WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE. Media Log is supposed to be taking the day off. But I'm so outraged by this story in today's Boston Globe that I feel an overwhelming urge to link to it and scream incoherently. Sean Murphy and Raphael Lewis report that it could take 10 years to fix the leaks in the Big Dig - which, last time I checked, isn't even finished yet. Okay, all togther now: Aaaiiiyeee!!!
Serious question I: Attorney General Tom Reilly is reportedly involved in discussions aimed at filing a lawsuit against those responsible for this calamity. Does that mean Reilly is not contemplating a criminal investigation as well? If not, why not?
Serious question II: Is the I-93 tunnel really safe? What assurances do we have that the walls aren't going to burst loose while hundreds of cars are trapped inside during rush hour? For some reason, I do not find it reassuring that the folks at Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff are telling us that the tunnel is "structurally sound."
KARL ROVE, ELBOW-PATCHED LIBERAL. Lowell Sun columnist and WBZ Radio (AM 1030) talk-show host Paul Sullivan says that George W. Bush did not win because of gay-hating religious zealots. He writes:
The claim that this election was some sort of religious revolution is a smokescreen that the liberal media, Hollywood know-it-alls and the elbow-patched campus crowd use to explain why they lost.
But Paul! Karl Rove says you're wrong.
7 comments:
Dan,
Instead of getting your knickers in a twist over the Big Dig and Paul Sullivan why haven't you written a word for Media Log on the reporting surrounding Yasir Arafat's conidtion? By my count some major media outlets have gotten it wrong and there seems to be all kinds of misinformation shooting around out there.
You're a media critic. Reporting on the media is your forte. You're good at it. Isn't it important to look at what the media is doing (and how they are being played) in the Arafat situation?
Nothing you write about the Big Dig or Karl Rove is going to have any bearing on anyone's understanding of those stories -- you're just another voice. However a lot of readers could be informed by some good media criticsm over this mess that is surroudning Arafat. The media is part of the story here and you're missing it.
I write about what interests me. Whether Arafat dies today, tomorrow, next week, or has actually been dead for three days is of minimal interest to me. Obviously everyone is lying, and the media are repeating those lies. Nothing new there!
I can't believe I'm writing in defense of Paul Sullivan, but Paul may be on to something.
http://www.emergingdemocraticmajorityweblog.com/donkeyrising/archives/000934.php
Alan Abramowitz looks at Bush's improved performance from 2000 to 2004. This improvement was across the board and was not affected by whether or not there was an anti-Gay Marriage referendum on the ballot.
Sounds like you misread the article, Dan. Karl Rove "said he was not certain that the votes (against same sex marriage) necessarily helped Mr. Bush to defeat Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts. He noted that Mr. Kerry had won Michigan and Oregon, where the amendments passed by large margins."
No. All you're pointing out is that Rove tried to back away from the implications of what he'd just said.
Not really. Karl Rove was just noting that same sex marriage is a huge issue, given that 11 states overwhelmingly approved of bans in November. But he never said it hurt Kerry, who ALSO opposed same sex marriage.
Sure, a significant portion of voters cited moral values. But it's unclear that they were referring to same sex marriage. Maybe it was the flip-flopping issue, which the Republicans flogged heavily. The GOP tried hard (and somewhat successfully) to make the case that Kerry has no moral spine and will say anything to get votes.
The Big Dig is just another of a continuing flow of failures. Space shuttles, Iraq, decline from largest creditor to largest debtor, etc. It's damned depressing.
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