Letters to the Editor
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farbie @ Gore
Even if Gore will not enter the race (and it is unclear but unlikely that he will), he can be drafted. There are a few websites with info on this. A google search of "draft gore" 2008 brings back over 100,000 hits. But one is www.draftgore.com.
Greenwald's post today highlights how important the next president could be regarding specific issues of habeas, torture, and other lawlessness. By this, I mean that it may be left to the next president to decide which powers he or she deems constitutionally appropriate, rather than a congress-- which may continue to be insulated from the will of the country and basically dysfunctional (even if it builds a larger Dem. majority). The next president may well have to convince congress to strip the executive of these inappropriate powers.
In such a situation, Gore is by far the most likely, and I believe the most able, to strip his own office in this way. He has already done something akin to this once, after the 2000 election. He has shown that he values some things over power.
In any event, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Gore holds the constitution closer to his heart than Dodd holds them to his ass.
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Corporatization of the MSM
Great post as always.
I want to specifically focus in on the part where you bring up Jay Rosen's partial defense of the media collapse over the past six years.
I agree with you that the problem is much deeper than journalists being overwhelmed by the extremes of the Bush administration's behavior.
Sidney Blumenthal's excellent post last week on Dan Rather's legal case against CBS points to the real problem. The Bush administration has consistently played hardball with the media at the management level and that has led to the many problems we have witnessed in news coverage of the Bush admin and its many scandals (false case for war, torture, politicization of the entire govt bureaucracy, lying to congress, lying to grand juries...). Blumenthal documented how CBS had the Abu Ghraib story and tried to stifle it under pressure from the Bush Administration. He also demonstrated that not only was the National Guard story accurate -and the disputed memo most likely real- but that CBS actively obstructed and biased their own internal investigation.
Presidential administrations trying to manipulate the press is nothing new. Nixon threatened to deny FCC licenses for Washington Post Corporation-owned tv and radio stations because of their Watergate reporting. What is different today is the degree of corporatization of the media and the disappearance of the firewall between management and news divisions within these corporations.
Now news has become infotainment playing for ratings and fearful -like the Democratic leadership- that "patriotic" Americans will shun them if they are critical of the corrupt Bush Administration. Moreover, the vast and varied holdings of these media companies make them vulnerable to Presidential and other frms of political coercion on many levels particularly manipulation of regulatory oversight.
These are the systemic problems that I believe are at the heart of much the historic failings of the MSM. You often discuss the problems of "Media Stars". I absolutely agree with you and feel that the origin of this phenomenon as well is related to the corporatization of the news media that puts profit before service. Anchormen and women are telegenic faces that can read not journalists. Pundits are well-connected and witty but not journalists. Neither group would dare jeopardize their fame and fortune by resisting the mandates from their corporate management to get along or move along.
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Stablilty in Democracy
When I made the decision to not remain in the US because of the acts of terror and violations of our constitution committed by our president and his administration, and permitted by the united congress, I wasn't sure I was making the proper choice. I moved to Costa Rica where soon there after they imprisoned three former presidents. My initial reaction was "what is going on here?" Then after reflection (of less than a minute) I realized this democracy is a democracy that works. One where past crimes against the constitution are pursued and punished. What a healthy democracy. (For the most part the three presidents were charged with simply taking bribes or for getting work for companies they were or were soon thereafter affiliated with.)
Where is the outrage by the American people? I was instructed in grade school and high school in the principals of our republic and was tested on this by the state. Is this not the norm anymore?
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revelations..
Nsa and Gitmo and et al,
ohh,
and what is going on in America?
The nsa thing is just the tip of a political bomb.
What and who is needed in my opinion is another Murrow type.
to readjust the American mind and bring to further the Ma*lev"o*lous happenings of the 'white house'.
but then, who'd listen?
~miss_kitty
not meaning to be vague but it is neceffary at this.
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@ lupercus & Tom 70
I relate to that feeling of hopelessness and for a very long time that is what I felt and it was causing me to be very depressed to the point that I stopped obsessively reading the news. I just backed away from it and I was happier but it was hollow. I suspect that the people on this board are the same as me. We need to see our country restored to the strong proud nation it once was in order to feel right about our lives. I finally realized that I needed to do something about it. I'm just a nobody but I'm starting to fight back and it is making me feel better about this situation. As Glenn can probably attest to I endlessly send emails to journalist and bloggers with tips, view and information I think might be helpful to them. Recently I started work on a documentary on media manipulation and I don’t know if I can raise the fund to complete it but it’s really lifted me out of the hopelessness.
I think that that church and pike committees inthe 1970's were a wakeup call to the power establishment which at the time Bush SR, Rumsfeld, & Cheney were all a part of. They realized that public opinion must be contained and controlled and they have really spent the past 30 years trying to socially engineer out these tendencies to protest, revolt, and fight back out of the population at large. If you look at the people on this board. We are clearly contained to some extent. I wonder what we would be doing if this were the 1970's when the same things were happening? The COINTELPRO program is such a great example of overt containment with the way they manipulated the black panthers and the watermen. It was very skillful containment and they have only gotten better at it. This country is so ripe for another revolution but it’s not happening and I wonder why? I think several things have cause this pacification but most of all I wonder about the youth. The situation for the youth of today seems similar to the mid 60's when things started to heat up. I feel most sad for the youth because the are born with blinders on now.