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In case you were wondering whether the GOP/Media Complex still was protecting their old buddy George W. Bush and his friends, David Gregory answers that question for you — while citing the far-right wackaloons on the Murdoch Wall Street Journal’s editorial page as if they were people whose words should be trusted:
In a puzzling remark that seems to demonstrate the extent to which the mainstream media tries to "balance" discussions of controversial issues, NBC’s David Gregory suggested Thursday that the Bush Administration issued memorandums outlining the torture of detainees out of great respect for the law.
"…Did the Bush administration go out of its way to make sure they were adhering to the law and not crossing over that bridge when it came to getting into torture?" he asked rhetorically.
For starters, David, it’s not that Bush tried to follow the law. It’s that he tried — and failed — to make the law follow him, and only after he already started doing what he wanted to do.
It’s no accident that David Gregory is getting his talking points from the Murdoch WSJ. As Media Matters points out, the conservative media has been driving this discussion and ensuring that the rest of the corporate media falls into line with them. The most blatant example, especially from someone who usually knows to rein it in so he at least sounds sane, is from none other than David Frum in a piece whose title — "Obama Slides Toward Show Trials" — is so hysterically wrong that it would be a real laff riot if it were published in The Onion.
As we all know, the corporate-owned mainstream press isn’t just protecting Bush. They’re protecting themselves. By pretending that holding Republicans accountable for torture and murder is "partisan" while impeaching a Democratic president for Oval Office nookie is A-OK, they try to justify their allegiance not to America or to humanity, but to the conservative power brokers that have controlled America’s power nexuses — in Washington and the media — for the past four decades.
As Josh Marshall says, DC is wired for Republicans. So is the press that covers DC. It’s one reason why people like Harry Reid — a Senator whose seat is always hanging by a thread in a Republican-friendly state — feel the need to sweep things under the rug. (Funny how the Republican leadership spots are always filled by GOPers in safe seats.) We need a new media — and help in funding it.
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Good morning, everyone! Hope you’re having a sunny Saturday whereever you are (unless of course you could use the rain).
That new media you speak of is going to come from the blogs and that’s a great thing. A number of blogs get to the truth and faster. I have no need for TV any more – have already read the important stuff right here and when Marcy is fully on board we will be the firstest with the mostest.
A-yep. We might not have the ad revenue that big papers have — or once had — but we don’t have huge physical plants to support, either.
“By pretending that holding Republicans accountable for torture and murder is “partisan” while impeaching a Democratic president for Oval Office nookie is A-OK”
Could we be seeing a reaction based on fear?
The attempted impeachment of Clinton was so obviously a political process it has legitimised beating up opponents through the legal process.
With a subject as serious and morally central as torture how can the people who thought it was fun to beat up Bill for his personal behaviour possibly object to a proper legal examination of what happened during the tenure of Bushco?
Because they — or at least their bosses — back Republicans. Most of the people you see on TV giving you your news make more money in a year than most of us will see in a lifetime. And their bosses make much more than that.
The GOP’s done a lot for media corporations, from cutting corporate taxes to repealing the Fairness Doctrine to gutting FCC oversight.
Because many are afraid the long arm of the law will reach out and touch them. The problem with Congressional investigations is that many on the investigating committee(s) were complicit and/or supportive of these horrors. The 3 R’s in the pic go unheeded by those in the Party of No.
Twain @2 – my favorite daily news source is (and has been for a number of years) democracy now! with amy goodman. imo absolutely nothing comes close.
there is definitely a pov (anti-war, pro-people) which they don’t try to hide, but there is no political spin. Ds and Rs get held to the same standard and in that way they work at holding power to account. all power.
i think the reason they are able to do this is that they take NO corporate money (no ads, etc) and don’t use inside sources.
p.s. for that reason, among others, i hope the fundraiser for marcy is wildly successful.
Broder’s column for Sunday is up and he is on the David Gregory side of things. No torture prosecutions. He seems to think that holding folks accountable to the law is “scapegoating”.
Most of the commenters think Broder is a clueless idiot/Fumb Duck.
And now we get Mary Matalin as a regular on CNN? Thank goodness our cable company offers Al Jazeera-English. The coverage is much more objective and comprehensive than any US channel and even more so than BBC. And as for the part about Mr. Reid, exactly why do Democrats in the Senate think it makes sense to have a leader who can’t take bold action because his seat is hanging by a thread? Where’s the strategery in that?
Right on. You will never see the likes of Tariq Ali, George Galloway et al on corporate teebee. As PW said, these people are all part of the establishment. An evening in a working class bar would scare them to death.
Did any of the interrogaters blow any detainees?
Surely they’ll want that investigated.
-G
“…how can the people who thought it was fun to beat up Bill Clinton…possibly object to a proper legal examination…of Bushco?”
Well, firstly those people don’t see such an examination as being NEARLY as much fun as beating up Bill. Secondly, (and of no surprise to you, I am sure) such comparisons require recognition of the basic tenets of LOGICAL THOUGHT, an attribute difficult enough to find ANYWHERE in modern America but ESPECIALLY among the unibrow thuggery that has arrayed itself in defense of Bush-Cheney (i.e., the indefensible), but perhaps most importantly the “proper legal examination” of THIS set of issues could establish a precedent that, for the thuggery, could be very dangerous indeed — perhaps leading to the proper legal examination of all SORTS of issues: warrantless wiretapping that went well beyond even the minimal procedural safeguards of the Patriot Act, lying to the United Nations, the bribery or extortion of officials across the Middle East, etc. Your allusion to a “fear-based reaction” hits the nail SQUARELY on the head. Undoubtedly, even as I type this, Cheny is once again being moved to an “undisclosed location” to avoid prosecution, and Karl Rove is suffering from a bad case of loose stools and wondering if he had perhaps picked a bad time to begin is magical media mystery tour.
cztheday
Don’t know if it does any good but I telephone NBC Universal — 212-664-4444 — at least once a week, usually complaining about some lame remark Joe Scarborough made about torture, but sometimes about David Gregory. Please call and help me out as I’m just about out of hair.
Fixed it for ya.
Agree and I hope the Marcy Money keep flowing in. What a great thinker she is.
Looks like David Broder is also joining Mr. Gregory today.
Stop Scapegoating
The blind leading the feeble.
it’s only “proper” to scapegoat the weak, marginalized or poor.
Uh-oh. Something tells me that Digby’s head is going to explode.
washington post publishes a disgusting oped by porter goss, “security before politics”
that man is a maggot, it SECURES this nation holding criminals to account, it secures our national security honoring our treaties, it secures our national security when we do not create terrorists
Mornin’ Phoenix Woman and Firedogs,
I don’t know dogs, I think we may have seen a tipping point this week – (and I am loathe to use that term, but it wasn’t always a cliche)
forget a sitting US Senator calling Nooners out for her lunacy (although it fits nicely in my anecdotal evidence)
It was this Columbia Journalism Review piece that made me think there’s a shift coming.
I have never seen them go after corporate media like this and I take it as a sign of encouragement
bybee’s friends have something interesting to say
Glenn Greenwald had a great article about just this yesterday, and it made me so mad I wrote a blog post about it. It seems the media, even more than the perpetrators, are leading the coverup. What a long way we’ve come from “All the President’s Men.” Great piece; and we can’t make enough noise/trouble about this. I’d make up a dartboard, but the bullseye would be so big everyone would win, even the blind and/ or uncoordinated.
cocktailhag.com/blog
Our country under Bush has lost its moral authority in the world. How can it regain it without justice here. How can we say to Castro you need to free political prisoners and stop torture while we have the cases of Seligman and Davis ongoing. How can we complain to Iran or NK if they torture the journalists they have in custody.
What a long way we’ve come from “All the President’s Men.”
oh, the title is still accurate – it’s just taken on an entirely new, literal, meaning.
The press never followed up on what law allowed dick cheney to take total control of NORAD on the morning of 9-11? What was his military command and control experience to allow him to take over ? Would we have suffered half as much damage that day if the proper command and control was in place?
….law allowed dick cheney…
those words don’t fit together very well….
I wrote just that in my post. GMTA. What a surprise Broder’s aboard, too. Sheesh. And one of the few voices of reason is Judy (@&%$*) Miller.
This was Karl Rove’s twitter entry broadcasting the talking point on Thursday, April 23:
Precautions taken 2 guarantee compliance w/ federal prohibition on torture. U might characterize diligence as overcautious. #TCOT #SGP #HHRS
Funny how it shows up coming out of David Gregory’s mouth.
But, but, but … Obama sez no prosecutions! so what are they all up in arms about? They must be feeling the heat, that the tide IS turning. Especially Bybee, oh boy. He should have just stfu and sending your friends out: isn’t that a bit cowardly. Why not write your own fucking op-ed? Oh, and any illusion that porter goss is not always a political operative is obviously out the window.
Cannot stand frum, he makes me crazy: he’s a naturalized american now but he shows up more often in the canadian press. that article you link repeatedly quotes Obama from a ”press conference in Jordan.” wtf? it was a presser with the King of Jordan at the WH. Unbelievable error.
Again, as frum’s piece shows, Obama’s caught them all outraged over Tuesday’s quotes and they are out of date!!!!!! We may not be happy with the mixed messages but it’s sure got the opposition flailing. And it is up to Holder.
It’s pretty damn shocking that Frum knows far less about American affairs than I do about Canadian issues. And yet he thinks he can advise what Obama MUST do. I’m pretty fed up with everyone telling Obama what he MUST do. Especially when it’s WRONG!!!!!
Meanwhile, Obama made two huge moves this week on health care and higher education, under the radar apparently. About the latter Obama said: the opponents are very very strong and ”I am ready for the fight.”
David Gregory is a tool. He is just another example of how pathetically awful what passes for the news media is in this country. It is all bread and circuses, propaganda and infotainment.
perris at #22 that is a great catch.
Shorter Bybee: I regret getting caught. Like any good Bushie, I regret taking responsibility for anything.
I guess Karl hasn’t thought this through: we can all track the talking points coming straight from his tweets. LOL.
Isn’t the thing about talking points that they are kinda confidential to be really effective? I guess Karl is in charge, after all. But still stupid.
I want to hear ALL about Bybee’s version of context. Bring in on.
Our system has become too corrupt and it is falling apart. The 8 years of the Bush Administration moved from one catastrophic failure to the next. No aspect of government was left unscathed or intact. During this time, the media was cheerleading the destruction. At the end, the financial system which was so central to this culture of corruption collapsed as well, and shortly after took the economy with it. Yet the American public remains largely oblivious to what has happened. They continue to give Obama high approval ratings even though he represents a continuation of the same failed political culture which has brought us to where we are now. Obama’s talk of change was just that: talk, something to appease the rubes and win an election, nothing more.
Well, I sort of fell for it, at least in the sense that I thought a Democratic victory would serve as some sort of retribution for the Rethug policies we’ve come to know (more and more) and love. Sadly, with the media so absurdly co-opted, choices seem few for pursuing change, the thing, rather than just Change, the brand. It’s enough to drive me to drink. More.
Peterr’s upstairs
You, Too, Can Make Lawbreakers Nervous
Over at thinkprogress, they have an interview with Dana Perino, who despite her uncertainty about what or whom the Cuban Missile Crisis was, is pretty sure that the torture was “safe, effective, and legal.” That settles it.
Gregory is such a tool.
Long after Friedman Units have been relegated to the trash heap of late night joke butts, Jared Diamond & Chalmers Johnson will be acknowledged as the Gibbons for the New American Century.
By then, it will be too late.
Hugh,
The stock market would probably implode if Obama were to do a hard reset on our economic system such as Nationalizing banks and other genuine corrective actions.
Many Americans like me still retain IRA’s, Roth IRA’s and or pension funds (SEPS, SARSEPS), 529 college funds for the kids, and stock portfolios that (though beaten down) are still important. All of these assets are dependent on a viable stock market.
Though the stock market is crooked as all hell, it remains an entity in which a lot of people worldwide maintain a sizable stake.
I agree with you mostly. That said, what are you thoughts regarding the stock market and how it might react to bank nationalization, nullifying CDS’s and other actions you deem necessary for real corrective actions?
I think you’re right, hackworth: a slow evolving revolution is preferable. I don’t see that not happening. If we jerk too hard one way there’s also a danger that we’ll just jerk back.
Show Trials? Banana Republic?
I would point out that most sane people consider torture a real crime, an act that, if done on a family member to extract a confession would be easily seen as such. Yet these media people can’t see that these are criminal acts? In a “Banana Republic” they extract confessions using the techniques the Bush Administration “authorized”. In a “Banana Republic” they hold people in perpetuity without habeas corpus rights. They use those coerced confessions in “show trials”…usually “military tribunals”.
Just who was running the Banana Republic here? Why weren’t they using these terms over the last eight years of the Bush “regime”? The media are now showing that they are fascist agents. They are part and parcel of the system to desensitize Americans to violence committed by a REPUBLICAN state, and clearly are involved in justifying the shredding of our Constitution. They aren’t “liberals”…in fact they are all little Joseph Goebbels.
Rem,ember what they did to Susan McDougal, a woman who in fact testified TRUTHFULLY to Ken Starr that thye Clintons were not involved in the embezzlement at White Water, and had in fact lost substantial money. McDougall claims that she was offered immunity from Starr for her statements, but that he retracted that because she had not testified “truthfully”. She asserted that she had testified truthfully.
McDougal refused to answer any questions while under oath, unless offered that immunity, leading to her being imprisoned for civil contempt of court for the maximum 18 months, which included eight months in solitary confinement. Starr waited until the full legal period had expired to indict her and bring charges against subsequent indictment of McDougal for criminal contempt of court.
The trial resulted in a jury hung 7-5 in favor of acquittal. Starr never had enough evidence to support bringing charges against either Bill or Hilary Clinton, it appears he was relying on coercing McDougal into “confessing” to their involvement as there was no evidence that would even convince a grand jury to allow a trial in any case.
Then Starr went on to other “issues”…Paula Jones, wild rumors of the Clintons killing top staff members over “affairs”, the “firing” of non-Civil Service, Republican Appointed (i.e. patronage position) Travel Office staff, Monica Lewinsky, etc.
Talk about “witch hunts”. Ken Starr and his political cohorts should burn in hell for their obscene use of “banana republic” tactics.
I’ll second that emotion. You are exactly correct.
There is massive censorship in the US MSM, thru not mentioning a subject at all or by only showing the side that the multinational corps want us to hear. And I know this because.. Well for one thing I watch news programs from other countries-sat TV is really nice that way, allows me to bypass the US MSM. I watch the news from Japan, China, Korea and of course the BBC.This way I can actually see the stories the US MSM does not cover. Unfortunately, there are bunches of them that actually concern us but that we never see. Examples. Stories on Iraq/Afghanistan. I see more on the BBC than on any american network. Japan, China, Korea all cover international news much better than our MSM. Best coverage on the EU? Japan. Best coverage on South Asia and the mideast? Tie, Korea and China. Best coverage on the US. Korea, China, BBC. The violence in our country which barely gets a mention on local TV is of very great interest as is our congress and president.People in most other countries know more about how the US works than the american man in the street does. Much worry about what american military will do. Much speculation about how people actually survive in US. Korea, China, Japan have many programs other than the news, like travel programs, which center on the US.
What bothers me the most is the way that our corporate culture shapes the opinion of the sheeple thru programming and news programs. What do we actually know about the world today? I remember back in the 70s when newscasts were extended from 15 to 30 min. We got news from all over the world. Now, we get actual news until the first commercial, then we get the awww stories, the human interest stories, the non news stories. Want world news? Can’t get it from CNN or faux. When CNN first started you got all the news in 30 min blocks, repeated for 24 hours. They stopped doing that some years ago. Overall we americans are a very uninformed people. Ignorant of the world along with a very twisted idea of our place in it. You should see what people in the EU, Japan, Korea and even China take for granted. Many of the toys we have never even heard of while everyone in the rest of the world enjoys access to more information than we do. Cell phones, internet? most of the rest of the world has broadband, they have internet access on their cell phones and have had for years. Transportation? Most of the rest of the world is way ahead of us. In fact they make fun of our backward ways of getting around. GPS? most cars have had GPS for 5 years. More reliable cars than ours? Get better gas milage? Better health care? Most other countries have state paid health care, they work shorter hours per week, they get longer vacations, and they are much better paid and have better social programs and pensions for old people. Yet we continue to believe that we are #1 in all things. Not even close. WE are held captive by the corps that own the news. They feed us feel good stories and cover up the number of really poor people we have. Talk to some visitors from other countries sometime. They are shocked about how we live. They are even more shocked when after talking to americans they realize how little we know. The richest damn country in the world, the worlds biggest military-we have 11 carrier battle groups, more than twice the number of the entire rest of the world-yet what do we hear? nothing about how our military spending in 1 year is more than the entire rest of the world. Nothing about how the military industrial complex owns congress. We know very little, yet we continue to believe that our lives are better than everyone else. I really have no idea what can be done to educate our sheeple, but we can not continue along the current corporate path without the total destruction of our way of life.
all because when the repigs were finally placed in charge their first thought was to impeach the dem prez to get back at the dems for what “they” did to Nixon. Even the watergate shows were not enough to make the repigs realize that Nixon was guilty as hell. Now they believe that anything we do to any repig or to bush/cheney is simply tit for tat. All they care for is revenge on the dems. Look at what they did for 6 years when they were in charge. Really fucked things up in their effort to block the dems from doing anything. Now of course they scream and cry when the dems attempt to do the same. And the MSM is always on the repig side, always taking the repig word over the dem. It is always the dem who has to compromise, never the pig. We have really screwed up our country over the last 40 years haven’t we?
I love how the meme they keep hammering on, “Only WE have the resources to do investigative journalism!”
Well, let me see… for example in the hypothetical case of doing investigative journalism in Baghdad, Iraq, to do their investigative journalism they would need a warm body with a degree asserting he/she/it knows how to do investigative journalism (overpaid), a plane ticket from NYC to Baghdad (return), hotel and stipend (they are not shopping for bargains at the local market), and, most importantly of all, money to pay the locals for their information. Then there’s various other sundries for hairdressing and so on.
On the other side of the coin, people who live in Baghdad for the price of a computer and an internets connection can post their information online with the press of a button. Peer to peer debate will sort it out. I think that in order to defeat the corporate media people are going to have to embrace the notion – at least for the nonce – that “information is free.”
But further to this, Australia of all places is thinking of putting gates on the nets:
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/99084
“Think of the children!” of course will be the rallying cry for a tiered access racket to be foisted on the American people, I’m betting.
I was just over at the WaPoo site. They have a cotillion of talkers evaluating Obama’s “First Hundred Days.” Can you tell Fred Hiatt picked:
Doug Holtz-Easkin [economic advisor to McCain]
Elaine Chao
Robert Shrum
Ed Rogers [left-over from Reagan days]
Paul Wolfowitz [war criminal]
and some other weak-kneed weenies.
Most of the comments are slamming Wolfowitz against the proverbial wall.
I just read this in the WaPo so I know it must be true:
Scientists Unravel Genome of the Cow, Identical to the DINO
Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius is a mushy moderate. But she has once again vetoed two toxic coal fired power plants in (windy) western Kansas. The corrupt Republican legislature continues to help corporate criminals poison Kansas citizens with such contaminants as Mercury. An attempted veto override is next week.
The Rethugs in Congress are blocking Sebelius for HHS Secretary. They accuse her of killing the little babies before they are born.
A local catholic bishop is helping the Rethugs by condemning Sebelius to everlasting hellfire.
Corporate lobbyists all of them mostly.
It’s interesting you mention that because it’s another instance (I suppose) where they’ve placed someone who has no official authority or importance (in the Bushie system) in charge of something which then goes terribly terribly wrong. It seems to be part & parcel of that whole administration.
V.P. Cheney — 9/11
Bybee/Yoo — OLC interrogation memos
Monica Goodling — DOJ hiring
Gonzales — Attorney General
Heck, even Dubya himself. He seems so incompetent it’s hard to point fingers at such a person and say he’s guilty of anything.
Did he get a neck brace?
Ah well, that clarifies things, now I know we need her to be Sec. of HHS !!!
Also, Heckuva Job Brownie was another idiot in charge of a disaster (New Orleans after Katrina hit) and HHS Sec. Chertoff was out of town at a conference at that time.
The whole administration seems to have been disastrous people to oversee disasters in disastrous ways.