Media Conglomerates: Asking The Tough Questions.

The news of the last couple of days (besides Dan Rather's memogate) has been the contrasting picture painted by the Bush and Kerry campaigns concerning the situation in Iraq. Not surprisingly the Bush camp see's the situation as good and getting better; the Kerry camp see's the situation as bad and getting worse. And the national media? They have no idea who's right! Oh, they all have reporters on the ground there, but they don't leave the security of the green zone unless they are "embedded" along with the army or marines when they go out on patrol. And even then, their reports have to be censored by the Pentagon before broadcast and I'm not saying they shouldn't be censored for operational security reason's, it just sort of defeats the purpose of having a free and independent press if the reports are "presented" with such a close collaboration with the subject(s) of the story.

And this is why the media are left scratching their collective heads trying to discern who is portraying the most accurate picture in their campaign rhetoric. The corporate media just want to be loved, (is that so wrong!) because they want viewers in the 18-34 (predominately white) demographic to help them harvest those precious ad dollars, which is, after all their raison-d'etre.

So the fact that more of our guys were killed in September (so far) than August, and more guys were killed in August, than July, either means things are going well, or not so well, I guess depending on who you believe, but don't look for any help from the national media trying to decide.

And on a related note, the media have rolled over and given up more of their autonomy for the so-called Presidential debates. (See Lefty's blog for more.) And the beat goes on....

Tenuous Stability

That is now the best case scenario being presented by the latest National Intelligence Estimate for Iraq. So, for 200 billion dollars and misguided foriegn policy, the best we can expect is "tenuous stability" in Iraq. That doesn't seem like a fair trade. If we go back to the build-up to war, do you think the American people would have supported a war that has taken, so far, over 1000 US servicemen and women, for the stated goal of removing Saddam Hussein and replacing him with a "tenuous stability."

The country that benefits most from all this is, Iran. Ironically, one of the founding countries of the "axis of evil." The instability in Iraq makes it easier for radical Shiites from Iran to infiltrate and orginize and destabilize the US supported Iraqi government. And if the situation does stabilize to the point of actually being able to hold elections, the majority of the country are already Shiites, and therefore would undoubtedly elect a government more friendly to Iran. So democracy in Iraq would actually benefit Iran, more than the United States.

But who's holding their breath for elections in Iraq in Janurary? Not me. We'll do well to have free and fair elections in this country in November.

Pay No Attention To The Mushroom Cloud Behind The Curtain

Colin Powell, dutiful soldier that he is, assured everyone on Meet the Press, that the explosion and cloud seen over North Korea, was caused by a forest fire. Hmmmm. Well, I'm sure he's right. I'm sure he based his announcement on the latest US intelligence. No, this was not the North Koreans testing a weapon of mass destruction, and if anyone should know, it's a senior Bush administration official. They know from WMD.
I'm sure it was the same team that prepared the Secretary of State for his UN presentation against Iraq, with his tales of weapons stockpiles and mobile laboratories. Of course today in testimony before Congress, Powell said it was unlikely that we will ever find weapons stockpiles in Iraq.
I liked his non-answer when Tim Russert asked the Secretary if he still thought the invasion was a good idea in retrospect. Or more specifically would Powell have recommended going into Iraq had he known that there were no WMD's. Of course he wouldn't, and no one would. But then Powell can't just come right out and say this in the middle of a campaign, both on the ground in Iraq, and for the White House. I'm sure Powell was wishing Zell Miller had been by his side when Russert started with all the questions about Iraq.
I can see it now:
Russert: According to the 9/11 commision,Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with the attacks in New York and Washington....

Miller: Why you communist, pinko, spit-ball throwing, terrorist loving, son-of -a- bitch, meet me outside!

It would be funny if it weren't so goddamn sad. Meanwhile, there's that odd shaped cloud looming in our horizon.

From The Beginning

I know it's not fashionable to criticize the war in Iraq in the middle of a presidential election. I know there is no room for politics on the battlefield. But war somehow manifest itself in the body politic. And this is how it should be. The most important decision a country makes, is the decision to send it's sons and daughter's in harms way.
So I believe everybody should contribute to the debate. We all pay the price, so to speak, so we should all make the decision. And this idea that once we start something, all debate should cease makes no sense. If we started something by debating its merits, it stands to reason that we should conduct the policy under those same constraints. Having said that, yes, of course I support our troops 100%. This is one of the biggest lies perpetrated in this campaign- the idea that if you don't support the administration, you don't support the troops. Sickening!
But pointing out that the reasons for war as stated by the administration in the beginning were all wrong, makes you no less a patriot. On the contrary, I think the patriot wants his country to be RIGHT about it's stated reasons for war. We should want the country to be RIGHT about who we are fighting in the war on terror.

I never believed that the case was made to go into Iraq at the time we did. And now, after the fact, we see why the case wasn't made. No weapons of mass destruction and no connection to 9/11. Lies lies lies.

It makes me sick. And a lot of people, ( a majority according to the latest polls) feel safer with this administration. They don't mind the lies. Or they refuse to acknowledge them. Or they are scared. Or they just don't care.

Republican Doctor Saves Bill Clinton's Life

Dr. Craig Smith has donated $2000 dollars to the Bush campaign, but today he saved Bill Clinton's life by performing quadruple by-pass surgery on the former president. I can hear the Coulter's and Limbaugh's and Hanity's now- " Dr. Smith has now passed into the ranks of the RINO'S!" He may have donated to the cause, but he has given aid and comfort to the enemy. How dare he save one of the leaders of the opposition, in the middle of a full blown war!

The right loves to dress up their rhetoric in military terms, or just dress up in general. Like when the president dressed up in a flight suit on the Abraham Lincoln.

I finally got to see the video of the Zell Miller/Chris Mathews exchange. Holy shit! I thought Zell's eyes were going to pop out of his head. They probably were because Karl Rove's hand was stuck so far up his ass.