Media as lobbyists?

Interesting take from Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano on the recent session of New Mexico's legislature.

"So who was successful in getting legislation passed this year? The only lobbyist that don't even have to register as lobbyists in New Mexico, The News Media. In news papers, TV, blogs, and live blogging the press pushed for Live web cams in the legislature, open conference committee meetings, double dipping legislation, and ethics reform. Now don't get me wrong, I sure other people cared about these issues as well, but the news media hounded law makers on these issues relentlessly. Even the death penalty legislation was not hurt by the media stories on the issue."

Should the media be registered as lobbyists?

"...when the legislature listens to the media, when they are lobbying on these issues, are they now beholden to the media?"

This is a fascinating opinion that we'll follow up on with the sheriff.

If only on 9/11

This story raises the eyebrows again, seven years-plus later.

Man suspected of fraud flies away.

FAA loses track.

In minutes, two fighters are looking into his empty cockpit.

Minutes! Two fighters! Small plane, not several commercial jets!

Is anyone else trying to connect the dots?

More here.

Shoot the messenger

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan was a lethal weapon. I knew it listening to him then, and it's confirmed now in his book. I won't spend the money to read his lilly-livered attempt to cover up his own complicity in misleading the American public about Iraq.

What should McClellan have done? Quit. He would, of course, have been replaced by another messenger. That one also should have quit. The logical conclusion is that after awhile, there would be no messengers left.

McClellan should have known what we knew at the time -- that it was all bosh.

Even before 2003, I was advising KSFR's news staff to be ultra cautious with so-called "news stories" about the need to invade Iraq. I did not want KSFR to be part of carrying messages that smelled of lies.

There was the UN nuclear weapons inspectors reports that they could find no WMD in Iraq. I read it and believed it then.

I had closely followed the revelation, debunked at the time but admitted to now, that Tony Blair had "sexed up" British intelligence with the claim that WMD from Iraq could strike England in 45 minutes. A BBC reporter and BBC leadership got the axe over revealing that.

Consider Former ambassador Joe Wilson and his debunking of one of the Bush administration's claims.

Terrorism advisor Richard Clarke was talking. Why hadn't McClellan listened? I did.

Of course, the media sucked it all up thanks to Scott McClellan and Ari Fleischer before him.

A little radio station in New Mexico chose not to listen to Scott McClellan. He was the messenger carrying sleazy messages.

We wanted no part in the whole, rotten thing.

The story TV "missed"

NYT reporter David Barstow’s investigation of the Pentagon’s military analyst program — whereby ex-military talking heads, often with direct ties to contractors, parroted Defense Department talking points on the air — has been noticeably absent from television airwaves since the story broke on April 20.

But, according to The Politico.Com, a possible congressional inquiry may force the story to be covered by television and could prompt stories on an investigation into themselves.

Here's the full list of documents the Pentagon released.