The Hamster informs us that the O'Reilly/Franken slapfest at the book expo today will be replayed on CSPAN at midnight Eastern. I caught the tail end of it - O'Reilly was pretty pissed.
Anyone catch when O'Reilly said something like 'you can come over to my mother's house and have a bagel?'
Saturday, May 31, 2003
Bad Attitudes
Make sure to check out Jerome Doolittle's weblog. He has quite the resume behind him, and quite the good blog. And shareware books, too!
Lies and the Lying Liars That Tell Them
Okay, that's the title of Al Franken's forthcoming book. But, it apparently describes the Bush administration as well (shocker!).
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The Republican National Committee Web site describes the law in detail and summarizes the point that many members of Congress have also made this week.
"Who benefits under the president's plan?" the Web site asks. "Everyone who pays taxes — especially middle-income Americans — as tax rate reductions passed by Congress in 2001 are made effective immediately."
Ari Fleischer, the White House press secretary, made a similar point in his news briefing on Thursday, saying that people in the lowest tax bracket would "benefit the most" from the bill. "This certainly does deliver tax relief to the people who pay income taxes," he said, referring particularly to families with children. And Mr. Grassley said last week that "all taxpayers will see more money in their paychecks."
But the new study found five million taxpayers in the lowest tax bracket who get no benefit from the law, and 2.5 million single parents with children who also pay taxes but get nothing.
In the first category are taxpayers in the 10 percent bracket who have no children and no dividend or capital gains income. This group, which constitutes 89 percent of all single taxpayers in the lowest bracket, do not benefit from the expansion of the 10 percent bracket because they are already in it. They have no children, so they do not get the child credit, and they do not benefit from the law's relief for married couples. Members of this group, who make $9,300 to $13,800 a year, now pay up to $600 in income taxes.
The second group consists of 2.5 million taxpayers in the head-of-household filing status — mostly single parents — who have a child over 16 and who are in the two lowest tax brackets. The study found that they will not receive a tax cut, even though they pay as much as $5,200 in income taxes, because the lowest bracket is not expanded for head-of-household filers under the new law. The child credit is not available, either, because of the age of the children.
There are about a half-million additional taxpayers at all income levels who will not benefit from the new law because they fall between the cracks. They include a childless married couple in the lowest tax bracket who itemize their deductions and cannot take advantage of the increased standard deduction for couples. About 12,000 taxpayers making more than $200,000 will also receive no benefit because they have no dividend or capital gains income, and make too much money to take advantage of the increased exemptions from the alternative minimum tax in the law.
Cable Ratings
It's really pretty sad that CNN Headline news, which also sucks majorly after its revamping, is beating MSNBC in primetime. Hard to believe that Chris Matthews and Joe Scarborough aren't popular, I know, but it's true.
Prime Time
FoxNews 54.2%
CNN 29.2%
Headline News 8.5%
MSNBC 8.1%
Prime Time
FoxNews 54.2%
CNN 29.2%
Headline News 8.5%
MSNBC 8.1%
Yesterday and Today
Replacement statue in Baghdad yesterday:
and today:
Wonder who whipped out the can of white spray paint...
and today:
Wonder who whipped out the can of white spray paint...
You Listen!
Max explains it all:
-
We now learn that after Al Queda attacked us for occupying Saudi Arabia, we invaded Iraq in order to withdraw from Saudi Arabia. And we invaded Iraq as part of our war on terrorism. So we wage war on Osama in order to accede to his principal demand. And people ask why I hate America. Because we are morons with JDAMs, that's why. I guess we'll have to let Josh Marshall sort this out.
With a Straight Face
Ken Adelman can say this:
UPDATE: In comments someone stated that Scott Simon's editorial on NPR this morning made the exact same argument.
Gotta love the Media Borg.
-
BROWN: Do you think it's fair to say at this point that whatever ends up being found in Iraq is going to be less than the administration seemed to suggest very strongly leading up to the war?
ADELMAN: I don't think that's fair. I think what we've seen is the destruction in Iraq far more than any of us ever predicted. We have seen the destruction of a people, the destruction of the family, the destruction of human beings and human life in that country is far, far greater than we ever expected. So, we know that the main weapon of mass destruction was Saddam Hussein and his regime and that has been stopped.
UPDATE: In comments someone stated that Scott Simon's editorial on NPR this morning made the exact same argument.
Gotta love the Media Borg.
Welfare Queens
Cotton farmers:
That's $160,000 per farmer.
-
While the common agricultural policy has rightly been condemned by development agencies for its deleterious effects on farmers in poor countries, the fact is that the American system of disguised subsidies through income support and export credits is no better. In 2001, America's 25,000 cotton farmers sluiced up US$4 billion in subsidies, leading to colossal over-production that leaked out into global markets, forcing down prices.
That's $160,000 per farmer.
Anti-Semitism
Bush today:
Bush in 1994:
UPDATE: Actually, I just found the story. He said the offending remarks in 1998. From the 12/1/98 Austin-American Statesman, which lets Karen desperately spin it:
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This site is a sobering reminder that when we find anti-Semitism, whether it be in Europe or anywhere else, mankind must come together to fight such dark impulses.
Bush in 1994:
-
Bush joked to reporters about his '94 answer a year or so ago, prior to a trip to the Middle East. According to stories in the Austin American-Statesman, he told reporters that he planned to stop in Israel and tell the Jews they were all going to hell. An exchange of messages between Bush and the Jewish Anti-Defamation League followed. While no one has accused Bush of anti-Semitism, there have been comments about his insensitivity, both toward the Jews and his own family. A Jewish reporter said Bush's remarks were quite upsetting to his son. No one in the Bush family has commented, but there's little doubt that Bush has touched a sore spot in family history.
UPDATE: Actually, I just found the story. He said the offending remarks in 1998. From the 12/1/98 Austin-American Statesman, which lets Karen desperately spin it:
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A presidential campaign could include religious overtones that might put Bush in a precarious situation. The religious right, led by Christians whose political involvement is guided by their religious beliefs, is a powerful force in some of the early primary and caucus state that could go a long way toward determining the GOP nominee. Neither can Bush afford to alienate influential Jewish American voters. Bush's 1993 comments obviously remain on his mind. Last month, he briefed reporters on the Israel trip while he was in New Orleans for a Republican Governors Association meeting. As he gazed out a hotel hallway at the Superdome and waited for an elevator, Bush -- clearly going for a laugh at his own expense -- said the first thing he was going to say to Israeli Jews was that they were all "going to hell." Bush, who has both a quick wit and generally good judgment on when to use it, made the comment to the same Austin American-Statesman reporter who had reported his 1993 comments about his religious beliefs.
Hughes said Monday the 1993 remarks might have been on Bush's mind in New Orleans because a Jewish reporter for the Reuters news service had told the governor there that the remarks, recounted this year at the beginning of a New York Times Magazine profile of Bush, had upset the reporter's son.
Foxman said Monday that Bush's New Orleans quip was "inappropriate."
This is Why We Went to War
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KRAKOW, Poland, May 30 -- President Bush, citing two trailers that U.S. intelligence agencies have said were probably used as mobile biological weapons labs, said U.S. forces in Iraq have "found the weapons of mass destruction" that were the United States' primary justification for going to war.
In remarks to Polish television at a time of mounting criticism at home and abroad that the more than two-month-old weapons hunt is turning up nothing, Bush said that claims of failure were "wrong." The remarks were released today.
Whatever those trailers are, and whatever they may have been capable of producing, they are not "weapons of mass destruction."
Another death.
Another 3 deaths.
Bastards.
Religion
I'm pretty much of an agnostic who is rather down on the authoritarian and evangelical aspects of (some) organized religion but otherwise positive about the rest of it. I might mock some unscientific views which stem from religion, but I'm rather confused why TAPPED is mocking whatever Dennis Kucinich might happen to believe in - particularly after posting a plea for Democrats to get religion.
As far as I can tell from what they've posted, Kucinich might have a sort of pan-universal Gaia-ish concept of oneness and a belief in reincarnation. Compared to most of the Old Testament, that's pretty tame stuff.
I can't remember if a friend told me this story or I if I read it in a David Sedaris book (probably the latter though I'm too lazy to hunt it up), but I remember hearing about an attempt by some people in a French class attempting to explain,. in bad French, the concept of Easter to a North African. All religions sound pretty kooky from the outside.
I'm all for mocking people who want to put religion into goverment or otherwise shove it down my throat, but what TAPPED wrote was just an unpleasant cheap shot. And, this isn't coming from a Kucinich fan, I just thought it was really wrong.
As far as I can tell from what they've posted, Kucinich might have a sort of pan-universal Gaia-ish concept of oneness and a belief in reincarnation. Compared to most of the Old Testament, that's pretty tame stuff.
I can't remember if a friend told me this story or I if I read it in a David Sedaris book (probably the latter though I'm too lazy to hunt it up), but I remember hearing about an attempt by some people in a French class attempting to explain,. in bad French, the concept of Easter to a North African. All religions sound pretty kooky from the outside.
I'm all for mocking people who want to put religion into goverment or otherwise shove it down my throat, but what TAPPED wrote was just an unpleasant cheap shot. And, this isn't coming from a Kucinich fan, I just thought it was really wrong.
Friday, May 30, 2003
As Much As...
I appreciate seeing a bit of Zeppelin coverage on CNN, but this is a goddamn commercial.
Synergy, indeed. Bring on that media consolidation!
Synergy, indeed. Bring on that media consolidation!
Affirmative Action, Conservative Think Tank Style
Jesse from Pandagon got offered a job as a token brown person at one of them. One imagines his job would have been to write anti-affirmative action position papers.
Arrest Them All
Laci Peterson's mother and family friends just broke into the Peterson home and removed a bunch of items.
On a related note, Jeralyn of Talk Left will be on O'Reilly's show tonight to discuss archaic 20th century notions such as "presumption of innocence."
On a related note, Jeralyn of Talk Left will be on O'Reilly's show tonight to discuss archaic 20th century notions such as "presumption of innocence."
Gaybashing and the Unhipublicans
Jonah Goldberg is leading the revolution against anti-gay bigotry among conservatives. That statement is both hilarious AND true. Little Jonah is only slightly less obsessed with all things gay than his is partner-in-idiocy Derbyshire over at the Corner. As anyone who reads the Corner knows (though why anyone does, other than to get a few kicks), Goldberg rarely passes up an opportunity to express his feelings about homosexuality - it's icky, it's disturbing, and he admits to being rather obsessed with it. The nice thing about that place is the writers seem to think no one but their little in-crowd is reading, so they tend to let their inner bigots out, behaving as they would at a paleoconservative dinner party instead of on a public website. I remember the touching moment when Jonah Goldberg expressed his gleeful excitement at the prospect that John Muhammed could be a THREEFER - Black, Muslim, AND GAY! For full disclosure, let me admit to being likewise gleeful that Goldberg himself is a Threefer - hideous, stupid, AND conservative!
But, too his credit, Goldberg comes out against criminalizing sodomy, but only on practical grounds. He's really only coming out against the prospect of police busting down bedroom doors, for which the police should be thankful as it diminishes the possibility they'll ever have to find out what goes on behind Goldberg's Green Door.
All this makes it extra amusing that Lucianne's crotchfruit is shocked because those super-cool republican kids recently profiled in the NYT have separated themselves from the past by claiming they are no longer into gay-bashing or racism. Goldberg doesn't believe that gay-bashing was ever part of the young conservatives' playbook. Of course, these odd little freaks also embraced Dinesh D'Souza, a proud bigot and homophobe himself, so again this is just another example of oppressed young white kids not quite understanding what racism is.
Well, enough of my rant, but you can go read Agenda Bender for some more on Goldberg.
But, too his credit, Goldberg comes out against criminalizing sodomy, but only on practical grounds. He's really only coming out against the prospect of police busting down bedroom doors, for which the police should be thankful as it diminishes the possibility they'll ever have to find out what goes on behind Goldberg's Green Door.
All this makes it extra amusing that Lucianne's crotchfruit is shocked because those super-cool republican kids recently profiled in the NYT have separated themselves from the past by claiming they are no longer into gay-bashing or racism. Goldberg doesn't believe that gay-bashing was ever part of the young conservatives' playbook. Of course, these odd little freaks also embraced Dinesh D'Souza, a proud bigot and homophobe himself, so again this is just another example of oppressed young white kids not quite understanding what racism is.
Well, enough of my rant, but you can go read Agenda Bender for some more on Goldberg.
Snowflakes and Rummygrams
Oh I'm so thrilled the responsible
grownups are in charge again:
grownups are in charge again:
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President Bush, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, and other top officials are spending hours coping with frequent, unsolicited attempts by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to make foreign policy, according to senior administration officials who are directly involved.
The officials said Bush himself had to quash a Rumsfeld proposal last month to send Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz to South Korea to announce that the United States was pulling American troops off the demilitarized zone that separates North and South Korea.
...
From his first days in office, Rumsfeld has inundated Washington with a blizzard of memos regarding foreign policy, not usually the responsibility of a defense secretary.
''There are literally thousands of them,'' said one frequent recipient of Rumsfeld's foreign policy ideas and advice. ''The theme is control. He wants everyone to have to play on his field.''
In an April 29 memo addressed to Bush, Cheney, and Powell, Rumsfeld suggested that the administration launch information operations to destabilize the communist regime of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il. It was an idea that skeptics elsewhere in the administration dismissed as unlikely to make a dent in so rigid and secret a government.
April was a banner month for ''Snowflakes'' and ''Rummygrams,'' as the defense secretary's classified and unclassified memos are called.
Rumsfeld's frequent foreign-policy forays, with Vice President Dick Cheney supporting some of them behind the scenes, are driving Powell and his aides to distraction, the officials said. The secretary of state and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the senior officials said, has kept his nose out of Defense Department business.
Miscegenation
While I'm poking around the Nation, here's an interesting review of a couple of books on the history of interracial marriages in the U.S.:
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As Kennedy points out, many sponsors of the Fourteenth Amendment "explicitly announced that it would not encroach upon states' authority to impose racially neutral prohibitions on interracial marriage. This history poses a dilemma for thoroughgoing originalists who object to antimiscegenation laws. If they are to stay true to their interpretive philosophy, such originalists must concede that Loving v. Commonwealth of Virginia was wrongly decided." He then twists the knife in a footnote: "It is a delicious irony that the most fervent champion of originalism on the Supreme Court in recent memory is an African-American--Justice Clarence Thomas--who was married in Virginia to a white woman named Virginia."
Howler
Go read today's Howler. Somerby easily filets the silly double-deception which is behind the "Sid lies about the Grand Jury" crap which 4 years later is still being spread. This tale requires two parts - that Blumenthal lied about being grilled about his contacts with the media (false) and that the grand jury forewoman criticized him for telling the "lie" (also false). Somerby took care of this 4 years ago, but it's still being repeated over and over again today.
Pollitt on Blair
Katha Pollitt makes the important point that serial frauds in journalism get away with it by playing to their editors' prejudices, and more often than not they're prejudices about race and class.
Economic Calendar
Personal income flat, lower than expected. Personal spending down, and lower than expected.
The Georgia Vote
Here's an article detailing the various, uh, irregularities surrounding the voting systems in Georgia.
Look, folks, this isn't a partisan issue. A 9 year old computer whiz could reprogram these machines.
Look, folks, this isn't a partisan issue. A 9 year old computer whiz could reprogram these machines.
AWOL Documents Found!
George Magazine had used obviously doctored documents to "prove" that Bush had completed his service. After its collapse, they understandably disappeared from the web site. Here's the original document obtained by FOIA request by Martin Heldt, and here's the doctored version.
For context, here's a Tom Paine article on the subject.
For context, here's a Tom Paine article on the subject.
The Tories
The fascinating thing about the Tories is that they seemingly missed their chance to drag themselves out of the wilderness by opposing the war on Iraq. It would have given them a reason to be. Assuming for sake of discussion that their only motivation for anything is crass political opportunism, the only reason I can imagine that they chose not to is that they figured the ramifications of destroying their special relationship with U.S. Republicans would be problematic. On the other hand, it looks like Blair may have managed to appropriate that one too. But, in any case, it looks like they're broke, which is a bad development. Countries which are dominated by one party, no matter what the party, seem to not do very well. Without an opposition, it seems that powerful interests - corporate, political, and otherwise - increasingly align themselves to hold onto that power.
Maybe I'll have to send the poor bastards a donation.
Maybe I'll have to send the poor bastards a donation.
Wingnut Circular Firing Squad
What fun:
-
WASHINGTON, May 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Nationally syndicated radio columnist Andy Martin, the only announced 2004 Republican Party candidate for U.S. Senator from Florida, will hold a telephone news conference in Washington, DC, Friday May 30th at 2:00 P.M. to ask Congressman Mark Foley to withdraw as a U.S. Senate candidate.
NEWS CONFERENCE/MEDIA AVAILABILITY DETAILS:
DATE: Friday, May 30 TIME: 2:00 P.M.
LOCATION: Washington, DC, by telephone conference call
MEDIA AVAILABILITY: confirm through Revolutionary War Research Center,
(202) 496-1428.
Foley caused a firestorm last week when he called a news conference to comment on rumors he is gay -- and then refused to discuss the topic. "It's truth telling time," Martin states. "Foley lied when he said Democrats were smearing him. The truth is Foley's own party and the White House did not want Foley as the candidate. Foley insisted on fighting to stay in the race for U.S. Senator and gave his 'Checkers speech.' It didn't work. Mark self-destructed. "As usual, the cover-up and the lie are what doomed Mark, not his private life. U.S. Senators do not have 'private lives.'
"Thursday I am flying to Washington to meet with Republican Party leaders and to 'claim the prize.' We are doing a phone conference Friday because we are still scheduling appointments and do not know where in Washington we will be Friday afternoon. My only remaining opponent, Bill McCollum, has run and lost. He is a Washington lobbyist and power peddler. I represent the people of Florida."
Media and the Military
You know, after doing a broad perusing of the various discussions about the PFC Lynch story I've realized why the right and the left are at odds on this one. For the most part, and definitely for myself, lefty concern about this story hasn't been about the military or the civilian government lying about this story, it's about the media's uncritical reporting of those lies. I'm not too fond of the fact that the administration is peddling this bullshit either, but as with most things in this administration I'm far more worried about the fact that the media tends to report their crap without question.
Politicians lying is a dog-bites-man story. The media lying should be a man-bites-dog story. Sadly, it isn't anymore.
It is interesting how much the righties in the blogosphere defend the integrity of the media when the storyline fits their preconceptions....
Politicians lying is a dog-bites-man story. The media lying should be a man-bites-dog story. Sadly, it isn't anymore.
It is interesting how much the righties in the blogosphere defend the integrity of the media when the storyline fits their preconceptions....
Thursday, May 29, 2003
CNN's Been On All Day
And I haven't heard a single word about the shenanigans by the Texas DPS. That darn liberal media...
Quietly Creeping Upwards
After hunting around quite a bit, I finally located CNN's Iraq casualty list. They claim 199 coalition deaths as of May 27.
Oh Steno Sue Oh Steno Sue
Oh, well, you're such a fool, yes, what a tool, Steno Sue...
The story that started it all:
When your sources lie to you, it is incumbent on you to reveal those sources.
Email Michael Getler, ombudsmen at the Washington Post, and ask him when Susan Schmidt intends to inform the public about the "U.S. officials" who are using the press to spread lies.
ombudsman@washpost.com
The story that started it all:
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WASHINGTON -- Pfc. Jessica Lynch, rescued Tuesday from an Iraqi hospital, fought fiercely and shot several enemy soldiers after Iraqi forces ambushed the Army's 507th Ordnance Maintenance Company, firing her weapon until she ran out of ammunition, U.S. officials said yesterday.
Lynch, a 19-year-old supply clerk, continued firing at the Iraqis even after she sustained multiple gunshot wounds and watched several other soldiers in her unit die around her in fighting 11 days ago, one official said. The ambush took place after a 507th convoy, supporting the advancing 3rd Infantry Division, took a wrong turn in the southern city of Nasiriyah.
"She was fighting to the death," the official said. "She did not want to be taken alive."
When your sources lie to you, it is incumbent on you to reveal those sources.
Email Michael Getler, ombudsmen at the Washington Post, and ask him when Susan Schmidt intends to inform the public about the "U.S. officials" who are using the press to spread lies.
ombudsman@washpost.com
WMD We Hardly Knew Ye
Billmon has the list of quotes which should be sent to every reporter in the country.
Leaving On a Jet Plane
I'll be off on my travels next week. Once everything gets settled we'll see how much I'll be able to update the site personally, but I've enlisted some help so it should keep on chugging along with or without me.
Oh, and if anyone wants to contribute to the utterly worthless cause of subsidizing my travels - you know, so I return rested with More Powerful Blogs Than Ever - feel free to click the links to the left or buy an ad or whatever.
Oh, and if anyone wants to contribute to the utterly worthless cause of subsidizing my travels - you know, so I return rested with More Powerful Blogs Than Ever - feel free to click the links to the left or buy an ad or whatever.
Lies, Lies, Lies
"We're really not supposed to talk about that subject."
PFC Lynch's father in response to whether she knew what had happened. They just denied that she ever had amnesia.
Here's a story,
PFC Lynch's father in response to whether she knew what had happened. They just denied that she ever had amnesia.
Here's a story,
Bend it Like MK Ultrahack
Today's Howler is good.
He also reminds us of Tomasky's article about the "liberal" Howell Raines. I wonder if Tomasky still considers those airstrikes "political" however. The idea that the military would have gone along with such a thing under Clinton was ludicrous then and it's ludicrous now.
He also reminds us of Tomasky's article about the "liberal" Howell Raines. I wonder if Tomasky still considers those airstrikes "political" however. The idea that the military would have gone along with such a thing under Clinton was ludicrous then and it's ludicrous now.
Highway Spending
Via Nathan Newman, I see that the Bugman is trying to screw New York out of transportation funding.
On the general issue of highway spending, I'm always a bit confused why fiscal conservatives and libertarianish-leaning Republicans don't spend more time complaining about transportation expenditures. We hear lots of bitching about Amtrak, which gets a whopping $1.2 billion or so per year. And, the airlines and airports soak up a big bunch of public money ('I'm too lazy to look up the specific amount right now). But, we rarely hear much complaining about highway or road expenditures generally.
In 2000, total public money spent on highways alone was $128.5 billion, which is about $450 per person. One of the arguments used to justify this is that highway expenditures are paid by "user fees" in the form of gas taxes, which is different than, say, using general revenues or that gasoline tax money to fund public transportation. But, it isn't even true - only 63% is financed by gas taxes and other similar user fees.
Now, I'm not explicitly trying to make the case for increased expenditures on Amtrak or other mass transit systems, but I'm just puzzled why so much ink is used debating the evils of Amtrak and other subsidized transit systems. Them highways sure are subsidized, not to mention the rest of the road network. I'm sure some of those expenditures are justified - but there are plenty of "highways to nowhere" littering the country which can't have been productive investments by any measure. Why aren't we complaining about those wasteful expenditures?
I'm a a mass transit fan, though even I wouldn't support the proposed light rail system in Orange County, CA (though the old LA Red Car system used to go all the way to Balboa Island!). However, my real issue is simply the double standard applied to roads/highways (and airports) versus mass transit. No one expects a road to make a profit.
Here's a map of the old red car system, before Judge Doom trashed it so he could make money on fast food franchises at highway intersections.
On the general issue of highway spending, I'm always a bit confused why fiscal conservatives and libertarianish-leaning Republicans don't spend more time complaining about transportation expenditures. We hear lots of bitching about Amtrak, which gets a whopping $1.2 billion or so per year. And, the airlines and airports soak up a big bunch of public money ('I'm too lazy to look up the specific amount right now). But, we rarely hear much complaining about highway or road expenditures generally.
In 2000, total public money spent on highways alone was $128.5 billion, which is about $450 per person. One of the arguments used to justify this is that highway expenditures are paid by "user fees" in the form of gas taxes, which is different than, say, using general revenues or that gasoline tax money to fund public transportation. But, it isn't even true - only 63% is financed by gas taxes and other similar user fees.
Now, I'm not explicitly trying to make the case for increased expenditures on Amtrak or other mass transit systems, but I'm just puzzled why so much ink is used debating the evils of Amtrak and other subsidized transit systems. Them highways sure are subsidized, not to mention the rest of the road network. I'm sure some of those expenditures are justified - but there are plenty of "highways to nowhere" littering the country which can't have been productive investments by any measure. Why aren't we complaining about those wasteful expenditures?
I'm a a mass transit fan, though even I wouldn't support the proposed light rail system in Orange County, CA (though the old LA Red Car system used to go all the way to Balboa Island!). However, my real issue is simply the double standard applied to roads/highways (and airports) versus mass transit. No one expects a road to make a profit.
Here's a map of the old red car system, before Judge Doom trashed it so he could make money on fast food franchises at highway intersections.
Thursday Is New Jobless Day
Congratulations to the 424,000 new jobless this week, and the additional 5,000 who were missed in last week's original count!
On TV
It's really quite sad how little coverage the deaths of the soldiers in Iraq get. After all the patriotic fervor the networks exuded in the run-up to the war, their families must wonder why they barely merit a mention.
Eschaton Assignment Desk
If I were a good reporter I'd follow-up on the story of Jenny Theisen and see if she's actually going to get the increased child tax credit which presumably makes up the bulk of their claimed $1300 in tax cuts. From W.'s speech:
He didn't lie, did he?
-
Jenny Theisen, from Omaha, Nebraska, is here with us today. Jenny's husband, David, is a staff sergeant based at Offutt Air Force Base, and right now on duty in the Pacific and the Indian Ocean. Jenny and David work hard to provide for their children, just like a lot of other Americans do, as well. And right now, Jenny says, she tries to save $200 a month for her girls' college savings account. But sometimes other bills have to be paid first, is what she says. Under this proposal, under the bill I sign, it's going to be a lot easier for the Theisen family to save for the future because they will keep an extra $1,300 a year of their own money.
He didn't lie, did he?
Dude, where's my rebate check?
Apparently, there will be no child credit increase for many many families.
-
A last-minute revision by House and Senate leaders in the tax bill that President Bush signed today will prevent millions of minimum-wage families from receiving the increased child credit that is in the measure, say Congressional officials and outside groups.
Most taxpayers will receive a $400-a-child check in the mail this summer as a result of the law, which raises the child tax credit, to $1,000 from $600. It had been clear from the beginning that the wealthiest families would not receive the credit, which is intended to phase out at high incomes.
But after studying the bill approved on Friday, liberal and child advocacy groups discovered that a different group of families would also not benefit from the $400 increase — families who make just above the minimum wage.
Wednesday, May 28, 2003
Venturing Out From the Batcave
I ventured out from the VLWC headquarters this evening to meet up with my lieutenants in our holy army, Jesse from Pandagon and Jim from the Rittenhouse Review. After exchanging the secret handshake, swearing our allegiance to Stalin and Mao, and burning some candles at the altar of the Holy Clenis ™ , we settled down to a nice meal. I revealed my secret identity - as a Philadelphia gym teacher. Jim apparently works full time as an installation technician for Comcast Cable, and Jesse sells life insurance.
Greenberg on Sid
This Washington Monthly review is pretty good and it makes a key point - Blumenthal was tarred for being partisan and having a close relationship to those in power. This standard is never applied to conservative journalists:
-
Then came the feeding frenzies of Whitewater, Filegate, Travelgate, Haircutgate, Troopergate, and other would-be scandals. Throughout these controversies, Blumenthal not only continued to write admiringly of Clinton, with whom he had developed a professional friendship over the last half-dozen years; he also chided his scandal-mad colleagues--as he had since 1988, when a prowling press forced Gary Hart from the presidential race for marital infidelity--for descending into sexual scandal-mongering. Appearing on "Nightline" in December 1993, he urged the news media to scrutinize those who were retailing the Clinton scandals. But given the mood of the moment, with Clinton on the ropes, Blumenthal notes, "This 'Nightline' appearance marked me as somehow having crossed the line from the media's side to the President's." Consigned to the doghouse of Washington society, he endured a cascade of ad hominem attacks.
These attacks were peculiar. After all, dozens of Washington journalists enjoy cozy contacts with presidents and reflect these friendships in their writing. Far from paying a price, they are celebrated. George Will consorted with Ronald Reagan, to no detriment to his career. David Frum cashiered his service as a speechwriter to the incumbent into a best-selling book, The Right Man--only to return to writing pro-Bush pieces. In a slightly different vein, Tony Snow was the liaison between anti-Clinton dirt peddlers Linda Tripp and Lucianne Goldberg and now styles himself a disinterested newscaster for Fox.
Josh Marshall Commits Career Suicide
Well, let's hope not. But, he does say some of what needs to be said about the Beltway Heathers.
Nothing to See Here
Attorneys say Ashcroft blocked inquiries into bank fraud case:
Move along citizen. Please turn your gaze to your wall monitor where pictures of glorious Dear Leader will inspire you.
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U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft or his aides blocked investigators from probing U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor as part of a fraud case involving illegal loans by the bank Taylor chairs, defense attorneys say.
The accusations against Ashcroft came in a motion filed May 15 by attorneys W. Gene Sigmon and Forrest A. Ferrell, who represent Thomas W. Jones. Jones was convicted April 11 of supplying Blue Ridge Savings Bank with false information to obtain loans for Sylva car dealership owner Charles E. "Chig" Cagle, a Taylor political contributor and Republican activist.
Taylor press secretary Roger France on Wednesday referred a call seeking comment to bank representatives, who did not immediately return calls. Ashcroft and the Justice Department declined comment, spokesman Bryan Sierra said.
Cagle submitted forged documents to obtain $1.3 million in loans from the Asheville bank, where Taylor, R-N.C., is board chairman. Taylor, who founded the bank in 1978, has not been charged with any crime. He is a member of the House Appropriations Committee, which helps budget federal spending.
Move along citizen. Please turn your gaze to your wall monitor where pictures of glorious Dear Leader will inspire you.
Rove's Biggest Blunder
The more I think about it, the more I think this Bush movie will be the best thing that ever happened to the Democrats. Timothy Bottoms is going to be hilarious whether he intends to or not - the dialogue as reported will inspire a national gigglefest. And, if he's truly that heroic and articulate, the contrast with reality will make it brilliant parody. But, more importantly nothing could provide a greater catalyst for the asking of serious questions about the events of September 11th, with the fictional version providing a useful comparison point. The explicit involvement of Bush administration might even wake our slumbering media to take a closer look.
That's My Bush
The folks at the Ministry of Truth are apparently cobbling together the official version of Bush on September 11. If the Democrats had any sense, they'd take out ads broadcasting the footage of Dear Leader reading "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" as people were jumping out of buildings.
Fortunately, someone involved in the production must have a wee bit of a sense of humor. The actor playing Bush as he runs and hides is Timothy Bottoms.
Fortunately, someone involved in the production must have a wee bit of a sense of humor. The actor playing Bush as he runs and hides is Timothy Bottoms.
Durable Orders Drop
Bigtime. And drop bigtime from a revised downward figure from the previous month.
I just heard Bush say he signed legislation extending unemployment benefits for 13 more weeks - I hadn't heard about this. Odd.
I just heard Bush say he signed legislation extending unemployment benefits for 13 more weeks - I hadn't heard about this. Odd.
Journalistic Integrity IV
Exhibit D - Ceci Connolly. We could spend all day on her, but here's a flat out fabrication:
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CONNOLLY AND ALLEN: One woman, noting that the Republican contenders recently spoke at length about Jesus Christ, asked the Democrats how they felt about injecting faith into the presidential campaign.
Gore, noting that the number of atheists in America is rising, reiterated his support for separation of church and state. But he added: "I affirm my faith when I'm asked about it, but I always try to do so in a way that communicates respect, not only for people who worship in a different way, but just as much respect for those who do not believe in God."
...-
GORE: I strongly support the separation of church and state. The bedrock principle on which our nation was founded was the search for religious freedom, which clearly meant freedom from government interference in religion. And I think that carries with it not only an obligation to respect the Constitution—for example, I think that the Constitution forbids the teaching of evolution in schools, except in religion class, but not in science class. And I think it also means that every single person in our public life ought to recognize an obligation to communicate tolerance of all religious faiths and traditions, especially the religious faiths and traditions that are held to be a minority in our country. That's what we're all about—religious freedom. Now I think that, in some times past, that principle has been wrongly interpreted to mean that somebody who is a person of faith and in public life should not even affirm his faith. I very much respect the way Bill has handled this question, you know, that's great, that's fine, that's his way of doing it. I affirm my faith when I'm asked about it but I always try to do so in a way that communicates absolute respect, not only for people who worship in a different way, but just as much respect for those who do not believe in God, who are atheists. Atheists have just as much of a right to the public discourse as anyone, as people of any religious faith in the country. And I think that we have got to really stand and if necessary fight for that principle.
So there you have it. Gore didn't say a word that resembled the statement the Post reported. Nothing was said, at any time, about whether atheists were increasing, decreasing, or staying the same. Two lesser notes—Gore's reference to atheists came late in his comments, not right at the beginning, as Connolly's readers might have thought. And Bradley had in fact answered first; Connolly's account reverses the order. -
Journalistic Integrity II
Exhibit B: Lisa Myers, who now heads up NBC News's investigative unit:
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MYERS: At another point, Mrs. Hubbell talks about over-billing clients.
MRS. HUBBELL (on tape): That’s an area where Hillary would be vulnerable.
HUBBELL (on tape): No, you are talking and not listening. We are on a recorded phone.
And that is precisely the way the transcript was presented on the screen to NBC viewers as the tape rolls--with no ellipsis whatever to let viewers know that material has been left out. Not that this would have been an appropriate deletion even if an ellipsis had been used. Myers’ cut in the tape completely changes the meaning of the presentation by Mrs. Hubbell--changing it from a question about whether Mrs. Clinton would be vulnerable, to an assertion that she would be. The charade was even worse by that evening; in a tape played on MSNBC’s May 1 InterNight program (apparently taken from that evening’s NBC News), Myers doctors the conversation in a more egregious fashion:
MYERS: The Hubbells seem worried that Mrs. Clinton could be vulnerable on an issue that sent Hubbell to prison in the first place--overbilling clients.
MRS. HUBBELL: You didn’t actually do that, did you? Mark up time for the client? Did you?
HUBBELL: Yes, I did. So does every lawyer in the country.
MRS. HUBBELL: That’s an area that Hillary would be vulnerable.
HUBBELL: Suzy, you’re talking and you’re not listening. We are on a recorded phone, OK?
Journalistic Integrity
Since precision and ethics are all the rage, let's have some flashbacks. Exhibit A, Jeff Greenfield, who has the nerve to report on the Jayson Blair story, knowing full well that the Clinton Rules of Journalism allow any fabrication to stand:
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Even more damning was a "Nightline" report broadcast that same evening. The segment came very close to branding Hillary Clinton a perjurer. In his introduction, host Ted Koppel spoke pointedly about "the reluctance of the Clinton White House to be as forthcoming with documents as it promised to be." He then turned to correspondent Jeff Greenfield, who posed a rhetorical question: "Hillary Clinton did some legal work for Madison Guaranty at the Rose Law Firm, at a time when her husband was governor of Arkansas. How much work? Not much at all, she has said."
Up came a video clip from Hillary's April 22, 1994, Whitewater press conference. "The young attorney, the young bank officer, did all the work," she said. "It was not an area that I practiced in. It was not an area that I know anything, to speak of, about." Next the screen filled with handwritten notes taken by White House aide Susan Thomases during the 1992 campaign. "She [Hillary] did all the billing," the notes said. Greenfield quipped that it was no wonder "the White House was so worried about what was in Vince Foster's office when he killed himself."
What the audience didn't know was that the ABC videotape had been edited so as to create an inaccurate impression. At that press conference, Mrs. Clinton had been asked not how much work she had done for Madison Guaranty, but how her signature came to be on a letter dealing with Madison Guaranty's 1985 proposal to issue preferred stock. ABC News had seamlessly omitted thirty-nine words from her actual answer, as well as the cut, by interposing a cutaway shot of reporters taking notes. The press conference transcript shows that she actually answered as follows: "The young attorney [and] the young bank officer did all the work and the letter was sent. But because I was what we called the billing attorney -- in other words, I had to send the bill to get the payment sent -- my name was put on the bottom of the letter. It was not an area that I practiced in. It was not an area that I know anything, to speak of, about."
Pickering the Bigot
Pickering's behavior in the cross burning case was atrocious from top to bottom, and his later defense of it was disingenuous to say the least. Ailes notes that the latest NYT article on the subject, while adding some new details, neglects to inform us that Pickering's claim that he was unaware that the juvenile who plea-bargained for a lower sentence was the ringleader was a lie.
Silver Rights has more.
Silver Rights has more.
MoDo in Trouble
Well, if she's in trouble for this then there are a lot of other reporters who should be out of a job - or would be if the Clinton Rules of Journalism weren't in operation.
From the Clinton Wars, p. 443
From the Clinton Wars, p. 443
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The transcribed remarks strongly suggested he was covering up Hillary's involvement in Whitewater. In one excerpt of the Burton version, Hubbell was cited as saying that new claims against his law firm would "open up" Hillary. The unexpurgated tapes on which these transcriptions were based were listened to by a dozen reporters but not by any Democratic members of the committee. Three days later, the Democrats were allowed to hear them, and they discovered that the transcripts had been extensively doctored... For their part, the reporters who had written articles about the doctored tapes as if they were credible later claimed they had been working under deadline pressure.
More on Foley
From Jim DeFede in the Miami Herald:
there's more.
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Mark Foley can't have it both ways.
The Republican congressman from Palm Beach can't hold himself up as a defender of gay rights while at the same time denounce as ''revolting and unforgivable'' questions about whether he is gay.
Last week Foley held a news conference with a handful of selected reporters to declare that he would not answer questions about his personal life. ''I'm not going to be dragged into the gutter by these rumormongers,'' he declared.
Foley may be within his rights to say he doesn't want to talk about his sexual orientation, but, unfortunately, his words implied there is something wrong with being gay.
Why should it be ''revolting and unforgivable'' to ask if he is gay? And why would it be tantamount to being ''dragged into the gutter'' for him to answer such a question?
Foley's words only serve to feed the hatred and bigotry of the conservative wing of Florida's Republican Party. And he's doing it because these are the people who will decide if Foley is the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2004.
Do I believe Foley is gay? In addition to fairly persuasive reports in both the gay press and, more recently, the Broward edition of New Times, a friend of mine said he was at a social gathering with Foley a few months ago at which the congressman introduced his partner and said the two of them had been together for more than 19 years.
there's more.
Dean Moron
It's clear that the infamous Dean Broder is Dean of nothing more than an ethically challenged press and the Moron-Americans that dominate our discourse. Suddenly he discovers that maybe the 5 year plan of Dear Leader might actually cause a bit of pain and suffering.
Well, at least Bush didn't wear Earth tones you useless relic.
Well, at least Bush didn't wear Earth tones you useless relic.
Tuesday, May 27, 2003
The Glass Closet
Signorile on Foley.
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Right-wing Republicans are fond of attacking equality for gays and lesbians by claiming that gays are seeking "special rights." Florida Republican Congressman Mark Foley seems to believe in special rights for himself though. While it’s generally accepted that candidates for public office should have their lives open to the media–from their tax returns to the images they offer up of their families–Foley is demanding certain aspects of his life be kept obscured.
It’s not a coincidence that these particular aspects of his life are the type that would infuriate the Christian right, a strong force in Florida’s Republican Party. Foley is about to make a play for the U.S. seat currently held by Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.), who is running in the 2004 Democratic presidential primaries. Foley says he’ll run for the seat even if Graham changes his mind and seeks re-election to the Senate.
...
Meanwhile, The Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, a bipartisan group that supposedly promotes the idea that gay political candidates should be open about their sexual orientation, played right into the Republicans’ hands, engaging in that Beltway suck-up game. Their press flack Jason Young called the New Times story "dirty," which is a pretty scurrilous charge. A politician allegedly lies and deceives the public–with the full knowledge of a small clique around him–and it is those who expose it who are "dirty?"
We’re not, after all, talking about a deeply closeted married man who is having secretive homosexual sex in a public rest room. We’re actually not talking about sex at all, at least not as in the case of Bill and Monica. We’re talking about identity–how one defines oneself and is known to family and friends. We’re talking about someone who is 48 years old, unmarried and is, according to the New Times, quite comfortably known to be gay to many people in politics on both the right and left in Florida, and whose own boyfriend has been out with him in public, as described by the gay military hero Tracy Thorne.
Objectively Pro-Boiling
As Vaara pointed out in comments, here's Donald Rumsfeld being chummy with people-boiling dictator of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov.
Oh, and here's Karimov with W.
"You can judge the character of a man by the company he keeps."
-- George W. Bush (November 5, 2000)
Oh, and here's Karimov with W.
"You can judge the character of a man by the company he keeps."
-- George W. Bush (November 5, 2000)
Media Monopoly
Now would be a good time to contribute for Move On's media monopoly ad campaign.
I have to admit that as important as this issue is I've mostly given up on it - I just don't think there's any way to win this particular battle. But, that shouldn't stop us from trying.
I have to admit that as important as this issue is I've mostly given up on it - I just don't think there's any way to win this particular battle. But, that shouldn't stop us from trying.
Americans Love The Big Dog
According to poll:
Will the unholy reign of the Clenis ™ ever end?
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Who would have thought it? Some two years after he left office hounded by right-wing detractors and stained by his affair with Monica Lewinsky, Bill Clinton now ranks as this nation's third best chief executive, according to a recent CNN/USA TODAY/Gallup Poll.
Only Abraham Lincoln (chosen by 15%) and John F. Kennedy (13%) finished ahead of Clinton (11%) in the April poll, which asked Americans who was "the greatest" president. George W. Bush managed to tie Clinton for third place.
Will the unholy reign of the Clenis ™ ever end?
The Josh Marshall Texas Update
JM's at his best when he tenaciously follows a somewhat below the radar developing story and manages to tease key details out of the muck, so I'm glad he's following this one.
Maybe after a few more years he'll have done penance for all that Condit nonsense.
Maybe after a few more years he'll have done penance for all that Condit nonsense.
Michael Getler Discovers Anonymous Sourcing
He's shocked to discover the Post's own standards for sourcing aren't being followed.
Maybe someone should send him a copy of Marvin Kalb's One Scandalous Story.
(from page 128)
On a related note, go read the Howler.
Maybe someone should send him a copy of Marvin Kalb's One Scandalous Story.
(from page 128)
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The initial Washington Post story ran 1,608 words. It contained four "on the record" quotes - the crucial one from Lewinsky's lawyer Ginsburg, who confirmed that Starr was "investigating his client's involvement with Clinton"; one from presidential lawyer Bob Bennett, who said the president denied any such relationship; and two brief and inconsequential quotes from lawyers Hundley and Moody. It also quoted twenty-four anonymous sources, who were loosely identified in any number of ways. For example, there was one "source close to the investigation," used in the lead of the story; six references to "a source" or "the source"; four "according to a source or sources"; five "source or sources familiar with" (sworn statement, job history, testimony, document, her account); one "White House officials"; one "associate"; five "a Justice Department official or officials"; and one "a colleague." The "background/on the record" ratio was an unhealthy twenty-four to four, a pattern that improved only slightly in the Post coverage over the next few weeks.
...Until the breaking of this story, The Washington Post had rigorously abided by its two-source rule, imposed by Ben Bradlee during the Watergate scandal.
On a related note, go read the Howler.
Gaps in the Tape
God this is becoming a farce.
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AUSTIN -- Texas state police officials on Monday blamed a faulty duplication machine for a five-hour gap in a Capitol security tape that was given to a House committee investigating how authorities handled the Democratic walkout.
"I don't know if people are trying to run out the clock so we're not in town any more or if it's just incompetence. Either one is bothersome," said Rep. Kevin Bailey, D-Houston, chairman of the House General Investigating Committee.
Dishonest as Always
Roger Ailes catches Snitchens recycling some of Michael Kelly's old debunked smears.
Boy Meets Boy
Bravo doing gay version of the Bachelor. The network had no comment on their rumored followup "boy meets dog" starring a certain senator from Pennsylvania.
The Real Threatening Storm
Kenneth Pollack is on talking about Iran. I guess he's busy writing the sequel...
Monday, May 26, 2003
More on Miller
Swopa's been on her case for awhile. Looks like he may deserve credit for being the first to notice she's an INC tool. As he says, "this is all part of an extensive pattern of the Iraqi National Congress apparently feeding disinformation to reporters in much the same way they supplied fraudulent intelligence to the U.S. government before the war. It's a scandal-in-the-making that cries out for further investigation . . . if any media outlet is brave and determined enough to look into it."
(hahahaha)
(hahahaha)
Bipartisanship is Date Rape
Well, there you go. I'd expect Dean "bipartisan" Broder to start whining about this, except the Dean only expects one party to get raped.
Miller Chalabi's Sock Puppet
From Kurtz
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A dustup between two New York Times reporters over a story on an Iraqi exile leader raises some intriguing questions about the paper's coverage of the search for dangerous weapons thought to be hidden by Saddam Hussein.
An internal e-mail by Judith Miller, the paper's top reporter on bioterrorism, acknowledges that her main source for such articles has been Ahmad Chalabi, a controversial exile leader who is close to top Pentagon officials. Could Chalabi have been using the Times to build a drumbeat that Iraq was hiding weapons of mass destruction?
The Chalabi connection surfaced when John Burns, the paper's Pulitzer Prize-winning Baghdad bureau chief, scolded Miller over her May 1 story on the Iraqi without clearing it with him.
"I am deeply chagrined at your reporting and filing on Chalabi after I had told you on Monday night that we were planning a major piece on him -- and without so much as telling me what you were doing," Burns wrote that day...
Sunday, May 25, 2003
Just What the Country Needs
Another Republican who can't keep his zipper zipped.*
Steve at Kos explains.
*A line you won't be reading in a Howard Kurtz column.
Steve at Kos explains.
*A line you won't be reading in a Howard Kurtz column.
Saturday, May 24, 2003
Santorum Becomes Major Gay Rights Donor
Well, sort of.
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.S. Senator Rick Santorum, R-Pa., has become a "major donor" to New York's biggest gay rights organization, thanks to a gay comedian's off-Broadway show.
Seth Rudetsky, who stars in the one-man show, "Rhapsody in Seth," started the Sen. Rick Santorum Education Fund earlier this month by donating 5 percent of all ticket sales to the Empire State Pride Agenda (ESPA) in the senator's name.
The move was a response to Sen. Santorum's widely published remarks that compared homosexuality to polygamy and incest. The comments ignited protests from gay groups and Democratic leaders, but most Republican leaders, including President Bush, backed him.
On Friday, the ESPA said donations from the Santorum fund reached "major donor" status ($1,200 minimum), qualifying the named donor for the Empire Club. A letter thanking the senator and outlining the benefits of club membership was mailed and faxed to his office on Friday.
Sen. Santorum's press office did not return calls for comment
Always the fault of the Black Man
Apparently, affirmative action is to blame even when white reporters get in trouble.
This little explanation was used to defend Mike Barnicle also.
I'm still wondering who is to blame for the Utah reporters who got in trouble for fabricating stories for money, or the AP reporter who was caught fabricating parts of 40+ stories, or Glass, or Shalit, or Andrew Sullivan's deceptive writings about AIDS statistics, or...
This little explanation was used to defend Mike Barnicle also.
I'm still wondering who is to blame for the Utah reporters who got in trouble for fabricating stories for money, or the AP reporter who was caught fabricating parts of 40+ stories, or Glass, or Shalit, or Andrew Sullivan's deceptive writings about AIDS statistics, or...
Campaign Finance
You know, laws aside, there's just something kinda wrong-sounding about this:
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A company controlled by Rep. Darrell Issa has donated nearly $450,000 to an effort to recall Gov. Gray Davis, a filing made public Friday shows.
Political aides to the Vista Republican said earlier this month that Issa planned to provide "seed" money for the recall and indicated he had given $100,000 to help finance a signature-gathering drive to place the recall on a statewide ballot.
Records posted on the secretary of state's Web site show that Greene Properties Inc. of Vista gave an initial $100,000 on May 8, and donated $345,000 this week. Greene Properties is owned by Issa and his wife, Katharine.
Battle of the Lesbian Daughters
Agenda Bender notes that the brain-dead K.Lo has decreed that since Dick Gephardt's lesbian daughter is going to be helping on his campaign he'll lose the "social conservative vote."
Special Saturday Krugman
Krugman explains what a liquidity trap is and why we should be very very afraid.
DeLay's Got a Bit of a Problem
Or he would if we had a press, anyway. One can imagine how this would be playing if the party affiliations were reversed.
Friday, May 23, 2003
Clinton Wars, p. 348
- If Vlasto was an apolitical scandalmonger at ABC News, Dorrance Smith, producer of This Week, was ultimately political. Smith had been President Bush's communications director, and his secretary in the White House had been Linda Tripp. "The Washington bureau was like an outpost of The American Spectator," an ABC News correspondent told me. "Dorrance was in constant touch with Tripp. He was calling the shots. He kept opposing views off the air and put views supportive of Starr on the air." (...Jeffrey Toobin, the regular ABC News legal analyst, was not permitted to appear on This Week.)
Clinton Wars, pp. 352-353
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Nor did Starr tell Justice that he had already invaded the Jones case without authority: James Moody had faxed him a copy of Lewinsky's affadavit. All parties in the Jones case were under a court gag order not to disclose important information, a ruling that made Starr a party to Moody's contempt of court. Starr's copy of the fax, reproduced in the Starr report, bore the court stamp showing it came originally from Jones's lawyers.
Clinton Wars, p. 398
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Numerous reporters, editors, and news producers freely told me of leaks they had received from Starr's office. Once, when I gave some information to a television network correspondent, explaining that of course she'd have to verify the material on her own, she said to me, "That's not how Starr's people do it. They give us everything. We don't have to do any work at all."
The Liberal Media
Bob Harris over at Tom Tomorrow's place makes the obvious point that if the media were truly liberal then the usual suspects on the Right would be horrified at the prospect of media consolidation.
Radioactive Piss
This is disturbing.
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A small sample of Afghan civilians have shown "astonishing" levels of uranium in their urine, an independent scientist says.
He said they had the same symptoms as some veterans of the 1991 Gulf war.
But he found no trace of the depleted uranium (DU) some scientists believe is implicated in Gulf War syndrome.
Other researchers suggest new types of radioactive weapons may have been used in Afghanistan.
Thursday, May 22, 2003
Bigot Eruptions
Man, this one even surprises me - not that I'm surprised by bigot eruptions but this one was pre-meditated.
Bigotry aside, these guys are sure doing wonders for North American diplomacy.
(via Hesiod)
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WASHINGTON -- A congressional advocate of curbs on immigration was criticized Thursday for using an "anti-Hispanic" prop at a news conference to denounce the widening acceptance of Mexican identification cards.
Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., and several of his colleagues stood beside a large poster to dramatize their concern that more than 1 million IDs issued by Mexican consulates -- and accepted in the United States by many local authorities and banks -- are a form of amnesty for illegal immigrants.
The poster depicted a mock consular ID card with a picture of Mexican President Vicente Fox. It was captioned "Office for the Issuance of Illegal Alien ID." It listed Fox's occupation as "El Presidente," and the citizenship of his parents as "Unknown."
Bigotry aside, these guys are sure doing wonders for North American diplomacy.
(via Hesiod)
Dean.com
TNR has a surprisingly good article about Dean and the internet. It ends with this:
Let's hope something does.
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Maybe it's all a big waste of time, but Trippi doesn't think so. "In the way TV changed politics and took it away from the grassroots," he says with fervor, "the Internet is going to give it back."
Let's hope something does.
Scott Peterson
Okay, okay, I know there are more important things in the world than Laci Peterson's death. I do hope whoever did it is brought to justice, but I have to admit hoping that Scott is innocent just for the microsecond (and it would only be a microsecond) of discomfort it would cause Nancy Grace.
Lazy Horse
The last time the Horse took a long break Trent Lott pined for the days of legal lynching. One can only hope that the pictures of little Ricky giving the Santorum to his dog surface while they're gone.
Gay or Not Gay
Foley has issues:
Your record is that you joined with the bigots (Republican and Democrat) to support DOMA. And calling someone gay isn't "revolting."
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U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, who is seeking the GOP nomination for Senate, took the unusual step Thursday of calling a news conference to denounce what he says are rumors spread by his political opponents that he is gay.
But the fifth-term congressman from West Palm Beach refused to answer questions about whether he is a homosexual, saying his sexual preference had no bearing on his duties as a lawmaker. He accused Democratic activists of trying to derail his candidacy for the Senate.
"In recent weeks, a number of Democratic activists have taken it upon themselves to push rumors about me," Foley said. "It is becoming apparent to me these Democratic activists have only one motive: They don't want me to run or have to run against me."
"Whatever their motives, I can only say I find these tactics revolting and unforgivable," Foley said during a 20-minute conference call with a handful of Florida political reporters. "These attempts to spread rumors about me I think will backfire."
Foley said he called the news conference in response to a column earlier this month in an alternative South Florida weekly paper and because he feared a major Florida daily was preparing to publish a story Friday about the matter.
Foley is seeking the GOP nomination for the seat currently held by Democratic presidential hopeful Bob Graham, who hasn't said whether he will seek a fourth term. Foley enjoys a large fund-raising advantage over Bill McCollum, his party's unsuccessful nominee in 2000.
While he lashed out at Democrats, Foley was not specific about his accusers.
Foley said he should be evaluated by voters on his work record, not his sexuality. He said everyone deserves some privacy, even public officials.
"People can draw whatever conclusions they want to," Foley said. "There are certain things we shouldn't discuss in public. "Some people may think that's old fashioned, but I firmly believe it's a good rule to live by."
Your record is that you joined with the bigots (Republican and Democrat) to support DOMA. And calling someone gay isn't "revolting."
Welcome to the Bush Economy
I think it's time to downsize your lifestyles, folks.
All those who voted for Gore have my deepest sympathies.
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ALLEN – Mary Ann Knight thought she had seen and heard it all in the eight years she has worked at Allen Community Outreach, helping people make ends meet.
That is, until former upper-middle-class residents, hit hard by corporate layoffs that have rocked North Texas the last three years, began walking through the agency's doors, seeking help paying bills.
Mixed in their stacks of monthly bills that cover life's necessities are those that also cover lives the clients don't want to leave behind: $800 car payments, private school tuition that ranges from $1,200 to $2,000, mortgage statements up to $4,000, cable TV bills in the hundreds of dollars and country club dues, to list a few.
...
"It's not like we don't want to help. But it's just that there are no funds for folks like that. They're just living way above the level in which we can help them."
...
Since January, the Assistance Center of Collin County in Plano has helped 2,292 residents by paying for prescriptions, utilities, mortgages and rent. About one-quarter of such charitable agencies' clients are previously unserved middle-class residents who request assistance of $4,000 to $8,000 a month, agency officials say.
Agency directors call folks new to being needy "the situational poor." They've depleted their savings and retirement accounts and struggle to cling to a lifestyle they no longer can afford.
"Our clientele has changed so much," said Kimberly Girard, program coordinator at Frisco Family Services. "We used to serve the working poor. Now it's the CEOs and former executives of companies. They've tapped out their bank accounts and borrowed from family members."
...
At the Assistance Center of Collin County in Plano, Jackie Hall said cash-strapped homeowners today seek twice to three times as much in mortgage assistance than they did two years ago. Some are seeking as much as $4,000 in mortgage help a month, far exceeding most agencies' emergency assistance budgets for all their clients that range from $3,000 to $5,000 per month.
through the door.
...
"I've had people who paid rent that was almost $1,200. I had a gentleman that wanted us to help pay $4,000 in bills. Our measly $300 assistance wouldn't get him anywhere."
All those who voted for Gore have my deepest sympathies.
K. Lo and To. K
The ever clueless K. Lo wants us to know that the only reason people booed the Dixie Chicks was because one of them was apparently wearing a "F*** You Toby Keith" T-shirt. That certainly sounds like a mean-spirited thing for our Chicks to do, though K.Lo should perhaps understand why they might feel that way:
(sent in by reader ab)
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I found it deeply ironic that Keith expressed his frustration with "these big-mouthed celebrities who think anybody cares what they say," right before plunging into Red, White and Blue, a song that explains in no uncertain terms his view on retaliatory U.S. foreign policy.
Keith also put a doctored "family picture" of Saddam Hussein with the Dixie Chicks (one of whom recently criticized President Bush at a concert) on the giant above-stage video screen. It seems to me that, when you advocate the freedom of the Red, White and Blue, you don't get to choose what other people who live under those colors say.
(sent in by reader ab)
Does Clarence Thomas Advocate Terrorism?
I wonder if he's happy now that someone followed his advice:
(sent in by Jeff Hauser)
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Best anecdote from Suskind's Esquire story: In Thomas's office at the Supreme Court, he keeps a sign on the bookshelf. It reads: "SAVE AMERICA, BOMB YALE LAW SCHOOL."
Thomas should know. He's an alumnus.
(sent in by Jeff Hauser)
House Impeachment Manager Moron
From Lloyd Grove:
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Former House impeachment manager James Rogan, who was appointed by President Bush to run the Patent and Trademark Office in Crystal City after losing his 2000 reelection race in California, apparently upset some employees last week with a couple of flip answers in his regular online chat.
On last Thursday's chat, someone identified as "Homing Pigeon" wrote in: "In the event of an emergency situation . . . if an evacuation is ordered, what is your advice for us getting home?" Rogan typed back: "run fast." To another questioner who wondered about proper "business casual" attire, Rogan replied: "People who dress like pigs will be required to eat out of the sty we're building in Carlyle," a reference to the new facility in Alexandria.
A veteran employee who asked for anonymity told us: "These chats give a glimpse into his lack of professionalism. . . . He also shows an amazing lack of sensitivity to the fact that over 200 federal employees perished not a mile from our office on 9/11."
Texas DPS
Josh Marshall wonders whether the Texas DPS's newfound love for civil liberties, which they used to justify the destruction of all records of their pursuit of the Texas democrats, has any basis in law at all. Skeptical Notion doesn't think so.
...and, nor does Josh Marshall in an update. In fact, they're very likely guilty of violating laws.
Go read the whole thing and come back, but now the DPS is claiming that it was a criminal matter until the Democrats left Texas jurisdiction. This is false - while the Texas lege has the power to compel absent members to show up, it is not a criminal matter.
...and, nor does Josh Marshall in an update. In fact, they're very likely guilty of violating laws.
Go read the whole thing and come back, but now the DPS is claiming that it was a criminal matter until the Democrats left Texas jurisdiction. This is false - while the Texas lege has the power to compel absent members to show up, it is not a criminal matter.
Tracking Jobs
The Bush administration is claiming that there will average 306,000 net new jobs per month over the next 18 month. If that happens, I promise to vote for him. Now, what will he promise if it doesn't?
Hubris
Jeff Jacoby writing about Jayson Blair.
Remember Jacoby's little problem...
More on Jacoby's inaccuracies here. This one was pretty funny:
Remember Jacoby's little problem...
More on Jacoby's inaccuracies here. This one was pretty funny:
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Poor Jeff Jacoby! Boo hoo hoo: Jeff Jacoby's suspension is meaningless in itself. But it has allowed the press corps to showcase its devotion to copy-cat sloth (and inaccuracy). The air has been filled with angry scribes demanding that the Boston One be restored. Their conduct has revealed their deepest values. We'll review the case in detail next week.
But we thought we'd preview one matter. In July 1998, Jacoby—without any attribution—ripped off part of an April 1997 piece by Tucker Carlson in The Weekly Standard. Predictably, what Jacoby recycled (without attribution) was an ugly insinuation about Gore. And here comes the beauty part: Two weeks after Carlson's piece appeared, the Standard had run a detailed letter correcting what Carlson had said. Anyone reading Carlson's original piece could have seen that his charge had the sound of contrivance. But, at the time that Jacoby recycled the charge, it had stood corrected for over a year.
We wrote a letter to the Washington Times, which is where we saw Jacoby's column. The letter has been lightly revised for clarity. Article references follow:
- July 30, 1998
Letters Editor
The Washington Times
To the editor:
How sad that you published columnist Jeff Jacoby's latest recycling of an old Al Gore-lacks-character canard, the one Jacoby expressed in his July 29 column. Jacoby says this about the 1996 Democratic Convention speech in which Gore described his presence at his sister's deathbed:
- As for that dramatic deathbed scene, it was hard to see when he could have found time to squeeze it in: On the day
his sister died, records show, he was busy talking politics with a reporter from the UPI and addressing the Kiwanis
Club in Knoxville.
Jacoby implies what he was unwilling to say—that Gore was too busy campaigning to attend to his sister in the way he's described.
This suggestion was invented by Tucker Carlson in a May 19, 1997 Weekly Standard piece. But, in response to Carlson's insinuation, the Standard printed a detailed letter from Gore's driver in its June 2 issue. The driver explained how he drove Gore to Nashville from East Tennessee when word came that Gore's sister had taken a turn for the worse. If Jacoby has made any effort to know the truth about Carlson's insinuation, he surely must be aware of the facts which the Standard provided in this forum.
By the way: Jacoby and Carlson must be the only people on earth who haven't heard that it's possible to do more than one thing in a day. How does it feel to be publishing a writer whose grasp of reality is so slender?
Yours truly, - As for that dramatic deathbed scene, it was hard to see when he could have found time to squeeze it in: On the day
To our knowledge, the letter wasn't published. At any rate, Jacoby had recycled Carlson's year-old story, without attribution. Carlson's charge had long been known to be wrong.
Meanwhile, the weepy Jacoby has published a letter about the "nightmare" he has now undergone. Settle in for some real entertainment:-
JACOBY: I joined The Globe as an op-ed columnist in February 1994. (The first line of my first column was: "So what's a nice conservative like me doing in a newspaper like this?") In the six and a half years since, I have produced close to 600 columns. I invite anyone to judge my integrity and my journalistic ethics on the basis of the work that I have done for The Globe. To my knowledge, the paper has never had any reason to question my work, or to doubt that I hold myself to the highest standards when writing for publication.
We're going to take him up on that offer. Boo hoo hoo hoo hoo. - July 30, 1998
Get Over It - The Short Version
Some wonder why one might bother revisiting the Clinton years, a la Sid's book. From my perspective it has little to do with defending Clinton and has everything to do with attacking the media. The media attacks on Clinton weren't simply biased or inadvertently wrong, they were explicitly fraudulent. The perpetrators of the various frauds - Gerth, Myers, Greenfield, Stewart, Schmidt, Isikoff, etc...etc... were never punished for their sins a la Blair. In fact, they continue to be rewarded for their legacy.
Wednesday, May 21, 2003
Conason on Spikey Mikey
Frankly, Joe's too kind to him. In particular, here:
Spikey's deception goes slightly deeper than this. It is true that Blumenthal bases his early (and ultimately correct) rejection of the Standard Press Narrative of Whitewater on conversations with HIllary, it isn't true that his basis for doing so now has much to do with a conversation in 1994. Isikoff's claim doesn't simply ignore the later evidence, he also engages in a deliberate misrepresentation of Sid's book.
I've seen this trick elsewhere - such as when Maslin wondered how Blumenthal could claim that there were no "facts" to Whitewater, then subsequently argue it was his duty to communicate the facts to the press corps. The meaning is obvious - in the former Blumenthal is referring to the "facts" accepted by the press, the "facts" of the Clinton's guilt, and in the latter he's referring to their reality.
In any case, it's increasingly clear that Jeff Gerth has pictures of every single person in D.C.involved in some man-on-dog sex. I understand why they want to protect themselves, but the consistent desire to protect Gerth is downright creepy.
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As a leading honcho in that posse, Isikoff insistently ignores arguments that might embarrass him now. An innocent reader of his review would think Blumenthal's only reason for doubting Whitewater was that Hillary Clinton claimed to be innocent. In fact, Blumenthal painstakingly dissects both the scandal allegations and the press coverage of those charges.
Spikey's deception goes slightly deeper than this. It is true that Blumenthal bases his early (and ultimately correct) rejection of the Standard Press Narrative of Whitewater on conversations with HIllary, it isn't true that his basis for doing so now has much to do with a conversation in 1994. Isikoff's claim doesn't simply ignore the later evidence, he also engages in a deliberate misrepresentation of Sid's book.
I've seen this trick elsewhere - such as when Maslin wondered how Blumenthal could claim that there were no "facts" to Whitewater, then subsequently argue it was his duty to communicate the facts to the press corps. The meaning is obvious - in the former Blumenthal is referring to the "facts" accepted by the press, the "facts" of the Clinton's guilt, and in the latter he's referring to their reality.
In any case, it's increasingly clear that Jeff Gerth has pictures of every single person in D.C.involved in some man-on-dog sex. I understand why they want to protect themselves, but the consistent desire to protect Gerth is downright creepy.
Poetry of the Times
At Medianews:
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And so we discover with mirth
What a Times' apologia's worth
They pretend much to care
All about Jayson Blair
Wen Ho Lee wonders, "What about Gerth?"
The Definition of Terrorism
I think it's time for the style departments, or whatever they're called, in the various news outlets to come up with a consistent definition of terrorism. I'm really quite tired of Blitzer and Dobbs wondering out loud if the apparent bomb at Yale is or isn't terrorism. By their rather obvious definition, terrorism is something done by "Muslims" against "Americans."
If someone plants a bomb, it's terrorism.
If someone plants a bomb, it's terrorism.
Sid and 24
Over at Salon, Charles Taylor discusses 24 in the context of the last 5 years of politics, Blumenthal's book, and people's reaction to it in a Frank Richish essay. Only having seen a couple episodes of 24, I can't comment on the 24 connection...
Thug Watch
Reader dt sends this lovely story in:
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TARRYTOWN, N.Y. (AP) An Arab-American woman who was fighting a pair of parking tickets says she fainted in court after the judge asked if she was a terrorist.
The judge confirmed that he made the remark but said he was ''probably kidding with her.'' And he denied her claim that he also accused her of financially supporting terrorists.
There was no transcript of the proceedings. The woman, Anissa Khoder, has filed a complaint against the judge, Village Justice William Crosbie, with the state Commission on Judicial Conduct.
Khoder told The Journal News that as she approached Crosbie's table in court on Thursday, the judge considered her name out loud and asked if she was a terrorist. She said she was stunned and offended but kept that to herself.
She claimed that after giving the judge her explanation for why the tickets should be dismissed, ''He said something like, 'You have money to support the terrorists, but you don't want to pay the ticket.' I could not believe I was hearing that.''
Blow Blows
A few sharp letters to Salon note that Richard Blow's whining article about Stephen Glass is quite the self-indictment.
Highlights:
Highlights:
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Blow writes, "I wanted Steve to show that celebrities were effective -- the story wasn't a story if they weren't -- and he came through, digging up a Virginia political consultant who'd studied this very question." This statement, more than anything Glass did, underscores the real problem with American journalism. Editors, like Blow, tell writers, "Tell a story that goes like this," before any reporting is done, before the facts are known. The intellectual process more closely resembles the way fiction is generated than the way facts are documented.
...
Yet by his own admission, he was anxious for dirt on a public figure who foiled him by not making himself an easy target (what, objectivity gone out of style these days?). And he tells an obviously insecure, desperate-to-please young man exactly what he is salivating for and -- what a surprise! -- he gets it in spades.
...
His meager mea culpa (worthy of Stephen Glass) for his desire to "dig up some dirt" on Vernon Jordan refers matter-of-factly to Clinton's "shenanigans." Blow blithely carries on in that Beltway alternate universe where there was something dastardly at the heart of Whitewater -- never mind that Ken Starr spent millions of dollars and couldn't find it. Even five years later he traipses right past the real reason he was so easily deceived -- he wanted to get Clinton, and the facts be damned.
Lelyveld the Deceiver
Joseph Lelyveld, the disgraced and disgraceful former editor of the New York Times, responds to some criticisms which Joe Conason had made of his original review of The Clinton Wars. Leaving aside some of his minor parsing, the real issue is that Lelyveld simply sidesteps Conason's biggest criticism - that Lelyveld and the Times ignored the RTC-Pillsbury report which fully exonerated the Clintons, who had turned over all their financial records, as far back as 1995.
End of Buffy
Ken Layne wonders if I'm sad. Well, the finale would have been good had it been stretched to two hours, and perhaps more generally if it had been stretched into the past few episodes. The all-too-brief return to some things I imagine most fans missed from earlier seasons provided a resolution and the quick reference to the first show provided a nice bookend. But, it was rushed and abrupt and more of a reminder of what should have been than a satisfactory ending.
Jim, at least, is thrilled.
Jim, at least, is thrilled.
Texas DPS Destroys Records
Throw them all in jail.
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AUSTIN, Texas - (KRT) - One day before Democrats ended their boycott of the Texas House last week, the Texas Department of Public Safety ordered the destruction of all records and photos gathered in the search for them, documents obtained Tuesday show.
A one-sentence order sent by e-mail on the morning of May 14 was apparently carried out, a DPS spokesman said Tuesday. The revelation comes as federal authorities are investigating how a division of the federal Homeland Security Department was dragged into the hunt for the missing Democrats - at the request of the state police agency.
Addressed to "Captains," the order said: "Any notes, correspondence, photos, etc. that were obtained pursuant to the absconded House of Representative members shall be destroyed immediately. No copies are to be kept. Any questions please contact me."
It was signed by the commander of the DPS Special Crimes Service, L.C. "Tony" Marshall.
The head of a state House panel looking into law enforcement's role in the search expressed outrage at the order, obtained by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram under the Texas Open Records Act.
"That's unbelievable," said state Rep. Kevin Bailey, chairman of the House General Investigating Committee and one of the 51 Democrats who fled to Ardmore, Okla., during the walkout last week.
Sid in Salon
Here
Indeed.
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This saga was much more damaging to journalism than anything that Jayson Blair or Stephen Glass did --- the New York Times' and the Washington Post's persistent pursuit of the empty, politically manipulated story of Whitewater. The fact that these leading papers adhered to this hoax over the years by suppressing contradictory, relevant and exculpatory facts that disproved their premises, including the Pillsbury report and many other facts -- that's the real journalism scandal of the past decade or more. And the top editors at these newspapers arrogantly confused all efforts at correcting the facts with assaults on the integrity of their institutions. They couldn't think their way through the Watergate syndrome -- they'd lost their ability to reason. This was Watergate turned on its head -- they became part of the dirty tricks. When the Clinton administration objected to these groundless probes, these journalists simply got their backs up and redoubled their efforts.
The review of my book by [former New York Times executive editor] Joe Lelyveld that recently ran in the New York Review of Books was a defense of the Times' Whitewater coverage -- which he was responsible for. And in the course of the review, he repeated a number of the mistakes and errors made by the press during Whitewater. He used the review to justify one of recent history's most egregious cases of journalistic irresponsibility.
After their Wen Ho Lee debacle, the Times attempted to set the record straight. They did the same with Jayson Blair. It's long past time for the Times and Post to review their Whitewater coverage, and to learn from the experience, in order to avoid being used politically in the future.
There are many reporters and editors who share these sentiments within the Times and Post. But now we've moved from journalism to history. If journalism is a first draft of history, well, it was extremely rough. But now it's time for history to set the record straight on Whitewater.
Indeed.
Tuesday, May 20, 2003
Spikey Mikey
Is this a joke?
If you're in the mood, scroll down to the bottom of Spikey's rant and go play in the Fray.
If you're in the mood, scroll down to the bottom of Spikey's rant and go play in the Fray.
Intervention Revisited
Heading over to the Sideshow I re-read what I had recently written about a liberal view of state intervention in the economy. I noticed that I had left one major point of necessary intervention in the marketplace - insurance markets - in particular health and social/pension insurance.
We tend to see market failure in health insurance markets because, absent regulation, insurers will expensive coverage to sick/old patients and cheap coverage to young/healthy patients. Or, another way to look at this is to realize that once you get sick - say, coming down with MS, come policy renewal time they'll raise your rates too high and no more insurance for you. Now, in theory everyone could choose to enter into a lifetime contract for health insurance when young and healthy, and lock yourself into actuarially appropriate rates before you're diagnosed with the chronic disease. However, as we see repeatedly such contracts depend on the long-term solvency of any particular business entity - so, if the company goes bankrupt you're S.O.L.
It's important to note that even if, say, pre-existing conditions are not allowed to affect rates, insurance companies can segment the market by offering different rates and plans, knowing full well which group (sick/old vs. young/healthy) will purchase which policy. This is increasingly becoming a problem for businesses that offer multiple plans to their employees - the full range from full-service POS plans to cheap high co-payment and high nuisance HMO plans. Young healthy patients purchase the cheap HMO plans, and old sick patients purchase the full coverage ones - causing the prices of the full coverage ones to skyrocket as only risky - and expensive - patients purchase them. Because of this, it's quite possible such plans will cease to be offered at all, and then no one will have comprehensive coverage. This is why some of us laugh at the idea that there should be so much "choice" for insurance plans - such choice segments the risk pool, and tends to leave only the crappy coverage standing.
Insurance markets are filled with such problems. But, even without that the question remains - what do we do about sick and dying old people who are unable to pay for insurance? We either let them die or we take care of it as a society. If we know we're going to take care of them, we should make sure to try and make them pay for it before the problem arises. I believe we call that Medicare.
We tend to see market failure in health insurance markets because, absent regulation, insurers will expensive coverage to sick/old patients and cheap coverage to young/healthy patients. Or, another way to look at this is to realize that once you get sick - say, coming down with MS, come policy renewal time they'll raise your rates too high and no more insurance for you. Now, in theory everyone could choose to enter into a lifetime contract for health insurance when young and healthy, and lock yourself into actuarially appropriate rates before you're diagnosed with the chronic disease. However, as we see repeatedly such contracts depend on the long-term solvency of any particular business entity - so, if the company goes bankrupt you're S.O.L.
It's important to note that even if, say, pre-existing conditions are not allowed to affect rates, insurance companies can segment the market by offering different rates and plans, knowing full well which group (sick/old vs. young/healthy) will purchase which policy. This is increasingly becoming a problem for businesses that offer multiple plans to their employees - the full range from full-service POS plans to cheap high co-payment and high nuisance HMO plans. Young healthy patients purchase the cheap HMO plans, and old sick patients purchase the full coverage ones - causing the prices of the full coverage ones to skyrocket as only risky - and expensive - patients purchase them. Because of this, it's quite possible such plans will cease to be offered at all, and then no one will have comprehensive coverage. This is why some of us laugh at the idea that there should be so much "choice" for insurance plans - such choice segments the risk pool, and tends to leave only the crappy coverage standing.
Insurance markets are filled with such problems. But, even without that the question remains - what do we do about sick and dying old people who are unable to pay for insurance? We either let them die or we take care of it as a society. If we know we're going to take care of them, we should make sure to try and make them pay for it before the problem arises. I believe we call that Medicare.
Warren Says
Warren Buffett says:
Heh. Indeed.
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When you listen to tax-cut rhetoric, remember that giving one class of taxpayer a "break" requires -- now or down the line -- that an equivalent burden be imposed on other parties. In other words, if I get a break, someone else pays. Government can't deliver a free lunch to the country as a whole. It can, however, determine who pays for lunch. And last week the Senate handed the bill to the wrong party.
Supporters of making dividends tax-free like to paint critics as promoters of class warfare. The fact is, however, that their proposal promotes class welfare. For my class.
Heh. Indeed.
Government Bails Out Worldcom
Says shareholders must be paid $500 million over $9 billion in fraud, then hands them Iraq contract.
The Joys of Wireless
I'd highly recommend getting a wireless router if you have broadband/multiple computers. They're dirt cheap at this point, particularly the older 802.11b standard which, depending on the speed of your broadband connection, is probably enough. And, if you're in a dense city you can probably find a coffee shop with an open hot spot somewhere near by so you can do the uber-geek thing.
Mine always had this little problem that certain websites would cause it to reset and drop the signal - a bit annoying. Fortunately I finally got around to doing the firmware upgrade, and problem is magically solved.
Just thought I'd share.
Mine always had this little problem that certain websites would cause it to reset and drop the signal - a bit annoying. Fortunately I finally got around to doing the firmware upgrade, and problem is magically solved.
Just thought I'd share.
Monday, May 19, 2003
A hat or a brooch or a pterodactyl
When the dust clears I wonder what the "conventional wisdom" explanation for Iraq's lack of WMDs will be.
80s Flashback
Bonzo Goes To Bitburg
Bonzo goes to bitburg then goes out for a cup of tea
As I watched it on TV somehow it really bothered me
Bonzo goes to bitburg then goes out for a cup of tea
As I watched it on TV somehow it really bothered me
Greg Beato Says Advertise Here!
Well, sort of. Greg has a post about how it seems that lefty causes don't seem to be spending much money advertising on lefty sites (you know, like this one). I suppose the real question is - what's the purpose of advertising? If you're making an issue ad, like Move On, and trying to get your message out to a general audience and gain a few converts, then hitting general audience media is probably the right idea. However, if you're trying to rally the troops or do fundraising for a particular cause, then advertising on a site like this is probably the right thing to do. Lefty bloggers, or places like Cursor or Buzzflash, reach a pretty targeted demographic. It's gotta be cheaper than direct mail (I have no idea if Cursor or Buzzflash want or have solicited advertising).
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