They're attempting to train the barking media dogs!  Does this concern anyone else?  

Thanks the CIA Leak Investigation, we learn of high level government officials attempting to influence news...possibly as everyday SOP.

First, we learn that Libby calls Russert to complain on a (yet to be identified) MSNBC story. He gets to speak to Russert for about 20 minutes and is given the private numbers of senior NBC management to use in pursuing his complaint.

Second, we learn Libby calls Matt Cooper to complain that his entire "on-the-record" comment was not used in Cooper's Time article.

I imagine many will say "Hey, wake up and smell the coffee -- of course, this goes on."

I want to know to what extent is the media being "schooled" like this. Did/does it occur on a weekly or daily basis?

Attempted undue influence of the media by those in power --it explains a lot of the MSM lack of independence and lack of balls -- here to now.

Excerpt from Hugh Jackson's, the Las Vegas Gleaner blog, dateline 08/19/2005:

This poll was conducted last month by Strategic Surveys Inc. of Las Vegas but it was released Thursday.  An article on this poll By Steve Kanigher (Las Vegas Sun) can been seen at:
Statewide poll: Gibbons has Slight Lead over Titus

Lastly, for anyone needing a scorecard to identify all the potential players in the Nevada Governor's race, see Scott Dickensheets' recent article in the Las Vegas Weekly:
Everything You Need To Know About the Next [NV] Governor's Race

University Chancellor Jim Rogers' possible entry as an Independant might make this race very interesting...

The politics of divisive issues has succeeded in the last two prez election cycles over Carville's "It's the economy, stupid" or anything else.  Dems need to learn to play and win at this new effective political tactic while staying true to our democratic principles for a free, fair and just society.

So how do we FRACTURE this new Bush voting majority?

That's the mission that needs to be undertaken and tactically planned by our Dem leadership. (I agree these need to be strong Dem leaders from dark blue states.)

Reconciliatory compromises that alienate key Democratic constituencies will not only be dangerous, they could permanently cripple the Democratic Party. We must fight valiantly and force the Republicans to promote their radical agenda. Legislation can always be re-written and repealed.

On the first BBC newcast in the wee hours last night I heard the story on the court martial of Staff Sergeant Ivan Frederick.

The BBC (covering the trial in much more detail than our SCLM) mentioned an email that had been read in court.  It came from military intelligence in Baghdad demanding that interrogations be "toughened up".

Here's the passage from Reuters:

Here's the link:Reuters: Witness says CIA oversaw abuse at Abu Ghraib
 

I just received an old petition from 2002 re: Dr. W. David Hager.  Rather than deleting it, I verified it (Urban Legends), re-worded it and sent to most of my address book.  Why? As a reminder of this president's extremism after campaigning as a "uniter".  Although, I ask receipients to tell Bush that this extremism is why they aren't voting for him, my primary purpose it to remind voters of Bush's record...and maybe win some uninformed undecideds to K/E!  Maybe other Kossacks can put it to good use too?

Please see this article written by novelist E.L. Doctorow from the East Hampton Star, The Unfeeling President.  It is very tough on Chimpy.

Two exerpts from the Doctorow article follow:

"But he will dissemble feeling. He will say in all sincerity he is relieving the wealthiest 1 percent of the population of their tax burden for the sake of the rest of us, and that he is polluting the air we breathe for the sake of our economy, and that he is decreasing the quality of air in coal mines to save the coal miners' jobs, and that he is depriving workers of their time-and-a-half benefits for overtime because this is actually a way to honor them by raising them into the professional class."

And,

"The president we get is the country we get. With each president the nation is conformed spiritually. He is the artificer of our malleable national soul. He proposes not only the laws but the kinds of lawlessness that govern our lives and invoke our responses. The people he appoints are cast in his image. The trouble they get into and get us into, is his characteristic trouble."

Gallup went on the defensive today on Inside Politics in response to the full page moveon.org ad in today's NYT.

Any dust up that undermines the average voter's acceptance of these polls as accurate is extremely helpful.

Read more from Reuters article (filed 9/28/04 11:46 a.m.ET) about the controversy here: "Campaign Puts Polling Methods Under Microscope" See Moveon.Org's full page ad here: "http://www.moveon.org/front/"(Click on box in upper left corner for a one page pdf of the ad.)