It's been two days since this conversation and I am still in shock

[proud2BlibKansan]

On Thursday, a group of activists here in my city met with a reporter from our local newspaper. He told us he is 63 years old and has been a journalist for over 30 years. His current beat is our suburban area and the state capitol.

We met with him following an article he did about a banner drop at a local political event.

http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/story/232184.html

The reporter wanted to know why one of us was willing to risk losing his job to do this banner drop. He also asked us lots of questions about the local anti-war movement and how it has changed since the Vietnam War.

So we did a lot of complaining to him about the media and their refusal to tell the truth about the war. I said I think that is a MAJOR difference. In 1972, we had Woodward and Bernstein, who weren't afraid to report that our president was corrupt.

I told the reporter I had been to a conference recently where a CNN reporter said the media had dropped the ball on 3 major stories:
1. the 2000 election
2. the lead up to the war
3. the Downing Street Minutes

The reporter looked at me and said "The Downing what?"

I repeated "The Downing Street Minutes"

One of my friends said "They are also referred to as the Downing Street Memo"

The reporter said

"What's that?"

Like I said, this was on Thursday night and I am still just dropping my jaw. A fucking journalist who has been in the business longer than many of our soldiers in Iraq have been alive has no idea there is a smoking gun that PROVES bush and cheney lied to go to war.

We are in trouble, folks. If you want the war to end, if you want the president impeached, if you want anything to change in this country, we can't depend on our media. Like most of you didn't already know that.

Time to take to the streets if you aren't already there. The media ain't going to do it for us.

Here's a refresher course on The DSM. If you know any reporters, send them this link: http://www.downingstreetmemo.com/

See you on the streets!

[unhappycamper]

1. That sounds about right.

If it's not about Brittney or some whackjob taking off across the country, it's not important. These assholes have managed to dumb us down so folks do NOT hear and do NOT see what is happening.

[lonestarnot]

3. Shopping and gossip is much easier and more fun than educating ones self.

[proud2BlibKansan]

21. The theme of our local march on September 15

is 'Moving America from the mall'

We are marching around the area's largest mall to Senator Sam Brownback's office right down the street.

[lonestarnot]

31. Excellent!

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. He was really surprised that we disrupted our quiet little suburban area with this banner

Here is an article from the college newspaper. The covered it better than any of the local media.
http://ledger.jccc.edu/index.php

[barbtries]

64. thanks for the link

and i loved the quote that ended the piece. yay for the perp!

[proud2BlibKansan]

69. He is an awesome kid!!

I liked this quote:

Timi said he was taught in his classes at the college to stand up for his opinions.

[lonestarnot]

2. Watching Scott Ritter this a.m. on C-Span2.

We also may want to consider tactics in the peace movement and get back to following the money. What monies are received by our politicians and protest them for months as warmongers until they change their tunes. Why haven't we done this faithfully? Cut off the money from all directions.

[derby378]

4. ginbarn and I saw Scott Ritter in Dallas - he's a freakin' genius

We're watching him on C-SPAN 2 as well. He was brilliant in his description of the anti-war movement's apparent self-immolation. Poor Cindy Sheehan was expected to do everything, and on top of that, she "went off the reservation" by meeting with Hugo Chavez. The goal, now as always, is to sell the anti-war message to "the guys at the firehouse," and for the most part, that just hasn't happened.

[lonestarnot]

9. Silly us! It HAS to happen NOW!

[screembloodymurder]

19. Ritter is 100% right.

The anti-war movement needs a leader that understands politics and the press. The anti-war movement can't let itself be represented by anti-American publicity hounds.

[Divine Discontent]

81. why don't you just SAY it....

and then get off her ass. she did as much as anyone I've ever met to try to stop the war.

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. We have talked about doing that at our local task force meetings

Follow the money. Find out who their contributors are and more importantly - find out which parts of the military industrial complex our elected reps are making money off of.

[lonestarnot]

6. Zactly! Hit em hard. Every fucking day!

[proud2BlibKansan]

12. We need more banners

[lonestarnot]

29. And more people to stand in front of their businesses and hold them. People with voices.

[notadmblnd]

7. This is what I think the problem is with so many people

who have no clue as to what is happening. They are so caught up in themselves and their daily lives that they can't pay attention. And they won't until the policies this administration have implemented effects them.

So I don't bring it up until I hear them complain about their Dr bills or the price of food and gas, or the lack of jobs and quality education. Then my response to them is that they can thank their president for that. I've found that if you talk to them about the events of the past six years in that context, they become much more open minded and willing to listen.

[lonestarnot]

13. Well you know the interests then, so why can't YOU bring it up?

[notadmblnd]

24. because they don't want to hear it.

I can't tell you the number of people who haven't been affected yet that I've tried to talk to; they they don't want to discuss politics just like they don't want to discuss religion. But when their lives are touched personally by the policies; loss of job, lack of funding for college, or someone dear to them becomes a causality of this illegal war, once one of these issues interrupts the flow of their daily lives, then and only then do they pay any attention.

[lonestarnot]

28. So sad we have become so selfish.

[Hersheygirl]

57. You are so right on the money!!!!

They are wrapped in themselves and don't want to be bothered with what is happening to our world. I have been saying that for the past six years. I try to talk to my family and all they do is just give me that look that says, here she goes again.

The problem is that by the time they do wake up it will be way too late.

[proud2BlibKansan]

14. That's very true

but this was a reporter. You think he would follow the story. Sheesh.

[notadmblnd]

30. but it's the same for him. Does he normally cover national/world politics

or is he someone that reports a little of everything for a local entity? He's probably caught up in the demands that his employer, family and social life put on him. If he's like many people, he probably feels that there is not enough time in the day just to meet these demands. He has no time to think about anyone else or their welfare, that would put more demands on his time. Like I said, when something happens to interrupt the comfortable flow of what their daily lives have become, only when it presents a problem to them.. do they become interested.

[proud2BlibKansan]

32. Seems like regardless of his beat, he would be intellectually curious

He is a frickin reporter after all.

[TankLV]

36. I'M not a reporter and I take the fucking time to find out about things MYSELF...

That's his JOB for goddamn jeebus h kerist!

[12string]

118. Thats his job

Take a look around you.How many people where you work are
actually good or even excel at what they do?How often do you
get exemplary service from your doctor
,lawyer,taxman,waitress,letter carrier,etc.People that excel
in any field of endeavor are the exception,not the rule.

[treestar]

33. We all are

It doesn't take that much time to be aware.

As a reporter, it is surprising he hasn't come across this before. But he should know about it now, after having written the article and met the people he just covered.

[Clark2008]

122. Why?

Do you honestly think reporters are supposed to know everything?

I was a local reporter for 12 years. I didn't know all the ins and outs of national stories. My job was local stories. I knew some things, but if the national media, whose job it is to tell me these things, doesn't tell me, how would I know.

You need to put the blame on reporters who are supposed to be covering this sort of thing and not this guy.

[w8liftinglady]

10. That reminds me-I'll make this my next ltte topic

I love to enlighten closed-minded Republicans

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. Great idea and good luck

We also complained to this reporter that we had all written LTTEs and NONE of them had been printed.

[rodeodance]

11. DSM seldom mentioned in MSM-very possible he and others do NOT know.

[proud2BlibKansan]

17. His newspaper was picketed for DAYS when they refused to print the story

back in 2003. He didn't even know that. :eyes:

[lligrd]

15. So Many Pieces Of Evidence That The Majority Of People

don't know about. Most have never heard of the PNAC either.

[Smarmie Doofus]

18. The streets are no big whoop to them either:

>>>>Time to take to the streets if you aren't already there. The media ain't going to do it for us.>>>>

i.e. 10 million people protested around the world prior to the Iraq catastrophe... to no avail.

I'm more interested in ideas about forcing ( or shaping the media in such a way that it *reports*, does not "distort"; in other words, developing NEW media)the media to cover things factually and comprehensively.

The commercial media is exquisitely sensitive to economic pressure. More and more my thinking goes in that direction.

[proud2BlibKansan]

25. Well I don't give them my money as it is

What are you suggesting?

[Smarmie Doofus]

34. Well, organized economic boycotting ....

of targeted commercial media. In what way shape or form... I'm not exactly sure.

Perhaps, for example, extending to products made by parent companies ( e.g. GE for NBC) perhaps limited to advertisers that 'carry' the disinformation ( eg. McDonalds or whomever advertises on FOX).

Most of the media activism seems to be related to Watchdogging them ( FAIR, Media Matters) which is fine, but no one that I'm aware of , is organized around the principle of economic consequences for slanted, biased, non-factual, deliberately incomplete presentation of the 'news'.

I think the key words here are "organized" and 'targeted'. As is said... cartain media have shown themselves to be accutely sensitive to small scale economic threats in the past. Picking a 'soft' target initially... perhaps with the impetus of one particular incident or one area of egregious slanting of the news... might generate publicity throughout the whole industry.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

20. He's A Small Time Local Reporter. I Don't See Why This Is So Shocking.

He's not some national journalist who spends his time trying to break national stories. I think your expectations of him were a bit too high.

It is worthy of note, however; that he as a citizen( as well as many more amongst us) has not heard of the DSM. But that is far more due to the failings of our national media then it is due to this small time reporter.

[TankLV]

38. Oh for fucking christ sake - IT'S HIS JOB!

That's the main purpose of his JOB - if little "we" can do it ON THE SIDE ON OUR OWN TIME AFTER HOURS, then these fucking ASSHOLES SHOULD be doing it ALL THE TIME, ON THE JOB!

That's the whole fucking point!!!!

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

41. Actually, It's Not His Job.

He's a local reporter, not a national reporter. Are you under the impression that every journalist for every local paper in every city nationwide is supposed to be constantly digging up national breaking stories to perpetuate? How absurd.

This is the failure of the national media, not small time local town reporters. Get a grip.

[Subdivisions]

46. "How absurd." ... "Get a grip" <---- Geez, do you always have to

use inflammatory language?

Even if it he wasn't a reporter, he's a citizen and, as such, duty-bound to know what the hell is going on. The fact that he is a reporter and has access to resources you and I can only wish for just makes it all the more absurd that he didn't have a clue about he DSM.

[Moochy]

119. self-paid blog warrior

but he pays himself in OMC-bucks. Good for one self-congratulatory wank.

[mudesi]

50. That does not matter

It doesn't matter that he is a local reporter. His job description includes being knowledgeable about world affairs. An ignorant reporter is not a reporter at all.

[TankLV]

78. NO - IT IS HIS JOB GODDAMMIT. Period.

It's his JOB to know what goes on, local AND national AND world...

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

80. No, Really, It Isn't.

Sorry. :hi:

[Moochy]

120. Daily Struggle

how goes your daily fight against your demons, Logic, Reason and Truth (tm)?

[OzarkDem]

125. Actually, it is his job

According to established standards of journalism in the US. Unless he's writing a column for the local supermarket newsletter, he's expected to have a minimum working knowledge of world affairs.

Otherwise, he is not a journalist.

[Nevernose]

89. 10 years ago it wasn't his job

But in the age of the Internet, in the 21st century? Yes, I expect every single bush-league reporter (no pun intended) to at least keep track of the top 20 or 30 stories coming off the AP. If he had, he'd be aware of the DSM, like the rest of us. And I'm not a reporter, local or otherwise, I'm just some asshole who reads the blogs and has "miraculously" been right 98% of the time afterwards.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

22. Then think of Someone who Knows about the DSM and that they are grounds for Impeachment and

is Doing Nothing. John Conyers. That pisses me off!

[proud2BlibKansan]

26. Yeah me too.

I am OVER that man.

[OzarkDem]

126. What made him cave?

Conyers was moving along so well, investigating, showing leadership, doing his duty as a Congressperson. Then suddenly he did an about face, almost overnight.

I'm beginning to seriously question the average IQ of most of our Dem leadership in Congress these days. They're well connected people, but they're not very bright at all.

What would Harry Truman say?

[bigtree]

23. this is a fine argument for forwarding articles to local media

and not just assuming they've already heard the news and info

[proud2BlibKansan]

27. Oh I sent him some stuff

Not that it will make any difference.

[TankLV]

35. I am not a all surprised. MOST "journalists" are LAZY "READERS"

They are not in any way shape or form "journalists"...

They sit back and expect to be GIVEN the news to READ or TRANSCRIBE.

[proud2BlibKansan]

39. They are also told what to write about

I know another reporter who tells me all the time about stories he tries to write, only to have his editors refuse to print them.

[qdemn7]

110. Bingo!

THAT is the answer. Most journalists are lazy bastards who don't know shit about too may things.

[OHdem10]

37. As long as we continue to see DC as the Center of

Political Life--we will stay in the Doldrums.

Stop and think. How many people in US actually read
WaPo NYT WSJ etc.?

Example: How often do you heard? One campaign makes
an absolute false accusation against another campaign.
WAPO writes a serious article refuting the false accusations.
This only gets read by subscribers of WAPO.

Local News Organizations TV and Print---need to be accessed
and used.

DC is in a bubble and totally disconnected.

[Fading Captain]

40. People who aren't plugged into the Internet

Are far less likely to know about the Downing Street Memo. And it's not just the internet. Your average fantasy football guy probably doesn't know anything about it. You've got to frequent political sites to know, really.

[proud2BlibKansan]

42. Well I am sure I am not the only one who contacted the media

as well as my Congress reps about the DSM. We also picketed our local newspaper when they refused to cover the DSM.

[Fading Captain]

44. I'm not sure how big you local newspaper is

But they probably don't have the resources to cover the story in any reasonably accurate way.

[proud2BlibKansan]

45. It's the paper in Kansas City

It's a McClatchey paper (used to be Knight Ridder) and it serves a metro area of nearly 2 million people. It is definitely large enough and has the resources to cover the story.

[truedelphi]

49. Please don't give me that. I have done reporting

For a newspaper that HAS NO BUDGET for its reporters.

Still and all - we at The Coastal Post were the first newspaper to come out with
1) Global Warming - early 1995 and on
2) Family Court Corruption - 1998 and on
3) MTBE gas additive malfeasance - 1997 and on
4) Election jeopardy because of electronic machinery - March, April 2004 and on
5) The truth about the war - Downing Street memos, etc

Can't think of any other newspaper that had as its headlines "We The People Do Not Concede" for its January 2005 issue.

[Fading Captain]

60. Good for you

But newspapers I've worked at don't pay people to cover the Downing Street Memo.

And if you bring it up, you'l get laughed out of the staff meeting.

Sad? You bet.
But it's the reality.

[proud2BlibKansan]

70. That is horrible

Imagine if no newspaper had agreed to publish the Pentagon Papers. We'd probably still be in Vietnam ridding the world of communism.

[Fading Captain]

83. Stop bitching follow the conversation

THere are papers who have the resources to cover a Downing Street Memo.

THere are those who don't.

A Washington Post, LA TImes or NYT has no excuse for ignoring it.

A small daily in the midwest?
Yeah, I'm sure they're reporters will be on the phones calling Downing Street.

[proud2BlibKansan]

90. The Kansas City Star is not a small daily in the midwest.

It is a McClatchey (Knight Ridder) newspaper. Now if you were following the story, you would know that Knight Ridder was the only newspaper corp in the country that actually challenged the bush administration in the lead up to the war. And if you were following the conversation, you would know I already gave the name of the paper in the OP and I stated upthread it is a McClatchey newspaper.

And yes, they have the resources to cover this story. :eyes:

[Fading Captain]

105. Which is WHY I ASKED A QUESTION

Holy shite.

FOLLOW THE CONVERSATION ...

[proud2BlibKansan]

107. What question?

You have been condescending and downright rude. And YOU are the one not following the conversation.

[Divine Discontent]

82. this is true....

the only friend I have that knows politics out of many is a young lady, there is a man I have as a friend that knows some stuff, but I think at times he just pacifies me and really isn't listening. ALL my other 10-15 close friends have NO clue about this stuff, and I give up writing them about it all, because they NEVER say a word about it, like "woh, that's over my head", but most of them will gladly play fantasy football with me - of couse, I say Republicans suck every chance I get, so if they're going to so uneducated, maybe at least they'll just trust me enough to vote Democratic when they vote, which about 2/3 do.

[RandomKoolzip]

101. Kudos on the GbV-inspired name, sir!

Welcome to DU...always good to see another Guided by Voices fan on here (it gets lonely sometimes for us)

[femrap]

43. I talked to a DC

NBC cameraman who was visiting his family in Ohio about DSM when the blogs were screaming about it....and he didn't have a clue either.

edit for spelling

[tom_paine]

47. Ugh. The sad and ugly truth can reveal itself in a thousand ways

You have seen but one of them.

[truedelphi]

48. I feel that any "Take to the Streets"movement needs to center its focus

Not at marching peacefully to the City Hall or the State Capital but to the doors of the major media outlets.

If the 700,000 plus crowds that were in the streets in late winter 2003 had chossen to camp outside the media's doors, they'd have had to report the story.

[alcibiades_mystery]

51. It's because the DSM is not a smoking gun

and because few care about it outside the fringe left. That's a fact. You'd get the same reaction from 90% of the people, including journalists. It's a non-starter, and, quite frankly, it's a little embarrassing that so many DUers have cathected on to the stupid DSM.

[proud2BlibKansan]

54. The stupid DSM?

Gee I don't suppose you actually care to back that statement up?

[alcibiades_mystery]

55. You're right. I'm sorry

The stupid DSM movement.

Thanks for the correction.

[proud2BlibKansan]

56. Thanks for the intelligent and inciteful discussion!!

:eyes:

[alcibiades_mystery]

61. Thanks for the insightful spelling

That which is full of the will to incite: inciteful. You coined it; it's yours!.

Cheers! :-)

[proud2BlibKansan]

68. No I meant it the way I spelled it

Sorry you don't get it.

[alcibiades_mystery]

84. suuuuuuuuure ya did

:rofl:

[proud2BlibKansan]

92. Thanx for adding so much to my thread!

You articulate your views in a most mature fashion. :)

[alcibiades_mystery]

100. You're welcome

Salud!

[Raksha]

108. Stupid DSM??? Stupid DSM movement???

I think you just added yourself to my Ignore list. Considering that there are only two other people on it, that's really quite an accomplishment. It takes quite a bit for me to put a DUer on Ignore, but I think you're one of the rare few who made the grade. Congratulations!

[proud2BlibKansan]

112. I think I might join you on that

:)

[alcibiades_mystery]

124. B-O-O

H-O-O

[Name removed]

79. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[alcibiades_mystery]

85. I'm actually a radical leftist

I don't really use fringe in a continuum kinda way (like the Republicans I suppose you're accusing me of being, but not really having the balls to break the DU rules, so attempting it in this paltry and cowardly backhanded manner). When I say fringe, I'm really thinking of that piece that's frayed a bit past aesthetics or function.

Cheers, though. Thanks for the cowardly accusation! Really speaks to your character.

[proud2BlibKansan]

94. LOL you aren't fooling anyone

You call those of us outraged by the DSM "stupid" yet you claim to be a radical leftist.

suuuure you are

:rofl:

[alcibiades_mystery]

99. Oh, I am

Real leftists have the unfortunate tendency of having to rely on materiality, and having to weigh material effects. It's a Marxist thing.

But I see that you've taken up the cowardly accusations of your partner in La-la Land. Good on ya.

But, of course, you're not a leftist. You're a liberal, at least according to your screen name. These are very different things. I'm a leftist, but I would never want to be called a liberal.

[Name removed]

102. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[w8liftinglady]

52. one of the first ltte I sent was about this..

here's our discussion on DU 2years ago
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=3745690&mesg_id=3747944
I may reword it a little,since they have printed many more,unedited.

[BrotherBuzz]

53. There are 237 specific misleading statements made by Bush Administration officials

Perhaps you can enlighten "Skippy", your cub reporter about Rep. Henry Waxman's search engine.

Prepared at the direction of Rep. Henry A. Waxman, Iraq on the Record is a searchable collection of 237 specific misleading statements made by Bush Administration officials about the threat posed by Iraq. It contains statements that were misleading based on what was known to the Administration at the time the statements were made. It does not include statements that appear mistaken only in hindsight. If a statement was an accurate reflection of U.S. intelligence at the time it was made, it was excluded even if it now appears erroneous. For more information on how the statements were selected, see the full methodology. The Iraq on the Record Report is a comprehensive examination of these statements.

Iraq on the Record is searchable by the the five Administration officials most responsible for providing public information and shaping public opinion on Iraq:

President George W. Bush
Vice President Dick Cheney
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
Then-Secretary of State Colin Powell
Then-National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice

It is also searchable by issue area:

Iraq's Nuclear Capabilities
Chemical and Biological Weapons
Iraq and Al-Qaeda
Iraq as an Urgent Threat

It is also searchable by keyword, such as "mushroom cloud", "uranium", or "bin Laden."

http://oversight.house.gov/IraqOnTheRecord/

[tomreedtoon]

58. I don't think this was asked; what did he say THEN?

Expressing the political outrage is one thing. But what did he say next? Did he listen to you explain what the DSM was? Did he call back the day later?

This is one of the troublesome parts of incidents like this reported on DU. People express outrage that the reporter didn't know this or that - and they forget that this reporter was a human being who might learn profitably from this. In fact, up until the "What's that?" part of it entered into the discussion, he seemed rather sympathetic to you guys.

I am currently at Dragon*Con, the immense science fiction convention in Atlanta. There are people called "mundanes" who don't know who Mr. Spock is, who played Mr. Spock, what the difference is between Star Trek and Babylon 5. We geeks try to be patient with mundanes and explain the differences, and not go around hitting them with our Swords of Lightning +5.

Why can't progressives be at least that forgiving and courteous?

[niyad]

62. maybe because not knowing spock or kirk doesn't KILL people

[tomreedtoon]

128. But not giving a damn about PEOPLE...does.

And that was the point I was trying to make. Are you saying we should slather paint all over the cars with W stickers, spit at them, kick at their children as they leave Wal-Mart? Or...and I know this may be kind of revolutionary to you...should we try to understand why they voted for Bush, what their problems are, why they fell for the lies, and try to guide them back to the light?

A bigot is a bigot, whether left or right, racist or politically correct. And they don't win friends or influence people.

[proud2BlibKansan]

73. What did he say? NOTHING

And I do think this is a big deal. I guess that's obvious since I blogged here about it. If he had been just anyone who has spent the last five years watching American Idol and shopping, then not knowing about the DSM is not surprising. But this man is a JOURNALIST. It is HIS JOB to keep up with things like this.

[sandnsea]

59. Well DUH

goddammit. Local journalists get their news from the AP. If it isn't on the AP, or is reported as suspect by the AP, then that's what your local journalists will think.

Jesus.

I just want to bash my head against a wall.

Why do people think I've been suggesting the need for a strategy to get the truth to rural red voters.

:banghead:

[proud2BlibKansan]

74. Save some wall space for me

We can bash heads together.

[barbtries]

63. i read the story

apparently he didn't feel your views or the "news" of the downing street memo was worth reporting? you are so right, we are in trouble.

[proud2BlibKansan]

77. It pissed me off that he called the banner dropper a "perpetrator"

Like he is some kind of criminal.

[sarcasmo]

65. Corporate media Control and stupid reporters make evil twins.

[LibDemAlways]

66. One morning Maxine Waters was a guest on C-Span's

Washington Journal. A caller asked her to please give a short course on PNAC and how the neo-cons planned the invasion of Iraq long before the chimp was even selected. Her response: I'm sorry, I never heard of that.

It doesn't surprise me that a reporter isn't doing his job when we have representatives in Congress who know less than the average DUer.

[proud2BlibKansan]

75. I have told my own congressman many things he claimed he had never heard

Last time we met, I told him about bush's latest executive order to seize the assets of anyone 'interfering' with the 'peace' in Iraq. My congressman had not heard about that one yet.

[LibDemAlways]

98. You are fortunate to be represented by someone who

actually listens to you, even if he's not too up on current events. The moron who "represents" me is a vile repuke named Elton Gallegly who has been known to throw Dems out of his office. He's such a Bush toady that a rubber stamp would be just as effective, and a hell of a lot cheaper.

Still, it's a disgrace that people in Congress are oblivious to what's going on around them. They get to DC and are so busy cozying up to lobbyists that they forget why they're there and who sent them in the first place.

[proud2BlibKansan]

103. My rep is a blue dog Dem so he isn't much better than a republican

But hey, I feel your pain.

[windoe]

67. taking the 5th

If I hear one more person taking the 5th I'm gonna have a 5th of something

[in_cog_ni_to]

71. Well, that's just freakin' PATHETIC. He must be a FAUX Propaganda watcher.

That's the only explanation. How else could he NOT know about the DSM???? Doesn't he watch C-SPAN? John Conyers held a hearing on the DSM...fercryingoutloud! For that man to not know about the memo, means he isn't doing his job the way he needs to be doing his job. Does he have access to a computer? All he had to do is read the Internets news and he he would have heard about the DSM. Sheesh. That's truly frightening!

[proud2BlibKansan]

76. We have had an interesting email exchange since Thursday when we met with him

He is an arrogant old fool. I am thinking about contacting his editor since the paper refuses to print our LTTes.

[onewholaughsatfools]

72. i think the answer is clear

he has been in his job 30 years, he's old and has no interest in what he does, call it burn out, or whatever, he is one of what I refer to as the walking dead...

[grasswire]

86. I've got a worse story

Long, long ago, in 2002-3, I wrote to the nation's premier Washington reporter: Ron Fournier who covered the White House for Associated Press. It is the AP correspondent who gets the first question always, and who sits front and center in the briefing room.

I asked Fournier why it was that in stories regarding the possibility of war on Iraq, no mention was ever made of the fact that the Bush family profited off war through the Carlyle Group and its particular investments.

Fournier wrote back to tell me that he had never heard of the Carlyle Group, but he would look it up.

The LA Times WH correspondent also gave me the brush off. She said that she didn't hear any Democratic leaders making news about it. I pushed her a little bit on why the ghoulish conflict of interest in itself wasn't newsworthy. Nada.

[sandnsea]

91. Democratic leaders

And the only "Democratic leaders" the media listens to are the DLC and the Clintons.

[proud2BlibKansan]

95. Yes that is worse

You win! :)

[peacetalksforall]

87. He probably only watches Murdoch, GE, MS, TW, Disney, Viacom tv

[orleans]

88. kill me now. n/t

[Major Hogwash]

93. You can write letters to the editor and talk about the Downing Street memo as well.

That's what we have had to do here.
The newspaper won't do an article about it themselves.
So, we just write letters to the editor every month, once a month, talking about the Downing Street memo and mentioning a web site people can go to for more information.

Some of us were wearing "Downing Street Memo" t-shirts during the state fair as well.

[Gregorian]

96. It gets better. Listen to this.

I'm up in the mountains on my daily bike ride. There, on a trail, I run into this guy about thirty or so. We stop and say hi. It ends up he's a reporter for the local paper. He's not a dingbat. He's intelligent. And I can tell he's more liberal than not. I mentioned Sibel Edmonds. He givbes a total blank stare. He had no idea.

Yes, we are in trouble. The level of participation in our democracy is incredibly low. I was one of those. But not any more. Now how do we get everyone on board? I hope it doesn't take something like a crisis. I thought we were in a crisis now.

[Pierzin]

97. The Magnitude of Stupidity is - Just - Staggering!!!!!!

Proud2blib save me some wall space as well, because I am just flabbergasted at the sheer lack of curiousity that these people-who work in the News- are so UN-curious!!! It's one thing to not know anything about something, but when you see something out of the corner of your eye, don't you turn your head to get a good look at what it might be? That is the really shocking part of this story!

[proud2BlibKansan]

104. It is interesting that he seemed more interested in us and why we dropped the banner

than in the war and the lies that are so obvious by now.

[SoCalDem]

106. There are few if any "investigative reporters" or even fact-checkers these days

News organizations are merely regurgitators.. they take it off the "wire" and run with it.. Budgets have been slashed to the bone, and no one can afford to delve into complicated issues.. if it won;t fit in a commercial break pattern and allow time for Lindsay & Paris, some sports & weather, they are not interested..

[Swamp Rat]

109. k&r

kick ass proud2Blib!

:kick:

[proud2BlibKansan]

114. Thanks sweetie!

How ya been? :hi:

[riona]

111. Unbelievable

Now I wonder what CNN's reporting will be like after dropping Reuters?

[Vinca]

113. And they wonder why people turn to the Internets for news. nt

[shadowknows69]

115. I told as many people as I could about them when it first came to light

And it's like most of them didn't get it. Almost like instant denial. There's no way MY government could be that evil. The little "Patriot" switch goes off in the head orr something. Set off by microwaves from Fox News no doubt.

[Lars39]

116. "Each one teach one", has never been more urgent than now.

[happygoluckytoyou]

117. TONY SNOW HERE---

before i retire from my position with the president, i would like to make it clear that this entire fiasco, this "poster drop" thing, is unamerican, it is actually iraqi, and communist. to speak in public that way, to disrupt people and call their attention to the killing of 100,000s of foreign evil-doers, when all they wanted was a quiet evening listening to a couple speakers---i repeat UNAMERICAN... (and i will continue to repeat it until you believe me...don't laugh...it worked with iraq)

long live president bush

long live the republic

til death do we part

amen

[Clark2008]

121. Why would you expect a state beat reporter to know about a

national security memo?

Seriously, why? It's not his job to cover it and his counterparts on national newspapers whose job it is to cover the DSM haven't. Why would he necessarily know?

[proud2BlibKansan]

123. Because he is a reporter

and it seems like at the very least he would be intellectually curious about major events his profession covers.

The best comparison I can make is that I am an elementary special ed teacher. But I often read books and articles about early childhood education, high school and university level topics. None of those areas are my beat but I have an intellectual curiosity about what happens to my students before and after they are in my school.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

127. Shhhhhh!!!! The Obvious Shall Not Be Spoken!!!

Even small time local journalists are supposed to know everything about anything. Didn'tcha hear?

Oh, and by the way, I adore that picture in your sig line. Not just because of the adorable kids and heartwarming sentiment, but because of the message as well.