Squadoosh

If there is one thing that pisses me off it's being censored, and of course if there's one thing that's becoming more frequent on the internet it's censorship.

I used to read EmptyWheel, a blog run by Marcy Wheeler, she received cred around the time that Valerie Plame was exposed as a CIA agent. I decided her alleged knowledge of how things work, internet-wise and the site's all-on-board for Russiagate position was so off I commented on a few of the things posted. I was immediately hit with a lot of attacks, mostly name-calling and disappearance of comments. No actual real discussions. Okay, maybe I come off too sanctimonious for some, and by pointing out things that the commenters don't know and Wheeler doesn't address I admit I may have come off as a know-it-all.

Last evening I devoted some time to asking why the people there were so heartbroken over Attorney General Barr's handling of Robert Mueller's investigation. Boy did I get it. Whenever someone attacked I'd address their attacks and ask them why they dismiss whatever I write out of hand. Well, more namecalling and no response to my questions. After awhile I noticed that I must have been typing with disappearing ink. Today I wrote a few more questions to Marcy Wheeler herself. Disappearing ink. She would never have to answer any of my questions at EmptyWheel.

Let me ask the folks here at Caucus99.

One of the complaints is why they are so sad, surprised and angry about the Russiagate investigation, and the way that Attorney General Barr handled it. Or why they expected more from Robert Mueller.

I am an old man and I suspect that there are a higher percentage of older readers along with me who have a memory of history. That's why this question arose.

Robert Mueller initially became a federal prosecutor in 1976 during the Ford Administration, during all those questions about the CIA, foreign (and domestic) assassinations, that sort of thing. Republican appointed to the federal judiciary by a Republican President? Of course. He rose in the ranks during the Reagan and George H W Bush administrations. His wiki description describes his work while he was working in the Massachusetts district as "where he investigated and prosecuted major financial fraud, terrorism and public corruption cases, as well as narcotics conspiracies and international money launderers." Just the right kind of prosecutor in the era of Iran-contra, right? Here's something he must have put on his resume, also from Wiki: James Baker said that Mueller had "an appreciation for the Constitution and the rule of law". 1990 he was appointed to be Deputy Attorney General in charge of the United States Department of Justice Criminal Division. And guess who was appointed over him as Attorney General? Why it was William Barr! Surprise surprise.

And guess what he found regarding various Iran-contra trials? Well, we know he found nothing. Nothing of the CIA's work, nothing of George H W Bush's work behind the scenes. Robert Mueller may have gotten little fish, or maybe the wrong fish. But he never caught any big fish, as if there were no big fish. As is said in some corners of New Jersey, my place of birth, he found "squadoosh" even though the CIA and the military were all over the scandals of the day. And Bush was all over this.

Back to EmptyWheel. The folks there are upset about Barr's brief synopsis of Mueller's report and are shouting gibberish about releasing the whole report. I suspect that if much more is released it will have enough "Russia did it" to cause war fever among the neoliberals. But Russia is not Noriega. Otherwise, the neoliberals will get squadoosh.

If you have noticed, as of today who has benefited the most? The Democrats? No way. But Trump has. All his supporters, especially those who believe Hillary runs a child sex death cult, are just more convinced that everyone was picking on him. The Dems get squadoosh, and the louder they jabber the more they lose when Mueller still doesn't deliver.

My question for Marcy Wheeler was this: How come you put so much faith in the Russiagate okeydoke? How could you expect Mueller to find anything on Trump when he couldn't find anything on GHW or the CIA during Iran-contra? If you know her, or maybe see her on the street, ask her. Didn't you have any questions about Mueller beforehand? Oh, and if she doesn't make you disappear like invisible ink you can ask her about William Binney's findings showing the DNC computer wasn't hacked, or why she has faith in CrowdStrike and the owner who sits on the Atlantic Council. From the way her website is run, don't expect a long answer.

By the way, you remember who was leading the Democratic charge during Iran-contra, right? It was John Kerry, Robert Swan Mueller III's lacrosse teammate in prep school.

That's why I asked for someone old enough to remember. Otherwise, these things drift and fade away in history, becoming just wacky conspiracy theories.

***

Regarding connections among the creators of Russiagate, read this, for January 2017:

https://washingtonsblog.com/2017/01/crowdstrikes-russian-hacking-story-f...

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Pluto's Republic's picture

They're all twisted by the propaganda. They were easy victims of the onslaught of lies and misinformation coming from Intelligence operatives and the media monopolies. It's going to take awhile for them to recover. Marcy might want to lay low for a couple of years and rebuild her credibility. People won't soon forget that she fell for the bullshit, hook, line, and sinker.

So, you asked Marcy:

How could you expect Mueller to find anything on Trump when he couldn't find anything on GHW or the CIA during Iran-contra?

Well, that wasn't likely to to go over well. There are transiting the "denial" stage of waking up from a propaganda trance, and entering the "anger" stage. Critical faculties will probably return for most of them, although there could be a few who remain trapped in the delusion. But slowly, most will begin to recall the reality they left behind, and the history of who Mueller is and what he does. He's the guy that distracts the public, drags things out, covers up the illegal actions of government insiders, or derails investigations altogether. That's his job — just like these cases he fixed:
.

Summary Date Source
Robert Muellers FBI protected mobster Whitey Bulger and thwarted investigations into his activities. 03/01/2011 New American
Mueller sought and received funds from a Russian oligarch, Oleg Deripaska, to oversee an FBI effort to retrieve an American in Iran (Deripaska has since turned up in the Trump probe) 09/01/2009 The Hill
Despite knowing who leaked Valerie Plame's identity to a reporter, Mueller tasked a special counsel to investigate the Bush Administration for years, eventually ensnaring a non-leaker with a process charge 04/19/2018 The Federalist
When a Clinton White House official, Sandy Berger, was caught destroying and removing classified material, Mueller's FBI gave him a slap on the wrist 04/19/2018 The Federalist
Mueller's point man on the anthrax investigation was accused of misconduct in the Ruby Ridge standoff; was accused of leaking information about the anthrax probe to help the FBI politically 08/24/2002 The Washington Post
Despite personally authorizing the mass surveillance of innocent Americans, Mueller told the Senate no such surveillance occurred 01/29/2018 The Hill
At the FBI, Mueller repeatedly signed Foreign Intel Surveillance Court orders demanding phone companies turn over records on all Americans 01/29/2018 The Hill
The Electronic Freedom Foundation found that under Mueller, the FBI committee "tens of thousands of violations of federal law, regulations, or executive orders" 01/29/2018 The Hill
Under Mueller, the FBI inspector general said agents abused the PATRIOT Act to unconstitutionally spy on thousands of innocent Americans 01/29/2018 The Hill
Under Mueller, the FBI concealed evidence showing FBI agents warned headquarters pre-9/11 about suspicious Arabs in flight school (which went unheeded) 01/29/2018 The Hill
Mueller is accused of using the Russia probe to cover up FISA abuse in the Obama Administration 03/13/2018 Tablet
Mueller's chief investigator in the Russia probe, Andrew Weissmann, was frequently accused of bending the law to win convictions (which are often overturned) 10/19/2017 The Hill
When Mueller served in the DoJ's criminal division, he quashed an investigation showing FBI agents framed an innocent man with murdering his family 10/17/2017 Harvey Silverglate
Mueller, while serving as a U.S. attorney in Boston, once tried to entrap a defense attorney 10/17/2017 Harvey Silverglate
Mueller was tasked with negotiating the release of Edward Snowden from Russia; he made no progress 11/24/2017 The Los Angeles Times
When an internal FBI investigation into the counterterrorism unit Mueller created was effectively worthless, his associates had it buried 11/24/2017 The Los Angles Times
In 1979, Mueller bungled and ultimately lost the feds' case against 33 Hells Angels 11/24/2017 LA Times
Mueller bungled the FBI's high-profile anthrax investigation, spying on and falsely accusing two innocent Americans and ultimately refused to apologize 02/08/2018 The Federalist
Mueller conspired with Comey to help the latter assume the role of attorney general while John Ashcroft was hospitalized so they could help obstruct an anti-terrorism domestic surveillance program 05/21/2017 RealClearPolitics
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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
Wink's picture

"The Fixer" for nuthin'.

@Pluto's Republic

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

arendt's picture

@Pluto's Republic

That is very useful, but I don't see an icon for it in the editor.

Oh, and the table is fabulous. I want to show it to all the Mueller-ite idiots.

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Deja's picture

@arendt

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Pluto's Republic's picture

@arendt ]

Sort of. Actually, I copied the source code for the Table from a page I had bookmarked a long time ago. There's additional text text hidden in the source code that doesn't show. Do you know how to grab it? It starts with:

<table id="listtable" class="ui-helper-hidden">

and ends with

</table>

Then you just paste the entire table code when you want to show it. I would send it to you but I can't think how to do it without having the html execute. I have the dumb today. It may come to me later.

Mueller's Galery of Chaos is nowhere near complete. Just today I ran across a video message and article from Sible Edmonds demanding that Mueller step down from the Russia Collusion investigation due to his involvement in a deep state intervention/coup/cover-up in Turkey. He has a conflict of interest.

Targeting Michael Flynn & Shielding the Radical Cleric Gulen: Special Counsel Robert Mueller MUST Step Down

General Michael Flynn, Former National Security Advisor to President Trump, is being investigated by Special Counsel for accepting legitimate payments from Turkish companies for researching and exposing Wanted Terrorist and Radical Islamist Fethullah Gulen and his $25+ Billion criminal network in the United States.

Former FBI Director Robert Mueller is Special Counsel in charge of the case. He is the same Robert Mueller who used his position as Director of the FBI to shield and cover up Gulen’s criminal-terrorist network and operations, and take drastic measures to quash a whistleblower’s Gulen-related reports. These previous connections and actions by Mr. Mueller create a direct conflict of interest with his current position as Special Counsel in Flynn’s case, and require that he must immediately step down from the case.

::

In May 2017 the Justice Department appointed Robert S. Mueller III, a former F.B.I. director, as special counsel to oversee the investigation into ties between President Trump’s campaign and Russian officials.

Not long after being appointed Mr. Mueller began targeting former national security adviser Lieutenant General Michael T. Flynn, expanded the investigation beyond the Russia-Gate probe, and began a furious pursuit of Mr. Flynn’s Turkish connections and his vocal stand on the wanted radical Islamic Cleric Fethullah Gulen.

Mr. Mueller’s inquiries went from Russia-connections to Flynn’s outing of Gulen’s twenty five-billion-dollar sleeper terror cell in the United States. Not finding any substantial evidence against Flynn within the Russia-Gate scope, the Special Counsel team switched gears and started a Turkey-Gate. During the past several months Mr. Mueller’s prosecutors have used multiple grand juries to issue subpoenas for documents related to Mr. Flynn. All this despite President Trump’s demand that:

Mr. Mueller should confine his investigation to the narrow issue of Russia’s attempts to disrupt last year’s presidential campaign, not conduct an expansive inquiry into the finances of Mr. Trump or his associates.

Mr. Mueller’s prosecution team and F.B.I. agents have spent hours going over the details of Mr. Flynn’s perfectly legitimate business dealings with a Turkish-American businessman who worked with Mr. Flynn’s consulting business, the Flynn Intel Group. Why? Because the business arrangements included research for and exposure of the world’s largest radical Islamist network, operating in the United States for over two decades- the Gulen Network.

The targeting of Mr. Flynn through consolidated Obama Whitehouse leaks and one-sided media attacks began six months prior to the Special Counsel appointment. It started with an editorial penned by Mr. Flynn on November 8, 2016, when he became the first public official to unabashedly expose the radical cleric long protected by multiple government agencies- the CIA, State Department and FBI, starting under President Bill Clinton’s administration....

It continues and gets worse. Intelligence is completely rogue and aligned with the neocon agenda.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
snoopydawg's picture

@Pluto's Republic

it? Like the code for links and pictures is there before you post. If so just hit edit and it will show up again.

It's a great thing to be able to refer to. I've been reading it since you posted.

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Pluto&#039;s Republic's picture

@snoopydawg

Yes, you paste the source code into the Comment box and hit save.

It is very long, but I put the opening line and ending line in my post above. You can search on those to find it and make sure you grab the whole thing.

I just keep it handy in a text document. If you can find it, you will see that there is a great deal more text and information for certain list items, bet I don't have fields for it in the final list layout.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
arendt's picture

@Pluto's Republic

So I used the source page button in Firefox (Tools->Web Developer->Page Source) to get the whole post, but its in HTML format.

Not complaining. Just trying to add more info for others with the same question.

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Pluto&#039;s Republic's picture

@arendt

Just search for the first string I gave you and delete everything above it. Then search for the last string I gave you and delete everything below it.

Paste what's left into a comment box, and the table/chart will magincally appear.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
snoopydawg's picture

@Pluto's Republic

You be on fire, Pluto with all the info you're bringing here. Well done! I knew we had a history of working with our 'so called enemies', but that they have been allowed to live in this country is news to me.

Wasn't Flynn fired by Obama because he told congress that we've been working with the Muslim brotherhood in Libya and Syria? This was a connection to Huma Abedin and her family IIRC. Flynn also told congress that it was Obama's decision to not go after ISIS and to allow them free passage from Syria into Turkey to sell Syrian oil to Israel to fund their organization.

Sibel I believe wanted to tell people how the Saudis were working with the upcoming hijackers before they attacked. Not sure, but that was the gist I got.

Is there a link to the tablet? Table? Graphic thing you posted? Did I miss a link somewhere? Inquiring minds want to...

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arendt's picture

@Pluto's Republic

Sheesh. The stupid angle brackets have to be replace by the fake tag or they don't print.

All the HTML makes sense except for this tag:

fake-open-angle-bracket td data-sort-value="1298955600" style="word-break: normal;"fake-closed-angle-bracket03/01/2011
-fake-open-angle-bracket/td fake-closed-angle-bracket

Where are you getting the numbers for the data sort values (e.g., 1298955600)? The number is different for each entry, as it should be for sorting. Are you making them up by hand? That seems like a big effort, and the values don't have a clear origin.

Would it be OK to just not sort at all? I.e.,

fake-open-angle-bracket tr data-sort-method='none'fake-closed-angle-bracket

Sorry to be so unskilled, but I gave up on HTML 20 years ago.

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@Pluto's Republic
to show HTML code without executing it use this string without the asterisks (remove the 3 asterisks). The lt stands for less than and will replace the less than bracket.

&*l*t*;

Use the string below, again remove the 3 asterisks, gt stands for greater than and will replace the greater than bracket.

&*g*t*;

I had to include the asterisks to keep the code from executing.

It works like this:

<img scr="blah_blah_blah.com">

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Pluto&#039;s Republic's picture

@JtC

Do I have to do that for every bracket set or is there an overall code
like PRE or CODE?

If not, I'll just email the html table to Snoopy and arendt if they message me their email addresses.

Anyone who wants it, in fact.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato

@Pluto's Republic
I took a look at your code, it would be a real pain for sure. What I do when it's a large piece of code is copy the less than string to my browser clipboard and then replace all of the tags one at a time. Then do the same with the greater than tag brackets. That'd still be a pain though.

It might be easier to just point folks here:

https://html.com/tables/

Or here:

https://its.temple.edu/creating-tables-html

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arendt's picture

@JtC @JtC

Here's a practice table

Field 1 Field 2
data for first field data for second field

Let's see if that worked.
Yes.
Now I can do very simple tables, which is all I would ever bother doing.

Thanks to everyone.

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snoopydawg's picture

@Pluto's Republic

I wasn't thinking about if you posted it then it would look exactly like what you already posted. My bad. But then I've never claimed to be the smartest dawg in the dawg house .
I just bookmarked your comment for future reference.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

@Pluto's Republic "Critical faculties will probably return for most of them."

I've reached a soft conclusion that these people never had much reasoning capability to begin with. It's just that most of what they said was consistent with what we (or I) believed and perceived, and this masked their biases.

Then something different came along - Trump - and their biases were exposed and their little brains went completely haywire. Their inability to grasp reality might likely be triggered by anything big that doesn't 'fit' them, and not just a Trump presidency.

Wow, this is really a mean comment.

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dfarrah

snoopydawg's picture

@dfarrah

This is a mean comment

I felt the same thing when people refused to see Obama for who he was or to criticize his actions. The ACA is a hideously flawed piece of Dawg poo and yet people think it's the greatest thing since the new deal. No matter that it left millions from being able to get it or that it did nothing for the fraud, abuses and rising insurance premiums. Drones were great to use because they saved soldier's lives even though they were crimes against humanity and stuff like that. A few of his most ardent supporters didn't think that the bank CEOs did anything wrong and that's why Obama didn't charge them with anything....

Not mean at all in my book. I can't understand it either.

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Pluto&#039;s Republic's picture

@dfarrah

It comes from every direction, endlessly repeating. And the peer pressure to conform to the fake narrative is extreme. Plus the cognitive dissonance kicks in. The monumental wave of fear and the fierce desire to make it all go away is ever present.

We here were more prepared, but some were forced to accept a widening existential gulf between themselves and family and friends. Now that it is legal and acceptable for the government to lie to the American people as a mechanism of government, the people will continue to be divided and crippled as a society, unable to self-govern.

The fact that the Democrats were transformed into the nation's war party right before our eyes is a testament to the terrible power of the State in the Anglo European world. Watch a couple of minutes of this:

It says to me that the concept of antiwar sentiment will eventually become unthinkable and socially deviant. Nonconformists are being marginalized and pushed to the far edges of society. Watching the pressures bearing down on antiwar people makes me realize that my values may not be attainable, certainly not in the US.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato

In Portland, I really appreciate your keeping Mueller's past in our present. The worst of his obstructions was in not solving the anthrax case. So I agree that he is a genius at doing nothing, finding nothing, and bringing no one to justice.

But still, in this case, even though he no doubt knew there was nothing to find, even though his lead investigator texted that there was no there there, he was supposed to find something. And he seemed to have tried to cobble a few innuendo scenarios together to create the impression of a crime. But he couldn't support any of it.

He certainly went out of his way to create a batch of witnesses, but he compromised each and every one of them in advance, snagging them in the technical process of lying to the FBI over something trivial or unrelated, or by indicting them for tax evasion or loan application fraud. So each of his bombshell witnesses was compromised in advance as a federal liar. However, even with those witnesses in positions of plea bargaining, he couldn't produce testimony having anything to do with collusion.

So I think, as much as they wanted sincerely to squash Trump and implicate Russia for Pearl Harbor, the Deep State can't quite pull it off these days. Why? The internet has amplified the power of WHISTLEBLOWERS. Testimony before Congress is being leaked to responsible alternative journalists. The average reader can compare leaks from the Deep State to leaks from Whistleblowers, to compare dates, to remember what they've read, and to copy important facts to other readers instantaneously. YouTube is a vast archive of lies by politicians and pundits contradicting themselves. So the perps can't hide the way they used to.

Also, the nature of the WHISTLEBLOWERS has changed. Increasingly, they are cyber technicians, biological weapons scientists, and technical experts capable of out-doing the Deep State. I think the handwriting is on the wall that the Deep State is in over their heads.

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Pluto&#039;s Republic's picture

@Linda Wood

...to bypass the government censorship of Google and avoid the media monopoly collaborators in broadcast propaganda. People are finding their way to the blogs and aggregate sites where they can read intellectually honest news and discover the truth behind the daily shitshow of American politics. Savvy users start with one site that they trust and then click their way through blogrolls and suggested articles and author blogs — just like the early days when Google didn't exist. Google should be designated a public utility and strategic asset, anyway. Facebook should be occupied and tightly regulated as a matter of national security.

The truth wants to be free. It's the nature of the universe.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato

@Pluto's Republic
!!!!

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Bob In Portland's picture

@Linda Wood As we know, first he pointed at a a scientist and the scientist sued and won millions. Then he pointed a finger at another scientist and that one supposedly committed suicide. Neither one of them knew how to manufacture military grade anthrax, the stuff they found in the envelopes. He ignored Battelle Memorial, who manufacture military grade anthrax for the military and had a building within a mile of the mailbox where the anthrax was mailed from. So he blamed two innocent men and covered up anthrax attacks by someone in our government who wanted the Homeland Security Act passed. Add up all the crimes he's involved. Of course, multiple counts of murder would top the list.

But Pan Am 103? Again, he charged innocent men and let the terrorists who actually bombed the plane. A lot of people died on that plane. One of the many, to include Mueller and all plotters in the Reagan government. Plus, it was covering up the ongoing felony of smuggling in cocaine and heroin, from Monzer al-Kassar, who both supplied the bomb to the terrorists who put it on the plane and ran heroin into the US and selling weapons to the Iran side of Iran-contra. Besides the people on the plane how many Americans overdosed, died or disapeared in our jail system from the dope that Mueller helped get into the US.

A very bad, amoral man.

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Wink's picture

but Mueller's nothingburger
@Linda Wood

surprised me, knowing he was
expected to "get tRump," or at least find something
that tied him to Russia.
Mueller still did a great job of being Mueller, allowing damn little
of this to stain the big players, get any ketchup on 'Deep State.'
Mission accomplished. There are damn few better at finding absolutely nothing.

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

@Wink

There are damn few better at finding absolutely nothing.

This talent for misdirection and coverup looks to have been much more useful in keeping Deep State operations hidden than it has been to advancing either political party. When it comes to the Deep State nothing could be better than an endless series of nothing-burgers.

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Capitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men for the nastiest of motives will somehow work for the benefit of all."
- John Maynard Keynes

Wink's picture

@ovals49

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

k9disc's picture

I think that institution is enough to turn people off to the "leadership". It's not at all hard to see the narrative after that.

Lord Fratboy of Yale. Give that man a monocle.

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“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu

Pricknick's picture

You are supposed to forget. That is the plan.
Please follow through on the plan or we will deem you to be psychotic or an antisemite.
Yours truly,
Powers That Be.

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Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

I used to like Marcy and Emptywheel, although I admit I've lost track of her for the past few years.

Having said that, anyone who believed Russiagate was in no way using their critical thinking ability. And deleting posts--well, that should be an indicator of losing your credibility right there. Hugely disappointing.

I think some people hate Trump so much, they're willing to bend their minds into pretzels to convince themselves he should be ousted and that he is illigitimate. He's not, which is the real disappointment.

Even now, the *mainstream* (read: center right) Democrats are doubling down on how the left/progressives need to get in line and vote for Kamala, or Beto, or Biden. Unfortunately, as a lefty who is similar to many other lefties, the answer to them is No. I will vote for Tulsi. I will vote for Bernie. I might vote for Warren, if she can convince me. The rest, I won't vote for.

If the center right Democrats want me to vote for their candidate, there's an easy solution--move left. And move left with a candidate who is genuine enough that they won't fuck me over (a la Obama). Don't threaten me with another 4 years of Trump and say it's my fault. I'm threatening you with another 4 years of Trump unless you move MY direction. Eventually, they might learn.

By peddling the stupid and false Russiagate narrative--now that its falseness has blown up in their faces, they have strengthened Trump enormously. If you don't deal straight, and promote lies and false conspiracy theories, nobody will end up believing you. This new renaissance of Trump lies directly at the feet of Marcy, and Rachael Maddow, and Hillary Clinton, and everyone who promoted Russiagate.

They might have guaranteed Trump for 8 years. Unless there is a more popular populist that can steal his thunder. Bernie or Tulsi might be able to do that. I don't believe anyone else can.

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@apenultimate
"Don't threaten me with another 4 years of Trump and say it's my fault. I'm threatening you with another 4 years of Trump unless you move MY direction."

Exactly. Especially since everything they touch turns to monkey excrement, and moving in their direction means going along with election fraud so they can install Kamillary or Bory Cooker. Moving in our direction just means to stop rigging the Democratic primary.

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@apenultimate

I will vote for Tulsi. I will vote for Bernie. I might vote for Warren, if she can convince me. The rest, I won't vote for.
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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

Cassiodorus's picture

Chris Hedges knows this well, but that's a story for another time. Now, me, personally, I'm all in favor of liberals looking good -- in fact, the better they look, the better for me personally. If they want to look really good they can hire me and I can put in modified French Intensive gardens in their back yards and remove their dead trees. I might also be able to channel some of their money into good causes, although much of what I've done as good work (running a Food Not Bombs, channeling vegetables and fruits to an honest food bank) hasn't involved money at all.

Russiagate, of course, was an opportunity to look good that Hillary fans seized upon as soon as the "investigation" started. It had three advantages: 1) not opening any serious issues, 2) revealing how corrupt Trump was and is, and 3) not really challenging Trump's rule. Of course, taking Trump seriously is already a faux pas: here, for viewer enjoyment, is Donald Trump's most formative political moment:

Y'all do know that the big news story today is that Linda McMahon, former WWE executive, is leaving the Small Business Administration for one of Trump's re-election PACs. Right?

Trump, like W. or the second-term Ronald Reagan, is in many ways like an easily-directed child, surrounding himself with surrogate parents. So with the exception of a few pet issues his administration appears as typically Republican, which is to say insane, but in expected ways. If the liberals had been any threat to this sort of thing they would have limited W. to one term back in '04 -- but of course the primary task for liberals in every election year is in keeping their own kind in line and not trying any funny business like voting for Ralph Nader or whatnot.

So what's nice about Marcy Wheeler?

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"The war on Gaza, backed by the West, is a demonstration that the West is willing to cross all lines. That it will discard any nuance of humanity. That it is willing to commit genocide" -- Moon of Alabama

@Cassiodorus you conclude: "Trump, like W. or the second-term Ronald Reagan, is in many ways like an easily-directed child"

I think his political instincts have been good, probably better than Bill Clinton. He knows how to wait and let things unfold.

I guess you see someone completely given over to impulse, where I see someone who on the surface seems impulsive - but works the long game, too.

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dfarrah

Cassiodorus's picture

@dfarrah one way or the other?

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"The war on Gaza, backed by the West, is a demonstration that the West is willing to cross all lines. That it will discard any nuance of humanity. That it is willing to commit genocide" -- Moon of Alabama

I thought she could put together clever rhetoric, sometimes, but Wheeler was never as smart as she thought she was.

The one time I met her in person, Marcy seemed small, lonely and uncomfortable with herself, even surrounded by people who admired her.

Wheeler took big risks with the facts, so she was also proven wrong fairly often, but that never really seemed to bother her. I do not remember her ever actually acknowledging error. She's not going to start now. Gracious in defeat is not the word I would use to describe her.

But, the thing that really bothered me most about Marcy during the year or two we occupied the same boards is it was about putting the name Marcy Wheeler on everyone else's work. She needs to get a real job.

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Pluto&#039;s Republic's picture

@leveymg

The opposing voice. The accusing voice.

You have to be really strong and good with being alone. Vigilant, but an outsider, always.

We lost nearly an entire generation of investigative journalists as a result of the Russia Hoax. By design, obviously. Of the few we have left, some are compromised, Greenwald is in that group. Well-paid controlled opposition for the most part, which is fine as long as it's transparent. The survivors on the Left are solo artists, dedicated and self-correcting truthers — like Elizabeth Voss, Caity Johnstone, and Sybel Edmonds. Live media on the Left has migrated to the Internet. The rest are on RT or their own Roku channels. I can't think of too many clear-headed dogma-free instinctively and authentically Left communities out there with a wide-angled view of the bigger picture. And "Left" doesn't really matter because its not about "identity" It's always about shared values and intellectual honesty. And kindness — because what's the point without good vibes? For the moment, we are probably where it's at. Just like we were during the ides of March three years ago.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato

@Pluto's Republic that seeks recognition for herself. Wheeler was never really Left or Right-wing, as far as I could tell. She never did this for her team, because she doesn't belong. That's not how she's built.

She resembles many of the DC lawyers and Wall Street people I've worked with - mercenary, not constrained by traditional political boundaries, or too concerned about contradictions so long as they advanced her position. As someone else explained once, being right isn't what's really important.

No wonder she ended up making a name for herself within an Inquisition.

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@leveymg
have a real job -- that she wasn't being directed by an editor who was following orders from a corporate board or a billionaire press baron. she seemed to be paving a path forward for serious independent investigative journalism.

after she left dK, i didn't spend much time on emptywheel, so i don't know whether she'd already gone south before going all-in on RG; but making that astonishing epistemological blunder (There's never been a whit of goddamned evidence, people!) may well cost her everything she's been building since her early days at dK.

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The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.

@UntimelyRippd Her job since 2017 has been to deliver value-added content and plausible memes to her backers as a sort of quasi intelligence analyst/propagandist for hire. She's not really a journalist or a blogger any more. Emptywheel is a hybrid with the instincts of a CIA analyst and the public exposure of a Washington Post beat reporter but without the institutional constraints of either. The American version of Bellingcat. She admitted as much herself during an interview, here: https://www.cjr.org/tow_center/emptywheels-marcy-wheeler-knows-more-than...

Q. So, do you make a living from your blog?

WHEELER: Well, I live in Grand Rapids, Michigan and my mortgage payment is less than I’ll pay for my hotel bill this week. I like living in a place where expenses are low, and I’m married and have no children. I could not do what I do in New York or DC. I mean, my work covering the Russia thing is something people are a lot more willing to support than the kind of weedy surveillance analysis that I otherwise do, but yes. It’s my job.

Q. Why don’t you work for an organization like The Washington Post now?

WHEELER: Well, I’ve written publicly about why I left The Intercept. Had The Intercept been what it maybe could have been, it would have been the ideal place for me. I think there is still a real difficulty—people still don’t know what to call me. Like, even in the coverage in the last couple of weeks people are still, Are you a blogger? Are you a journalist? A lot of people call me an “analyst.”

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Steven D's picture

@leveymg They don't.

End of story.

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"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott

@Steven D Compensation and integrity tends to inversely proportional in the media.

Think of the steep cost paid by the few professional journalists who managed somehow to retain their integrity: Izzy Stone; Sy Hersh; Robert Parry; John Pilger; Joe Trento . . .

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Bob In Portland's picture

@leveymg @leveymg “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”

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Bob In Portland's picture

@Steven D I suspect when she started working on point on the Valerie Plame case and got some Beltway street cred that's when she may have migrated into her current murky pool.

It may have been some kind of transaction where she understood the deal, or maybe she was eased into things. What's clear is that if you keep riding the Russiagate pony and refuse to address all the Ukrainian OUN-B players surrounding it you are now complicit in the psyop. Which is what it is.

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snoopydawg's picture

@Steven D

I've been paying attention to a prominent front pager on DK since Russia Gate started and his job is to keep people believing in it. He will literally take a statement and twist it around so that it means something else entirely. This is not done subtlety either. Example..

"It was a sunny day and the sea was calm when the ship sunk" to "The weather had suddenly gotten worse and the waves were 17 million miles high and when they crashed over the ship it was sunk"

Blatantly changed wording and intent and no one calls him out on it. Just an echo chamber of "yep"
I will collapse comment threads when they get to much of a chamber and today just collapsing one thread closed down every comment in it. lol! Lots of yups.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Big Al's picture

similar to our ruling class' "failed" wars, is the Cold war against Russia (and China) has become full blown and entering space, all 3 countries' military industrial complexes are thriving, and, as you said, Trump, who has turned out to be the neocon's and Israel's best friend (of course they are one and the same), has been given a major boost. It's obvious that this was an orchestrated "investigation" with an intent and that intent couldn't have been to impeach Trump because of "collusion with Russia" because they had to know from the beginning that was bullshit and would never work. So the intent had to be to help facilitate the Cold War with Russia, distract the country from the duopoly bullshit, and very possibly to set up Trump for another term.
So we've all just been punk'd. At least those that believed all this shit.

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SnappleBC's picture

@Big Al

Was always:

Whatever it turns up will have much more to do with the politics of the 1% than anything resembling facts or justice.

I believe all investigations of wealthy people fall into that category. If the investigation is done at all, that indicates some sort of turmoil among the 1%. The verdict that is returned has to do with which side won in the 1% battle that I could barely discern. The fact that Trump was not indicated makes me believe the 1% are quite happy with him.

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A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard

Wink's picture

a couple times at Markos'
Netroots Nation. Nice lady, good writer.
I have no idea how she got tripped up
following this story down the rabbit hole,
but she was hardly alone. Many a good writer got caught
in the R-gate trap. I hope she recovers.

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

Pluto&#039;s Republic's picture

@Wink

...who turned one of her sources into the FBI because she thought he was a Russian spy.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
Cassiodorus's picture

@Pluto's Republic You have a story, no?(grabs popcorn)

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"The war on Gaza, backed by the West, is a demonstration that the West is willing to cross all lines. That it will discard any nuance of humanity. That it is willing to commit genocide" -- Moon of Alabama

Pluto&#039;s Republic's picture

@Cassiodorus

Read it and weep.

CNN

Journalist reveals she provided source's identity to the FBI -- and explains why she's speaking out now

A prominent national security blogger revealed last week that she had provided the identity of a source last year to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a move that led to her becoming a witness in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election meddling.

Marcy Wheeler, the blogger, said the disclosure of her contact with the FBI was only being made now to "put a face to the human danger" she contends House Republicans are putting confidential informants in by demanding the Department of Justice provide Congress information that could unmask such confidential sources.

The decision by a journalist to reveal a source's identity to the FBI, and provide the law enforcement agency with information on the individual, without the person's explicit permission, is highly unusual. Journalists are trusted by sources to protect their identities at all cost, and reporters have previously chosen to be jailed to defend such arrangements.

But Wheeler, the publisher of the Empty Wheel blog, wrote that she felt compelled to talk to authorities about an individual she was convinced "played a significant role in the Russian election attack on the US." Wheeler has not publicly named her source, but she told CNN in a Monday phone interview that the person "definitely did not want me to go to the FBI" and cautioned her in a text message against doing so.

"On its face, I broke one of the cardinal rules of journalism," Wheeler told The Washington Post in a story published Sunday, "but what he was doing should cause a source to lose protection."

"It's not a decision I regret," she added.

Wheeler first revealed in a July 3 blog post on her website that she had gone to the FBI with information about her source. Wheeler said that her source had contacted her in November 2016, suggesting that he had "very good intel" that Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser, would be speaking to Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad's camp soon.

Wheeler said in her blog post her source was not "inside the Trump team." But, beyond that, she did not reveal much else, declining to say precisely when last year she went to the FBI or elaborate on the role she believes her source played in Russian election meddling.

It continues at the link above. Google it. The story made news everywhere. But it is completely empty of content.

::

Or you can read the story in her own words, which is a bit more revealing, psychologically. I felt sympathetic in reading her rendition. Again, there is no real content. Who, what, when, where, and why are not revealed. I sense PTSD from the election outcome that is causing fear. It seems to meander into Munchausen-Syndrome-by-Proxy territory with an intense need to protect "vulnerable" persons. She wants to share that but she can't. It's vapor and mist in the reading. I hope she has friends at hand.

These are your Gladio B dollars at Work.

.

July 3, 2018/196 Comments/in 2016 Presidential Election, Mueller Probe /by emptywheel

I’d like to put a human face — my own — to the risk posed by GOP gamesmanship on the Mueller investigation.

Sometime last year, I went to the FBI and provided information on a person whom I had come to believe had played a significant role in the Russian election attack on the US. Since that time, a number of public events have made it clear I was correct.

I never in my life imagined I would share information with the FBI, especially not on someone I had a journalistic relationship with. I did so for many reasons.

::

I did so on my own, without subpoena; I did that in an effort to protect people who have spoken to me in confidence and other journalists. Largely because this effort involved a number of last minute trips to other cities, I spent around $6K of my own money traveling to meet with lawyers and for the meeting with the FBI.

I always planned to disclose this when this person’s role was publicly revealed. But I’m doing so now for two reasons. First, I think the public deserves to see the text he sent me at 3:15 PM on November 9, 2016.

The substance of the text — that the Trump team started focusing on Syria right after the election — has been corroborated and tied to their discussions with Russia at least twice since then. Most importantly, in his statement to Congress, Jared Kushner explained his request for a back channel with the Russians by describing an effort to cooperate on Syria.

.

The Ambassador [Sergei Kislyak] expressed similar sentiments about relations, and then said he especially wanted to address U.S. policy in Syria, and that he wanted to convey information from what he called his “generals.” ...He asked if there was a secure line in the transition office to conduct a conversation. General Flynn or I explained that there were no such lines. I believed developing a thoughtful approach on Syria was a very high priority given the ongoing humanitarian crisis, and I asked if they had an existing communications channel at his embassy we could use where they would be comfortable transmitting the information they wanted to relay to General Flynn.

.
Retired Lt. Gen Michael Flynn has promised “full cooperation” in the special counsel’s Russia investigation and, according to a confidant, is prepared to testify that Donald Trump directed him to make contact with the Russians, initially as a way to work together to fight ISIS in Syria.

[snip]

The source said Trump phoned Flynn shortly after the election to explicitly ask him to “serve as point person on Russia,” and to reach out personally to Russian officials to develop strategies to jointly combat ISIS.

::

Several times since I first considered sharing information with the FBI, I’ve asked my attorney to contact the FBI to tell them of what I perceived to be a real threat that arose from sharing that information. But I’m a public figure. If something happens to me — if someone releases stolen information about me or knocks me off tomorrow — everyone will now know why and who likely did it. That affords me a small bit of protection.

::

The Republicans’ ceaseless effort to find out more details about people who’ve shared information with the government puts those people in serious jeopardy. It infuriates me to observe (and cover) a months-long charade by the House GOP to demand more and more details about those who have shared information with the government, at least some of whom were only trying to prevent real damage to innocent people, all in an attempt to discredit the Mueller investigation.

::

This investigation is not, primarily, an investigation into Donald Trump. It’s an investigation into people who attacked the United States. It’s time Republicans started acting like that matters.

On Thursday night, I reached out to the Special Counsel’s Office to inquire whether I could post this without damaging the investigation. After sharing the specific language from the passages I felt might pose the biggest concern, last night at 10:15, I was informed they, “take no position” on my posting it

If they can decipher what it means.

There is more at the title link.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato

@Pluto's Republic
So she fingered an innocent man, chilling other whistleblowers from talking to reporters.
Great job for the 1%, Marcy.

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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

@The Voice In the Wilderness
burned source's role would eventually be revealed to the public has been disappointed. we aren't going to see his text from 11/09/2016 -- at least not unless wheeler publishes it herself. thus, she's left twisting in the wind.

but the puzzle remains: how did all these people jump from looking at a pattern of communications/meetings about future policy relationships, to seeing criminal conspiracies to undermine the election? i mean, i understand jumping to speculation about it, but what made them so damned certain? marcy turned this guy over because she thought he was actively engaged in something nefarious, and because, she says, she wanted to protect other sources -- though it's not at all clear, from what? from being dragged into the investigation, which she thought wouldn't happen if the FBI got their hooks into this one dude?

all very strange.

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The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.

Wink's picture

Very.

@UntimelyRippd

Especially coming from her.

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

Not Henry Kissinger's picture

@Pluto's Republic @Pluto's Republic

On June 3, 2017, while employed by the military contractor Pluribus International Corporation, Winner was arrested on suspicion of leaking an intelligence report about Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections to the news website The Intercept.

Burned by the Intercept. My guess is Winner also approached Marcy with the report and after Winner was arrested, Marcy (being the Loyal Americantm she thinks she is) piled on against her.

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The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?

Bob In Portland's picture

@Pluto's Republic What's wrong with cooperating with Russia to eliminate terrorism?

Oh year. Sorry, I forgot.

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@Cassiodorus

She was pretty proud of what she had done.

https://www.emptywheel.net/2018/07/03/putting-a-face-mine-to-the-risks-p...

Sometime last year, I went to the FBI and provided information on a person whom I had come to believe had played a significant role in the Russian election attack on the US. Since that time, a number of public events have made it clear I was correct.

I never in my life imagined I would share information with the FBI, especially not on someone I had a journalistic relationship with. I did so for many reasons. Some, but not all, of the reasons are:

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"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

Wink's picture

And, again, I'm surprised
@Pluto's Republic

she got wrapped up by this b.s.
becuz she is pretty smart. Seems to be anyway.
But she REALLY went ALL IN on this RG story
Very quickly! And stuck to her guns after her 'FBI - Russian Spy' thing.
Very weird. Or maybe not. Maybe that's Marcy.

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

@Wink

Many a good writer got caught in the R-gate trap.

Being a good writer and even a good writer popular with so-called centrists and/or the actual left does not preclude being an establishment shill. To the contrary. The establishment does not seek out bad or unpopular writers (or media "commentators" to spread their propaganda. I don't want to imply that Marcy or any specific individual is an establishment shill. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty.

But, Rachel Maddow is exhibit A. She claims to be " a liberal," in the sense of being to the left of the Democratic establishment. She mentioned that many times during the 2016 primary, both on her own show and on other shows. She is smart, even though she breaks her stuff down far enough to spoon feed to pre-schoolers. But that's because she thinks her viewers are idiots--and no doubt many of them are. During the Bush years, when so-called centrists had much to gain by pretending Bush was the nation's biggest problem, she earned a lot of cred with anyone left of Mike Pence.

I rest my case (but only as to my general point. I'm still not saying a thing about Marcy, or any individual, obviously, other than Maddow). That said, it's easy enough to get caught in the R-trap (and many other traps) if someone is among those who still believe that Democrats aren't as full of crap as Republicans, if not more so. (Republicans have long been very candida cabout whom they wish to, and do, represent and what they wish to accomplish for the employer/investor/banker classes. Democrats, not quite so candid about that--or much else.)

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Tracey questioned why he would still be giving Marcy a platform. Sam invited Tracey to come on his show to discuss. Seder was a smug prick, wouldn't let Tracey talk, went south fast.

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"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

@dkmich tried to force Stacey into his chosen narrow frame, then bullied him for not answering the way he wanted, and interrupted him when Stacey tried to put his answer in context. The guest should have insisted early on, when it was apparent Seder was going to conduct a hostile interview and not let him answer, that he be allowed to answer the questions in his own way and not as if he was a criminal defendant in the witness box being grilled by the prosecutor. Seder was clearly the bully but Stacey was far too polite and patient and should not have allowed himself to be subjected to such unfair treatment for so long.

As the impetus for bringing him on was Marcy Wheeler, it would have been more appropriate to invite both Wheeler and Stacey, although I'm not aware if MW ever does interviews where she knows she will be challenged.

I was an occasional reader of her blog for a few months well before R-gate. Generally I found she would address detailed or complex issues and add more detail and complexity. On complex stories needing context and good analysis, I have Max Blumenthal, Ben Norton, Glenn Greenwald, and a few writers at consortiumnews.com, all of whom are far better at explaining the issue, distilling the information, and providing clear, honest analysis. Wheeler seemed more about padding posts to try to give an overall impression she was a deep researcher and serious person. Maybe so, but I never found reading her a worthwhile use of my time.

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@dkmich Hard to believe he as nearly a half a million subscribers. But when I first heard him on Air America I thought he was a light weight. He had some libertarian on and Seder was just dumb founded by the guy's arguments and comebacks, and it was obvious Seder did not known jack sheet about libertarianism.

Michael Tracey should have looked into Seder before agreeing to be on his show. But I think Tracey learned his lesson as I saw a tweet where he said something that he wants to have "good faith" discussions.

Just looking at Seder's video clips they seem to be around him attacking personaities rather than issues. Then there was some bruh-haha with Ed Schultz were Seder was telling his listeners to call XM and take Schultz off the air...Seder just seems smug and toxic.

Ed Schultz VS Sam Seder and Air America (1 of 2)

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Wink's picture

Period.

@MrWebster

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

I don't follow Marcy Wheeler, but I do remember an article she wrote that was published in Common Dreams lambasting a NYTimes article which accused Putin as the driving force behind the anti-TPP movement. I found it notable as a major main stream outlet was using Putin as being responsible for opposition and dissent against oligarchical interests. She said accusations against Wikileaks and Putin were nonsense. No hint of the future conspiracist. Here is stuff from her article.

In Attempted Hit Piece, NYT Makes Putin Hero of Defeating TPP

In other words, as a central piece of evidence, the NYT spent 11 paragraphs repackaging opposition to shitty trade deals — a widely held very American view (not to mention a prominent one is most other countries affected) — into something directed by Russia, as if the only reasons to oppose TPP are to keep Russia on an equal shitty neoliberal trade footing as the rest of us, as if opposing the deals don’t benefit a whole bunch of red-blooded Americans.

That’s not only logically disastrous, especially in something billed as “news,” but it is very dangerous. It makes legitimate opposition to bad (albeit widely accepted as good within beltway and I guess NYT conventional wisdom) policy something disloyal.

NYT’s argument that Putin was behind WikiLeaks’ NSA leaks doesn’t hold together for a lot of reasons (not least that those two topics are probably not what Putin would prioritize, or even close). But it also has the bizarre effect, in a hit piece targeting Assange and Putin, of making Putin the hero of the anti-TPP movement.

I have read some of her latest Russian collusion tweets and they were just a jumbled incoherant word salad.

What has made so many intelligent and thoughtful people turn into Alex Jones conspiracists still eludes me. I can see where money and ratings is the driving force as with Maddow and put I TYT in that category. Was it a psychological need for approval? People toiling in obscurity found that a way to get views and compliments and attention? (I think this drives many an avid anti-Russian diary by non-front pagers on TOP.)

Edit: highlight sentence where Wheeler says dissent is not disloyality.

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Not Henry Kissinger's picture

Bus and truck Armando spewing bile at anyone who dares question the narrative.

I never understand people who devote their whole blogging existence to nasty, mindless enforcement of the status quo.

But then again, that's a big reason I no longer blog at Agent Orange.

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The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?

shaharazade's picture

Man o'man why get into the weeds of the so called left from years ago? Kiss her goodbye. Be done with her or any other political persona that comes out of the woodwork. Live in the here and now. All this dwelling on what has happened on the so called liberal side is just another distraction. Who cares about Empty Wheel. When I left Kos I left all this he said she said political bs. behind. Perhaps Bob and others here should stop dwelling in the obvious con game and deal with the smoldering ruins we are left to decipher. Who did what and who said what is irrelevant. Move on (not the bogus org.} people, leave Kos and Marcy Wheeler behind and stop living in their world. Getting mired in who said what and who did what is a big waste of time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRlTjErEDPQ

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