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Recent Appearances...

Home Front: Politix

Tom Brokaw: Journalists Used to Be Trusted, But Social Media Ruined That

2019-12-12

I’m terribly sorry, my dear, but absolutely nobody cares about your concerns. If they did, you’d be doing this interview on NBC, not that other news channel.

[NEWSBUSTERS.ORG] Longtime NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw came on CBS’s The Late Show Monday to talk about his new Watergate book and compare the impeachment inquiry of Richard Nixon to the current impeachment of President Trump. While he was there, he also boasted how journalists in his day could be counted on to report accurately; but today, people got their news from social media which couldn’t be trusted.

While comparing his time covering Watergate to the current impeachment proceedings, Brokaw told host Stephen Colbert how journalists used to be considered trustworthy, because they had plenty of time to do their own sourcing and could control what was reported:

“[I]t wasn't 24-7 on television...I would be working the phones all day long to try to find out what, in fact, happened and, when it would go on, it would be very much organized and I could count on what I was saying,” he touted.

Colbert interjected to joke, “Wait, go back! What was news like when it was organized and you could count on what you were saying? Take me back to this mythical land!”

But now, Brokaw lamented, the rise of new media on social media platforms had caused Americans to pick and choose what media they wanted instead of what “could be authenticated.” He added that while journalists weren’t infallible, they “worked hard” at finding the facts and were held accountable for their reporting.

Brokaw also complained that the traditional media no longer had a monopoly on news reporting, saying we've "lost control" of social media:

Link

Home Front: Culture Wars

Tom Browkaw Joins The Wrong Side Of The 'Me Too' Movement

2018-04-27

What took ya so long, Tommy?
[Boston Herald] - NEW YORK ‐ A woman who worked as a war correspondent for NBC News said Tom Brokaw groped her, twice tried to forcibly kiss her and made inappropriate overtures attempting to have an affair, according to two reports published Thursday.

Linda Vester told Variety and the Washington Post that the misbehavior from the longtime news anchor at the network took place in NBC offices in Denver and New York in the 1990s, when she was in her 20s. Variety reports that Vester, now 52, showed them journals from the time that corroborated the story.

Brokaw, who is 78 and has been married since 1962, denied doing anything inappropriate.

Link

Home Front: Politix

Brokaw: I Have Never Seen the Country So Fractured, ‘We're in Tribal Warfare Here

2016-11-07

[Breitbart] Sunday on NBC’s "Meet The Press," former NBC’s "Nightly News" anchor Tom Brokaw said, "I have never seen the country so fractured."

Brokaw said, "I’ve been at this a fair amount of time. I have never seen the country so fractured. The Founding Fathers said ’We the people in order to form a more perfect union,’ this campaign has been we the African-Americans, we the Hispanics, we the women, we the angry white males, we the wealthy, we the people who don’t know quite what to do. We’re in tribal warfare here. That’s not who we are. That’s not what we can be. Newt Gingrich is right, we’re in for a very difficult time whoever wins that. There are so many things that have not been addressed in this campaign."
Most insightful. Yes 'Tribal Warfare' as planned. I believe the first blows were struck soon after November, 2008 and they continue to this day.

Link

-Land of the Free

This Week in Guns, May 21st, 2016

2016-05-21

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

Back in the bad old days of the dead tree press, it was said that California leads the nation in trends. And it had for a good long time, at least in positive trends.

Now California is leading the nation into a descent into madness with 10 new gun control laws which tighten state gun control even further. Among the proposals are background checks and a statewide database for ammunition purchases/owners.

This newest drive is part of a nationwide effort which will follow Hillary Clinton should she wind up in the White House in January. You can tell because noted firearms experts such as Tom Brokaw and Katie Couric, for all intents and purposes Golden Throats who know what's best for you, much better than you.

As to Couric's claim that a "silent majority" of firearms owners want more gun control, I have zero doubt about that. You can see it even in Arms List, where about 15 to 20 percent of all sales listings require a background check by the seller.

This goes to Arms List's refusal to clean up their own sales lists, including gun shops who list their wares privately. Those shops are required by federal law to require a background check as a condition of sale. That requirement makes the private gun sale category meaningless because once the firearm is sold via a background check the sale is no longer private, but has been recorded for the government by the seller.

Individuals who require background checks as a condition of sale and gun shops should be required to list their sales as a vendor.

Individuals who require their gun sale through a background check are the exemplar of what Couric is taking about. People who believe that the rights enumerated on the Constitution apply to them and them alone. Everyone else can be left with nothing just as long as they have their rights. The left has been using this false sentiment against gun owners for decades now to tremendous effect.

Over at Knuckledraggin My Life Away blog, I guess blogger Ken Lane decided to start a fight about the AK vs AR comparisons. Some amazing reader's comments came from that post.

A taste:

Torpex

typical rifle cost AK win
ammo weight AR win
ease of tear down and maint AK win
long range accuracy AR win
typical skirmisher ranges 50 – 300 yds draw
quality ammo availability and choice AR win
barbie-dollability AR win

Bottom line the age old debate will continue. Thank god Kenny threw out the bait. There will be a bunch of responses to this one. ps I am an AK guy after a seeming lifetime with the AR platform as marksmanship instructor in the MC. For me the KISS principle rules all. :)

Glenfilthie

Thanks for saying that, WC. All I know is that 9 times outta 10 … When one squad with ARs is going at it with another with AKs …. The guys with the ARs win. The AK belongs to the third world and they can have it.

Boner

Above is a link from Tactical Response when Reid Henrichs was an instructor there. One video on youtube does not win the argument but it does give you a starting point and you can go on from there. But you wont. You have spent to much “sexifing” your vietnam’ war machine and been telling yourself and others for far to long and its become a point of self accomplishment in your mind.

I’ll keep training.

badanov

I luv my AK.

Sorry.

I get so emotional sometimes.

Loads.

Rantburg's summary for arms and ammunition:

Prices for pistol ammunition were mixed. Prices for rifle ammunition were mostly unchanged.

Prices for both used pistols were mixed, while prices for used rifles were lower across the board.

New Lows:

Virginia: .223/5.56mm (AR Pattern Semiautomatic): Smith & Wesson: $475

Pistol Ammunition

.45 Caliber, 230 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (9 Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: LAX Ammunition, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Cased, .24 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: FedArm, Store Brand, TMJ, Brass Cased, Reloads, .24 per round (From Last week: +.01 Each)

.40 Caliber Smith & Wesson, 180 Grain, From Last Week: +.01 Eazch After Unchanged (4 Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Goose Island Sales, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Cased, .21 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Ammo Marketplace, Leadhead, RNFP, Brass Casing, .20 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (4 Weeks))

9mm Parabellum, 115 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (3 Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Bud's Gun Shop, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .16 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: Rush Creek Ammo, Store brand, TMJ, Brass Casing, Reloads, .16 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (1Q, 2016))

.357 Magnum, 158 Grain, From Last Week: -.01 Each
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Goose Island Sales, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .22 per round
Cheapest Bulk: 1,000 rounds: SG Ammo, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel cased, .25 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (4Q, 2015))

Rifle Ammunition

.223 Caliber/5.56mm 55 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (8 Weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Goose Island Sales, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .21 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Cheaper Than Dirt!, Tulammo, FMJ, steel casing, .21 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (5 Weeks))

.308 NATO 150 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (4 Weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: LAX Ammunition, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .37 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: J&G Sales, Tulammo, steel casing, FMJ, .34 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (9 Weeks))

7.62x39 AK 123 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (2 Weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Top Gun Supply, Russian military, Steel Case, FMJ, .25 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: TrueCaliber.com, Wolf WPA, Steel Case, FMJ, .22 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (5 weeks))

.22 LR 40 Grain, From Last Week: +.01 Each
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Ammomen, Aguila, RNL, .08 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds (2 Cases Max): Cabela's, Remington, RNL, .07 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (6 Weeks))

Guns for Private Sale
Rifles

.223/5.56mm (AR Pattern Semiautomatic) Average Price: $504 Last Week Avg: $559 (-) ($616 (2Q, 2015), $476 (33 Weeks))
California (223, 211): Mixed Build: $545 ($650 (1Q, 2015), $400 (37 Weeks))
Texas (292, 287): DPMS Panther: $500 ($700 (1Q, 2015), $350 (2Q, 2015))
Pennsylvania (153, 144): Mixed Build: $550 ($700 (2Q, 2015), $300 (45 Weeks))
Virginia (163, 151): Smith & Wesson: $475 ($750 (1Q, 2015), $475 (CA: $480 (22 Weeks)))
Florida (361, 342): Smith & Wesson:: $450 ($650 (47 Weeks), $380 (1Q, 2015))

.308 NATO (AR-10 Pattern Semiautomatic) Average Price: $949 Last Week Avg: $1,075 (-) ($1,359 (2Q, 2015), $820 (32 Weeks))
California (51, 53): Bushmaster: $1,000 ($1,700 (4Q, 2014), $850 (42 Weeks))
Texas (82, 80): DPMS LR308: $800 ($1,500 (4Q, 2014), $800 (41 Weeks))
Pennsylvania (37, 29): DPMS SASS: $1,200 ($1,500 (1Q, 2015), $700 (34 Weeks))
Virginia (45, 47): CMMG: $950 ($2,750 (18 Weeks), $800 (29 Weeks))
Florida (63, 62): DPMS: $799 ($1,950 (3 Weeks), $500 (32 Weeks))

7.62x39mm (AK Pattern Semiautomatic) Average Price: $572 Last Week Avg: $552 (-) ($626 (2Q, 2015), $450 (43 Weeks))
California (38, 37): Zastava NPAP: $600 ($725 (9 Weeks), $320 (4Q, 2014))
Texas (74, 70): Unknown Brand: $560 ($800 (19 Weeks), $350 (3Q, 2014))
Pennsylvania (51, 55): IO: $600 ($750 (1Q, 2015), $375 (1Q, 2015))
Virginia (38, 41): CAI AMD 65: $500 ($650 (9 Weeks), $350 (1Q, 2015))
Florida (95, 99): Saiga: $600 ($700 (12 Weeks), $300 (4Q, 2014))

30-30 Winchester Lever Action Average Price: $377 Last Week Avg: $342 (-) ($489 (1Q, 2015), $296 (46 Weeks))
California (9, 10): Mossberg 464 SPX: $400 ($600 (10 Weeks), $180 (49 Weeks))
Texas (18, 17): Marlin: $350 ($550 (1Q, 2015), $300 (1Q, 2015))
Pennsylvania (21, 23): Marlin 30AS: $350 ($450 (1Q, 2015), $250 (4Q, 2014))
Virginia (12, 8): Marlin 336W: $360 ($670 (3 Weeks)), $250 (25 Weeks))
Florida (19, 21): Marlin 336: $425 ($500 (1Q, 2015), $250 (50 Weeks))

Pistols

.45 caliber ACP (M1911 Pattern Semiautomatic Pistol) Average Price: $402 Last Week Avg: $431 (-) ($510 (7 Weeks)), $350 (30 Weeks))
California (182, 182): Rock Island Armory: $525 ($725 (10 Weeks), $300 (41 Weeks))
Texas (201, 204): Springfield: $400 ($600 (4Q, 2014), $325 (39 Weeks))
Pennsylvania (166, 159): Rock Island Armory: $325 ($550 (2Q, 2015), $300 (49 Weeks))
Virginia (139, 135): Llama: $380 ($575 (16 Weeks)), $250 (4Q, 2014))
Florida (271, 269): Rock Island Armory: $380 ($500 (15 Weeks), $250 (1Q, 2015))

9mm (Beretta 92FS or other Semiautomatic) Average Price: $264 Last Week Avg: $277 (-) ($358 (11 Weeks), $245 (5 Weeks))
California (181, 181): Smith & Wesson SD9VE: $350 ($500 (12 Weeks), $200 (28 Weeks))
Texas (254, 262): Taurus PT111: $260 ($355 (1Q, 2015), $200 (37 Weeks))
Pennsylvania (227, 234): Kel Tec P-11: $225 ($350 (4Q 2014), $200 (44 Weeks))
Virginia (182, 196): Helwan: $189 ($425 (20 Weeks), $189 (7 Weeks))
Florida (447, 438): Smith & Wesson SD9VE: $300 ($400 (10 Weeks), $220 (36 Weeks))

.40 caliber S&W (Glock or other semiautomatic) Average Price: $330 Last Week Avg: $320 (+) ($399 (18 Weeks), $293 (14 Weeks))
California (83, 85): Smith & Wesson SD40VE: $375 ($560 (19 Weeks)), $250 (4Q, 2014))
Texas (118, 105): Smith & Wesson SD40VE: $275 ($425 (4Q, 2014), $250 (23 Weeks))
Pennsylvania (83, 79): Kahr CW40: $250 ($450 (7 Weeks), $250 (1Q, 2015))
Virginia (45, 48): Smith & Wesson SD40VE: $400 ($450 (2Q, 2015), $275 (1Q, 2015))
Florida (127, 131): Springfield XD 40: $350 ($400 (1Q, 2015), $200 (37 Weeks))

Used Gun of the Week: (Pennsylvania)
Beretta Stampede Chambered in .45 Long Colt

Chris Covert writes for Rantburg.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com and on Twitter.

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Home Front: Politix

Brokaw: What Are Republicans 'Prepared To Give Democrats' To Meet In Middle?

2014-11-04

[BREITBART] Monday afternoon on MSNBC, NBC News' Tom Brokaw was asked what Americans are thinking heading into Tuesday's midterm election.

"Well, they're thinking that they'd like to have Washington get something done," Brokaw said. "The question is, not just which party can get it done, but how can they change the tone of Washington so they can work together."

"I was listening to Gov. Haley Barbour a moment ago, no one is shrewder in the Republican party than Haley, and last week Senator Portman from Ohio was talking about the agenda for the Republicans if they gain control of the Senate; the question then is, what are they prepared to give to the Democrats to meet them in the middle ground?"

"What are they going to do about immigration, what are they going to do about the minimum wage?" Brokaw continued. "Things have not been done in the last couple of years, in part because both parties have staked out positions at either end of the spectrum and refuse to meet in the middle. That's the question I think that the country is really fed up with."

"If you go around America, city councils in Seattle, Los Angeles and Atlanta are getting things done because they work together. It doesn't happen in Washington."

Link

Government

FDA Requires Lower Doses for Sleep Medications

2013-01-12

[An Nahar] The Food and Drug Administration is requiring makers of Ambien and similar sleeping pills to lower the dosage of their drugs, based on studies suggesting patients face a higher risk of injury due to morning drowsiness.
If you lower the dosage that means they gotta take two pills rather than one...
I'm a mere physician but even I thought of that in about two seconds...

"Math is hard."

That's not math, that's multiplication... Or maybe it's fractions?

The agency said Thursday that new research shows that the drugs remain in the bloodstream at levels high enough to interfere with alertness and coordination, which increases the risk of car accidents.

Regulators are ordering drug manufacturers to cut the dose of the medications in half for women, who process the drug more slowly. Doses will be lowered from 10 milligrams to 5 milligrams for regular products, and 12.5 milligrams to 6.25 milligrams for extended-release formulations.

The FDA is recommending that manufacturers apply these lower doses to men as well, though it is not making them a requirement.

Sexist!!!

The new doses apply to all insomnia treatments containing the drug zolpidem, which is sold under brands including Ambien, Edluar, Zolpimist and in generic forms. It is the most widely prescribed sleeping aid prescribed in the U.S. The changes don't affect other popular sleeping medicines like Lunesta and Sonata, which use different drugs.

FDA officials pointed out that all sleeping drugs carry warnings about drowsiness.
Since, well you know...
"All sleep drugs have the potential to cause this, so health professionals should prescribe -- and patients should take -- the lowest dose that is capable of preventing insomnia," said Dr. Ellis Unger, a director in FDA's Office of Drug Evaluation, on a teleconference with reporters.

Unger added that the FDA will begin requiring developers of sleep drugs to conduct driving simulation studies going forward.

Ambien has been blamed for several recent high-profile driving accidents in the past year, including Tom Brokaw in September and Kerry Kennedy in July.
Since they were stupid enough to drive after taking sleeping pills?
The FDA has received more than 700 reports of driving-related problems connected to zolpidem over the years.

"But in most cases it was very difficult to determine if the driving impairment was actually related to zolpidem," Unger said. "Usually the reports did not contain information about when the accident happened or how much time had lapsed since taking the drug."

Link

Home Front: Politix

Powell's Lame Case For Obama

2008-10-21

Colin Powell is to Meet the Press what Alec Baldwin is to Saturday Night Live -- a frequent guest who embodies the very spirit of the show. The former secretary of state epitomizes the Washington establishment. His thinking couldn't be any more crashingly conventional if he convened a committee of the Harvard School of Government, the Council on Foreign Relations and David Broder before making any move.

It should have surprised no one, then, that Powell marked his 30th appearance on Meet the Press with an endorsement of Barack Obama. Powell's other favored means of communication -- confiding in Bob Woodward and leaking anonymously to newspapers -- weren't suited to the task. Only half an hour with a docile Tom Brokaw would do.

Powell's reasons for swinging to Obama were a watery stew of all the regnant clichés about the campaign.

Powell argued that John McCain "was a little unsure as to [how to] deal with the economic problems that we were having," in contrast to Obama's "steadiness" and "intellectual vigor." It's true that McCain flailed around early in the crisis, but he was desperately trying to find something that worked as his poll numbers tanked. If voters had been inclined to mindlessly blame Democrats rather than Republicans for the meltdown, Obama might not have looked so imperturbable.

As for Obama's vigor, perhaps the Illinois senator has regaled Powell with detailed explanations of how the market for commercial paper has been disrupted by the credit crunch and other nuances. In public, he's just been blasting eight years of Bush economic policy and deregulation -- easy, partisan lines. He hasn't yet taken a position on the AIG bailout and avoided any leadership role on the Henry Paulson plan one way or another.

Powell decried McCain's emphasis on Obama's past with former terrorist Bill Ayers as "inappropriate." This is part of the fable that McCain is running the nastiest campaign in recorded history. It depends on ignoring all Obama's attacks.

McCain is borderline senile? McCain and his buddy Rush Limbaugh hate Latinos? McCain is going to raise your taxes? Well, you've got to break some eggs to make hope and change.

Imagine if a Republican presidential candidate had pledged to take public financing, but instead dealt the post-Watergate campaign-financing system a blow from which it will never recover. If he raised $600 million and out-advertised his opponent nationwide by 4-1. This candidate's campaign would be pronounced "an obscene effort to buy the election." Powell, no doubt, would be "troubled." But Barack Obama does it and everyone stands back in admiration.

Regardless, mere campaign tactics should be beneath an eminence such as Powell. On Meet the Press, he regretted that the Republican Party "has moved even further to the right." Even if this is true -- the Bush administration that Powell served piled up massive spending even before semi-nationalizing banks -- it's an odd brief against John McCain.

McCain has never been a conservative crusader, certainly not since his 2000 presidential run. Powell has endorsed two other presidential candidates in his post-military career, Bob Dole and George W. Bush. McCain is certainly less conservative than Bush, and it's a jump ball with Dole.

While Republicans tolerate the non-ideological McCain, Democrats nominated a presidential candidate who catered to the party's base in the primaries and whose election would vastly empower the relentlessly partisan congressional duo of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. The moderate, sensible Powell is willing to take a flier on a unified Democratic government that will represent a drastic leftward lurch.

This is why his purported reasons for endorsing Obama sound more like excuses. Does Powell want to be with the front-runner? Is he hoping to cleanse his reputation after the WMD fiasco? His ultimate motives are known only to him. We must do Powell the courtesy of taking his case at face value and note only how unconvincing it is, if thoroughly conventional. He'll be back on Meet the Press.

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Home Front: Politix

The Bomber as School Reformer

2008-10-07

Votersand debate moderatorsshouldnt let Bill Ayers and Barack Obama off the hook.

Back in the early eighties, in an interview with David Horowitz and Peter Collier, Bill Ayers remembered his reaction upon learning that he would not be prosecuted by the government for his bombing spree as a member of the Weather Underground. Guilty as hell, free as a birdAmerica is a great country, he exulted. Ayers is now a university professor, but he must have been exulting all over again after reading Saturdays front-page story in the New York Times.

The article explored the putative relationship between Ayers and Barack Obama during the time they worked together on the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, a five-year philanthropic venture that, starting in 1995, distributed over $160 million in school-improvement grants to the Windy Citys public schools. Ayers wrote the grant proposal that secured seed money for the schools and ran the implementation arm of the project; Obama became chairman of the board that distributed the grants. Not only did the Times exonerate the Democratic presidential candidate of having anything like a close relationship with Ayerstheir paths merely crossed while working on the Challenge, the paper saidbut it also bestowed the honorific of school reformer on the ex-bomber. Mr. Ayers has been a professor of education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the author or editor of 15 books, and an advocate of school reform, the article maintained. On Meet the Press Sunday morning, Tom Brokawwho will be moderating tomorrows debate between the presidential candidatespicked up this now conventional wisdom and described Ayers as a school reformer.

Calling Bill Ayers a school reformer is a bit like calling Joseph Stalin an agricultural reformer. (If you find the metaphor strained, consider that Walter Duranty, the infamous New York Times reporter covering the Soviet Union in the 1930s, did, in fact, depict Stalin as a great land reformer who created happy, productive collective farms.) For instance, at a November 2006 education forum in Caracas, Venezuela, with President Hugo Chávez at his side, Ayers proclaimed his support for the profound educational reforms under way here in Venezuela under the leadership of President Chávez. We share the belief that education is the motor-force of revolution. . . . I look forward to seeing how you continue to overcome the failings of capitalist education as you seek to create something truly new and deeply humane. Ayers concluded his speech by declaring that Venezuela is poised to offer the world a new model of educationa humanizing and revolutionary model whose twin missions are enlightenment and liberation, and then, as in days of old, raised his fist and chanted: Viva Presidente Chávez! Viva la Revolucion Bolivariana! Hasta la Victoria Siempre!

As I have shown in previous articles in City Journal, Ayerss school reform agenda focuses almost exclusively on the idea of teaching for social justice in the classroom. This has nothing to do with the social-justice ideals of the Sermon on the Mount or Martin Luther Kings I Have a Dream speech. Rather, Ayers and his education school comrades are explicit about the need to indoctrinate public school children with the belief that America is a racist, militarist country and that the capitalist system is inherently unfair and oppressive. As a leader of this growing reform movement, Ayers was recently elected vice president for curriculum of the American Education Research Association, the nations largest organization of ed school professors and researchers.

Despite the Times story, American voters still dont have an accurate picture of the relationship between Obama and Ayers during their work on the Annenberg Challenge. The papers account quoted several people who worked on the project as saying that they didnt think Ayers had any role in selecting Obama for his position as chairman. But we havent heard a word about the subject from the two principals. For the first time in his life, Ayers seems to be observing Democratic Party discipline and wont be talking until after November 4. Meanwhile, in one of the Democratic primary debates, Obama said that Ayers was just a guy I know in the neighborhoodwhich certainly qualifies as one of the biggest fibs told by any of the candidates so far.

Is it too much to hope that one of the moderators of the two remaining debates will press Obama for a fuller accounting of his work with Bill Ayers on the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, and also ask Obama what he thinks of Ayerss views on school reform? If the mainstream media deem it important that voters know which newspapers one of the vice presidential candidates reads, they certainly ought to be demanding more information from a presidential candidate about whom he collaborated with in distributing $160 million to the public schools. How about it, Tom Brokaw?

Sol Stern is a contributing editor of City Journal and the author of Breaking Free: Public School Lessons and the Imperative of School Choice.

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Home Front: Politix

Biden Takes Credit for Iraq Success

2008-09-09

Abe Greenwald - 09.08.2008 - 3:22 PM
Yesterday on Meet the Press, Tom Brokaw asked Joe Biden if the troop surge in Iraq had made possible the increased security and reconciliation we now see in that country. Here is Biden's answer:

SEN. BIDEN: No. The surge helped make that--what made is possible in Anbar province is they did what I'd suggested two and a half years ago: gave local control. They turned over and they said to the Sunnis in Anbar province, "We promise you, don't worry, you're not going to have any Shia in here. There's going to be no national forces in here. We're going to train your forces to help you fight al-Qaeda." And that you--what you had was the awakening. The awakening was not an awakening by us, it was an awakening of the Sunnis in Anbar province willing to fight.

So according to Joe Biden, the troop surge played a bit part in the turnaround of the Iraq War. The real catalyst? Joe Biden (with some help from the Sunnis). Let's revisit Biden's war plan and give the great military sage his due, shall we?

On May 1, 2006 Biden and Leslie H. Gelb wrote an op-ed for the New York Times entitled, "Unity Through Autonomy in Iraq," in which the authors proposed to

establish three largely autonomous regions with a viable central government in Baghdad. The Kurdish, Sunni and Shiite regions would each be responsible for their own domestic laws, administration and internal security. The central government would control border defense, foreign affairs and oil revenues. Baghdad would become a federal zone, while densely populated areas of mixed populations would receive both multisectarian and international police protection.

Three segregated regions with their own laws? Sure, that sounds exactly like what we see in Iraq today. It's not as if success in Iraq has come from Sunnis turning on Sunnis in al Qaeda, Shias turning on Shias in the Mahdi Army, and Kurds keeping Kurdish PKK terrorists in line. You're right, Senator. We haven't witnessed the Petraeus plan in action; it's the Biden plan. To think, some people still believe Iraq is one whole country with some Sunni neighborhoods, some Shi'ite neighborhoods, and some mixed neighborhoods, and that security forces are increasingly mixed affairs with both Sunnis and Shias fighting Sunnis and Shias, and that one set of laws apply to all citizens. Like Barack Obama recently said, "They must think you're stupid." But not me. I know we owe it all to Joe Biden. Thanks, Senator!

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Home Front: Culture Wars

MSNBC Drops Olbermann, Matthews as News Anchors

2008-09-08

MSNBC is removing Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews as the anchors of live political events, bowing to growing criticism that they are too opinionated to be seen as neutral in the heat of the presidential campaign.

David Gregory, the NBC newsman and White House correspondent who also hosts a program on MSNBC, will take over during such events as this fall's presidential and vice presidential debates and election night.

The move, confirmed by spokesmen for both networks, follows increasingly loud complaints about Olbermann's anchor role at the Democratic and Republican conventions. Olbermann, who regularly assails President Bush and GOP nominee John McCain on his "Countdown" program, was effusive in praising the acceptance speech of Democratic nominee Barack Obama. He drew flak Thursday when the Republicans played a video that included a tribute to the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, saying that if the networks had done that, "we would be rightly eviscerated at all quarters, perhaps by the Republican Party itself, for exploiting the memories of the dead, and perhaps even for trying to evoke that pain again. If you reacted to that videotape the way I did, I apologize."

Matthews, who has criticized politicians in both parties, drew less criticism for his convention role but became a divisive figure during the primaries when he described how he was inspired by Obama's speeches and made disparaging remarks about Hillary Clinton, for which he later apologized.

In May, MSNBC President Phil Griffin said in an interview that during live events Olbermann and Matthews "put on different hats. I think the audience gets it. . . . I see zero problem."

But NBC News journalists, who often appear on the cable channel, did see a problem, arguing behind the scenes that MSNBC's move to the left -- which includes a new show, debuting tonight, for Air America radio host Rachel Maddow -- was tarnishing their reputation for fairness. Tom Brokaw, the interim host of "Meet the Press," said that at times Olbermann and Matthews went too far.

Olbermann and Matthews will remain as analysts during major political events, and officials at both networks, who declined to be identified discussing personnel moves, said Olbermann had initiated the discussions to clarify his role. They said Olbermann's influence at MSNBC would in no way be diminished and that the shift would enable him and Matthews to offer more candid analysis during live coverage. Olbermann confirmed yesterday he had initiated the discussions.

"Phil and I have debated this set-up since late winter/early spring (with me saying, 'Are you sure this flies?' and him saying, 'Yes, but let's judge it event by event') and I think we both reached the same point during the RNC," Olbermann said by e-mail.

Olbermann was involved in several on-air incidents during the conventions that drew unwanted attention. He told morning host Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman, to "get a shovel" as Scarborough was defending the McCain campaign. And when GOP strategist Mike Murphy was debating Matthews, Olbermann could be heard saying, "Let's wrap him up."

These and other clashes fueled a sense that conservative voices are less than welcome at MSNBC as it has tried to position itself as a left-wing alternative to Fox News Channel. Olbermann disputes this view, calling the incidents "overblown." Still, the network canceled Tucker Carlson's show in March and has diminished his role. And Dan Abrams, the veteran NBC legal analyst and former MSNBC general manager, had his program dropped last month to make room for Maddow, an Olbermann protege.

MSNBC's more liberal outlook has boosted its ratings, though it remains the third-place cable news channel. But both parties began castigating its coverage last spring. Steve Schmidt, McCain's top strategist, called the network "an organ of the Democratic National Committee," and Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe said Matthews was "in the tank" for Obama.

Link

Home Front: Politix

Civil War breaks out at MSNBC - "Quagmire"

2008-08-28

DENVER -- Amid a spate of awkward on-air conflicts among MNSBC anchors at this week's Democratic convention, some staff members say there are sharp internal disputes at the cable network over whether its opinion and personality-driven political coverage has crossed the line. "The situation at our channel is about to blow up," a high-ranking MSNBC journalist told Politico on Wednesday.

Two other MSNBC sources said some of the testy on-air exchanges between Keith Olbermann -- whose quick-witted and often caustic commentary has fueled ratings growth -- and other network personalities were a public glimpse of much more intense behind-the-scenes turmoil.

As replays of the conflicts became YouTube hits, MSNBC President Phil Griffin gave his first public defense in a Politico interview. "MSNBC does not have an ideology," Griffin said. "We hire smart people who are passionate about their love of politics and love of news."

"Do I want them to have squabbles?" Griffin asked. "No. But I understand they're human."

Your understanding of Olbermann is different from ours ...

In addition to Olbermann, MSNBC personalities Chris Matthews, Joe Scarborough and David Shuster were involved in Denver controversies.

On Monday evening, Olbermann interrupted Scarborough while he was talking about McCain being competitive in the polls. "Jesus, Joe, why don't you get a shovel?" Olbermann remarked.

On "Morning Joe" the following day, a clearly agitated Scarborough went off on Shuster during a discussion of Iraq, which quickly devolved over several cringe-worthy minutes into personal attacks, such as Scarborough telling the world how his colleague missed the show three times by oversleeping. "Are you Rip Van Shuster?" Scarborough asked. "Have you been sleeping for the past couple of months?"

But Scarborough, a former Republican congressman from Florida, became enraged when Shuster made a reference to "your party." Asked by Scarborough what his party was, Shuster said he was an "independent."

"I feel so comforted by the fact that you're an independent," Scarborough said, in a mocking tone. "I bet everybody at MSNBC has independent on their voting cards. Oh, we're down the middle now." (Shuster left the set, but returned later to hug it out, "Entourage"-style.)

That night, Scarborough told NPR that he "get[s] frustrated by people who have an obvious partisan bias that don't proclaim that bias."

The old debate over election coverage bias was given new life on Sunday, when Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell -- who'd remarked during the primaries that Fox News was the "most objective" network -- told a panel of Sunday show anchors, including NBC's Tom Brokaw, that "MSNBC was the official network of the Obama campaign."

Link

Home Front: Politix

Pa. Governor: MSNBC is "the official network of the Obama campaign"

2008-08-25

Michael Calderone, Politico

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell was supposed to give "closing remarks" during this afternoon's Shorenstein Center-sponsored panel discussion with all three Sunday show moderators -- NBC's Tom Brokaw, ABC's George Stephanopoulous and CBS's Bob Schieffer -- but instead, he opened up a can of worms about bias in 2008 election coverage

"Ladies and gentleman, the coverage of Barack Obama was embarrassing," said Rendell, in the ballroom at Denver's Brown Palace Hotel. "It was embarrassing."

Rendell, an ardent Hillary Rodham Clinton supporter during the primaries, now backs Obama in the general election. Brokaw and Rendell began debating campaign coverage, including the on-air comments by Lee Cowan, and when MSNBC came up, Rendell went after the cable network.

"MSNBC was the official network of the Obama campaign," Rendell said, who called their coverage "absolutely embarrassing."

Chris Matthews, Rendell said, "loses his impartiality when he talks about the Clintons."

At that point, PBS's Judy Woodruff, who was moderating the moderators event, said: ~~Silence, blasphemer! How dare you take the name of The Obama in vain? A pox on you and your Commonwealth!~~ "Why don't we let Governor Rendell sit down."

That was met with applause from the crowd of big-time media figures, which included Arianna Huffington, Gwen Ifill, Al Hunt, and Chuck Todd.
"You tell 'em, Judy!"
"He is a heretic! Off with his head!"
"Burn him at the stake!"
"We can't have steak, we're vegans."
"Oh. Well ... boil him in soy milk, then!"
Woodruff allowed Brokaw to respond, and in defending the network, he said that Matthews and Keith Olbermann are "not the only voices" on MSNBC.
Coulda fooled me.

Link

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