Mission Accomplished 2.0 - The Big Big Turning Point

I know that this may seem a bit "lame" to some, a bit silly or even pointless to others - but I think that this should be addressed.

Sean Hannity ( just moments ago ) challenge Barack Obama to not only come on Hannity and Colmes, but offered the co-hosting spot to him.  He also offered the entire 3 hours of his radio program, as well as the full hour of Hannity's America.

-----> More below the fold

We all keep hearing how Comcast is dropping MSNBC from its basic line-up and only offering it to their digital cable subscribers. If we work together as a united front we can hold Comcast accountable for their action and restore a balance to basic cable.

It's an early morning here at my desk, as I've just finished editing several of my team's articles. They are a team of student journalists, rising high school juniors and seniors, responsible, bright students of color. The children are the future, and many of these students will eventually make their impressions and contributions, with their pens in hand, and their ears tuned in to Hip-Hop music.

Tuesday, the rap legend NaS released his "Nigger" album, I haven't bought it yet, but my (blue, pink, green, red) friends who got it say it rocks, and I will buy it because NaS is my favorite rapper. I ask high schoolers what they think about the title and it doesn't really offend anybody. They don't want a white person calling them by that name, but most of these students call each other that. This is so passe.

It almost seems picture perfect that Reverend Jackson, who has so denounced the use of the so-called "nN" word, would be shown using it himself. And this latest shoe to drop reveals what we young ones have known all along - that objections to the word are more about politics than pain.

Jesse Jackson is not without his problems, but he's been a Lion of the Civil Rights movement, a pain in the Right's Rear End, and a far more tasteful dresser than Al Sharpton, so I've always liked him.  When O'Reilly broke the tape, that didn't change.  Instead, what caught my attention was the way Fox News was presenting the material.  It was out of context and obviously edited to remove a section tape.  Why?

O'Reilly's explanation was that the edited section was immaterial to the discussion of intergenerational conflict within the African-American community.  A topic on which he has reported with so much passion in the past.  He said:

"We're not out to get Jesse Jackson.  We're not out to embarrass him...if we were, we would have used what we have"
[emphasis mine]

It was at that moment that I knew he was out to get Jesse Jackson.  

Cliff Kincaid is an editor at the rabidly conservative Accuracy in Media and the president of America’s Survival, an anti-United Nations group. He is also the author of one of the most dementedly hilarious articles I've read all year.

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Amazing at this late date in Bush's administration that you still, on occasion, see Bush '04 bumper/window stickers on cars.  Do you ever see these?  I saw a little "W 04" window decal on the back window of a pickup truck on my way to work this morning.  Are you like me? -- I can't help but drive alongside such a vehicle and take a quick peak at the driver.  Of course it's always a white male - draw your own conclusions.

Approximately $150 million dollars in missing assets and unverified "intercompany" loans in the range of $275-550 million in 2002 alone. Blatant Sarbanes Oxley Act violations, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations, and the devaluing of a company’s stock from $20 to only 1 CENT!! ; all of this can now be put on Metromedia International Group’s resume` (Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. and its subsidiary, News America, were listed as the largest outside or not-Metromedia-employed controlling shareholders). There were MASSIVE losses for investors in Metromedia International Group, many of whom were small time, private investors who used their retirement money for this stock (Enron comes to mind...except it was only worth $1 billion and this company had assets worth OVER 6 TIMES THE ASSETS OF ENRON’S OR MORE).

In the past month or so I have noticed a distrubing trend on DKos of folks writing diaries of completely made up stuff that try and make McCain, the President and other Republicans look bad.  I suppose some of them are so outrageously false that they aren't meant to be taken seriously by anyone, but these things tend to proliferate throughout the Internet and take on lives of their own. I think it is simply bad form to be inventing stories about Republicans to try and make them look worse than they already are.  Recent examples below the fold.

The quote of the day is from Fox News executive John Moody, and it's about Fox political commentator Karl Rove.

Lately, Larry Johnson and his PUMA brigade cannot get enough of Fox News.  Neil Cavuto, in particular, has suddenly in their eyes become one of the most honest and forthright news people evah!  They love him because he continues to invite the PUMA malcontents on night after night -  because he believes in them - not because he's a rabid, lying partisan who wants to destabilize and split the Democratic party!  Oh no, no, no!  He's just extremely fair and balanced!!  Larry and the PUMAs have not, I repeat not, sold their souls to the devil or anything like that.

But what's this?  Oh noes! How embarassing for Larry!  He's featured in the movie Outfoxed slamming Fox News!

no media person blasted fox news for being outrageous and inappropriate for the "terrorist fist jab", or the muslim misattributions, or the spurious connections to "american terrorists", or any of that.

not a single word was said outside the crazy-liberal-blogisphere.

but then it appears in a parody on the new yorker cover, and they can't stop taking righteous stands.

there can not be any greater evidence of the fox accomodating dna of the media.  any outrage can be repeated endlessly on fox - they are expected to do it.  and the effective outrages can become conventional wisdom.  the media treats fox like a farm league for political hatchet messaging.  and if fox can get a lie out there that's unavoidable, the media will bring the absurdity to the big time.  

god, i wish we had a thinking media.

I don't really believe in "working the refs." I know it's sloppy, dangerous and bad politics and reeks of whining and victimhood. But there are times I get so frustrated with the news media's framing of the two candidates.

McCain was recently quoted as saying, Social Security Is A "Disgrace". But it barely registered in the mainstream media. It got me thinking, can you imagine the media scrum had Obama said that?

Once in a while one is privileged to catch for a micromoment, an epiphanous glimpse of stark ugly reality.  The kinds of things that pass for normal and go unnoticed until you realize your moral compass isn't dead or de-magnetized.

It happened while channel hopping late night in L.A.  The "markets" in Europe are open and a panel of Fox market watchers was in high gudgeon. Exactly the cue to channel up. But as the television was responding to the channel change I thought I saw something positive about pawn shops in the information bar across the bottom. The one called a chiron I learned in the last two years.

And low and behold:

( cross-posted at my personal blog 43-Ideas-Per-Minute )

The question comes to me more often than not - why is honesty punished while 'pretending' to be so is rewarded?

Pretty simple question that can be used in varous situations.

This time, we see the question manifest itself at the time of Tony Snow's death.  

It is not suprising in the least that many conservative blogs have - and will continue to use - the occassion of his death to besmirch, smear, and do everything but deficate on anyone and everyone with opposing political viewpoints who don't stop what they are doing and say something positive about the man.

You see, this is where conservatives and everyone else differs.

As Fox News's liberal voice, Alan Colmes has taken a lot of abuse from liberals over the years for being a pushover for his partner/adversary in their prime-time "debate" show, Sean Hannity.

But just by stating his positions and maintaining his good cheer against the unprovoked insults and contempt that is directed at him, Colmes often succeeds in exposing Hannity for the classless bully--and elitist that he is.

This is going to be a short one ladies and gentlemen.
If you want to think about slamming his record, fine.
If you want to condemn him for being a Bushbot, go for it.
But...

The first thing I heard was the CNN teaser “Jesse Will Neuter Obama.”
I was really scared.  I knew Barack was in pretty darn good shape, but against Jesse?
To drop that guy he’d need a pretty big sling shot.

When I asked a friend, “What’s all this fuss about Jesse threatening to make Barack sing Soprano? Isn’t that unfair – an underweight Senator against a professional wrestler?” My friend screamed back,  “WHAT? No stupid – not THAT Jesse -  JACKSON Jesse.”
“Oh… then never mind - Barack can take THAT guy – the man must be as old as McCain.” My friend walked away, apparently late for some appointment.

So anyway, I decided to look more deeply into the story.  First of all, it turned out that my friend was correct. The story was about Rainbow Jesse – not Black and Blue Jesse (who’s also back in the news lately – something about Minnesota)