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From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE...
Gather round, kids, for an excerpt from Howard Dean's fab-o new book, `You Have the Power' (Simon & Schuster)...
"The real cost of media consolidation and Foxification in our time is not, as many of my supporters believe, censorship, although that sometimes happens (witness the removal of the popular band the Dixie Chicks from 250 Cumulus-owned radio stations after the lead singer criticized President Bush over Iraq). The real danger is that, in the pursuit of entertainment and ratings, the role of the media in our democracy has been trivialized.
"A free society depends on a vigilant media. The American media, obsessed with quarterly profits and full of reporters trained to produce stories that are entertaining rather than substantive, are not doing what democracy depends on: getting the story right. Some senior newspaper people believe that this problem was accelerated by the Monica Lewinsky scandal, after which reporters who specialized in scandalmongering became stars and real investigative reporting became a lost art. Consequently, this theory goes, the press corps was unprepared to deal with issues like 9/11, the Halliburton-Cheney relationship and the Bush administration's misleading statements leading up to the Iraq war. Reporters had been led to believe that their advancement depended upon their ability to create sensationalist stories rather than their willingness to find and develop substantive ones."
Cheers and Jeers--substantive AND sensational---starts in the Extended Copy section... [Swooosh!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!]
Cheers and Jeers for Thursday, October 7, 2004
By the Numbers:
Days 'til the Second debate: 1
Days `til the third debate: 6
Days 'til General Election: 26
Amount spent so far on our Ballistic Missile Defense shield: $70 billion
Amount to be spent in the next 5 years: $51 billion
Confidence that it works: 3%
Copies of `Fahrenheit 9/11' sold on first day: 2 million
Number of drive-in theatres in the U.S.: 417
Number of times we've scored at a drive-in: 0
http://www.electoral-vote.com/ : Kerry 270 (Michigan is blue, gang) Bush 264
CHEERS to the `Edwards Effect.' The day after he wins the debate, the alert level for Mount St. Helens dropped, Bush got slapped with the worst Iraq WMD report yet, the Rush Limbaugh drug scandal roared back to life, Tom Delay got rebuked again, and the Dow shot up 62 points. What is it about Democrats and good news??
CHEERS to rapid response DNC-style. Less than 12 hours after the Veep debate, a new video appears at http://www.democrats.org/. And that, my friends, is why choosy liberal bloggers choose DependsTM.
JEERS to online Republicans. They got caught flat-footed after the first Kerry/Bush debate (i.e. they got whupped in the online polls), and vowed it wouldn't happen again. Well...it happened again, with Edwards winning handily at most media web sites. Eat our dust, you nincompoops.
JEERS to the missing issue. Oops...shouldn't the environment have warranted at least a cursory mention at some point Tuesday night? Once again, C&J is here to pick up the slack: http://www.bumperart.com/ProductImages/2004012261_Display-35.gif. No charge.
JEERS to red herrings. Bush's "major policy address" yesterday turned out to be just another scripted stump speech summed up in 4 words: http://www.photogslounge.net/graphics5/simpsons_warpresident.jpg. And here's a BIG SURPRISE: the press lapped it up. Like my dog when she gets in the cat box.
CHEERS to universal health care coverage. Because it might help people with head injuries---this is radical, I know---like, get the TOP OF THEIR SKULL BACK!!! http://stevegilliard.blogspot.com/2004/10/insurance-fights-while-woman-uses.html. Somebody pass the Tylenol.
JEERS to stating the obvious. New York Times lead editorial today: "Sanctions worked. Weapons inspectors worked." In fact, they were "astonishingly effective." (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/07/opinion/07thu1.html?oref=login). Memo to the Bush administration: Blix...Kay...Duelfer---three strikes and you're out. Now go hit the showers.
CHEERS to altering Bush's image. Mike Luckovich has the goods on how Rove & Co. plan to make the Preznit more appealing to undecideds in tomorrow's debate: http://www.creators.com/editorial_show.cfm?comicname=lk. Anyone know where the switch is to cut off his air?
JEERS to your tax dollars hard at work. Only 27 cents of every Iraq reconstruction dollar is funneling down to projects that actually benefit Iraqis, says non-partisan center for Strategic and International Studies: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9627-2004Oct5.html. Big deal...that's what I get in my paycheck after taxes. Why should they get special treatment?
CHEERS to Jon Stewart---author. `America (The Book)' will top the New York Times best-seller list this weekend. We seethe with envy.
JEERS to loose screws. It's Oliver North's 61st birthday today. Good thing he's a Bible-thumper...he's gonna need all the help he can get to make it through the Pearly Gates. But since you're still with us, Colonel...Tttthhhhhhhpt!
CHEERS to poetic justice. Two years ago today, President George W. Bush said in a speech that only the removal of Saddam Hussein from power would end the U.S. confrontation with Iraq. How ironic that, today, only the removal of George W. Bush from power will end the U.S. confrontation with Iraq.
CHEERS to gridiron madness. On October 7, 1916, Georgia Tech creamed Cumberland University of Lebanon, Tennessee, 222-0 in the most lopsided football game in history. C&J wonders...were there any Lebanon players on the field???
JEERS to `That Day.' On October 7, 1998, gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard was savagely beaten by two morons with too much testosterone and not enough brains. He died five days later and instantly became the symbol of homohatred in America. Six years later, this is still sadly relevant: http://www.xiii.net/matthew/caricature.jpg.
CHEERS to altered lyrics. "Believe It Or Not" is one of the cuts on the `Fahrenheit 9/11' soundtrack. But C&J can't help but sing these lyrics every time: http://my.ohio.voyager.net/~shoemake/sounds/sein/sein-george-machine.mp3. Is there a support group for this kind of dementia?
Cheers and Jeers 6-month Flashback: April 7, 2004...
CHEERS to DNC campaign ammo. In 1986 speech, Dick "Dick" Cheney proposed massive oil import tax, saying we should all "rid ourselves of the fiction that low oil prices are somehow good for the United States." Statements like that may rid ourselves of you and your wooden dummy in November, sir. [10/7 update: Oil prices hit an all-time high yesterday. Dick must be so pleased.]
CHEERS to Booger-pickers. I knew it! A leading Austrian doctor says, "With the finger you can get to places you just cant reach with a handkerchief, keeping your nose far cleaner." C'mon America...dig in!
JEERS to Booger-eaters. Okay, this is a stretch. The same doctor says, "eating the dry remains of what you pull out is a great way of inoculating the body against illness." Thanks, but we'll stick with Echinacea.
Floor's open. What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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