Ann Applebaum: Brian's Lamb or Neocon Wolf in Sheep's Clothing?

[BurtWorm]

Or both? Today on Washington Journal, Applebaum, who is an editorial page editor and writer for the Post and an oddly frequent guest of Brian Lamb's, demonstrated twice why I find her to be more than just an inoffensive middlebrow columnist. First, she criticized the Washington schools districts for calling snow days before a single flake had fallen--which, I, too, think is ridiculous but for a different reason. I blame creeping chickenshittism and wussiness in general. Applebaum blamed the "fear of lawsuits" mentality, but she didn't have any evidence that that's behind it. If she has proof of that she should say so, rather than making a baseless accusation, just because, as she admitted, she gets to rant about anything she wants to rant about.

The other thing she said was more annoying, and more serious. The first caller made an eloquent statment (in response to Laurie Garrett, who had just been on before Applebaum), saying one reason for the media's lack of effectiveness in quelling public fears in the wake of 9/11 is the "out of control" free market's influence on media ownership. I think his point was that media companies are now owned by companies that don't care about information or news so much as the bottom line and what sells. To which Applebaum replied something like, "I don't know how out of control the free market is. What's the alternative? Would you rather a situation like North Korea, in which the governmnet totally controls the market and all information?"

Applebaum, is the North Korean model really the alternative--the only alternative--to the state the American marketplace is in now? Do they really pay you good money to "think" the way you do?

What really disturbs me is that Applebaum presents herself as middle of the road, reasonable, conventional...but the point she made would have been considered as insane as any pronouncement out of Ann Coulter's mouth a mere 20 years ago. A mere 20 years ago any one would have seen right through the faultiness of this false dichotomy and laughed her off the stage. But in this degraded era, this is the received "wisdom," as innocuous as an opinion about the weather--and a reasonable suggestion about the way the world really is is dismissed as a call for North Korean style dictatorship.

What a world, what a world, what a world.

[Cocoa]

1. she looked hung-over

and she and Lamb had some odd, flirty banter at the beginning, as if they'd been out together the night before or something...

And I found her very unpleasant, along the lines you said.

[seemslikeadream]

2. Her knowledge of the IRA took my breath away

:eyes:

[BurtWorm]

6. Her assessment of the WSJ article on Rumsfeld's power grab from State

was similarly "impressive." :eyes:

Incidentally, that story scared me. It sounded as though the Bushists are trying to create a class of potential Caesars--military men who, with no Constitutional authority and without consulting Congress, make foreign policy as they see fit. Applebaum just said it signalled a change in the way the war on terror should be run, as though it were welcome news.

[seemslikeadream]

9. potential Caesars like Evangelical Lieutenant-General Boykin?

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has declined to criticise a senior army officer who told audiences the war on terrorism is a battle with Satan.

Evangelical Christian Lieutenant-General William G Boykin was also quoted as saying a Muslim warlord in Somalia had an "idol" for a God.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3199212.stm

[BurtWorm]

10. That would be a worst-case scenario

but it would be bad enough if the Executive Branch quietly okays field commanders crossing international borders in pursuit of alleged terrorists when they think it's necessary, rather than waiting to go through accepted dimplomatic and political protocols.

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. Was not impressed.

[donsu]

4. I was born in DC 8 blocks from capital - snow has always panicked DC

and Md. burbs. I'm old and had to laugh out loud. this is nothing new. mention snow and school is canceled.


when she came on I turned off the TV and went to broom up leaves.

[Dr.Phool]

5. I couldn't get through

I wanted to address 2 points she made. She told one young caller from New York that he should run for office. Another that they should get their ideas out to the media.

I worked a few campaigns last year, for Kerry, and local candidates. Besides the indignity of begging for money daily, the St. Pete Times and the Tampa Tribune either ignored or denigrated our candidates, who were clearly more qualified than the Repubs they were running against.

In one race, our Candidate was a former Mass. Senate Chief of Staff, and held admin positions that controled budgets of $100s of million dollars. But they never refered to her as anything other than a nurse. I know from working early voting for 2 weeks, and the polls on election day, that voters knew absolutely nothing about the local candidates.

[BurtWorm]

7. I shut off the TV after her ridiculous false dichotomy response to the

first caller, so I didn't hear anything after that. I'll bet the kid was calling on the "supports Bush" line. :eyes:

[KoKo]

8. Your quote: "Degraded Era" says it all... I might add ignorent to it....

Thanks for the post about it.