When News Reports Become Editorials

THEORA: Since when has the news been entertainment?

MURRAY (puzzled): Since always.

~ Max Headroom, 1987

Liars (read: journalists) would be in the eighth circle of hell according to Dante:

http://www.danteinferno.info/circles-of-hell/

Carry on.

Here's one story that will not get reported:

Obama accepts 'Osama bin Laden' donations

WASHINGTON – Using a Pakistani Internet Protocol and proxy server, a disposable credit card and a fake address, “Osama bin Laden” has successfully donated twice to Barack Obama’s presidential re-election campaign.

The “Bin Laden” donations, actually made by WND staff, included a listed occupation of “deceased terror chief” and a stated employer of “al-Qaida.”

More . . .

Main story: Good King Obama is focused on helping the people, not dwelling on politics.

What, no photo op with the guards at the tomb of the unknown soldier? They are there rain or shine, unlike the one. But that would be bad press, hope he catches cold.

Oooh, just look at our brave Prez striding boldly through the rain to demonstrate his resolve in protecting the folks from dat big wind!

Forget Benghazi! Our Prez is on the job,for you and me! He's WET for Krise'sake, doesn't that mean anything to you heartless Republicans?

Lord,give me strength.

The heartless Romney/Ryan campaign have not only lent a bus for hurricane aid but have also suspended phone calls in the affected areas, unlike Good King Obama who has opted to continue because people need to hear his reassuring voice:

http://tiny.cc/286ymw

45 years ago a cow (j)urnalist couldn't get it rite, nothing has changed

'ok' is a fan of Ghostbusters. Now I've seen everything.

He's mightier than pooperman,

He's gonna save NYC single handedly with his cell phone and gold toothed smile, just watch and see.

By next week NYC will again be trading on the NYSE and little old ladies will sit in central park, don't doubt him for a minute.

I'm sorry east coasters, but the news is yelling like you have never had a storm, ever.
And your President is doing his best to act the part.
What a fake.
Are you that fake?
I know you tend to exaggerate and have a turn towards hyperbole.
But are you really that clueless?
d

Damn left media makes me sick!! I hope and prey that our friends to the south see past the media lies and distortions and vote for Romney. This is no longer just a Presidential election, this is an election over the incompetence and dishonesty of the media.

Anyone giving odds against this sooper-dooper hurricane lasting at least another week or so?

LOOK, there's a Squirrel!

All Obama has to do now is look concerned and promise the moon. The MSM will do the rest to make sure he coasts all the way to Nov.6. No Benghazi to gain traction. Sandy was lousy timing.

Posted by: peterj at October 30, 2012 2:30 AM

A few hundred thousand internet shills are not going to beat a one hundred and fifty odd million Conservatives.
Obama is going to get cooked blacked as his half-way crook ass.
d

"this is the moment , when the seas ceased to rise, this is the moment when the planet started to heal"

an ego bigger than Sandy but with an amateur.

NYC has gone black/dark, no pun intended.

How the hell they gonna watch ABC news?

-

Yesterday someone told me this storm would just be a river clean up?

Now I'm thinking I would rather survive a Cat 3,
100 miles from a SC beach,
than live in a dark, 13 foot storm surged city.

God Bless those that stayed.

Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job...

Based on this, dear peasants,
who are you going to vote for?!?

-

Sorry Dear Leader,

but I voted for Romney-Ryan last Monday.

-

Abused Media Headlines- Nov. 7, 2012.

"Massive Act of God Cost Obama Election."

Someone needs to get that poor president a golf cap.

Fearless leader I'm hammered on Vodka Tonics and you still make Absoulute no seance to me are you a liberal? or just too stupid for making sense?
Whatever
d

Obarry is going to stop "Sandy" by giving a speech... "I stopped Sandy"... right up there with the Gettysburg address... Nauseating!

Here in Australia, just as the storm was hitting the coast (and whilst our ABC kept repeating that the president had suspended his campaign) I received both a begging e-mail from Michelle and a request to hit the ’phones to back the president.

So, the good news is, who's going to go out in this deluge and buy a newspaper anyway? We already know that hardly anyone watches the CBC and that viewer share for the other alphabet networks is waning.

Anyone who's moved by bareheaded Barry walking in the storm's already stuck on stupid. I figure there are enough skeptics and downright Obama-denigrators who can see through this charade: He'll be returning to the penthouse at the Mandarin Oriental because only ultra-first-class luxury will do for this classless ass.

Yeah Dwight,

I'm a liberal voting twice for Romney,
does that turn you,
or your sock puppet on?

This is when the rise of the oceans began to recede...

Oooo! Thank you Daniel Ream for bringing back fond memories!

I suspect that after this election, the LSM will have disgraced itself to the point where we can offer another Max Headroom quote:

Max: "Hello, and welcome to Network 23! The network where two's a crowd, and three's an audience!"

I'm surprised Obummer wasn't up in the crane, taking the brake off, before it went for a twist in the wind...or emptying the sh*t bucket while he was there.

I thought I read somewhere that the sequestration, under Obama, would cut funding to FEMA like it's done to Defense.

I'm trying to recall where I read it.

Listening to CNBC yesterday moring, Jim Cramer was saying the only traffic on the highway was convoys of power company trucks coming in from the southern states. He remarked, "This time could we please let them work, and not have them sitting around due to union stuff like last time?"

The one area where Obama could actually be useful, and won't be.

By the way, I surveyed the Phantom Compound this morning for damage from the Biggest Storm In Living Memory, which according to the maps tracked right over during the night.

Tragically, one of my trees has lost some bark and there is water in the ditch. I saw a tree limb on somebody's front lawn too. Oh, the humanity.

Is the storm as bad as they say it is? Just from the pic it would appear that the wind isn't all that hard--the rain drops aren't horizontal and the foliage in the background don't appear to be affected by the wind. And a scrawny guy like Obama is actually able to stand without having to lean into the wind.

This guy stopped the rise of the seas, and healed the planet, what is a hurricane to the messiah? This should be as easy as Suzuki saving Santa, child's play for a leftie. All storm all the time the media frenzy is sickening, never let a crisis go to waste.

Phantom,

The unions need Obama to win. Last time was all politics, the Democrats in Louisiana's state government wanting Bush to look bad. (Trust me, they didn't care about the 9th Ward either. Making union scale meant you didn't have to live there.)

Also, Manhattan bankers want their lights back on. The poor souls in Katrina's path were generally normal people who feared the Lord and worked for a living. They weren't high on anybody's priority list. Manhattan bankers "loan" money to choice presidential candidates to make lifwe easier for themselves, and if they ever wanted their money's worth they'll demand it now. Their mistresses' toy dogs are afraid of the dark, and the lady who normally cleans up after them won't be able to make it in for a few days even if all goes well.

Expect the lights to be back on in no time.

(I know you don't like me that much, Phantom, but I'm rather fond of you. So I'm glad to hear you're safe and sound. God be thanked.)

The Glengarrian at October 30, 2012 8:24 AM

I saw before and after pics of that crane. Looks like it was boom high into the wind with the swing brake on. It should have been boom down, swing brake off...No?

Osumashi Kinyobe: "Liars (read: journalists) would be in the eighth circle of hell according to Dante"

Right, so Romney didn't say, when asked at the June 13, 2011 CNN Republican primary debate about federal vs. state roles in emergency management and disaster relief, replied "Every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, that’s the right direction. And if you can go even further and send it back to the private sector, that’s even better...We cannot--we cannot afford to do those things without jeopardizing the future for our kids."

"The heartless Romney/Ryan campaign have not only lent a bus for hurricane aid but have also suspended phone calls in the affected areas..."

Right, because what emergency workers and devastated local residents most want to see coming down the road in the immediate aftermath of disaster is a bright blue and white Romney/Ryan campaign bus...

Meanwhile, the Romney campaign has cancelled a political rally scheduled for today at the James S. Trent arena in Kettering, Ohio, where Romney was to deliver a short speech, and instead has announced that Romney will be attending a "storm relief event" at the James S. Trent arena in Kettering, Ohio, today, where he will be delivering "brief remarks."

Curious: "I thought I read somewhere that the sequestration, under Obama, would cut funding to FEMA like it's done to Defense."

That's true, $878 million as part of the Budget Control Act of 2011.

Of course, you'll recall that that Act and its current threat of sequestration, which both Pres. Obama and House Speaker Boehner have vowed to try to avert, came about solely because a small band of Tea Party Republicans turned a routine debt ceiling increase vote – which is normally a procedural formality that has no direct bearing on the federal deficit or debt, and which was passed without incident 18 times under Reagan, eight times under Clinton, seven times under GW Bush, and twice previously under Obama – into the debt ceiling crisis, threatening to push the US into a historical default unless its terms were met, compromise or financial turmoil be damned.

Perhaps you are also thinking of Paul Ryan's House-passed budget proposal, which would have cut the "Community and Regional Development" section of the federal government – the one containing funding for FEMA – by 41% next year?

... turned a routine debt ceiling increase vote – which is normally a procedural formality that has no direct bearing on the federal deficit or debt...

Baawwahahahahahaha....no direct bearing on federal deficit or debt...bawahahahahaha, you slay me old couch!

syndrodox -- does your current credit card limit have any direct bearing on how much of a balance you currently carry on it from month to month?

No, I didn't think so.

Or as the GAO puts it, "The debt limit does not control or limit the ability of the federal government to run deficits or incur obligations. Rather, it is a limit on the ability to pay obligations already incurred."

syncrodox at October 30, 2012 10:01 AM

Suppose to leave the brake off...the crane behaves like a weather vane then and can move in the wind without resistance...
I would not want to be anywhere near that dangling menace.

All accounting tricks aside, raising the debt ceiling does have a real impact on debt and deficit. We could go in circles all day splitting hairs here Davenport but I have to go and get some work done as I don't have a credit card.

"...I have to go and get some work done as I don't have a credit card" -- which helps explain why you don't understand what the debt ceiling is and isn't.

Davenport quoted Romney thusly: "Every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, that’s the right direction. And if you can go even further and send it back to the private sector, that’s even better...We cannot--we cannot afford to do those things without jeopardizing the future for our kids."

Davenport, what is your specific objection to the statement you quoted? Romney calling for a smaller federal government with lower taxes, how exactly is this a problem?

Do you think state governments can't be trusted with disaster management? Do you think only government can do things? Do you think the USA can keep spending more than it takes in forever?

Or are you trying to make some convoluted debate point with no connection to real things like water-filled tunnels and downed power lines?

Inquiring minds want to know.

DickSlater said: "I know you don't like me that much, Phantom, but I'm rather fond of you."

That's nice. Tell you what, try not talking like a 1930's fascist for a while and I'm sure we'll get along better.

Less government, less intrusion Dick. Not more of it with a different coat of arms stuck on. Its fine not to like some kinds of people. Its not fine to advocate their destruction with your every utterance.

Hurricane Sandy is a RIGHT WING LIE BY FOX NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Every one knows Obama healed the Planet and slowed the rise of the oceans!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F-n3ZesNP8

*sarcasm*

Davenport wrote, "... does your current credit card limit have any direct bearing on how much of a balance you currently carry on it from month to month?"

That isn't the situation with Congress so the analogy doesn't really work.

The problem with the debit ceiling is that Congress was carrying a large balance and needed more funds so, to carry the analogy, it was asking for an increase to its credit limit so it could charge more.

My credit limit may not drive how much of a balance I carry from month to month, but Congress doesn't think and budget like I do.

The Phantom: "Do you think state governments can't be trusted with disaster management?..."

Are you really posing that as a yes/no question, as though one can only think either that state governments can be trusted with disaster management, or that they can't? Sorry, my worldview unfortunately includes room for nuance, complexity, elaboration, and so forth, which means I can’t really answer your question in the way that it’s posed.

I will say this, though: like many people who don't instinctively and blindly oppose anything that they think is connected to "government", I think there is a definite role for federal/national involvement in a country's disaster management system, particularly where the disaster in question spans jurisdictional boundaries. (The thing is, so do you, or did you actually disapprove of PM Harper's visit to Slave Lake, AB, last year to tour the devastation caused by the massive wildfire and announce that the feds had responded to Alberta's call for assistance by providing essential items such as generators, beds and blankets from the National Emergency Stockpile System?)

You seem to be the only one who thinks it’s a matter of trust; everyone else agrees it’s a matter of logistics, resources, capacities. State governments – even Republican ones – routinely recognize that their ability to respond in the immediate aftermath of a disaster is often limited, and that in those situations, the federal government can and should marshal its considerable resources to lend assistance to those who need it. In fact, here’s what Gov. Christie had to say just this morning: “I have to say, the administration, the president, himself and FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate have been outstanding with us so far. We have a great partnership with them.”

Do you even know how FEMA works? Are you aware that it intervenes in state-level emergencies only when the governor: (1) determines that some recent or looming disaster has exceeded local or state capacity to respond on its own, (2) declares a state of emergency, and (3) formally requests that the federal government and FEMA step in to help coordinate the response and provide resources and funds. In what way does that protocol, which is entirely state-driven, betray a belief that "state governments can't be trusted with disaster management"?

And given that FEMA already exists to assist state governments only if and when they request it, exactly what does Romney (or you, for that matter) mean when he says, when asked about the role and funding of FEMA, that it’s “the right direction” to “take something from the federal government and send it back to the states”? Oh right, it was a Republican primary, and he was considered the “moderate” candidate going in, which meant he especially needed to pander to the Republican conservative base. Which meant parroting the idea of smaller federal government at every opportunity, regarding of context or nuance. Which meant responding to debate questions with answers that make no sense, like declaring that FEMA’s mandate (i.e., to assist local and state authorities and first responders during disasters) should be “taken from the federal government and sent back to the states” (meaning that local and state authorities should assist themselves during disasters?), or raising the idea that disaster management should be privatized (“We’ll pluck you and your family from the roof of your flooded home…for only $9,999.99!”).

Poorly performing presidents come and go. Hopefully this one will go sooner rather than later. But the root cause, The Malfeasant Media, has been lingering like an antibiotic resistant case of VD.

What the hell is Governor Christie doing? Giving Obama kudos for the handling of the storm. Geezuss. Solomon on P+P is all giddy.

Davenport, Romney has shown and been shown consistently as a human being, unlike Obama whose handshake has been described as "a dead fish". As for disaster relief, why not give it to individual states so that they can tailor it to the state's specific needs?

"Davenport, Romney has shown and been shown consistently as a human being..."

It speaks volumes that you feel it necessary to insist that Romney is, in fact, "a human being."

"As for disaster relief, why not give it to individual states so that they can tailor it to the state's specific needs?"

Because you can't predict disasters. If you could, then yeah, you could precisely divvy up FEMA's budget by state, knowing that it's Oregon but not California who'll be rocked by that 8.3 magnitude earthquake later this month and Arkansas and Missouri, but not Oklahoma, who will be experiencing devastating floods next May.

Since you can't, though, then it kinda makes sense to have in place a body with a national scope -- i.e., a federal body -- whose primary purpose is to direct disaster relief support to affected individual states/regions as needs arise, tailored to that state's/region's specific needs and the disaster's particular challenges.

Seriously, do you really hate government so much that you are blind to the basic logic behind this arrangement? Or perhaps it's pride or some other ego defense mechanism that's behind your intransigence?