Petty Grievances

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What Hunter said.
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Blair House Which Project—Tuesday, January 6

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By now you probably wonder whether I'll waver. Whether I've the stamina to stay the course and just keep asking the question. Time will tell.

In the meantime, I've been pondering epiphanies—today's the day for it, after all—and wondering whether the press would ever get it...why it matters.

For a moment there, last night, watching John King announcing on the Colbert Report his new Sunday morning gasbag-primetime talk show, I had hopes. After all, he said the most valuable part of the campaign season for him was getting out beyond the beltway to the little towns, talking to the little people about the state of the country. And how he wants to keep that perspective when he launches his new show.

King also reflected on how they [the Very Important Village Media] didn't ask the tough questions of Bush lo' these many years.

And ya know, he's right, and instead of waiting to pile on Obama as Colbert snarked they would, here's a thought.

Because King's replacement over on the White House beat, Kate Bolduan, mentioned something interesting, just in passing yesterday, when talking about the Obama girls leaving the Hay to head to school with the big security convoy.

Did you know the Hay may be a stone's throw away, across Lafayette Park, from the White House? But it's outside the security barrier.

And Blair House is inside the security barrier. Security's the issue, not proximity, seems to me.

So I'm wondering, just what's more important than the security of the incoming president and his family? D'ya think Kate or John or Dancin' Dave or ol' Bob Schieffer or the soon to be only Little George in town or Ruth Marcus or, you know, anybody who moves and shakes in the Village press corps might be persuaded to ask:

Which bunch o’BushCo's “eventing” in Blair House today?
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Any contrary coverage yet that puts a lie to my countdown? All ya gotta do is let me know.
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crossposted at firedoglake's Oxdown Gazette

Blair House Which Project—Monday, January 5

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This links to the Caucus article in the NYT that seems to say that the Obamas will stay at the Hay hyphen Adams until January 20, while other outlets like McClatchy in yesterday’s BHWP post have said the Obamas are livin’ in the Hay until January 15.

Poor handwringing media, they can’t even get their public facts straight. And fergoshsakes, don’t expect ’em to commit an act of reporting — ooh, ooh, booga-booga, don’t make us point out what a no-class thug to the end Bush is being... And what total hypocrites we VVMs are after the media savaging overdrive about the Lincoln Bedroom in the Clinton years now that we’re saying nada about Bush’s confiscation of the entire Blair House.

Party central for outgoing staffers? Is that what’s going on? Or one last round o’fillin’ up the ol’ coffers? Or maybe it’s a book party for Her Ghoulness who evidently has risen from her crypt to press her venomous schtick upon the unwary thanks to the assistance of the lapdog press who built her up.

Is that why there’s been no coverage? No passing reference? No solid reporting? Could it be the Village’s Very Best Media are too ashamed to admit they’re in on the charade? On the guest list for the parties? Like everything else the last eight years?

If so, we deserve to know. It’s a simple question, the tip of the Stunningly Superficial iceberg, one might say.

Which bunch o’BushCo's “eventing” in Blair House today?
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Any contrary coverage yet that puts a lie to my countdown? All ya gotta do is let me know.
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Media in Vapid Vapors Mode

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Watching the "journalists" on MSNBC immediately after Obama's latest, virtually daily, press conference in Chicago one can only wonder, what are they thinking?

Let's see, they're whining because they don't get to ask interminable question after interminable question about Blago, which Obama has clearly stated he cannot and will not discuss at the request of the U.S. Attorney. After the U.S. Attorney himself, at his press conference, said there were no persons on the Obama team under any scrutiny by his office.

Mark Whitaker pontificates about the role of the press—a role he and his colleagues apparently developed an eight-year amnesia about during the Dumbya years.

All in all a painful exercise in watching the likes of David Schuster, Chuck Todd, Jonathan Alter (the lone voice of reason I heard, as he pointed out the press has been staking out Rahm Emanuel's home of late) and the aforementioned Whitaker as they wrung their hands trying to make controversy and innuendo out of a typically "no-drama" grown-up press conference.

Albeit a short one. As each of the other nearly daily press conferences have been. Short, to the point, fact-based, not what-iffy—you know...what we voted for.

So grow up, "journalists"—you wallowed in W the last eight years and the onus is not on the president-elect these days. He's doing his job. The polling numbers show the public knows he is.

Now how about you do yours? There's still tons of unfinished business over at 1600 and the current administration. What about covering that?

Vapid Insipid Press Strikes Again

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The media's Clinton Derangement Syndrome was on full display again this morning during the Obama presser to introduce his National Security team.

When the second "reporter" [Did all these people go to the Sarah Palin School of Journalism?] asked Barack Obama another booga-booga you said bad things about Hillary in the campaign, how you gonna get along question, I turned off the teevee and ventured out into the real world.

By the time I returned a couple hours later, hoping for change, instead I got the predictable CNN bobblehead asking Carl Bernstein, oooh booga-booga, what's this gonna do to Hillary's chances to run for president again.

Good grief, M$M, shape up! No wonder people are turning you off.

Meanwhile, in between, I caught a bit of Michele Norris' show on African American oratory on NPR and listened to the voice of Fannie Lou Hamer reaching out from the 1964 Democratic Convention to talk of civil rights and justice and "sick and tired of being sick and tired."

And oh, my, wouldn't she have been proud today to look at that National Security team entrusted to protect us and represent us to the world. Black and white together, diverse in age, three men, three women joined in service to our new president-elect and vice-president-elect...and the United States of America.

That was a story.

And I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired of the way the vapid insipid press dumbs-down momentous occasions with the banal and inane.

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(crossposted at firedoglake's Oxdown Gazette)

All Slime All the Time

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As Frank Rich tells it, the Rovian school of smear, lie and obfuscate is in full dress battle gear these days. And there's much to lie and obfuscate about in the long and "stellar" career of John McCain.

From Keating 5 forward, McCain's practiced the politics of slippery dancin' that would make Charles [Best Little Whorehouse in Texas] Durning and more recently Karl Rove and his back-up dancer David Gregory proud.

While Rich gives somewhat of a sop to the media--bless their poor l'il hearts, they just can't keep up with the likes o'Steve Schmidt and Rove--I'm not so charitable. Just this week I commented about Brian Williams news team conveniently leaving out the detail that the Obama tax plan targets the top miniscule percent of Americans for an increase.

Bit of an "oversight" there, Brian.

No wonder a Washington Post poll cited by Rich found that half of those polled believed Obama would raise their taxes.

You'd think after the last two elections, the media would've started to sharpen up, but then that would presuppose they are [with too few exceptions] either sufficiently competent, experienced, or possessing of enough integrity and plain ol' initiative not to get themselves gutted like a Palin moose.

As it is, media clucking over Palin ineptitude or inexperience or incompetence has the taint of projection to it. Culling the herd never looked so grim.

Is this the best we can do--in our politicians? And in our press?
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Feedin’ Grain

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Ever since John McCain selected his running mate, we've seen the media absolutely ga-ga over her quaint yet forceful way of speaking, and her moose-killin' and her fixing' and all the rest.

I don't know what all the fuss is about.

People outside the Beltway can do...and say...all kinds of interesting things.

And come up with sharper on-point metaphors than all the overpaid self-loving punditocracy inside the Beltway chattering class.

A local writer of a letter to the editor here in Prairie Country has written as succinct and colorful a metaphor for the Republican philosophy of economic policy as can be:

Gerald B. Jacobs writes in The Forum:

"their Republican economic philosophy...based on the concept of feeding grain to the horses in order to feed the sparrows."

Hmmmm, seems to me, given the current low setting of the bar on qualifications for high office, this guy's ready to be Secretary of the Treasury. Unless Judge Judy--"don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining."--wants the job.

Jus' need to work on droppin' those "geeeeee's."
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Media Meltdown

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C-Span.
Comedy Central's Daily Show and Colbert Report.

All else is absolutely unwatchable.

Pundits in love with themselves, changing words a la Fox..."if she had said..."...WTF is that?????

Pundits in love with themselves, making up nonexistent conflicts so they have something to talk about because they're too frackin' lazy or—yes, may we say it, Tom Brokaw and Maureen Dowdy—full of what Prairie steps carefully around in the horse pastures.

Pundits in love with themselves, so they talk right over speakers like John Kerry.

Food fights over at MSNBC.

Stenography right from Mr. Rove's neighborhood courtesy racist rabble like Michael Reagan andGlenn Beck.

Let's say this is Survivor, Denver...it's time to kick all these media lunkheads off the island.
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Wow. POW!

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Wow [and h/t dday at digby]. POW!

Every argument and posit the McCain POW = President Of Whup-ass team has been building with their House of John cards is torn down in one pithy posting at military.com.

From another POW.

Wonder how long it'll take before the slash-n-smear crowd starts their Swiftboatian attacks against this guy?

Guess that'll depend on whether the Vapid Vapors Media up at the Vineyard and Hamptons and Nantucket pull their bbq-sauce-stained fingers out of their li-li-li-li-li-lie ears....
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Official "Blonde Woman of the Summer of 2008" Story

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Ladies and gentlemen, we have our Summer of 2008 official blonde woman all self-righteously grab-on like Bush grabbin’-back in China story so that we the deliberately obtuse* media do not have to talk about real presidential campaign issues or global events stories.

They’re so haaaaaaaard, it takes work, and it gives our wee press brains a header. Please, please, don’t make us be not-sheeple-press. Let us talk about something totally irrelevant to the campaign instead. A loser who was never going to get the nomination proved he was a louse as well.

Psssst, have you heard the one about how white women like Obama?

Spare me.

McCain is playing the race card and gettin’ away with it. McCain is draggin’ his wife through sleaze like the dying Sturgis bikers’ rally to inoculate himself against questions about his relationships with Vicki Iseman.

The hypocrisy of The Villagers is on full display as usual.

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cross-posted in comments at firedoglake.com

* Josh over at TPM calls it deliberately oblivious...either works for me.

"Take a Look at the Ad"

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There they go again, the vapid vapors media doin' the heavy lifting for the McCain campaign of the latest whine-and-sheesh ad attacking Barack Obama.

Shame on MSNBC and CNN. This kind of propaganda-pushing we've come to expect from Faux News. But I guess now that McCain's made it the in-thing to toss your honor and integrity out the window, you in the BBQ media are going to play right along.

If you think this is some kind of "fair and balanced" for the media coverage Obama justifiably earned last week for his visits to the Middle East and Europe, let me be blunt: it's not.

And it is pathetic.
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UPDATE: For further thoughts on dogwhistle tactics and the media who help push them, this from digby.

The Pickens Effect

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On a quick roundtrip errand run this morning—carefully calibrated to make a circuit with no backtracking, no delays at train crossings watching the gazillion-car trains hauling North Dakota coal out East, and turns left far more than right, I noted a sign of the times: gas at the Holiday station store on the far southside: $3.58.9 a gallon.

Call it the Pickens Effect. Oh, I know the VVM [vapid vapors media] will spew the Big Oil friendly spin that it's people driving less that have brought oil prices down...or no damage from the latest tropical storm/hurricane to roll across the Gulf Coast... and that's part of it. But to say that's it as though that's all it is, is kinda like sayin' "the surge has worked...." while ignoring the gorillas in the room.

Because I'm convinced the real driver of high energy costs is the Chee-knee Energy Plan...cooked up in early days of the BushCo Administration with his Texas-based cronies. A plan to drive up demand...how's that tax break for gas guzzlers workin' out?

A plan to artificially diminish supply...crank up the deposits in the oil reserves, folks, oh, and while you're at it...cry whine and sheesh over the fewer refineries...and don't mention that the fewer refineries are bigger and...well, I almost said better...but that's subjective. But at least the fewer refineries can be taken off-line any ol' time a Texas heart feels like pumpin' a little more crude goudging and a little less crude oil.

And then there's the futures boys, from Wall Street to West Texas, speculatin' in tomorrow's cost of oil.

And if you've got one of their own sayin' he's been an oil man for all those years and "this is one crisis we can't drill our way out of" then you're going to have a whole lotta folks quiverin' in their high-priced Texas boots and Wall Street loarers.

And tomorrow's oil starts looking not so good. Because if you start aggressively developing—not just talkin' about—alternatives to oil, the futures are going to dry up and the costs are going to drive down.

There's plenty to look at. Wind energy, solar, natural gas, switchgrass, biodiesel, nuclear, magnetic...heck, there's probably energies we haven't even thought about yet.

But while we're lookin', might be a good idea, too, to look at history. And who's got an incentive to destroy some energies—electric cars, anyone?—to save their own hides. And who do you trust.

So do I trust ol' T. Boone? Not as far as I can throw a Swiftboat.

He's going to be one of the first hogs at the trough for more tax breaks and loopholes and the whole business of socializing capitalists while starvin' consumers.

But we gotta get there somehow, and if we keep our eyes on the ball, and elect the people who will look out for the people's interests, call the media when they're shillin' for their advertisers instead of reporting facts, use common sense regulations so the outlaws can't take over and monopolize the whole effort...then we just might have a chance to reinvent not only energy policy but the whole energy of the planet.
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Andrea Concern Troll

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Back from a daytrip, I was winding down and watching the repeat edition of Hardball this evening.

Andrea Mitchell was giving her best imitation of a concern troll, going on at great length lamenting the fact that "the press" were not allowed to take part in Obama's meetings with the troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. Instead, they and we must rely on DOD video...of the conversations, of the great basketball shot, of the helicopter boarding...

How dare they, asserts Andrea. Sputter, sputter. Why, no other presidential candidate has ever done that....

Yeah, as I recall, John McCain went over to Baghdad on exactly the same kind of trip with his sidekicks, Sparky and Deppity Dawg. And they got great $5 deals on rugs and they got to walk thru a bazaar and look all kinda, you know, shoppy.

And John, I calls him John, told us how wonderful and safe and successful and super-duper everything was over there.

But he didn't mention the helicopters and the heavily armed security team surrounding them and....

what's this? The press didn't mention it either.

So maybe before Andrea Concern Troll keeps "lamenting" any further, she ought to just be grateful the military saved her and the rest of the lapdog bbq-sauce-whiskered BFFs of John from embarrassing themselves again.....
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UPDATE: Seems I'm not the only one taking note of Lady Andrea's "performance" earlier tonight on Hardball. John over at C&L offers his take.

Sunday Gas

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There's a whole lot to be said about kickin' back for a weekend and NOT listening to the Sunday Morning gasbag shows. If you didn't and you must know what time-wasted concern trolling took place, well then, crooks and liars deconstructs the lot of 'em.

Okay, I confess, I did catch a bit o'Reliable Sources, with fearmongering Howie Kurtz warning his colleagues in the media that they are being bad, bad, by giving so much attention to Barack and so little to his buddy McCain that there could be teh backlash.

Not to worry, though, Howie. If C&L's description of Tom Brokaw's cave-into-concern-trollism is even halfway on the mark, the "librul" media can once again be counted on by the RNC blast-fax-folks to be cowed out of reporting on facts and instead wring their hands over "polls" and "process."

It's going to be a long rest of the summer.

Meanwhile, you have Republicans including known Bush adorer Michelle Bachmann, still best known for channeling her inner Baron "The Claw" von Raschke, heading up to Anwar. Along with such energy experts as CNN's Ari Velchi, who's energy expertise seems most suited to picking out a tie to go with that pin-striped suit.

They'll be tellin' us all about the drillin' in the Anwar. Or the not-drillin' in the Anwar. And like too much that supposedly passes for reporting these days, you won't even hear a mention of the real issue of Anwar.

It's not the drillin'. It's the heating.

And I don't mean global warming...except in this way. A convenient little fact the Vapid Vapors Media glosses right over [see also, sin of omission] is that extracting the oil in the northern Arctic regions requires heating that oil. Which in turn heats the permafrost. Which in turn changes the climate...there...and ultimately everywhere.

So I didn't listen to the gasbags this morning. Instead, I got a little bit of truth and information from National Geographic Explorer's "Alaska's Last Oil" Saturday night [set to re-air Tues. July 22 at 5 pm ET].

Oil wars, whether they're violent [see also, The Kingdom, now airing on HBO] or wars of words [see also the on-message Republispinners screamin' for drillin'], well, those oil wars win nothing.

See also, Al Gore....
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"Cool" Aid

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A while back, Karl Rove was pushing a storyline that Barack Obama was the cool guy over by the wall of the country club. That one failed, but never one to let a nasty tactic be put to bed, looks like Karl's back with a new take, eagerly expounded by the Morning Joe gang.

Yep, they heard it anecdotally, so it must be so...Obama's "too cool."

What planet are these people living on?

I guess when Rove thinks Americans are so stoopid they'll buy the same crapola he's dished out in past elections, why not keep serving it up. And since media people like Scarborough and Barnicle play it forward, who is he to pass up an opportunity to keep up the whispers. Of course these are the same media people who were quick to assure us the tongue-tied, ear-piece-enabled Bush won the debates in 2000.

When's one of 'em going to ask John McCain how he can make a man who broke his Bangla-daughter's heart a key part of his campaign?

The cool guy or the hothead?

That's what it's coming down to in this election. I for one prefer a guy who thinks with his brain and his heart. I've had enough of the guy who thinks with his sword.
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Clark Tells Truth, Part 2

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Amazing. General Wesley Clark tells truth to power on Face the Nation.

And stands by what he says.

Furthermore, he insists on presenting the context and content of what he said, instead of allowing the rightwing McCainiacs and BBQ media framers to distort his words to fit their false narrative.

Statement from Wes Clark:

"There are many important issues in this Presidential election, clearly one of the most important issues is national security and keeping the American people safe. In my opinion, protecting the American people is the most important duty of our next President. I have made comments in the past about John McCain's service and I want to reiterate them in order be crystal clear.

"As I have said before I honor John McCain's service as a prisoner of war and a Vietnam Veteran. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in Armed Forces as a prisoner of war. I would never dishonor the service of someone who chose to wear the uniform for our nation.

“John McCain is running his campaign on his experience and how his experience would benefit him and our nation as President. That experience shows courage and commitment to our country—but it doesn't include executive experience wrestling with national policy or go-to-war decisions.

"And in this area his judgment has been flawed—he not only supported going into a war we didn't have to fight in Iraq, but has time and again undervalued other, non-military elements of national power that must be used effectively to protect America.

"But as an American and former military officer I will not back down if I believe someone doesn't have sound judgment when it comes to our nation's most critical issues.”

All day Monday, the Usual Media Suspects were busily having the vapors.

This morning, Bob Schieffer is scheduled to appear on the Imus Show. Will he add to the handwringing BBQ media's distortions? Or will he tell his colleagues to get a grip, snap out of it, deal with the truth?

Clark Tells Truth

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Retired General Wesley Clark spoke truth Sunday on Face the Nation, but the Vapid Vapors Media are in full handwringing mode, doubtless much to the delight of the McCain campaign. Their minions in the media are performing right on cue.

Well, here's my word on Wesley. You go, General. Keep on a-talkin'. No, being shot down and held as a prisoner of war does not qualify one to be president.

Arguably years of service in the Senate on military-related committees would be a notch of qualification, but let's face facts. The McCain campaign isn't talkin' about that, isn't tear-jerkin' about that in their teevee advertising. [Sorry, Bob Shieffer, Andrea Mitchell, Jake Tapper, Rick Sanchez...I know, facts are such troubling things when you've got a good spin cycle going.]

They're showing McCain, the p.o.w.

And that seems to be pretty much the sum total of what they're sellin'.

Nobody dishonors McCain's service except those who are exploiting it now to try to insure the Third Term of Bush. That's dishonor.
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"Dodd's Speech"

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Remember when Senators stood up on principle and said "enough"?

Nope, me neither, unless I happen to stumble across an ol' uncolorized Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

Well, brace yerself and take a look at this. Because Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd has taken the floor to remind his colleagues and all of us what Democracy is supposed to look like.

Christy has commentary at Firedoglake, you'll find links there to other bloggers as well. Because reporting on the vote on FISA and telco immunity—for actions to peek into every American's privacy that began before 9/11 and have continued for years...without warrants and in defiance of the Constitution— is too important to trust to the Very Self-Important Media and its all infauxtainment alla time.
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First Responders

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The visuals show rubble and destruction. The voice-over interviews on-scene are still uncertain of details in these first hours after the crane collapse in New York City at 91^st Street and First Avenue.

But one thing is certain. The first responders are there. Emergency rescue, firefighters, police…the cogs in the mighty engine that is a civilization that works together for the common good of all.

We take them for granted most days. Maybe subconsciously aware if we live in large enough cities that the sirens are sounding in our heads like the undernote of a neverending symphony.

And yet, these are the folks who assure to our defense at home, just as their brethren go to foreign shores with the same noble purpose in their hearts.

Would that those who send them could say the same.

Homeland Security, overseen by a committee chairman, Joe Lieberman, who never oversees one of the most bloated political appointee-riddled BushCo welfare-filled monstrosities ever conceived. One. They have others.

But today is a day to pause and reflect on where we’d be without any of our first responders. If the small towns’ and big cities’ police and fire and rescue and responders had all been sucked into a phony war with its devastating consequences on lives, on limb, on our national honor…instead of the too-large percentages who’ve actually been taken via National Guard and Reserves. Too many to serve multiple tours and more than regular military. We cannot honor them enough for their sacrifice.

We’ve seen a Memorial Weekend pass. Juxtaposed with a president and would-be carrier forward of a third term wanna-be-president inveighing against Senator Webb’s 21^st Century G.I. Bill. And a “news” media that pushes Iraq further and further back into the shadows because to do otherwise means that they, too, must look in the mirror of accountability and acknowledge their culpability in furtherance of the corrupt Iraq War of Team BushCo.

We owe our first responders so much better.

So let us be first responders, too, bringing America up out of the rubble inflicted by the barbarian rule of the last nearly eight years. Let us restore the common good, the rule of law, the order of responsible regulation, the honor of a civilized government. Let us Get Out the Vote. And Vote…as if your nation depends on it, for it does.

Contempt

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In yet another example of George W. Bush's total contempt for this nation and other nations, today he used the moment of an assembly in Israel in honor of that country's 60th anniversary to lash out with a partisan political attack on Barack Obama, calling the Senator's advocacy of diplomacy over guns "appeasement."

According to CNN, the White House has confirmed that even though he didn't name Obama, his "some" is indeed a direct reference to the Senator and likely Democratic presidential nominee.

We've long since learned that this president thinks with something somewhere south of his brain—I believe he took pains to emphasize it on the Mission Accomplished carrier.

We've long since learned that this president is quick to taunt and bluster and bravado with the lives, limbs and spirits of other Americans' sons and daughters...while he "gives up" golf.

We've long since learned that in the furtherance of Big Oil and the neocons' warmongering agenda this president is willing to wreck the rest of the American economy, our infrastructure, our homes, the food on our table, our healthcare, our "educational" system....

We've long since learned that this president is incapable of truth and feels neither remorse nor shame.

We've long since learned his return to the David Koresh wellspring of rural Waco is a fitting place that he cannot return to soon enough.

Just in case you don't already have it bookmarked: Barack Obama dot com

UPDATE: What about John McCain? At the same time as media are broadcasting Bush's intemperate attack on Barack Obama and diplomacy while outside the country in Israel, McCain is speechifying, decrying the "hyperpartisanship" of Washington.

We know that McCain's campaign staff consults daily with the Bush White House. That McCain had to get pre-approved his harsh words about BushCo's handling post-Katrina. So, did McCain know Bush was going to make these bombastic comments from Israel? Did McCain approve? Will he stop using Karl Rove as a campaign advisor?

Will McCain reject and denounce these remarks by Bush?

And if he does, will it all be part of a carefully orchestrated phony separation from Bush?

After all, "polls say" Bush is even more of an albatross around McCain's neck than you-know-who around Obama's.

UPDATE 2: Don't miss further thoughts from emptywheel, via firedoglake, on the grandson of the Nazi enabler and his intemperate remarks in Israel.

UPDATE 3: And there's this from Logan Murphy at Crooks and Liars.

UPDATE 4: And Atrios links to this article from the Guardian UK: How Bush's Grandfather Helped Hitler's Rise to Power

UPDATE 5: And ThinkProgress gives further info on Bush's historic reference to a Senator who would have talked to Hitler...a Republican senator from Idaho.

So watch your media in the hours to come. There's plenty of information out there. Will the press report? Or steno?