Month: October 2005

This diary is a convergent response to two recent diaries. One, by Chris Bowers at MyDD, addressed the use of code words by Democratic hawks to attack other Democrats on security issues-painting them as hopelessly out of the mainstream, when, in fact, it is the hawks who are in the small minority.  However, they still control the beltway debate. The other, by Booman at Booman Tribune, was an attack on framing. My first diary responding to Booman saw him repeatedly mischaracterize what framing is, over and over and over again. In this diary, I take a different approach.  I discuss Lakoff’s use of framing to articulate a different foreign policy vision– one that actually resonates with what the American people already believe… and with proven foreign policy success. This is badly needed, because not only do advocates of withdrawal lack media access, they also lack a common framework of understanding. And that, ultimately, is what framing is all about. Messaging is entirely secondary.

I recall this being discussed some time ago, but there is so much analysis out there now, I can’t find reference to it. So I’ll post it for discussion.

Having read in detail everything on Fitz’s new website, I was struck by the differences in the subpoenas issued to Cooper and Time versus the one issued to Judith Miller and the NY Times. See below for the difference (I’ve bolded the relevant part included in Miller’s subpeona that was NOT included in Cooper’s and I wonder what it may mean…)

From the document Brief of the United States, Appellee, found on Fitz’s new website.

A bill in the U.S. House of Representatives provides for $600 million in new affordable housing funds.

But there is a catch!

Non-profit organizations that provide voter registration or are affiliated with any organization that provides voter registration are barred from receiving and distributing the new money.

The anti-voter registration language was inserted at the request of the Republican Study Committee which has expressed the belief that low income housing groups are too liberal and are partisan in their voter registration activities. Here’s a link to the story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune from Friday.

The Bill HR 1461 is scheduled to come up for a vote Thursday or Friday of next week.  Under normal House rules the anti-voter registration language could be taken out.  It is not clear if House leadership will prevent that and force an up or down vote on the entire package.

What an outrage! So now the Repugs don’t want poor people voting – because that’s too partisan!! Shall we look into the voter registration efforts of Halliburton? Just what kind of democracy to these repugs envision?

Karen’s been to Indonesia where she got an “earful” from Indonesian women, writes Common Dreams.

“Hughes Misreports Iraqi History.” blares the WaPo headline. The subtitle: “Envoy Vastly Overstates Fact in Justifying War to Indonesian Students.”

The NYT chimes in with “Bush’s Designated Hitter Strikes Out With Indonesian Students.”

The headline that may raise the most debate: “Hughes to replace Rove?” — from U.S. News & World Report.

You decide! Is America safer with Hughes inside, or outside, the White House bubble?

Meanwhile, her next stops are Aceh and then the predominantly Muslim nation, Malaysia. … more below: