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December 06, 2006 04:22 PM UTC

Wednesday Open Thread

  • 79 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

Slower traffic keep right.

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79 thoughts on “Wednesday Open Thread”

  1.   A.P. is reporting this morning that Mary Cheney and Heather Poe are expecting their first child.  It’s always a great start to the morning to hear that two lesbians (or two gay men, or a heterosexual couple for that matter) who want to have a baby are doing so. It’s even better news when that child is coming into a conservative Republican family.
      I wonder how Dr. Dobson, Rep. Musgrave and “FFF” are handling this bit of news……

    1. Which one plays mommy and which one plays daddy?

      Man, I know medical science has come a long way but squeezing sperm out of a lesbian? Now that is a wonder.

        1. Yeah, that’s why.  The occasional insult.  Because Gecko and his friends are always so civil.

          Or maybe most of them scurried off to hide from how bankrupt their ideology looks in the daylight.

          It’s not that Republicans have stopped posting *here*.  Republicans have just stopped posting.

            1. Civility is a worthy goal.

              Seriously, the crickets are chirping all over your half of the blogosphere.  It’s weird, because Democrats getting our butts kicked the last couple elections only seems to have increased our online activity.

              Where does the conservative back-and-forth take place online in Colorado now?  I agree it’s not happening at CoPols right now.

              1. The only thing that made getting bitch slapped tolerable in the lib blogosphere was having the satisfaction of a majority.  After losing the State House and Senate in 04, and now the Guv’s office, and with Congress and Senate gone on the national level, the air is out of our balloon.  I suspect most conservatives can’t tolerate the constant smug crowing and are waiting for the Dems to start doing dumb stuff before getting back in the water. 

                And before I get bitch slapped for making such unkind comments, the Dems don’t have a lock on smug crowing and the R’s keep them busy with their own brand of dumb stuff.

                Did I fix that up all right Dad?:)

  2. In all my reading about Bolton’s resignation, I have not seen anyone discuss why now.  Let me suggest that the resignation and timing have nothing to do with anything Bolton is or has done.  Rather, Bolton is resigning just before the Congressional recess so that Bush can make another recess appointment and avoid confirmation hearings before a Senate controlled by Democrats and the investigation into the administrations foreign policy which such hearings would entail. 

    2. Bush cannot appoint Bolten a second time during a congressional recess, and Bolten is smart enough to know he would not get the Ok from Congress this time with Biden as the Chair.

      Who knows, maybe Bush will appoint a second UN Ambassador during another recess, but it will not be the extremist Bolton.

      1. By shortening the Senate’s recess schedule for next year–and making our Senators work a few more days–he seems to have ensured that no recess will be long enough for the traditional “wait ten days, then appoint” procedure that even Bush has followed thusfar.

        Steny Hoyer also declared that the House will no longer have 3-day work weeks, and that Representatives had better expect to work this session.  No more “fly in Tuesday, fly home Thursday” as apparently many legislators were accustomed to.  Several Republicans are pitching a fit.  It’s hard work.

  3. Nearly all of the news pundits, talking heads, etc., are asking the question, “What are we going to do to fix the deteriorating situation in Iraq?” As a head of a company, when someone in the organization screws up so badly as to seriously harm the enterprise, I can state unequivocally they get fired or resign. In other words, THEY’RE HELD ACCOUNTABLE! It would send the strongest positive message to the world, to the middle east (especially Iraq), to our allies any everyone interested in restoring some sanity in the world if Bush would resign (but wait, that would be the honorable thing to do…scratch that) or get fired.

    I am simply flabbergasted there is no accountability for the dangerous, expensive, immoral and illegal mess this administration has got this country in to.

    1. Bush resigning would not send a “positive message” to the world – it would show that the US government is in shambles.

      If a foreign government’s head of state resigns, what is the reaction from the rest of the world?  That the government is ineffective and weak.

      I know your frustration with the current administration is high, as is mine, however, accountability and resignation are very different things that do not necessarily follow one another.  The latest Democratic surge in the election shows that voters demand accountability and we will get it (I hope) by forcing the administration to reexamine the policies and hopefully create a path to some security in Iraq while bringing our soldiers home.

      1. I agree that Bush resigning would be a bad thing. That is because Cheney would take over, which I would not be too thrilled about. But a leader stepping down does not necessarily mean a weak government. It may often stem from a failed policy directive, a failed economic directive, or a lack of popular support. None of those mean that they lose face internationally. I dont expect much change with this administration. The divide and conquer strategy that Rove advocates will continue until his last day in office, see Bolton upperdown vote.

    2. …and personal accountability, dontcha know?

      Sure, just like Clear Skies Initiative, Healthy Forests, No Child’s Behind Left, Contract ON America.

      Masters of hypocrisy and doublespeak, the current crop of R’s.

  5. Reposting:

    First it started 1/2 hour late (they said 11:30 but the panel actually was planned to start at 12:00).
    I thought it was very good. Some impressions:

    1) John Marshall was very gracious, funny, self-depreciating(?) and got in a couple of very funny digs at the whole system. And he took the blame on the loss on the campaign – not any outside influence. I wouldn’t hire him for a campaign but I respect him as a person after watching this.

    2) The press people were great. They clearly are trying to do the best job they can with limited resouces and space in the paper/TV each day. And they clearly try to figure out how best to do that.

    They also talked a lot about how the web is now driving all of their coverage at a strategic level. For all of them they start with what they want on the web at election day, move back from that and figure out what they should try to do when to get there.

    At a tactical level, their articles on inaccurate ads is their most popular items and toward the end tends to take up most/all of their time. They would talk about 2 or more new ones a day which just ate up available resources.

    They said blogs were one of many interesting feedback sources but no big deal. With the exception of when a blog would come out with original news – they mentioned the 20K golf prize as a biggie. But I don’t think ColoradoPols is significant in their mind.

    3) The CU professor did not add much. One time she took the media to task for using the web as an excuse to not have more in their print/TV and first the news and then the Post tore in to her telling her that it was not them pushing the web, it was their readers demanding the web. One of the papers had over 2 million hits election day. And they had reports of people taking laptops to the election booth when voting. The funniest part of this is the Prof made one of her classes come to the panel so they got to watch her get spanked.

    4) John Marshall and Evan ??? (Ritter campaign) were both good and shed a lot of light on how the campaigns ran. And they both said that the #1 campaign tool by far was paid TV ads. That meant more than everything else put together was the way I took their comments.

    5) It was funny to watch all the political aides – all dressed very nice and having that earnest look on their face as they networked with everyone. That was enertaining to watch.

    6) Colorado Media Matters has 11 employees. First off, how do they fund that? Second, they need that many to correct the media in Colorado? I figured 2 or 3 people would be sufficient.

    Anyone else go?

    1. First, thanks to everyone who attended. You helped make this panel, our first public event since we went live in July, a tremendous success.

      I think people generally seem surprised by the size of our staff when they visit our offices. Believe it or not, our staff is kept constantly busy, typically putting in 10-12 hour days given the amount of material they plow through. This is especially true for broadcast material, which is extremely time-consuming (particularly in the case of broadcasters such as Peter Boyles, who literally are fonts of lies and misinformation). The staff you saw at the event included six full-time researchers, copy editors and web editors.

      Regarding Prof. Skewes from CU, it’s important to note that she made some cogent and accurate points regarding use of online news. I was pleased to see her run-in with John Temple, and wished the panel generated more of that type of candid dialogue.

      I think Prof. Skewes may have been a little surprised by the response, because her essential point is correct: There are significant population segments that do not or can not access news online. We see the same phenomenon with online polls, which widely are seen as disenfranchising seniors, low-income people and others who don’t use the Internet. I agree with Temple that the Web increasingly is becoming a primary news source for much of the population, but to imply that it’s the preferred source at this point is a bit premature and not quite accurate. In fact, the Pew Internet Project reports that 50 million Americans got their news online on any given day last year; that’s still only about 17 percent of the overall population. It’s growing, but it’s not there yet.

      Bill Menezes
      Editorial Director
      Colorado Media Matters

      1. It’s The Daily Show and The Colbert Report – not a news show at all…

        Keep in mind that online polls are skewed more than online readers because it’s a subset that takes the polls.

        Anyways, it was fun to watch the Professor’s views hit the real world.

        1. Short answer: no. The main thrust of Colorado Media Matters and Media Matters in general is to correct and cite inaccuracies that occur in mainstream radio and television programs. The majority of inaccuracies are levelled against democrats.

          Take for instance an earlier citation by Colorado Media Matters concerning an editorial that ran in the Sentinel. The editorial was based off a post on the website townhall.com in regards to Keith Ellison, the first muslim to be elected to congress, and how he intends to be sworn in the Koran. The townhall op-ed piece basically said that by his actions he is destroying america, doing worse damage than the terrorist on 9/11 and essentially said that the Koran was Mein Kampf. Now, Im not sure if you are aware, but there is a law in debate called godwin’s law, if you cite nazism in contrast to almost anything you lose the debate. Now, the editorial was inflammatory, ridiculous and really offensive not only to Keith Ellison, but really to anybody who is a citizen of the US or a muslim. They pointed it out. Is that partisan? I would say no.

          The current listing is about the lack of reference to Joel Stengal in light of his past ethical transgressions. Partisan? Possibly, but he did overcharge the state and the fact that it was omitted could be either cause for consternation for some. I think most people would say that they are partisan if only becaused they are financed by left wingers. So really it is up to you. Personally, I may glance at it, but most of the things they post I have already read, and formed my own opinion.

          2. I thought they were a left wing watch group, but other than the banner on top of the page I haven’t paid that much attention.  Good of John Marshall to show up and participate in a panel like that.

            As for swearing on the Koran, what a moronic controversy.  Don’t we want elected officials to swear on the book they revere the most? If I swear on the Complete Works of Wordsworth or Blatt’s Restaurant Guide, where is the value in my oath?

            2. Colorado Media Matters is a self-described progressive organization focused on conducting fact-based research to identify and correct conservative misinformation in the media. As an earlier post pointed out, the conservative movement has done a good job over the past several decades in fostering the myth of a “liberal media bias.” This has occurred partly by creation and support of groups such as Accuracy In Media, the Media Resource Center, Heritage Foundation and Fox News that repeatedly attack liberal or progressive points of view in the news media, typically without a factual basis for their criticism.

              Media Matters for America and Colorado Media Matters are really the only organizations out there using fact-based research to monitor and point out — in real time — conservative misinformation in the media. Our mission is to help improve media by making it a more credible, accurate conveyer of facts.

              This week’s panel was intended to bring a variety of points of view together, hence John Marshall’s participation, which was most welcome.

              I hope this helps you understand who we are and what we do.

              Bill Menezes
              Editorial Director
              Colorado Media Matters

                1. As I noted above, there are myriad entities (my aforementioned watchdog groups, cable network pundits and “newspeople,” radio talk show hosts, think tanks) already focused on finding “liberal bias” in the media, and only one of us looking for conservative misinformation. If all of these conservative watchdogs aren’t doing their jobs to your satisfaction, take it up with them. We’ve got our own to do.

                    1. Feel free to point out anything, based in facts of course, that the liberals are doing that puts them in a bad light. Of course, you are trying  to pick a fight, and really nothing I say or the head of colorado media matters says will change your opinion of liberals, but why do they scare you so much? If they didnt frighten you than an attack would not be necessary, would it?

                      Im pretty sure that you have never actually read anything that Colorado Media Matters has written about, of course if you had I’m sure that you would be offended that they would dare question such a stalwart of the truth like “gunny” bob, or peter boyles, or Rosen, or Tancredo, or any other fabricator who purports to tell the truth. And since you are so offended that they wont attack their own where is your consternation over fox news? Or CNN?

                    2. of their accusations. And I stand by my analysis, they provide backyard journalism. Period.
                      If a conservative watchdog group wanted to, they could listen in to the socialist Boulder liberal station 760 AM.
                      There is more cherry picking bullshit spouted on that station daily than you could fill a newspaper with.
                      And no, I do not watch Fox or CNN. I get my news from the newspaper.
                      But I do listen to Rosen pretty much daily. He is not what Liberals refer to as a “rubber stamp Republican”. He uses FACTS only and often denounces Bush and many other Republicans.
                      So my point is this, Media Matters is a lefty garbage site that if it looked in its own backyard, maybe it would see that there are plenty of misleading statements being proclaimed as facts, by their oh so righteous liberal heros.

                    3. First of all, what does backyard journalism mean? I have personally never heard of it, but hey, you learn something new everyday.  So I did a little digging, and lo and behold, I can find no definition. So, elucidate every here as to this seemingly made up term, “backyard journalism.”

                      I assume, of course, that either you have personally documented the “socialist boulder liberal radio station” indiscretions or you have links to someone who has. Feel free to post them, and I will happily look into their remarks.

                      Yes, Rosen the beacon of truth.  I am sure that he has never ever said something that is incorrect factually or otherwise. http://colorado.medi…
                      http://colorado.medi…
                      http://colorado.medi…
                      These are the first three postings that appeared when I typed in “Mike Rosen” into the search box of the Colorado Media Matters website. There were 36 in all. I am sure that a discerning individual such as yourself will check all 36. I dont listen to him so I can not speak to what he says about bush and others.

                      Why would it need to look in their own backyard? It seems a little ridiculous when you have sites like drudge, fox news, etc. that go after liberal sites. This site is one of the few that looks at REPUBLICAN misstatements. But, I am sure that you will have numerous links to sites that show  dem mistatements. Hell, I already gave you two.

  7. How unjust that the new majority in Congress would require politicians to work a five day work week for their fat paychecks (that keep rising) and (unheard of in the private sector) cushy benefits package!  How will they ever be able to squeeze in a golf game (in Scotland) or take a “fact finding” junket to St. Croix?  The humanity!  The injustice of it all! 

      1. These are the press releases.  We need to watch closely to see what actually happens.

        The real complaints are probably going on between Democrats, behind closed doors in Steny Hoyer’s office.  Oh to be a fly on the wall…

    1. ColoradoPols posts is negative towards the right, and we all know that 90% of the people that post replies here are from the left.
      But since I love to argue with liberals about their “give the world away” mentality, I’ll keep putting in my two cents.

          2. It’s a waste of intellectual time. There are pressing issues dear reader! Keep your eye on the ball.

            Lets have a Colorado pols contest to define the “ball”

        1. how can I argue now with all this support?
          Dang…….
          I was in the mood too. It’s no fun after working all day and come home to a main drain line clogged somewhere under the basement slab…………….It’s no wonder I didn’t want to be a plumber when I grew up………drain muck! Yuck.

    2. Nope, no promise of unbiased comments…..

      In fact, a hint might come from the quote from the Alferd Packer trial.

      So, just lay back and enjoy the ride.

  9. Based on a wage of $165,200 and working 103 days, the average daily wage of a ‘rank and file’ member of the US House or Senate, was over $1,600. 

    With the best medical care that (taxpayer) money can buy, free Gym (and corporate jet) privileges, etc. etc. etc., is it any wonder that Congress sees no need for real medical reform or livable wages for the rest of us? 

    The 109th Congress is a shameful, shameful thing.  While all Members should be ashamed of their (non)contribution, the clear burden of blame lays at the feet of the GOP leadership, more interested in operating their K Street Brothel than in governing and honestly earning their tax-funded largess.

  10. “Keeping us up here eats away at families,” said Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), who typically flies home on Thursdays and returns to Washington on Tuesdays. “Marriages suffer. The Democrats could care less about families — that’s what this says.”

    Hey, guess what?  Millions of Americans have to juggle jobs and families!  Its called ‘reality!’ and most of us don’t have tax-funded top-of-the-line medical care, earn $162,000 a year for less work than the infamous ‘do-nothing Congress of 1948’ or get offers for free meals at Jack’s, golfing in Scotlands, etc. etc.  Meanwhile, a family wageearner at minimum wage, no 6 day Memorial Day holidays (probably no paid vacation or holidays at all) gets around $10,000 a year (probably without benefits) for 40 hours week, 52 weeks a year.

    QUIT YOUR WHINING CONGRESSMAN!  you care about American Families?  Do something for them, get to work, or get another job!

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