Leaks are Bad, mmmkay?
June 27, 2006 8:45 AM   Subscribe

Those Clever Conservatives... The outrage from the right hemisphere of the internet over the latest domestic spying on financial records "leak" seems centered on "treasonous" activity by the NYTimes, even advocating violence against reporters. The dominant theory is that "leaks are bad" except when the President or Vice-President does it, an artifact of the Nixonian Era. This has spurred the creative genius of some to create photoshopped propaganda, although the quality is lacking as compared to others (see posts tagged with propaganda on Mefi). In light of the satirical guidelines described here (MeFi), perhaps it's time to remix this poster.
posted by rzklkng (111 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Obviously, the press is an enemy of democracy.
posted by caddis at 8:51 AM on June 27, 2006


Did you really mean to include the same link three times?
posted by ook at 8:54 AM on June 27, 2006


Oops. No, I didn't.
posted by rzklkng at 8:55 AM on June 27, 2006


I got a chuckle out of those Photoshopped posters, until I realized what site I was looking at. Then I felt sick.
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:59 AM on June 27, 2006


I wish I knew sekret stuff I could link to the librul media, because it makes Michelle Malkin cry, and I totally hate that stupid bitch.
posted by illovich at 8:59 AM on June 27, 2006


When a government begins to attack their country's media, you know the media has done something right.
posted by NationalKato at 9:01 AM on June 27, 2006


Here's a substitute gallery.
posted by rzklkng at 9:10 AM on June 27, 2006


Yeah, the New York Times (the New York Times!) is a cabal of treasonous fifth-estate blackguards ready to sell the country to Usamah bin Ladin at the drop of a hat. Excuse me while I pick myself up off the floor.
posted by blucevalo at 9:11 AM on June 27, 2006


I got a chuckle out of those Photoshopped posters, until I realized what site I was looking at. Then I felt sick.

Wow, I never heard of her before, so I random clicked on one of her articles.

You can't make this stuff up, how is this listed as journalism and syndicated in 200 papers?

Back to the post though, by attacking NYT it sure makes for a nice distraction and focuses the attention elsewhere. Sadly it's probably working...
posted by fluffycreature at 9:13 AM on June 27, 2006


Fourth Estate + Fifth Column = Fifth Estate?
posted by absalom at 9:15 AM on June 27, 2006 [1 favorite]


If you really want top-notch PS work for these posters what you should do is hold a contest with real prizes, like brown shirts, mustache wax and armbands. Maybe a head-shaving kit too.
posted by clevershark at 9:16 AM on June 27, 2006


Why is it that being in favor of imperialist preemptive wars seems incompatible with a minimum of photoshop skills?
posted by signal at 9:16 AM on June 27, 2006


Are all artists leftie communists?
I only ask because a number of the anti-NYT posters seem to have been "shopped" in MS Paint with the potato stamp tool.
posted by NinjaTadpole at 9:17 AM on June 27, 2006


(apparently others agree - what, did we all come on the same bus?)
posted by NinjaTadpole at 9:18 AM on June 27, 2006


think of michelle malkin and her photoshopping friends as being the conservative equivalent of 60s radicals chanting "hey, hey, lbj, how many kids did you kill today?" and holding signs depicting policemen as pigs ... shrill, addicted to psychodrama and the cultivation of outrage, and not very useful or effective as long as they stay out of political office

one can just about taste the helplessness and rage ...
posted by pyramid termite at 9:19 AM on June 27, 2006


Fourth estate, sorry ..... boy, I'm making flubs left and right today.
posted by blucevalo at 9:20 AM on June 27, 2006


Fourth estate, sorry ..... boy, I'm making flubs left and right today.

But mostly Right. :-)
posted by illiad at 9:26 AM on June 27, 2006


[...] being seen as emotional and passionate about the issues of the day, was often considered more important and influential than one's opinions on the issues themselves

Isn't that one of the cores of the Religious Right Republicans' creed, where "conviction" is a virtue and "intellectualism" is vilified?

I'm a moderate, which a lot of the RRR (and frankly the extreme Left as well) consider a Bad Thing, because to them I "lack conviction." If not toeing their party line and changing my position when justified by new information is "lacking conviction," then I'm as guilty of that as Limbaugh is of hypocrisy.
posted by illiad at 9:37 AM on June 27, 2006 [1 favorite]


I don't know, it seems as though most of the outrage is coming from the right wing blogosphere and talking heads on this issue.
"treason"
posted by caddis at 9:37 AM on June 27, 2006


I'm confused. Was the New York Times OK when it employed Judy Miller to help sell the false story that got us into Bush's war in Iraq? But now they're not OK?
posted by Nelson at 9:43 AM on June 27, 2006


...the story quoted Vice-President Cheney as saying:
"The New York Times has now twice -- two separate occasions -- disclosed programs; both times they had been asked not to publish those stories by senior administration officials. They went ahead anyway. The leaks to The New York Times and the publishing of those leaks is very damaging."


Damn straight. But damaging to whom: the administration or the country?

We report. You decide.
posted by leftcoastbob at 9:44 AM on June 27, 2006


illiad, moderate is seen as bad, because "if you stand for nothing you'll fall for anything". Unfortunately, that requires that you adhere to the bad framing that the world is black or white, and ignore the fact that we live in the gray/grey. I prefer pragmatism, myself.
posted by rzklkng at 9:47 AM on June 27, 2006


[...] moderate is seen as bad, because "if you stand for nothing you'll fall for anything".

Ya, I've heard that catchy little rhetorical legerdemain before. Well heck, they're so wrong it's shocking. I am a firm advocate of Moderation. With conviction! Rather than belt the extremies with a tire iron like I am sure some of them deserve, I'd be content with biffing them rapidly with a Nerf bat. I mean, how moderate is that?
posted by illiad at 9:52 AM on June 27, 2006


I'm a moderate, which a lot of the RRR (and frankly the extreme Left as well) consider a Bad Thing

Now I'm really confused. Who comprises this "extreme left" in America?
posted by Neiltupper at 10:03 AM on June 27, 2006


@Neiltupper: I have no idea. I'm Canadian, and as such I speak of the more militant lefties Up Here that can be found in the NDP.
posted by illiad at 10:04 AM on June 27, 2006


Who comprises this "extreme left" in America?

You know, PETA, ELF, the NYT, Michael Moore, and the boogeyman.
posted by sonofsamiam at 10:07 AM on June 27, 2006


If you don't read Glenn Greenwald, then you aren't getting the best explanation of what the Bush admin is doing in America these days and why it is such a problem.

Clear, concise, excellent.

Linkage
posted by Cycloptichorn at 10:08 AM on June 27, 2006


In all of their huffing and puffing, how is it that Bush, Cheney and their torch bearing rabble fail to mention that the Wall Street Journal published the same story on the same day.
posted by JackFlash at 10:10 AM on June 27, 2006



what I find absolutely hysterical are phrases like these from idiots like Malkin: "An Army of Photoshoppers...is unleashing on the MSM blabbermouths and their leaky sources."

What? Unleashing on the MSM? The MSM doesn't read Malkin's stupid blog even when they book her on their shows. And those photoshopped posters, are they kidding? No one in the MSM or on the left will ever see this nonsense except in the context of mockery.

These things are rallies for the faithful.

What amazes me is this - these people are upset at the Times for running a story that their government is monitoring international financial transaction? OR are they upset because the administration asked them not to run it, and they ran it anyway?

In other words, which is worse in the Rush Limbaugh-listening, adhere blindly to tradition mindset of the right - that the Times may have compromised some intelligence source in some indirect and superficial way, or that the Times wouldn't shut up and listen to Daddy authority?
posted by Pastabagel at 10:11 AM on June 27, 2006


If you don't read Glenn Greenwald, then you aren't getting the best explanation of what the Bush admin is doing in America these days and why it is such a problem.

I'm sure there is no confirmation bias in that assessment.

Which is the futility of this discussion.

And the apropos taglines that describe the politics here at Metafilter keep rolling in without the least bit of self-awareness that the partisans are guilty of everything they accuse the other of.....

Metafilter: no one in the MSM will ever see this nonsense except in the context of mockery.

Metafilter: rally for the faithful.
posted by dios at 10:16 AM on June 27, 2006


WHAT A DEEP COMMENT woah i'm totally blinded by my partisans
posted by sonofsamiam at 10:19 AM on June 27, 2006


Probably the NY Times staffers are the ones who told the Jews to get out of the WTC, too. Maybe they should call it the NY Crimes. I'm pretty sure no one but a jihadist would eat rhubarb pie.
posted by DenOfSizer at 10:20 AM on June 27, 2006


the partisans are guilty of everything they accuse the other of

What, precisely, does "everything" refer to here?
posted by sonofsamiam at 10:21 AM on June 27, 2006


You made one tiny little error in you post. Ms Malkin is not a conservative. She is the hideous spawn of Satan and a hammerhead shark. It's a common error, but now you know not to make it again.
posted by mooncrow at 10:22 AM on June 27, 2006


it's completely impossible to discern any logic in neo-cons these days.
posted by StrasbourgSecaucus at 10:28 AM on June 27, 2006


I stopped readin the Times years ago because they were biased.

They should be shut down, and the sooner the better. There are plenty of decent papers out there that don't believe that New York is the center of the universe.
posted by tadellin at 10:30 AM on June 27, 2006


You can't trust the neocons, but you can always trust the neocons to be neocons. -- Ordell Robbie
posted by Astro Zombie at 10:31 AM on June 27, 2006


i read the new york post now. completely unbiased reporting.
posted by StrasbourgSecaucus at 10:31 AM on June 27, 2006


without the least bit of self-awareness that the partisans are guilty of everything they accuse the other of.....

If you're suggesting that the left gets as shrill and irrational as the right, you're spot on. But that's a superficial reading.

The point is that while the right is criticising the media for discussing what the government did, the left is criticising the government.

We have a situtation where the government leaks information, the media picks up on it, the media then asks the same government that wanted it secret if it's okay to print it, the story gets out, and the public blames the media. None of those bloggers suggest there is anything wring with these eavesdropping/monitoring programs.

If we are to assume that those who accuse the Times of treason are rational, thoughtful people, then we can only conclude that they support the government's monitoring.

Which is frightening. At it's essence, the Bill of Rights exists to protect the people from their governments, State and Federal. What the right is saying is that they'd rather be safe and lose some rights than to keep those rights and run the risk that someone takes advatage of that freedom.

The irony is that throughout history, the people have had more to fear from their own states than from outsiders.
posted by Pastabagel at 10:32 AM on June 27, 2006


Deleted comment by dios

It hasn't even been an hour since his deleted comment, and he returns to make another of the exact same nature. Fantastic. Biting the hand that feeds since day one.
posted by prostyle at 10:35 AM on June 27, 2006


that New York is the center of the universe

I don't live in New York, but it is the financial capital of the country (world?), every creative industry is based there, and decisions made there ripple out to the rest of the country.

The Times may or may not be a good paper, but its readers include very influential and powerful people in the U.S. They make decisions that affect people nationwide based on what they read in it.
posted by Pastabagel at 10:36 AM on June 27, 2006


Plus it's as close a thing as we got to a national paper. I mean, sometimes USA Today just doesn't cut it.
posted by DenOfSizer at 10:37 AM on June 27, 2006


God, why would the New York Times waste so much of its time covering New York? And, while we're at it, why does the Minneapolis Star-Tribune waste so much ink on the Twin Cities?
posted by Astro Zombie at 10:40 AM on June 27, 2006




Saying that NYC isn't the centre of the universe is adopting the same attitude Western Canadians like myself exhibit from time to time: we gnash our teeth at Eastern Canada, make disparaging remarks about "Tranna" and claim that the West can do it on its own thankyouverymuch. But at the end of the day, the East does rule the West, regardless of what rhetoric we might want to fling about.

What happens in NY doesn't stay in NY.
posted by illiad at 10:42 AM on June 27, 2006


tadellin: It's not called the United States Times, it's called the New York Times. There's a reason for that. I'm sure if you look at the Louisville Courier-Journal, for example, you'd get the impression that Louisville is the center of the universe.
posted by jeversol at 10:43 AM on June 27, 2006


jeversol, don't feed th--- ah, nevermind.
posted by NationalKato at 10:46 AM on June 27, 2006


Someone should talk to dios' madre. Let her know that he's been a very naughty boy.
posted by illiad at 10:49 AM on June 27, 2006


The administration should quit pussyfooting around, and start following their authoritarian little charcoal hearts. Shut down the NYT for sedition. I dare them.
posted by edverb at 10:53 AM on June 27, 2006


Plus they don't even publish a goddam Suddoko puzzle. How unAmerican is that?
posted by DenOfSizer at 10:56 AM on June 27, 2006


The American Right is so attached to the Bush administration that 2+2 no longer = 4.

Whatever political mechanism the Bush team has in place to achieve this fait accompli is amazing : whatever the Bush team does, the Right will tag along. Against abortion? You are for torture. Against reckless spending? You believe in runaway debt. Believe in the Bill of Rights? You allow the government to take your civil liberties from you.

At what point did this happen? How did it happen? Has the independance of American thought been eroded by complete lock-step media saturation?

There are many, many answers that are so far away.
posted by The Jesse Helms at 10:56 AM on June 27, 2006


dios, for someone claiming to be a lawyer you certainly drag red herrings all over the place.
posted by The Jesse Helms at 10:58 AM on June 27, 2006


I'm with edverb. I want them to fully see this threat through. Close down the Times and let the fun begin!
posted by NationalKato at 10:58 AM on June 27, 2006


for someone claiming to be a lawyer you certainly drag red herrings all over the place.

Experience has taught that, outside of their domain, lawyers are not necessarily any more logical or rigorous than other people. You might have noticed this with certain mathematicians or theologians, too.
posted by sonofsamiam at 11:02 AM on June 27, 2006


I'm sure there is no confirmation bias in that assessment.


Well, Dios, I would challenge you to examine the facts presented by Greenwald over the course of this year, in his various posts, and show how my original statement is incorrect.

But I know it is far easier for you to not do so, so... we'll probably see more winning gems from you like this:

"When the United States has lost, does that mean that UBL will be the political head of the United States?"
posted by Cycloptichorn at 11:02 AM on June 27, 2006


being seen as emotional and passionate about the issues of the day, was often considered more important and influential than one's opinions on the issues themselves

i'm utterly amazed this post of mine was deleted ... a serious point made in a serious way, and on-topic
posted by pyramid termite at 11:10 AM on June 27, 2006


Surely this will be the thing that makes everyone.....ah, hell. I keep thinking, every time this Rhetoric of Hate is ratcheted up, that the collective American public (or at least the MSM) will finally realize the shrill irrationality of what's being said (or screamed).

But then we don't, and I die a little inside.
posted by LooseFilter at 11:27 AM on June 27, 2006


WHBT. WHL.
posted by StrasbourgSecaucus at 11:34 AM on June 27, 2006


There is a difference between revealing legal stuff that should legally be kept secret - and between revealing illegal stuff that the public might want to know about.

If the NYT has violated any national security laws then prosecute them. If they have not, then leave them alone.

Frankly, how many "terrorists" are using SWIFT? Damn few, if any, I would imagine, so the gains are minimal. On the other hand, how many Democratic congressmen and women are using SWIFT? And how can we be assured that the Republicans won't use the information gleaned from their spying to squeeze their political opponents? That is the real threat.
posted by three blind mice at 11:35 AM on June 27, 2006


They slugged away at gay marriage until they ran out of political capital there. Same thing with social security reform, same with immigration. Attacking the media is the next logical step; when nothing goes right the last refuge of the cornered scoundrel is to attack the messenger. What's next? Who knows.
posted by clevershark at 11:36 AM on June 27, 2006


how many "terrorists" are using SWIFT?

Presumably, real terrorists would be using hawala, as it is reputedly very reliable and is "kosher" for them.
posted by sonofsamiam at 11:37 AM on June 27, 2006


btw, those are some of the worst goddamned photoshops i've ever seen. can the right wingers only afford MS Paint?
posted by StrasbourgSecaucus at 11:50 AM on June 27, 2006


Why is everybody so sure that Dios is a lawyer? He has been challenged to show his bona fides before by a lawyer on metafilter and did not. How many law firms allow employees to sit in front of the Big Blue all day and night waiting to drop troll bombs on anything critical of the worst - not legally elected - administration the United States has ever had to endure.

Attacking the New York Times is only the latest in a Rove / Cheney effort to rally the "base" - they are down to Malkin and the Freepers now. Pretty poor showing.
posted by zaelic at 11:57 AM on June 27, 2006


I love all those bad 'shopped propaganda posters. They reveal, yet again, what Red America really is: a bunch of shrill pussies.
posted by effwerd at 12:03 PM on June 27, 2006


Why is everybody so sure that Dios is a lawyer?

Well, he's got those shitty law posts going for him. Although I guess that fake-lawyer-dead-kid could do that.
posted by puke & cry at 12:21 PM on June 27, 2006 [1 favorite]




I am also a lawyer. And a am a member president of Compulsive Liars Anonymous.
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:29 PM on June 27, 2006


Frankly, I blame Bill Maher.

Uncle Sam
posted by anotherpanacea at 12:34 PM on June 27, 2006


Great link, Cycloptichorn.
posted by homunculus at 12:36 PM on June 27, 2006


Dios. One question ...

If you were in charge, either elected or crowned as Our King, what would you do to make this World a better place? Seriously.

(And folks, let him answer.)
posted by grabbingsand at 12:41 PM on June 27, 2006


Why does everybody treat being a lawyer like some kind of hard-to-get qualification that is more worthy of respect than, say, being a video store clerk?

It's not hard to believe; they're as common as doorknobs and come in all shapes and sizes, degrees of intelligence and knowledge. And the frequency with which lawyers are asked questions about the law -- but still *far* outside of their field of practice, making them little better than anyone else able to answer (well, I seem to remember from first year contracts...) -- renders them like any other specialist, that is to say, at best an expert in a narrow sub-field. After all, the job of a lawyer is not to know the law but to be able to research it (and later, for some, present it with flair).

But then this is beside the point. If his views (and etiquette) were more in line with the mainstream here, we wouldn't be questioning his vocation at all.
posted by dreamsign at 12:43 PM on June 27, 2006


btw, those are some of the worst goddamned photoshops i've ever seen. can the right wingers only afford MS Paint?

Until I read the comments, I didn't realize they were by 'wingers. I seriously thought they were meant as ironic. Although, yeah. The quality is pretty universally terrible.
posted by norm at 12:53 PM on June 27, 2006


Dios. One question ... If you were in charge, either elected or crowned as Our King, what would you do to make this World a better place? Seriously. (And folks, let him answer.)

He can't answer; Matt gave him a timeout.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 1:31 PM on June 27, 2006


Number 1 does seem to be cracking the whip. I thought dios's comments were obnoxious and designed more to stir trouble than to foster discussion, but time-out?
posted by caddis at 1:44 PM on June 27, 2006


Can you blame him? We only get to see the proverbial tip-o'-the-iceberg with regards to the threadshitting that matthowie and jessamyn don't get to/have time to deal with/notice/etc.

Le dieu has made calls for stronger moderation in the past, as have I. I'm happy to see he's made an example of himself, yet again.
posted by bardic at 1:51 PM on June 27, 2006


Did anyone notice the second to last poster? It's a rework of an Allied propaganda image that featured a sinister Nazi in a Darth-Vaderish helmet.

Except the wingnut put KARL ROVE in place of the Nazi.

They really have no sense of irony at all.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 1:56 PM on June 27, 2006




(Does Godwin's Law apply when people compare themselves, rather than their opponents, to Nazis?)
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 1:59 PM on June 27, 2006


I dunno. But if some of the neo-con types flat out declared themselves to be fascists the honesty of it would be a refreshing blash of fresh air.
posted by Artw at 2:02 PM on June 27, 2006


If that were to ever happen, we'd first get a lot of "well, fascists didn't have it all wrong... they took the challenges of the modern era seriously... etc." from Malkin et al.
posted by sonofsamiam at 2:07 PM on June 27, 2006


And some of the more extreme neo-con stuff was sooo close to that.

They seem to have disapeared en-masse these days though.
posted by Artw at 2:11 PM on June 27, 2006


You know, fascists are the last group it is acceptable to discriminate against in this country. Liberals think they are so tolerant...
posted by InfidelZombie at 2:13 PM on June 27, 2006


They seem to have disapeared en-masse these days though.

I've noticed that too, and not just around here.

Are folks taking some time to revisit their crazy-ass opinions, or are they just moving their online activity to some echo chamber?
posted by sonofsamiam at 2:16 PM on June 27, 2006


Those @#$% liberals are anti-fasco-fascists!
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 2:20 PM on June 27, 2006


Why does everybody treat being a lawyer like some kind of hard-to-get qualification that is more worthy of respect than, say, being a video store clerk?

I take it you haven't been to law school?
posted by The Jesse Helms at 2:31 PM on June 27, 2006


none of this matters folks. why you ask? cause we number one. yeeeehawww.
posted by nola at 2:42 PM on June 27, 2006


Or a video store. I mean, jeez, shouldn't a video store clerk know where La Stada is?
posted by Astro Zombie at 2:51 PM on June 27, 2006


It's interesting how much of the above linked Kennedy "WANTED FOR TREASON" handbill could be recycled for the present day and current President...

1. Betraying the Constitution (which he swore to uphold).
2. He has been WRONG on innumerable issues affecting the security of the U.S.
5. He has illegally invaded a sovereign State with Federal troops.
7. He has been caught in fantastic LIES to the American people.

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
posted by SenshiNeko at 3:05 PM on June 27, 2006


I take it you haven't been to law school?

I have, which is why I asked.
posted by dreamsign at 3:39 PM on June 27, 2006 [1 favorite]


I have, which is why I asked.

Set and match.
posted by joe lisboa at 4:51 PM on June 27, 2006


DenOfSizer

Garrison Keillor is an Islamic fundamentalist?
posted by Target Practice at 4:52 PM on June 27, 2006


Set and match

Hardly. dios is quite obviously a lawyer, and likely skilled, given his legal analysis on many a point around here. This lame call out of him is no better than the "global warming isn't real" crap.
posted by caddis at 5:43 PM on June 27, 2006


I would like to see the deleted comments.
posted by the Real Dan at 5:55 PM on June 27, 2006


I wasn't slamming dios, but those who would question a person's professional status as some kind of claim to authority, which, if you read his posts, he doesn't resort to.
posted by dreamsign at 6:02 PM on June 27, 2006


If my hypothetical video store clerk posted about some movie trivia, I can't imagine questioning his "supposed" employment as part of disagreement with the poster. Unless of course it was all based on a claim of authority, in which case he would have it coming.
posted by dreamsign at 6:05 PM on June 27, 2006


TP -Garrison Keillor is an Islamic fundamentalist?
Well, it ain't apple pie, now, is it? As Stephen Colbert (MamaBear?) would say, that's all I need to know.
posted by DenOfSizer at 6:35 PM on June 27, 2006


I would like to see the deleted comments.

dios's first comment, and his only deleted comment in this thread as far as I can tell, turned pyramid termite's comment into a tagline and read as follows, in it's entirety:
MetaFilter: shrill, addicted to psychodrama and the cultivation of outrage, and not very useful or effective.
dios's second comment remains.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 6:43 PM on June 27, 2006


That's it? Why is he on time out?
posted by caddis at 6:47 PM on June 27, 2006


How fucking great it is to see y'all getting worked up about Dios instead of dealing with the original post. Buncha idiots.
posted by five fresh fish at 7:32 PM on June 27, 2006


I presume the camel's back finally broke.
posted by Astro Zombie at 7:34 PM on June 27, 2006






Bush Confused About Leaks
posted by homunculus at 10:18 PM on June 27, 2006


The truth is not on the right-wing's side.

Embarrassed and belligerent, they must attack anyone who speaks the truth.

Why is nobody in the mainstream questioning the legality of this bank spying?

Imagine the squeal that the Bush's or the Cheney's would make if any of us were to stick our nose into their banking transactions.

This is not the Kingdom of Bush.
posted by rougy at 11:13 PM on June 27, 2006








Ad hominem.
posted by rush at 12:41 PM on June 30, 2006




The conservative pundits are apparently batshitinsane. Travel Section As Terrorist Plot is the thinking of a paranoid schizophrenic.
posted by five fresh fish at 4:50 PM on July 1, 2006




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