All I can say is that I'm glad we're not currently embroiled in some nonsensical war or have a fuel crises on our hands and that the Republicans are so able, ready & capable to take up this dire fight against this dangerous crooner...

U.S. SENATE TO TAKE UP ‘AMERICAN IDOL’ CHRIS DAUGHTRY CONTROVERSY

‘American Idol’ issue looms large before the November congressional elections

Hollywood – The Senate this week will begin debate on “American Idol” contestant Chris Daughtry and allegations he ripped off his version of “I Walk the Line” from one done by the band Live in 2001. “If Mr. Daughtry is saying one thing, and then we find out that his claims were false, then he – just like anyone else in this country, no matter who they are – should be held accountable,” said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

“We want to quickly get to the bottom of this,” added Frist, a Tennessee Republican and potential presidential contender in 2008. “Tens of millions of my constituents are watching this show every week, and we don’t want to be lied to. “

Frist plans to bring up legislation on Monday in an emergency session that would not only censure Daughtry, but would also force “American Idol” producers to remove him from the program. With “American Idol” being the most popular program on television with record ratings, the issue looms large before the November congressional elections and is playing a role in jockeying among potential 2008 presidential candidates.

“There are other issues that some people say are important, like the war in Iraq, terrorism and immigration,” said Steven Langley, professor and chair of political science at Fairfield College in Westfield, Maine. “However, the American electorate is clearly more interested in what’s taking place with ‘American Idol.’ Lawmakers can finally see that, and with the mid-term elections coming up, they want to show voters that they’re involved in the process and taking action.”

Several Democratic Senators are defending Daughtry, including Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts.

“The week before, many Americans saw Daughtry perform the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ version of ‘Higher Ground’ on Stevie Wonder night,” said Sen. Kerry while taking a break from wind-surfing in Bermuda. “Daughtry repeatedly mentioned in his pre-taped interview who he was modeling his performance after. The question we have to ask now is whether or not the producers ended up editing out Daughtry’s comments about the version of the Johnny Cash song.”

Kerry is being criticized for defending Daughtry since he is on record saying that he had thrown his support behind contestant Kevin Covais, who was voted out last week, and that Daughtry should not have made it this far.

“The fact of the matter is that I voted for Daughtry before I voted against him,” explained Kerry. “After consulting with my advisors, I decided that Covais should get my vote. I’m still not convinced that Covais got a fair vote. There have been reports of some improprieties in the voting process.”

The mix of politics and reality TV entertainment concerns Julia Seager, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Entertainment and State.

“I think it is true that this is the earliest in an election year that we’ve seen so much use of reality shows for partisan purposes,” Seager said. “I don’t have a problem with lawmakers saying they’re fans of the show. The problem is when one gets the impression that candidates are substituting their reality TV show beliefs for commonly shared constitutional values.”

When asked about President George W. Bush’s view of the issue, White House spokesperson Scott McLellan said, “I appreciate your question. I think your question is being asked relating to some reports that are in reference to an ongoing congressional investigation. The investigation that you reference is something that continues at this point. And as I’ve previously stated, while that investigation is ongoing, the White House is not going to comment on it. I hope that clears things up for you.”

• 25Jan 06

  Not video game-related, but it's from my back yard...

  This article was in The New York Times last week, and I couldn't agree more.  In a nutshell, I'm from Mr. Murtha's stomping grounds, and the airport in my hometown there is even named after him.  He's a remarkable man that has done tremedous things for the people and the economy there, on his watch.  To see him picked apart like this is pathetic - nothing more than the radical right's way of taking focus off of the subject being presented by him: Bring our damned brothers & sisters home already.  It seems that anyone that opposes Bush with a valid point is quickly consumed by the right's spinmachines, with the hoped-for effect of "HEY!  Look at the monkey!  Look at the silly monkey!!!".  [sigh]   Pay special attention to the bold text near the bottom.

  January 18, 2006

  Op-Ed Contributor

  Purple Heartbreakers

  By JAMES WEBB

  Arlington, Va.

  It should come as no surprise that an arch-conservative Web site is questioning whether Representative John Murtha, the Pennsylvania Democrat who has been critical of the war in Iraq, deserved the combat awards he received in Vietnam.

  After all, in recent years extremist Republican operatives have inverted a longstanding principle: that our combat veterans be accorded a place of honor in political circles. This trend began with the ugly insinuations leveled at Senator John McCain during the 2000 Republican primaries and continued with the slurs against Senators Max Cleland and John Kerry, and now Mr. Murtha.

  Military people past and present have good reason to wonder if the current administration truly values their service beyond its immediate effect on its battlefield of choice. The casting of suspicion and doubt about the actions of veterans who have run against President Bush or opposed his policies has been a constant theme of his career. This pattern of denigrating the service of those with whom they disagree risks cheapening the public's appreciation of what it means to serve, and in the long term may hurt the Republicans themselves.

  Not unlike the Clinton "triangulation" strategy, the approach has been to attack an opponent's greatest perceived strength in order to diminish his overall credibility. To no one's surprise, surrogates carry out the attacks, leaving President Bush and other Republican leaders to benefit from the results while publicly distancing themselves from the actual remarks.

  During the 2000 primary season, John McCain's life-defining experiences as a prisoner of war in Vietnam were diminished through whispers that he was too scarred by those years to handle the emotional burdens of the presidency. The wide admiration that Senator Max Cleland gained from building a career despite losing three limbs in Vietnam brought on the smug non sequitur from critics that he had been injured in an accident and not by enemy fire. John Kerry's voluntary combat duty was systematically diminished by the well-financed Swift Boat Veterans for Truth in a highly successful effort to insulate a president who avoided having to go to war.

  And now comes Jack Murtha. The administration tried a number of times to derail the congressman's criticism of the Iraq war, including a largely ineffective effort to get senior military officials to publicly rebuke him (Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, was the only one to do the administration's bidding there).

  Now the Cybercast News Service, a supposedly independent organization with deep ties to the Republican Party, has dusted off the Swift Boat Veterans playbook, questioning whether Mr. Murtha deserved his two Purple Hearts. The article also implied that Mr. Murtha did not deserve the Bronze Star he received, and that the combat-distinguishing "V" on it was questionable. It then called on Mr. Murtha to open up his military records.

  Cybercast News Service is run by David Thibault, who formerly worked as the senior producer for "Rising Tide," the televised weekly news magazine produced by the Republican National Committee. One of the authors of the Murtha article was Marc Morano, a long-time writer and producer for Rush Limbaugh.

  The accusations against Mr. Murtha were very old news, principally coming from defeated political rivals. Aligned against their charges are an official letter from Marine Corps Headquarters written nearly 40 years ago affirming Mr. Murtha's eligibility for his Purple Hearts - "you are entitled to the Purple Heart and a Gold Star in lieu of a second Purple Heart for wounds received in action" - and the strict tradition of the Marine Corps regarding awards. While in other services lower-level commanders have frequently had authority to issue prestigious awards, in the Marines Mr. Murtha's Vietnam Bronze Star would have required the approval of four different awards boards.

  The Bush administration's failure to support those who have served goes beyond the smearing of these political opponents. One of the most regrettable examples comes, oddly enough, from modern-day Vietnam. The government-run War Remnants Museum, a popular tourist site in downtown Ho Chi Minh City, includes an extensive section on "American atrocities." The largest display is devoted to Bob Kerrey, a former United States senator and governor of Nebraska, recipient of the Medal of Honor and member of the 9/11 commission.

  In the display, Mr. Kerrey is flatly labeled a war criminal by the Vietnamese government, and the accompanying text gives a thoroughly propagandized version of an incident that resulted in civilian deaths during his time in Vietnam. This display has been up for more than two years. One finds it hard to imagine another example in which a foreign government has been allowed to so characterize the service of a distinguished American with no hint of a diplomatic protest.

  The political tactic of playing up the soldiers on the battlefield while tearing down the reputations of veterans who oppose them could eventually cost the Republicans dearly. It may be one reason that a preponderance of the Iraq war veterans who thus far have decided to run for office are doing so as Democrats.

  A young American now serving in Iraq might rightly wonder whether his or her service will be deliberately misconstrued 20 years from now, in the next rendition of politically motivated spinmeisters who never had the courage to step forward and put their own lives on the line.

  Rudyard Kipling summed up this syndrome quite neatly more than a century ago, writing about the frequent hypocrisy directed at the British soldiers of his day:

  An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;

  An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool - you bet that Tommy sees!

  James Webb, a secretary of the Navy in the Reagan administration, was a Marine platoon and company commander in Vietnam.

  • Posted Jan 25, 2006 9:13 pm GMT
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