Yesterday I spent most of the cay cooking a big Christmas dinner, including ham, sweet potatoes, stuffing, broccoli and carrots hollandaise, cranberry sauce, rolls with garlic butter, and pumpkin pie. I enjoyed feeding three neighbors in the building, who are even less well off than I. I spent more time researching than usual, but came away with far less. It was a slow day for news. I’m current with replies. Tomorrow I have some paperwork to do and errands to run.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today it took me 4:05 (average 4:20. To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From NY Times: A Pentagon public relations program that sought to transform high-profile military analysts into “surrogates” and “message force multipliers” for the Bush administration complied with Defense Department regulations and directives, the Pentagon’s inspector general has concluded after a two-year investigation.
The inquiry was prompted by articles published in The New York Times in 2008 that described how the Pentagon, in the years after the Sept. 11 attacks, cultivated close ties with retired officers who worked as military analysts for television and radio networks.
This smacks of foxes absolving themselves of wrongdoing in their effort to guard the henhouse.
From MoveOn: Did Eisenhower Predict The End Of The GOP?
My answer to that is YES!
Cartoon:
16 Responses to “Open Thread–12/26/2011”
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Love your cartoons! How on earth do you do this? Would love to know if you will share.
John
uh oh, I’d like to know that secret too!
I sent John a message on C2, but the secret is the tools I use. I use Corel paint Shop Pro X4 for al;l the graphics I make. It does virtually everything Photoshop will do and costs way less.For Animations, I use Easy Gif Animator to combine frames created in PSP.
Yum, I wish I were your neighbor! Merry Christmas, Tom.
Thanks Leslie. Color yourself invited. 🙂
Sounds scrumptious! After doing all that work, I hope you have tons of leftovers.
I do. Most of the ham and half the pie.
3:15
Eisenhower had lots of good things to say. Today, he would be a liberal democrat.
I have often said that I wish for the days of Eisenhower! He may have been one of the greatest presidents of my memory – Kennedy might have surpassed him but wasn’t given the chance, but I long for the days of a moderate republican party that Eisenhower represented (aahhh the longings of the elderly!)
Ike is the first President I remember. I didn’t under5stand his warning at the time.
You’ll have another easy win, Jerry.
Republicans would not touch him today.
You are using your secret strategy on me. When you say I will have a easy time, I lose.
Jerry, that’s called Psyops!
Drat! Busted!! 🙁
Baby Bush styled public relations — TC, what a fabulous story and I think worthy of its own space! I enjoyed this so much I might have gotten a little carried away!
How easily we accept analysts such as these retired military officers as giving us the straight goods, as opposed to journalists who are paid to “report” and are often suspected of bias.
Is this the new “don’t ask, don’t tell” ?
From the article — “Some analysts acknowledge they suppressed doubts because they feared jeopardizing their access [to top administration officials who were vital to their new career positions in garnering Defence Dept contracts]. A few expressed regret for participating in what they regarded as an effort to dupe the American public with propaganda dressed as independent military analysis.”
Again, “don’t ask, don’t tell”!
From the article — Kenneth Allard, a former NBC military analyst . . . “I felt we’d been hosed.” Later Allard says “Oh, you have no idea,” describing the effect. “You’re back. They listen to you. They listen to what you say on TV.” It was, he said, “psyops on steroids” — a nuanced exercise in influence through flattery and proximity. “It’s not like it’s, ‘We’ll pay you $500 to get our story out,’ ” he said. “It’s more subtle.”
. . . Pentagon talking points operation. These records reveal a symbiotic relationship where the usual dividing lines between government and journalism have been obliterated.
Again, “don’t ask, don’t tell”!
Internal Pentagon documents repeatedly refer to the military analysts as “message force multipliers” or “surrogates” who could be counted on to deliver administration “themes and messages” to millions of Americans “in the form of their own opinions.” . . . The largest contingent was affiliated with Fox News, followed by NBC and CNN, the other networks with 24-hour cable outlets.
Another effort to dupe the American public with propaganda!
. . . One trip participant, General Nash of ABC, said some briefings were so clearly “artificial” that he joked to another group member that they were on “the George Romney memorial trip to Iraq,” a reference to Mr. Romney’s infamous claim that American officials had “brainwashed” him into supporting the Vietnam War during a tour there in 1965, while he was governor of Michigan.
On Aug. 3, 2005, . . . Mr. Cowan, who said he had grown increasingly uncomfortable with the “twisted version of reality” being pushed on analysts in briefings, called the Pentagon to give “a heads-up” that some of his comments on Fox “may not all be friendly,” Pentagon records show. Mr. Rumsfeld’s senior aides quickly arranged a private briefing for him, yet when he told Bill O’Reilly that the United States was “not on a good glide path right now” in Iraq, the repercussions were swift. Mr. Cowan said he was “precipitously fired‘.
Don’t ask, don’t tell. It is easier to receive forgiveness than to ask permission. Well sometimes anyway. However, my guess is that pink slip was done up, just not delivered, before Cowan went on the air.
. . . A spokeswoman for Fox News said executives “refused to participate” in this article. I wonder why they refused to participate? Could it be that they are in bed with the Republican/Teabaggers and they don’t want to expose themselves or their roll as the Republican/Teabagger’s propaganda wing? What better way to maintain some ‘objectivity’ for the minds of the sheeple. Or, maybe it’s just that they don’t want to expose their knickers!
So, who was the biggest whore in the cat house? I’d say the likes of Rumsfeld followed by Fox News aka Faux Noise.
I know there are penalties for misleading Congress when someone is testifying before a Congressional Committee, but is there a penalty that can be brought against Bush administration officials for lying to the American people? If there is, call me a pessimist, but I doubt it will ever be used because it would likely cause one hell of a lot of havoc. My guess is that there is such a level of deception within government, with and without presidential knowledge, that it would make ‘deep throat’ look tame. Hence why it is so important to listen carefully, to ask tough questions, think critically and not accept any pablum.
Eisenhower — “Should any political party . . . you would not hear of that party again . . . that believes you can do these things . . . Their number is negigible and they are stupid.”
Prophet, I don’t know but I’d bet he would never have thought he would be describing the Republican Party of the future. Let us hope that their games will be their undoing and that the Republican/Teabaggers will be relegated to the annals of history.
Cartoon — Yes TomCat, it is safe to come out. Just pick up all the dropped tree needles and broken ornaments on your way! Replacements are coming out of your allowance!
Thanks Lynn. Perhaps I should have, but I working my way back slowly out of fear of your size nines.
If poor IKE was buried in underwear, it now has a racing stripe.
LOL.