Changing the moon and stars

Re: Newspapers, Glenn Greenwald and Jim Cramer
There are times someone can say or write something so significant it can re-arrange the thought constellations in your mind. I am one who has wished for and cheered the demise of newspapers. After reading the enclosed diary and the comments from diarist HollywoodOz in particular, I feel differently regarding my collective scorn of newspapers. The extremely well written comments have prompted me to re-consider my death wishes aimed directly at newspapers and the NYPost in particular. In relationship to the NYPost, it appears Rev. Sharpton is not going to do the boycott thing going instead to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Comment:
The problem with Greenwald's article... (12+ / 0-)
..and so many other "the MSM will kill us all" writing, is that it confuses the pundits with reporters.
I work in a large newsroom with 60 or so career reporters - people who have been around since the days when headlines were put together with scissors and paste, mixed in with about a dozen rookies - and you'd never meet a more left wing group of folks.
Union all the way, jabbing at government daily, killing them with FOI requests... yet, every day, we open the paper and see an op-ed page full of pro-government, pro-business, pro-right wing horseshit.
To be sure, nobody tells us not to hit a story that someone in power might not like. In fact, I made sure we made mention of the Stewart/Cramer showdown, and we even had a transcript on our website and a link to the clip.
But those op-eds are how we're judged, and they don't happen in our newsroom - in fact, they often get sent to us from head office of the chain and placed by a group of people who are in an entirely different office.
It sucks. It's despised. But the only thing we can do is our jobs to the best of our ability, and we do.
So when we hear "the MSM can't be trusted" and "here's hoping the newspapers die", it stings, because it's not the case.
If you wanna know who it is stirring that pot, it's the owners and executives that sit far above the newsroom, get paid ten times what we do, and make decisions that have skullfucked every good newsroom in North America financially.
Wanna fix it? It wouldn't take much.
Any smart, wealthy, left winger out there that wanted to fix this situation need only go out and buy one of the myriad of newspapers for sale right now (at a discount price) and tell the newsroom the shackles are off.
Trust me - the reporters will respond.
Fool me once, I'll punch you in the fucking head.
by HollywoodOz on Sat Mar 14, 2009 at 09:15:02 AM PDT
[ Parent ]
Greenwald Nails It - They're All Cramer
by bluesteel
Sat Mar 14, 2009 at 06:27:41 AM PDT
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/3/14/85730/7731/419/708424
And
National Action Network , Rev. Al Sharpton
http://www.nationalactionnetwork.net/
As always,
BB

Fr. Asst. Sec. Frank Caffney got nosey today

Mr. Caffney, who was on the Christ Matthews show this afternooon, was the Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Bush “42” Administration.

Mr. Caffney was so calmly and un-perturbed re-writing history as to how and why we went to war in Iraq when at first I thought it amusing when his nose was beginning to protrude further and further away from his face and after a few moments becoming down right alarmed quickly turning into panic mode hurling myself from in front of my television in the nick of time as his nose came crashing through the picture tube smack into my living room embedding itself into the far wall with a mighty thud! I praised the Lord and thanked him for his goodness.
As always,
BB

Barney Frank intimidating DOJ?

I am beginning to have some lack of confidence in Rep. Barney Franks. Ever since he accepted the two and one half sheets of paper from Sec. Paulson to get all those billions of dollars from our treasury, I have not been comfortable with him.

Now it appears he is asking for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to stop doing what they are doing to appear before his committee to testify on March 20th as to what they are doing. I am suspicious of Rep. Frank’s motives. Sec. Holder may not want a light beaming on his program at this critical time and it appears the good Mr. Barney Frank may not agree with him. Looking forward to Mr. Frank postponing his hearings for an indefinite period of time. If Mr. Frank has nothing to do, maybe he should consider doing it some place else. Go shopping or something! Let Sec. Holder do his job and judging from the enclosed article, it is monumental.
As always,
BB
Financial Fraud Is Focus of Attack by Prosecutors
By DAVID SEGAL Published: March 11, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/12/business/12crime.html?_r=2&hp
Excerpt:
Officials at the Justice Department have not said much in public about their plans. But people who have met with Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. say he is weighing a range of strategies.

And
As federal authorities decide on a course of action, Congress is becoming impatient. Representative Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, announced plans last week for a hearing on March 20, inviting Mr. Holder, bank regulators and leaders of the S.E.C. to answer questions about their enforcement plans.

And
With all the state activity and portents of a new resolve at the federal level, lawyers who defend white-collar clients sense growing momentum to perp walk and prosecute executives involved in the mortgage crisis.

And
Many financial executives have hired lawyers in the last few months, either through internal counsels or, more discreetly, on their own, several lawyers who defend white-collar clients said.

Ari Fleischer re-opens stage curtains for encore performance….

and Chris Matthews was sitting in front row center waiting for him, aghast at his audacity.

I never thought of Mr. Fleischer as an arrogant or bumptious person so his efforts to come back on the world stage at this time in history could only be attributed to bad taste. There is a vast difference between being a parrot and a pundit and perhaps therein lies Mr. Fleischer’s delusions. Those Republicans are such adorable little creatures, aren’t they? So naïve, if you will. Mr. Matthews did this viewer proud this afternoon proving once again you can not bull shit a bull shitter. It maybe their diet. Kudos.
Ari Fleischer Battles Chris Matthews, Calls Him "Shameful" And "Disingenuous" (VIDEO)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/11/ari-fleischer-battles-chr_n_174082.html
March 11, 2009 05:48 PM
Excerpt:
The segment on MSNBC's Hardball seemed to extend well beyond its allotted time, and there was no shortage of notable fireworks. Fleischer called Matthews "shameful" for suggesting that the 9/11 attacks were the Bush administration's responsibility, since they occurred under "your watch." He called MSNBC "disingenuous," ridiculed Matthews for asking only partisan questions, and asked whether the cable host twisted every guest's words.
As always,
BB
P.S. It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No! (Gulp).. It’s Ari Fleischer! (Smile)

It’s not the bad teachers, but rather the racist ones

With all due respect to the President speaking today of “getting rid of the bad teachers,” I fully understood what he was saying and want to take a closer look at how what he said affected me in relationship to my experience as a teacher.

In my opinion, a bad teacher does not do half the damage to students as does the racist one. The first people to notice a bad teacher in a school would be the fellow teachers. We know a bad teacher when we see one. We talk about her behind her back, in the lounge and in small groups. It is no secret amongst the first perceivers and maybe the teacher herself knows she is a bad teacher but does her best. Therein lie the DNA of my argument.

A bad teacher may be a bad teacher due to a number of reasons such as laziness, bad training, working more than one job, following the wrong career calling or any combination of issues. I have seen instances wherein the teacher turns the class over to an aid or a motivated student tells the class, “Let’s read chapter four for tomorrow”. If the teacher is well grounded, the students will also be and eventhough they may not learn very much, they remain emotionally secure. They know that at least the teacher likes them and they like her. After all, she is a nice lady. A human being.

When her students go to the next teacher, the teacher may say, “You didn’t learn your tables of four’s? Well, let’s get right to it!” There’s not a problem. The students are still willing and able to learn. “Yeeeea!” they may respond to the teacher as she says, “Now be quite for a moment while I go get your books. We‘re going to learn our table of four‘s today.” “Yeeeea!”

When a child has been stripped of his dignity due to the antics of a racist teacher, even a good teacher who is racist, he does not bounce back so fast from one class to the other. He can’t. His experience in the racist teacher’s classroom has so damaged his self concepts and self esteems he finds it harder and harder to go on. And in the event he finds himself in another racist situation, the tsunami overwhelms him and meaningful education stops. To be clear; in my opinion a student can survive a bad teacher but is very challenged with one who is racist and students catch it on two fronts; from both Anglo and Neo-con teachers who, as Baldwin writes "....are trying to be something they are not". The poor student doesn't stand a chance in hell and heavens knows he doesn't know what is happening to him.

Many of us were surprised to see the racist figures that emerged on the scene as Sen. Obama started his journey to the White House. Some of them really took our breaths away due to the fact we never know they were racist. We never knew they were capable of such conduct. It happens to students also. It happens and shocks students in an educational setting as it does to us in the political arena and we all know it happened as we viewed the ascension of Present Obama. We still see it, really! Much to our ostentation.

I am mindful when attending a faculty meeting, our principal told us of a new data program that identifies teachers who had consistently give minority students bad grades. He passed out the data sheets to each teacher to track their grading of minority students and as he was passing out the materials, he said there are some teachers he would be talking to privately.

This county loses a lot of good talent due to the fact one group of people feel they are better than everybody else and refuse to engage in a dialog regarding the issue. Sad.
Fighting for the dignity of my Ancestors,
God bless Bill Gates, WPFW, C-Span and the spirits of the unborn for the help,
BB
P.S. Some years ago the stats read that a Black male turns off from the educational system between third and fourth grade. That’s a hell of a long way from grade twelve. I’ve had the feelings for a long time if I were raised in an integrated school system and had to be confronted with racist teachers, I know I would not have graduated from high school. There is no question in my mind. They were just as bad then as they are now; dedicated to keep me non-productive. Word!

A Little Night Music: Coda, “ Sen. Roland Burris”

Reporter Dan Carden writes well. Refreshingly different. For one thing, he did not use the “Black, fair game” card. He stuck to his craft. Kudos!

*“No backdoor boot for Burris: Special election plans defeated, stalled”
By Dan Carden, Daily Herald Staff
Excerpt:
SPRINGFIELD -- A suburban lawmaker's proposal for an immediate special election that could replace beleaguered U.S. Sen. Roland Burris appears to be stopped for good after a Senate subcommittee rejected his plan Thursday.

And
But the estimated cost of a special election factored strongly in Chicago Democratic state Sen. Ira Silverstein's decision to vote against the plan, Silverstein said. The three Democrats on the subcommittee voted to stop the plan while the two Republicans voted for it.
Republicans and Democrats went back and forth over the possible costs of a special election.

And
Several county election officials told the subcommittee a special election would deplete their already strained budgets.

Fighting for the dignity of my Ancestors,
God bless Bill Gates, WPFW, C-Span and the spirits of the unborn for the help,
BB
* http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=276986

Futility: Looking backwards at a plan in progress

Dkos diarist Tirge Caps is spot on with this report registered below. There was something that disturbed me with both “Meet the Pres” and “State of the Union” today.. Reading Tirge Caps has given me my voice.

David Gregory of “Meet the Press” and John King of “State of the Union” truly showed up today as being ‘the not ready for prime time’ amateurs they are. For whatever reason, we have moved into an era of teachers and there are never too many of them. I first noticed it with Rachel Maddow and the success of her show. I had not heard about her before but the people at Dkos did and talked about her regularly.

With so much information to disseminate these days, and with so many people crying for understanding, there is all the more reason a moderator should assume some role of giving accurate information to the citizenry in an orderly and comprehensive manner. Assuming the role of a teacher, if you will, and not the contemporary aura of a naysayer. I am sure there are other words that could be used instead of naysayer but I am not that kind of a guy to use bad language, insulting people and all. (Smile)

What David Gregory and John King did today was a Mainstream embarrassment. In my opinion, this is what they did:

They wanted to discuss some plans already made and some already in place and began asking questions that were both asked and solved BEFORE the plan was drawn up. In other words, they asked series of “what if” questions and hypotheticals. Those types of dialogs occur at the moment of an inception of a plan. That’s what separates a plan from a good idea. A lot of blood, sweat and tears goes into it and for the two hosts in question to infer, “You guys were so stupid because you didn’t think about this or that. What it…?” If I were Sec. Orszag, I would have peed on King and left the set. Spare me, Jesus! Hoping lots of people read Tirge Caps’ diary.
As always,
BB
P.S. I had a much more pleasant time watching Fareed Zakaria.

John King is the moon that orbits Planet Blitzer
by Tirge Caps
Sun Mar 08, 2009 at 12:59:46 PM PST

Excerpt:
The media is often pushing the question of whether President Obama is living up to his campaign promises. I have seen very little narrative from the media, outside of Rachel's show, on what Obama has actually accomplished. The list is quite long and it matches up nicely with his campaign pledges.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/3/8/153725/0074/743/706074

Cuba and a teachable moment

*Obama will use spring summit to bring Cuba in from the cold
While reading this reference to Cuba, “…but you still have the embargo..” I was looking for the author to explain what a political embargo is and to list them as it applies to Cuba. In other words, teach me something!

(President) Obama's proposed Cuba measures would only partly thaw a policy frozen since John F Kennedy tried to isolate the communist state across the Florida Straits. "It would signal new pragmatism, but you would still have the embargo, which is the centrepiece of US policy," said Erikson. +

Further into the article, the author mentions “economic and trade embargo”. Again I wonder what are the specifics. Come on now, learn me something!

President Kennedy imposed an economic and trade embargo on Cuba on 7 February 1962 after Fidel Castro's government expropriated US property on the island. Known by Cubans as el bloqueo, the blockade, elements have been toughened and relaxed under succeeding US presidents. Exceptions have been made for food and medicine exports. George Bush added restrictions on travel and remittances. +

In the final paragraph, there is the heading, “The sanctions regime” which thoroughly confused this neophyte as to how countries have sanctions and embargos place on them and most of all, the words used interchangeably and the difference, if any. So far, you ‘fussing me!

The sanctions regimes
-No Cuban products or raw materials may enter the US
-US companies and foreign subsidiaries banned from trade with Cuba
-Cuba must pay cash up front when importing US food
- Ships which dock in Cuba may not dock in the US for six months
-US citizens banned from spending money or receiving gifts in Cuba without special permission, in effect a travel ban
-Americans with family on the island limited to one visit every three years. +

Questions: What does an official sanction or embargo look like on paper? Who issues it? How is it sustained? Is there a review process?

=====================================
Ms. Susan Tsvangirai
I, like others, was saddened and shocked over the death of the wife of Zimbabwe’s Prime Minister, Mr. Morgan Tsvangirai. It was announced yesterday she died as the results of an automobile accident. I was even more grieved to hear the dire shape of the supplies at the hospitals and the conditions of the roads in Zimbabwe in relationship to the death of Ms. Tsvangirai. Add to the tragedy suggestions the Zimbabwe “sanctions” are working is cruel even if true. There is a horrible irony surrounding the needless death of Ms. Susan Tsvangirai.
Fighting for the dignity of my Ancestors,
God bless Bill Gates, WPFW, C-Span and the spirits of the unborn for the help,
BB
* http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/08/cuba-obama-administration