Time's Joe 'Patsy' Klein

The following piece is published on Pop and Politics as well as HuffPost's OffTheBus.

Time magazine columnist Joe Klein appears to be the latest Judith Miller-- ie, a careerist journalist and damned shoddy reporter who has been manipulated by the "well-placed sources" he depends on for advancement and whom he will protect at all cost. A column he wrote last week has been dissected by Glenn Greenwald at Salon, Jane Hamsher at Firedoglake, and many others and shown to be--in addition to completely muddled--shot through with planted misinterpretations by Republican sources who, through Klein, decried recent Democratic federal eavesdropping legislation as weak on terror for proposing to prevent the U.S. government from eavesdropping on calls made outside the U.S. by non-citizens-- or as Rush Limbaugh might put it, "for providing lilly-livered protections for those who mean to do us harm."

Klein made some half-assed excuses for this blatantly false interpretation of the legislation that culminated in him saying that, in effect, the House bill he had been so stridently writing about was in fact too complicated for him to unravel, that he had "neither the time nor the legal background to figure out" who was interpreting its provisions correctly. The comment thread following this craven backpedaling is priceless.

Best, and the reason for this post, is that after dodging for days, Time finally gave up Priscilla Painton as the editor of the column. Greenwald and journalist Jane Hamsher called Painton to ask about Klein's sources and to find out what Time was going to do about the errors in the column. After ten seconds, that's right, Time Deputy Managing Editor Priscilla Painton hung up the phone! That's how much Time magazine (circulation 4 million) thinks about investigative journalism! You can leave a polite message for Priscilla, asking her to come clean about the sources behind Joe Klein's misinformation, at: 212-522-2022, or you can email Priscilla's boss, Rick Stengel at: [e-mail]. Please do!

UPDATE: KLEIN SOURCE REVEALED. PETER HOEKSTRA COMES FORWARD.

Comments

[Dansden]

And Americans are SURPRISED that the MAJOR NEWS MAGS support the fascist mantra and feed our nation the propaganda of PRIVATIZATION to feed the GREED and MONOPOLIES of AMERICAN CORPORATIONS WHO ARE COLLUSIONAL, COMPLICIT AND CO-OPTED BY CORPORATE FASCIST MONEY AND PRIVATIZATION.

That is the goal of CORPORATIONS:
TO DESTROY ALL COMPETITION!

The goal of COMMUNITY and CITIZENSHIP:
TO INSIST UPON FAIR AND EQUITABLE VALUE FOR
MONEY AND SERVICE!

NOTHING FAIR ABOUT FASCIST CORPORATE COLLUSION BETWEEN GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE CORPORATIONS!

ONLY LOSERS ARE THE COMMUNITIES AND CITIZENS OF THE NATION THEY CONTROL!

[Gnomon]

I understand the word play but I feel you have insulted Patsy Cline.

[Jacee]

Joe and Judith aren't doing this kind of crap for the money. They aren't paid that much. Its far more pathetic. They want to be the in in-crowd. They are both life long geeks that have felt 'less than' since Jr High when the rich brats wouldn't let them hang out. Now they can. They finally made it. Bush has reduced the entire country to Anywhere Jr High, everyone's 12 years old and out of control. Remember JR High, where everyone running for 'Class President' lied to get into office and the bullies dumped the nerds into trash cans-because they could. Where there were the richies, the wanna bees, the sports, the nerds, the druggies, the unmentionables that didn't fit anywhere. Well guess what. Our country is as insecure and divided and miserable as any Jr High. Pathetic.

In our next round of voting for 'Most Popular' of Anywhere Jr High 2008, can we please find someone that is an adult? A real adult. 16 years of two 12 year old boys in the White House has caused all of us some difficulties.

I think we all can agree we need an adult to run Anywhere Jr High for awhile. May be then the media will stop acting like nerdy wanna bees and start doing their jobs, may be decisions will be made that is for the good of the many and not to punish the few, may be we will get our piggy bank in order and stop lying about our 12 year old spreading spree at the mall. May be we can stop playing toy soldiers for the sake of amusing a sick and twisted 12 year old mind (yes Bush, thats you)...may be we can stop humiliating and demoralizing those groups that are not like us. May be can stop putting the nerds into the trash can. May be.

My choice for adult in the White House is Obama. He rise rise above, unite the playground and get us all to live up to our potential. May be even Joe and Judith.

[Bozie]

I sent my email to Stengel and asked if TIME assuaged their envy at NEWSWEEK's signing of Rove by having Klein as a close second. No wonder journalists are neither trusted nor admired today.

[sftennisgal]

I am cancelling my subscription to Newsweek, since they have no shame hiring Karl Rove, bottomfeeder to be on their staff as a contributing writer. I thought Time might be an alternative - No way! I will stay active and on top of events through more balanced sources. It is so sad that our news publications,and television networks are controlled by the republican right. Where are the moderates and the democrats hiding? Besides Keith Olbermann, I know of no one on network or cable tv.

[Tennessean]

If there is a "section that expressly states that no warrants are required to eavesdrop on non-U.S. persons outside of the U.S.", then there cannot be any 'dispute' as Time Magazine asserts, about the bill. Joe Klein clearly misrepresented the facts. By refusing to force him to retract his column, Time Magazine is colluding in obscuring the truth.

[wrabbitt]

Beam me up Scotty, no intelligent life here .

[SteveinSC]

Sent the e-mail. Mission Accomplished,er, er, belay that.

[bluesky49876]

I am neither surprised not think that Judith Miller and Joe Klein are the only ones prostituting themselves for money. There are perhaps hundreds of other so called journalists in newspapers and megazines like Newsweek that precisely do the same thing. I always assume that there is a hidden agenda which these megazines serve. Typically, it is the right wing and corporate agenda. After all, they have the money to find these people who are essentially their spokes people but parade themselves as journalists.

[lepere]

Hey! Pay attention. There has not been an existential threat to this country since 1939. This country has had enemies made up by polititions and commercial interests since before Joe McCarthy. Has no one read 1984? 'Be very afraid' is the same thing as "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain'. Whoever said it was right; no one ever went broke betting on the stupidity of the American people. Our 'enemies','evildoers','bad guys' Etc. ad nauseum are never in context. 'Oh my God. They killed 3000 people we have to do something'. Well for one we do better than that driving into each other drunk on a four day weekend, for two we've slaughtered 4000 and counting of our children in a war that has never been explained not to mention the death and misery inflicted on a nation with the misfortune to suffer under a dictator which we supported, for three our lack of a cohesive health care system which is extant in most of the industrial world kills more than that in an afternoon, for four we're all gonna die anyways. I could go on. I'm an American with a Constitution and a Bill of Rights. I'm not afraid of a goddamn thing!

[joja]

And that's one reason I ended my subscription to Time -- it was/is an accomodating forum for the far-right agenda.

[midadstore]

Does anybody really even read Time anymore..unless you're sitting in a doctor's office??

[rollingdivision]

The final bill should include: 1. No warrants required for the interception, monitoring and recording of foreign to foreign data and communications. 2. No warrants required for the interception, monitoring and recording of foreign to United States of data and communications when the US citizen(s) are not subject to criminal prosecution. 3. Complete and unconditional immunity for all telcoms, their employees and associates for working with the government on warrantless wiretaps.

[texanna]

Time, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Time-Warner, Inc., a major player in the media and telecommunications industry. Would you really expect any more of Time than to be a shill of the Repugs, the people that can make them more money?

[easyrider1969]

Klein looks gay to me! Look at that cheap rug he wears. It's gay; he's gay.