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Why Hillary Clinton Has Always Been a Republican In the first of a series of profiles, Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair chart the formative years of Hillary Clinton. Watch her as she zigzags from Nixon campaigner and vote-fraud investigator in 1960 to Goldwater Girl and President of Young Republicans at Wellesley to her internship for Gerald Ford and campaigner for Nelson Rockefeller. Witness her reaction to the student protests at Yale and the demonstrations at Grant Park during the Democratic Convention in 1968. Learn how she and Bill vowed to "remake" the Democratic Party--using the Nixon model HRC learned about as a member of the House impeachment staff. And much more! Plus: David Price on anthropologist Andre Gunder Frank, the FBI and the Bureaucratic Exile of a Critical Mind.
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Today's Stories July 14 / 15. 2007 Alexander
Cockburn Ralph
Nader Robert
Fantina Ron
Jacobs Conn
Hallinan Dr.
Susan Rosenthal, MD John
Ross Anthony
DiMaggio Missy
Comley Beattie Dr.
James J. Murtagh, Jr. Kenneth
Rexroth
July 13, 2007 Patrick
Cockburn Winslow
T. Wheeler Imran
Khan Todd
Chretien Sam
Husseini Dr.
Herman Mindshaftgap Anthony
Papa D.
K. Wilson David
Michael Green Website
of the Day
July 12, 2007 Paul
Craig Roberts Robert Jensen Dr. Susan Block Joshua Frank John Chuckman Corporate Crime
Reporter Mike Whitney Nicola Nasser Richard Rhames William S.
Lind Website of the Day
July 11, 2007 Patrick
Cockburn Richard
Neville Debra
McNutt John
V. Walsh Scott
Liebertz George
C. Wilson James
McEnteer Philip
Rizk Johnny
Hazard Dave
Lindorff Website
of the Day
July 10, 2007 James
Ridgeway Tariq
Ali Javed
Hussein William
Blum Ralph
Nader Jay
Arena Anthony
DiMaggio Eva
Liddell Jerry
Kroth Alice
Woodward Nikolas
Kozloff Paul
Shannon Website
of the Day
July 9, 2007 Fidel
Castro Diana
Johnstone John
Walsh Uri
Avnery Ramzy
Baroud John
Ripton Stephen
Lendman Bruce
Jackson Michael
Donnelly Doug
Giebel Website
of the Day
Saul
Landau Ismael
Hossein-zadeh Fawzia
Afzal-Khan John
Ross Pat
Williams Rannie
Amiri Farzana
Versey Bart
Gruzalski Paul
Rockwell Reza
Fiyouzat Monica
Benderman Kenneth
Couesbouc Dave
Lindorff Charles
Modiano Missy
Beattie Dal
LaMagna Jean
Gerard Anne
Dachel Ron
Jacobs Poets'
Basement Website
of the Day
Daniel
Ellsberg Gary
Leupp Harvey
Wasserman Omer
Subhani Marjorie
Cohn Christopher
Brauchli David
Michael Green China
Hand Renee
Saucedo Corporate
Crime Reporter Website
of the Day
July 5, 2007 Andy
Worthington Mike
Stark Norman
Solomon Michael
Schwartz Susie
Day Jacob
Hornberger Bill
Hatch Don
Fitz John
Wright Website
of the Day
July 4, 2007 St.
Clair / Frank Vijay
Prashad Carl
G. Estabrook Ron
Jacobs David
R. Dow Claudia
Johnson William
S. Lind Gregory
Afghani Paul
Edwards D.
K. Wilson Niranjan
Ramakrishnan Thomas
Jefferson Cindy
Sheehan Website
of the Day
Bill
Quigley Gary
Leupp Lynda
Brayer Richard
Thieme Helen
Redmond David
Swanson Jacob
Hornberger Ayesha
Ijaz Khan Franklin
Lamb Ray
McGovern Kevin
Zeese Dave
Lindorff Website
of the Day
Andy
Worthington Nina
Serrano Jack
Hirschman Paul
Craig Roberts Bill
Williams Anthony
Papa Sonja
Karkar Louay
Safi Anthony
Gregory Monica
Benderman Website
of the Day
June 30 / July 1, 2007 John
Ross Alan
Farago Peter
Quinn Christopher
Brauchli Robert
Fisk Uri
Avnery Judith
Siers-Poisson Saul
Landau Abbas
Zaidi Ron
Jacobs Ralph
Nader Donald
Worster Mike
Whitney Jacob
Hill Kenneth
Couesbouc Missy
Beattie Mohammad
Kamaali Ramzy
Baroud Leonard
Peltier Phyllis
Pollack Poets'
Basement Website
of the Weekend
June 29, 2007 St.
Clair / Frank Brian
Cloughley Patrick
Cockburn Gilad
Atzmon Dave
Lindorff Jennifer
Matsui / Kevin
Zeese Daniel
Klimek David
Michael Green John
Chuckman Website
of the Day
June 28, 2007 Bill
Quigley Vijay
Prashad Margaret
Kimberley Winslow
T. Wheeler Philip
Rizk D.
K. Wilson Bill
Williams Mahmoud
El-Yousseph Richard
Rhames Paul
Krassner Website
of the Day
Marjorie
Cohn Dr.
Susan Rosenthal, MD Alan
Farago Carla
Blank Matthew
Abraham Sunsara
Taylor Russell
D. Hoffman Robert
Weissman Sen.
Russ Feingold Paul
Buchheit Website
of the Day
June 26, 2007 Jonathan
Cook Ralph
Nader Corporate
Crime Reporter Ron
Jacobs Martha
Rosenberg John
Chuckman Denny
Haldeman Anthony
DiMaggio Stephen
Fleischman William
S. Lind Website
of the Day
Paul
Craig Roberts Jennifer
Loewenstein Bob
Anderson Robert
Pollin Patrick
Cockburn Eva
Liddell Dan
Bacher Larry
Atkins Mark
Brenner James
Rothenberg Website
of the Day June 23 / 24, 2007 Alexander
Cockburn Jeff
Taylor Oren
Ben-Dor Gary
Leupp Robert
Fisk David
Rosen Russell
Mokhiber Alison
Weir Robert
Fantina D.
K. Wilson Nicole
Colson Stephen
Soldz, Steven Reisner and Brad Olson Dave
Lindorff Benjamin
Dangl Michael
Dickinson Poets'
Basement Website
of the Weekend
June 22, 2007 Andy
Worthington Sherwood
Ross Eliana
Monteforte Robert
Weissman Richard
Rhames Christopher
Brauchli Ramzy
Baroud Ehud
Krinis, David Shulman and Neve Gordon David
Michael Green Kathryn
Webber Website
of the Day
June 21, 2007 Peter
Linebaugh Natsu
Saito Ron
Jacobs Saree
Makdisi John
Stauber Scott
Liebertz Tom
Clifford Robert
Jensen Michael
J. Smith Jeb
Sprague Website
of the Day
Omar
Barghouti Andy
Worthington Margaret
Kimberley Robert
Weissman Russell
D. Hoffman Rannie
Amiri Stephen
Lendman Dave
Lindorff David
Swanson Anne
Dachel Website
of the Day
June 19, 2007 Ralph
Nader Dr.
Shepherd Bliss Bill
and Kathleen Christison Jeff
Leys Dave
Zirin Chris
Floyd Ben
Terrall Anthony
Papa VIPS Linda Flores Website
of the Day
John
Ross Paul
Craig Roberts Martha
Rosenberg Norman
Solomon Don
Santina Isabella
Kenfield James
Brooks Eva
Liddell Sam
Husseini Akiva
Eldar Website
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Alexander
Cockburn John
Halle Robert
Fisk Andy
Worthington Uri
Avnery Fred
Gardner Saul
Landau P.
Sainath Missy
Comley Beattie Alan
Gregory Walter
Brasch Website
of the Weekend
June 15, 2007 Alan
Farago Andy
Worthington Michael
Simmons Franklin
Lamb Gary
Leupp John
Ross Website
of the Day
June 14, 2007 Michael
Donnelly
Faisal
Kutty Harry
Browne Charles
Jonkel Steven
Higgs Bruce
Dixon Bruce
K. Gagnon
Website
of the Day June 13, 2007 Glen Ford Marjorie Cohn Bill Christison Charles Jonkel Silvia Cattori Richard Gott Firmin DeBrabander William S. Lind Keith Rosenthal Website of the Day June 12, 2007 Jeffrey St.
Clair Paul Craig
Roberts P. Sainath Ralph Nader Omar Waraich Dave Lindorff Harvey Wasserman Malini Johar
Schueller Ramzy Baroud Website of
the Day
June 11, 2007 Patrick Cockburn Paul Craig
Roberts Uri Avnery Norman Solomon Eva Liddell Rannie Amiri Rachel Voss Christopher
Brauchli D. K. Wilson Website of
the Day
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Bastille
Day Weekend Edition Pacman as Black ManESPN's Rap SheetBy CHARLES MODIANO
It sincerely hurts to write this column. Once upon a time, before traffic tickets became headlining stories, before souls were sold to the highest advertiser, and before it became the "Pacman-as-Black-Man Network", I was one of ESPN's biggest fans. When cable TV was still considered "new", when Chris Berman had no comb-over, when Bob Lee was his Sports Center sidekick, and when Australian Rules Football was their biggest sport going, I was there. After 25+ years, through all the ups and downs, I'm still here. But these days this former loyal sailor only has mutiny on his mind. As former NBA star Michael Ray Richardson once famously predicted: "the ship be sinkin'". ESPN Wednesday Recap: Yes, it's true, Pacman Jones received some traffic tickets. But wait, it gets juicier: he was driving an orange Lamborghini! I know this because it was mentioned in the story title. Not a big web surfer? No worry. ESPN's Wednesday afternoon TV shows "Outside the Lines", "NFL Live", "Rome is Burning", "Around the Horn", "Pardon the Interruption", and of course, "Sports Center" all had the story covered. Didn't watch TV either? Well, ESPN came back with a brand new update on Thursda . Surprised? Well, you shouldn't be. ESPN has been baking this cake for an awful long time. You don't agree? To members of the jury, we offer exhibits A - E: EXHIBIT A - Stephon vs.
Stephen A2) Stephen Jackson: Perhaps you wonder if it is under ESPN's purview to cover off-court community service. Well, that all depends on whether it was ordered by a judge. Exactly one day after Marbury's four million pledge, NBA player Stephen Jackson pleaded guilty to a felony count of criminal recklessness for firing a gun (in the air) stemming from an altercation outside a strip club in October 2006. While he did not receive any jail time, he did receive a $5000 fine, 100 hours of community service, and three separate articles of coverage on ESPN's website. Editorial oversight? Well, not quite. Since last August, when Marbury launched his revolutionary sneaker line, ESPN has contributed a grand total of four original website articles to his social movement. In contrast, since Jackson's incident you will find about 25 articles closely monitoring the developments of his gripping story. So, how do you milk 25 articles out of such an incident? For starters, location matters. ESPN editors looooooove strip clubs... even more than Pacman Jones. But still, 25 articles? Oh, that's easy. Delay of court date: That's a story! ESPN's "Police Blotter Awards": Built-in story! Start playing really good basketball: "Jackson's On-court Success Overshadows Off-court Problems" (well, not anymore!). When Reggie Miller had critical words, the story was "Former Pacers Great Miller Blasts Jackson's Behavior". When Mavericks owner Mark Cuban called Marbury's new sneaker "the biggest business story of the year"; and said "The NBA has never done anything as impactful as what he has done"; and added "You guys [the media] should give him all the props in the world.", ESPN followed up on those comments with no props and no story on its website. AP Note: Yes, ESPN gets a great number of its articles as direct feeds through the biased Associated Press. However, the self-proclaimed "World Wide Leader in Sports" has the power to filter out or adapt any article that it sees fit. EXHIBIT B --Who is Pacman Jones?: B1) Memo to ESPN: "WE GET IT! Loud and clear! Pacman Jones is no Boy Scout!!! We got it yesterday, we got it last week, we got it last month, and we got it last year!" For those non-sports fans, Pacman Jones is an NFL football player with a very underwhelming on-field resume. Despite considerable talent and potential, he has still only played two years in the league, his team has never made the playoffs, and he has amassed only four more career NFL interceptions than you or me. Unlike other ESPN favorite black man piñatas (see Terrell Owens, Randy Moss) who have at least earned some of their fame via sustained on-field NFL excellence, Pacman is an NFL nobody by comparison. Except that he is a household name. Off the field, Pacman absolutely loves trouble [1]. And ESPN absolutely loves to cover his troubles. And it does so better than an all-pro cornerback. Every traffic ticket, every planned or delayed court date, attorney motion, plea possibilities, and player reactions has Geraldo waxing nostalgic about OJ. ESPN reinvented the term "make it rain" by devoting more than 100 website articles [2] and countless TV segments to the off-field life and times of Pacman Jones since November 2006. This figure does NOT INCLUDE about 50 more articles made up of: duplicative AP postings; the obligatory Pacman rap-sheet-recap whenever another NFL player falters; and other random NFL stories that offer any chance to slip in a reference [3] . By the way, ESPN also has a crack staff of web designers: Almost any new daily Pacman offering will include direct access close to 40 other articles in case you are part of the "sports-fan-in-a-coma-this-past-year" community! B2) Who is Derrick Brooks? The media storm surrounding Pacman is even more glaring when considering ESPN website's (non)coverage of Tampa Bay linebacker Derrick Brooks. In the NFL, Brooks has accomplished every goal you could possibly imagine: He has made the NFL Pro Bowl the last 10 years; has won the Super Bowl; was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2002; and is a sure-fire Hall of Famer. Unfortunately, such credentials have not translated into greater attention for his legendary commitment to youth off the field. Last month Brooks announced that he will open a charter school this summer (see ESPN's one positive article after years of neglect). When it comes to education Brooks practices what he preaches: despite his millionaire status, the demands of an NFL career, and various community obligations, he went back to school achieve his Master's Degree in Business Communications in 1999. Marbury and Brooks demonstrate
ESPN's two general policies when covering heroic feats of athletes:
1) ignore altogether or 2) tokenism which takes the form
of the "one and done" variety. Sustained updated coverage
on positive off-court events is almost non-existent. After one
good deed, stars like Marbury and Brooks have filled their media
quota, but after 101 transgressions, Pacman has not. ESPN's freeze-out
of guys like Brooks and Marbury (and countless others) make it
that much more difficult to swallow the regular "what about
his influence on the kids" sermonizing that accompanies
its incessant Jones coverage. It seems as if ESPN cares about
kids the way Pacman cares about the law. EXHIBIT C --Barry Bonds:
EXHIBIT D - Lastings Milledge:
In other ESPN breaking news
the Mets also have a black 9-year old bat boy who forgot to put
the toothpaste cap back on ...Oh, and for those scoring at home:
that's 2 ESPN website articles on Lastings Milledge, and 1 ESPN
Article for Marbury's four million dollar pledge + Starbury 75,000
Item Giveaway Day + Derrick Brooks New Charter School. Two events happened this past Tuesday: The Major League Baseball held its Annual All-Star Game and news of Pacman's traffic tickets. Its SIX-article recap on the All-Star Game garnered about 500 total reader responses. ESPN's ONE Pacman netted over 400 comments under "ESPN Conversation". Here are some standard fare "conversation" samples:
Everybody pile on now! These samples were only drawn
from the first 11 comments! This "Pacman therapy" goes
on for another 1400 comments afterwards. You might be surprised
to learn that ESPN has a "comment moderator" who removes
the most bigoted or unacceptable quotes (digest that one). This
Pacman column is symbolic of ESPN comment sections on most articles
where the subject is black athlete misbehavior. There is a distinct
"public square" pattern to them. It usually doesn't
take too long for the discussion to veer off into criticism on
any and all black men (Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are staples,
& any black athlete who as much as jaywalked will be revisited)
But of course, "Pacman-as-black man" is just a metaphor.
ESPN rotates its Pacmans just to spice things up. Pacman is Michael
Vick (1800 comments on recent article) today. He is Barry Bonds
tomorrow. He is Terrell Owens the day after. And if Mr. Jones
never returns to the NFL, ESPN will find more Pacmans, so that
its largely white male readership can vent all day and bond all
night over one common cause, indivisible, with freedom and Pacman
for all. Internet anonymity often empowers readers to break free
from this "oppressive PC culture" to voice their true
opinions on black men in a way that is completely distinct from
conversations where white athletes mess up. And in this virtual
public square, ESPN is the "World Wide Ringleader". JURY DELIBERATION: On Media Omissions:
On Suppression of "the Thinking Athlete":
On Media Double-Standards:
VERDICT That reality that Mr. Thomas speaks of has been directly fostered by ESPN. Each week another ESPN writer or TV pundit will weigh in about "how Pacman just doesn't get it". And while that may very well be true, I wonder if ESPN will ever get it? Will it get that its love affair and one-sided portrayal of black athletes as criminals is doing far more damage to "the image of black men" then 1000 Pacman Jones? Does it get that it is directly increasing the level of racial ignorance (at best) and racial bigotry (at worst) amongst its predominantly white male readership? ESPN diligently does its market research and continues to give its audience what it wants instead of what it needs. ESPN calls itself "The World Wide Leader in Sports", however, by engaging in a very dangerous form of "retail racism", it keeps: following, not leading; pimping Pacman not promoting positive alternatives; and recycling no news instead of providing new news. To ESPN, "Pacman-as-black man" is money in the bank, he is their cash cow, he "makes it rain" EVERY day. And with that, the jury verdict is in: ESPN's coverage has been nothing short of criminal. Charles Modiano writes for the website "Kill
Bigotry" and can be reached at: cmod@killbigotry.com." [2] This is a CONSERVATIVE figure. In addition to the "more than 100 articles", there are another 50+ articles that are duplicative postings by the Associated Press or sidebar references to Pacman's troubles that have NOT been counted. Of those articles counted about 70% of ESPN's articles were written directly about Pacman Jones off-field transgressions with another 30% featured him as a central related figure (e.g., Roger Goodell's discipline policy; part of an ESPN mockery list; or other contrived connection, etc.). [3] See Patriots signing of Randy Moss; Titans signing of Nick Harper; or a speech given to youth by Troy Vincent.) [4] This statement factors
in 1) Bonds alleged steroid use (yes, this author believes that
Bonds, like about 70% of the league, used steroids); 2) that
he is approaching sports greatest record, and 3) his often prickly
personality. These considerations while being weighed extremely
heavily do not explain his media treatment. Perhaps a future
column will document how Barry Bonds received worse media coverage
BEFORE steroid allegations than Roger Clemens received AFTER
steroid allegations.
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