Hey, the president says the Democrats’ plan for funding the Iraq War “won’t work” — and perhaps we should take him seriously. After all, as my colleague John Saccenti points out, if anyone knows what won’t work in Iraq it is President Bush. “He’s an expert in what doesn’t work.”
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Tom Moran explains the dangers inherent in an individual — especially one who is a state trooper — engaging in what can only be described as vigilantism. Boycotts and appeals to sponsors and management — even competing broadcasts, letters to the editor and web attacks — are OK. The use of speech to change behavior is what the First Amendment is about.
But publicizing the address of someone you find obnoxious can’t be defended. It is intimidation.
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I’d like to believe this will accelerate the return of American troops from Iraq — after all, presidents who lose support from their own party tend to fade ito irrelevency (Nixon resigned when it became clear that Republicans were not going to stand in the way of impeachment). But the this president lives in his own bubble, so no one should expect a change of direction from him.
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This post from the Columbia Journalism Review touches on what I wrote earlier about the Fort Dix terror case:
It’s hard for the press not to run with stories of possible domestic terrorism, and for good reason — it’s serious and scary business. That said, not all plots are created equal, and lumping them all together into one grab bag of thwarted domestic terrorism cases is something reporters should avoid, especially given some of the absurd plots that have been uncovered over the last couple years. This is not to say that all leads shouldn’t be investigated — they should — or that anyone discovered in any stage of planning an attack shouldn’t be scooped up — they should– but we’ve seen a couple of cases in the last few years be blown way out of proportion, and that makes us wonder what the Fort Dix story will become.
Those cases, Paul McLeary writes, should have remained in the front-brain of reporters as they entered the vortex of the story.
The Bush administration’s Justice Department has a vested interest in portraying every “plot” it busts as the next 9/11, regardless of how embryonic or feeble. It serves as a distraction from the administration’s failures in Iraq and elsewhere, it perpetuates the state of fear that has served this White House well in recent years, and it justifies the massive Homeland Security bureaucracy. Journalists, meanwhile, are at a decided disadvantage when trying to determine the seriousness — or lack thereof — of the threat, because the government holds all the cards. That’s why a healthy dose of skepticism — given this administration’s track record with truth — is crucial to the press’s handling of stories like Fort Dix. These would-be terrorists in New Jersey should be taken seriously, at least until we have reason to believe they
shouldn’t. We’re only a couple of days into this story, but it’s never too early to watch for the hype, and watch for how the press either runs with it, or turns a skeptical eye.
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Things have been quiet on the MOM line front for a while, but as we reported a few weeks back, a rally is scheduled for Friday in Manalapan designed to get the ball rolling on the train line again.
The Asbury Park Press weighs in today with its standard editorial supporting the project and encouraging rail supporters to turn out in force.
It essentially mirrors our argument of a few weeks ago, when we called for MOM opponents to set up their own counter rally. To my knowledge, however, nothing’s happening.
That’s unfortunate — and foolish. The Manalapan rally will help create the impression of grassroots support that will have no counterweight without an anti-MOM rally.
That could give gives MOM supporters a leg up, as we argued in April:
What is needed is a competing rally, bringing residents of the three Middlesex County towns together to remind NJ Transit that the western route is not only the most expensive but also faces serious opposition.
The key is to remember that:
Supporters are hoping to control the terms of debate. Opponents in Middlesex
County shouldn’t let them.
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Hank Kalet 