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When last I bothered to pay attention to the pearl-clutching twitterings of the StarTribune's very own Miss Gulch, one Katherine Kersten, she was whipping herself into transports over a nonexistent smack epidemic in the pastoral college town of Northfield, Minnesota. It wasn't that she made a mountain out of a molehill. It's that she made it out of thin-flippin'-air.
But lately she's claiming that a bunch of harmless cyclists having a monthly parade is such a threat to Western Civ that it justifies very nasty measures.
What makes her agent-proschlockateur tactics harder to shrug off is that her ideological ally, local blogger and radio guy Mitch Berg, is doing much the same thing: Pre-emptively accusing lefties (in this case, the expected throngs of protesters for next year's RNC convention in St. Paul) of all sorts of nastiness, so as to a) seemingly encourage equally-nasty behavior on the part of Republicans, and b) justify this behavior ahead of time.
And then, on a national level, we have two notable recent incidents: 1) the insane and amoral feeding frenzy started by the right-wing bigotsphere (aided and abetted, if not actually directed, by such leading GOP lights as Mitch McConnell) against the Frost family; and 2) the media's looking the other way when Republican Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey compared U.S. officials to Nazis, or when Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) accused Democratic lawmakers of treason, yet throwing themselves into near-orgasmic transports each time a Republican smear merchant rings their Pavlovian smear-dinner-bell.
And we also have the Gathering of Eagles crew, egged on by such conservative moral forces as Michelle Malkin and Melanie Morgan, committing thuggery in DC one day and meeting with Bush the next. As Spocko says, what happens the day after they spill blood?
And why oh why, as Bob Somerby notes on the Frosts as he has noted several times on several other issues over several years: Why are our leading mainstream media pundits looking the other way when righties do this sort of thing, yet are oh-so-eager to pounce on lefties for any reason or none?
Why are the righties getting a free ride on all of this? (And as Digby observes, the righties' insanity has only got worse, rather than better, of late, so it's not as if the press' giving them a free ride has made them calm down at all.)
Can anyone think of a plausible explanation that doesn't involve being bought off or scared off? I sure can't.
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Drinkin’!
Is that Michelle Bachmann by Bush?
Loud Mouth Soup for everyone!
Righties are getting meaner.
Ish, here’s your MANhattan
Twisted Martini @ 5
Delicious! Thanks!
“Can anyone think of a plausible explanation that doesn’t involve being bought off or scared off? I sure can’t.”
Brings in advertising dollars?
La Pelosi gets all huffy over Pete Stark:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rebuked a fellow San Francisco Bay-area liberal Friday for what she said were “inappropriate” comments about Iraq during a congressional debate.
During a debate on children’s health care Thursday, Rep. Pete Stark accused Republicans of sending troops to Iraq to “get their heads blown off for the president’s amusement.”
Condemnations rolled in from Republican politicians, right-leaning bloggers had a field day, and a White House spokesman declined to “dignify those remarks” with a response.
Pelosi issued a statement Friday evening rapping Stark, who is in his 18th term representing the liberal East Bay. He’s California’s longest-serving House members.
“While members of Congress are passionate about their views, what Congressman Stark said during the debate was inappropriate and distracted from the seriousness of the subject at hand — providing health care for America’s children,” Pelosi said.
You’ve got about 20 minutes to call Pelosi’s SF office and tell her Pete Stark speaks for YOU.
415-556-4862.
I suppose because it’s a “Free Ride”, it’s a “Slow Ride” too. Sounds like Jowls Lieberloser’s kind of ride.
I was EPU’ed so here it is again:
I am only listening to Brooks and Shields on the NewsHour with half an ear. So far Brooks has said that the country has turned the page on George Bush and that Bush still has a lot of power, and that while a corner has not been turned in Iraq, a corner has been turned in Iraq. Shields comes up with a goofy scenario whereby troop reductions in Iraq next year will eliminate Iraq as a political albatross for the Republicans. How much you want to bet that there will be 100,000 troops in Iraq in November 2008? Shields really needs to have his meds changed.
Anyway both liked Mukasey. Shields expressed surprise that Mukasey wouldn’t come out and condemn waterboarding. He stole my line that his main selling point is is that he is not Alberto Gonzales. Brooks salivated over Mukasey as a conservative in the Bush mold. Yes, that has worked out so well, hasn’t it?
Geez, I wish that the NewsHour would get a couple of analysts who could actually analyze something.
The cocktail weenies can’t be that good.
Stephanie Miller just called Tweety a tool of the right wing.
Maybe that’s Pelosi’s problem, she likes Bush’s cocktail weenies, ever since her private dinner with him.
She’s toast in my book. Badabing, badaboom.
All the Very Serious People think that Stark crossed the line. Apparently the line in question is the one where you tell the truth. No wonder they are so upset. None of them have done that in years.
sweaty arm pit lady was good on tweety!
Hugh @ 10
I’ll take the over.
dave @ 8
Thanks Dave. Pete Stark is my congressman and I got in a call to Nancy’s office. The young lady didn’t sound too happy with my (civil) comments, but maybe she’s getting tired of hearing all the support for Pete.
Yes.
We are an empire now.Laws and freedom are for those who can afford it. There is no going back, the Right has decided this is a war of annihilation and are more then willing to do anything if it means ‘winning’. Anything
It has happened in other countries around the world. Who are we kidding when we say ‘it can’t happen here’?
It can, it will and it has.
raven @ 12
What, what, what???
QuakerGirl @ 4
How is that possible?
LS @ 18
tweety’s face was prize! :D
Hugh @ 14
I was stumped that Jonathan Turley also thought that Stark should apologize …
WTF is this Limbaugh letter thing???
Gawd..it just never ends.
Presumably they’ll infiltrate whoever’s planning to attend the Republican National Convention to protest, stage a false-flag attack, and then beat the crap out of them, to the general applause of the very Serious Villagers.
Partly on general principles (that’s who they are and what they do), and partly to encourage copycat brownshirts nationally. It’s all part of turning the country into a gigantic Stanford Experiment, like Abu Ghraib was, except domestically.
See? That was easy.
LS @ 18
Yes she did! He didn’t like it one bit, either. Then she scrambled to backpedal, “I was just kidding,” which nobody believed.
Some good news feeds for today:
The blogs rule the news!
Bob in HI
Ann in AZ @ 24
No invite for weinies in the future for her.
I don’t know, PW. None of this makes any sense. The right nutcases have gone over the edge. Maybe it’s because they thought they bought 1984, and now they are realizing it’s not going to happen. They’re scared shitless for their complicity and looking at the reality of being held legally responsible.
On a happier note, here are the details of the SoCal firepup meet-up on Saturday, November 3rd, noonish (courtesy of burnspbesq):
Wahoo’s Fish Taco, 1862 Placentia Ave., Costa Mesa. Noonish. I’ll be the chubby guy wearing a 2005 ACC Tournament hat.
Take the 55 south to where it turns into Newport Boulevard. Turn right on 19th Street, then left on Placentia. It’s about two blocks down on the left.
LS @ 23
Welcome to Crazyworld(tm).
Where Darwin is being disproved by the Republican Party through personal examples..
bobschacht @ 25
Throw Rockefeller out. He’s a bum.
Ann in AZ @ 24
Was Steph channelling Jon Stewart ?!! *g*
The answer is simple: They haven’t got anything else. Their cupboard is empty, and they know it. All they have left is to throw a lot of mud around, and hope some of it sticks to someone else besides themselves.
Bob in HI
Bustednuckles @ 11
Maybe they are laced with cheap Afghan opium.
dave @ 8
Pelosi has lost her way with me. I’m totally disgusted.
Stark has nothing to apologize over. Besides, I watched this on CSPAN yesterday. Joe Barton (R-TX) asked that the remarks be stricken.
Stark’s words were transcribed, reviewed, and judged to not be inflammatory or attacking. His remarks were NOT stricken nor was he disallowed from speaking FURTHER.
Pelosi and Rahm can just fuck off - together ….I’m sick of this p*ssyfooting around.
What’s an ACC Tournament?
@ 34
I keep trying to remember that we won.
Or did we?
Imported by Blackwater in the planes they swiped from Iraq.
@ 34
Yep, instead of challenging Stark’s conduct, they should be doing their f*cking jobs … impeachment of Cheney, then Bush …
Yeah Steph!!!! Course this means no more tv for her for awhile….again…sorry momma….but it was worth it. Tweety runs all over the place…he is not a GOP tool…he is just tool.
Anyone here around Milwaukee?
MrMtyzptlk @ 17
I called. The phones are apparently ringing off the hook.
Well, seeings how I finally quit drinking, I guess it’s Root Beer O’clock on the left coast,.
Snivel.
Have a good one.
Petrocelli @ 36
Boom on!
http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/american.morning/
Congressman Pete Stark accused Republicans of sending troops to Iraq to “get their heads blown off for the president’s amusement.” Should he apologize?
Yes 9% 706
No 91% 7345
Total Votes: 8051
This is not a scientific poll
“such conservative moral forces as Michelle Malkin and Melanie Morgan”
I think you misspelled “feces” here. Great post and a very disturbing question. As Petro and Wordmith note, Stark said nothing untoward (unless speaking the truth qualifies in DC). In contrast, the shrieking frenzy on the right over the children representing SCHIP goes completely unnoticed.
@ 43
Boom on!
I sent them e- mails from Canada, Reid as well … let’s hope they read them.
The wingers are are fascists, bigots and war criminals who can’t find enough ways to torture, physically or verbally.. Just because they aren’t lynching someone literally doesn’t mean they ever stopped wanting to. They are angry in victory and they understand nothing but authoritarian irrational conflict.
Nothing has changed.
Miles O’Brien, the guy that got fired, is “keeping them honest” on global warming tonight (bet they’re scared of Gore, or maybe he’ll tell the truth)….we shall see…
Speaking of keeping them honest,
Hastert resigning because of Cunningham investigation.
Mel Martinez resigning suddenly.
Report on Missing Nukes…heads roll, where’s the report?
Leahy’s thinking of holding up Mukasey confirmation.
Edwards’ donors were raided by Gonzales.
Dow fell -366 points today.
Blackwater stole Iraqi airplanes and won’t give them back.
Blackwater hiding out in the Green Zone.
Cheney exposed as planting stories about the Syria “stories”.
Just some real news, just for starters…
All, on Bush’s watch.
Pushback!!!
Hiflyer @ 38
Looks like Stephanie may have a gig going with Tweety the way Rachel does with Keith. I like it!
I hate to sound too tinfoil hat, but I wouldn’t put it past this crew for a second to have used NSA and the telco’s to gather dirt on lawmakers on both sides.
Does one really have to ask the question of the mainstream traditional media pundits and “journalists”? Until they are gone from the scene nothing will change.
Well, I think the Republicans should be able to hold their convention without protesters…and we should all meet somewhere else and protest. *g*
1,632 DAYZ AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND..
Citizen Phoenix Woman and the Firepup Freedom Fighters:
“Can anyone think of a plausible explanation that doesn’t involve being bought off or scared off?”
They are doin’ what their corporate bosses tell ‘em ta do…and they don’t think any the less of themselves fer doin’ it because they personally believe the shit they’re readin’ and anyway good employee does what he/she is told.
That’s the way it is and the public now knows it.
KEEP THE FAITH, SOMETHIN IS HAPPENIN’ OUT THERE!!
dave @ 8
done.
also send an email to rep. stark to say thank you.
DrDick @ 45
Evenin’ DrD … what’s cooking ?!! I meant that literally … *g*
Eureka Springs @ 47
Untrue.
Instead of being powerless and totally ignorant of the horrors we are now powerless and only half ignorant of the powers.
Yay Ds….
(And as Digby observes, the righties’ insanity has only got worse, rather than better, of late, so it’s not as if the press’ giving them a free ride has made them calm down at all.)
I believe the Rethugs have been heartened by the fact that things are going so well for them in congress compared to the Dems. Their coalitions are holding together and are succeeding in defeating all our efforts to achieve anything. Even the Schip bipartisan legislation didn’t work. They can say they won’t let us win one and make it stick. We can’t do that, can we? They are seriously bolstered by that.
Rep. Pete Stark? Our Speaker rebukes him for his remarks. I support Stark. But then what do I know? I’m a Democrat.
I think it should be considered unwise to occupy buildings owned by Larry Silverstein during the Global War on Terror.
Ish @ 50
oh, no doubt. i’ve been saying that for awhile.
@ 33
I think they are in some lame, do nothing, let the repugs implode, centrist caucus.
LS @ 47
Edwards doners raided?
Cheney planting stories?
No one can accuse my party leadership of not erring on the side of caution.
selise @ 54
Thanks for the suggestion, Selise … where do I find Stark’s addy ?
Oklahoma kiddo @ 63
Corrected.
she’s claiming that a bunch of harmless cyclists having a monthly parade
Um, you ever seen a Critical Mass? I’m a cyclist and as liberal as they come but she’s right about this, Critical Mass is way outta hand.
Edwards donors raided?
tw3k @ 60
I think it’s more of a 1-year itch thing. They needed progressives/bloggers last year; this year not so much.
Where will I be calling from when I call BTW, San Fran, San Diego, Burbank?
Petrocelli @ 63
sorry - i should have included the link. i used his website form.
Truly, I cringe equally when I see or listen to Pelosi, Lieberman, or Reid. Pelosi really gets me keyed up with her frikkin’ south sea pearls, and her matronizing tone…just grates me the wrong way. I find her to be extraordinarily smug, narcissistic, egotistical, and elitest. Me no likey.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 62
They remind me of a big dog that grows up with a little dog. They grow up and are much bigger and stronger than the little dog, but they never realize it. They still act like the submissive puppy. /parable
Petrocelli @ 55
Evening Petro. Nothing special for dinner tonight, just sausages, fried potatoes with bacon and onion, and chard with mushrooms and pumpkin. Just cruisin’ through the blogs checking out the latest madness and this really caught my attention given the rising frenzy on the right.
cahuenga @ 65
my only experience with critical mass was at the 2004 nyc rnc. thought they were great - the cops, on the other hand, were dangerous.
Ish @ 71
Ooooo - gooddd analogy.
Balrog @ 66
shrug, their actions are inline with the media narrative of the front runners.
LS @ 70
me too.
but strangely, it’s a recently aquired dislike.
used to feel the exact opposite… oh, say last january. ignorance was bliss.
Petrocelli @ 62
google rep. pete stark. His page is right at the top.
1,632 DAYZ AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND..
Citizens Phoenix Woman, oklahomakiddo and the Firepup Freedom Fighters:
I jest called Pelosi’s office and used the Norske cold callin’ technique: I jest told the staff person that I was a life-long Democrat, activist, contributor and veteran and Rep. Stark speaks for me - Rep. Pelosi doesn’t. And then I thanked ‘er for takin’ the call.
Don’t engage the staff folks in conversation and don’t let ‘em capture the conversation…lay it on ‘em and get off so the next person ken dump on ‘em.
KEEP THE FAITH AND PASS THE AMMUNITION, OUR LEADERS ARE GUNNA FIND OUT WHERE WE’RE GOIN’ HERE ANY TIME NOW!!
Sono ashamed di voi, Nancy !!!
Svolgere la vostra mansione, il vostro giuramento !!!
Translation:
I am ashamed of you, Nancy !!!
Fulfill your duty, your oath !!!
Bless me - someone - for I have ’sinned’.
I told the womn in Pelosi’s office I was calling from San Francisco. She hung up on me but I had already got in 30 seconds of rambling about Stark. Maybe they had caller ID and my cell number came up with an out-of-state number/area code, BUT I could be visitin’ ya know. :)
Isn’t that “PRINCE” in the “Blackground”? He would be near da SHrub.
Lindy @ 78
Thanks Lindy … too many drinks from Twisted Martini, to think straight … *g*
Thanks Selise for the link !
selise @ 73
I can only speak from a SF perspective. A significant percentage of the rider go with the intention of causing trouble, getting drunk, and often terrorizing drivers because they know they have a numbers advantage.
Loo Hoo
http://www.harpers.org/archive.....c-90001266
http://www.harpers.org/archive.....c-90001405
The above, the Edward/Gonzo stories.
The below, the Cheney/Syria story:
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/....._1018.html
Petrocelli @ 81
I’ve had my quota too…but google is my friend.
Nancy, just SHUT UP!
selise @ 77
I used to think she was “Granny”…I’m so disillusioned….best to face reality and deal with it from there.
The Democratic Party takes progressives and minorities for granted. Until these two groups have someplace viable alternatives the establishment Dems have nothing to fear. It’s business as usual. A woman Speaker of the House? Big deal, meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
Watching Countdown
I love Arianna Huffington.
Almost as much as I love Jane Hamsher!
Oklahoma kiddo @ 58
It seems that Nancy “Miss Manners” Pelosi can’t abide snark in public.
Farts from Junya at his dinner table, that’s cool.
no dancing on the bar unless we all take our tops off!
Okay, I don’t understand. Do Rethugs not say some pretty obnoxious stuff about Democrats? What about some of the things that these same jerks that are speaking up so loudly said about Clinton when he was President? Why are Dems not digging these quotes out and reciting them back on the House floor just to punctuate the fact that they’ve been doing it to Dems for years, and never apologized. When they apologize, then we ask Stark to apologize, but only for the words “for the President’s amusement.” The rest holds!
Twisted Martini @ 92
I’m about there AND I’ve had nothing to drink!
Goodness…..
@ 81
She could probably see your number on her screen.
Okay, I don’t understand.
Simple really. If you were them would you rather talk about semantics and lapel pins or their Great Clusterfuck?
Does embarrassing information, NSA wiretaps, and blackmail count as being scared off? If so, then I can’t either.
Here is my message to Congressman Stark … anything further ?
Dear Congressman Stark,
I live in Toronto, Canada and I would like to congratulate you for standing up and speaking on behalf of all of us who feel exactly the way you do. Even when CNN spliced your message, they still heard a resounding approval for what you said. Keep at it and never back down.
Nancy Pelosi, Rahm Emmanuel and Harry Reid are tremendous disappointments and the Democratic leadership needs to be replaced if America is to successfully defend the Constitution and step back from tyranny.
Yours Sincerely,
Mukasey is worrisome.
Loo Hoo. @ 95
What screen? I need to get my lies down pat. Can I say I’m calling from out-of-state, as she is Speaker of the fukcing House?
@ 100
Say that you are an American and you’d like Pelosi to start acting like one …
Petrocelli @ 101
Whew! That’ll do. I hate lying.
@ 102
You can tell her a lot of Italian Canadians are ashamed of her inaction vis a vis impeaching Cheney/Bush !
LS @ 48
Thanks LS - am shocked Miles O’Brien was fired - CNN is so hopeless - they should fire Glenn Beck. FOX will snap the rat up in a NY minute.
Miles O’Brien got fired!? For what?
Bought off.
See Katie Couric and her comment about telling the truth “if required”.
http://thetimtimes.com/?p=126
Enjoy.
1,632 DAYZ AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND..
Firepup Freedom Fighters:
“Somethin’s happenin’ here….”
Strap it up fellow grunts, the bastards are comin unglued and if they all shoot as well as Cheney, then there are gunna be a lotta stray rounds droppin’ everywhere.
KEEP THE FAITH, THE REAL LEADERS’LL FOLLOW US WHEN THEY FIGURE OUT WHERE WE’RE GOIN’!!
Oklahoma kiddo @ 99
I thought he was more wormisome.
Dictators? Lots of them around throughout history. Benevolent dictators? Very few [and fewer after the absolute power thing kicks in]. Bullies? Lots of them around. Ever try to reason with one? To empathize? To walk the “high” road? Rarely works. They just get louder and meaner. Their brains are wired differently [they don’t empathize; they control]. Ever see a zebra or antelope successfully reason with, negotiate with, empathize with a hungry tiger? Didn’t think so. Rationality never persuades, let alone trumps, non-rationality…especially if the latter has power.
The best punishment for narcissistic authoritarians is to ignore them. Treat their convention as the truly meaningless kabuki it is by simply not showing up.
Late as usual!
Hi, everyone!
dave @ 8
She’s upset because she thinks that Stark stepped all over her and Reid’s SCHIP Thang. Geez Louise, Nancy — if the Republicans weren’t having hissy kabuku over Stark, they’d be having it over something else. Quit cowering when they sniffle at you, woman!
US officer in Iraq gets two-year jail sentence
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/Di.....ocusoniraq
hmmm wingers are such meanies….really they don’t have a heart… except for their particular crowd and the MSM gives them so much airtime to spew their disdain for americans not to their liking…. no surprise to me however
Twisted Martini @ 92
I’ll take a vodka martini with two big olives, thank you.
Nancy’s sniffling is reprehensible, like all the corporate & war-shilling she does to protect the RePuke’s and their endless parade of war, hate, lies & corruption.
The Demos need two-hundred more representatives with the honesty & integrity of Stark. Resign, Nancy, you’ll soon be as beloved of your fellow Americans as the Chimperator (24%) if you haven’t fallen below that level.
Critical Mass are really bad news. They make
PETA look reasonable, effective, and non-confrontational. Don’t know about elsewhere, but in Boston they have well over a hundred riders. They fill up the entire street, during rush hour, riding at barely walking speed. They yell, whoop, blow whistles, and heckle drivers in their cars, weaving back and forth to make sure no cars can get by them. They string the “parade” out as far as they can, not letting pedestrians cross the street either. I know that if I cross paths with Critical Mass, I won’t be catching my bus, and will be home at least half an hour late. And they fucking ride on Fridays, too.
I’m sympathetic to their cause and they make my blood boil. I can’t even imagine what someone who didn’t like cyclists to begin with would think. Their tactics seem geared to lower support for bicycle commuting.
Someone is going to get hurt at one of these things. I have a feeling that’s what Critical Mass wants. They sure act like it.
Uh, no money? Even the Beeb is gutting it’s far-flung operations. In these difficult times, financially, all the hard news and solid commentary has had to go. Only essential services such as entertainment and bread and circuses are being provided until further notice.
Besides, there are no opportunities for the parent companies to do any cross marketing in investigative journalism and news reporting.
Bought off. No doubt about it.
Phoenix Woman @ 112
Yes, when are they going to clue into that? There is always something they can pick out of the evening news feed, or the daily cable news, to get irate and indignant about. They will pull several things out if there has been an event that they need maximum distraction from. They’ll even have one of their stable of shock celebs immolate themselves verbally to control the news cycle.
And there are our apologists-in-chief, still thinking the old rules apply, acting as if the other side were operating in good faith.
Some clues, people, some clues!
Phoenix Woman,
Why is the StarTribune doing this? Check into the sale of the newspaper from McClatchy to a group of Houston oil men, about a year ago. I think the paper is being ‘reoriented’ for the up-coming GOP convention. It looks fishy.
I think it’s possible the Republicans/Conservatives/fascists want the government to be completely owned by one wing or the other and to do away completely with bipartisanship. What they would do with the government if they once again owned all 3 branches is hard to imagine (how do they top this one?), but it’s something I think we should avoid at all costs.
The political press (by and large, I hasten to add, *not* in toto… but just nearby) is:
1) More fond of ease than toil; and,
2) Of generally average intelligence
A killer combination that does not involve fear or being bought off. The Right’s mission is to feed reporters a steady diet of invective and gossip. Two things that are easy to write up licketysplit, and two things that both sides (left and right) have an opinion on. So lazy reporters don’t have to work as hard, and the intellectually challenged stenographers needn’t read in-depth about policy (ew!) or that kinda boring journalism stuff. When Democrats get off their asses and respond in their inimitable fashion, the dutiful scribblers print the response a few paragraphs farther down (that’s how the New Journalism works, though… the Dems MUST respond, or the criticism/lie goes unanswered, because it’s no longer a reporter’s job to seek the truth behind the story).
So they just sit back and write about the silly things that sells papers — whether true, or not. And the folks bringing them the trash are –unfortunately for us on the Left — the Right.
And what really bothers me is that I’m not sure whether it would be better or worse for the Left to get down there in the muck & do the same. Or if it would even work, now that the die has been cast w/ this current cast of media mediocrities. Or if they even have the chutzpah in the first place.
Can anyone think of a plausible explanation that doesn’t involve being bought off or scared off? I sure can’t.
The “media” is owned and operated by corporations that are controlled by GOP cronies. As they control the hiring and firing of “commentators” and news readers, they chose those that are sympathetic to the GOP mindset and antagonistic to the Democratic worldview. It’s really quite simple, and it’s easy to understand.
This really began in earnest when Reagan did away with the Fairness Doctrine, which then allowed networks to become fully-fledged political organs. You probably know the example of Jack Welch, the former head of NBC, in effect, calling the 2000 election in favor of Bush? On the other hand, you probably don’t know that he fired NBC’s President (in 1998) because he’d spoken of the news as being “a public trust”. You see, Jack was ultimately pretty open about using his news division as a propaganda tool to increase revenues to NBC and to reduce it’s expenses via taxes (that is, to espouse the Republican line).
Take a look at Rupert Murdoch’s politics and then his media empire. Is there any doubt that the management teams of these organizations are chosen for their political outlook and their ability to manifest that outlook in the media organ that they manage? Or that “reporters” (perhaps we should say “transcribers of GOP talking points”) that are hired and moved up the ranks are elevated based on their record of trashing the Dems?
There’s only ONE way to change all of this, and that is to reinstitute the Fairness Act. It’s really a significant indicator of just what a failure the entire philosophy of the Right has been when they’ve been given every aid and assistance by the media and still, the American people despise them. We, as Americans, deserve a truly unbiased media, in order to make educated decisions about important issues. Contact your Congresspeople and demand a reinstitution of the Fairness Act, so that we can finally begin to see truth in our “news”.