Daily Kos

Stupid papers and GOP astroturf

by kos

Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 02:00:29 PM PDT

The GW04 site has handy templates for letters to the editor. See the top one on the list:
New job figures and other recent economic data show that America's economy is strong and getting stronger - and that the President's jobs and growth plan is working. The Labor Department announced that employers added 288,000 new jobs in April. In total, over 1.1 million jobs have been added since August, with 8 consecutive months of gains.
Now google that entire phrase, and see the results. About 60 newspapers have run that letter, sent by GOP automatons too stupid to vary the wording even a tiny bit.
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  •  someone ... (none / 0)

    ... write to every one of those papers, and point them to the templates.  Theoretically, they should all be embarassed.

    the most comprehensive college hockey resource collegehockeynews.com

    by AdamW on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:02:25 PM PDT

    •  Embarrassment (none / 0)

      For them to be embarrassed would mean that they've got even the most rudimentary sense of shame.   I do not believe that would be the case for most members of the mainstream media.

      by DeadMessenger on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:06:52 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      •  I believe ... (none / 1)

        ... it's mainly laziness, and because the people sitting at the editorial desk of most small-to-mid-sized papers, their main goal is to sprinkle in some interesting things and hit their deadline so they can go home.

        That, and they are mainly tech illiterate, and this astroturf thing probably never occured to them.

        Thus, I believe any letters should, at least at first, simply be to point it out to them.  If at that point they are not ashamed of being snookered, then we can hammer them.

        the most comprehensive college hockey resource collegehockeynews.com

        by AdamW on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:29:32 PM PDT

        [ Parent ]

    •  done (none / 1)

      A few nights ago, I drunkenly signed up under a pseudonym and blasted a bunch of garbled letters to the editor out to various papers, along with an explanation of where they were coming from.  It was kinda fun, actually; there's a little check-mark graphic next to each talking point, and each time you click on it it's text is added to the text field containg "your" letter. Naturally, I sent 7-8 copies of each.

      by contraption on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:20:07 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    •  A template would be handy (4.00 / 2)

      Who wants to come up with a form letter that we can all blast to newspapers to complain about them printing form letters?

      by chezgle on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:31:37 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    •  Here's my letter to the local editor... (4.00 / 6)

      Dear Mr. Cunningham,

      I'm not sure of the editorial policy of the Sun, but this particular letter to the editor (August 2nd, 2004 - "Bush a friend to farmers") is not the writing of Andrew Walmsley. Instead, this is an example of astroturfing...

      "Producing the illusion of broad grass roots support by top down actions. For example: A templated Letter to the Editor expressing wingnut outrage at an imagined liberal offense that is duplicated and sent to city newspapers across the country as if it were penned by a local reader. Local papers often publish the artificial letters and thus OpEd pages from coast-to-coast are carpeted with artificial grass or 'Astroturf'. "

      The original content is from George Bush's website (http://www.georgewbush.com/Economy/WriteNewspapers.aspx?AgendaID=2).

      For more examples of this ugly trend in modern politics, try Googling the phrase "New job figures and other recent economic data show that America's economy is strong".  You will see dozens of examples of these canned letters written by political party staff appearing in many OpEd pages across the states.

      I hope that the Gainesville Sun adopts the policy of not accepting "Astroturfed" letters to the editor.

      Regards,

      be good, c

      by c on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:40:00 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    •  I've already replied to all local papers (none / 0)

      I've sent a "letter to the editor" using Bush's own site pointing out this scheme.  Seems like there has been a lot of this.  My state is solidly Kerry, so I am about to blast this off in some swing states.

      If you like this comment, please visit It Affects You -- Ross

      by up2date on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 08:46:14 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    •  One Editor in Chief responds (none / 0)

      I e-mailed the editor in chief of a local publication that ran two of these letters last month; I blogged his response and give him a lot of credit for acknolwedging the problem and working on solving it.

      by rklau on Wed Aug 18, 2004 at 04:37:20 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  Well (none / 0)

    The newspapers are the stupid ones -- the astroturfers got their letter printed with absolutely no effort.  How's that for efficiency?

    by cabinessence on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:04:39 PM PDT

    •  I can't get any of my letters published (none / 1)

      Maybe I should stop cussing so much.  

      Be a reporter, not a repeater

      by Plays in Traffic on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:08:22 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    •  Better writing than the average wingnut (none / 1)

      I have a friend who has edited letters columns in a couple of towns that have more than their share of wingnuts. His stories lead me to believe that the editors may take the astroturf letters because they come closer to making sense than the local brand.

      Editorial pages want some balance on their letters page, but they don't really want imcomprehensible messes, particularly if they will have to do any editing to make them short enough to fit that day. Astroturfed letters are clear, to the point and designed to fit the standards of every daily in the US. Maybe the objection in the contrary letter should be, "I see that local conservatives cannot express themselves well enough to get their letters published in the paper, so they have to sign their names to the work of professional writers. My, how the standards of our Republic have fallen..."

      Single payer universal healthcare coverage saves money and saves lives.

      by freelunch on Wed Aug 18, 2004 at 12:07:25 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  Gee... (none / 0)

    ...no great surprise here.  I saw that one of the google results is this fellow's blog, noting exactly the same phrasing, in MAY, 2004!

    http://www.smithersmpls.com/2004/05/enter-this-phrase-in-google-new-job.html
    So, how long has this been going on? (as the song said)

    Torture is Wrong!

    by tom 47 on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:07:32 PM PDT

  •  Conservative destruction of language... (4.00 / 3)

    Slightly OT.

    I just read this great essay. I'm curious what you Kossacks think of it.

    Count 'em!

    by silentsprawl on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:08:19 PM PDT

    •  Conservative destruction of democracy... (none / 0)

      yesterday, today and tomorrow. Thus it has always been. It is up to us to  prevent it in the future.

      Agre is spot on, and a tip of the the hat to you for  directing me to the lead, silentsprawl.

      by gogol on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 08:48:15 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    •  Its very interesting (none / 0)

      and I think useful. Parts of it are unnecessarily disparaging of some things that make up part of our coalition. We are not in the throes of an information age and knowledge is not yet, nor is it ever likely to be, our principal product. That contention is part of the project to separate us from each other. Try to thnk of the limits of the phrase "unskilled labor". Does it apply to tool and die makers, application programmers, cardiologists,   lawyers, conservative pundits? But, for the most part, I like his insistence on speaking sense to the conservative project and intend to continue to try to do so. Thanks for the link.

      "If I pay a man enough money to buy my car, he'll buy my car." Henry Ford

      by johnmorris on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 08:50:19 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  I say we use their stupid machine. (none / 0)

    Remember the slogantor?  Perhaps we can use their letter making machine if it emails letters directly to the papers.  They probably get vetted though first.

    by DemocratsAwaken on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:08:28 PM PDT

  •  the power of the internet (none / 0)

    Blue Jersey: All the news that slips from print.

    by jmelli on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:08:34 PM PDT

  •  How about (none / 1)

    taking each of the templates, and changing the wording just enough so that it backfires?

    For example, change the above statement to:

    New job figures and other recent economic data show that America's economy is weak and getting weaker - and that the President's jobs and growth plan isn't working at all. The Labor Department announced that employers fired (x number of people) in April. In total, over (x million) jobs have been lost since August, with x consecutive months of losses.

    You're like the drummer from REO Speedwagon. Nobody knows who you are.

    by Plutonium Page on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:08:51 PM PDT

    •  Or you could (none / 0)

      Just write a letter using the facts on the economy:

      On a weekly basis, the average wage of $525.84 is at the lowest level since October 2001.

      Just a Bump in the Beltway

      by Melanie on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:18:55 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    •  How about this (none / 1)

      The President's jobs and growth policies may not yet have put the economy on the road to ruin, but there is more work to be done. The President has outlined a six-point plan to create an even larger budget deficit, more job opportunities for India's workers, lock in economic inequity, and keep America the best place in the world to steal jobs from.  The plan includes: enabling families and businesses to plan for the future with confidence by making tax reductions for the top 1% permanent; making health care costs more expensive but predictable; by reducing the burden of over-time pay on our economy; ensuring an affordable, reliable energy supply by destabilizing the middle-east; eliminating regulations and paperwork requirements; and opening new markets for American products and services by taking over other countries.

      Don't be so afraid of dying that you forget to live.

      by LionelEHutz on Wed Aug 18, 2004 at 04:53:25 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  Also, (none / 0)

    Note how misleading the sentence "in total, over 1.1mm jobs have been added since August."

    Someone might read that and assume it means August '04 without thinking about it, and that certainly isn't an accident.

    I'm shocked, SHOCKED to find there's misleading going on in here!!

    Darcy's gonna getcha Dave!

    by Jsea on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:08:58 PM PDT

  •  Call your local paper (none / 1)

    If your paper runs one of these letters, contact the editorial page letter, and politely point out that this is a pre-written letter not from the ideas of the person who sent it to them.

    The odds don't favor you getting a correction, but your reply may get published, or they may prevent that person from publishing further letters - and usually it's a small cabal of old people that write frequent letters to their editors.

    Also, forewarned is forearmed, there are some papers that just don't care. In that case, send some astroturf of your own to balance it out!

    Support a real progressive woman for the Tennessee House! Elect Schree for Tennessee!

    by TNliberal on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:10:25 PM PDT

  •  April and August both begin with A (none / 1)

    But you'd think the editors would realize the figures in the letters are 4 months old, and "since August" means since August '03 to April '04, and of course since April of '04 we have only added about 150,000 new jobs total, and there are 250,000 new people in the work force every month, and how lazy can these editors be?  

    Send them the facts!

    John McCain--he's not who you think he is.

    by Mimikatz on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:11:14 PM PDT

    •  So does Assholes (begin with A) (none / 0)

      And that's what these spineless editors are.  I do not even read the hometown newspaper in OKC.  You can only imagine what right wing tripe it is.  That no  one checks their facts anymore is very sad.  Apparently, anything that even 'sounds' like what they want to believe is good enough.

      "It's been headed this way since the World began, when a vicious creature made the jump from Monkey to Man."--Elvis Costello

      by BigOkie on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:53:51 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  And further... (none / 1)

    ... this link to Disinfopedia exposes this as a Bushco spam scam from the same date (May 26, 2004).  BTW, (y)our tax dollars at work, according to Disinfopedia.  Be still further outraged!

    http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Bush_administration_financial_misconduct_and_lack_of_ac countability

    Torture is Wrong!

    by tom 47 on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:11:40 PM PDT

  •  Astroturfing (none / 0)

    Everybody does it. This is just another case of the Bush machine either (a) doing it "better", or (b) taking things just a step too far, depending on how you look at it.

    Here's the John Kerry Media Corps theme for the week:

    Now, in fairness, I suspect the Bushies have taken this to another level, as they have done with everything else. For instance, Kerry's site makes little or no effort to put any style into it's talking points whereas Bush's talking points read like a press release. It would be nice if Editorial boards took note of public astroturfing such as this. Your best option is to write the editors yourself and point them to the campaigns' websites.

    bomb allah president Marx encryption revolution Pat Buchanan unabomber occult -- hey Carnivore: *bring it on*.

    by niq77174 on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:11:46 PM PDT

  •  The (none / 0)

    fourth entry/result on Google links to the Bush site.

    Nothing is more real than nothing. Beckett

    by rx scabin on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:12:23 PM PDT

  •  Same results with this phrase (3.50 / 2)

    "The President has outlined a six-point plan to create even more job opportunities for America's workers and keep America the best place in the world to do business."

    Hinesville Coastal Courier

    Gainesville Sun

    Just those two though.

    ;]

    by lapin on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:12:29 PM PDT

    •  Wait there's more (none / 0)

      The Star of Illinois?

      ;]

      by lapin on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:14:25 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      •  Responded to this one (none / 0)

        It's a paper for the south-western suburbs of Chicago. I sent a letter to their editor informing him of the astroturf and providing a link to the template. I asked for a correction or at least equal space to rebut.

        Thanks for the catch...

        Prairie State Blue Illinois Progressive Politics

        by michael in chicago on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:46:24 PM PDT

        [ Parent ]

        •  Here's the reply from the editor (none / 0)

          It has appeared to me for a while there are organized campaigns at work. It
          is generally not our policy, however, to deny publication of topical,
          non-libelous letters sent to us from local readers. Obviously we need to
          rethink this.

          Prairie State Blue Illinois Progressive Politics

          by michael in chicago on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 09:24:34 PM PDT

          [ Parent ]

          •  Iowa astroturf (none / 1)

            here's a letter from me, and the paper's response--appreciative and hopefully sincere.

            From: Mark Ridolfi <Mark.Ridolfi@lee.net>
            To: Wallace.Hettle@uni.edu  
            Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2004 18:35:10 -0500
            Subject: RE: astroturf

            Wallace:

            Thanks for the help.

            I've been trying to weed out the bush campaign web site cut-n-pastes and
            am truly sorry one slipped through.

            I've editorialized on it and make a point of calling each writer to let
            them know that such an act is plagiarism.

            Thanks,

            Mark Ridolfi
            Editor of the Editorial Page
            Quad-City Times
            Davenport, Iowa
            (563)383-2320

            -----Original Message-----
            From: Wallace.Hettle@uni.edu [mailto:Wallace.Hettle@uni.edu]
            Sent: Tuesday, August 17, 2004 6:17 PM
            To: Mark Ridolfi
            Subject: astroturf

            "Astroturf" is a phrase that politicos use to refer to phony political
            tactics that create the illusion of grassroots activism or opinion.

            On May 13, 2004 a person named Lynelle Stahlhut wrote a letter to the
            Quad-City Times, which was published.  It was perfect astroturf.  It
            contained the phrase "New job figures and other recent economic data
            show that America's economy is strong and getting stronger".   A google
            searach reveals that that exact phrase turns up in 60 identical letters
            to the editor around the country, and originated on . . . George W.
            Bush's website.

            The first thing that occurs to me is that the economy has stumbled again
            over the summer, so the letter is already obsolete.  But everyone is
            entitled to an opinion. The important thing, for letters to the editor,
            is that it be one's OWN opinion, expressed in one's own words.

            Sincerely,

            Wallace Hettle
            Cedar Falls

             

            by wallyh on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 09:56:18 PM PDT

            [ Parent ]

  •  That is soooo funny (none / 0)

    Kos, you've topped yourself.

    by Sprinkles on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:14:56 PM PDT

  •  Changing the wording requires effort... (none / 0)

    mental effort--a scarce resource in Republican circles these days it would seem.

    "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful...They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." --Bush

    by Keith Brekhus on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:16:18 PM PDT

  •  Smarter editors, please (none / 0)

    Blatant blogwhore, but it's relevant: our local paper ran a retraction of sorts last week, after they published the famous "Things You Have To Believe to Be a Republican." (Scroll down to "The Media Says Oops" if you follow the first link.)

    Shorter editor(s): "I may not know much about this here newfangled Internet thing, but I know it's a-messin' up our dadgum paper."

    Join the snark-a-thon at Blast Off!, for a unique view of Florida and national politics!

    by Sinfonian on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:16:52 PM PDT

  •  Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia (none / 1)

    Ya know, I'm reading 1984 right now, and I'm getting a much different vibe from it than I did when I read it 10 or 12 years ago in college right after the fall of the USSR.  This administration scares the hell out of me.

    by VladiG on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:16:58 PM PDT

    •  Newspeak (none / 0)

        I just finished 1984 the other day, for the first time since I was about 15 years old.  I agree - I picked up a lot more this time, now that I'm older and at least the eensiest bit wiser.  

        There's no doubt Orwell had communism in mind when he wrote it, but it should be pretty obvious now to anyone with a brain that what he wrote applies equally well to any style of totalitarianism, left or right.

        One of the reasons this administration scares people so badly is because of the naked, shameless way they try to manipulate language and the past.  Orwellian indeed.

      by Ed Bear on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 08:30:34 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  I wrote a diary about this (4.00 / 3)

    I've seen a great deal of consistency in the GOP letters in my local papers lately. I Googled the authors and found one publishes in half a dozen papers, and another was a GOP appointee in my local town government.

    As I've written before, we are a community of writers here. Our diaries many times would make great letters to the editor. Getting published is easy if you write well.

    Fight the astroturf, and write letters. They do matter. People read them.

    I think the main reason to write a letter to the editor is to show others that they are not alone. The Bush campaign likes to play the role of bully by pretending that Bush supporters are the majority. Letters supporting Kerry or debunking Bush propaganda show that there are others out there who disagree and are willing to stand up. This gives those who keep their heads down a reason to at least feel good about supporting Kerry.

    True story: My new neighbor of a few months put a Kerry sign up in his window after a rally. I live in Hyde's GOP district. You'd guess my neighborhood was GOP friendly. At the neighborhood get together my wife hears him say he was worried that he would be run out of the neighborhood, and wasn't sure he should  have put up the sign as he hasn't seen any others.

    This triggered other neighbors to "confess" they were Kerry supporters as well and that he was not alone. It turns out my neighborhood is more Dem friendly than even I thought it was.

    Bush and Cheney are bullies. We must stand up to them. Writing letters to the editor is a simple way to do this and lend support for those who worry about displaying their support for the good guys.

    Diary Link

    Prairie State Blue Illinois Progressive Politics

    by michael in chicago on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:20:19 PM PDT

  •  This is stolen from ..... (none / 1)

    This whole letter writing tactic is stolen from the Jewish organizations.  They have for years now, got groups of people in various cities to write letters to the editor of large and small newspapers to support Israel and Israeli policies.  I guess someone has been paying attention.  

    by mishimishi on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:20:27 PM PDT

  •  Good, I Can Recruit (none / 0)

    You can fight the astroturfers by joining the Rapid Response Network, the successor to Dean Rapid Response which involves over 1700 people from all over the country who daily respond to media distortions and misinformation. You can join by going to
    http://www.rapidresponsenetwork.org and signing up either for National alerts or for your state's organization.

    by Steve in Philly on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:20:44 PM PDT

  •  Slightly o/t but talking about Repug English.. (none / 1)

    Tom Ridge was talking to the folks in Florida today (not sure what he was doing there -- have hurricanes joined Al Qaeda as terra agents?).  Have to say he sounded just about as dumb and inarticulate as Chimpface.  Who'd a believed it?

    Is Ridge on something?  Like boose?

    We need Special Prosecutors. NOW.

    by CalDoc on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:23:36 PM PDT

  •  Ooh I just had fun (none / 0)

    Sending a letter of my own using their handy site.  Of course a few points were changed.

    George W. Bush makes Reagan look smart, Nixon look honest, and his dad look coherent.

    by Dave the pro on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:24:28 PM PDT

    •  So did I (none / 0)

      "President Bush would like you to think that new job figures and other recent economic data show that America's economy is strong and getting stronger - and that the President's jobs and growth plan is working. The Labor Department announced that employers added 32,000 new jobs in July. In total, over 1.1 million jobs have been added since August of last year, with 8 consecutive months of gains.

      Unfortunately, the 8 consecutive months of gains have been far outstripped by the pace of population growth, and any sane and reasonable economist wouldn't call them "gains" at all.  They would call them net losses.

      President Bush's growth agenda, exemplified by the budget proposed by the president, which actually cut job training and vocational education by 10 percent (that's $656 million), strong education system, best typified in the unfunded No Child Left Behind act, and policies to help American workers gain the skills to secure good jobs are the right ways to respond to the challenges of our growing and changing economy.  Too bad President Bush doesn't even bother to read his own website.

      The President's jobs and growth policies have put the economy on the road to recovery, but there is more work to be done.  First, we have to turn the car around.  The logical next step would be, of course, to actually head towards recovery instead of into the pit of stagflation we're currently facing.

      America has a choice: It can begin to grow the economy and create new jobs; or it can raise taxes on American families, which, according to a recently released study by the non-partisan OMB, the President's policies have done, hurting economic recovery and future job creation.

      Sincerely,
      Jim Dandeneau"

      Come visit! http://thenextelection.blogspot.com

      by jimmything2681 on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 08:01:46 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    •  does it work? (none / 0)


      If you modify the template does your letter get sent? I thought perhaps it would go by a screener or some automated validator to check the altered content. In that way they could prevent Kerry supporters from (ab)using the site.

      Has anyone had success in getting their anti-Bush letter published?

      Justice is what you get when you run out of money. --H.L. Mencken

      by fakane on Wed Aug 18, 2004 at 02:25:59 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  All sides do this, and.... (none / 0)

    it's not just letters to the editors.  This is a common tactics that groups of all stripes to do gin up letters to public officials.

    I know...I've answered too many of them.

    by Ben Bryant on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:37:18 PM PDT

  •  If we could somehow get an altered letter on there (none / 0)

    would the automatons be stupid enough to just forward it without reading?  Possibly.

    If you like this comment, please visit It Affects You -- Ross

    by up2date on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:46:30 PM PDT

  •  10-word limit on searches (none / 1)

    Google ignores the words after the first 10 in a search (and it tells you that above the search results when you use a longer search string), so this is really just searching for "New job figures and other recent economic data show that", not the entire two sentences -- not that that affects the point.

    Drinking Liberally in DC

    by KCinDC on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:48:55 PM PDT

  •  hmmmm (none / 0)

    I think that these pre-formatted letters to the editor are ridiculous and show how "dumbed down" our culture has become. And not to sound like I'm defending the practice, but I've seen Democratic candidates and organizations use these as well.

    It just strikes me as being bad for participatory democracy. Letters to the editor should be based on real individual opinions, and not some formatted argument spoonfed by the major political parties.

    by pine on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:56:44 PM PDT

    •  It's like school (none / 0)

      I used to teach an undergraduate chemistry lab, and students were always stunned when they found out I could tell that they'd copied someone else's lab report.

      You're like the drummer from REO Speedwagon. Nobody knows who you are.

      by Plutonium Page on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 07:01:27 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  Fire with Fire (none / 0)

    I've got a pretty similar tool which I initially wrote as a way to automate writing letters to the editor. I leave the actuall writing to the user though. Unfortunately, I have not recieved too many "letters to the editor" email addresses. If you have a few minutes, or a few hours please feel free to send them to me. I will add another catagory to the tool. For now, since someone was kind enough to get me a media contacts spreadsheet for the state of california, it's a good tool to send out announcements to the press, and things like that. If anyone has media contact lists for the rest of the US, I would have no problem putting them in as well.

    Sorry if it seems like I'm being lazy, but I did take a few days to sit down and write the program. If it's of use to anyone, the url is:

    http://nicholasbernstein.com/l2e
    username: dailykos
    password: dailykos

    If that didn't make much sense, sorry, I need sleep.

    -- RandomAndInterest.com - defending the world from stupidity since 1979

    by niku on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:58:25 PM PDT

  •  Link no work anymore (none / 0)

    Anyone else notice that link isn't working anymore?

    That was quick....

    Prairie State Blue Illinois Progressive Politics

    by michael in chicago on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 06:59:27 PM PDT

  •  Orange County Register (none / 0)

    I noticed that exact letter in the Orange Country Register yesterday and it set off my astro-turf meter.  Unfortunately, I forgot to google it after getting back to a computer after lunch.

    by treetop57 on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 07:07:24 PM PDT

  •  MoveOn does this too (none / 1)

    They give you a bunch of pre-written letters to choose from, and when one of them has been sent to a given paper, they make it no longer available to that same paper--so that the editor never realizes that they've been sent more than one.

    The same letter can then run in many different publications before they realize it.

    It's a tactic used by both sides, but apparently we're not as good at it yet.

    Stephanie Dray
    of Jousting for Justice, a lefty blog with a Maryland tilt.

    by stephdray on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 07:09:51 PM PDT

  •  can we be proactive about this? (none / 0)

    I may have said this around here before, but my dad had the editor of our local paper give a presentation in his class this spring.  The editor said that he publishes essentially all the letters he receives.  Obviously big papers are different, but for a lot of smaller papers, the standard is basically that it be somewhat intelligible.  Which is not to say that we shouldn't be pissed about these letters, it's just that it's unlikely that most papers are going to start researching the letters they print.  

    Would it be possible to start a campaign of finding the current astroturf letters and sending them to editors with notes attached saying "if you get a letter that says this, be aware that it's not written by the local resident whose name is on it, it's a product of such-and-such a political organization seeking to use your editorial page to further its own ends"?  That way, they may be less likely to print it and if they do, we have real grounds to jump on their asses and say "you have no excuse for not knowing that this was not a legitimate letter by a local, we demand a retraction/apology/space for rebuttal."

    by MissLaura on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 07:14:38 PM PDT

  •  "New figures show..." (none / 1)

    ...that the Administration is hiding some numbers.  Check the New York Times article today about the failures of charter schools ("leave no child behind"  except when you want to keep them out of sight and away from the press) which shows that Bush's pet charter schools are falling significantly behind public schools in their same areas.  The numbers are in a report from the Department of Education, NPR reports, but rather than being announced, as such numbers usually are, they've been buried... and then dug up by reporters.  Here's the link to the NY Times, but the Globe and the Washington Times and others have the story too:   http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/17/education/17charter.html

    by Frijol on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 07:17:17 PM PDT

  •  I'm new and... (none / 0)

    Hey, Im' new to the comment board and had a  question.  

    1. what is the soldier death toll in Iraq? I could have sworn it was 1000 already, but the news has said "almost at 1000" or "near 1000".  Or is it they count the deaths differently?

    off topic i know

    It is a man's own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways. ~ Buddha

    by Alphabet1984 on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 07:30:16 PM PDT

    •  The over 1,000 death count (none / 0)

      refers to deaths of all coalition troops.  The American Iraq death toll is at about 940 now.  Over a thousand Americans, though, if you want to include deaths of private sub-contractors in the total.  

      by BCF on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 08:02:54 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    •  yeah... (none / 0)

      I noticed that too. I suspected at the time that the distinction was US forces vs. Coalition forces, though there are always number games with the death toll from combat, versus accidents and suicides.
      For my wonted non sequitur I will also mention a report I heard that said that the death toll is very low because of the prevaklence of body armor and outstanding medical care, but the number of amputees and severely maimed servicemen is correspondingly larger.  It would be ironic if an American had to be wounded in Iraq to get decent, affordable healthcare.

      by Cache on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 08:06:44 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    •  945 (none / 0)

      per the Lunaville website.  That's "just" U.S.

      Evolution is so obsolete, gotta stamp your hands and clap your feet! Gotta dance like a monkey, dance like a monkey, child.

      by espresso on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 08:33:05 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  Duh, Gee Whiz! (none / 0)

    I am a Dumb-Dumb. How come Kerry not have sim-u-lur thing on his site where our side can get pre made let-ters to send for those of us who not wright so good? Damn, Rove is smart to think of that, I think they are outmanuring us!

    "...And I woulda got away with it, if it hadn't been for that meddling Kos!" ---attributed to Tom DeLay

    by AdmiralNaismith on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 07:49:12 PM PDT

    •  *Snort!* (none / 0)

      Ow! Iced tea in my nose! I gotta learn to put the glass down first...

      "It is our choices Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." -Albus Dumbledore ~~~~~~~~~ http://slugcrossings.blogspot.com/

      by Lainie on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 09:27:10 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  Prop-agenda !! (none / 1)


    Propagenda not to be confused with propaganda.


    Propagenda is not so much the control of what we think, as the control of what we think about, coined by  Brian Eno
    , on how they control and manipulate the public.Keep that in mind as you read.

    by thor on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 07:53:15 PM PDT

  •  Dumb and Dumber (none / 1)

    About 60 newspapers have run that letter, sent by GOP automatons too stupid to vary the wording even a tiny bit.

    And newspaper editors too dumb to run Google checks.

    Jeebus, my mom has lots of college professor friends who have some software that lets them detect if their students' term papers are plagiarized from the interent. It is too much to ask frigging newspaper editors to do the same?

    </Useless rhetorical question.>

    by bramish on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 08:11:03 PM PDT

    •  They don't want to be bothered (none / 0)

      using it?

      I'm on several academic maillists, and every fall, along about mid-October, we get the first plagarism reports. The 'paper-mill' papers are the easiest to find- you can usually get them by Googling the title and/or first line. There are ones that clearly come from a file at the frat house (I had one of those come in when I was teaching Freshman Comp. How lame is that, to cheat on a paper in Freshman Comp?) And there are sneakier ones- we usually have a couple of profs write in and say "Does this sound familiar to you? Anyone recognize this-" Last year some dumb kid cut and pasted whole paragraphs from an article by DW Robertson (a noted Chaucerian) and didn't understand how he got caught.

      But college professsors have an interest in weeding these behaviors out- I'm not convinced that newspaper editors do. Is there any compelling reason for them to actually read letters (other than to scan them for obscenity, etc) before printing them?

      Anyone here in the editorial office of a paper? I'd be interested in knowing how publication decisions are made.

      "It is our choices Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." -Albus Dumbledore ~~~~~~~~~ http://slugcrossings.blogspot.com/

      by Lainie on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 09:42:25 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    •  Maybe someone with some extra bandwidth... (none / 0)

      ...could set up a mail service for newspaper editors to check their letters against. They could forward a copy of all their mail to the service, and it could mail them back an alert if any of the the letters matched a database of form letters...

      by Abou Ben Adhem on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 10:01:00 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  Wanna bet (none / 0)

    that this won't get reported on?  

    So now we have reporters w/o guts and editors too lazy to check this kind of baaaa-baaaa letter writing campaign.

    The only ones I don't blame are the GOP...at least they recognize that they can lead all of their sheep to the slaughterhouse with the lambs smiling the whole damn way.  (That's just good recognition of your base.)

    To think, or not to think....that is the election.

    by The Free Man on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 08:46:57 PM PDT

  •  Fight back.. (none / 0)

    ..write a sob story how Bush is personally responsible for your loss of job, unemployment and health benefits.  And your son got shipped of to Iraq.

    Send it to those same 70 papers.

    "Strength and wisdom are not opposing values" - Bill Clinton.

    by RAST on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 09:17:23 PM PDT

  •  Hey Kos.. (4.00 / 3)

    I'm kind of tired of thinking up my own posts here.  I mean, that takes time, effort, and worst of all, original thought. Can you just create a bunch of different macros from which we can choose? We'll just mix & match to keep it fresh.

    Thanks. You're the best!

    :)

    The Matrix is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.

    by grover on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 09:20:34 PM PDT

  •  Not all papers are dumb (none / 1)

    Our local newspaper ran this editorial last week.

    We are fully aware that letters to the editor are a campaign tactic, part of the arsenal used to get a candidate into office.

    There were the days in which this tactic involved some subtlety. Many, many years ago, with the advent of the fax machine, someone at a local campaign meeting hit the wrong speed dial button on the fax machine. Neatly delivered to our office was the letter writing schedule for the coming weeks for the candidate, listing which supporter would be delivering what letter to the Sun newspaper for each week until the end of the campaign season. The campaign committee was red-faced when the faux pas was discovered.

    No more red faces.

    Last week when exploring some campaign Web sites, it was apparent that the gloves are off. One of the Web sites stated that any letters to the editor that got into the local papers would provide a real dollar value in support for the candidate mentioned.

    So much for subtlety.

    (0.00,-3.13) "I may disagree with what you have to say, but I shall defend, to the death, your right to say it."

    by Steve4Clark on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 09:44:37 PM PDT

    •  astroturf is everywhere.... (none / 0)

      .... even in minority and community newspapers. I was at the laundromat, reading a couple of small papers, and the same schmuck got his stale, prefab letters printed. They read like astroturf, off the bat; more importantly, that transmitter of propaganda didn't mention one damn word about the neighborhoods the papers featured, which would have been nice, as camoflauge. Don't forget to pick up your penny saver and smaller papers; fewer letters get sent to them, so they have more impact.

      by cgeye on Wed Aug 18, 2004 at 02:19:00 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  I don't know what's worse... (none / 0)

    ...the fact that so many people on the GOP side act like mindless automatons, or that so many newspapers willingy print such obvious talking points blather.

    veritas vos liberabit

    by WWGray on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 09:48:39 PM PDT

  •  My local paper was one of them... (4.00 / 3)

    Posted a comment the other night about how it felt like I was living in the twilight zone here (Iowa-Illinois Quad Cities) when I read the paper and hear the local wingnuts on talk radio.  Now I know why.  Our version of this letter appeared clear back in May.

    Wrote my own letter to the editor a couple of days ago.  Don't know if they'll print.  But I have a pretty good batting average.  It begins below...

    Voters must look beyond 30-second political ads and sound bytes, and determine "truth" for themselves.  During the South Carolina primary of 2000, voters received phone calls, asking if they would still support John McCain if they knew he had a black baby who was born out of wedlock.  While the callers were technically accurate, do you think voters would have answered differently if they knew the baby in question was from Bangladesh and had been adopted by the Senator and his wife?

    Given that many of the same people responsible are now supporting the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" fiasco, it's not surprising that Senator McCain has condemned the ad as "dishonest and dishonorable".  While the ad pictures Vets questioning whether Senator Kerry deserved his medals, it doesn't seem that any were actually present when they were earned.  You wouldn't know that just by watching the ad.

    Similarly, we hear about John Kerry's votes to cut back on the military.  But we don't hear about the larger military cuts that Dick Cheney was asking for at the time.  We hear about Kerry's vote against the $87 billion for our troops in Iraq.  But we don't hear about the Democrats fighting unsuccessfully to get a larger share of that money for our troops (in particular for body armor and Humvee armor), or to pay the bill by rolling back tax cuts on the top earning 1%.  This attempt at fiscal responsibility was soundly rejected by George Bush, who threatened to veto.  Senator Kerry's vote was never going to deny our troops anything.  But Bush's veto most certainly would have.

    We must all vote according to our own conscience.  But if that vote is an ill-informed one, we've done democracy a disservice.

    by SuperMom on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 09:52:42 PM PDT

    •  awesome letter (none / 0)

      supermom -

      that's an awesome letter.  it has a steady tone, it's precise, to the point, easy to understand, and void of any "angry" name-calling.

      I have to listen to air america via the web because the local radio stations in my solidly red state suck horribly or I listen to the radio station for the blind where they read the newspaper in it's entirety.  

      The local talk shows all basically serve up the "soup du jour" topic of the day sent out by the Rove machine.  It's unbearable the amount of illogical reasoning they dish out everyday.  If you took their logic for one topic and tried to apply it to the next, anybody with half a brain could follow that their reasons would cave through.  And any of the callers are basically "push polled" into offering their opinions.

      I would love ideas on how to get Air America on the air in a red state....that should be a thread all on it's own.

      by MFL on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 11:04:40 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    •  where in QC? (none / 0)

      I worked briefly for the QC Times - my wife worked for the competition ... Drop an e-mail to me if you can.  I'm curious what the political climate is like out there these days.

      the most comprehensive college hockey resource collegehockeynews.com

      by AdamW on Wed Aug 18, 2004 at 04:50:31 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      •  Sorry for the slow reply. (none / 0)

        Been reading kos for awhile, but just signed up recently.  Despite a decent IQ, apparently I was too stupid to see the "recent reply" section.  So I didn't realize you'd sent me one.

        I live on Locust about a block and a half from the St. Ambrose polling place, so I need to get some Kerry and Gluba signs in my front yard to match the signs for the local school board candidates.  I guess I became a political addict a couple of years ago, when we fought a losing battle to keep a couple of our inner city schools open.  

        We lost the battle (in part because the Times reporter they had covering it at the time had alot in common with the parrots in the national media right now).  But we won the war.  We used to have School Board votes that were 6 to 1 against common sense.  Thanks to a lot of hard work, we're down to only one of the six remaining.  We've installed our own candidates on the board now, and the first of them is now running for the Iowa senate.

        Politically, things have been interesting here for quite awhile.  I know back in January, we pretty much had our choice of meeting any of the candidates on any given weekend, and I have to say that I'm proud of how many Iowans took their responsiblity seriously back then.  And even more proud of how many of us took our children along to see the process.

        The Times supported Kerry in the caucus, and their recent editorials make me think they're inclined to do the same for the general.  But we have our share of wingnuts.  Can't say I've met any of them personally, but they love to call in and agree with Jim Fisher on everything, so they must be out there.  The encouraging thing though, is that it sounds like the same people calling every day, so I'm determined not to get discouraged.

        Still, I find it hard to believe that the polls could be so close here.  I've only found one person willing to admit to supporting Bush.  And he was visibly shaken when I mentioned that Bush had tried to cut combat pay after his "Mission Accomplished" moment.  I've got time to work on him though.  Wish me luck!

        by SuperMom on Fri Aug 27, 2004 at 06:48:09 PM PDT

        [ Parent ]

  •  Letter-writing in Ohio (none / 1)

    I'm helping to coordinate the letter-writing campaign here in central Ohio.  We don't give you full-on astroturf,  but we do provide data and sources to help you with your letter.  Hell, we'll even help you edit your letter so it's more likely to see print.  Check us out at OhioTalkingPoints.com

    by JBLIII on Tue Aug 17, 2004 at 11:19:57 PM PDT

  •  Get to work people (none / 1)

    Here's my letter to the (randomly chosen from the google search) quad city times:

    Sirs/Madames:

    You all should do your homework. a recent letter to the editor from Lynelle Stahlhut:

    http://www.qctimes.com/internal.php?story_id=1028184&c=28,1028184

    is naught but a word for word reproduction of a template of a form letter generated via the George Bush election machine at:

    http://www.georgewbush.com/Economy/WriteNewspapers.aspx?AgendaID=2

    Lest they remove this, here's the astonishingly similar (i.e., word for word) text plagiarized by Stahlhut:

    "The President's jobs and growth policies have put the economy on the road to recovery, but there is more work to be done. The President has outlined a six-point plan to create even more job opportunities for America's workers and keep America the best place in the world to do business. The plan includes: enabling families and businesses to plan for the future with confidence by making tax reductions permanent; making health care costs more affordable and predictable; reducing the burden of lawsuits on our economy; ensuring an affordable, reliable energy supply; streamlining regulations and paperwork requirements; and opening new markets for American products and services."

    You are one of more than 50 newspapers who blindly republished this Republican screed presented as an honest (not) opinion from an interested reader. Do a google search using the following lengthy phrase (cut and paste and put it in quotes):

    "New job figures and other recent economic data show that America's economy is strong and getting stronger - and that the President's jobs and growth plan is working. The Labor Department announced that employers added 288,000 new jobs in April. In total, over 1.1 million jobs have been added since August, with 8 consecutive months of gains."

    Shame on you and Stahlhut for being naught but mouth pieces for the George Bush re-election machine. You should change your name to the Quad City Stenographer rather than Quad City Times. Next time, hire real journalists for your paper's staff.

    (Missouri 2nd Congressional District)

    The Universe is a big place ... perhaps the biggest. -Kilgore Trout

    by fugitive on Wed Aug 18, 2004 at 09:03:58 AM PDT

    •  Disrespect gets letters ignored (none / 0)

      Insulting the journalists directly and suggesting the name change ensures that your letter doesn't printed, and decreases its value (in terms of convincing the editor).

      That last sentence ("Next time, hire real...") is totally unnecessary, as is pretty much that entire paragraph.

      Instead of directly assaulting the paper, I belive that it's more effective to present yourself as a disappointed reader.

      Your last paragraph could have been reworded:

      "I am very disappointed to see your paper and Stahlhut acting as mouth pieces for the George Bush re-election machine."

      And then end with a respectful request:

      "I hope that next time you will verify the submitted letters for plagarism using a simple Web search."

      by Astral on Wed Aug 18, 2004 at 02:13:45 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  Al Franken Show (none / 0)

    Someone just called into the Al Franken Show recommending that people take advantage of the resources so thoughtfully provided by B/C '04 and use it to write letters to the editor lambasting BushCo.

    That was a _big_ mistake, Bart. No children have ever meddled with the Republican Party and lived to tell about it. - R. Terwilliger

    by MrSnrub on Wed Aug 18, 2004 at 03:48:48 PM PDT

  •  Nice (none / 1)

    More good knowledge to know.

    Political News

    by dopies on Fri Sep 03, 2004 at 10:42:30 PM PDT

  •  Nice (none / 0)

    Good information for a recovering Nader supporter like myself.

    political news

    by blinds on Tue Sep 07, 2004 at 05:57:55 PM PDT

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