Oh the Hypocrisy

I've been scratching my head a bit about the venom being spewed by those on the right regarding The New York Times and its recent article about the U.S. government's tactics in monitoring financial records in the hope of finding terrorists. The story seemed pretty tame. I mean, did anyone think the government was NOT doing what it was doing? If the government is monitoring our library usage, surely it is monitoring our financial records. Our sad fact of life is that the Bush Administration IS Big Brother. So the piece by the Times wasn't even news.

But it does prove the point of my post of last week. People seriously think we have a liberal media? You have a newspaper simply doing its job--doing what all newspapers should do if they employ halfway competent journalists--and the organization gets blasted by the government, half of America and many other "news" outlets (more like propoganda outlets in the case of FOX).

Jon Friedman makes some good points about how opponents are whining that the Times is unpatriotic in his recent column.

Conservatives sure liked the Times when "reporter" Judy Miller was a mouthpiece for the Bush Administration and the government's lies about Iraq in the days before the war there. Remember how patriotic the Times was then? Funny how patriotism seems to shift according to whether you agree with a newspaper or not.

Did you know that the Dean of Library Services at University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas, canceled the library's subscription to the New York Times Wednesday to protest recent stories exposing a secret government program that monitors international financial transactions in the hunt for terrorists? Apparently the Times' words are not incarnate.

And the hypocrisy of this whole liberal media thing comes up in this piece by Greg Sargent.

If it weren't so truly frightening to see our democracy and freedoms crumble all around us, it would be downright funny. Wow, was George Orwell truly prophetic, or what? This BuzzFlash commentary from today really drives the point home!

Ava Lowery: Wings of Justice Award winner

As an update to the post below about 15-year-old Alabama native Ava Lowery, she has won this week's BuzzFlash Wings of Justice Award. Congrats to Ava, and keep up the great work!

Hitler or Coulter?

Do you sometimes find it hard to tell the difference between Adolf Hitler and possible plagiarizer Ann Coulter? I know I do. But this quiz can help you to figure out which nutcase said what. Try it!

What Liberal Media?

This topic has long been a pet peeve of mine: the liberal media. No, it's not that the media is liberal and that is my concern, it's that if people say something loud enough and long enough, people will begin to accept it as fact, and that is what has happened with the term "liberal media." Norman Solomon writes of its origins quite well in his 2002 article found on Common Dreams when he says, "Ever since Vice President Spiro Agnew denounced news outlets that were offending the Nixon administration in the autumn of 1969, the specter has been much more often cited than sighted." Solomon goes on to say that "the liberal media is largely an apparition." Very true.

I must say, though, that I give conservatives great credit here. As Solomon stated, the liberal label began to be mentioned in conjunction with the media during the Nixon administration, but it really picked up steam during the Reagan years. It was clearly part of the conservative agenda to take over America (and the world). The thought was that if conservatives started screaming about the liberal bias of the media long enough, the liberal label would stick. The plan worked to perfection.

Not only did it work in the sense that many gullible Americans actually believed it, but it worked within the media as well. Members of the press who leaned to the right felt they should continue to do so, thinking it helped to "balance" things. But those who were neutral or leaned left were so hyperaware of the liberal label that they actually became more conservative in their reporting. So what has happened over the past 20 years or so is that the media has actually turned conservative.

Sure conservative-funded studies have come out attempting to prove the liberal bias, but as Eric Alterman shows in this article, and moreso in his book "What Liberal Media?" the methods used in these studies to determine bias are quite laughable.

I also hear conservatives refer with great disdain to "the mainstream media." Doesn't the mainstream media include FOX News, The Washington Times, the editorial pages of The Wall Street Journal and media personalities such as Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Matt Drudge, Joe Scarborough, and Michael Savage, just to name a few? I'm wondering where all the liberal news and talk shows are?

So now CNN, which I think is slightly right of center, is called liberal. I guess it IS compared to FOX's overtly and extremely conservative stance. It's all relative. And National Public Radio has for many years been decried as "liberal media," yet a study a couple of years ago by the watchdog group Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting indicated that NPR used conservative and Republican sources much more often that liberal or Democratic sources.

Remember the 2000 Presidential race? The mainstream media gave favorable press to Bush from the start, ignoring stories about his drug and alcohol abuse, his shady business past, and the fact that he went AWOL while in the National Guard. Meanwhile, Al Gore was labeled as a liar and an exaggerator, even though there was no basis to most of those claims, such as the "I invented the Internet" myth. And even when the election was blatantly stolen in Florida and democracy was lost, the media let the matter slip by fairly quietly.

And the bias continues in advertising. Both CBS and MTV refused to accept advertising from MoveOn.org that was critical of the Bush administration. Yet Army recruiting ads air, ads from the White House appear about how kids smoking marijuana are terrorists, and even this ad is appearing to debunk global warming: catch The Daily Show's take on it here.

Earlier this year, Media Matters for America released a study showing that conservative voices dominate the Sunday political talk shows (Meet the Press, This Week, Face the Nation), which is where political opinions are supposedly debated so the nation can decide on weighy political matters.

A recent example of conservative media bias has occurred recently when "the mainstream media" wet their collective pants in the excitement to say what a great week Bush was having. Honestly, it was a sickening display. After the media has been complicit in moving quickly past one Bush administration scandal or faux pas after another, the guy has a supposedly good week, which is questionable at best, and the media goes nuts repeating it ad nauseum. See what Media Matters reported about the recent Bush lovefest.

So there you have it. A liberal media? I don't think so. The mainstream media has a left-wing agenda? I'd say just the opposite. But I'm sure the myth of a liberal media will continue to be perpetuated as basic demagogy from the right.

And just a bonus, Keith Olbermann (whom I would admit, has a bit of a liberal bias) did give Bill O'Reilly, again, his Worst Person in the World award a couple nights ago. Glad to see someone doesn't let "the conservative media" go unchecked!!!

Peace Takes Courage

For close to a week, I've been following the story of Ava Lowery. Ava is a 15-year-old from Alabama, the same state where I lived for close to 30 years of my life. I know personally that much of Alabama, particularly rural Alabama, is very conservative. Yet in this hotbed of conservatism Ava operates the Web site peacetakescourage.com. Ava's site has a forum and news updates, but it is best known for her animations, which show, quite bluntly, the tragedy of war and the deceit used by our government officials. She has produced some 70 in all, and most are quite hard-hitting.

As people have found out about the site some have praised it. Others have viciously verbally attacked the 15-year-old girl who is simply standing up for what she believes in. I first heard of Ava in a New York Times editorial, but she has also been featured in other media such as The Progressive, CNN, commondreams.org and on radio shows hosted by Alan Colmes and Stacy Taylor.

I'd like to congratulate Ava on what she has done so far, and I hope she will continue to fight the good fight. Best wishes down in sweet home Alabama.

Has Coulter Finally Jumped the Shark?

Just when you think Ann Coulter can't be even more desperate and over the top, she somehow finds a way. Last week she said the Pennsylvania Congressman and decorated war veteran John Murtha was, "The reason soldiers invented 'fragging.'" As Editor & Publisher points out, "Fragging, which became a well-known expression -- and occasional occurence -- during the Vietnam war, means soldiers attempting to kill their own officers for one reason or another."

So now Coulter wants a U.S. Congressman dead? Is this lady on any terrorist watch groups? For that matter, why isn't she locked up in a nice, comfy home for the criminally insane?

By the way, the great photo here is from democraticunderground.com! Awesome, isn't it?

Olbermann on Coulter

So tying in some recent blog entries: MSNBC's Keith Olbermann this week gave an honest assessment of "the Connecticut screech" Ann Coulter. Don't hold back, Keith! Tell us what you really think! Check out the video.

Classic Coulter

For those of you familiar with Ann Coulter, you know that she's a pretty outrageous and outspoken conservative. Personally, I would like to see her and Michael Moore have a baby just to see what would happen when two extremes came together. But I digress.

So Coulter has a new book: Godless: the Church of Liberalism. You can imagine the content of this book. But in case you can't, Coulter was interviewed recently on The Today Show. Check out a bit of the interview by Matt Lauer with Ann Coulter and you can judge Coulter's sanity for yourself.

666

Well, it's a once-a-century occasion. Today's date: 6-6-06.

Marketers are cashing in on the date. Residents of Hell are having a party. I have been inspired to play Iron Maiden's "Number of the Beast" on iTunes.

Overall, though, I can't say that I have any real plans to "celebrate" the day. In part, perhaps because new information is showing that the actual "number of the beast" isn't 666 but instead 616. Uh-oh! Better not tell the makers of the latest Omen movie!!!

Have a devilishly good day!

Keith Olbermann Calls Out Bill O'Reilly—Again!

Somebody please tell me why anyone watches Bill O'Reilly. I honestly cannot understand this blowhard's appeal. His No Spin Zone is quite the opposite; it's nothing BUT spin. Occasionally, though, someone in the mainstream media has the courage to call out O'Reilly on his abhorrent lies, and that person is usually MSNBC's Keith Olbermann. With pathetic shows like Scarborough Country and Hardball, it's easy to forget that Olbermann's smart and witty Countdown show is out there trying to purvey the truth.

Olbermann and O'Reilly have had a bit of afeud for quite a while now, but fortunately Olbermann refuses to back down. And after a recent horrible lie perpetrated by O'Reilly, Olberman took several minutes of his show's time to set the record straight. Olbermann was obviously disturbed about O'Reilly's lie, and let him know about it. You can see it in this video clip!

A salute to Keith Olbermann, a news guy with a conscience and obviously with a nose for the truth. And to Bill O'Reilly? What can I say? He'll continue with the spin, and, sadly, people will continue to watch.

WWJK: Who Would Jesus Kill?

OK, so I stole the above title. It was just too good not to use.

A loyal and observant reader of this blog sent me the following link as a companion piece to the entry below. The story found at the link provides more details about the Left Behind video game and who might be affiliated with it. Please take a few minutes to peruse it if you get a chance! It might just, um, blow you away!

And to you other loyal readers, feel free to send in links any time that might help explain a topic you see on this site!

Much Ado About Da Vinci

I mentioned in an earlier blog that I had seen The Da Vinci Code. I've also read the book. I enjoyed both. I thought each provided a good story of mystery and suspense.

What I find fascinating is the controversy surrounding The Da Vinci Code. Some normally level-headed people are taking great offense to this work of FICTION. They talk about Dan Brown telling lies. Guess, what? That's what fiction is. It is not the truth and is not to be taken as such. If your faith is shaken by a book of fiction, then it wasn't particularly strong anyway. And if you already question the validity of the Bible, The Da Vinci Code will continue to make you wonder. "Hmmm. Yeah, I can see that," you might say to yourself. But I don't see The Da Vinci Code being the dealbreaker on anyone's salvation.

It seems to me that The Da Vinci Code's opposition is only drawing more people to the movie and book with their vehment protesting. Seems that by just shrugging their shoulders and saying, "Yeah, well, it's a work of fiction and a good story, but it's just that, a story," would be much more effective. Instead you have preachers standing in the pulpits on Sunday railing against The Da Vinci Code to a congregation unwilling to read the book or see the movie or in any way to actually think for themselves. That's quite sad to me.

And I ask where these preachers and protesters are when it comes to the Left Behind series? With the Left Behind series you have a collection of FICTIONAL accounts of "the Earth's last days." If people dislike the fictionalizing of Christian topics, then why do they embrace the Left Behind series? Seems some people want all opposing voices, even fictional ones, to be silenced.

And speaking of the Left Behind series, did you know that now there's a video game based on the series? Are you kidding me? A video game with all the violence of Grand Theft Auto, but this one for Christians! Check out the trailer for this game. Seriously, people are getting upset about The Da Vinci Code but they think this whole Left Behind thing is fine? Uh, OK. Sure.

I can't wait to get my Pat Robertson action figure, which will of course have the kung-fu grip and will come with assorted weaponry that will allow him to assassinate world leaders--or anyone who disagrees with him. And this little action hero will, of course, be capable of holding up 2,000 pounds!