I feel as though this changing of the tides reflects an improvement in our collective sense of safety--a year ago today things were dire.
The fact that everyone, including the media, is behaving in a more objective fashion regarding Obama and his performance than in the previous 12 months reflects a sense of, "We might get through this after all."
Fox shills for the GOP and CNN shills for the dems. People who disparage one and not the other are either disingenuous or idiotic. What disappoints me is that there is no popular movement demanding a free politically agnostic press even as a growing number of people increasingly distrust the integrity of the reporting.
@ihatetwitter: I watched a couple of hours of CNN yesterday for some reason. Here's what they covered: ACORN and the teabag protest in DC. That's it. MSNBC has three hours of liberal programming in the evening. There is little difference between Fox News and CNN, and only in that CNN pretends it's reporting the news.
"The only thing that's surprising, really, is the amount of negativity coming out of Fox News' 'Special Report.'"
Pray tell -- how do you find it surprising that Fox is negative about Obama? Is is the liberal softies like Glenn beck, Sean Hannity, or Bill O'Reilly?
Even if it ceases to be true, the right will continue to say it. Meanwhile, rather than cover anything substantive about the health care debate, the media continues to focus on the negative Obama hatred coming from people who never had any intention of supporting a black President. My contention is that that media love was always as shallow as an episode of Jerry Springer. Give the media a choice and it will always choose the lurid shit show.
@Mediahohoho: I find myself - can it be - reluctantly agreeing with you in part. I want to hear a discussion about the health care debate; not about Joe Wilson's idiocy or who shouted at a town hall meeting today. Even when the media isn't covering the distractions they are filling the air waves with white noise peripheral issues like "is Obama successfully getting his message out," or discussing fantasy Congressional vote counts. I have watched enough news hours to have this plan explained to me in full three times over and still feel like I've heard about 15% of it.
He already fucked up kinda big time by placing a 35% tariff on tires imported from China. China has already reported us to the WTO and is threatening to stop importing American chicken. We're facing the real possibility of a trade war, and it may have been done just to appease the Steelworkers who were the only ones lobbying for this. Every major manufacturer of tires and economists said this was a bad idea, and he did it anyway.
@The Walking Eye: yes. he took on the economy, healthcare, immigration and two wars - but of all the challenges that BHO has faced, tire tariffs will surely be his undoing.
@johnny_carsick: A trade war is not good for anyone, and if it's a tire tariff that causes that we're all fucked. And see, the thing with this is that it's China specific and the Steelworkers union claimed that it would bring jobs back to the US. That's simply not the case, and it appears that Obama's paying back a union. Tire production will shift to other low cost countries, but we could have pissed off the people holding a lot of our debt and a provider of many of our cheap goods. That's not a good thing, no matter what trivial thing it is that did it. This is also a bit of protectionism, which is something those who studied the Great Depression say was a contributing factor.
Notice I didn't say a word about anything other than the potential for a trade war to start. I think he's done as well as he could with all that you mentioned.
The following is from Bertel Schmitt, an automotive journalist for multiple publications and long time auto industry employee.
"The American Consuming Industries Trade Action Coalition wrote in a letter to the US Trade Representative John Kirk: "The absence of tires from China in the market will raise costs to downstream consuming industries, including automobile manufacturers, will limit consumer choices and affect most seriously those with the fewest resources. Thus, these tariffs will be the most regressive of taxes."
"Market disruption" is a vague concept. If anyone feels disrupted by Chinese imports, they can petition the USITC. If the USITC accepts it and takes it to the president, and if he signs it, no more Chinese imports. Under Bush, for all his failings, every section 421 petition that reached his desk was rejected: He had to decide on strategically important goods such as wire hangers, steel pipe, brake drums and rotors and "pedestal actuators," a component used in scooters for the disabled. All voted down.
Obama approved the first 421 petition that was put before him. China and US companies are rightly afraid that this will trigger a flurry of section 421 cases. "Multinational companies such as Caterpillar Inc., Citigroup Inc. and Microsoft Corp. have urged Obama to refrain from curbing imports, saying it could lead to a "downward protectionist spiral," writes Bloomberg.
I'm embarrassed to be posting this link, but Seth Rogen is most definitely the subject of this BI -- the fat movie star who hates coke but uses it as an appetite suppressant.
I feel so betrayed...just after he posted an "I'm happy with my body image" story on his blog. What's next, an US Weekly cover story about his new beach body?
09/15/09
The fact that everyone, including the media, is behaving in a more objective fashion regarding Obama and his performance than in the previous 12 months reflects a sense of, "We might get through this after all."
09/15/09
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Really?
it's MSNBC that's leftist.
I know people are misinformed these days, but at least put a little effort in yourself.
09/15/09
Pray tell -- how do you find it surprising that Fox is negative about Obama? Is is the liberal softies like Glenn beck, Sean Hannity, or Bill O'Reilly?
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Notice I didn't say a word about anything other than the potential for a trade war to start. I think he's done as well as he could with all that you mentioned.
The following is from Bertel Schmitt, an automotive journalist for multiple publications and long time auto industry employee.
"The American Consuming Industries Trade Action Coalition wrote in a letter to the US Trade Representative John Kirk: "The absence of tires from China in the market will raise costs to downstream consuming industries, including automobile manufacturers, will limit consumer choices and affect most seriously those with the fewest resources. Thus, these tariffs will be the most regressive of taxes."
"Market disruption" is a vague concept. If anyone feels disrupted by Chinese imports, they can petition the USITC. If the USITC accepts it and takes it to the president, and if he signs it, no more Chinese imports. Under Bush, for all his failings, every section 421 petition that reached his desk was rejected: He had to decide on strategically important goods such as wire hangers, steel pipe, brake drums and rotors and "pedestal actuators," a component used in scooters for the disabled. All voted down.
Obama approved the first 421 petition that was put before him. China and US companies are rightly afraid that this will trigger a flurry of section 421 cases. "Multinational companies such as Caterpillar Inc., Citigroup Inc. and Microsoft Corp. have urged Obama to refrain from curbing imports, saying it could lead to a "downward protectionist spiral," writes Bloomberg.
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[www.eonline.com]
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