Maintaining sanity? Care for a cup of tea? Maybe a footrub or neck & scalp massage? Probably some headphones with which to listen to one’s favorite music? Mmmmm.

I think MSNBC knows that if they gave you enough time it would put the MSM in a real bind. They would have to start covering topics they want to pretend are political rather than criminal and we clearly can’t have that can we?

That’s exactly the problem:

The MSM is labelling necessary, good, appropriate, responsible criminal investigation “politics”.

Yet it’s the media and those who are against investigation who are being political.

It’s flat out hypocrisy.

Propaganda is communication aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause. As opposed to impartially providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense, often presents information primarily in order to influence its audience. Propaganda often presents facts selectively (thus lying by omission) to encourage a particular synthesis, or gives loaded messages in order to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented. The desired result is a change of the attitude toward the subject in the target audience to further a political agenda.

“ Propaganda is the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist. ”

[Wikipedia]

Or as a semiconscious plagiarist:

Plagiarism, as defined in the 1995 Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary, is the “use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one’s own original work.”

[…]

Since journalism’s main currency is public trust, a reporter’s failure to honestly acknowledge their sources undercuts a newspaper or television news show’s integrity and undermines its credibility. Journalists accused of plagiarism are often suspended from their reporting tasks while the charges are being looked into by the news organization. [Wikipedia]

The notion that he’d assimilate White House talking points and mindlessly regurditate them as his own without advocacy sounds preposterous but is, in fact, all too believeable.

But the reasoning for no prosecutions is in the foreign policy context a good deal like the pickle we are in with respect to the financial economy on the domestic policy ledger. With the banks we have the dilemma of having to support one or more big banks, and they keep getting larger as an unintended consequence, with taxpayer dollars because they are too big to fail. Similalry, we can’t prosecute Cheney et al for what I would argue is a massive fraud against all American citizens and taxpayers in light of the growing evidence of the manufactured evidence for invading Iraq, and the fraudulent reasons given for avoiding FISA courts in the systematic collection of intelligence, and the lies told about the efficiency and effectiveness of obtaining actionable intelligence through enhanced interrogation and torture becuase that would be prosecuting ideology? An ideology which holds that is okay to lie and fabricate and deceive and mislead in the formulation and conduct of this nation’s foreign policy under a bizarre constituional theory that the Commander-in-Chief can do anything during a time of war if it is the least bit related to the conduct of America’s foreign policy. (Not rationally related, but minimally related.)

There is no way of avoiding the issue of ideology when it is the motivating factor in all which you have done which, the people allege, amounts to illegal conduct and activities that not excused by one’s ideology and the constitutional theory which suits that ideology.

This is far graver matter for America, now and for our the future, if we avoid an investigation and do not follow up in an appropriate fashion on the evidence of federal crimes, if any, that that investigation yields.

At long last, the rule of law must mean something or it simply becomes a quaint fairy tale that we read our kids and grandkids as they nod off to sleep. The rule of law is the most fundamental precept to the legitimacy of any democracy.

That is what we will have sacrificed if we fail to investigate that wish we know requires investigation.

Chuck, the French Beard hides neither your shallowness nor stupidity. Say Hi to Ed, Chip & Major for me !

I’ve heard less stupid lines from drooling drunks trying to get in my pants.