Sunday, April 15, 2012

Mailbag: Our readers sound off

mailcall


Loraine M. e-mailed to say, "I have sometimes disagreed with articles or points here but I've understood the nature of the disagreement and taken it in stride. That is not the case with Ava and C.I.'s 'TV: Cable Nation's New Model' which I am furious with or, more to the point, I am furious with this note added last Friday --

It was actually added Thursday and here's the note:

[Ty note: 4-12-2012, since Ava and C.I. wrote this article, The Miami Herald has advised that they have corrected the error several times; however, some computer glitch keeps losing the correction. Frances Robles and the paper are aware of the error and have done their part to correct it. The problem's on the technical side. Ava, C.I. and I note our sympathy for Ms. Robles and the newspaper and hope technical issues are resolved so that they are not blamed for an error that they have tried to correct repeatedly. Our attitude here is that anyone can make a mistake -- and we often do -- but you should attempt to correct it when you do. The Miami Herald has repeatedly attempted to correct the error.]

Back to Loraine, "It does not belong in Ava and C.I.'s article. I appreciate that Ty, Ava and C.I. are trying to be kind to a stupid whore named Frances Robles. But Ava and C.I. reported on the Trayvon Martin coverage, Ava and C.I. did the work required, they got the 9-11 logs and reported from them. Obviously Whore Robles did not or she would not have falsely 'reported' that G. Zimmerman called 9/11 46 times since the start of January 2011. Ava and C.I.'s report stands. I want that awful note excusing a stupid media whore pulled from the article."

KeShawn agrees insisting, "So another non-Black tries to s**t stir in our community with her sloppy and ugly reporting and not only is there a note added to Ava and C.I.'s accurately reported article but Betty is nice enough to write a note at the top of an old post excusing Frances The Bitch Rubles [Robles] idiot and sloppy journalistic malpractice but the Bitch just can't sit her ass down and shut her damn mouth up. Maybe if she'd stopped sticking her non-Black nose into a racial powder keg, the country would be a lot better off. In the future, on stories like this, I want rational reporters. Frances Rubles is anything but rational. Take her away from computers and give her a coloring book. She might be able to handle that."

Lewis also was offended by the note and by "all the crap so-called 'professional journalist' Frances Robles is flinging our way. How the hell dare she try to trash Betty. I love Betty. We count on Betty because she keeps it real. Something cheap trash 'reporters' don't know how to do. Frances Robles is a public menace as far as I'm concerned and I want that note to Ava and C.I.'s report removed!"

Dorothy Ann G. e-mailed to inform, "I don't make threats often but if that note added to excuse the idiot Frances Robles and her dumb ass 'reporting' is not removed from Ava and C.I.'s article immediately, I will not only lose all respect for your site, I won't read it anymore. I count on this site for reality and to speak the truths others won't. Something like Ava and C.I.'s
'TV: The perverts still drool over Shirley Temple' could only appear at this site. You risk your reputation when you do stupid thinks like post that note."

Eric writes, "There's a word for Frances Robles but I don't think you'd let me say it at your site."

Latrice writes, "So the uppity bitch from Miami Herald thinks she can push around the colored girl? Well ain't it always the story, ain't it always. Someone needs to let the little bitch know that we don't take kindly to outsiders who get facts wrong in the Trayvon Martin story. Especially when the lack of a correction means everyone's repeating the lie. I understand the bitch 'reported' from Columbia. Figures. CIA whore most likely. There's not been real reporting on what takes place in Columbia from the corporate media. Whether it's Juan Forero or some other two bit whore, they're all liars who lie to advance their careers. Someone needs to make it damn clear that we're not standing for this crap anymore. It's bad enough we've got Al Sharpton embarrassing the community with his 'facts,' we don't need an outsider making us look stupid as well."

Jill weighed in with this, "Time has proven Betty to be one of the most careful of bloggers. We know she thinks very carefully about racial issues before weighing in and that she does this because her father long ago taught her when something blows up on the Black community, it's not the White 'helpers' who take the fall, it's the Black community. I pride the work Betty has done and the care she has taken. When I read a post like Friday's and Betty is tossing around the word 'bitch' -- Betty is tossing it around -- I know that Frances Rubles [Robles] has crossed a serious line. My heart goes out to Betty who does so much and I hope that Rubles rots in hell. I doubt this is the only attack that woman has launched and I'm sure Judgment Day will not be pretty for her. For that I am thankful."

Brady e-mailed, "What the f**k just happened? I'm reading Betty's site and she's cursing; our Betty's cursing! And some idiot is e-mailing Third Estate to trash Betty and Ty's explained that he knows Betty, that he lives with Betty and the idiots still e-mailing and still trashing Betty? What the f**k? As I understand it from Betty's post, some idiot piece of trash lied in print and, a month later, the lie still stood. Ava and C.I. reported on the idiot getting it wrong. Betty, a week later, noted that the idiot still had it wrong and was now offering one-sided snark passed off as reporting, and the crazy bitch comes after Betty? What the hell? And what kind standards do they have at The Miami Herald that this reporter thought she could e-mail non-stop e-mails attacking someone who had written a very kind note about her before she learned that the crazy bitch had been attacking her? That reporter needs to be fired. She needs to be examined in a mental institution [be]cause she is f**king nuts. Betty, I got your back."

Alex observes, "The Third Estate Sunday Review is a free site. I know that. I know that I don't pay a penny to read it and that the site belongs to Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess, Ava and C.I. I know that and I respect it. But I'm making a very serious request: Please remove the note that was added to Ava and C.I.'s report by Ty. Ava and C.I. reported accurately. It's a 'note' and not a 'correction.' So it doesn't belong in that article. And it upsets the flow of the piece. Ava and C.I. work very hard at the rhythm of their writing. Once you crack their rhythm (I had help by getting the audio Hilda's Mix), you can read the pieces as they intended to be and just enjoy the flow. The flow is upset by Ty's note and Ty's note doesn't belong. It's great of Ty and Ava and C.I. to have tried to be nice. But clearly they were nice to someone who didn't deserve it and I am begging you to please, please remove the note. I've been reading since May of 2005. The first thing that hooked me was Ava and C.I.'s 'TV: Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey Reporting for Two Hours of Self-Love' and I have never, in all that time, in all my e-mails asked for anything. I making a request now. Thank you."

Brandon Charles Long wants to know, "Who the f**k decided it was okay to go into Ava and C.I.'s writing and add a note? Which one of you f**kers thought it was okay to go into Ava and C.I.'s writing and add a note in the middle of their piece? If a note was needed, it should have been at the end. Like a great many of your readers, I visit this site just to read Ava and C.I. And I do not appreciate you dicking around with their writing. They have a unique voice and are among the top ten writers online. Don't f**k with their writing. Whichever one of you f**kers thought it was okay to dick them and the readers around better check yourself. [. . .] P.S. Ava and C.I.'s 'TV: 4 Days in 7th Hell' still cracks me up."


Kaywin keeps it brief, "Lose the note Ty added to Ava and C.I.'s masterpiece. Now."

And those eleven e-mails are representative of the 82 that came in over the last 24 hours. Our e-mail address is thirdestatesundayreview@yahoo.com. And we have listened, we have heard. We were already discussing the note before these e-mails came in. C.I. learned Friday night from Betty that she had been trashed. At which point she told Ava and they were both of the opinion that the note being included in their article needed to be rethought. The note was added when Robles was e-mailing constantly and Ty thought she'd stop trashing Betty when she read what Betty wrote. After the trashing continued, leading Ty to ignore several of the e-mails, Ty began to regret the note himself. It's decided, the note leaves Ava and C.I.'s article. It remains in this Mailbag so everyone can know what so enraged readers. But our readers are correct, that note is not a correction and no correction was needed for Ava and C.I.'s accurate article. That note was done as a courtesy and when that idiot 'reporter' continued to trash Betty to Ty -- after Betty had written a nice note about the woman, after Ty had explained he lives with Betty -- when that piece of trash kept trying to start s**t, our desire to show any courtesy flew out the window. The note is now gone from Ava and C.I.'s article.

The automated response

mail

Until we had to upgrade Yahoo Mail recently (we prefer Yahoo Classic), those who e-mailed this site received the following:

We appreciate that you took the time to let us know what you think. All e-mails to this site are considered letters to the editor and we may or may not quote from them or note them in full. If your e-mail is a letter, we'll consider running it. A story suggestion will be discussed. And any personal notes we'll gladly read. However, due to our own personal demands of life, jobs, kids, politics, etc., we are unable to personally respond to every e-mail. With limited time, we believe it's better to focus on making sure that each Sunday you have the best Third Estate Sunday Review we can put together. Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess, Ava and C.I.


We have figured out how to again automate that message.

We did that because a journalist appears to think that she can trash Betty to us -- and repeatedly trash Betty to us -- and we're really getting sick of it. More of this is covered in this edition's "Jim's World."

But to be clear, this is the policy, it has always been the policy. It's noted here in multiple features.

If you want an exception to the policy, you should e-mail to ask if you can have one and not assume that you can e-mail us declaring you have an exception and that we'll agree based on your say so.

Our e-mail address is thirdestatesundayreview@yahoo.com.

Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Montana Field Hearing

The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chair is Senator Patty Murray, Senator Richard Burr is the Ranking Member. The Committee notes:


Committee on Veterans' Affairs
United States Senate

112th Congress, Second Session
Hearing Schedule

Update: April 12, 2012



Saturday, April 21, 2012
10:30 am MST
2465 Grant Road
Billings, Montana

Field Hearing: Improving Access to Quality Health Care for Rural Veterans




Wednesday, April 25, 2012
10 am EST
Senate Dirksen Office Building Room 138

VA Mental Health Care: Evaluating Access and Accessing Care
Matthew T. Lawrence
Chief Clerk/System Administrator
Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs
202-224-9126

Highlights

This piece is written by Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude, Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix, Kat of Kat's Korner, Betty of Thomas Friedman is a Great Man, Mike of Mikey Likes It!, Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz, Ruth of Ruth's Report, Marcia of SICKOFITRADLZ, Stan of Oh Boy It Never Ends, Ann of Ann's Mega Dub, Isaiah of The World Today Just Nuts and Wally of The Daily Jot. Unless otherwise noted, we picked all highlights.


"Iraq snapshot" -- the most requested highlight by readers of this site and Mike's going to give you the back story. Mike: This wasn't what C.I. planned for the snapshot. She was going to talk about the dinar -- Iraqi currency -- and the Iraqi central bank and what Parliament had told Nouri -- hands off -- on that score. She talked about that in the remarks she made to our Iraq study group. But she had just started to dictate the snapshot when Kat told her Betty was on the phone and really upset. So C.I. grabbed the phone and talked to Betty for about 40 minutes. When they got off the phone she had to dictate the snapshot which was very late and she said, "Screw it, we'll just focus on the political process." It's a great snapshot.

Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Ms. Troll Goes Shopping" -- Isaiah's latest explains "The Barack."

"Kat's Korner: Why a very good album isn't great" -- Kat knows there's pain . . . pain . . . pain. Why do you lock yourself up in these chains? Kat reviews the new release from Wilson Phillips.

"Iraq snapshot" and "Iraq snapshot" -- C.I. reports on the United Nations Security Council meeting on the status of Iraq.


"I Hate The War," "Iraq snapshot," "Stuffed Cabbage Rolls in the Kitchen," "The controversy,"
"Rosen did create a division," "6 men, 1 woman," "4 men, 3 women," "thanks for the word choice, maeve reston," "Well listen to the sexist pig prattle on," "Go, Debbie!," "The day," "No, USA Today, they aren't the same thing," "Body of Proof?," "Ann Romney," "Sushi and more" and "THIS JUST IN! THE DAILY WHAT WHAT?" & "He embraces his enemies to get his sexism on" -- C.I., Trina, Betty, Ann, Rebecca, Ruth, Kat, Marcia, Stan, Elaine, Mike and Wally and Cedric weigh in on the sexist remarks by Hilary Rosen and those who tried to cover them up.


"My stalker in the press" -- Betty's big post.

"community," "Ringer and Unforgettable," "Body of Proof?," "In every episode, there is Ellis,"
"The worst episode of Fringe ever," "Ringer and other things," "revenge goes back to 2003," "Cougar Town," "The Bionic Woman Lindsay Wagner," "revenge," "Smash," "Being Human" and "Nikita" -- Rebecca, Marcia, Stan, Elaine, Mike, Betty and Ruth cover TV.



"Getting caught" -- Mike shares a 'hang up.'


"Bonnie Raitt, Laura Nyro" -- Kat writes about music.

"Planet Terror" -- Stan goes to the movies.

"Bitchy Tina Fey" -- Isaiah dips into the archives.


"Baby Clooney loves him" and "THIS JUST IN! HE'LL ALWAYS HAVE CLOONEY!" -- Cedric and Wally on Clooney's new hostess dress.

Sunday, April 08, 2012

Truest statement of the week

Forty years ago there was deep concern that the population was breaking free of apathy and obedience. At the liberal internationalist extreme, the Trilateral Commission – the nongovernmental policy group from which the Carter Administration was largely drawn – issued stern warnings in 1975 that there is too much democracy, in part due to the failures of the institutions responsible for "the indoctrination of the young." On the right, an important 1971 memorandum by Lewis Powell, directed to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the main business lobby, wailed that radicals were taking over everything – universities, media, government, etc. – and called on the business community to use its economic power to reverse the attack on our prized way of life – which he knew well. As a lobbyist for the tobacco industry, he was quite familiar with the workings of the nanny state for the rich that he called "the free market." Since then, many measures have been taken to restore discipline. One is the crusade for privatization -- placing control in reliable hands.

--Noam Chomsky, "Public Education, 'Failure by Design'" (Information Clearing House).

Truest statement of the week II

We need to look for more than downticks in unemployment that are not significant when compared to the enormous economic losses that Americans have suffered in recent times. We are years away from getting back to the 5% unemployment rate we had before the recession, and even at that rate, things were falling apart for tens of millions Americans. The economy before the recession was transfering wealth from working people to the super rich. Now almost half of Americans are living in poverty or near poverty.

-- Jill Stein, "Jobs numbers won't return 'The Stolen Decades'" (Jill Stein for President).

A note to our readers

Hey --
Another Sunday.

First up, we thank all who participated this edition which includes Dallas and the following:

The Third Estate Sunday Review's Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess and Ava,
Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude,
Betty of Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man,
C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review,
Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills),
Mike of Mikey Likes It!,
Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz),
Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix,
Ruth of Ruth's Report,
Wally of The Daily Jot,
Trina of Trina's Kitchen,
Marcia of SICKOFITRDLZ,
Stan of Oh Boy It Never Ends,
Isaiah of The World Today Just Nuts,
and Ann of Ann's Mega Dub.

We thank them all.

What did we come up with:

Noam Chomsky's had truests before but we believe that's the first one this year.
Jill Stein gets her first truest.

They are the laziest and most ill-informed people to ever pass themselves off as 'reporters' or else they're just whores for Nouri. For five years, the press pushed Iraq Body Count. Now days, they don't appear to know it exists as they run with 'official' death toll numbers provided by Nouri's government with no effort on their part to check the validity of those figures.

Ava and C.I. do another amazing piece that was inspired by many outside things. Predominantly they were inspired by the never-ending sexist attacks on the women who don't sneak into the boiz club.

Elaine was inspired by sexist pigs as well. An ass decided to write in her local paper (freebie, not real paper that you pay for) about how awful TV was and to use as an example that Lindsay Wagner won an Emmy. That really pissed Elaine off and she bought and sent us all the third season DVD set of The Bionic Woman (all means she sent a set to each of the names working on this edition) with the hope that we might write something on the show. We needed to watch the full season first so we weren't able to do it last Sunday. We've watched, now we've written. Lindsay Wagner was brilliant as Jaime Sommers. (A better question I'll note -- I, being Jim -- is why did the mother on The Waltons win repeatedly? Her role was part of an ensemble and, at best, a supporting role. Other than John Boy, there was no lead on The Waltons.)

There was debate over the title (I write the headlines in most cases and did here) but everyone agreed in the end (or stopped objecting). Barack's still got the same problem with men that he had in 2007 and 2008 (Mark Halperin got in trouble for word usage when he spoke of it back then). It boils down to he's never been seen as very manly. Despite all his efforts. So his efforts to question Mitt Romney's manhood should backfire on him if only to teach him to stop being such a little bitch.

If Bully Boy Bush were in the White House still, we're sure an anti-war conference would be the subject of a full day of Democracy Now and assorted other self-important programs. Instead, last month's anti-war conference only received serious attention from one program.

KRG President Massoud Barazni spoke in DC -- few covered it.

Stein's running for the Green Party's presidential nomination. This is from her campaign.

Veterans for Peace.

Great Britain's Socialist Worker. Where's Workers World? See Ava and C.I.'s TV piece last week. I wanted so badly to do an article on an issue they note, so badly to do one now as the police appear to indicate that a woman was killed by her own family; however, Ava and C.I. point out that the press is going with that but no one knows at this point and to run with that would be as dangerous as what the press ran with the week before. But even though it's all over the news here in California -- text messages the daughter sent the father that appear to imply that he killed his wife -- Workers World wrote a piece on Friday yammering on about justice for the woman killed by strangers who hated her because she was a foreigner. I said, "Fine, we won't cover the story this week but there's no way in hell we're linking to anything on Workers World when they've got that uninformed crap up." If there was a need for that story, it was over 7 days ago. Since then, and since the police searched the house, in California, the press has been all over how it appears the family killed the woman.

Mike and the gang wrote this and we thank them for it.




Peace.

-- Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess, Ava and C.I.

Editorial: The stenography pool is full

Did you hear that only 112 people died in Iraq in the month of March?

If so, you follow some crappy media.

AP, Foreign Policy, AFP, Think Progress and oh-so-many others whore houses posing as news outlets repeated the 112 number.

Where did it come from?

The Iraqi government.

Quick question: Is the Iraqi government a disinterested party when it comes to the rate of violence in the country?


Answer: No, not at all.

Nouri al-Maliki, prime minister and thug of the occupation, is attempting to reassure Big Business that Iraq is safe. He's attempting to convince Iraqis that the violence has ended. Nouri's a liar.

What kind of an independent press files an article with claims by the government without even attempting to check those claims?

Iraq Body Count was made famous by the press and, when Bully Boy Bush was in office, they couldn't stop citing it. In fact, back then, even the White House used IBC's numbers.

Since the press refuses to keep their own count, shouldn't they at least be expected to check the Iraq Body Count number and see if it matches up with what the Iraqi government is claiming?

That, of course, would be reporting and not stenography -- which must be why it never occurred to so many claiming to be news outlets.

ibc

If they'd bothered to check, they would have seen that while the Iraqi government was insisting only 112 people died, IBC placed the count at 295.

Given the choice between an independent body that themselves built up or the government, why are they running with government numbers? Why are they not, at the very least, contrasting the so-called official figure with the number Iraq Body Count tabulates?

Oh, yeah, that would require actual work.
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