Freedom of the Press?
Sinclair Broadcasting has fired a reporter and chief of it’s news department’s Washington bureau for making comments in the media critical of Sinclair’s decision to air an anti-John Kerry “documentary” just a week before the election. (Yahoo News Story)
In case you’ve missed the story to date, here’s a recap. Sinclair Broadcasting is controlled by right-wing executives. They’re highly critical of John Kerry. They have ordered their 62 broadcast stations to pre-empt programming (in some cases major network programming) in prime-time next week to air the documentary “Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal”. This documentary is a scathing account of John Kerry’s anti-war activities after returning from Vietnam in the early 70’s. It’s being called by some as the right-wing equivalent to “Fahrenheit 9/11”.
Here, Sinclair has clearly crossed the line. Most journalists are careful not to criticize their news organization’s owners, but in many cases when they feel the need to do so they do. Usually, they aren’t fired. In this case, Sinclair took retribution against one of it’s objective news reporters for not toeing the company line in the election. That is wrong.
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Side note: Can you remember when campaigns used to talk about how good THEIR candidate was, not how bad the OTHER candidate is? I think I vaguely remember this from my childhood, but I’m not sure.
Presidential Debate #1 – after picture
(I may flesh this out later – I have a meeting in 15 minutes but I wanted to get my thoughts down before I talked to others.)
John F. Kerry
Overall, I thought Kerry did a good job. He was weak in the first half of the debate – constantly criticizing Bush without offering his own plan. When Jim Lehrer finally asked him point blank about his plan, he started offering about 50% plan and 50% criticism.
I was comfortable with his plans. Many others are likely to complain that his Iraq plan is too vague, but I think he said what had to be said. We will leave when we can, we will bring in more help, and we will train the Iraqis to take over.
I don’t know what the whole thumb thing is about. I know that it’s not polite to point, but the thumb thing is weird too.
Kerry generally appeared much more Presidential than he has in the past on the campaign trail. He also appeared more Presidential than Bush.
George W. Bush
So, the solution for this issue is viagra sample india , this medicine also contains Sildenafil citrate. You cannot go beyond the limit of the veins to enlarge levitra overnight shipping suitably,” “Shedding pounds is the best, scarcest excessive method to control hypertension.” Drink with some limitation. Other documented examples of using subliminal messages includes: – A hidden message in movies to promote and boost popcorns and drinks sales. uk viagra online browse around that web-site now (The owner of the theatre had admitted that he lied)- Videos that carries subliminal advertisements.- Embedded watermarks in print advertisements.- Sub-audio messages used in self-help CDs There are also testimonials that swear by subliminal messages. Science has found that there are several natural ingredients that can effectively prevent further deterioration of generic vs viagra the functioning of PDE5 enzymes which is the pivotal reason for getting the impotence condition. Mr. Bush was on the defensive far too often for this debate. He came across as whiny and shrill. Like Kerry, he settled down and was better on these points later in the debate.
I still don’t agree with many of Bush’s policy decisions, but I do admire the fact that he sticks to them. He did fail to pin the “flip-flopper” label on Kerry. You can expect consistency from Bush.
I was very surprised that Bush managed to use a 5-syllable word (“vociferously”) correctly and also pronounced it correctly. There were several points where real intelligence showed through the “common folk” facade. Bush did show that he’s not an idiot – but I still can’t understand why he wants us to think that he is an idiot.
Format and General Decorum
I was pleasantly surprised that the candidates followed the format more or less successfully. Kerry lost points here by using his time to reinforce a previous point rather than answering the current question several times. Bush lost points here by being the first to break the rules – by demanding (on several occasions) the one-minute discussion time. Jim Lehrer had made it clear that the one-minute discussion time was at HIS discretion.
The only real difference between the candidates showed in their reactions to each other’s speech. I was surprised that the TV coverage showed the other candidate while one was speaking. I’m sure I’d read that this would not be allowed. Anyway, Kerry took the lead here. He nodded when Bush scored a point against him. This showed respect for his opponent. Bush on the other hand scowled and grimaced when Kerry said something that upset him. I got the sense from Kerry that he respects Bush as a person and a leader, but Bush seems to have nothing but contempt for Kerry. That probably explains the diplomacy problems that Bush is having in the world.
Winner: I declare this a tie. Kerry might have led slightly on the intangibles, but otherwise they were even. Kerry did improve his standing in my mind as a result, however.
Presidential Debate #1 – before picture
First, a little background.
I’m a basically liberal/libertarian kind of guy. I believe in gay marriage, unlimited access to abortion (coupled with morality standards that keep most people from wanting them), some governmental support of lower income/disabled people and gun control. On the other hand, I believe in some standard conservative ideals: small government, a focus on law and order (and obeying the law), the death penalty and general hawkishness on defense. Admittedly, the intersection of these beliefs causes some contradictions and on individual issues I have to make individual decisions.
Since I’ve been able to vote, I have usually voted for the Democrat in races. The few exceptions involve cases and races where the Democrats chose to run someone more conservative than the Republican. In any race where I can’t really decide, I choose the Democrat by default because they general agree with me on more issues than not.
However, in this year’s Presidential contest, I’m pretty much undecided. I don’t really like Bush. After his election in 2000, I remember asking my wife “How long do you think it will be before he invades Iraq?” That was before 9/11. I will give him credit for handling 9/11 well initially (well, except for the part where he kept reading to the kids while the Towers burned) – probably better than Gore would have. However, I have serious problems with Bush’s conservative policies and the erosion of civil rights after 9/11. On the other hand, the Democrats put up a pretty sorry candidate this year. I would have preferred Edwards to be the Presidential candidate.
So, what do Bush and Kerry have to do to get my vote tonight? Don’t forget that this is a foreign-policy focussed debate – no commentary on domestic issues here.
George W. Bush
Mr. Bush has to answer for the lies told before the Iraq invasion. We were told that there were Weapons of Mass Destruction – none have been found in over a year. It was implied that Iraq was involved in 9/11 (mention both in the same paragraph in the State of the Union speech and you make that implication) – it looks like Al Qaeda was rebuffed by Saddam Hussein prior to his downfall. I haven’t heard any plausible answer to why those inaccuracies existed. I am forced to agree with the left wing – this war was not about WMD, and not about terrorist threats to the US. I saw this war coming at the 2000 election – it’s all about getting the guy his Daddy didn’t get, and who threatened his Daddy.
Secondly, Mr. Bush has to come up with a plan for cleaning up and exiting Iraq. The situation now is worse than it was when “major hostilties … ended”. There is no security in many cities, and the US military has essentially retreated from parts of the battlefield. It’s clear to me that there was no plan for winning the peace – just for destroying Saddam. I want to see a plan. Note that I didn’t say see a timeline – I understand that these things take time. I do want to see a plan.
What did we gain from the war in Iraq? We supposedly liberated a nation from a dictator, but it looks to me like they were better off before. If we are going to claim the liberator prize, we need to finish the job. But beyond that, what were the tangible gains to the US? Oil? (nope, oil is up to $50/barrel) Fewer terrorists? (nope, they are blowing our Army up daily) Stronger allies? (nope, most of our allies bolted over the war and few have joined us to replace them) Foreign policy is supposed to be about protecting the interests of the United States of America – so what interests were helped here?
On terrorism, I want to get an honest assessment of the threats still pending against us. I’m not so naive as to think that the terrorists have given up. However, each new announcement from the government seems to come when Bush’s poll numbers take a dive. We either need enough information to be able to form the opinion that some threat was actually in existence and stopped, or we need fewer warnings. The pattern really does look like the warnings are designed to provoke fear in the US voting public for political gain. And how about giving me something to do about terrorism? I’d be happy to take on the work of past wars – plant a victory garden, recycle metal, sacrifice a little food or join Civil Defense. Now, I’m just being asked to sit home and worry.
Amid intimate steps, for the out of prospect that you get the best possible recommendations in terms of maintaining lubrication of the vagina and increasing sensation viagra 25 mg during sex. Furthermore, doing exercises the penis is an great way connected with enhancing buy cialis overnight devensec.com your member size in addition to keeping them fit along with good shape likewise. The role from the medical doctor ought to not be under estimated as he is the 1 who knows greatest on how levitra prescription you can take care of the physique. Kamagra is not devensec.com levitra prices only a substance that is utilized as a part of everything from sustenance and body consideration to candles and air fresheners and for good reason. I don’t really have an issue with pissing off most of the world. We are Americans – we are who we are and the world will just have to learn to work with us. However, Mr. Bush must have a plan for dealing with the effects of that decision. I heard a lot about reducing dependence on foreign oil in one of the post-9/11 State of the Union speeches – but no action.
And for Pete’s sake – pronounce words correctly. You went to my father’s Alma Mater at Yale – I know that they taught you better than saying “nu-cu-lar”. And don’t make up words – you often misunderestimate how it looks when you do that. I have only a Bachelor’s degree from a state school (well, Rutgers is a particularly good one) – I expect the President to be at least as literate and well-spoken as I am.
John F. Kerry
Mr. Kerry has a tougher job. He needs to show me that he’s not just an anti-Bush candidate. He needs to show some momentum of his own.
Don’t just complain about the Administration’s efforts in Iraq – provide an alternate plan. What would you do to reconstruct Iraq and bring the troops home?
Don’t just complain about alienating the world – tell me how you would gain the world’s cooperation in working towards US goals.
Don’t just complain about the terrorist threat and the erosion of civil rights in the US – give me a plan for securing the US against terrorists. What would you do differently?
Also, Mr. Kerry has clearly flipped back and forth on the issues – in some cases on consecutive days. He’s gonna have to take a stand and stick to it. I’d rather have him annoy a group of Democratic voters than be a waffler. I appreciate Bush’s stand on gay marriage here – he chose not to pander to the gay Republicans by sticking with something that he believes in. I totally disagree, but I don’t expect to agree with the President on everything.
My prediction: Bush will “win” this debate unless he makes a colossal error after getting nervous or mispronouncing too many words. The debates on domestic issues will be another story.
Joe Gandelman has a lot of good pre-debate links.
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