March 4, 2005
Weisman: Democracy Rumblings as
Bad News for Bush
"Less than six weeks after President Bush's Inaugural Address appealing for
democratic reforms in the Middle East, the United States is coping with an
unaccustomed problem: a region churning with fresh demands for democracy, fresh
opportunities and fresh potential for instability."
- Diplomatic correspondent Steven Weisman, March 1.
Weisman: Democracy Rumblings as
Bad News for America
"And Lebanon, you remember, lots of your viewers remember what a chaotic
situation it was 20 years ago at the height of civil war when they were hostages
and American troops were introduced and then killed in great numbers. More than
20 years ago. That can happen again."
- Stephen Weisman discussing rumblings of democracy in Lebanon on the March
1 MSNBC talk show "Countdown With Keith Olbermann."
More "Independent Analysts" Who
Agree With Demos
"Still, Mr. Bush's argument that the [Social Security] system is approaching
bankruptcy - a contention disputed by Democrats and independent analysts -
seems to be taking hold."
- From a March 3 poll story by Adam Nagourney and Robin Toner.
Roger Cohen: Hersh Kisses,
Blogger Hisses
"For the world's Internet chat-room fulminators, and the say-it-like-it-is
Web-log chroniclers known as bloggers, and the legions of folk who are now
electronic publishers without intermediary, newspapers are old hat. As for the
men and women of the press, they are often seen as contemptible troglodytes.
After all, we have editors - and what could editors be but censors of the
unfettered language that now courses across the Internet? And, being from the
MSM, we must have an agenda, one often depicted as liberal and godless by an
ascendant right-wing and religious movement in the United States that tends to
see itself as sole custodian of the truth."
- From Roger Cohen's "Globalist" column in the March 1 International
Herald Tribune (the NYT's foreign edition).
"Deep Cuts" in Bush's Budget?
Where?
"Increasingly, Mr. Bush has pushed to put his mark on foreign aid policy,
stressing help for countries meeting his criteria for responsible government. In
the new budget proposal, foreign aid was spared the deep cuts made in many
domestic programs."
- Reporter Elisabeth Becker, March 2. Bush proposes domestic spending cuts
of 0.5% to 0.8%.
No Liberal Bias in the White
House Press Corps?
"[Former White House Press Secretary Ari] Fleischer also stays on message when
it comes to griping about the media, echoing other administration members'
frequently repeated accusations that the press is guilty of negativity, liberal
bias and an obsession with conflict. In presenting his complaints about the
media, Mr. Fleischer is highly selective in his citation of examples, often
ignoring facts that might undermine his thesis or underscore the flip side of
his assertions."
- Book critic Michiko Kakutani on "Taking Heat," Ari Fleischer's White House
memoirs, March 1.
Thank God for That
"Elsewhere in the Bay Area, advocates of gender-neutral bathrooms are beginning
to make themselves heard."
- Patricia Leigh Brown in a March 4 story on a cause taken up by
transsexuals.
