Democracy Now! (Marcia: "always worth watching")
Headlines for June 2, 2005
- Three Bombings Rock Iraq
- LA Times: Suicide Bombings On Rise
- Rumsfeld Says Amnesty Report "Reprehensible
- Kuwaiti Charges He Was Tortured At Guantanamo
- Bolivia Heads Toward 'National Shutdown'
- Venezuela Protests U.S. Position on Posada
- Nine Inch Nails Pulled From MTV Ceremony Over Bush Picture
- Three Bombings Rock Iraq
- LA Times: Suicide Bombings On Rise
- Rumsfeld Says Amnesty Report "Reprehensible
- Kuwaiti Charges He Was Tortured At Guantanamo
- Bolivia Heads Toward 'National Shutdown'
- Venezuela Protests U.S. Position on Posada
- Nine Inch Nails Pulled From MTV Ceremony Over Bush Picture
Senators George McGovern and Mike Gravel Reflect on How Deep Throat Helped Bring Down the Nixon Presidency by Exposing the Watergate Scandal
We look back at President Nixon's political dirty tricks and intelligence-gathering operations that had helped Nixon win re-election over McGovern in 1972.
We look back at President Nixon's political dirty tricks and intelligence-gathering operations that had helped Nixon win re-election over McGovern in 1972.
EXCLUSIVE... Jennifer Dohrn: I Was The Target Of Illegal FBI Break-Ins Ordered by Mark Felt aka "Deep Throat"
Mark Felt -- who was exposed this week as Deep Throat -- was one of only two FBI officials ever to be convicted for ordering COINTELPRO operations. In 1980 he was convicted for ordering FBI agents to break into the home of Dohrn and other associates of the Weather Underground. He was later pardoned by President Reagan. Jennifer Dohrn discusses the FBI surveillance, break-ins and a secret FBI proposal to kidnap her infant. Democracy Now! co-host Juan Gonzalez also reveals that as a leader of the Young Lords that he, too, was also a target of a similar FBI campaign.
Mark Felt -- who was exposed this week as Deep Throat -- was one of only two FBI officials ever to be convicted for ordering COINTELPRO operations. In 1980 he was convicted for ordering FBI agents to break into the home of Dohrn and other associates of the Weather Underground. He was later pardoned by President Reagan. Jennifer Dohrn discusses the FBI surveillance, break-ins and a secret FBI proposal to kidnap her infant. Democracy Now! co-host Juan Gonzalez also reveals that as a leader of the Young Lords that he, too, was also a target of a similar FBI campaign.
Investigative Journalist David Wise on the Significance of Watergate, Anonymous Sources and the Tug-of-War Between Civil Liberties and National Security
In 1981 Wise criticized President Reagan's pardon of Mark Felt for ordering FBI agents to conduct secret break-ins. Wise said the pardon sent a "clear message to the intelligence agencies: The President of the United States approves of Government burglaries."
In 1981 Wise criticized President Reagan's pardon of Mark Felt for ordering FBI agents to conduct secret break-ins. Wise said the pardon sent a "clear message to the intelligence agencies: The President of the United States approves of Government burglaries."
That's today's episode, all worthy of note, but I'd especially love to highlight Jennifer Dohrn's segment; however, the transcript's not up yet. Listen/read/watch for a number of reasons, all solid. But if you need one more reason -- what was Felt allegedly doing with Dohrn's panties?
I'm not joking. The segment's not part of the "shine on" so read it, watch it, listen to it. Nor is the interview with David Wise. As Marcia says, "Democracy Now! always worth watching."
At The Daily Howler today, Bob Somerby's dealing with a number of issues: Okrent, Chris Matthews, Ted Koppel, etc. We'll note Margaret Carlson because she's infamous to Howler readers (ask Dallas, Gina or myself!) and I don't think we've ever excerpted on her before (and it goes to Gore 2000, an issue we shouldn't forget) :
As we've shown you again and again--we're not quite sure how Drum keeps missing it--the movers and shakers of the Washington press are deep in the throes of Millionaire Pundit Values, and we know of no reason to think that those ballyhooed "TV liberals" are actually "liberals" at all. There's nothing wrong with not being a liberal--the substantial majority of Americans aren't--but when "TV liberals" perform so poorly, we might consider the obvious explanation; we might consider the possibility that these people aren't "liberals" at all! Indeed, Carlson, who is a TV liberal, gave us a deathless look at their values when she did Imus in October 2000 (see THE DAILY HOWLER, 9/4/03). The question: Why were journalists savaging Gore over trivial, alleged misstatements and ignoring Bush's much larger, more significant whoppers? The following explanation came live-and-direct from a well-known "TV liberal." We'll concede that Carlson's a very nice gal. But do you think that she's really a "liberal?"
CARLSON (10/10/00): Gore’s fabrications may be inconsequential—I mean, they’re about his life. Bush’s fabrications are about our life, and what he’s going to do. Bush’s should matter more but they don’t, because Gore’s we can disprove right here and now…You can actually disprove some of what Bush is saying if you really get in the weeds and get out your calculator or you look at his record in Texas. But it’s really easy, and it’s fun, to disprove Gore."It's really easy, and it's fun, to disprove Gore!" Does that sound like the view of a liberal--or does it sound like an expression of the Washington press corps' who-gives-a-sh*t, High Foppist Values? As she continued, Carlson continued exposing her cohort's foppist ways:
CARLSON: I actually happen to know people who need government and so they would care more about the programs, and less about the things we kind of make fun of…But as sport, and as our enterprise, Gore coming up with another whopper is greatly entertaining to us. And we can disprove it in a way we can’t disprove these other things.Is Carlson a liberal? "I actually happen to know people who need government," she said--implying that many members of her millionaire cohort do not. But she hardly responded as a liberal, progressive, or Dem might do. "As sport," she told Imus, "Gore coming up with another whopper is greatly entertaining to us." Five years later, Drum still can't imagine why this "TV liberal" doesn't argue her case all that well. Readers, sometimes we wonder why we bother informing the public at all!
Trina e-mails to note Regina's latest at Chicana on the Edge, "Not like a black fly in your chardonnay:"
You know what? I DON'T NEED TO HEAR THIS, PEOPLE. As a former Andersen employee who was heartbroken to lose my favorite job at the same time that I learned my company had acted like unethical (but still legal) slimeballs, I don't need to hear that the Supreme Court has now thrown out the 2002 conviction (that followed the death of the company); we are now free to resume business as usual. First of all, Andersen was far from innocent of unethical behaviors that should have been illegal. Secondly, it gives me no joy, no satisfaction and no comfort to know that pesky accusation of obstruction of justice that sank our livelihoods has now been swept clear from the record. We employees needed that to happen during that one critical week of March 11, 2002 when the indictment was first handed down. Maybe Andersen could have survived even if it had happened during that second critical week, but by the end of the month our story was written and the ending sealed so thanks a lot, Wheels of Justice.
That's enough memory lane for me. Between remembering how sad it was to leave my desk for the last time and the lesson that corporate America really can't be trusted, I don't need the details of how the Supreme Court vindicated Arthur Andersen. Hanging's too good for most of the top players in the Enron mess (including David Duncan, the Andersen auditor in charge of the Enron account), and I'll never have that job again. Morissette wrote her song a decade too soon.
That's enough memory lane for me. Between remembering how sad it was to leave my desk for the last time and the lesson that corporate America really can't be trusted, I don't need the details of how the Supreme Court vindicated Arthur Andersen. Hanging's too good for most of the top players in the Enron mess (including David Duncan, the Andersen auditor in charge of the Enron account), and I'll never have that job again. Morissette wrote her song a decade too soon.
Eddie e-mails to note Chris' latest at Interesting Times:
Ed Kilgore, in this TPM Cafe post, demonstrates once again why he makes it difficult to like what he has to say. He can't seem to help himself when it comes to disparaging the efforts of others in the Democratic movement:
Let's be clear: the unity and fighting spirit of Democrats over the last few months has owed more to Republican provocations than to fiery bloggers, post-election angst, remorse over past compromises, or the legacy of the Dean campaign.
Why is it that Ed feels the need to damage his own contribution with needless comments that do nothing but dismiss the hard work of his would-be allies? Is it true that the unity of the Democrats over the last few months owes a lot to the outrageousness of the Republican agenda? Absolutely. But does that mean that the contribution of bloggers and Deanies must be diminished in the analysis? No!
Why does Ed think that the Democratic cause will be helped by shirking off the work that others are doing?
Comments like this are why DLCers like Ed are often viewed as being more interested in inflating their own egos than in actually addressing the real problems this country faces. Any contribution by non-DLCers must be diminished before real discussion can commence. The contemptuousness of comments like this do nothing to help the cause Ed! Cut it out!
Cedric e-mails to note Greg Palast's latest. Cedric says it's a must-read (I agree) and that "every word matters, a pleasure to read." From Palast's "Deep Throat Cover Blown, Washington Post Still Sucks:"
I've been gagging all morning on the Washington Post's self-congratulatory preening about its glory days of the Watergate investigation.
Think about it. It's been 33 years since cub reporters Woodward and Bernstein pulled down the pants of the Nixon operation and exposed its tie-in to the Watergate burglary. That marks a third of a century since the Washington Post has broken a major investigative story. I got a hint why there's been such a dry spell after I met Mark Hosenball, investigative reporter for the Washington Post's magazine, Newsweek.
It was in the summer of 2001. A few months earlier, for the Guardian papers of Britain, I'd discovered that Katherine Harris and Governor Jeb Bush of Florida had removed tens of thousands of African-Americans from voter registries before the 2000 election, thereby fixing the race for George Bush. Hosenball said the Post-Newsweek team "looked into it and couldn't find anything."
[. . .]
Think about it. It's been 33 years since cub reporters Woodward and Bernstein pulled down the pants of the Nixon operation and exposed its tie-in to the Watergate burglary. That marks a third of a century since the Washington Post has broken a major investigative story. I got a hint why there's been such a dry spell after I met Mark Hosenball, investigative reporter for the Washington Post's magazine, Newsweek.
It was in the summer of 2001. A few months earlier, for the Guardian papers of Britain, I'd discovered that Katherine Harris and Governor Jeb Bush of Florida had removed tens of thousands of African-Americans from voter registries before the 2000 election, thereby fixing the race for George Bush. Hosenball said the Post-Newsweek team "looked into it and couldn't find anything."
[. . .]
Today, Bob Woodward, rules as the Post's Managing Editor. And how is he "managing" the news? After the September 11 attack, when we needed an independent press to keep us from hysteria-driven fascism, Woodward was given "access" to the president, writing 'Bush at War', a fawning, puke-making fairy tale of a take-charge president brilliantly leading the war against Terror.
Woodward's news-oid story is a symptom of a disease epidemic in US journalism. The illness is called, "access." In return for a supposedly "inside" connection to the powers that be, the journalists in fact become conduits for disinformation sewerage.
And woe to any journalist who annoys the politicians and loses "access." Career-wise, they're DOA.
Here's a good place to tote up part of the investigative reporter body count. There's Bob Parry forced out of the Associated Press for the crime of uncovering Ollie North's arms-for-hostages game. And there's Gary Webb, hounded to suicide for documenting the long-known history of the CIA's love-affair with drug runners. The list goes on. Even the prize-laden Seymour Hersh was, he told me, exiled from the New York Times and now has to write from the refuge of a fashion magazine.
And notice someone missing in the Deep Throat extravaganza? Carl Bernstein, the brains and soul of the All-the-President's-Men duo, is notably absent from the staff of the Post or any other US newspaper.
Woodward's news-oid story is a symptom of a disease epidemic in US journalism. The illness is called, "access." In return for a supposedly "inside" connection to the powers that be, the journalists in fact become conduits for disinformation sewerage.
And woe to any journalist who annoys the politicians and loses "access." Career-wise, they're DOA.
Here's a good place to tote up part of the investigative reporter body count. There's Bob Parry forced out of the Associated Press for the crime of uncovering Ollie North's arms-for-hostages game. And there's Gary Webb, hounded to suicide for documenting the long-known history of the CIA's love-affair with drug runners. The list goes on. Even the prize-laden Seymour Hersh was, he told me, exiled from the New York Times and now has to write from the refuge of a fashion magazine.
And notice someone missing in the Deep Throat extravaganza? Carl Bernstein, the brains and soul of the All-the-President's-Men duo, is notably absent from the staff of the Post or any other US newspaper.
That's a great article (my opinion). Thank you for e-mailing it to share, Cedric. The whole thing's worth reading. Please check out Palast's article.
Ben e-mailed last night to note Betty's latest at Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man, "It's all liars poker with Thomas Friedman" and we'll note that Betty e-mailed to ask if we could post a public thank you to Ruth for assistance on the entry. From the entry, here's what Ben excerpted (Betty swears no joke is spoiled by the excerpt below):
Well today I read my husband Thomas Friedman's column in print. It's called "America's DNA" and it carries a dateline slug of "New Dehli." I don't know what New Dehli is supposed to mean. It's a chore to get him out of that shorty robe each afternoon since we got back from the brief book tour. Trust me, Thomas Friedman is going nowhere.
For a moment, I considered that perhaps it was supposed to read "New Deli." Every now and then he talks of maybe checking out Utterly Delicious. He brings it up every weekend and usually at least once during the week. But he never goes. He'll decide it's too long of a trip.
And remind me that the 2nd Avenue Deli is both kosher and close by, so why bother?
He'll have the beef goulash or the stuffed cabbage. He has to have the noodle pudding "or why bother going?" he always asks. Due to his cholesterol, his doctor's been on him to have more fruits and vegetables. So lately Thomas Friedman has been having the Whitefish Salad. It's a "salad" in the way that potato salad is a "salad" only less so.
And if you think his shorty robe is a daily nightmare, you should see his shirt and tie after a trip to the 2nd Avenue Deli. It's as though Julia Child merged with Jackson Pollock -- a dirty canvas of culinary delights.
Me, I always get stuck with the potato pancakes. If Thomas Friedman's feeling especially generous, I get a bite of his mud cake. But Thomas Friedman tells everyone, "I don't know what the problem with Betinna is, she only loves to knosh."
For a moment, I considered that perhaps it was supposed to read "New Deli." Every now and then he talks of maybe checking out Utterly Delicious. He brings it up every weekend and usually at least once during the week. But he never goes. He'll decide it's too long of a trip.
And remind me that the 2nd Avenue Deli is both kosher and close by, so why bother?
He'll have the beef goulash or the stuffed cabbage. He has to have the noodle pudding "or why bother going?" he always asks. Due to his cholesterol, his doctor's been on him to have more fruits and vegetables. So lately Thomas Friedman has been having the Whitefish Salad. It's a "salad" in the way that potato salad is a "salad" only less so.
And if you think his shorty robe is a daily nightmare, you should see his shirt and tie after a trip to the 2nd Avenue Deli. It's as though Julia Child merged with Jackson Pollock -- a dirty canvas of culinary delights.
Me, I always get stuck with the potato pancakes. If Thomas Friedman's feeling especially generous, I get a bite of his mud cake. But Thomas Friedman tells everyone, "I don't know what the problem with Betinna is, she only loves to knosh."
Lastly, remember this is ANNOUNCEMENT DAY 2. One more day. (Thirteen days to vote.)
Members need to contact this site for the proposal. Votes need to be sent (in one e-mail) to Keesha, Eli and here at this site. Questions regarding instant run off voting should be e-mailed to Shirley. (And tomorrow's gina and krista's round-robin will have Shirley answering some questions on this issue.)
Is this a long entry? Yes, it is.
I've been out of town yesterday and today and dependent upon snagging a computer here and there when possible. Which is why last night's problems with the Blogger problem were especially irritating. We'll note that Isaiah has another The World Today Just Nuts comic which I attempted to post this morning. However, the computer I was on didn't have "HELLO!" -- the program Blogger (and Rebecca) recommend. I repeatedly attempted to install it with no luck. So expect it tomorrow morning (my apologies to Isaiah for the delay).
Due to my flight schedule, I'll be arriving late in the evening. There will be an Indymedia roundup but it may be running late. Just a heads up on that.
Thanks to Ava and Kat for helping me ensure all members requests for the proposals are being met. This is running smoothly and obviously that's largely due to their help and to Shirley's for fielding instant run off questions.
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
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