Blue Collar Politics

[BREAK] NY Times: Where all the news that fits (our wished for image) we print! Okay, in our gut we all know that "nostalgia" is just our way of looking at the past through some user-friendly form of Alzheimer's. We tend to forget the bad, exaggerate the good and, in the end, find ourselves to be either the hero/ine of that chapter, or, at the very least, an innocent bystander in anything that reflects badly on the participants. But a news organization, at least one that claims to have any standards at all (you're off the hook on this, Fox News, NY Post etc.?), must remember relevant facts that must be emphasized in any editorializing, even if such facts cast a harsh light on that same news outlet. Well, the standards for newspapers keeps getting lowered.

In the wake of 9/11, Mr. Bush had a second chance to rally the nation — and the world — only to squander it on a pointless, catastrophic war in Iraq.

When the icon of national news in the US, even after giving a grudgingly half-hearted apology for its HUGE part in granting uncritical and factually flawed justification for our attack, invasion and occupation of Iraq, can now point to Bush's Baghdad Blunder with scorn, yet leave it's own role unspoken, we MUST take time for a reality check. I, along with hundreds of thousands of others, marched in NYC on February 15, 2003 . . . a month prior to Bush launching us on his Iraq blunder. We ALL knew that, had we depended on the verbiage in the NY Times alone, we would have never crowded 1st, 2nd and 3rd Avenue in NYC that cold day. We would have been home, waiting for our courageous leader to launch an attack on Osama's buddy, on the holder of tons and tons of WMD. And we would have been willing to shed much of our kids' blood in order to prevent Saddam from launching a fleet of lethal gas/chemical/biological agent bearing drones that would cross the vast ocean and kill hundreds of thousands of us. Yep, that's what a faithful NY Times reader would have done . . . had (s)he only garnered info from the gray lady of US media. Fortunately, those marching had a less parochial view. They had access to the leading media from around the world. And, many had been granted the tools of critical thought by their teachers - long before No Child Left Behind took critical thought off the table. So, despite the war drums beating from 42nd street, the world saw the largest display of disenchantment with government (US/UK) policy ever! And the Times yawned, and pointedly ignored the whole thing. In fact, readers of the Times, back then, would have little trouble catching the inference that those against the Iraq madness were ill-informed dupes who were committing a treason based on ignorance, or worse. Now, years after it refused to acknowledge those dissenters, it has suddenly jumped into the group shot of those that said "NO!" And, after years of the Times being a pamphlet composed of the slogans of Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld, the Times now writes as if it were a Bush critic from day 1! Nostalgia sure is a soothing balm. I'm now going to remember the days in High School, when I was a lady killing machine. (If you think you remember me as a skinny, pimple-faced, rather shy guy, you are so not in that same "as you wished it were" memory hole as I, and the editors at the Times.) JB =====

The State of the Union - New York Times Editorial The State of the Union Published: January 24, 2007 The White House spin ahead of George W. Bush’s seventh State of the Union address was that the president would make a bipartisan call to revive his domestic agenda with “bold and innovative concepts.” The problem with that was obvious last night — in six years, Mr. Bush has shown no interest in bipartisanship, and his domestic agenda was set years ago, with huge tax cuts for wealthy Americans and crippling debt for the country.

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[BREAK] In past columns, E.J. Dionne has used the pathos of the herd when pointing to Progressive/Liberal politics and those who believe in such. You know, the way the mainstream media kept harping on how the Democrats only did well in the '06 elections because they "ran to the center". Of course, you can only reach such a conclusion if you totally ignore the fact that in most of the "surprise" democratic wins, the winner was from the left of center! Then you had the continual "advise" of Dionne-like pundits who counseled that the Dems had better not feel free buck Bush on Iraq, as it would show the country they were "weak on National Defense!" (As if attacking, invading and occupying Iraq was EVER linked to our nation's security.) This barrage of negativism had the desired effect. In Speaker Pelosi's listing of priorities that the Dems would work on during the first 100 hours, Iraq wasn't even mentioned! But then a funny thing happened on the way to the State of the Union speech! Democrats had been inundated by phone calls, letters, faxes and email, all demanding that they take a stand on the disastrous policies the US was following. And Republicans began grumbling, first at a low growl but building to where Chuck Hagle basically questioned the competence and the intelligence of his party's leaders. And the Presidents already miserable poll numbers of December began to look like the good old days at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Things have gone so awry with Bush's Baghdad Blunder that we now have competing Republican and Democratic proposals on how to change course in Iraq being pushed out so quickly that the ink hasn't time to dry! Obviously, the rantings of the Dionne-like mob of political prognosticators were wrong; bucking Bush on Iraq was exactly what the country was clamoring for when they entered the polls just a couple of months ago. Yet, when it comes to eating a bit of crow, our mainstream media mavens like to dress the blackbird up as a Turkey. Then they swear they're just celebrating Thanksgiving, not choking down the feathers of the much tougher bird of humility and repentance. Hence, when James Webb is chosen to give voice to the long time belittled (by the press) and/or much ignored clamor that began on the left, and Senator Webb chastises the President for the folly that has bled the life out of so many thousands of our troops and innocent Iraqis, Dionne can't just write about it without finding some way to make Webb seem at least to be right of center in the Democratic Party. Hell, Dionne strains to shape Webb into more of a Republican than Bush! First you have the chosen heading of the column: Reagan Democrat Next you have the literary furnishings Dionne uses to present the ambiance:

Like him or not, Ronald ("Tear Down This Wall") Reagan spoke in a clean, clear prose that almost always left listeners with a sense that he stood for something. It may thus be no accident that Jim Webb, Virginia's new Democratic senator, was once a Reaganite.

There's more, much more. Almost enough to cause someone who doesn't know better to believe that Webb might just be a Republican who strayed across the line by mistake. And there's the hilarious way that, by many of the newly awed pundits, the words that have been mocked after coming from the mouths of Dennis Kucinich, Maxine Waters, Charlie Rangel and Russ Feingold are now deemed "courageous" and as presenting "no mush". After years of Dems being castigated in the media for pointing to the unfair Bush tax cuts, the awful scandal of a never rising minimum wage, the desperate need for health care for those without means and the decline of America's middle-class, Dionne slyly tells us:

Many Democrats tremble that they will be accused by some right-wing Web site or presidential spokesman of waging class warfare. Webb made clear that there is a class war going on and that the wrong side is winning it.

I can think of no progressive who has shied from pointing to the unfairness of Bush's policies, and I certainly can't even imagine one who worries about being accused of anything by a right-wing website. Hell, most wear the slings and arrows of Drudge, Murdoch and the freepers as badges of accomplishment. What was really holding Democratic tongues were the slings and arrows of the supposed "independent" columnist, writers and editorialists who have been acting as if they were in the pay of the White House. (Of course, some, like Armstrong Williams and others, were exactly that!) So, I guess James Webb will now be used to provide cover for the infiltration by the Dionne's of mediadom back into America's mainstream. If so, we owe Webb even more than I thought after hearing him speak. For only by insuring we again have a strong fourth estate, one willing to bite the ass of ANY politician, whether Democrat or Republican, Liberal or Conservative, who screws up in her/his job as an employee of the citizens, will we begin to crawl out of the hole we've been in for 6 long years. In the hope that the way out is through the aid of the media, I'll forgive Dionne for his lack of self awareness in this column. I'll hope he soon realizes that a Democrat surely doesn't need to have come from the Reagan administration in order to have courage. =====

E. J. Dionne Jr. - Reagan Democrat - washingtonpost.com Reagan Democrat By E. J. Dionne Jr. Thursday, January 25, 2007; Page A25 Like him or not, Ronald ("Tear Down This Wall") Reagan spoke in a clean, clear prose that almost always left listeners with a sense that he stood for something. It may thus be no accident that Jim Webb, Virginia's new Democratic senator, was once a Reaganite.

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[BREAK] Well, after a half-century of American pressure/involvement, in an area that has long been friendly to America, we MIGHT have a chance to work out an agreement between people/neighbors who speak our language and are of the same country/background/history in Ireland. I see this as boding not so well for our successful involvement with people who despise us, have no common ancestry [unless we go back to a monkey's uncle somewhere near the garden of Eden? . . . and that would only count to those, on all sides, who believe in Darwin!], don't share our views/God/tastes/culture and whom almost all have lost loved ones [or had some tortured] by us. I'm guessing that sometime around the first ship lands from our farms on Mars America might begin withdrawing her last troops from Baghdad! JB ===== [/BREAK]

Days of Decision in Ulster - New York Times Editorial Days of Decision in Ulster Published: January 26, 2007 The militant Irish republican Gerry Adams and the fire-breathing unionist preacher Ian Paisley have long symbolized the irreconcilable extremes of Ulster politics. But over the next few days, they have the chance to lead the province into a new era of democratic self-rule.

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[BREAK] The opening paragraph of today's NY Times Editorial seems to say it all:

We often wonder whether there is a limit to the Bush administration’s obsession with secrecy, its assault on the rule of law, its disdain for the powers of Congress, its willingness to con the public and its refusal to heed expert advice or recognize facts on the ground. Events of the past week suggest the answer is no.

Full editorial here! [/BREAK]

[BREAK] Here in New York, where we like to think of our city/state as the leader of the modern world, we can't get what should be just a clone of one of the simplest computer systems on the planet [think ATM for voting] in place due to political bargaining for "favored" corporations, and the admitted collusion between "independent" testing/auditing firms and voting device corporations. Here's an excerpt from this morning's NY Times:

According to the documents, a federal auditor found last July that Ciber, the nation’s largest tester of voting machine software, did not follow its own quality-control procedures or conduct all the proper tests. The documents indicate that in many cases, the lab simply used tests suggested by the voting machine manufacturers, rather than running standardized checks of its own. The auditor also criticized the lab for “acceding too quickly” to requests by the voting machine companies to modify the tests. Voting machine experts have long been concerned about possible conflicts of interest in the testing, and some say the problems with Ciber have raised questions about the security and reliability of some of the machines now in use.

Let's remember, much blood and treasure was spent in gaining independence from the rule of the mighty few. And since, much blood and treasure was expended in attempts to keep this fragile system called "democracy" alive. We all know of the shenanigans performed by ALL the political parties in past elections. And we've seen how that practice was refined by the Republicans since the 2000 judicial/electoral coup. If we allow the corporations to continue to fiddle with our votes, and don't demand a recount friendly type of system, all is lost. A receipt should be printed for each voter, simply certifying that the citizen has voted. (I'd also like to see a small tax credit, say $20, granted when said citizen includes a copy of that receipt with their tax return. And/or a sticker/pin given, to help embarrass/remind others to vote that day.) Then, a paper copy of the actual votes (like your ATM receipt that lists your actions at the machine), without any identifiers as to the voter's identification, is given to the voter. The voter checks the printed copy for accuracy, folds it on the dotted lines, and puts it into the slot on top of a sealed box. Those paper ballots remain available for any ordered recount. Or, we can allow our democracy to fester some more, and die a horrible death due to citizen apathy. The choice is ours! JB ===== [/BREAK]

New York Won’t Replace Voting Machines by the Fall - New York Times By CHRISTOPHER DREW Published: January 27, 2007 New York officials have given up on replacing the state’s aging voting machines by the fall elections, and some would like to put off buying new electronic voting systems until after the 2008 presidential election, state officials said yesterday. New York is the last state to update its machines, and the latest delay comes amid growing questions about the work of a laboratory that was hired to help test the machines being offered by five bidders.

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[BREAK] Could we look any dumber to the world community?

Smog above Phoenix, Arizona
US report suggests reflective dust could reduce warming.
Photograph: Deirdre Hamill/AP US answer to global warming: smoke and giant space mirrors Washington wants scientists to develop giant space mirrors and reflective dust to block sunlight. The US government wants the world's scientists to develop technology to block sunlight as a last-ditch way to halt global warming, the Guardian has learned. It says research into techniques such as giant mirrors in space or reflective dust pumped into the atmosphere would be "important insurance" against rising emissions, and has lobbied for such a strategy to be recommended by a major UN report on climate change, the first part of which will be published on Friday.

I guess Bush thought the old Jerry Lewis film, "Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River" was an inspired documentary? I guess that any plan, no matter how daft, that doesn't ask us to cut down on our use of oil or investigate new renewable energy ideas, that might (God help us) cause some lowering of oil company profits, is a plan the current administration would fund. Of course, even were this a plan that deserved discussion, would not the other countries on the planet have a right to be consulted, BEFORE WE TURN OFF THE SUN? All this reminds me of an old, politically incorrect joke. So, I'll change it a bit. GW Bush to Nasa chief: "I want you to build a rocket that I can pilot to a landing on the sun." Nasa chief: "But Mr. President, you can't land on the sun. It would burn you up!" GW: "Well, you're not too bright. I'd land on it at night!" Only, with GW as our President, this type of joke becomes a sobering reality. [/BREAK] =====

US answer to global warming: smoke and giant space mirrors | Climate change | Guardian Unlimited Environment The US government wants the world's scientists to develop technology to block sunlight as a last-ditch way to halt global warming, the Guardian has learned. It says research into techniques such as giant mirrors in space or reflective dust pumped into the atmosphere would be "important insurance" against rising emissions, and has lobbied for such a strategy to be recommended by a major UN report on climate change, the first part of which will be published on Friday. Article continues The US has also attempted to steer the UN report, prepared by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), away from conclusions that would support a new worldwide climate treaty based on binding targets to reduce emissions - as sought by Tony Blair. It has demanded a draft of the report be changed to emphasise the benefits of voluntary agreements and to include criticisms of the Kyoto Protocol, the existing treaty which the US administration opposes.

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[BREAK] Yes, I too feel bad about Barbaro's fate. But I also wonder at the different world we would live in had the NY Times, Wash Post and/or other major media outlets made it standard policy to print such eloquent eulogies on their most prominent pages for EVERY human death taken in the blood filled desert called Iraq. Do not EACH of the over 3000 dead American troops rate at least as much coverage as the death of a horse most had only heard of from his winning of a single race? Have we become so inured to the toll of war that
our perspective is this far out of whack? We vainly laud our human compassion in our treatment of such a marvelous beast, while, on a daily basis, most of us unconsciously ignore our own complicity in sending the younger generation in to see the elephant without the equipment needed to even grant a small edge of safety. (Of course, we now know of collateral brutality, like the torture of prisoners and illegal detention of thousands of innocents, are the offal of our Bushie butchery.) Is absolution granted when we march, once a year or less, in protest? (In one of life's cruelest ironies, there will be some who will suffer a moist eye over Barbaro who support Bush's desired escalation of this war that was lost before it began. I believe that, for them, all hope is lost!) Would that ALL of the innocent victims, be they American troops, soldiers of other countries in the coalition of the billing or the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians, that Bush's Baghdad Blunder be given a small percentage of the corporate media ink that this horse will be granted, around the globe, today. If we lived in such a world, war would not cease to rear its ugly head. However, the brutality war brings, once exposed in such an honest, prominent and, yes, fitting manner would help insure that the people of each nation would need to be convinced war was necessary and unavoidable before they'd subject their children, or those of others, to the carnage inherent in the human abattoir called war. Especially in a war founded on lies and kept going through intimidation of critics, like our attack, invasion and long-term occupation of an Iraq now beset with a civil war, we have constructed a horrifically efficient yet senseless human slaughterhouse that leaves dead, crippled and psychologically razed kids such that it makes Barbaros's fate seem a Godly kindness. JB ===== [/BREAK]

One Horse Dies - New York Times Editorial One Horse Dies Published: January 30, 2007 Why should we feel so much grief at the loss of one horse? After all, this is a world in which horses are sacrificed again and again for the sport of humans. Barbaro was euthanized yesterday, eight months after he shattered his right hind leg at the start of the Preakness Stakes. After an injury like that, most racehorses would have been put down minutes later. But every race is a complex equation — a balance of economics, athleticism, equine grace and conscience. Conscience often comes in last, but not in this case. Barbaro’s owners gave that horse exactly what he had given them, which is everything. It was the very least they could do, and yet it seemed truly exceptional in a sport that is as often barbarous as it is beautiful .

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[BREAK] Media Matters has been doing a bang-up job of following the saga of Cpl. Joshua Sparling, a wounded veteran back home from Iraq. Normally, I'd have enough respect for the service the soldier provided to give him a lot of slack, as far as any disparity in our views on the war or any other differences of opinion we might have. And, as he is a seriously wounded returnee, I'd stand silent as he'd bash my views on Iraq, Bush and anything else he might like. But when his false celebrity gets to the point that he can harm the whole anti-war movement, and thereby give a boost to Bush's Baghdad Blunder, with just a little well played mendacity, other vets should take him to task. This guy Sparling is a disgrace. He's changed his story numerous times, going from "one protester spit at" him to "many protesters spit on" him. On top of that, he's kinda stuck saying that the first "spitter" wore an 82nd Airborne patch, as he had said it the first time and saw it added to the reporters excitement. OF COURSE IT DID! Any idiot would be struck by the incongruity of a war protester who, supposedly, despised the troops (or just disturbed troops like Spurling?) wearing the patch of the military he despised??? I'm one of those with a story of being dissed when I returned from 'Nam. No spitting; just a cabdriver refusing service when he discovered I had just that moment returned. But others had worse stories of harassment. The country was torn, with some (VERY FEW) blaming the "baby killer" troops, by proxy. A guy like Spurling, or Vietnam Vets who exaggerate their trauma at being dissed at home, cast doubt on, and cause more suffering to, those who were really harmed by idiots who can't discriminate between the tool of war and the maniacs who are elected and wield the tools. JB ===== [/BREAK]

Media Matters - Still more questions for the NY Times regarding the alleged spitting incident Still more questions for the NY Times regarding the alleged spitting incident As Media Matters for America noted, in a January 29 article, The New York Times' Ian Urbina reported that a protestor spit "at the ground near" Cpl. Joshua Sparling, a wounded Iraq war veteran, during the January 27 anti-Iraq war protest in Washington, D.C. But the article offered no details regarding the alleged incident, giving rise to several unanswered questions, which Media Matters laid out. Sparling appeared on the January 29 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes and the January 30 edition of Fox & Friends and gave his own version of the events, contradicting some aspects of the Times' reporting.

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