**update
But we probably did host Charles Savage more than any other national radio. Stephen Sherrill, producer emiritus, would have you beleive, we shoudl get a cut. WHile I couldn't disagree more, I would accept it.
Read some of the most important stories of 2006 here.
**UPDATE
Glenn Greenwald, who has most definitively commented on Savage's work comments here..... On the pulitzer, not the cash.
199 comments:
Meat me in St. Louis!
Missed you greatly this morning, SEDER.
Thanks for the refreshed blog!
While I couldn't listen during the day in the last few months, I'll greatly miss listening via podcast this evening.
Hi Cat Chew!!
I missed Sam this AM also.
Hi Cat Chew!!
I missed Sam this AM also.
BREAKING: Gonzales testimony postponed.AP reports:
The Senate Judiciary Committee postponed Tuesday’s questioning of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on the firings of eight federal prosecutors, saying the proceedings would be inappropriate in light of the Virginia Tech shootings.
Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy made the decision Monday to postpone the long-awaited hearing that has been considered Gonzales’ last chance to quiet a controversy that has prompted calls in both parties for his resignation.
Leahy said the hearing had been rescheduled for Thursday. He said he made the decision after conferring with Gonzales and the committee’s senior Republican, Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. ”All three of us agree,” he said.
”I’m sure that he will want to be dealing with the matters of the shooting,” Leahy said of Gonzales.
LINK
The first Monday without Sam in quite a while - it's raining here in Portland.........
Hey Sam!
You should get a "cut" at least in the way of 'thanks'.
Justice Dept. fails to comply with subpoena. The Justice Department has missed the 2pm deadline to turn over documents on the U.S. Attorney firings subpoenaed by the House Judiciary Committee. Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) said he was “disappointed” and pledged to “review all available legal options to secure compliance with the subpoena.”
LINK
Abramoff-linked lobbyist resigns. Lobbyist Kevin Ring, a former aide to Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA), has resigned from his law firm. As Politico reports, Ring “often served as an intermediary between Abramoff’s clients and Doolittle’s office, according to news reports, and has remained close to Doolittle and his wife, Julie, who did consulting work for Abramoff. … Ring’s resignation could foreshadow deepening problems for Doolittle in the Abramoff inquiry.” TPM Muckraker has more.
LINK
Regent Univ. scrubs references to administration. The Carpetbagger Report notes: “About a week ago, Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick noted a tidbit that the rest of us missed: TV preacher Pat Robertson’s Regent University boasts that 150 of its graduates, including former top DoJ aide Monica Goodling, are serving in some capacity in the Bush administration. … [S]hortly after Lithwick’s piece was published and the 150 figure quickly drew national attention (and a Paul Krugman column), Regent edited its About Us page — and removed the reference to the 150 Bush-hired alumni.”
LINK
Man, I could use a Seder fix about now. I used to come home everyday and listen to the podcast. I can't bring myself to try the replacement. I have a rule about anyone who goes by only one name.
Oh Sammy Boy
The days, the days are lonely
From 9 to 12, nothing to listen to
An empty void that once was filled with laughter
I'd bet 10 bucks Dewey feels this way too.
VIDEO COMPILATION: Bush Fear-Mongering Reaches Fevered Pitch In Iraq Speech
In a speech this morning, President Bush again condemned Congress for failing to give him a blank check for the war in Iraq.
Increasingly desperate, and facing broad public opposition, Bush tried his best to stir up fear with repeated references to September 11 and dark visions of “death and destruction…here in America” if U.S. troops were to withdraw:
They know that the enemies who attacked us on September the 11th, 2001 want to bring further destruction to our country.
One of the lessons of September the 11th is what happens overseas matters to the security of the United States of America.
…to fight the extremists and radicals where they live, so we don’t have to face them where we live.
…they won’t leave us alone — they will follow us to the United States of America.
The consequences of failure in Iraq would be death and destruction in the Middle East and here in America.
We’ll continue to do the hard work necessary to help change the conditions that caused 19 young men to get on airplanes to come and kill thousands of our citizens on September the 11th.
Enemies that could just as easily come here to kill us.
Watch it:
During a press conference today with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), retired Gen. John Johns responded: “You can listen to simplistic statements of the administration, appealing to emotion and fear, or you can take an analytical approach and see the reality of the world. I live in an entirely different world of reality than President Bush, Vice President Cheney and other members of the administration.”
UPDATE: AmericaBlog has another video compilation from today’s speech, and the Carpetbagger has additional analysis.
LINK
I sure missed the show today. I used to podcast it every afternoon when my meetings were over at work.
My husband and I knew that we were going to miss all the good info we got from the show but it really hit us this weekend how many of our daily laughs were going to go away. On Saturday I was unpacking moving boxes in the closet and when my husband finally found me he commented, "Oh, you're just doing your Lindsey Graham impersonation." On Sunday, when flipping channels and catching Glenn Beck I realized how much I was going to miss Sam's hysterical impersonation of him. (Sigh)
Stupid Mark Green. I left a post but I see he's moved the whole thread off the AAR home page. It's on the Press page, so let's keep pounding on him....
Ah, I guess I have to take back that last comment...the thread is back on the AAR home page. (insert evil grin here)
Bolton: We have no interest in Iraq’s well-being. “What staggers me about this clip is Bolton’s point-blank view that the US had no responsibility to impose order after the invasion, and no responsibility for security within the country. Bolton actually says that the only error Bush really made was not giving the Iraqis ‘a copy of the Federalist papers and saying, “Good luck.”‘ Yes, he says he’s exaggerating for effect, but he is conveying the gist of the policy. The casual recklessness and arrogance of these people never cease to amaze. The world is theirs to play with — and the victims of predictable and predicted violence are left to help themselves.” Via Andrew Sullivan. Video at Link
LINK
[I don't remember who I got this link from, but thank you much for pointing it out!]
Mike Malloy on Air America:
http://www.morningseditionists.com/media/malloySeder.mp3
Have to go to a meeting at work,
See you all later.
Tomorrow is election day, here, for local offices so I won't be here tomorrow until late. Long day...5:30 AM to 7:30 PM. This time I wish I would have said no to being an election judge.
Thanks, cat chew! I was looking for that.
Good to see you here Toni. Hope you have a trouble-free day tomorrow. Later.
You're welcome, terribletink!
I added a link to that in my comment here, too. :)
I wish Sam could record even a fifteen minute clip for download about what happened today.
It feels weird not to hear what he has to say about the day's event.s
Ah!
that new thread smell!
Cat Chew said...I added a link to that in my comment here, too. :)
----------------------
Very cool! I hope that thread continues to grow. I know Sam was very gracious about AAR Management last week....but we don't have to be. :-D
April 16, 2007 -- WMR was the first to report on the establishment of a major US airbase in northern Lebanon to facilitate logistics for America's planned long-term stay in the Middle East, including the occupation of Iraq. On July 21, 2006, we reported, "With the carrying out of the Clean Break by Israel and the United States, profits for companies like Halliburton are bound to skyrocket. The Israeli attack on Lebanon is already estimated to have resulted in $2 billion in damage to Lebanon's infrastructure. WMR previously reported that Jacobs/Sverdrup has been promised a lucrative Pentagon contract to build a large U.S. airbase in northern Lebanon.
The editor reported on March 11, 2005: "Washington and Jerusalem media experts spun Hariri's assassination as being the work of Syrian intelligence on orders from President Bashar Assad. However, a number of Middle East political observers in Washington claim that Hariri's assassination was not in the interests of Assad, but that the Bush and Sharon administrations had everything to gain from it, including the popular Lebanese uprising against the Syrian occupation. Lebanese intelligence sources report that even without a formal agreement with Lebanon, the contract for the northern Lebanese air base has been let by the Pentagon to Jacobs Engineering Group of Pasadena, California. Other construction support will be provided by Bechtel Corporation.
http://www.waynemadsenreport.com/
Our Lebanese sources as well as the Lebanese daily newspaper Aldiyar now report that a NATO base is to be built soon on the grounds of the largely abandoned airbase at Klieaat in northern Lebanon. The base will serve as the headquarters of a NATO rapid deployment force, helicopter squadrons, and Special Forces units although the cover story prepared by the Lebanese and US governments is that the base will provide training for the Lebanese army and security forces. The base was pushed by elements in the office of the US Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Bush administration had recently warned Lebanon about the presence of "Al Qaeda" teams in northern Lebanon. Before his assassination, former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was known to have been strongly opposed to any U.S. military bases in Lebanon, including the proposed airbase in Kleiaat.
Was NY Times report that Scaife would lay off Clintons premature?
http://mediamatters.org/items/200704160006
Following a New York Times report that conservative financier Richard Mellon Scaife will not fund attacks on Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), an April 15 column in the Scaife-owned Pittsburgh Tribune-Review compared Clinton to Lady Macbeth and three of her supporters, Geraldine Ferraro, Madeleine Albright, and Billie Jean King, to the "three hags -- witches" in Shakespeare's Macbeth who, according to the column, "aided" Lady Macbeth. The column added that Ferraro, Albright, and King "bring together 200 years of mostly bitter experience to Hillary's presumed need for champions." The author of the column is not identified beyond "a Washington-based British journalist and political observer."
i loved Sam's show and it's obvious that someone who is a big supporter of lieberman, juliani, mccave, or someone like that, forced air america to cancel Sam's show.
What happened to Lionel, Lee was on instead. Sam better get the designated fill in guy position.
Give Sam the weekdays 5-7pm slot, he is the other AAR rising star
lilly said...
i loved Sam's show and it's obvious that someone who is a big supporter of...juliani...
----------------------------------
Recently I read this misspelling in a high school newspaper.
Could have been worse. Could have been Jewliani.
This is why I love The Majority Report/Sam Seder Show. Sam and Janeane found important stories and promoted them, stories that would have been buried.
Keep up the good work Sam, and I'm looking forward to any more content you can give us.
Difficult Italian name spellings might explain why the Mafioso defaulted to monikers like "Jimmy the Rat".
Rudy the Rat..
.
Rudy the Fascist Pig.
NY Times left out reported contradiction by former DOJ official of key Gonzales assertion
http://mediamatters.org/items/200704160005
An April 16 New York Times article headlined " 'Nothing to Hide,' Gonzales Insists Before Hearing," which previewed Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales' upcoming testimony before Congress on the scandal involving the firing of eight U.S. attorneys, reported that Gonzales would claim "he had 'nothing to hide' and that none of the prosecutors were removed to influence the outcome of a case," but did not report that a former Justice Department official involved with the firings has reportedly made statements undermining a key assertion Gonzales has made. The article noted that Gonzales "is certain to be asked on Tuesday about his own recollection of events" and that "Michael A. Battle, the former director of the department's United States attorney liaison office," has apparently contradicted Gonzales' claim that he "was not involved in seeing any memos," and "was not involved in any discussions about" the dismissals. However, according to Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Battle -- the official who informed the U.S. attorneys that they were to be fired -- told the committee that shortly before the firings, he was unaware of "performance problems" with all but one of the fired U.S. attorneys, even though Gonzales has claimed that the prosecutors were dismissed for performance reasons. By contrast, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, and the Associated Press all reported Schumer's statements about Battle.
So far as I know, there was never a thug named "Jimmy the Arachnid" or "Corpulent Eddie."
Okay, there was a crooked CPA named Columnar Pad Chad but I don't think that he was Italian.
”I’m sure that he will want to be dealing with the matters of the shooting,” Leahy said of Gonzales.
~-~-~
Please Mr. President don't try to help. I know it's tough. The Chief Executive has so much power and you feel like you need to use it.
I humbly request that you refrain from getting your administration involved this time.
Don't get me wrong. You can still stand before cameras and offer prayers and platitudes. Convene a few roundtables to discuss school violence. Reassure your NRA buddies that you won't take away their assault rifles.
But for the love of God, stay out of the investigation.
For once, realize that this is bigger than you, your lackeys, and your party. This is a local and national tragedy, and sending in members of your administration will just make the situation worse.
I assure you that Virginia and local FBI officials are capable of handling the investigation. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has better things to be doing than pestering local cops or prosecutors for more information.
And going by initial reports, this doesn't look like terrorism. Until the police or FBI find any evidence whatsoever of a terrorist plot to attack VT, I suggest Homeland Security and Michael Chertoff stay out of this as well.
Finally, every news show and Sunday morning talk show will be talking about this for the next two weeks. In deference to the victims, their families and friends, the student of VT, the community of Blacksburg, Virginia and all Americans who grieve with them, please keep Vice President Cheney and all other administration officials off of these shows. This is a time for national unity, not talking points and spin, and to be frank your administration does not have a good record with this.
Please stay out of this and let the professionals handle it.
Thank you.
The wise speak when they have something to say...
Fools speak when they have to say something.
Tommy Thompson channels Reggie White
By: John Amato @ 4:01 PM - PDT
Atrios:
WASHINGTON - Former Wisconsin governor and Republican presidential hopeful Tommy Thompson told Jewish activists Monday that making money is "part of the Jewish tradition," and something that he applauded.
Speaking to an audience at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism in Washington D.C., Thompson said that, "I'm in the private sector and for the first time in my life I'm earning money. You know that's sort of part of the Jewish tradition and I do not find anything wrong with that."
Thompson later apologized for the comments that had caused a stir in the audience, saying that he had meant it as a compliment, and had only wanted to highlight the "accomplishments" of the Jewish religion.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/04/16/tommy-thompson-channels-reggie-white/
Missing you,Sam. Great to have this web site to stay connected... to bad that such things as having an excellent wisdom and insight about what guests to bring on your show don't "count" in the eyes of the powers-that-be at AAR. Many of your guests have turned out to be "winners" (such as the Fighting Dems and, of course the now VA Senator Webb). You've got such a talent, Sam. Can't wait to follow your next "move" --- yes, indeed, onwards and upwards!!!!
Hee!
Tommy!
D'oh.
Secretary of State Rice may face subpoena threat Wednesday
Michael Roston
Published: Monday April 16, 2007
Depending on the State Department's response to a request for information prior to a Wednesday meeting, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice could face a subpoena from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, RAW STORY has learned. The move could compel Rice to testify on the intelligence used to justify the invasion of Iraq, and other issues.
"On the 18th, we may hold a business meeting, but that is contingent on whether or not we receive requested information from her,"an Oversight Committee staff member told RAW STORY.
The committee staff member added, "If we do not get the information from the State Department prior to Wednesday, the business meeting may take up the question of issuing a subpoena."
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Secretary_of_State_Rice_to_face_0416.html
Rice has some 'splainin' to do.
I'm in serious withdrawal! This is hard! I miss you Sam!
Keiran
Oh my god....do you guys think it was the Ed shultz thing that got our Sammy fired?
Evening all.
Some troll was here earlier saying that the left will blame Bush for this shooting.
I blame the whole right wing and the middle and the left. They let a gun control law expire on automatic weapons, so they are all to blame.
keiran said...
Oh my god....do you guys think it was the Ed shultz thing that got our Sammy fired?
April 16, 2007 8:56 PM
I sincerely hope not. All he asked was that on a AAR station, there should be an AAR employee.
Schultz is from Jones network. And Thom works for AAR.
If Schultz couldn't take that then Ed be damned!
About this time I would be listening to today's show through the archive. Too sad. I have been in a funk all day. Miss you Sam...
THE CONFLICT IN IRAQ: A 'SHADOW' INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Divided Iraq has two spy agencies
Shiite officials wary of the CIA-funded, Sunni-led official intelligence service have set up a parallel organization.
By Ned Parker
Times Staff Writer
April 15, 2007
BAGHDAD — Suspicious of Iraq's CIA-funded national intelligence agency, members of the Iraqi government have erected a "shadow" secret service that critics say is driven by a Shiite Muslim agenda and has left the country with dueling spy agencies.
The minister of state for national security, a Shiite named Sherwan Waili, has built a spy service boasting an estimated 1,200 intelligence agents out of a second-tier ministry with a minimal staff and meager budget, Western officials say.
"He has representatives in every province," a Western diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "At the moment, it's a slightly shady parallel organization."
Shiite officials say the minister is providing information on Al Qaeda and former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party that isn't being supplied by the Iraqi National Intelligence Service, or INIS, Iraq's primary spy service.
The INIS was established in the spring of 2004 by the U.S.-led provisional authority and has been under the command of Gen. Mohammed Shahwani, a Sunni Arab involved in a CIA-backed coup plot against Hussein a decade ago. For the last three years, the agency has been funded by the CIA, U.S. military and Iraqi officials say.
The service reports directly to Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, a Shiite Muslim, but coreligionists in his government distrust the agency, which has agents from the Hussein era. For most of 2005 and the first part of 2006, Shahwani said, he was banned from Cabinet meetings.
http://fairuse.100webcustomers.com/fairenough/latimes942.html
Attacks Surge as Iraq Militants Overshadow City
BAQUBA, Iraq — They maneuver in squads, like the American infantrymen they try to kill. One squad fires furiously so another can attack from a better position. They operate in bad weather, knowing American helicopters and surveillance drones are grounded. Some carry G.P.S. receivers so mortar teams can calculate the coordinates of American armored vehicles. They kidnap and massacre police officers.
The Sunni guerrillas and extremists who now overshadow this city demonstrate a sophistication and lethality born of years of confronting American military tactics. While the “surge” plays out in Baghdad just 35 miles to the south, Baquba has emerged as a magnet for insurgents from around the country and, perhaps, the next major headache for the American military.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/16/world/middleeast/16insurgency.html?ex=1334376000&en=8e61c008a0e73db1&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss
US soldiers mistakenly shoot dead three Iraqi police
dpa German Press Agency
Published: Monday April 16, 2007
Baghdad- US soldiers conducting a raid against suspected
insurgents in western Iraq on Monday mistakenly shot dead three Iraqi
police officers and wounded a fourth, officials said.
US-led coalition forces in Baghdad in a statement said the troops
had come under fire from two buildings while conducting the raid and
had taken "appropriate measures for self-defence."
Seven suspected terrorists were arrested during the raid in
another building, the statement added.
http://rawstory.com/news/dpa/US_soldiers_mistakenly_shoot_dead_t_04162007.html
Stacks of cookies
************
toniD said...
Stacks of cookies
April 16, 2007 9:09 PM
************
That was fun!
Maybe that's why they did it that way. Making it fun might get more people to do it.
Echoing Malkin's blog, Gibson and Napolitano lamented VA Tech ban on handguns
http://mediamatters.org/items/200704170001
In the wake of a deadly shooting rampage that killed over 30 people on the campus of Virginia Tech University, host John Gibson asked on the April 16 edition of Fox News' The Big Story: "So, theoretically, in this lecture hall where all 31 were killed, there could have been someone with a carry permit carrying their gun to shoot the shooter?" Fox News senior judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano replied: "No," adding, "Virginia lets you carry a gun at a gas station or a bank or a stadium, but not on a college campus, where you may protect kids."
Napolitano and Gibson's comments echo those of right-wing pundit Michelle Malkin, who, citing an op-ed written by a Virginia Tech spokesperson, noted on her weblog that the university prohibits handguns. She then quoted a weblog post from "Andrew's Dad," who wrote: "Just imagine if students were armed. We no longer need to imag[in]e what will happen when they are not armed." Malkin also quoted an email from "[r]eader Kevin" who claimed: "Imagine if sensible CCW [Concealed Carry Weapon] laws allowed people to defend themselves, this tragedy could have been avoided."
****
Oh my god. People this stupid should never be allowed to carry a gun.
Yeah. They would have all shot each other by now if they had guns and were anticipating just such an event, you morons.
Evening Catharine!
Also it shows people where all the money is going from our taxes.
The Edwards Family
We are simply heartbroken by the deaths and injuries suffered at Virginia Tech. We know what an unspeakable, life-changing moment this is for these families and how, in this moment, it is hard to feel anything but overwhelming grief, much less the love and support around you. But the love and support is there. We pray that these families, these students, and the entire Virginia Tech community know that they are being embraced by a nation. There is a Methodist hymn that gave us solace in such a moment as this, and we repeat its final verse here, in hopes it will help these families, as it helped us:
In our end is our beginning; in our time, infinity;
In our doubt there is believing, in our life, eternity,
In our death, a resurrection; at the last, a victory,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.
Our dearest wish is that this day could start again, with the promise of these young people alive. Knowing that cannot be, our prayer is for God’s grace and whatever measure of peace can be reached on this terrible day.
John and Elizabeth Edwards
Evening Toni!
Cheney: Democrats will back down on Iraq
WASHINGTON - Vice President
Dick Cheney says he is "willing to bet" that Democratic lawmakers will back down and approve a war-spending bill that doesn't call for U.S. troops to leave Iraq. Top Democratic leaders shot back that Cheney has lost all public credibility.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070415/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_iraq
Taliban are eluding U.S. hunters
DENIS D. GRAY
Associated Press
DAVUDZAY, Afghanistan - Troops with powerful rifle scopes scanned mountain ridges for elusive, black-clad Taliban infiltrators. Afghan soldiers, hit by a roadside bomb, pressed on into the valley. U.S. Special Forces swept through the sinister alleys of its main settlement.
The strike, carried out by about 200 American and Afghan government forces, was supposed to sever a major insurgent infiltration and supply route from neighboring Pakistan to Islamic fighters deep in Afghanistan.
But the attack didn't work - an object lesson in why 47,000 U.S. and NATO forces are struggling to contain a resurgent Taliban movement.
Field officers say eradicating fighters who cross the porous 1,470-mile border is like trying to drain a swamp when one cannot shut off the streams feeding it. Pakistan's failure to dam those streams has deepened the five-year-old conflict, they say.
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/news/local/17083082.htm
Upending the Mayberry Machiavellis
It's up to Congress to save the executive branch from Bush's and Rove's radical experiment to transform it forever.
By Sidney Blumenthal
On Jan. 26, J. Scott Jennings, the White House deputy political director working for Karl Rove, delivered a PowerPoint presentation to least 40 political appointees, many participating through teleconferencing, at the General Services Administration, which oversees a $60 billion budget to manage federal properties and procure office equipment. Jennings' lecture featured maps of Republican "targets" for the House of Representatives and the Senate in the 2008 election. His talk was one of perhaps dozens given since 2001 to political appointees in departments and agencies throughout the federal government by him, Rove and Ken Mehlman, the former White House political director and Republican National Committee chairman. Rove and Co. drilled polling data into the government employees and lashed them on the necessity of using federal resources for Republican victory. "Such intense regular communication from the political office had never occurred before," Los Angeles Times reporters Tom Hamburger and Peter Wallsten wrote in their book, "One Party Country: The Republican Plan for Dominance in the 21st Century."
...
http://www.salon.com/opinion/blumenthal/2007/04/12/bush_destruction/index_np.html
For Crank:
One of the winners of the International Pun Contest:
Two hydrogen atoms meet.
One says "I've lost my electron."
The other says "Are you sure?"
The first replies "Yes, I'm positive!"
http://ia300117.us.archive.org/0/items/JoshWolfAllEmpiresMustFall/AllEmpiresMustFall.mov
http://newteevee.com/2007/04/05/why-josh-wolfs-tape-mattered/
Wah. wah. Sam Seder addicts, that's you crying. I am so bereft, crushed, and might I add, ignorant of the news of the day.
Gonzales Deputy's Got Job Feelers Out
By Paul Kiel - April 16, 2007, 12:53 PM
So says The Wall Street Journal: "With Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on the ropes over the firings of eight U.S. attorneys, his deputy, Paul J. McNulty, is quietly testing the waters for a new job."
It's not the first time that McNulty has been rumored to be on the way out. The Politico's Mike Allen reported last month that McNulty would be getting the hatchet. That, of course, didn't happen.
This time it's McNulty's choice, his friends say -- but it has nothing to do with his giving false statements to Congress (for which he's blamed Kyle Sampson and Monica Goodling), or the fact that he was at the center of the U.S. attorney purge. No. He just wants to cash in:
Even before the controversy erupted, Mr. McNulty, 49 years old, had been making plans to join the private sector after 24 years in government, which included a term as U.S. attorney in Virginia's Eastern District, people familiar with his plans said. Knowing he would like to take a higher-paying job, partly to cover tuition for his four college-age children, well before the end of the administration, his friends recently have sent out feelers on his behalf for possible corporate and law-firm jobs, the people said.
LINK
toniD said...
Evening all.
Some troll was here earlier saying that the left will blame Bush for this shooting.
He had it wrong. Seems it's the right fringe is not resisting the urge to make political hay out of tragedies. Gibson at Fox, Malkin, Glenn Reynolds, lockstep maggots feeding on the dead.
I guess Fox lets people with handguns into their buildings all the time because it's safer that way.
Just listening to Malloy on Nova M tonight, when are you and Maron heading over?
Maron and Janeane were great at the Gramercy, hope you got to see them.
Miss you Sam.
Night all. Earlyday and a long day tomorrow.
See you after the elction is over.
G'night and rest well, Toni.
No Seder and no Toni tomorrow? Arrgh!
Hi Bloggi..what a sad day
What a horrific scene at VTech. I can't believe gun nuts actually said things might have turned out more positively if students were allowed to carry concealed weapons.
"On the other side of the gun issue is Gun Owners of America, which will press Congress to repeal the law that bans arms on school grounds and campuses...Erich Pratt, director of communications for the organization...said that school shootings could be curbed and ended if legal owners could carry their guns on campus."
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/va.--murders-are-a-dark-day-in-our-history-2007-04-16.html
Limbaugh lashes out at Media Matters
http://mediamatters.org/items/200704170002
On the April 16 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh called Media Matters for America "Stalinist" and part of the "Clinton machine agenda." He further falsely asserted that Media Matters receives funding from philanthropist George Soros and that he is "not demeaning people on this program in any way."
Limbaugh asserted that Imus was fired because he was "critical of [Sen.] Hillary [Clinton (D-NY)]," and added, "This is an election year. Clinton Inc., you get on their case, they're going to take you out." Limbaugh continued, "[W]hen I say the Clinton team, I include Media Matters for America, this supposed tax-exempt media watchdog group," adding, falsely, "[T]hey are George Soros-funded. This is clearly part of the Democrat [sic] Party machine." As Media Matters noted when Internet gossip Matt Drudge described Media Matters as a "Soros operation," Media Matters has never received funding from progressive philanthropist George Soros.
***
He goes on and on and on and on ...
Hee! He must be worried. his ratings keep getting lower and he knows he is guilty ...
AND Keith Olberman just got the big Football Hosting job!!
Neener Neener Neener, Rush!
What a baby.
is malloy still on novam?
Malloy is on now
http://www.novamradio.com/stream.php
thanks. I was hearing some guy singing on and on. I didn't know what was going on.
ahh...Malloy, the good ol' days of AAR...
Why dont' we just move it all to Novam?
my latest work:
Why Does Oprah Hate Jesus?
Shell helped me find my niche in the world yesterday
Find the most bizarre conspiracy theories and try to defend them at the Daily Kos
heh
I soon will be kicked off the Dkos
bets?
-conbo
Malloy stopped himself in the middle of making an Air America station ID.
I hope Nova M gets all the original AA hosts, then buys the name when green runs it into the ground.
Concealed weapons laws are pointless. If someone comes after me with a gun, the last thing I'd want to defend myself with is a gun.
Concealed weapons laws also make gun-toting criminals more trigger-happy since they don't want to take a chance that you have a gun.
I wish someone would do a test with paintball guns to see how effective a concealed weapon is against a criminal who has a gun up against your head, or is toting a fully automatic UZI.
Sam, please get a job on Nova M Radio! I miss you so much! You know if Mike Malloy did it you can too. You are so intelligent and talented! I also like Thom Hartman but, Sam, you are the best! My days are ruined without you, Sam! No one reads all the blogs like you do and no one knows the news like you do. Work week days on Nova M and Sundays on AAR! Thanks, Sam, I'll be waiting for you! Smitty
Dear voting reform activists:
If you go to the following link,
http://www.hbo.com/billmaher/?ntrack_para1=leftnav_category0_show7
you will find that Bill Maher's show on HBO has a poll asking whether
voter fraud or voter suppression is the biggest threat to our
elections.
Of course, this poll completely ignores the fact that fraud by
election officials or election machine makers is actually the biggest
threat to our elections. In addition, this poll leads the debate away
from the real issue and indicates that they will do a show which
ignores the real issue.
It is really a shame that Bill Maher and HBO would fail to discuss all
aspects of the need to reform our voting system in order to preserve
our democracy. I hope that Bill has the courage to revise this poll
and have a real debate about this fundamental issue.
Please help convince Bill Maher and HBO to revise their poll and talk
about the real issues that need to be addressed in order to preserve
our democracy rather than misleading the public. Please copy the
above paragraphs, and send them an email at
http://www.hbo.com/apps/submitinfo/contactus/submit.do?title=Real%20Time%20with%20Bill%20Maher&questiontype=realtimewithbillmaher
Maybe, if they get enough emails, they will have the courage to open
up a real debate. Thank you for your assistance in restoring our
democracy.
Sincerely,
Mark A. Adams, Esquire JD/MBA
Attorney for Clint Curtis, John Russell, and Frank Gonzalez
2006 Congressional Election Contestants
Anonymous said...
my latest work:
Why Does Oprah Hate Jesus?
April 16, 2007 11:31 PM
I can't think of anything more perfect for you! (consider I've never met you...)... :) You're hella funny, #...the whole idea makes me laugh...DO IT!
Do they allow humor @ KOS?
Drat! I should have made a crack about the Truckers! Welp..live & learn... :)
Do they allow humor @ KOS?
Lots of humor and snark at Daily Kos. Why do you want to troll it if you don't know anything about it?
I don't want to troll it...I think #'s posts are funny...here & there & everywhere...
The last thing on my list before bed is to answer that wlbl post I showed you #...Now I just don't have the energy...maybe I can put something together tomorrow...
evening!
i thought i'd drop in before bed.
Yes, SJ...it is life.
Since I don't hang out there.. I can only say anything based on my experiences or my general sense of the collection from reading & things...
But I will tell you this..since it something I just realized while reading MORE articles about Josh Wolf & the "journalist or not" thing...there are lots of places to write online where there are rules, or guidelines, or codes of conduct..stuff like that..It occured to me how intimidating or impeding, that can be to just be, or do or POST whatever a person wants to...
So...again..may I say that this is why I love this Blog...I don't have trouble following the rules here. :)
1st rule here:
there are no rules.
2nd rule here:
don't feed CrankBait straight lines.
i think the more rules a site has the more room there is for hypocrisy and irony.
determining what behaviour is sane is what society is all about.
being free to speak your mind is what this site is all about.
Does Oprah Hate Jesus... Obvious satire.
conbo, is that a real conspiracy or did yo just make it up?
yup meg,
and the potential for humor
is at least as large as the potential for outrage
from the devotees of Ms Oprah.
(don't worry, it's good for getting their juices flowing)
Kos people can be extrememly self-rightious and lame.
think we're all comedy fans and addicted to the truth that comes out with it.
sammer is into the impromptu
i like a well developed and polished skit occasionally.
the point being that when you get that laugh you know they understood at least part of what you were talking about.
and the humor we've made here is golden.
Wh can't I get my work done? Damn blogs...
Ana Ng, They Might Be Giants
Please God, deliver us from the banality of evil
Jason Miller
Posted Apr 16, 2007
I do not hesitate one second to state clearly and unmistakably: I belong to the American resistance movement which fights against American imperialism, just as the resistance movement fought against Hitler.
---Paul Robeson
Virtually every day our mendacious corporate media publicizes the farcical “debate” between officials of the Bush Regime and Congress. While numerous polls have indicated that over 2/3 of US Americans want an end to the war in Iraq, and voters positioned the Democrats to exercise the will of the people, the war rages on.
Between the Gulf War, the subsequent US-driven draconian UN economic sanctions, and the seemingly endless US invasion and occupation of Iraq, well over a million Iraqis are dead. Infrastructure essential to vital human needs, including transportation, health, utilities, water, and sanitation has been decimated. Depleted uranium will continue to visit misery and death upon the Iraqi population long after the imperial invaders have been sent packing, as we were in Vietnam.
Machiavellian plutocrats, whose moral development has not progressed beyond that of an earthworm, scheme incessantly to convince the American public that we can “win” or “succeed” in Iraq. How much murder and mayhem must we inflict before we achieve the “victory” the cynical bourgeoisie covets?
Yet despite the overwhelming concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a relative few individuals and corporate entities, each of us in the United States is complicit in the crimes of our nation to some degree. Obviously, some bear much more responsibility than others, but we have each had a hand in the obliteration of the Iraqi nation.
While a majority of US Americans now vehemently oppose the Bush administration and its abominable war, too many of us still believe that both are anomalies which will be “corrected” once we “elect” a new cast of characters to take the political reins in 2008. Sadly, little could be further from the truth. As with most putrescence, ours runs deep beneath the surface.
Fed a steady diet of carefully crafted agitprop from cradle to grave, many of us zealously pursue the American Dream of suburban utopias bordered by white picket fences. Utterly oblivious and indifferent to the staggering cost we impose upon the rest of the world, we ignore the stack of bloodied corpses on which we climb as we reach for the sacred brass ring. Ready-made delusions eagerly provided by our corporate masters assure us that we are entitled to all that we desire, convince us that we are morally superior to those we bleed dry to gratify ourselves, and shield us from the grim reality that we are the “monsters on Maple Street.”
Beneath the gilded façade of truth, justice, and the American Way lurks a corrosive and rapacious socioeconomic system which is inimical to democracy, a relative handful of opulent overlords ruling a “constitutional republic”, and hundreds of millions of poor and working class individuals who are all too willing to participate in crimes against humanity in exchange for “the good life”, which as Hurricane Katrina so clearly demonstrated, is not nearly as “good” as we have been programmed to believe.
Since it is unlikely that conscience will impel us to muster the collective will necessary to dismantle this abhorrence, let’s pray that resistance movements in Iraq and other nations that we oppress and occupy serve us a healthy portion of humility by sending us home with our tails between our legs.
In the event readers need a summary of the case for divine intervention on behalf of humanity against the detestable monstrosity we have become, here it is:
1. We are a gluttonous herd of swine devouring resources at a rate well beyond the Earth’s capacity to renew them. Metaphorically speaking, we are one of twenty people populating the globe. Yet we greedily gobble a quarter of the pie, leaving our nineteen neighbors to divvy up the remaining 75%.
2. Our socioeconomic system, in which our de facto aristocracy, myriad “think tanks”, textbook authors, and mainstream media whores have inculcated us to place an unwavering faith of cult-like proportions, is only several generations removed from feudalism, mercantilism, chattel slavery, and the early industrial capitalism which fostered the abject human misery about which Dickens wrote. Concentration of wealth into the hands of a few, exploitation of the working class and the poor, various forms of servitude, profits and property over people, unbridled consumption of resources, and an insatiable need for growth and expansion are inherent malignant aspects of our much vaunted “American Capitalism”. Encouraging and rewarding greed, narcissism, hyper-competitiveness, selfishness, and ruthlessness, the “best system there is” has propelled shamelessly decadent pigs to obscene opulence while leaving over half of the world’s population to wallow in extreme poverty.
3. Rather than dismantling the military leviathan we created to facilitate our involvement in World War II, we chose to embrace a perpetual Military Keynesianism under which a mere 5% of the world’s population spends more on war than the rest of the world combined. We have no problem “tainting” our capitalism with a little socialism as long as it enables the continued existence of the parasitic “defense” industry, allows us to maintain over 700 military bases in at least 130 different countries, and empowers us to wage the covert and overt imperialist wars necessary to advance the interests of capital.
4. We have a long history of spouting off about our devotion to “freedom and democracy,” decrying (and sometimes lynching) authoritarian rulers who refuse to surrender their nation’s sovereignty to our empire, and installing and supporting brutal tyrants who serve the needs of our beloved plutocrats. Iran, bad. Saudi Arabia, good. Venezuela, evil. Colombia, righteous. You get the picture.
5. In the course of our “infinitely benevolent” quest to democratize and free the world, we have left a bloody wake of annihilated human beings euphemistically labeled as “collateral damage.” Millions of Native Americans “sacrificed their lives” so that we could found and expand the United States. At least 600,000 Filipinos were felled as we toiled under the crushing responsibility of our “white man’s burden.” A half million Japanese died so we could display our power to Russia, a significant threat to capitalism’s hegemony. Factor in the 135,000 at Dresden, over two million Koreans, three million Vietnamese, the aforementioned million plus in Iraq, and millions more (counting those murdered via covert operations, smaller military interventions, and by proxies like the Shah, Pinochet, and Israel…not to mention the blacks who died as a result of the slave trade and Jim Crow lynchings), and the malevolence of the Third Reich pales in comparison to the criminal enterprise known as the United States of America.
6. Aside from having developed and deployed nuclear weapons (in spite of the rest of the world being years away from attaining them and Japan’s loss of will to continue the war), we possess and continue to develop the largest nuclear arsenal on the planet. Friendly regional hegemons, like India and Israel, receive our blessing and assistance in nurturing their nuclear capabilities, sans signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Meanwhile, we relentlessly beat the drums of war against Iran for exercising their right (as a signatory of the NNPT) to develop a program to produce nuclear energy. How much longer can the chicken-hawks in DC refrain from unleashing atomic hell, again? How much blatant hypocrisy can the world endure?
7. Given our love affair, no scratch that, our obsession, with shopping, acquiring, owning, and consuming, we keep the Once-ler’s fat, happy, and running at full throttle. As the Truffula trees, Humming-fish, Bar-ba-loots, and Swomee- Swans disappear at an alarming rate, we’re too busy “lovin’ it” at McDonald’s and cashing in on Wal-Mart’s “always low prices” to notice or care. Global temperatures rise, ice shelves plunge into the sea, glaciers recede at alarming rates, violent storms rage, species become extinct, and bees disappear en masse as we intrepidly continue filling our two lives per gallon Hummers with inane consumer goods that we don’t need. “Keeping the economy strong” is indeed a noble calling.
8. As crafty as we are, we are not solely reliant upon military means to impose our cultural imperialism. As Milton Friedman and “the Chicago Boys” demonstrated with their experiment in Chile, neoliberalism is a powerful economic tool with which we can integrate weaker nations into our empire. Astoundingly, nation after developing nation accepted our Trojan horse of “generous” loan packages which in turn forced them to crush organized labor, privatize, deregulate, and cut or eliminate humanitarian expenditures. For many years, Fidel Castro was one of the few hold-outs in the face of our economic tyranny. With the recent emergence of leaders like Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales, hope looms on the horizon. Yet predictably, we continue to rain misery upon the people of Cuba and are desperately attempting to sell the world on the idea of pouring our food supply into our gas tanks so we can eliminate our dependence on Chavez’s oil and give him the “Fidel treatment.”
To spare ourselves the guilt of our undeniable abetment in crimes against the Earth and nearly all its sentient inhabitants, we desperately cling to the Disneyesque illusion that the United States is a benevolent “policeman to the world” that preserves and advances noble ideals like human rights and freedom.
Sorry, ladies and gentlemen, but the analyses of Hannah Arendt and Ward Churchill define our reality much more accurately. No matter how closely an individual US American might adhere to humane principles, we are all “Little Eichmanns.” We can minimize our roles, but there is no escaping participation in our nation’s virtuoso performance of “The Banality of Evil.”
God bless America?
How about God bless humanity by cursing the American Empire?
We desperately need the heavy doses of reality, constraint, and humility that the loss of our military and economic supremacy would bring….
***
Jason Miller is a wage slave of the American Empire who has freed himself intellectually and spiritually. His essays have been widely published, he is Cyrano’s Journal Online’s associate editor, and he volunteers at homeless shelters. He welcomes constructive correspondence at willpowerful@hotmail.com or via his blog, Thomas Paine’s Corner, at http://civillibertarian.blogspot.com/
ya the "Point" system gets a little out of control...
but that's a generality that does'nt apply to most there.
thats a dam good community despite the occasional ego trip.
i say we all admit we're FUBAR and learn to work with each other the way we are.
perfectionists are dam near as irritating as assholes in the real world.
Hey conbo, speaking of conspiracy theories. This guy I used to work with once excitedly told me about a book he had read about how the Masons secretly run the world.
He totally believed this crap. And told me I was stupid for not believing him.
Him: "It's all true! You can find it in the library! Right there, in the LIBRARY!"
Me: "So the Masons run the world?"
Him: "That's right. You know every president has been a Mason. Bill Clinton wasn't, and they had to induct him before he was inaugerated. You can find this stuff in the LIBRARY!"
Me: "You are telling me that the guys with the funny hats that ride the tiny little cars in parades are secretly running the world?"
Him: {{walks away, shaking his head and mumbling about librairies}}
George Washington, Brad Neely
the Masons are way more than funny hats and teeny cars.
i think that dismissing someones point without examining it is as criminal as anything else.
a barrier to understanding that's well cultivated by the asshole types.
http://propagandamatrix.com/articles/april2007/160407blackop.htm
Virginia School Shooting: Another Government Black-Op?
Early details suggest Columbine-style set-up to justify mass gun control, VA Tech has "blood on their hands," banned concealed carry, disarming victims
Paul Joseph Watson & Steve Watson
Prison Planet
Monday, April 16, 2007
Early details about the horrific school shooting at Virginia Tech strongly indicate that these events represent a Columbine-style black-op that will be exploited in the coming days to push for mass gun control and further turning our schools into prisons.
Eyewitness Matt Kazee told the Alex Jones Show that it was a full two to three hours after the shootings began that loudspeakers installed around the campus were used to warn students to stay indoors and that a shooter was on the loose.
Quite how the killer was afforded so much time before any action was taken to stop him is baffling, especially considering the fact that the campus, according to Kazee, was crawling with police before the event happened due to numerous bomb threats that had been phoned in last week.
The shootings came three days after a bomb threat Friday forced the cancellation of classes in three buildings, WDBJ in Roanoke reported. Also, the 100,000-square-foot Torgersen Hall was evacuated April 2 after police received a written bomb threat, The Roanoke Times reported.
CNN quoted a student who was outraged at the delay in identifying and stopping the killer.
"What happened today this was ridiculous. And I don't know what happened or what was going through this guy's mind," student Jason Piatt told CNN. "But I'm pretty outraged and I'll say on the record I'm pretty outraged that someone died in a shooting in a dorm at 7 o'clock in the morning and the first e-mail about it — no mention of locking down campus, no mention of canceling classes — they just mention that they're investigating a shooting two hours later at 9:22."
He added: "That's pretty ridiculous and meanwhile, while they're sending out that e-mail, 22 more people got killed."
well that's as much profundity as i can come up with tonight.
"what's it all mean Mr Natural?"
"Don't mean shit, pilgrim..."
love ya all despite the
aching fragility and
frustrations.
G'nite!
Greetings Blogafellows:
It's 2:00 A.M. in Ohio.
(:( Oh Sam!
(:( Oh Sam!
I miss thee.
Masons dont run the world. And this guy was dismissing MY point... Telling me I was stupid for not believing him.
Alice said...
Please God, deliver us from the banality of evil.
-----------------
Alice!
What a great post.
The article is wonderful.
Thank you.
Nite all
OH hey, already we have the conspiracies on VA Tech...
I can't stand these people who think teachers should be carrying guns.
Teachers should carry guns...
Pilots should carry guns...
Bus drivers should carry guns...
Plumbers should carry guns...
Well I know one thing, if students and teachers on that campus had been armed, we'd be talking about 100 dead, and a lot of them would be John Wayne wannabes trying to grab some glory.
nutmeg-
i think some conspiracy theories are true...
Oprah=Satan is not one I happen to believe tho
I have been getting all the theories from the conspiracy theory archive on the web
I think sometimes the people who run that site get bored and start making stuff up
-conbo
Oprah Winfrey, New Thought, "The Secret" and the "New Alchemy"
-conbo
Some of them are true. Im sure.
Probably a grain of truth in most of them, which is why people believe them.
But the tired old gun-nut theory that these massares are staged so that the government can take their guns has been repeated and repeated, every single time this happens. But it has never comes to pass.
They really don't want to face the problem, that our society has a disease and the disease is called fear.
Its crazy... All these teories about illuminati and the shriners... Everyone with a brain knows that cats really run the world.
Patrick is trying to delete that comment... he knows I'm onto the kitty conspiracy...
Since only troops who are killed in action or those who die shortly thereafter in Iraq and Afghanistan are in the official count, the total Americans lost in those conflicts so far is much closer to 10,000 than the over 3,00 reported. Those wounded and make it to a hospital, then die of their injuries are not counted. This corrupt gov. and corp. news media will not report this to the people. If the truth were known, imagine how much greater the outrage! I love PBS but, they now depend on grants from Exxon Mobile and other corp. masters. I am old enough to remember a time when we actually had a real independant news media; many of u are not. I may not live to see anything like a 'free and unfettered press' again. Stay strong young ones.
Maureen Dowd and AIPAC fired Seder.
Maureen Down and AIPAC are on the same level?
Weird, and here I thought she was just a catchy phrase generator.
replace "X" group in any conspiracy theory with "good old boys network" and see if it still seems so outlandish...
You know, I often wonder how this "stereotype" of the Left hating America and being a bunch of nutty socialists, gets so much traction....
and then...
Alice said...
April 17, 2007 2:03 AM
My heart is truely broken.
No Same Seder to give me some joy to my day.
Why oh why oh why did they cancel your weekly show?
Life is not fair.
I think I hate Mark Green.
It's not right to hate but I just can't help it this morning.
Sad, sad, sad, sad.
Melissa moping in Ann Arbor.
Net-meg said earlier-For you Voting Reform activists:Bill Maher Pool. Thanks for the link.I gave them some Feedback;that's for sure!I didn't think Maher would be so short-sighted either.
Ten minutes with this Rayburn guy they have in Sam's spot this morning has left me aching with the fact that we'll never hear how Sam would comment on the Virginia shootings or the President's insistance on the everyone bearing arms.
Mr. Green has really done us in... I'm off to find another network.
Oil major ConocoPhillips and Tyson Foods Inc., the world's largest meat producer, said Monday they're teaming up to produce and market diesel fuel for U.S. vehicles using beef, pork and poultry fat.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070416/ap_on_bi_ge/conocophillips_tyson
And we should all email Faux News and ask them,if they allow guns in their building.Is Gibson packing??But,you might have to put your Raincoat on if you go to Faux news site.The place is soooo Sleazy!
Can I reiterate? Sam, please give us a little ten or fifteen minute downloadable commentary?
While I am a fan also of your biggest competitor (Stephanie Miller), I'm craving something with more substance and less style this morning.
Well, kind of agree with the Seder-heads on Lee Rayburn....
I didn't think it was possible, but Stephen Green and his bro have found somebody with AS BAD a voice for radio...as Sam Seder!
Sam, oh Sam, where for art tho??? Really missing you today :(
Lee is just fine, it's just that he's not our Sam. Hiya Sammy. Sam became like a friend to us and we like him and miss him, but he'll be back.
What do you think Sam would say about Virg Tech?
I miss Sam so much.
Tenet's Tell-All Is a Slam Dunk to Provoke Invasion's Architects
The drums have begun sounding for the long-awaited book by former CIA director George Tenet, in which he gives his take on pre-9/11 days and on Saddam's huge cache of weapons of mass destruction.
And the drums are saying that Tenet is not going to get too many Christmas cards from Vice President Cheney's office after they read "At the Center of the Storm." Folks from down the river at the Pentagon, including former deputy secretary of defense Paul Wolfowitz-- a guy who's already going through a rough patch -- and former defense undersecretary Douglas Feith, might also get some heartburn.
Former secretary of state Colin Powell comes out fine. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who was President Bush's key adviser in engineering the Iraq invasion, doesn't come out so fine. Not fine at all.
The White House definitely won't be overjoyed, we're hearing. Tenet even takes some shots at himself and for the first time explains his astute assurance that "it's a slam-dunk case" when Bush asked him how solid the WMD evidence was.
Tenet has never really explained his views on that comment. The 500-page book -- or more likely his "60 Minutes" interview on April 29, the day before the book goes on sale -- will be the first time he goes over that.
Tenet, who ran the CIA from July 1997 to July 2004, did the first of two days of taping last week at Georgetown University, where he's teaching.
Just wanted to post a few thing about Imus that did not hear alot last week. I heard alot last week as Imus referred to as a conservative talk radio host. He supported both democrats and republicans. Supported John Kerry in 2004, was against the Iraq war before we went in. Supported Liberman, Harold Ford. He supported Rick Santorim, supported Kinky Friedman for Texas governor.
Has a line of food and "green" cleaning products that 100% of all profits go to The Imus Cattle Ranch for Kids with Cancer in Ribera, New Mexico.
I use to watch a few minutes of his show on cable in the morning at first I did not like him but he grew on me. He had some funny segments and some that were stupid.
I just think he misspoke on that day. If you call Don Imus a racist you would have to call Dave Chappelle a racist when he dons white face and does an imitation of a white broadcaster. Among all the other black or white comics that make fun of their race or anothers.
Mark Twain wrote "Everything human is pathetic. The secret source of humor itself is not joy but sorrow. There is no humor in heaven"
When will the day come that we ban humor?
A bad word whispered will echo a hundred miles.
AAR really F***ed up we should be listening to SAM right now and getting excited about Alberto testimony. This sucks absolutely.
Happy Tax Day
Oh, and happy 5th blogiversary to me.
-Atrios
His humble origins (heh)
[h/t to Bill in Portland Maine at dKos]
Mornin gang,
we are the press.
go and see what's out there.
*
Perjury? Gonzales Contradicts His Own Testimony 4-17 POAC
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/print?id=3046651
Indians are burning effigies of conservative actor Richard Gere after he sexually assaulted a popular female actor from India on stage earlier this week.
You should look up the word "perjury" in the dictionary you moron.
Dropped from the front page at AAR again:
Comment from Mark Green about Sam Seder
Registered AAR users may leave comments.
G'morning, Jim.
You reminded me, toniD isn't in the room but
she has a nice blogroll with a lot of news sources
here, just look to the right and scroll down a tad.
Dropped from the front page at AAR again:
Comment from Mark Green about Sam Seder""
on to page 3 at 90 comments per page:
http://www.airamerica.com/node/3565?from=180&comments_per_page=90
Comment from Mark Green about Sam Seder
http://www.airamerica.com/node/3565?from=180&comments_per_page=90
See. It's a good thing.
eya catchoo!
just got up and coffee'd.
i'm putting around the aggragator sites,
seeing what's in the news today.
Pro Lionel: 1% (4 posts)
Indifferent: 2% (7 posts)
Keep Sam on Daily: 97% (301 posts)
Why is this Lee Rayburn on? I thought Lionel was supposed to start this week.
BTW, someone commented on here that Lionel called Rachel Maddow a "thick-necked lesbian"! Is this true?!
Interestingly, I happened to catch a lot of excited comments on 911blogger about Lionel coming onto the program b/c he has expressed a belief that 9/11 was an inside job (joining the ranks of Rosie Charlie Sheen).
This is still a highly controversial subject which I will not weigh in on this time, but Sam being dumped weekdays for being too controversial???
What was Green's motive? Or did Sam just have too much substance and they assume listeners have the attention spans of 3 year-olds? These are the people that listen to Rush Limbaugh and Hannity so they most certainly will not cotton to someone questioning the official version of 911 events. WHO IS HE TRYING TO APPEAL TO?
What disgusts me also is that XM must have 4 conservative talk show stations to Air America's one.
PS: CAN WE START A MOVEMENT TO FLOOD AIR AMERICA WITH COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS SO THEY WILL BRING SAM BACK ON WEEKDAYS?? I've already called and complained.
Melanie
Constitutional crisis?
DOJ Fails to Comply with House Judiciary Subpoena 4-17 POAC
http://www.speaker.gov/blog/?p=244
Finance Filings Offer Glimpses of ’08 Candidates
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/17/us/politics/17donate.html?_r=1&ref=politics
The American public has given about $160 million to the 2008 presidential candidates so far this year, more than four times the total contributed to campaigns in the same period four years ago.
Skip to next paragraph
Much of the money went into the pockets of the political class: media, fund-raising and political consultants. But each campaign doled out its contributions differently, often in unexpected ways that provide some insights into the candidates.
Mitt Romney, the Republican, who is by far the richest candidate, was stingiest with his staff members’ salaries, often having them fly discount airlines and stay in accommodations as humble as a Super 8 Motel in Parsippany, N.J.
Senator John McCain of Arizona, whose Republican primary campaign spent the highest percentage of income during the quarter, paid nearly $11,000 for photography, $1,700 for decorations and $1,671 for flowers.
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, who irked donors during her last Senate campaign by running up heavy bills for such amenities, spent just $205 for photographs and $89 for flowers, according to the campaign’s filings. But her campaign did report a debt of $1,995 to Jack H. Lucky Floral Design in New Market, Va.
Others drew fine distinctions among donors. Senator Barack Obama, the Illinois Democrat, has talked of running a new kind of campaign that refuses fund-raising help from federal lobbyists. But a list of his top fund-raisers released over the weekend shows that his campaign has defined the term in an exacting way.
At least two of the donors on his list of 130 top fund-raisers were registered federal lobbyists as recently as last year. One, Tom Reed, works at the law and lobbying firm of K & L Preston Gates and earned about $60,000 from lobbying in 2006.
A video of Ramadi Iraqi shot by the us Military
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=900_1176763058&p=1
G'morning, Jim.
Hmmm. I think Anonymous needs to look up
interrogation point/question mark and its usage,
among other things.
--------------
Gen. JC Christian, Patriot said...
Copy and distribute quickly before it is removed.
Scott Elberg
Chief of Operations
selberg@airamerica.com
David Berstein
Program Director
dbernstein@airamerica.com
April 13, 2007 11:59 AM
-------------
Mark Green
mgreen@airameric.com
Al Qaeda says Bush has turned Iraq into a "university of terror"
by John Aravosis (DC)
So, not only has Bush lost the war in Iraq, but as a result he's trained an entirely new generation of Al Qaeda terrorists to be even more deadly and more experienced. Oh yeah, and the American taxpayer footed the bill for this little university. Isn't that nice. More from Reuters.
Another good video of US troops out on patrol April 2007
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=446_1176762439
eya Melanie.
"PS: CAN WE START A MOVEMENT TO FLOOD AIR AMERICA WITH COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS SO THEY WILL BRING SAM BACK ON WEEKDAYS?? I've already called and complained."
talked to Mike Malloy about that.
we raised some 35000 signatures when he went down and never got one word about it from the AARgh management.
we both figger they could care less about what we think.
I'd hoped for two way communication with AARgh that would organise some opposition to the greed heads.
i still hope for that, and a data base of facts relevant to the same.
here another newsclip from Reuters that you probably wont see on CNN
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=016_1176580214
I really miss Sam. I feel lost without his 9:00 a.m to noon show.
I loved his interviews with Markos, Atrios, and Bill Scher. Sam did his homework and really kept the audience well informed. And Sam's sense of humor would have me screaming with laughter.
I have lost interest in AAR. I have stopped internet streaming and just listen sporadically to Randi Rhodes. I still love Rachel Maddow. Rachel and Sam were my favorites.
I didn't listen to AAR on the weekends because I didn't like the programming lineup. But now I can't wait for "Seder on Sundays". It's the only thing that will get me to listen on the weekend.
I think I'll go for a walk now.
Just posted at AAR:
http://www.airamerica.com/node/3565?from=180&comments_per_page=90
Mr Green,
I must applaud you on your scheduling change and moving Sam Seder from a daily three hour weekday show to a Sunday afternoon venue. I think it will be a much better fit for Sam Seder and allow him to better utilize and build upon his small blog following.
The radio business is, after all, a business and if the listeners aren't there, then changes must be made.
Good luck on your attempts to turn Air America into profitable and still progressive radio.
Imus has been insulting people for a long time. I'm sure he has many positive qualities, but he verbally attacks people for no reason, people who are underdogs. That makes him a bully and he got what he derserved.
Good Morning...The Lovin Spoonful - Did You Ever Have to Make up Your Mind.mp3...Have a pleasant day, Blog... :)
"we raised some 35000 signatures..."
That's a blip, peanuts, crums in the radio business.
Do you somehow have the notion that AAR is a non-profit orgranization?
"Imus has been insulting people for a long time. I'm sure he has many positive qualities, but he verbally attacks people for no reason, people who are underdogs. That makes him a bully and he got what he derserved."
Dittos for Sam Seder
On DN today:
Noam Chomsky Accuses Alan Dershowitz of Launching a "Jihad" to Block Norman Finkelstein From Getting Tenure at Depaul University
Part II of our conversation with two of the country's leading dissidents, Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn on U.S. wars from Iraq to Vietnam, resistance and academia. We also ask Chomsky about Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz who is lobbying DePaul faculty members to oppose Norman Finkelstein's bid to receive tenure. Chomsky says, "[Dershowitz] launched a jihad against Norman Finkelstein simply to try and vilify and defame in the hope that maybe what he is writing will disappear."
*
From SDS to Life After Capitalism: Z Mag Founder Michael Albert on Activism, 'Parecon' and a Model for a Participatory Society
It's a question that's been posed to social movements for years. We know what you oppose, but what's your alternative? Michael Albert is considered one of today's leading thinkers on that very question. He has been writing and speaking on his concept of an economic and social vision for decades. Albert is founder of Z Magazine and its sister website Znet, as well as co-founder of South End Press.
Nuts! Typo in one address I posted above, left off an "a".
Mark Green
mgreen@airamerica.com
Sorry!
Lee Raeburn is doing great.
"Alice said...
On DN today:
Noam Chomsky Accuses Alan Dershowitz of Launching a "Jihad" to Block Norman Finkelstein From Getting Tenure at Depaul University"
tanks A.!
was wondering when they'd get to part two.
"Alice said...
On DN today:
Noam Chomsky Accuses Alan Dershowitz of Launching a "Jihad" to Block Norman Finkelstein From Getting Tenure at Depaul University"
tanks A.!
was wondering when they'd get to part two.
More on
Windscale as it was called.
There was a great movie on the subject, called "Edge Of Darkness", with Bob Peck, Joanne Whalley, Joe Don Baker and a lot of other great actors.
Correction - not a movie, but a mini series.
I have turned to music in the morning. I just can't listen to any talk radio now that our Sammy is off the air.
Even James Taylor can't fill the void though... sigh
The second thing we’ll be doing is being very smart about new media, digital media, Internet media because, while it costs X dollars to have good hosts on a box called radio, we’ve got to think outside the radio box and distribute that same content—it already exists—on the Internet by people streaming, download it onto iPods, satellite it around, videocast it so it’s on cable or your cell phone next. So we’re going to be working very aggressively to distribute our wonderful programming in a way that can make money in these other platforms.
~Mark Green, who shitcanned a show with great streaming numbers.
I, too, think Sam is terrific and was eager to keep him on air.
~Mark Green, explaining why he took Seder off the air.
I'm devoted to keeping Air America as the leader in progressive talk
~Mark Green, explaining why he replaced a progressive host with a self-proclaimed "libertarian" one.
Sources:
From the desk of Mark Green
TruthDig - Saving Air America
-----------------
Mike Malloy on Air America:
http://www.morningseditionists.com/media/malloySeder.mp3
-----------------
SEDER's being incredibly gracious about the situation. Me, I'm not feeling so generous.
virginia tech is holding a memorial service this afternoon for the victims of the shooting. as if the ghost of terry schiavo was calling, its been reported that president custer and eva braun will be attending.
tell me this isn't political theatre...
Jon Benjamin, Actor and Comedian
Jon Benjamin started performing in Boston in the early 90's with comedian Sam Seder before getting involved with the David Cross lead Cross Comedy. Since then, he's been a fixture of comedy in all mediums. Home Movies, Wet Hot American Summer, and the popular live revue Tinkle are amongst his many credits. Gothamist sat down with Benjamin to find out more about this highly saught after comedic talent.
What's a typical day like for you?
Read the Huffington Post and have lunch with Todd Barry.
How much time do you dedicate every day to writing?
It varies. I don’t really write just to write. It depends on what’s going on. I did write a haiku about Daisuke Matsuzaka this morning.
What would be your ideal project?
I would like to live on a hang glider with Richard Branson for a year.
What are some projects that you're currently working on?
Right now, I’m working on a cartoon for Superdeluxe with my friends Matt Hall and Patrick Borelli called Thunderpoint. We’re producing three episodes that more specifically renders your next question moot.
Do you plan on getting involved in online programming, like Superdeluxe? In the future, which medium do you think people will look to for comedy?
Ha. Told you. In the future, there will be very little comedy left, except for that ‘Tater Salad’ Guy who’s brain will be preserved. But, there will be fuck powder, so it will balance out.
In a previous interview, you said that you started writing at sixteen. What was your writing like at the time and how did you develop that skill at a young age?
I wrote extremely pretentious poetry. In my last years of high school, I ran with a very poetic crowd. I started reading Blake, Keats, Tennyson, Rossetti, the pre-Raphaelites and I wrote poems ripped off from them with titles called, “The Tear” and “Stone Fields”, which regrettably was about a cemetery.
Were you often injecting humor into your school assignments?
I did write a college essay once where the question was, “Who would want to have lunch with and why?’ and I wrote this long essay about me wanting to lunch with Hitler and we would go to this swank outdoor restaurant we would have this wonderful lunch and in the end I would point and say, "Adolph, look," and he would turn around and I would slip poison in his drink. I did not get into college.
You mentioned being bullied often growing up. How did you deal with bullies and what advice can you offer to someone being bullied right now?
I mainly tried to befriend them. But, for every bully that tried to destroy me, there was another bully who would protect me from that bully. Bullies have a hierarchy too. It was akin to prison. I was anybody’s bitch. If I had to give advice, I would say give your bully something really confusing. Go up to him one day and hand him a savings bond and say, "hey. It’s not cash, but it’s an investment for the future. It will appreciate in value and in like ten years, this will be worth like two hundred bucks."
You had mentioned that your first foray into live comedy was with Sam Seder. What direction was your life going in prior to that?
I was going to graduate school in Chicago for history and was desperately trying to stay in school forever. Overall, I think college was a mixed bag for me. I wanted to be an intellectual without putting in the work, like reading. I wore an Albert Camus t-shirt. If I met me then now, I would date me for a week, then punch me in the face.
What sort of acting training do you have? Did you do any sort of performing in high school?
None and no. I used to tape record interviews with people. That was my only outlet in doing anything creative outside of drinking and playing tennis.
What are some things, perhaps films, people, events, etc, that have influenced your comedic sensibility?
Woody Allen was huge influence, but someone that influential can often have negative effects. It took a long time to not just emulate him and to try and create humor out of my own experiences. Then, I started getting into David Letterman and copied him. I never learn.
What are some topics or subjects that you find yourself often returning to for humor?
I have a son now so it is convenient to exploit him as a topic.
What do you think of physical and slapstick humor? What's one of your favorite old time gags or routines?
Modern comedies are so slapstick heavy, it’s hard to be a fan. I mean, watching trailers for comedies now is literally like watching something hitting somebody’s balls for three minutes. And pepper spray. When does that gag get old? Sometimes it’s both in one scene. But, as a kid, of course, I liked physical comedy a lot and I have to say, the Jackass stuff makes me laugh. Those guys are the best practitioners of slapstick and physical humor in my opinion. I thought the opening of the Jackass movie was one the grandest Slapstick comedy scenes ever filmed. (Sorry Buster Keaton and Jacques Tati)
On the 16th of April, you'll be doing a show called Grouch Club. Do you consider yourself a grouch?
I am often irritable.
What ticks you off?
Ticks bother me. People with ticks. Ticking bothers me. Clocks are such a pain in the ass. Democracy irks me.
How do you deal with stress?
I wish I had more positive ways to deal with stress, I internalize a lot. I can perform auto-fellatio, so that helps sometimes.
Check Jon out tonight, April 17th, at Here's The Thing at The People's Improv Theater.
i've been exposed to so much corporate baffleglabble in my life that when i see it my hypocricy warning signal goes off like a back up beeper.
I hear ya, cat chew. I'm not feeling very generous about this either.
Mark Green only cares about the 92 affiliats that Lionel brings. Ok, lovely. I hope the little hard on he's sporting for those works out well for him.
So why does that mean that Sam loses his show? That's the part that gets me. What...AAR can't have two shows in that timeslot? Remember how they did that for a while with The Al Franken Show and the Thom Hartmann Program? Both were available for streaming at the same time, and different affiliates had picked them up. I used to go back and forth between the two of them depending on access, the line-up, and my mood (never missed Joe Conason Fridays though ;-).
So why can't AAR do that with this time slot? Those of us who really care about good coverage of current events can tune into Sam, and those of us who want pithy nonsense disguised as real discourse can tune into Lionel.
Am I completely missing something here? I'm no expert on radio so maybe I'm just talking nonsense (again ;-)
And yes, I do know how to spell "affiliates"...just not when I'm feeling all angry and worked up, apparently... :-P
http://ltradio.blogspot.com/2007/04/air-americas-mark-green-responds-to.html
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Air America's Mark Green responds to criticism from Seder's fans
so would someone who's know please tell me whether aar is doing a new show with lionel or whether they are simply going to piggyback on his current show?
keiran said...
Oh my god....do you guys think it was the Ed shultz thing that got our Sammy fired?
from Melanie:
Are there rumors? Quite frankly, if they are going to boot somebody, they ought to dump Schultz and put Sam in his slot. I can barely stand listening to Schultz during my lunchtime errand drive.
blah blah blah: It appears AAR wants to keep their audience in the dark. It is stupid to still have "Sam Seder Show" up on their website for this time slot.
sunshine: thanks for the comment about the campaign to keep Mike Malloy. Guess they really do NOT care about their loyal listeners - and what is this insincere comment from Green about promoting progressive causes? Hogwash!
Just got XM so I could listen to Air America since radio in my area sux and I was hooked on Sam the first week and very excited about the programming. Now I am disappointed and mad and contemplating canceling my membership when it runs out.
We do NOT need LESS progressive, dumbed-down voices, we need MORE! Grrrr!
Melanie
eya Melanie!
what's missing
is that two way comm.
we're doing pretty good at
spreading the news and telling
it like it is. we create the space for hope.
this is all done in an effort to create a better world.
not bad for a buncha cat lovers, half ass comedians and semi-geeks eh?
Just posted at AAR:
Mr Green,
It looks to me like you're making the kinds of decisions needed to get Air America Radio out of the red. Changing Sam Seder's schedule was a smart move.
I've just renewed my membership.
sunshine: how did you know I was a cat-lover? ;)
Just read the piece on the ltradio site. Guess they know better about the biz that us poor schlubs. Have not heard this Lionel, but sounds pretty dumbed-down to me. And his website left me unimpressed.
I guess they are depending on people who like Randi Rhodes and Rachel Maddow (and I like Thom Hartmann, too, even though I know a lot of people think he's boring) to stay tuned in general. (But I adore Sam).
I know nothing about radio demographics, dynamics and all that crap, but doesn't sound to me like the thousands of people who are upset about the Sam dump will be tuning into Lionel. Perhaps it doesn't matter to AAR execs as long as they tune in for other programs like Randi's. But why the hell couldn't they move him to another weekday slot is what I don't get, b/c he is obviously very, very popular!! Bring him back!
Melanie
free choice is what it's all about,
even for anon's.
Pro Lionel: 1% (4 posts) Now 5?
Indifferent: 2% (7 posts)
Keep Sam on Daily: 97% (301 posts)plus a few more PO'ed sammy fans?
Mr "I've just renewed my membership" could just be saying that too.
a bit of the troll spam look to it.
no discussion, just a blurt.
convenient eh?
i want to do a scene where we have "The Sockpuppet Theatre!"
punch and judy stage.
well Mel...
this is the primitive stage of the global internet/radio community.
things are still kinda klunky and disorganised, and data access is just evolving into something useful.
the "art" of it is cutting edge though and usually hangs out here quite a bit.
the old paradymes eventually sluff off like a snakeskin.
And, oh yeah, according to that ltradio site, we are just a small band of loyal listeners, but not large enough to garner more sponsors. So screw the lot of us.
I really want to see the demographics on this. How large is the Sam Seder base vs. the Lionel (or someone similar) base? Or what are the NYC Lionel listenership numbers vs. the Sam Seder listenership numbers (both radio and podcast)? And what research have you done to come to the conclusion that Lionel will beat out Seder's show?
I want to see the numbers, Mr. Green, so we can affirm for ourselves just how small of a radio market we are. By the way, I'm from BIG RED STATE SC!
Melanie
sunshine: I believe Mr. Green may not yet have a grasp of the growing influence of the blogosphere. He tosses us a bone in saying that Seder's Sunday show will focus on this, but that's not enough. The progressive blogosphere is re-shaping the media and politics and someone as talented and well-informed on this aspect of the media as Sam Seder is should be pooh-poohed by AAR only at their peril. They will lose a pearl to some smarter, more forward-thinking outfit and kick themselves for it.
Melanie
Cat Chew said...
I, too, think Sam is terrific and was eager to keep him on air.
~Mark Green, explaining why he took Seder off the air.
April 17, 2007 12:09 PM
lol
well
i argued for access to all of that here.
you could tell how many were signed in for the AAR websites from a left side counter but that was it.
we dug out all the other specs eventually.
this bloggie has been smashed to the dirt many many times.
but it always comes back on it's own merits.
we actually talk to each other.
It alllll began with a beatiful young thing named Emily Hilscher.
The shooting rampages almost always begin with a woman... I wrote it here two years ago. I'm writing it now.
*beautiful
I'll write it grammatically now:
The cause of most shooting rampages is usually sexual frustration.
corporate 'air kisses'.
agendas swimming along like barracudas...
"what agendas?"
... if you reverse the object and subject there, you have a grammatical sentence
Wow, Michael... you're not even high
eya Michael
the self-snark
is treasured here.
Dittos for Sam Seder
//
STFU Gare.
Mark Green caught a lucky break that he's got a MONTH before "Lionel" comes to the air.
LeBron (his real name) is a libertarian, and staunchly ANTI-gun control laws.
Imagine if he had started THIS week?
Anarchist Assembly, 65 Fifth Ave The New School Room 212 - Sunday April 15 4:00 pm until 8:00 pm
Alice said...
Anarchist Assembly, 65 Fifth Ave The New School Room 212 - Sunday April 15 4:00 pm until 8:00 pm
April 17, 2007 3:06 PM
If they're anarchists....shouldn't they show up in ANY room at ANY time they like?
Rather than allow themselves to be DICTATED TO by authority figures?
LOL!
Yeah...that might be funny...
if it were funny...
Yeah...that might be funny...
if it were funny...
it IS funny...to a Lizard Brain.
Well I no longer listen to AAR on XM in the after-10 slot, or in the AM Drive slot, or in the Franken slot. I'm mad as hell that I have to bolt myself to my computer to hear Thom Hartmann live. I can't get interested in the Young Turks or that after 10 guy. I like the week-end shows but I get them on podcast.
I'm just pissed off. I pay for podcasts, and the worthy for pay podcasts were just reduced by 15 hours a week. I love sat. radio, but I liked Sirius better. Sorry for the unrelenting crabbiness, but I can't move for pushing a screw in deeper.
new thread up and running!!!
My husband and I both miss you, Sam!
Well, in the interest of fairness, I went to his site & tried to listen to a Lionel podcast - he lost me as soon as he repeated the stupid meme that a lot of people hate Al Sharpton coz of Tawana Brawley >= P
& he has a voice like Witchypoo = S
I have a terrible hunch that 'Lionel' will be another Springer on the Radio - just not as kind-hearted as Jerry......
Post a Comment