Traditional Media Unprepared?

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Tuesday November 04, 2008 · 7:06 PM PST

2008/11/04 · 19:06

I'm watching what I hoped would be happening...

The Democratic Party, behind Barack Obama, is on its way to a real mandate...

Just wonderin'...does anybody at CNN, FOX, MSNBC or any of these other shows have any clue what this means? It is a repudiation of the last 8 years, folks. More to come...more to come.

These tools are still trying to spin it. But they just don't seem to get it. They are being repudiated too. I don't really want to hear David Gergen or Candy Crowley telling me how it is less of a win for Obama as a loss for McCain.

mmuskratt

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Saturday October 25, 2008 · 10:44 AM PDT

2008/10/25 · 10:44

These dudes got a little older. Let's check in on them:

Poll

35 votes Show Results

Now that Bud is owned by a Belgian company...

35 votes Vote Now!

Now that Bud is owned by a Belgian company...

I still don't drink it.

24 votes

Their ads are more..."Socialist."

2 votes

the beer tastes better!

2 votes

I wouldn't know, could you pass me the corkscrew?

5 votes

Joe SixPack is unpatriotic.

2 votes

Is Palin a Pothead? Sarah Barracuda?

mmuskratt

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday October 13, 2008 · 11:08 AM PDT

2008/10/13 · 11:08

Because of the War on Drugs, I've often wondered if our elected representatives would subject themselves to a drug test. I'd love to see if Bush, allegedly clean and sober, has any drugs in his system. I mean, if the government is going to send people away on drug convictions, why not just subject them to a random test once in a while and see what turns up? If I have to do it to get a job in the Federal Government, where are the test results for, say, Sarah Palin?

We all know Bill Clinton "didn't inhale," and Obama admitted using in his younger years...can we open this question up to include Sarah Palin and Cindy McCain now?

Which brings me to my comment, less of a diary, but more than a comment...

How did Sarah Palin get the nickname Sarah Barracuda?

Poll

97 votes Show Results

Did you get a nickname from partying?

97 votes Vote Now!

Did you get a nickname from partying?

Frank, "The Tank" refuses to answer.

8 votes

It morphed from a crazy party into my alternate identity.

11 votes

Nothing that stuck.

21 votes

That's frat-house, Republican nonsense.

9 votes

No, my nicknames are all based on sexual prowess.

33 votes

I had to make up a fake story to tell the kids...they don't know what a bong cherry is.

15 votes

Iranian Ship Captured by Pirates

mmuskratt

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday September 29, 2008 · 9:50 AM PDT

2008/09/29 · 09:50

It appears that a cargo ship from Iran to Eritrea was captured by pirates, who subsequently started to suffer skin burns, illness and death.

A tense standoff has developed in waters off Somalia over an Iranian merchant ship laden with a mysterious cargo that was hijacked by pirates.

Somali pirates suffered skin burns, lost hair and fell gravely ill "within days" of boarding the MV Iran Deyanat. Some of them died.

Andrew Mwangura, the director of the East African Seafarers’ Assistance Programme, told the Sunday Times: "We don’t know exactly how many, but the information that I am getting is that some of them had died. There is something very wrong about that ship."

The vessel’s declared cargo consists of "minerals" and "industrial products". But officials involved in negotiations over the ship are convinced that it was sailing for Eritrea to deliver small arms and chemical weapons to Somalia’s Islamist rebels.

Poll

90 votes Show Results

Will this incident be used to start war with Iran?

90 votes Vote Now!

Will this incident be used to start war with Iran?

Strong chance.

4 votes

Possibly.

17 votes

Not likely.

27 votes

9/11!

6 votes

Clay Aiken is gay!

36 votes

Conservatives are afraid of their own...

mmuskratt

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday September 12, 2008 · 10:47 AM PDT

2008/09/12 · 10:47

I was reading a statement, by a liberal woman, about how we need health care, and we need it now. The first thing I thought of was the argument that comes up with conservatives about everything that government helps us to do. They are worried about people gaming the system. They are worried about people like themselves.

In the "I got mine" paradigm, which, when you break it down, is key to policy-making in conservativeland, the issue of taxes and social spending has a consistent tone of "...but people who don't deserve, and haven't earned, the support will take advantage of it." Looking at conservatives, it is easy to tell why they're so afraid of government. In the "Leave a penny, take a penny" jar, they are the ones who see free money for the taking. They can't envision a world where that type of a solution actually works.

Poll

25 votes Show Results

Have you ever...

25 votes Vote Now!

Have you ever...

sued anyone, just because you could?

0 votes

lied on an application for some form of aid or care?

0 votes

used a free service even though you could afford a pay service?

1 vote

sold something you knew was broken?

0 votes

claimed dubious tax deductions?

1 vote

Voted for a Republican?

5 votes

All of the above.

0 votes

None of the above.

16 votes

More than one of the above.

2 votes

Off the bus

mmuskratt

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday September 08, 2008 · 11:08 AM PDT

2008/09/08 · 11:08

I have a question for the Democrats: How badly do you want to catch this bus? Doors are closing...

Here's the analogy:

You're standing at the bus stop. You got there, not first, but certainly not last. You've noticed the line growing as the time for the bus to come gets here...and it does come, 3 minutes late, as usual.

Now, you need to take this bus, because you have something important to get to, but you know, with your place in line, that you should at least get a standing spot up front. As the doors open, a few people trickle out, with others in front of you pushing their way onto the bus. This is it, the moment you need to take control. A few people have decided to hop on, illegally, in the back doors. This means less room for you. And then the elbows start to fly. People who were behind you have worked their way in front of you, and the only way to stave them off is to elbow them back, or to squeeze back in front of them.

What are you gonna do? Do you want on this bus or not? Because, the people in the back are already on, and nobody's gonna listen to you say that isn't fair. The people who are pushing and elbowing really want on too, and unless you push and elbow back, you're not catching this ride...

Poll

13 votes Show Results

Does the Democratic Party get it?

13 votes Vote Now!

Does the Democratic Party get it?

On the bus, for sure!

9 votes

Is there a cab nearby?

0 votes

The buses don't run where I live.

1 vote

No, please, take my spot, ma'am.

3 votes

Zoonotic Virus outbreak in Bangladesh

mmuskratt

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday April 03, 2008 · 10:41 AM PDT

2008/04/03 · 10:41

It appears as though a new outbreak of the Nipah virus has emerged in Bangladesh. I first read about this virus in a recent National Geographic Magazine. It has been traced to bats, and has a fatality rate of about 75%. The NG article discussed a case in Australia, where horses were eating underneath a fig tree. The horses proceeded to get very sick, and then die, and the disease spread to humans.

mmuskratt

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday February 12, 2008 · 10:56 PM PST

2008/02/12 · 22:56

Recently, a prominent psychologist, Ken Pope, resigned his membership in the American Psychological Association out of conscience. His point being, the acceptance by the APA to allow psychologists to be present during torture was unethical, and in breach of everything that the ethical standards of the APA were about.

I got to thinking about the point of resigning due to conscience...what a quandary. If you are no longer a member of the group/office/department, you have no say in how it conducts its business. On the other hand, if the organization no longer represents your values, it is hard to continue to participate and/or support it.

Poll

29 votes Show Results

Have you ever resigned?

29 votes Vote Now!

Have you ever resigned?

Yes, out of conscience.

16 votes

Yes, out of necessity.

3 votes

No, I was fired.

4 votes

No, I stuck around and hated myself.

3 votes

No, I stuck around and made changes for the better.

1 vote

Only when something better came along.

2 votes

What ever happened to...?

mmuskratt

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday December 19, 2007 · 2:21 PM PST

2007/12/19 · 14:21

I got to thinking today of a couple of "What ever happened to...?" questions. The staggering amount of abuses, corrupted policies, moral failures and outright evil actions that the Republican Party has been responsible and unaccountable for is so great that we forget things. Of course, the inaction of the Democratic Party in bringing about hearings, or accountability moments, makes it so easy to forget – sheer numbers are against us. If not for blogs, we’d never have access to the truth, or saturation and centralization of important issues – we’ve been saved by the Internet, no wonder so many people in power are lobbying to restrict, tax and spy on everyone and everything that goes across the wire.

So let’s get to the list...

Poll

17 votes Show Results

Of the nearly infinite possibilities, this is the thing I'd most like to see investigated:

17 votes Vote Now!

Of the nearly infinite possibilities, this is the thing I'd most like to see investigated:

9/11 Before, during, after

4 votes

Torture

1 vote

Iraq War - Pre War Intelligence

2 votes

Valerie Plame

2 votes

Pat Tillman

0 votes

Enron

0 votes

Cheney and the Energy Task Force

0 votes

Anthrax Attacks on US Soil

2 votes

Fallujah

0 votes

Contempt of Congress

0 votes

USA firings

0 votes

Voting Machines

0 votes

2000 and/or 2004 Elections

3 votes

FISA/Domestic Surveillance violations

2 votes

Other...

1 vote

The Bush Thesaurus

mmuskratt

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday August 28, 2007 · 3:26 PM PDT

2007/08/28 · 15:26

After Abu G resigned with the statement that public service is "Honorable and noble," I got to thinking about those words. Bush uses them...a lot. Wordsmithing is always one of the most fun aspects of breaking down spin, Frank Luntzbeing one of the more elite voices in our current media state.

So when Gonzo used those words, it sent a chill down my spine. I think these people really think that we should have a dictator or king.

Poll

59 votes Show Results

Your favorite word to describe Bush

59 votes Vote Now!

Your favorite word to describe Bush

Honorable

1 vote

Noble

1 vote

Kingly

0 votes

Dictator

2 votes

Tyrant

12 votes

Dumbass

32 votes

Other (please, let's be dignified...aw Cheney it, go for it!)

11 votes

The father of "Combat TV" (not BillO or Rush)

mmuskratt

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday July 26, 2007 · 12:51 PM PDT

2007/07/26 · 12:51

Back in the 80's, there was a local station that ran Wally George's TV show, Hot Seat.

The show ran at night, and the phrase, "Know your enemy" came to mind every time I watched it. (Note: all links in this diary are videos)

Poll

50 votes Show Results

Which one of these is the "Best?"

50 votes Vote Now!

Which one of these is the "Best?"

Wally George's Hot Seat

6 votes

The Bill O'Reilly Show

11 votes

Morton Downey Jr.

10 votes

Jerry Springer

6 votes

Rush as guest host of The Pat Sajak Show

5 votes

Howard Stern (on the teevee)

12 votes

The Michael Vick Commutation

mmuskratt

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday July 19, 2007 · 10:38 AM PDT

2007/07/19 · 10:38

So, I was listening to the radio today, and animal/dog lovers across America are united in their belief that Michael Vick should have the book thrown at him (in some cases, they even qualified this with an "...if he's found guilty.").

This Michael Vick story is really huge. At first, I didn't really think much of it...you know, pro sports players do illegal things like anyone else does - this is ugly, but is it a national story?

But this story is more than that. The ugly details contained in the indictment are enough to make even jaded people cringe...but there's much more to it than that.

Poll

77 votes Show Results

Speculate...what happens to Michael Vick?

77 votes Vote Now!

Speculate...what happens to Michael Vick?

He's a pro athlete. Nothing.

9 votes

He'll be arrested and sent to jail.

21 votes

What's an NFL?

0 votes

He'll be convicted, get a slap on the wrist, and only thugs will buy his jerseys.

39 votes

Conservative dog lovers will realize that our country tortures people.

7 votes

Other (comments)

1 vote

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Traditional Media Unprepared?

Whazzuuuuupppp?

Is Palin a Pothead? Sarah Barracuda?

Iranian Ship Captured by Pirates

Conservatives are afraid of their own...

Off the bus

Zoonotic Virus outbreak in Bangladesh

Resigned to Good Conscience

What ever happened to...?

The Bush Thesaurus

The father of "Combat TV" (not BillO or Rush)

The Michael Vick Commutation