Every month or so I meet with visiting journalists from around the world as part of a program run through the World Affairs Council. Meetings are also set up with various traditional media organizations, political consultants, advocacy groups, etc., but invariably, the foreign journalists always want to meet “the blogger,” and it always makes for a fascinating conversation.
Last year I met with some foreign journalists who had come straight from a meeting with some folks at the Seattle Times, who, when informed I was the next stop on the schedule, graciously took the time to “warn” them about me. They said I had “a chip on my shoulder,” the visiting journalists reported back, and implied that I was more or less an official organ of the Democratic Party. On another occasion I received a thank you email from one of my guests, telling me that in a subsequent meeting with a local journalist, half the conversation was spent badmouthing me and my medium.
You know, us goddamn, partisan “amen bloggers.”
Yeah, well, the truth is, the only difference between me and say, the Seattle Times editorial board is not that one of us is overtly partisan while one is not, but rather, that only one of us has the balls to openly admit it. For if the Times is going to routinely dismiss HA as mere party propaganda, what the hell do they call today’s editorial calling on Gov. Chris Gregoire to stop talking about embryonic stem cell research?
Enough of stem cells. The job of governor has nothing to do with stem cells. Gov. Christine Gregoire should use her re-election money to talk about things the governor actually does, starting with budgets and taxes.
She should end the TV ads of people who fret that Dino Rossi is standing between them and medical salvation.
Jesus H. Christ… if that’s not a WSRP talking point, I don’t know what is! The governor’s stem cell ads are without a doubt the most evocative and effective of the campaign, and the Times damn well knows it. That’s why they chose to use their bully pulpit to try to bully her into pulling the spots. I mean, could they be any more obvious?
In fact, the stem cell debate does have plenty to do with the governor’s job. While it’s true that the Life Sciences Discovery Fund has yet to award any grants for embryonic stem cell research, it has received several such applications, and remains open to such investments… that is, unless Dino Rossi takes the reins of the fund and imposes his own morality over the judgment of science.
But Rossi’s opposition to embryonic stem cell research also speaks to the larger issues of character and values, issues the Times sees no problem in Rossi otherwise making the centerpiece of his vague campaign. Rossi opposes embryonic stem cell research for the same reason he opposes legal abortion, medically accurate sex education, and regulations requiring pharmacists to dispense legally prescribed birth control… because he believes that his own fundamentalist religious views of human sexuality and morality should be imposed on the rest of us by force of law or executive fiat, science be damned.
The Times excuses Rossi’s position by bluntly stating that “Rossi is Catholic,” a transparently offensive attempt to imply that any criticism of his position amounts to religious bigotry. Well, Gov. Gregoire is Catholic too—the difference being that, unlike Rossi, she doesn’t believe it is her right or responsibility as governor to impose her religion on the rest of us, or to allow her faith to trump scientific consensus.
In our view the issue is not real — not for this race, this year.
In their view, this is not an issue that favors their candidate because it speaks to a huge gap between his values and those of the majority of voters, as does his position on legal abortion, birth control and sex education. They and their Republican buddies may not want these issues to be real, but that doesn’t make them any less so.
Let the governor talk about taxes and budgets, roads and ferries, school funding and a dozen other things.
The governor does talk about all these things, and continues to, not that the Times, or most of the rest of our oh so credible media elite really want to bother to report it. Just listen to the post-debate analysis on KUOW, or from Crosscut’s conventional wisdom intoxicated David Brewster… they all but ridicule Gov. Gregoire for her “wonky” policy-driven answers while lauding Rossi for connecting to voters with his fuzzy personal anecdotes about his Tlingit grandmother and schoolteacher father.
The Times doesn’t want a real debate on the issues, they want Dino Rossi to win, and so their ed board has been reduced to calling on Gov. Gregoire to pull ads that even they admit are factually accurate… and this in a political season where lies have been spread like cold germs in a daycare center.
So shame on you Frank Blethen, for your paper’s shamelessly partisan, amen editorializing. Unless of course, like me, you finally come clean and openly embrace your bias.
Strange. Didn’t Schwarzenegger ok the use of California taxpayer dollars to support stem cell research?
Good enough for that CA Republican but off limits to a WA State Democratic Governor.
Sad.
“…opposition to embryonic stem cell research also speaks to the larger issues of character and values…”
Darn those larger issues of character and values, eh Goldy?
Personally, I think the governor’s election campaign is lousy. If that stem cell ad is the best she has, she is going to loose big, even with the Obama swell. I don’t care how well meaning she is, but stem cells doesn’t matter to normal people, and I’m afraid I’m going to loose my job, I want someone who’s going do something.
Those casino gambling ads in heavy rotation hurt the Governor. Rossi is scoring big with his lies about being bi partisan and lowering taxes while still being compassionate. He talks a good game. He’s gonna win, if she doesn’t get better and talk effectively about bread and butter issues.
Though not a big giver, Frank Blethen gave $1000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (through Blethen Corporation) and $1000 to the campaign of Sen. Max Baucus (D) of Montana. Nothing to Republicans.
I thought Rossi, as a Tlingit/Italian American, would be some kind of ‘Animist/Didact’ when it came to religion.
Oh, he’s Catholic. That’s exactly what he is.
Ah, poor little unemployed fanatical Goldy…. Are the actual professional journalists picking on you? Sounds like they called things for what they are to me.
re 6: “Sounds like they called things for what they are to me.”
Do you consider Jeff Gannon Guckert to be an “…actual professional journalist”?
I’ll bet you do.
Goldy,
If Rossi’s religious those views affect the rest of us, we need to know.
. The idea of a Palinite or Guzzongo as governor being responsible for our atate’s future should be a REAL topic of debate.
Those of us living off of Puget Sound’s largess of berries, salmon, oysters, and Amazon may not realize it but Eastern Washington is utterly dependent on agricultural science and ag science is very dependent on global warming. As for Puget Sound a Luddite governor could spoil are indigenous crops of Boeing, Biotech, and Information Science.
CG SHOULD challenge Rossi on his relationships to Guzzo and the DI. In that context stem cells translate into $$$ a farmer in Wenatchee can understand.
For those with fears of religion affecting politics, take a look at Raja Petra Kammarudin’s problems in Malaysia. .
He has been imprisoned for insulting Islam. I have put a link and an address at SJ if you want to send him some succor.
@9 I checked out some of your photography on your site. In my opinion, some of it is very good. I’ll return one day and check out the rest.
I responded to you in the I-1000 thread but haven’t seen a reply, not that one is required.
Oops, I see now that you actually did reply. Thanks.
Speaking of anti-science types, at the top of the ticket there is McCain and Palin – a flat-earth, cre(a)tionist. Looks like the openness and transparency she said she and McCain stood for is a total sham:
Green is the republican Alaska Senate president (so this is not partisan). So much for tranparency and honesty in government – even the alaska republicans are disgusted by the tactics of McCain/Palin. She claims to be religous but lying, intimidation and hiding from the truth are not very religious in my book. Palin is not only ignorant of the basics of foreign policy but she is dishonest and tries to use government to hide her misdeeds – sounds just like Bush to me.
Oh, right, that’s the Blethen Times, the Republican rag that endorses Machine Democrat bogtrotter Barry O’Bama for president.
And Archbishop Goldy Nuance Goldstein surely understands, since Nuance is his middle name, that not all stem cells are created equal. Some, from adults, mostly work. Some, from embryos, mostly don’t.
@12 Rocktober
And some folks … you … have not the least idea what a stem cell is.
Isn’t iggorance wunnaful!
BTW … here is a 2 cents lesson for you … Senator Obama’s first name is Arabic but the same name exists in Hebrew. It means “Blessed” as in Barach atau adonai …. Blessed are thou, Lord our God …”
Good thing you didn’t know that or yo might have embarassed yourself.
Got me again, Mr. Jew. You are so deucedly clever.
I can think of one more difference. HA isn’t run by a corrupt family of greedheads whose gene pool is quickly running out.
King Blethen is a blight on Seattle journalism. That is something that even stem cells cannot cure.
Do we have the HMNT back or is it MWS?
HNMT. You got a problem with that?
@16 They’re all America-hating, treasonous, commie-fascist goatfuckers so it’s no surprise at all that some of them have a few deep-seated screen name issues.
You are such a turn-on when you talk dirty.
Speaking of goats and their *******, where’s our Rabbit? And Nurse Jane Fuzzywuzzy?
She should end the TV ads of people who fret that Dino Rossi is standing between them and medical salvation.
The TV ads now are nothing like the TV ads back in 1929. But that goes without saying.
LMFAO. Republican Bob Allen was convicted for offering to pay $20 to blow a black cop in a Florida park toilet. What the fuck is up with Republicans and public toilets??
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.c.....convi.html
This has been another edition of “Puddy’s Heroes”.
To: Joe the clean articulate Biden
From: DS
Re: Down to stems & cells
Enough of this pointless nattering. I say we ditch Dino & “governor” Gregoire, and bring back Goldy’s main man.
That would be John Edwards, who said that embryonic stem cells would make Christopher Reeve rise up and walk.
And if Edwards said it, it’s got to be true.
(And is it true that Goldy is John Edwards’ love child?)
22
ENOUGH!
Part of what a leader does is to instill confidence, to demonstrate that he or she knows what they’re talking about and communicates to people. Take the stock market crash, Franklin Roosevelt got on television…. wait nevermind.
Questions?
17 – Overjoyed! Let’s relive old times:
http://www.factcheck.org/askfa.....ncome.html
So many right wing whoppers so little time. Keep up the old cut and paste!
I just cannot fathom why the mainstream Democratic press snidely labeled Goldy an appendix.
In other news, Sarah Palin shot and killed a moose today in New York City. Although conspiracy theorists claim the moose was planted by upstate New York Republicans, the Moose was in fact native to Brooklyn.
hahahahahaha
I know we have dimbulb as a Senator but Biden has to be up there as well. That guy is hilarious. heheheheheh
I have bashed the Times daily however, I agree with their endorsement of Dino, this decision is based on her years in public office, which has cost us Billions.
Time to ride the old nag out to pasture or to the glue factory at the HA ranch.
Sorry, but I call BS on the whole “media bias” argument, no matter who uses it, you included, Goldy. What are we meant to believe — that D. Parvaz or David Shuster or Carl Cameron, having blinded us with their assertions of objectivity will proceed to trick us into believing, uncritically, every word they say? Really? But then, when they “admit” their “bias” then – what? I never know what’s meant to happen after the news organization under attack — by someone making no bones about their bias — admits their bias. Then what? Is the argument, “I am biased so believe me because I am telling you up front that I am biased, but don’t believe them, because they don’t admit they are biased.” We still end up with two biased parties arguing over the truth or the best policy. And anyone with common sense knows that is where every conversation begins. Everybody brings their own “biases” (whatever that means, anyway) to the table. So the whole media bias argument comes down to the person pointing the finger thinking that all news consumers are morons who will believe anything they are told. I’m not buying. Sorry. That being said, the Times editorial is still full of s***.
Brewster wants Dino to win? Well, no, you don’t say that exactly but you mush it all together enough that one could assume. A little reaching there, but otherwise a good essay. The Times is scared. This is good.
@30
“The times is scared”
It’s a budget problem for the past 20 or so years of copy/paste from other news sources and no investigating for the truth. They thought liberals would carry them, they found out liberals take not give.
The Times = HA
Same copy/paste
Who is Goldy?