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Another Fact Ignored in NYT Boehner Hit Piece: Pelosi Gets Far More Lobbyist Cash

Posted on September 13, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

“Mr. Boehner’s ties to lobbyists seem especially deep,” New York Times reporter Eric Lipton wrote of the House Republican Leader yesterday. Well, they’re not, and therein lies the problem: Lipton apparently premised his article not on facts and data, but on what he thought seemed reasonable. Had Lipton stooped to investigate some of the serious claims he was making, he might have discovered that Nancy Pelosi has raised almost twice as much money from lobbyists this cycle as has Boehner. He might also have revealed that Sens. Harry Reid, Chuck Schumer, and Blanche Lincoln all raised more money from lobbyists this cycle as Boehner has since 1999. Washington Examiner columnist Tim Carney, who did the legwork on these numbers, also noted that Boehner’s name does not appear on the Center for Responsive Politics’s list of the top 20 recipients of lobbyist cash. Eighteen House Democrats have received more such money than Boehner has this cycle. “Sure, Boehner is too close too lobbyists,” Carney writes, “but the money trail says he isn’t closer than Nancy Pelosi.” So why didn’t this (quite obvious) fact make it into Lipton’s Sunday article? It doesn’t fit the narrative. As I wrote yesterday , the Times has spent the past two years playing up GOP connections to lobbyists, while all but ignoring prominent Democrats’s blatant connections to powerful industry groups and their paid representatives. The Times’s omissions are all the more shady given the timing of Lipton’s piece – it came mere days after the Democratic attack machine set its sights on Boehner. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs heavily promoted the piece on the White House press office’s Twitter feed. This week, the DNC is slated to run a series of television ads targeting Boehner’s lobbyist ties. Hypocrisy in the political realm is nothing shocking. Politicians are not “objective,” and they don’t claim to be. But the New York Times seems to be throwing its weight, and its self-proclaimed mantle of non-partisanship behind a political attack ground in total hypocrisy. Perhaps the Gray Lady should adopt a strict policy of reporting what is, not what “seems” to be. Isn’t that the purpose of the news media?

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Another Fact Ignored in NYT Boehner Hit Piece: Pelosi Gets Far More Lobbyist Cash

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Ted Koppel Toasts America-Goading Genius of Osama bin Laden on 9/11 Weekend

Posted on September 10, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Former ABC Nightline anchor Ted Koppel may have taken his pomposity off-camera, but it certainly remains. In a gassy op-ed for Sunday’s Washington Post , Koppel announced that that “canny tactician” Osama bin Laden has won the War on Terror by pressing America into a series of wild overreactions. He began: The attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, succeeded far beyond anything Osama bin Laden could possibly have envisioned. This is not just because they resulted in nearly 3,000 deaths, nor only because they struck at the heart of American financial and military power. Those outcomes were only the bait; it would remain for the United States to spring the trap. The goal of any organized terrorist attack is to goad a vastly more powerful enemy into an excessive response. And over the past nine years, the United States has blundered into the 9/11 snare with one overreaction after another . Bin Laden deserves to be the object of our hostility, national anguish and contempt, and he deserves to be taken seriously as a canny tactician. But much of what he has achieved we have done, and continue to do, to ourselves. Bin Laden does not deserve that we, even inadvertently, fulfill so many of his unimagined dreams. It’s important to remember that Koppel was not a measured critic of Bush foreign policy. Before the Iraq War, as Brent Bozell noted, he devoted a show to conspiratorial anti-Bush cranks who compared neoconservatives to Nazis and alleged that America was bent on global domination:  He began with a Scottish newspaper, the Glasgow Sunday Herald, breathlessly announcing a “secret blueprint for U.S. global domination” that included Iraq. But then, he added, “a similar, if slightly more hysterical version” from the Moscow Times claimed “Not since Mein Kampf has a geopolitical punch been so blatantly telegraphed, years ahead of the blow.” Koppel added: “Take away the somewhat hyperbolic references to conspiracy, however, and you’re left with a story that has the additional advantage of being true.” Bozell also reported Koppel also was quick to lie about how the Reagan administration was behind Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction:  Koppel set the tone for the meeting by undermining America’s moral authority: “There’s a sardonic two-liner making the rounds in Washington these days: ‘‘How do we know that Saddam Hussein has biological and chemical weapons? We have the receipts.’ Nasty, but there’s an element of truth to it.” He added “there wasn’t a great deal of outrage from the Reagan-Bush White House” when Saddam gassed his own people in 1988. That’s misleading. President Reagan condemned it, Secretary of State George Shultz condemned it. What we forget is that the media barely covered it at that time , making our lack of memory easy to exploit. They didn’t have “a great deal of outrage,” either. Koppel is still slashing conservative foreign policy for leading to an “existential nightmare” based on “unsubstantiated assumptions.” (That’s funny: Koppel’s whole embarrassing attempt to push the conspiracy theory that the 1980 Reagan campaign delayed the release of U.S. hostages was a series of “unsubstantiated assumptions,” but he put them on the air anyway, just like a reckless partisan.) Koppel even attacked himself for liberals and media stars offering “flaccid opposition” to the war:  But the insidious thing about terrorism is that there is no such thing as absolute security. Each incident provokes the contemplation of something worse to come. The Bush administration convinced itself that the minds that conspired to turn passenger jets into ballistic missiles might discover the means to arm such “missiles” with chemical, biological or nuclear payloads. This became the existential nightmare that led, in short order, to a progression of unsubstantiated assumptions: that Saddam Hussein had developed weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons; that there was a connection between the Iraqi leader and al-Qaeda. Bin Laden had nothing to do with fostering these misconceptions. None of this had any real connection to 9/11. There was no group known as “al-Qaeda in Iraq” at that time. But the political climate of the moment overcame whatever flaccid opposition there was to invading Iraq , and the United States marched into a second theater of war, one that would prove far more intractable and painful and draining than its supporters had envisioned. Koppel sneered that perhaps Osama bin Laden had more foresight than our disastrous American architects of war, and even today, we are “so absorbed in our own fury and so oblivious to our enemy’s intentions” that we still haven’t absorbed the wisdom of Ted Koppel and all his liberal foreign-policy buddies like John Kerry:  Perhaps bin Laden foresaw some of these outcomes when he launched his 9/11 operation from Taliban-secured bases in Afghanistan. Since nations targeted by terrorist groups routinely abandon some of their cherished principles, he may also have foreseen something along the lines of Abu Ghraib, “black sites,” extraordinary rendition and even the prison at Guantanamo Bay. But in these and many other developments, bin Laden needed our unwitting collaboration, and we have provided it — more than $1 trillion spent on two wars, more than 5,000 of our troops killed, tens of thousands of Iraqis and Afghans dead. Our military so overstretched that one of the few growth industries in our battered economy is the firms that provide private contractors, for everything from interrogation to security to the gathering of intelligence. We have raced to Afghanistan and Iraq, and more recently to Yemen and Somalia; we have created a swollen national security apparatus; and we are so absorbed in our own fury and so oblivious to our enemy’s intentions that we inflate the building of an Islamic center in Lower Manhattan into a national debate and watch, helpless, while a minister in Florida outrages even our friends in the Islamic world by threatening to burn copies of the Koran. If bin Laden did not foresee all this, then he quickly came to understand it. In a 2004 video message, he boasted about leading America on the path to self-destruction. “All we have to do is send two mujaheddin . . . to raise a small piece of cloth on which is written ‘al-Qaeda’ in order to make the generals race there, to cause America to suffer human, economic and political losses.” Through the initial spending of a few hundred thousand dollars, training and then sacrificing 19 of his foot soldiers, bin Laden has watched his relatively tiny and all but anonymous organization of a few hundred zealots turn into the most recognized international franchise since McDonald’s. Could any enemy of the United States have achieved more with less? Could bin Laden, in his wildest imaginings, have hoped to provoke greater chaos? It is past time to reflect on what our enemy sought, and still seeks, to accomplish — and how we have accommodated him. Next up: Koppel is taking this acidulous commentary to BBC America. 

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Ted Koppel Toasts America-Goading Genius of Osama bin Laden on 9/11 Weekend

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Pressure rises on pastor who wants to burn Quran

Posted on September 7, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

PLEASE WATCH ! could not embed video. http://video.ap.org/?f=AP&pid= {releasePID} GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The government turned up the pressure Tuesday on the head of a small Florida church who plans to burn copies of the Quran on Sept. 11, warning him that doing so could endanger U.S. troops and Americans everywhere. But the Rev. Terry Jones insisted he would go ahead with his plans, despite criticism from the top U.S. general in Afghanistan, the White House and the State Department, as well as a host of religious leaders. Jones, who is known for posting signs proclaiming that Islam is the devil's religion, says the Constitution gives him the right to publicly set fire to the book that Muslims consider the word of God. Gen. David Petraeus warned Tuesday in an e-mail to The Associated Press that “images of the burning of a Quran would undoubtedly be used by extremists in Afghanistan – and around the world – to inflame public opinion and incite violence.” It was a rare example of a military commander taking a position on a domestic political matter. Jones responded that he is also concerned but is “wondering, 'When do we stop?'” He refused to cancel the protest set for Saturday at his Dove World Outreach Center, a church that espouses an anti-Islam philosophy. “How much do we back down? How many times do we back down?” Jones told the AP. “Instead of us backing down, maybe it's to time to stand up. Maybe it's time to send a message to radical Islam that we will not tolerate their behavior.” Still, Jones said he will pray about his decision. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the administration hoped Americans would stand up and condemn the church's plan. “We think that these are provocative acts,” Crowley said. “We would like to see more Americans stand up and say that this is inconsistent with our American values; in fact, these actions themselves are un-American.” Meeting Tuesday with religious leaders to discuss recent attacks on Muslims and mosques around the U.S., Attorney General Eric Holder called the planned burning both idiotic and dangerous, according to a Justice Department official. The official requested anonymity because the meeting was private. Crowley said Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton may address the controversy at a dinner Tuesday evening in observance of Iftar, the breaking of the daily fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. At the White House, spokesman Robert Gibbs echoed the concerns raised by Petraeus. “Any type of activity like that that puts our troops in harm's way would be a concern to this administration,” Gibbs told reporters. Jones said he has received more than 100 death threats and has started wearing a .40-caliber pistol strapped to his hip. The 58-year-old minister said the death threats started not long after he proclaimed in July that he would stage “International Burn-a-Quran Day.” Supporters have been mailing copies of the Islamic holy text to his church to be incinerated in a bonfire. Jones, who has about 50 followers, gained some local notoriety last year when he posted signs in front of his small church declaring “Islam is of the Devil.” But his Quran-burning scheme attracted wider attention. It drew rebukes from Muslim nations and an avalanche of media interview requests just as an emotional debate was taking shape over the proposed Islamic center near the ground zero site of the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York. The Quran, according to Jones, is “evil” because it espouses something other than biblical truth and incites radical, violent behavior among Muslims. “It's hard for people to believe, but we actually feel this is a message that we have been called to bring forth,” he said last week. “And because of that, we do not feel like we can back down.” Muslims consider the Quran to be the word of God and insist it be treated with the utmost respect, along with any printed material containing its verses or the name of Allah or the Prophet Muhammad. Any intentional damage or show of disrespect to the Quran is deeply offensive. Jones' Dove Outreach Center is independent of any denomination. The church follows the Pentecostal tradition, which teaches that the Holy Spirit can manifest itself in the modern day. Pentecostals often view themselves as engaged in spiritual warfare against satanic forces. At first glance, the church looks like a warehouse rather than a place of worship. A stone facade and a large lighted cross adorn the front of the beige steel building, which stands on 20 acres in Gainesville's leafy northern suburbs. Jones and his wife, Sylvia, live on the property and also use part of it to store furniture that they sell on eBay. A broad coalition of religious leaders from evangelical, Roman Catholic, Jewish and Muslim organizations met in Washington on Tuesday and condemned the plan to burn the Quran as a violation of American values. “This is not the America that we all have grown to love and care about,” said Rabbi Steve Gutow of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. “We have to stand up for our Muslim brothers and sisters and say, “This is not OK.'” FBI agents have visited with Jones to discuss concern for his safety. Multiple Facebook pages with thousands of members have popped up hailing him as a hero or blasting him as a dangerous pariah. The world's leading Sunni Muslim institution of learning, Al-Azhar University in Egypt, accused the church of stirring up hate and discrimination, and called on other American churches speak out against it. Last month, Indonesian Muslims demonstrated outside the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, threatening violence if Jones goes through with it. In this progressive Florida city of 125,000 anchored by the sprawling University of Florida campus, the lanky preacher with the bushy white mustache is mostly seen as a fringe character who doesn't deserve special attention. At least two dozen Christian churches, Jewish temples and Muslim organizations in Gainesville have mobilized to plan inclusive events – some will read from the Quran at their own weekend services – to counter what Jones is doing. A student group is organizing a protest across the street from the church on Sept. 11. Gainesville's new mayor, Craig Lowe, who during his campaign became the target of a Jones-led protest because he is openly gay, has declared Sept. 11 Interfaith Solidarity Day in the city. Jones dismisses the response of the other churches as “cowardly.” He said even if they think burning Qurans is extreme, Christian ministers should be standing with him in denouncing the principles of Islam. All the attention has caused other problems for Jones, too. He believes it's the reason his mortgage lender has demanded full payment of the $140,000 still owed on the church property. He's seeking donations to cover it, but recently listed the property for sale with plans to eventually move the church away from Gainesville. The fire department has denied Jones a required burn permit for Sept. 11, but he said lawyers have told him his right to burn Qurans is protected by the First Amendment, with or without the city's permission. The same would hold true, he said, if Muslims wanted to burn Bibles in the front yard of a mosque. “Of course, I would not like it,” Jones said. But “I definitely would not threaten to kill them, as we have been threatened.' http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/Q/QURAN_BURNING?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&am… video link: http://video.ap.org/?f=AP&pid= {releasePID} added by: onemalefla

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Civil Rights Groups Challenge Obama’s Assassination List

Posted on September 1, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Civil liberties groups have long objected that President Barack Obama has continued and even expanded on many of George Bush’s abuses in the area of national security, including blocking any investigation into the torture program. Now, civil liberties groups are targeting Obama’s continued use of an assassination list and his assertion that he can simply kill a U.S. citizen without any criminal charge or trial. The lawsuit focuses on the reported kill order targeting U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Aulaqi, who is reportedly hiding in Yemen. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights have filed this interesting action, naming the President of the United States, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency and the secretary of the Department of Defense. This could make for a very interesting case if the groups can establish standing, which is likely to be challenged by Attorney General Eric Holder. As usual, Congress has done little to explore the constitutionality of a president who claims the unilateral power to kill U.S. citizens upon sight. If a President can unilaterally kill a U.S. citizens on his own authority, our court system (and indeed our constitutional rights) become entirely discretionary. The position of the Administration contains no substantial limitations on such authority other than its own promise to make such decisions with care. Here is the complaint: http://jonathanturley.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/al-aulaqi-v-obama-complaint.pd… added by: Radical_Centrist

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Sotomayor Says Court May Rule to Limit First Amendment in Response to Wikileaks

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

On Thursday, talking to students at the University of Denver, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the Wikileaks case will result in the Court likely weighing the First Amendment against national security. She made the comment in response to a question posed by a student. That was not the beginning of that question, but an issue that keeps arising from generation to generation, of how far we will permit government restriction on freedom of speech in favor of protection of the country,” Sotomayor said. “There’s no black-and-white line.” According to Sotomayor, the balance between national security and free speech is “a constant struggle in this society, between our security needs and our first amendment rights, and one that has existed throughout our history.” Following the release of over 90,000 documents by Wikileaks in July, the Pentagon found no evidence that the disclosure harmed U.S. national security or endangered American troops in the field. The Pentagon review team consists of military intelligence analysts, lawyers and others working for the Joint Chiefs of Staffs and other elements of the Defense Department. The Obama administration and certain members of Congress, however, have portrayed the release as a dire threat to national security. Obama asked Britain, Germany, Australia, and other allies to consider criminal charges against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the organization is guilty of “moral culpability” in the murder of U.S. soldiers. The ranking Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Peter King, said the release of documents violates espionage laws and amounts to treason. The FBI is investigating and the Justice Department said it was looking into pursuing criminal charges in the case. Rep. Mike Rogers, a Michigan Republican, has demanded the death penalty for SPC Bradley Manning, the man arrested and charged with providing the documents to Wikileaks…. Continued at: http://www.infowars.com/sotomayor-says-court-may-rule-to-limit-first-amendment-i… added by: Dagum

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George Will Schools Robert Reich On Deficit Spending, FDR and Herbert Hoover

Posted on August 22, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

George Will on Sunday gave Robert Reich a much-needed history lesson about deficit spending and liberal myths concerning Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover. As the Roundtable segment on ABC’s “This Week” moved to the current state of the economy, Reich predictably called for another stimulus package.  “You can’t even talk about stimulus because people say, ‘Oh, that would create a deficit and that would generate inflation,'” declared one of the Left’s favorite economists. Fortunately for those actually interested in facts, Will was there to offer viewers the truth (video follows with partial transcript and commentary):   ROBERT REICH: It’s not the summer of recovery. It’s the summer of our discontent. We are, by many measures, heading into a double-dip. But the fact is many Americans have not even gotten out of the first dip. And the interesting paradox here is that in this town, in Washington, you can’t talk about a second stimulus. You can’t even talk about stimulus because people say, “Oh, that would create a deficit and that would generate inflation.” But, in fact, the bond markets are not predicting inflation. The bond markets are worried more about deflation. The Treasury bill is now, the yield is what, something like 2.6 percent on a ten-year Treasury bill. Before we get to Will’s response, it must be noted that this so-called economic genius doesn’t know that T-bills only come in maturities of 3 months, six months, and one year. The Treasury auctions “notes” with maturities of two, five, and ten years, as well as “bonds” with a duration of 30. That Reich doesn’t know this is somewhat staggering, but I digress:  GEORGE WILL: Let’s talk about how bad it is, first of all. If, in the last five months, about 1.1 million people had not become so discouraged that is to have essentially dropped out of the job market, the real unemployment rate today, if they were still counted, would be 10.4 percent. So, too much use of the word Nazi, too much use of the world Herbert Hoover, my friend. You’re the one who’s consistently saying that the town today is full of people like Herbert Hoover who don’t want to spend money. REICH: Herbert Hoover is being exhumed, George. WILL: Let me tell you, Bob, per capita federal expenditures between 1929 when the stock market crashed and ’32 when Hoover had his last full year in office doubled. He was, he responded to the coming recession with a gusher of federal spending. It didn’t do a lick of good. In fairness, Will was exaggerating just a tad. Here are the real numbers according to a marvelous report on this subject from the Cato Institute: From 1929 to 1933, under President Hoover’s administration, real per capita federal expenditures (graphed in Figure 1), increased by 88 percent.   So, Will was a little aggressive. However, his point was still spectacular:   REICH: He didn’t, by the way, by the way, we can debate history, but by 1932, 1933, the major issue and major proposal on the table coming from Andrew Millen, his Secretary of the Treasury, was balancing the budget. And all we heard… WILL: In Forbes Field in Pittsburgh in a famous speech, FDR pledged to balance the budget. REICH: Yes, FDR was, was, he was also a deficit hawk. Well, he was a deficit hawk during his first presidential campaign, Bob. Democrats love to promise fiscal discipline while on the stump only to go back on such promises after they’re elected.  As Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter noted in his book “The Defining Moment: FDR’s Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope” (page 131): At Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field in October [1932], FDR bid to neutralize the old guard fiscal conservatives. He blasted Hoover for “reckless and extravagant spending” in increasing government outlays by 50 percent, and for waiting too long before raising taxes to help balance the budget.  As such, quite contrary to the modern liberal myth that Hoover was a deficit hawk that was too tight on spending after the Depression began, he was actually blasted by candidate Roosevelt for being too loose with federal coffers. This is supported by the previously mentioned Cato report: Under President Roosevelt’s administration from 1933 to 1940, just before World War II, [real per capita federal spending] increased by only 74 percent [compared to Hoover’s 88 percent]. Although Hoover started from a lower base, in percentage terms expenditures under Hoover increased more in four years than during the next seven New Deal years.  As such, contrary to what liberals like Reich suggest, Hoover was actually a more profligate spender than Roosevelt. Of course, more importantly as Will noted, none of this spending did a lick to solve the Great Depression, for the economy only fully recovered as our nation geared up for World War II. With this in mind, Reich really ought to be more careful when he makes historical statements with George Will sitting next to him. On the other hand, it’s far more entertaining to see him get schooled this way on national television. 

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George Will Schools Robert Reich On Deficit Spending, FDR and Herbert Hoover

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FNC Cites NB Item Noting NYT Buried Story of Tom DeLay Charges Being Dropped

Posted on August 21, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

On Saturday’s Fox News Watch on FNC, substitute host Eric Shawn picked up on a NewsBusters item which recounted that, after the Justice Department dropped charges against former House Republican Leader Tom DeLay, the New York Times buried the news on page A-18 while the Washington Post, by contrast, made room for the story on its front page. Shawn: “The Justice Department has dropped its corruption investigation of the former Congressman after six years. DeLay was probed primarily for his involvement with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. It hit the front pages of the Washington Post on Wednesday. Guess what, the New York Times, page A-18.” After the FNC host asked if there was a media double standard at play, regular panel member Jim Pinkerton of the New America Foundation cited Tim Graham of the Media Research Center – parent organization of NewsBusters – by name. Pinkerton: “Oh, absolutely. As Tim Graham at the Media Research Center was the first to point out, you know, look, this was huge news at the time when they thought he’d be convicted of all sorts of stuff. When he’s exonerated, notice no story.” Below is a transcript of the relevant segment from the Saturday, August 21, Fox News Watch, with critical portions in bold : ERIC SHAWN: Well, that’s former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. He is off the hook. The Justice Department has dropped its corruption investigation of the former Congressman after six years. DeLay was probed primarily for his involvement with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. It hit the front pages of the Washington Post on Wednesday. Guess what, the New York Times, page A-18. Jim, double standard when it comes to covering this? JIM PINKERTON, NEW AMERICA FOUNDATION: Oh, absolutely. As Tim Graham at the Media Research Center was the first to point out, you know, look, this was huge news at the time when they thought he’d be convicted of all sorts of stuff. When he’s exonerated, notice no story. SHAWN: How come? PINKERTON: I think it’s media bias, just a hunch. SHAWN: Ellis, you’re a columnist, yeah, what? ELLIS HENICAN, NEWSDAY COLUMNIST: Yeah, it might just be, Jim, the media. I mean, every single newspaper and television news organization I’ve ever been around spends a whole lot more time talking about charges than they do of acquittals. You might even ask Blago about that, in fact. His almost acquittal this week didn’t get nearly the coverage of all of those tapes, all those tapes. RICH LOWRY, NATIONAL REVIEW: That got a lot of play. That was an exception. Blago did get front-page coverage. JUDITH MILLER, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: In fact, the media were much busier covering Blago than they were Tom DeLay. SHAWN: Blago, by the way, is on Fox News Sunday this weekend, so we can all spend some time on planet Blago. LOWRY: He’s a very interesting media story in his own right because he’s managed to make himself into a C-level celebrity, and that’s enduring value no matter what happens to his legal case. SHAWN: Does that help with the legal case? LOWRY: It might a little bit. It might, you know, help with the jury. PINKERTON: If you’re playing to one juror, as he seemed to be doing in the case, that guy who hung the jury on 23 of 24 counts. LOWRY: She hung him on one – selling the Senate seat. The others were more evenly split. SHAWN: What does it say about the confluence of the media and the criminal justice system? When you have a DeLay who was being investigated, on the front page it’s all over the place, and then it gets dropped. And when it gets dropped, you don’t hear anything about it. LOWRY: The interesting thing about the Blago case there’s a backlash in the media now against Patrick Fitzgerald- SHAWN: Mr. Hero. LOWRY: -and the tendency of the media is to soak up these allegations and just believe the prosecutor is always right. There’s a real backlash now which is a healthy one. HENICAN: Yeah, but remember that the drama is always the bigger story than the whimper at the end. I think that’s true in all cases. PINKERTON: (INAUDIBLE) …point that just shouldn’t get lost. And that is, I can remember Ray Donovan, the Secretary of Labor under the Reagan administration, he was indicted or something, couple of years of trials, he was acquitted, and he just went before the cameras and said, okay, “Now where do I go to get my reputation back?” HENICAN: Poor Blago. SHAWN: Yeah, came down the front steps of the Bronx courthouse and no one could give the answer.

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FNC Cites NB Item Noting NYT Buried Story of Tom DeLay Charges Being Dropped

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AP Orders Staff: ‘Stop Using the Phrase “Ground Zero Mosque”’

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

In an unusual move, the Associated Press has publicly released an advisory memo to its reporters on how to cover of the Ground Zero mosque story – and the first rule is that journalists must immediately stop calling it the “Ground Zero mosque” story. “We should continue to avoid the phrase ‘Ground zero mosque’ or ‘mosque at ground zero’ on all platforms,” reads the advisory, which was issued by the AP’s Standards Center. Instead of the “Ground Zero mosque,” AP recommends that reporters use the terms “mosque 2 blocks from WTC site,” “Muslim (or Islamic) center near WTC site,” “mosque near ground zero,” or “mosque near WTC site.” The AP suggests that it might “useful in some stories to note that Muslim prayer services have been held since 2009 in the building that the new project will replace.” In addition, the news service offers a “succinct summary of President Obama’s position” on the mosque, but doesn’t include the positions of any other politicians. Also included in the advisory is a “Fact Check” to provide “additional background” for reporters. “A New York imam and his proposed mosque near ground zero are being demonized by political candidates – mostly Republicans – despite the fact that Islam is already very much a part of the World Trade Center neighborhood,” reads the first paragraph of the Fact Check. “And that Muslims pray inside the Pentagon, too, less than 80 feet from where terrorists attacked. And that the imam who’s being branded an extremist has been valued by both Republican and Democratic administrations as a moderate face of the faith.” One of the “facts” that the AP feels the need to “clarify” is that Ground Zero mosque organizer Feisal Abdul Rauf is a moderate Muslim. “Rauf counts former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright from the Clinton administration as a friend and appeared at events overseas or meetings in Washington with former President George W. Bush’s secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, and Bush adviser Karen Hughes,” says the article, though it does also mention briefly Rauf’s comments about America being an “accessory” to the Sept. 11 attacks. The advisory also “fact checks” pure opinion statements made by conservatives, like former House Speaker Newt Gringrich’s assertion that “America is experiencing an Islamist cultural-political offensive designed to undermine and destroy our civilization.” “Such opinions are shared by some Americans, while others are more reluctant to paint the religion with a broad brush and more welcoming of the faith in this country,” reads the Fact Check. “Bush, himself, while criticized at the time for stirring suspicions about American Muslims, traveled to a Washington mosque less than a week after the attacks to declare that terrorism is ‘not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace.'” AP is arguable the most influential news organization in the country, and many media outlets adhere to its guidelines in their reporting.

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Liberal HuffPoster Smacks Down Ed Schultz’s GM Success Story

Posted on August 13, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

A liberal Huffington Post contributor and board member of the website’s Investigative Fund rained on Ed Schultz’s GM success story victory parade on Thursday. After the MSNBC host crowed about the positive earnings report from the government-owned car company, he clearly expected that left-leaning guest Leo Hindery was going to join him in the celebration. Quite to the contrary, the admittedly “progressive” Hindery, who has contributed almost $1.5 million to Democrats in the past ten years, quickly threw a heapin’ helpin’ of cold water on this party before it got started. “I love being on this show. But I`m going to push back a little bit on your accolade for GM,” he marvelously began.  “There will be more jobs created in Mexico by the Big Three automobile manufacturers than will be created here in the United States” (video follows with transcript and commentary, pay particular attention to the smile being washed off Schultz’s face): ED SCHULTZ, HOST: Well, the automobile loan program seemed to have worked. General Motors also known as “Obama motors,” “government motors,” raked in over $33 billion in revenue last quarter. It`s G.M.`s strongest performance in six years. To top it off, the company is set to go public again, possibly as soon as Friday. Now, this is I think an unbelievable success story. This was a great American company on the brink and the ripple effect would have been unbelievable. And what did President Obama do? He put a team together that came in and fixed it. The bottom line: government intervention sometimes works. Folks in Washington should be looking at how they can do the same thing in other sectors of the economy but, of course, the Republicans aren`t for that. And, you know, it`s interesting, we don`t hear any Republican naysayers today. They`re out there being so quiet because this is a successful story. The ripple effect if the government had not loaned G.M. the money, it would have been so strong, there would have been hundreds of thousands of jobs lost across our economy. Joining me now is populist hero, Leo Hindery, managing partner of Intermedia Partners. Mr. Hindery, good to have you with us tonight. We have — we`ve had quite a battle with the White House in recent days about the professional left. I would say that this is a pretty good story to start off on to go in a different direction, wouldn`t you think? This is what they ought to be talking about. LEO HINDERY, INTERMEDIA PARTNERS: You know, Ed, I think I was labeled one of the professional left earlier this week, but, you know, I love being on this show. But I`m going to push back a little bit on your accolade for G.M. And we should take pride as a nation that the bailout did produce the profits that you describe. But we`ve got to be real honest about what`s going to happen here over the next decade. There will be more jobs created in Mexico by the Big Three automobile manufacturers than will be created here in the United States. So, these profits are important. But we didn`t put — we didn`t put any quid with the quo so to speak and we didn`t demand that the growth in these three companies, the recovery of these three companies be found here in American workers. And you and the Reverend Jackson just spent a compelling 10 minutes or so pointing out that the only thing that matters right now is the real employment, and in converse, the real unemployment of Americans. And I`m distressed when I hear that G.M., especially, just committed in the last week or so, $500 million more to yet another one of its plants in Mexico. So, give them a pat on the back for sure. But don`t give them too big a pat because they`re not creating jobs here in the United States. SCHULTZ: Well, but they are saving jobs, are they not, Leo? They did save a ripple effect of plastics, of electronics, of upholstery, of tire and glass that would have been even more devastating than the economy that we saw? HINDERY: Right. And there is — there`s a sharp line, a bright line, Ed, between saved jobs and created jobs. SCHULTZ: Yes. HINDERY: We need both. But what we didn`t get out of G.M. or Chrysler is a commitment to create jobs here in the United States. And that`s why I pat them on the back for saving a bunch of them, and I couldn`t be happier for the state of Michigan, the state of Ohio, and the state — Upstate New York. SCHULTZ: But moving forward is your concern, and moving forward, it should be a concern based on the news that came out today. The CEO of General Motors, Ed Whitacre, is going to be stepping down and he`ll be replaced by Daniel Ackerson. He is a managing director of the Carlyle Group. Now, the Carlyle Group is known for one thing, and that is shipping jobs overseas. How troubling is this move in your opinion? HINDERY: Well, it`s very troubling because that is Dan`s modus operandi. And nothing we`ve heard in the last several weeks and we were all surprised by Mr. Whitacre`s announcement today. But we`ve not heard a single word out of this company about committing to American jobs. So, they`re going to grow and they`re going to grow based on taxpayer money, tens of billions of dollars. SCHULTZ: So, what should the president do at this juncture? Get a commitment? Try to get a commitment or where do we go? Where is the loyalty? HINDERY: Well, I think Secretary Geithner let the nation down when he just gave them money and didn`t demand that they create U.S. jobs. Again, I like the fact that we saved a bunch of `em. But we need to find, Ed, 22 million jobs to put this nation back at full employment. And we need our big manufacturers to be stable and growing here in the United States. And G.M. and Chrysler made no such commitment when they took our money. SCHULTZ: Mr. Hindery, always a pleasure. You do great work. I love reading your stuff on “Huffington Post.” I appreciate your time tonight. HINDERY: It`s always a privilege to be here, Ed. Thanks. SCHULTZ: You bet. For the record, Hindery is quite left of center. Last week he admitted in a HuffPo piece that he is on the “progressive side.” According to Wikipedia, his name was being tossed around in 2004 as a successor to Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe. He served as senior economic policy advisor to presidential candidate John Edwards, and is even an advisor to the Obama administration. As such, Schultz probably wasn’t expecting any push back on his celebration. Wasn’t it glorious?

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CBS’s Blackstone: Immigration Debate ‘Boiling Over,’ ‘Often-Angry’

Posted on August 9, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

In a report on Arizona’s immigration law for CBS’s Sunday Morning, correspondent John Blackstone declared: “In the heat of the Arizona summer, America’s long-simmering immigration debate is boiling over.” He portrayed it as the latest wave of anti-immigrant sentiment: “The often-angry debate….whether yet another influx of outsiders can be accepted into a nation of immigrants.”   At the top of the program, the Early Show’s Harry Smith, filling in for host Charles Osgood, teased Blackstone’s report this way: “‘The New Colossus’ is the name of the Emma Lazarus poem about the Statue of Liberty, the poem that speaks of a ‘golden door’ for immigrants to America. S.B.1070 is the name of the Arizona law that critics say betrays that promise , but which supporters say is necessitated by a tide of illegal immigration.” As Blackstone introduced his report later, a series of newspaper headlines flashed on screen: “Ariz. immigration law creates rift; Obama Blasts Arizona Law; Arizona Enacts Stringent Law on Immigration.” He then profiled one illegal immigrant: “…the immigration debate…means everything to 23-year-old Hermann. He’s an undocumented immigrant we met at a church gathering….The current atmosphere leaves Hermann nervous but eager to tell his story.” A clip was played of Hermann fretting: “For eight years, I’ve been in the shadows, you know. It’s been to a point where you’re almost paranoid, walking around.” Blackstone touted Hermann’s accomplishments: “He went to high school and then college…The day of his college graduation, he was awarded not one degree, but two…And the speaker that day was President Obama.” Blackstone added: “It’s often said illegal immigrants don’t pay taxes. Hermann does pay taxes and showed me his returns.” Later in the story, after describing the “often-angry debate” over the issue, Blackstone observed: “In Arizona, fears that the state is being overrun by those who won’t wait and that the border is out of control don’t match reality, says Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano.” A clip was played of Napolitano: “There are more than twice as many border patrol agents at the border than just a few years ago. There’s more technology. There’s more infrastructure. There’s more air cover and there’s more every day on the way.” As she listed each border security effort, CBS was helpful enough to provide corresponding video footage to bolster her case. Blackstone continued: “Despite a perception that illegal immigrants are causing a crime wave, the FBI says violent crime near the border has actually fallen in the past decade….The Department of Homeland Security estimates the number of undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. dropped from 11.6 million in January 2008, to 10.8 million in January 2009.” Napolitano claimed: “…the numbers are all going in the right direction.” Nearing the end of his report, Blackstone did some lobbying for a particular piece of immigration legislation: “Many young undocumented immigrants, like Hermann, have their hopes pinned on the Dream Act – legislation first introduced in 2001 that has stalled in Congress. It would award residency to many brought here as children, younger than 16, who have graduated from high school. Hermann sees the Dream Act as his chance to make a life in the country where he studied, works, and pays taxes.” Here is a full transcript of the August 8 segment: 9:00AM TEASE HARRY SMITH: ‘The New Colossus’ is the name of the Emma Lazarus poem about the Statue of Liberty, the poem that speaks of a ‘golden door’ for immigrants to America. S.B.1070 is the name of the Arizona law that critics say betrays that promise, but which supporters say is necessitated by a tide of illegal immigration. The heated debate is almost certain to end up before the Supreme Court. John Blackstone will report our cover story. JOHN BLACKSTONE: Each year, some 700,000 people from around the world are sworn in as American citizens. The controversy in Arizona and elsewhere is about the 500,000 or so who come in illegally each year. Hermann is one of them. Just you being here, you’re breaking the law. HERMANN: Absolutely. And – and the thing is that it’s an outdated law. JOHN BLACKSTONE: The immigration debate in Arizona and across the country, later on Sunday Morning. 9:09AM SEGMENT HARRY SMITH: S.B.1070 is the controversial Arizona immigration law that a federal judge found partially unconstitutional last month. As the appeal of that decision works its way toward the Supreme Court, the argument in the court of public opinion goes on as well. Our cover story is reported by John Blackstone. JOHN BLACKSTONE: In the heat of the Arizona summer, America’s long-simmering immigration debate is boiling over. CROWD PROTESTING IMMIGRATION LAW: Si se puede! Si se puede! [ON-SCREEN GRAPHIC OF NEWSPAPER HEADLINE: Ariz. immigration law creates rift] BLACKSTONE: While protestors take to the streets, the state and federal governments are fighting in court over who can write and enforce immigration law. [ON-SCREEN GRAPHIC OF NEWSPAPER HEADLINE: Obama Blasts Arizona Law] UNIDENTIFIED MAN A: We will not comply. UNIDENTIFIED MAN B: We will enforce the law. BLACKSTONE: When Arizona’s Governor Jan Brewer signed the state’s tough new immigration law in April, she said it was needed because of Washington’s failures. [ON-SCREEN GRAPHIC OF NEWSPAPER HEADLINE: Arizona Enacts Stringent Law on Immigration] She was angered by the court decision, that temporarily at least, blocked major parts of the measure. JAN BREWER: Now they’ve got this temporary injunction, they need to step up, the feds do, and do the job that they have the responsibility to do for the people of America, and for the people of Arizona. JANET NAPOLITANO: All allegiance and fidelity. BLACKSTONE: Former Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano now has responsibility for securing the border as secretary of Homeland Security. NAPOLITANO: There’s frustration out there. I think there’s a misconception that securing the border means sealing the border and anyone who’s been on the border knows that that’s just a physical impossibility among other things. You don’t seal the border but you secure the border. BLACKSTONE: Securing the border was Harold Beasley’s job for more than three decades. Now retired in Arizona, the current battle has him talking about putting on his uniform again. HAROLD BEASLEY: Why don’t you give it a try? Bring me out of retirement and give me 200 Border Patrol agents and I’ll show you how many people I can deport in a couple of months. You know, it’s – it’s – it’s – it’s a hard job, but you can do it. [CROWD PROTESTING IMMIGRATION LAW] BLACKSTONE: If the immigration debate means a lot to Harold Beasley, it means everything to 23-year-old Hermann. He’s an undocumented immigrant we met at a church gathering. He was brought here by his family when he was 15. HERMANN: And I completely fell in love with the country. I – I felt, you know, there’s so many opportunities. There’s so many things you can do here. I want to stay. I want to, you know, be someone. I want to go to school, be the best I can be. BEASLEY: I see people in my hometown of Phoenix, Arizona now demonstrating, carrying signs, saying that I owe them something. I owe them rights. I owe them, you know, welfare. I owe them this and I owe them that. BLACKSTONE: The estimated 460,000 illegal immigrants in Arizona cost the state about $900 million dollars a year for education, health care, and incarceration, according to Arizona officials. And at a time when unemployment in Arizona is 9.6%, there are fears undocumented workers are taking jobs Americans should have. UNIDENTIFIED MAN C: We are America! Get over it! [SPLIT SCREEN: On Left: Protestor sign reading ‘Land of the Free! Really?’; On Right: Police officer in riot gear]   BLACKSTONE: The current atmosphere leaves Hermann nervous but eager to tell his story. HERMANN: For eight years, I’ve been in the shadows, you know. It’s been to a point where you’re almost paranoid, walking around. But I think this is – it’s now or never, you know. You got to say what you got to say. BLACKSTONE: Hermann’s family came from Venezuela on tourist visas but never left. He went to high school and then college. HERMANN: And I worked full time while I was at school, almost 40 hours. Actually, my senior year, all throughout the – the year, I worked at nights, delivering newspapers. BLACKSTONE: The day of his college graduation, he was awarded not one degree, but two. HERMANN: Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Magna Cum Laude. And that’s my Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Magna Cum Laude as well. BLACKSTONE: And the speaker that day was President Obama. BARACK OBAMA: We need young people like you to step up. We need your daring. We need your enthusiasm. We need your energy. We need your imagination. HERMANN: If there was a pathway for me to become legalized even right now, I would do it, I would do it. BLACKSTONE: It’s often said illegal immigrants don’t pay taxes. Hermann does pay taxes and showed me his returns. He doesn’t have a Social Security number; but the IRS gives undocumented workers a special taxpayer number, information that is not shared with immigration authorities. HERMANN: It’s funny how the system works. You know, they – they won’t give you that chance to work but they do want you to pay those taxes. BLACKSTONE: The often-angry debate here in Arizona reflects a discussion that’s been going on through much of America’s history. The country’s dilemma is whether yet another influx of outsiders can be accepted into a nation of immigrants. Each year, about 700,000 people raise their hands to be sworn in as American citizens. Getting into America legally isn’t quick or easy. Mumtaz Shamsee, from Pakistan, became an American citizen last month. MUMTAZ SHAMSEE: The whole process, since the day I arrived till the day I took my oath, is almost 19 years. BLACKSTONE: He came here first on a student visa. Then, after graduating as a computer engineer, he got a temporary work visa, and eventually citizenship. SHAMSEE: I feel like I earned my citizenship because the rule is if you are on work visa, H1, and you get laid off, you have to find another job or you are illegal, your status is illegal. You’re supposed to leave the country. BLACKSTONE: Fortunately for him, his skills were in demand in Silicon Valley so he could stay. Many other prospective immigrants have to wait patiently in their home countries. SUSAN CURDA: There has to be a visa number available, and sometimes that actually can take several years. BLACKSTONE: Susan Curda of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services says to come here legally most immigrants need either a job offer or an immediate family member already living here. Then get in line. CURDA: The countries that have the most people wanting to come to the United States, the wait’s going to be longer. BLACKSTONE: In Arizona, fears that the state is being overrun by those who won’t wait and that the border is out of control don’t match reality, says Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano. NAPOLITANO: There are more than twice as many border patrol agents at the border than just a few years ago. There’s more technology. There’s more infrastructure. There’s more air cover and there’s more every day on the way. [ON-SCREEN: Footage of Border Patrol efforts as Napolitano lists them] BLACKSTONE: Despite a perception that illegal immigrants are causing a crime wave, the FBI says violent crime near the border has actually fallen in the past decade: in Phoenix down 10%, in San Diego down 17%, in El Paso, Texas, down 36%. In fact, illegal immigration as a whole is actually declining, although the poor economy may have as much to do with that as improved border security. The Department of Homeland Security estimates the number of undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. dropped from 11.6 million in January 2008, to 10.8 million in January 2009. NAPOLITANO: Even as that has been going on and the numbers are all going in the right direction and – and all the rest, I think there’s a realization, particularly in border states, that the underlying immigration law needs to be updated, needs to be reformed. UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN A: It’s a fight for the Dream Act- BLACKSTONE: Many young undocumented immigrants, like Hermann, have their hopes pinned on the Dream Act – legislation first introduced in 2001 that has stalled in Congress. It would award residency to many brought here as children, younger than 16, who have graduated from high school. Hermann sees the Dream Act as his chance to make a life in the country where he studied, works, and pays taxes. HERMANN: This is my home. I – I do feel like I’m an American. You know, I have a great love, a great respect for this country. I’ve always had it. BLACKSTONE: But Hermann’s wish to live here legally is one shared by millions around the world. CROWD: And to the Republic for which it stands- BLACKSTONE: Many immigrants think coming to America is like winning a lottery. And that’s exactly how Paras and Davita Upadhyay from Nepal got here. They were winners of the State Department’s Diversity Visa Lottery, which awards 55,000 visas a year to people in countries that send few immigrants to America. DAVITA UPADHYAY: He was all excited, yeah. It was exciting. We were not expecting that. PARAS UPDHYAY: Yeah, we were not expecting that. UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN B: Raise your right hands. BLACKSTONE: More people want to come to the United States than to anywhere else and that is a challenge of immigration reform. Among all those who dream of becoming American, how do we choose who to accept?

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