stillonline's Open Salon Blog

@ CNN Magic bullets and disappearing video

Sun, 28 Mar 2010 09:03:00 -0400

I watched CNN John King USA yesterday. I swear I honestly think that Fox does a better job of presenting both sides. What was most alarming was Dana Bash. In the midst of all this talk about how the Republicans are not inciting this violence, Dana Bash has footage of Steve King (Iowa) on the Speakers Balcony. He has a picture of Nancy Pelosi which her alternatively slaps and makes slashing motions across her throat. Later in the video, Dana tries to interview King. He denies doing it, she claims to have film and he runs away. Really, runs away.
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/steve-king-runs-dana-bash-when-questioned

I watched the show particularly to see a repeat of the interview. It never showed. Instead there was such a total distortion of the facts. Democrats were alleging threats for fundraising purposes (no mention of fundraising letters form the you lie and baby killer congressmen) Just the proclamation that this is all Democratic stunt to get money.

Did you see Nancy Pelosi's face? She was thunderstruck. Like a woman whose children were threatened. This was no Democratic gimmick. The Bash-Kings managed to make Eric Cantors (air shot) single bullet story more threatening than the severed propane line that spewed gas into the backyard of a home where Rep. Tom Perriello's brother lived with his five kids.

They interviewed the Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' press secretary about the vandalism on her Tucson office. The man was tongue tied. The only possible reason for the interview was that the press secretary was obviously gay.

Today I watched Candy Crowley. She played the Eric Cantor speech where he cries that he has been victimized by those damn Jew hating Liberals shooting up his office. Yet there is never a mention that days ago that theory was exposed as sympathy hype. There was no bullet shot in Cantors’ office. Richmond police reported on it last week. Another CNN regular makes the death threats against the Democrats seem like campaign gimmicks. They never mention the severed propane line that spewed gas into the backyard of a home where Rep. Tom Perriello's brother lived with his five kids. Not a mention.

And what concerns me most is the missing tape from Dana Bash chasing Rep Steve King (Iowa). It was shown once on CNN and never again. The story is pushed that the Democrats must be "faking" these threats. Everyone has a copy of a Democratic fundraising letter. None of them seem to have the letters that went out for Joe Wilson's "you lie" comment or the quick turnaround the next day with "baby Killer” letters.

More and more often, CNN is not a news network but a CORPORATE NETWORK.

Messiah Complex

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 09:03:07 -0400

Contrary to Fox news myth - We do NOT think he is the Messiah. Just a man who was handed an economy in meltdown, wall street that was run like a casino, a mortgage foreclosure crisis, government agencies that were run by rich kids who looted them, a terrorist threat that - in spite of the testosterone filled rhetoric - was expanding exponentially, Gitmo prisoners who had been tortured to death, a reputation as a global thug, allies that didn't trust us, a decade long decline in the standard of living of most Americans, the disappearing middle class, rising heath care costs that are bankrupting us, two wars that were "off the books" and not included in the exploding national debt, a crumbling infrastructure, the recommendations from the 9/11 commission never implemented or ignored completely increasing the possibility of another attack, a school system that had been starved for money for decades and at the same time given impossible "standards", a gang of morons who worship at the alter of that idiot Glenn Beck and who created a gang of racist thugs who terrorized elected officials under the guise of "free speech", AND a Republican party that totally abandoned their duty to the people in order to "bring down a President"and a bunch of left wing failure junkies who will never approve of anyone and are as tyrannical as the right wing nuts.

All the while - Cheney still has his own army (Blackwater, XE, KBR, Halliburton) who got rich off the dead bodies of our soldiers, moles inside the CIA, State Dept, and death threats against the President, Legislators and their kids from thinly disguised white supremacists.

No he has not turned the water into wine.

Back in the 60's we used to say "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.

#DumpCNN

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:03:34 -0400

Dear CNN,

I am sorry to see your demise into a cheap version of Fox. You were at one time the place for honest reporting and comprehensive coverage. No more. The stench of politically tinged comments has saturated all of your coverage. Even straight news is presented with a bigoted and cynical attitude. Your reporters constantly refer to the President of the United States in insulting and disparaging terms. All of the commentary treats the work of governing as simply a stage to present a campaign for re-election. Gossip and rumor are reported as fact. Guilt is assumed and you never correct it. When there is a story of ethical violations or scandal in the Republican Party, little coverage is given.

All month you have been equating Republican Mark Foley with Democrat Eric Massa. For starters, you never once mention that Foley was allowed to prowl after teenage interns with GOP knowledge for over a decade. In fact long after his tendency to be a sexual predator was well established among the party faithful, he was convinced to run for reelection. It was only when his victims made the story public did you investigate the rumors. But first term Congressman Massa resigned with the first report of sexual harassment. You continue to conflate the two as if they are the same. The big difference here is the presence of Speaker Pelosi who actually does run a tight ship. (Since the nauseating Navy references are sure to occur.)

For a year you have failed to give complete coverage of the Acorn story. Now this morning John Roberts introduces a story about Acorn by saying they are "Hiding their Nuts." CNN didn't bother to cover the reports of the Acorn offices that were NOT taken in and assumed it was a prank. Or the offices who felt compelled to report “The Pimp” James O'Keefe, to the police. You never mention that when he visited dozens of Acorn offices he was not dressed like Huggy Bear but was wearing a suit. No, it was too much fun to run the video of the pimp suit and that exceedingly nice piece of ass shown in the footage.

Now you have given Erick Erickson, who runs the conservative website Redstate.com a very public platform to spew his hatred. This is the man who called the First Lady a “Marxist harpy” and ran the headline stating that the President was “shagging hookers behind the media’s back” and who called Justice Souter a “goat-f-ing child molester. If you follow pattern, you will allow this man to rant unaltered by the truth.

Those are only a few instances. It goes on hour after hour. Instead of doing a constitutionally protected job of informing the citizenry so that we can make rational decisions – you are no more than a titty bar. You play to the lowest common denominator and have no interest in the truth.

Our media is a servant to the mega corpse. It is not interested in the truth. It is interested in advertising it’s product. Maybe the old song was right –

THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED

#DUMPCNN

Dear Sarah

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 09:01:38 -0500

First of all, I am not a fan. During the campaign every time you said, “pals around with terrorists” I wanted to throw a shoe at the TV. (Have you seen Bill Ayres? He’s as dangerous as Deputy Barney Fife of Mayberry RFD.)

Today I was skimming past Fox and I heard you say “Why would they give up their seat in Congress if? If it’s a principle – then tell me what principle.” I actually heard sincerity in your voice – which I’ve never heard before. I’ve heard sarcasm and ridicule – but never sincerity or an honest interest in anything beyond Alaska and your own career.

Here’s a partial answer. My nephew was born when my sister was only 18 – severely handicapped. Against advice of the professionals, she refused to institutionalize him and took on the burden of raising him herself. The process of getting him medical care has been the focus of the lives of my sister, her husband and their other two children for the last 20 years. Unable to get insurance for a preexisting condition, they have cared for him with a patchwork of state programs, charity and sacrifice.

Here’s a challenge for you: Try to find insurance for Trig. Don’t tell them who you are, famous people always get special treatment. Just make some anonymous calls or go online. If you aren’t covered by a group plan and have to buy an individual plan, could you afford to pay for insurance for Trip on a middle class income? What things aren’t covered? You need an attorney to read the fine print on insurance contracts. It’s amazing how many loopholes they have in those contracts. If it’s a safety net – it’s in need of mending.

As a single mother of two, my job decisions were always based on insurance coverage, not the job itself. I took jobs with no future and low wages just to get the coverage. When my son was twelve he was diagnosed with epilepsy. At the time I had a job and insurance but once he had a preexisting condition, I was not longer insurable.

Like in real life, I was laid off from my job, a week later my son’s appendix ruptured, I paid the high COBRA premium to keep him insured and a month later we were living in a campground. I went from middle class executive to homeless family in one month. It happens every day in America.

That’s why Congressmen and Senators are willing to put it on the line. It is about principle but more than that – it’s about suffering people.

For millions and millions of Americans, getting medical care is a never-ending battle. We have the best care in the world but only if you can afford it. More and more middle class Americans are being priced out of the market.

Once you have insurance, the insurance companies have a bag of tricks that make Congress look like boy scouts. The discontinue coverage and sentence children to death routinely. As a right to life person, this kind of corporate callousness must break you heart.

The quality of insurance varies from state to state. Some states have more regulation. I know you hate that word but even a basketball game has regulations. Imagine a game with not rules. It’s called anarchy. Governments are instituted among men to provide order – to establish the rules of the road. Us little guys need protection from the Mega Corpse that controls the insurance industry and our economy.

I call them Mega Corpse because it is their dead weight that is crushing this economy. They have sucked the life from this economy and are still coming back for more. They nearly sent the world into a massive depression and are now spending billions to fight regulation that would prevent a repeat. These are not the entrepreneurs who revitalize a nation’s economy – they are the dead weight that cripples it.

The insurance companies have a death grip on American families. Their profits soar and our children die because the life saving procedure has been denied by the Insurance Corp. Millions live with untreated illnesses in a nation that invented modern medicine. If you think that government has a death grip on our nation – you need to take a better look at the Mega Corpse.

You’re in my prayers Sarah. I hope you find out you’re on the wrong side of this battle. We could use your help. America’s children could use your help. Next time you say "right to life" mean it.

The Biggest Mistakes of the Last Decade

Sun, 3 Jan 2010 08:01:47 -0500

Mistake 10) Bank Bailout
September 2008

Mistake 9) Foreclosure Crisis
April 2007

Mistake 8) Backwater Mercenaries on American Streets

Mistake 7) Katrina - An American City Drowns
Aug 2006

Mistake 6) Guantanamo Bay

Mistake 5) Abu ghraib
May 2004

Mistake 4) Baghdad Shock and Awe
March 2003

Mistake 3) Bin Laden Attacks in US
September 2001

Mistake 2) Intelligence Failure
August 2001

Mistake 1) Supreme Court Selects A President
December 2000

Now, it’s the morning after the New Years Eve party. You’ve got a bad case of bed hair, a hickey on your neck from who knows who, your head is pounding and you can’t find your feet. The house is littered with beer cans, cheetos, pork rinds, tofu (I didn’t think this stuff could look any worse!)  A few of Cheney’s “stay behinds” are hiding in the CIA’s closet.

Nothing works. The toilet is overflowing, all the dishes are broken (Junior was trying his hand at balancing dishes on a stick) and there’s a huge cigarette burn on the sofa. On top of that, we have no garbage bags or soap because they were funded through EPA.

Never the less, it’s our house. It doesn’t matter anymore who’s to blame. Either you were one of the party goers or you didn’t try hard enough to regulate them. We all live here and now we all have to pay. We will all either pay higher taxes or do without vital services.

We've been letting the MSM ignore their responsibility and play “Let’s you and him fight" instead. This isn't freedom of speech - it's Jerry Springer. Good for ratings, deadly for a democracy. Turn off the cable news.

It's time to remember that we’re a family. We all have to live here.

So, stop whining, all of you -left and right. And grab a mop....and where's the asprin?