In his posthumous book, Our Common Wealth: The Hidden Economy That Makes Everything Else Work, Jonathan Rowe writes:

To get to San Francisco from where I live, I usually drive through the hamlet of Nicasio. It’s just a scattering of wooden structures around a community baseball field. The hills beyond are mainly ranches, not much changed from a century ago.

Recently, a sign appeared by the road there. “SOON TO BE BUILT ON THIS SITE,” it said, and my insides went code red. I thought of bulldozers, asphalt, a mange of houses with glandular disorders.

Then I saw the [sign’s] smaller print: “Thanks to your help, absolutely nothing.”

That story makes me smile, because it is so Jon Rowe. A close friend and idea co-conspirator, Jon tirelessly challenged the American anthem, “more, faster, bigger, louder.” For years, in one article and column after another, he asked that we pause our relentlessly self-centered, materialistic spree long enough to consider where it might be leading us.

If one thing most defined Jon’s work, which appeared in The Atlantic, Christian Science Monitor, Washington Monthly and other publications, it was his ability to help us better see ourselves, our lives, and our culture—with clear, simple, oddly beautiful prose.

Continue reading »

Barrett Brown Update: New Defense Team, Feds Fish For Activists
By Christian Stork on May 2, 2013
Several new developments in the Barrett Brown case suggest that the playing field between the cyber-activist/journalist and the government may be starting to even out-at least a bit. But the feds aren't giving up anytime soon.

Dancing in Jaffa
By James Huang on Apr 28, 2013
Who wouldn't like, for once, to hear a story of Israelis and Palestinians getting along? Here's a moving program to help children in this troubled land to bridge the perennial hostility gap-literally, by touching. Put the cynicism aside for a moment and revel in this beautiful documentary trailer.

More "Not In The George W. Bush Presidential Library And Museum": The Cronyism
By Tim McDonnell on Apr 26, 2013
If you want a fairy tale account of recent history-with an engaged president taking tough choices in the public interest-hightail it to Dallas and visit the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. If you'd prefer the real story-of cronyism, incompetence, cynicism and self-dealing by the American aristocracy, read on.

George W. Bush Presidential Library And Museum
By Russ Baker on Apr 24, 2013
The new George W. Bush Library and Museum is dedicated to educating the public. Here's one story it left out. Play ball!

George Carlin: How Politicians Talk
By James Huang on Apr 21, 2013
All those weaselly words politicians use? George Carlin was on the case.

Ah yes, the old "media hated Bush" canard.

Chris Matthews on MSNBC called Bush a "hero" and boomed, "He won the war. He was an effective commander. Everybody recognizes that, I believe, except a few critics." He added: "Women like a guy who's president. Check it out. The women like this war. I think we like having a hero as our president. It's simple."

PBS' Gwen Ifill said Bush was "part Tom Cruise, part Ronald Reagan."

On NBC, Brian Williams gushed, "The pictures were beautiful. It was quite something to see the first-ever American president on a -- on a carrier landing."

"He flashed that famous all-American grin as he swaggered around the deck of the aircraft carrier in his olive flight suit, ejection harness between his legs, helmet tucked under his arm, awestruck crew crowding around. Maverick was back, cooler and hotter than ever, throttling to the max with joystick politics." - Maureen Dowd

And there's the matter of the media basically handing Bush the 2000 election.

But here's the weird thing. Trump is basically admitting that Bush's herculean incompetence put Obama in the White House -- but he blames the media for "tearing him down."

Which is it?

Whowhatwhy.com with some controversial takes on recent events. Are we even allowed to question the official version?
The Marathon Bombing: What The Media Didn't Warn You About
With the media’s constant “coverage” of the Boston tragedy, it’s easy to think you are well- informed. But are you? Here is some perspective you probably didn’t get from your favorite mainstream outlet.

Just Asking: Media Outfoxed On Spate Of Bizarre Shootings?
Should the media line up behind a Fox News reporter facing jail time for her refusal to name sources? Of course. But they might also look into where reporters get those “scoops”—and how they shape public perceptions. Particularly in the cases of these “lone nut” shooters that have become increasingly common, leaks from law enforcement should not be taken at face value.

The thing that really irked me about the whole "President Obama won't let the media have access while he plays golf with Tiger Woods" silliness has more to do with the fact that, while the largest climate rally ever took place in D.C., President Obama's golfing buddies included two prominent Texas oil and gas executives. (Not that the media would have covered that in much context, mind you.)

Deals do get done on the golf course. I think most people understand that, and so it's not necessarily a bad sign that Obama was playing golf with the same scumbags who helped destroy the environment and ravish our coastlines. It's possible that Obama said, "You know, Jim, we're going to have to do something about this, and you're going to have to get used to it." (Likely? Who the hell knows?)

But see, the problem isn't that Obama talks to oilmen. It's that he never, ever talks to people like us.

No, neutered Skype sessions with the general public don't count. Why doesn't the president sit down and talk with a group of the struggling long-term unemployed, those whose income took a massive nosedive, and all these highly-educated, yet underemployed young people? (You know, the people he only talks to when he's campaigning.)

He's not alone in this, by the way. In the past ten years, it has become much less likely that rank-and-file voters have any meaningful access to their elected officials. A lot of them have stopped holding town halls (or only hold them when they can hand-pick the crowd). Look how many of them won't even take phone calls now -- you can only fill out an online email form.

Look at the people who do have access: Lobbyists, CEOs, big donors. Wall Street billionaires.

And we don't.

Every time I see one of those stories about Obama helping someone who wrote him about their troubles, I get annoyed. Because these are almost always individuals with systemic problems, not individual problems. We The People are flotsam and jetsam caught up in an ongoing economic tsunami, and all we get from the White House are words -- and PR events.

It's time for some real engagement with working people. How about a White House summit on that?

Boortz gets points for creativity here. Proposing that tax rates on the top 2% of earners return to Soviet Clinton-era levels is usually attributed to Obama's "Marxism." That it's because of mental illness, exacerbated by a hatred for George W. Bush (who's he again?) is truly a new twist.

But here's the problem for Boortz.

Not only are a plurality of Americans in favor of increasing taxes on the rich, a majority of Republicans are.

So, Boortz just called his own party a bunch of psychotic Bush haters.

He's half right, at least.

Michael Gerson, who once wrote speeches for George "If You Vote for Democrats The Terrorists Win" Bush is pretty much the most reliable right-wing concern troller in the media, and he doesn't disappoint with his latest column.

Whatever his intentions or provocations, Obama is now engaged in partisan polarization on an industrial scale. His campaign’s latest round of Bain charges is not politics as usual. It is the accusation of criminal impropriety — the filing of false government documents — without real evidence, as various fact-checking outfits have attested. Obama’s recent attack ad, “Firms,” reflects the sensibilities of a particularly nasty 13-year-old. It is difficult to imagine most Americans saying: “That’s just what American politics most needs — more juvenile viciousness.”

It seems quite clear that Romney, at a minimum, perjured himself about his role at Bain. And falsifying financial disclosures to the SEC is a felony, as Stephanie Cutter pointed out.

But obviously Gerson was taking a nap while his boss was running the Swift Boat ads against John Kerry, which were nothing but a bunch of lies and personal attacks -- and were thoroughly debunked. And speaking of "juvenile viciousness" maybe he forgot the Bush/Cheney "Windsurfing" ad. Because otherwise, he'd be a big fat hypocrite, right?

...according to Gallup, the gap between partisans’ approval ratings of Obama has been “historically high.” This does not mean the GOP bears no responsibility. It only means Obama has made Washington more broken and continues to make it more broken — both responding to grievances and creating new reasons for grievance.

So Gerson's bosses spend 8 years flinging Rovian poo on Democrats. As soon as Obama is elected, Republicans compare him to Hitler and conspire to make him a one-termer. But Obama's made it worse because he's actually fighting back.

How much does Michael Gerson get paid to write this crap?

DOWNLOADS: (150)

PLAYS: (871)

Embed

Kurtz: Conservatives look at this barrage and say "when has Barack Obama ever gotten this kind of media scrutiny?

He really asked that. And he really asked it in the frame of what conservatives might be asking. You know, the conservatives who don't turn on Fox News. Those conservatives. Or would that be "that conservative." That one single conservative living in a treehouse in the middle of the smoldering remains of an Andean jungle, perhaps. That conservative.

Oh, wait.

Does Howard Kurtz not have an intern or two who could actually do some research before he asks ridiculous questions like that? He could just mosey on over to Crooks and Liars or Media Matters or ThinkProgress and browse the archives for a whole treasure trove of piling-on. Let me see what I can find for him without digging too deeply.

There is the recent Sean Hannity effort to smear the President with Breitbartian conspiracy theories in the name of "Vetting Barack Obama," of course.

Or the endless, sensationalized ridiculous stories run on Reverend Jeremiah Wright back in 2008, where Kurtz' very own network ran the most stories. 228 stories from CNN; 213 from Fox News, and a fed-up public who had seen quite enough of the erstwhile and sincere Reverend Wright.

Let's not forget the birth certificate stories, which were so ubiquitous they became the first-required question in everyone's arsenal of Important Things To Ask Barack Obama In A One-On-One Interview.

Keep in mind, the few examples I listed above don't even rise to the level of importance that Mitt Romney's offshore finances and tax returns do, but that doesn't stop Howie from asking the most ridiculous, off-the-wall question of them all as he lifts the heavy jug of conservative water and lugs it down the path for Mitt Romney.

But wait, there's even more.

The other remarkable moment is where Romney Press Secretary Wannabe Jennifer Rubin makes the claim that all of the stories about Mitt Romney's finances are really just press releases from the Obama campaign, echoed out into the news cycle with no foundation.

I realize Ms. Rubin may possibly be the most vapid neocon blogger on the planet, but does she not see the error of her claim? Even if the stories were leaked by the Obama campaign, she shouldn't ascribe conservative media values to them. We all know Fox News carries water for their causes and isn't ashamed to use Romney press releases alongside Breitbart conspiracy theories. The same goes for the Washington Examiner and other tabloid-esque conservative publications.

But is Jennifer Rubin really saying that her own employer, the Washington Post, simply republishes campaign press releases without verifying them for accuracy or fleshing them out? Isn't this really a chicken-and-egg question anyway? Be it campaign or citizen, sending a tip to a reporter isn't a guarantee it'll pan out or pass muster. Isn't that the duty of the reporter, editor and publisher?

Only that stupid question by Howie Kurtz could make the Rubin silliness less vapid. Either Howie's long term memory facilities are shot or he wanted to take the opportunity to absolve Fox News of any bias toward the conservative candidates in this race.

Either way, it's the stupidest question I've heard asked this morning and possibly all week. But then, I've not watched Candy Crowley's show yet, so there's hope.

DOWNLOADS: (133)

PLAYS: (595)

Embed

If I somehow twisted the arm of a politician to stand up in front of microphones or on the House floor to say that elephants are really Martians, the media would find some way to turn that into a headline which said "Are Elephants Martians? Experts Weigh In." The experts would then parade across the screen, but because the Martian-Elephant Liberty Think Tank (MELTT) already had white papers written which proved that Martians do indeed exist and fuzzy images seem to indicate there might be some resemblance to elephants, that expert would also take his seat at the pundits' table and so it would come to pass that we all be asked to accept as fact that it is not entirely insane to believe that elephants are Martians.

Next, they would commission a poll to see how people feel about elephants being Martians so they could get some experts to come on television and tell you why they're Martians.

Oh, the Sacred Polls, how we do worship them.

Just as opinions are placed into the mainstream via the highest, holiest institutions of thought -- think tanks -- so too are those opinions hardened by the pollsters, who in some cases, admit they use their data-gathering efforts to shape ideas. Instead of asking questions which then elicit responses, they take data and form a narrative, which is then pushed along by the linguists and thinkers, while some pollsters then convert the poll itself into the narrative.

This is how it works. Don't believe me? I swear to you this headline actually exists on a mainstream newspaper website: A third of Earthlings believe in UFOs, would befriend aliens.

Not only does it exist on that major website, it was a trending item on Memeorandum's Political News Page. No lie, and look where it is:

Continue reading »