Comment Of the Day

The first network that moves their Sunday show to LA and give it to Breitbart wins.

alexwest on August 13, 2010 at 5:07 PM

from Hot Air.com

Hannity and Bozell Detail Many Instances of Media Bias

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h/t: NewsBusters

Remember When the Press Encased Obama in Teflon?

This first aired May 11, 2009.

Who Woulda Thunk? Our Southern Border Connects Not Just with Mexico But with the Whole World

I posted this clip last week but the issue it raises, though important for our national security, remains absent from the public discourse.


I guess it is a tough concept to understand and apply. But if there is anyone, anywhere in the world whose entry into the US could pose a threat to US citizens, the Obama administration allowing anyone to walk across our border anytime they want opens the whole country up to anyone who would do us harm. It really does not seem that difficult to understand. But apparently one can spend a lifetime reporting the news and commenting on the news and be unable to understand and appreciate this simple concept.

The Culture War and the Growth of Irrationality - Part One, Talking Heads Lie and Slander to Shame Their Enemies into Silence

Change is in the air. And it is not the change that Barack Obama talked about. It is millions of Americans feeling deeply in their bones that things are changing too quickly and for the worse. And these millions of average people are paying much more attention to what is going on in Washington than they ever have. Americans are more informed and following events more closely. But, paradoxically, viewership of network news is down, news magazine and newspaper subscriptions are at staggering lows. Newspapers are going under and Time and Newsweek are barely alive.

But is this really so paradoxical? If you want to gamble wouldn’t you tend to play where that you’re pretty sure the game is not rigged? Sure, the odds are always going to favor the house, but why just give your money away? How much of Harry Smith, Brian Williams, George Stephanopoulos kissing up to Obama has it taken for the average American to know it’s a rigged game with the networks? They lie by omission: they never fully covered the Van Jones story, the ACORN scandal, Max Baucus’ drunken rant on the floor of the Senate, Climategate, the violence from lefties at Tea Parties and townhalls, the congressional vote on a statehood election in Puerto Rico and on and on and on. They make up and continually spread lies about Barack Obama’s most feared opponents. And when that perverse stuff goes wall to wall, 24/7 people tend to move on. So, in order to keep some viewers coming back, the pimps at the nets act like Tiger Woods is news. And the exodus from their lying dens of iniquity has continued nonstop. The White House gang and their sycophants in the media carry on and wail about Fox News. But when people turn it on and watch regularly they usually become convinced that there is a more accurate view of the world than they will ever get from the old media. Or if the Fox game is rigged too, that a combination of the two differing slants might move everything toward even.


I find it especially irritating the way the old media try to demonize and dehumanize their most effective opponents. (And why would a professional journalist have an obvious enemy? But the way they savagely attack as if it was their job makes it obvious that they actually do think it is their job) Here I refer mainly to their dishonest and mob-like attacks on Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Fox News. They don’t even attempt to be fair, honest or objective when it comes to these targets. It reminds me of the social bullying that goes on in junior high and high school. The talking heads sit around and make yuckie faces and assassinate the characters of people they fear. You never hear them offer anything objectively verifiable to back up their opinions. Often a group of these lefties will happen upon one of their Great Satans during a discussion and they will launch into a long jag of pure subjectivity. It has been accurately compared to Orwell’s Two Minutes of Hate in 1984. Every possible permutation of ‘stupid.’ ‘ignorant,’ ‘evil,’ ‘racist,’ and ‘unlettered,’ ‘backward,’ ‘religious’ and ‘rural’ is pulled out and enjoyed to the fullest degree. They seldom provide a fact or a shred of argument; there is just subjectivity and hate. I am sure we are dealing some sort of mass psychosis when these rants get going: infantilized and privileged adults in packs acting like junior high school kids . They are unhinged and divorced from reality: it is like a fugue state or an unusual absence seizure. But only where two or more lefties congregate: while all this goes on these are not sane people; they are not in touch with reality. It put me in mind of the lizard brain meme some of them use to attempt to discredit their enemies. There is nothing rational or mature going on here.

I often watch these panel shows via YouTube, Eyeblast and other video formats on my computer. While watching and listening I rehearse counter arguments in my mind. But I have come to the conclusion that reason is useless when you are dealing with men who have no understanding of reason. All these leftie denizens of the talk shows are lacking in the ability to reason and base most everything on group/mob feelings. One sure sign of irrationality: I have never heard so many demands that people disagreeing with them just shut up as well as the repeated but baseless assertions that their opponents operate well outside civilized norms. This is unusual. Americans have not generally feared others being allowed to express their opinions. But it seems to have become rather accepted on talking head shows that a panel of network approved and pampered libs (with a sprinkling of token pseudo-conservatives) have some kind of hallowed insight into who should be denied their most basic constitutional rights. They are out of touch with American roots and values and deeply in tune with some moon barking, bullying strain of irrationality. I am not going to say this is a result of the liberal arts, history, and political science departments of high schools and colleges having become leftie fiefs. Why belabor the obvious? These poor people were never taught how to read or think critically, they didn’t go to the trouble to learn on their own and now the public discussion is daily diminished by this plague of a learning disability

These MSM gab fests often react only obliquely to anything they disagree with. They are usually incapable or unwilling to directly answer any position of the opposite side. So they endlessly assert that the opponent’s statement has no place in a decent society. They will dismiss their opponents as racist, traitorous, sell outs to special interests, haters. Their point is always that the offending statement should be ignored because they successfully placed a hex on it with one of these leftie insults. This refusal to consider the position of others is essential to irrationality.
I came across a good example of this a little while back. The leftie group Media Matters for America named Glenn Beck Misinformer of the Year. Their website had a long page explaining all of the reasons for their choice of Beck. There was not a free standing objective fact that directly supported their calumny on that page. It was all subjective judgments. For example they cited Beck’s accusation that Barack Obama is guilty of prejudice against whites. I might not always want to go that far in describing the president but it IS a judgment call. [Though the obsession with questions of race by doctrinaire lefties such as Obama and their tendency to want to grant favors from the state based solely on skin color or ancestry makes it difficult to not think of them as racists. Such issues are of marginal interest to most conservatives and I only feel the need to bring it up rarely: let’s nott let the matter die but there is no point in beating a dead horse either.] Beck had given reasons and examples from the public record for his characterization of the president. Beck sees prejudice. I think that honest people can easily have a difference of opinion about this issue. But to call it a lie is going beyond what the circumstances warrant. To call that misinformation is itself a lie and is truly misinformation. I saw no honest attempt to engage in honest and open discussion. It was subjective slandering with the intent of undermining a man’s reputation.
It’s difficult enough to have a reasonable discussion just because the two sides share so few assumptions. And lefties have long been schooled to hide their assumptions behind sweet sounding goals. Rather than say. “The more people who work for the government the better,” they will say. “Everybody has a right to health care.” And, “The evil insurance companies kill thousands every year by denying care and putting so much money aside for profits and bonuses.” How do you talk to someone who won’t be honest about their motives? I am beginning to think that it’s best to not waste time and energy even talking to them. Just watch and see who they support and never vote for that person.
Much of what goes on with the MSM is not communication but an attempt to exert raw power. The MSM outlets have a shared ideology and they attempt to force it by endless repetition into the unconscious of all members of society. And they are somewhat successful at this. The average American tends to accept the idea of man caused global warming unquestioningly. Most people accept the racial and social divisions preferred by lefties and obediently follow clues as to which social class has been chosen for special treatment this week. This is a class of communication. It is information poor but rich with feelings and subtle commands cues.
To strengthen the MSM command structure there is much attention paid to boundary issues. A lot of time is spent reinforcing the command that it is not acceptable to listen to competing sources of communication. Attempts are made to poison all the other wells. Endlessly it is communicated that it is wrong and racist to disagree with Obama. It is wrong and racist to watch Fox News or to go to a Tea Party. This is just psychological bullying. Information is seldom used in these communications. The enemies of the MSM are just unendingly called unkind names as such racist or profit seeking, sell out. When I was young elementary school kids accused social pariahs of having ‘cooties.’ This bullying by the media is a near equivalent. It separates the sheep from the goats and those who cheerfully enlist to carry on the bullying immediately communicate that they will go to great lengths to be part of the power structure. We saw a sort of reverse aspect of this bullying recently. People and groups lined up to defend to give Harry Reid a total pass on racially insensitive remarks that would never have been tolerated from a conservative.
Much of what the old media do is just basic propaganda. They repeat the same few themes over and over. They rely on repetition and the illusion they have tried to create that there are no other answers. Fortunately talk radio, the internet, Fox News and such give people other sources of information and opinion. And from those vantage points the old media look empty and shallow. More than that, they look unaccountably self-important as well as weak and clingy. And they seem scared to death of losing all the power they have convinced themselves they have but which is evaporating before their eyes..

Let Freedom Ring -- Even If The Only Reply From The MSM Is, "You Racist, Homophobe, Sexist , , , "

We are in the midst of an explosion of free speech. The general populace turning its back on the alphabets and the big newspapers and news magazines is part of the growth of free speech. It was like they used to have it all locked down tight as a closed union town: if you didn’t work for one of them you were not allowed to express yourself. And they kept a close eye on who they allowed to talk and what they could say. Their basic ‘thing’ could be summarized as: work for us and talk about what we want the way we want or you are not part of the public discussion and if you cross us we’ll savage you in every possible way, just look at the corpse of Sarah Palin suspended in the town square. If you don’t believe Sarah is dead we’ll back stab and then pummel you just as bad.
As we all know there have been a lot of changes. Talk radio has grown in popularity and become even more widespread than ten or fifteen years ago. Fox News was founded and steadily gained viewers in spite of dire warnings from the union thugs and bosses. And the internet, oh the internet! Where would James O’Keefe’s work exposing ACORN be without YouTube? And where would YouTube fit in without the net? Because of O’Keefe, Breitbart, YouTube and the internet someday many, many Americans will be saying, “If it weren’t for O’Keefe we would never have grown to know what manner of organization Barack Obama strangely felt at home with and funneled never ending taxpayer money that that Congress of liars and thieves failed to provide oversight to.” No, the fat lady has not sung on that one yet and it’s because of the net, Fox and radio free America. And there are no thanks due to those who the founders hoped would protect free speech and give some oversight to Congress. Now the individual citizen has to join with other common citizens to give some motivation to Congress to do its job..
No the MSM is a large part of the problem. Of course, they long ago sold out on their constitutional responsibilities by shutting out and attacking those they disagreed with. They have become so frightened of losing their power and position that that they have begun to label their enemies as unpatriotic. But the accusations of lack of patriotism only came because they are finally discovering that, if you work for NBC and you call most anyone who doesn’t work for NBC a racist, homophobe, sexist, whatever, whatever that the main responses become people politely ignoring you or just laughing at you.
Of course the emotional extortion and strong arm tactics are all part of the whole closed union shop thing. When the union boss is afraid of his territory being threatened by another union or workers who don’t want a union, out come the thugs and the strong arm tactics. Thus Palin in the town square and Rush and Beck and any other loud voice in opposition or just not following the party line. This goes against the values most Americans hold to so this criminal activity is losing and will continue to lose. Just get ready for lots of name calling, yelling and screaming because the MSM thugs will not end it quickly or quietly.

The World Is An Unjust Judge

"Does anyone fail to see that the world is an unjust judge, gracious and well disposed to its own children . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
the world always thinks evil and when it can't condemn our acts it will condemn our intentions. Whether the sheep have horns or not and whether they are white or black, the wolf doesn't hesitate to eat them if he can. "

I happened across these words yesterday and thought that they are an apt description of the old media. They could be an excellent depiction of the MSM.
But the words are from the Christian mystic St. Frances de Sales and they describe how the world will always misjudge and unfairly treat a committed Christian who lives a life devoted to spiritual development. But, really, how could it be otherwise? The principles and motives that define the Christian life are stranger to the world than a foreign language just heard for the first time.
I came across these words at the site, Patrick Madrid. I was referred there by Pundit and Pundette. Along the right margin, among the many links P and P have links to a number of recent blog posts that are of note. When I read any of these I always find them more than worth the time and trouble I invest. Pundette must spend many hours a day reading and those who follow her site are treated to a wide array of opinions, facts and good writing from all over the vast net.
On occasion my posts appear in Pundette's 'Today's recommended reads' but I only recommend others go there because I have found much valuable information and good reading there.

Vast Crowds Numbering Well Into The Dozens Greet Barack Obama in Ghana

These crowds were so small that the AP was making up excuses and his other MSM worshipers kind of acted like it never happened.

Backbencher to World Leader in Just 5 Days

Most all of the reporters on the Sunday morning talking head shows pronounced Obama’s world tour a great success. Excuse me while I feign surprise. I think there was a reporter from Weehauken who had one or two negative thoughts while on the trip but the MSM has been pretty successful in covering that up and the guy will soon be working at Burger King. One of the first spots in a reeducation camp has been reserved for this slimeball as soon as Obama approves the results of the November elections and inaugurates himself in January.
Yes, it was a monumentally successful trip. The man who thinks there are more than 57 states in the United States learned everything needed to become a world leader in 5 days. Very impressive considering he even took time off for basketball and working out in the gym. It is a good thing he didn’t visit the troops in Germany since that would have deprived Barack and the benighted world of the time necessary for the great transformation. Legend has it that it took FDR months to become a great world leader. Winston Churchill had to spend seven weeks learning what it takes to be a great conquering hero. But these are mere mortals and everyone know I’m just being silly comparing them to a real leader like Barack. They are such sad creatures by comparison. Barack would have understood that the real focus of WW II was Pearl Harbor. He would not have been duped into sending troops much beyond Honolulu .
Sarcasm aside, what was so great and wonderful about Obama’s trip? Someone else booked all of the reservations and did most of the packing. Someone else told him it was time to leave and lead him by the hand to the airplane. Other people lead him by the hand to the meetings and events that someone other than him had scheduled and arranged. Now if the guy could have done all of the planning himself and flown coach from the regular terminal and gone through the same security as everyone else, I might get ready to be impressed. But I can’t muster respect for someone who wants to be POTUS but avoids reporters, avoids answering honest questions about real issues and avoids debate. What is he trying to hide? (You might get an idea of some answers to this by reading this blog a couple of months ago, when I first started writing about him.) When he does talk to reporters he doesn’t answer the questions they ask.: he keeps repeating talking points with little relation to the questions. Robert Novak recently wondered why Obama can’t get to 50% in spite of all of the forces working for him. Maybe it is because Americans look at the interviews and say, “I’m not going to vote for someone who won’t give a straight answer to an honest and important question.” Just maybe.

200,000 ? ? ?

I watched some coverage of the Obama speech in Berlin last week. The crowd was reported to be around 200,000 people. And I find that hard to believe. I watched some of the TV coverage of the event. There were few pictures of the crowd. And most views of the crowd were from angles that made it difficult to get an idea of the crowd as a whole: it was a series of tight shots of packed groups of a hundred or so. And when the crowd was shown it was always for an extremely short time: as if someone had something to hide. I froze a few shots and the crowd was sparse and did not stretch very far. These quickly panned-by shots that I froze showed a different picture than the few shots that were shown to prove the 200,000 estimate. The MSM showed very little footage of the crowd. I believe that, if the crowd had actually been anywhere near 200,000, we would have been getting round the clock replays of crowd scenes from ALL angles from the MSM. And we would not have been subjected to so much of that speech that was high on borrowed rhetoric and low on meaning.

The Worshiping Anchors

I got this from Gateway Pundit. It was drawn by Tennyson Hayes.

He Employs a Political Device to Defeat the Ends of Nature

Employers who use illegal immigrant workers are breaking the law in order to escape the law of supply and demand. The use of these workers depresses wages for American workers. Many politicians who claim to be friends of unions and the working class also are in the tank for these employers who are willling to break the law in order to lower the living standard of American workers. And I've never seen this aspect of the issue adressed in any of the presidential debates or on any news or opinion show. The establishment of the two political parties and the MSM have sold out. Just one case is John Edwards who blathers on and on about fighting the power of monied interests but will give them all the cheap labor they want and screw over as many American workers as they tell him to.