Two For One

The Morning Joe Rebuttal for July 21st, 2010


Observations:


1) I wish I could say that it was ESP that made me refuse to write about yesterdays show. I wish that I could honestly claim that I saw through the Breibart-infused ‘Drudge journalism’ that got so much media attention yesterday, and that I was waiting for the other shoe to drop today. But I was right there with the rest of the population more marginally confused by what I was seeing (being fed) than out in front. I didn’t understand Ms. Sherrod’s muffled take, I didn’t understand the firestorm from the media, I didn’t understand the government reaction, but I didn’t have a suspicion either.


The shoe dropped and now the Morning Joe show has had what can only be described as an uber-hypocritical moment. They have been doing this for some time, because they are analysts first and journalists second. But to have the revelations that we had today, and to stop short of apologizing, for even its Licht-researched version of events yesterday was irresponsible to journalistic endeavor, is troubling. Let’s also be honest that the show dodged a bullet with it’s loudest analyst off the set when he would have been the most susceptible of making that embarrassing video that would have been played to the shows detriment forever.


Whatever the roots, whatever the self-cleansing motives today, the net result was accurately portrayed: that the White House has yet another devil in the details embarrassment to try and explain away. This notion that there is an administrative feather trigger left over by the Gates debacle from a year ago is interesting but unconvincing. What is convincing is the take that the White House refers to the 24 hour news cycle as a detriment to judgment, but then participates and governs on that basis showing an immature haste. Yea, Scarborough got to launch some really painful zingers ala ‘if this is how they handle this, we need someone else in charge to handle Iran’. The White House has to circle this comment and remember this day, making it’s judgments on this basis, and understanding the scale commentary of Mr. Scarborough’s quip. In this case the 24 hour news cycle is useful, showing the risk associated from lacking an even keel in it’s own wake.


2) I hope the show got advertising money for letting Mike Papantonio on, because that was the most disgusting case of ambulance chasing I’ve ever seen nationally televised. Thank heaven that Mike Barnicle nailed that guy, the first time in history the ‘what have we learned today’ segment was useful. But to get away with unbacked comments like ‘Ken Feinberg is no Mother Theresa’ while telling desperate people to get involved in a class action lawsuit is shameless, and the show that lets it happen is equally so.


Lawyers serve some purpose in this country, but it will never be defined by their unjust compensation nor their unjust control over our lives. Anyone can sue anyone, but the legal ramifications of a lawsuit is entirely means based. You only sue rich people, you can only afford so much defense, you often find allowing the wrong version of events to proceed is better because of the out of scale cost of litigation. True centrists will acknowledge this is one item that Republicans have right, if they could ever remember to bring it up in it’s purest sense. They never will because like everything else, it’s only time for legal reform when it prevents competitive markets and free enterprise, but legal reform where it prevents fine print predation on the part of companies and usury is perfectly ok.


But in the case of the BP oil spill the math is simple, and opposite of Mr. Papantonio’s take. It may hurt to wait until August 1st, that may be month 4, but Mr. Feinberg is the very best possible outcome for an individual, and the first option available to you that doesn’t feed more than two mouths in the process. C’mon Scarborough, that sucked.


3) Campaign contributions like the 501 c (4) ‘tax exemption while hidden’ formats are used by both sides of the political spectrum. But it is dirty wherever it’s used. You have a right to free speech, but not while hidden. That’s a hate crime. What I would like to see in response to the Rove mandated national swift boat campaign is a national light of day campaign. I want anyone participating in these attacks to be found out and susceptible to dollar votes. Dollar votes are really costly to companies. They face boycotts, they face competitive headwinds, they in the end aren’t worth it if bought on a false basis of confidentiality but traced like so many other cover-ups in this country.


I want the company or individual about to embark on a self convinced lark of assassinating someone’s character from a false province of privacy to have the same chance at ultimate confidentiality that a person getting a medical marijuana card or a Patriot Act library card options themselves: not likely. It should only be a matter of time before every donor of every dollar of the 50 million planned for by Rove is highlighted and forced to absorb the true political cost of their free speech.


Ultimately it was worth it for T. Boone Pickens to swift boat John Kerry. I’m personally more of a fan of Pickens than Kerry, but that particular transaction was so out of scale unjust, it can’t go on as a way of life in a Democracy. The middle class has to equip itself with methods to make this practice unprofitable and politically unfavorable.


You are being duped America, our ruling class is using you to vote away your own rights so they might exploit the nation’s riches more efficiently. You fight their oil wars, you pay for their risk insurance on Wall Street, corporate taxes are less than 7% of national revenue, they expect to profit from every transaction in your life: health, defense, public safety, education, even Social Security. Don’t believe me? United Health, the owner of Blue Cross/Blue Shield/Anthem, the monopoly health insurer in California that did not get its 39% rate increase last quarter, just announced it’s earnings for that quarter, and they were up 31%.


If that’s equity, I’m equitably more motivated to reverse this trend.


That’s all for today, see you tomorrow.