From Atrios today:

So Predictable

This past week gave us a look at how things will be going forward. The McCain campaign will inject a narrative, and the donut & BBQ loving press will dutifully type it up, completely making up facts to do so if necessary.

And we're going to have to start creating 360 degree shitstorms around them when they do.

The problem is that so many on this progressive/left/democratic blog have been so distracted helping the media do this, or heck, even inventing controversies, that we're missing the reason why we're here -- to help elect democrats.

It was a hell of a day here in Louisiana.  I discovered I had a recently installed rootkit.  I'm not sure what tipped me off.  Maybe it was the DVD burner opening every 30 seconds.  Maybe it was the snide comments I found when I looked for evidence of tampering.  I've always known I was too lax in my security, but I never had cause to worry.  The extent of the damage to my network humbled me in ways I do not wish to describe.  I only lost approximately 40 gigs of legal ROIO (the other 3 terrabytes of legal music is kept external, for just such an event).  I dedicated this day to tightening security... 14 hours of absolute tedium.  I am not done, but it's a start.

This diary doesn't address political themes.  I am aware all major news outlets are doing their best to get John McCain elected.  I have seen the lies and lack of credibility.  I have seen reports that merely repeat McCain press statements.  The right-wing controls the media now, much in the same way the left has been falsely accused of controlling it for so long.  I don't think they have a leg to stand on regarding that issue now, but still I find references to it.  Fanaticism knows no shame.

Tech talk and diary standards rant after the flip.

Here's what to do about the smearing of Obama by the MSM and GOP: FORK OVER SOME FREAKIN' MONEY!!

Simple, aint it? It is the only way to combat the Media smears like the recent flip-flop-flap. Think of it this way: What if Obama had enough money to answer every single smear each with its own 30 second spot. And what if those spots were aired over the next few months during shows like the Olympics (on Track & Field and Gymnastic nights) and/or Redskins at Giants NFL Opener Sept. 4.

So Chuck Hagel is saying his ideas are closer to Obama's, but he doesn't plan to endorse either candidate.  Could mean he's still trying to negotiate himself a spot on the ticket (seems unlikely), or he doesn't want to offend his friend John McCain or hurt himself further within the GOP, or he wants to burnish his non-partisan credentials by being not even partisan enough to support a presidential candidate.

Who knows?  But it occurs to me that Hagel could draw some more of the attention he seems to relish, and earn some good will from congressional leadership, if he stays neutral but pipes up every now and then to slap back some of Joe Lieberman's ridiculous attacks on Barack Obama.

Picture it:

This will be short.

A year ago when the media insisted that Obama was an "empty suit" with no clear positions, it would drive me crazy.  Having been a volunteer for his campaign from the very beginning, I was very aware of his positions.  I had seen him speak numerous times, both in person, online and on television.  I had heard him make definitive statements about what he believes in, and what he plans to do.  

I could not understand why the media refused to acknowledge that his speeches were more than just inspirational platitudes.  "How could these people be so stupid?", I would think to myself.  I guess I was just naive.  It hadn't occurred to me that by keeping the general public ignorant of Obama's positions they were setting him up for the most absurd media smear campaign imaginable.

"Your future dream is a shopping scheme."

The last few media creations are far more troubling than those of which I am previously aware. This is because I consider them to be wholly fabricated. Where misinterpretation, deliberate misinterpretation, exaggeration, ignorance and misunderstanding have been the modus operandi of the press, we have moved into new territory. And it is the ease with which it has been done that is frightening. And I am not talking about the blogosphere or the realm of think tanks or the unrepentently biased wing of the media. Some may say it has been this way all along, but I perceive quite a shift. The most recent stirs have been the refine my policies flap, the nonexistent mortgage story, the Wesley Clark remarks and the campaign financing issue. The way the MSM has addressed these stories is beyond disturbing.

My dad used to have this old boat my grandfather has used to troll for shrimp.  On the back it had a little Johnson 75 hp motor, which is perfect for trolling, but not very great for water skiing.  After we would fish or troll, my dad would let me and my brother out the back for some ski time.  Because of the little motor, getting up on skis involved being dragged for about 80 yards underwater before the motor had enough power to get you on top.  With our media today, let me warn you, that's what this summer is going to be like.

Like anything in life, perspective is important.

Lookee what Forbes is reporting:

PARIS (Thomson Financial) - Leaders of the Colombian FARC rebel movement were paid millions of dollars to free Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages, Swiss radio said on Friday, quoting 'a reliable source'.

The 15 hostages released on Wednesday by the Colombian army 'were in reality ransomed for a high price, and the whole operation afterwards was a set-up,' the radio's French-language channel said.

Saying the United States, which had three of its citizens among those freed, was behind the deal, it put the price of the ransom at some $20 million.

The UK's Daily Mail also mentions this.  

UPDATE: Per Davefromqueens -- the London Times sez BushCo paid the ransom!

So on Digg right now a story about a supposed 100+ mpg Mustang has hit the front page.  Stories like this are the perfect illustration of how our news media has degraded into the organizations that repeat the Bush administration's lies.

I believe it was Emerson who wrote that "a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."

Yesterday, our nation's media showed why they think Emerson is full of shit. The truth, according to the Washington Press Corps(e), is that politicians show that they are big-minded and serious by never, ever, changing their views--no matter what.

[Crossposted at www.ihatwhatyoujustsaid.com]

It is not enough for the Corporate Media to lap up this Flip Flop crap that the Neo-cons push, now they are targeting our community!  Daily Kos is under attack from the Neo-cons.  
Anderson Cooper was pushing this stupid premise that Barack has shifted and Flipped his position on Iraq.  BS!  He did not say that, it is being pushed by the Republican media.
On that note, the republicans thought they would be cute and degrade Daily Kos Bloggers.
JOIN ME after the jump for a look at this nonsense.

This is my first diary, so I hope you will forgive my mistakes.  I have been reading comments from supposed Obama supporters on different sites, mostly this one and HuffPo, and have become more and more distressed. While there are some who are looking at Obama's comments and positions since winning the primary with an open mind, there are many who are, in my humble opinion, being herded quite easily down the chute by the corporate owned media to their own destruction.

Please follow below if you will allow me my rant...

Once on a charter fishing boat off Miami, I noticed a discreet sign on the topdeck:

Marriages performed by the Captain are valid only for the duration of the voyage.

I assume the same protocol holds true for a campaign bus such as the "Straight Talk Express." All the journalists who have fallen in love with John McCain — to the point of being blinded to his endearing faults, contradictions, blunders, and closet Bushism — will eventually go back to their wives, and husbands, but mostly wives.

On Monday a tragedy happened in my community, Greenville, SC.  A beautiful 8 year old girl named Dymia Woody was sexually assaulted and killed. She was found in a closet of an abandoned mobile home.    Another child, a fourteen year old boy has been arrested and charged in the case.  Below is the story as reported by our local NBC affiliate:

CNN:

With the dust having finally settled after the prolonged Democratic presidential primary, a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll shows Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama locked in a statistical dead heat in the race for the White House.

With just over four months remaining until voters weigh in at the polls, the new survey out Tuesday indicates Obama holds a narrow 5-point advantage among registered voters nationwide over the Arizona senator, 50 percent to 45 percent. That represents little change from a similar poll one month ago, when the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee held a 46-43 percent edge over McCain.

Nate links us to a primer by the National Council on Public Polls that tells us how media should report on polls:

Certainly, if the gap between the two candidates is less than the sampling error margin, you should not say that one candidate is ahead of the other. You can say the race is "close," the race is "roughly even," or there is "little difference between the candidates." But it should not be called a "dead heat" unless the candidates are tied with the same percentages. And it certainly is not a “statistical tie” unless both candidates have the same exact percentages [...]

When the gap between the two candidates is more than the error margin but less than twice the error margin, you should say that Candidate A "is ahead," "has an advantage" or "holds an edge." The story should mention that there is a small possibility that Candidate B is ahead of Candidate A.

Obama is ahead in this poll. There is a chance the poll is wrong, given the 3.5% margin of error, but when the poll says Obama is ahead by five points, it means something, and it's not the same as if the poll was 45-45.

Furthermore, the Pollster.com national poll composite currently has Obama leading 48.5 - 43.9, just shy of the 5-point margin in the latest CNN poll. In other words, chances are that its results are not an outlier.

Of course, CNN desperately wants their dead heat. It's good for ratings.

The pundits with not much to do during the political slow season have been reading the tea leaves to see how far Barack Obama is tacking to the center in order to reposition himself for the general election:

Most of us don't really need any more examples to know how far our media has strayed from it's traditional role of informing the public and acting as the public's watchdog because we've already seen far too many examples of that fact. But for me, A Media Tale of Two Generals is about a subject far too important for me to let it go without comment.