Archive for category Press
Obama Against Free Speech Unless It Favors Him
Posted by Tom in Constitution, Democrats, Press, Unions on March 14, 2010
For a president to criticize a supreme court decision in fromt of Congress while members of the court are required by decorum to sit motionless is at the very least inappropriate and more likely bullying and demagoguery. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs picked up the criticism last week, “what is troubling is that this decision opened the floodgates for corporations and special interests.” At least Gibbs didn’t repeat Obama’s misinterpretation of the Citizens United v Federal Election Commission.
As Stephen Law pointed out last week in the WSJ (Organized Labor and Citizens United) the president is being more than a bit disingenuous in his silence as to big labor’s benefit from that very decision. “Unions were the big winners in the “corporate” free speech case.” Law points out that it is the unions who are the big political spenders. They have virtually no restraints on how they use the members money. Corporations have shareholders who expect them to earn profits for dividends and appreciation. Unions have no such constraints. They aren’t held to any financial performance standards. SEIU boss Andy Stern admitted that he had taken out tens of millions in loans last year for political ads, “we maxed the credit card and now we’re paying it off.” Law notes, “what corporation could get away with that.”
The other unstated beneficiaries of the decision are the “corporations” that own newspapers. These entities are exempt under the statute that Citizens United declared unconstitutional and are now therefore included in the decision. The main stream press is fawningly liberal in its Obama adulation, so let’s not criticize that part of the decision.
Even the New York Times op-ed contributor Jeff Shesol pointed out yesterday that Justices Will Prevail. His article cautions Obama on going overboard, as Roosevelt did, in his rants against the court. He suggests that Obama is piling on because of a Washington Post poll suggesting that 80 percent of the public were against the decision. Shesol neglected to mention another poll showing that 60 percent of the public favored the decision. This, an example of the main stream press at work.
It is hard not to conclude that Obama seeks to control only opposing speech and is apparently working with his Democratic congressional majorities to do so. What a shame. Freedom of Speech is the very foundation upon which our Republic is built.
Tom Motherway
Government Sponsored Radio Wants to Hear From You About Fox News
Posted by Tom in Constitution, Press on March 1, 2010
National Public Radio (NPR) a creature of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 signed into law by Lyndon Johnson produces and distributes news and cultural programming. It’s a non-profit funded by deductible member contributions and government underwriting. This, in contrast to commercial radio and TV which is funded by advertisers.
It is one of these commercial media stations, Fox News, that NPR wants your opinion on. In White House Vs Fox News War Of Words, Who Gets Your Vote? Mark Memmott tells of the White House targeting Fox and asks for your opinion. A cartoon portrayal of the battle looks like this:
Anyway, for those who are interested is seeing the results of the voting, click on this link and cast your vote!
Tom Motherway
Obama’s Wishes He Had the Power His “Mi Amigo” Has!
Posted by Tom in Centrally Managed Economy, Foreign Policy, Press, Statism on January 25, 2010
Hugo Chavez caused a series of protests in Venezuela by shutting down the anti-Chavez TV Station. (See Fox News post of January 26th here.) Now we know Comrade Obama is cozy with Comrade Chavez. Hopefully Obama will avoid adopting his friend’s ways! At least not the one that closed all the golf courses.
We Get No Respect
Posted by Tom in Individual Freedom, National Character, Politics, Press on January 24, 2010
“On MSNBC, snakes and lizards poured almost visibly from Olbermann’s mouth when he said Scott Brown spoke “out of his bare bottom,” and called the Massachusetts father of two “an irresponsible, homophobic, racist, reactionary, ex-nude-model tea-bagging supporter of violence against women and against politicians with whom he disagrees.” To quote from the excellent post of Meghan Gurdon in her January 21st Washington Examiner post.
That made me think a bit more about our leftist, ruling elite. They, the Pelosis, Reids, Obamas, and Obermans of this world are out of touch with the people they govern. They believe in all sincerity that they are better than we are. They are certain that they know what is best for us. Thus, they govern; thus, they communicate.
We on the other hand, work to provide for our families, attend religious services to pray to our God, volunteer to help our neighbors, and try to make ends meet and enjoy life in the process. At election time we try to vote for the best candidates and we don’t always make the right choices. We’re often times persuaded by the smooth veneers of those elites.
When we disagree with what the elites are doing, we protest, we answer pollsters, we write to our elected representatives, we attend tea parties, and we vote. When the elites see that we unwashed masses disagree with their superior knowledge and governing, they name call. The lowest intellectual form of argument is the argumentum ad hominem, which is “name calling” rather than addressing the issue.
Those of us who object are called Nazis, astroturfers, right-wing nut cases, and tea baggers. This only goes to show the correct intellectual caliber of Pelosi, Reid, Olbermann, et al. They are great at calling names but short on substantive arguments.
Obama doesn’t connect with the people because he can’t connect. He talks down. He’s the darling of those who also talk down. His interview with George Stephanopoulos is the perfect example. “I think the assumption was…if we’re making a good rational decision here, then the people will get it.” (emphasis added) But the people don’t get it. So elitist Obama will now start speaking “directly to the American people.” His recent foray into his newly acquired populism is an example. He will not tax the banks to get back his bailout money, even though the banks have already repaid it. But he won’t tax the union-owned auto companies who haven’t repaid the bailouts. He’s indebted to the unions.
Obama, Reid, Pelosi do not respect this nation. They do not respect our history. They do not respect our values. They seek to change us into a European socialist state. Tonight I watched Dennis Miller at the Silver Legacy really lay it on hard along much the same lines. He had a standing ovation in the packed house. We get no respect.
Obama, Reid, Pelosi and ilk are really pseudo intellectuals. They have never had any real life experience, never worked but instead have sucked off the public trough. They are unworthy of their offices. Despite the vile mouth Olbermann, Scott Brown is going to Washington.
The Massachusetts voters have spoken and they will get respect!
Tom Motherway
Freedom of Speech-An “Essential Mechanism” of Democracy
Posted by Tom in Constitution, Individual Freedom, Politics, Press on January 23, 2010
As the January 22nd WSJ pointed out editorially, “freedom has had its best week in many years.” The article refers to Scott Brown’s election as a check on the runaway Congress and more recently the Supreme Court 5-4 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission which overturned that part of McCain-Feingold which banned corporations and unions from “electioneering communications” within 30 days of a primary election or 60 days of a general election. Justice Kennedy for the majority wrote that the ban on corporate expenditures had a “substantial, nationwide chilling effect” on political speech; in other words, it was censorship.
Predictably the Democratic liberals and socialists howled! Corporations are not people! A major victory for big oil, Wall Street, insurance companies and other special interests, Obama cried. Senators called for hearings. Leftist groups called for a constitutional amendment!
Funny Obama in his rant did not mention his union employers, specifically the public employee unions, the membership of which now outnumbers that of private sector unions! And while members of his leftist coterie argued that corporations were not people, they neglected to mention that Obama’s coddling, fawning main stream liberal press are also corporations! Yes, its OK for leftist journalists to have freedom of speech, NBC, CNN, NYT WaPo and the like, who are all exempted under McCain-Feingold’d “electioneering communications” proscriptions. However, it unfair if other corporations and unions have freedom of speech.
So duplicitous Obama is showing his true position: freedom of speech is OK as long as the speech is in his favor. This gets uncomfortably close to the control of communications fostered in the USSR. The Supreme Court upheld this essential mechanism of Democracy. Bravo!
Tom Motherway
Some In The Fourth Estate Are Waking Up!
When Mort Zuckerman, chairman of U.S. News & World Report, publisher of the New York Daily News, and co-founder and chairman of Boston Properties Inc. says Obama’s “done everything wrong,” you might suspect that the MSM foundation is starting to crack. Mort continues to confess, “I’m very disappointed. We endorsed him. I voted for him. I supported him publicly and privately.” This is in the January 20th post in The Daily Beast.
Zuckerman goes through the litany of Obama failures: health care a fiscal disaster, rotten political hubris, state bribes for votes, union ownership and sweetheart deals. The article is no holds barred, a must read.
I wonder if any of the liberal press will follow Zuckerman’s lead? It would be revolutionary indeed, if they started doing their jobs as journalists!
Tom Motherway
Are Some in the MSM Starting to Act Like Journalists?
This seems too good to be true Jack Cafferty sounds off on CNN using a CBS report as his source! We report–you decide!!!
Will Obama Expose the Massive Climate Fraud at the Copenhagen Climate Conference?
Posted by Tom in Environment, Financial Policy, Press on November 25, 2009
Will our young president have the moral integrity to expose the massive climate fraud that has bilked billions from the taxpayers of the Western world? He has a choice-cover up the fraud which has and is being done by the MSM or expose it for what it is.
The recently exposed emails from the Hadley Climatic Research Unit at Britain’s University of East Anglia show that the mainstream world climate scientists who have lived off taxpayer research money for years have bound together in a massive conspiracy to (a) suppress peer review, (b) publish phony “hockey stick” temperature models, and (c) suppress temperature data that doesn’t fit the manufactured, fraudulent conclusion that we have man made global warming.
The leaked emails are devastating. Their content crumbles the very foundation of the global warming nonsense. Nigel Lawson, former British chancellor of the exchequer in demanding a full investigation stated: “Astonishingly, what appears, at least at first blush, to have emerged is that (a) the scientists have been manipulating the raw temperature figures to show a relentlessly rising global warming trend; (b) they have consistently refused outsiders access to the raw data; (c) the scientists have been trying to avoid freedom of information requests; and (d) they have been discussing ways to prevent papers by dissenting scientists being published in learned journals.”
The MSM segment of the Fourth Estate has been and continues to be complicit in the fraud by not investigating the hacked emails. The NYT for example says it won’t deal with such purloined information! So as a public service I refer three good articles on the topic: The Skeptics Are Vindicated by David Warren in the November 25th issue of Real Clear Politics. ClimateGate: The Fix Is In by Robert Tracinski in the November 24th issue of Real Clear Politics. And, The Climate Hoax by Jack Kelly in the November 24th issue of Real Clear Politics.
Jack Kelly tells about Al Gore’s appearance on NBC’s Tonight Show where Al in touting geothermal energy states that “the interior of the earth is extremely hot, several million degrees, and the crust of the earth is hot.” As National Review’s John Derbyshire points out, “if the temperature anywhere inside the earth were ‘several million degrees’ we’d be a star!” Kelly goes on to point out that Gore got a D in Natural Science at Harvard; it should have been a F! Yet, Newsweek calls Gore “the thinking man’s thinking man.”
What’s funny in all this mainstream press cover up is that while the scientists and the Gores of this world are profiting from the fraud, the press is becoming irrelevant with no lucre to show for it! My bet is that Obama will not expose the fraud in Copenhagen.
Tom Motherway
Kudos to NPR–Really?
Posted by Tom in Nationalized Health Care, Press on November 20, 2009
“Fair and balanced” is not exactly what comes to mind when you think of National Public Radio. But give credit where credit is due. And Stephen Spruiell of National Review does in today’s NRO post. He applauds the two part, Giant Pool of Money produced by NPR and Chicago Public Radio. The conclusions are not the typical leftist NPR bill of fare: 1. Medical malpractice lawsuits drive up health care costs. 2. Insurance companies are not evil. 3. Our reliance on third-party payers is at the heart of the problem. 4. Obamacare won’t fix the problem! Bravo to NPR for honest analysis and reporting. Hope to see more of it.
Ft. Hood Massacre-What Have the PC Liberals Wrought!
Posted by Tom in Military Policy, National Character, Press on November 10, 2009
Poor Major Nidal Malik Hasan the “victim” who gunned down 42 Americans killing 13 and wounding 29! He must have flipped but we don’t really know his motives proclaimed the MSM; and Dr. Phil, popular psycobabalists, suggested that he must have been “far out of touch with reality.”
No one in the MSM would call him a terrorist. Few wanted to admit he was Islamic. Diane Sawyer said someone was wishing that his name was “Smith.”
Nidal Malik Hasan associated with radical Islamic mosques and shouted anti-American tirades, all of which was ignored by his superiors. He yelled “Allah Akbar” as he gunned down unarmed innocent Americans.
The FBI averred that the killing was not terrorism, nor was it Islamic terrorism! This was merely mass murder. And Barack Hussein Obama said “we shouldn’t jump to conclusions.”
What has our liberal political class wrought with its political correctness, moral relativism and multiculturalism? Other than to pervert our language and abandon common sense! As Dorothy Rabinowitz suggests, “how far out of touch with reality” is Dr. Phil and the rest the PC commentators? Andy McCarthy adds, “Dare to Call I Terrorism.”