June 10, 2005

6/10: It's The MSM Vs. ... The MSM!

The Hotline's Blogometer takes the daily temperature of the blogosphere. For more information on the thinking behind this feature, go to the end of the story.

Interestingly enough, several items floating across the Blogometer's radar screen involve at least 1 individual from the MSM using the blogosphere as a back channel via which to criticize another member of the media. In unrelated events, a Newsweek columnist goes after a FNC honcho, and the back story to a Washington Post article slamming an FNC anchor gets out. And there's lots about DNC chair Howard Dean, Guantanamo Bay and John Kerry's grades. Not to mention, plenty of internecine warfare on the blog scene.

TRACKBACKS: Brian Wilson's "Smile"

Where the blog swarm is headed, who's taking part, and what they're saying:

• A report in the Washington Post titled "Building Iraq's Army: Mission Improbable" seems to be getting the most attention this a.m. More liberals link to it by about a ratio of 2 to 1.
  
  

  >> Liberal expat Avedon Carol: "What's really astonishing ... is not the depressing story it tells. What's astonishing is that it's on the front page of The Washington Post. What a shame it wasn't there a year ago." Others, including Rising Hegemon are more irreverent: "Yes, the insurgency in its last throes ... and Santa's coming this year finally too!"
  

  >> Conservative Ranting Profs: "At long last, the Post takes advantage of its enormous advantage over other outlets -- reporters fluent in Arabic -- and attempts to do real, honest to God, first hand, eyewitness reporting on Iraqi forces, embedding with them, rather than the other side." More: "The report is not encouraging ... But it is an important piece." But Right Wing News disagrees: "The whole piece is designed to convince the [Post]'s readers that the Iraqis are hopeless losers who'll never be able to defend their own country."
  

  >> More: Political Animal; Needlenose; Suburban Guerilla; Eschaton; DailyKos; ParaPundit; Informed Comment; Outside The Beltway.



• On Capitol Hill yesterday, Dean was upstaged by the media horde trying to get to him, including an "insistent" Brian Wilson of FNC, as reported by the Post's Mark Leibovich.
  

  >> Captain's Quarters, on Leibovich: "So why did Leibovich single out Fox News and Brian Wilson? Could it have been an effort to prove [IL Dem Sen.] Dick Durbin's silly allegation that the entire news media takes its cues from Fox?"
  

  >> At Wonkette, Greg Beato posts the text of an e-mail from a Hill staffer who was present. In part, it says Wilson was "angrily interrupting reporters and shouting questions out of turn. After an initial swarm, reporters squeeze out of the door. Brian Wilson was wearing no credential of any kind (apparently that wasn't a red flag to anyone) and behaving bizarrely angry as noted above so Mark Leibovich asked who he was. Wilson went nuts responding to Mark (whose credentials were clearly on display) Who the f--- are you?"
  

  >> More: Michelle Malkin; TV Newser; Romenesko; Political Wire.



• As the AP reports, Judge William Pryor is the latest of Pres. Bush's prev. filibustered nominees to be confirmed.
  

  >> Moderate Joe Gandelman: "So one part of the deal is working: the part of the deal that benefits the GOP. Soon the Senate will get a nominee that the Democrats object to and the REAL test will begin" Left-leaning Jeralyn Merritt: "The Senate will take up William Myers next, whom I refer to as the "fall guy" in the Senate compromise. He'll probably be confirmed -- the compromisers just didn't guarantee it." Right-leaning Election Projection/Intermission 2005: "That filibuster deal is looking sweeter by the day!"
  

  >> Scared Monkeys, Southern Appeal, Blogs for Bush, and RedState take notice as well. So does lefty Steve Soto, a little less enthusiastically.

GUANTANAMO: No Amnesty For Amnesty

Syndie columnist John Leo: "In a press release that most reporters ignored, the group also invited foreign governments to snatch certain visiting American officials off the streets and bring them to trial for crimes against humanity." Among the "suggested snatchees": Bush, Rumsfeld, Gonzales, Tenet, "and other unnamed civilian and military officials." Captain's Quarters notices that this fact has been "mostly ignored": "I have been unable to find the press release itself, but I have found plenty of approving references to the statement from left-wing websites such as Common Dreams, TruthOut, and Antiwar.com." Little Green Footballs notes that it made mention of the release on 5/26, linking to an online report that day on Amnesty's call for Bush and others to be "probed."

Moderate Sullivan: "I don't believe the military's account of how a Koran got splattered by a guard's urine. The reason is not that I have completely lost trust in the military's credibility (although I have a lot less faith than I did a couple of years ago, and that goes for Pat Tillman's parents as well). It's that the story, in its face, seems like something obviously made up." He goes into details, then asks: "Have I missed something? Or is this as laughable on its face as it appears to be?"

UCLA prof Eugene Volokh challenges a statement by Israel critic/ex-Rep. Paul Findley at the Huffington Post; Findley quotes Sec/State Condoleezza Rice as saying: ""We have an Israel-centric foreign policy." Volokh cannot find the quote, only a potential misinterpretation, and solicits input.

BLOGS VS. THE MSM: Kerry, Quite Contrary

Right-leaning Independent Sources, on why Los Angeles Times "in an 853 word piece, LA Times staff writer Stephen Braun manages to avoid any reference at all to the biggest piece of news [Kerry's lackluster grades] to come out of Kerry's long-delayed release of his Navy records. He writes that the records 'contained no bombshells, and his enemies were still not satisfied.' Braun uses much of the piece to beat on the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. ... Does the LA Times story -- or, rather, non-story -- reflect its lefty bias? Probably. But in this case they are even farther out than the NY Times and the Washington Post, which can still recognize a good story when they see it."

• Slate's Mickey Kaus: "Why would Kerry not just make a clean release to everyone? I suppose he might not want his enemies poring over the documents for discrepancies they can use to keep the story alive. But that consideration would seem to be outweighed by the suspicions the limited release creates. ... A lot of clever thinking seems to have gone into that Form 180 signing."
• JustOneMinute: "We Need A Hero! Which is to say, if the WaPo can file a FOIA request, anyone can. And, depending in what Kerry signed, the Navy Personnel Command may be more forthcoming. Or, if not, that is a good hint about what Kerry actually authorized." Requirements: someone who "is not afraid of forms," "has enough clout that the Navy will respond in this geologic era," and "has the resources to follow through."

Michelle Malkin follows up on a 6/8 post titled "SCREAMING ISLAMISTS IN NYC DESECRATE FLAG...MSM YAWNS." She writes this a.m.: "The video of screaming Islamists desecrating the American flag on a NYC sidewalk still hasn't gotten any MSM attention. But the Islamists are watching closely -- and now they've issued a threat against Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch, who first publicized the video..."

BuzzMachine: "Do we smell a trend: A week ago, Tom Brokaw got into Iran for a series of reports and now ABC News is getting into North Korea."

BLOGGERS VS. BLOGGERS: Firing Rangel, Boiling Bloggers And Oliver Twisted

Conservatives MaxedOutMama, Florida Cracker point out a thread at the left-wing Democratic Underground message board from earlier this week castigating Markos Moulitsas for: 1) (briefly) running a racy BlogAd for a reality show, dismissing complaints, then partially retracting (see 6/7 Blogometer). As the DU commenter notes, DailyKos has had "a major dustup over feminism" where "[m]any feminists have left the site in anger. I spent some time last night reading the threads. All I can say is that we have much work to do in the progressive community." Another commenter castigates Moulitsas is not an "educable male" but instead is "fully entrenched in his sexist ways -- addicted to certain sexist attitudes and behaviors -- and absolutely unwilling to give up any more of them than he already (thinks he) has." Meanwhile, Women Kossacks, the DailyKos splinter site mentioned on 6/7, seems to have suspended activities. Conservative INDC Journal gives the debate a wider airing on the right, and links to other blogs that mock the situation.

NYC-based James Wolcott, on Iraq hawk bloggers: "I'm amused, amazed, and annoyed that bloggers thousands of miles away from the actual death and destruction chide the rest of us for "not getting it" and wanting to bury our heads in the sandtrap when, as Sir Lancelot notes, New Yorkers themselves have a saner, wider, calmer perspective as the years pass. And unlike so many of the 101st Fighting Keyboarders, New Yorkers don't have the luxury of or inclination to demonize Arabs and Muslims and hat-tip Michelle Malkin or run sceered every time a couple of Them materialize in our visual field."

At QandO, libertarian Jon Henke chides liberal blogger Oliver Willis: "If you recall, when [GOP PA Sen.] Rick Santorum made a similarly offensive 'Hitler' comparison a few weeks ago, Oliver Willis noted a few right wing blogs and wrote: 'Not one of these blogs has a single word on Rick Santorum calling the entire Democratic party Nazis. That's how they work, folks. This is how they do it." When Instapundit, the very next morning, put up a post decrying Santorum's remarks, Willis wrote [in that post's comments] 'Yeah it just took him 24 hours to do it.' In the interest of fairness, I'll note that it's been 24 hours since [Dem NY Rep.] CharlieRangel's remarks , with not 'a single word' from Oliver Willis on Rangel's comment. It's also been over 3 months since [WV Dem] Senator [Robert] Byrd's Hitler comparison, without 'a single word' from Oliver on that front. ... That's how he works, folks. That's how he does it."

FNC: Another Back Channel Battle

Newsweek's Jon Alter writes at The Huffington Post writes, after publishing a satirical column which "sideswiped lots of people in today's media" including FNC chair Roger Ailes. Now, Alter reports, he has "heard that [Ailes'] stooges were out peddling a story to the press that I was guilty of a conflict-of-interest and should have disclosed in my column" that he had previously sought work at FNC. Alter defends himself, dishes on a meeting he had with Ailes, and concludes: "He assumes his adversaries are patsies who will be easily cowed into silence. This time, he assumed wrong."

"Atrios" at Eschaton: "Apparently Fox News has just said 'aw, f--- it' when it comes to covering the deaths of American soldiers. They stopped updating their fatality list almost a month ago."

REPUBLICANS: For Reals?

Conservative Shape of Days, on news that ex-CA recall candidate/porn star Mary Carey: "No, we are not all Christians, but there's a Christian ethic that seems to be widely held by Republicans. Christians refer to it by the glib shorthand, 'Hate the sin but love the sinner.' It's a pretty -- hold your gasps, please -- liberal way of looking at the world. ... This idea means that being a porn star ... does not automatically disqualify a person from being a member of the Republican Party."

MyDD diarist "Annatopia" posts photos of a Chevy Suburban plastered with pro-Bush bumper stickers, including one that says: "GOP: God's Official Party." "Annatopia" asks, "can someone please remind me why calling the GOP the party of white christians is so offensive?"

DEMOCRATS: 1) Media Goes After Dean; 2) Bloggers Raise Big Sums For Dean 3) Say To Self: "Self, This Is Like Summer '03 All Over Again!"

On 6/8, Duncan "Atrios" Black wrote: "I've been resisting the idea of encouraging people to donate to party orgs for various reasons. But, the Democrat insider attacks on Howard Dean are, frankly, an attack on all of us. ... So, if you're a wee bit unhappy with the way the spoiled brat Dem insiders are behaving, go give Howard Dean a few bucks." He links to a DNC webpage for grassroots fundraising which tracks donations he brings in. As of 11:00 p.m. on 6/9, 845 for $37285.98.

From The Hill: "Democratic fundraisers say that there is growing concern over what they call Dean's lack of attention to major donors and that donors are much less likely to give money if they don't have sufficient opportunity to meet with the party's leadership." LiberalOasis: "Halley-Frickin-Loo-Yah. Dean is attempting to fully put the party in the hands of the people and minimize the influence of corporate interests. And the big money guys don't like it. Another part of Dean's strategy is to empower the state party operations."

FEC: Attention, Netroots!

GOP activist Mike Krempasky notes that the DNC did not join the bipartisan opposition to potential FEC rulemaking that would regulate blogs: "I am not a Democrat. But if I were, boy - would I be ticked. Especially if I were a Democratic online activist who's put his faith in the new party leadership to change the nature of politics from an elite cadre of decisionmakers to a real grassroots movement. ... What's that sound? Utter, deafening silence. Nothing. Neither [ex-Dean consultant Joe] Trippi, nor [Howard] Dean, nor any national Democratic committee (DNC, DCCC, DSCC) submitted word one to the FEC for this rulemaking. The Republican National Committee did. Kerry-Edwards '04 did. Bloggers themselves did." More: "Three calls to the DNC yesterday by yours truly were met with complete and total bewilderment. And not one single returned call. "I don't know anything about that," was all one staffer in the communication shop had to say."

IN THE STATES: Rub A Dub Dub, Three Coloradoans Prolonging A Hubbub

Colorado Pols: "The Denver Three, you'll remember, are the three people who were booted out of a President Bush "town hall" event on social security back in March. There hasn't been much news about them now for more than a month, but like that weird smell in your grandmother's house, they just won't go away." The blog reports that CO Dem Reps. Mark Udall and Diana DeGette plus Sen. Ken Salazar have sent a letter to the Secret Service asking for an update on the investigation; text of the letter is included in the post.

Conservative NE blogger Good Morning America posts an NE GOP release from 6/8 denouncing a post on the NE Dems' official blog by NE Dem exec. dir. Barry Rubin referring to GOP official Carlos Castillo as "Tio Tomas," which is Espanol for "Uncle Tom." The post includes a link to the NE Dem blog post, which has since been removed. At the NE Dem blog, not much is happening. NE Dem dep. dir. Heath Mello wrote, prior to this kerfuffle: "To be honest with you, blogging hasn't caught on in Nebraska like in New York, Montana, or California..." This a.m., said kerfuffle rated a mention in the Lincoln Journal Star, which includes a condemnation by Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and calls for Sen Ben Nelson (D-NE) to do the same.

RedState has an update on Ralph Reed's GA LG bid: "After weeks of being hammered" over connections to Jack Abramoff, Reed "finally tried his hand at an offensive maneuver. Reed sent out an email to his supporters and others accusing the Atlanta Journal-Constitution of political bias" and "set the record straight." More: "In related news, rumor has it that two individuals listed on a fundraising invitation for Ralph Reed, said they did not want to be listed as hosts, yet are listed. I've tried contacting both for comment, but so far have not heard anything. In yet more related news, sources are telling me that the Republican House Leadership is trying very hard to keep House Republicans neutral in the Lt. Governor's race." Yet more: "In still other Georgia news, word has spread throughout the GOP grassroots that the Governor's team is smelling danger. Governor [Sonny] Perdue has not been able to keep a lot of deep loyalty in the grassroots and is taking steps, as best he can, to correct that. Subtle dread has been seeping into Republicans across the state that Cathy Cox just might get the Democratic nomination and toast the Governor."

Kennedy Vs. The Machine notices that Nat'l Assoc. of Wholesalers is taking note of Rep. Mark Kennedy's (R-MN) SEN bid: "Knowing that the race is on their radar 18 months out brings some comfort."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: The Inevitable?

Left-leaning Ezra Klein, on what happens the next time the Dems take power: "Democrats will have to raise taxes, the only question is how." He offers his own take: "Democrats need to make taxes about programs rather than paychecks. The country is ideologically conservative, which is to say theoretically selfish, so if you ask them to give up more money to fund unknown government projects, a "no" response shouldn't exactly shock you. But the country is also operationally liberal, so if you tell them you need some more money specifically and solely to fund something they like, that's a transaction as much as a tax increase, and it engages the liberal side of Americans as surely as it does their conservative halves. ... Ask for the money, explain what it'll buy, lock it into place (with the constraints on the revenue being sunsetted after five years to preserve future flexibility), and argue for it in context of a program people like, not a tax increase they never will."

LEST WE FORGET: Larry, Quite Contrary

BlameBush!'s faux lefty "Liberal Larry" exculpates John Kerry's poor college grades: "Grading students like sides of beef isn't only barbaric, it's impractical. Although some white males have managed to slip through the protective filter of affirmative action, college campuses are far more diverse than they were 40 years ago. The good ol' boy, country club colleges of the ango-elite are a thing of the past. Today, students hail from a variety of racial backgrounds, belief systems, genders, and subgenders, each with their own socio-perceptual and multisensory learning style. As a Professym of Midget Studies and the Kama Sutra at Evergreen State College, I would find it a daunting task to pass any of my little buddies under a grading system that doesn't take into account the cornucopia of cultures that comprise a typical student body."

Posted by at June 10, 2005 12:00 PM