Is it still impolite to call it fascism?

The New York Times has a lengthy expose' on the Bush administration's extensive use of taxpayer-financed propaganda to advance its agenda.

As if FOX News, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Robert Novak, Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin, Neil Boortz, NewsMax, Townhall, the Weekly Standard, the Washington Times, and the legions of local talk radio bloviators across the country weren't getting the job done.

Lots to talk about

This is the first of a handful of posts today on the sea changes buffeting our media. The Online Coaliton has written a letter to the Federal Election Commission over possible regulation of blogs and websites. You should read the letter and add your name.

http://www.onlinecoalition.com

HoustonDemocrats.com

That's the new blog started by the Harris County Democratic Party to keep us up-to-date on topics of interest locally. I'll be linking to them often.

Last night at the weekly Drinking Liberally I met the new organizer of that group; congratulations, Adrian. She takes over for Eddie Rodriguez, who's relocating to San Antonio, where I suspect we'll see a new chapter shortly. Eddie's blog needs to be in your bookmarks.

And Bean at Prairie Weather has the skinny on "Blogshine Sunday":

On March 13, 2005, news organizations across America will participate in "Sunshine Sunday" by running stories supporting access to government information. This freedom of information is vital to our democracy. That's why FreeCulture.org has organized "Blogshine Sunday" on the same day: to ensure that government remains accessible to tomorrow's journalists.

We recognize that technology is changing journalism. On Blogshine Sunday, we affirm:

• In an increasingly wired society, government documents need to be digital and online, not just buried in archives.
• "Professional" journalists are not the only people who deserve access to our government -- everyone does.

If these topics mean something to you, please join us on March 13. Write in your blog about how they've affected you.

And here's more:

Have something to say? Want to play a role in Blogshine Sunday? Here’s how.

Pick a topic and your perspective. Do you have a story to tell, or are you just speaking your mind? Remember when you tried to look for property records for that big house on corner to find out how much it’s worth? Or when you found out your Uncle Joe had a CIA file in the ’60s, and wanted to look at it? Or when you wanted to know the phone number for that guy running for the city commission? Or would you rather write from a more philosophical standpoint, about why access to information is important? Maybe there’s something specific you’d like to write about, like the OPEN Government Act?

This will be coupled with your choice of topic: are you writing about the need for digital access to government records, or about the need for equal access for non-traditional journalists?

If you have a blog, then post your column there on Sunday, March 13.

And Gavin posted this there:

Bloggers-as-journalists seems to be gaining acceptance, judging by some recent news:

• On Monday, the New York Times reported that Garrett M. Graff of fishbowlDC “may be the first blogger in the short history of the medium to be granted a daily White House pass.”
  
• On Tuesday, the Online Journalism Review from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California announced it was making available three tutorials for bloggers without journalism experience. The tutorials are wikis which anyone can edit, and are licensed under a Creative Commons license.
• Sen. John Cornyn’s press secretary told me last week that the OPEN Government Act will likely have its first hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committe in mid-March. The act, among other provisions, would charge bloggers and other Internet-based journalists lower fees for information requests, a privilege currently based on institutional affiliation.

Ceci n'est pas un Ambassador

What do you do with a State Department official who says things like "There's no such thing as the United Nations?"

Why, you make him ambassador to the United Nations, of course.

The problem with this isn't that the US will have to get by with fewer friends in the world. Bush has effectively demonized international cooperation anyway, so what does it really matter if he adds another ignorant, arrogant schmuck to the gaggle of fools representing all of us?

No, the problem is that at a time when the United States is fighting a two-front war (and possibly opening a third or fourth front shortly), we have fewer and fewer allies. We have very little significant combat help, very little logistical help, and it's our soldiers that are the ones paying the price. Even staunch partners like Italy, with a few thousand troops in country, are insulted by insinuation -- "she's a communist; she writes for a communist rag" -- after a tragic friendly-fire mistake. (The tragedy of course is that Nicola Calipari, the Italian intelligence officer who freed insurgency hostage and Il Manifesto reporter Giuliana Sgrena, died shielding her from bullets fired by American soldiers. Even if we wanted her dead -- and I'm not certain we did -- we couldn't have wanted him dead. And another thing: "Friendly fire" must be the most rancid oxymoron imaginable.)

Why must this administration make enemies everywhere it goes? Why do they look for new ways every day to piss off virtually everyone in the entire world?

Bush should have nominated a UN ambassador that would be capable of rebuilding burned bridges with alienated allies; someone who could help deliver the international help our troops need.

Instead they give yet another middle finger to the global community.

And while conservatives snicker behind their hand, content in their clever "message" to the world, US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to die. No pullout in sight, despite the singing and cheering and dancing associated with Iraqi election day last month.

John Bolton isn't going to be accomplishing much in the way of international cooperation, and more importantly, he probably contributes indirectly to more of our brave men and women dying in the desert for years to come. What a nice legacy that will be.

Update: I see there is news that his confirmation will be opposed. How vigorously and successfully...well, we'll see.