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July 27, 2008

Comments

Annoying Old Guy

Old Media's perception of reality is radically different than mine. I got in to an argument with a practicing journalist on a topic related to this, and his counter argument was that the current Obama mania is no different than the love affair Old Media had with former President Reagan back in 1980-1988, and that there was no crush on Clinton (who was apparently got ten times the vitriol from the press that Reagan did). That's not quite the same as my memory of those decades.

kim

Benen did note that when on air news strayed into opinion it was negative for Obama. He's not quite so self contradictory as he seems, but he is still completely full of it.
=================================

kim

AOG, and what a pitiful counter argument even if it were true. It's supposed to be a good that the press is so in the tank? What is the matter with these people?
======================

pagar

Has any one actually seen one of these MSM articles that was negative on Obama?

Sara

Ann Althouse on Frank Rich:

Barack Obama's overseas trip seems like the scenario for some Borat-style movie to Frank Rich.

He never would have been treated as a president-in-waiting by heads of state or network talking heads if all he offered were charisma, slick rhetoric and stunning visuals. What drew them instead was the raw power Mr. Obama has amassed: the power to start shaping events and the power to move markets, including TV ratings.
Don't forget the power to turn back the rising oceans!

You know, I just passed up one breakfast spot — here in Beverly Hills — because they had Chris Matthews — Chris Matthews! — effusing off the flat-screen TV on the wall. Now, I'm in a café that is mercifully free of television, awash in mellow music. There's no thrill-up-the-leg Matthewzing to get on my nerves as I try to inject the appropriate amount of caffeine into my veins.

But there is still Frank Rich. Oh! The Power! The Raw Power! Ah! Stunning! Slick! And oh-so-manly POWER!

Sorry, Frank. He's married.


kim

Heh, sounds like Rich thinks Obama is creating his own reality. I guess we won't hear any more about the 'reality-based' crowd, as if.
=====================================

kim

I don't think libs and progressives even pretend anymore that the press is unbiased; they just revel in it. They consider you naive if you expect evenhandedness even on news, not just opinion, where the imbalance is not at all subtle. The journalists still pay mock respect to getting both sides of an issue out, but that's often all it is, something on the politically incorrect side is mockable.

Then again, where would internet conversations be without the MSM to get it wrong. We'd still be in the coffee shops.
===================================

sbw

Point one: I sent a couple of graphs of fawning Obama coverage from a nameless wireservice to a nameless executive of the nameless wireservice. The subject of my email said, "I think I'm going to hurl!"

That executive passed on my comment to editors noting that coverage should not join the mania.

Point two: A transcript of any NPR coverage of national and international news will find overwrought words every single day.

I suggest that, one, the methods of these political scientists will not stand up to scrutiny and, two, it's not worth the scrutiny.

Sara

Today is one of the biggest races in NASCAR, The Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Speedway. Between 400,000 and half a million in the stands, millions and millions watching on TV. Take a quick look at the race on ESPN and tell me how many of that sea of humanity do you think plan to vote for the Big O?

glenda waggoner

Sara:

On point, exactly!!! Nascar fans are Patriots with common sense. If only, our
politicians of every stripe were. Go #88!

Elliott

Some probably buy at Big O, though.

MikeS

The Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University, where researchers have tracked network news content for two decades, found that ABC, NBC and CBS were tougher on Obama than on Republican John McCain during the first six weeks of the general-election campaign.
28% of the statements were positive for Obama and 72% negative.

The data must have been corrupted by all those bullsh*t stories claiming Obama had changed his position on one issue or another. That lying liberal press is in the tank for McCain and Bushitler.

Soylent Red

I don't think libs and progressives even pretend anymore that the press is unbiased; they just revel in it.

The real moonbats rant about how MSM is in the pocket of conservative interests. Apparently one or two articles a month badmouthing the Obamessiah makes for conservative bias.

OT...

Today I looked at the bottom of my water bottle, from which I have been drinking for the last 6 months, and discovered the dreaded number 7. Since I keep it in a neoprene sleeve, it went unnoticed.

No use crying over spilled genetic damage, but I was wondering what all of you JOMers think of stainless bottles. I have an aluminum backpacking bottle, but it is a dent magnet, and I'm not crazy about going to a different form of plastic (number 7 was safe until it wasn't).

clarice

Let's review the bidding, Soylent:
1. For good health you need to be hydrates.
2. The plastic water comes in is supposedly bad for the environment altho increasingly it is recycled into useful products.
3. The reusable Lexan bottles are reportedly harmful.
4. Many stainless bottles are lined with epoxy which is also bad for you.
Conclusion--you will die from dehydration or chemicals if you do not use the throw away bottles.

Sara

things we learned about barack obama this past week

His whirlwind foreign tour that brought him to Jordan, Israel, Germany, France, Britain, Iraq and Afghanistan, finally put to rest the question as to where those seven extra states were that he thought he had visited.

More ...

jimmyk

Has any one actually seen one of these MSM articles that was negative on Obama?

Headlines from negative articles on Obama:

"Obama: He cares too much"
"Obama mistaken in thinking he'd made mistake"
"Michelle on Barack: He works too hard"
"Obama too nice for presidential campaign?"

Soylent Red

Screw it Clarice...

I'm going to find an aborigine and have him carve me one out of a rock. At this point it probably doesn't matter since my DNA has been scrambled up and all my little uber-Soylents are going to come out with one eye and gills.

Seriously, I'm probably going over to a stainless one if I can find a way to get the metallic taste out of it.

pagar

I guess I just haven't been looking. It's easy to see now that JimmyK has pointed them out.

Imagine electing a president who cares too much. Obviously, no one would want a president who mistakenly thought he had made a mistake, that would definitely be a negative.

All work and no play makes one dull, so working too hard is definitely a negative.
A voter would certainly not want a president that was too nice. That does it for me, with all that negative stuff hanging over his head I will not be voting for Obama.

clarice

Soylent--I use a teflon pan to make the morning omelet; I smoked for decades; I eat bacon and other processed meats..I'm probably not the best person to ask--But I will note that science is working itself over to my side:sat fats are okay; margarine is bad for you; teflon's okay unless you smoke it; chocolate is good for you and so is wine and the Atkins diet.

Just saying'

sbw

Soylent, what is more important is whether or not you will be carrying the bottle.

If you are, go for light weight plastic and take your chances on the chemicals.

After all, most of us are going to end up dead eventually and, listening to Randy Pausch's Last Lecture, it's how you live the life you have that matters... and you're already doing quite well on that score.

Travel well.

AST

Once they've concluded that he's our next president, it's OK to go negative on him. They've completely the coronation and are on to the criticism.

kyle

Let us not overlook the irony here...the very same edition of the LAT which featured Mr. Rainey's attempt to ignore the last several months of reality included editor's notes telling us that the Real Estate section (which first appeared in 1901) and the Opinion/Book Review sections would be folded into other sections of the paper (with Opinion to be included in the News section--like it wasn't there already). One reason revenue and subscribers have plummeted is the inclusion of such poorly reasoned and reported articles like Mr. Rainey's.

Thomas Collins

It would be interesting to see what the study was coding as negative nuggets of coverage on BWorldSaviorO. For example, suppose a mention that BWSO was modifying his positions to move to the center was coded as negative. That might have equal weight with a report on a McCain slip of the tongue. Yet, MSM might underreport the many slips of the tongue of BWSO. So, the coverage might seem to be equally negative, but would actually be favoring BWSO by underreporting his slips.

In addition, some of the examples of bias are hard to prove. For example, what if BWSO had challenged McCain to a series of town meeting style debates but McCain had dodged them. I suspect that the MSM would have been trumpeting McCain's avoiding debates, but this would be tough to prove. What we do know is that BWSO's dodging McCain has not earned him negative coverage with MSM.

Then again, how could we expect BWSO to debate his actual opponent (or visit wounded US soldiers) when he is spending his time in transformational world diplomacy.

PeterUK

Can't see what is wrong with something in gold plate,takes away the taste and stops the silver from corroding.

K T Cat

It's not bias if everyone that surrounds you believes the same thing. Then it's just the mainstream opinion, right?

memomachine

Hmmmm.

"Well. The CMPA scores statements (i.e., words) as positive or negative; images don't count. So if you think that the endless coverage of Obama with US troops, generals, foreign leaders and adoring crowds were neutral, then you can take this result semi-seriously, although there is still the vast pre-ponderance of "neutral" air-time devoted to Obama."

I'd be happy if they'd just stop photographing Obama with various halos around his head.

And the unicorns. Stop including the unicorns. And rainbows. So no more halos, unicorns and rainbows.

That's a nice start.

Jane

The real moonbats rant about how MSM is in the pocket of conservative interests.

Actually the talking point is that the media is as conservative as the conservatives that own it. They of course dictate the message.

DaleinAtlanta

Surrender, Socialism, Taxes: Vote Obama '08

PeterUK

"I believe for every drop of rain that falls
Obama grows
I believe that somewhere in the darkest night
Obama glows
I believe for everyone who goes astray, Barrack will come
To show the way
I believe, I believe".

Pass the sick bag Alice.

Ralph L

Can't see what is wrong with something in gold plate
Napoleon's favorite.
You could always stand on your head and drink your own urine. No bottle required, and a refreshing face-wash if your aim is off. Have I spoiled anyone's dinner?

SteveG

Todays LA Times had an Obama article on the front page, below the fold which continues on a full page inside.
McCain gets a small article on the following page along with this bias study.
The bias study article which claims no bias was longer than anything McCain had written about him in the Sunday Times.

PeterUK

Yes,he knew a thing or two about campaigning did old Napoleon,had all the right kit.

Hood, Wink

I believe dad went to Harvard. I believe Obama went to Harvard. Wife went to Harvard. Kennedy pals. Afghanistan cash.

It wasn't just the brother in Kenya, but the one in China too? Obama's betrayal? The whole family is on the CIA payroll. Pay me. So, CIA gets another STOOGE in the White House.

Ralph L

Hood, you've out-weirded me. I give up.

section9

I've said it once and I'll say it again: the entire Obama Campaign is nothing more than the political equivalent of an advertising push for Penis Enlargement Pills.

Without the required endorsement of Mr. Ron Jeremy:

"The Hardest Working Man In Show Business"

They don't work. Neither will he. (Obama that is. Ron Jeremy is said to work very hard for his money...).

Elliott

PUK,

What about the great spiritual Obama knows the trouble I've seen?

Elliott

Saw this at Politico:

While McCain and Bush have similar views on most social issues, including abortion, McCain's candidacy may mark a return to an era of blue-blooded Republicans less vocal about their religious beliefs. Barack Obama, by contrast, speaks comfortably and frequently about his faith.[emphasis added]

Did anyone else keep a straight face?

hit and run

Faith. Hope. And Change.

And the least of these is faith.

But he does speak comfortably and frequently about his faith in Himself.

Elliott

Ann,

Why were you endorsing Doug Ross' list of ten suggested questions for Obama? I thought you were aware that eight is the maximum of number interrogatives the President presumptive will entertain.

Elliott

Faith. Hope. And Change.

No, no, no. It's Faith, Hope, and Charity.

kim

Something I never knew before is that FH&C were 12, 10, and 9 years old.
=======================

Rick Ballard

“ENERGIESPAREN MACHT FREI”

Here's a fine example of the type of task The One has in mind for the ObamaJugend. Get ready, Mom and Dad - O! has a place ready for you in the ANWR Protection Battalions. Year Zero is just around the corner and Junior needs a merit badge.

hit and run

Well, sure, but I was going for campaign literature

section9

Where does one go to start a scurrilous rumor about Maureen Dowd and The Onester?

That's okay kids, I read today's Dowd gusher about her interview with Jesus Hussein Christ so you wouldn't have to.

Just don't go there. Not for the faint of heart.

hit and run

Rick:
Here's a fine example of the type of task The One has in mind for the ObamaJugend.

Somewhat related, but without the full on global warming hysterics (just interpersonal ones). We're in a drought here, right? You can only water your lawn 3 times a week, and only before 10am and after 4pm.

There's a family who just had a sprinkler system installed. And apparently the people who installed it set the timer, but switched am and pm. So it would go off during the day.

And some anonymous neighbor called the neigborhood association. Who called the state.

The neighbors whose sprinkler was inadvertently going off during the day had to drive to Raleigh to appear before some water board commission hearing something or other to plead not to have to pay the several hundred dollar fine.

Really pisses me off. That whoever made that call wouldn't just pick up the phone or head over to the neighbors and discuss the matter like an adult.

Elliott

Well, sure, but I was going for campaign literature

Fiction or non-fiction?

Rick Ballard

"Fiction or non-fiction?"

Elliot,

How would one make such a determination? The exegesis of anything emanating from The One must be interpreted through use of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle as digested by Schrödinger's cat. No binary result can be obtained through such interpretation.

The purpose of Life is to Experience The One - that's all the information anyone needs.

hit and run

Double plus unfiction.

RichatUF

Rick-

Creepy, but nothing the watermelons come up with should be...

Winston follows the woman into her flat and tries to unblock the sink. This flat, like Winston’s own is dingy and miserable, clearly indicating the appalling living conditions under the Party’s regime. While in the Parson’s flat, Winston is horrified by the behavior of their two children. Both the boy and the girl have been indoctrinated by Party organizations like The Spies and the Youth League. They play with toy weapons of war and dance around Winston calling him “Eurasian”, traitor, “thoughtcriminal” etc. Winston reflects that within a few years they would not be playing, they would be holding real weapons instead of toys and would turn in their own parents to the thought police if they displayed any signs of unorthodoxy or nonconformity.
RichatUF

Rick-

Creepy, but nothing the watermelons come up with should be...

Winston follows the woman into her flat and tries to unblock the sink. This flat, like Winston’s own is dingy and miserable, clearly indicating the appalling living conditions under the Party’s regime. While in the Parson’s flat, Winston is horrified by the behavior of their two children. Both the boy and the girl have been indoctrinated by Party organizations like The Spies and the Youth League. They play with toy weapons of war and dance around Winston calling him “Eurasian”, traitor, “thoughtcriminal” etc. Winston reflects that within a few years they would not be playing, they would be holding real weapons instead of toys and would turn in their own parents to the thought police if they displayed any signs of unorthodoxy or nonconformity.
M. Simon

I was under the impression that Obama Hoped to Change his Faith to avoid unpleasant associations.

bad

That whoever made that call wouldn't just pick up the phone or head over to the neighbors and discuss the matter like an adult.

good neighbors--priceless

Uncle BigBad

I wonder how BHO's effort to find a new church is progressing.

bad

I wonder how BHO's effort to find a new church is progressing.

How does one go about shopping for a new "we hate whitey" worship center? Surely there is an 800 number...

Rick Ballard

Rich,

Good quote. Winston would recognize Obama anywhere.

Fat Man

"a recent Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University study, the media has not been in the tank for Obama during the general election campaign against McCain."

Don't bogart that joint my friend
Pass it over to me
Don't bogart that joint my friend
Pass it over to me

Roll another one
Just like the other one
You've been holding on to it
And I sure will like a hit

Roll another one
Just like the other one
That one's burned to the end
Come on and be a real friend

narciso

On what "Bearded Spock" planet did they conduct this survey. Where Michael Moore
is being tortured on a barge off Mackinac Island; Tim Robbins is tortured by ad hoc readings of his dialogue from "Bull Durham"
and "Fraternity Vacation" (I know this must
be against the Geneva Conventions)In the real world where being 'silenced' by the Bush Administration is typical of Joe Wilson's logorrhea about the devoted spouse Plame. When Fannie Mae's eventual collapse isn't illustrated by the see, here, & evil evil clique of Gorelick, Raines, & Johnson.
Where Tony Rezko's indictment, and his ties
to Obama, along with power players like Al Sammarai, (who broke out of an Iraqi prison,
yet lives confortably in the Chicago suburbs) Auchi, who's the Iraqi "Tom Hagen"
with the Baathists as the Corleones,managed the payoffs in foreign capitols, before and after the Gulf Wars. Has Wright's mix of blood libel and racial incitement ever been the cover of a major magazine; as opposed to what Obama believe, what does he have for breakfast, why is Hyde Park, the best
neighborhood on Earth, apparently. The fact
that his track record in the state
legislature is that of a cipher; that he basically sabotaged the candidacies of his lead Republican and Democratic rivals, winning the seat by default. That America's enemies, foreign and domestic, are unapolo-getically routing for him (From Hamas to Code Pink and the ELF, and probably the Black Stone Rangers, and other gangs)That the only concern about gas prices, which are silently grinding us down, along with
the Ethanol boondoggle, which burns our food for fuel, is that the price rose, a little too abruptly. His illiteracy and innumeracy, about basic economics, history,
political events, is frankly at the Cynthia
McKinney/Dennis Kucinich level. It's not surprising considering who his speech writers are; one, a former Speech writer for Kerrey, another a troubadour for the traveling sideshow that is the 9/11 commission; redolent of the kind of reductionism that ignored the surge, and condemns us, to 'triage on the homefront' after the next attempt. The last, a former editor for Ted Sorensen, and a fellow commentator on the Huffington Post.
If one were to attempt an analogy with what we're facing is a modern take on "Catiline",
the Roman nobleman, who first thought to enrage the masses as a way to seek power, than sought out insurrection, when his political campaigns were thwarted. I thought we were a least a generation way from this; like the Roman Social Wars, but I don't think so. The question is whether there will be Cicero to challenge him, and a Sullust to chronicle it. The events of the last week, when he 'turned his back' on the men and women of Landstuhl, to give his self congratulatory, condescending, speech that demanded nothing of the audience; much like the "We Are the World" spectacle that denied the reality of the Ethiopian 'derge's
enforced famine. Meanwhile it airbrushed the role of the 8th Air Force in breaking the siege of Berlin, or the Army's role in keeping Berlin, from another siege in '62, playing to the spirit of those who were wrong in the 80s, re the Pershings, valuing dubious findings about global warming, over a sincere acknowledgement of the specter of Arab terrorism and encroaching dhimmism, present in Europe at least since 1972; painting our counter terror efforts in the same light as the German onslaught 60 years ago. Ignoring how the flaws of an abrupt revamping of immigration policy; can have real consequences(the Hamburg cell) Verily, are we the only ones who are witness to the Emperor's New Clothes? That was another thing I realized, the minions of Lord Obama, don't understand that Gerald Baker's skit was satire; they see it as prophecy, and realistic aspiration.

Elliott

::Applauding::

richard mcenroe

"Sorry, Frank. He's married."

It's all right, Sara. the Metrosexual Mandingo embraces all!

bad

...valuing dubious findings about global warming, over a sincere acknowledgement of the specter of Arab terrorism and encroaching dhimmism, present in Europe at least since 1972; painting our counter terror efforts in the same light as the German onslaught 60 years ago...

Scary isn't it?

Elliott

Speaking of Sallust, "Satis eloquentiae, sapientiae parum" (Enough eloquence, too little wisdom) is still apt.

bad

Metrosexual Mandingo

That is a visual I could do without....

Porchlight

Soylent,

We recently invested in stainless bottles for the family. We were going on a road trip and it seemed like a fun thing to do. Great success, except I was having tooth trouble at the time which it seemed to exacerbate. I dunno, I'm with Clarice generally - the stuff they say is awful for you, probably won't be in five years. But what the hell - the stainless bottles are reusable and there isn't the worry about plastics. And even if it's dented, it's functional. What the hell, give it a shot.

Porchlight

I wonder how BHO's effort to find a new church is progressing.

About as well as OJ's effort to find rhe real killer, I'd guess.

Soylent Red

Where Michael Moore
is being tortured on a barge off Mackinac Island; Tim Robbins is tortured by ad hoc readings of his dialogue from "Bull Durham"
and "Fraternity Vacation"

That's the world I want to live on.

bad

Obama on MTP explaining Obamalite diplomacy:

When you're in a region for a day, you've got a lot of boxes that you've got to check.

Gee, I feel better now....

PeterUK

Mr Ballard,
I think npower has just done a Ratner on its product.Gerald Ratner was the CEO of a large jewelry chain at a conference he publicly stated his product was "All crap",shares took a dive.
No family with kids is going to sign up to npower for their energy needs and the first brat to rat will lose its TV computer,cellphone, iPod and all electronic games.Going to bed in the dark and washing in cold water should re-educate the rest.

Jane

Good Morning! If it's Monday it must be Chicago. Breakfast with Bill Ayers, a quick stop at the pen to see Tony, Afternoon tea with reverend Wright and Father Pfleger.... You know the drill!

pagar

Good Morning to all!
"Speaks comfortably and frequently about his faith"
As he recites the Muslem evening call to prayer in Arabic in an interview with Kristof from the NYTs on Feb 27th.

Elliott

Good morning. How are you enjoying your travels, Jane?

Jane

I'm tired and my hip hurts Elliott. It was that three pointer and pirouette combination in Afghanistan. I need a vacation.

Soylent Red

"Speaks comfortably and frequently about his faith"

Why isn't the Left decrying this religious fanatic from Jesusland?

Good morning all.

Daddy

Concerning Liberal Media bias:

Today I am in India. Even with the local horrific Indian terror bombings the national Indian news media has seen fit to run a television news segment complete with video, on John Edwards, the girlfriend, the hiding in the bathroom to avoid reporters, the supposed love child, the cancer stricken wife, etc.

Switching then to BBC and CNN, I have agonizingly sat through an hour of each, and not a single mention of the Edwards affair at all, either in word or in the scrolling news lines at the bottom of the tube. The story is also absent from the CNN website I am able to access from Bombay.

All this is just to say that the 2 worst international news services on the planet, BBC and CNN, are continuing their practice of telling the world what they want it to know, and censoring stories that do not fit their propaganda templates.

clarice

Good Morning JOM!

There's a good new search engine, Cuil.com(pronounced Cool) by the gal who designed the Google search engine..Try it out. I did and I liked it.

TNR has a good article praising Lt Col Allen West for whom I'm trying to raise money but I can't access it online because their web page is hinky/Here's a sample the staff sent me:

"This year's surprise in Palm Beach County is that local Republican officials, some of whom are also presiding over more competitive races, believe their candidate is...the marquee Republican of the year--that he is not a symptom of what ails the national GOP but a possible cure. South Florida Republican leaders supporting West...see him not as a lost cause, but as the national party's Hail Mary pass. He's a prototype of conservative manliness and an obvious alternative to Barack Obama. An eloquent speaker, he gets standing ovations wherever he goes."

adk46er

I own 6 polycarbonate (recylce #7) water bottles, which I've used for years, so this subject is of interest to me... in any event I read an article recently (I believe it was in Chemical and Engineering News) that the problem is of "most concern" when the bottle is heated therefore these bottles should not be used as baby bottles. They may not have come out and said it but my impression from this article was that if you only use these bottles for room temperature or cold water there isn't a problem.
If you are interested in the article - I may be able to dig it up from my pile of old magazines in the basement.

ADK46er

Soylent,

April 21, 2008 (C&EN Magazine)

the headline for their story:

Bisphenol A Called Mostly Safe

Draft report sees some concern for infants, children

cathyf

So, as long as you never used them on a really hot day you should be fine, eh? ;-)

ADK46er

After going back and rereading C&EN I have to warn you to ignore my first note... This article doesn't blame heating baby bottles as being the problem. They indicate infants may be more susceptible to Bisphenol A but they didn't associate it with the fact that polycarbonate baby bottles may be placed in boiling water to heat the milk inside the bottles - so either:

1 I read about heat being the problem somewhere else or

2. It was conjecture or wishful thinking on my part

The comments to this entry are closed.

Wilson/Plame