Reader Harold R. wrote this following the Bill Moyers doc:
For some reason, no one seems to have ever dug into Tim [Russert’s] credentials as a journalist. He was employed by Senator Moynihan at one time, but never, as far as I’ve been able to determine, worked as a reporter or journalist. Yet, through some mysterious machinations of fate, he has risen to be chief of NBC’s Washington news bureau.
How did someone with no discernible record of accomplishment in journalism rise to such a high level? Has he ever written a news story or covered a beat or authored an op-ed on a current event? All he has to his credit is a book about his father. (Some of my fellow Buffalonians tell me that the name “Big Russ” was coined just for the book, and that the elder Russert was never known by that name prior to that time.)
“Meet the Press” has departed completely from the format of its early days, when public personages faced questions from a panel of journalists, and actually did meet the members of the press. Nowadays, the program guests face questions (often of questionable merit) from only Mr. Russert, which suggests that the program should more accurately be renamed “Meet Tim Russert.”
The Moyers program last night exposed the shoddy work of many people who are falsely exalted as journalists — and Tim Russert is certainly a conspicuous member of that cohort.
I hadn't really thought about it, but it would have been much more difficult for Shooter & Co. to control message on Meet the Press in its salad days. Granted Father Tim would be unlikely, even under the old format, to assemble a group of "journalists" that wouldn't be buggered by the presence of some chucklehead like Jon Meacham, but at least it wouldn't have devolved into a weekly exercise whereby Timmeh fawns over Republicans and plays "gotcha" with Democrats. There formely was some pretext to journalism — combine Russert's role as sole inquisitor with his lack of professional acumen and his obvious conservative (or at least pro-establishment) leanings and it really is a measure of how far the network standard for "journalism" has devolved.
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ZeD☼
hahaha No title for Timmeh
Well, even if it were the old format, Timmeh would prol’ly get a mix of George Will, Ol’ 60 Grit, Tweety, Pat Buchanan, John McLaughlin, and Tony Blankney. It is much easier for him to give reach-arounds by himself, but it would still be quite possible with today’s shining journalism lights.
Hi Jane!
Go get him! Nail that Pumpkin Head. Or is it Mr. Potato Head? Whatever piece of produce it is, it’s rotten to the core.
I wonder if Pumpkin Head’s book has any reference to his “experience” in the wonderful world of
media manipulationjournalism.Not that I would ever bring myself to seek out the book and page through it, though. It would make me feel too dirty!
Don’t you just hate living in a time when it’s legitimate to say, “So THIS is what it must have felt like during the decline and fall of the Roman Empire”?
OT but
Several weeks ago someone asked emptywheel if she planned to run for office. She answered that she couldn’t be tactful enough to be effective in local politics. Not the exact wording, but I hope that someone will relay this message to ew if she doesn’t see it. The local groups need a lot of ‘tactless’. They need to be stirred up. Only led into politics as a Deaniac, I have already seen some good people run off by the Dems, but things are improving and I have also seen new comers that hold their ground and they are much more liberal than the long time members who sometimes tend to be Republican lite (though they are dedicated and hard working for the party). In light of the Jamestown 400 yr. celebration, I was reading over the timeline for the 1600s and 1700s at the Library of Congress website (The Thomas Jefferson Papers-Virginia Records Timeline) and given the obstacles faced in that period of time, without a host of fighters and people who were willing to not be so tactful we would never have made it to 1776. We can only hope GW hasn’t marred the entire experiment, but we can be thankful for the super heroes who are challenging him.
lolo @ 1
lolo, bad Linky!!! Hi, Jane!!!
Brel1 @ 6
We’re trying at least to get Marcy to DC. More soon.
Cheney controls Russert!
Mitt Romney on 60 minutes just quoted a “quiver” quote.
Hotmitt’s meeting the press right now on 60 Minutes. He and Wallace are wearing matching outfits. Can’t see their shoes, tho.
Lou Costello @ 9
That’s cuz he’s easier to control than the Chimpenfuhrer.
Nowadays, the program guests face questions (often of questionable merit) from only Mr. Russert, which suggests that the program should more accurately be renamed “Meet Tim Russert.”
How about an even more accurate renaming?
“Meat Tim Russert.”
I’m old enough to remember Lawrence Spivak and the old format on “Meet the Press”. It wasn’t quite so edgy: that was my first acquaintance with R. Novak and David Broder was in his salad days…
Still, it was better that leaving it all to Timmah. During Watergate and early Reagan, you could occasionally see some real sparks.
Hi CTuttle!
Tonight from Middletown: TRex cooking pesto pasta, Kobe’s eating poached salmon and Lucy is watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer (she likes to pretend it’s Lucy the Vampire Slayer). Katie has Lyme disease and I’m arranging wildflowers and eating grapes.
Ya mean being Monsignor Timmeh isn’t enough?
‘Meet Tim Russert’, LOL, fawns over the Repugs and plays ‘Gotcha’ with the Dems, sweet and succinct!!! That’s why I love ya Ma’am!!!
OT Romney walks funny
Brel1@6 I could not agree more. Why would people remain silent and not become angry at what is happening in this country and most epecially in Iraq. I say fuck civility, I’m far to angry to worry about being nice.
CTuttle @ 6
I was so shocked that Timmeh didn’t have a title I screwed up and pasted the link from the last thread. D’oh……how are you anyway CTuttle? Gonna make me laugh today?
MR. Bill @ 14
In Spivak’s day, the politicians were more civil and friendly with each other AND the press. Now they’re just all friendly with the press but seem to dislike each other in the off hours as well as during the day.
But Jane-Timmeh is just a regular working class guy from Buffalo with a house on Nantucket!! He’s the voice of the people! Don’t pay any attention to the cocktail weenies stuffed in his pocket.
He thinks Broder is a liberal. Timmeh is the ultimate Beltway Bubble Boy. He was SHOCKED that 11 GOOPers paid a vist to Shrubya and told him he had no credibility. How is that possible?
That Gotcha shtick of his is getting pretty damn old.
I remember MTP press when Lawrence Spivak. That was some good show. How do I deal with Russert? I don’t.
Not qualified!?
About Timmeh
Jane Hamsher @ 15
TRex, Pasta, let me reiterate my concern for a certain carnivorous Therapod!!! HMMMMs! Ooh, Lyme’s not goood!!! I spoil my varmints, but Poached Salmon??? I hope leftovers??? *g*
The Pope Controls Tim Russert?
lolo @ 20
I don’t know if I compare with the luminary literati that I dog paddle with here at the Lake!!!
Jane Hamsher @ 7
For Monica’s testimony? There are a lot of us willing to help fund her if and when she decides to go. She is so amazing but so are you Jane. So no Big Russ? After seeing him sniffle when he was making the rounds selling it that is rather disappointing. What a jerk.
Ah, but who could forget Russert with his little chalk board “doin’ that math” to show us which states had to fall which way to make either Bush or Gore President.
The reason, everyone is willing to go on MTP is because they know what to expect. Tim will show them clips of their flip flops, and they can rehearse how to respond. It’s rare that he suprises people. The problem is that being a good interviewer isn’t just or even mostly about gotcha. Jon Stewart does excellent interviews, because he engages people in dialogue instead of gothcha games. Jon is curious about how people can think what they do, and Russert doesn’t really seem to care most of the time.
Jane Hamsher @ 14
(((((Katie)))))))
Scariest to me is when young journamilizts — the up-and-comers like Peter Baker and Chris Cillizza — kiss the hem of Russert’s robe, give him fealty as a Great Washington Insitution, and say how much they admire his style. If these young BeltwayBoys see Punkinhead as the example to aspire to, is there hope for the Fourth Estate as we know it?
tsf bold
As usual Jane you NAILED it….BRAVA!
There seems to be this cult of personality among the beltway press corpse: Broder, Friedman, Russert et al.
It’s pretty sick and they just don’t get how much damage has occurred to this country on their watch as the fourth estate. You know damn well that if a Dem president was trying to get away with the boatload of crap from this crowd, they’d be all over it. Yet they can’t understand why the netroots are as angry as we are.
WAKE UP TIMMEH!
Elliott @ 26
Goody!
His Holiness can tell His Timmehness about the Ninth Commandment:
“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. “
Elliott @ 18
oooh, say more! you mean “funny” funny?
Why can’t Russert have Joe Conason or Glen Greenwald on his show? At least Steph has had VanDenheuvel on his.
He strives so hard for balance yet he can’t get any further left than that old fossil Broderella.
Timmeh has no frickin idea what’s really going on in the world. Get a clue, Tim.
TeddySanFran @ 31
Yeah that was a dilly. Audition much?
Kevster @ 22
Tim did look pretty shocked giving that solarium-visit report to Brian Williams. Rather breathless, as a courtier would be when the King’s been attacked.
TeddySanFran @ 35
well, it is a pinched step, kinda like his undies are bunched.
Jeepers, Russert’s educational resume puts him right up there with Monica Goodling unless you count the honorary degree bunk. How did he get so exalted?
I will always be suspicious of Russert for these reasons:
1. The Bush-button behind his lapel that he showed to W.
2. The white-erase board he brought into the studio for the 2000 election. All those fancy graphics, and he needed an eraseable board? Why would you need an eraseable board unless something needed to be erased? He must have known Florida was coming.
bmaz @ 40
obviously he’s a degree whore, he’ll give a commencement address anwyhere anytime, just pay him more cash and fly him there, and don’t forget the degree.
TeddySanFran @ 35
I personally know him. Perfectly normal heterosexual. Sorry to disappoint people. His politics on the other hand…
Kevster @ 36
Eventually that’s probably going to happen. There is tremendous resistance — everybody is terrified of bloggers and nobody on TV really wants them around — but at a certain point Glenn Greenwald is going to show up and his knowledge base, combined with his critical faculty and his ability to put his finger right on the sensitive point of any argument — is really going to show up the Jon Meachams of the world for being the out-of-touch, pontificating gasbags that they are. Mind you, not every blogger has that ability, but the best ones — Glenn, Atrios, Digby (who will never go on TV but just the same) — will work rather swiftly to reshape the dominant narrative just by virtue of their ability to make well-honed, persuasive arguments.
If and when that happens it should be an interesting moment in media watching.
McClatchy has a summary piece about the REAL options left in Iraq. The only one that has any chance of coming true involves “turning a blind eye to ethnic slaughter in the cities”. Great.
http://www.realcities.com/mld/…..ton_nation
dakine01 @ 21
Thank Gingrich for that. He’s the one whose handbook for his congressional “troops” declared that the Democrats were not their opponents, they were their enemies. He discouraged them from even talking to the Democrats.
Jane Hamsher @ 44
It’ll be fun watching the joke lines crying into their beers.
Jane, is Russert a Mockingbird?
Exactly. Cillizza was a substitute for Peter Baker when made his homage, then Peter appeared the following day and couldn’t leave Russert un-blown. It was hideous.
Somewhere I got to see old footage JFK on MTP. I was, I beleive prior to ‘60. Or during the campaign. YouTube has nothing I can find.
I just rememeber it being so much more like a ‘debate’ with challenging questions. Who knows, maybe they were agreed upon in advance. But, much more informative overall rather than Russert’s current stewardship.
Here’s a link to media ‘availablities’ for JFK pre-WH:
http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical Resources/Archives/Reference Desk/National Television Appearances.htm
As it happens ‘jfk meet the press’ googled returns this first:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3898804/
This link is second:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3403008/
I’m so glad for that last bit…
I only go MSNBC for articles. Does it require WMP for vid access?
Jane Hamsher @ 44
media people are only as good as the researchers that feed them. MSM media people have to depend on a small staff who must toe the ideological line of the institution (could emptywheel work at Faux News? not likely!). Blog media people, OTOH, have literally hundred if not thousands of researchers, fact checkers, people with on-the-spot firsthand knowledge to draw upon. For free! I suspect within ten years MSM will be either dead and gone or dominated by some version of the blog model.
egregious @ 43
I didn’t mean “that way” but he has a pinched step that is not appealing, at least not to me.
Kevster @ 36
Does Any Beltway Pundit have a clue??? Rhetorical question… Josh and most of the Bloggers that hail from the within the 495 Beltway are clued in, sadly, the MSM lags far behind!!!
egregious, I appreciate your first-hand report.
I think TPMTV and PoliticsTV are the new modes, because the
is not a virtue the MSM seeks. Just as the “sticky” aspect of the LaBrea tarpits was not a virtue sought by the dinosaurs trapped there.
Blank Kludge @ 50
They’ve got something going in beta test but that is allowing me to view using the standard Mac widgets (finally). Prol’ly for a month or so now.
TeddySanFran @ 54
Based only on the last 3 decades. Before that I cannot vouch.
TeddySanFran @ 49
Too true, Teddy. It just so happened I was following along in just about real-time for both of those.
I wanted to SCREAM at my computer screen…much like we want to scream at MTP et al bozos each Sabbath AM.
—
edit: fixed spelling
the jfk comment should be ‘IT was before ‘60…’
He coulda been Libby himself
wikipedia
lloks like he was hoping to go to the White House with Cuomo.
Jane@44, Isn’t it infuriating, as one commenter to Broder’s column asked; “How do you justify your column inches?” Doh… Marcy was superb in the Book Review on C-span!!! Josh is telegenic, the list goes on and on….!!!
CTuttle @ 60
Josh is absolutely telegenic! His appearance on Bill Moyers’ show was magical, and definitely went a long way to dispel the “guy in a (dirty) bathrobe living in his mother’s basement” image of bloggers the MSM works to project.
CTuttle @ 60
Marcy was amazing on CSPAN. About 25 min. in I started hollering “out of the weeds, Marcy!” but she was great anyway.
Tim Russert is not a journalist. That is his cover story. His actual duties, as we learned during his testimony at the Libby trial, is as a lobbyist for General Electic. Really important pols can’t be bribed with money, that’s for the Duke Cunningham’s. Thirty minutes of softballs from Tim? Priceless.
If Russert put a prominent Republican on the griddle, he’d be shitcanned the next day.
Jane Hamsher @ 62
CTuttle @ 60
She quoted you, quite ‘Liberally’, I might add… *g*
I recall one swell blogger who appeared on Countdown. Any chance you’ll reprise that, Jane?
Elliott @ 52
Yeah I know K-Lo would do him but I don’t get it. To me he looks like he should be flogging ladies’ shoes at Talbots.
Elliot’s Wiki quote:
Doesn’t that mean passing the bar? I thought testimony brought out during the Libby trial he never did…or was it that he never actually ‘practiced’?
Or is a law degree sufficient to be a Gov.’s counselor w/o passing the bar/practicing in that state? It would seem that legal work would be out of bounds under that scenario, no? And advice suspect?
Just wondering how to reconcile things. I don’t really have a clue what it is that a counselor would do in Albany, but it sounds legally oriented.
Russer a Journalist?
How about a fluffer for Jack Welch?
-GSD
TeddySanFran @ 65
Ooh, I had seen it, my Bad, Jane!!! Thanx Teddy…
GSD @ 68
OT ;-)
Extra! Extra!
firedoglake rated 51% good 49% evil
Put in firedoglake dot com here
Text message, “bush sucks ass” 99% good 1% evil
TeddySanFran @ 65
Would love to but they sort of have to be talking about something you’re into at the moment and they weren’t much interested in me chasing TRex around with a taser.
Jane Hamsher @ 8
That’s good news! Where can we contribute?
Bob in HI
…and I bet he’s never even heard of PageMaker!
Jane Hamsher @ 66
Would you buy peep toes from this man?
Jane — 707
Blank Kludge@67 – I think Russert is a member of the New York Bar, DC Bar too if I recall correctly. Except for the Libby trial appearance, I don’t think he could find a courthouse with a map however. By the way did you see my question a thread or two below about the source of your “Panic in Detroit” reference earlier?
Jane Hamsher @ 62
[Mod: If you are quoting others please take care to end it with [/blockquote], thanks]
Poetry will be written about the brave Republican band of brothers who took their lives into their own hands and confronted King George W. The Turd.
I can almost smell the testosterone. They were so fearless……
-GSD
As to Romney, hopefully he will be hair today and gone tomorrow.
Jane Hamsher @ 72
Ooh,ooh, do you have video??? How about Cuffs, oh thats right Suzanne’s not around!!! :(
bmaz @ 80
Speaking as a lifelong Dem, you could do worse among Repubs. He is intelligent and rational. Doesn’t that put him above most of the others by definition?
“Meet The Press” should be renamed:
MEET THE REPUBLICAN SOCK PUPPET ! ! !
OT — Mother’s Day. Quote from letter to local newspaper.
“I try every Mother’s Day to find the strength to thank my mother-in-law for the gift of her son, who has opened up new worlds to me and given me the children I never knew I wanted, let alone needed.”
Text message “dick cheney is an asshole” rated 99% good 1% evil
“tim russert is a kiss ass” rated 80% good 20% evil
Bob Schact @ 73
OT but from Late Nite last night in re: “Route 66.” Were you saying you like the first version of song Asleep at the Wheel recorded or that they recorded it first. Reason I ask, Nat King Cole and Rolling Stones both recorded it prior to Asleep at the Wheel. I also have a trivia question based on the author. The writer of the song was one of Jack Webb’s favorite actors, appearing in a number of Dragnet shows as well as being one of the stars of the Webb produced Emergency. The author is also in the movie M*A*S*H.
Romney is man without political principle. He is one of the ones I fear the most.
-GSD
Jane Hamsher @ 72
can you post video of that? some of us would pay real money to watch….:)
bmaz @ 80
From Hair to Eternity?
GSD @ 87
He’d be another CEO President. I think we’ve had enough of that flavor.
If Romney’s intelligent and rational he’s extremely dishonest. How else could his disgraceful right wing pandering be explained?
In his own mind, Tim Russert IS “The Press.”
Jay @ 91
I’m not going to defend that. Only to argue that we should spend more time taking down McCain and especially The Annointed One, Giuliani.
Elliott @ 75
Im very happy that this community is educated about the existence of peep toes and manpris. I like to think it’s my small contribution to the political discourse.
BTW, TRex had never really read Go Fug Yourself before. I showed him the other night and now he’s addicted.
Egregious@82 – Why, yes is does. Couldn’t resist a cheap pun. You are right, he may be the cream of that crop; however, I can’t see him winning the GOP nomination and do see the Dem candidate winning the general.
cal @ 92
he was all but in tears defending Imus
Jane Hamsher @ 72
Endangered Species Act alert!
Jane Hamsher @ 94
SOME of us have NO IDEA what peeps and manpris are……(hint)
can you post video of that? some of us would pay real money to watch….:)
dammit – can’t get a link to work. Go to C&L, click on Keith Olbermann, in the search box type in Jane’s name, and scroll down to Sept 1, 2006.
dakine01 @ 86
Colonel Potter??? Doh… It eludes me!!!
dakine01 @ 86
I’ll take Bobby Troupp for $500 Alex!
Jane,
You nailed it with the “pro-establishment” line. Russert is part of the group (Broder, Friedman, Cohen, et al…) that considers itself a stalwart and noble defender of the status quo. It’s basically a form of elitism, where those in Washington and other power circles deem it necessary to keep rabble like us away from the levers of power. Their visual image of bloggers and ordinary citizens is that of a seething mob, bearing spears and lighted torches, ready to storm the gates and disrupt the established order. They are fearful and defensive 24/7.
btw, here’s a clipping for the FDL Libby Trial Scrapbook, in case you missed this one.
maine web report
Jane Hamsher @ 94
Oh, God, now I’m in trouble.
bmaz @ 101
And we have a winner. But for CTuttle, what character did he play in the movie?
Alfred Kelgarries @ 98
Quite the hotfoot.
It’s not what you’ve accomplished.
It’s who you know or who’s DNA you share.
Let’s see.
1. Jonah Goldberg, who’s sole journalistic credential is that Mommy helped
Linda Tripp betray Monica Lewinsky, has an op-ed gig at the LATimes.
2. Hollywood buffoon Ben Stein, who has absolutely no economic credentials,
other than that Daddy was Tricky Dick’s adviser,
pontificating on unemployment in the NYTimes.
(Catch courtesy of Brad DeLong.)
3. Bill Kristol = Irving and Gertrude’s neocon spawn.
The less said, the better.
3. Anybody with the last name of Kagan and multiple chins.
Ditto.
4. Anybody with the last name of Cheney.
Double ditto with a cherry on top.
The Right certainly seems to be cornering the market in nepotism.
Unfortunately, as this Misadministration is robbing the country blind, too many in the MSM are either getaway drivers or lookouts for the crooks.
How many people watch those shows on Sundays?
bmaz @ 101
Mr. Julie London!
I love Julie London.
jayt @ 99
dammit – can’t get a link to work. Go to C&L, click on Keith Olbermann, in the search box type in Jane’s name, and scroll down to Sept 1, 2006.
AAH, not video of Jane Tasing TRex??? Now, that would be worth something…
jayt @ 99
dammit – can’t get a link to work. Go to C&L, click on Keith Olbermann, in the search box type in Jane’s name, and scroll down to Sept 1, 2006.
This? ; )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erJ6Ak79gbg
correction dear . . .
As to Romney, hopefully he will be hair today and goon tomorrow.
SnarKassandra @ 109
Don’t know how many but they are to be blessed for their willingness to tolerate such assinine claptrap. Unless they are true believers that is.
I think that’s dead on and it makes Russert’s faux regular Joe from Buffalo schtick even tougher to swallow.
SnarKassandra @ 109
Too many, my dear, too many!!!
dakine01 @ 114
I’d rather sleep late
I thought Russert was quite worked up & panting with excitement with his “scoop”. He probably hoped this would make everyone forget the scooter days.
Jane Hamsher @ 110
bmaz @ 101
I’m gonna have to find some new trivia, this crowd is TOUGH!
Cozumel @ 112
This? ; )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erJ6Ak79gbg
Show-off.
Wikipedia
Career
Russert graduated from law school and went to work on Daniel Patrick Moynahan’s (D, NY) 1976 Senatorial campaign. He later went to work on Mario Cuomo (D, NY) campaign. In 1984 he was hired by NBC at their Washingto Bureau. He became Washington Bureau Chief 4 years later. “[1]
Answers.com
Born in Buffalo, New York to Irish American Catholic parents, Russert is an alum of Canisius High School in Buffalo, New York and a graduate of John Carroll University and Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University.
I did a mother’s day post on Political Teen Tidbits.
raven @ 121
Chris Matthews’ seems very similar.
Directly from the Hill to being Washington Bureau chief for the SF Examiner.
WTF?
bmaz @ 77
Is that true about Russert? I hadn’t seen that.
Oh well.
—-
No. I missed that too.
I stole is from Bowie iirc. I was an article from Detroit media prior to his appearace that there were people planning on protesting his appearance, so that reference came to mind.
Pretty sure the ’source’ is Bowie. I can I have immunity for stealing/alluding w/o citation? Otherwise I go straight to the Fifth…of Jameson.
I get whimsical wrt that topic (DoJ/USA’s) and AGAG.
There. The truth. Can we handle it?
[see…whimsy all over the place…stop me before I…]
Jay @ 115
I tell ya, in ‘09, the barbarians will be at the Gate!!!
jayt @ 99
dammit – can’t get a link to work. Go to C&L, click on Keith Olbermann, in the search box type in Jane’s name, and scroll down to Sept 1, 2006.
okay, jane is gorgeous and articulate (no surprise there!) but I saw no TRex and no taser! money shot, please…
Apologies if already discussed, but regarding Timmeh, even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile.
It’s astonishing that the news of the Iraqi Parliament, for the first time surpassing the threshold of 138 with 144 signees, agrees on the US setting a timetable for a withdrawal. McCain was asked about this on MTP today. I suppose this exchange says more about McCain than Tim:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18573163/
Regarding McCain’s response? Just stick a fork in him, again.
Chris Matthews’ seems very similar.
Directly from the Hill to being Washington Bureau chief for the SF Examiner.
WTF?
Shit rolls down hill I always heard.
ironranger @ 118
But the nature of the scoop itself, when all the House members at the meeting denied leaking it, made it all the funnier! I still think Cheney’s staff called Timmeh with the leak, if BigTime himself didn’t call from the aircraft carrier in the Gulf.
Or Rove.
Whoever it was, we know Tim was called. (inbound phonecalls only, per Moyers’ show)
Alfred Kelgarries @ 126
okay, jane is gorgeous and articulate (no surprise there!) but I saw no TRex and no taser! money shot, please…
C’mon Jane, lets see the Goods… *g*
CTuttle @ 116
I wouldn’t miss William “The Bloody” Kristol and Britt (my face was melting but now I use Restylane) Hume! It’s great to start the day with a good hearty laugh.
Funny this comes up–a few days ago when Russert was “breaking” the story of the 11 Republicans at the White House just in time for Countdown, I wondered what his background was. He clearly was sweating, had worked himself into a state over this “breaking news” that he obviously had never broken a story before. So, what IS his background?
Do you know that someone on the lake this week actually said personal attack were not allowed here!
Regarding Jack Welch and Russert, I just found this blurb from an old DKos article (May 06) and I think it’s accurate:
raven @ 133
wasn’t that for attacking each other?
raven @ 133
No, that was Bill Orally. *g*
raven @ 133
Not personal attacks on each other. But Timmeh and Tweety? Fair game Bra!
SnarKassandra @ 135
I suppose it was, still pretty funny I think.
kirk murphy @ 106
more confused than ever now, never mind, it’s probably one of those things that would implode my tiny brain if i understood it…
CTuttle @ 130
C’mon Jane, lets see the Goods… *g*
Therapod abuse –
Call PETA!
This is my first time to post here. And I haven’t read all the posts about Tim. But I did see the Moyers show. And I will never ever ever ever ever forget Russert saying it was not his job to ask critical questions of the Bush administration since there was “no opposition” party.
He gets his bits from insiders. He’s a prime candidate for a usefull idiot. But ya’ll know that already…
dakine01 @ 119
I couldn’t believe he bagged Julie London even back then; but if Mick and Keith were doing his stuff maybe Troupp was a bit more exciting than he appeared.
Dakine01 – Sgt. Gorman
Hi LandSurveyor, and welcome!
Muzzy@127, dumb luck for Timmeh, however, the gist was lost on Mccain and the MSM!!! A majority of the Iraqi parliament setting timelines for the US occupation to end, how much denser can this maladministration/MSM get??? Oh wait, Rhetorical question again, Damn!!! When will I ever learn??? Doh!!!
Alfred, I was making a very bad pun.
Peeps are confectionaries as well as shoes.
(I think…I’m guessing about the shoes part)
___________________
Welcome LandSurveyor!
(what pulled-out survey stakes?)
I couldn’t believe he bagged Julie London even back then; but if Mick and Keith were doing his stuff maybe Troupp was a bit more exciting than he appeared.
Dakine01 – Sgt. Gorman
I’m still spinnin that there are lakers that are down with Alseep at the Wheel, the pride of Paw Paw West Virginia. In the 70’s in Champaign, Il we had a softball team named Asleep at the Bat in honor of their show at the Ruby Gulch. “Don’t roll those bloodshot eyes at me”!
Blank Kludge @ 124 – That is exactly what I thought. Panic in Detroit is an early Bowie song circa the Ziggy Stardust era. The live performance of that song back then was absolutely incredible; as many brain cells as I have killed in the interim, I can remember it as clear as day.
bmaz @ 142
Yeah, I was about to post the answer but thanks. And for those who don’t yet understand, think “G*dd*mn Army! G*dd*mn Army! G*dd*mn army jeep!”
Russert has no scruples and has been purchased. He is indeed a whore and the epitome of what’s gone wrong with journalism. He bears much responsibility for the evaporation of American democracy.
Alfred Kelgarries @ 139
here’s a hot pair of peeps!
TeddySanFran: I never could figure out Russert ever got this far up the chain even in this low standard media era. He never actually seemed to do anything but sit there.
raven @ 146
I’m still spinnin that there are lakers that are down with Alseep at the Wheel, the pride of Paw Paw West Virginia. In the 70’s in Champaign, Il we had a softball team named Asleep at the Bat in honor of their show at the Ruby Gulch. “Don’t roll those bloodshot eyes at me”!
I’ve been a fan of the Wheel for a long time now. How long you may ask? I have a couple of LPs is how long, from the ’70s cuz:
“This is what the letter said,
The letter, that Johnny Walker read…”
LandSurveyor @ 141
Astute observation, welcome to the Lake!!! Watchout tho, we feast on our young!!! No quarter given…Bwhahaha!!! I know from personal experience!!! Just joking y’all!!!
bmaz @ 147
LA Forum 1975!
(?6)
Did I lose the lighter again?
kirk murphy @ 145
I thought peeps were like whispers. Now I have to reread about 30 posts. Is this a conservative blog? Where am I. Who ARE you people?
Dakine01@148 – Well, I actually knew the Bobby Troupp bit as to him writing Route 66 and that he had a small part in MASH; but cheated and checked IMDB for the name of his character. Gotta be honest here at the Lake.
kirk murphy @ 154
FREEBIRD
Flaming Groovies!
kirk murphy @ 145
oh I get it! peeps are shoes that let the toes show through (my wife wore birkenstock sandals exclusively, so women’s shoes are a total mystery to me…)
and i found out about manpris too!
http://www.urbandictionary.com…..rm=manpris
Now I can say I attend FDL U at night too! :):)
Elliott @ 150
thanks, I’ve got it now. wouldn’t do to be unable to keep up, y’know…:)
raven @ 146
I’m still spinnin that there are lakers that are down with Alseep at the Wheel, the pride of Paw Paw West Virginia. In the 70’s in Champaign, Il we had a softball team named Asleep at the Bat in honor of their show at the Ruby Gulch. “Don’t roll those bloodshot eyes at me”!
Raven, I saw ‘Asleep at the Wheel’ at a Country fest in Frankfurt am Main, with Johnny Cash and Reba headlining, besides ‘Ring of Fire’, I thought they stole the show!!! I thought they were from Tejas?
bmaz @ 147
Ya know, I had the pleasure Foxboro ‘Serious Moonlight’ summer ‘83?. GREAT SHOW! Only a few dendrites destroyed…but I’d have to see playlist to know. He did cover lot n lots of the ‘hits’ so I’d imagine that one too. I know he did the Velvet’s ‘White Heat/White Light” (? is that the title?)…I had to ask a ‘neighbor’ in the crowd, who had it dead.
WBCN 24-hr Bowie A-Z entertainment day-of-show. PD Oedipus a Bowie freak.
Still brilliant and crazy after all these years too. Sorta invented his own Bowie’s pre-iTunes DL business model maybe circa ‘95?….iirc
We can be heroes – just for one day!
I’ve been a fan of the Wheel for a long time now. How long you may ask? I have a couple of LPs is how long, from the ’70s cuz:
“This is what the letter said,
The letter, that Johnny Walker read…”
Comin Right at Ya!
Ya ever read “Star Making Machinery” about the Commander? There is a good bit about the space they shared in the Bay and how neither of them would sell out like. . .say the Eagles?
kirk murphy @ 154
I saw the same exact show, probably a couple of days earlier or later than the Forum show, in Phoenix. I have seen a LOT of shows and that one is right on up there with the best. Unbelievable.
Elliott @ 157 says:
Try sitting in Memphis Memorial Stadium on a July Sunday in ‘74 waiting for Clapton. Foghat has cleared the stage and Skynnyrd is coming on and ya look up and see yerself reflected back from the mirror’d sunglasses of the local Memphis John Law as you puff puff pass. The only thing saving ya is there are thirty thousand others in the crowd doing the same thing.
Scarecrow @ 155
we are the liberated id of america. be afraid. be very afraid….(insert evil laugh WAV file…)
Scarecrow says @ 155
I thought peeps were like whispers. Now I have to reread about 30 posts. Is this a conservative blog? Where am I. Who ARE you people?
It’s my fault, I couldn’t help myself with Jane here and Hottmitt was on 60 minutes, so I’ll save you the trouble of reading all the peep posts Elliott @ 75
raven @ 163
Comin Right at Ya!
Ya ever read “Star Making Machinery” about the Commander? There is a good bit about the space they shared in the Bay and how neither of them would sell out like. . .say the Eagles?
Missed that but like the Commander said:
“My Pappy said Son ya gonna drive me to drinkin’
If ya don’t stop drivin’ that Hot Rod Lincoln.”
Although I gotta admit to being partial to the “Stems and Seeds Again Blues” as well.
Alfred, sorry about the implosion.
(although some do find cavitation attractive…)
Raven, I saw ‘Asleep at the Wheel’ at a Country fest in Frankfurt am Main, with Johnny Cash and Reba headlining, besides ‘Ring of Fire’, I thought they stole the show!!! I thought they were from Tejas?
Wiki
Asleep at the Wheel was created in Paw Paw, West Virginia in 1970. They moved to California to get a record deal, then relocated to Austin in 1973, at the suggestion of Willie Nelson.
Hell, don’t feel bad, the Texas Trubador, Jerry Jeff Walker is fomr Buffalo, New York.
dakine01 @ 165
Try sitting in Memphis Memorial Stadium on a July Sunday in ‘74 waiting for Clapton. Foghat has cleared the stage and Skynnyrd is coming on and ya look up and see yerself reflected back from the mirror’d sunglasses of the local Memphis John Law as you puff puff pass. The only thing saving ya is there are thirty thousand others in the crowd doing the same thing.
Pass that Duetchy ‘pon the left hand side… Mi’ amigo!!!
CTuttle @ 153
Awshucks I can handle a good funnin’. Just cuz I ain’t been here don’t mean I ain’t been ’round don’tcha know. I’ve had my share of comments removed from DKOS. So you better keep an eye on meh. ;)
dakine01 @ 168
Missed that but like the Commander said:
“My Pappy said Son ya gonna drive me to drinkin’
If ya don’t stop drivin’ that Hot Rod Lincoln.”
Although I gotta admit to being partial to the “Stems and Seeds Again Blues” as well.
Me too, specially since my dog, the real raven, died recently.
CTuttle @ 153
I am one of the young the regularly chew up and spit out. :)
raven, I’m sorry for your loss.
bmaz @ 164
Was the name of that tour Station to Station?
dakine01 @ 165
Try sitting in Memphis Memorial Stadium on a July Sunday in ‘74 waiting for Clapton. Foghat has cleared the stage and Skynnyrd is coming on and ya look up and see yerself reflected back from the mirror’d sunglasses of the local Memphis John Law as you puff puff pass. The only thing saving ya is there are thirty thousand others in the crowd doing the same thing.
uh-oh
kirk murphy @ 175
Aw thanks, it’s been 3 weeks and we know we did the right thing. The little dude battled cancer for over 2 1/2 years.
{{ raven }}
LandSurveyor @ 172
No worry then, the Mod’s are awesome here!!! We have our fun, however, on occasion we are chided, still no Suzanne??? Bwhahaha…
Elliot, that was my first thought as well. How does someone with, quite literally, no press credentials whatsoever, get to not only be the voice of Meet the Press, but utterly change the format of that show by specifically removing its strengths (questioning from multiple members of various parts of the press), and replacing it with the views of a single man?
If he had any press credentials whatsoever before getting that job, I’d simply chalk it up to charisma, influence and whatnot. But for someone without one iota of journalism experience to join NBC, and a mere four years later take over one of the most valuable, and the longest running pieces of televised journalism? That sends up some huge red flags.
I could have sworn I’d seen it here on FDL, but I can’t seem to find it: Didn’t one of you have a quote from Judith Miller (or someone of similar credentials) say that there are indeed Mockingbirds in major positions in the MSM, and the people would be surprised at some of the names?
Raven @ 173
Jeez I’d forgotten about that. Hope the finance company ain’t been around.
Seeing your above mention of Jerry Jeff, at least Gary P. Nunn is a Texan.
And the Commander and Lost Planet Airmen Live from the Armadillo is one of the great live albums going.
SnarKassandra @ 174
but they offered you a job last thread, IIRC….some sort of legal position….:)
And I STILL want to know about the Yakuza….
raven @ 178
I am sorry :(
SnarKassandra @ 174
Cassie, tut,tut, You’re Family, we wouldn’t do no such… well, maybe a little… *g*
dakine01 @ 168
Missed that but like the Commander said:
“My Pappy said Son ya gonna drive me to drinkin’
If ya don’t stop drivin’ that Hot Rod Lincoln.”
Although I gotta admit to being partial to the “Stems and Seeds Again Blues” as well.
I tried but failed trying to find a good video of Hot Rod Lincoln the other night, one of my favesl and who hasn’t gotten the down-to-seeds-and-stems-again blues
kirk murphy @ 169
I prefer defenestration myself.
Elliott @ 186
I tried but failed trying to find a good video of Hot Rod Lincoln the other night, one of my favesl and who hasn’t gotten the down-to-seeds-and-stems-again blues
Jesse Winchester did his own variant called “Twigs and Seeds:”
“Twigs and seeds, twigs and seeds,
they sure don’t deliver the punch that this old head needs”
raven @ 178
((((raven))))
Raven, I’m sorry for your loss, I remember you relating your namesake awhile back!!! I believe you made a wise and humane decision, pain and suffering is not all it’s cracked up to be, Jesus!!!
Hot Rod Lincoln:
http://www.lincoln-club.org/hot-rod-lincoln.html
There used to be a site with a photo of the Rod…
I think I wandered into this info based on a LateNite waaay back aways…
LS @ 10
Mike Wallace did not ssk any follow-up questions about anything that was not already known. I wish he would have asked a follow-up allowing students to carry concealed weapons to class as advocated by Gingrich,Coulter etc. Maybe it is time for Mike to retire but maybe he has always has had a agenda too.
All this stuff about Russert and his backers just making stuff up about his past brings me to ask once again the question I asked twice during the excellent book salon post, but nobody seemed to be able or willing to answer:
BTW, what IS Naftali Bendavid’s background? The Chicago Trib has zip, and they want me to pay them to read Bendavid’s past archives. The nerve!
I’m still looking for in-depth info on Bendavid’s credentials as a journalist and I find nothing past thumbnail sketches which could be pasted to the picture or short bio of dozens of other Midwest journalists.
dakine01 @ 86
I didn’t mean that AATW were the original source, but that I liked the early AATW version best. In the AATW version, the bass drives the song much more than in the Nat King Cole version. At least, IMHO, the AATW version is a lot more fun to play (as a bassist). I don’t remember the Stones version at all.
Bob in HI
Bob Schacht @ 194
That’s why I was asking as the post could be read either way and I thought from our earlier “talks” that you would have known of other artists. Stones version is from one of their early albums.
New Thread
so sorry raven. Hope you are okay.
new thread… :)
What is a Mockingbird?
lolo: jinx!
Elliot, that was my first thought as well. How does someone with, quite literally, no press credentials whatsoever, get to not only be the voice of Meet the Press, but utterly change the format of that show by specifically removing its strengths (questioning from multiple members of various parts of the press), and replacing it with the views of a single man?
If he had any press credentials whatsoever before getting that job, I’d simply chalk it up to charisma, influence and whatnot. But for someone without one iota of journalism experience to join NBC, and a mere four years later take over one of the most valuable, and the longest running pieces of televised journalism? That sends up some huge red flags.
I could have sworn I’d seen it here on FDL, but I can’t seem to find it: Didn’t one of you have a quote from Judith Miller (or someone of similar credentials) say that there are indeed Mockingbirds in major positions in the MSM, and the people would be surprised at some of the names?
I think Jane did, I’ll go look for it, meanwhile
Operation Mockingbird -wikipedia
kirk murphy @ 176
Don’t know the name of the tour, but it was right after Diamond Dogs came out, but well before Young Americans. Might actually have been 1974 for the show I am remembering; not sure.
Golden Crescent Girl @ 132
Political insider?
Bob in HI
Eliminating the panel was a means of controlling the message. Remember it wasn’t a panel of NBC employees even, it was reporters from other new organizations. Try to imagine that now. Even company men from other companies just won’t do.
Jack Welsh had the insight to create ‘journalist’ out of thin air. A striving .nobody with an earnest smile and a plain spoken sort of folksy manner. Give him a gigantic income and sudden entre into the inner circles of the beltway and the media elite and the result was certain. Every conversation off the record and an unquestioned deference to establishment authority.
Blank Kludge @ 191 [znip]
I think I wandered into this info based on a LateNite waaay back aways…
thanks for the background, and the link.
john in sacramento @ 85
Bush’s infamous sixteen words rate 67% good–which I take as conclusive proof that the whole thing is a load of horseshit.
Jay @ 199
What is a Mockingbird?
A “Mockingbird” is a reference to Operation: Mockingbird, a CIA program designed to infiltrate (and thereby influence) both foreign and domestic media alike in the ’40s through (supposedly) the ’70s.
I can’t find a post here, maybe it was referred to, but I thought it was post by Jane specifically on Operation Mockingbird. oh well
Thanks Moderation, I just found it and was doing some reading. Whenever I read about covert CIA Operations it reminds me of the Yale secret societies and how many CIA people are supposedly groomed there. Henry Luce was a Bonesman as was Dana Milbank (and of course both Bushies and John Kerry).
I could’ve sworn it was in the body of a post as well, and not the comments. FDL has a distinctive set of colors for its headers and the like, so it stands out in my memory.
dakine01 @ 182
That would be Commander Cody and Lost Planet Airmen, wouldn’t it?
Hey, Raven, sorry about your loss.
Bob in HI
Bob Schacht @ 211
It would indeed although nowadays he’s the Commander Cody Band – no lost Planet Airmen to be found.
I think it’s outrageous that NBC can’t get their Washington bureau chief a working phone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6ucTsF6ldQ
Moderation @ 210
it’s a mystery to me, maybe a black ops deleted it ;)
Elliott @ 214
LOL. Now that’s pretty funny. :)
I’ve been puzzled for some time about FDL and others facination with PumpkinHead. Out here on the Left Coast I never hear anyone mention him, his show, what he has to say….
None of that.
I submit that PH is of interest solely to the Kabuki class in D.C. People in Montana, CA, Washington State…they don’t give a flying fuck what this fat-assed clown has to say.
He’s almost to the point of irrelevancy that Bill O’Lielly has reached. I’d much rather see some emptywheel, phoenix woman, Jane or whoever than another post about this fatuous Bush dick-sucker and the insane clown circus he puts on every week.
He just don’t matter folks.
Wake up and smell the coffee.
A.Citizen @ 216
Most of us understand what you are saying and agree. Unfortunately, those inside the beltway do not agree with us and give credence to the meanderings of PunkinHaid. Since they still have the power, we still have to pay some level of attention to those who have the ear of power in order to counteract the powerful for the powerless.
We can yell all we want about the stupid-making news and opinion vomited at us by the war profiteering corporate news monopolies, but the important question is–always–about power. Who is paying their salaries, and giving thme large chunks of our public airwaves, and why? And how do we the people regain power over our public airwaves? This question is particularly urgent when it comes to rigthtwing screamers and disinformationists, like Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter, but it also applies to the more sublte forms of fascist propaganda, as promulgated by the likes of Tim Russert and David Broder.
I think we need to recognize that the 5 rightwing billionaire CEOs who control all news and opinion in this country (except the internet) don’t give a crap what we think. In fact, their purpose is to create a phony illusion of what the American people think–the so-called “mainstream”–with which to demoralize and disempower the real mainstream, which is far to the left of them. In other words, they create our national narrative, and, in it, the majority are nutball ‘christians,’ flag-wavers, “conservatives,” and cheerleaders for the bloodshed in Iraq, and worshipers of Bushish (or Reagansim, take your pick). This image of Americans flies in the face of so many facts that it is beyond absurd. It is a baldfaced lie. It’s never explicitly stated–it can’t be–but rather it is formed as an IMPRESSION, by the types of rightwing gasbags they put on the air, whom we’re all supposedly listening to and heeding, and by the extremely limited range of opinion and news slant that they present.
This subtle brainwashing infects even the “left.” Our writers often call the putrid crap that is promoted by these corporate news monopolies the “mainstream media” (”MSM”). Thus, we on the left, who more accurately represent the views of the REAL mainstream, give this ground away to fascist news purveyors, gratis. We consent to their creation of this national delusion. And many do it unconsciously. They don’t even think about. If challenged, they say something like, “well, that’s what everybody’s seeing and hearing–so that makes it the mainstream.”
It is not the mainstream. It is a fake narrative that entirely serves the purpose of ungodly profits for the few. This corporate narrative of what we are, and what we think, as a people, is viciously suppressive of any real leftist opinion, and peoples’ movements, and worker concerns, and so on, and it is characterized by huge black holes in news/opinion on egregious government and corporate crime.
One of those black holes that I think is particularly important is the takeover of our election system with electronic voting machines run on “trade secret,” proprietary programming code, owned and controlled by rightwing Bushite corporations. This is the biggest scandal in our history, in my opinion, and perhaps in the history of democracy. And we have heard not the slightest peep about it in the war profiteering corporate news monopoly press (or from the Democratic Party leadership–a scandal within a scandal).
Voting is virtually our only power for controlling our government and excercising our sovereignty as a people. Vote counting that everyone can see and understand, and that is under PUBLIC control, is esential to democracy. Without, we have no democracy–or, looking at what we do have, we have some tattered shreds of democracy. We can outvote machines, in some cases, but we can’t really get anywhere, as to real reform or accountability.
The present Congress is a perfect example of this. 75% of the people oppose the Iraq War and want it ended, yet we could only achieve a 50/50 Congress which gives us some antiwar rhetoric then approves an ESCALATION of the war, and hands over $100 billion MORE to Bush and Cheney for torture and killing–and for getting their oil contracts out of the Iraqis.
They say they don’t have the votes to end it outright. Why is that?
Do you hear any war profiteering corporate news monopoly news people or commentators asking, “Why is that?” “The people clearly want this war ended–why doesn’t Congress more accurately reflect that overwhelming opinion?”
No. What you hear them doing is IGNORING that obvious question. Black-holing it–even in the face of their own polls! They are shills for fascists and war profiteers. Their job–what they are paid for, and put on the air for, by those 5 rightwing billionaire CEO’s–is to foster that egregiously false, national narrative delusion, that somehow–in some weird Wonderlandish way–Americans support this war, because THEY do. The goal is to demoralize that 75% of the people who hate this war, and make them feel that they have nothing to say about.
Another evidence that many leftist writers absorb this delusion unconsciously is when they then start railing against the stupidity of the American people, and calling them “sheeple” and so on. It somehow doesn’t occur to them that 75% of the American people are just as intelligent as they are, on the war issue, and have concluded–in the face of relentless 24/7 war propaganda (both screaming and subtle)–that the propaganda is wrong.
Do we leftists WANT to feel like a minority? I don’t think so. I think too many of us have just fallen prey to the brutal suppression of true American opinion that we experience every day and retain on a subliminal level.
Again, the question is not so much the CONTENT of this fascist propaganda, as it is the POWER that we have or don’t have, to insist on good journalism, and a broad spectrum of opinion and reporting. Why don’t they care what we think? Why do they suppress it and blackhole stories that might reveal it? Because we have lost our POWER to insist upon a journalism that is worthy of us and our democracy.
Which brings me back to HOW are votes are being counted and the extremely insider riggable voting machines that have been installed, all over the country, to fiddle the vote count without detection. With transparent vote counting, we, the people, would quickly restore the “Fairness Doctrine” and other controls, such as busting up corporate media monopolies. We would quickly start electing true reprsentatives of the people, and embark on serious reform on all issues. And that is what the war profiteering corporate news monopoolies must prevent, at all costs–restoration of the power of the people.
A.Citizen @ 216
I wish that were true. Maybe to people who don’t vote most consistently and frequent, Timmeh and his equally lame program don’t matter.
But to folks like my in-laws — die-hard Republicans who don’t miss a single vote — Cheney’s bestest tool matters. The in-laws watched his show this morning; when my spouse suggested changing the channel, my FIL objected.
And I’m talking about a swing-state in fly-over country; these are not Beltway types.
It’s not an obsession, either, to be concerned about the use of publicly-owned airwaves to promote a single corporation’s pro-business agenda by way of Timmeh the Tool. We should be demanding that NBC does better by the public that owns the airwaves NBC uses to propel GE’s position.
Jane — wish I hadn’t gotten back so late from the in-laws; I would have shouted that this post of yours needed to be SPOTLIGHTED to NBC’s editorial staff and management. Ugh, believe me, after being forced to sit through his tepid BS this morning with equally tepid McCain, I wanted to vomit. Be only to glad to take it out on NBC’s management.
That would be Commander Cody and Lost Planet Airmen, wouldn’t it?
Hey, Raven, sorry about your loss.
Bob in HI
Sorry, had to watch Tony Soprano do peyote! Commander Cody indeed. Saw him here in Georgia a few years back and he moved to Saratoga because of the smoking laws in Ca. My favorite was always Hot Licks, Cold Steel and Truckers favorites.
night ya’ll
Some blog readers-lurkers like myself are in church on Sunday mornings and so never get to see “Meet the Press.” I remember “Meet the Press” from my youth in the 1950’s as being this very boring program with adults talking about things I never understood. That was before I understood the implications of nuclear annilhilation. Then I didn’t like the show because it seemed scary.
Since then I haven’t paid much attention to this program until people started talking about this Russert fellow. Until I read the post above, I assumed Russert was actually a reporter who had somehow distinguished himself in reporting so that he actually got HIS OWN SHOW!!!!
Now it’s starting to look more like Russert got in because he was a Mockingbird. I have read about Mockingbird and the CIA. Why would the government need a program like this if people like Russert are willing to sell their souls for nothing?
Peace Patriot,
Thanks for the thoughtful post. Spot on from top to bottom. Reagan’s eradication of the Fairness Doctrine and Diebold, ES&S, Sequioa, et al. counting our votes has our democracy in the grave with dirt on top. The internet/lefty blogosphere is furiously shoveling the dirt off from the other side.
Peace!
It’s obviously a huge ego thing for Russert, I think the show should go back to its original format.
Anybody who remembers MTP under Lawrence D. Spivak, which aided and abetted McCarthy in the ‘fifties, will know that Russert – justly open to criticism as he is – is an improvement.
Rayne @ 219
Of course there are folks who watch and pay attention to him. I just think we here in Left Blogistan do a little too much watching and not enough planning to take him out.
Your point about the corporatist scum whose exploitation of the airwaves as exemplified by this assclown is getting to what I’d like to see more of.
While what is happening in Congress now is important even more important is the fight to come where we re-institute ‘fair use’ and put the likes of PH and ‘Pills’ Limbaugh out of business.
We must never just be ‘viewers’ we must be pushing and kicking and busting up those who have stolen the radio and TV spectrum for their propaganda.
Media must be fair and balanced in fact not just as a caption on a TV screen. We must elect legislators who see that the media must be an accurate source of information for the people.
And who are willing to pass laws to make it so.
I’m not gonna be asking GE or any other corporation to play fair I’m gonna work to make so that if they don’t….
They get to go to jail.
Big talk you might say….
I say this: If we don’t purge our media space of the lies and bad information which poisons it now that poison will kill our society.
It’s that clear cut, as the widespread belief that Saddam was behind 9/11 which made The MeatGrinder a reality so clearly shows….
Bad information is not merely aggravating…
It kills.
I’m sure everyone here already knows this. I’m just sick and tired of reading about rotten scum like PH and want to see a more proactive agenda designed to combat his lies.
To, as we have started to do to the Republicans….
Drive him into the sea!
Did you all not see this?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4459759/
How can you say the guy is not qualified? You can certainly accuse him of being out of touch and being “inside the bubble”, but you can’t say he’s unqualified.
Please don’t be as nutty as the blogs on the right.
Hi, TeddySF!
I’m going to nitpick this one from #55:
The tarpits (’La Brea’ means approximately the same thing) are way too recent for dinos. They find mammoths, dire wolves, saber-toothed cats, other stuff. (High percentage of carnivores, trapped while scavenging. Lots of animals missing stuff only on one side, because the other was in the tar and inaccessible.)
A. Citizen is 100% correct. Corporate influence has been spiraling out of control for quite some time now. It has always had undue influence, but since Reagan began deregulation, it has all gone steadily downhill at breakneck speed for We the People, while the corporate interests have been raking in record profits, and exerting record influence over the people in the modern era.
News corporations should not be allowed to exert the partisan views of their ownership upon the journalists working for them. The owners should, in fact, be very much “off hands” in regards to everything related to the actual journalism (this includes influence via the managing editor or whatever other person is the liaison between ownership and the press itself). The Fairness Doctrine desperately needs to be reenacted.
Corporations (and, really, lobbying in general) should have no influence whatsoever on our politicians’ decisions, or their chances at winning. Corporations should NOT have an equal say as a citizen in government. The individuals in the corporation already have their say, after all (why doesn’t anyone bring this up, anyhow?). I dare say that one citizen should be worth more, politically, than every corporation combined. Take the money out of politics, or The Great Experiment will prove to be a failure.
Without something akin to the Fairness Doctrine, Rome will fall again.
So long as money is a vote in politics, Rome will fall again.
Elliott @ 24
OK. I took the link but it didn’t really say anything about Russert digging out and reporting news. It sounded as though he was more or less management from the start.
Managing TV assets doesn’t really seem to be actual journalism.
Maybe there’s a new paradigm that I’ve missed. I am fairly old. That’s probably it.
A.Citizen @ 225
Thanks for your fightin’ words! The news media in the country are as dirty and criminal as the Bush Junta that they shill for. But I disagree on two points, more on strategic grounds than content…
“If we don’t purge our media space of the lies and bad information which poisons it now that poison will kill our society.”
“It’s that clear cut, as the widespread belief that Saddam was behind 9/11 which made The MeatGrinder a reality so clearly shows….// Bad information is not merely aggravating…//It kills.”
It’s not so much bad information that can kill our society, as the deliberate disempowerment of our people, and the non-transparent, Bushite-controlled secret vote counting–that is, blunting or destroying the peoples’ power to change things, including their power and right to broaden the spectrum of political discussion (which is now so absurdly and artificially narrow).
The “Fairness Doctrine” would not exclude fascist opinion. It would just shove it over to the rightwing end of the spectrum, fairly balanced by all other opinion, across the spectrum to the far left.
Although I wouldn’t mind never hearing another winger again, or what passes for a liberal inside the Beltway. We wouldn’t have to ban them, though. In a truly competititve “marketplace of ideas,” their talentless, weirdo fascist, or corporate shill, asses would be gone.
Re: 50% of Americans at one point believed that Saddam had WMDS and/or had something to with 9/11. Just want to point out that, at the same time that 50% had this disinformation rattling around in their heads, 56% opposed the invasion of Iraq. Feb. ‘03. This means that some significant portion of our people, who believed these things, didn’t believe that the threat was that great, or justified war–that is, they didn’t trust Bush, and were trying to think for themselves and decide what the best policy was.
This is a very important comparative stat. 56% is a lot–it would be a landslide in a presidential election (and, believe me, it was), and it had to have included some Republicans and Bush supporters. I have anecdotal experience of the views of some Republicans during that period, and my experience corroborates the stat. These Repubs thought the war was wrong and they furthermore said that “Bush is nuts!” (their words).
The problem is not so much that the corporate news media were lying and disinforming people and cheerleading for war. The problem was that that 56% of the people who opposed the war couldn’t get their will enforced, couldn’t get a hearing, and couldn’t slow the process down, for common sense to prevail. IF ONLY Congress had not given away their war power, and had required Bush to come back to them, with UN and major allies support, for a declaration of war, this tragic war would never have occurred.
We now know, though, that the “Help America Vote for Bush Act” (fast-tracking of “trade secret” vote counting by Bushite corporations, with virtually no audit/recount contorls) was passed in same month as the Iraq War Resolution, and is closely related to it. All the powers-that-be knew that the Iraq War was an impossible sell–especially with the Vietnam War in living memory. (They are so similar!). So they had to rush it through, with no time for thought, and no time for the UN weapons inspectors report, and no time for good vetting of the intel–and then they had to manufacture a phony endorsement of it in the 2004 election. The horror went forward (100,000 Iraqis slaughtered in the intial bombing alone, according to the British doctors’ report). Then the Abu Ghraib torture photos came out. (63% of the American people oppose torture “under any circumstances”–May ‘04). That is probably why Ohio was necessary (massive highly noticeable suppression of black and other Dem voters).
Something else that happened in spring ‘04: Calif’s Sec of State Kevin Shelley began looking into Diebold, sued them, decertified their touchscreens and demanded to see their source code. May ‘04. He was later “swift-boated” out of office on entirely bogus corruption charges. Shelley was a national leader on honest vote counting and protecting the vote. Other Secs of State were following his lead, starting to investigate this technology. He had to go. (I think it was a Rove operation, personally.)
Anyway, I just wanted to point out the American peoples’ remarkable resistance to Bush war propaganda. (It’s now up to 75%!) But the thing that can really poison and destroy us is the peoples’s continued powerlessness and disenfranchisement–and their mystification at why they vote and nothing changes. It’s very demoralizing. And we must work hard against their giving up–becoming so depressed that they explode with rage (which is easy for the fascists to suppress), or just become listless and cease to care. We CAN change things, but we must focus on our power–our right to vote–and strategies to restore it.
The fascist Bushites (and their Democratic colluders) don’t want power to be free. They want it to be costly, so they can buy it. They resent and despise the American people and our notions of equality. They also hate everything that is PUBLIC and that represents the common good. We need to expand that sphere–the common good–beginning with restoring PUBLIC vote counting.
Elliott @ 26
The Oracle @ 83
I think these two birds stayed on song. The consensus here seems to be that Timmeh isn’t the absolute worst Sunday Talking Head – the competition for that is too fierce – or even the worst in the MSNBC studios – Tweety owns the network franchise. And besides, MTP has a long & intermittently honorable history & – above all – NAME RECOGNITION. The sole problem appears to be with the third word in the title “Meet the Press”, to which the primary objection appears to be that it offends federal false-packaging laws – fair comment at worst but more likely too true.
Big Russ his own self might appreciate the obvious compromise – cut the show’s name to the acronym & leave the rest to the blogosphere. And since Timmeh has reached Shrubdian status in offending large contingencies all along the political continuum then perhaps a jolly good blogotilt would be fun for all!
The two above should be granted FIFO status. I’ll try now to keep the rockhead rolling:
Meet The Pope. [Thx, #26]
Meet The Puppet. [Thx, #83]
Meet The Patina.
Meet The Pseudo.
Meet Tim Please.
Make Tim Pay. [or]
Make Tim Plenty.
& my personal favorite:
Meet The Phacsimile.
Gotta be easy to top that one, folks.
Elliott @ 26
Does Russert speak Italian?
If you buy into the establishment credential mode then Russert does not fit there either with a very weak law school degree, Cleveland Marshall or something, no real legal experience. Russert like George Tenet is just another mediocre ex senate staff guy on a personal mission of personal advancement. But the guy is flat out not interesting and sits perched on licensed spectrum for those who pay attention to msm, which seems to be this website.
GSD @ 68
AMEN. Finally someone is speaking truth to power. Russert and Matthews take their marching orders from Jack Welch. Russert is the biggest no-talent-shit-for-brains on all of network TV. And while I’m at it, NBC is so disappointing and lame that they would hire a Tim Russert. Welch must carry a big stick.
The Daily Howler did a great piece on Russert and Tweety Matthews and David Gregory about a week or so ago. The Howler, like Jane, get the big picture. What is saddening me is Chris Cillizza falling to his knees to pay homage. So sad. He had such promise.
I am sensing opportunity for NBC’S competitors to create a new show that actually does let the guests “meet the press”. It is a good angle for a show. NBC let one of their brands ematiate. That means they left that specific market need unattended.
Maybe FDL could have some sort of meet the press type of segment. Maybe it’s too much to deal with.
BTW, Jane, you rock my world. I thank you with heart, enthusiasm and heart-shape pupils. And your whole team for that matter. Y’all are totally significant. During the Libby trial you guys smoked the MSM for coverage. MSM not even close to the same league. Good work!
With respect and kindness and heart-shape eyes,
Mike
He got it the same way Brownie got FEMA, Thompson got HHS, Monica got the top lwayers position, and a dozen other lawyers got positions at DOJ, the OLE fashion way, THEY BROWNOSEDIT.
This shit has been on going for far too long now and must stop.