Mini-report

September 26, 2006

Yesterday’s quick hits seemed to be pretty well received, so here’s another edition. These are items that definitely deserve attention, but which I just didn’t get to today.

* I’d strongly encourage readers to make time to watch Keith Olbermann’s oration from last night’s “Countdown.” (C&L also has the clip.) Powerful, poignant, and the kind of commentary you’ll find nowhere else on a major network. This is must-see TV.

* Surprise, surprise, negative advertising works. Who knew? Oh right, everyone knew.

* Maryland’s Republican Senate candidate, Michael Steele, came up with a pretty clever TV ad last week. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee came up with an even more clever response ad this week. (via Michael Froomkin)

* Remember that Coburn/Obama spending database? It passed and the White House held a brief event today for the signing ceremony. The good news, the White House acknowledged the role blogs played in helping the bill pass by inviting some high-profile bloggers to the event. The bad news is the president didn’t mention blogs in his statement. The really bad news is the White House only invited right-wing bloggers, despite the bi-partisan support the project garnered.

* Bush’s latest malapropism came, ironically, during the White House Conference on Global Literacy.

* Sen. George Allen’s (R-Va.) just can’t shake his racial problems.

* Stephen Colbert’s “The Word” segment was particularly brilliant last night.

* In Indiana, state lawmakers passed an exemption for themselves to a state gun-control law yesterday, and they are now allowed to bring firearms into the Statehouse. I just thought that was amusing.

* National joke Jerry Falwell plans to compare Hillary Clinton to Lucifer “over and over again.” Classy.

* And, according to one source with unknown credibility, ESPN manufacturers fake cheers and fake boos for politicians who appear at ballgames, always in the Republicans’ favor. I haven’t any idea if this is true. I hope it’s not.

If none of these particular items are of interest, consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.

Update: One more — here’s a .pdf of the “declassified key findings” of the NIE. The agency’s server seems to be a little overwhelmed right now, but keep trying. It’s there.

I could get at it through the Washington Post’s website.

The closest thing I could see to the Unjustified Invasion = Terrorism is here:

The Iraq conflict has become the cause celebre for jihadists, breeding a deep resentment of US involvement in the Muslim world and cultivating supporters for the global jihadist movement. Should jihadists leaving Iraq perceive themselves, and be perceived, to have failed, we judge fewer fighters will be inspired to carry on the fight.

We assess that the underlying factors fueling the spread of the movement outweigh its vulnerabilities and are likely to do so for the duration of the timeframe of this Estimate.

But I bet this is what Shrubya will focus on:

We judge that groups of all stripes will increasingly use the Internet to communicate, propagandize, recruit, train, and obtain logistical and financial support.

  • I heard about the bloggers being invited to the signing this morning on C-Span so I did a google search and found out that Glen Reynolds from Instapundit was one of the invitees.

    I figured that there would be no liberal bloggers invited, but it doesn’t matter. The influence of all bloggers is clearly being felt at all levels of government and the media.

  • The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee came up with an even more clever response ad this week.

    you are right that Steele’s ad was pretty clever but that the DSCC’s response was more clever. By far. That is an outstanding ad. thanks for linking to it.

  • Re. Allen’s racism problem: Why haven’t I seen any mention in the net of the “deer’s head” incident? This was in an AP story in the LA Times this morning, alleging that young George, in imitation of the Godfather mobsters took the severed head of a deer and placed it in the mailbox of a black family. Terroristic? Seemed like it to me.

  • Well, so much for the so-called NIE. You really had to look to find any mention of Iraq, and it said very clearly that we would be safer if Al Zarqawi were to be killed — and he’s dead, now, so all of these other stories were just a bunch of liberal lies. I mean…Isn’t that what we’re supposed to think?

    By the way, I thought I read that the original NIE was something on the order of 39 pages. How come this one is only four pages of GIANT TYPE?

  • The Republicans have oceans of cash and have been planning for some time to go hugely negative, which more often than not works well. I’m hoping that Dems are planning to respond along the lines of “More Republican smears and lies. That’s all they do and all they’ve got. Vote for a change, clean up Washington, send the scum home, vote Democratic across the ticket.”

    Well, hope springs eternal.

  • Olbermann is a national treasure (so is Colbert). However I fear he is preaching to the choir. You can’t shame someone who doesn’t feel shame, as is the case with this Administration and most Republicans.

  • Colbert is simply brilliant.

    At least the law students, present and future, won’t have to spend their time learning about such silly meaningless antiquated concepts like ‘habeas corpus.’

    Talk about pre-Magna Carta thinking. Classic (and scary).

  • “In Indiana, state lawmakers passed an exemption for themselves to a state gun-control law yesterday, and they are now allowed to bring firearms into the Statehouse. I just thought that was amusing.”

    Sure…funny for you…I’m sitting 3 blocks in direct line of sight from that pack of nitwits…

    The death rate by shooting is at an all time high in Indianapolis.
    Send body armor.

    The Mini-report is a great feature, though.

  • I agree that Olbermann is preaching to the choir, but as a member of the choir, I have to say I appreciate it and need it. I’ve been aware that the corporate media is quite hostile to progressive views for some time now, but when he does one of his special comments, I become aware again in a visceral way. It’s so refreshing (and even inspiring) to hear my perspective coming from a television news show. The first time he did a comment, I was doing my chores as I usually am during his show, and I found I just stopped and stood still to listen. It’s also great that we have so many comic voices speaking truth to power (Colbert, Stewart, Franken, and others), but I really like having someone saying so seriously and eloquently as Olbermann.

  • Olbermann’s commentary was great. In little more than 10 minutes, he took the entire country to the woodshed. The reality check was stunning.

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