Abramoff story is HUGH111!!! But what is everybody talking about?

[linazelle]

The miners.

Now tell me that the Mighty Wurlitzer is not being played. :nopity:

[MidnightWind]

1. It's a human interest story.

Viewers eat up human interest stories and the cable news networks are all about the viewers. I have to say that both CBS Evening News and Olbermann tonight covered the Abramoff story. They'll stop talking about the miners in a couple of days but they'll be talking about the Abramoff story for quite a while to come. Trust me on this--this one ain't going away. As much as the cable newsies like human interest? They like corruption and scandal even more!

[linazelle]

6. Good point. But the people I know are only talking about the miners

that's my friends and coworkers. I think human interest stories which tug at the heartstrings get to people way more than political scandal. Which is why I think this story is being pushed simultaneously with the Abramoff news.

[Imagine My Surprise]

10. Well put.

[babylonsister]

2. Fair warning, linazelle...

Don't go there!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x53446

[stop the bleeding]

8. Holy shit babylonsister -45 replies now. I've taken my share of the flames

It was an honest question.

[babylonsister]

23. Yes, it was! All points are valid, I think

KO's reporting was a tad drawn out, but didn't know that until the end.
So, tomorrow or the next day, or until the next 'big' story, we could
conceivably hear some real news.
It's going to be a long year.

[Blutodog]

3. UR right !!

The MSM media is being focused on the latest tragedy to take the focus off the Bu$h admin. and rethug scandals that are growing and mutating daily. The MSM whores are totally a rethug owned propaganda arm now.

[Jacobin]

4. Ya think this will last past next week?

Its one of those buried people drama things the media loves because Americans are big rubber neckers.

[LSK]

5. and nobody is talking about the right mining story

How the mine has 208 violations and that a former Mining Industry lobbyist became Deputy Secretary of the Interior.

http://www.doi.gov/bio/griles.html

[stop the bleeding]

9. you have been paying attention LSK - let's see if the blogs can get this

to K.O.

[LSK]

11. Randi Rhodes was all over this

Hopefully Malloy picked it up too.

[stop the bleeding]

27. I know I was there with ya check out this thread/question that I posted 3x

today on lobbyists...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=51738&mesg_id=51738

also a Randi thread that I started today and that you replied on more than once here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=50927&mesg_id=50927

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. Fear not. The mine story, sadly, will be old news in a few days.

But the Abramoff scandal will go on for weeks; it won't go away any time soon. When the cameras have left WVA after the miners' funerals, the bribery indictments will just be starting up.

[Inland]

21. Minute survivors ask about safety regs, the lights will turn off. NT

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

12. I Have Heard It Mentioned Several Times Today. To Dismiss The Miners

story is 100% insensitive.

I will go on record as saying this thread is just plain sad in its intent.

This is a heart wrenching story that absolutely deserves the attention it is getting. The Abramoff case will be around for a long time, and will have its coverage. But to be up in arms over its temporary drop off in coverage due to the loss of lives in a horrible mine incident is insensitive, selfish and shameful.

[linazelle]

14. I am not dismissing the miners' story. It is sad. But it is also being

overly hyped--and overly dramatized by a corrupt media IMHO.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

17. You Are Entitled To Have That Opinion

But forgive me for having mine that it is an incredibly selfish, insensitive and misguided one.

And please don't attempt further to convince me that you aren't dismissing the story and that it tugs at you. Your little fiddler player you felt the need to include in your OP speaks volumes.

[linazelle]

18. LOL. So you are telling me that the story can't be both sad AND

played like a harp by a corrupt media? (thus the violin, get it????)

Sounds like that either-you're-with-us-or-agin'-us/black-and-white thinking from you know who.

:hi:

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

22. Only to the narrow minded

Again, choosing to include the fiddler icon speaks volumes to the coldness and utter selfishness of your post. You chose to include not a thing about sympathy for the miners or anything else that showed any decent emotion. Had you have done so, I wouldn't have responded in such a way. If the OP was the following "I totally feel for the miners and pray for their families, and I know it is an important story, but do you think the corrupt media is playing it up to the extreme?" I would've been far more agreeable. But there was no sympathy, and there was the inclusion of the 100% shallow fiddler.

I'm done with you, as I have much better things to do than to debate such utter insensitivity.

[linazelle]

25. So you are unable to see that both sympathy and corruption

can coexist.

Like....say, in the Iraq invasion where we are losing soldiers (pity) but the purposes for which they die are corrupt.

[IndyOp]

13. Good labor issues being considered on AAR - re: * did not fund safety

inspections of mines. The mine that collapsed has over 200 safety problems last year and...? Minimal fines. Randi interviewed Ellen Smith with MineSafety.org and Sam had a lawyer from WV call who slammed the mines and OSHA under * --

AAR's coverage has been sensitive to the loss and has covered important issues...

[linazelle]

16. How many things can * NOT do? It boggles the mind...nt

[Inland]

19. Better angle.

Abramoff is still all potential.

[savemefromdumbya]

15. how did the mine collapse?

[AntiCoup2K4]

29. Anyone hear from our old friend Phil ParlocKKK lately.

Here's a guy who pinches his own 2 year old kid to cause a scene (and blame it on the Democrats) or shoot up his own local GOP headquarters (and blame it on the Democrats). Would collapsing a mine really be that much of a stretch for the bastard?

Maybe Team Chimp called in a favor from their loyal idiot Phil?

Am I joking? I honestly don't know myself at this point :crazy:

[B Calm]

20. The Abramoff story will be around awhile. While the spotlight

is on this NON UNION MINE who had close to 300 OSHA violations, but chose to put profit over human life, the world needs to see this.

[Catherine Vincent]

24. Don't worry.

Fitzgerald is still working on his case in spite of the Abramoff/Republican scandal. :)

[mwb970]

26. I would be mad if it were more Aruba or the Runaway Bride, but...

The mine story is pretty big and has a major human element - I can't really fault them for covering it. And cheer up! There are political angles regarding union-busting, corporate neglect of mine safety, even Bush cronyism at the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

Be patient. We will return shortly to our regularly-scheduled program.

[AlCzervik]

28. i think this story is actually important, mine safety or lack there of

the media's royal fuck up reporting they were alive without getting real confirmation first. It's a tragic event.

[savemefromdumbya]

31. since Bush ignored mine safety....

[AlCzervik]

34. Bush ignores everyone's safety except his own. If you aren't a rich well

connected whiteman that can do something for him than he doesn't give a shit about you.

[Ilsa]

30. The Abramoff story will be around for awhile.

The miners' story is here and now, and there will be other stories on the repercussions, but it is the flash story for today.

[DistressedAmerican]

32. I Have to Say That I Strongly Disagree.

These people deserve their time. Abramoff is not going anywhere. I find this whole post a bit insensitive.

[The Straight Story]

33. Get some backing, make a cable news channel, and sell the news you want

people to hear.

I am sure with all the dems in america that most did not want to see much if anything about the miners and wanted more coverage of a guy who spent a few minutes in court saying 'I am guilty' - I mean really, how much of a story is it? When people start getting brought down by his testimony then we will have a lot more to report, but for now most people see 'he said he is guilty, when he sings I will focus back on that, in the meantime life goes on, next story'.

Maybe people aren't as obsessive as we are about it all - if they were they would be here reading posts. We have a media, we have it here, and if people are watching nbc news instead of reading the truth here then perhaps we need to market more to them.

We may seem to some to care more about who is going down in DC than who went down a mine shaft doing their job and are dying while people frantically try to save them. While our goal may be to bring down all rethugs and take back america, the avg joe six pack is interested in what is going on right now with some fellow humans stuck and dying.

Most people I know are not spending all their waking moments online trying to bring down elected officials, get them indicted, and so on -- not saying WE shouldn't try but we must realize most folks just want to live their lives and look to checks and balances to get things done (and in this case the dems should be working hard to balance instead of caving to * on things).

I dunno, just my crappy-in-a-bad-mood opinion.