Glenn Greenwald catches Time magazine presenting some of its typical bad reporting:

A compromise deal to extend the federal government's domestic spying powers . . . has drawn attacks from both sides of the political spectrum. The right is unhappy at concessions made to protect civil liberties; the left is furious that the Democrats allowed the domestic spying powers to be extended in any form.

It must be a decent and reasonable compromise if both the extremes on the Right and Left are angry about it -- except the whole premise is patently false. The Right isn't attacking the bill at all; they're ecstatic about it.

(Emphasis supplied.) Which brings me to John Cole's odd post equating FISA to a poker hand:

Maureen Dowd spends her column today trying to toss off jokes about the French while revealing her outrage that the French are not outraged about Carla Bruni. It is a pathetic attempt to be cool when on the inside her squareness and zealous righteousness is chafing to get out.

In this same edition of the New York Times, the Public Editor Clark Hoyt has some scathing criticism of her columns on Hillary Clinton:

Dowd’s columns about Clinton’s campaign were so loaded with language painting her as a 50-foot woman with a suffocating embrace, a conniving film noir dame and a victim dependent on her husband that they could easily have been listed in that Times article on sexism, right along with the comments of Chris Matthews, Mike Barnicle, Tucker Carlson or, for that matter, Kristol, who made the Hall of Shame for a comment on Fox News, not for his Times work.

Dowd's defense is precious:

Between the capitulation on FISA and the revelations about the torture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and others in the CIA's secret black hole prison in Poland, it's time to express a little outrage.

This is an open thread.

Glenn Greenwald:

The excuse that Obama's support for this bill is politically shrewd is -- even if accurate -- neither a defense of what he did nor a reason to refrain from loudly criticizing him for it. Actually, it's the opposite. It's precisely because Obama is calculating that he can -- without real consequence -- trample upon the political values of those who believe in the Constitution and the rule of law that it's necessary to do what one can to change that calculus. Telling Obama that you'll cheer for him no matter what he does, that you'll vest in him Blind Faith that anything he does is done with the purest of motives, ensures that he will continue to ignore you and your political interests.

(Emphasis supplied.) Hear! Hear!

Speaking for me only

DemfromCT writes;

Too many people have too many unwarranted expectations about what Obama would do as President. At the same time, Obama is sending a clear message that he intends to run pragmatically, and has the toughness to do so. Whether it's FISA or campaign finance, that means making some people unhappy. Running to the center means increasing his chances of winning and the size of the win, and it also means that the "Obambi" slurs (weakness, no substance) are badly missing the mark. I'm not suggesting we suck it up and like everything he does, I'm suggesting we be realistic about expectations.

(Emphasis supplied). I find it ironic and disingenuous that after a year of not just sucking it up but actively smearing Hillary Clinton and deifying Barack Obama, that post appears now. NOW there is an admission that Obama is just a pol. NOW there is an admission that all the talk of "new politics" was pure BS. It is a perfect example of why the Left blogs lost all credibility with their behavior during the primaries - their behavior towards Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama belied the belief that the Left blogs were truthtellers. It was a disgrace. More . . .

Hillary also suggested that she would soon be making public statements about the media coverage of the campaign, as well as the ways "women were discussed," saying that she would "be doing more on that as we go forward." . . . Hillary . . . suggested that she'd be making public statements soon about the media's treatment of her candidacy.

Speaking of the campaign, Hillary noted that "there were a lot of other aspects to it that people are asking about. A lot of real concerns about some of the ways we were portrayed in the media and the way women were discussed." "I will be doing more on that as we go forward," Hillary said.

I welcome Senator Clinton's contributions to this important discussion.

Speaking for me only

As the say in show business, the show must go on. NBC has chosen Brian Williams to guest host "Meet the Press" this week.

The guest will be:

Sens. Lindsey Graham and Joe Biden, who were scheduled to be interviewed by Russert on “Meet the Press” last weekend, will be Williams’ guests on Sunday. It’s unclear who will host the program on June 29.

“Right now, we’re looking at it week by week,” Capus said. “Brian is enormously talented, and it seemed like a logical place to turn for this weekend. But I haven’t been able think beyond that.”

Who do you think should now be moderating Meet the Press?

Atrios writes:

I'm quite happy for people to criticize Obama for failing to be whatever they want him to be, I'm just rather tired of the "I know you think/thought X but you are/were wrong!!!" construction. It'll be no shock to most of us if Obama is less than all we want him to be in many ways. Let's just hope he's more than we expect him to be in others.

(Emphasis supplied.) Personally, I think Obama will be what I expect him to be on policy - which makes me happy - as I think I agree with Obama on almost every issue. Most of my critique was about his political style - the post-partisan Unity Schtick. And frankly, Obama has completely abandoned it now. So I am largely satisfied. But he is a pol, and they do what they do. Today Glenn Greenwald wrote:

Me three:

Wow, what a great suggestion, and from Jonah Goldberg -- have Chuck Todd replace Tim Russert on Meet the Press. I can't think of someone more substantive on television who has the likeability factor that Russert had. And if I'm agreeing with Goldberg on it, there's clearly cross-partisanship support for the choice. It's a genius suggestion.

Never happen. David Gregory is a lock imo.

Speaking for me only

Luke Russert interviewed by Matt Lauer.

What a fine young man. No wonder his dad was so proud of him.

From the same John Heileman article I reference below:

. . . For months now, my e-mail box has been full of messages from women across the country, explaining what Hillary’s run meant to them, why it was so important. The reasons vary depending on age and race and region, but the one element almost all my correspondents express in common is a furious resentment at the press for what they see as blatant misogyny in the coverage of Clinton. When I mention this to Hillary, she laughs and exclaims, “I’d love to get a look at your e-mail!” And then, more soberly, she goes on, “There’s a reason for the resentment. The level of dismissive and condescending comments, not just about me—what do I care?—but about the people who support me and in particular the women who support me, has been shocking. Shocking to women and to fair-minded men. But what has really been more disappointing to me is how few voices that have a platform have spoken out against it. And that’s really why you seen this enormous grassroots outrage. There is no outlet. It is rare that you have anybody on these shows or in a position of responsibility at major publications who really says, ‘Wait a minute! What are we talking about here? I have a wife! I have a daughter! I want the best for them.’ ”

[Emphasis supplied] More . .

Where's Joe Cocker today? On a ranch in Crawford, Colorado where he and his wife have spent the last 14 years becoming "locals" and raising money for children's causes. The Denver Post profiles him today.

On yesterday's open thread, there was a lot of discussion about healthy cooking. (My suggestion is Ayurvedic -- just find your dosha and eat accordingly.) Other dosha quizzes are here and here. The New York Times this week had an extensive article on Colorado's growing contingent of organic farms on the Western Slope.

Happy father's day to all. This is an open thread.