Preempting Pravda & Interpreting Izvestia
Vladimir Bukovsky, the great anti-Soviet dissident, once reproved me for quoting the old joke about the two main official Soviet newspapers: “There’s no truth in Pravda [Truth] and no news in Izvestia [News.]” He pointed out that you could learn a great deal of truthful news from both papers if you read them with proper care.
In particular, they often denounced “anti-Soviet lies.” These lies had never previously been reported by them. Nor were they lies. And their exposure as such was the first that readers had been told of them. By reading the denunciation carefully, however, intelligent readers could decipher what the original story must have been. It was a roundabout way of getting information — but it worked.
John O’Sullivan wrote that in his article, The Song of the Kerry Boatmen, in National Review in the fall of 2004, a few months before the presidential election. (…Ah, good times, good times).
Bukovsky’s words offer insight to us as the Obamachination of the news ramps up to hype the “First 100 Days”.
From Politico: 100 days: What Obama wants you to read
In working on their own “100 days” story they report:
For that story, we spoke to top White House officials. So it’s with some authority that we can offer this user’s guide to 100 days stories.
Here are seven things the White House wants reporters to write:
Obama is a promise keeper…
[Hmm...don't read Jim Geraghty much, eh?, author of the Obama Axiom!]
Obama is a game changer…
[I think they mean that in a positive way.]
Obama is the decider…
[The Chicago Way v. Mr. Present]
Obama’s not in the bubble…
[Wagyu steak, anyone?]
Obama is not FDR…
[redefining expectations]
Obama is FDR…
[er..wait...]
Obama is one cool cucumber
[the tabloid president comes to your local grocery store]
Politico also gives their observations on how well each talking points is going over with the media.
Most of the press is living in Looking Glass land.
It remains to be seen how many of these Six Seven Impossible Things to Believe Before Breakfast will go over with the public.
Fisk away, my friends, fisk away!
Crossposted to J’s Cafe Nette and RedState Member Diaries.
[1]
Right now Pravda is probably covering O better than our MSM is right now.
[2]
great post, INC
the A/P foisted THIS pathetica nonsense on us today:
“Nobody knows how long the honeymoon will last, but Obama has clearly transformed the yes-we-can spirit of his candidacy into a tool of governance. His ability to inspire confidence — Obama’s second book is titled “The Audacity of Hope” — has thus far buffered the president against the harsh political realities of two wars, a global economic meltdown and countless domestic challenges”
this is from the A/P…and organization that USED to pride itself on being a news organization!! They are simply a mouthpiece for Obama and the Dems. Worse, in my opinion, than Pravda since the A/P becomes the source for most every newspaper in America…and people forget to look at the byline!
[3]
Dr. Dog, I agree. So sad and ironic to see this happen.
Thanks, Justrand. You’re right–people don’t pay attention to the byline and they don’t bother to think about biases. Too often, they assume that if it’s in print, it must be true!
[4]
I saw this in Politico this morning. On the one hand it was incredible to see those talking points out in the open, and on the other hand I was glad Politico printed them. I assume that Politico is just a little irritated about getting directives from the WH.
[5]
“Too often, they assume that if it’s in print, it must be true!”
—-
If I had a nickel for every time I heard “but it was in the paper the other day that… ” and began to roll my eyes I’d be in another tax bracket.
[6]
KH,
My best friend has a favorite saying, I laugh every time he tells me: “Everything in the paper is a lie except the sports scores.”
[7]
and now…
Here come the LAWSUITS by Terrorists against the U.S.A.
ALL Thanks to Odumbo (and his short-sighted ilk) who’ve, once again, put political revenge as a significantly higher priority than National Security.
[8]
Inc you are on fire today.
[9]
oops, I linked the comments field by mistake
THIS is the story
…giving us a small preview of further insanity to come under Odumbo.
[10]
Well, I am a redhead, you know!
Seriously, truth has always been important to me. From the time I was little, I think I instinctively recognized it as a solid rock.
[11]
Honestly, James, Obama has opened such a can of worms! He has opened the bottle and let the genie out and I think he’s really going to regret it.
[12]
What a horrible mix of metaphors! Ugh. My sincere regrets!
[13]
INC…so the worms were in the bottle? but are all worms genies?? I’m so confused!
[14]
LoL… don’t worry Inky…
If we only had to deal with Worms and Genies, then our problems would be much more tolerable
[15]
“Sometime there are just not enough metaphors”
~ Forest Gump
[16]
Boy Beck is really hammering the economic issues today! $400Bn in commercial real estate that probably won’t be reissued. (By the way the 2nd largest mall owner in NA has filed chapter 11) And of course he has hit the shell game we are laying with monetizing our debt.
[17]
I guess I was feeling sick just thinking about it!
[18]
You guys simply MUST watch:
THIS VIDEO
It’s from the CHICAGO TAX DAY TEA PARTY…
~~ From FoundingBloggers, this is what CNN DID NOT SHOW YOU
That shrill reporter got OWNED!! by others in the crowd and then started backpeddling and lying like crazy.
enjoy
[19]
NeoKhan, just fyi that video has been all over the web since last week, got airtime all over fox last week and that lady was interviewed on Beck the other day. Course if anyone hasn’t seen it by now they need to.
[20]
Has any network other than FNC even mentioned the Chicago Tea Party incident?
What was once known as journalism has now become propaganda.
[21]
The NY Times didn’t even cover the Tea Party in Manhatten…let alone anywhere else!
I hope the July 4th Tea Parties are several times as big…and they should be as they will be on a holiday, versus a work day!
As I’ve posted before regarding the Tea Parties, they remind me of an avalanche: as it rolls down the slope your OPINION of it doesn’t matter…and IGNORING it can be fatal. The “Elite” currently either have a low opinion of the Tea Parties, or are ignoring them. Oh well.
[22]
Just spent 5 mins over at JokeLeafpundit.com.
That guy is in for a penny, in for a pound, I tell you. Well I guess he was serious about his Marxist epiphany, that’s for sure.
[23]
I’d read the NYT didn’t report on the Tea Party in their own town!
And a nationwide event of 701,096 (latest PJTV numbers) wasn’t even worth a story???
[24]
Nay as that commenter said RWY you just need to have an economic epiphany.
[25]
Well he disconnects Obama’s coming marxism from the economy’s performance.
Soon we will ALL be unemployed, and the consolation prize will be watching Colonel sissy spin it.
[26]
INC
If the NYT was truly a paper that reported the “news” then these numerous gatherings across the country, called “tea parties,” would have been covered in blazing headlines. But this ink icon has become a cowardly tool of leftist politics, and of course it will turn the lights out on what it fears the most — people who repudiate leftist ideas.
But, if the tea party movement survives and grows, then the NYT will become even more irrelevant than it is by it’s ghastly show of bias, just like Time Magazine who is using their cover more as a campaign ad then a legimate source of honest reporting, in having Obama’s picture on its cover thirteen times this past year!
BTW — I hadn’t seen the latest PJTV’s numbers of 701,090. Thanks for citing it. It’s nearing that million mark, which I think is not a “pipe dream” any longer.
[27]
Got to find your entertainment where you can these days.
[28]
KH… I saw the edited one, but didn’t see the founding bloggers behind the scenes video where the CNN reporter got owned by others in the crowed. I must have missed that big wave while surfing others
[29]
INC – about the truth. I have always said that one can not make good decisions without the truth. I may not like the truth or the facts as they are but how can I make a good decision based on lies. You just can not.
I believe you are the same. You want to make the best decision you can. Thus you hunt for facts and the truth knowing that it will give you a direction on what course to take. Truth/facts are like a compass, they give us directions on which way we should go.
[30]
The first “Matrix” movie was, IMHO, actually pretty good. In that movie one of the good guys winds up betraying the other good guys because he is offered a special reward from the matrix: he can go BACK to his dream world!
Yes, it’s a movie, but the analogy to what is happening in America is so apt. Knowing that his dream world is just that…a lie…this guy chooses the pleasant LIE over a harsh REALITY!
Many Americans today would rather have an obvious, but PLEASANT, lie told to them, than hear/read/see the truth!
Who ya gonna believe? Obama…or your lying eyes?
[31]
gnqanq, yes, you’re right. Your comment is insightful. I can see reasons and experiences that have contributed to this trait in myself–some of them quite painful. I’ve also gotten myself into hot water a few times and my husband continues to help me with discernment as to where and when to speak.
[32]
Justrand,
Don’t get me started on The Matrix. It was a good plot/movie but the production value of ‘all black’ was a hack. It cheapened movie going and the black background is the scourge of websites all over the place.
[33]
I believe that it does no good to focus on the media. Yes, they are biased. Yes, they are in the tank for Obama. NOTHING IS GOING TO CHANGE THAT! So what do we do? I think we need to develop new ways to make our case. Forget Obama and start selling federalism. Forget Obama and find a way to go over the MSM’s head. So here is you chance Galtinistas. Pretend you are on Meet the Press and answer the following. Give your best soundbite:
1. Many believe that government spending will get us out of the recession, why do you disagree?
2. What do you say to those who believe that capitalism has failed and more government is needed to solve our current economic problems?
3. Lowering taxes for the wealthy was tried under Bush and it failed, why are you proposing more tax cuts?
4. Some people think you are bigots and racists for not supporting the president’s policies, what is your response?
5. Do you agree with Rush Limbaugh when he says he wants Obama to fail?
[34]
To see Justrand’s words about the pleasant lie and harsh reality come between gmqanq’s and mine about truth is one of those intriguing things that happens in commenting. You can step on that board that’s looks nice but is rotten or you can step on that board that’s sound with some splinters.
[35]
chekote: “I believe that it does no good to focus on the media. Yes, they are biased. Yes, they are in the tank for Obama. NOTHING IS GOING TO CHANGE THAT!”
Yup…nothing (at least for a long while) is gonna change that!
We are not trying to change THAT. We are trying, with some success of late, to wake Americans up to those facts!
The slow death spiral of the old media is evidence of many Americans waking up to the bias of newspapers. We need to ensure that Americans understand that NBC/MSNBC, ABC, CNN and CBS are just as bad as the NY Times! And alReuters and A/P are even WORSE (since they provide the sources).
It’s like raising children on a busy street. You can’t stop the traffic. But you CAN teach your children not to run into the street!
[36]
Many believe that government spending will get us out of the recession, why do you disagree
Answer: Quote Henry Morgenthau, FDR. sectreas, in 1939 saying the New Deal has failed.
What do you say to those who believe that capitalism has failed and more government is needed to solve our current economic problems?
I say that:
1 No country on the face of the earth or in history, has prospered this way.
2 This is a violation of the founding of the country, quote Madison, Franklin, Jefferson.
3 Government can only do this by defining happiness and forcing you to accept it. We want people to be free to find their own happiness as THEY define it.
Lowering taxes for the wealthy was tried under Bush and it failed, why are you proposing more tax cuts?
This is a lie, the tax cuts worked, the problem as always was spending, just like in the 1980s. Have you ever been hired by a poor person? Jobs are created when people have money to invest. This does not happen when government confiscates it.
Do you agree with Rush Limbaugh when he says he wants Obama to fail?
Bush tax cuts did not fail that is a lie.
Absolutely. Rush knows the Obama is a far left radical and socialist. (quote Obama’s books) Rush wants Obama to fail because Obama succeeding means the destruction of personal liberty and wealth in this country.
If you want the USA to be like Cuba then you want Obama to succeed. If you want the constitution to be upheld, then you will agree with Rush and hope Obama fails too.
Next question.
You could go on for a half hour here. Same as #2…
Some people think you are bigots and racists for not supporting the president’s policies, what is your response?
This shows who the bigots are, we want life, liberty and freedom in pursuit of happiness, that is the opposite of bigotry and that’s so obvious that anyone askign that question seriously must be completely insane.
[37]
GN
It is not as cut and dry as you make it seem. You have a point of view. I have a point of view. And INC has a point of view. Our beliefs color the facts as we perceive them. It is human nature.
[38]
RWY
You are on Meet the Press. Are you going to tell David Gregory to go find the Morgethau quote? Good soundbites though.
[39]
chekote…here are my answers to your 5 questions
1. Many believe that government spending will get us out of the recession, why do you disagree? Because Government spending is orders of magnitude LESS effective at producing results that the private sector. Thus every dollar diverted FROM the private sector to the Government will actually deepen and prolong the recession.
2. What do you say to those who believe that capitalism has failed and more government is needed to solve our current economic problems? I say “horseshit!”. Look at a picture of West Berlin in 1955 compared ot a picture of East Berlin of the same time. Both halves of the city had been devasted equally 10 years before. West Berlin employed capitalism to thrive…East Berlin barely SURVIVED under communism.
3. Lowering taxes for the wealthy was tried under Bush and it failed, why are you proposing more tax cuts? LOL. Sorry, that should be: ROTFLMAO. The Bush tax cuts provided us 7 years of prosperity on the heels of the most devastating attack EVER on American soil. An attack that EVERY economist predicted would lead to prolonged and severe depression.
4. Some people think you are bigots and racists for not supporting the president’s policies, what is your response? Only morons say that…only morons believe it.
5. Do you agree with Rush Limbaugh when he says he wants Obama to fail? Rush wants Obama’s POLICIES to fail…not America! Obama wants, and is achieveing, massive government control of virtually every area of our domestic lives. And he wants to strip our military of its ability to fight future wars. Further, Obama is demonizing and seeking to destroy ALL who dare to disagree with him. Do I want all THAT to fail? In the words of a GREAT American: “You betcha!“
[40]
Are you going to tell David Gregory to go find the Morgethau quote? Good soundbites though.
No, obviously not, what a stupid question. I did not want to take the time to get the quote, but I will now…
[41]
Henry Morgenthau, FDR sectreas and an architect of the new deal May 1939:
“We are spending more money than we have ever spent before and it does not work. I want to see this country prosperous. I want to see people get jobs. We have never made good on our promises. I say after eight years of this administration we have just as much unemployment as when we started and an enormous debt to boot.”
[42]
Morgenthau was a leading participant in the Bretton Woods Conference, which established the Bretton Woods system, the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the World Bank).
[43]
Justrand
Really like your response to #4.
[44]
thx, chekote…I put my heart and soul into that one!
[45]
The Democrats are more interested in controlling your life than seeing you prosper! Conservatives want to you be the best you can be. Our founders understood that LIFE LIBERTY AND PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS WERE ESSENTIAL FOR THIS AND they named them inalienable rights, rights that CANNOT be taken away.
My fellow Americans, if you will let the Democrats take these rights from you, then you will NEVER get them back, and your children will be slaves of the state. If you do not want this to happen, vote conservative.
[46]
RWY
I think it is unalienable rights. I am sure INC would know.
[47]
RWY
Here is a response from the Left. “What do you mean slavery? That’s ridiculous and paranoid. All Obama and the Democrats are trying to do is help people with their mortgage, college tuition and healthcare”.
[48]
What do you mean slavery? That’s ridiculous and paranoid. All Obama and the Democrats are trying to do is help people with their mortgage, college tuition and healthcare”.
They are destroying any concept of personal responsibility. (give examples from the USSR and even the pilgrims, who tried community farming and it failed badly,)
They are spending money they dont have in huge amounts, and this debt will confiscate your childrens wealth. This is financial slavery.
They are stealing your right to make decisions about your own life and the lives of your family.
[49]
Speaking of messaging. This story illustrates the problem with just focusing on taxes and spending:
The Bailout Is a Bargain”
The truth: No one’s paying new taxes directly related to the bailout. And most of the government rescue packages offered to the banks have gone untapped or are being repaid.
This is why the message should be about the role of government, not just taxes and spending.
[50]
I think it is unalienable rights. I am sure INC would know.
Correct, it is “unalienable”, but the words are interchangeable.
[51]
They are stealing your right to make decisions about your own life and the lives of your family.
I like that a lot.
[52]
I hope the rest of the posters will answer the questions. I am curious to see how different people would approach them. I was going to make a thread about it. Of course, that was before my diva moment.
[53]
Actually, now I am reading the 2 terms are not similar, but near opposites.
I don’t know why that would be.
[54]
A brief sidetrack:
There’s an amusing word byplay in the movie 1776 between Jefferson and Adams. After going through the rigors of trying to get all of the states to sign off on the Declaration, Adams in a moment of wry humor brings up an objection to it by insisting the word is inalienable. Jefferson refuses to compromise and Adams in an aside states that he will speak to the printer about it.
In fact, the opposite appears to be true:
Carry on!
[55]
The WSJ is just trying to defend what is left of the private sector. This is understandable.
But the bailouts were wrong because they were sold under false pretenses. We were told they were loans to offload bad assets until they could regain their value.
What happened was the US gov forced its way into the banking sector.
And Obama’s national health care, amnesty, cap and trade, and other massive spending will not “go untapped” or “be paid back”
Look at the Chinese, they are no longer willing to buy our debt and so we are forced to sell it to oursleves. If the US dollar was not the worlds currency we would already be in fiscal meltdown because of that alone.
So the bailouts are an example of government’s good intentions going horribly wrong. The road to hell and all that.
[56]
Chekote – bull [redacted]. Facts are facts and the truth is the truth. View points come with agendas NOT the truth.
Contrary to what you believe, things are black or white NOT gray. Saying that and believing that, I will admit I do not have the discernment of GOD BUT I KNOW things are black or white.
People who see gray want to see gray to protect their agenda or point of view. Because they don’t want to make the hard choices in life, they want cover for their beliefs.
What is human nature is not to take responsibility for ones beliefs or actions.
[57]
On Glenn Beck today he did a great set-piece where he was allocating all the money we need to fund the various aspects of government. When he ran out of real money he borrowed from “China” (a cameraman), and then raised “taxes” on several other crew folks. Then when he ran out of currency from those sources he pulled out Monopoly money to finish funding things. CLASSIC…and spot on!
We are indeed at the “Monopoly money” stage with our economy. Obama and the media are now desperate to boost confidence in an economy they denigrated when it was better off. Better off…but under Bush, so it HAD to be denigrated!
I keep waiting for one last “dead cat bounce” in order to finish extricating my wife and I from all aspects of the stock market (only our 401ks remain in it at all).
[58]
Before everyone goes down fretting the EuroState model read this piece. The author is advocating that just the opposite is about to happern.
[59]
Since gnqanq brought it back up and made some excellent points about seeing gray, I want to say just a few things about facts, truth and beliefs–or rather, ask a few questions.
What are the presuppositions that underlie one’s beliefs?
What is the foundation of one’s beliefs?
What is the why that undergirds one’s beliefs?
A belief is as sound as the foundation on which it rests.
That’s all.
[60]
That looks like a very interesting article, Dr. Dog. I’ll try to check it out tomorrow. I’m in an earlier time zone than many of you and it’s getting late!
[61]
People who see gray want to see gray to protect their agenda or point of view. Because they don’t want to make the hard choices in life, they want cover for their beliefs. — GN
Nah. They see black and white but will fail to make a decision. Pipe smokers are the worst in that trait.
[62]
O/T…more or less
I see now that Obama has reversed himself AGAIN on the issue of prosecuting Bush Administration officials over “Harsh Interrogation” techniques.
FORGET WINDMILLS!
If we could tie a generator to Obama’s positions on this subject alone…and the media’s resulting spin in covering it…we could power an entire CITY!!
I’ll work up the schematics.
[63]
This crew is notorious for going O/T…more or less.
[64]
Justrand,
No need, its already done.
[65]
INC…I did throw in the media spinning (so there WAS a tie to the thread!) as providing extra power to my generator. And then Dr.Dog provided the schematics! We’re a full service operation around here!
[66]
1. Many believe that government spending will get us out of the recession, why do you disagree?
Depends on what the gov’t is spending money on. If I pay somebody to dig a ditch, then pay somebody to fill it in, a supervisor and three union workers nearby ready to take the shovel to dig another ditch, then no, because nothing of production has resulted.
If we’re investing in missle defence, building up our military, hiring teachers, etc instead of more bureaucrats, then I’d say it could have an impact.
2. What do you say to those who believe that capitalism has failed and more government is needed to solve our current economic problems?
This is similar to question 1. However, there just happens to be more and more people being brought up who do not understand what Capitalism is. What they are seeing is Capitalism Lite, and since it is better than outright Socialism they buy into incremental govt intrusion.
3. Lowering taxes for the wealthy was tried under Bush and it failed, why are you proposing more tax cuts?
Lowering taxes never fails. Even if I accept the premise that it was only for the wealthy, remember, poor people do not create jobs, wealthy people do–especially when they can make even more money.
4. Some people think you are bigots and racists for not supporting the president’s policies, what is your response?
I once worked for a company in the mid 80s that brought in a black civil rights buffoon who started talking about different races. Each and every time he mentioned titles such as African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans
he would also refer to whites as “whites”. After telling him that it was offensive to me that every other race was depicted with a certain culture or heritage while am am referred to by the color of my skin. I wasn’t even “American”. (Actually, I never cared that I was referred to as ‘white’. I just like to stir the pot.)
In the 80’s it used to be considered racist to not refer a black as ‘African American’, now they have moved on from that and changed it to ‘If you do not stand for everything Obama stands for, you are a racist.
5. Do you agree with Rush Limbaugh when he says he wants Obama to fail?
Apparantly, according to RCP, Obama IS failing but most of the country adores him because of this. I think Rush wanted him to fail because he probably thought that normal people would tell him to stop whatever he was doing and reverse course. That isn’t the case. Instead, they are telling him WE LOVE YOU BARACK OBAMA. WE SEE THAT YOU ARE RUINING THIS COUNTRY, BUT WE DON’T CARE–AS LONG AS YOU ARE THE ONE DOING IT.
[67]
Here is a very important piece on Obama and the CIA.
[68]
GN
Do you believe that the Bible is the word of God? If yes, is that based on facts or what you choose to believe?
[69]
chekote, I cannot, of course, answer for gnqanq; however, I am doing an ongoing series on apologetics of my Christian faith at J’s Cafe Nette. You are welcome to read them over there.