Will we hear the strains of "Moscow Nights" over the credits when the administration makes ABC their propaganda wing on Thursday?
Drawing on the concept of the "Four Estates" of Republican France, it has been popular to call the press the "Fourth Estate," a non-governmental entity whose independence made it one of the pillars which supported liberty, and an important check on the power of government. In a free press the people had a way to express their concerns about government and a relatively unbiased advocate for truth independent of the self-serving assertions of political parties and leaders. In America that great tradition of a free press which truly stood out as a Fourth Estate began with the publication of Publick Occurances in 1690 and lasted for over 300 years before dying with a whimper this Wednesday at the hands of ABC News.…
Article comments
76 - Jeannie Danna
Glen, #75 And for the life of me, I can't think of any other president who has ever had that kind of capability. What a beautiful comment..:)
77 - roger nowosielski
Hi, Jeannie.
78 - Jeannie Danna
Roger, There you are! Hello
79 - Jeannie Danna
I liked reading comment #75. I am so tired of all the old lines bashing Obama. It is nice to see someone who appreciates his intellect besides us...
80 - roger nowosielski
Glenn's been under attack. And so have I, from another quarter.
But never mind that. I'll email you something you might like to read, OK?
81 - Jeannie Danna
K
82 - roger nowosielski
Will do it later tonight, Finishing my editing. Did you start your new job?
83 - Glenn Contrarian
Jeannie -
Thanks for the compliment - I do appreciate it.
I notice none of the far-righters have posted on this thread after the ABC special aired...isn't that interesting?
84 - Glenn Contrarian
I'ts what, three days since the ABC special aired, and NONE of the right-wingers on BC have posted a comment.
IMO, their silence speaks volumes.
85 - Glenn Contrarian
It's been a week now since the ABC special aired, and NONE of the right-wingers on BC have posted a comment after having watched it.
Maybe they boycotted it - and so didn't get to see the audience asking the same Republican talking points that have been answered time and time again.
I guess this is the last post on this thread.
86 - Silas Kain
Well, Glenn, I for one did not watch the ABC Special. I'm with Bill Maher, I am tired of seeing Obama-TV and I don't want a rock star as President. I also that that Barack Obama's intentions are noble; however, we will never achieve anything as long as Congress operates under the current paradigm. That's why I believe this Franken-Coleman Senate race has been so dragged out. While the Republicans fear a filibuster-proof Congress, the Democrats are even more petrified. Returning Norm Coleman to the Senate would be better in the long run for the Obama Administration and all the pundits know it. Personally, I want Al Franken to be certified and installed. It's time for boldness, innovation and guts. reagrdless of what one's opinion may be of Mr. Franken, there's one thing I do know -- Al Franken isn't afraid to say it like it is. And that's what makes him such a threat to the Democrat Party.
Insofar as the Fourth Estate is concerned -- it is dead. If we in the United States want reliable information, try the foreign news outlets. As long as ADM, GE, and WalMart pay the bills, news media in the United States is worthless.
87 - Silas Kain
And now Al Franken is off to the Senate. Next year this election is going to be about having Democrats in power. They know what's at stake and they're scared shitless. President Obama's Administration is treading slowly. Their focus is on 2012 and his team deliberates every decision, not on what's right for America, but for what will give him another 4 years.
Mark my words, folks. The Democrats have their 60. One misstep and the Republicans will make significant gains next year. Remember that the GOP is controlled by a bunch of aging fanatics. They're petrified of the next generation coming to power because the new keepers of the torch are reasonable and for the most part intelligent. If the GOP Far Righters make gains next year I predict that Mitt Romney will be President on January 20, 2013. And THAT prospect is more frightening than Iran having nuclear weaponry.
88 - roger nowosielski
If that's Obama's point of focus, Silas, then he's just another sell-out, no better than the rest.
89 - Silas Kain
In that case, you're right, Roger. Barack Obama's handlers are political pros who only know how to operate in the Beltway Vacuum. David Axelrod, to me, is as toxic to the system as a lobbyist for Pfizer.
I do believe, however, that Barack Obama does have a vision. He's an analytical man, picking and choosing the battles he can win before advancing the remainder of his agenda. While that is politics as usual, I'm hoping that he'll transcend all of this should he be elected to a second term. You know in Rome there's an old saying that he who enters a Pope, comes out a Cardinal in Conclave. Barack Obama's re-election is far from a forgone conclusion. The Far Right is devious in their politicking and will use every trick in the book to win in 2012 with gay and reproductive rights leading the charge. I continue to believe that Mitt Romney is the next President because he's a chameleon and he's the darling of the Far Right regardless of his Mormon background. They've got a lot of money and will stash even more if the GOP makes advances in the midterms. Romney abandoned all the issues that got him elected Governor in Massachusetts. He used the people of Massachusetts to advance his standing in his Presidential quest. That's how it is in the United States. They buy our votes without informing the voter through catchy campaign ads, misinformation and just plain bait & switch. We're more concerned about what two people do between the sheets than we are about the state of the nation. That's pathetic.
90 - roger nowosielski
I don't buy the idea, Silas, that the handlers are running the show. And if there's some truth to that, then we had better kiss this country goodbye. If the office of the presidency can't be relied upon to make things happen, there is no hope.
91 - roger nowosielski
It's like the movie The Candidate with Robert Redford. God help us.
92 - Silas Kain
Indeed it is. Roger, I've been around politics all my life. I grew up in a Polish-Irish Catholic environment and was the first Republican in my family since Hoover. I've been intimately involved in Presidential, Senatorial, Congressional and Gubernatorial races. It's a numbers game where it's less about the candidate and more about public perception and maintenance of 'power'. Axelrod is right out of that mold. Obama knows it -- he's a Harvard man and his political acumen was cultivated right here in my back yard. Believe me, a week of touring Harvard Square will cause you to believe that Harvard and MIT educated people are NOT the ones to be in control of the Beltway. They thrive on imposing a socialist will and redistribution of wealth without having a fair and balanced plan in place. They are willing to force U.S. citizens into IRS submission at the expense of the small business community. A lot of the mess we're in now is directly linked to the spawn of Harvard.
You know, Roger, if civic responsibility and accountability were taught at the very primary levels of education things could be different. It's important for us to educate our young on exactly how our system works and how their individual participation in the process is crucial to preserving the Union. This is my deepest passion - education reform. If the next generation were given a proper education imagine how quickly they would be able to change course for America and the world. Knowledge is power, apathy is suicide.
93 - roger nowosielski
I think it's beyond education in the conventional sense. What I think is more needed are natural-born leaders, community by community. You've got to set a positive example of how politics can work and build upon that, community by community. People will be drawn to results, not abstract knowledge. I see no other way of reawakening political will.
94 - Silas Kain
A positive example begins at the dinner table, followed by proactive education. Like it or not, spawners, you DO have a responsibility to your country to prepare your progeny for life in the good ol' U.S.A. And as a parent, you have a moral obligation to insure that your child is adequately informed and interested in his/her community. The greatest example of this is Barack and Michelle Obama. Disregarding politics, their respective parents lay a solid foundation for them. They get it. They understand the implications of community service. Conservatives can joke about community activism all they want but they do the same thing. Only their community activism promotes annihilation of gays, prohibition of reproductive freedom and religious intolerance. These conservatives by any other name would be Taliban, Hezbollah or Nazi.
95 - roger nowosielski
What you're saying, Silas, we've got to remake the individual, one at a time.
96 - Silas Kain
I take strong exception to that one, Bliffle. My position on the Middle East is in no way, shape or form anti-Semitic. I had family massacred in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. And when I remind people that there were 2 million other souls slaughtered I get labeled anti-Semitic. When I talk about the injustice in letting Turkey off the hook for the Armenian Genocide, I am labeled anti-Semitic.
What I am is tired.
97 - roger nowosielski
I have no fricking idea what the hell he's talking about. Can you make sense of than man, Silas? Unless that's his idea of a joke.
98 - Glenn Contrarian
For both Silas and Roger -
Mark my words: Romney will not be the American president. Not in 2013, not ever. It's not that the Republicans can't make a comeback - they can (if they ditch their current baggage). Romney will never be elected because the religious right will never put their full power and pocketbook behind him.
Mark these words also: If nothing tragic happens to him and he doesn't make a truly colossal blunder e.g. Iraq or the Bay of Pigs, Obama will be reelected in 2012.
And the conservatives STILL haven't said anything about the ABC special. Isn't that interesting?
99 - roger nowosielski
I'm not certain, Glenn, why you're addressing both of us in one heading: I never argued on behalf of Romney nor have any illusions about his political future. I don't mind the association, however, because Silas is one of the clearest thinkers on this site - so I do take it as a compliment, and thank you.
100 - Silas Kain
Glenn, I can only hope you are correct. I recall a time when there was a GOP President in office who was extremely popular. So popular, in fact, that Democrats even contemplated nominating him because they felt he had it all. The President? George H.W. Bush.
So, Glenn, Americans are a fickle people who make uninformed decisions in the voting booth. One slight misstep by the Obama Administration and he is out, and Romney is in. Remember, Romney on camera is very attractive, articulate, even Presidential. Obama will age dramatically over the next three years while Romney will look like a young elder statesman.
101 - The Phantom
I see how it works:
#
92 - Silas Kain
Jun 30, 2009 at 12:58 pm
...
You know, Roger, if civic responsibility and accountability were taught at the very primary levels of education things could be different. It's important for us to educate our young on exactly how our system works and how their individual participation in the process is crucial to preserving the Union. This is my deepest passion - education reform. If the next generation were given a proper education imagine how quickly they would be able to change course for America and the world. Knowledge is power, apathy is suicide.
#
93 - roger nowosielski
Jun 30, 2009 at 1:06 pm
... What I think is more needed are natural-born leaders, community by community. You've got to set a positive example of how politics can work and build upon that, community by community. People will be drawn to results, not abstract knowledge. I see no other way of reawakening political will.
#
94 - Silas Kain
Jun 30, 2009 at 1:51 pm
...followed by proactive education. Like it or not, spawners, you DO have a responsibility to your country to prepare your progeny for life in the good ol' U.S.A. And as a parent, you have a moral obligation to insure that your child is adequately informed and interested in his/her community....#
95 - roger nowosielski
Jun 30, 2009 at 1:57 pm
What you're saying, Silas, we've got to remake the individual, one at a time.
#
And if they don't improve their ways, send them to a re-education plant.