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OUR SIDE STILL DOESN’T GET IT: (by Bob Somerby at the Daily Howler)
Why aren’t neo-cons and Republicans on the defensive? In large part, it’s because they get puffed—and Democrats get jeered—within the sprawling public discussion constructed by the “mainstream” press. Democrats are constant figures of ridicule—and Republicans simply are not. This framework is being extended today, even as liberals like Josh [Marshall] refuse to discuss it. In large part, that’s why it’s easy for scum-bags like Giuliani to go around mocking Big Dems. And that is why it’s much, much harder for Dems to return the favor.
Mega-donors prepare for ‘08 battle
Sources involved in the nascent effort said representatives of Democratic powerhouses like MoveOn.org and the Service Employees International Union, along with super-wealthy individuals like the fund manager George Soros, are hashing out the details of a planned independent effort that could finance tens of millions of dollars of television advertisements. But when they meet after the two-day conference of the Democracy Alliance in Washington, D.C., this week, the donors will aim not to repeat what they see as the mistakes of the last presidential campaign.
Think about what they’re doing. They’re putting more money in the pockets of the very media moguls who pay their minions so well to say nothing good about Democrats while puffing up Republicans as much as possible. These donors are paying for the destruction of the belief system they profess to support. How I wish I could get some of these people interested in funding a media infrastructure of our own!
Don’t let them fool you: GAO: Reduction In Violence Due To ‘Ethnically Cleansed Neighborhoods’ In Iraq
Violence is “down significantly from last year,” declared President Bush. In a hearing before the House Appropriations Committee [Tuesday], Joe Christoff of the Government Accountability Office stated that this recent reduction in violence should be taken with a grain of salt, as it coincides with increased sectarian cleansing and a massive refugee displacement.
War protests: Why no coverage? (by Jerry Lanson)
Boston - Coordinated antiwar protests in at least 11 American cities this weekend raised anew an interesting question about the nature of news coverage: Are the media ignoring rallies against the Iraq war because of their low turnout or is the turnout dampened by the lack of news coverage?.. That most Americans oppose the war in Iraq is well established… Given that context, it seems remarkable to me that in some of the 11 cities in which protests were held – Boston and New York, for example – major news outlets treated this “National Day of Action” as though it did not exist.
B.S. Detector: DOJ Statement on Blackwater, just out … (by Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo)
[DOJ statement:] “… any suggestion that the Blackwater employees in question have been given immunity from federal criminal prosecution is inaccurate…” A highly knowledgeable responds … “[A]s a practical matter if the Blackwater folks got use immunity, there is virtually no chance they will be tried or convicted for any crime…Bottom line: DOJ’s statement is a very careful bamboozle. Don’t be fooled.”
Gen. Petraeus’ Spokesman Denies Sending Angry Email — Plot Thickens
A critical email allegedly sent by a top U.S. military spokesman to a leading blogger this past weekend is starting to draw mainstream attention. But the colonel had sent an equally hot note to E&P in May defending the general — without reading the report in question.
Huckabee Is Lying (by tristero at Hullabaloo)
[Republican Presidential candidate Mike] Huckabee worked hard to release a convicted rapist from prison for one reason only: because extreme rightwing operatives believed that Bill Clinton had unfairly persecuted an innocent man - possibly even ordering the rapist’s castration - in order to advance his career. Nothing could be further from the truth.
A test case for the media (by Paul Krugman)
OK, Rudy Giuliani has just released an ad claiming that the survival rate from prostate cancer is much higher in America than in Britain, thus proving the failure of socialized medicine. The problem is that his claim is just plain false. In fact, mortality rates from prostate cancer are almost the same in America and Britain. So, will this get as much attention as, say, the Edwards haircut or the Hillary laugh? Will it get any coverage at all?
Stephen Colbert’s joke is on the press (by Eric Boehlert)
[T]he Colbert candidacy becomes a distraction only if the press allows it to. And the sad fact is the press already has allowed it to, because the press literally drives itself to distraction on the campaign trail. That’s not an unfortunate side effect of the process. That’s the goal.
Right Wing Talkers Blame Congress For Not Defining Waterboarding As Torture (by Logan Murphy at Crooks and Liars)
[On MSNBC’s Dan Abrams’ show,] Pat Buchanan actually says that Congress needs to pass a law banning it and Michael Reagan chimes in on the same point. Hey Buchanan and Reagan, ever hear of the Geneva Conventions? We need to pass a law saying we’re going to honor an international treaty?
Click through to watch the video.
House Republicans: We Opposed SCHIP Program Because Dems Were Mean To Us
This is pretty amusing. House Republicans have concocted a new explanation for why they voted against the SCHIP children’s health care expansion despite the fact that it had bipartisan support in Congress and was backed by strong majorities of the American people. The latest rationale: They voted against it because Democratic leaders were nasty to them. That’s what angry House GOPers have now told Dem leaders in a private meeting on the Hill.
Norman Podhoretz: Anyone Who Doesn’t Want To ‘Bomb Iran’ Is Appeasing ‘Hitler’
On the PBS Newshour with Jim Lehrer [Monday] night, Commentary Magazine editor-at-large Norman Podhoretz, who is also a foreign policy adviser to Rudy Giuliani, repeated his claim that there is “only one terrible choice” left with Iran, which is to “bomb” their “facilities” and “retard” their nuclear program. When Newsweek’s Fareed Zackaria asserted that deterrence was a viable option, Podhoretz repeatedly accused him of “an irresponsible complacency” that “is comparable to the denial in the early ’30s of the intentions of Hitler”.
Click through to watch the video.
George Will Wants Those Lazy Seniors Off The Dole
[George Will:] “Sixty-five days from now, the first of 78 million baby boomers begun (sic) to retire. Most Americans who collect Social Security begin to collect it at age 62, which is absurd. We have the public subsidizing increasingly long and comfortable retirement of people for a third to a half of their adult lifetime. Now. That’s why one in four voters in 2004 was over 60 years old. The elderly have the biggest stake in the welfare state, which exists to transfer wealth to them.”
My payments to Social Security over many years mean nothing to this man. I’m on welfare as far as he’s concerned.
Theocracy Now! (by Max Blumenthal)
On October 20 and 21st, I attended the Value Voters Summit… Rev. Lou Sheldon, dubbed “Lucky Louie” by his former paymaster Jack Abramoff, told me that homosexuality is a “pathological disorder”… Star Parker, a former welfare cheat who had multiple abortions, claimed to me that abortion is the leading cause of death among African American women between the ages of 25 and 34. Then she described her wish for the forced quarantine of all “sodomites.”
Click through to watch the video.
“The Largest Tax Increase in History”: They’re So Cute When They Say This (by Dean Baker)
The NYT … quoted Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney as saying that [Rep. Rangel’s tax] proposal is the “largest increase in the history of America.” It would have been worth mentioning that this is not true since some readers may not be aware of this fact. It also would have been appropriate to point out that charging that a particular tax increase is “the largest in history” is a Republican ritual. There have been many proposals that they have labeled the “largest tax increase in history” over the last two decades.
Media Matters for America headlines
Media outlets uncritically reported White House claim that it does not “employ” fake reporting
MSNBC’s Carlson falsely claimed he does not “touch” Bill Clinton’s “sex life”
NY Times quotes 2005 blog post claiming Obama compared himself to Christ
Matthews, Blitzer uncritically cited Giuliani ad without noting his use of “meaningless” stat, according to cancer expert
Buchanan: Obama is “not what you would expect from a black guy from the South Side of Chicago”
Time’s Halperin further distorts poll results mis-cited by Hannity, attributing to “the Democrats” the view that U.S. better off if Iraq war is lost
Sally Bedell Smith characterizes as “absolutely fair” Russert’s suggestion that Hillary Clinton to blame for 40 million uninsured
Ex-Gov. du Pont claimed “[t]ax rate reductions increase tax revenues” — several Bush administration economists disagree
Blitzer did not challenge Huckabee’s claim that Saddam “said that he had” WMD
Katine: Guardian’s Unique Take on Crowdsourcing
If you have ten minutes today, check out Katine: it starts with a village. With this project The Guardian is doing something very special indeed with crowdsourcing, interactive storytelling, and journalism itself.
Clear Channel is attempting to silence Bruce Springsteen (by John Amato at Crooks and Liars)
Here we go again. The Dixie Chicks redux! Bruce has the #1 record in all the land called ” Magic,” but… “sources tell [Roger Friedman at Fox News] that Clear Channel has sent an edict to its classic rock stations not to play tracks from ‘Magic’.”… Republican owned corporate media once again is attempting to silence progressive positions.
What would critics say if Couric hosted “Saturday Night Live”?
Ed Bark thinks Brian Williams is “pushing it” by appearing on “Saturday Night Live” Nov 3. “Maybe this is finally what Katie Couric needs,” he writes. “Because seriously folks, how can anyone question her gravitas or hard news acumen after Williams submits to ‘SNL’ and becomes the first incumbent news anchor to host it? …Imagine the reaction if Couric instead were taking the ‘SNL’ plunge.”
Web wit livens up Australian election campaign
SYDNEY (AFP) - The Internet is proving both a blessing and a curse for the major players in Australia’s election campaign, as online satirists gleefully mock politicians’ carefully-crafted messages to voters.
Bloggers beware: Confirmed: Selling Links Will Hurt Your Google Page Rank
Last week we saw quite an uproar when a number of prominent blogs had their Google Page Rank (Google’s measure of a site’s authority) dramatically lowered, presumably for engaging in the practice of selling text links to other sites. Today, Matt Cutts of Google has confirmed that the company does indeed penalize web sites that engage in the buying and selling of text links.
When Brand Companies Become Media Companies: Serious Implications
Have you noticed? More and more brand and other companies are becoming part-time media companies. This, of course, is yet another “unpleasant” development (from the media company perspective) inspired by the Internet that makes it harder to sell advertising. Is there a silver lining?
Online Marketers Joining Internet Privacy Efforts
People will soon be able to sign up for do-not-track lists, which will help shield their Web surfing habits from marketers eager to deliver specific ad pitches to them.
Is U.S. stuck in Internet’s slow lane?
NEW YORK - The United States is starting to look like a slowpoke on the Internet. Examples abound of countries that have faster and cheaper broadband connections, and more of their population connected to them.