I Read The News Yesterday, Oh Boy....

Many of the New Jersey blogs and political websites try to “out news” each other in the mega early of the morning with features like “News Roundup & Open Thread” (BlueJersey) Or Wake-Up Call –(PolitickerNJ).

These folks get up waaaay too early, don’t have breakfast with their loved ones, leave the house a mess, and gather news from web-news sources and newspaper websites (who probably have people who get up even earlier to gather the news around the state). They care about you that much to make sure you get the news immediately, and as early as possible. Oooh, Politigasm.

Reminds me of the old joke about Jews in Florida: “They eat dinner at 4:30pm, lunch at 11am, and dinner the night before.”

They scan websites from every source and site from north to the south; from east to west, from the cyber to the historical—teetering-on-the-edge-of-demise dailies like the Star-Ledger, Asbury Park Press, Bergen Record, Courier News, Courier Post. From weeklies, monthlies, and magazines. From other websites and even each other. They link back to these stories with clever little lines like “Christie is a jerk” or “Teabaggers stage protest”. Or “Joey Novick is funny and brilliant.” Bigger, faster, stronger.

All in pursuit of all the news that fits we print. Or blog.

So, in order to make it even easier for you, the daily blog reader, each day I am going to try to do the same thing. Link back to the news. But make it even easier for you. I will link back to everyone else’s news round-up----but not until they’re done, usually the next day. The news does not change that much from day to day, anyway. “Christie is a jerk”. “Teabaggers stage protest”. Or “Joey Novick is funny and brilliant.” Yada yada yada.

That way, I can be done more quickly, and sleep later. Or have breakfast. Or take an exercise walk. Here is the news from yesterday. Tomorrow, we should have today's news. Thanks to Rosi and Laura.

PolitickerNJ Wake-up Call from Tuesday, August 11th

Blue Jersey News Round up Tuesday, August 11th

...also, if you missed it, Lincoln lost New Jersey.

The Spin Doctors

I do read RedJersey every once in a while, just to see what the other side blogs on and on and on about. This week it is the Iraq war.

And FYI ---imitation is the sincerest form of flattery: Previously, they were "Red Generation", and now they are "RedJersey.net" ---trying desperately to model themselves after BlueJersey.

And, by the way, they are not “RedJersey.com”. RedJersey.com is a bicycle racing shop up in New Hampshire. And they probably get more hits than RedJersey.net.

Anyway, this post was recently on RedJersey, and it caught my attention:

Perceptions Can Change
By Eric Pasternack | July 25, 2007
The public opinion about the war may be changing. Back in May, a CBS/NY Times poll reported that only 23% of the public thought the war effort in Iraq was going well. Furthermore, 45% of respondents indicated that the war was going badly. These statistics stand in stark contrast to the latest CBS/NY Times poll where only 35% of people think the war is going badly while 29% percent think the war is going well.
This trend is encouraging. But it will also mean that the Democrats will increase their rhetoric and will stop at nothing to prevent success in Iraq.

“The trend is encouraging”? Less than 30% of the American public thinks the war effort is going well, and RedJersey cites that as trending in a positive direction?

And then RedJersey states that, “These statistics stand in stark contrast…" ---where in May a poll showed that 23% though the war was going well, and now 29% think the war is going well. That is what RedJersey calls “Stark contrast”?

OK, so they are bad at analyzing numbers. But RedJersey showed their real chutzpah when they questioned the patriotism of the Democrats in Congress with a statement like:

“But it will also mean that the Democrats will increase their rhetoric and will stop at nothing to prevent success in Iraq.”

The delusional assumption that the Democrats wish to prevent success in Iraq is offensive to every independent thinking resident of New Jersey. And Red Jersey owes our Congressional delegation an apology ---both the Ds and the Rs. While the members of our Congressional delegation may differ on their points if view on the war, neither side has ever questioned the other side's patriotism.

Success in Iraq is measured by your president’s own criteria:
Your president said we went in to Iraq because there were WMDs.
Current status: None.

Your president said we needed to oust Saddam Hussein.
Status: Hussein is dead.

Your president said we needed to establish democracy there.
Status: The Iraqi Parliament was elected earlier this year.

And now they are acting just like Congress ---- they are taking off for the summer.

The ultimate support of the troops in Iraq is to bring them home.

If RedJersey.net is going to put that kind of a ‘spin’ on public poll numbers about the war or the Democrats' patriotism ---then maybe they should point their URL to "RedJersey.com" ----and at least let their readership learn something about real ‘spinning’ ----in the form of information about cycling.