Of all the inane accusations about
President Obama, the silliest has to be this: The president is a socialist.
Obama's plans are "one big down payment on a new American socialist experiment,"
asserts House minority leader John Boehner. He's "the world's best salesman of socialism," says Republican Senator Jim DeMint.
"Lenin and Stalin would love this stuff," declares Mike Huckabee. Sean Hannity derides
his agenda as "socialism you can believe in." Obama is "a radical communist," warns kooky Alan Keyes.
"Epithets are substituting for thinking," observes Marc Landy, professor of political
science at Boston College.
Are they ever.
That has long been the case across vast realms of conservative talk radio, of course.
I recently heard one of our local luminaries who regularly accuses Obama of Marxism offering a similar sort of indispensable
insight on another critical issue: Michelle Obama's appearance during her husband's speech to Congress. The first lady's face
resembled that of a camel, while her body looked like the Liberty Bell wrapped in purple, said WTKK's Jay Severin, who, hilariously,
fancies himself a political polymath leading a rarefied radio discussion. (Severin imagines any number of things about himself
that are at considerable variance with the truth.)
So let's examine the matter. One defining aspect of socialism is state ownership,
control, or direction of the economy. Think of Hugo Chavez nationalizing steel, cement, power, and telecommunications firms
in Venezuela, and assuming control over foreign oil projects. Or of Francois Mitterrand nationalizing six of France's largest
industrial conglomerates, plus dozens of the country's largest banks and investment houses, during his presidency.
Ann Coulter's jaw wired shut for Christmas...
One of the conservative right's loudest mouthpieces might be silenced
for awhile...
A number of media outlets, including MSNBC, Huffington Post and the New York Post, are reporting that Ann Coulter has broken
her jaw and had it wired shut...
This Christmas Gift was brought you by: 'The Political Gift of Seasons without Borders'...A non-profit Organization that
travels the World to bring seasons greetings and Yuletide wishes to citizens during the Holiday Season who want to shut up
the politically obnoxious...
Disturbing FOX News Ad Will Give You
Media Nightmares
Rupert Murdoch Calls Fox News Viewers Morons & White Trash
New York, New York - In a conversation with Fox News celebrities, Bill
O'Reilly and Sean Hannity, that was picked up by an open microphone, Rupert Murdoch, Chairman and CEO of News Corp., repeatedly
referred to Fox News viewers as morons and white trash. The incident took place as the three men were sitting together at
a benefit dinner for the Ann Coulter defense fund. Apparently, they had been drinking heavily which may account for their
lack of restraint and obliviousness to the open microphone that was positioned directly in front of them.
At one point, while addressing O'Reilly and Hannity, Murdoch said, "Can you believe the shit we get away with? Good thing
our viewers are dumb as doorknobs or else we would be in trouble." To which, Hannity laughed and then replied, "Yeah, I heard
that people who watch Fox News have to wear bibs to catch their drool so their sofas won't be stained by the tobacco juice,
and that's just the women." O'Reilly, also laughing, then joined in by saying, "Hey, how many Fox viewers does it take to
change a light bulb? None, they all refuse to change the bulb because they prefer living in the dark."
However, the unkindest cut of all that is sure to enrage Fox viewers came at the end of the conversation when Murdoch raised
his glass in a toast and said, "God bless trailer park trash and idiots everywhere. Without them Fox News would be nothing
and I would not be a billionaire."
After news of the recorded conversation became public, Fox News released the following brief statement, "We encourage our
viewers to reject anything they hear or see that does not come directly from Fox News. Fox News is the only source of information
you need for Fair and Balanced™ coverage."
Right Wing Talking Airheads Whine about Lack of Change
Change, the number one thing when Obama spoke of change on the campaign
trail referred to Americans dumping the GOP out on its collective rear ends...Once elected, Obama will work on the change
to all the screwed up policies by Bush, the GOP and their cronies...One cannot be done without the other...
If Obama hires Cheney or Bush as advisers...Then we should worry that we are not going to see change...
Obama is going to find likeminded thinkers from the Democratic Party who have past connections to the Clinton White house,
it is only natural because Bill was the last Democrat to sit in the white house...
And that is not a bad thing to anyone except right wing talking airheads...I will enjoy listening to them whine for the
next eight years...
And those on the left and right who want to see no Clintonites in or around the White House, well; they are not dealing
in the realities of Washington...
Bill O'Reilly Attacks 911 Family
Conservatives Who Slammed Obama For Being A Socialist Now Say He Ran A ‘Center-Right’ Campaign
Not only did Barack Obama win the presidency yesterday, but progressives
picked up significant victories in the House, Senate, state, and local races. Nevertheless, pundits this morning continued
to insist that the country remains “center right”:
GOP STRATEGIST BAY BUCHANAN: There’s no question in my mind [the United States is still a center-right country].
NBC’S TOM BROKAW: This country, even with the election of Barack Obama last night, remains a very centered country,
or maybe even center right in a lot of places.
KARL ROVE: Barack Obama understands this is a center-right country and he smartly and wisely ran a campaign that emphasized
it.
Watch a compilation:
Chris Matthews had a Congresswoman from Minnesota named Michele Bachmann
as a guest last week. She tried to equate being liberal with being un-American, and, she suggested that the media investigate
members of Congress (both the House and the Senate) to see how many ’anti-Americans’ there are.
She is an obvious fan of Joseph Mccarthy and McCarthyism...
Katrina Vanden Heuvel of ’The Nation’ was featured on
the next segment, and she started off by giving a very passionate and emotional response to the comments she had just heard
come out of the Congresswoman’s mouth.
FOX ATTACKS WEB SITE
Unfit for Publication
One of the most vile smear peddlers of the 2004 election has found a new target.
Jerome Corsi just published a new book full of rehashed distortions and the same old lies about Barack
Obama, and the right-wing noise machine is in full gear promoting it.
In 2004, Corsi helped launch the Swift Boat smear campaign with a book of distortions and lies he wrote
about John Kerry.
It’s up to you to spread the truth, so here it is. We’ve posted some of the facts about
Corsi and his desperate fabrications on this page, but there’s even more in our PDF: Unfit for Publication.
A LITTLE RESEARCH DISPROVES EVEN CORSI’S MOST BASIC CLAIMS
LIE: “The year 1995 was a banner one for Obama. He had just married Michelle
and the couple bought a Hyde Park condo, the first home Obama ever owned.”[p 145]
REALITY: OBAMAS MARRIED IN 1992 AND BOUGHT A CONDO IN 1993
10/3/92 Obama And Michelle Robinson Were Married. [Chicago Sun-Times,
10/3/07]
1993 Obama Bought a Condo for $277,550. [Chicago Sun-Times, 1/22/06]
NONE OF CORSI’S DIVISIVE, REHASHED CLAIMS CHECKS OUT, EITHER
LIE: “Senator Obama could claim to be a citizen of Kenya, as well as of the
United States. Obama can trace his heritage back to his mother, who was born in the United States and was an American citizen
when he was born, and to his father, who was born in Kenya and was a Kenyan citizen when Obama was born.” [p 103]
REALITY: OBAMA CANNOT CLAIM KENYAN CITIZENSHIP
Kenya Does Not Allow Dual Citizenship Applications for People Over 21 Years of Age.
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management writes of Kenya, “DUAL CITIZENSHIP: Not recognized except for persons under
21 years old.” The Kenyan Constitution writes, “A person who, but for the proviso to section 87 (1), would be
a citizen of Kenya by virtue of that subsection shall be entitled, upon making application before the specified date in such
manner as may be prescribed by or under an Act of Parliament, to be registered as a citizen of Kenya: Provided that a person
who has not attained the age of twenty-one years (other than a woman who is or has been married) may not himself make an application
under this subsection, but an application may be made on his behalf by his parent or guardian.” [U.S. Office of Personnel
Management; Kenyan Constitution]
Even if Obama Had Applied for Dual Citizenship Before He Was 21—Which He Did Not—It
Would Have Expired.
”A person who, upon the attainment of the age of twenty-one years, is a citizen of Kenya and
also a citizen of some other country other than Kenya shall, subject to subsection (7), cease to be a citizen of Kenya upon
the specified date unless he has renounced his citizenship of that other country, taken the oath of allegiance and, in the
case of a person who was born outside Kenya, made and registered such declaration of his intentions concerning residence as
may be prescribed by or under an Act of Parliament.” [Kenyan Constitution]
CORSI CAN’T EVEN RECOGNIZE REAL RESEARCH WHEN HE SEES IT
LIE: “Christopher Hitchens noted on Salon.com that Michelle announces in her
Princeton thesis that she has been influenced by the definition of ‘black separatism’ given by Stokely Carmichael
and Charles Hamilton in their 1867 book Black Power: The Politics of Liberation in America.” [p 232]
REALITY: USING A DEFINITION IS NOT THE SAME THING AS HAVING INFLUENCE
The Thesis Used Carmichael And Hamilton’s Definition Of Black Separationism In Her Study
But Did Not Suggest She Was “Influenced” By It.
Michelle Obama wrote in her thesis, “Stokely Carmichael and Charles Hamilton’s (1967) developed
definitions of separationism in their discussion of Black Power which guided me in the formulation and use of this concept
in the study…Thus, Carmichael and Hamilton define separationism as a necessary stage for the development of the Black
community before this group integrates into the “open society”. The idea of creating separate social structure
and cultural structures as suggested by these authors serves to clarify definitions of separationism/pluralism as they function
in the dependent variable which tries to measure the 26 respondents’ ideologies concerning political and economic relations
between the Black and White communities.” [Michelle Obama’s Thesis]
Fox News: They Distort, Then Report
Fox News Caught Altering Rivals' Photos Jul 3 2008
US television network Fox News has been caught out doctoring images
of two rival journalists to make them appear like a pair of ghouls.
Program Fox & Friends dedicated a segment to attacking New York Times editor Steven Reddicliffe and reporter Jacques
Steinberg after they questioned the future of the tabloid network's ratings.
But the photographs that Fox displayed of the pair had been digitally altered, making their facial features appear ghoulish,
American media monitor Media Matters discovered.
Steinberg's nose and chin was freakishly enlarged, his forehead shortened and his ears made to stick out further than in
the original promotional photo featured on the Times website.
Redcliffe's forehead was extensively stretched — pushing his hair further back and making his head appear disproportionately
long. Both men's teeth appear to have been yellowed.
There was nothing subtle about the next photograph Fox ran of the Times pair.
Steinberg, whom Fox labelled the newspaper's "attack dog", had his face superimposed over a French poodle, with Reddicliffe
pictured holding the leash.
The Times refused to hit back at Fox, which has a history of being accused of bias and bullying tactics.
Culture editor Sam Sifton, explaining why the newspaper won't respond, said: "It is fighting with a pig, everyone gets
dirty and the pig likes it".
The
folks over at NewsHounds have been watching their Fox News Channel quarry dither over Senator Barack Obama's associations
with pastor Jeremiah Wright, and noted Fox's own Sean Hannity getting himself tripped up in the guilt-by-association tango.
Seems that one of Hannity's former close chums is a neo-Nazi named Hal Turner who used to be a radio host, is apparently the top man in Bergen, NJ white-supremacist
circles, and probably spends a lot of his time in his basement with Star Wars action figures acting out Holocaust-denier versions
of The Return of the Jedi. In short, just the sort of person with whom you'd imagine Sean Hannity spends a lot of formational
time with.
Anyway, a few days ago, Hannity brought Malik Shabazz of the New Black Panther Party on the show. Shabazz
and his organization had previously chosen to endorse Barack Obama, who subsequently rejected the endorsement. It was up to
Hannity to make some hay out of this, but the tables got turned very quickly.
Hannity added, "What I don't think you're understanding here, Malik, is that when you hear the minister
of him for 20 years, when you hear the associations with Louis Farrakhan, one of the biggest racists and anti-Semites in the
country, what you're not understanding is, America hears extremism at its worst."
Shabazz responded, "Let me ask you this. Are you to be judged by your promotion and association with
Hal Turner?"
Hannity waved his arm around. "I don't know anybody named - this is nonsense. I don't..." Then Hannity
changed his tune. "Sir, sir... That was a man that was banned from my radio show ten years ago, that ran a Senate campaign
in New Jersey."
Then, as Shabazz refused to stop talking or back down, Hannity, in a tacit admission, said, "I'm not
running for president."
"A neo Nazi, you backed his career," Shabazz said.
Hannity answered, "That is an absolute, positive, lie and you've been reading the wrong websites...,
my friend. Good try."
Well, there's plenty of evidence to the contrary (
Max Blumenthal's piece in Nation is good for a start), but it hardly matters, because don't you know, days later, Turner himself was doing
his pal a total solid by coming out and stating, "Oh, yeah! We're best of buds!"
I was quite disappointed when Sean Hannity at first tried to say he didn't know me and then went on
to say that I ran some senate campaign in New Jersey. In fact, Sean Hannity does know me and we were quite friendly a number
of years ago.
When Hannity took over Bob Grant's spot on 77 WABC in New York City, I was a well-known, regular and
welcome caller to his show. Through those calls, Sean and I got to know each other a bit and at some point, I can't remember
exactly when, Sean gave me the secret "Guest call-in number" at WABC so that my calls could always get on the air.
I mean, Hannity gave Turner his Super Secret Little Anti-Semite Annie Decoder Ring so he could call
him up whenever he wanted to! If the two men had been younger - and mentally eligible for a high school education - they surely
would have gone to prom together!
Anyway, Turner and Hannity have a nice, long, intimate, chummy history, and
Turner offers the essential blow-by-blow. "I can tell you from my firsthand, personal experience that Sean Hannity does, in fact,
agree with many of my political and social views. I can also tell you that Sean Hannity disagrees with some of my political
and social views. I won't go subject-by-subject to say which he agrees with and which he disagrees with. You can figure that
out easy enough on your own!" Can we? What if we're not enthusiastic fans of the thought processes of nimrods, though?
Naturally, Turner has got a blustery warning for us all: "Another big difference is
that I am perfectly willing to use force and violence against my enemies while Sean Hannity and others are not. Those using
me as a prop to attack Sean Hannity would do well to remember this fact. Rest assured I will remember them when the opportunity
presents itself; especially as it pertains to that douche bag sodomite Max Blumenthal for the falsehoods and total trash he
wrote about me in 'The Nation' magazine."
Update: Newhounds has updated its Hannity/Turner post, pointing out
a comment signed by Phil Boyce, Program Director of WABC, Hannity's radio station, disputing many of the facts, especially
the dates, in Turner's account (Boyce's comment has been posted here as well. See first comment below). Newshounds responded
to Boyce's criticisms, saying: "the real issue is what was Turner allowed to say on the air, how often and what was Hannity's
reaction? We have an article in a national magazine plus one of the parties involved who say that Hannity was a welcoming,
friendly and encouraging host for Turner's views for a good while. Neither Boyce nor Hannity has specifically denied that."
Quotes from when Clinton committed troops to Bosnia:
"You can support the troops but not the president." --Rep Tom Delay (R-TX)
"Well, I just think it's a bad idea. What's going to happen is they're going to be over there for 10, 15, maybe
20 years." --Joe Scarborough (R-FL)
"Explain to the mothers and fathers of American servicemen that may come home in body bags why their son or
daughter have to give up their life?" --Sean Hannity, Fox News, 4/6/99
"The President . . . is once again releasing American military might on a foreign country with an ill-defined
objective and no exit strategy. He has yet to tell the Congress how much this operation will cost. And he has not informed
our nation's armed forces about how long they will be away from home. These strikes do not make for a sound foreign policy."
--Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA)
"American foreign policy is now one huge big mystery. Simply put, the administration is trying to lead the world
with a feel-good foreign policy." --Rep Tom Delay (R-TX)
"If we are going to commit American troops, we must be certain they have a clear mission, an achievable goal
and an exit strategy." --Karen Hughes, speaking on behalf of George W Bush
"I had doubts about the bombing campaign from the beginning . . I didn't think we had done enough in the diplomatic
area." --Senator Trent Lott (R-MS)
"I cannot support a failed foreign policy. History teaches us that it is often easier to make war than peace.
This administration is just learning that lesson right now. The President began this mission with very vague objectives and
lots of unanswered questions. A month later, these questions are still unanswered. There are no clarified rules of engagement.
There is no timetable. There is no legitimate definition of victory. There is no contingency plan for mission creep. There
is no clear funding program. There is no agenda to bolster our over-extended military. There is no explanation defining what
vital national interests are at stake. There was no strategic plan for war when the President started this thing, and there
still is no plan today" --Rep Tom Delay (R-TX)
"Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is."
--Governor George W. Bush (R-TX)
Bush's Herd Of Loyal Texas Advisers Continues To Thin Dave Montgomery | McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — They were fiercely loyal, unfailingly disciplined and, as a unit, offered the president a comforting
touchstone from his home state.
Now, Team Texas is moving ever closer to extinction. The already thinning cadre of advisers who followed George W. Bush
from Austin to Washington is unraveling even further, with Alberto Gonzales and Karl Rove heading toward the door.
Although Texans are still dotted throughout the administration, most of the influential Lone Star transplants who've worked
at Bush's side since his days as Texas governor either have left town or removed themselves from day-to-day influence at the
White House.
Gonzales, a steadfast loyalist who served as Bush's counsel in the governor's office, announced his resignation as attorney
general Monday after enduring a months-long uproar over his stewardship of the Justice Department. Rove, the architect of
Bush's victorious presidential campaigns, will leave at the end of the week.
They join a parade of other departed Bush insiders from Texas, including White House adviser Dan Bartlett, former Press
Secretary Scott McClellan, former Federal Emergency Management Agency director Joe Allbaugh and White House lawyer Harriet
Miers, who Bush briefly nominated to the Supreme Court before a conservative backlash forced him to withdraw the nomination.
Karen Hughes, one of Bush's most trusted advisers in Austin and during the early days at the White House, remains in town
but is focused on her current duties as a top State Department official charged with bolstering the U.S. image abroad.
Three other vintage Bushites are still in Washington but, like Hughes, they're largely focused on their own turf: Education
Secretary Margaret Spellings, the author of Bush's education initiatives in Austin; Housing and Urban Development Secretary
Alphonso Jackson, Bush's former neighbor in Dallas; and former Bush college roommate Clay Johnson, who serves as the deputy
director of the Office of Management and Budget.
The departures are to be expected toward the end of a second term. For the most part, many of Bush's original teammates
chose to stay on long past the traditional tenure in a city known for burnout and destroyed families.
"The only surprise is not that any of the Texans have left but that they stayed so long," said Mark McKinnon, a former
Bush media consultant who's now the vice chairman of Public Strategies of Austin.
The longevity of many Texas transplants — particularly those who remained at Bush's side deep into his second term
— in many ways reflects the mutual loyalty that bonded the former Texas governor and those who joined him at the outset
of his political career in the mid-1990s.
Rove, Hughes and Allbaugh, who was Bush's chief of staff in the state capital, formed what was known as the "iron triangle"
during the Austin era. Gonzales not only was Bush's legal adviser but also his appointee as Texas secretary of state and a
state Supreme Court justice. McClellan, who comes from an Austin political family, was a press aide during Bush's first run
for president, in 2000.
"They've been traveling with this guy for a long time," said Texas journalist Bill Minutaglio, who's authored biographies
on Bush and Gonzales. "There's a strong personal connection."
To a person, Minutaglio said, pioneer members of the Bush team shared the president's conservative visions, liked and admired
him personally and, as Gonzales noted in his resignation statement Monday, credited him with their personal ascents.
In turn, Bush knew that he could count on his fellow Texans to be tight-lipped and loyal, traits that enhanced the administration's
reputation as one of the most leak-proof and internally disciplined in years. Bush insisted on loyalty, Minutaglio said, in
part because of insiders who he felt had been disloyal to his president father.
After arriving in Washington in January 2001, Bush became even more dependent on a home-state inner circle that long ago
had grown familiar with his style and beliefs.
"These were his pals," Minutaglio said. "Bush felt uncomfortable around policy wonks and think tanks. They made him feel
very comfortable; they understood him. They got George W. Bush at a Texas level."
But for some of those who followed Bush into the turmoil of his second term, the cost came high. Gonzales, who came to
town amid talk of possibly becoming the first Hispanic Supreme Court nominee, instead will leave with a battered reputation.
Rove likewise was under scrutiny by Congress on several fronts after earning a reputation as the nation's foremost political
craftsman.
The steady parade of Texas departures means that Bush, burdened by low approval ratings because of the Iraq war and other
issues, largely will be dependent on an evolving new team as he moves into his final year and a half in office.
Chris Wallace attacks Bill Moyers and defends Karl Rove
This past Sunday morning on Fox News Sunday, commentator Chris Wallace took the mail portion of his broadcast to reply
to just one piece of mail, that of PBS journalist Bill Moyers about the previous weeks' interview of Karl Rove, and specifically
Roves' faith.
Relevant portion of Mr Moyers post:
If you had checked, you would have found that his agnosticism, or questioning of faith, has indeed been in the news specifically
in connection to his political expediency in the manipulation of believers. There were several references to it online as
well as in print journalism last week.
The complete text of Moyers' post can be found here.
Mr Wallace took Mr Moyers to task, "Of course, you never called Rove. That's reporting 101, but it would have gotten in
the way of a tasty story line about a non-believer flim-flaming the Christian right. I guess Bill, reporting is easy when
you don't worry about the facts".
Liberals Go After Fox News Advertiser
By DAVID BAUDER
NEW YORK (AP) - Liberal activists are stepping up their campaign against Fox News Channel by pressuring advertisers not
to patronize the network.
MoveOn.org, the Campaign for America's Future and liberal blogs like DailyKos.com are asking thousands of supporters to
monitor who is advertising on the network. Once a database is gathered, an organized phone-calling campaign will begin, said
Jim Gilliam, vice president of media strategy for Brave New Films, a company that has made anti-Fox
presidential candidates not to appear at any debate sponsored by Fox, and are also trying to get Home Depot Inc. to
stop advertising there.
At least 5,000 people nationwide have signed up to compile logs on who is running commercials on Fox, Gilliam said. The
groups want to first concentrate on businesses running local ads, as opposed to national commercials.
"It's a lot more effective for Sam's Diner to get calls from 10 people in his town than going to the consumer complaint
department of some pharmaceutical company," Gilliam said.
Some of videos produced by Gilliam's company compile statements made by Fox anchors and guests that the activists consider
misleading, such as those that question
Representatives for Fox News Channel, which is owned by News Corp., did not immediately return calls for comment.
Home Depot has not had an unusual number of calls, said spokesman Jerry Shields, and the home improvement chain will not
change its advertising strategy.
"We're not in the business of censoring media," Shields said. "We need to reach our customer base through all mediums available."
Groups like the Sierra Club have targeted Home Depot because they believe it's inconsistent for the company to promote
environmentally friendly products while advertising on a network that has questioned global warming.
The groups seem particularly angry at Fox's Bill O'Reilly, who has done critical reports on left-wing bloggers. On July
16, O'Reilly said the DailyKos.com Web site is "hate of the worst order," and sent a reporter to question JetBlue Airways
Corp.
CEO Dave Barger about the airline's sponsorship of a gathering run by DailyKos.
He'll never ride on JetBlue again, O'Reilly said.
MoveOn.org is campaigning against Fox because it says the network characterizes itself as a fair news network when it consistently
favors a conservative point of view, said Adam Green, the organization's spokesman.
"We're not trying to silence anybody," Green said. "Rush Limbaugh has a right to be on the air - he admits his point of
view. Fox doesn't."
Pentagon kills Rumsfeld 'propaganda' unit
Filed
by Michael Roston
Current Defense Secretary Robert Gates has scrapped an institution established by his predecessor
Donald Rumsfeld to rapidly counter messages in the press that the Pentagon considered negative, according to a report in Friday's
Washington Times.
"Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has shut down a rapid-response press operation run out
of the Pentagon speechwriting shop because it is not suited to his style of press relations," reports Bill Gertz in his weekly
'Inside the Ring' column.
A former Pentagon official explained to Gertz how the rapid-response unit worked.
"The unit would monitor U.S. and foreign press reports and highlight stories that were 'missing
key elements,'" he writes. "It then would quickly send information to congressional and press contacts 'so people could see
the rest of the story.'"
Rumsfeld during his tenure spoke vocally about America needing to win its wars in the media
as well as on the battlefield.
"These are terrorists and they have media relations committees that meet and talk about strategy, not with bullets
but with words," he warned in a February 2006 speech at the Council on Foreign Relations. "They’ve proven to be highly successful at manipulating the
opinion elites of the world. They plan and design their headline-grabbing attacks using every means of communication to intimidate
and break the collective will of free people."
The ex-Defense Secretary tried to use torture and inhumane treatment by the US military to
prove the imbalance in the press against the United States.
"Consider for a moment the vast quantity of column inches and hours of television devoted
to the allegations of unauthorized detainee mistreatment," he said. "But weigh the numbers of column inches and hours of television
involving that event, for example, against the discovery of Saddam Hussein’s mass graves, which were filled with literally
hundreds of thousands of human beings, innocent Iraqis who were killed."
And, at the time, he outlined some of the requirements for the Pentagon to respond to such
challenges.
"The U.S. government will have to develop an institutional capability to anticipate and act
within the same news cycle," he said in the address. "That will require instituting 24-hour press operation centers, elevating
Internet operations and other channels of communication to the equal status with the traditional 20th Century press relations.
It will result in much less reliance on the traditional print press, just as the publics of the U.S. and the world are relying
less on newspapers as their principal source of information."
While Rumsfeld's media response unit is gone, Gertz noted that Gates had some of its operations
"folded into other elements of the Pentagon"s public-affairs office."
Of course the people don't want war. But after all, it's the
leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy,
a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought
to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists
for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger. - Herman Goering
Conservatives
Dominate The Airwaves
Conservative
Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) raised a furor last week when he called out the right-wing radio hosts working to defeat comprehensive
immigration reform. "Talk radio is running America,"
Lott said. "We have to deal with that problem."
Indeed,
despite the dramatic expansion of viewing and listening options for consumers today, traditional radio remains one of the
most widely used media formats in America,
reaching an estimated 50 million listeners each week on more than 1,700 stations across the nation.
More
importantly, talk radio is dominated almost exclusively by conservatives. The Center for American Progress
and Free Press
last week released the first-of-its-kind statistical analysis
of the political make-up of talk radio in the United States. The results confirm the stunning lack of diversity in talk radio,
and raise serious questions about whether the companies licensed to broadcast over the public airwaves are serving the listening
needs of all Americans.
HOW BAD IS IT
According
to the new report,
in the spring of 2007, 91 percent
of the political talk radio programming on the stations owned by the top five commercial station owners was conservative,
and only 9 percent was progressive.
In
the top 10 radio markets in the country, 76 percent of the news/talk programming is conservative, while 24 percent is progressive.
In four of those top 10 markets -- Philadelphia, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston -- the domination of conservative talk radio is
between 96 and 100 percent.
MORE CONSOLIDATION, LESS DIVERSITY, LESS ACCOUNTABILITY
The
increasing imbalance in talk radio has paralleled significant shifts in the media ownership landscape. Since the Telecommunications
Act of 1996, there has been a dramatic decline (34 percent) in the number of radio station
owners,
meaning a sharp increase in media ownership concentration.
This
trend has occurred because Congress eliminated restrictions on the total ownership of radio stations by any one media entity.
Now, in the largest markets with 45 or more commercial radio stations, one entity may own or control up to eight commercial
radio stations. As a result, women and minorities "have largely been shut out of radio ownership in this country,"
owning just 6 and 7.7 percent respectively
of the nation's full power radio stations.
Also,
due to increasing deregulation, local accountability over the public airwaves has been sharply limited. Radio stations are
licensed by the government and are meant to operate in the public interest. Yet stations no longer have to inform the community
of their obligations as a federal licensee, and the needs and interests of local communities are being ignored. HOW TO SOLVE IT
The
primary goals of policy proposals to reduce the gap should be to encourage more speech on the airwaves, not less, and to ensure
that local needs are being met and diverse opinions are being aired. First, the CAP/Free Press report recommends that Congress
promote ownership diversity
by restoring the local and national caps on the ownership of commercial radio stations. For instance, no one entity should
control more than 10 percent of the total commercial radio stations in a given market.
Second,
the report recommends that steps be taken ensure greater local accountability over radio licensing.
Radio broadcast licensees should regularly show that they are operating on behalf of the public interest, and provide public
documentation showing how they are meeting these obligations.
(For
far more detailed explanations of the policy proposals, read the full report.)
A few Quotes from William "Bill" Kristol - NEOCON
I think the American people are going to have great tolerance for the war taking longer, and they are going to have great
tolerance for more casualties. William Kristol
And even William Kristol, without a doubt the most influential Republican/neoconservative publicist in America today, has
come clean on this issue. "I admit it," he told a reporter. "The liberal media were never that powerful, and the whole thing
was often used as an excuse by conservatives for conservative failures."
"There's a pop sociology in America that the Shia can't get along with the Sunni and the Shia in Iraq just want to establish
some kind of Islamic fundamentalist regime. There's almost no evidence of that at all. Iraq's always been very secular."
William Kristol
"Real progress has already been made in Iraq, and the terrorists know it. That's why they're surging against our surge,
and why they are attempting to convince us that we have lost when it is they who are losing." William Kristol
“On the outcome of the confrontation with Tehran, more than any other, rests the future of the Bush Doctrine
- and, quite possibly, the Bush presidency - and prospects for a safer world.“ - William Kristol
'BOMB IRAN' PODHORETZ: WAR WOULD 'UNLEASH
A WAVE' OF GLOBAL ANTI-AMERICANISM
Podhoretz's article appeals to President Bush, "a man who knows evil when he sees it" and who has been "battered more mercilessly and with
less justification than any other in living memory," to carry out military strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities.
U.S. diplomats are now pointing to the essay to pressure foreign diplomats to increase pressure on
Iran.
In a new interview, Podhoretz was asked to comment
on the possible fallout of the military strikes he advocates. "Well, if we were to bomb the Iranians as I hope and pray we
will," Podhoretz says, "we'll unleash a wave of anti-Americanism all over the world that will make the anti-Americanism we've
experienced so far look like a lovefest."
Podhoretz qualified his statement about anti-Americanism,
saying it was only a "worst case scenario." It's "entirely possible," he claimed, that "many countries, particularly in the
Middle East" would "at least secretly applaud us." But even global anti-Americanism is worth it, he argues, to slow Iran's
nuclear program "for five or 10 years or more."
In fact, Center for American Progress senior fellow
Joseph Cirincione has argued that such a strike "would not, as is often said, delay the Iranian program. It would almost certainly speed it up. That is what happened when the Israelis struck at the
Iraq program in 1981."
Virginia Tech shooter "had to be a liberal" By: Rush "The Drug Addict" Limbaugh From:The Rush Limbaugh
Show: April 19, 2007
LIMBAUGH: If this Virginia Tech shooter had an ideology, what do you think it was? This guy had to be a liberal.
You start railing against the rich and all this other -- this guy's a liberal. He was turned into a liberal somewhere along
the line. So it's a liberal that committed this act. Now, the drive-bys will read on a website that I'm attacking liberalism
by comparing this guy to them. That's exactly what they do every day, ladies and gentlemen. I'm just pointing out a fact.
I am making no extrapolation; I'm just pointing it out.
From the sick mind of a so-called Conservative...
The way Limbaugh works is like this, follow close :He makes up a question...Then answers the made up question with a made
up answer...Then blames liberals for the made up question, and he proves everything by saying "I'm just pointing out a fact"
...
Amazing how his followers never question his Bullshit...
Beating the messenger
Democrats latch on to GOP strategy of attacking media in outrage against Fox By J. Patrick
Coolican and Michael J. Mishak Las Vegas Sun
The Spin Zone
When the first President Bush went on a televised tirade against Dan Rather during the 1988 campaign, he was applauded
for standing up to the elite liberal media.
The incident was contrived, the orchestrated genius of his media guru, Roger Ailes, who was holding up the cue cards,
according to Craig Crawford's book, "Attack the Messenger."
It was part of a Republican strategy that went back decades of running against the media and defining them as liberal
and elitist.
Conservatives, of course, would eventually find their own media outlet, with the same Roger Ailes at its center as head
of Fox News.
Now, however, tables are turning. Liberals are attacking Fox and for that matter, mainstream media. Tapping into unhappiness
over the war and what they see as Fox's deliberate misrepresentations, those activists are also pressing Democrats to make
the cable outlet a campaign issue.
This new sensibility was on display last week when the Nevada Democratic Party canceled a Reno presidential debate to
be broadcast on Fox, after weeks of daily haranguing and calls by liberal activists.
The new strategy is being carried out largely on the Internet, at heavily read Web sites such as Daily Kos, as well as
liberal advocacy groups such as MoveOn.org and Media Matters for America, a Web-based liberal press monitor that has documented
Fox's "misinformation" history.
The new aggressiveness is also happening on Fox News itself as Democrats follow the lead of former President Bill Clinton,
who became combative with a Fox interviewer in a widely watched segment last year.
By going after Fox, Democrats are using tactics that were once the provenance of conservatives, whose strategists have
been known to refer to attacks on the media as "working the refs."
The strategy is not without risk or a downside, however.
Many Democrats see the cancellation of the event as a missed opportunity to reach Fox viewers, who outnumber the cable
channel's rivals. Not all of its viewers are the kind of partisan Republicans liberal bloggers believe them to be.
As Dan Gerstein, a paid adviser to Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, wrote Tuesday on the Web site of The Politico:
"Fox provides a powerful platform to influence the views of hundreds of thousands of valuable voters. It just seems self-defeating
to pass up an opportunity to reach those viewers, just because the network features some inflammatory talk show hosts who
say things of which I don't approve."
Political scientist Larry Sabato agreed, calling the cancellation of the debate foolish, and Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut,
one of the Democratic candidates, also said the decision to cancel was a mistake.
"Take it to their house," Bill Maher told CNN's Larry King Monday. "Win an away game."
For online liberals, however, no amount of free air time on Fox was worth what they viewed as legitimizing the network.
Despite the sharp rhetoric mounted against Fox and the Nevada debate, it's clear the online liberals made a calculated
decision: The attacks on Fox, which generated coverage by the mainstream media, were worth losing the 90 minutes of Democratic
candidates' exposure to Fox viewers.
Eric Alterman, a liberal media critic and senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, said the trade-off provided
a chance to cast the cable news network as a "propaganda outfit for conservatives and the Republican Party."
Paul Begala, a Democratic strategist and a consultant to Fox rival CNN, also applauded the move: "It shows Democrats
are finally growing a spine. The right-wing attack on the free press has been so effective that the mainstream media (are)
completely cowed, and now finally Democrats are turning it around."
Karl Frisch of Media Matters for America said the dissatisfaction is not just with Fox, however.
In a report released Monday, the group found that of the four Sunday morning talk shows, only one - ABC's "This Week"
- has been "roughly balanced" between both Democrats and Republicans since the 2006 midterm elections. Conservatives control
the nation's political conversation, the group said.
Online liberals say that a chief problem in the Democratic Party is an unwillingness to roll in the mud with Republicans
and their surrogates in the media. Dumping Fox has a salutary symbolic effect, a way for Democrats to show voters they'll
hit back, online liberals say.
"They've been pushing us around with this medium, on television, pretending it's objective, for over a decade now, and
we just beat them, and this is push back," said Jerome Armstrong, a liberal blogger and co-author of a book on Internet politics
with Markos Moulitsas, the founder of Daily Kos. "We beat ya. We don't play by your rules anymore."
Indeed, one advantage they have is that like some of their rivals on the right, they are unafraid to blur the line between
media and activism. Moulitsas was railing against Fox every day to his 500,000 readers, while also listening in on a conference
call with Nevada Sen. Harry Reid telling him to cancel the debate, mixing his opinion journalism with his activism.
Unlike many news outlets that might have kept quiet, Fox isn't taking this lying down, which brings to mind another risk
of dumping the debate. Fox has a microphone, and its executives and conservative hosts aren't afraid to use it.
Indeed, Fox Vice President David Rhodes accused the state party of being controlled by "radical fringe out-of-state interest
groups." (A Fox spokeswoman declined to comment beyond the statement released last week.)
Then there was this exchange last week on "The Beltway Boys" between Morton Kondracke and Fred Barnes:
KONDRACKE: Fox or no Fox, this tells you a lot about what the MoveOn.org, Daily Kos kind of left-wing liberals are all
about. They are not about free speech and free debate. They just want to stop any Democrats from participating because it
is a Fox thing, and they're willing to intimidate them to do it. This is junior grade Stalinism on their part.
BARNES: Stalin?
KONDRACKE: Stalin.
BARNES: All right, I agree.
By comparing liberals to Stalin, who massacred tens of millions of innocents, the Fox commentators proved the larger
point, the bloggers say: Fox should play no role in the Democratic presidential race.
David Lublin, an American University political scientist, said the debate about the debate was about more than just Fox:
It was another way to fire up the local grass roots.
"Bloggers are huge believers in listening to local people," Lublin said, "It's fairly unusual for local people to say,
'Do not hold a presidential debate in our arena,' " he said, referring to the Carson City Democratic Central Committee, which
voted overwhelmingly to condemn the Fox debate.
Chris Wicker, chairman of the Washoe County Democratic Party, said that while Nevada county chairmen viewed the debate
as an opportunity, local rank-and-file Democrats disagreed - vigorously. Wicker said he was inundated from the outset with
e-mails critical of the partnership.
"People wanted to know why we would play ball with Fox and give them this varnish of legitimacy," he said. "And they
weren't just the activists."
The opposition included longtime precinct captains and party volunteers who threatened to step down from their posts
and withdraw their support for the county party, Wicker said.
If true, then online liberals have successfully gotten the message out to party regulars: Politics isn't just about beating
Republicans - it's about beating their messengers, too.
"If I'm the president of the United States,
I walk right into Union Square, I set up my little presidential podium, and I say, 'Listen, citizens of San Francisco, if
you vote against military recruiting, you're not going to get another nickel in federal funds. Fine. You want to be your own
country? Go right ahead. And if Al Qaeda comes in here and blows you up, we're not going to do anything about it. We're going
to say, look, every other place in America is off limits to you, except San Francisco. You want to blow up the Coit Tower?
Go ahead.'" --after San Francisco voted to ban military recruiters from city schools, Nov. 8, 2005 (Listen to audio clip) (Source)
"I just wish Katrina had only hit the United Nations building, nothing else, just had flooded them out, and I wouldn't
have rescued them." --on his radio show, Sept. 14, 2005 (Source)
"I'll tell you what. I've been in combat. I've seen it, I've been close to it... and if my unit is danger, and I've
got a captured guy, and the guy knows where the enemy is, and I'm looking him in the eye, the guy better tell me. That's all
I'm gonna tell you. The guy better tell me. If it's life or death, he's going first." –on his experience as a journalist
covering firefights in South and Central America, Jan. 18, 2005 (Source)
"So anyway I'd be rubbing your big boobs and getting your nipples really hard, kinda' kissing your neck from behind...and
then I would take the other hand with the falafel thing and I'd just put it on your p***y but you'd have to do it really light,
just kind of a tease business..." --as quoted in a sexual harassment suit filed against him by a Fox News producer, 2004 (Source)
"And guys, if you exploit a girl, it will come back to get you. That's called 'karma.'" –in his book, "The
O'Reilly Factor For Kids," 2004 (Source)
"If the Americans go in and overthrow Saddam Hussein and it's clean, he has nothing, I will apologize to the nation,
and I will not trust the Bush Administration again, all right?" -on finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, March 18,
2003 (Source)
"I was wrong. I am not pleased about it at all and I think all Americans should be concerned about this…What
do you want me to do, go over and kiss the camera?" –on ABC's "Good Morning America," making good on his promise to
publicly apologize if weapons of mass destruction were not found Iraq, Feb. 10, 2004 (Source)
"Now it's so bad that I spend an enormous amount of money protecting myself against evil." –on being Bill
O'Reilly, Oct. 18, 2005 (Source)
"You know what’s really frightening? You actually have an influence on this presidential election. That is
scary, but it’s true. You’ve got stoned slackers watching your dopey show every night and they can vote." –to
"Daily Show" host Jon Stewart, Sept. 22, 2004 (Source)
"The 'shut up' line has happened only once in six years." –responding to a viewer who said if he was so concerned
about public figures being bad role models for children, he should stop interrupting guests and telling them to shut up, Nov.
15, 2002 (Watch video of O'Reilly telling various guests to shut up) (Source)
Why it’s great to be me.
By: Rush Limbaugh
Ladies and Gentleman, and all my fans here at the
E.I.B. network. Thank you; thank you for listening to me for all these years. Because with your help, we have
Changed the way people look at the Truth.
No longer do we need to have a one on one interview
with who ever is the topic of the day.
I no longer have to interview anyone to get my
points across, you see, because I just throw Questions out that I make up, then I make up the Answers, and talk with authority.
Hell I can make up anything, and thanks to all you Ditto Heads who believe everything I say without question, it doesn’t
even matter if it’s not the truth.
Now because of you my faithful listeners, my style
of interviewing is becoming the standard with all those who wish to be like me.
Sincerely;
Rush Limbaugh
P.S. I want to thank all of you who responded to
my question on weather it’s OK for me to continue taking Drugs, thank you.
GEORGE W. BUSH
Shouts Lies and Whispers Apologies
DICK CHENEY
Stealing Billions for Halliburton
Karl Rove
Master of the Photo op Lies
Colin Powell
Our Liar to the U.N.
Condoleeza Rice
Foriegn Policy Liar
Rush Limbaugh
Drug Addict, Racist, Liar, thinks hes above the Law
Bill O'Rielly
Sex Pervert
Sean Hannity
Liar and Coward
Ann Coulter
American Nazi Party
FOX NEWS NETWORK
U.S. VERSION OF AL-JAZEERA NEWS NETWORK
So you're saying FOX News is
doing well because every country needs its Al Jazeera network? -- Jon Stewart to Tony Snow, The Daily Show
Facts of the Bush-Cheney campaign's connections to
the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth:
Ken Cordier
served on the Bush Veterans Steering Committee and also stars in the latest "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" smear ad. As a
member of the steering committee presumably he was involved in policy development. What information about the Bush campaign's
veterans policy did he share with the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth?" Did he ever discuss his activities with this smear
group with anyone in the Bush campaign? How many times did "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" activities come up at Bush Veterans
Steering Committee meetings?
Yesterday on Fox
News, Karl Rove confirmed that he and Bob Perry are longtime friends. Bob Perry is the largest contributor to the Texas Republican
Party and a longtime supporter of President Bush. When was the last time Karl Rove and Bob Perry spoke, and did they discuss
the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth?"
Based on newspaper
accounts, we know Merrie Spaeth was involved in the underhanded shadow campaign against John McCain in 2000. She also helped
organize the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" and did the debate prep for President H. W. Bush. She has also admitted that
she advised Bush administration officials in the White House as recently as last year. Was Merrie Spaeth ever contacted by
anyone from the Bush campaign, including you, about "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth?"
John O'Neill's law
firm, Clements, O'Neill, Pierce, Wilson & Fulkerson, has many connections to President Bush. In fact, Margaret Wilson,
Mr. O'Neill's law partner, served as General Counsel to Governor Bush and followed him to Washington, where she worked as
Deputy Counsel for the Department of Commerce. Did she ever discuss "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" with President Bush, members
of his administration or any Bush-Cheney campaign officials?
If you say there's
no connection, why did the Bush-Cheney campaign office in Florida pass out "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" flyers to promote
a joint anti-John Kerry rally in Gainsville, Florida last weekend?
According to news
reports, you have worked with "Progress for America," a newly formed 527 group that has announced it's going to spend $35
million to attack John Kerry and whose executive director is a top advisor to the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth." Have you
had any additional contact with this group? Have Karl Rove or other Bush officials -- either in the White House or on the
Bush-Cheney campaign -- had contacts with this group?
How many times did
Karl Rove and Benjamin Ginsberg meet? Did they ever discuss the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth?"
Karl Rove -
Bush's White House political director; longtime associate to Bob Perry; consultant to Hutchison; most senior advisor to Bush
campaign.
Ken Cordier - Former Bush-Cheney campaign advisor - forced to resign
after appearing in Swift Boat Veterans for Bush commercial.
Benjamin Ginsberg - Former general counsel to Bush-Cheney - resigned after
it was discovered he was advising both Bush and the Swift Boat Veterans.
Harlan Crow - Bush Foundation trustee; longtime friend of Bush family;
longtime fundraiser for Bush family; donated at least $25,000 in seed money to the Swift Boat Vets for Bush.
Bob Perry - Largest Republican donor in Texas; donated hundreds
of thousands to Bush family campaigns; donated at least $200,000 in seed money to the Swift Boat Vets for Bush; close colleague
of Rove in Texas governor's race; longtime friend of John O'Neill.
Kay Bailey Hutchison - Longtime friend of Spaeth; former client of Rove;
current co-chair of Bush campaign
John O'Neill - Longtime friend of Bob Perry; very close law firm
connections to Bush as governor; close friend to Spaeth, former colleague to Spaeth's husband/Bush's 1994 running mate; front
man for Swift Vets for Bush.
Merrie Spaeth - Provided media consulting to Swift Boat Vets; longtime
friend of Hutchison; longtime supporter of/donor to Bush campaign; provide debate prep for GHW Bush; met with and gave media
training to current, top White House officials; close associate to John O'Neill; advised smear campaign on McCain in 2000.
Tex Lezar - Late husband to Spaeth; former running mate with Bush
in 1994; law partner to John O'Neill.
Harriet O'Neill - Close associate to John O'Neill, Lezar & Wilson;
Bush judicial nominee.
Margaret Wilson - Law partner with John O'Neill, Lezar; Bush administration
official; former counsel to Governor Bush.
Bush-Cheney Campaign HQ Florida - Regional Bush HQ in battleground state; coordinated
activities with Swift Boat Vets for Bush rally; rally forced to be cancelled.
Minnesota RNC - Official Republican website in battleground state;
coordinated linkage with Swift Boat website, providing direct link to Swift Boat commercial.
DCI Group - Political strategy firm with close connections to Bush campaign
& Swift vets.
Charles Francis - Longtime friend/supporter of Bush; works for political
firm with close ties to both Bush campaign and Swift Vets for Bush; colleague of Lacivita.
Tom Synhorst - Advisor to Bush campaign 2000; "major contracts" with
Bush campaign 2004; works for firm with close ties to Swift Vets for Bush; colleague of Lacivita; worked on anti-McCain phone
banking in South Carolina in 2000.
Chris Lacivita - Senior advisor to Swift Boat Vets for Bush; close
ties to Bush campaign; associates with Synhorst & Friancis.
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