If you see something, say something

September 5, 2004 11:59 AM

The malefactors of great wealth and the religious right. Economist Paul Krugman on insufficient necessity.
posted by the fire you left me (18 comments total)

This is one of the most succinct diagnoses of what's wrong with the media right now that I've seen:

"If Bush says that the Earth was flat, the headlines on the mainstream media stories is, 'The Shape of the Earth: Views Differ.'"
posted by digaman at 12:36 PM on September 5, 2004

Let's see, I read through that and learned, hmmmmm, nothing. Krugman is one of my favorite columnists, but a sloppy transcript of a rambling speech didn't really do much for me. It doesn't help that the post title sounds like the kind of thing one would call a college essay after it's been written. Sounds cool, doesn't really mean anything, and isn't attached to the subject matter.
posted by elwoodwiles at 12:46 PM on September 5, 2004

I think, my great hope now is what we need is an enormous unearthing of the scandals that we know have taken place. We need a mega Watergate that rocks them back for enough time so that we can build a counterweight to this thing. Otherwise, this won't be the country we grew up in.
Amen. (his columns are better tho)
posted by amberglow at 12:53 PM on September 5, 2004

> We -- we also probably make a mistake if we make too
> much emphasis on Bush, the individual.

Fuller predicts this graf will pass in one of mefi's ears and out the other, leaving no detectable trace of its passage.
posted by jfuller at 1:27 PM on September 5, 2004

Best of the web. Kudos, tfylm.
posted by techgnollogic at 1:29 PM on September 5, 2004

> We -- we also probably make a mistake if we make too
> much emphasis on Bush, the individual.

Fuller predicts this graf will pass in one of mefi's ears and out the other, leaving no detectable trace of its passage.
amberglow predicts that jfuller wants character assassination, lies, and smears to remain an exclusive hallmark of official Republican strategy, as it's been for so long.
posted by amberglow at 1:44 PM on September 5, 2004

Krugman. Decent columnist, decent economist, lousy public speaker.
posted by ilsa at 1:59 PM on September 5, 2004

we also probably make a mistake if we make too much emphasis on Bush, the individual.
Seeing as how (according to the article) getting rid of Bush is
"necessary, but not sufficient" and the fact that the polls are tied or have Bush leading - I would say the Democrats are not putting enough emphasis on Bush yet.
The point is not to give Bush a break - it's to not forget that he is merely the puppet of a larger and more dangerous radical movement.
posted by bashos_frog at 2:01 PM on September 5, 2004

> Krugman. Decent columnist, decent economist, lousy public speaker.

Metafilter: Shoot the messenger.
posted by SteelyDuran at 2:25 PM on September 5, 2004

Best of the web.

hahahahahaha! fuck you, techgNoLogic!
posted by quonsar at 2:25 PM on September 5, 2004

> amberglow predicts that jfuller wants character assassination, lies,
> and smears to remain an exclusive hallmark of official Republican strategy,
> as it's been for so long.

Oh no, I didn't say stop hating Bush. Rave on, by all means rave on. I really believe the Republicans pick up a couple of moderate-undecided votes every time some lunatic screeches "Bush is Hitler." My prediction, which I stand by, could be rephrased as "mefi: masturbation, not making a difference." If you spiral-eyed Bushie-haters get fo' mo' years (not to mention more Republicans elected at all levels) it's what you've actively worked for.

I'm not especially happy with George, I'm too right wing to like his dreadful deficit spending. If only Kerry weren't such a limp bizkit--but he is, and that, I'm afraid for him and y'all, is that.

I'm in an overwhelmingly safe Red state, I'll probably go follow my conservationist-conservative heart and vote for Ralph. Is the Vegetarian party running a ticket this year?
posted by jfuller at 2:35 PM on September 5, 2004

For a leftwing website, DemocracyNow! sure doesn't want to display on any of my browsers on my Linux box today. Anybody have a URL one can put directly into realplayer?
posted by crasspastor at 2:36 PM on September 5, 2004

I really believe the Republicans pick up a couple of moderate-undecided votes every time some lunatic screeches "Bush is Hitler."

Those nazi moderate-undecided suckas!

(Has it really got to the point where you can call godwin on an idea you put into someone else mouth? As a canadian bystander I find U.S. politics very amusing. Unfortunately, like the rest of the world, we catch some of the shrapnel.)
posted by srboisvert at 3:16 PM on September 5, 2004

...and some of the drippings.
posted by techgnollogic at 3:45 PM on September 5, 2004

> Anybody have a URL one can put directly into realplayer?

Theoretically, but I note that realplayer won't actually play it. Happily, totem had no problem with it. Enjoy.
posted by SteelyDuran at 4:47 PM on September 5, 2004

> As a canadian bystander I find U.S. politics very amusing.

Watch your back, eh? You guys are about to have a war with Denmark over shrimping rights. And of course I will catch the blowback from this one, as shrimp cocktail prices go though the roof at the country club.
posted by jfuller at 4:49 PM on September 5, 2004

> Has it really got to the point where you can call godwin on an idea you put
> into someone else mouth?

Mmmm. Here's some ideas I put into CommonDreams' mind (I don't put anything into their mouth). Siege Heil: The Bush-Rove-Schwarzenegger Nazi Nexus.

(I located this by googling bush is a nazi. This is one of 440,000 hits--some of which argue against the idea, natch.)
posted by jfuller at 5:16 PM on September 5, 2004

Thanks SteelyDuran, I have totem. I'll give it a shot.
posted by crasspastor at 11:30 PM on September 5, 2004