Billmon:
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July 24, 2006
WB: Gullible’s Travels
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with three citations you have torn the rags from that doll that would dress itself otherwise in the cloth of ‘objectivity’
Posted by: r’giap | Jul 24 2006 17:47 utc | 1
From Ricks Q & A today:
“I am seeing this on the left as well as the right, by the way. I sometimes think that the left would only be happy if we started labelling all their enemies liars. I noticed that one leftish blogger criticized me for quoting generals who said in 2003 that we were winning the war. I don’t think he understands that part of my job is to quote people accurately–even if I don’t agree with what they are saying.”
Posted by: BoomTown | Jul 24 2006 18:38 utc | 2
No RG, I think BoomTown did though.TEHE.
I was just about to drop that BOOM, but you prempted me BT.
BTW, Rick’s book Fiasco should be avaiable from Amazon about now.
Posted by: Ms. Manners | Jul 24 2006 18:46 utc | 3
ricks & his ilk make a mockery of what was once an honourable trade
they are what groucho marx called them in ‘horse feathers’ – “wage-slaves”
there are so many who were worthy of that name ; i f stone, claude cockburn (father of the cockburn boys), martha gellhorn, even hemingway in a moment or two, wilfred burchett, rewi alley, seymour hersh, jo wilding, anna politkovosko & amira hass
they all made errors but they essentially honoured the trade
these others are scribblers, vanity merchants, smalltime hoods dressed up in the finery of a damon runyon
they are employees of an elite & an ideology that through deceit & through incompetence they serve those masters well
i had thought interpretative ability was not only common to humans but to journalists also
clearly not
Posted by: r’giap | Jul 24 2006 18:52 utc | 4
It is probable that a pack mentality works in the Left Blgosphere, as it does in the MSM.
I imagine Ricks was referring to someone who opened the Post at 9:00 AM and finished scribbling and posted on his blog about 10:00AM. Rick was about to start his Q&A, when Bill posted his at 12:21.
Ricks has part ownership of 2 Pulitzers, and should have had one for his reporting in Fall 2002-Spring 2003 on the war planning for Iraq.
All you had to do was read Ricks then to see that the whole thing was going to be a Fiasco.
Off to Amazon.com.
Posted by: Ms. Manners | Jul 24 2006 19:10 utc | 5
Oh, What they have said,
went to war, but stayed
embed. With their legs so
proudly
spread.
Posted by: anna missed | Jul 24 2006 19:24 utc | 6
& watching what elements of the ‘process’ of saddam hussein – the ‘infoentertainment’ gives us – it resembles nothing so much as a marx brother’s movie ; a day at the races, duck soup – but in this instant the walls & the windows the dock & the bench are completely covered in blood
Posted by: r’giap | Jul 24 2006 20:22 utc | 7
“I noticed that one leftish blogger criticized me for quoting generals who said in 2003 that we were winning the war. I don’t think he understands that part of my job is to quote people accurately–even if I don’t agree with what they are saying.”
OK, I admit it: Tom Ricks is a DAMNED GOOD stenographer.
Posted by: billmon | Jul 24 2006 20:59 utc | 8
Nice to see you Bill.
As for stenographers………. I have to endure BBC World and Sky in this here parts………. must be so much bad for you.
Posted by: Cloned Poster | Jul 24 2006 21:03 utc | 9
So now our military, we are told, is being informed that its new role, after saving people from Lebanon (and what an amazing job that was…) is to be sending humanitarian relief to Lebanon.
Isn’t that just amazing, the way it works? We pay for the bombs and the military that totally has destroyed the country, then we pay to get some people out, and now we’re going to have to pay for the medical care! And the billions in damage just keep multiplying. I wonder who had the contract for that Telecom system in the first place…
Posted by: 2nd anonymous poster | Jul 24 2006 21:55 utc | 10
Ricks: “Look! Over there! Someone made a mistake and forgot all about the lessons of Vietnam!”
While the misdirected look toward the “military establishment”, the muffled sounds of notebooks being packed away preceed Rick’s quiet dash to the exit…
Word, billmon. Shine On You Crazy Diamond. Your one of the last bastions of journalistic integrity. Clearly a dying public service.
Posted by: Uncle $cam | Jul 25 2006 3:05 utc | 14
Pity Party: “I sometimes think that the left would only be happy if we started labelling all their enemies liars.”
Well, it would save a lot of time which would please the efficiency experts, and it often would be correct too.
Posted by: christofay | Jul 25 2006 3:38 utc | 15
R’Giap, so it was Groucho who first coined the phrase “wage slaves”
brillant
Posted by: christofay | Jul 25 2006 3:41 utc | 16
I love pity parties.
I think we ought really have a good one right now and a group hug and kisses. Maybe a Solidarity banner too.
Posted by: Ms. Manners | Jul 25 2006 3:45 utc | 17
b must be sleeping or something. 3 new billmon posts.
OK, that’s it, I’m done beating this particular dead horse. I’ve no desire to turn this blog into Tom Ricks Watch.com. But I do want to make one final point: Notwithstanding Ricks’ complaint, this has nothing to do with making room for “dissent” — loyal or otherwise. Dissent is what thousands of peace activists, bloggers, Pentagon critics and alternative journalists were doing in the spring and summer of 2003 — back when Ricks was still slinging the official party line.
He might want to remember that fact the next time he invites himself to his own pity party.
ot, i know one horse that isn’t dead yet. (luxor) ok, ok, i know, nows not the time, but this squeaky wheel has a long memory and can be patient.
Posted by: annie | Jul 25 2006 3:51 utc | 18
@christofay:
Nope, the term was rather obviously already established when he used it. (Otherwise, the joke doesn’t make sense. Not that it’s all that great of a joke — it’s part of a weak monologue in the earliest surviving Marx film, The Cocoanuts, where Groucho is attempting to gyp a bunch of bellboys (bellgirls?) out of their wages.) (And before any Marx Bros. fans complain that The Cocoanuts is the earliest Marx Bros. film ever made: not so. There was a self-financed dramatic silent movie that they made before they went into comedy, which was so bad that they destroyed all copies long before they became famous. Groucho was the villain; I forget the rest of the details, but I think it was a western.)
Posted by: The Truth Gets Vicious When You Corner It | Jul 25 2006 3:52 utc | 19
This made me fear for [journalism, the war, etc]:
‘But I think that in order to win, the American system would need to work better. The military establishment would have to mobilize to win, like sending the best it has to the advisory effort, and giving it all the resources needed by the advisory teams. We’d also need to stop saying that “we haven’t suffered a tactical defeat” and recognize that every time a friendly mayor or police chief gets killed or intimidated, that’s a setback for us. Maybe we could look more seriously at leadership issues–after four years, not a single general has been relieved for failure. Compare that to Gen. Marshall’s relief of more than 200 officers at the outset of World War II. It also would help to have Congress hold substantial hearings on the conduct of the war.’
Mobilize to win? Right-o. Does he mean “draft” or does he mean “c’mon, boys, let’s win one for the Gipper”?
The leadership change part might be well-taken, but at this point, how much good would it do?
Congress: If God grants us a Democratic majority… maybe oversight would help. Right now it wouldn’t do shit for shit.
Ricks might have written a bang-up book (I haven’t read it), but you can see where he’s hamstrung by his unwillingness or inability to say anything that would piss anyone off. The practical options for Iraq seem to be 1) turn it over to the international community 2) send the entire Bush admin to jail and hope that the void gets filled by slightly less evil politicians 4) hold a draft 5) pull out and pray that it doesn’t get too bad.
But no, we have to “mobilize to win.” Good to know that the WaPo has Vince Lombardi on the sidelines. Too bad it’s not a football game.
@Whetstone:
I disagree totally with Ricks’ conclusion. Stay 10-15 years. WTF? I’m firmly in the Odom camp:
Much better geopolitically for us and for the Iraqis to get the hell out as quickly as reasonably possible, and let the Iraqis decide their own future. Won’t be pretty, might be bloody, but no more so than if we are “the deciders” for 10-15 more years.
This of course won’t happen unless the world is very fortunate in 2008.
Here’s Odom:
LINK
Odom’s written much more since fall 2005(and much before), you can Google the rest of his writings.
Posted by: Ms. Manners | Jul 25 2006 5:02 utc | 21
The Gullible Stenographer is scheduled to be on Charlie Rose Wednesday night…
Posted by: galloping cat | Jul 26 2006 2:55 utc | 22
thanks for the heads up…I’ll look for the torrent and post it here..
Posted by: Uncle $cam | Jul 26 2006 3:07 utc | 23