This MoveOn.org Video on Katie Couric and CBS News’ repetition of Bush Administration talking points and lack of critical reporting has stirred up quite the hornet’s nest at CBS. We posted this over the weekend, along with a number of other folks, including: KagroX at DKos; Nicole at Crooks and Liars; the folks at Brave New Films; and PoliticsTV.
A MoveOn.org member wrote CBS a polite note, criticizing the lack of skeptical reporting and the softball questions. Here is that e-mail:
From: [MoveOn member]
Sent: Monday, September 10, 2007 12:42 PM
To: CBS Evening News
Subject: Couric report from Iraq an embarassment to journalists everywhereHello,
I started watching Couric’s series of reports hoping to learn something valuable. All I learned was that CBS is content to produce puff pieces scripted by the institutions it purports to be investigating.
I did not hear Couric push for real answers on one single issue! She simply took everything she was told and parrotted it back to the masses.
I’m embarassed and saddened. You should be too.
Regards,
[MoveOn member]
CBS’ response? Take a look:
From: CBS Evening News < Evening@cbsnews.com>
Sent: Monday, September 10, 2007 11:45:01 AM
Subject: RE: Couric report from Iraq an embarassment to journalists everywhereActually most intelligent people were very impressed by the quality of our reports from Iraq and Syria …Apparently you missed most of the interviews that were done over there…imagine you got your information from a blog somewhere… (emphasis mine)
Oh, I get it. Legitimate criticism from viewers can simply be ignored if you dismiss it as coming from a blog. But not asking the critical questions, repeating talking points wholesale, failing to follow-up when you are being snowed and charmed, and buying military spin outright while feeding it by the spoonful to your adoring public is just peachy? So much for the whole “journalistic integrity” canard. And the tanking ratings.
The two senior producers at CBS Evening News are Jim McGlinchy (jmp@cbsnews.com) and Betty Chin ( bc2@cbsnews.com). I’m working on e-mails to both them asking whether (a) this is the usual response of CBS to legitimate viewer criticism and (b) whether they would officially like to disavow this sort of customer non-service. I’ll certainly let you know what, if any, response I get. No matter how snippy the response may be, the dodge and weave on the real issues on journalistic integrity come across loud and clear. Perhaps they should hear from you as well?
(As a reminder, here’s what real reporters ought to be doing: here and here. Do read all the links in both pieces, they are quite enlightening.)
Related posts:
- They Planted a Gay Whore in His News Conferences!
- Early Morning Swim: Lawrence O’Donnell and Eric Burns of Media Matters Discuss Fox News’ Agenda
- Glenn “Instapundit” Reynolds Doubles Down on Powerline’s Fact-Free Climate Change Post
- Al Punto Versus Fox News Sunday
- Late Night: Sarah Palin Says She’s “Really Not Into The Drama”
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Christy!
zed
Man, you are fast!
EPU’d from above:
Dennis Kucinich has been given a three hour appearance on the Ed Schultz show. He has been hitting home-runs, one after another.
Facts? Facts? What are facts??!!
Just noting that the e-mail sent to CBS didn’t point out anything specific. It just says they did a bad job.
Fact Checking should include things CBS said that are demonstrably untrue…(which you can get from many blogs *g*)
Watching Snowjob’s presser where all are enjoying a good laugh about the Code Pink people wanting to be heard. Hohoho, Les Kinsolving is just hilarious!
Thank God for Blogs, most especially FDL.
Jim and Betty need to get an earful from Greenwald too.
Our liberal media–still not liberal.
The snippy tone of the e-mail must reflect a lot of negative criticism they’ve been getting.
Quick!! Call the Waaaaaahmbulance.
Impressed by the quality of what? The video signal? the HD crispness of the picture?
Shorter CBS: Facts? We don’t need no stinkin’ facts!
Couric: Does my mascara look o.k.? How’s my hair?
zmulls at 5 — I know — it was a bland, polite, critical viewer e-mail. The response was bizarre.
BigMitch @ 3
Kucinich is making a very compelling case that he is the lone populist in the race. have to give him a lot of credit-he is right on every issue, especially health care and Iraq.
Katie Couric does not have “the sense that God gave a duck” either, to paraphrase the late Molly Ivins, as linked.
Network News departments are one of the few diffentiators that add value now that no one really needs to watch networks any more…too bad they are tossing their credibility away and turning themselves into propagandists.
Omigosh, Dennis Kucinich’s wife is a Brit.
Maybe Katie can cover Dannie Lynn’s birthday party with Entertainment Tonight and the Insider. Put on your serious face Katie and tell us about Larry Birkhead…
Christy Hardin Smith @ 11
Really, I’ll take CHS over CBS any day.
Oh, and bloggers are people too!
do-si-do @ 9
Maybe it’s Katie’s ability to be perky despite the fact her hair and makeup folks didn’t make the trip.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 11
Where I come from, we’d have called that a “snotty” response. Shame on them. CBS News used to stand for something and had the best journalists. Now – not so much.
Christy: It should be interesting to see how CBS News responds to your email. CBS News used to be a great company–in the 1980s when Paley and Rather were still around. It’s gone way south these days of Les Moonves (who put his wife Julie Chen in the Early Show) and Sean McManus.
Here’s McManus’s spin on the Kouric trip and CBS’s dive in ratings:
His spin is utterly laughable.
Kevster @ 12
WTF: are Americans so shallow that this guy doesn’t stand a snowball’s chance because he is under 5′10″? Sure looks that way.
Kevster @ 12
I’ve come to see Dennis as being the conscience of the true Democratic Party. I’m so glad he is there – I only wish he’d get more support. Makes you want to stand up and cheer, that guy.
I was just looking at this bit over at Romenesco:
The AP article it links to says that “Last week and Memorial Day week are the two least-watched CBS evening newscasts since at least 1987, and probably far earlier.”
Guess those “ill informed” blog readers are voting with their remote controls.
FYI:
I believe I just heard a Democratic press conference on the Petraeus report announced, to be aired live at (about) 1:30 p.m. today, on C-SPAN 1:
http://c-span.org/watch/cs_csp…..mp;Code=CS
OT but wanted to just send blessings to the people of Sumatra and environs who are suffering aftershocks and small tsunamis after a huge earthquake there. They had warning about the tsunamis but just think how terrified they are. BBC reporter said that their building in Jakarta swayed for “several minutes”.
BigMitch @ 14
And a Vegan!
Although I approved of the MoveOn ad about Petraeus (it effectively got the issue out there), I have to say they crossed the line on this one. I think it is entirely inappropriate to impose standards on someone from the entertainment industry that should legitimately be applied only to those in journalism.
BTW: Too bad the email from MoveOn mispelled “embarrassment” and “embarrassed.” *g*
didn’t katie the newsie say from the start that the military would be telling her what she could see and do, and what to say?
she is a tool in this, an actress, but I think she has provided the important info in her statement about it being a setup from the start. This is a perfect way to show how nothingless the newsies are on these stations. They are told exactly what they can or can’t say in their contracts. She probably risked hers by telling the public that it was a setup from day one.
let’s make damn sure the connection is CBS and the whitehouse, and leave the personality, or lack thereof, out of it.
or did this not happen? does any one have the link to the video?
raven @ 25
The snowball just melted!!!
They have no idea what those of us who read blogs know.
No idea that we are better informed than their viewers. No idea that we care more, research more intently, and fact-check better than their reporters.
No idea that they can’t keep spewing out crap forever.
Biodun @ 19
maybe someone can do a compare to the same time frame in past years including the ratings for US Open weeks to help ol’ Les see the BS in his ways.
james @ 29
I just finished my boca burger!
Biodun — That e-mail was from a MoveOn member, not MoveOn itself.
raven @ 25
I have recently taken a major step in the direction of being a vegan. Seeing her didn’t slow me down one bit. Especially when I heard her describe their Sunday mornings.
Sexist bastard, am I.
I know that if you read this, you got your information from a blog, but I just joined VoteVets.Org. I like their agenda.
donna @ 30
Oh, I think they know, and that’s what scares ‘em!
peanutbutter @ 4
Peanutbutter -
Facts are statistics you make up to serve your purpose – like the Petraeus report. You change the criteria to assure a different outcome then compare it against previous reports based on yet another criteria. Voila! You just made a fact. It’s magic!
QuakerGirl @ 37
I hear tell waving hands wildly in the air works too!
Whaaa???? You mean there is a show on CompleteBullShit that is called news? Gee, I guess I better get an antenna or dish or cable and start checking it out. Has katie started wearing thong bikinis on her show?
ET!!!!
Had a fascinating conversation with your debate opponent.
How the heck are you?
Breaking: The builder of the Titanic says, “We never expected it to float and it didn’t.”
Another real reporter-check out this excellent piece by Nancy Youssef from McClatchy diaried at DKos. She and her colleague Leila Fadel nail Petraeus’ inconsistencies, and show that it can be done if you just are willing to work at it.
CHS: Thanks for clarifying…
pow wow @ 23
I’m listening online, currently is Toy inspections, but I’ll let you know when it comes on.
At 5:30 EST, the Jones Report is rebroadcast, for those who are interested. I missed it and look forward to seeing it.
donna @ 30
No idea that they’ve become basically…not necessary to the dissemination of information – they may as well dry up and blow away. They missed the whole Internet revolution; they are trying to run their businesses as if all there is out there is still paper newspapers, tv and radio AND that all of those venues still have well-funded and professional news departments. They have this idea that “we” don’t know that they gutted their departments a long, long time ago. People WANT good quality information; they also know they won’t get it with MSM.
Ed*ard Teller @ 35
Good on ya, ET. And if I didn’t read blogs I would have no idea who Jon Soltz is. ;)
Go VoteVets! Go FDL!
I have no love for CBS or Couric – don’t watch them – but I agree with one of the first posts.
If a blog post was criticized as a “puff piece scripted by the institutions it purports to be investigating” containing no “real answers on one single issue“, you could only respond by doing the critic’s work for him/her, which seems a bit much.
This criticism is also too easy to evade: look, over here, a non-scripted point and a real answer. Better to take a puffy answer apart and demand improvement.
BigMitch @ 34
FWIW, ETette is on Western Washington University women’s crew team, the Division II national champs three years running. Almost the entire crew team is vegan or quasi-veggie. Apparently, none of them eat red meat.
I’ll be suggessting that Katie “Puff” Couric report from Syria interviewing Iraqi refugees who are leaving the Iraq that she described as “improving” in droves…70,ooo a month.
Couric needs to reach out and do some real reporting. Never could figure out why CBS gave Katie was her own show?
That report by Couric was ludicrous, and Couric demonstrated once and for all why many of us will not watch her evening ’so called” news program.
Hugh @ 26
Great snark, Hugh! I write to these infotainment companies on occasions such as this to tell them that they lost me as a viewer 20 years ago because of their inability to report real news. I tell them I get news from my favorite blogs because they are trustworthy and fact checked, unlike the Teevee and print stuff.
“Actually most intelligent people were very impressed by the quality of our reports from Iraq and Syria…”
Apparently, we’re just a bunch of dirty fucking stupid hippies.
“most intelligent people were impressed” – implying that if you weren’t impressed, it’s due to your lack of intelligence.
Ok. now it’s clear.
Gotta luv CBS blaming professional tennis for Couric’s lousy ratings.
raven @ 32
Being a vegan and a Brit is gonna kill Dennis.
I only eat fish usually ones that I catch. Most of my diet revolves around lentils, brown rice, and other grains like polenta and millet.
I make a mean mamaliga.
Whoa! What is wrong with vegans?
I’ve been a vegetarian for over forty years,
I’m not a mindless monster, in fact, I’ve even got a few of my wits left.
Why, I even know right from wrong.
Believe it or not!
Ed*ard Teller @ 47
I ain’t had no red meat since I quit drinkin, 13 years. 185, low blood pressure and swimmin my ass off!
kdh22 @ 36
Better than Katie or her producer that is for sure.
james @ 53
Ah, yes, but do you serve it with schmaltz?
David W. Bartoo @ 54
I don’t think anyone was dissin the lady at all.
BigMitch @ 39
I do hope Yossi is well! Doing great, getting prepared for more entries into the Dem primary for AK-at-large…Investigating on why the House Dems haven’t begun an ethics investigation into the Coconut Rd. earmark’s insertion, getting ready for a full plate of fall concerts. You still hosting your kids?
zennurse @ 43
Sorry, the Jones thing is commentary, not rebroadcast.
Setting up for the Dems now. (CSpan)
In all honesty, I thought the Move On email lacked specificty. it did not give any examples of the behavior complained of.
Thet is no excuse however, for the bitchsla response from CBS. “Intelligent viewers”? So, if you don’t love Katies crappy reporting your dumb?
maybe not. And the backhand swipe at news from a blog,
Hey CBS news, guess who’s putting you out of business? Yep, blogs.
who watches the 6.30 msm newscasts? i stopped watching as soon as i discovered all the outlets online…those newscasts are losing viewers and are nothing more than shills for whoever buys time there….imo
David W. Bartoo @ 55
Nothing wrong with it in my eyes, but the carnal crowd in America ain’t gonna take kindly to it. It will seem too “out there” and another reason to ignore the only guy who would really help this country get back on its feet.
Kucinich has said that he changed his eating habits due to some health problems, and that his health and stamina has been great ever since.
Wow – while I was getting epu’d below, y’all were posting up a storm already!
RE: the CBS News response – whew! Not very professional, was it? Insulting the writer’s intelligence , slamming blogs (unmentioned by the writer)– are they feeling just a wee bit defensive about their competition?
And CBS has other, em, lofty things to worry about besides “a blog somewhere”:
raven @ 56
Whoooo!!!!
Last drink 13 May 1987
ot – Reid/Levin live on CSPAN1 re Patreaus Report
Love This.
(via truthout)
Dear General Petraeus
By Marc Ash
t r u t h o u t | Question
Monday 10 September 2007
What is the mission?
mc @ 50
mc @ 50
juslin @ 62
Haven’t watched a news program in probably 2 years. Waste of time. They can’t seem to figure out why their rating s are falling but it’s because people just don’t believe them any more. IMO
raven @ 59
I know. Forgive my humor at the snarky.
Not all challenges are vertical. Compared to many Dennis is a GIANT!
If CBS had wanted to boost its ratings, they might have thought about having Lara Logan do a series of reports from the Middle East and hyping those rather than pushing Couric’s fluff and leaving Logan in the background. I would watch CBS News if I had some expectation that I would see some hard news presented there.
CHS -
Please, please, pleeeeeease…………if we promise to be very good pups?
May we see the e-mails you’re sending out?
nonplussed @ 6
I thought les had retired himself……..blast!
zennurse @ 69
I thought that was great. A one sentence column ! And it said it all.
LS @ 64
Hey – Kucinich is nothing in comparison, in my opinion, to Huckabee, who has tried to revolutionize Arkansas because of his weight loss. Not that I think he’s not doing something important for the kids in AR, but I should think a lot of people would find THAT a little creepy.
Ed*ard Teller @ 59
Every chance I get.
What I learned is that the fellow who took the conversation off the rails and into the rafters is a guy I know, who has a very sad story. A dentist who lost the use of one arm due to a motorcycle accident. This resulted in over-use of the other hand, and severe carpal tunnel syndrome. He is as far to the right as I am to the left, which, is pretty damned far, even in these precincts. FWIW, he was nuts before the accident.
David W. Bartoo @ 54
I have nothing against Vegans even if they are kind of pushy but Arcturans? Don’t get me started.
James @ 64
Aye, and mores the pity.
Who decides whether a candidate has substance?
Real people, or talking heads.
james @ 67
Hats off to you. Not sure if your talking about addiction, but we know denial and severe dysfunction can take down a family and we are witnessing a “dry drunk” take down our country slowly but surely. Iraq seems to be a tragic and immoral fatality of the Bush administrations severe state of denial.
On a related note, NPR sent a love letter to Bush yesterday morning.
First Ann Garrels did a report from some small neighborhood in Baghdad, essentially saying, “The surge is definitely working in this tiny three square mile area, it’s all flowers and rainbows. The US soldiers even let the Iraqis pet the magical ponies!”
Then the other report (some other reporter) was about Anbar, and how the Sunnis were successfully fighting off the al Qaeda super robot death machine that we all know walks the earth casting a shadow of evil.
Of course NPR didn’t point out that Baghdad is a city of 1.6 million people (or used to be) and covers over 80 square miles. Or that if the Sunnis are doing the work in Anbar what the hell is the US needed for.
NPR makes me ill.
Couric? We haven’t paid this individual any attention in years. I will resist repeating what Lahoma said about this person last night.
Toby Wollin @ 76
Huckabee also has a laudable position about music education in public schools. But like all good ideas it is too far out for his base.
Big Mitch-
That’s only part of it, I think. The more important part is that his willingness to cut through bullshit, to state uncomfortable facts, and not to constantly parrot platitudes about Americans being “exceptional” and never wrong, is too hard for most people, especially Americans (many, not all) to hear. So they tune him out, and he’s dismissed as flaky.
BigMitch @ 3
Put Kucinich(with out his habit for going on Faux Noise and sometime foot in mouth disease) in Obama’s body and with Obama’s charisma, and we’d have an absolute killer candidate.
Hugh @ 79
Arcturans?
I am very, very afraid.
Please, DON’T tell me,
I’m already having trouble
sleeping at night (or even in
the daytime)!
Joe Klein’s conscience @ 85
Dennis De Bergerac
i eat what i like and that includes foods listed on the food pyramid and i indulge in adult beverages lol
zennurse @ 70
Yeah, I was hoping someone would call him on it when he said that he was given a mission and was doing his best to perform it.
I wanted someone to ask him if he thought it was the appropriate mission given the needs of the nation and the world.
I, too, got a response from CBS in response to my e-mail. They didn’t get snippy with me, but did provide several links to reports Katie had done just in case I wanted to review them. I asked them in my reply, to “save it” and explained that if their reporting for the past 5 years had been a little more hard-nosed maybe 90 per cent of Americans would want a withdrawal from Iraq instead of the current 60 per cent.
puppethead @ 81
Baghdad has an estimated population of 6 million.
Reid:
Amendments will be offered to change the course, will reach out to Repubs. States known facts incl Iraq is in civil war, all burden on out military andit’s not working.
Bush promised surge would help establish civil govt, 30-60 days, now saying 18 months. objective assessments prove surge has failed, benchmarks not met via GAO, Jones report needs transition of mission, NIE shows AlQ building attack capability. Plan is neither drawdown or change in mission, to keep at least 130K troops in Iraq. Unacceptable. Long past time to change, hopes Repubs will agree, calls on them not to walk lockstep. It’s the Presiden’ts and Repub senators war.
Levin: Have to drop to limited missions, lower number of troops, Presurge level statement by bush is “open ended committment” to prevent real change. Attempt to take the wind out of sails of those who want change.
Petraeus was helpful in stating that the purpose was not achieved. also Iraqi leaders had not stepped up, and that many Iraqi soldiers want to take the lead but have not been allowed. Also told Levin, late in the day, he is now committed to continuing withdrawals below surge levels, may have been missed in coverage.
Couric might make a good Press Secretary in another Clinton administration. There is afterall a precedent. Tony Snow.
Re: blaming US Open coverage for the low ratings for Couric:
That’s also completely disingenuous: CBS and USA network coverage of that event from Queens, and CBS Evening News with Katie Couric were at different time-periods, and were in no way competing with each other.
Hugh @ 74
Like MSNBC/NBC giving KO a bigger platform lately, CBS should do the same for Lara Logan. She is way better than Katie Couric. So much better in the reporting/newsperson area. Besides, and this is something CBS ought to like, I bet giving Lara a bigger profile would attract a lot more male viewers than does Couric. So the get 2 for the price of one.
tejanarusa @ 84
Personally, I think Dennis would make a terrific VP candidate for anyone – but he’s from Ohio…everyone seems to think they’ve got to get someone from the South or the West to balance the ticket. But maybe an Edwards/Kucinich ticket?
ohhh decisions decisions…. what to eat – who to vote for – who to diss… its hard out here for a girrrl…after yestidday i need some yuks ok
Kathleen @ 56
They know they over-paid for fluffy cotton candy and have to defend Katie as they all sink with her. She wasn’t a terrific choice from the get-go. She represented shallow entertainment with an evening news format. Darn John Stewart. He messed everything up for them. Katie was supposed to be news entertainment. Advice to the exects: don’t follow; lead.
Hugh @ 92
Oops, that’s what I get for being too quick on my googling.
Gore. If he wants it, it’s his.
tejanarusa @ 84
It’s especially hard for people to hear, given the media blackout which he just documented.
Do you think the CBS response is referring to all of those “intelligent” viewers that bought CBS’s endlessly repeated coverage of the WMD’s in Iraq lies coming out of the Bush administrations war team? Intelligent?
Hell if it had not been for the Internet, blogs, the Diane Rehm show, BBC most of us would have bought the “groupthink” spewed by the MSM before the invasion too.
Thank goodness for blogs!
CBS seems committed to the “groupthink”
Pretty funny CBS exec getting his panties in a wad over one email.
Must not have much to do, like say, fact checking.
I’d love to see Redd Hedds letter. There is going to be more pantie twisting to come.
Reid: Jack Reed will give Dem response tomorrow after Bush address.
Reed: Troops are great but time is misused. Goals of surge have not been met. Look ahead to approach in best interest of US, to best approach to support Iraq stability and our forces. Have to reduce forces, proposal we made in June of 06 has been accepted by Petreaus. ?? Need to do aggressive counterterrorism. Have spent huge $$ and young Americans. Hope to collaborate across the aisle to change policy.
Q: How will testimony affect your strategy?
Reid: didn’t change it ata ll.
gore dont want it…
EPU’d from prior thread:
This little ditty came to me today, it’s gospel-based “call and response” style* hymn:
When our troops were in Iraq-land,
(Bring our soldiers home!)
Opressed by their Suppreme Command,
(Bring our soldiers home!)
Go down, (Go down) Congress, (Congress)
Way down in DC-land,
And tell old (tell old) Bush&Co (Bush&Co)
To bring our soldiers home!
To the tune of “Let My People Go”
*Lead takes the main lyrics, Chorus sings those in parentheses.
BigMitch @ 78
Remind me to show you the whole video some day. The ADN political blog claims to be live blogging Pete Kott’s corruption trial today. Apparently Ben Stevens made some comment on tape that a reader interprets a “anti-Semitic.” I’m not sure if that’s the case, but Ben IS a motor mouth.
Toby Wollin @ 77
Many more might be dismayed if they were aware he (Huckabee, of course) is also an ordained Southern Baptist Minister…
james @ 68
You ever read “A Drinking Life” by Pete Hamill? Bein a New Yorker I think you’d really like it.
FWIW, have any former early morning show hosts (Today, Good Morning America, etc, been a success as the host/new reader for the evening news shows?
Baba Wawa wasn’t
Diane Sawyer wasn’t
Did Hugh Downs ever do the evening news?
Why should anyone have expected Katie Fluff to be any different, especially in these times when even good journos (there are a few still) struggle in the ratings.
Same thing:
On ABC News last night, Bob Ross “investigated” the resurgance of Al Qaida and blamed the fact that OBL hasn’t been caught on Pakistan and their “unwillingness” to go after him.
I wonder who his source was on that.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 101
He is watching, come November we will know. RUN AL RUN!
Re-elect Gore!
Oklahoma kiddo @ 94
LOL .. OKK’s contempt for Hillary Clinton will never subside, even if he has to vote for her…
Oklahoma kiddo @ 101
Again with the Gore. Always with the Gore! Why can’t you just be happy with the nice choice the DLC made for you? The She-Lieberman has it all locked up! The primaries are a mere formality. You cannot stop it! Accept!
juslin @ 106
How about Gore and Hagel running as an Independent team?
Toby Wollin @ 96
Yeah, two candidates from the same district can’t ever win. Just ask Bill Clinton (Arkansas) and Al Gore (Tenna) or W (Texas) and Cheney (Moved back to Wyoming from Texas to qualify.)
dakine01 @ 111
Tom Brokaw: He used to be host of the Today Show.
Reid: If people are looking for anexcuse to follow the Pres, that’s their right, but situation calls out for change
Q: missed
Reid: Have to see if leg can be passed and hope that Pres will follow the law
Q: Do you have draft.
Reid: Drafting now, won’t expand
Q: YOu say it isn’t changed, but Petraesu says yes.
Reid: Changes in one place, balloons out somewhere else. Talks about sectarian issues that havent’ changed.
Now northern Iraq re: cholera
Q: How many proposals?
Reid NOt sure, will come out in debate, prefers not attaching to auth bill
Q will what you offer be less aggressive that what you talked about in the Spring?
Reid; NO rejects
Q If we’re almost ther, why pull out
A Almost there is ridiculous
Q missed
a off topic
Q Do you agree that security is the key to reconciliation
Levin: surge was for reconciliation, surge didn’t work, Petraeus agrees that recon didn’t happen
Q missed
Reed: if you maintain the same mission, how can you reduce forces? Pres should be very clear, we are coming down next year, mission will cahnge, saying nothing like that implies no change.
Sorry my audio is bad. HTH
I would LOVE an Edwards/Kucinich ticket.
On a side note. I heard on NPR this morning that a local doctor I vaguely know is hosting a fundraiser for Edwards, but the entry fee starts at $500 a pop.
I’d love a chance to talk to Edwards face-to-face, but I don’t have that kind of money to spare. Anyone have any experience getting into these kinds of fundraisers for less than the requested donation?
Kathleen @ 116
From a reliable source: Gore won’t run. Tipper doesn’t want him to. And Hagel has said he’s not interested. He said that when he announced his retirement.
cleter @ 115
I think Gore could blow Hillary out of the water. With his consistent and powerful stance against the invasion, the unleashing of his deep enviromental concerns. While Hillary has the I-lobby solidly behind her (and lots of money coming from that lobby) I think many folks are tired of the rigid and destructive policies on the I/P issue.
I think Gore could grab a lot of Republicans votes too.
Biodun @ 121
Tipper says okay — see latest Vanity Fair article.
hmmm gore/hagel ticket? then hagel would run that show i do believe….
Sadly, Katie’s behavior is pretty typical of most “access journalism”. This is how you have to behave if you want to get close to Bushpower.
Kathleen @ 121
I am not an authorized spokesman for anyone but me and my two dogs. However, if Gore ran he would beat the piss out of Hillary in the constituency most concerned about the I/P issue.
Mc Connell trashing Democrats on C-span
disgusting
I am personally acquainted with Joe Galloway. Joe has been viciously attacking the Bush administration and Congress for their dumbfounded approach to the war in Iraq. His latest column is here:
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/gal…..19480.html
Here’s one about Karl Rove’s leaving that caused me to chuckle. It’s a must-read. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/gal…..18991.html
Anyway, I wondered what kind of response he’d been getting from military types who are known to crucify those of us who don’t support the war.
First of all, he said that Hal Moore and he discussed the war in 2002 and decided, “Iraq is NOT worth the life of a single American soldier. NOT ONE.”
He said that his column is run in Stars and Stripes “which is read by most our our troops worldwide, including Iraq and Afghanistan. I NEVER heard a bad word from the troops….who I think understand that my only agenda is doing my best to say what they are forbidden to say. It also runs, now that Rumsfeld is long gone, every week in the Pentagon Early Bird digest which circulates to American officers and NCOs worldwide.”
He said that he gets a lot of mail from both active and retired generals and they agree with what he says.
Finally, and this is the best part –
“I do get my share of bleats of outrage and accusations of treason from know-nothing cro-magnon Republicans who crawl out from under their slimy rocks in places like Fort worth, Texas, every Monday when my column appears there. But the percentage is about 97 percent total agreement vs. three percent nut jobs who call me a communist, a socialist, a LIBERAL DEMOCRAT, a traitor.”
“They are why God created the Delete Key on my keyboard…..”
Hooray for Joe Galloway!
cleter @ 115
Ah yes, The Borg — Resistence is Futile!!
Several reporters on Matthews (Fineman being one of them) have said close sources say that he will declare in November. Gore said on several occasions that he thought is was absurd that the race started so early.
Why not wait and watch the candidates trip all over each other.
CBS made a stupendously bad decision in moving away from its “hard” news image. It paid a ton of money for Couric but her brand of “soft” news didn’t attract new viewers and turned off a lot of their traditional ones. It was the worst of all possible worlds.
At some point, someone very high up will decide to fire the boneheaded executives who made this decision but until that time those same executives (and their underlings) have a vested interest in denying that the white elephant in the room is there and lashing out at anyone who dares to mention it.
Last night I watched September 11, 2001, as it happened from New York. Katie Couric was the newscaster that dreadful day. Her voice through the whole reporting of it as it happened leaves many questions in my mind. Her lack of enthusiasm during this newscasting made me feel like a 911 tinfoil hatter. I don’t know if it is online somewhere, but I was stunned last night.
Kathleen @ 129
I usually don’t believe what I see on teevee…
Get it? Give Katie a chance to show off her gams in Mesopotamia, and then she is suddenly a serious reporter. Does not require a serious report, merely a serious backdrop.
Brisingamen at 107
I can just hear it comin’ out of the page! Nice inspired creativity!
Kathleen @ 116
That would be great. Gore could upgrade from the Republican-lite running mate he had last time to a genuine Republican. That would certainly cement his progressive credentials.
I voted for Gore-Lieberman, even though I despise Lieberman. I would not vote for Gore-Hagel. That ticket would tell me Gore is, as I feared in 2000, not much of a Democrat. I will never in my life ever vote for a Republican. The Republican party has become an abomination.
Sorry, completely off topic..
I wish those, who have no ‘real problem’ with the possibility of an attack by the US against Iran, using some ’sort’ of nuclear weapon, would watch this along with our so-called ‘representatives’.
When they get to the graphic re, London, they should pause, and think about all the PEOPLE that are in London and the surrounding country who are just ‘gone’…. Then they need to think about the PEOPLE in the cities of Iran and the Middle East, during and after, such an attack…
There are NO winners in a nuclear war and the impact on the planet and future generations, means our mutual destruction.
Our Commanders and Leaders seem to be seriously considering committing acts of genocide against the rest of the world..
This has to stop before it goes any further.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JkO9j3J-PY
My personal opinion is that Gore would certainly BE better than Hillary, and I suspect he would do a little better than Hillary, but I’m not sure he has the crossover appeal with Republicans that a lot of Dems seem to think he has.
I just have anecdotal evidence from some “moderate” Republicans I know. But that’s my assessment — FWIW
BigMitch @ 126
That may be true, but not based on anything that I’m aware of that Gore has said. Gore was notably silent at this same time a year ago, when the IDF was machine-gunning civilians and Lebanese local government response workers trying to mitigate the biggest oil spill in the history of the Eastern Mediterranean, caused by the IDF bombing of oil tank farms near the shore in Beirut.
SufiLizard @ 120
I believe Edwards has had several budget priced Meet & Greets.
let me see if I can find anything
Levin, on camera but off mic, talking again about the fact there is Iraqi capability that is not being used or allowed to stand up. He feels this is because Bush wants to draw this out.
Also saying that Repubs don’t want to get stuck in a civil war and are looking for a way to say that open-endedness is not ok.
Reiterates that Petraeus twice stated that he recommends continuing the withdrawals after presurge troop levels are passed.
Hugh @ 131
My understanding is that Les Moonves was the “boneheaded executive” which means Sumner Redstone is the higher up person who has to decide it wasn’t a good idea.
Re Kucinich’s wife being a babe,
I am reminded of a Kentucky Governor John Y. Brown who ran on a platform of being a successful businessman (Kentucky Fired Chicken) and his ability to land his wife Phyllis George.
Elliott @ 138
He had one in SF that was $15.
Kevster @ 12
That Democratic Candidates Debate (sounds like “Mrs. Robinson”) on Univision the night before last was reported in the NYT and at least one local paper, but in neither paper was it mentioned that (this was my strong impression as a viewer undistracted by any actual comprehension of the Spanish broadcast) Kucinich got the loudest applause during the debate itself. His responses were interrupted by roars of approval and cheers. The three ‘real candidates’ got a polite reception, little more.
MSM definitely does not want anything in print suggesting that their preplanned mythology of the contest being “the woman vs. the man of color vs. the usual suspect” neglects the preferences of significant segments of the voting public.
Hugh @ 130
Les Moonves made the decision. He pushed hard–and went hard after her. Moonves. And only Sumner Redstone can fire him. But Redstone is distracted by family problems at the moment: his soon-to-be ex wife, and his daughter.
Actually, I believe you missed the point. “Most Intelligent” people don’t read blogs. That appears to be the point!!! Which, by the way, does not even take into account that “Most Intelligent” people don’t bother watching her newscast in the first place. Quite the sticky wicket!!!
My God, who do they have answering emails over at CBS–Rush Limbaugh? Michael Savage?
It’s really over for CBS.
CBS is dead.
Dead. Dead. Dead.
Nothing but a stinking, rotting corpse now.
I live in Florida, so my vote doesn’t count, but if I lived in a real state I would vote for Edwards in the primary. If Gore got in, I would probably vote for him in our meaningless primary, if OKK can convince me that the Al Gore who thought Joe Lieberman would be a swell running mate is truly gone.
Ed*ard Teller @ 138
I do not know of this incident, and so I am sceptical. Please don’t try to pursuade me here. I’ll do my own research. However, granting that it is true ad arguendo, his failure to criticize Israel won’t alienate him from the constituency to which I referred.
dakine01 @ 111
Tom Brokaw, went from Today to NBC Nightly News.
(NBC’s big mistake was putting that twit Gumbel in the Today anchor chair — it should have been Jane Pauley’s.)
OT but . .
Kucinich has been on The Ed Schultz Show since 9a Left Coast time. He’s on till noon.
http://www.1240talkcity.com/
Why hasn’t FDL promoted this? After all, Kuch is THE most and really THE only real progressive of all the pretzel candidates.
This man has solutions and will reshape America to serve the masses, and not the 1%.
I’d of thought that kind of progressive vision would be of GREAT interest and excitement to a fem-nazi blog . . . ;-)
I mean, when was the LAST time ANYONE gave a candidate 3 hours of airtime? And Schultz offered it to ALL the candidates, NONE of whom would take him up on it. Why? My guess is they’d hafta come out of their soundbytes and get REAL about their ‘alleged’ stands on policy’s and such . . THAT is another spin of this story I would have though FDL would ALSO be interested in highlighting.
Hugh @ 142
It didn’t hurt John Warner either, but I think it might backfire on Fredrick of Hollywood.
Hugh @ 74
From my admittedly-brief glimpses at CBS during Katie’s Great Iraqi Adventure, Logan’s reporting was shoe-horned to ensure that it didn’t make the Anchor’s stuff look bad. Still, even then you got the sense of Logan squirming to find a way to answer questions honestly, but without upsetting the network bosses who flew Couric over.
(And you have to wonder what Logan feels about such dog/pony treatment of the American vacationers, while the people holding down the fort are almost all non-US-citizens. She’s South African, Ware and Tarabay are Aussies.)
Twain @ 143
Yeah, but I’m shocked he’s even setting foot in Indiana, let alone hosting a fundraiser, I’d be very surprised if he’s doing anything else in the state. We’re completely meaningless in the primaries and our electoral votes always go to the Republican candidate.
I’m not too far from Chicago though, I think I’d have better luck finding an affordable meet-n-greet there.
ccmask @ 131
Here is Katie during 911
Why no one wants to run? They don’t want to inherit this unsolvable totally detructive Iraqi policy. It will take a lot more than pulling out our troops. Bush and NeoCons totally destroyed this country and left a massive refugee problem that someone will have to address. So far small NGOs have taken up the cause.
The entire executive White House staff should be made accountable. They are guilty of terrible war crimes.
BigMitch @ 151
That’s a good point. Warner’s image really morphed over time. Kind of funny when you see the old warhorse now and consider his beginnings.
I’ve posted this about Kucinich before, but in case anyone hasn’t seen it, it’s worth taking a look. I heard about Dennis’s refusal to privatize the city utility when he was mayor of Cleveland 30 years ago. He refused to sell the utiility to a private company even when the bank (where several board members also sat on the board of the company that wanted to buy the utility) refused to renew the city’s loan and so the city defaulted on the loan. (And as a consequence, he wasn’t re-elected.)
What I didn’t know was that when he refused to sell the utility, there was a mafia hit put out on him. He was in his early or mid-20’s and was known as the ‘boy mayor’…..and had more guts than any of the other politicians we have. (I’m still amazed that he became mayor that young…he came from a blue collar family that was so poor they lived in a car at one point.)
Here’s a link to a website that describes that incident, If you scroll down to the bottom of the page, there’s a YouTube of a local TV segment that describes the plot to kill him. Definitely worth watching.
http://www.towncalleddobson.com/?p=840
Kathleen @ 116
Ugh, no. Hagel may be good on the war for a Republican, but on almost anything else he’s not anyone I’d want running the country. And Gore wouldn’t run as an independent; I’m sure he has more sense than to think he could run successfully without a party infrastructure.
Ed*ard Teller @ 139
Gore is still a politician, and can’t be all things to all people. When it really, really counted, before we invaded Iraq, he broke with the cherished decorum (omerta) concerning ex-presidents and made the most effective speeches against the war anyone made. What could he do last summer when the House was voting 410-8 against a cease fire?
Hugh @ 156
People who know war, hate war. Chickenhawk assholes like Bush and Cheney have no basis to consider the horrors they have unleashed, no empathy and no curiosity to find out.
james @ 54
Ah, so you eat what fish you catch…that would make you a Mercurian then! Possibly even a PCBian!
Why would Gore want the job? I also think that he might be the best person for the job, but it has very real risks for him, specifically. As I’ve said before, there are some who would stop at nothing to ensure that
Gore would not be able to complete a single term. Not tin hattery, just historical awareness. I suspect, were Mr. Gore to consider putting himself on the line, that we all would have to have a large hand in convincing him that it was worth it.
Gore will not, and should not be expected to shoulder such serious burdens unless he knows that ‘the people’, upon whom he must depend, truly understand that NONE of it
would be ‘business as usual.’
We are at the most significant crossroads of our nation’s lifetime and exceptional effort and risk belong to us all.
cleter @ 149
I lived in Williston, Fl., out side of G’Ville for eleven years. Worked for Plant Pathology at U of F. ;0)
Kucinich is awesome. I’m so glad he is running, and getting his views out there. But today I sent $100 to Obama. Edwards, for whatever reason, just isn’t creating momentum. Obama has the momentum.
Hugh @ 143
Except John Y wanted to run for president until he remembered that to win, he’d have to run in primaries in NH and MA where the memories are long with how he tried to run Red Auerbach out of town when he owned the Celtics. Not real smart a move on his part. He and Phyllis have since divorced.
cleter @ 148
As a Floridian, that is so damn funny.
Re Gore: His speech about the abuses of civil rights (wiretaps, breech of FISA, etc.) was one of the finest moments of political speech I have ever observed.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 164
I am at UF right this very minute.
SufiLizard @ 138
I haven’t heard crossover appeal being an argument in Gore’s favor. I agree that he wouldn’t have any more than any of the other candidates, but I suspect he’d have a lot more appeal with independents.
tejanarusa @ 85
You mean besides the fact that the MSM never mentions him if they can help it? He doesn’t get support because most Americans never heard what he has to say. I’ve often thought if the blogs would endorse him for the primaries because they approve of his message, we could drum up support. Unfortunately, that causes other problems so the blogs refrain.
Maybe start some support Kucinich blogs so places like FDL aren’t compromised?
Just a thought.
Hugh @ 74
This is a great point.
“Ratings” are a red herring. It’s about political objectives with these media behemoths, of which the news divisions are a tiny percentage of the business. While the content of Logan’s sweater might draw viewers, the more important consideration was that the content of her reporting might be objectionable.
sooo having a babe as a wife will influence voters….i’m gagging on that one – damn how shallow is that
The Vanity Fair article on Gore quoted Tipper as saying that he has made “zero moves” that would suggest a run for presidency. Most candidates running usually declare by Labor Day. That’s why Fred did. By November it’s too late. Gore or not. And I’m in the minority here that even when he does decide to run, his winning is definitely not a foregone conclusion.
Did anyone notice what color Katie’s Capri pants were, and do they follow the “no black before Labor Day” rule in Iraq?
Oklahoma kiddo @ 163
Shouldn’t you have been working against plant pathology?
That was a fine speech. One of the best I’ve heard. And I watched JFK’s speeches as a teenager.
jackie @ 137
I got curious as to the locations of the “desired” nuke targets recently and did a Google Earth search. The sites that get loony consideration for using a tactical, low-yield nuke are not outside Tehran. The “juicy” nuke sites/targets are quite nicely well within Tehran. They CANNOT be hit without taking out most of the city with it (with a nuke hit, even if a deep penetrator). Even a heavy conventional weapon bombardment would destroy a lot of surrounding HOMES.
This would be criminal mass murder. Period. It WOULD be a crime against humanity.
BigMitch @ 169
I had the honor of being there. The text can be found here.
You know, sometimes you wonder. I remember when I use to watch Deborah Norville on a very very early morning show (at like 5:00 AM.) Oddly enough, I remember thinking that she asked some really penetrating questions, and that she seemed better than such an early morning show which, BTW, she carried by herself–no cohost. Of course, since I really know nothing about how broadcast journalism works, I have no real idea if the questions she asked were hers alone and spontaneous, or whether someone else was feeding her such insightful questions.
Later, when they put her on as the news person with Bryant Gumbel and Jane Pauley, she ended up being villainized when she went on maternity leave. I heard that the two basically made her life miserable. This was all before we knew that Jane was bipolar, and I can’t help but wonder if Jane wasn’t just being paranoid due to her condition, and Bryant was just being Bryant. But they essentially crashed her career as a serious journalist, and now she does pretty much puff pieces on shows like Inside Edition.
Then Katie came along and replaced Jane. She seemed like an improvement over Jane, even though she was perky. Now that she’s working for CBS and trying to be the first female anchor to work alone on an evening news show, she doesn’t seem to be doing too well. Then she goes to Iraq and does a Judy Miller imitation, and CBS seemingly can’t take the criticism. I’d be inclined to feel sorry for her if she wasn’t getting millions of dollars for her efforts, when I can get better for free.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 177
That was a great speech.
Oh, all right, dammit, I’ll vote for Gore.
dakine01 @ 111
[editing problems] You asked if any successful anchors came from a.m. shows:
Tom Brokaw came from Today. Some of the same commentary. Now, that’s not getting into how “good” a reporter/anchor he was, but you’d have to rate him “successful,” in their own terms.
Digging deep into the early memory banks here; I think Downs was a news reader/reporter in the very early 1950’s, well before he went to the morning show or 20-20.
BigMitch @ 177
I was working for I.F.A.S @ UF doing experiments in conjunction with UC Davis on strawberries and Tomatoes. Fungicide stuff.
I’d take Jane Curtain over all of them.
pol -
That Galloway quote
“I do get my share of bleats of outrage and accusations of treason from know-nothing cro-magnon Republicans who crawl out from under their slimy rocks in places like Fort worth, Texas, every Monday when my column appears there. But the percentage is about 97 percent total agreement vs. three percent nut jobs who call me a communist, a socialist, a LIBERAL DEMOCRAT, a traitor.”
“They are why God created the Delete Key on my keyboard…..”
is priceless. Thanks for sharing!
Praedor @ 179
I believe you are 100% correct.
Again, I ask: How many msd’s (main stream
democrats) stand with us? Specifically, among the ‘leadership’?
The obvious choice for CBS Evening News anchor is Lara Logan, if the network ever figures out that credibility is the thing that boosts the numbers.
ccmask @ 183
You ignorant bitch.
I can’t tell you how many times I have gotten in trouble for saying that to someone who doesn’t get the reference.
I love Kucinich. He’ll stand along for what he believes. That’s what I call strong. He also listens. The Democratic Party has never taken him seriously. He is a Populist. He is the true standard bearer of The People’s Party. Kucinich gives me hope.
BigMitch @ 169
I agree. The Cooper union Speech is hard to find in video, but here’s a version of the speech I think you’re referring to. Excerpts, actually.
BigMitch @ 188
I’ll admit, you scared me at first…who can ever forget Jane & Roseanne Rosannadanna
Ann in AZ:
Well-said. I couldn’t agree with you more. On all points.
“I am at UF right this very minute.”
That’s Cool. ;0)
tejanarusa @ 183
I seem to remember that vaguely myself altho maybe as a substitute since it was Huntley/Brinkley at nbc and Unca Walter at cbs in my memory
edit: don’t recall who abc had in those days. they were mostly non-entities.
Yeah, Cooper Union. Not the most famous speech ever delivered there, but one of the top two.
cleter @ 115
Me & OKK
Resisting. The. Borg.
Biodun @ 175
I can’t blame Gore for not running. The presidency was stolen from him in 2000 and given to a petty tyrant who proceeded to trash the government, the country and the world. He must have had to deal with a lot of anger and pain, and may justifiably feel that he’s not gonna be the one to be saddled with cleaning up bush’s many messes. And, inevitably, blamed if he’s unable to do so.
ccmask @ 192
Ahem…It’s “you ignorant slut”. Please please, get your cultural/comedy references right! “Jane you ignorant slut” is the classic Curtain/Ackroyd line.
WTF!!! KUDO — local liberal radio station — pre-empting the Ed Schultz show with Kucinich to bring us an infomercial. Must be a sun-spot thing.
Any more on the Dem presser? A summary?
ccmask:
BigMitch scared me at first with that one too. I thought FDL was burning up again…*g*
Biodun @ 174
Tipper says he has made zero moves that would suggest a run for the presidency, but adds that if he turned to her one night and said he had to run, she’d get on board, and they’d discuss how to approach it this time around, given what they’ve learned.
http://www.vanityfair.com/poli…..rentPage=7
Audrey said:
.
Oh, well, I guess I just take as a given that the MSM never reports anything or anyone that matters.
ccmask @ 185
Especially the time when she bitched that everyone was saying that Chevy was hot and she wasn’t and she lamented about too much sex in the news. Then she ripped her shirt open and did the news in her bra.
Good times.
Live Vote at MSNBC:
Do you believe President Bush’s actions justify impeachment? * 550851 responses
Yes, between the secret spying, the deceptions leading to war and more, there is plenty to justify putting him on trial.
89%
No, like any president, he has made a few missteps, but nothing approaching “high crimes and misdemeanors.”
4.2%
No, the man has done absolutely nothing wrong. Impeachment would just be a political lynching.
5.2%
I don’t know.
1.9%
Spying, the Constitution — and the ‘I-word’
“….For months now, I have been getting e-mails demanding that my various employers (Newsweek, NBC News and MSNBC.com) include in their poll questionnaires the issue of whether Bush should be impeached”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10561966/
Today is a good day
Quaker Girl @190 – Kucinich is to the Democratic Party what Antioch College is to higher education. All students who go there are thoroughly steeped in Horace Mann’s exhortation: “Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.”
What is this solid gray block that obliterates some blogs? An attempt to post a photo? What? Does it come from the same place as my unwanted question mark in the middle of a post? Inform me, please. Enough mystery.
oddmommy:
Yep. Why would he want to do that? It’s such a mess. And I wonder how many currently running know how big a task it’s gonna be. Only Hillary has said that repeatedly. (But I’m not a supporter of hers.)
BigMitch @ 196
Yeah. I’m finishing _Team of Rivals_, about the cabinet of the other Cooper Union guy. Imagine choosing a cabinet of your biggest rivals because you’ve come to the conclusion that they’re the best for the job and the country needs no less when in peril.
oddmommy @ 195
Makes far more sense for him to run in 2012 :-D
BigMitch @ 186
I thought it was, “You ignorant slut.”
“Curtin”
BigMitch @ 200
KPOJ in Portland delays Schultz’s show, if anyone wants to listen online. Noon to 3pm pt.
QuakerGirl @ 207
My understanding is that it’s a known problem with the Firefox browser when the comments get long. I have it here occasionally as well as at Down With Tyranny and even Digby’s.
Praedor Atrebates @ 196
No wonder, I have been punched in the nose so often.
I thought it was ‘poor, misguided slut’.
-GSD
dakine01 @ 212
I think it’s related to flash/firefox/youtube. *shrug*.
dakine01 @ 167
Well, and I think he was eventually forced out of KFC or its parent company. I’m a little surprised to hear he’s still alive. I thought he had died. The Phyllis George thing was for his run as governor. It was a kind of: if I can get this (the wife) for myself, think of what I can get for you as governor.
TheOtherWA @ 211
I highly recommend it.
It was “Jane, you ignorant slut.” Saw it live. After all, it was Saturday Night Live.
BTW, gang:
A new post should be coming up shortly, for those hunting zeds. I’m really a fair kinda guy…*g*
Same kind of thing happens to me all the time but with NPR!
dakine01 @ 215
Thank you so much. I’ll observe if this happens with Safari.
Make of this what you will. But we are talking close to a million dollars here:
Of all the possible vulnerabilities facing Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential campaign, Mrs. Clinton has long believed that the one of the biggest was money, friends and advisers say. Some sort of fund-raising scandal that would echo the Clinton-era controversies of the 1990s and make her appear greedy or ethically challenged.
Yet nine months into her campaign, Mrs. Clinton is grappling with exactly the situation she feared — giving up nearly $900,000 that had been donated or raised by Norman Hsu, a one-time fugitive and one of her top fund-raisers, whose actions raise serious questions about how well the campaign vetted its donors. As a result, Mrs. Clinton now finds herself linked to a convicted criminal who brought in tens of thousands of dollars from potentially tainted sources.
Solai @ 201
My unintelligible 3-4 comments above are a liveblog of the Dem presser. Summary:
We want a change in mission and a drawdown beyond the pre-surge number. We will be aggressive but will not give you any specifics today, will se how it plays during debate. Levin stressed that Petraeus agreed that he was recommending a drawdown to continue beyond the 30K surge number and feels that Repubs are fearing a civil war and are looking for a way out.
Reid wants a change in mission and wants to make nice with Repubs.
Slothrop @ 187
Like the California power industry, corporate news has been broken by changing half the equation but not the other half.
The serious journalist-cum-news anchor has been replaced by the telegenic newsreader for ratings, but unfortunately the newsreader still maintains the news room editorial power that the traditional news anchor had. Setting aside Katie’s perkiness, she’s not talented in the way necessary to vet, edit or construct meaningful news. She’s a blow-dried mannequin to please the viewer, and her responsibilities should end there.
Corporations need to fix their news business model. Either go back to the original way or just admit the person in front of the camera is a meat puppet who’s sole function is reading the teleprompter and making audiences feel good about themselves.
dakine01 @ 195
Hugh Downs didn’t do eve news, did mostly daytime and hosted “Concentration” when I was little. He also was Jack Paar’s sidekick.
Here are three recent Kouric controversies from wiki:.
1- used the phrase “some people have said” when interviewing John Edwards and his wife and second-guessing his decision to continue to run for president.
2- Admitted a column of her Katie Couric Notebook was plagiarized from a Zaslow article without her knowledge, meaning she doesn’t write her own stuff
3- I another Notebook column, she claimed Obama studied at a Radical madrassa.
The Kucinich interview will be aired in L.A. on KTLK at 7-10 tonight.
Here’s a site that chooses your candidate for you, based on your opinions. Funny, but all my household ended up with Kucinich! Wouldn’t that be an interesting way to vote?
Pick Your Candidate
A million bucks is drop in the bucket for Hillary.
HERES MY LETTER TO CBS
Dear Mr. McGlinchy,
I am writing you regarding the excerpts of Katie Couric’s softball interviews with Gen Petreus I’ve seen on You-Tube. I’m aware that my letter to you may likely be dismissed as that of one who reads “liberal blogs” (as is indeed the case), but the matter is important enough that I’m writing to you anyway.
I am 48 years old. I grew up with Walter Cronkite, Chet Huntley, John Chancellor , and Dan Rather.
I don’t watch the network news any more — precisely because it is rarely anything but a showcase for a celebrity anchor reciting a few banal stories, followed by a string of puff pieces.
Every reality-oriented person I know, from either party, from all ideological quarters agrees: the Iraq war has been a disaster for the United States. Whether one favors an aggressive or more nuanced American foreign policy, our undertaking in Iraq has failed, and continues to fail, with ramifications that will reverberate for decades.
You won’t hear that on the nightly news, however.
Tom Ricks, in his book Fiasco, notes that while GW Bush bears final responsibility for our blunders in Iraq, the war could not have been conducted as it has been without simultaneous failure by Congress, by the higher-echelon military, and the acquiescent press.
I understand the pressure you are under. I understand the cries of “liberal” and treason that would attend your anchor forthrightly stating the truth that every loyal American should know. I understand that the Bush Administration and those around it have aggressively pushed to have their PR “product” — from the false claims of WMD in Iraq, to the rejection of the recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group — accepted as reality by major news outlets. I’m sure I have no idea of the sanctions your network would face if you told the truth.
But you have failed. The duty of the press is to inform the people about what is happening. That’s the only way the democratic process can work.
Shame on you.
Sincerely,
Here’s a question. Is a blog a blog if the person or people hosting the site only post their essays and disallow comments or feedback from being displayed?
Hugh @ 218
I grew up in KY and John Y was always an operator. His father was always running (and losing) for senator or governor. He bought out KFC from the Col then sold out to Hueblein. Bought the KY Colonels and installed his first wife as president with an all female board except for Adolph Rupp as chairman. When the ABA folded into the NBA, he took x millions to disband the colonels and for the rights to the players, bought the Buffalo Braves and traded them even up for the Celtics. He divorced his first wife in there somewhere before deciding to run for Governor after marrying Phyllis.
Biodun @ 202
Thanks for stepping up and defending my honor *g*
QuakerGirl @ 223
I’ve not had the problem with safari.
Ed*ard Teller @ 233
Leave Instapundick alone!
-GSD
Ed*ard Teller @ 233
Absolutely. The comments thing came along later. A blog is simply a “web log” which can be (and sometimes is) merely a stream of consciousness thing, essays, observations, or commentaries. Comment ability is not a requirement to be a ‘blog’.
BigMitch @ 216
lol heh
Biodun @ 231
That may be true. But ‘perception’ is perhaps not a “drop in the bucket”. ;0)
Ed*ard Teller @ 233
AFAIK, yep.
zennurse @ 226
Call Harry Reid. And, call, call, call. Make certain the aide takes your name and address and tell them you want a response to your comment/concerns. My experience is that his aides are from preschool and are just starting to record comments on the computer. How many times have I called his office? Too many to remember. And today, the aide said my name wasn’t in their computer files. My Repug senator and Rep has all the data on me and even recognize my voice when I call in. Gee, Harry! Your aides need some real training.
puppethead @ 227
Cable news went with news lite and a mixture of clowns and pretty faces.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 240
It doesn’t help to have a Clinton tied to yet another crooked campaign donor. That alone feeds the VRWC. Not that it matters to me…I wont vote for her no matter where her money comes from.
Speaking of dirty money, has Obama finally given in and decided to lose the Hsu money HE took in?
WOW. You know, I’ve heard bolg types say stuff like “Most of the MSM people are really threatened by/scared of the blogs.” And I chalked it up to self-satisfied puffing. But after seeing this and seeing Tucker Carlson ridicule bloggers, I believe it. I think sites like this are making people like Tucker shit his pants.
found this at the McClatchy’s link (thanks it was great)
sad commentary in a cartoon about the drawdown:
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/215/gallery/19548.html
Ed*ard Teller @ 191
four years of gore speeches (2002-2006, mostly audio)
Ed*ard Teller @ 232
Yes. If you want to provide feedback you can put it on your own blog and link. For some reason there’s a twisted belief that all blogs need to have comments, but “blog” comes from “web log”, and the traditional “log” is nothing more than what one would call a diary. Or maybe think of a ship’s log where events are documented.
Blogs are electronic, publicly-displayed diaries. Some support comments, some don’t. There’s no litmus test for what a blog should be.
Sorry, pups for being redundant. Guess my speed reading ain’t what it used to be.
Ed*ard Teller @ 233
simple answer, Atrios style:
No.
While we are on the subject, when you go to google and click on news, how come they never list blogs in news reporting? We have made news here and I know Dailykos and TPM and Next Hurrah have, why don’t these ever come in the results?
Are those hunting Zeds
part of a Zedocracy or
are they Zedophiles?
A license to hunt Zed
is a privilege and
must needs reflect
respect, as Biodun
has shown, for a
‘bag’ limit.
zennurse @ 226
Some reporter asked a question: Gen. Petraeus says we’re almost there in terms of progress in Iraq so why change things if we are almost there? To which Reid replied that he thought that was little short of ridiculous.
Ed*ard Teller @ 233
I think so, just more like a journal. It is a log of their thoughts, and on the web, so weblog=blog, no?
I don’t love those though.
dakine01 -
Have wondered exactly what people were complaining about wrt to the gray thingy…….Safari explains it. Thanks.
How do the presidential candidates stand with public financing of campaigns?
these are the people who lied about who got their library card and when
why would this be any different
Beerfart Liberal @ 245
Tucker Carlson is such great free advertisement for bloggers. He drives people to read them. Thanks Tucker. Little did you know.
Praedor Atrebates @ 238
The evolution of blogs indicates you are right. I started commenting at pre-www discussion groups in the mid-80s. As slow as they were, they were more interactive than existing blogs which disallow comments. And the blogger’s code of conduct is mostly rules on how to deal responsibly with the feedback scenario of comments being posted about the blog’s essays.
Poor CBS, reduced to reusing Scottie McLellan’s old, lame lines.
-GSD
Hugh @ 253
True, I think I caught that in my liveblog up ^ there. Thanks for adding, though
Kathleen @ 116
No, no, no! Hagel is a good guy in some ways, but he is an uber-conservative. I’d rather see Gore/Dean! Or Gore/Edwards. Or Gore/Kucinich! or Gore/any Dem!
RockPaperScizzors @ 206
I just voted and then sent the link to Conyers. Asked him to bring it to Nancy’s attention.
Praedor Atrebates @ 163
I’m partial to foie gras.
I really, really must get to the kitchen to repair my dropped blood sugar. It hit bottom. See you all in the next thread.
The kewl kids just don’t want anyone else sitting at ‘their’ lunch table unless they are shown proper deference & they do the inviting.
RockPaperScizzors @ 206
well, well.
But of course, not serious – just votes by all us DFH blog-reading libruls.
In 245 I meant blog types, not “bolg types.” I really don’t have time for the spell checker.
But ya know, you’d think Katie would use every opportunity she gets to prove she’s a “real journalist” and not a perky pretty face who did, well, softball interviews on the today show. The real question with her now is “Who’s gonna replace her?” Oh yeah. And who gets blamed for giving so much money to an unproven fuck-up.
zennurse @ 254
i’m thinking that a clearer distinction needs to be made, definition-wise, between interactive web logs which allow discussion, and non-comment blogs, which I usually call “web diaries” or “vanity blogs.”
selise @ 247
sorry, i should have also said that my list of gore speeches has a link to the complete video of gore’s mlk day speech.
David W. Barto:
They’re both. And yes, I do have a license…And from time to time, I choose to bag my limit…*g* (The operative word here is “choose to.”)
David W. Bartoo @ 252
I’ve been hanging out here for over a year and must profess my ignorance about ZED and am looking for enlightenment. Why do first commentors ‘zed’? What does it all mean?
Helen @ 263
The date on the Fineman article in this page is December. I’m not clear that this is a current poll.
zennurse @ 254
I still say no – based on my “original construction” of what weblogs started out as:
not a log of thoughts, but a log of various sites on the web collected in one place, the “weblog.” The first one I heard of, 7 or 8 years ago, was put together by a small public library in Maine or Vermont. Collected interesting sites for readers, with hyperlinks.
About the same time, “personal web pages” were very popular. I think the modern “blog” (of course, there are millions, so there’s not much point trying to limit the definition) is a combination of that “weblog” idea and the “personal web page.”
But I’m not really trying to hang on to the original “construction”.
an imagined katy couric response to the reality of florida sized chunks of arctic ice disappearing:
“like the parts of florida that we can see from the air?”
RockPaperScizzors @ 272
In earlier versions of “WordPress” (the software used) the first comment to show when there were no comments displayed the number “0″ which was translated to “Z” which then became the Canadian for Z which is zed. WordPress no longer does this but the residual effect remains.
Toby Wollin @ 207
Sadly, Antoich College announced this spring that they will close down for lack of enrollment. Let’s not link its fate too closely to Kucinich’s.!
zennurse @ 273
I found the link at buzzflash;
http://buzzflash.com/
New thread…
And cleter’s grabbed the zed.
Waccamaw @ 186
Thanks. Reading Galloway’s recent columns made me think about what a great service he’s doing for our country. He’s well-respected among the military — they believe him. He’s convincing that audience that there’s something basically wrong with the system.
Go read the story about Rove. It’s a riot — I promise. Here’s a hint:
Biodun @ 209
That’s why Gore is the one to handle it. He’s uniquely qualified to fix what Bush broke having done Government Reformation before.
Sometimes I think corporate news hates the blogs so much is because the lies they tell don’t fit in the series of internet tubes….
Kathleen @ 130
Good idea. Actually, I really think that Gore is and has been running a sort of stealth campaign for quite some time. I don’t think it’s the only thing on his mind, and I definitely don’t question his sincerity about global warming, but several things he’s done made me wonder. 1) When Jane first saw An Inconvenient Truth, she did a post in which I believe she indicated that she thought he would run 2) He refuses to say he will not run emphatically, whereas he did that the last time 3) When I watched Live Earth, both Melissa Etheridge and Kanye West seemed to be openly campaigning for him to run (I couldn’t have been more pleased!) You can still watch Sting as he closed the show. On his last song, Message in a Bottle, Kanye West came out. Go listen.
The guy has established a base, he’s acquired enough money to finance his own campaign, and he has so many contacts internationally that I don’t think he’ll have any trouble with support both here and abroad. He was very visible and instrumental in putting that concert together on seven continents. I think it’s his if he wants it. At least, I sure hope so.
Ed*ard Teller @ 139
Gore’s speech at Constitution Hall was on MLK Day, 2006. If it was not the best speech I’ve ever heard, it was damned close to it. It’s still on the net. Go check it out.
Biodun @ 175
If Gore declares, it has to be an anti-campaign. One that relies upon a wave of support, that mows down the sniping op-ed columnists of old media and the character assassins of the right.
The question isn’t whether Gore is prepared to run, but whether enough people are prepared to make the convention-busting effort required to allow him to run.
If that were to happen, it would be a rare and precious thing. I don’t see it happening, though.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. This should not bother
anyone. U.S. mainstream meda are machines for the Bush Way-Of-Life: a.k.a. Theft.
The other truth…….
…..a report from Anbar by independent filmmaker Rick Rowley…
http://www.democracynow.org/ar…..11/1424208
We spent a month and a half in the country, and we crisscrossed Iraq. I was traveling with David Enders and met with the production support of Hiba Dawood, and we found entire communities of refugees who had been displaced by exactly the same tribes that the US had been working with in other parts of the country.
Check out the video, Other than Democracy Now, the only other place this has been aired is Al Jazeera English. Most interesting is the part about the alleged ‘Leader of the Pack’ Sheikh Sattar Abu Risha, that Shrub met with….what a joke. One of the Iraqis called him a Disney Cartoon Character.
Katie is sucktacular.
BigMitch @ 189
It was the 70s, Mitch. Not so much now.
Sent my own email to Couric on 9/09,and will try to get it in here: TOTALLY AWFUL at this stuff. Thanks, Christy, as always.
What was I thinking? Hope is not a technical skill. Precis: It was great during 9/11, now it sucks; get real.
Toby Wollin @ 58
I serve it with smintina
I leave the schmaltz to Jackie Mason
I hope that Gore gets in, I am really worried about the possibilities of having to hold my nose in the voting booth in’08.
We need a Dem. leader that we can support and trust, a real statesman, someone when he speaks people will sit up listen and notice.
I am so fucking tired of people beating up on Katie Couric. Is she the ONLY network news anchor on television? Where is the criticism of Brian Williams on NBC, or whoever the fuck is on ABC? Oh, yeah … they dumped their woman anchor because she had the nerve to get pregnant. The overkill on Katie smells of sexism.
BAC
Kevster @ 12
It’s hard enough to get the public to move to the left of Hillary and Obama, to get them to move as far to the left as Kucinich would require hypnotism.
Edwards for President — Leadership for America!
Oh, and what’s this. Are we to be convince Katie is a real journalist because she eschewed her Doris Day hair do? Puh-leeze.
Tithonia @ 166
Isn’t Obama the candidate who admitted he’d used cocaine?
Ask yourself this, are the Republicans going to be kind to a black man who has admitted using cocaine and who would no doubt be characterized (as would any Dem) as an ultra-Liberal Radical Commie?
And you still want to take a chance on him so a Republican has a chance to win the presidency?
I would LOVE to only pick the best candidate based on character, experience and intelligent policies, but you and I both know the whole of the American electorate sees things differently. Do you really trust them to elect Obama or would it be President Giuliani?
Edwards for President — Leadership for America, and electable too!
Toby Wollin @ 207
I’d love to watch a debate between Dennis Kucinich and Joe Biden. It would be fascinating.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 225
And, that’s just one of her shady contributors. There is one from India and perhaps one from Pakistan and who knows how many others. Only the tip of the iceberg is showing.
It’s not about dissing Katie because she’s a female anchor (aside from the occasional comment that’s crude or sexual on some blogs).
Couric has consistently been a mouthpiece for right wing spin as a guest on other shows, and that convinced me that she has really sold her soul in return for advancement that I frankly have not observed from Brian Williams. I question her motives, in addition to her competence.