Four days later...

Four days later and the media is pretty much only talking about "the Flu" and the Supreme Court nomination.

Four days later and the right is attacking the left with claims of hating Italians.

Four days later and the right has spun the indictment as 'no big deal' and 'Rove is innocent'.

Four days later and the media is reporting that Bush's problems are over.

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Four days later and many of you still wonder why a lot of us are so pessimistic.

invest a couple hours in writing letters to the editor and to elected officials. Democracy isn't something that is going to be brought to you by prime-time tv. It's something you can choose to do, or choose not to do.

Do you know me at all? Do you even know if I do the stuff you suggest?

No, but if you did you would realize that I do write to as many people as I can, and volunteer as much as I can. It doesn't change the fact that the media, and the right, is controlling the mis-information in this country. It doesn't change the fact that I'm pessimistic because of it.

Quit assuming you know me.

exposes who you are. I am not assuming.

that you're not the boss of him, either.

:eyes:

I didn't say I was. I made a suggestion.

;)

I am sure that you understand what "perhaps you could ...." means.

:P

the Yankees are the boss of Boston. And there is nothing anyone can do about it.

n/t

Red Sox fans, ready to pack it in.

Yankee fans, always ready to continue the struggle.

:thumbsup:

Will's gone awfully quiet all of a sudden. Will, hey bro! You gonna take that lying down? :popcorn:

Will has got to go put his Larry Bird t-shirt on. Sense of security for those from Boston.....

lol

How about left-fielders?

Yeesh. Ya had to go there, didn't ya.

Jets suck.

a Boston-based conspiracy when I see one.

And, yes, you are right, the Giants are looking pretty good this year. Of course, boxing is my favorite sport. We only need go back to 1980 or 1950 to recall a good fighter from Boston. New York rules in all sports.

We'll see what we can do about your Sox.

Bad idea jeans.

of our time. The agenda of the government is based on what the media focuses on - usually a single theme at a time. Case in point, Katrina. People in LA and MS are still living in dire need. But the media has lost interest. Meanwhile the people there have been forgotten.

One of the biggest frustrations for me is the email correspondence system that all the senators use now. First of all, you can't even communicate with a senator/rep who does not represent your state. Secondly, it is automated. I have received countless responses that were on completely different subjects that my letters.

You pay their salary.

I'm with H2OMan. Letters aren't busy work. They are our voice. Even if you don't get a direct response, you have an impact.

:hi:

to write letters. E-mail is not the only alternative.

There are those who have an internal sense of control in their lives, and those who are convinced that all power is external. When faced with difficulties such as communicating with elected representatives, a person can take a "can do" or a "can't do" approach. If a person thinks it is important enough, they will do it. If they inhabit a "bump on a log" reality, they won't.

To say the media has lost interest is simply not accurate. Again, if a person is interested in reading about the case, the media has many, many articles in today's papers alone. Even in a republican paper like the New York Post, there is an op-ed by a Bush supporter that points the finger of blame at VP Cheney. More, there are numerous letters to the editors of papers across the country on this topic

The polls on CNN yesterday showed that over half of those asked believe, from the information provided them since Friday, that Cheney was involved in the plan to attack Wilson. More, they believe the yellow cake business was part of the administration's effort to trick the public into thinking Iraq posed a threat to us.

Politicians do pay attention to those polls and to LTTE. That's reality.

My father was a die hard Democrat (after of course being a die hard Nittany Lion fan). He would get so fired up that he felt compelled to write to whomever the offending media outlet was. However, he was also inherently cheap. One day he found the perfect solution and could not wait to call me. He bought a "ton" of pre-stamped post cards and kept them at his desk. Whenever he would get torqued, he would zing one off. When he passed away last year, I found those postcards and they made me smile.


:)

your comments remain pithy. Much easier for a member of the media, or for a congresscritter's staff, to read and digest.

When my dad died, I found the rough draft, on yellow legal-pad paper, of a snotty letter to Arlen Specter, excoriating him about his performance in the Clarence Thomas hearings! Made me smile, too!

(BTW, carolinalady: I hope your dad would be reasonably pleased by the Nits' performance this year. I just sat in Beaver Stadium Saturday and watched them trounce Purdue. Go Lions!)

sick as he was last year, he still made every home game.

address, put a stamp on it and mail it? I thought email was the only means of communication. We are talking about two separate issues. First, communicating with officials. I think that all of us have made enormous efforts to contact our government using many different vehicles, including phone, fax, telegram, email, US mail, petitions. etc.

However, most of our party ignored this when it came to the things that mattered - at least to me, such as a very tainted and suspicious election, supporting Condi and her questionable role in the Iraq scam, supporting Gonzales and his role on condoning torture.
If only a few with conscience would listen to pleas on issues that represent the most basic tenets of our democracy, it is very difficult to imagine them listening about any future issue of less consequence.

As for polls, most people now believe that Bush deceived us into a war. So if that mattered to anyone, where are the cries for impeachment?

I know, dems have no control over committees, and they don't have a majority. But that does not mean they should be screaming and voting for what is right every single day.

IMHO, what is presented to the public, by the mass media, is what drives politicians.

the example that shows one of the approaches I spoke of.

ok, lets look at the polls shall we?

At the height of the crazyness with Clinton they managed to get to 35%, a fact to this day that drives Krystol completely batty. He was convinced the people woudl turn, they had to.

WIth Bush, Zogby told us we are in the upper forties, close to a majority, and you have not heard the I word on the tele that much, now have you?

It is there... and will soon reach majority. In fact when asked if they should be impaached if they lied us to war, a clear majority says such...

Just like Nixon this is taking time... but this is not the time to stop the pressure

had a poll yesterday (Gallup) that showed Clinton after impeachment hearings at 71% NOT a failed presidency. It also showed Bush in the mid-50s AS A FAILED PRESIDENCY.

Nevertheless, I see your point, takes time to reach critical mass.

but we also play a critical role. I use almost every chance I have to educate voters and almsot eery chance I am able to insert the word in there... yes the I word.

Now we need to keep pestering our congress critters, trust me, poltiicos usually do not lead, they follow. If we are going to have one though we need to retake the House and I would not mind both houses. But retaking the house is critical and that may happen in 2006

meeting for dinner. I, unfortunately, can not see us put together a team that could beat them together, sad as it is. So, it makes it more important to control congress. 2006 races can be won because all the republican schmucks can be tied to Bush failures because they rubberstamped every last thing he did.

Right after the "inauguration" I wrote to my senator Lisa Murkowski about the problems with the voting machines, etc., and I got an answer back extolling the virtues of drilling in ANWR. Pretty funny.

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

You are silly. Thanks for the laugh!

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

Someone has some serious issues. :rofl:

damn. That sucks!

Hearing Sean Hannity and Michael Graham just spin this into oblivion was a breathtaking experience. Say what you want, but they are good at their job.

Mid term there is still hope that Fitz will uncover something that will stick and make this regime accountable. Long term I fear that even such a miracle will not be enough to save this country.

It seems to me that many hear on the left take asswipes like Hannity way too seriously.

I don't think anyone should either. Right now bush is trying another do-over and he's attempting to change the focus and much of the corporate media is following.

One thing I have noticed is that this thing is dogging bush. Almost every single conversation that begins with Alito, ends with Libby.

Also, let the corporate media cover bird flu crap, Alito, and blah, blah, blah...

I don't care if they cover bush's bathroom habits.

The investigation continues as it has for two years with no wavering from getting at the truth. Trust me when I say, the next move that gets made will knock everything else down and drown it out. Corporate media is a fickle bitch and can be easily led.

Fitz is hard at work and will continue. Just because we're not hearing about it, doesn't mean it has stopped.

I get tired of the gloom and doom because people's choice stories aren't being talked about in the corporate media. It's corporate media, for crying out loud. Do you think they'll change their spots overnight?

Fitz isn't letting go, he isn't backing off. Fortunately we don't have a system of Trial by Media yet, and they haven't managed to totally stack the courts yet. It doesn't really matter what the press says. Manipulating the propaganda cycle isn't gonna get them out of this one. It's a gase of "the only tool they have is a (media) hammer."

has been reporting the known facts of the case for the last several days. I hear it every hour and I always have some kind of news on. Even those of us here are mainly speculating at this point because the known facts have been picked apart and analyzed to death. The only people I am hearing painting a rosy picture for Bush are RW spinners and "news analysts" not journalists. And for every one of them we have the ones on our side saying the opposite. In my local paper, they have a variety of editorials from both sides. One day they publish the right, the next the left. It seems to me that the people getting the most depressed are filling their time listening to the right wingers opinions. They need to accept the fact that these true kool-aid drinkers ain't never gonna change their spots no matter what evidence smacks them in the face.

It's how they cover it. I've already heard claims from the right that 'Rove is innocent', 'Libby made a mistake, but didn't out anyone', and 'Bush is free to be a great leader again'. All of these claims continuously go unanswered.

I agree that they shouldn't always cover what I want to hear. But, when they do cover it they should at least get it right.

a slant either right or left. Our 24 hour immediate news has created these shows to fill air time. Not facts just interpretation.

A long time ago, I was given a 5-day course of antibiotics to use on some cold/respiratory infection/whatever. The doctor said, "Now be sure to take these every day till you use them up. You'll feel better in a day or so, but KEEP ON TAKING THE PILLS. Because that's how antibiotics work. If you take some of them, the infection goes down, but if you don't follow up, the infection returns with even more force!"

So Libby's indictment was the worst manifestation of Bushco's "illness" so far. But then they took a couple antibiotic pills (diversion about Supreme Court nominee, diversion about bird flu, etc.)

But unfortunately the diversions might slow down on the assembly line and... oops! Libby's arraignment is this Thurs., and the "infection" is gonna flare up again!

A person can recover from the worst symptoms of hepatitis (things like jaundice, weakness, and a host of other awful stuff), but it leaves a person with permanent liver damage.

Bush's administration--no doubt, like Bush himself--has permanent liver damage.

(So let's send it some nice moonshine...)

and it's all over. I'm convinced that these SOB's are gonna destroy the US if it's the last thing they do. It must be their goal; what else can describe the bizarre and unusual actions * takes? Fitz was a joke. Justice is a joke. Honor is a joke. Our country is a joke. Our smirking resident is a joke. Ha Ha.

It seems like it's your only way out. :eyes:

I beg your pardon:

>Fitz was a joke.<

Let's talk about this, shall we? Did you watch the same press conference I did last Friday? Why don't you do a bit of research on the man's career if you think he's a "joke"? The state of Illinois certainly doesn't think he's a joke. Ask the 66 indicted so far there in one case, including the former Governor. The state of New York thinks he's just fine, too. According to the Oct. 28 issue of the Chicago Tribune, there was a car and driver available round the clock to Patrick Fitzgerald right after September 11th in case he was needed to prosecute those who thought it appropriate to attack our citizens with airliners. It seems he put the previous attackers of the World Trade Center in prison. They were going to DRIVE his ass to New York if they had to, since there were no flights available. He is known for slowly and patiently teasing out the facts, working harder than God to form his case, then putting those who desperately deserve it behind bars. He's not only bad, he's nationwide.

If you know so much about the man and his career, here's another tidbit: Richard Clarke, an antiterrorism expert and adviser to multiple Presidential administrations, said in the past 24 hours to another DU'er that Fitzgerald would find the truth. If anyone should know, he should.

I'm willing to wait. At this point, he's our only hope. Our party is fortunate enough to have the amazing Barbara Boxer and the indefatigable John Conyers, but they can't fight on alone. Let him do his job, for God's sake.

Julie

side.

We're losing daylight up here at a rapid clip. We have no choice but to turn to the dark side. :sarcasm:

Yes, MSM seems to be going back to sleep but much has changed. Now it is OK to criticize the administration. Scott McClellan cannot even do a press conference without having his creditability repeatedly challenged.

Yes, the WH is spinning things their way but it's just spin. The leaks are only coming from their side. It lacks substance.

Rove's last minute get away story doesn't make any sense. As a result, many think it's a cover story, that he's flipped and is now cooperating with Fitz. This must have occurred to WH employees as well. Given his reputation, would you trust him if you worked there?

Bush has visibly aged since Katrina take a look at his photos. Karl, who must love food, seems to be loosing weight. Scooter looks like death warmed over and must be wondering if he did the right thing, maybe he should cut a deal. What goes around is starting to come around.

I was getting a little pessimistic until I started following the legal side. Some feel that Fitz has the legal Chess board pretty well set up. Take a look at this article written by Marty Aussenberg a former SEC enforcement official, currently in private law practice http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2005/10/29/20254/872 .

Marty continues Fitz's baseball analogy:
"Yes, my friends, Fitz is about to grab the pine tar rag, choose another, very special, piece of lumber and step back into the on-deck circle for the home run that is sure to follow. Batter up!"

Libby is due in court. I still think that this will turn into a bigger story than it is now, the problem was here that too many people were setting themselves up for a disappointment. The Fitzmas thing was out of control and then everyone was let down because they thought the whole administration was going down.

The other problem is that too many people here concern themselves what Fox, CNN and the other shitty networks are saying. They can spin whatever they want, but Libby is going to trial and there is nothing the MSM can do about that.

I'm really surprised that so many people still listen to the right winged talking heads and feel that they are running everything. They are entertainers and that's it. I think the left watches and listens to those friggin' shows more that the right.

that has continued -- not as much as I'd like, but it's not off the air by any means there. Also, Joe Wilson's appearances have helped keep the story in the press -- I think he's on Larry King tonight.

that are not taking what happened to Miller lightly. They seem unhappy that she was not shielded by the power she thought she was channeling.

has a New York Post op-ed attacking VP Cheney for the Plame scandal. Considering that Morris is a lap dog for the Bush folks, I think that it is possible to view his article as marking the separation between the noble president and the dark Dick Cheney.

Rove's strategy is to set many fires and then let us try to put them all out. Well, those fires just went out of control and now THEY are having to be the bucket brigade.

Karma. :)

News by definition is what's new.
What's new is today, not 4 days ago especially in this instant gratification society.
I don't expect everything to magically change overnight so I'm not worried if they don't happen to be talking about it 4 days later.

The wheels of justice care little about MSM blowhards.

Watergate took time to evolve, and many, many days it was off the front pages of the papers.

:hi:

it won't... study a little history and develop patience. In our modern society where we expect to get our candy immediately, this moves like molasses.

I said I may be impatient. I want to know why you think I'm being unrealistic.

I think only time will tell if something happens.

you had great breaks followed by at times weeks of NOTHING.

Look the press is compromised but at least in my view this "lack of attention" is not that different than Watergate.

Oh and the conviction story was above the fold in my local oh my god they are falling off the side of the table fish wrap. This was very much so an in your face proof

Now I make a point to pwerster my congress critter about impeachment at least once a week. Why? it is the constant noise that forces them to one day move

With Reid and all. Well..pray something comes of it. Oh yeah-and IF and I'm saying it's ONLY an if Fitzgerald lets Rove walk on the bullshit crap excuse he's given him I will be mighty pessimistic too.

and Iraq and the lies that took us there!

BRAVO, HARRY REID, DICK DURBIN, CARL LEVIN, AND ALL OF YOU!!