Obots in the Media Gettin' Desperate

The same water-carrier at TIME who tried to label all conservatives nihilists is back with another ridiculous defense of this horrendous Obama administration, which still continues the cult of personality one year after the election. Here's what Joe Klein offers up:

The most obvious pattern, however, is the media's tendency to get overwrought about almost anything. Why, for example, is the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall demolition so crucial that it requires a President's presence?

So that's sort of the level of cognitive dissonance we're at in the media and how far they are willing to revise history: Berlin wall coming down - not a big deal, but the President pardoning a turkey - that's huge!

Press Releases on Anita Dunn Make For Boring Journalism

Here's a real schnoozer of an article on Anita Dunn, the White House Communications Director, that has more hot air than the Balloon Boy odyssey. From a lengthy piece in the Washington Post:

With her CNN appearance on Sunday attacking Fox News as "a wing of the Republican Party," the White House dispatched its communications director to make one of its most aggressive salvos, in part because she alone in the communications department can withstand the blowback.

"She's tough, she knows how to handle herself in the national media, she's not intimidated by it and she enjoys the fray," said David Gergen, a former White House communications director. "It surprised me to see Anita Dunn out there, but if you are going to do it, go with your pro, and she's your pro."

Yawn. Nothing in the article about her husband's attempt to silence free speech during the Obama campaign, and nothing about the criticism Beck has brought up by citing quotes from mass murderers. Just a lame puff piece about how awesome she is and how it's justifiable for government officials to shut down Fox News like some Hugo Chavez public affairs strategy.

Shut Up and Drink the Kool Aid!

You really have to feel sorry for our intellectual betters sometimes. After suffering through an awkward adolescence of getting pantsed and watching the quarterback pull all the tail in high school, they can't even get any respect in their adult lives. With the information age well upon us, any slack-jawed rube with a 'puter can tear down their policies they seek to enact over the rest of the country.

That's just one possible explanation for this no-good, terrible Op-Ed where Neal Gabler, last spotted calling everyone not on Team Obama McCarthyites, simply resorts to calling Americans a generally stupid lot for not trusting their government all the time. Not to overuse the "elitist" meme, but this is pretty up there. From Boston.com:

There is something bizarre about a country whose leaders have constantly to toady to their constituents and in which any criticism is tantamount to a lack of patriotism, but that describes America today. Every politician feels compelled to ape Jimmy Carter’s old words to the point where our alleged greatness has also become our national mantra.

Like it would be better if politicians didn't bother listening to their constituents and we had power-hungry madmen making all the decisions for us. That alternative had devastating consequences for much of the world's citizens during the 20th century, and I would suggest that a good deal skepticism towards the government is necessary for a nation's survival.

This editorial is clearly a response to the fevered populist piss-offedness that has gripped our country and prevented the sychophants of the Obama administration from getting everything they wanted. However, it wasn't Bubba Joe at the assembly plant that fucked up the economy, but eggheads like this guy. Why don't they engage in some self-assessment of their own policies before denouncing the frustration of our society at the moment.

Pre-Emptive NEA Goes Under the Bus Post

After the devastating muckraking done on ACORN this month, Breitbart promises some more against the NEA. Although, Big Hollywood has already revealed some pretty serious dirt regarding financing the creative arts in exchange for health care reform support:

But, there is even a larger issue that hasn’t yet received much attention in the press. Among the Obama Administration officials on the call were Buffy Wicks, Office of Public Engagement and the lead White House official on the President’s Serve.Gov initiative to promote national service. Also on the call was Nell Abernathy, Director of Outreach for Serve.Gov. One of their main goals on the call, it seems, was to encourage artists to produce works that would reinforce the President’s call for service; specifically through the Serve.Gov web-portal.

Andrew Breitbart is amongst the Hollywood creative arts crowd, so I can see why they would want to go after the NEA. But, really, how much are these people ripping off the US taxpayer for to fund annoying Obama-art? I hope that Breitbart's next target is to go after the bozos on Wall Street who fleeced us for billions while the rest of us are scrounging for breadcrumbs. The media seems to have fallen down on the job with the new administration, and I think Breitbart has proven himself quite capable of sticking it to the man during a liberal administation.

GOP Status Downgraded From Racist Hicks to Nihilists

The GOP has been called so many "-ists" in the last month, it's becoming increasingly difficult to track. Skippy tries to shed some light on what Joe Klein means when he applies the "nihilist" label, but all I can think of is German guys trying to cut off my johnson. From Time:

This is a difficult situation for the President. Cynicism about government is always easy, even if it now seems apparent that it was government action — by both Obama and, yes, George W. Bush — that prevented a reprise of the Great Depression. I watched Obama as he traveled the Rocky Mountain West, holding health-care forums, trying to lance the boil by eliciting questions from the irrational minority that had pulverized the public forums held by lesser pols. He would search the crowds for a first-class nutter who might challenge him on "death panels," but he was constantly disappointed. In Colorado, he locked in on an angry-looking fellow in a teal T shirt — but the guy's fury was directed at the right-wing disinformation campaign. Obama seemed to sag. He had to bring up the "death panels" himself.

Klein seems upset that is incumbent upon the majority party to explain to the public, which allows government to exist, of why a fundamental restructure of the health care industry is necessary. Klein is completely unable to fathom why every other American isn't completely in love with the President like he is and why the bumpkins in Walmart land aren't worshiping the ground Obama walks on. So when they can't back up White House talking points with concise rational arguments, they resort to this lame name-calling.

Lizette Alvarez Redeems Herself

pic from BlackFive

I've been known to label NY Times military columnist Lizette Alvarez a moran in the past for her slanted coverage, but she has a pretty decent article in the NY Times about women in today's military. The article states that the military acknowledges that women serve an important role in combat, but that the general American populous has yet to recognize this reality (h/t GI Kate's Twitter). It's similar to the case of SPC Brown who received a Silver Star in Afghanistan but got pulled off combat duty once the press made the public aware of what she was doing.

US Media Finally Coming Around (maybe)

After the US media's disgracefully biased PrObama coverage during the campaign season and the first 100 days, they maybe realizing that the government subverting a supposedly independent press might not be a good thing. Well at least the reporter who's been covering the White House since the Taft administration recognizes this. From CNS news:

“Nixon didn’t try to do that,” Thomas said. “They couldn’t control (the media). They didn’t try.

“What the hell do they think we are, puppets?” Thomas said. “They’re supposed to stay out of our business. They are our public servants. We pay them.”

Thomas said she was especially concerned about the arrangement between the Obama Administration and a writer from the liberal Huffington Post Web site. The writer was invited by the White House to President Obama’s press conference last week on the understanding that he would ask Obama a question about Iran from among questions that had been sent to him by people in Iran.

Careful, Helen, with that kind of attitude you'll be targeted for character assassination by the left's well-funded hit squad, or you could end up like dissenters in other countries and get mysteriously stabbed. Moonbattery has the video of this much-needed exchange with Gibbs.

Moral Authority Paul Krugman Sez We Should Be Ashamed of Ourselves

I understand that many folks onboard the Team Obama train would like nothing more than to see the "bitters" locked up with the Unabomber and Bernie Madoff, or at the very least silenced. And, predictably, many bottom-feeders chose to use the latest act of domestic terrorism for their own political purposes of slandering conservatives, like they have in the past. Now, they're out to justify the horrendously written and poorly researched DHS report, which sought to profile right-wing veterans as a bunch of Ramboes running around the woods with white supremacy literature. From Krugman at NYT:

Conservatives were outraged. The chairman of the Republican National Committee denounced the report as an attempt to “segment out conservatives in this country who have a different philosophy or view from this administration” and label them as terrorists.

But with the murder of Dr. George Tiller by an anti-abortion fanatic, closely followed by a shooting by a white supremacist at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the analysis looks prescient.

There is, however, one important thing that the D.H.S. report didn’t say: Today, as in the early years of the Clinton administration but to an even greater extent, right-wing extremism is being systematically fed by the conservative media and political establishment.

Yes, domestic terrorism is a problem, as America has always had its share of crazies. But, the DHS report barely provided any specifics and was about as useless to law enforcement as an ACLU lawyer looking to make name for themselves. The Greyhawks point out that the criticism a few months back was because of the veteran issue, not that extremism didn't exist. So, I wish these weenies at the NY Times would quit beating around the bush and just come out and fucking say that, yes, they would like veterans with conservative-oriented political views on firearms ownership and abortion or whatever to be investigated by the police. If not, kindly piss off and go back to writing about neo-Keynesian economic theory.

At least dictators are honest about who they want rounded up for "re-education", not hiding behind their halo of progressive self-righteousness.

Pvt. Who Was Shot in Arkansas Says He's Still Glad to Serve His Country

Photo from CNN

After narrowly avoiding death at the hands of an Islamic terrorist in Arkansas last week (Pvt. Long was not as fortunate), Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula, 18, says he is still thankful that he's doing his time for Uncle Sam. From CNN:

Ezeagwula said he joined the Army because "I just want to help my family out. I thought it was a good way, and then when I got in it, I actually learned to love the Army."

He said he is a construction machinery operator but hopes to eventually become a sergeant and then a drill sergeant.

Usually a touching story such as this about sacrifice, commitment, and honor rarely makes any headway in the media. This story was #10 on CNN's Most Popular List and will probably drop off the chart once details emerge about that gay dude on American Idol. Politico had analysis of how Dr. Tiller's case got way more coverage than a domestic terrorist attack on our own soldiers. If only Pvt. Ezeagwula had been shot by someone wearing a Sarah Palin button or he publicly reputed American Imperialism, he would've had a book deal and an ACLU lawyer by now.

Obama Administration Continues to Brow-beat the Media Into Submission

Baghdad Bob and Bob Gibbs, Separated at Birth? (courtesy Free Republic)

How hard a concept is it to grasp that public officials have a responsibility to answer questions from the media and not manipulate it to their own ends like some Ba'athist mouthpiece? The US Military understands this, most law enforcement institutions understand this, and dare I say congress might even understand this. But the Obama administration, ever in permanent campaign mode, seems obsessed with getting the media to heap praise upon them and not dare criticize The One's decisions. It's not like the White House press corps has been very critical in the first 100 days, but the President is unsatisfied that every front page article doesn't read like a press release.

Fox News recently got shut out of a Q&A session with the White House because they didn't broadcast the damn thing. Robert Gibbs started heckling NBC today when a straight-forward question from Chuck Todd was asked about Obama's sorry attempt at fiscal restraint. And now, Obama is just going straight to the reporters to tell them how to phrase his monstrous budget. From CBS:

In his remarks today, the president sought to change that tenor of that coverage. He mocked the notion that smaller savings are considered "trivial" in Washington and stressed that "these savings, large and small, add up."

And he told journalists directly that they should stress the fact that the cuts are "significant" – a surprisingly direct appeal to reporters concerning which angle they should take in their coverage.

"It is important, though, for all of you, as you're writing up these stories, to recognize that $17 billion taken out of our discretionary, non-defense budget, as well as portions of our defense budget, are significant," he said. "They mean something." (Here's the White House report on the cuts.)

And you thought the term "Banana Republic" was just some right-wing meme, mwahaha.

Sadr's Back! Rest of the World Could Care Less

A long, long time ago (2008), any half-assed proclamation from Moqtada Al-Sadr whipping up his Mahdi Army would have been big news from the media. But after the Mahdi Army was crushed militarily and his political apparatus lost bad in the provincial elections, Sadr has become the Rodney Dangerfield of the Middle East. I saw a quick post from Gateway Pundit noting that Sadr was going to chat with Turkey's Prime Minister and President, but the only media outlet I could find with any interest was AFP. It's kind of like if Crystal Pepsi got re-introduced into the market, nobody gives a shit, which is rational because he's powerless. Here's Sadr being portrayed by John Malkovich:

NY Times Op-Ed Pushing the Wacko Vet Meme

The DHS Fusion Chart on Right-Wing Extremism in Red States (from The Castle)

Yeah, yeah...the DHS report on Right-Wing extremism was so last week. As far as political blogs go, I might as well be talking about the merits of McKinleynomics while dancing the charleston because this news is so old...but sorry, I was on the road for the last couple of days. Anyhoo, there was a NYT Op-Ed over the weekend which justified the report's targeting of veterans and also the FBI crackdown. Here's the reason cited for why crazed vets are going to be running around the woods like Rambo [NYT]:

So, which soldiers are most vulnerable? According to the Homeland Security report, it would probably be those “facing significant challenges reintegrating into their communities.” This could be a large group because far too many soldiers come back from war broken men. According to a RAND study released on Friday, 300,000 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan reported some sign of post-traumatic stress disorder or major depression. It said that only about half of those will seek help and only half of those seeking it will receive “minimally adequate” treatment. These soldiers could prove fertile ground for men hoping to prey on their fear, loneliness and dispossession.

It's true that Iraq/A-stan veterans have higher unemployment rate than their civilian peers. But, it's absurd to suggest that being a tad disillusioned by the economy and the fact that everyone was watching American Idol while they were doing patrols in Baqubah will lead to future truck bombers. That's a pretty big leap of logic. If that were the case, why doesn't the DHS target emo kids or goths? They don't like anything.

You could be inclined to take the author of the NYT op-ed a little bit more seriously if it wasn't the same guy (from his shining hill of "moral authority" on everybody else) who called for going Robespierre on the Big 3 CEOs. From his NYT blog last month:

I’m not saying that the Despots of Detroit deserve a break (Wagoner should be flogged in the streets for the Hummer alone), but the use of the guillotine could be a tad more egalitarian.

Charles Blow's twitter indicates that he's "answering mail" about his column. I'm sure anyone who doesn't agree with him is a violent extremist and has had their name forwarded on to the authorities. Some folks just don't understand hypocrisy.

Chicago Sun Times Weenie Thinks Tea-Parties Are Anti-Veteran

The Tea Party haters comical criticisms of the events on April 15th may have reached a new plane of silliness with this latest blurb from the dead tree media (h/t Mike of Crook's Shadow). And this is after the drug-addicted Garofalo derided the protests as racists with her "teabagging rednecks" flap on Olbermann! Apparently, if you are opposed to the federal government squandering billions of dollars in unprofitable banks and wasting billions more on "make work" type largesse, you hate the military. From the Chicago Sun-Times:

What did you make of the big protest against the U.S. military and our veterans Wednesday?

It took place in hundreds of American cities; people were waving signs, brandishing tea bags.

Of course, they didn't think they were speaking out against our military and our vets -- they hadn't really thought it through at all. They were under the impression they were condemning federal taxes.

I don't see the paradox in wanting more responsible government but still understanding that some level of taxation is necessary. As a matter of fact, there were at least a few vets at the DC protest, and one officer in Baghdad wrote to Gateway Pundit wishing he could've attended one.

The Sun-Times goes on a history revisionist rant by saying that the founding fathers weren't really limited government types at all:

How accurate is it to say that the founding fathers were for "limited government"?

Well, if you mean they didn't envision an Environmental Protection Agency or NASA, then yes, they were for limited government.

But if you look at what they actually did -- create a federal government where none existed before -- then they were for an enormous expansion of central control.

Not that I could put words in the mouth of zombie Thomas Jefferson, but when he famously stated "I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies", I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be hunky-doory with the banking plutocracy taking the taxpayers to the cleaners.

But the kicker is that the same Sun-Times article talks about an art exhibit being co-hosted by Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn, and that they might upset some of those nasty right-wingers. So to be clear, protesting lack of accountability with federal tax dollars makes you a CHUD, but trying to blow up the Fort Dix NCO club makes you a misunderstood philanthropist.

Ross Douthat has a worthwhile piece about how the lack of leadership at the Tea Parties is bringing out too many freaky-freakies, and certainly there will always be your share of crazies at any protest. But, I wish this guy would've shown up to one of the events to point out to the critics that many of them sound like imbeciles:

TIME: Why the Hell Would the Commander-in-Chief Want to Visit Iraq?

You really have to wonder about the American media questioning why a Commander-in-Chief would want to visit the country in which we have been involved in a war for over 6 years. Sure, VIP visits to Iraq are a bag of dicks for the logistics folks, but boosting diplomacy, listening to Generals, riling up morale for the troops is pretty par for the course in what we should expect from the President. However, TIME appears to view the Obama presidency as one big permanent campaign and poo-poos this visit:

Surprise stops on presidential journeys became the norm during Bush era, with the U.S. engaged in two foreign wars — where the Commander in Chief could not be guaranteed satisfactory security if his intention to visit the troops was announced ahead of time. Still, Baghdad was the wrong choice for Obama. Iraq is Bush's war — or Bush's folly, depending on your point of view. Obama's main contribution to Iraq has been to criticize the war while on the campaign trail, and then to begin drawing down the U.S. troop presence as soon as he became President.

Uh, okay. No one is disputing that the OIF wasn't started by Bush, but does that mean Obama should just forget about it and not carry out his responsibilities? Fortunately, the President isn't that much of a dumbass.

This highlights the disconnect between American society and the fact that this is a time of war. When a long-running counter-insurgency/nation-building conflict is reduced to a campaign stop in the media, we shouldn't expect much public awareness of what's going on. MezzoSF emailed me that there's a new video game based on Fallujah 2004. Maybe that will raise consciousness...that or Obama bringing Kal Penn along on these overseas meet n' greets. That dude is fucking hilarious.

Glenn Beck Rising

The New York times has an A01 article on the rising popularity of the man behind the 5pm Fox News slot, Glenn Beck:

Joel Cheatwood, a senior vice president for development at Fox News, said he thought Mr. Beck’s audience was a “somewhat disenfranchised” one. And, he added, “it’s a huge audience.”

Mr. Beck has used phrases like “we surround them,” invoked while speaking vaguely about people who do not share his discomfort with the “direction America is being taken in.”

His comments have prompted several bloggers to speculate recently that the TV host may have been promoting an armed revolt.

He's a bit screwy in a "crazy-old-Uncle" kind of way, but these are screwy times, so I can relate. He doesn't have that smarmy Neocon approach like Kristol and he doesn't take himself too seriously like O' Reilly, so I admit to enjoying his show (albeit with a little bit of guilt). The guy is a living personification of the pejorative word "wingnut", but there's less shame in that now that conservative ideology is in the minority. Plus, he reminds me of Harry Dean Stanton's character from Red Dawn, which is reason enough to watch the guy occasionally.

Weapons of Mass Distraction: The Operation Hush Rush Saga

From the Savvy Political Tactics of This Dude

Awhile back, the conservative American Spectator published an article called "The Hugo Chavez Democrats" outlining how redistribution of wealth and federal laws such as The Fairness Doctrine were going to lead America into a new dark age. Fortunately, the Fairness Doctrine as it was originally conceived is D.O.A. for the time-being, but the White House is orchestrating a political attack on a pundit to distract the public from serious problems the country is facing.

The list of woes for America is lengthy: the stock market is in the crapper, investors are more skeptical of financing U.S. Treasury bonds, Afghanistan-Pakistan is in need of a completely revamped strategy (see yesterday's Cricket attacks for how dangerous this country is becoming), and people like Octopussy are still mooching off the public dole.

Certainly, no one is saying that Obama walked into an easy presidency, but he has chosen to mask the shortcomings in the first month-and-a-half by blaming everything on a loudmouth political commentator. No one elected Rush Limbaugh to anything, and he is, indeed, a loudmouth...uh, he's on talk radio, so how the hell else would he act? The Democrat strategy involves convincing America that conservatives are backwoods morons, but it also has to convince Americans that they are pathetic enough to require perpetual financial assistance from the government (thereby securing a lifelong voting pattern). Attacking Rush Limbaugh is political gold, because it simultaneously demonizes the conservative opposition while seeking to attract buy-in from a bloc of voters the Dems have traditionally struggled with (primarily blue-collar/middle class angry males like yours truly). Politico has the details on the White House strategy:

With President George W. Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney out of the White House and Tom DeLay gone from Congress, the left had been suddenly absent an unpopular right-wing figure.

Few Americans know who the congressional Republican leaders are. Even Sarah Palin is now four time zones away from Washington.

Enter Limbaugh.

It’s something of a back to the future tactic for Democrats: painting the GOP as the party of the angry white male. But unlike Newt Gingrich or other prominent Republicans, Limbaugh doesn’t have to mind his tongue.

And the liberal political apparatus is at battle stations taking note of his every comment.

These type of tactics are nothing new, but they usually aren't reserved for an organization like the goddamn White House (which enforces law through the barrel of a gun rather than lefty protesters clucking about in the streets). One of Obama's "inner circle" strategists wrote this scathing critique of Rush Limbaugh in today's WaPo. Private citizens have the right to free speech whether they are criticizing the president or hypothesizing bizarre LaRoucheian conspiracies about the British controlling our banks. End of discussion. This intimidation from the highest levels of government puts us on the slippery slope of neglecting the First Amendment, and it's not difficult to foresee the imprisonment of media figures like what happens in other countries. Sometimes it's hard to believe this is still America.

Obama Administration Continues Intimidation of Uncooperative Media

Rahm-Bo Fires a Salvo at Conservative Punditry

Rahm Emanuel (Obama's "bad boy" Chief of Staff) took aim at Rush's CPAC speech where he was critical of the administration. It's not so much that I'm a ditto head, as that I recognize media intimidation at the highest levels of government is not conducive to a free society (see Venuezuela, Iran, and Russia for examples). But, constant campaigning is the mantra for the Obama machine, which is why a communications strategy of crushing dissent is vital to secure America's path to mediocrity and general thuggery. From Politico:

“Our goal, Bob, is to continue to reach out and it’s our desire that the Republicans would work with us and try to be constructive, rather than adopt the philosophy of somebody like Rush Limbaugh.”

Emanuel’s comments were in line with a new strategy by White House allies in the private sector to make Limbaugh synonymous with the GOP.

The union AFSCME and Americans United for Change began airing an ad late last week showing a clip of Limbaugh saying “I want him to fail,” along with quick cuts of top Republican congressional leaders saying, “No … No. … No … No … No … No.”

Asked by Schieffer if the GOP really pays that much attention to Limbaugh, Emanuel replied: “I do think he’s an intellectual force, which is why the Republicans pay such attention to him.”

Making one-line zingers about how Republicans are dumbasses is normally reserved for holier-than-thou Kos diarists. Since Rahm-bo had to step into the fray, that would suggest that the "grassroots" Obamatrons of union leaders, trial lawyers, and George Soros is doing a rotten job of squashing any opposition to Dear leader. You liberals involved with Organizing for America (Obama's personal propaganda brigade) better start coming up with some new tactics. Try public humiliation of political opponents by making them wear signs around their neck and "smashing the old world" to usher in new revolutionary ideas about Obama's stimulus plan. It's worked well for other countries! Why do you make Rahm Emanuel work so hard on a Sunday?

Unbelievable! WaPo Op-Ed Makes Apologies For Blago, Says He Committed No Crime

Eugene Robinsons Thinks Blago's Sole Crime is His Goofy Hair

Nothing has been as bizarre as the Gov. Blagojevich media campaign to profess his innocence. Appealing to suburban housewives by appearing on The Biew, comparing himself to Gandhi, and talking with Geraldo for a solid 10 minutes during an ambush interview. But let's not lose perspective. He abused the authority of office to benefit himself and shake down others for campaign contributions. Governors have been run out of town for less (see Gov. Spitzer). It is an embarrassment to America that Blagojevich was not suitcase-tossed out of office the day these FBI tapes surfaced. This is not a conservative vs. liberal issue, but rather a rule of law vs. corrupt oligarchy issue.

But, Blago's schmoozing with the media and hiring Drew Peterson's PR people seems to be achieving it's desired effect. A regular WaPo Op-Ed contributor proclaims the man's innocence (yes really). From Eugene Robinson:

But it is unclear to me what else Blagojevich has done that a duly constituted jury would find illegal. Even in the matter of his menacing mop, at worst he's a co-conspirator in a dastardly act committed by his barber.

The liberal Crooks and Liars echoes sentiment that Blago is guilty by suggesting that this is Republican hit job on a guy who has the misfortune of being goofy. Political opinion has become so ideologically polarized that pundits and analysts rush to defend politicians "on their team", no matter how damning the evidence. A sad state of affairs.

Blago Takes Circus Act on the Road

Rod Blagojevich Waxes Poetically with a Potted Plant

Not since Blackwater stood accused of massacring over a dozen Iraqi civilians has the media been so receptive to such a shamelees PR campaign. Hot Rod has hired the firm that worked for wife-killer Drew Peterson, so you know the company has to be prestigious. So far, his best work has been comparing himself to Gandhi. From Washington Times:

In an interview on NBC's "Today" show, Blagojevich said his impeachment trial is "rigged" and the federal charges that he tried to sell his appointment for the U.S. Senate vacated by Barack Obama are false, according to a transcript of the interview.

"I thought about Mandela, Dr. King, Gandhi and trying to put some perspective in all of this," he said of his Dec. 9 arrest.

Last week, Blago compared the attacks on his family to Pearl Harbor, but now he is comparing himself to actual people instead of events, which may have initially confused some Americans out in zombie land. Sounds like that high-priced PR firm is really paying off.

Moran of the Day: NYT Journalist With Another Hit Piece on the Military

The latest NY Times tripe on the military suggests that people only enlist for a steady cash flow during our recession. Certainly, the promise of a pay-check might tip the scales for some potential recruits in their decision-making process, but just joining the military for financial rewards is a pretty lousy idea. The pay scale for junior enlisted personnel is publicly available, and you can see that an individual would have a much better shot at bringing in the Benjamins if they opened up a roller-disco or something. But that doesn't stop the grey lady from propagating the myth that people only sign up to avoid financial ruin. From the NYT:

Sean D. O’Neil, a 22-year-old who stood shivering outside an Army recruitment office in St. Louis, said he was forgoing plans to become a guitar maker for now, realizing that instruments are seen as a luxury during a recession. Mr. O’Neil, a Texas native, ventured to St. Louis for an apprenticeship but found himself $30,000 in debt. Joining the Army, his Plan B, was a purely financial decision. With President-elect Barack Obama in office, he expects the troop levels in Iraq to be lowered.

This type of reporting in the media leads society to believe that they should not respect the patriotism of the Armed Forces. Because they had "nowhere else to go", young Americans can feel "less guilty" that only a small percentage of folks have chosen to serve. Recruits come into the military for a variety of reasons, but it all becomes moot as everyone is familiarized into the military lifestyle and ethnic/class/political boundaries are broken down as everyone dons the same uniform.

The NYT writer, Lizette Alvarez, has covered the same beat for her journalistic career, always proclaiming the military's troubles. Recently, Old Blue did some outstanding analysis that her gripes with the military have nothing to do with objective reporting, and everything to do with making the current Republican administration look bad. So don't buy into the hype...maybe her articles will quietly go away after The O takes office.

What's disturbing is that imbeciles tend to believe this sort of nonsense that the military is not necessarily patriotic. Take Punk'd star and cougar-hunter Ashton Kutcher, who had this to say at HuffPo:

Today, serving our country no longer simply means drop and give me 20, this is your rifle, defend this land we call home. National service is becoming a term used to define a much broader and equally passionate category of patriotism. This brand of patriotism is inclusive of a pure humanitarian effort guided by the simple virtue of the giving of oneself for the benefit of another in the name of the United States of America.

I am grateful that our nation has some excellent humanitarian workers here and abroad, but Ashton Kutcher isn't exactly Mother Teresa. And his flippant attitude that the military is just about "give me 20" is an embarrassment. It's a sad state of affairs when our nation's cultural elite think driving a hybrid is on par with sacrifices made in the military, but it's the reality we face.