASE - PROSECUTION MISCONDUCT
ALEXANDRIA, Va. - An angry federal judge unexpectedly recessed the sentencing trial of confessed al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui on Monday to consider whether government violations of her rules against coaching witnesses should remove the death penalty as an option.
ADVERTISEMENT
The stunning development came at the opening of the fifth day of the trial after the government informed the judge and the defense over the weekend that a lawyer for the Transportation Security Administration had coached four Federal Aviation Administration witnesses in violation of the rule set by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema. The rule was that no witness should hear trial testimony in advance.
"This is the second significant error by the government affecting the constitutional rights of this defendant and more importantly the integrity of the criminal justice system of the United States in the context of a death case," Brinkema told lawyers outside the presence of the jury.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060313/ap_on_re_us/moussaoui
Posted by: ralpheh at March 13, 2006 11:47 AM
Is there a "stand alone player" kind of link anywhere that has the Harper's - Conyers interview? (Like on C-Span?) The above link gets me nothing.
I have WMP, RealPlayer, and Quick Time (all latest versions), so I am able to get most anything played by any computer media.
Posted by: ralpheh at March 13, 2006 11:47 AM
Is there a "stand alone player" kind of link anywhere that has the Harper's - Conyers interview? (Like on C-Span?) The above link gets me nothing.
I have WMP, RealPlayer, and Quick Time (all latest versions), so I am able to get most anything played by any computer media.
Posted by: NonnyO at March 13, 2006 12:05 PM
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Go to
http://www.C-Span.org
Then go to SEARCH or Video Archive
and type in "impeachment" or you might be able to search by date: 3/2/2006: WASHINGTON, DC: 2 hr.
Posted by: ralpheh at March 13, 2006 12:35 PM
:-) Thanks! :-)
Here is yet another link to the Impeachment Forum
this link is for Real Player (I believe):
rtsp://video.c-span.org/15days/e030206_harpers.rm
Posted by Polly Sigh at March 13, 2006 01:00 AM
GREAT thread header, Polly!
I agree that we should focus on our neighborhoods.
Let us not forget the body theory, though, while we're at it.
There are many people out there on the web who cannot be legs and feet. Circumstances will not permit it. They have other gifts just as valuable, such as the ability to write wonderful letters to the media and to our "rep..., rep...., ahem, representatives." Almost stuttered on that last one.
I have noticed a change, and a shift, after CNN was deluged by letters during the days when Conyers was examining the Downing St. Minutes. I think alot of them are kept in the dark. Clueless. Alot more are probably slimey hacks, but I did see a shift toward truth during that time. Our government has a definite propaganda site or department, if you will, and they feed the media as well.
I don't think we can drop the media. We just now are starting to get a semblance of equal time on some issues. To drop it would be disastorous.
I love your ideas about how to mobilize the people. I can't go ANYWHERE in my small town without hearing from concerned, next to distraught citizens who don't like the direction our country is going. Of course, there are still right-wing church going folks who still have their blinders on and prefer to keep them there. Forget about those people. Move on.
Polly, you know what I was thinking about last night as I lie in bed contemplating the state of the world?
That it might be really good for us on the ground to rally our people, then notify our congressmen and tell them their constituents are near despair, and wondering if there will be a revolution before this President's term is up. Then INVITE them here to speak to their people. It is, after all, election season. Oh, yeah. We'll invite the press.
Does this sound like a good and feasible idea to anyone else out there?
Let me know what you think!
The right wing USES the press to lie. We can use the press to tell the truth.
Put a congressman there with his constituents and you've got a story.
Posted by: NonnyO at March 13, 2006 09:36 AM
NonnyO,
I agree. What you are doing is desperately needed.
John McCain urged Republicans wanting to vote for him in their Tennessee Presidential straw poll to instead write in Bush's name in their straw poll.Its early on and doubtful that Republicans will actually choose McCain, but its not too early to remind our independent friends thinking they might like to support McCain that just this last week he told Tennessee voters he is a Bush man. He may think that will help him with rank and file Republican voters but it will be his albatross in '08 if he is seen as joined at the hip to Bush.
Posted by: monkey at March 13, 2006 11:13 AM
Gee, he's digging his pit a little deeper. With popularity sinking to very low numbers, it's already obvious that most people don't trust him anymore.
With each speech they should sink lower.
Talk to us, Mr. Prezeedent. LOL.
Posted by: Ira at March 13, 2006 02:04 PM
Maybe they are using McCain as a stooge to throw people off track.
Dunno.
Only thing I know is that they are not going to let go of this much power easily, and without tricks up their sleeves.
The right wing USES the press to lie. We can use the press to tell the truth.
Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at March 13, 2006 01:52 PM
My $.02 cents: YES, invite your reps and/or senators to political meetings, and YES, YES, YES, invite the press - AND local TV stations to cover the meeting - and tape record whatever is said to get any quotes right if necessary. Then monitor whatever Lamestream Media says, and be prepared to refute any lies and/or half-truths they tell with FACTS. (Or praise any one of them if they get it right.)
The only caveat I would apply is: Have your questions prepared in advance, and don't let the legislators get by with those vague yadda-yadda-yadda canned speeches. Make the legislators give you facts, details, definitive positions, opinions. (Don't know about you, but I'm sick and tired of yadda-yadda-yadda same ol' political stump speeches that are middle-of-the-road and say absolutely nothing of value!)
Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at March 13, 2006 01:58 PM
Thank you. I do what I can, but I'm only one person. I get frustrated listening to the little blurbs on national and international news on evening news from in-state media. I can tape the news, get quotes exactly, and debunk what's being said, then fire off emails to them. At least they know someone is monitoring them for content in those circumstances.
Today is kind of useless. If in-state TV coverage on the noon news is anything to go by, all they'll talk about is the foot-plus of snow they got in the Cities today. (The snow missed my area; there's brown patches of grass outside now, with remaining snow banks where it's been piled earlier this winter.) Maybe by 10 p.m. when the snow has gone into WI there will be some chance of hearing real news. (It snowed, big huge wet flakes, over a foot of the stuff, they knew the snow was coming. What are the options? Stay home until the snow plows have done their jobs; schools are closed. End of story, IMHO. If people didn't have the common sense to stay home, they deserve to be stuck out in that mess. I saw nothing but storm coverage for ten minutes on the noon news and gave up listening for anything more important.)
I was blowing off in-state news, along with national news, for a very long time. After those idiotic pro-war commercials started running, I decided I'd better try to catch some of the news broadcasts from in-state media and monitor as much as my patience level can stand. There's just no reason to let their stupidity slide when so many kool-aid drinkers eat that stuff up and believe it, hook, line, and sinker and then repeat LIES. Deconstruct the language and debunk the ads was the only logical and sane thing to do. (Altho, I confess I felt like I needed my ears and my brain and my body steam cleaned after listening to those ads repeatedly to get the exact quotes! Yuk!)
EVERYONE on this blog has their special talents and unique abilities - all of which I enjoy reading about in posts, so I do realize we are each, in our own ways, using our various talents to the best of our abilities to accomplish something in our little areas of this nation. With any luck, a word here, an action there, another email, another conversation... will inspire someone else... domino effect... and if we're very, very lucky, the Dems will win big this fall....
Biden 'May' Be Moving on Withdrawal
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/031306N.shtml
Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware, who is aiming for the 2008 presidential race, said the Iraqis must have a constitution that unites fighting factions of the society or "it's game over."
{{{Interesting. This is the second article today where I've read about Rove involvement or Rovian quotes. He's becoming more and more visible again....}}}
Marjorie Cohn | War Crimes: Goose and Gander
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/031306J.shtml
Marjorie Cohn writes: We will also never see a trial in the ICTY for Bill Clinton, Madeleine Albright or Wesley Clark for the 1999 US-led NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. Nor will George W. Bush, Dick Cheney or Donald
Rumsfeld be prosecuted by an international tribunal for their war crimes in Iraq.
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/03/10/its_regime_change_again.php
It's Regime Change, Again
{{{More re: Iran.}}}
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/12/AR2006031200994.html
What the Military Shouldn't Preach
I have C-SPAN-2 on (Senate), and they're all yammering on about the budget. NeoCons talking about how well the economy is (not!), and Dems talking about the incompetence. None have listed details where revenue can be found since The Cretin wants to cut taxes (again) for people with over a million dollars per year income.
So far, nothing about Feingold's Resolution to Censure. Did I miss something? Or won't he be allowed to introduce the Resolution until late in the day - too late to make the evening news...???
Today I have accompanied 15 undergraduate and graduate students to an advocacy training on the federal budget for various arts-related components.
Listening to the issues that must be addressed, it is so clear that we are fighting harder for tiny programs that are designed to foster huge systemic change.
In other words, after a trend towards asking education and the cultural sector to do more with less, we are left to fight huge battles for the teeny remains of what was a sound and meaningful opportunity.
The arts are asking for a raise of 50 million dollars this year. The arts in education programs have been recommended for ZERO funding. We are asking for 50 million for that program as well.
100 million dollars within a 2.5 trillion dollar budget. Lunch money.
And the effect of that 100 million dollar addition to the Interior budget?
Priceless.
And one more quick thinker...
On Wednesday, March 1st, 2006, in Annapolis at a hearing on the proposed Constitutional Amendment to prohibit gay marriage, Jamie Raskin, professor of law at AU, was requested to testify.
At the end of his testimony, Republican Senator Nancy Jacobs said: "Mr. Raskin, my Bible says marriage is only between a man and a woman. What do you have to say about that?"
Raskin replied: "Senator, when you took your oath of office, you placed your hand on the Bible and swore to uphold the Constitution. You did not place your hand on the Constitution and swear to uphold the Bible."
The room erupted into applause.
His complete speech about the proposed anti-gay amendment is here...
http://www.raskin06.com/index.php
NonnyO ... posted over at dailykos
* I will be on the floor today at 4:00 pm
I wanted to let everyone know that I plan on speaking from the Senate floor at 4:00 pm eastern time today regarding my resolution. Thanks so much for all the feedback and support so far!
by Senator Russ Feingold on Mon Mar 13, 2006 at 12:27:25 PM EST
Bush also used the forum to accuse Iran of contributing to the unrest in Iraq, saying some of the homemade bombs that are wreaking havoc in the country came from that Iraq's eastern neighbor.
"Some of the most powerful IEDs (improvised explosive devices) we are seeing in Iraq today include components that came from Iran," he said.
Quoting his national intelligence director John Negroponte, Bush said Iran has been responsible for at least some of the increasing lethality of attacks in Iraq.
"Coalition forces have seized IEDs and components that were clearly produced in Iran," Bush said.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11810404/
Yeah, whatever you say, dude... I suppose Iraq had WMD's, too ...
Keep stirrin' the pot man... or whatever it is yer doin' with the pot.
psssst... they are onto you!
Raskin replied: "Senator, when you took your oath of office, you placed your hand on the Bible and swore to uphold the Constitution. You did not place your hand on the Constitution and swear to uphold the Bible."
Posted by: dwahzon at March 13, 2006 03:28 PM
That statement bears repeating & repeating & repeating...
Posted by: Ira at March 13, 2006 02:04 PM
Let McCain sell himself as another Bush (because, in reality, he's a lot closer to being Bushlike than he wants people to believe...).
As Paul Krugman in NYT today says...
It's time for some straight talk about John McCain. He isn't a moderate. He's much less of a maverick than you'd think. And he isn't the straight talker he claims to be.
Mr. McCain's reputation as a moderate may be based on his former opposition to the Bush tax cuts. In 2001 he declared, "I cannot in good conscience support a tax cut in which so many of the benefits go to the most fortunate among us."
But now — at a time of huge budget deficits and an expensive war, when the case against tax cuts for the rich is even stronger — Mr. McCain is happy to shower benefits on the most fortunate. He recently voted to extend tax cuts on dividends and capital gains, an action that will worsen the budget deficit while mainly benefiting people with very high incomes.
When it comes to foreign policy, Mr. McCain was never moderate. During the 2000 campaign he called for a policy of "rogue state rollback," anticipating the "Bush doctrine" of pre-emptive war unveiled two years later. Mr. McCain called for a systematic effort to overthrow nasty regimes even if they posed no imminent threat to the United States; he singled out Iraq, Libya and North Korea. Mr. McCain's aggressive views on foreign policy, and his expressed willingness, almost eagerness, to commit U.S. ground forces overseas, explain why he, not George W. Bush, was the favored candidate of neoconservative pundits such as William Kristol of The Weekly Standard.
--snip--
When it comes to social issues, Mr. McCain, who once called Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell "agents of intolerance," met with Mr. Falwell late last year. Perhaps as a result, he is now taking positions friendly to the religious right. Most notably, Mr. McCain's spokesperson says that he would have signed South Dakota's extremist new anti-abortion law.
--snip--
The bottom line is that Mr. McCain isn't a moderate; he's a man of the hard right. How far right? A statistical analysis of Mr. McCain's recent voting record, available at http://www.voteview.com/, ranks him as the Senate's third most conservative member.
What about Mr. McCain's reputation as a maverick? This comes from the fact that every now and then he seems to declare his independence from the Bush administration, as he did in pushing through his anti-torture bill.
But a funny thing happened on the way to Guantánamo. President Bush, when signing the bill, appended a statement that in effect said that he was free to disregard the law whenever he chose. Mr. McCain protested, but there are apparently no hard feelings: at the recent Southern Republican Leadership Conference he effusively praised Mr. Bush.
--snip--
So here's what you need to know about John McCain.
He isn't a straight talker. His flip-flopping on tax cuts, his call to send troops we don't have to Iraq and his endorsement of the South Dakota anti-abortion legislation even while claiming that he would find a way around that legislation's central provision show that he's a politician as slippery and evasive as, well, George W. Bush.
He isn't a moderate. Mr. McCain's policy positions and Senate votes don't just place him at the right end of America's political spectrum; they place him in the right wing of the Republican Party.
And he isn't a maverick, at least not when it counts. When the cameras are rolling, Mr. McCain can sometimes be seen striking a brave pose of opposition to the White House. But when it matters, when the Bush administration's ability to do whatever it wants is at stake, Mr. McCain always toes the party line.
It's worth recalling that during the 2000 election campaign George W. Bush was widely portrayed by the news media both as a moderate and as a straight-shooter. As Mr. Bush has said, "Fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again."
(Krugman is part of NYT Select; you can also find his articles at http://guerillawomentn.blogspot.com/ )
BTW, the NYTimes Magazine section yesterday had two great articles that I urge you to check out.
The Fallback - about Mark Warner's potential to be the '08 Dem candidate, in spite of the party machine trying to put Hillary in the nominee's seat. Warner is pro-business, wealthy, successful, & moderate...has wide appeal across for all Americans. It's a long article, but it's worth it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/12/magazine/312bwarner.html
Party Like It's 1994 - about the Dems' chances for winning house & senate in '06. Seemed like a fairly balanced article to me, and it does hit on the Dems' weaknesses. You've got to be open to criticism in order to succeed.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/12/magazine/312midterm1_.1.html
One of the most important things I took away from these articles is that we need to present any candidate we want to win in '06 as someone who will "balance the president, not support him." I'm becoming quite fond of the statement "rubber stamp Republican" especially since I live in a district that has one (who votes 86% of the time with DeLay). I have hope that this madness will end...
Harper's Magazine Cover Story: Impeachment
Essay
The Case for Impeachment
Why we can no longer afford George W. Bush
Lewis H. Lapham
http://www.harpers.org/MostRecentCover.html
You must subscribe to the magazine to read the article.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist told ABC on Sunday that Feingold "is flat wrong, he is dead wrong."
The Tennessee Republican -- also a potential presidential candidate in 2008 -- added that "attacking our commander in chief ... doesn't make sense.
"We are right now at an unprecedented war where they really want to take us down," he said. "A censure resolution ... is wrong. It sends a signal around the world."
Feingold lashed out Monday against such arguments.
"This is the game of intimidation and it's working," he told CNN. "Even Republican senators have said this is not within the law. But the intimidation campaign of calling people names makes people apparently afraid of saying exactly what the law is and stand up for the Constitution."
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/03/13/feingold.censure/index.html
THEY want to take us down? Who's THEY?
Sends a signal to the rest of the world? Damn straight it does, a signal the rest of the world has been waiting to hear for quite some time.
The Fallback - about Mark Warner's potential to be the '08 Dem candidate, in spite of the party machine trying to put Hillary in the nominee's seat. Warner is pro-business, wealthy, successful, & moderate...has wide appeal across for all Americans. It's a long article, but it's worth it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/12/magazine/312bwarner.html
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Hillary and Kerry are trying their utmost to be moderate.... falling over themselves to be moderate... and we have yet another moderate!!! Warner... yea!!! And we certainly can trust the NYTimes to give us the whole truth and nothing but the truth - especially with top reporters like Judith Miller.... go grey lady!!!
Posted by: dwahzon at March 13, 2006 03:28 PM
Best quote I've read all day!!! Think I'll make a fridge magnet out of it and look at it often! (Memorize, repeat often!)
Posted by: dwahzon at March 13, 2006 03:38 PM
I was offline for a while, just came back to see what you've written, and I hope the speakers are running late - otherwise, I've missed it....
Posted by: ralpheh at March 13, 2006 06:12 PM
Did you read the article???
I read the NYT just about every day, and yeah, there are days when I'm p.o.'d at them. But I'm trying my best not to be so closed-minded and to learn as much as I can. So I take what I learned in NYT and research it, follow it on other sources, and then come to my own opinion. I still like what I read about Warner. Face it, we have to run a moderate in '08. The country is heading farther right of center and the best we can hope for is to bring it back closer to center. And I'm good with that. Extremes on either side are bad, IMHO.
WASHINGTON - Democrats distanced themselves Monday from Wisconsin Sen. Russell Feingold's effort to censure President Bush over domestic spying, maneuvering to prevent a vote that could alienate swing voters. Republicans dared Democrats to vote for the proposal.
"Some Democrats in Congress have decided the president is the enemy," Vice President Dick Cheney told a Republican audience in Feingold's home state.
Feingold, a potential presidential candidate, said on the Senate floor, "The president has violated the law and Congress must respond."
-snip-
Even as he spoke, Democratic leaders held off the immediate vote that Majority Leader Bill Frist requested. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said he didn't know if there ever would be one.
Throughout the day, Feingold's fellow Democrats said they understood his frustration but they held back overt support for the resolution.
Several said they wanted first to see the Senate Intelligence Committee finish an investigation of the warrantless wiretapping program that Bush authorized as part of his war on terrorism.
Asked at a news conference whether he would vote for the censure resolution, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada declined to endorse it and said he hadn't read it.
Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., said he had not read it either and wasn't inclined simply to scold the president.
"I'd prefer to see us solve the problem," Lieberman told reporters.
Across the Capitol, reaction was similar. Feingold's censure resolution drew empathy but no outright support from Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.
Pelosi "understands Sen. Feingold's frustration that the facts about the NSA domestic surveillance program have not been disclosed appropriately to Congress," her office said in a statement. "Both the House and the Senate must fully investigate the program and assign responsibility for any laws that may have been broken."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060313/ap_on_go_co/feingold_censure?
... and THAT folks, is why I will no longer hold allegiance to any political party.
Red and blue make yellow.
Madame defarge
I was reading last night (Atlantic magazine) something I'd heard before - that the political extremes get more involved in the primareis and then the moderates come out to vote in the general and there are more of them, and alot of independents not just Dems. So the left and right tend to cancel each other out, yet we've gone further to the right gradually.
We may have to come back toward center from the right in incremental steps, just as we have to get back the House and Senate before we can have much of a balance of power. & any more Supreme Court vacancies must not be filled with arch-conservatives.
Please though, let us never end up with someone this moderate/conservative of a Dem! (I'll spoil the joke for anyone who can't view this because of dial-up or some other reason - it has to do with Lieberman.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta6NnNNmi3g
Monkey
Yeah - it's getting bad because it's not just Senator Feingold's frustration! That's kind of like saying he's the only person in the world who is frustrated with the Iraq war!
I was afraid this would turn out to be largely symbolic.
Why do the swing voters hold such power?! I am really getting sick of them. I work with one - she likes Lieberman and McCain and can't decide which she likes more. We argue about everything. She doesn't like Bush but she doesn't like Ted Kennedy. She only likes vanilla ice cream.
Posted by: DiAnne at March 13, 2006 07:00 PM
McCain is another Bush brother, IMHO. Did you read Klugman today? (See my post @ 4:10 PM)
This is from Elizabeth. I know you are all calling but here is more good wordage and I'm going to remind more people around here.
So:
I have a request: Senator Russ Feingold really stuck his neck out today, introducing a censure of Bush into the Senate, and it would be great if
he -- and every other Senator -- knew that we had his back.
The more people we have calling, the more staffers in the offices start to realize that Feingold struck a political chord with a bunch of us in America.
I've already made calls to my Senators (plus a bonus thank you to Russ Feingold). Senator Murray hasn't issued a statement, but her office
expects her to issue one soon. Senator Cantwell's office knows nada.
You can contact the US Senate via the switchboard at (202) 224-3121, and they will connect you with any Senator's office.
Madame
Thanks! I'll go find it. I love his columns.
That's good. I can't stand McCain.
So remember that great plan this regime had for Iraq? And the one for dealing with terror alerts? Guess what...they've got another great one for dealing with the avian flu...
CHEYENNE -- Planning for a possible flu pandemic shouldn't be just a government task but should be a priority for all households and businesses, officials said at a statewide summit Friday.
"When you go to the store and buy three cans of tuna fish, buy a fourth and put it under the bed," Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said. "When you go to the store to buy some milk, pick up a box of powdered milk, put it under the bed. When you do that for a period of four to six months, you are going to have a couple of weeks of food. And that's what we're talking about."
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2006/03/10/news/wyoming/32-flu-summit.txt
Wow. I feel better already. Think I'll pick up some more duct tape & plastic wrap while I'm out...
It sounds to me like the dems got their talking points down just as much as the repugs...
"I understand his frustration, I understand his frustration, this a recording".
Was the law broken or not?
Is the president above the law or not?
Does Congress have the Constitutional obligation to provide checks and balances to our sacred form of government or not?
Astonishing...
and yet, not.
My son who is a political science major just said he considers Lieberman and McCain both slippery and chameleons. He doesn't consider them moderates either, but says they are both "more partisan than you'd think." They try to play both sides to their own advantage but will go back to their own team in the end if they have to. He says there are more conservatives than liberals, but that moderates and liberals together outnumber conservatives. That's why there is the emphasis on the swing voters.
It's so frustrating! Can you imagine being like that? "Oh, I can't decide." Do they even think about torture or spying on citizens or dying for nothing or just the stock market?
Posted by: madame defarge at March 13, 2006 07:12 PM
This must be to feed the dust bunnies! I wondered how they survived.
Posted by: DiAnne at March 13, 2006 07:16 PM
... and ruin their beautiful minds?
Cheney said Monday, "The outrageous proposition that we ought to protect our enemies' ability to communicate as it plots against America poses a key test of our Democratic leaders."
"The American people already made their decision," Cheney added. "They agree with the president."
McCain will implode under the pressure of a National Presidential Campaign, everyone around him knows it. He is making gestures to leverage political power.
Great Thread for a blog. The media stopped doing their job in the election of 2000, it will be interesting to see how this is written about in the next few years, how media participated in the invasion of a soveriegn people and culture.
Feingold Draws Little Democratic Support for Censure :
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada declined to endorse it and said he hadn‘t read it. Sen. Joe Lieberman , D-Conn., said he had not read it either and wasn‘t inclined simply to scold the president.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article12320.htm
Mike Whitney : Bush’s Roadblock at the Security Council :
Surveys were conducted months before the war on Iraq which showed that the American people would only support the conflict if there was a danger that Saddam was developing nuclear weapons.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article12319.htm
Dahr Jamail | Iraq: Permanent US Colony
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/031306A.shtml
Why does the Bush Administration refuse to discuss withdrawing occupation forces from Iraq? Why is Halliburton, who landed the no-bid contracts to construct and maintain US military bases in Iraq, posting higher profits than ever before in its 86-year history? Why do these bases in Iraq resemble self-contained cities as much as military outposts? Dahr Jamail explores these questions and more.
The War Dividend: Companies Making a Fortune out of Conflict-Riven Iraq
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/031306B.shtml
British businesses have profited by at least 1.1 billion pounds since coalition forces toppled Saddam Hussein three years ago, the first comprehensive investigation into UK corporate investment in Iraq has found. The company roll-call of post-war profiteers includes some of the best known names in Britain's boardrooms, as well many who would prefer to remain anonymous.
Army Guard Using Cash for Recruits
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/031306E.shtml
The Army National Guard, which has suffered a severe three-year recruiting slump, has begun to reel in soldiers in record numbers, aided in part by a new initiative that pays Guard members $2,000 for each person they enlist.
More News Outlets, Fewer Stories: New Media 'Paradox'
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0313-06.htm
Al Gore Fires Up Crowd at West Palm Beach Fund-Raiser
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0313-04.htm
William Fisher | Quoth the Raven, 'Evermore'
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/031306S.shtml
William Fisher writes: For those who enjoy the political theater of the absurd, the Dubai Ports World soap opera was the only show in town last week. And it was a hoot! The actors came straight out of Central Casting.
Donald Rumsfeld Makes $5 Million Killing on Bird Flu Drug
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/031306HA.shtml
Donald Rumsfeld has made a killing out of bird flu. The US Defense Secretary has made more than $5 million in capital gains from selling shares in the biotechnology firm that discovered and developed Tamiflu, the drug being bought in massive amounts by governments to treat bird flu.
The Krugman article in NYT'S is right on about McCain! He's #3 the MOST conservative member in the senate. He's NO a maverick as supports Bush way too much. McCain begins something then never takes it far enough,ie campaign finance reform. I also think he's a bit looney toons.
I'm furious ALL the dems didn't back Feingold today.... at best the issue at hand would come up for discussion even if WE didn't have the votes. Did you ALL notice how quick the reps were to respond..including getting Cheney out of his bunker?? McClelland responding the same old same old:"Not with us you're with Alquaida." This was an opportunity to stand with those that want our country back and respect our constitution and we blew it!! They're running scared and all we do is run away from the truth,making US look weaker and weaker. Very disappointing day for me and I'm letting them ALL have it!!
Why do the swing voters hold such power?!
Posted by: DiAnne at March 13, 2006 07:00 PM
That's a question I want answered - badly!
Too many Dems craft their speeches to the middle "undecided" and "swing" voters, when the last election was "won" by an evil little devil's spawn that people voted FOR "because at least they knew where he stood on the issues even if they didn't always agree with him." That's what targeting "swing" and "undecided" voters got us in '04, along with headlines from world presses wondering how so many Americans could be so stupid.
How can anyone be "undecided" or a "swing" voter in today's world? If they're paying the slightest amount of attention to politics, there's no such thing as an "undecided" voter.
Target "swing" and "undecided" voters in the future? Why??? If they haven't made up their minds, they aren't paying attention. They're in the minority, so ignore them until they educate themselves on the issues and make up their minds.
To Dem politicians: Show me what you stand for before you expect my vote. If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything - just like the Dems who voted for giving The Cretin war powers and voted for the Patriot Act, and other bad decisions. The citizens of this nation can't deal with another re-run of the same ol' same ol' in the next two election cycles.
If the election were held tomorrow for the next president, I'd vote for the one senator who did NOT vote for the original Patriot Act: Russ Feingold. I will likely change my mind a half a dozen times between now and '08, but for today, Feingold is the man who has shown me what he has stood FOR.