Tim Russert Caught! Mischaracterized Howard Dean Statement
Media Matters
We know Tim Russert knows far better than to pull something like this:On the December 19 edition of NBC's Meet the Press, moderator Tim Russert mischaracterized remarks former Vermont Governor Howard Dean made on the program a week earlier about the Democratic Party's position on abortion. Russert played a clip from the December 12 Meet the Press, in which Dean suggested that the party "ought to make a home for pro-life Democrats" and have a "respectful dialogue" about the issue. Russert then asked Wall Street Journal national political editor John Harwood if Democrats are "rethinking their position on cultural, moral issues, on abortion?" But immediately preceding the section of the clip of Dean that Russert played, Dean had clearly stated that Democrats should change their "vocabulary" but not their "principles" on abortion, and that the Democrats are "the party of allowing people to make up their own minds about medical treatment."
Russert's video clip of Dean also cut out the middle portion of Dean's answer to Russert's question on abortion. In between the clips Russert aired, Dean had strongly asserted that Democrats who are pro-life should be welcomed into the party because they stand for other core Democratic values: "[T]hey're pro-life not just for unborn children. They're pro-life for investing in children's programs. They're pro-life for helping small children and young families. They're pro-life in making sure adequate medical care happens to children. That's what you so often lack on the Republican side."
So why on earth do you suppose he did it?
Let them know you know - and that you're not at all happy about it.
Contact:
Tim Russert mtp@msnbc.com
Contact:
Meet the Press Meet the Press
Contact:
NBC Nightly@NBC.com
NBC News
30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112
Phone: 212-664-4444
Fax: 212-664-4426
Greensboro, NC Bloggers: You're In the News
The good word about the community spirit of bloggers of Greensboro, N.C. is spreading like wildfire across the blogiverse.
Today at the Moderate Voice, Joe Gandelman expands upon Jay Rosen's Press Think story. Joe has posted a cross section of comment and links on the story -- "which could mark the first step in a new era for newspapers". Many of the links are from Greensboro-based blogs; he also links John Robinson's News-Record in Greensboro.
David K. Beckwith, also known as Anonymoses Hyperlincoln, of Charlotte N.C., has posted about a rather heated discussion taking place at the News Record and had also made mention of my long-distance connection with the Greensboro bunch. I recognized them, early on, as a group with the collective heart it takes to become a community that can effect real and meaningful democratic change. A writer at The American Street, Mr. Beckwith has also spread the saga of the Greensboro bunch at the widely-read website.
*I had written about this last week when showcasing Greensboro (Bloggers) Meet-Up organizer (and my literary colleague) Billy Jones' Christmas classic "The Reindeer Shoe".
At the Moderate Voice, I offered to vouch for my own hometown newspaper, the Post Standard, which has been a willing sponsor of blogging for over a year in Syracuse NY. Greensboro has definitely got it goin' on!
I must also vouch for my hometown newspaper, The Post Standard of Syracuse N.Y.
The Syracuse newspapers have incorporated a plethora of blogs from freelance writers into their website at http://www.syracuse.com/weblogs/
I know this because I am one of their many bloggers. http://syracuse.com/weblogs/politics/
Jay Rosen has an excellent update on the story at Press Think, which includes a brief interview with Roch Smith Jr, founder of the aggregator and forum site Greensboro101. Jay also provides a discussion about the evolution of the News and Record's editor John Robinson's search for a new model in online journalism. The Lex Files and Ed Cone are used as resources.
*Great job on this story, Jay --Jude*
Kos: Exley doesn't "get it".
Kos spills it, straight as an arrow. He thinks Zach Exley, who acted as online communications chief for the Kerry-Edwards campaign, is an "idiot". A strong statement? Yes. Read Kos' blog to find out why this is his belief."...there's a reason people are still loyal to Dean even after Kerry has been abandoned by legions of Democrats.
Unlike Kerry's effort, what Dean and Trippi built was the stuff of political movements, and it was built on a foundation of communication. Exley can laugh this off all he wants, but the Kerry campaign never came close to matching up.
The Kerry campaign had little interest in communicating with supporters, and Zach Exley, regardless his fancy title, was a big part of the reason why."
"..The settlers are sending an appalling and misguided message to the people of Israel and the world..by likening the Holocaust to a political process, the horror of the Holocaust is being deligitimized and fuel is being provided for Holocaust denial.Using Holocaust imagery is an offense to survivors, the Jewish people, and taints the memory of Holocaust victims.."
--Abraham Foxman, National Director, Anti-Defamation League
Orange Stars of David:
Gaza Settlers Step Over the Line of Good Judgement
According to MSNBC, "some Jewish settlers said Tuesday they will soon start wearing orange stars on their shirts in a provocative campaign comparing the government’s Gaza withdrawal plan to the Nazi Holocaust."
The Jerusalem Post reports that the Anti-Defamation League has issued a statement against the use of the orange Star of David badges to protest the disengagement plan.
“This is a very troubling comparison. The Nazis put Jews “into gas chambers, killing them, crushing their bones, spreading the remains in great piles all over Europe. What is going on here?”
--Shevah Weiss, a Holocaust survivor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“The plan to wear orange stars perverts the historical facts and damages the memory of the Shoah.”
--Yad Vashem’s director Avner Shalev, who has urged the settlers to refrain from using the stars.
Eliot Spitzer Watch 12/21
-New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer will appear on CNBC's Kudlow & Cramer at 5:00 pm EST this afternoon.
-From Newsday:"Will Tony Bennett leave his heart in Massapequa? The silky-voiced singer has created a buzz by agreeing to croon at Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi's Jan. 13 fund-raiser. Suozzi fans hope the event will show state Democrats that their guy could be an alternative to gubernatorial candidate Eliot Spitzer. But it'd be hard to outdo the attorney general. Given his deep pockets, Spitzer could hire any headliner. The Rolling Stones, anyone?"
-From the Boston Globe:"When Spitzer recently announced that he would run for governor of New York, Democrats cheered him as a figure popular enough to win back the Empire State's governorship and nervy enough to reconnect his party to the little guy through David-vs.-Goliath attacks on corporations. But while Spitzer seems like a pretty strong candidate for 2006, whether or not three-term incumbent George Pataki stands for reelection, his brand of politics runs counter to almost all the trends that were visible in the recent election: He is running as a non-ideological enforcer of the public interest in a political era hot-wired with ideology."
-From The Seattle Post-Intelligencer-"..an investigation begun in the spring by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer resulted in a series of subpoenas and lawsuits against major brokers and insurance companies. His actions sent the share prices of the companies tumbling, and legal and regulatory action in 2005 could further affect earnings, analysts say."
AP photo, BBC
"..Amid the screaming and thick smoke in the tent, soldiers turned their tables upside down, placed the wounded on them and gently carried them into the parking lot [..]It made no difference whether the casualties were soldiers or civilians, Americans or Iraqis [..] "They were all brothers in arms taking care of one another." [..] Insurgents have fired mortars at the chow hall more than 30 times this year."
Our soldiers at Mosul
I am beyond speech right now.
Ansar al-Sunna has claimed responsibility for the attack.
James Reynolds, a BBC correspondent, says the military was aware its dining hall was vulnerable to attack and was building a stronger structure nearby.
They were sitting ducks and we knew it. The risk was acceptable to us. Knowing we sent those soldiers to Mosul in a rush to crush an insurgency without adequate or proper security, the words "Bring them home!" are the only ones that repeat in my mind...over and over again. I can't help it. I know the President wants to bring democracy to Iraq, but the people of Iraq must learn to desire it strongly enough to fight for it themselves. I don't see it happening. We can't fight their civil wars for them forever. Is my patience wearing thin? You bet your Army boots, it is!
I'm not alone. Any belief in a contribution to American security resulting from the Iraq war is diminished by the fact that, in a recent poll, 70% of Americans said they thought any gains have come at an "unacceptable" cost in military casualties. 56% in the Washington Post-ABC News survey said the Iraq War was a mistake, period.
