A Case Study in Media Bias
There is bias in the media, we all know it and we all accept the fact that the media is decidedly liberal. If the coverage of President Obama’s campaign stops in Europe weren’t enough to convince the last remaining hold outs to the biases of the media perhaps the following stories will help.
One of the most glaring examples of bias in the media to me is the way that stories are written in newspapers and on the internet. We have to look no further than just a couple of weeks ago to see this bias in full effect.
You can read two examples of this here and here, these are two different stories about corruption by politicians in two different parties. Both recently in the news. If you clicked on both links did you notice anything? I did.
The first story is about the Democrat mayor of Detroit. How do I know he is a Democrat? You wouldn’t know based on the story because the story never once mentioned his party affiliation. If you didn’t realize he was a Democrat based on the crime rate in Detroit you would have had to google his name to find out.
This is how the second story starts out: Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest-serving Republican senator and a figure in Alaska politics since before statehood, was indicted Tuesday. The first sentence told us the party affiliation. The media couldn’t print fast enough which party this particular criminal belonged to.
Then there is this story about Tom Delay in which the fact that he is a Republican is offered in the first sentence, while this story about Cynthia McKinney offers us no details on her party affiliation. If it wasn’t for the fact that very late in the article it is mentioned that Republicans are trying to seize on McKinney’s assault of an officer people would have no idea what party she belonged to. The article then goes on to say that McKinney represents a a majority-black, Democratic district but never actually calls her a Democrat.
This happens more often than not, if you read a story about political corruption and are wondering what party the candidate belongs to, more often than not it is a Democrat and that is why you were left wondering after reading the story. If you read a story about political corruption and the culprit is a Republican, believe me you won’t be left wondering, you will know in the first paragraph, if not the first line.
This is just a small example of bias in the media, but an example nonetheless. And just one of those little things that irks me.
Video: Barack Obama’s Position(s) on the Iraq War
Below is a video that highlights President Obama’s position(s) on the Iraq war. I know he has been sending out conflicting messages over the course of the campaign on where he stands on the war, hopefully this video will help you to understand his true position on the Iraq war a little better.
Hat tip:NHGOP
The only downside to this video is the fact that it mentions the Republican turncoat’s name at the end.
Video: Democrats Praising John McCain
RINO
John McCain has released a new political ad on youtube that shows many prominent Democrats, (including Howard Dean, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Russ Fiengold, and even president Obama himself) praising John McCain.
This ad, which I read about here, is designed to show Democrats that John McCain is willing to work with them. It also is designed to pull Democrats away from President Obama and bring them to McCain. Once again McCain is campaigning to the Democrats while ignoring the Republicans who he feels will just fall in line.
The article states that Democrats would not be happy with the ad, and they weren’t. Democrats now are saying something to the effect of “yeah we said all of those nice things, but that was before he was running for president. We don’t really mean them now.” And “John McCain is different now.”
I don’t blame them for being upset, he is using their own words against them. Normally I would think that this is a good idea but what the article fails to mention is that he risks losing more Republicans from this ad once they see all of the support he was shown by many of the most liberal Democrats in the house and senate. Many Republicans are still undecided about whether or not they will vote for McCain and this ad will not help with them.
It is one thing for a candidate to “move to the center” during a general campaign but when a rumored right winger ( John McCain is a RINO by the very definition) already leans to the left and moves farther left he is not moving to the center, he is moving the wrong way.
Just when John McCain’s campaign is gaining momentum because of President Obama’s total ineptitude as a candidate John McCain decides to go after even more Democrat voters when he could and should be courting his own base.
To me this video is one more reason not to vote for McCain, although the end of the video is brilliant when Hillary Clinton says, “I know Senator McCain has a lifetime of experience he will bring to the White House, and Senator Obama has a speech he gave in 2002.” That is a line she spoke while she was running against President Obama in the primary and now it has resurfaced. What a great line to use against the future president.
Here is the video:
Joe Kenney
The Republican candidate for governor recently signed a spending cap pledge and challenged liberal tax and spend governor John Lynch (tephlon John) to do the same. The tephlon one has refused to do so. John Lynch could never agree to limit spending, we have seen that over the last two years. He spent the state into a $200 million deficit and then “balanced” the budget by taking out a loan.
Kenney said Lynch, the Democrat he wants to unseat, should sign the spending cap pledge. He said Lynch has presided over steep increases in state spending that will force him to abandon his promise to block a state sales or income tax.
“How do you ensure that we have no income tax unless you limit the spending that is backing us into one?” Kenney asked.
That is the truth. Governor Lynch says publicly that he opposes a sales and 
income tax but he continues to spend and eventually he will be “forced” to introduce either one or the other, possibly both. Governor Lynch has already raised just about every other tax and fee he could get his greedy little hands on and sooner or later there are only two other taxes he will be able to implement to sustain his drunken spending
I don’t even know why I am bothering to write about this race. The latest polls are so depressing that I can’t even bring myself to write the numbers down, but trust me, it’s not good. We here in New Hampshire are going to re-elect this fraud and we are going to send even more money to this clown all the while giving away more and more personal freedoms in the name of the nanny state. New Hampshire has not yet learned her lesson and we deserve what we get.
Lets just hope we can at least oust moonbat Carol Shea-Porter and return Senator Sununu to Washington. That is all we can hang our hats on now.
Joe Lieberman Being Considered as John McCain’s Running Mate
RINO
If this story about Joe Lieberman being on John McCain’s short list of possible vice presidential candidates is true than there is one thing that can no longer be debated; John McCain is more interested in trying to appeal to Democrats than trying to get the Republican base behind him.
John McCain is not running as a conservative, he isn’t one, he is running as a man who will reach across the aisle and work with (read give in to) Democrats. By doing this he is alienating conservatives who believe that while Democrats were in the minority it is them who should have reached across the aisle. John McCain insured that the Democrats didn’t need to work with Republicans because he was right there with them. Now Republicans are the ones who think that they need to compromise their beliefs.
This is what a John McCain adviser had to say about the possibility of Joe Lieberman as McCain’s VP:
“[McCain] loves Lieberman. And he is on the [short-]list because Lieberman has never embarrassed anyone, never misspoken. The first rule is, don’t take someone who costs you votes,”
The problem with that argument is simple, picking Joe Lieberman WILL cost John McCain votes. There are many conservatives who are on the fence about whether they should vote for McCain or sit out the election. Many of them are waiting to see who he picks as his running mate before they decide. ( I am not waiting, I already made up my mind not to vote for this liberal.) If he picks Lieberman he will absolutely drive many conservatives away. He may pick up a few Democrat votes, but I doubt it, and he will lose far more conservatives votes than he ever hopes to gain.
This move would be political suicide, he will lose any slim chance he might have had beating President Obama. But it shows you where his mindset is. He is more interested in appealing to Democrat voters than to Republican voters. He has been giving conservatives the finger for eight years and this will be one more giant middle finger aimed right at conservatives.
If you are a conservative and you pull the lever for McCain just because he has an “R” after his name, do not be surprised when he spends the next four years giving you the presidential finger.
According to two Iraqi officials the United States and Iraq are near a deal that would bring all the troops home by the year 2010, with the exception of support personnel who would come home by 2013.
The proposed agreement calls for Americans to hand over parts of Baghdad’s Green Zone – where the U.S. Embassy is located – to the Iraqis by the end of 2008. It would also remove U.S. forces from Iraqi cities by June 30, 2009, according to the two senior officials, both close to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and familiar with the negotiations.
The officials, who spoke separately on condition of anonymity because the talks are ongoing, said all U.S. combat troops would leave Iraq by October 2010, with the remaining support personnel gone “around 2013.”
The great lie that has been propagated is that because the president is against setting a timetable that he is in favor of staying in Iraq forever. That is simply not the case. President Bush is against a PUBLIC timetable, that is a very different notion. The truth is that as Iraqis are more able to defend themselves more and more Americans will come home, that was always the plan, and now it seems as though so much progress has been made that the governments have been crafting a strategy. Just as the president has always said he would.
The only problem here is that two loudmouth Iraqis were not able to keep their mouths shut. These negotiations should never have been made public. The article I linked to claims this is a major shift in policy but it is not. This plan is being crafted because Iraqis are able to defend themselves.
This news does let us see how far we have come in the war since the surge began, we are now able to talk about a strategy for exiting. Because this strategy is being crafted based on the successes of the United States and not just the “we have to get out of there” philosophy of the left this will be an exit in victory rather than the exit in surrender that the Democrats have tried to push on the president and the country over the last four years.
Tourists are Cheering the Republican Revolt
Cross posted on Grizzly Groundswell
Okay, this will me my last post on the issue of the Republicans and their “revolt” in the house. I can’t make any promises though because I find this topic very interesting. I think this whole ploy is a stroke of public relations genius in a time when Republicans need something to rally around.
Today Republicans continued to speek in favor of offshore drilling even though the house was adjourned last Friday. This is day three of the “revolt”. This is a ploy to gain support among Americans who now support offshore drilling by a 2/3rds majority. And also and attempt to expose Democrats who have delayed the vote through the Summer months while Americans struggle to make ends meet.
While the “revolt” has failed so far, and will continue to fail, to bring the Democrats back to the table for a debate on the issue, it has provided the Republicans with all of the positive exposure that they could have hoped for.
Tourists are now gathering at the house to watch the proceedings and cheering the Republicans on.
Musgrave’s words were again lost as the crowd cheered, repeating the standing ovation given to speakers who came before and after her. The crowd chanted “vote, vote, vote,” in response to remarks by members who spoke, including Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), Mike Pence (R-Ind.) and John Shadegg (R-Ariz.).
Republicans have needed to do something to gain some enthusiasm from their base because there is none, this could be just what they needed. Democrats remain energized and excited to vote while Republicans are discontent. Part of this comes form the fact that the elected Republicans have been unwilling to stand up and fight, unlike the Democrats after the 2004 elections who circled the wagons and regained the momentum. Part of it also comes from the fact that Independents and Democrats who were allowed to vote in the early states primaries picked a dull, drab, monotone, boring RINO to be their nominee for president. Nonetheless the Republicans needed something to rally around and while we can’t rally around our presidential candidate we need to try to hold off the slaughter that is predicted in November so this “revolt” could be just what the doctor ordered in order to resuscitate the Republican’s hopes in just a few short months.
So while Nancy Pelosi is on her book tour, while the lights and mics remain turned off, while the television cameras are not running, and the media is not covering this event the Republicans press on. The momentum is building and people are listening. One sign summed it up best; “Nancy Pelosi, We’re Here, Where are You?”
Anti-Obama Bloggers Have Their Sites Shut Down
This is the story of an anti President Obama blogger who had his blog suddenly shut down after posting an on-line petition to have President Obama release his birth certificate. Google (who hosts his blog) claims that the blog was marked as spam because of the petition and was reopened the next day. But this is not the first time that a blog critical of President Obama has been shut down.
the incident and earlier Web log freezes in late June have led Mr. Langbert and other anti-Obama bloggers to accuse the Illinois senator’s supporters of intentionally identifying their blog addresses to Google as spam blogs. They also say the company has reflexively suspended the sites.
“These tech-savvy smart alecks have figured out that if you report a blog you don’t like, you can do some damage to a person,” Mr. Langbert said.
Both explainations seem plausible, but I have had this nagging question in the back of my mind for a few weeks and this just helps to make it more than just a nagging question. Sure, this could have been a mistake, but was it more than that?
I know it sounds paranoid to state that this could be a concerted effort to shut down the voices of those that disagree with President Obama, but could it be? Remember, we have had numerous Democrats come out and say that the fairness doctrine is something that needs to be re-examined. The fairness doctrine is designed to shut down conservative talk radio and that is why Democrats are in favor of it. So is it so out of character for them to want to go after bloggers next? I don’t think so.
That is the nagging question that has had me thinking for a few weeks before I read this story. If Democrats are ready to try and shut down conservative talk radio, could bloggers be next? It appears that this could really be the case.
Bloggers have no “checks and balances”, there is no editor or fact checker. Someone can simply write whatever they want and it is out there for everyone to read, so if Democrats are so interested in shutting down talk radio it is only natural that they will come after bloggers eventually.
Let us not forget that it was a blogger who took down one of the left’s own in Dan Rather. The left tried to downplay the blogger’s story about the forged documents that Dan Rather used to try to take down a sitting president but they couldn’t. The blogger was right. Democrats haven’t forgotten that lesson and when the time comes I am certain that heavy restrictions and regulations will be imposed on bloggers when the Democrats gain control of every branch of government.
It is only natural and the next logical step.
As the Republicans continue their protest today because house Democrats adjourned the session without voting on the offshore oil drilling bill I thought I would take the time to clarify my position. It seems by some of the comments that I have been getting that I didn’t do a good job of saying what I was trying to say.
First let me start off by saying that yes I do support drilling for more oil. But what seems to get lost is the fact that I also support wind, solar, and yes even nuclear energy as alternatives. Drilling for oil is not THE answer but it can be part of the answer.
Now, my position on what the Republicans are doing with this protest. I understand that oil exploration and drilling for more oil will take ten years to produce anything, I do not think that is this bill were passed tomorrow that the price of oil will drop by November. I understand also that this is a publicity stunt. When I say that this could help the Republicans in November it is because of the perception with voters who don’t pay as close attention to politics as we do. The American people support increased drilling and if they see somebody taking a stand it will make them think. That is why I believe that this issue is a win-win for the Republicans.
I am also not the only one who believes that this perception could help Republicans in November. Nancy Pelosi also agrees and she is secretly telling Democrats that it is okay for them to vote for increased drilling if they believe it will help them get re-elected.
the rank and file in her party increasingly are just trying to save their political hides when it comes to gas prices as Republicans apply more and more rhetorical muscle.
But what looks like intraparty tension on the surface is part of an intentional strategy in which Pelosi takes the heat on energy policy, while behind the scenes she’s encouraging vulnerable Democrats to express their independence if it helps them politically, according to Democratic aides on and off Capitol Hill.
There you have it, another one of the points that I have been trying to make is that Democrats are more interested in winning re-election than lowering gas prices. And there is the admission that this issue could benefit Republicans. Pelosi is now telling her minions that if they need to vote for drilling than go ahead. Whatever it takes to help them politically is okay and Pelosi is will take the heat for them.
The whole idea here is to delay any action until after the election because this is an issue that the Republicans are strong on. Democrats do not want to hand a victory to the Republicans just months before Democrats take over the whole of the government, if they delay until after the election they will be able to get full credit for any action taken. Until then Americans can just suffer with high energy prices as far as they are concerned. The party is more important than the people.
The problem with that strategy is that they HAVE to vote on the issue before the election and that is why Pelosi is telling Democrats it’s okay to vote for drilling. If the issue is not voted on that the moratorium on offshore drilling will automatically expire.
The Republicans hold the upper hand on this issue and so far are keeping the pressure on. Democrats are caught between a rock and a hard place.
Republicans Threaten to Shut Down the Federal Government
Republicans are finally starting to stand up for themselves. They have found an issue in offshore oil drilling that looks like it could be a winner for them and they are taking the offensive. First the Republicans have refused to leave the house and have continued debating offshore drilling although the house is in recess, and now they are threatening to shut down the federal government if offshore drilling is not voted on.
Some Republicans say they are prepared to vote against a resolution to fund the federal government for the 2009 fiscal year unless Democrats agree to lift an offshore drilling moratorium.
Republicans have finally grown a set and are taking a stand on an issue. After the 2006 political castrating of the Republican party the Republicans have been afraid of taking on the Democrats. The “re-branding” of the Republican party was never more evident that the nomination of John McCain as the party’s candidate for president. Now however, Republicans have looked down and realized there still there, so why not use them?
Republicans are starting to stand up for what they believe in, at least on this issue, and it is good to see. I have grown tired of fighting for a party that won’t fight for itself, and now they may be ready to do so.
This issue is a winner for the Republicans as a majority of Americans support an increase in domestic drilling. Democrats are in the back pocket of the environmental groups, which have put us in this situation on the first place, so there is no way that they can win this issue. It is up to Republicans to get this done.
Republicans aren’t afraid of incurring the same type of backlash that they received after shutting down the government in 1995:
with public opinion polls showing that most Americans support increased offshore drilling, Republicans are emboldened to challenge Democrats on the issue, and say that Democrats, not Republicans, would be blamed for the consequences of a government shutdown.
This is becoming a hot button issue, pressure is being applied by the American people to get something done. We saw what we could do when we rose up in protest of the immigration reform bill and we can do it again. We have to do it again, time is running out.
Democrats are on the wrong side of this issue and we must keep the pressure on them to expose them. Republicans need to keep fighting and promoting this issue. There can be no letup.
It’s about time.
