We need you now.

The left is in full lunatic mode. Like yellow jackets at the end of summer, they know it's all over for them. They're mad as hell and mindlessly stinging as many people as they can before they go.

The media have become caricatures of themselves. Complicit doesn't even say it anymore. They've become the Borgs with a single minded mission to destroy our way of life and turn us all into drones to serve Hillary.

I'm becoming terrified. People I know who are well aware of media bias have suddenly begun to believe what they read in the papers and hear on TV news.

Propaganda and advertising are very effective that's why so much money is spent disseminating it. Say it enough times in as many different ways as you can and suddenly it becomes true.

Wonderful. Excellent. Do it now. The media no longer has any capacity or desire to act as a public trust. It's now simply operating as a mercenary power broker, and they've chosen sides.

I get very, very little of my news from traditional big media anymore. Local coverage of national events usually leaves out the spin, and I can get details from credible publications and web sites of my own choosing.

Take this advice. Learn how and why the media works and encourage your friends to do so as well. I took several journalism and telecommunications classes in college and the results were amazing. I learned a lot about media motivations and processes, and gained the ability to recognize and reject embedded spin and opinion from media broadcasts. It was like being Neo at the end of The Matrix...

Dear MM - Delighted to make your acquaintance.

I learned my lessons over 60 years of intense interest in the welfare of my country. I won't go into the FDR and the postwar (WW2) years. I haven't the stomach for it this morning. Let's say those were my elementary and high school years. I saw some disturbing things, but I had no idea how pervasive the media bias.

I got my bachelor's degree in media bias watching the Democrat convention in 1960. That's the one where the Kennedy machine ran over all opposition, broke all the rules and regs and installed one of Joe Kennedy's interchangeable sons in the White House. Media slobbering over JFK was embarrassing. Some of us were becoming somewhat fearful.

My first master's degree came during our late and unlamented cultural revolutions during the 60's and 70's when the left sought to destroy American culture and civilization and the media led the parade. We were bloodied, but still standing.

My second master's' degree was earned during the media led and orchestrated Watergate coup d'etat. They got even closer, but again no cigar.

Various other mini courses on Iran-contra and the like. More media orchestrations, but no major damage although there are some deep wounds on the body politic.

I received my doctorate in media bias watching the Bork demolition hearings on CSpan. That's when I learned just how vicious was the rabid left which I learned now encompassed the entertainment industry, academe, the media, publishing and liberal politicians all bent on bringing us to third world status. My antipathy for this cabal was bordering on pathology.

I received my honorary degree as an emeritus during the Clinton years. The Vulcan mind merge between the left and the media was consummated and we're in deep, deep doo doo now.

Only time will tell if Bush can stay the course. If he can't, say hello to President Rodham. She'll drop Clinton, figuratively as well as literally, as soon as she's nominated by acclamation at the convention.

I'm extremely depressed at this point in time.

If someone could tell me some good news, I'd appreciate it.

Erp:

The proof of whether you should be worried or not will come, I think, in the CA recall vote.

The LA Times, as several bloggers have noted, came out w/ a classic "hit piece" today, w/ one big exception. This was the LAT doing it, NOT based on passed-on information or a Gray Davis interview, but on its own.

If it works, then you SHOULD be afraid. Media will have established itself as a king-maker, with the ability to truly decide outcomes of elections.

If it doesn't, then, well, who knows? Maybe it means that there are limits to how far they can slant the news. Or maybe it means that there are some lines past which not even a slanted press can push the popular opinion.

Arnold made a colossal blunder by apologizing. He should have said something like -- My wife is the most beautiful woman in the world, we have four wonderful kids, I am very happy with my family and have no reason to look at other women.

Period. End of Statement

There would be a stampede of women running to the polls to vote for him.

To all other questions on the topic - Asked and answered.

I'm afraid he's toast, but he did it to himself by apologizing belatedly only after he got outed.

Bad, Bad policy.

Dean,

I think you're half right. The recall is a compressed event in insano-ville California so the media's influence is going to be dulled, even with the blatantly obvious hit pieces coming out against Arnold. He'll still win though, since I bet voter turnout is going to be unusually high especially among conservatives.

The real circus begins next summer the day after the Democrat convention ends and a ticket is announced. Then it's cover your ears, unplug your TV, hide under your bed, media blitz pandamonium time. What will happen is not in doubt...total liberal avalanche media orgy. There are but 2 questions:

1. What will they have left to spin and scandal monger with by next year?

2. How much influence will the media have burned by then?

I'll also throw a wild card in. A brand new, outrageous Bush "scandal" will emerge in the last 2 weeks of the campaign. I don't know what, but you gotta bet they're cooking up a whopper.

BTW: Welcome back, VP man. With Rush on the ropes, the Pope in dire straits, and the left in full blown Helen-Thomas-crazy mode we need all the help we can get!

ERP,

I disagree, I think Arnold Hanlded it perfectly. He basically said that 25-30 years ago, what we call sexual harrassment today, was called flirting and being playful. Being a white, conservative, southerner who came to age in the 80's, my impressions of a movies set in the 70's would have been very close to a textbook definition of "Hedonism".

At the end of the day Arnold has not been a celibate monk, but the left clearly thinks that he should be. It a bunch of BullShit and I expect it to get worse in the run up to 11/2004. It's just the pigs sqeeling when there close to dying. I tell myself just close your ears and ride it out it will be over soon.

It is my fondest hope that I will be able to say I was wrong and you guys were right!

In honor of the blog page, let's drink some libations made with vodka to Arnold!

May he be the first of many Republcan victories leading to a sweep next November.

A sweep is a little scary. It would probably make it easy for the radicals to pass legislation, but it also is probably the only way the dems will realize they need to move to the center.

Stemming the tide of right-wing sponsored legislation will be a welcome challenge. They can't succeed with anything too radical because they won't have the media carrying their water.

Mike M:

That, in turn, depends on not just WHO the Dem candidate is, but WHEN that's decided.

The Dems moved the primaries around a fair bit to front-load them, in order to establish a front-runner early. Presumably, this was so that Prince Al could have a triumphal march (this was McAuliffe at the helm, after all), NOT so that Howard Dean (who, say what you will, is NOT the choice of the DNC, AFAIK) could have a triumphal march.

If we assume that Dean does well in IA and NH (and balances SC w/ AZ and NM), he could well have a commanding pluarlity by the end of March. My guess is that he will make CA the showcase of "This what the Repubs will do if I don't win convincingly," and point to the recall (if Davis wins) or Schwarzenegger (if Davis loses).

Expect Dem bitter-enders to be in full hue and cry mode by June, which means that the Dems are pulled solidly to the Left for several months.

At that point, the media will have to choose their tack carefully (and Dean will have to decide whether he can afford to stay the "angry candidate").

If Dean DOESN'T wrap things up early, expect a blood-bath of a convention, unseen since maybe '68.

Dean,

I agree that the Dems will be much better off if the nomination is decided early, but I don't think it will. As I see it, it will come down to a fight between the populist Angry Left (Dean) and the Clinton Machine (Clark). It's possible that some third candidate (Sharpton?) will take a slice out of the middle, and be in a position to act as king-maker. In any case, the convention is a brawl.

Be sure to factor in the effects of the Republican convention as well. Yes, I'm serious. No, I don't expect a primary challenge to Bush; I do, however, expect a GOP convention in NYC to attract some very, ah, *interesting* protests, possibly the odd riot even. This is going to be very bad publicity for whoever's signs the protestors and rioters are carrying (Dean, I expect).

I still contend that if Dean wins the primaries, there will be a blood bath and it will be Dean's blood. No way will he be allowed to spoil Hillary's plans.

The reason there are so many candidates is to insure that no winner will emerge from the primaries, so Hillary will have a choice. If Bush is sufficiently bloodied to be beatable, she'll accept the draft. If it looks like he will be re-elected they'll throw the bone to Gephardt. He's the most expendable.

Bloomberg has a dilemma. He can't let protestors get out of hand they way Daley did during the 1968 Democrat convention in Chicago. New York is hurting for tourists and he must show the millions watching the convention on television that the city is back on its feet and ready to welcome visitors.

However, if he attempts to maintain law and order, the media will draw and quarter him. Many believe he doesn't have know how to pull off the balancing act. In any case, marauding rioters shouldn't hurt Republicans.

It's nice to see that all you functional paranoids have found each other. It's like a support group that lets you express your delusions to each other, and get reinforcing support and feedback in return. I hope you're all very happy together.

Actually we are, excitable boy. Fuck off.

Ron from Australia.

Exciteable Boy? Gosh! Do you think bubba is reading these posts?

I still believe that Hillary is the one to watch. Gen. Clark professes to be a leader, but he's just her puppet, and programmed to step aside if it is expedient for her to grab the nomination.

Well, excitable boy, I for one am curious about what YOU have to say.

I put down what I think is actually going to happen viz. Dean and the DNC convention.

No paranoia, no conspiracy. Simply suggesting that if Dean secures things early, the Dem Party swings left pretty hard, and if he doesn't secure things early, then the convention will have lots of dedicated delegates and no clear-cut winner, walking in, to simply take the crown.

What's YOUR idea of what's going to happen? Is it that Kerry simply waltzes through IA, NH, SC and takes the crown? Evidence please? Or is it that Dean is really a moderate, in which case, he better tell his supporters to moderate their comments, 'cuz they sure don't seem to sound like that's what they want? Or is it that Clark is going to be the man on the white horse, with delegates abandoning their commitments to rally to him, in which case, what do you think Howard Dean will do?

Try to get beyond being a troll w/drive-by snarks, and actually give us an idea of what you think. Who knows, you may even find out that some of us agree with you.

After not posting for a while, you dropped by to recommend this crap? Or are we to be as horrified as you are by the message it contains.

'The reality is that the Bush administration now finds itself in the position of the one adult in a room full of unhappy children. The adult carries responsibilities that none of the children fully understand. A mortal threat presents itself to adult and children alike, but only the adult appreciates this. He must find a way to proceed in spite of the children's very active non-cooperation.'

So if the stupid kiddies "jus' don' git et" we "jus' won' tell 'em". So there!

'...we should expect the field struggle against international terrorism to disappear off our television screens. The media have been discovered to be an enemy, pure and simple, and no attempt to brief or include them in operations makes any sense. Indeed, shaking off media attention is now intrinsic to the strategy.'

So shut down the presses, take over the airwaves and pass out the brown shirts.
Scary. Erp you make me urp.

Too late.

The airwaves were taken over a long time ago and the brown shirts have already been distributed.

Were you in a coma during the Clinton years?

Don't you get it? It's the media who are not telling the truth, not the administration.

If the irrational hate and bile spewing from the the Times on both coasts this weekend doesn't convince you, what can?

And in the end, who cares?

Liberal policies got us to the edge of destruction. We're in the process now of undoing the last eight years.

Another Democrat in the White House and the slide into the Third World won't be reversible.

But perhaps that's where you'd rather be?

its time that the media wake up and start asking the tough questions: what is terror, and what does that mean for our war on it? Imo the media plays up the danger of terrorism to hysterical levels, justifying an inappropriate response. The way things are going, we will probably win the war on terror after we win the war on drugs.

horse -- were you and O'Mc both in the same cave together? The media doesn't have to ask the hard questions about what is terror.

Do a Google search and you'll get the details. A couple of years ago, 9/11/01 to be exact, we all learned what terror is. It's what happens when you have an administration that's into appeasement. A president who apologizes for getting in the way of terrorist bombs (Google Yemen), who bombs empty building to get the short-attention-span media to back off his grand jury testimony about lying under oath, who sells missiles to China to be resold around the terrorist world. Many, many more examples, but you get the idea.

It's only because we have a president who's working on keeping us safe that we haven't had a second lesson.

Looks like the leaker in last week's flagplet is going to turn out to be a lib hence the need for Howard Kurtz to write the moral equivalency article in today's WoPo. Don't cha know - they all do it and Conservatives do it worser.

Howie is good for a laugh occasionally.

He notes in passiong that the insulting nickname, "French looking" has caught on for Kerry. I thought the left were enamored by things French. Why would French-looking be an insult. Fifty million Frenchmen want to know.

Erp-

MyMan, you need to take your blinkers off! Open your eyes and have a good look at the world around you!!

Wrong assumption.

I'm not your man, but I probably could be your grandmother. Scratch that. I'm old enough to be your grandmother. My grandchildren are a lot smarter.

I've been looking at the world for 69 years now and don't like what I see very well.

Why don't you let me know what it is I've missed by looking at the world out of my rheumy old eyes, but don't waste either of our time by repeating the media fairy tales about Bush and oil, Cheney and oil, Bush's sub-level IQ, Arnold's extraterrestrial love child, Krugman's funny numbers, Republicans putting old people out on the ice floes and taking the children's milk money away. There's so much more, but my arthritic fingers are getting tired typing.

Or, and this interesting, that Hillary isn't running in '04. She's already filed her papers http://herndon1.sdrdc.com/cgi-bin/fecimg/?P00003392.

Big day today. We'll learn if the media are still able to totally trash a candidate opposing one of their own.