Josh Marshall has nailed the essence of last night's debate in his ongoing coverage at Talking Points Memo.  

Even though he missed the first horrible half hour, he says

Looking around other sites, I guess I'm not the only one that thought this debate was unmitigated travesty.

But Josh also makes several very astute points:

Lieberman's bizarre questions to General Petraeus haven't gotten much play in the media or the blogosphere, though they were covered on PBS and in the NY Times yesterday.

If there was any doubt that Lieberman is NUTS, this proves it. He's not only NOT a Democrat, he's as extreme and wacko as Dick Cheney.  

UPDATE:  Okay, San Diego Gas and Electric has the goods online.  They are indeed declaring a power emergency, at least here:

http://www.sdge.com/...

Heat Emergency Declared

Due to extreme heat conditions, a Power Emergency has been declared. Weather conditions in San Diego have led to the potential for rolling blackouts.

We are asking all customers to take immediate conservation steps:

   * Set your air conditioning thermostat to 78 degrees or higher, health permitting.
   * Turn off unnecessary lights and computers.
   * Do not use any major appliances, ie. dishwashers, washing machines, dryers and electric stoves.
   * Please turn off pool filtering systems.

Rolling Blackout information:
Check here for information about which blocks and circuits may be involved in the event of potential blackouts. Block and circuit numbers are printed on your bill, just under the electric meter number, or call 1-800-411-SDGE.

This is not going to be a long entry.  But I just had to quote today's post from Glenn Greenwald.  It's another one of his brilliant daily musings on our pathetic national media.  

So here's the smirking Anne Kornblut, political reporter for The Washington Post on Tuesday's Hardball, discussing Democrats' plans for troop withdrawal:

ANNE KORNBLUT, "THE WASHINGTON POST": It remains, especially in Democratic crowds, the number-one issue. There is no applause line that gets a bigger response when you're out with Senator Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, than when they say the first thing I'm going to do is I'm going to start ending this war in Iraq.

Republican crowds are a little different. They still want to be supporting the troops.

 

I just heard a chilling interview on the Thom Hartmann show with former Reagan Republican Paul Craig Roberts.  

Roberts is sounding the alarm about what he thinks is about to happen in this country, and it ain't good.  His latest column on Counterpunch.org was described in this recommended diary a few days ago, where he warns of a dramatic "false flag" event designed to rally political support back to the Republican Party.  

Roberts is no alarmist.  His arguments are well-reasoned and supported.  I am writing this diary so that his warnings are kept front and center.

The Bush administration desperately needs dramatic events to scare the American people and the Congress back in line with the militarist-police state that Bush and Cheney have fostered.

The media, as we know, have allowed the Pentagon and the Bush Administration to write the news for them.  They act as stenographers -- everything the military or the executive puts forth is taken as fact.  Investigative journalism is dead.

In the last few days, the blogosphere has noticed the latest and sickest example of media trickery.  Most major news organizations (taking cues from the military who are no doubt taking cues from Cheney and Rove) now refer to all Iraqi insurgents as "Al Qaeda".  Quite an effective propaganda tool devised by Bushco.  Thom Hartmann noted on his radio show this morning that the number of Americans who think Saddam was connected to 9/11 is ticking back up.  The media's new word game could well explain that.  

Glenn Greenwald has posted another brilliant piece today on this propaganda shift.

This is all getting a little creepy.  Things seem to be coming to a head this week, with Bush declaring himself all-powerful emporer in the event of a national emergency and the newly announced "covert" war within Iran.  

What are they gearing up for?

Now another unbelievable tidbit.  Bush just declassified intelligience for an upcoming speech.  He is to reveal with great fanfare this week that Al Qaeda has plans to use Iraq as a home base in order to launch attacks on the United States.

I just checked our local weather and instead found a tsunami advisory for California, Oregon, Washington, B.C. and Alaska.

Apparently there was a severe earthquake off of the Solomon Islands (near Australia) -- magnitude between 7.6 and 8.4.  The details are very sketchy right now.  

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center just changed their advisory from "Regional" to "Expanding Regional".  Seems as though it is all still unfolding. The Center's website needs a serious upgrade, as they do not post actual warning messages anywhere on the site - just a map of the earthquake location.  

I have not been able to find much news out there yet...please post if you have more information.  

Anyway, it seems as though the main concern is the area immediately surronding the quake, and possibly Hawaii.  Note that there does not appear to be any risk for the U.S. West Coast at this time. (message below is an advisory only)

UPDATE:  Tsunami Center has just issued an advisory for Hawaii; could be upgraded to Watch or Warning.

Norah O'Donnell's interview of Joe Lieberman on MSNBC, diaried here yesterday, is perhaps one of the most egregious examples of the pathetic state of our media.

I know this interview made big news because Joe indicated he might switch to the Republican Party.  

That is not a big surprise -- Joe can go as far as I'm concerned.

The disgusting part is the subtle way that MSM pundits adopt right wing talking points and slip them into interview questions.  

Jesus H. Crist

I'm getting really sick of the back-and-forth public bickering between and among Air America Radio hosts and progressive hosts on other networks.  It's really unprofessional and it's getting WAY out of hand.

My Clear Channel-owned progressive station carries a variety of hosts from different networks.  I like and listen to many of them.  I like Al Franken, Ed Schultz, Sam Seder and Rachel Maddow.

What these self-centered personalities don't seem to realize is that many of us are fans of BOTH AAR and hosts on other networks.  They are all part of the same line-up!  It's obvious that they are all battling for power and influence, and it is getting really frustrating as a listener.

I've heard my local (liberal) Clear Channel hosts beat up on Air America, because one of the guys wants his own show and hasn't gotten it.  I've heard Randi Rhodes beat up on Al Franken.  Mike Malloy (whom I can't stand) beats up on Ed Schultz.

I just clicked on CNN.com expecting to find their usual brainless story list - complete with the latest child abduction and details about the (gag) Tara Conner scandal.

Instead, the featured story on the front page is about an Iraqi parliament member who is not only a notorious long-lost terrorist, but also "supports Shiite insurgents and acts as an Iranian agent in Iraq, D.C. says".  

The key phrases here are "Iranian agent" and "DC says".

My question is - why the hell is this coming out now?  Why the hell is it on CNN's front page right now? And why is it that the news media are once again being spoonfed information by our goverment, and then uncritically passing it on to the public??

The Iraq-Iran connection in this story is blaring.  

Details on the flip.  

I did a search for Jim Webb on Google News both yesterday and today.  As Kos has mentioned before, the number of right-wing and non-credible sites that appear in the top results is just ridiculous.  

While searching for stories about Webb's speech yesterday, I got more results from World Net Daily, NewsMax and NewsBusters than major national newspapers like the NY Times, the LA Times and the Washington Post.  

Today's results were a little better, but is it really necessary to have FIVE Newsbusters articles (the right-wing version of Media Matters) in the top 10 results??  Here are the headlines:

WashPost Hypes 'Folk Hero' Jim Webb's Bush-Bashing Dem Response    NewsBusters

PBS's Lehrer Pundits Agree That Democrat Jim Webb Is Eloquent, And ... NewsBusters - 23 hours ago

More Fawning Over Democrats: CNN Puffs Virginia's Jim Webb  Newsbusters

Newsweek Inadvertently Exposes Hapless Dems NewsBusters

MSNBC's Shuster Notes 'Misleading' Dem Statements NewsBusters

Surprise, surprise.  It turns out that Bush's promise to reduce gasoline consumption by 20% in the next 10 years was just another sleight of hand that is so typical of this president.

The Washington Post analyzed the fine print of Bush's SOTU proposals.   Here is what they revealed about the promised reductions in gasoline consumption:

Twenty in 10: Bush said he has a "goal of reducing U.S. gasoline usage by 20 percent in the next 10 years."

The fine print: Administration officials said that the goal is 20 percent below projected annual gasoline usage, not off today's levels.

This means, of course, that gasoline usage in this country will continue to rise precipitously over the next 10 years and beyond, because Bush is only aiming to reduce the predicted consumption rate.  (I wonder whether Bush plans to set the predicted use level as he pleases, and just subtract from there.)

Raw Story warns about Cheney's desperate attack speech tonight.

Now is the perfect time to go on offense.  Just the right time  to talk about Cheney and Iraq.

I disagree with those who are saying we should just go silent about the Kerry affair.  If the media is going to continue the He Said/She Said game, Democrats should seize the moment.  

This is an opportunity.  Send him back to his cave.
 

Remember Oprah's excellent show a few weeks ago about "Truth in America", featuring an hour with Frank Rich?

My sense was that Oprah is just sick of the lies, after being stung by memoire author James Frye and realizing that the country was lied into the Iraq war by both the administration and the media.

As others have diaried here, Bill O'Reilly and the right-wing media went postal over that show.

I just happened upon this article in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.

It's the story of a concerned citizen who witnessed a neighbor's dog tethered outside, for days it seems, unable to move.  

In the 34 years she has lived on the quiet side street lined with modest, well-kept homes, Kim Eicher has always tried to mind her own business.

That is, until one recent rainy Saturday, when she looked out her front window and saw her neighbors' dog lying on its back in the mud. The old German shepherd mix was pawing the air, said Mrs. Eicher, trying but unable to get up on all fours.

"I looked over there and occasionally [the owners] would come out and look at the dog and turn and walk away. They did this off and on," said Mrs. Eicher. "I know there's not a lot of vets in on a Saturday, but it rained pretty much all weekend. They could have picked it up and put it in the garage."

Kim Eicher called rescue groups, and thank goodness one arrived two days later to rescue the dog.  

This is complete bullshit.

President Bush uses September 11 as his personal political vehicle - a solemn anniversary that should only be about remembrance and respect.  The media gives us a day filled with phony Bush photo-ops, capped by an offensive potently-political campaign speech.   (Did any media personalities question why the president demands nationally televised 9/11 speeches only during election years?)

Democrats can't get a word in edgewise.  It's all about Republicans fighting terrorism, all month long.

Did anyone even hear about the Democrats' Real Security Act of 2006, unveiled just days before September 11?  Republicans should pay dearly if they vote down this crucial piece of legislation.

Media Matters is on the case.

More below...  

Democrats who opposed the invasion of Iraq are consistently labeled as "Anti-War" - by the mainstream media, the right wing noise machine and even fellow Democrats.

Just last Sunday,  Chris Matthews reduced the Lamont-Lieberman race to essentially "Dove" vs "Hawk".

Those given the blanket Anti-War label are both stated and implied to be:

* opposed to fighting terrorists and terrorism
* opposed to the use of military force in all circumstances
* anti-security
* weak
* wacko fringe lefties
* afraid to face enemies
* uninterested in foreign policy
* happy to have all Americans under German rule after WWII
* sympathetic to Al Qaeda

Here's the myth:  Democrats who opposed the Iraq War are not, in fact, anti-war.  They were simply against THIS WAR.