Why media sucks

I like to keep my pulse on what passes for "news" for the masses who even follow the news, so i have CNN.com bookmarked on my computer and frequently follow the inner links (and often link to its stories from this forum). Sometimes i swear reporters don't watch or read the news.

In the aftermath of the Connecticut chimpanzee attack, this headline on CNN's front page caught my eye:

• Time: Why good chimps go bad

It was a bit of a bait and switch. This was the actual headline on the target page:

Why the Stamford Chimp Attacked By Bryan Walsh

I thought we already knew what made the chimp go ape, but i read on for any late breaking details.

"The ferocious attack by a chimpanzee of a woman in Stamford, Conn., on Feb. 16 wasn't a question of if, but when," begins the article.

The 200-lb. chimp named Travis, whose owner, Sandra Herold, 70, raised as part of her own family, had no history of violence — aside from one incident in 2003 when he escaped and stopped traffic in Stamford for hours. But when Charla Nash, 55, a friend of Herold's, came to visit on Monday afternoon, Travis suddenly lashed out at her. The 14-year-old chimpanzee latched onto Nash's face and tore it apart.

Maybe i'm picking nits, but Ms. Nash wasn't dropping in to visit. She was called by the pet's owner because "Travis" had escaped and she was unable to control him by herself. (We also learned later that Travis had been given Xanax, the side effects of which can include "decreased inhibitions, no fear of danger (increased risk taking behavior), rage and hostility.")

Herold had called Nash over to her house to help get Travis back inside after he used a key to free himself from the house. [CNN: Feb. 16]

After delving into the gruesome details, the Time/CNN article by Bryan Walsh gets back to its premise as to why this particular attack occurred.

But even as investigators try to figure out exactly what triggered Travis's attack (he had been suffering from Lyme disease, which in rare cases is linked to psychotic behavior), the reality is that a chimpanzee living among people is simply a ticking time bomb. No matter how many years it has lived peacefully as a pet, a chimpanzee is not a domesticated animal and can snap without warning.

Walsh may in fact be correct in his assertion that every chimpanzee is a "ticking time bomb" but he chose a poor example. Travis didn't "snap" because of his inherently aggressive ape nature. He was schizo and on drugs. I wouldn't be surprised to see the same situation in the greatest of apes given similar circumstances.

I also thought the article's embedded links rather odd and perhaps computer generated:

• The 14-year-old chimpanzee latched onto Nash's face and tore it apart. (See pictures of animals facing extinction.)
• "They are not pets. This is tragic, but it's not surprising." (See pictures of animals in space.)
• "An adult male chimpanzee is a formidable animal. I would not want to be standing next to one." (See pictures of animals with prosthetic limbs.)
• The former NASCAR driver St. James Davis, who raised a chimpanzee as a pet, was attacked by escaped chimps at an animal sanctuary in 2005; he was left with injuries and disfigurement so severe that doctors kept him in a medically induced coma for three months. (See pictures of the 50th running of the Daytona 500.)
• In Travis's case, his owner was forced to call 911, then attack and repeatedly stab him — a cherished pet she had reared for years — with a butcher knife in a desperate attempt to save her friend.

See TIME's Pictures of the Week.
See the Cartoons of the Week.

Now this was an example the so-called main stream media simple being sloppy.

When the cartoon below appeared in the New York Post today, we witnessed the Fourth Estate being racist, bordering on sedition.
The Post is owned by Australian born, media oligarch billionaire, Rupert Murdoch.

Intimidation is bad karma

When i started this blog it wasn't with the intent on manufacturing a persona or for that matter, being anyone. It simply was to be a forum representing the nexus between my former occupation and my main avocation, language. I have always liked to write. I just hated having to write.

This began as and remains a hobby. A hobby for which i have all too much time since leaving my last paying job. Thom's Word is a pleasant diversion from the battles of the day. (I've been "working" as an activist, ya know.)

There's a difference between being anonymous and writing a pseudonymical blog. That said, the identities behind pseudonyms are can be common knowledge. Some M.bots (e.g. lestatdelc / "Mitch Gore") routinely connect their real name to his nom de keypad.

There was the curious case of Bradley Dunn who in the same cluster of forums morphed his nickname from bradley dunn to bradley to bradleydiscofeet to bdunn (and then complained when people would refer to him as "Brad" or "Bradley"... goofy).

I recall Taoiseach who intended to keep his real ID on the QT but loose lips sank that shit when it turned out that this goto blog for anti-Novick hackery was run by a legislative aide to one of Novick's vocal accusers. Given the paid relationships involved between Tom Powers and Rep. Mitch Greenlick and Kari Chisholm and then Rep. Jeff Merkley (Novick's primary challenger) it was both righteous and newsworthy to expose the troll behind the throne.

Others seem to have interchangeable, known semi-pseudos such as Kevin Kamberg of Preemptive Karma who goes by kevin kamberg, preemptive karma, kevin, karmaman (and some say, when he's sockpuppeting, navvoter).

So when it comes to the "outing" bloggers or commenters or otherwise naming names online, the ethics of the act really depend on who and why. When i connected the dolts between karmaman and navvoter, i found that he was using dual handles to tag team comment, classic sockpuppetry.

Kamberg doesn't use pseudonyms to protect his privacy. Rather, his multiple noms de plume serve to perpetrate a sort of intelectual fraud. Whether he's freeping the results on reddit or klaiming kweer kred, Kamberg is a consumate suck up. Like his patron, Senator Merkley, Kevin betrayed his shallow peace roots with his Blue0 exclusive, A Marching We Will Go..., the heartwarming tale of his first peace demonstration.

He's like a modern day Saint Paul. This self described SDA-raised Christian, is a gentile to Gentiles and jew-ish to Jews. He is also a loathsome putz. No, not because he down-rates and deletes my comments. Not because he (like several other M.bots) refers to me by my real name as opposed to my blogging nic. But what's the point of dragging my family into thier flame wars?

Posted by karmaman on 02/06/09 at 2:01PM [...] I'm a liberal Jewish American who also gave more financial support to Merkley than to any other candidate (ever, in fact). I have also written copiously and very critically of Israel's recent micro-war against Gaza and against it's race-based policies towards Palestinians in general, both inside and outside of Israel, on my blog. --------------------------------------------------------- Posted by EastBankThom on 02/06/09 at 3:30PM K-man, I thought you were raised Christian? No matter... Have we seen the last of "Navvoter"? His reddit karma just tanked. --------------------------------------------------------- Posted by karmaman on 02/08/09 at 12:09PM I dunno, Hans. Maybe you should ask Rob...

Face it Kev. You're busted (again). I suppose you and yours think it's intimidating. And to a certain degree it is. I'll take what lumps come to me, but Rob's got nothing to do with this.

That is all.

See also: Carla breaks out the claws!

Sockpuppetry is Bad Karma II

Definitions: sock puppet
noun

1. A simple puppet made from a sock placed over the hand of the puppeteer.
2. (internet) In an online community, a second account created by a user who already has an account, this second account being set up by that user so as to seem to be for a different user.

I have noted previously Mandate Media's online echo chamber and their seemingly successful staff of sock puppets. By all appearances, the king of the trolls is "navvoter" who has been previously identified as Preemptive Karma's Kevin Kamberg.

Posted by steveforsen on 02/27/08 at 12:29AM I believe "navvoter" is the same user as karmaman, Kevin Kamberg of Preemptive Karma, who has used the stiff left hook and effusive phraseology the same way in other places to refer to Novick's endorsement. He is on a crusade to counteract the positive reaction to Novick's statement on Obama, particularly at Daily Kos and Huffington Post, where--beyond Kamberg and two or three other regular Merkley supporters appearing in such places to douse enthusiasm for Novick--literally hundreds of completely uninvolved readers from around the country gave it their approval. See for yourself here: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/2/25/155910/884 and here http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-novick/why-ill-be-voting-for-ba_b_88324.html Sockpuppetry to present the illusion of broader support is a tactic betraying weakness, IMO.

It's no big deal that Kevin has chosen a cute new handle midstream. What does cross the line however for this budding blogger cum journalist is that he continues to comment on OregonLive as "karmaman," indeed sometimes in the same post. Such use of multiple personalities is classic sock puppetry.

Upon further search, it turns out that karmaman/navvoter have been busy gaming the reddit website too. (Both personas have a penchant for recommending posts on Kamberg's Preemptive Karma.)


Update: A request for comment from "navvoter" remains unanswered as both his and "karmaman's" reddit karma seems to be tanking.

Feb. 3 / Feb. 5

Blacklisting is Bad Karma

Back it 2007 i noted the emergence of the M.bots, a cadre of keyboard bullies who predictably went to bat for then Senate candidate Jeff Merkley. Merkley engaged the services of Kari and Carrie's Mandate Media who constructed what turned out to be at times a competent echo chamber which both recycled positive news regarding their clients and did its best to gin up scandal and outrage against the opponents of those paying Mandate.

Some blogs were created for the soul purpose of sockpuppetry. Not long after Merkley's recruitment to run for Senate, one of his interns, Jamal Raad created Forward Oregon along with the very verbose volunteer for Merkley, Bradley Dunn.

"We created this joint venture between, jraad and bdunn to examine the 2008 Oregon Senate Race, Oregon politics, and public policy. But Why? With three thesis to write, internships to complete, and an election to win why have we started ForwardOregon?"

Another example would be the blog Beaver Boundary from the pseudonymical "Taoiseach." No sooner had he lauched his new blog than he was getting front page recognition from Mandate's Blue Oregon. He ceased opperations after his cover was blown. The "Tao of smear" turned out to be Tom Powers, an aide to Rep. Mitch Greenlick. (It was Greenlick who lent his name to attacks from the Merkley camp appearing on Blue Oregon.)

A few exisiting blogs were already FOKers (friend of Kari). Other "reliable sources" promoting Mandate's Merkley message included the now defunct Witigonen as well as Kevin Kamberg's Preemptive Karma. (Kevin BTW prides himself on his role in a Merkley campaign commercial.) Just to finish the dots surrounding the incest which is Kari Chisholm and Oregon's left-leaning web media, it should be noted that Witigonen was founded by Michael Richardson, an employee of Mandate and Ben Dupree who was a Merkley media staffer. Dupree later joined Kamberg's PK. An original PK contributor, Carla Axtman, left the pro-Novick blog Loaded Orygun to work on the Merkley campaign, but quit before the endo fot he Primary. She was soon hired on as junior journalist at Mandate's Blue Oregon.

The point of recounting this revolving door history is simply to set the stage. I was reading an interesting piece on PK yesterday by Ben DuPree regarding the fallout of the Sam Adams scandal. [Editors note: Kari Chisholm iswas also on Adams' payroll.]

The Media Issue by ben According to Alex Blaze at the Bilerico Project, we have to think about this "scandal" as a media issue. He cites Just Out's puzzling call for resignation. And he talks of former Senator Gordon Smith: Gordon Smith, the former Republican Senator from the state of Oregon, lied in a series of campaign ads this past summer saying that his opponent, Jeff Merkley, voted against a bill to increase the statute of limitations for rape. [More...]

I thought that DuPree's basic premise had merit. I only quibbled with his example. But you won't find my response on Preemptive Karma any more. Kamberg, the alpha poodle of PK deleted it and banned me from further comment on his blog.

So for the record (with banned words in red)...

Whereas you make a valid point as to the capricious nature of the media when choosing which lies are worthy of headlines, i think you choose a poor example to illustrate your point. Didn't Jeff Merkley lie when he claimed he gave an "anti-war speech" on the floor of the house two days into the invasion which spoke "against the use of force" calling it a "terrible way to approach this"? I think better examples of the media turning a blind eye to significant lies are those of Eric Holder who lied about his involvement in the Marc Rich "pardon for dollars" scandal who is now Obama's Attorney General designate and US Treasury Secretary nominee Tim Geithner who lied about his taxes. East Bank Thom | Homepage | 01.25.09 - 1:50 pm | # Didn't Jeff Merkley lie when he claimed he gave an "anti-war speech" on the floor of the house two days into the invasion which spoke "against the use of force" calling it a "terrible way to approach this"? No, Merkley didn't lie. We've been over and over and over this, Hans. Enough is enough. carla | 01.25.09 - 4:06 pm | # --------------------------------------------------- EBT isn't concerned about Holder being involved in the Marc Rich pardon, he's concerned that Holder will prosecute war crimes. And so is Senator Cornyn. And so should be all the war criminals. Mac McFadden | 01.25.09 - 5:35 pm | # --------------------------------------------------- EBT isn't concerned about Holder being involved in the Marc Rich pardon Mac, you fail at mind reading. East Bank Thom | Homepage | 01.25.09 - 8:30 pm | # --------------------------------------------------- No, Merkley didn't lie. Hey Carla "axe to grind" man, you fail at truth. You're not still on Merkley's payroll, are you? (Though i suppose as a new employee of Mandate, the revolving door still has its dues to pay.) East Bank Thom | Homepage | 01.25.09 - 9:02 pm | # --------------------------------------------------- Your comment contains too many links and will not be added Preemptive Karma LOL! P.S. You can stamp your feet all you want, Ms. Axtman, Senator Merkley did lie (on various occasions) when he claimed he gave an "anti-war speech" on the floor of the house two days into the invasion which spoke "against the use of force" calling it a "terrible way to approach this." (These have all been previously sourced.) Just compare these quotes/lies to the "floor speach" [sic] he actually gave in an attempt to explain his vote to "acknowledge the courage of George W. Bush." East Bank Thom | Homepage | 01.25.09 - 9:05 pm | # --------------------------------------------------------------------- East Bank Thom has been banned for his infantile cyber-bully tactics in the above comment. I don't much care if he chooses to black out his own face on his blog and use a pseudonym. Some folks place a higher value on privacy than others and that's fine by me. But such a person crosses the line in attempting to bully other commenters by photoshopping their real faces and mocking them by their real names from behind the veil of privacy. It's actually something he has a long history of doing. Edited By Siteowner Kevin | Homepage | 01.25.09 - 9:55 pm | # --------------------------------------------------- Man Thom get a hobby man. Ben | Homepage | 01.25.09 - 11:04 pm | # --------------------------------------------------- Hans: If you really want to get down to getting personal, I suppose we could do that. But frankly, if you're not willing to allow your own name and information to be put out there--its skeezy of you to attempt to do it to others. carla | 01.26.09 - 9:45 am | #

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Gawd, this seems strangely familiar...

Update: And speaking of Sockpuppetry...

Scrubbing the record

Progressive media is all a buzz. What happened to KPOJ morning host, Heidi Tauber? It seemed like a usual week on the radio. Monday some politicians were again at pains to explain what Bush is still doing in office. On Tuesday, Senate Candidate Jeff Merkley's paid media guy was engaging in the usual weekly shilling for his clients (and forgetting to disclose his paid relationships). Wednesday ended quite normally with an interview of Willy Week's editor, Mark Zusman and these closing comments from THC; Thom, Heidi and Carl:

Thom: In our third hour, everything you know is wrong... Barry Reid is going to tell us how to disappear... in America...

Heidi: OOooo!

Thom: Legally.

Carl: I'll be listening to that.

Heidi: You have Barry Reid on your national show. Tomorrow on the local morning show we have Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid who is our guest.

Thom: Who would like to disappear!

Carl: Yeah! THC with you on AM 620 KPOJ Portland's progressive talk station.

Thom: Thom Hartman National coming up next.

Heidi: We'll see you tomorrow.

And Heidi Tauber hasn't been heard from since. Thursday morning it's suddenly "Carl and friends." Not a single mention is made of Heidi's absence. Perhaps she's on vacation? Going to check out her blog, we find every mention of her on 620kpoj.com has been scrubbed. It's like she never existed. Heidi's been "disappeared"! Quick, find Barry Reid! While KPOJ takes the Fifth, other tongues are wagging (er... fingertips are tapping) over at OregonMediaInsiders.com

I first thought of Cecil B. Demille's "The Ten Commandments." It wasn't enough for the father of Ramses to ban Moses into the wilderness. He had to order every reference to Moses stricken. In the days before [Delete], this most often required a chisel.

"Let the name of Moses be stricken from every book and tablet. Stricken from every pylon and obelisk of Egypt. Let the name of Moses be unheard and unspoken, erased from the memory of man, for all time. "

So let it be written. So let it be done!

Maybe there's a more recent analogy. In Orwell's classic 1984 (otherwise know as Rove's Playbook), we learn the dangers of press merging into politic.

“He who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future.” George Orwell

It is disturbing to note how the producer behind KPOJ's morning show, Paul Pimentel, seems to be altering the record. I recall in the past hearing something on the the show and going back later, unable to find the sought after sound clip. At first, I thought it was just me. Before long, others were sharing with me their same suspicions that Pimentel has been scrubbing the broadcast of unwanted speech.

Paul Pimentel

In a most recent instance (today), a caller (Tom) was offering his nominations for Weasel of the Week. He had two in mind. He first nominated Jeff Merkley. Seems the Speaker didn't like Tom's free speech and threatened to sue! Next he nominated "the management of KPO-" before he was cut of by Pimentel. If you go back and listen to the broadcast (end of today's third hour) you'll only hear the following:

"Carl: Tom, your weasel nomination? You're on the air.

Tom: I have two. My small weasel of the week would be Jeff Merkley for his overly litigious effort to silence my anti Gordon Smith / pro Steve Novick message that I tried to pass out. //nip// ... //tuck//"

Now first, where as I wholeheartedly agree with the caller, this was NOT East Bank Thom.

Secondly, it seems pretty clear that the caller was trying to voice his opinion about the management of KPOJ. (Weasels!)

Now I don't want to get sued, but it's my theory that the "Tom" who called is none other that KPOJ sponsor Tom Dwyer. I hear this guy's ads almost every day and I think I can recognize his radio voice (although the phone adds a different quality.) If I am correct, that's a pretty admirable thing for Dwyer to do. Now I'll happily write a retraction, but I'd much rather be right (and reward Dwyer with my business. My pickup needs servicing!)

Whatever it takes

This just in from Kevin Kamberg, preemptive blogger and film critic:

Posted by: Kevin | Apr 14, 2008 4:19:19 PM

I think it would be a mistake for Merkley to try to use kitschy shtick as a campaign messaging theme. It's not who he is nor is it representative of the kind of change he brings.

The ads he is using reflect the kind of candidate he is - A serious candidate tackling serious, timely issues.

Mr. Kamberg must also be a comedian, for surely, he jests...

This isn't to imply that Speaker Merkley is Republican light. I merely wish to state that his "off the shelf" establishment campaign smacks of Rovian tactics. (Oh, and I wanted to offer a gentle jab to my blogger bud Kev. He made me LOL!)

Who is more viral?

Freedom to Peaceably Assemble

Without fail, Portlanders have been protesting the Bush's invasion and occupation of Iraq every Friday, downtown at "Portland's Livingroom" on a corner of the sidewalk forming Pioneer Courthouse Square. I haven't been there as often as I should have. One protester (Steve whom I see holding the Bush administration accountable at various places around town) asked me what brought me today. I responded simply, "Because I was asked." Somebody resent me the press release below.

For Immediate Release

Event: Friday Rally and march to focus on the meaning of the commons: public space and political expression in a democracy.
Date:   Friday, January 18, 2008
Time:  5:00 PM
Place: Pioneer Courthouse Square, SW Broadway & SW Yamhill, downtown

Contacts: Portland Peaceful Response Coalition
www.pprc-news.org

The meaning of the commons: public space and political expression in a democracy.

City Repair Project founder, Mark Lakeman, to address Friday Rally

The founder of the City Repair Project, Mr. Mark Lakeman, will be the keynote speaker at the Friday rally at Pioneer Courthouse Square, this Friday, January 18, at 5:00 PM.  Lakeman expressed his support for the Friday rally and march, saying that it was absurd that people taking part were being threatened with citations by the city.

The City Repair Project has involved neighborhoods making public spaces all over Portland.  Mark Lakeman, a progressive, award-winning architect, may have the spirit of public spaces in his very genes.  His parents were involved in the planning of both Waterfront Park and Pioneer Courthouse Square.  His father, also an architect, helped to shape Pioneer Courthouse Square into the space now known as “Portland's living room” rather than becoming another downtown parking structure.

During the first Iraq war, the "Gulf War", Lakeman helped organize the peace demonstration, "Hands Around Portland", where hundreds joined hands around Portland and people came out of their houses to join hands for peace. It ended with big celebrations in Pioneer Courthouse Square, which was full of people of all ages from all over the area.  As the crowds sat down in Portland's living room, Lakeman addressed the crowd telling the history of the square.  There was music from a Seattle marching band, dancing, food, and arts from the many Portland neighborhoods.

This week’s Friday rally will proceed in the face of ongoing uncertainty regarding “noise” citations.  Representatives from Portland Peaceful Response Coalition and Peace & Justice Works , accompanied by local legal support, met with City of Portland representatives this week.  Discussions are continuing but a resolution has not yet been reached.

Portland Peaceful Response Coalition has started a “Friday rally legal defense fund”.  Donations can be made through their website at www.pprc-news.org or by mailing donations to PO Box 5112, Portland, OR 97208-5112 (please make checks payable to “PPRC” and write “Friday Rally Legal Defense Fund” in the memo line of the check).

Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. First Amendement to the US Constitution, 1791-2000AD R.I.P.

Proud to be a Democrat?

I saw this advertisement over at Loaded Orygun, a blog I have been following... partly because of Senate '08 coverage (and no, I don't really mean Novick v. Merkley). Torridjoe (a.k.a. "TJ") and Carla (a.k.a. "Merkley's web mistress") got me to pitch in some dough to try and recruit Rep. Peter DeFazio to take on Sen. Gordon Smith. We failed. Since then, I guess I've just been trying to get my lost money's worth.

But back to this post and that ad... It was a string of testimonials from various Oregonians declaring why they're proud to be Oregon Democrats. I know a few folks from the ad, and by the end... well, I was rather emotional... mixed emotional, actually.

Maybe it's just the week sitting shiva... (What's often missed in my posts... in the writing of them I mean... are the frequent long pauses. You might call it introspection. Other's may blame a short attention span... Anyway, I just went there again...)

And when I look inside to try and articulate what I would say in such an ad, well...

"I'm a Democrat... again... [CUT!] ... because... when my voice was silenced... by a Democrat... I wanted to vote in May... [CUT!] ... I'm an Oregonian who grew up a Republican... [CUT!] ... I'm a Democrat who is not proud of the Democratic Party. [CUT!] ... [CUT!] ... [CUT!!!]

I want so much to associate myself with all those Oregon Democrats on that video. But I am thoroughly disgusted with the leadership of this party of mine which I recently rejoined. At first, I assumed incompetence when after the 2006 election the Democrats continued to fund the occupation in Iraq. Today, given the scope of the Bush administration abuses already documented and the Democratic leadership's reluctance to hold him accountable, one can only conclude complicity.

And I keep coming back to the ad... "I'm so-and-so, and I'm proud to be an Oregon Democrat."

I don't feel proud. I feel ashamed... of myself. It's not that I was silenced... I silenced myself... out of fear. I don't blog under a pseudonym for purposes of privacy, but rather for protection. Everyone who knows me knows that this is my blog. It's just the strangers left scratching their heads. Unfortunately, I have been stalked in the past. And in a world where the information superhighway can lead right to my driveway, I choose to be Thom.

But the president of Mandate continues to push, and there's little I can do about that. I won't be posting my bio any time soon. Who cares, anyway. It's not like I'm on anyone's payroll. But if you really want to know... just ask. The email link has always worked.

Why I distrust the DSCC

The above is reposted with apologies to and in homage of Rob Tornoe, one of my favorite political cartoonists. I first read it on PolitickerOR. Do click on the image above for my adaptation!

Sam Adams

.
It's official. Sam Adams, unabashedly out Portland City Councilman is in the race for Puddletown's Mayor.

It seems even Sam's own media consultant was kept in the dark until the last moment garnering yours truly my first kudo over at Blue0 after a lengthy list of complaints (and even temporary, accidental bannination) for my critiques of another one of Mandate's client's, candidate Jeff Merkley.

Normally you wouldn't find me anywhere near Sam Adams and a pub. Traveling outside of Oregon i've asked, "Do you have any microbrews?" "We have Sam Adams lager!" No thanks. Portland's Sam Adams isn't anything like his namesake's distinctly average ale. His choice for tonight's announcement underscores this. Roots is the region's only all-organic brewery.

The event (whose hosts donated all tips and a portion of the receipts to the Leukemia Society) was a chance for normal folk to swim with the big fish in our small pond. I spotted pollster Mike Riley, who recently got a roasting for his polling tactics. In his defense, how can a guy who answers "wine" in a brewpub can't really be trusted to ask the right questions.

Also on hand were City Commissioner Randy Leonard and County Commish, Maria Rojo de Steffey. Underneath a portrait of Bob Marley, Sam gave credit to Portland's mayors present and past and went on to articulate his vision for Portland's future. [Disclaimer: I voted against Sam before i voted for him. Maybe it was simply Katz fatigue. After hearing his plan for small businesses, i was sold. As a successful small business, Roots lends Sam an important endorsement.

As Sam again steps into the media glare, he emerges perhaps scathed but strong following a failed smear campaign. That's partly why i was there, to keep good on a promise. Sam has been a good public servant. He's already earned my respect. He'll still have to earn my vote, but it was my pleasure to cheer him on in the process.

Oops, he did it again!

.
Kari Chisholm, Jeff Merkley's media guy at Mandate, is having the darnedest luck of late, and it seems all too often to be at the expense of the Oregon House Speaker's primary candidate, Steve Novick.

It was about a month ago that Novick, who spent 8 years in the Justice Department, got some favorable press in the Portland Tribune. Instead of the usual post over at BlueOregon with summarizing text, quotes and a chance for readers to comment, a simple link to the original article was posted along with the Trib's not so flattering cover photo of the 4'9" Democratic activist. This glaring short shrift prompted the Blue0 chief cook and bottle washer to print this editorial comment:

Editor's note [Kari Chisholm]: Apologies to our readers. For the last 105 minutes, we've had a post up here that wasn't quite up to our usual standards. We've corrected it and sorted things out internally. [Update below!]

Ever since Speaker Merkley entered the race to challenge Steve Novick for the Democratic nomination to unseat Sen. Gordon Smith next fall, headlines over at "Oregon's biggest blog" have taken a decidedly pro Merkley spin. [Editor's note: Kari Chisholm's Mandate Media runs both Merkley's Website as well as BlueOregon.com]

Merkley hits Smith hard on Iraq, health care

More Merkley/Gonzales Roundup...

Proud of Oregon, proud of Jeff Merkley

Republicans, Novick press attack on Merkley

When Novick got some more good press out in eastern Oregon, the story still had its hurdles in making online over at Blue0.

Posted by: Kari Chisholm | Sep 1, 2007 12:07:47 AM

Steve Maurer asked... But then the thought struck me - why didn't the Novick campaign tout this to BlueOregon? What's going on out there?

For the record, they did. It was in a phone call, while I was driving, on the day I got Rogue'd, amidst other topics. I just plain forgot about it. Jake's doing a fine job.

Strike two... or three or four. [Editor's note: Jake is Steve Novick's campaign manager]

So imagine my surprise when i got banned from posting comments at BlueOregon.com. It appeared that i courted Kari's displeasure on two accounts. When i wasn't willing to give Merkley a pass for voting to "acknowledge the courage of President George W. Bush" the discussions over at Blue0 took a turn for the savage. Kari took particular displeasure in the topic.

Posted by: Kari Chisholm | Aug 3, 2007 6:01:40 PM

Hey folks.... Let's not fall for the GOP gambit. They dropped this little turd precisely as an attempt at driving a wedge between Novick and Merkley.

[...]

If there are true disagreements on policy, then sure - let's have those debates honestly, fairly, and vigorously. But let's not fall for the GOP turd-dropping.

Posted by: Kari Chisholm | Aug 4, 2007 10:39:32 AM

[...] I'm done arguing about this stupid little turd of a press release from the Oregon GOP.

Even before Kari's induction by the Willy Week as "Rogue of the Week," i had been questioning his ability to keep Blue0 neutral. This, despite much supporting evidence that BlueOregon had become a mouthpiece for Merkley was apparently my second mistake.

And now comes late word to the shores of Vancouver (that other one, north of the border) that my bannination was all just a mistake. Whew!

Anyway, looks like you were collateral damage from another troll hunt that I was on. That's one problem with running a local blog, all the IPs cluster together - so you try and stop a troll, and you end up blocking someone else. I once accidentally blocked Randy Leonard - boy was that bad... -kari.

And now if i could just get an apology for the insinuation Kari made that i had dropped the nigger bomb (and perhaps a second beer) we could all just move on.org .....

[Editor's ironic note:]

Posted by: Kari Chisholm | Aug 29, 2007 3:20:21 PM

Hey Bob -- If you're going to accuse someone of using the N-word, could you provide a source or a quote?

[Update! Kari clarifies below the first glitch mentioned above. It was not his fault! ("incompetence, not malice") - Click on comments.]

Katie's Kool-Aid

[Click here for video]

In a desperate attempt to get outside of Dan Rather's shadow, CBS news anchor model Katie Couric went on a fact finding tour of Fallujah today. While she didn't buy 5 rugs for 5 bucks, she must have gotten hooked up with some killer dope (Afghan coke, perhaps?).

“We hear so much about things going bad, but real progress has been made there in terms of security and stability.”

I'll have what she's having... Jules Crittenden calls her the anti-Cronkite. There are news reports that Walter Cronkite has been spotted down at Forrest Lawn with a shovel. He reportedly said that he was digging his own grave so that he could roll over in it.

Registered

.I have been speaking out on Oregon's US Senate race to unseat Republican incumbent and George Bush enabler, Gordon Smith. There's a hot primary brewing in Beertown. No longer allowed to voice my opinions virtually on "Oregon's biggest blog," i re-registered today (as a Democrat) so that i'll have a voice in the forum where it matters the most, Oregon's May 20 primary.

Let the games continue...

Banned by Mandate

Muzzletov! Barely a week after the Willamette Week called out Blue Oregon chief editor and president of Mandate media for mixing business with pleasure, the sincere musings of Thom's word have been silenced. I am no longer allowed to post comments on the Blue0 blog.

I'm reminded what ol' Joe, the Lone Vet once told be about raging against the Machine. "Hit'em in the balls, and they've got to come after you." Still, it must be said, i wasn't trying for any nut shot. My last exchange was just a gentle notification of the fact that the "neutral" news stories posted by the Blue0 staff still flirt with twisting the truth.

My last exchange...

Posted by: East Bank Thom | Sep 4, 2007 6:42:10 PM

I have a wee problem with the verbiage:

"Also absent from the committee is notable Clinton supporter Rep. Darlene Hooley"

It's not in bold "in the news" above but it does stand out as a contrived "headline." Given the text quoted from the Oregonian just below the fold, i could have spun it like this:

"Rep. Darlene Hooley was given a notable national role in Clinton's campaign."

[Disclaimer: I'm an Edwards fan.]

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Posted by: Nick Wirth, Blue Oregon intern | Sep 4, 2007 7:58:34 PM

"It's not in bold "in the news" above but it does stand out as a contrived "headline."

Thom: You make a good point about my word choices. I hope it doesn't come across as leaning for or against Clinton. I just found it curious that Hooley wasn't involved in the campaign in her home state, and the article itself notes the lack of elected officials in the committee.

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Posted by: East Bank Thom | Sep 4, 2007 10:38:57 PM

I hope it doesn't come across as a) leaning for, or b) against Clinton.

I choose "b"

I just found it curious that Hooley wasn't involved in the campaign in her home state

Just to err on the cautious side, when you want to explore your curiosities, try a "notable comment" or "contributor" byline.

the article itself notes the lack of elected officials in the committee.

"light when it comes to big names" was the quote. The voice's rendering of this editorial note was a bit akin to saying "Dick Cheney passed over for cabinet post. Forced to accept Vice-Presidency."

Say, you aren't the "Nick" or "NIck" from last week's thread? (Speaking of which, why did the old voice go soft on single name or one-time-slogan monikers?) Regardless, all the best, Nick!

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When i attempted to post a follow-up to Blue0 but i keep getting an error message...

An error occurred...
You are not allowed to post comments.

So i posted this to LoadedOrygun instead...

__________________________________________________

More evidence that there are facts, damn facts and spin... this just in from this week's Willy Week.

"Dealing John Edwards a blow, Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign has announced its Oregon steering committee, and it's packed with big names"
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I wanted to post this referencing a quote from the BigO reposted yesterday by BlueO's new voice:

"The 13-member committee is heavy with on-the-ground political activists and relatively light when it comes to big names."

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[Disclaimer: see previous disclaimer.]

[Update: see update!]

House Resolution 2

There's been a shit stew bubbling over at Blue0 for the better part of August. The race to unseat Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR) got heated up in what can only be construed as an unfortunate backfire by Mitch Gore (whose interweb handle is lestatdelc - it's an open secret, like Sen. Larry Craig. It's not like i'm outing the boy.)

As part of the initial batch of pro-Merkley threads on Blue0 since the Oregon House Speaker's announcement that the DSCC had persuaded him to join the race, "the voice of BlueOregon" posted Merkley News Roundup. It was supposed to work like Miracle-Gro for Mandate's candidate but it had more the effect of poison. Curiously missing from Blue0's in the "news" postings was OPB's article Oregon House Speaker Merkley Joins Race For U.S. Senate. Steve Novick, who is already in the race, was also interviewed for the story. I suppose a Merkley supporter might want to play down two things that came out of the article; Novick's immediate call for joint appearances (elsewhere he ups the ante, calling for debates) as well as his answer to the reporter's question on HRes 2, a resolution passed by the Oregon House at the onset of the Iraq war.

"It's a resolution that quote 'acknowledges the courage of President George W Bush.' You would not have found me saying that the war in Iraq is a reflection of the courage of President George W Bush."

The irony of the whole thing, is that this whole debate was brought to the readers of Blue0 by a current Merkley supporter. Lestatdelc was the first to spray the August 3 Roundup with Merkley's HRes 2 problem.

"What I find troubling is that Novick agreed with the BS GOP frame that Merkley voted 'for the Iraq war' which was pure spin. I am all for a competitive primary, but not one where either of our candidates throws GOP mud at the other."

Novick's campaign manager was quick to post openly the context of the OPB interview, but it seems Merkley's supporters found the truth inconvenient. They kept spinning and spinning until finally, even the Willy Week (yes, warts and all) weighed in, calling out the big boss at BlueOregon, Kari Chisholm for.. well... best read it for yourself.

So it was interesting to rise above the blog blather and hear Jeff Merkley himself try to defend his 2003 vote. And by interesting, i mean disappointing. This morning on AM620, Merkley was interviewed by KPOJ's Carl Wolfson. [click here, about half way through after the healthcare discussion - Interesting side note: you won't find this audio up on Merkley's campaign website. Steve Novick was interviewed yesterday. You'll find that audio here.]

In Merkley's interview, he takes Gordon Smith to task for his "election night conversion on Iraq."

"Here is someone who basically wrapped himself in the flag and criticized those who responsibly pointed out the shortcomings and the disaster that was pending with this strategy."

Merkley refers to Smith's war record as "not exactly a profile in courage." Interesting words from a politician who voted to acknowledge "the courage of George W. Bush." The end of the interview turned to this topic and it didn't take Merkley long to turn on the spin machine.

"This resolution was one that was presented as praising the courage and sacrifice and dedication of our troops. That's exactly what it said."

Well, the Speaker isn't exactly telling the whole truth. He left out the resolution's praise of the troops' professionalism, which one could chalk up to oversight. Where i would take the not-so-smooth talker further to task is the following claim, which lacks a certain truthiness.

"So i stood up on the House floor and said what i had said in an article previously that the Iraq war is uh...uh...uh...using military force is uh...is uh...uh...uh...uh...uh...terrible way to approach this. And it is uh... I have grave doubts about this strategy."

In sort of a John Kerry flip-flop meets a George W. Bush's signing statement, the Democratic Leader is hanging his hat on the strategy that he talked against something-or-other after he had just voted for it. I don't know what Jeff Merkley studied at Princeton. Perhaps it was Revisionist History. When he talked about the exact wording of HRes 2, this is what he left out.

Whereas the dictatorship of Iraq has continued to develop weapons of mass destruction in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441;

and

Whereas the dictator Saddam Hussein has demonstrated a willingness to use weapons of mass destruction against neighboring nations and the citizens of Iraq;

and

Whereas Saddam Hussein threatens the Middle East and the global economy with the threat to use weapons of mass destruction; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of Oregon:

That we, the members of the House of Representatives of the Seventy-second Legislative Assembly:

(1) Acknowledge the courage of President George W. Bush, the President's cabinet and the men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States, and express our support for the victorious removal of Saddam Hussein from power;

and

... and then the resolution finally got around to praising the troops. Merkley voted for this God, country and apple pie Resolution and yet criticizes Smith as someone who "wrapped himself in the flag and criticized those who responsibly pointed out the shortcomings and the disaster that was pending with this strategy."

Not so fast there Mr. Speaker... When you stood up on the House floor to "clarify" your vote, you were far less certain that attacking Iraq was a bad idea. Here's an exact quote from your floor speach [sic]:

"I have not been and am not today persuaded that Iraq was a significant threat to the United States or that the war we fight today is the best [emphasis added] strategy to fight terrorism or the wisest application of our superpower resources."

Sir, I could have told you that very day that invading Iraq was in fact NOT the "best strategy to fight terrorism." And i wouldn't have been alone. Which made this last comment of yours from the interview most baffiling.

"I think you could find only a handful of people that 2 days into this invasion stood up in public and declared their opposition to this war. I was one of them." [Jeff Merkley]

A handful of people declaring their opposition to this war

(one week before Jeff Merkley's floor "speach")

When Jeff Merkley had the chance to just say 'no' he, like most politicians wanted to have "a conversation or a debate another day."

Before the US invasion of Iraq, indeed before your vote acknowledging Bush's courage and wishing the troops godspeed, a packed City Hall chamber of Portland citizens apparently came to the conclusion long before you that attacking Iraq was not the best idea. It was probably the worst idea.

I am reminded of the recent candlelight vigil on the Hawthorne bridge. It seems our Speaker showed up to give a "speach" about demonstrating against the Iraq debacle, but when it came time to actually demonstrate... let me just say that there were 300 people at the protest and thousands of readers on Blue0, "Oregon's biggest blog," but nobody has yet been able to place the Democratic leader at the actual vigil on the bridge.

Finally, a majority of Americans believe that the Iraq war was a bad idea. So was voting for House Resolution 2, yet Merkley himself still maintains he "believes in it." He also mentioned something about "arrogant misguided civilians." ... Indeed.
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Update: Seems i picked up a troll out on the information superhighway.