Reportedly, the origin of the Betray Us meme was the military under Petraeus. I found that somewhat hard to believe. So I hiked myself over to BlackFive and began reading the comments. And, sure enough, there for all to see, was General Betrayus in reference to General Petraeus. Did they mean it the same way that MoveOn did? No. But, I don't think members of the military are stupid either. I think they full well understand they've been betrayed, even if they aren't clear precisely how they have been betrayed.

Moreover, MoveOn did not direct that ad, in any way, in any sense, at the military in general. If you read even the first few lines past the title the ad did a decent job of documenting and highlighting, the inconsistencies between Petraeus' report and reports from other equally credible sources, or Petraeus' own earlier assessments. Would it have made one iota of difference to the right wing noise machine if the ad had been delayed an hour, or a day, or a week? I doubt it. Quibble if you must, it really doesn't make any difference. The outcome would be the same.

I might have preferred that the allegation of betrayal be aimed at Bush, but Bush - to make sure no shit sticks to him - ducked behind Petraeus. And, Petraeus' allowed that to happen. I remind myself that Petraeus could resign. He likely would do no worse on the rubber chicken circuit than Ollie North. There would have been plenty of catcher's mitts out there available to him. The boy is not without safety nets. My bet is he retires before November '08 anyway. He may shill to insure our military remains in Iraq, but he won't be the last one out by a long shot.

Finally, does it not seem to many, in addition to myself, that the right wing noise machine is always quick to deflect responsibility for the fuck-ups to anyone other than themselves? And, their attack strategy tends always to be a rhetorical ruse where they assign to you something you never said? Juvenile, indeed.

GG:

Attaturk has made a critical find for the Nation. The Senate must convene, overnight, one of those dramatic emergency sessions which it heroically called to save Terri Schiavo ... The Senate cannot stand by quietly while NR and Goldberg defame our men and women in harm's way. ... [they] must act against this anti-military slur from our nation's leading conservative pro-war magazine.

Isn't this where someone tends to cue: *crickets*

Or, it's okay if you're a Republican.

GG's threads might not be the safest harbor for trolls. Takes guts to be a troll here. But, it's also not the worst place to be if you don't have your ducks all lined up in a tidy row. Kudos, you all. I don't share beth-in-cary's (Or, is it be-thin-cary?) ideas/beliefs, but that doesn't mean I didn't learn something for your coaching. It's a good group where it's okay not to have "it" all worked out in advance. Y'all are kind of impressive. Nice.

re: Riverbend

I saw it. I was going to skip it. At your urging I read it. Thanks. I'd have overlooked it otherwise. You're right. War is easier if you don't know the details. Were it not for the internets we'd never hear/see/read these stories. Tell me again, how much longer to January '09? I have a feeling it will be all of that before we can even *begin* to reverse course. Hopefully, Riverbend's house will still be standing by then.

It is time to let go of the MoveOn ad. The raw power of the ad has been ably demonstrated all over the blogosphere by the pixels that have been dedicated to it pro and con. It has had its good news/bad news effects highlighted for all to see. The power of advertising, indeed. What I'm interested in watching is whether the Democratic Party machine if there is one) finds a way to cooperate with MoveOn such that they are better prepared for the next MoveOn attack (surely there will be another one), or are able to point MoveOn at their target of choice in much the same way I assume the GOP machine aimed the Swift-Boaters. I don't think MoveOn is going away. The question now, I think, is whether the various Democratic Party groups can harness MoveOn's energy without co-opting it. Seems like a group you'd want to reach out to.

Via The Next Hurrah

http://tinyurl.com/26wwuo

NSA Takes Over Internet Security from DHS - well, not exactly. But sufficiently to give one pause.

The Baltimore Sun article from which the post was drawn is here: http://tinyurl.com/2x4sk8

NSA to defend against hackers; Privacy fears raised as spy agency turns to systems protection

Seems I feel less and less safe with every passing day.