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28 Dec 2010 20:25

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Politics: Glenn Greenwald reminds CNN what journalism is. (It’s Wikileaks)

  • What we love about this clip: Glenn Greenwald calls out not one but TWO CNN personalities for being biased against Wikileaks. Greenwald, while obviously in Julian Assange’s court, nevertheless makes multiple great points about the similarities between what journalism is and what Wikileaks is. Fact of matter – Wikileaks is creative destruction to government secrecy, and that’s why the government is uncomfortable. Now’s a good time to mention that CNN passed on releasing Wikileaks material. So did the Wall Street Journal. (thanks diegueno)
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Sep 2010 02:10

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Politics: The Colbert/Stewart rally: Pseudo-intellectuals call it “high-Broderist”

  • Good God. Have a sense of humor, folks. There seems to be so much second-guessing about the Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert rally online that none of it is worth taking seriously. First, FireDogLake pulled out the phrase “a little too high-Broderist for my taste” to describe the moderate conceit of Stewart’s rally. Uh, what? Now, Mary Elizabeth Williams of Salon is concerned that the comics may be “bearing an uncanny resemblance to the things we despise.” Do you pompous progressive types read what you write? Can’t you just let something stand on its own as a source of entertainment? Does anyone even know what the hell “high-Broderist” means? Neither do we. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Aug 2010 00:36

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Politics: Is the root of the “Ground Zero Mosque” story Pamela Gellar?

  • She was one of the first bloggers to tackle it. Who’s Pamela Gellar? She’s a conservative blogger (owner of “Atlas Shrugs“) who is strongly anti-Jihad (not anti-Islam) in her political stances, and just today called President Obama an “antisemite president.” (In the past, she once suggested Malcolm X was Obama’s dad. No, really.) Now, we’re not super-familiar with her work, but Salon is making this claim that the whole negative vibe against the Park51 center started with her, and eventually was picked up by the New York Post. It worked like a virus from there, eventually wending its way all the way to Barack Obama, who certainly stepped in it. Can we go back to fighting about health care yet? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

21 Mar 2010 11:23

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Politics: Racism and rage: Did the Tea Party severely hurt their movement?

  • So I’m having a hard time tonight trying to believe almost uniformly white tea partiers are anything other than a racist, right-wing reaction to the election of an African American president who brings with him feminists and gays (even if he doesn’t do as much for them as they would ideally like).
  • Salon writer Joan Walsh • Regarding yesterday’s heated health care situation, where some awful Tea Party precedents hit their ugly head. First, Rep. John Lewis, a civil-rights hero, was called the N-word (which she repeated but we won’t) at least fifteen times. Second, fellow Congressional Black Caucus leader Rep. Emanuel Cleaver was spat on by a tea partier. Third, popular gay Rep. Barney Frank was called a “homo” and F-word (not that one, the other one) by the same folks. Finally, Rep. Louise Slaughter had a brick thrown through her congressional office in Niagra Falls. Dissent is one thing, but holy crap dudes. What does health care have to do with this? You did a lot to set your cause back yesterday. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Aug 2009 10:44

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Politics, U.S.: Why you should care about the CIA interrogation reports

  • As stomach-turning as these individual acts of sadism are, it is far worse to consider that only low-level interrogators will suffer consequences while those who were truly responsible – the criminally depraved leaders and lawyers who ordered and authorized it – will be protected.
  • Salon’s Glenn Greenwald • Discussing the implications of the Inspector General’s report on torture. His analysis points out many scary things in the report – including phrases such as “threats of execution,” “threats to kill detainee and his children,” “pressure points on carotid artery,” “‘buttstroking’ with rifles and knee kicks” and “blowing smoke in detainee’s face for five minutes.” Despite the many black boxes, you can read between the lines. And between those lines is a lot of questionable government-sanctioned activity. Makes us sick thinking about it. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Jul 2009 18:30

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Politics: A lefty says that Sarah Palin is an example of the rise of idiocy

  • She was limited in her ability to explain and defend her positions, and sometimes in knowing them. She couldn’t say what she read because she didn’t read anything. She was utterly unconcerned by all this and seemed in fact rather proud of it: It was evidence of her authenticity.
  • The Wall Street Journal’s Peggy Noonan • Describing why Sarah Palin often didn’t know what the heck she was talking about on TV. Noonan’s quote (Noonan is a conservative, BTW) is something of a centerpiece of Salon columnist Gene Lyons’ thrashing of not only Palin herself but her quote-unquote idiotic fans, calling her a product of TV celebrity culture. Lyons goes further: “President? Get real. Sarah Palin couldn’t manage a Wal-Mart.” Ouch. Those claws sure dig deep, don’t they? • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 4 Comments • Permalink

02 Jul 2009 22:18

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Biz, U.S.: Pay-for-play journalism with the Washington Post? No way, Jose!

  • We will not participate in events where promises are made that in exchange for money The Post will offer access to newsroom personnel or will refrain from confrontational questioning. Our independence from advertisers or sponsors is inviolable.
  • Marcus W. Brauchli • Executive editor of The Washington Post, talking about a report in Politico about a series of “salons” to offered lobbyists access to Washington Post journalists in exchange for their soul … er, money. The first meeting was reported to be at the publisher’s house July 21, and was going to have Post reporters, Obama administration officials and Congressmen. Word is that the flyer for the event leaked early and without proper vetting, and it was likely a marketing person’s vision. In other words, someone’s getting yelled at in a boardroom right now. (Disclosure: ShortFormBlog editor Ernie Smith is affiliated with The Washington Post’s Express, but the blog itself has no ties to The Post, nor does it express the opinions of the company.) • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

01 Jul 2009 22:24

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Politics: More NPR “torture” drama: Was Salon’s Glenn Greenwald ignored?

  • I played a large role in spawning the controversy in the first place. I think it was pretty cowardly and irresponsible for her not to being willing to address it.
  • Glenn Greenwald • Describing his conflict with NPR Ombudsman Alicia C. Shepard, who responded to his criticism of the radio network’s policy of using the phrase “harsh interrogation techniques” instead of “torture,” but didn’t mention him in the response. Greenwald goes further to say that he invited her on his radio show, but she declined because she apparently didn’t “want to get into a shouting match.” Greenwald just wants her to have a conversation with him about it. He promises no shouting. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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