I'm reading a CBS poll on gay marriage (0.00 / 0)

on this historic (yay!) Monday. Once again, a majority is shown to support legal recognition (only 36% are against legal recognition.) Incoherently enough, only 30% are able to commit to saying they support gay marriage.
       It's also interesting, IMHO, that more women support gay marriage than men. Anyway, the poll is here:
http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/...

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by: sb @ Mon Jun 16, 2008 at 15:30:21 PM UTC

You make a good point .. (0.00 / 0)

The canonization of Tim Russert continues

There is a big debate raging over at the Great Orange Satan right now(and has been since Friday, obviously) over Russert.  I think everyone is sad that he died as no sane person wishes ill on anyone.  But you bring up the big problem.  I am sure everyone at NBC loved Russert and that he was a swell guy.  The problem over at Kos' place is that some people aren't accepting the "He was a great journalist" thing.  When is the right time to push back against it?  Is it a week after?  When is it acceptable to point out that Russert was Darth Cheney's lackey(See the "Scooter" Libby trial and Jane and Marcy's(aka Emptywheel) reporting of it)?

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by: Calvin Jones and the 13th Apostle @ Mon Jun 16, 2008 at 15:31:27 PM UTC

Self Love (4.00 / 1)

The media praises itself by praising Russert.  This much, I think, is undeniable.  But is this the best way to confront them?  I guess I think not.

The media is going to do this, regardless of what we say, and unlike other things they do, no one is going to die as a direct result.  So, my instinct is just to shake my head in silence, and focus on the soft underbelly of endless stupidity, which reveals itself on an almost hourly basis.

If you look at wikipedia's entry on MTP you'll probably be surprised by one thing, at least: it was created by a woman, Martha Rountree, first as a radio, and she was the initial host, the only woman to ever host it, in fact. What's more, its format has changed considerably over the years, and it is now quite, quite different, both in form and intent, than it used to be.  Rountree conceived it as a forum to hold newsmakers accoutable.  It faltered from this purpose over the years, but Russert "revivded" it, IMHO, by turning it into his clubhouse, rather the opposite of what Rountree original created.  

The media likes itself as a fraternity (Stephen Colbert is not funny), and thus it likes Timmy's clubhouse a lot.  To say something not nice about Timmy now is thus not only to "speak ill of the dead," but to speak ill of a not-so-microcosm of everything (corrupt) they are about.


"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

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by: Paul Rosenberg @ Mon Jun 16, 2008 at 16:03:24 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

David Iglesias documents the US Attorney firings (4.00 / 1)

I've already posted a diary on the newly published "In Justice," which my local library bought and I read cover to cover in two days. Iglesias was interviewed on C-Span about the book, and took questions that showed there are still people out there who think nothing amiss was done by the Bushies. I recommend the book to everyone I can.

Iglesias commends the TMP Muckraker columns among other media who investigated, combed the released e-mails, and did other projects to keep the story alive and to get to the bottom of what happened. It's good to have the events laid out in one place and in such a readable style. Republican dirty tricks from sneaking into the Patriot Act the revision to no longer require Senate confirmation of US Attorneys to the delegation of hiring and firing of them by the political appointees Kyle Sampson and Monica Goodling are all covered for posterity. And that's on top of the stories behind the firing of the 10 or so US Attorneys who were asked to resign.

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by: Books Alive @ Mon Jun 16, 2008 at 15:35:58 PM UTC

Excited about the book club but they need to expand their library (0.00 / 0)

So I looked on the Progressive Book Club's website and I was disappointed that their selection wasn't bigger.

I am currently reading Charles Derber's "People Before Profit" (for those who haven't read Derber I strongly recommend him) and he didn't have any books on the site, Chomsky had none, Olbermann's books should be on the site, Horwitt's book about Russ Feingold should be on there.

The site is a great start but I think that the library could be drastically expanded without losing its integrity

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by: TommyL @ Mon Jun 16, 2008 at 15:45:25 PM UTC

I Agree In Spirit (0.00 / 0)

But, remember, this is a business. They have to start with a fairly limited selection.  Nature of the beast, unfortunately.

Quite different from the library model.

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

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by: Paul Rosenberg @ Mon Jun 16, 2008 at 16:06:14 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Web Politics News Kiss of Death For McCain (0.00 / 0)

Stories always win over facts.  The web doesn't just bring facts to people's attention.  It brings stories. It brings YouTube clips.  It burns things into people's brains.

The traditiaonl media may lavish all the love they have on McSame, but they can't umake the intertubes.

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

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by: Paul Rosenberg @ Mon Jun 16, 2008 at 16:15:40 PM UTC