When the right blames the media for economic insecurities
Posted March 2nd, 2008 at 1:17 pm
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For the last several years, the conservative line on the economy was
relatively straightforward: the economy was great, but the mean ol'
mainstream media refused to tell anyone about it, in part because news
outlets were obsessed with Iraq.

Now, apparently, the conservative line has shifted. The economy, they say,
is still great, but the mean ol' mainstream media has confused people into
thinking that the economy is souring.

Today on NBC's "Meet the Press," host Tim Russert pointed to a new CNBC
poll showing that 83 percent of the American public rates the U.S. economy
as only fair/poor. Right-wing strategist Mary Matalin tried to brush off
that number, stating that most Americans are nevertheless happy about their
personal finances.

When liberal strategist Bob Shrum pointed out that her statement is false,
Matalin switched to the well-worn tactic of blaming the media for the
problem:

Blast from the Past: FDR's 'Hundred Days' Honeymoon - 1933
by Meteor Blades
Sun Mar 02, 2008
Hope and change. We've heard that seemingly inseparable combination rather
often the past 13 months from a man who would be president. Seventy-five
years ago this coming Tuesday, the man who had just become president
inaugurated a period of hope and change at a time when the nation was
desperate for both, and talk of revolution, dictatorship and the end of
democracy was rife on the street and among what today might be called public
intellectuals. The speech initiating that period, delivered by a man who
could neither stand nor walk without assistance, is now remembered mostly
for a rhetorically powerful turn of phrase: "So first of all, let me assert
my firm belief that the only thing we have...

"The real intentions of Euroislam must be concealed from the general
public." - Tariq Ramadan
_____________________________

source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23307666-7583,00.html

THE Swiss Islamic activist Tariq Ramadan has been invited by Griffith
University to be the keynote speaker at its conference opening in
Brisbane today.

The fact that Australia is allowing Ramadan to enter the country at
all will raise eyebrows in security circles elsewhere. Ramadan is the
grandson of Hassan al-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood: the
spiritual backers of al-Qa'ida and Hamas and whose goal is to Islamise
the world.

While it is, of course, unfair to tar someone with his grandfather's
views, there is ample reason to think that in the case of Tariq
Ramadan the apple has not fallen far from the tree.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/business/business-markets-global.html

Asia Stocks Savaged as Dollar Plumbs New Depths

Article Tools Sponsored By
By REUTERS
Published: March 2, 2008

Filed at 11:04 p.m. ET

HONG KONG (Reuters) - The dollar's slide deepened to a 3-year low
against the yen on Monday, and Asian stocks fell, with Tokyo's Nikkei
shedding 4 percent, burdened by growing fears about a U.S. recession
and more writedowns in the financial sector.

The dollar fell as low as 73.531 <.DXY> against a basket of six major
currencies, taking it to the lowest since the index was started in
1973.

It ploughed below 103 yen as Wall Street's sell-off on Friday prompted
an unwinding of the carry trade, where investors borrow currencies
with a low yield -- like the Japanese yen -- to buy high interest rate
currencies.

Asian markets tumble on Wall Street drop

SEOUL, South Korea - Asian markets tumbled Monday morning as investors
reacted nervously to a steep decline on Wall Street Friday after
disappointing economic and corporate news reawakened worries about a U.S.
recession.

Japan's benchmark index sank 4 percent, while Australia's market fell 3
percent and key indices in South Korea and Hong Kong were down nearly that
much.

Investors in Asia dumped shares after a series of depressing economic and
corporate reports Friday out of the United States - a vital export market
for Asia - sent the Dow Jones industrial average falling 315.79, or 2.51
percent, to 12,266.39.

The bad news included poor quarterly results from American International
Group Inc. and Dell Inc. and weaker-than-expected results on the Chicago
purchasing managers index.

In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index lost 4.01 percent to
13,057.09 points by midday.

--
+

“I Solemnly Swear...”
...And other bad language

© Bryan Zepp Jamieson
3/2/08
http://www.mytown.ca

Marianne Kearney-Brown lost her job the other day. It wasnÂ’t much of a
job; it was part-time, paid a lousy $700 a month, and consisted of
teaching basic math to the moronic offspring of well-heeled parents at
the local California State University.

She didnÂ’t lose her job because she abused a student for not knowing
that 4 x 3 = 3 x 4, or for not knowing that is the transitive property
of multiplication. ThereÂ’s no reason to believe she was anything other
than an excellent teacher. She didnÂ’t insert politics into her
arithmetic lessons, teaching, for instance, that odd numbers were
liberal and even numbers were conservative, and therefore that two odd
numbers always added up to one even number. ItÂ’s unlikely that her
syllabus gave her much opportunity to opine on the daemonic possession
of Charles Darwin.

How Come David Hartung Blindly Demands Facts About The Most Obvious
Things,
But When It Comes To Believing In A Guy With A Beard Who Lives In The
Sky
Who Fucked Mary To Make A Baby Jesus...

Suddenly All Of The Sudden Facts Don't Matter Anymore?

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/02/29/60minutes/main3894659.shtml

(CBS) On Tuesday, Democrats will hold primaries in two big states,
Texas and Ohio. The latter has long been a bellwether of American
politics, and no one has won the presidency without winning Ohio since
John F. Kennedy, nearly 50 years ago.

If Democrats had carried Ohio in the last two elections, they would
have won the White House, and Ohio voters will play a large part in
determining who the Democratic nominee will be in 2008 and, perhaps,
whether Hillary Clinton can keep her candidacy alive.

Correspondent Steve Kroft talked with Sen. Clinton and Sen. Barack
Obama as 60 Minutes followed their campaigns in Ohio this past week.

"I know your husband has said and other people have said you've got to
win these two states to stay in the race. Do you agree with that?"
Kroft asked Sen. Clinton.

"Well, I intend to. I intend to do everything I can to win them. And
we're doing well," Sen. Clinton replied.

"Do you like your chances of winning one of the two big primaries that
are next Tuesday?" Kroft asked Sen. Obama.

"I think we've got a good shot," the senator from Illinois replied.

Cute, but please continue embarrassing yourself kimmey by running away, and
I'll continue acknowledging & accepting your total & utter capitulation
regarding the substance of the arguments being debated

"Dan Kimmel" rcn.com> wrote in message
news:yK2dnYgTe8XQlVbanZ2dnUVZ_rvinZ2d@rcn.net...

Cute, but please continue embarrassing yourself kimmey by running away, and
I'll continue acknowledging & accepting your total & utter capitulation
regarding the substance of the arguments being debated

"Dan Kimmel" rcn.com> wrote in message
news:yK2dnYkTe8XQlVbanZ2dnUVZ_rvinZ2d@rcn.net...