Yesterday Howard Kurtz criticized Lou Dobbs for the entire birther thing. The amazing part is that this came on the same network as Dobbs:
I got to give CNN kudos above MSNBC for this. They were able to air both sides, including public criticizing. I wonder if MSNBC will ever follow suit?
This whole birther movement is just plain craziness. I equate them with the “truthers” who constantly try to say 9/11 was some big Dr. Evil style plot put together by Bush and Co. There is one big difference though. The truthers never received the support of big names in either political party. The birthers seems to have more and more Republicans signing on, and now that includes the former vice-President’s daughter.
There are mixed reports on this, but CNN and FOX are both reporting that she is leaving office at the end of the month. The reason is that Palin feels she can be “more effective outside of government”. Not really sure how that would play into a 2012 run. Not only that, but the timing is very curious. A Friday afternoon dump on a holiday weekend. I got a feeling there is more there than meets the eye.
UPDATE:
There’s a lot of speculation (and wishing) from the right that she is doing this so she can run for President in 2012. Let’s think about that for a minute. Governor is the only major office she has held and is quitting that to run for President. Now you can say that “well Obama quit to become President”, yet Obama remained in office as a Senator and ran his campaign. So did John McCain, John Kerry, Bill Clinton. The list goes on. If this is truly her motive then I would chalk it up there with John McCain “suspending” his campaign last year.
This is rather amazing:
A new national poll suggests that nearly three-quarters of all Americans support the plan to withdraw most U.S. combat troops from Iraqi cities and towns, even though most believe that the troop movements will lead to an increase in violence in that country.
But nowhere near as amazing as this:
"This plan has widespread bipartisan support," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "Seventy two percent of Democrats and 74 percent of Republicans favor this move."
Republicans support the drawdown in Iraq more than Democrats do. The difference is within the MOE, but it does put a big crimp in Cheney’s claims that Obama is making us less safe.
Oh and Iraq is really going down hill. I mean look at this violence:
The only ones that want us there is Dick Cheney and the rest of his war-mongering, draft-dodging friends.
Bill O. went after CNN this week, claiming that they never really covered the assassination of the army recruiter in Arkansas. CNN’s Rick Sanchez decided to call Bill O. out on this:
So Bill O. did a very unusual step in issuing a correction last night.
Usually Bill just chalks it up as “I am right and they are wrong – period”, despite mounds of evidence to the contrary. It’s just pretty funny that FOX, who is the constant ratings winner, seems to have to resort to lying, and in some cases slandering, the competition.
Tucker Carlson wants to be the next Huffington Post:
Carlson will launch TheDailyCaller.com, which he said would focus on reporting on the Obama administration and "adding facts to the conversation."
"We are a general-interest newspaper-format style site," Carlson told conservative bloggers at the Heritage Foundation on Tuesday. "There just aren't enough people covering this administration and telling the people what's going on."
Carlson, a former conservative and libertarian pundit (most notably on CNN), touted his site as a home for basic reporting.
Should we start penning the obituary yet?
The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey, released Monday, suggests that 70 percent have a favorable opinion of Powell, who was Secretary of State during President George W. Bush's first term, and who served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Persian Gulf War.
Only 30 percent of those polled have a favorable view of Limbaugh, the popular conservative radio talk show host, with 53 percent saying they hold an unfavorable opinion.
In poll numbers released Thursday, 37 percent say they have a favorable opinion of Dick Cheney, with 55 percent indicating they hold an unfavorable view of the former vice president.
So Powell’s approval rating is higher than Cheney and Limbaugh’s combined. This should serve as a sign to the GOP – drop Cheney and Limbaugh and embrace Powell. Powell is the kind of person who would help bring people into the GOP fold, unlike the divisive Cheney Limbaugh show. That’s what the GOP needs to become a party of relevance again.
Of course none of that will happen though. The GOP is ran by a pack of cowards. If one of them says anything that can be construed as negative against the Rushssiah then they must flock to his airwaves, kneel down and kiss his royal fat ass.
That brings us to what should be a new DNC tag line:
If the Republicans can’t stand up to Rush Limbaugh, how can we trust them to stand up to nations and terrorists?
Yup – that would be a crushing message.
Following up from my previous post, I think I have figured out why people don’t watch Morning Joe (he does rank 3rd amongst the 3 cable stations).
The most common demographic you are going to find during the early morning hours are people getting ready for work. They are on a limited time schedule and need to be able to absorb the most information possible. The can’t sit there and waste time hearing one person go on about a single issue over and over again, making you think the record is stuck.
Add to that the time of the year. People are doing more things outside, so their biggest chance of catching cable news is in the morning. They have limited watching time and want the most info, since they have the kids soccer game after work, or maybe cut the grass, or any number of outdoor activities this time of year is accustom for.
I got thinking about this while switching between CNN and MNSBC this morning. It turned into my own little “unofficial survey”. Here’s what I noticed. In one hour Morning Joe covered the same story nonstop – Pelosi and the CIA. During that same time CNN covered that story, but also the Rumsfeld memos, the decline of popularity of the GOP, teachers possibly abusing handicap children, and a few other topics.
Honestly I must say I felt so much more informed watching CNN than I did watching the Morning Joe “worry about only what I want” show.
I have had Morning Joe on for about 45 minutes now. Guess what the subject has been? Nancy Pelosi and the CIA crap. The constant whining of “how can she lash out at the CIA” is getting very old.
Scarborough has essentially dedicated his last 4 shows to this subject. This morning they are talking about the statement from Leon Panetta like it was just released this morning, when it came out last Friday. It really reminds me of some creepy stalked infatuation.
Anyways I don’t think I can handle Morning Joe any longer. I am going to have to stomach the change and go back to CNN or maybe even FOX.
UPDATE
So I decide to switch on CNN and guess what they are talking about? The Rumsfeld memos. Get that Joe – there is other news out there. Perhaps someone from MSNBC will read this and tell Scarborough to start covering other stuff or find a new job. Even FOX can get off of a single story every once in awhile.
You would never guess that if you went on the Sunday talk shows lineup:
ABC's "This Week" — Retired Marine Corps Gen. James Jones, the president's national security adviser; Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
___
CBS' "Face the Nation" — Former Vice President Dick Cheney.
___
NBC's "Meet the Press" — Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai; Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.
___
CNN's "State of the Union" — Gen. David Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command; Sens. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and Bob Casey, D-Pa.
Kind of gives you a nostalgic Bush-era feeling, doesn’t it? Oh wait – that isn’t nostalgia, that’s nausea.
Like it or not, copyright infringement is against the law. So what happens when a copyright holder has their content removed from YouTube? Well if you are a Republican you urge your readers to ignore the law:
In the meantime, I encourage every reader with a YouTube account to upload this video to YouTube. I encourage every blogger reading this to embed this same video to your own site.
His argument of “fair use” does deserve some merit, but encourging people to ignore the wishes of the copyright holder (CNN) is not the way to go. We have a court system, and if this person feels so strongly about the issue then their is an appeals process – both through YouTube and the DMCA.
This CNN reporter deserves an award for her bravery and honesty:
The guy going on about Lincoln was a classic. As Cesca points out, Lincoln helped create the income tax.
I stayed glued to CNN watching this story unfold last night:
A pilot who allegedly stole a Cessna plane from a Canadian flight school and was pursued for hours across the Midwest by fighter jets, was taken into custody after he landed on a Missouri highway late today and took off running, an FBI spokesman said.
The pilot landed the single engine Cessna 172 on U.S. Highway 60 in Ellsinore, Mo., at approximately 9:50 p.m. ET, and was caught by Missouri State Highway Patrol officers, FBI spokesman Rich Kolko said.
I kept thinking “high altitude pursuit” while watching this. But then some other details came out, details that send the wingnuts running to grab the tinfoil:
The pilot was identified as Yavuz Berke, formerly known as Adam Leon, a 31-year-old naturalized Canadian citizen who was born in Turkey, Kolko said.
OH MY GOD – A BROWNIE!!!! It’s 9/11 all over again!
One of the craziest wingnuts, Atlas Shrugs writes:
A Turkish man steals a plane in Canada, flies into US airspace and is not confronted by US fighters for 20 minutes. He fails to obey commands and is not shot down. He lands when nearly out of fuel and is apprehended running on foot. .
(hat tip Frank)
Sleep well kiddies
Yes shoot it down! Don’t these fighter pilots know anything?
But then you start getting a few more facts of the case. You know facts – those things right wingers despise:
Burke was apparently treated for depression last Friday and left his girlfriend a good-bye note, Canadian officials told the U.S. government. Berke's vehicle was left at the airport in Canada with the keys still in it.
[SNIP]
(photo credit: Reuters)
Finally Americans get to bear witness to some of the costs of war:
The arrival of remains of Staff Sgt. Phillip A. Myers, a 30-year-old supporting Operation Enduring Freedom, at Dover Air Force Base at 11 p.m. today marked the first time that the transfer of any of the nearly 5,000 U.S. troops who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan was open to the media.
Last night I heard some right winger on CNN saying how this was so disrespectful to the family, and that will be their talking point. They forget that the family has to approve this. For some families its a mechanism to cope, while others feel it helps show the country what war really is. It doesn’t matter the reason, it only matters that the family gets to decide, and some right winger who champions for war but never fights has no right to tell them otherwise.
I was looking at some local news this morning, when I happened to head to the page of our local FOX affiliate. When I looked on their page, something really stuck out at me:
It appears that our local FOX station doesn’t trust FOX News for their news source, so instead they go to CNN. That says something about Murdoch’s company.
