Did he deserve it?

"Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future," the Norwegian committee said in its statement announcing the prize. "Paramount in the committee's decision has been the president's commitment to diplomacy over warfare, and even more significantly a daring and imaginative idea to rid the world of the ultimate terror with which humanity has lived since Hiroshima."

It seems clear that the award given to the President today was part symbol, part down-payment on a promise, and part reward for successful efforts. Was he the most deserving of the award? It's hard to say. I would argue that he was probably not the best candidate based on actions achieved (the President said so himself: Preliminary Acceptance Speech), but perhaps he was the best candidate based on what could be accomplished through the giving of the award. I have only my opinions and my own education to serve me and nothing more. Some of his actions have been very successful, while many of his policy efforts have yet to bear fruit, or are only just beginning to do so. I can tell you however what he didn't deserve: The lambasting from his critics; the disdain from the "know-nothings" who continue to dominate the public debates.

Constructive criticism is a positive part of democracy, but Destructive criticism for the sake of attack, and often void of logic, is pure politics. Most people who don't follow politics have asked, "what has he done?" There will always be those who take no time to educate themselves yet enjoy throwing stones and operate out of pure dissonance. There's no point even addressing them. However, those who do understand the way our government works and still attack the president are just out to get him. They are not going to give him a chance and they never intended to.

For those who desire to be better than their ideologue counterparts, for those interested in being thoughtful, being permeable, and being informed, the following is a short list of only some of the Obama administration’s recent accomplishments:

FOREIGN POLICY & PEACE

"The basic bargain is sound: Countries with nuclear weapons will move toward disarmament, countries without nuclear weapons will not acquire them, and all countries can access peaceful nuclear energy. If we are serious about stopping the spread of these weapons, then we should put an end to the dedicated production of weapons-grade materials that create them. That's the first step." - President Obama (in Prague, April 5, 2009)

Progress

• Ordered the closure of the prison at Guantanamo Bay and a review of our detention and interrogation policy, and prohibited the use of torture.

• Appointed Special Envoys for Climate Change, Southwest Asia, the Middle East, Sudan, and a Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

• Announced a plan to responsibly end the War in Iraq.
• Announced a new strategy for Pakistan and Afghanistan.
• Announced a strategy to address the international nuclear threat. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Non-proliferation talks have been renewed, and a global summit on nuclear security has been hosted. He has strengthened the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty by providing resources for international inspections and establishing "real and immediate consequences for countries caught breaking the rules or trying to leave the treaty without cause." He will also boost support for the nation's Proliferation Security Initiative and the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism to make them into "durable international institutions."
• Agreed to negotiation of a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Russia.
• Established a new "U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue".
• Announced new policy steps towards Cuba.
• Multilateral diplomacy with partnering international bodies/states has regained a central position. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts.
• His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population.
• Renewed dialogue with NATO and other allies and partners on strategic issues.
• Set a completely new agenda for the Muslim world and East-West relations.

ECONOMY

Progress

• The President signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
  
• “The massive stimulus package passed last year to blunt the impact of the worst U.S. recession in 70 years created up to 2.1 million jobs in the last three months of 2009, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said on Tuesday.” It also lowered the unemployment rate by 2.1% and added 3.5% of economic growth during said quarter. “In CBO’s judgment, that outcome reflects greater-than-projected weakness in the underlying economy rather than lower-than-expected effects” of the stimulus, the research office said. The package is likely to have the greatest impact this year, according to CBO. It is expected to boost GDP by between 1.4 percent and 4 percent and bring down the unemployment rate by between 0.7 percent and 1.8 percent in 2010, higher figures than last year when many of its programs were being set up. The impact is expected to trail off over the next two years. Direct purchasing of goods and services by the federal government and states have been the most effective provision of the act, CBO said. Among the least effective: a tax cut for the wealthy." [http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2311303720100223}

• The President announced the "Making Home Affordable" home refinancing plan.
• The President launched a $15 billion plan to boost lending to small businesses.
• The President and Secretary Geithner announced the details of the Financial Stability Plan.
• President Obama played a lead role in G-20 Summit that produced a $1.1 trillion deal to combat the global financial crisis.
• The President signed the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act which gives the federal government more tools to investigate and prosecute fraud, from lending to the financial system, and creates a bipartisan Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission to investigate the financial practices that brought us to this point.
• The President signed the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, expanding on the Making Home Affordable Program to help millions of Americans avoid preventable foreclosures, providing $2.2 billion to help combat homelessness , and helping to stabilize the housing market for everybody.

• The President signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act to protect Americans from unfair and deceptive credit card practices.

DISABILITY

Progress

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included a number of provisions of particular concern to people with disabilities.

• The Act included $500 million to help the Social Security Administration reduce its backlog in processing disability applications.
• The Act supplied $12.2 billion in funding to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA);
• The Act also provided $87 billion to states to bolster their Medicaid programs during the downturn; and,
• The Act provided over $500 million in funding for vocational rehabilitation services to help with job training, education and placement.

CIVIL RIGHTS

Progress

• The President signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, restoring basic protections against pay discrimination for women and other workers.
• The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act will be signed by years end.
  

EDUCATION

Progress

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act invested heavily in education both as a way to provide jobs now and lay the foundation for long-term prosperity.

• The Act includes $5 billion for early learning programs, including Head Start, Early Head Start, child care, and programs for children with special needs.
• The Act also provides $77 billion for reforms to strengthen elementary and secondary education, including $48.6 billion to stabilize state education budgets (of which $8.8 billion may be used for other government services) and to encourage states to:

• Make improvements in teacher effectiveness and ensure that all schools have highly-qualified teachers;
• Make progress toward college and career-ready standards and rigorous assessments that will improve both teaching and learning;
• Improve achievement in low-performing schools, through intensive support and effective interventions; and
• Gather information to improve student learning, teacher performance, and college and career readiness through enhanced data systems.

• The Act provides $5 billion in competitive funds to spur innovation and chart ambitious reform to close the achievement gap.
• The Act includes over $30 billion to address college affordability and improve access to higher education.

ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT

"So we have a choice to make. We can remain one of the world's leading importers of foreign oil, or we can make the investments that would allow us to become the world's leading exporter of renewable energy. We can let climate change continue to go unchecked, or we can help stop it. We can let the jobs of tomorrow be created abroad, or we can create those jobs right here in America and lay the foundation for lasting prosperity."

-President Obama, March 19, 2009

Progress

In his first 100 days, President Obama reversed or put on hold a number of misguided Bush administration policies, signaling a more balanced use of public lands. He also put muscle behind campaign promises to reinstate science in federal decision making and to advance a clean energy future. Thanks to Obama's initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting.

• The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included more than $60 billion in clean energy investments that will jump-start our economy and build the clean energy jobs of tomorrow:

• $11 billion for a bigger, better, and smarter grid that will move renewable energy from the rural places it is produced to the cities where it is mostly used, as well as for 40 million smart meters to be deployed in American homes.
• $5 billion for low-income home weatherization projects.
• $4.5 billion to green federal buildings and cut our energy bill, saving taxpayers billions of dollars.
• $6.3 billion for state and local renewable energy and energy efficiency efforts.
• $600 million in green job training programs – $100 million to expand line worker training programs and $500 million for green workforce training.
• $2 billion in competitive grants to develop the next generation of batteries to store energy.
• $2.3 billion in tax credits for the clean energy manufacturing sector, a move aimed at creating 17,000 jobs. (http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/08/news/economy/green_manufacturing_jobs/index.htm)
  

• Increasing, for the first time in more than a decade, the fuel economy standards for Model Year 2011 for cars and trucks so they will get better mileage, saving drivers money and spurring companies to develop more innovative products.

• The President issued a memorandum to the Department of Energy to implement more aggressive efficiency standards for common household appliances, like dishwashers and refrigerators. Through this step, over the next three decades, we’ll save twice the amount of energy produced by all the coal-fired power plants in America in any given year.
• Supporting the first steps of a legally-binding treaty to reduce mercury emissions worldwide.
• On Earth Day 2009, the President unveiled a program to develop the renewable energy projects on the waters of our Outer Continental Shelf that produce electricity from wind, wave, and ocean currents. These regulations will enable, for the first time ever, the nation to tap into our ocean’s vast sustainable resources to generate clean energy in an environmentally sound and safe manner.

• Executive Order Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration
  

• Utah oil and gas leases put on hold:
  The Department of the Interior withdraws from sale 77 disputed oil and gas leases sold by the Bush administration on environmentally sensitive lands in Utah. Some of the leases were in areas proposed for designation as wilderness.
• Closed–door policy overturned:
  The president signs executive orders that would improve the transparency of rulemaking. These orders require his staff to consider the non-market benefits of rulemaking, such as the environment and public health.

• “Look before you lease” policy:
  The Bureau of Land Management directs land managers to more carefully review environmentally sensitive tracts of federal lands proposed for oil and gas development before offering them for lease sale, especially if such tracts contained wilderness values, sensitive species, or other environmentally significant attributes.
• Oil shale lease solicitation withdrawn:
  Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announces the withdrawal of a Bush administration proposal to issue more oil shale “research, development and demonstration” leases in the West, seeking more public input about this energy- and water-intensive fuel source before any decisions on further leasing are made.
• Greater funding for conservation proposed:
  The administration proposes budget for fiscal year 2010 calling for increased appropriations for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, national wildlife refuges, national parks, wildfire management, and other environmental programs that have suffered from chronic underfunding.
• Off-shore leasing delayed:
  The Secretary of the Interior extends the comment period on the Bush administration’s hastily prepared Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas leasing program, and prepares to embark upon an April series of public meetings on the East, West, and Gulf Coasts to solicit more public input before making any new OCS leasing decisions.

• More than 2 million acres of wilderness designated:
  The president signs the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, designating more than two million acres of federal public lands as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. The law also codifies the National Landscape Conservation System and designates 86 wild and scenic rivers.
• Bush’s northern spotted owl plan withdrawn:
  The Obama administration asks a federal district court for permission to withdraw the Bush administration’s deeply flawed northern spotted owl recovery plan and revision of that species’ critical habitat.
• Energy/climate change task force formed, renewable energy given priority:
  Secretary of the Interior Salazar issues a secretarial order making environmentally-sensitive renewable energy development a top priority on public lands. The order establishes a task force led out of the Secretary’s office that will identify preferred areas on the public lands for renewable energy development.
• Gray wolf removed from the endangered species list:
  The administration takes the gray wolf off the endangered species list in Montana and Idaho, while leaving the predator under federal protection in Wyoming. The administration said that wolf populations and management prescriptions met the original goals for the recovery program established by the Clinton administration in Montana and Idaho.

• Endangered Species Act revived:
  The administration reinstates requirements that federal agencies consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service before undertaking projects that might affect threatened or endangered plants and animals.
• EPA finds greenhouse gasses a danger to public health:
  The EPA issues a draft finding that, under the Clean Air Act, greenhouse gasses are a danger to public health and welfare, the first step in regulating these pollutants under that act.
• Coal strip-mining precautions reinstated:
  Before departing office, the Bush administration gutted a federal regulation adopted during the Reagan administration that prohibited coal strip mining activities within 100 feet of streams. Secretary of the Interior Salazar announces that the 100-foot buffer zone rule would be reinstated.

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

Progress

• The President signed an Executive Order on government contracting to fight waste and abuse.
• The President launched Recovery.gov to track spending from the Recovery Act, an unprecedented step to provide transparency and accountability through technology.
• The President wrote to the congressional leadership calling on them to pass statutory Pay-As-You-Go rules so that any new non-emergency tax cut or entitlement expansion offset in the budget.
• The President signed the Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act to stop fraud and wasteful spending in the defense procurement and contracting system.

HEALTH CARE

"I suffer no illusions that this will be an easy process. It will be hard. But I also know that nearly a century after Teddy Roosevelt first called for reform, the cost of our health care has weighed down our economy and the conscience of our nation long enough. So let there be no doubt: health care reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it will not wait another year."

– President Barack Obama, February 24, 2009

Progress

• The President signed the Children’s Health Insurance Reauthorization Act on February 4, 2009, which provides quality health care to 11 million kids – 4 million who were previously uninsured.
  
• Announced creation of a Joint Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record for members of the U.S. Armed Forces to improve quality of medical care.

• The President’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act protects health coverage for 7 million Americans who lose their jobs through a 65 percent COBRA subsidy to make coverage affordable.
• The Recovery Act also invests $19 billion in computerized medical records that will help to reduce costs and improve quality while ensuring patients’ privacy.
• The Recovery Act also provides:

• $1 billion for prevention and wellness to improve America’s health and help to reduce health care costs;
• $1.1 billion for research to give doctors tools to make the best treatment decisions for their patients by providing objective information on the relative benefits of treatments; and
• $500 million for health workforce to help train the next generation of doctors and nurses.

TRANSPARENCY
Progress: Obama moved to curb government secrets

• Declassified over 400 million government documents from Cold War era to present and changed the way federal agencies review how and why they mark documents classified or deny the release of historical records. This was the largest declassification in US History (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121681403&ft=1&f=)

• Government procedures all broadcast / videotaped via CSPAN

TAXES

Progress

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included a broad range of tax cuts aimed at making the tax code more fair and supporting the middle class:

• 95% of all working families will receive a tax cut
• 70% of the tax benefits goes to the middle 60% of American workers
• 2 million families will be lifted out of poverty by the tax cuts in the Recovery Act
• More than $150 billion in tax cuts will help low-income and vulnerable households during the economic recovery
• About 1 Million jobs will be created or saved by these tax cuts alone
• $2.3 billion in tax credits for the clean energy manufacturing sector, a move aimed at creating 17,000 jobs.

The President's Acceptance Speech Today

(abridged text - full speech in video above)

This morning, Michelle and I awoke to some surprising and humbling news. At 6 a.m., we received word that I'd been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009.

To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who've been honored by this prize -- men and women who've inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace.

But I also know that throughout history the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes.

That is why I've said that I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations and all peoples to confront the common challenges of the 21st century. These challenges won't all be met during my presidency, or even my lifetime. But I know these challenges can be met so long as it's recognized that they will not be met by one person or one nation alone.

This award -- and the call to action that comes with it -- does not belong simply to me or my administration; it belongs to all people around the world who have fought for justice and for peace. And most of all, it belongs to you, the men and women of America, who have dared to hope and have worked so hard to make our world a little better.

So today we humbly recommit to the important work that we've begun together. I'm grateful that you've stood with me thus far, and I'm honored to continue our vital work in the years to come.

Thank you,

President Barack Obama

non-linked info from white house.gov, http://obama-truth.blogspot.com/2009/08/defending-president.html, sierraclub.org, nytimes.com, nobelpeaceprize.org

Information VS. Ammunition

This is the best short story I've seen making a case against the current news media culture and practices. I usually just share things so I can keep a bookmark & catalogue it, and I'm happy and surprised if anyone reads it. This time if you're reading this, I'd really like to ask you to read the article and if it speaks to you please share it. I think this is important.

The URL for this page is http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200910/media

With journalists being laid off in droves, ideologues have stepped forward to provide the “reporting” that feeds the 24-hour news cycle. The collapse of journalism means that the quest for information has been superseded by the quest for ammunition. A case-study of our post-journalistic age.

by Mark Bowden / THE ATLANTIC

The Story Behind the Story

IF YOU HAPPENED to be watching a television news channel on May 26, the day President Obama nominated U.S. Circuit Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, you might have been struck, as I was, by what seemed like a nifty investigative report.

First came the happy announcement ceremony at the White House, with Sotomayor sweetly saluting her elderly mother, who as a single parent had raised the prospective justice and her brother in a Bronx housing project. Obama had chosen a woman whose life journey mirrored his own: an obscure, disadvantaged beginning followed by blazing academic excellence, an Ivy League law degree, and a swift rise to power. It was a moving TV moment, well-orchestrated and in perfect harmony with the central narrative of the new Obama presidency.

But then, just minutes later, journalism rose to perform its time-honored pie-throwing role. Having been placed by the president on a pedestal, Sotomayor was now a clear target. I happened to be watching Fox News. I was slated to appear that night on one of its programs, Hannity, to serve as a willing foil to the show’s cheerfully pugnacious host, Sean Hannity, a man who can deliver a deeply held conservative conviction on any topic faster than the speed of thought. Since the host knew what the subject matter of that night’s show would be and I did not, I’d thought it best to check in and see what Fox was preoccupied with that afternoon.

With Sotomayor, of course—and the network’s producers seemed amazingly well prepared. They showed a clip from remarks she had made on an obscure panel at Duke University in 2005, and then, reaching back still farther, they showed snippets from a speech she had made at Berkeley Law School in 2001. Here was this purportedly moderate Latina judge, appointed to the federal bench by a Republican president and now tapped for the Supreme Court by a Democratic one, unmasked as a Race Woman with an agenda. In one clip she announced herself as someone who believed her identity as a “Latina woman” (a redundancy, but that’s what she said) made her judgment superior to that of a “white male,” and in the other she all but unmasked herself as a card-carrying member of the Left Wing Conspiracy to use America’s courts not just to apply and interpret the law but, in her own words, to make policy, to perform an end run around the other two branches of government and impose liberal social policies by fiat on an unsuspecting American public.

In the Duke clip, she not only stated that appellate judges make policy, she did so in a disdainful mock disavowal before a chuckling audience of apparently like-minded conspirators. “I know this is on tape and I should never say that, because we don’t make law, I know,” she said before being interrupted by laughter. “Okay, I know. I’m not promoting it, I’m not advocating it, I’m … you know,” flipping her hands dismissively. More laughter...

STORY CONTINUED - http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200910/media

A Conscionable Voice in Unconscionable Debate

Moyers prophetically calls for fearlessness and an end to the moral compromises giving our leaders, particularly our president, the call to obey conscience. Know I don't like Maher, but it's not Maher talking, it's Moyers and it's well worth watching. All 3 Parts.

Bill Maher Interviews Bill Moyers: The conscience of a nation Pt 1

Part 2: "We can't say it's over. What makes us great, we're not smarter than other people... [but] we have that self-correcting faculty...We've waiting almost until the ship has sunk. We're close to losing the moral, financial, and economic muscle and the wisdom that makes a huge nation, a great nation. But it's never too late." - Moyers

Bill Maher Interviews Bill Moyers: The conscience of a nation Pt 2

Part 3 "back up the rhetoric."

Bill Maher Interviews Bill Moyers: The conscience of a nation Pt 3

Source: www.youtube.com

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Melancholy and the 100 days of media sadness

The Worst Media Moment of Obama's
First 100 Days
from mediamatters.org

The first 100 days of the Obama administration are coming to a close, and there has certainly been no shortage of unhinged and outrageous media moments.

From Rush Limbaugh saying that "we are being told to bend over and grab the ankles ... because his father is black," to Glenn Beck imitating President Obama pouring gasoline on an "average American," conservatives in the media have wasted no time in stoking a culture of paranoia with extreme, vitriolic, and often irresponsible rhetoric.

VOTE for the worst moment at http://mediamatters.org/action_center/100days/

I'm debating between voting for one of these gems:

• Beck leaving an SUV idling outside his studio during his show to "do [his] part for global warming" after his cohort claimed Al Gore looks stupid for insisting on climate change when there is snow on the ground in NYC in winter.
• Beck pouring gas on another Fox anchor to demonstrate his feeling that Obama is setting the average American on fire.
• Limbaugh telling us that we're allowing ourselves to be anally raped because of White guilt.
• Santelli's inane and hypocritical rant from the trading floor.

The Rodeo Clown & A Persecuted Majority

- Glenn Beck is feeling so disenfranchised by Obama that he feels the President is shooting in the head or setting on fire the "average American" so he demonstrates while lecturing the President on "sanity." What follows is the most insane thing I have ever seen on Fox News and that's saying a lot.

“I’m a rodeo clown. It takes great skill." - Glenn Beck

Mr. Beck’s success “is a product of the collapse of conservatism as an organized political force, and the rise of conservatism as an alienated cultural sensibility.”

“It’s a show for people who feel they belong to an embattled minority that is disenfranchised and cut off." - David Frum

[NY Times: "Fox New's Mad, Apocalyptic, Tearful Rising Star"]

[Gawker: "David Frum: 'What the Hell is Going on at Fox News?'"]

To suggest as Beck does that white Republicans are "alienated," "embattled" and "disenfranchised" is so laughably delusional and disgusting that you have to chuckle to keep from crying. The very idea that someone like Beck is being disenfranchised or persecuted and is some how a voice for the voiceless is so ostensibly offensive that it would be hard to even deal with if not for the fact that the "rodeo clowns" playing these roles do so willingly and without remorse fueling the fire from those that would fall prey to and identify with such ideas.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Moment of Zen - Glenn Beck Cries
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The 10.31 Project
colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor NASA Name Contest

UPDATE: Beck announces his own comedy tour. You can't make this stuff up.

A Vote of No Confidence

Most news media outlets (tv, radio & internet) lack any credibility and foster destructive transitory pop culture, encouraging 'info-tainment' within the context of no context. Whether biased or balanced it's all still blather. Yesterday, a Fox News Reporter actually said of Obama's latest address: "I hope there are no more of these five-minute answers. It's hard to stay awake." Looking at unemployment numbers it's more than disheartening to see that THESE people HAVE jobs and even worse... Platforms.

Media find Obama news conference insufficiently entertaining

Summary: Several media outlets echoed the assertion of a Drudge Report headline that President Obama's March 24 press conference was "boring."

Discussing President Obama's then-upcoming press conference on the March 24 edition of Fox News' Special Report, when asked what he was looking for, Fox News contributor Fred Barnes stated: "I hope there are no more of these five-minute answers. It's hard to stay awake." Subsequently, during the press conference, Internet gossip Matt Drudge posted the headline "Being Boring" below a picture of Obama on his website. Drudge's headline initially did not link to an analysis by Drudge or to any articles but instead linked back to the Drudge Report homepage. After the press conference ended, Fox News hosts Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity echoed Drudge, with O'Reilly calling Obama's performance "dull and repetitive," and Hannity calling it "boring and dull and uninspiring and unconvincing."

Full article at:
- mediamatters.org

---------------------
UPDATE (3/26)

Reporter Asks Gibbs About Question Selection And Teleprompter

from wonkette.com

Hey does anyone know what the hell is going on with the media? Did all professional journalistic reporters catch idiot cancer overnight? Here we have the Washington Post’s Lois Romano, a fine reporter usually (we guess?), landing an interview with Robert Gibbs. A GOOD JOURNALISTIC OPPORTUNITY. And the two questions she asks immediately… well you know what those are going to be, don’t you?

First this Washington Post reporter asks why Obama did not call on any “major newspapers” during his press conference, GAHHH! Wait. No! She says, “President Obama turned the longstanding press conference tradition on its head last night by, uh, bypassing the major newspapers. What do you think about the reaction to that?”

Just no self-awareness at all, no idea how this looks, no idea that no one, except the political reporters for four newspapers in the United States, in any way cares about this. And this is just going to get so, so much more grating over the next few years as more people stop reading 24-hour-old news physically printed on oversized sheets of tree pulp.

Anyway, Gibbs more or less tells her that no one cares, fine.

Then, Romano’s second question, actual quote: “The teleprompter changed last night. What was that about? It’s a big Jumbotron now.”

WELL LOIS THERE USED TO BE TWO SMALLER SCREENS ON EITHER OF HIS SIDES, AND THEN ON TUESDAY THERE WAS JUST ONE BIG ONE STRAIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM. HE WANTED TO LOOK STRAIGHT AHEAD INSTEAD OF SIDE-TO-SIDE. WE KNOW IT’S HARD TO UNDERSTAND BUT THAT IS WHY.

Robert Gibbs also yells at her, for asking stupid questions. This teleprompter stuff, and the fact that every level of reporter is talking about it… really, just how does that happen? There is no more controversy in the use of a teleprompter than there is in the use of a microphone. “Did you hear that Obama uses a microphone, because his supposedly ‘great speaking voice’ isn’t LOUD enough, like an IDIOT?” That’s going to be a New York Times front-pager in a few months at this rate, just you watch. Even believing the chain e-mail Muslim conspiracy rumors is more valid than finding controversy in a teleprompter. Really! - wonkette.com

Let's end this with a bang...

Have you ever wondered how much your government was like the mob? No, you haven't? You think that's a ridiculous analogy and that you'd have to be a complete moron to make it in the first place? Well, let me ask you this: Does the government make you fear for your life? No, again you think you'd have to be an insane person to think that's a legitimate question? Well of course you do, you're sane. Questions like these belong on the interwebs and message boards and ron paul forums right? No one in their right mind would say, intentionally bring a guest onto a prime-time cable news show to ask them these kinds of questions, right? Wrong. Guesssss whoooo???



I love that Fox brings on a mobster to give their narrative credibility. I hope that irony isn't lost on all of their viewers. Actually, I'm sure it was.

Let's Talk Bias

Let's be honest, the media's true bias is sensationalism and newness. Nothing gets under my skin more than the "Liberal media bias" strawman, and apparently I'm not the only one. Even Fox News' Shepard Smith (that's right, Fox) is tired of the ridiculousness of this scapegoat:

The Right's "bias" charade - It's time to put these face-value assertions to rest.

Source: mediamatters.org

The truth is that when John McCain says "jump," the media still ask, "How high?" Think about this: When was the last time McCain or his campaign has wanted the news media to focus on something, and they have refused? From "lipstick on a pig" to Bill Ayers, the media have scampered after whatever mud McCain has flung, like a puppy dog chasing a stick thrown by its master. Sure, sometimes they have pointed out that McCain is lying -- and that's tremendous progress for a profession that has spent a decade flatly asserting McCain's honesty. But -- as I've explained in the past -- even as they've debunked McCain's claims, they've too often privileged the lie by allowing those claims to drive their coverage.

The long-term goals of the right wing's attacks on the media: to delegitimize an Obama presidency in the eyes of many Americans, and to browbeat journalists into covering an Obama administration much more critically than they otherwise would.

Whether those goals are met depends in part on whether journalists take the attacks seriously, or recognize them as the predictable continuation of a right-wing work-the-refs strategy that is so fraudulent it even involved claiming the media were devoting insufficient attention to Monica Lewinsky. And it depends in part on whether progressives push back on the bogus narrative that the media handed Obama the election, or simply ignore it.

Why McCain is getting hosed in the press - John F. Harris and Jim VandeHei - Politico.com

Source: www.politico.com

Some see a mother lode of bias in this year's election coverage. But there are other factors at play....indulge us in noting that the subject of ideological bias in the news media is a drag. The people who care about it typically come at the issue with scalding biases of their own. Any statement journalists make on the subject can and will be used against them. So the incentive is to make bland and guarded statements. Even honest ones, meanwhile, will tend to strike partisans as evasive or self-delusional.

In efforts to look balanced at all costs this campaign's coverage and even fact checkers have been too often awash with false equivalence and balance for the sake of balance, neither of which honor truth in an effort to not be labeled or discounted. If there are 3 Factual stories breaking that are unflattering toward one candidate and only 1 Factual story unflattering toward the other, there is no integrity in airing one and one for the sake of a false balance. Tell the truth. That is the job. That is the responsibility. As the journalist says,

"Imposing artificial balance on this reality would be a bias of its own....when journalists try so hard to avoid accusations of favoritism it clouds critical judgment. A good example were stories suggesting Palin held her own or even won her debate against Joe Biden when it seemed obvious she was simply invoking whatever talking points she had at hand, hanging on for dear life."

The real "Gotcha" media

In this video receiving a remarkable amount of attention despite it's unremarkableness, Biden makes the point clear that Obama's ony taking about returning us to the Clinton era tax rates with a further cut in the middle class. Was Clinton a Marxist too? If we're going to start throwing labels out there and go down to the letter, then we should probably get rid of those socialist programs like Medicare and Social Security,...or those new nationalized banks we just bought up, ...oh wait that was Bush.

This is running on desperate from Drudge and FoxNews who are making a big deal of it. The reporter laid out a bunch of rhetorical questions that are straight out of John McCain and Sarah Palin's stump speeches. The reporter's bio on her site shows she's a major republican supporter, family donates thousands to RNC. Surely it's just a coincidence that her husband is a GOP MEDIA CONSULTANT! And on Thursday she asked McCain a set of softballs. But look, tough questions are great, but not if some of them are 100% false or aim to equate the Democratic candidate for president with Karl Marx. There's no equivalence between the Obama tax plan and Marxism. Have the Republicans been taking cues from McCarthy? Biden kept his cool in the face of some really woefully ignorant questions, that were obviously taken from talking points. What’s actually newsworthy is Biden’s elegance at disposing of the wingnuttery so frankly. If she had more time she probably would have asked for “a penetrating expose on who is an anti-American in Congress"!

I will agree on one thing though; it does seem a bit silly for the campaign to have said in response to the interview that Jill Biden wouldn't appear on the show next week. So the lady asked some stupid questions; so she's a tool for an agenda; Jill's a big girl and could have taken advantage of the opportunity.

But since just two days ago the PA McCain campaign told 75K jewish voters that if they voted Obama they could be repeating the same steps that led to the Holocaust, I guess a Marxist or socialist charge isn't the worst they have done.


How I wish this all had gone:

Anchor: Senator Biden, what do you say to the people who think that Barack Obama likes to rape kittens while feasting on the entrails of Republican virgins that were sacrificed at the Satanic Marxist altar built by the Democrats using money that Acorn stole, with the help of Willam Ayers, from old white women?

Joe Biden: [cuts a bitch]

Funny how things change:

Press Arrested for Legally Covering RNC protests

STATEMENT FROM DEMOCRACY NOW! & PBS

Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman, Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar Released After Illegal Arrest at RNC

Goodman Charged with Obstruction; Felony Riot Charges Pending Against Kouddous and Salazar

ST. PAUL--Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman and producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar have all been released from police custody in St. Paul following their illegal arrest by Minneapolis Police on Monday afternoon.

All three were violently manhandled by law enforcement officers. Abdel Kouddous was slammed against a wall and the ground, leaving his arms scraped and bloodied. He sustained other injuries to his chest and back. Salazar's violent arrest by baton-wielding officers, during which she was slammed to the ground while yelling, "I'm Press! Press!," resulted in her nose bleeding, as well as causing facial pain. Goodman's arm was violently yanked by police as she was arrested.

On Tuesday, Democracy Now! will broadcast video of these arrests, as well as the broader police action. These will also be available on: www.democracynow.org

Goodman was arrested while questioning police about the unlawful detention of Kouddous and Salazar who were arrested while they carried out their journalistic duties in covering street demonstrations at the Republican National Convention. Goodman's crime appears to have been defending her colleagues and the freedom of the press.

Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher told Democracy Now! that Kouddous and Salazar were arrested on suspicion of rioting, a felony. While the three have been released, they all still face charges stemming from their unlawful arrest. Kouddous and Salazar face pending charges of suspicion of felony riot, while Goodman has been officially charged with obstruction of a legal process and interference with a "peace officer."

Democracy Now! forcefully rejects all of these charges as false and an attempt at intimidation of these journalists. We demand that the charges be immediately and completely dropped.

Democracy Now! stands by Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar and condemns this action by Twin Cities' law enforcement as a clear violation of the freedom of the press and the First Amendment rights of these journalists.

During the demonstration in which the Democracy Now! team was arrested, law enforcement officers used tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets, concussion grenades and excessive force against protesters and journalists. Several dozen demonstrators were also arrested during this action, including a photographer for the Associated Press.

Amy Goodman is one of the most well-known and well-respected journalists in the United States. She has received journalism's top honors for her reporting and has a distinguished reputation of bravery and courage. The arrest of Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar and the subsequent criminal charges and threat of charges are a transparent attempt to intimidate journalists.

Democracy Now! is a nationally-syndicated public TV and radio program that airs on over 700 radio and TV stations across the US and the globe.

The Best of the Sarah Palin Video Collection (no, not Skinemax)

Let's start with Colbert:

add some Stewart:

and a 2-parter from Palin "herself":

The Slow-Witted Beast

Jon Stewart lectures reporters on coverage (CNN)

As Comedy Central's "Daily Show" descends on Denver for four days of coverage, Jon Stewart took after the "established" media for getting too cozy with candidates and regurgitating campaign spin when it comes to political coverage.

In a breakfast with reporters, Stewart directed most of his ire at the 24-hour cable news networks, which he called "gerbil wheels," and said the media at-large had "abdicated" to what he called the "slow-witted beast."

He said the never-ending television news cycle creates a "false sense of urgency" and forces reporters to "follow the veins that have been mined," instead of pursuing serious and in-depth reporting.

Stewart said politicians in recent campaigns are "animatronic" because all of the "humanity has been managed out of campaigns." He referenced the back-and-forth during the Pennsylvania Democratic primary over Obama's lack of bowling skills.

"It's stunning what this election is going to be decided on," he said. "Or what we allow it to be decided on."

No Joke: Jon Stewart Takes Aim At 24-Hour Cable News 'Beast (Washington Post)

Jon Stewart ripped the cable news networks Monday as a "brutish, slow-witted beast" and castigated Fox News in particular as "an appendage of the Republican Party."

The "Daily Show" host told reporters at a University of Denver breakfast that Fox's "fair and balanced" slogan is an insult "to people with brains" and that only "Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace "saves that network from slapping on a bumper sticker. . . . Barack Obama could cure cancer and they'd figure out a way to frame it as an economic disaster." "I'm stunned to see Karl Rove on a news network as an analyst," he said of the Bush White House aide turned Fox commentator.

Stewart included CNN and MSNBC in a far-ranging indictment of what he called "that false sense of urgency they create, the sense that everything is breaking news. . . . The 24-hour networks are now driving the narratives and everyone else is playing catch-up."

The Comedy Central funnyman touched a nerve when he criticized journalists for having off-the-record dinners with politicians, such as a barbecue in March at John McCain's Arizona ranch. "That colors your vision of them so clearly and so profoundly," he said.

When New York Times columnist David Brooks and others protested that there was value in getting to know candidates privately, Stewart stood his ground: "I don't say access is useless. But the more you get sucked into it, the more you become part of that machinery." And when another reporter accused him of courting the press at the breakfast as skillfully as any officeholder, Stewart called the comparison "crazy."

---------------------------------------------------------------
a good example of the "gerbil wheels" at work:

Hillary Clinton speaks at convention. The press concocts a story

by Eric Boehlert
MediaMatters.org
http://mediamatters.org/columns/200808260005

Writing at his Atlantic blog, Marc Ambinder, who seems to enjoy regular access to Obama sources, noted that "reports of strife between negotiators for Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama are exaggerated" and that "multiple sources in both campaigns have described the negotiations as relatively free of acrimony."

The next day, Ambinder returned to the topic perplexed, wondering why so many members of the press were pushing the clearly inaccurate story line that the Obama and Clinton camps were practically at war over the convention schedule.

Ambinder was either being naïve or playing nice with his Beltway colleagues. (My guess is the latter.) Because it was obvious the press didn't care whether the rift about Clinton's speech was real or imagined. The story helped journalists advance their beloved narrative that Clinton is a political-party wrecking ball and that Obama is too weak to control her. So even if the evidence ran counter to that, the press was sticking with its story line.

This newly manufactured media attack on Clinton is just the latest in a long line of press grenades thrown her way this year. But this time, she's not the only victim, because the media's concocted story line is being used to unfairly skewer Barack Obama, too.

Consider New York magazine: "Obama Agrees to Roll-Call Vote for Clinton. Does That Make Him a Sissy?"

What's so startling in watching the coverage of the Clinton convention-speech story has been the complete ignorance displayed about how previous Democratic conventions have dealt with runners-up like Clinton. It's either complete ignorance or the media's strong desire to painstakingly avoid any historical context, which, in turn, allows the press to mislead news consumers into thinking Clinton's appearance (as well as the gracious invitation extended by Obama) represents something unique and unusual. Something newsworthy.

Based on previous conventions, if a candidate had accumulated as many delegates and votes as Clinton did during the primaries and then did not have her name placed into nomination, that would represent a radical departure from the convention norm.

But, boy, in 2008, an awful lot of media outlets have played dumb. When covering the August 14 announcement about Clinton's role in Denver, they miraculously forgot to make any historical reference to similar names-placed-in-nomination at previous conventions.

Instead, readers and viewers were left with the obvious impression that what was scheduled to happen in Denver was remarkable, an anomaly. And I suppose if you look at the events through a soda straw, it does look unusual. But if you include the slightest bit of context, the story changes into something normal and routine.

But that's not the story the press wants to tell (the Clintons are not normal!), so the press simply erased the context and stuck to its preferred story line that Clinton's appearance in Denver and the placing of her name in nomination are one for the record books.