Feed the Media
Mon Sep 19, 2005 at 04:01:42 AM PDT
In a Roberts thread someone wrote something to the effect that by not opposing too hard and playing ball with Roberts it would get the media on our side. That by not standing up as the adamant and reasoned opposition it would provide us with an ally in the media and ammunition for when Bush nominates a "radical right-winger" for O'Connor's slot. My response got so long and heavy-handed, I figured it was more appropriate as a diary.
Running to the middle is a losing strategy for winning media coverage just like it is a losing strategy for winning elections.
I understand the desire of people who want to make friends with the media and the voters in the middle. It comes from a good place. We like friends. We make them by being nice to people. Friends stick together and help each other out. So, if we are nice the media will see we are nice and want to hang out with us and will be on our side the next time there is a fight.
Wrong.
Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.
More below the fold.
"Unknown Soldier" - Searching for a father
Wed Jun 01, 2005 at 05:33:01 AM PDT
The documentary film
"Unknown Soldier" is currently in rotation on HBO and is well-worth seeing.
"On June 30, 1969, Lieutenant Jack Hulme of the U.S. Marine Corps was killed in Vietnam, just days before he was to leave the country and see his newborn son for the first time. Thirty years later, John Hulme - the son Jack never met - decided to uncover the truth about the father he never knew."
From John Hulme's director's statement:
"My father was killed in Vietnam when I was three weeks old. I never met him, and I grew up feeling nothing for him. To me, he was just a face in a photograph or a name upon a wall. And when friends or family members tried to tell me stories about him, I made it perfectly clear that I didn't want to hear what they had to say. Because as far as I was concerned, it wasn't like I lost a father, I just never had one to begin with.
More below the fold...
Call For The Dead
Sat Oct 30, 2004 at 06:58:10 PM PDT
Here's the report from the trenches here in Columbus, OH. I'm tired as all get out (the vote). My wife and I drove out from New Jersey yesterday, slept in a moldy fleabag of an excuse for an inn. Got up godawful early, ate the wrong breakfast, didn't drink enough bad coffee and then hightailed it to the volunteer center where several very nice people pointed us to the phone banks. (BTW, I'm from NJ, you don't have to be nice to me, just tell me what needs doing and get out of the way. But I do appreciate the decorum.) 12 hours later, we're done for the evening. We had a great day and we're happy, positive, and energized despite the lack of sleep.
Thanks for encouraging us to get our butts out here. Great phonebanking anecdote below the fold.
Tell me where I can help the most!
Thu Oct 28, 2004 at 09:47:48 AM PDT
Here's the scenario:
My wife and I have from tomorrow morning through election day completely open. We live in NJ. Help us figure out where we can be most effective. We're great on the road, need very little sleep and are clean cut and enthusiastic.
I'm throwing this open to the dKos community.
More below the fold.
Send John Kerry!
Mon Oct 25, 2004 at 06:48:16 PM PDT
This is not the struggle of one day or one month or one year or of one war. It's a struggle and an effort and a sacrifice and a contribution which we make for the rest of our lives. And though men of small mind and less character may project themselves onto their fellow citizens and suggest that an America that admits its mistake will turn into a craven, hollow place, we will continue this struggle. Because this country is bigger than they are, and it's bigger than any of us here.
- John Kerry, April 24, 1971
(Just a bit more below the fold.)
Oregon Police Fire on Bush Protestors
Tue Oct 19, 2004 at 09:21:09 AM PDT
From Newsday on Long Island, a story that should be getting bigger play:
Police in riot gear fired pepperballs Thursday night to disperse a crowd of protesters assembled in this historic gold mining town where President Bush was spending the night after a campaign appearance.
Newsday: Oregon Police Fire on a Crowd of Protestors
More below the fold.
I wanted to give Paul Krugman a "4" today
Fri Oct 08, 2004 at 06:25:54 AM PDT
but couldn't find the mojo ratings at the NY Times.
Krugman: Ignorance isn't Strength
It's not anything groundbreaking for those of us who've been watching the Bush debacle, and definitely not new to Krugman fans, but it is a particulary concise and clear outline of how the administration treats reality and information.
