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Institutions

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Media
Posted on Mon Apr 13, 2009 at 08:02:06 PM EST
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Via Lambert, George Packer writes:

Having already . . . restored the rule of law to America’s treatment of detainees in its custody . . . President Obama, in his tenth week in office, effectively put the government in charge of a large part of the automobile industry. . . . What underlies so many of Obama’s decisions is an attachment to the institutions that hold up American society . . .

(Emphasis supplied.) There is a lot to take issue with in Packer's piece, but the portion I excerpt is simply laughable. "Restored the rule of law to America's treatment of detainees in its custody[?]" What world is Packer living in? "Attachment to our institutions[?]" Not the courts apparently. I can only shake my head.

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    Institutions | 21 comments (21 topical)

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    It was the Gitmo headfake that did it IMO (none / 0) (#1)
    by andgarden on Mon Apr 13, 2009 at 08:04:13 PM EST


    Yep, I've read and been told (5.00 / 0) (#3)
    by Cream City on Mon Apr 13, 2009 at 08:10:06 PM EST
    repeatedly, by a lot of people who do read media and blogs (at least enough so to blather about other stories) that Obama kept his promises and that Gitmo is emptying out.  

    Yep, that's the word out there.  (Is TL the only blog truth-telling about it and so many other matters?  I'm also told that FISA is all fixed now, so there.)

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    Thanks BTD! (none / 0) (#2)
    by smott on Mon Apr 13, 2009 at 08:05:24 PM EST
    I almost snorted out my coffee when I read this Packer slop.
    Honestly the fawning at NewYorker has been an embarrassment....

    Even Hertzberg.

    Especially Hertzberg. (none / 0) (#4)
    by Cream City on Mon Apr 13, 2009 at 08:11:48 PM EST
    I gave up reading anything with his byline months ago.  Waste of time.  Entirely predictable, with no insights anymore.  And downright gushy writing.

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    I really felt a loss when HH went (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by smott on Mon Apr 13, 2009 at 09:07:07 PM EST
    ...over the edge. Used to enjoy him so much and now I can't really read him at all. Kind of alienating actually - writers you think share your pt of view in fact don't...oh well.

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    Same here (5.00 / 1) (#14)
    by gyrfalcon on Mon Apr 13, 2009 at 11:57:56 PM EST
    I've been wallowing happily in his writing for many years, and he turns out to be just another self-deluded, self-satisfied, self-important jerk.  What a disappointment.

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    I gave up on The New Yorker completely. (5.00 / 1) (#12)
    by caseyOR on Mon Apr 13, 2009 at 10:43:13 PM EST
    I cancelled my long time subscriptions to both The New Yorker and The Atlantic. They pushed me beyond my limits during the primary. On the upside, I saved a little $$ on the subscription costs and my blood pressure went down.

    It all made me a little sad, though. I'd been reading The New Yorker for decades.

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    The primary messed up a lot of stuff (none / 0) (#17)
    by Socraticsilence on Tue Apr 14, 2009 at 01:55:39 AM EST
    I quit reading Somerby after he went over the edge. Same with Corrente, there really weren't any major media things I cut out entirely but I did become a lot more critical in my reading of Krugman.

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    Hate to agree ... (5.00 / 1) (#16)
    by FreakyBeaky on Tue Apr 14, 2009 at 12:53:13 AM EST
    ... but it's true.

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    We have no rights (none / 0) (#21)
    by NMvoiceofreason on Tue Apr 14, 2009 at 08:25:42 AM EST
    and no rule of law.

    With rendition, the government can hold you in a secret location. Since your location is secret, there is no possibility of habeas.

    Until and unless there is a Constitutional Amendment banning all of these practices, there is no rule of law, no rights that can be enforced.

    Just remember the courts have no police, no troops. The rule of law is a sham for the sheep, proposed by the wolves so they can hunt as they wish without interference.

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    Um (none / 0) (#6)
    by TeresaInSnow2 on Mon Apr 13, 2009 at 09:11:38 PM EST
    I think Georgie forgot his "snark" tage.

    Um (none / 0) (#7)
    by TeresaInSnow2 on Mon Apr 13, 2009 at 09:11:52 PM EST
    tag, not tage

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    Can someone tell me where to get (none / 0) (#8)
    by Anne on Mon Apr 13, 2009 at 09:15:54 PM EST
    the special decoder ring needed to make sense of a lot of what is being written about the glory that is Barack?  Wait, maybe that's too snarky.

    Anyway, it's getting to the point where a lot of what is being written is little more than word salad - it makes less and less sense to me with every passing day; I read the sentences and the paragraphs two and three times, close my eyes and think, and read it again, and still...it just seems like nonsense.  Just words.  Hmmm.

    And it's only been - what? - not even three months yet.

    It's hard to grasp how depressing that is.  Meanwile, I'm doing crosswords religiously, just to make sure my brain's still working.

    Resistance (5.00 / 1) (#9)
    by CDN Ctzn on Mon Apr 13, 2009 at 09:32:03 PM EST
    is futile.

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    It's Just Like (none / 0) (#10)
    by CDN Ctzn on Mon Apr 13, 2009 at 09:33:31 PM EST
    BIZARRO WORLD on the old Seinfeld episode

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    Huff Post had a headline today re (none / 0) (#13)
    by oculus on Mon Apr 13, 2009 at 11:29:42 PM EST
    whether Obama broke his promise to get a rescue dog.  Now that is what I consider serious news reporting and analysis.

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    To those who took such exception to (none / 0) (#20)
    by Inspector Gadget on Tue Apr 14, 2009 at 07:55:53 AM EST
    Biden's dog coming from a breeder that they started issuing death threats to the breeder, it probably was important reporting.

    I found the lengthy NBC report on POTUS running around the lawn with children at the annual something a bit more disturbing. The whole world's a stage.


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    There is no real middle ground (none / 0) (#18)
    by Socraticsilence on Tue Apr 14, 2009 at 01:56:48 AM EST
    its a bit sad people are either far, far too critical or too slavish.

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    Umbrellas judgments (none / 0) (#11)
    by Addison on Mon Apr 13, 2009 at 10:39:59 PM EST
    Obviously many journalists -- and I obviously am a victim of this, too, at times -- are just using umbrella generalizations to guide their writing. If Obama (or anyone) does one thing well, or many things well, he does ALL things well. And vice versa.

    It makes things so much easier.

    So to folks who act as a keel, keep on keeping on.

    Why anybody would (none / 0) (#15)
    by gyrfalcon on Tue Apr 14, 2009 at 12:00:55 AM EST
    take George Packer's opinions about anything seriously at this point is beyond me.

    I have to say, though, his book "Assassin's Gate" is a fabulous, fascinating read.  He's damn good when he's reporting.  He should be required by law to stick to that and leave the analysis to people who can think better.

    Well I think A's Gate... (none / 0) (#19)
    by smott on Tue Apr 14, 2009 at 07:41:55 AM EST
    ...is why a lot of us take/took Packer seriously...but he really needs to issue a Spew Alert before he goes describing O's first 100 days as "A dazzling blur of action"...(Just as Krugman bemoans the dithering...)

    Seriously I got coffee all over the place....

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    Institutions | 21 comments (21 topical)

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