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Sunday, April 15, 2007 10:39 AM
Original article: Various items

Susan

I believe I would pay too. But thankfully, or hopefully, it will all be on transcript and on video. So we'll be able to get the relatively minor data retrieval from the transcript, as well as the incredibly important record of inflection and body language, which is of course much more important, and much less subject to individual interpretation.

And I am ducking even as I type this...

Sunday, April 15, 2007 11:03 AM
Original article: Various items

Kitt

Didn't you use your 'the transcript tells the whole story' opinion in response to Glenn's post about O'Donnel? ...I don't think Glenn was "misrepresenting her" at all. I think his opinions of her actions are based on her record of appearances and her personally stated opinions.

My comment was regarding the Think Progress piece. All I can do is repeat what I've already expressed: The transcript clearly shows that she is relaying what Snow and Bush, said. In an interview of this sort, her job is to get a response. She has to give him something to respond to. If her tone was inappropriate, I can't address that. I can address what I feel is manipulation and distortion in the Think Progress piece.

I cannot address GG's description of her reporting in this interview as "angry", and "incredulously and angrily". The transcript simply doesn't speak to that.

Sunday, April 15, 2007 11:43 AM
Original article: Various items

KarenM

Actually it was even worse than your version. following is from media matters. I noted this morning that the sunday apologists for Imus never actually repeated what Imus said. I believe this is because if they had, no apology would have possible, aside from "A significant portion of the country is racist, and Imus makes a living off them, among others". That is the only excuse that makes any sense.

------

Imus: So, I watched the basketball game last night between - a little bit of Rutgers and Tennessee, the women's final.

Rosenberg: Yeah, Tennessee won last night - seventh championship for [Tennessee coach] Pat Summitt, I-Man. They beat Rutgers by 13 points.

Imus: That's some rough girls from Rutgers. Man, they got tattoos and - McGuirk: Some hard-core hos.

Imus: That's some nappy-headed hos there. I'm gonna tell you that now, man, that's some - woo. And the girls from Tennessee, they all look cute, you know, so, like - kinda like - I don't know.

McGuirk: A Spike Lee thing.

Imus: Yeah.

McGuirk: The Jigaboos vs. the Wannabes - that movie that he had.

Imus: Yeah, it was a tough -

McCord: "Do The Right Thing."

McGuirk: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Imus: I don't know if I'd have wanted to beat Rutgers or not, but they did, right?

Rosenberg: It was a tough watch. The more I look at Rutgers, they look exactly like the Toronto Raptors.

------

Mind you, this is from a transcript, so beware.

Monday, April 16, 2007 07:04 AM

A minority of two

Even without the surviving pack of neocons, without even Cheney--Even if it was just the President himself, the occupation of Iraq will likely continue throughout his term. There is ample evidence from Bush's own words, as well as others, that Bush believes His God placed him in the oval office because God knew that 9/11 was coming, and he would be God's instrument during these crucial times. He consults with his "higher father" and the higher father says 'go for it, George'. It's a minority of two.

Regarding strategy, I can think of only one coherent and effective strategy that has ever come out of this administration--and it has nothing to do with Iraq. This latest "War Czar" fiasco being a prime example of how bankrupt, how piecemeal, how pathetic their efforts have become in this regard. However, the politicization of government agencies (DOJ, GSA, et al., ad nauseam) and offices for the purposes of obtaining unfair and probably illegal advantages in elections appears to be a well-coordinated, effective attempt to seriously change government. Had there not been a change to democratic majority in Congress in '06, consider the effects of two more years of Rove's operations, unhindered, in preparing for '08.

Monday, April 16, 2007 09:02 AM

An Unspoken Strategy?

If there is a strategy in Iraq, it may be "suppress the Shia". I agree with other commenters that the surge isn't a strategy but a tactic. Is the goal of the tactic to earn time for the Iraqi Congress, or is it to suppress one of Sadr's power bases (Bagdad). Sadr certainly seemed to see it as aimed at him, got the hell out of Dodge, apparently as an attempt to rope-a-dope the americans, or in other words wait them out. But the americans and Sunni have been hammering so hard on the Shia since that time that he now appears to be mobilizing again, and offering resistance.

Ironically, "supressing the Shia" was Saddam's strategy too (Saddam, I believe, killed Sadr's father), and before him the British. A tried and true and infamous mission. No wonder we don't vocalize the 'strategy'. But, as our troops inhabit Saddam's palaces and our prisoners are in his jails, maybe it all goes without saying.

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