I'MMA LET YOU FINISH

Gonna be a good day


GravatarWatch it, Atrios. Political blogs are in a precarious position. If Zachary Ross said it, it must be true..
-


Gravatarisn't Eschaton a online mag now? so its safe?


GravatarBut that's not the best argument for granting bloggers the media exemption. The best argument is quite simple -- why should bloggers be treated differently than other media? We have blatant partisans writing and speaking and performing in other media, oftentimes fundraising for partisan causes, all enjoying the media exemption. Heck, the Republican Party practically owns Fox News Channel.

Which is also the best argument as to why Judith fucking Miller belongs in jail. No profession has blanket immunity from revealing confidential information. Why should journalists. To listen to the talk shows, you would think she was a saint. The flip side, of course, is that Novakula is the devil for squealing. Why don't we ever hear that.


GravatarWhy the hell is Atrios up this early
and bothering to post?


More important, why the hell am
I?


GravatarI have to say though that in the post right after that one kos wants to blur the lines again with this:

At least eight reporters have been jailed in the past 10 years or so for refusing to divulge sources (nine, now with Miller). It's an occupational hazard of sorts.

Now Miller has gone to jail on behalf of a principle. Good for her, I suppose. To be honest, I'll happily go to jail before divulging any of my sources as well. But I've always known that's a possibility doing this sort of thing. Like I said, an occupational hazard. It doesn't mean the end of the free press. It doesn't mean the end of the republic.

It'll march on, as it always has. The rules haven't changed.


The rules for blogging or journalisming?

I'm not saying that there's anything really wrong with blurring those lines or with kos' points at all but I question jumping that fence when convienent to make your point.

Would the shield laws protect "activists"?


GravatarDammit Atrios. Don't make me think so much first thing on Saturday morning. My brain hurts.

How 'bout some pretty pictures of kitties playing in a field.


GravatarDoes the fact that the button here on HaloScan reads "Publish" mean that I'm a journalist, too? Hot damn! Better start hanging out at Elaines.


GravatarMore important, why the hell am
I?
steve simels


GOOD MORNING STEVE

It's going to be a wonderful day.

(Don't you just hate early risers being so fucking cheerful.)


GravatarQL - There were several diaries in dkos on Judith Miller and several linis.
She has been a whore in the real sense, sleeping with her sources and cultivating connections. Not just in the US - she had assignments in Beirut, Cairo and other places.
Most of her colleagues know about her loose character. As she got older, she became more and more dependent on PNAC connections, since her oral and other skills would not take her far anymore.


GravatarQL --

Do you know something the rest of us don't? I'm more than ready for a good day for a change. Share!


GravatarBobo's World!

Local Pastor Arrested On Child Porn Charges

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- The lead pastor of a First Coast Church is under arrest, accused of downloading child pornography on the church's computer.

Friday afternoon, JSO vice made a surprise visit to Eric Young's Northside home.

Young, 58, is the lead pastor of Ft. Caroline United Methodist Church...

Lt. Gwynes says all kinds of porn were on there, but the basis for the arrest was a video of child porn.

According to the police report, it was a young girl. The video's name was, "Three year old gets raped..."


GravatarI don't consider myself a journalist and neither does Kos, but that doesn't mean that both of us don't occasionally have sources which tell us things in confidence which we then broadcast to a wider audience. Kos is writing a book now, as well, which I imagine might contain some confidential sourcing, but that still doesn't mean that he thinks of himself as a journalist, or the daily kos, as "journalism."


Gravatar(Don't you just hate early risers being so fucking cheerful.)
QL in NY


Hey, I know the deal.. you've been up for hours..

(time for a nice early morning walk)
-


Gravatar"It's going to be a wonderful day."

Always look on the bright side of life
whistle, whistlewhistlewhistle
Always look on the bright side of life
whistle, whistlewhistlewhistle


GravatarThe story posted right before that one is even more frightening: The Plain Journal is going put on hold a couple of investigative stories because they're based on leaked documents. Are these people really this stupid and obtuse or deliberatly this stupid and obtuse?


Gravatar but I question jumping that fence when convienent to make your point.

Ideally, the above would be the proper question to ask and the proper stance to take (i.e. sticking to one side or the other), but when one's opponent does the opposite of what it says it does (i.e. occupies the side of the fence that it chooses to for each situation depending on what it wants to accomplish), it leaves "us" little choice to play the game as such...


GravatarMost of her colleagues know about her loose character. As she got older, she became more and more dependent on PNAC connections, since her oral and other skills would not take her far anymore.
ecoast


Since we rarely talk about male reporters and their sex lives (Falafel boy aside since what he did was illegal) I really object to us discussing Judy's. My objection to her is that instead of practicing her craft, journalism, she acted as an idealogical mouthpiece for the maladministration. And because she has a job at the NY Times, someone else who is actually a working journalist does not.


Gravatar'morning, steve!

I have to admit that this controversy (in a teapot?) is over my head. I guess I don't understand how they're going to control what happens on the internets, even if they want to. Can Kos and Atrios say whatever they want, whenever they want, if their host server is in the Bahamas? Or would they phsyically have to be there? I haven't been following too closely so there's a lot about it I don't get. Maybe someone can give me the Cliff's Notes.


GravatarGOOD MORNING RIGHT BACK AT YOU,
QUILT LADY!



Seems like its gonna be a lovely
day here in Fun City!


GravatarFor another journamalistic pre-script, go to The Star Tribune

Daniel Schorr apparently doesn't see the difference between a leak of information which points to an illegal act and a leak which itself is an illegal act.


GravatarI noted this morning that the NYTimes's letters ran about 2-to-1 pro-Judy this morning. Do we really think that's an accurate representation of the ratio of pro-to-con letters they received? I don't.

And I don't care who she was sleeping with, either.


GravatarAnd it is almost trite to point out, again, but blogs are acting like the pamphlets of the American Revolution. If the corporate media were doing their jobs, there would be no need for blogs. Since there was a void, blogs sprang into being. I think of them as freewheeling talk shows. Remember, Limpdick always used to claim that he was an entertainer, not a journalist. I like to believe that at the very least, we will serve to let history know that the country did not go down without a fight.


Gravatarbill -- i'm gonna git you for sticking me with "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life", suckah!


Gravatar. I guess I don't understand how they're going to control what happens on the internets, even if they want to.

As much as anything, it appears that the "hearings" are meant to intimidate bloggers that do not say what the party in power wants them to say.


GravatarMorning to everyone.

So, any more people retire from the Supreme Court? Chimpy fall off any more bikes? Crazy people walkin' 'round with blood in their eyes?

And it looks like it'll be a good day here, just a few miles south of the home of racists parade floats.


GravatarDiane, the entire mass media cannot distingish anything from anything.

"Which of these things belong with the others" song they didn't learn from Sesame Street.

Living a disconnected life is important. Daniel Schorr didn't start off with, "My drinking/eating companion and buddy was arrested for covering up a crime done by other drinking/eating buddies or ours".

Ie: he is part of the Great Conspiracy.


GravatarQL -- you're right, and how are the black helicopter people (LGF) going to react to having THEIR freedom to post the most idiotic ravings suppressed?


GravatarGood Morning Virginia. Have a lovely day


Gravatar I guess I don't understand how they're going to control what happens on the internets, even if they want to.

My theory is they will never even make a real attempt to control the internet. Too many of these people enjoy the porn in the privacy of their own homes and offices, without the fear of being caught, and they don't want to give it up.


GravatarBDM -- where did that horror take place, exactly? (I was born in Evansville, a great place to be FROM.)


GravatarQL is absolutley correct: I don't give a damn about Judy's personal life but I do care deeply about how she and her paper enabled the lies that led to the Mess O Po Tam i a we are in now.


GravatarNone of the top reporters/announcers of the media ever talk about how they hobnob and why and who has affairs with whom and all the buddy/buddy ties that bind them together into a solid troop whose aim is simple: to get rich quick and to protect these riches from all scrutiny.

Periodically such conspiracies arise and when they destroy the host nation, fall. This is why all empires rot.


GravatarThe comparison of blogs to Revolutionary War pamphleteering is an interesting and, I think, appropriate one.

An even closer model might be the Russian Samizdat phenomenon during the late Soviet era.

There's something about truth that seems to demand publication, even if only in fragmentary form.

(Hey, not bad for a little after 5AM on the West Coast...)


GravatarNYMary, they might, because most average folk don't seem to understand exactly why Miller's in jail. I had to explain to a couple of people at work. They mentioned that the news they watched Fox/CNN had apparently left out important details, like she wasn't protecting a whistleblower, she was a witness/party to a crime.


Gravatar BDM -- where did that horror take place, exactly? (I was born in Evansville, a great place to be FROM.)

There was a story yesterday about a 4th Parade float in Chesterton that was voted "Most Patriotic." The float consisted of a guy in uniform standing over a bearded guy in a turban who was being held on a dog leash. I live in Valparaiso, so we're only about 10 minutes from these nutcases.


GravatarElaine,

I had my epiphany about fifteen years ago. The story was about one of those gatherings for journalists where they are feted by the administration - Hell, it could even be as far back as the Reagan years - watching the journalist's smiles on their faces as they were hobnobbing with the rich and shameless told me all I needed to know.

Their lust for riches and connections would certainly overweigh any other considerations.


GravatarNYMary:

In answser to your question -- no,
it's not representative.

It's like all those letters they
posted saying how wonderful Okrent
was.


Gravatarsteve,
I have some CDs for you. I assume you want the new FOW. Correct me if I'm wrong.


Gravataryeah, really. who knew that Daniel Okrent had become, during his tenure at the Times, the most popular and respected man in america


GravatarNo, Eschaton and Kos aren't journalism. Michelle Malkin is though. She has really deep thoughts such as:


"Snort.
Snort. Snort.
Guffaw.
BWAH-hah-hah-hah."

It's a tough job, but, someone has to do it.


GravatarNYMary:

FOW? You betcha.
What else?


BTW: still working on your Kinks
komp -- it may go to two discs.


GravatarDammit Atrios. Don't make me think so much first thing on Saturday morning. My brain hurts.

i'm against all money in politics. a hundred dollars and a ham sandwich, that's it. endorsements are fine.

no sooner do i think i understand this issue, and once again i'm confused.

speaking of say'n anything you want on the internets, LGF weighs in on the london bombings. actually it's a democratic underground piece and makes some interesting points about why rightie blogs don't take comments.


GravatarIf you want a comic take on the journalism question, watch the Kids in the Hall movie Brain Candy, in which the inventor of an effective anti-depressant which accidentally causes comas tries to blow the whistle on his company. His wistle-blower press conference attracts reporters from Girl Beat, Soldier of Fortune magazine, and college radio. The real press conference is the one the drug comany stages for a greedy press, at which they announce their generous construction of "comatoriums" and checks for family members. As the corporate lackey tells the reporters, "there's food." They go running. A brutal, but not wholly unfair, representation.


GravatarDWD/WL, in theory I agree with you Judy's personal life, or the personal life of say, former CBS reporter Tom Fenton. But it is possible that for her that the personal and the 'professional' have intertwined a bit too much. So who's she sleeping with, say a source, might affect the slant of her stories. If she were an entertainment report and sleeping with Chalabi I wouldn't care. But she's not an entertainment reporter.


GravatarSpeaking of the fair and balanced NY Times -- it's making the Plain Dealer sound like a martyr for pulling REALLY IMPORTANT stories because they are based on leaked documents and, if the leaker's identity were disclosed, they could get into BIG TROUBLE (not clear with whom, and no indication that the leak was a criminal act rather than whistleblowing, but the Plain Dealer sure doesn't want its reporters going to jail): http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/ 0...9cleveland.html?


GravatarBrain Candy is also a brilliant skewering of corporatism generally. Better than Office Space? I wouldn't want to make that call. But quite possibly.


GravatarBuckeye

Good point, but I'm sure male reporters sleep with people they are covering and/or their sources as well.


GravatarNYMary -- I really loved those guys. I know I saw Brain Candy but don't remember all the details. And Office Space was HIE-larious.


GravatarGiven the right drug, anybody will
sleep with anybody.



Just saying.


GravatarAccording to the police report, it was a young girl. The video's name was, "Three year old gets raped..."

Please don't go there before at least noon on a saturday.


Gravatar"What the bloggers very persuasively argued [in the hearings] is that the only thing that gives a blog value is that person's credibility online. And some corporate-funded hack who's out there blogging away is probably not going to get a lot of hits. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe this will turn out to be some horrible problem. But the example that was given in the hearing, of the Halliburton blog, I mean, who's gonna read that?"

This remains to be seen but one big advantage is that people who consume blogs have to be able to read at the level the host can think and write at. That isn't true of radio and TV.
Another advantage is the ease with which the reader can check alternative viewpoints or look for verifying information. This may be the internet's greatest contribution to political culture. You aren't limited to what the two or so publications you get want you to know.

Given the Janus-faced media we have today, you are in or out depending on whether it's more convenient for you to be a journo or not and the lack of ethical rigor in even the most august organs of the media who the hell are they to be deciding whether bloggers should have an exemption?

There is a good letter in the Boston Globe this morning about Bob Zelnick, regularly touted as a journalist on the august WGBH (TV) but who is really a political hack with enough baggage to sink the QEII. He's even given journalistic cover by Boston University. A partisan hack and a whore but who is treated as a journalist. Draw your own conclusion.


Gravatar
And I don't care who she was sleeping with, either.
NYMary


I think it makes a difference, when she sleeps with someone like Chalabi to cultivate his source, and uses NYT to plant his stories. That's one of the allegations. And she would go to Pentagon to confirm his stories and they confirm. Then she would go to WH and they confirm. Whichver way she turned, it was an echo chamber. She never went out of her usual paths to get stories. And that's the real tragedy - not her own, but NYT's and the country's, because what NYT published moved the public opinion.


GravatarGiven the right drug, anybody will
sleep with anybody.


It must be so, 'cause doesn't rush limbaugh have a girlfriend?


Gravatarsteve,
Use as many discs as you think appropriate. I trust you.

You want Zumpano?


GravatarNYMary, Steve now has in his possession a selection of the Fugs.


Gravatar Given the right drug, anybody will
sleep with anybody.


Considering what I've seen people do under the influence of Budwiser, I have to agree.


GravatarNYMary:

Zumpano?

Que es?


GravatarDWD:

By the way, in case I haven't
thanked you for that comp, allow
to me now.

Hours of listening enjoyment!


GravatarAs much as anything, it appears that the "hearings" are meant to intimidate bloggers that do not say what the party in power wants them to say.

Like this.

So in light of all of this, I'm just going to tell it like it is, to both sides.
Here's a dose of truth for the Republican Party in Washington, D.C.: your war-mongering policies and devotion to creating a constant state of panic/fear in this country has made America less safe, ...

Now, here's a dose of truth for the insulated Democratic establishment in Washington - an establishment that continues to lose elections, yet, incredibly, refuses to change: if you continue to pathetically cower in the face of all of this; if you continue to ignore the courageous lawmakers in your ranks who know the party needs to stand up; if you continue to defend the Iraq War in light of public opposition to it, in light of proof that the Bush administration lied about it and in light of proof it made America less safe; and if you continue to have positively no courage of any convictions and positively no ability to give voice to the concerns of the majority of Americans, then you will unfortunately continue losing elections far into the future.


god, i'm like a cut and paste troll. but lots of good links and a significant voice of reason. Power to the People. which is why i think woody is right, "they" will find a way to limit the internet.


GravatarDWD:

Oh, and I'm gonna make you that
Dylan bootleg/The Monks comp
this weekend.


GravatarGiven the right drug, anybody will
sleep with anybody.

Don't believe it. I'd never sleep with Bob Zelnick


GravatarWell, power and money are drugs, too. Don't forget that.

And I guess I can see where a reporter sleeping with a source would be an ethical issue, but QL is right: unless we make similar assertions about male reporters, we're falling into old traps.

Zumpano was Carl Newman's band before the New Pornographers.


GravatarNYMary:

Ah, that Zumpano.
Bring it on!


GravatarMusic, alas, also a drug


GravatarQL, well of course male reporters are sleeping with sources. I don't care the gender of the reporter, I care whether it affects the veracity of the reporting, and what the editors know and do about it. She shouldn't be covering this beat, I don't trust anything she writes. Of course, if they switched her to being a LA based reporter, I still wouldn't trust her, but she most likely wouldn't be affecting my national security.


GravatarHere's the letter about Bob.

BU chairman's full resume tells a story

July 9, 2005

IN THE ARTICLE ''Times reporter jailed in leak case" (Page A1, July 7) Robert Zelnick is identified by his position as chairman of the Journalism Department at Boston University, since the article seemed to be about the troubles surrounding a journalist. But as soon as Zelnick trivialized the affair as one of ''scoring political points" it would have been more appropriate to identify him by his political affinities:
Article Tools

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He is a research fellow at the right-wing Hoover Institution, but in his more folksy persona of Bob Zelnick, he writes for Regnery Publishing, home of Ann Coulter and John ''Swift Boat" O'Neill. Among other works, Zelnick is the author of that 1999 hatchet job ''Gore: A Political Life."

Why is it that when Ambassador Joseph Wilson challenges presidential lies that lead to war, according to some conservatives, it's simply motivated by petty politics? And when questions are raised about possible criminal actions that damage the CIA, it's just another overreaction by the liberal media?

Once again, Zelnick concisely demonstrates his core principles: my side, right or wrong, and never lose an opportunity to slime the opposition.

GEORGE CORBETT, Milton

http://www.boston.com/news/globe...torial_opinion/


GravatarShould have previewed. Sorry.


GravatarJezebel, I noted the Plain Dealer story earlier. I'm presuming it's political/corporate and that they really didn't want to do it anyway. As an Ohioan, this ticks me off. I'm hoping that Strickland wins in November 06, and that all this corruption becomes public. I'm not holding my breath.


GravatarTry this link to theRobert Zelnick article


GravatarHang in there, Buckeye -- you've still got the Toledo Blade, right?


GravatarEPT,

Are you from MA?


GravatarGood Morning All,

Presidential Safety Watch:

President Bush has now gone 3 days without falling off his bike.


And a hearty Zumpano to you Mary! The new FOW is quite enjoyable, specially the new tune "Maureen"


GravatarDaniel Schorr apparently doesn't see the difference between a leak of information which points to an illegal act and a leak which itself is an illegal act.
Diane

Daniel Schorr should have retired before he destroyed whatever career was behind the carefully maintained 'reputation'. His reputation has popped. Sorry Dan, should have tried for honesty, it's more durable than reputation.


GravatarIt'll march on, as it always has. The rules haven't changed.

The rules for blogging or journalisming?


The rules. Period. Journalism doesn't have any magical exemption, nor does blogging.


GravatarAre you from MA?
portia

No, from ME. But I grew up on the Globe and Boston media in general. Too bad that the Globe has gone senescent before I have.


GravatarRoss forgot to add "nyah nyah nyah" to the end of the graf.


GravatarWhat I do for a living, I read sentences like this:
Strip malls, chain restaurants, and fast food moguls popped up left and right like adolescent acne.

Feel my pain.


GravatarPresident Bush has now gone 3 days without falling off his bike.

he's probably going to be spending a fair bit of time on it, since the Laura2005 is away for a week and will thus be unavailable for "horsey rides."


GravatarStrip malls, chain restaurants, and fast food moguls popped up left and right like adolescent acne.

Feel my pain.
NYMary

You edit at NPR?


Gravatar Music, alas, also a drug
NYMary


And my fevorite one, by far and away, my dear.



GravatarYou edit at NPR?

*snort*

watertiger,
The five-year-old loves your gravatar. And he was so impressed that it was someone he knew.


Gravatarai-yah. today's the Manhattan Island Marathon swim.

still can't accept that people don't die the minute they touch the Hudson's waters.


GravatarNYMary,

hahahaha! Did you tell him that it's the Watertiger . . . of DOOM?

(with appropriate hand gestures)

I was telling that story for a week. Kid is too damned cute.


Gravatarwatertiger --

My brother-in-law did that swim. Said it was about as disgusting as you'd imagine. Not so bad at the start, but the finish was like swimming in gasoline. Not to mention the dead rats and things. Eeew.


GravatarGood morning. First of all, does Atrios' shell thingey have feet?

Secondly, you-all's point concerning the reputability of the online destination governing the matter is both simple and profound. Truly, no one other than those forced would use a Halliburton blog to 'donate' money or any other thing. We all have our favorite charities to which we give, and this is no more nor less than that form of user-centered preference expressed online. If L.L. Bean insisted that for the good of Moose I needed to support some candidate or cause I'd consider it - but only because I'm already inclined to favor Bean over just about everything else.

Now. What about those feet?


GravatarYeah, we had to clarify the OF DOOM partfor him to remember you. "You know I forget things very easily, mom."


Gravatarwhat I write for a living:

ShowDualListBox = -1
Run = False
RdoConn.Execute ("rollback")
Exit Function

...I guess I inflict pain.

Happy day to those of you who don't have to spend it programming - I'm trying to finish a deadline before the hurricane take out the power.


GravatarGWPDA,

Bat-bat does indeed have feet.

Not to mention the dead rats and things. Eeew

oh, YUCK!


Gravatarstill can't accept that people don't die the minute they touch the Hudson's waters.
watertiger


People actually swim in the Hudson? Of course, they swim in the Delaware River, so I guess it ain't so surprising.


GravatarGood morning, probably old news - I've been traveling and just catching up - but anyone who missed Live 8:

MTV and VH1 will offer five hours of uninterrupted Live 8 performance footage on Saturday. VH1's highlights will air from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and MTV's highlights will air from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET


GravatarBetter they should worry about slugs like Limpballs passing themselves off as journalists.


GravatarPeople actually swim in the Hudson? Of course, they swim in the Delaware River, so I guess it ain't so surprising

yup. not to mention the kayakers who go out and practice rolls in that water.

feh.


Gravatar"You know I forget things very easily, mom."

oh, dayumn!

"precocious" really doesn't do him justice, does it.


GravatarI'll never forget the sight of swimmers in the Liffey. They looked like they were swimming in jello.

Someone from the bank yelled down "What are you swimming for?" And a swimmer answered back "cystic fibrosis." My friend snarked under his breath, "they'll probably get it."


GravatarThank you watertiger - it's that astigmatism problem of mine....

She shouldn't be covering this beat, I don't trust anything she writes. Of course, if they switched her to being a LA based reporter, I still wouldn't trust her, but she most likely wouldn't be affecting my national security.

Forgive me - Judith couldn't survive in LA. She's not, um, LA material. It's doubtful she knows how, um, to 'drive' in LA.


Gravatarwatertiger,
Then you mustn't miss Five Year Old Conversation blogging.


GravatarI'm not much of a Pink Floyd fan (except
for the early
stuff with Syd and a couple
of the Wish You Were Here songs)
but their
Live 8 reunion was genuinely
impresive.

And Roger Water looked like he was
having the time of his life, which
was infectious.


GravatarThis Kos fellow...he's a Muslim Scholar, no?


GravatarWT -

I used to swim in the Mississippi River quite often. Most folks thought we were nuts for that, also. I remember as a kid having to take my typhoid fever shots prior to being able to swim in the local rivers.

Those rivers were mostly just muddy, tho. Not a lot of industrial waste.


GravatarThose rivers were mostly just muddy, tho. Not a lot of industrial waste.

And we've had a lot (and I mean a LOT) of rain this week, so much that the Dept. of Health has issued warnings for swimmers in the freakin' OCEAN!

Can you imagine what the Hudson'll be like?


GravatarAnd Roger Water looked like he was
having the time of his life, which
was infectious.


I go in and out on the Floyd. Probably because of the overexposure thing.

I agree on Waters. From what I've heard and read, he hated Gilmour and the rest with a passion thruout the 80's and 90's. I've heard recently that it has been Gilmour that has nixed a reunion. Anyone have any more info?


Gravatarwt -

I would think that more rain would be beneficial as more water would tend to dilute pollutants. What gives with warnings? Does the rain spread the pollutants around more?


GravatarDoes the rain spread the pollutants around more?

sewer system backs up, raw sewage doesn't make it to the treatment plants...you get the idea.


GravatarDoes the rain spread the pollutants around more?


Rain = run off = disruption of settable solids = higher [] of the bugs you don't want to meet.


GravatarThen you mustn't miss Five Year Old Conversation blogging.

Oh, what a ride you're going to have with him.

Exciting and daunting, but I think you two are up to the task.


Gravatar
sewer system backs up, raw sewage doesn't make it to the treatment plants...you get the idea.
watertiger


Yes, ma'am, I do. Yuck. Also, lb0310, thanks.

lb - where are you?


GravatarWhere Did All Our Leaders Go?

I'm sure that leading Democrats, such as John Kerry, Sen. Biden, Al Gore, and Sen. Clinton must have made statements of some kind about:

a. the London Bombings
b. the G-8 Coference and its outcomes
c. the Supreme Court clinch
d. crude oil prices going to and beyond $60, and gas prices bound to go up, making all prices go up in turn
e. the growing avian flu threat and a predicted shortfall (once again) in conventional flu vaccine this fall
f. Tom Delay
g. Karl Rove and the Plame Affair
h. anything happening in Iraq
i. Sen. Durbin's humiliation

But if they did make any statements, they must not have had enough impact to get much play in the news.

It seems, unfortunately, that these leading people may be avoiding making any stand, lest a stand might lose them votes in one sector or another.

Kerry, Biden and Gore would have little chance of getting elected if they ran for Pres. again. They all have baggage trailing behind them, rightly or wrongly, that would defeat them. Sen. Clinton may have unpredictable prospects, but she seems to avoid taking a stand on just about anything.

Kerry, Biden and Gore could make great contributions by speaking out on the issues, and providing a real, actively engaged, constructive opposition plan/viewpoint. They have nothing to lose by shedding their ambivalence. Avoiding taking a stand to preserve pipedream prospects only gains them less respect among Democrats, progressives, et al., and makes them seem like wimps to the Republican and rightist opposition.

People like Representative Conyers, Sen. Byrd, Sen. Kennedy, and Howard Dean are the only ones who speak out forecefully on issues and offer alternatives, but these other leaders rarely if ever back them up.

We probably need to look to new leaders, if the nominal ones we have now continue to keep such a low profile--unless one or more should surprise us by taking strong public stands on issue that everyone is concerned about.


Gravatarmourning--


GravatarSalon sucks anyway. I used to really enjoy reading it, but for the last year or so, I've been noticing a slow and steady decline in the quality of its journalism. I regret renewing my subscription a few months ago.


GravatarWatch it, Atrios. Political blogs are in a precarious position. If Zachary Ross said it, it must be true..
-
Fielding Mellish |


Hi, Fielding! Nice to see you back.

Actually, if RUSH says it, it must be true!


GravatarI agree on Waters. From what I've heard and read, he hated Gilmour and the rest with a passion thruout the 80's and 90's. I've heard recently that it has been Gilmour that has nixed a reunion. Anyone have any more info?
Billy B


I understand Geldof did a lot to effect a reconciliation.

I think, too, that as these guys got older, they thought "Do we really need to keep this up?"


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