Yes, I think I saw this "fact-checking" report. The other part of the show discussed fact-checking of Palin's record. They discussed the "rumor" that Palin had attempted to have books banned from the Wasilla public library. The announcer assured the viewers that Palin had only called the head librarian and inquired as to the procedure to ban books. The report later mentioned that Palin had attempted to fire the librarian and backed down after public outcry. The report ended with the statement, "No books were banned from the library so the rumor is completely false."

OK, so the mayor of the town calls the librarian and asks how to get books banned....then fires the librarian when she won't. That's COMPLETELY different from actually banning books. Sheesh! At least CNN is being "balanced" ....not.

Cnn could have said it liek this,

"Republicans charge that Obama is just as guilty of supporting lobbyists for picking a running mate whose son is a lobbyist. The contention is that if Obama was serious about stopping lobbyists then he being related to or knowing one disqualifies a person. McCain of course is immune to this, he was a POW"

CNN = Coprophilic News Network

Shit First/News Second

Oh Steve. This isn't anything new. One Democrat with a lobbyist relative is the same as 50 Republicans fucking live boys and dead girls. That's balance.

It's clear the right-wing conspiracy theory is alive.

This is so fucked up -- everything McCain says is a lie and nobody calls it a lie.

Even Obama's fellow Democrats are fucking silent on all this shit. Where's Biden? Hillary? Anyone?

What country supports people that tell obvious blatant lies every day.

It's so fucking depressing. If he were just telling everyone he's a POW a million times it'd be stupid but at least honest.

McCain's fucking white-trash garbage who married rich. Fuck him and his whore running mate.

Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha, CNN? Think? Bwa-ha-ha. All they've been doing is reacting to Faux News market share by positioning themselves as "Fox Lite" featuring buffoons like Glenn Beck, stories of car chases in L.A., and coverage of O.J.'s trial. I guess it must be working. Fox is hurting---commercial profits are up.

Oh you silly people the rules are different for Republicans POW John McCain who was a POW for 5 years says "Well shucks thay ain't lobbyin' now" I don't know about you , but that's good enough for me

Yeah, I don't think CNN knows either. A Fox "interviewer" just honestly blurted out to Stephanie Cutter: "This news is all happening so fast".

Fast and Furious is a way to keep the issues meaningless and off the table. All perspective is lost. There is no breathing room, and yet the tape keeps rolling.

And so non-issues become issues and what matters most gets lost in the shuffle. Time to slow down and take a breath and call the straw man at his game.

Every 4 years I want to bash my head up against the wall. This year is particularly bad.

Two things I do ... I call the network (CNN, ABC, et) and just complain. It's one phone call and believe it or not, they keep a tally of the calls.

Second, I call the campaign, in this case Obama's campaign and tell them straight out, they are not getting any more money from me until they get tough and calling a LIE a LIE.

I used to work on the Hill, every single constituent call got tallied. So, if you call, email or whatever with your outrage ... if enough people do this every day ... the message will across.

I tell myself this, b/c I would lose my mind otherwise.

You know, I hate those little bits of "balance." When they're put at the end of reports (as they generally are), they almost have an inkling of validity to them. Being an informed person, I don't take the bait but we can imagine what someone who was learning about McCain's lobbiests for the first time might think..."Oh, Obama has some, too. Not a big deal." The tag-on of "balance" reduces the impact of the message.
It's maddening...

I think this is the kabillionth post about this phenomenon. What I would like is the best brains on the web ie Steve, Digby, Kevin (there may be others, but these are my three favorites) to come up with something we peons can do to counter this. It's just debilitating to read stuff like this and not know what to do. And writing a witty comment just doesn't do it for me.

[Trolling deleted]

Steve Benen wrote: "I have no idea what CNN is talking about."

Sure you do. CNN is talking about helping another right-wing extremist Republican get close enough to steal another election, so he can continue the CheneyBush policies of huge tax cuts for the ultra-rich corporate aristocracy and deregulation of media ownership.

Who edited Orwell's comment so it read [Trolling deleted]? Was that you, Steve? That's just fucking awesome!!

After reading and watching the MSM lead with absolute drivel these past few days, I'm beginning to think cute phrases and daily horoscope tidbits will guide us forward to the November Elections.

"Tis better to have lobbied and lost than never to have lobbied at All."

Daily Horoscope Watch for the John and Barak:

(insert sign) McCain: Watch out for people who think you are a habitual liar. Keep your temper in check.

(Insert sign) Obama: Forces beyond your control will accuse you of unfairly calling others liars.
Showing anger may hurt your self-esteem.

I think we are basically already at this despicable level. CNN had better get better editors!

HOW DARE YOU!

McCain was a POW~!!11!!!!!

If they gave up "false equivalency" they'd take up "cut through the clutter" Fournier style.

That's Just What I Said

McCain's campaign staff are former lobbyists in the same way that McCain is a former POW. It has absolutely no effect on their getting along in politics now. Right?

Orwell, you're babbling again, time to put down the pipe.

How about posting the email or contact information of reporters or news outlets so we can email and complain.

Biden's son is a lobbyist and we're supposed to think that's a problem...yet we're simultaneously supposed to think it's not a problem for the Palin that her husband is a secessionist?

Unreal.

The WHOLE F*CKING POINT of the corporate media is:

When rethugs lie - the corporate media has 'he said - he said' discussions - knowing that it would be impolitic to point out the lies

When dumbocrats lie - the corporate media's job is to point out that democrats lie

As an aside - sitting here with MSNBC on, maybe I should close my windows because I am shouting F*ck You at the TV rather loudly...

Capt Kirk wrote: "Orwell, you're babbling again, time to put down the pipe."

As a good little "conservative", Orwell doesn't smoke the "liberal" herb. He gobbles down handfuls of OxyContin like his hero Rush Limbaugh.

How about posting the email or contact information of reporters or news outlets so we can email and complain.

EXACTLY ... please do, we all need to do something other than get frustated.

I'm with Loyal Democrat; I've tried e-mailing both NBC and ABC with the links on their news sites and all I get is their form response. If we could get directly into peoples' inboxes though. . .

I'm with Loyal Democrat; I've tried e-mailing both NBC and ABC with the links on their news sites and all I get is their form response. If we could get directly into peoples' inboxes though. . .

CALLING IS BETTER. We need digits here ...

Yeah, I don't think CNN knows either. A Fox "interviewer" just honestly blurted out to Stephanie Cutter: "This news is all happening so fast".

Fast and Furious is a way to keep the issues meaningless and off the table. All perspective is lost. There is no breathing room, and yet the tape keeps rolling.

And so non-issues become issues and what matters most gets lost in the shuffle. Time to slow down and take a breath and call the straw man at his game.

And this is what was lost when 24-hour cable news was created. The pre-cable news cycle allowed for editing, reflection, perspective. Not to sound like some Luddite paradoxically posting on Teh Intertubes, but progress to constant, instantaneous reporting on cable and online in this case was not necessarily a good thing.

OT

If the Obama campaign were directed by me, I'd counter-attack with wit and energy and make that damn lipstick-on-a-pig the new emblem of the GOP. Don't run from it. Embrace it. Metaphorically speaking. Replace the staid GOP elephant with an R. Crumb-style red puckered porker.

Damn right, it's lipstick on a pig. The pig opens up all kinds of images that are apt and long-overdue.

I figure 60 to 70 percent of everyone has become addicted to using lies when needed. Some can not even speak the truth at all.

Need to start labeling them with a big scarlet L on their forhead. Life would be easier.

O.T.

No wonder the Bush Administration is so bent on destroying the environment, they are in bed with Big Energy.

Literally!

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-sbdrill10-2008sep10,0,3979257.story

Let's face it: the only "balance" an advertiser-funded news broadcast strives for is to appeal to as many viewers as possible -- while pretending to be impartial. If that means diluting the facts (i.e. lying) to mollify the prejudices of various groups, so be it. It's about selling ads under the guise of informing the public.

"Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. Today, we'll take a look at the Truth and, without taking sides, we'll also give you the Liar's point of view as well. First, let's take a short break for these important messages from our corporate sponsers."

let me try this again, remembering that preview is my friend:

Yeah, I don't think CNN knows either. A Fox "interviewer" just honestly blurted out to Stephanie Cutter: "This news is all happening so fast".

Fast and Furious is a way to keep the issues meaningless and off the table. All perspective is lost. There is no breathing room, and yet the tape keeps rolling.

And so non-issues become issues and what matters most gets lost in the shuffle. Time to slow down and take a breath and call the straw man at his game.

And this is what was lost when 24-hour cable news was created. The pre-cable news cycle allowed for editing, reflection, perspective. Not to sound like some Luddite paradoxically posting on Teh Intertubes, but progress to constant, instantaneous reporting on cable and online in this case was not necessarily a good thing.

Where is Hillary???????????????????

I think it's like the Sherlock Holmes story about the 'dog that didn't bark'.....

If I was the Clintons, and I had one endless thought.... how to get back in the White House... I would be doing high fives right now. All those Dems starting to worry, which morphs into second guessing, and then buyers remorse. Oh if we had Hillary, she would have been opening up on them with both barrels by now.

She and Bill are going to stay above the fray, be the good soldiers, just do enough to lose the election without bringing the blame on them.

Then after the Rove/McCain slime machine finishes carving up The One, and the Dems, Daily Kos, Keith Olberman, and the rest of the Hill-haters get a taste of two years of McCain, followed by two years of President Palin and the First Dude......they and the rest of the country will be on their hands and knees to the Clintons..... "we are not worthy".... please save us....

Obama needs to start runnning ads pointing out the reasons "the Surge" has given the illusion of making Iraq more peaceful:

1) Baghdad is now compartmentalized by "blast walls" so that one neighborhood can't even get to the one next door.
2) Thousands of combat age males have been rounded up and imprisoned, most without any semblance of due process or a trial, and most shockingly;
3) The U.S. has been using "death squads" to preemptively kill insurgent leaders, many unarmed and some execution-style on the spot, without any charge or trial.

Much of this is in Bob Woodward's new book or you can read it here.

The American people need to understand how we have reverted to barbarism and oppression to quell the violence and we have become as bad or worse than Saddam Hussein himself. Some success, McCain.....

um, mkrrpc, that sounds a lot like concern trolling, but i'll give you the benefit of the doubt.

this week HRC hit several cities in Florida, one of the places she is uniquely able to help out, and gave several speeches on Obama's behalf. From the clips I saw they were well attended and she was very strong - and very strongly pro-Obama, anti-McCain.

much like Biden is experiencing, the reality is that this past week the shiny nonsense completely drowned out nearly everything else, including good campaign trail work from Biden and certainly surrogates not on the ticket like HRC. the hope is that the local media in battleground states gave good coverage.

What if Obama called on McSame to require that any lobbyists working on his campaign promise not to lobby throughout his presidency if he is elected?

CNN is quickly becoming the new Fox News. Did anyone see Larry King last night? I did an incredulous double take ...

Where is Hillary???????????????????

Responding to the "Lipstick On A Pig" idiocy.

Campaigning for Obama in Florida on Monday.

Campaigning for Obama in Ohio this weekend.

I think it's like the Sherlock Holmes story about the 'dog that didn't bark'.....

Well, except for the not barking bit.

Excess punctuation is not a substitute for having a point with some connection to reality.

Let's cut to the chase. Sure it says a good deal about McCain and his claim as a reformer/change agent that his campaign is polluted with corporate lobbyists, but isn't equally significant that much of the campaign staff come out of the Bush Administration or the Bush/Cheney campaign. See the Politico article - "Palin team stocked with Bush veterans" Doesn't help undercut the McCain-Palin claim to be a break from Bush/Cheney. Seems to me its yet more evidence that they are one and the same.

equally significant that much of the campaign staff come out of the Bush Administration or the Bush/Cheney campaign. See the Politico article - "Palin team stocked with Bush veterans"

Kabloom, I've wondered why Obama isn't using this. All the people now giving Palin remedial education on domestic and foreign policy are Bush people. This should be trumpeted to the skies.