NPR Check: Q Tips

Friday, January 01, 2010

Q Tips

Happy New Year all. NPR related comments are welcomed as always.

79 comments:

Woody (Tokin Librul/Rogue Scholar/ Helluvafella!) said...: Red-State blogger Eric Erickson was one of two 'pundits' tabbed on WESat today to prognosticate about political fortunes for the new year, along with some specious bint from TNR to supply "balance." I am ALWAYS fascinated by who NPR brings in to supply its notions of "balance." How is ANYTHING upon which Marty Peretz has had his hands considered clean for human consumption, to say NOTHING of Franklin Foer...There is no point, of course, of appealing to the Ombud-creature...; 1/2/10, 10:25 AM
Mytwords said...: I agree Woody. It was unbelievable...I did drop a comment on the story site - and I notice that there are other good comments there.; 1/2/10, 11:39 AM
biggerbox said...: I had the radio on as I dozed this morning, and I thought I had dreamed that Eric the Red was on. That really happened, hunh? Wow. And 'balanced' by the New Republic? I guess they figured that just because Scott is away is no reason to turn down the right-wing nonsense.; 1/2/10, 12:19 PM
sue said...: Bb: Scott (fw) wasn't far enough away. He had to blow hot air from India about somebody on his plane who had to be sat on while he beat his head against the floor, crying, "I am not a terrorist!" Scott (fw) seemed to get quite a charge out of it.; 1/2/10, 2:13 PM
gopolinator said...: Here's the interview Gary Webb did with Alex Chadwick back in 1996.; 1/3/10, 4:53 PM
Anonymous said...: Booz Allen Hamilton advertisement on NPR today. War is GREAT for business.

madchen; 1/4/10, 12:30 PM
googe said...: I thought sure it must be April Fulton whose voice chirped throught the text of
Congress Proposes New Physician Payment System, especially after hearing the inane analogy: If you've had a home repair that went sideways, this whole approach to managing health care may not inspire a lot of confidence. But no, it was Sarah Varney. Plenty of air heads to go around, it seems.; 1/5/10, 1:15 AM
GRUMPY DEMO said...: Happy New Year guys!

Update on "Le Affair De Grumpy". I asked why my account was shut down without warning, here's the automated answer:

"Dear Listener,

Thank you for contacting NPR.

Here is the response from the Social Media folks:

"One too many trollish posts attacking other people. We always tolerated his criticism of NPR but that doesn't mean he can resort to name calling of others."

We are always delighted to hear from listeners. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.

Thank you for listening to NPR, and for your continued support of public broadcasting. For the latest news and information, visit NPR.org.

Sincerely,
Alan"

Since NPR has deleted my account and as a result all my comments, kind of hard to defend myself.

Does explain NPR loves it Neocons and Gitmo thought.; 1/5/10, 7:29 AM
Anonymous said...: My Resolution for 2010...NoPR.; 1/5/10, 7:48 AM
GRUMPY DEMO said...: On today's (Tuesday's) ME "CIA Bomber Apparently Was A Double Agent"
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122242716

NPR pretty much, without saying so, documents almost everything it reported yesterday was wrong.

Hey, wait a minute!

Sooooo, everything NPR reported yesterday on ME about this story was WRONG? It was a local terrorist that had skirted security?

Why was that? No explanation, just repeat what the CIA tells NPR to say today.

That's some tasty journalism this AM. Maybe a "little" skepticism when it comes to the CIA, from NPR would be nice for a change. It's not like the Government has lied to us in the last six years or anything?; 1/5/10, 8:36 AM
larry, dfh said...: ... Maybe a "little" skepticism when it comes to the CIA....
A career-killer in shephardland for sure. Just as an example of whom you can-and-cannot trust, we haven't heard anything about 'getting no's 1-7 in the c.i.a. hierarchy'. If the situation were reversed...; 1/5/10, 9:23 AM
Boulder Dude said...: I spy with my little eye the return of Grumpy to the NPR family.

Funny, and I can count at least 10 righty commenters that all they do is troll and attack others.

~makes note to start hitting abuse on them~

http://www.npr.org/templates/community/persona.php?uid=2080924; 1/5/10, 9:24 AM
Boulder Dude said...: ~snorts~

NPR sent the tighty righty teabaggers into froth mode by posting the Fiore teabagging cartoon.

The comments are a thing of beauty.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120344047; 1/5/10, 10:20 AM
RepubLiecan said...: On Monday Cokie Roberts strikes again and again and again! She is a prime example of how merely spewing conventional beltway wisdom can be turned into big bucks.

Crooks and Liars points out another instance of the Cokester explaining why everything is good for us Republiecans and bad for the Democrats, especially their response to terrorism and not having served in the military.

I can't believe I was ever so ignorant to think that the Cokester said something worth listening to. We live and learn, I guess.

===================================; 1/5/10, 11:20 AM
GRUMPY DEMO said...: I haven’t decided on what my resurrected persona at NPR should be yet, here’s the finalist :

-The Crow: Sociopath drag queen with bad makeup and no sense of fashion?
-V from “V for Vendetta”: Sociopath drag queen with no makeup and excellent fashion sense?
-Ripley from “Alien Resurrection”: Half-human half-alien hybrid, a real queen ripping everyone and everything a new one?
-Dutton Peabody from “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”: A drunken witty second-rate reporter, needless to say no fashion sense, no make up:

Link Appleyard: Did you know Liberty Valance is in town tonight?
Dutton Peabody: I'd be a poor newspaperman indeed if I didn't know what everybody knows!

Hmmmmm.; 1/5/10, 11:33 AM
Nate Bowman said...: Grumpy

I vote for Dutton Peabody.

BTW, I just left a post over at the ombudsman's blog protesting the deletion of all of your work.; 1/5/10, 12:25 PM
Nate Bowman said...: I just did one of my usual dissections (hatchet jobs?) over at the piece on military commissions and civilian trials discussion with two who worked for each of the Bushes.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122226375; 1/5/10, 12:29 PM
biggerbox said...: Gotta love that chat this morning between Reuel Marc Gerecht and Inskeep. Even if I didn't have reason to suspect Gerecht, the way he talked and the way Inskeep fawned over him would have given it away. The story was supposedly about why the Brits refused the Underwear Bomber a visa and we'd given him one, but actually they left that question in the dust ASAP. Why bother with pesky details when you can spend five minutes advancing an authoritarian agenda?; 1/5/10, 2:54 PM
Boulder Dude said...: Wow, who knew that the Teabaggers could be so darn funny.; 1/5/10, 4:01 PM
Boulder Dude said...: Grumpy, I think that Dutton Peabody would be best, since for some odd reason, the right wingers seem to think that "V" is one of their heroes, even though they would try to tie V to a fence in the winter if they were real.; 1/5/10, 4:33 PM
Boulder Dude said...: Well, count me well and truley shocked that after a day of Teabagger whacking that I have not been banned, and picked like 5 new friends.

Yeppers, well and truely shocked.; 1/5/10, 5:19 PM
boogs said...: Heard the Booz Allen ad. Staggering. Frome their web site:
In addition, we have been witness to or participant in the reunification of Germany, the Gulf Wars, the response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the rise and fall of business cycles, and dramatic shifts in the ways that commerce, war, and peace have been conducted.

From CorpWatch: Who Is Booz Allen Hamilton?; 1/5/10, 6:21 PM
Nate Bowman said...: Boulder Dude

Great job and congrats on the new friends.

I am slogging through the now 939 comments. I haven't gotten to yours yet.; 1/5/10, 9:40 PM
Anonymous said...: This morning Diane Rehm hosted John and Doris Naisbitt, of Megatrends fame. They were shilling like crazy for China, with their new book, China's Megatrends.

Things I learned:

There is no oppression in Tibet.
China has a "VERTICAL democracy!"
The Chinese people are always looking forward, not like those European whiners.
The country is run like a corporation and that's a really good thing.

Rehm gently challenged John Naisbitt once, early in the hour, something about his unspecific acknowledgement that some criticism of China is justified.

John Naisbitt actually said--I am not making this up--that China is like the new person in the neighborhood that everyone likes to gossip about, and that's why we're hearing all these negatives. Even though some of the gossip turns out to be true, it's still gossip.

After that, no, Rehm let it all go. Oh wait, she did startle a bit when one of the guests, I think Doris Naisbitt, said China was "the new America." Naisbitt backed down slightly, saying something like, "I don't mean it's taking the place of America."

John Naisbitt also characterized an eight-year prison sentence being served by a pro-democracy activist (I think it was Li Zhi) as "taking his medicine."

Falun Gong, well, they're "perceived" as a threat by the government, so, whatever.

The callers who disagreed with the Naisbitts were dismissed by John asking if they'd ever been to China. Doris Naisbitt informed us that Tibet is much better than before 1949, that it is flourishing now, and that the government actually subsidizes the monasteries.

It really was amazing. Really, this kind of nonsense went on unchallenged for most of the hour. About two thirds of the callers confronted the Naisbitts, but each time Diane Rehm let them dismiss the callers rather rudely.

Diane Rehm (or her staff) didn't use the question I sent in on Twitter though: briefly, "Who are these people working for anyway?"; 1/5/10, 10:05 PM
Nate Bowman said...: Boulder Dude:

Yoeman's work dude. Tough crowd.; 1/6/10, 2:50 AM
Boulder Dude said...: Nate:

Thanks, but mostly I was amazed that it just kept going, it's 1000+ comments now and some of the logic of the arguements were stunning.

I am still trying to wrap my mind around the guy (claiming of course to have a 186 IQ and a former History Prof from UNLV) saying that there is no way that there is no Democratic Party, only the Democrat Party since the US is not a Democrocy.

Crazy, man, crazy.

Fluffy is in there yelling at them now.; 1/6/10, 8:54 AM
Buzztree said...: Inscreep had his hat handed to him this morning by the Nigerian information minister. After Inscreep implied that Nigeria is crawling with terrorist and Al Qaeda activity, the minister said back to him, "What terrorist groups are you talking about?" Inscreep hastily changed the subject.; 1/6/10, 9:26 AM
Nate Bowman said...: Boulder Dude

It also struck me that for all the outrage about Tea Party vs. Tea Bag (which they use; it's Tea Bagger they find offensive.) that they would twist the meaning of words and rules of grammar to serve their masters' needs just shows what puppets and how misguided they are. The problem is they are half right and by insisting they are completely right, they become completely wrong. From my dictionary:

democratic |ˌdeməˈkratik|
adjective
1 of, relating to, or supporting democracy or its principles : democratic reforms | democratic government.
• favoring or characterized by social equality; egalitarian : cycling is a democratic activity that can be enjoyed by anyone.
2 ( Democratic) of or relating to the Democratic Party.

I love self-referential humor, so my favorite post was this:

SKY ALLEN (SKYBLU) wrote:
As a tea bag supporter I do not believe NPR has a legal right to use PUBLIC funds to malign this organization's beliefs. I'm genuinely terrified of the present regime's power grabs that are resulting in our loss of freedoms as constitutional rights are rapidly infringed.
January 5, 2010 10:53:18 AM EST

He is a supporter and calls it tea bag!; 1/6/10, 10:17 AM
Nate Bowman said...: My stupid blog.

I've gotten depressed about what's going on in my country and the world and have taken a stab at starting a blog. It's really mostly a collection of links to posts and comments at other sites that I find entertaining, humorous and/or incisive.

I've posted some from the NPR Tea Party discussion.

I am an amateur at blogs, so please suggest any improvements. And please contribute to the open threads.

Or, tell me to scrap the idea.

Thanks.

http://sugaronthewound.blogspot.com/

or click on my name; 1/6/10, 10:21 AM
Woody (Tokin Librul/Rogue Scholar/ Helluvafella!) said...: @Fred Baumgarten said...

Afaik, in Nigeria, most of the 'terrorists' are either agents of the Govt, or work for the oil companies. Insqueak would never, ever have rejoined the Minister with that knowledge, eve3n if he had it...; 1/6/10, 4:41 PM
Woody (Tokin Librul/Rogue Scholar/ Helluvafella!) said...: If Insqueak had had a stone to his name, he could have asked the Nigerian propaganda minister who killed Ken Sara-wiwa...; 1/6/10, 4:43 PM
Jay Schiavone said...: I killed Ken Saro-wiwa every time I filled up my tank with Shell gasoline. In my defense, it was the closest filling station to my home. Also, I have switched to Citgo, whose gas comes from Venezuela. I gotta own it: using petrol makes me as much a murderer as Erik Prince. Half my tax payment goes to sustain the endless war apparatus. Who am I to criticize ANY ombudsperson?; 1/6/10, 5:45 PM
gDog said...: In Only Survivor of Both Atomic Bombs Dies Charles Pellegrino tells a story of how Yamaguchi survived Hiroshima and then went to Nagasaki, where he survived again. According to Pellegrino, Yamaguchi ended up thinking that the bomb was a good thing in that it might have killed evil and created good, or some such nonsense:

Your write that Mr. Yamaguchi felt that he had been given, through the course of these two tragedies, a second life and that he had to choose how to lead it. What was his choice?

CP: For months he was very depressed, very angry, even wanting revenge and felt that, while another collegue of his stayed angry for a long time, and referred to these concentric circles of death. Mr. Yamaguchi had another viral idea that he could empower children, that he could empower anyone to go out with what an American would call the Pay It Forward Principle and he felt that somewhere somehow, this would reach into some place, maybe change the life of some child who might otherwise grow up to do something evil, and ultimately he had a small chance of perhaps preventing another Hiroshima.

What utter drivelling nonsense.; 1/7/10, 12:11 AM
Unknown said...: I'm a day or so short... but the other day I heard NPR slam "The White House and Congress" for the fact that so many Obama appointments have been confirmed thus far in his term.

They even dragged out the spin that "Bush had nominated twice as number of people in his first year", as though the problem was with the Obama administration.

But the fact is, if Bush nominated 100 and 20 got confirmed and Obama nominiated 50 and 2 got confirmed... Well, does it really matter how many more nominations were tendered?

It sounds like NPR is claiming Congress works a percentage of the nominations and it's Obama's fault for not ramping up the number of nominations...

Whereas... come on ya'll... the problem REALLY is with the standard GOP "NO!" tactics.; 1/7/10, 9:32 AM
Nate Bowman said...: Mädchen Vapid/Mara Heiss:

If you're out there.

Now that Mara Heiß was nuked, I was wondering what the name alluded to. I assume that Mara was for Mara Liasson, but couldn't connect the hot.; 1/7/10, 10:18 AM
Anonymous said...: I want to quote your post in my blog. It can?
And you et an account on Twitter?; 1/7/10, 12:45 PM
Anonymous said...: goopDoggy says (with regard to last survivor) "What utter drivelling nonsense."

Agreed.

I'd have to say that surviving both bombings is not the only thing that makes this fellow exceptional. he also seems to have a very bizarre (perverse, almost) perspective.

I have a good friend who is Japanese and who was a young child at the time of the atomic bombing of H and N.

As with most Japanese, she finds the wanton killing of hundreds of thousand of innocent civilians appalling, as do I, particularly given the circumstances: American officials had broken the Japanse code, had intercepted messages and knew at the time that Japan was actually looking for a way to surrender.

But Truman wanted to "demonstrate" the destructive power of the bomb in order to send a warning to the Soviet Union.

and the rest, as they say, is history.

That NPR would air such crap is no surprise, however. The reporters at NPR seem to love such contrarian angles. They think it makes them look like they are providing some novel perspective.

Novel, perhaps, but also ridiculous and foolish.; 1/7/10, 1:12 PM
gDog said...: You gotta wonder who really writes stuff like Civilian Deaths Unleash Emotions In Afghanistan which is posted as an AP story at the NPR site. Comparing that story to the more blunt Shooting Handcuffed Children is reminiscent of the old elephant saw. The AP guy writes,

The incident in Kunar was the most serious allegation of accidental killings of civilians by Western forces since early December, when Afghan officials said 12 civilians were killed in an airstrike in neighboring Laghman province.

Whereas the London Times quotes an eye witness as saying,

First the foreign troops entered the guest room and shot two of them. Then they entered another room and handcuffed the seven students. Then they killed them.

Hardly "accidental."

I don't think NPR has covered the story at all.; 1/7/10, 3:43 PM
Nate Bowman said...: goopDoggy

Great comparison.

Why don't you post it at the comments there?

You're tempting me to plagiarize.

: ); 1/7/10, 3:49 PM
gDog said...: NB, Yeah, I tend to think of posting at NPR as screaming into the void, but hey, if they pay enough attention to ban Grumpy, then mebbe it's worth a howl.; 1/7/10, 5:08 PM
biiiig!piiiiiink!fuuuuuuzzy!buuuuunny! said...: ^ That's just it. They'd 'disappear' ya if ya start rufflin' their precious feathers. Tho thenthitive to conthructive critithithm, they be.; 1/7/10, 5:44 PM
Anonymous said...: GoopDoggy says " I tend to think of posting at NPR as screaming into the void"

More like "reaming into the 'roid "; 1/7/10, 6:52 PM
Anonymous said...: Make that "reaming into the 'rhoid"

Please forgive the misspelling.; 1/7/10, 6:54 PM
Anonymous said...: It's kind of funny.

I had not actually listened to NPR in a long time ..until yesterday, when I was driving back from a ski outing in vermont.

I happened upon Meeeeeshell Whoris on the dial ...and nearly retched.

I immediately changed the dial to something less foul, of course.

Her hoarse (or is it horse? [or whores?]) voice used to bother me, of course, but I now realize i can't even listen to her for more than a few seconds without feeling deathly ill.

reading NPRCheck will do that to you.; 1/7/10, 6:59 PM
Anonymous said...: I hate to say it, but I think bank fraud expert William Black was right when he said the bank bailout would be the end of the Obama presidency

it certainly looks like Geithner -- and his boss Obama -- have been taking the American public for a ride:

"An arm of the Federal Reserve, then led by now-Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, told bailed-out insurance giant AIG to withhold key details from the public about overpayments that put billions of extra tax dollars in the coffers of major Wall Street firms, most notably Goldman Sachs."

"It appears that the New York Fed [then led by Tim Geithner] deliberately pressured AIG to restrict and delay the disclosure of important information to the SEC," Issa said in a statement. "The American taxpayers, who own approximately 80% of AIG, deserve full and complete disclosure under our nation's securities laws, not the withholding of politically inconvenient information."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/07/geithners-new-york-fed-to_n_414449.htm; 1/7/10, 9:03 PM
gDog said...: Planet Monkey has an internet only report on the Issa/Geithner story. Alls quiet on the broadcast front.

Pretty weird when billionaire car alarm foister Issa is the one breaking the news.; 1/7/10, 9:45 PM
GRUMPY DEMO said...: "said the bank bailout would be the end of the Obama presidency"

This disclosure was while he was Head of the NY Fed, that was the implemented by Bush bailout, led by Peterson, et al. Not sure how the GOP can attack someone for following the GOP's policies.

That's not to say promoting this clown, who didn't even pay his taxes properly, doesn't reflect poorly on Obama's judgment.

Hard to see how the Repubs can attack Obama since they created this bailout and have been defending Wallstreet and the Banksters from day one.

However based on this past year, I do wonder why I thought he was better than Hillary, it like the DLC is running things making the same crappy mistakes, selling out their party members for corporate money.; 1/7/10, 9:46 PM
Anonymous said...: Nate,

Madchen Vapid and Mara HeiB are both anagrams of real names. Madchen is mine, the other is my girlfriend's name.

Listened to a bit of TOTN today. Kneel was interviewing all of his NPR cronies. Deena Temple-Raston (Counterterrorism Correspondent), Kevin Whitelaw (correspondent for NPR.ORG) and Scott Horsely (White House Correspondent).

First of all, what is this new position referred to as "Correspondent for NPR.ORG"? Jeebus, please tell me that NPR hasn't invented a new title for online aggregators in order to legitimize blogging!

Second, how many journo "experts" can NPR pack into one studio for a roundtable...or as I like to call it, "a circle j*rk"? Is there enough space for them all stroke each others egos while simultaneously hand-wringing about the failure of the Obama Presidency?

m/m; 1/7/10, 10:21 PM
Anonymous said...: This disclosure was while he was Head of the NY Fed, that was the implemented by Bush bailout, led by Peterson, et al. Not sure how the GOP can attack someone for following the GOP's policies."

While that is true enough, Obama has been aware for some time now that Geithner has been hiding things from the American public.

Most people that i know who voted for Obama did so because they were tired of the Texas two(timer) step and believed Obama when he said he would bring change and transparency to government.

It is becoming increasingly clear that he has brought neither.

If there is one thing the American public do not like, it is a con artist.

"Hard to see how the Repubs can attack Obama since they created this bailout and have been defending Wallstreet and the Banksters from day one."

Actually, that is not entirely true. Bush/Paulson created the bailout and there were actually Republicans in Congress who opposed it. And some Republicans have been vocal critics of Wall Street of late.

Not all republicans are corrupt and/or owned by the corporations.

Ron Paul is a good example of someone who is not.

As an independent who has voted Democratic in nearly every election since I became old enough to vote, I commented a while ago on this blog that I would vote against Chris Dodd even if it meant voting for his republican opponent.

There are many others just like me in CT because Dodd has been way behind in the polls and as a direct result has decided not to seek re-election this fall.

don't misunderstimate how pissed off the American public are over this whole bailout scam.; 1/7/10, 11:11 PM
Nate Bowman said...: Mädchen Mara or m/m

Not to be confused with MM, how I sometimes address Matthew Murray.

Thanks for answering.

I know that NPR is trying to expand its presence in the news world (now that it has pronounced itself Main Stream). I remember hearing they sent a photographer to Afghanistan (?) or someplace. They are becoming "multi-media". I think this new position is along those lines. It does not give me hope. They are having a tough time a journalism as it is and this will just spread them thinner.

Judging by our ombudsman's expressions on the matter, I don't think they are trying to legitimize blogging. I think they look down on one of the few venues left for true investigative journalism and resent how bad it makes them look. It serves their main stream purpose to de-legitimize blogging.

Yeah, their experts upset my stomach.

All the best; 1/7/10, 11:40 PM
Nate Bowman said...: The Huff post link didn't copy and past for me.

Here it is.; 1/7/10, 11:47 PM
Anonymous said...: Nate,

In my opinion, NPR thinks that they can legitimize blogging by giving titles to journos like "Correspondent for NPR.ORG." That way, these would-be bloggers sound as if they are more professional than "angry hacks that live in their parents' basements..."

As far as I am concerned, NPR is just full of aggregators. NPR pays the AP to get access to its content, it gets reworked and viola, NPR produces "multimedia content" by attaching a photo slides show and adding commentary. I guess the "j-school" writers can't have money, but they can have titles?

Duh!

m/m; 1/8/10, 7:52 AM
Anonymous said...: What has happened to journalism at NPR is precisely what has happened to so many other media around the country.

An emphasis on courting corporate dollars (by people like former and current CEO's Kevin Klose and Vivian Schiller) has effectively destroyed it.

Until the public interest (as opposed to corporate interest) is put back in "public" radio, the downward spiral of journalism at NPR will continue.

That will REQUIRE firing Schiller and hiring someone who 1) has the public interest at heart 2) actually has a background in journalism. Schiller fails on both counts.

The following is from "How to Save Journalism"

by John Nichols & Robert McChesney
"the crisis began in earnest in the 1970s and was well under way by the 1990s. It owes far more to the phenomenon of media corporations maximizing profits by turning newsrooms into "profit centers," lowering quality and generally trivializing journalism."; 1/8/10, 8:57 AM
Anonymous said...: "angry hacks that live in their parents' basements..."

you forgot "lazy", "pajama-wearing" and "diet-coke drinking"

"angry, lazy, pajama-wearing, diet-coke drinking hacks that live in their parents' basements..."

Hey, sounds just like Steve Inskeep and Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeshell Norris to me

Meeeeeeeeshell,
My hell,
These are words
That go together well
Meeeeshell hell; 1/8/10, 9:44 AM
goopySnoop said...: God save us all: ¿±Jay Leno may have his time slot moved!!! EMERGENCY: BROADCAST CONTINUOUSLY ON ALL FREQUENCIES!!!!!; 1/8/10, 10:19 AM
Unknown said...: Hell, this morning they covered the BSC Championship... from the perspective of Texas Fans!

As a two time Bama grad, I realised how the Democrats feel when NPR covers politics... from the GOP POV...

We kicked their ass.

Now, let them cry...

;-)

A.; 1/8/10, 11:11 AM
Boulder Dude said...: Hehehe...

It only took a few days, but Alica folded like a card table to the teabaggers, just as expected.

http://www.npr.org/ombudsman/2010/01/loud_protests_on_nprs_tea_part_1.html; 1/8/10, 11:45 AM
Anonymous said...: The funny thing is that the quote Alicia Shepard gives actually IS a perfect characterization of NPR, with American public swapped in for Conservative:

"The cartoon is a perfect caricature of what NPR looks like to [anyone who actually listens to what they say ]: [pompous asses] snidely imagining [members of the American public, whether Conservative or Liberal] to be monosyllabic clods who can't make an argument beyond name-calling," "John Q Public is 'satirized' into a form of political retardation."; 1/8/10, 5:15 PM
larry, dfh said...: Friday PM: Funny that DemocracyNow! didn't have anything about the jay leno story. But in line with the corporatism ruining our contry, Thursday AM's show on whyy 'Radio (waste of) TImes' got a call-in from a university Professor that felt 'dis-incentivized' to publish because of the university's excessive intellectual property criteria. The guy said that he published to communicate with his professional colleagues, and he really enjoyed this. But the university's for-profit mentality was very hampering to the free exchange of information. I remember in 1970 the new president of the University of Delaware (from m.i.t.) said he wanted to 'run it like a business'. He lasted about half a year. The current president of the UofD (one of the highest paid in the world) is the former president of the wharton (business) school. Run it like a business, indeed!; 1/8/10, 7:08 PM
Boulder Dude said...: And of course, after BillO covered it, Mark Firoe is now getting death threats.

http://rawstory.com/2010/01/tea-baggers-death-threats-cartoonist/

http://twitter.com/MarkFiore/status/7483156365; 1/8/10, 7:25 PM
geoff said...: If you look at the dates of swelling tide of belated comments to the Fiore cartoon at NPR, you see they started to swell about 1/2/10. I think this is several days before BillO got a hold of it, so he made be just an amplifying node in the incestuous feedback loop that is the Tea Party Machine.

Here's my count tabulation:
Jan #posts
2......6
3......7
4....500+

It's hard to tell how it went viral. Waclaw Polawski? No, it's at about 12:30 on the 4th when they start coming in at 7 minute intervals starting with Mike Farquhar (IronMike) and continuing through Elizabeth Keen, who may be an exemplar of the sort of group think that BillO is in feedback with. Religious/paranoid/reactionary/zenophobic types who have bonded together in the face of the Black Messiah Obama, whose ascendancy is prophetic as a harbinger of the end days, or whatever. Quite a network there, it seems!

Unfortunately, truly enlightened liberal minded intellectuals (ahem) get the short end of both sides of this stick, since Obama is just carrying the Bush torch further into the tunnel of doom, it seems.; 1/8/10, 8:32 PM
Anonymous said...: I hate to burst the bubble of the Obama faithful, but he's a one term wonder for sure.

There is no way in hell that he can bring 10% unemployment down to a reasonable value (say 5%) before election day 2012.

There is a rule of thumb that says the economy has to grow by 3% to decrease unemployment by 1%.

So, do the math.

If unemployment is to be brought down by about 5% by election day 2012, that means about 15% growth in the economy.

That's 3 years at 5% (I know it's compounded but it makes very little difference)

5% growth is absolutely blazing.

good luck to Obama.

he's gonna need it.

If he thinks people are pissed now, just wait a couple years.

But he will have only himself to blame because he literally threw trillions to the bankers and peanuts to ordinary Americans.

A year ago, if he had started a massive (2 trillion dollar) public works project to put people to work (particularly in the construction sector) and rebuild the infrastructure of this country, he would have been celebrated by ordinary folks much as FDR was celebrated.

But Obama instead listened to people like larry Summers and Tim geithner and he will pay for it at the polling place in 2012. That is for certain.; 1/8/10, 8:36 PM
Nate Bowman said...: m/m

I agree with all you said and know what you mean, so please don't think me too picky for the following. (I want to clarify so no one misunderstands):

"In my opinion, NPR thinks that they can legitimize blogging by giving titles to journos like "Correspondent for NPR.ORG." That way, these would-be bloggers sound as if they are more professional than "angry hacks that live in their parents' basements...""

I think your point is that NPR wants to legitimize THEIR blogging while at the same time de-legitimizing the ones that shows what poor journalists they are. And I would add "Cheetos-eating, working-in-their-underwear, looking-at-the-world-from-30,000 feet" to "angry hacks..."

"As far as I am concerned, NPR is just full of aggregators"

I agree. I am thinking it is just the same process that goes on in most other larger businesses these days: "Let's be real smart about making money by getting a larger share of the market by finding brilliant ways to get relatively unskilled people to service the customers."

"NPR pays the AP to get access to its content, it gets reworked and viola,"

Are you channeling Grumpy? I think you mean cello.
: )

I hope you reincarnate yourself over at NPR soon.; 1/8/10, 9:38 PM
Anonymous said...: "Black Messiah Obama, whose ascendancy is prophetic as a harbinger of the end days, or whatever"

...prophetic as a harbinger of the end of the (short) reign of the Democrats for sure.

It never ceases to amaze me what opportunities for real democratic (and Democratic) change Obama was essentially handed on a silver platter (just as FDR was handed opportunities) and how badly he has squandered those.

Obama may be smart, but where it counts most for a politician (politically), it would seem that he really is an idiot.

His Presidency is headed for the toilet and he does not even realize it.; 1/9/10, 8:39 AM
larry, dfh said...: Saturday morning edition had mary louise kelley at her perkiest. Here we learned that the democrats had the 'slimmest of majorities' in the senate. That's odd, I thought there were 1 1/2 democrats for every republican. Oh well, just funny numbers I guess. And then we hear about how 'cities emit ozone', whcih, to pick a nit, is not true, either. Ozone is somewhere down the line in photochemically (i.e. sunlight) induced reactions from (primarily) automobile emissions. And finally we heard dan schorr tell us how legislation is often best passed in secrecy. So there you have it, in 10 minutes no less: misinformation and corporatism.
In response to those friends here who think obama squandered his opportunities, might I suggest that he came into office with an opportunity to make well by his big campaign contributors. And he has aggressively taken this opportunity, just ask his boss geithner. It is a shame that the american public will be sucking hind-teat, or no teat at all for many years. But having looked at how little the congress did for the american people since 2006, I can't see that an opportunity to help the american public is something either major political party is interested in pursuing. It just oesn't have that 'ca-ching!'. FDR didn't have those considerations; he was above it. He was, and still is, viewed as a 'class traitor'. The geithners and orzags want to finally un-do what FDR accomplished. Now THAT's community organizing I can believe in! Speaking of which, I always viewed 'community organizers' as shake down men, going around the neighborhood soliciting protection money. Sometimes they work for the mafia, sometimes for the nation of islam, sometimes for some local political boss.; 1/9/10, 10:48 AM
Anonymous said...: "to those friends here who think obama squandered his opportunities, might I suggest that he came into office with an opportunity to make well by his big campaign contributors.'

you could be right that he never even considered them "opportunities'.

but that's actually a distinct matter.

Whether he viewed them sas such or not, they were nonetheless opportunities and he nontheless has squandered them through his actions since coming to office.

Even if he wanted to now, he could not get the money for the kind of large public works project that i referred to above.

Obama clearly wants to be remembered as an FDR or Lincoln, two people he mentions with some frequency.

His actions since taking office have virtually assured that that will not be the case.

the main thing i erred on was assuming that Obama was smart enough to look out for his own political interest.

On that he has failed miserably.; 1/9/10, 12:24 PM
Nate Bowman said...: I had a lost to say over at the ombudsmnan's reaction to the Fiore animation. I posted it all in a new blog so I wouldn't take up so much space here.

Link at my name

Here is one of my favorite comments:

"NPR has to make thoughtful decisions about how it projects itself moving forward and about its continued implementation of this type of multimedia," said Kenneth Irby, an expert in visual journalism at the Poynter Institute. "Surely, NPR has to be mindful of its political image over time and how it has been viewed as being overly aligned with the liberal left. Again, there is a danger, not power, in leaning too far either way.

Since Ms. Shepard does not distance herself from this, I assume she embraces/agrees with it.

"projects itself"
"mindful of its political image"
"how it has been viewed as..."
"danger...in leaning too far either way"

Do you hear him Ms. Shepard? And by implication, yourself?

What does any of this have anything to do with journalism? Where are the calls for honing journalistic skills? Where are the calls for striving for greater journalistic professionalism? Where are the calls for adherence to journalistic principles and ethics?

No, at NPR, it is how people see us that matters.

That is why this astroturfing worked.

You wouldn't need to worry about this if you all just did your job as journalists.; 1/10/10, 2:16 PM
geoff said...: Hey Nate, who was it that said the facts have a well-known liberal bias? Colbert?; 1/10/10, 2:40 PM
Anonymous said...: I heard M>L>Kelly talk about her fears and angst and normal NPRLand concerns when she happened to mention her son who wants to play "Taliban versus good soldier" in the school yard. I found it "interesting". Let's call him Scottie who, according to MLK, listens to her so-called news items on the radio.

Did not take me long to wonder how this poor Scottie "learned" that it is Taliban versus "good" soldier and not invader versus resistence member (the french Resistence were heroes and we admire and respect the resistence of the Tibetans. I'm sure Scottie understands those concepts but . . . put the invader in camo and sew an American flag on the shoulder and suddenly . . . as if by magic, resistence is futile. So I did spend a little time backtracking MLK "news" items and it isn't magic at all. It is simply cultural/political hegemony at work and Scottie will grow up to be an NPR "analyst" who will also just happen to be a CIA analyst. And an Out, Loud, and Proud analyst at both gigs.

Good job Mary Louise Kelly. And Scottie? Search the guy before you let him in the house!

edk; 1/11/10, 9:30 AM
Anonymous said...: Before this year is out we will see NPR.org a pay-for-view. OtM talked about the future of media and they specified that the NYTimes web page was "the future". And who got their gig by past accomplishments? Vivian Schiller.

That's why (imo) there has been an uptick in surveys and publicity for NPR.org: They are guaging the revenue gained minus the revenue lost by this move. I think they will find the "bait and switch" works just as well on the internets as it does on the radio.

edk

edk; 1/11/10, 9:33 AM
Anonymous said...: Woody say "There is no point, of course, of appealing to the Ombud-creature..."

Appealing to the Abominable Show Monster (NPR ombudsman) is like appealing to Big Foot or to Nellie (Loch Ness Monster)

You can't be sure any of them really exists cuz all you have is hearsay evidence (and doctored photos); 1/11/10, 10:07 AM
Anonymous said...: edk

I hope NPr.org does not become pay-per-view.

I refuse to listen to Inskreep, Whoris and the other clowns on the radio, so the website is my only means of finding the crap to critique them with.

If they start charging, where will i go?

I'll be out on the street.

Damn.; 1/11/10, 10:14 AM
Anonymous said...: From Planet Monkey: "Yesterday, Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, announced he won't seek reelection after poll numbers showed he would likely lose his reelection bid. A big question: does Dodd's retirement effectively kill pending financial reform?"

What a joke. Dodd is one of the ones who was fawning all over the repeal of the Glass-Steagall act which led directly to the financial meltdown.

Said Dodd after passage of the repeal which he helped engineer:

“I welcome this day as a day of success and triumph.”

http://www.jameslavin.com/articles/2009/06/30/sen-dodd-after-destroying-bank-regulations-i-welcome-this-day-as-a-day-of-success-and-triumph/

Dodd was also the guy who engineered the so-called "banker bonus cap" (which excluded bonuses signed before the bill passed) and then claimed (for a time) that he was not involved in the bonus boondoggle.

Dodd has essentially been given a "no confidence" vote by the people of Connecticut precisely because we can see that, as head of the Senate banking committee, HE is one of the primary problems and impediments to real change.

McCain is right when he says that:

“The same people that are now claiming credit for this [financial] rescue are the same ones that were willing co-conspirators in causing the problem. Congressman Barney Frank and Senator Chris Dodd are two of them.”

The idea that Dodd is going to put any kind of real reform in place is a cruel joke.

Unfortunately, I fear Dodd is not going away at all. Like Zombies, people like Dodd keep coming back.
Word has it Obama is considering him to head treasury if (when?) Geithner goes (now that the embarrassing backroom details of the AIG deal are being publicly aired, it's hard to see how Geithner will survive. My guess is Obama will cut him loose and claim "I knew nothing...").; 1/11/10, 10:42 AM
Anonymous said...: I would like to point out one other fact about Dodd.

A while back i noted on this blog that i would not vote for dodd even if it meant putting his republican opponent in office.

I was criticized by someone (something about "cutting off my nose to spite my face" or some other such nonsense)

Well, guess what?

Largely due to his negative poll numbers (ie, negative ratings due to people like me), Dodd will not seek reelection, which means the race is opened up to other democrats like Blumenthal (a real public advocate) who actually have a chance of winning.

Sometimes you just gotta make a stand. Draw a line in the sand and say: I will no t cross it no matter what.

That seems to be the only thing politicians like Dodd understand.; 1/11/10, 11:00 AM
geoff said...: A while back i noted on this blog that i would not vote for dodd even if it meant putting his republican opponent in office.

Good for you. The dems are as complicit in promoting wars and bankster theft as the repubs. I would take exception to saying that "McCain was right" since, after all, he had that Texas worm on his team...Phil Gramm, who did more than promote and congratulate the repeal of Glass/Steagal, he authored it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gramm%E2%80%93Leach%E2%80%93Bliley_Act; 1/11/10, 11:23 AM
Anonymous said...: goopDoggy

McCain may not realize the irony in his statement (ie, that it also implicates Graham and thus himself), but he was right, nonetheless.

his statement is quite accurate as it stands:

“The same people that are now claiming credit for this [financial] rescue are the same ones that were willing co-conspirators in causing the problem. Congressman Barney Frank and Senator Chris Dodd are two of them.”

Sometimes politicians (especially old ones like McCain) have very short memories.

Either that or they just think the rest of us do.; 1/11/10, 1:32 PM
RepubLiecan said...: Anonymous @ 1/11/10 10:42 regarding Dodd's current unpopularity in Connecticut.

Now if the Connecticut voters will come up with a remedy for their other senator, they will stop enabling senators who act against their interests.; 1/12/10, 11:15 AM
Anonymous said...: Now if the Connecticut voters will come up with a remedy for their other senator, they will stop enabling senators who act against their interests.

We (the voters of CT) would have rid ourselves of Lieberman and put a real Democrat in the Senate if the Democratic party (and Democratic members of the Senate like Barabara Boxer, Harry Reid and Chris Dodd) had REALLY supported Ned Lamont (rather than their pal Lieberman)

Though many (eg, Boxer) said they supported Lamont after Lieberman lost the nomination, the "support" was halfhearted at best. More like 1/10th hearted.

Lieberman got a large fraction of the Republican vote (about 70%) to be sure, but he also got a significant fraction of the Democratic vote as well (about 33%).

If the Democratic party had actually given Lamont their FULL support, he would have won DESPITE the Republican vote for Lieberman.

but Democratic politics these days seems to be more about keeping one's friends in power (preserving the old boy club) than in putting good people in the House and Senate.; 1/12/10, 5:19 PM
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