The News Without The Left’s Bias
30
Jun
Maybe it’s the sheer joy of celebrating recovery summer along with The Anointed One and Plugs Biden. Perhaps they’re just Blagoed out. Whatever the reason, most of the mainstream media failed to report something intriguing said by the usually most quotable former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. From an FBI tape recorded last November and appearing on Fox Chicago News’s Web site, Blagojevich spoke of president-elect Barack Obama:
BLAGOJEVICH I thin-, you know, it’s really, I get that I’m a big boy and I can handle that, but it’s really f***ing galling, this guy is more Tony’d up than I am. And it’s almost like they f***ing conspi-, made a concerted effort and they got the Chicago media to f***ing make me wear Rezko more. To f***ing dilute it from him.
Blago’s disillusionment with Obama stemmed from a rebuff conveyed by a Service Employees International Union (SEIU) official used by the president-elect to let the Gov know of Obama’s interest in Valerie Jarrett filling his Senate seat.
Blago makes for good copy and the mainstream media have rarely missed a chance to quote him. Yet in this instance, they took a powder. It’s not as though they’re unaware of the Obama-Rezko connection.
In 2006, Obama told the Chicago Sun-Times he’d known Tony Rezko for years, having lunch with him probably once or twice a year. When Obama decided to buy a $1.65 million mansion in Chicago, he approached Rezko who "developed an interest" and purchased adjoining land.
The closing on the properties took place the same day. The Obamas paid $300,000 less than the asking price; the Rezkos paid the full price. A few months later, Obama, wanting to increase the size of his backyard, bought a strip of Rezko’s property for $104,500.
As the Sun-Times story noted: "The transaction occurred at a time when it was widely known Tony Rezko was under investigation by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and as other Illinois politicians befriended by Rezko distanced themselves from him."
Possibly Obama was indeed "more Tony’d up" than Blagojevich. Yet almost no news outlets found Blagojevich’s description, made when he was unaware of being recorded, newsworthy. Just a coincidence no doubt.
30
Jun
It’s a curious phenomenon to see what the minds at The Huffington Post deem funny, and at least this one wasn’t filed under the category "HuffPo Religion," but a series of images depicting Jesus Christ making unhinged statements wins the HuffPo’s "Comedy" classification.
In a June 30 post, Katla McGlynn wrote that mocking Tea Party protestors by "juxtaposing" "hateful, ignorant, or otherwise nonsensical rants" but at the same time mocking a religious figure many hold very is sacred isn’t only funny but it is also instructive about what she described as "people who claim to be Christians."
"The concept behind the site Tea Party Jesus is simple: Put the words of conservative Christian social and political figures in the mouth of Christ," McGlynn wrote. "The juxtaposition of hateful, ignorant, or otherwise nonsensical rants with serene photos of JC himself isn’t only funny, but says a lot about the people who claim to be Christians."
According to the Huffington Post story, the creator of Tea Party Jesus impose actual quotes from various conservative figures on someone who according to Scripture led the perfect life, but it is done in a comic book form - which somehow makes this funny.
Some of quotes used by the creator were originally meant to be tongue-in-cheek, but somehow it’s hard to imagine one could catch that context when it is used in such a way. Nonetheless, McGlynn included remarks about Guantanamo Bay, the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the earthquake in Haiti and same-sex marriage - all from individuals deemed to be "tea partiers."
30
Jun
The morning programs of the Big Three networks all sang the praises of CNN host Larry King after he announced on Tuesday his upcoming retirement from his program, while overlooking his liberal bent at times. Both Willie Geist on NBC’s Today show and CBS’s Harry Smith labeled King "legendary," while ABC’s George Stephanopoulos heralded how he was "on top of his game" for most of his career.
NBC correspondent Peter Alexander reused Geist’s "legendary" label, and chronicled the CNN personality’s "perch in prime time" during his 25 years on his Larry King Live program, spotlighting how he "has interviewed nearly 50,000 people over more than 50 years in broadcasting." Alexander underlined this with clips from King’s interviews of Frank Sinatra, Ross Perot, and Paris Hilton, noting that "if you wanted the country to listen, you sat down with Larry King." The correspondent also included a clip from Ken Baker of E! News, who stated that "whoever is going to replace Larry King has obviously very big shoes to fill."
CBS’s Smith used the "legendary" term in the top-of-the-hour tease at 7 am Eastern. Twenty minutes later, during a segment with substitute anchor Erica Hill, he described King’s 1985 premiere on CNN as a "grand experiment" and concluded that "twenty-five years later, it seemed to work out all right." The two labeled him a "very interesting" and "good" guy. At the bottom of the hour, correspondent Jim Axelrod did a similar chronicle of the CNN host’s career to Alexander’s on NBC, choosing instead President Obama, Carrie Prejean, and Lady Gaga as the notables to highlight. His concluding line echoed Ken Baker’s line on NBC: "Whoever gets the job, they won’t be easy suspenders to fill."
Smith then brought on The Washington Post’s Howard Kurtz to discuss the host’s impending retirement, who, as Tim Graham noted earlier on Wednesday, speculated whether a "variety show" like King’s, where "you talk to a president one day and Lady Gaga the next," could survive in an "increasingly partisan cable television universe."
ABC’s Stephanopoulos proclaimed the host "the undisputed king of late night talk" on Good Morning America and stated that "no one had a longer run and King was on top of his game for most of it." After correspondent Dan Harris’s report on the CNN personality’s career, Harris, Stephanopoulos, and substitute anchor Elizabeth Vargas speculated on who would replace King. The former Clinton operative endorsed a liberal colleague of his at CBS: "Katie Couric’s my pick. But, I guess she doesn’t want it."
The three morning programs did all mention how King’s past few years were "rocky," as Stephanopoulos put it, between a decline in ratings and the reports of a possible divorce with his seventh wife. But they all omitted his occasional shots at conservatives, as MRC’s Notables Quotables chronicled over the years.
30
Jun
The "struggle" illegal immigrants face as they seek the same benefits and services afforded to U.S. citizens is the same that faced civil right activists in the middle of the 20th century, according to the Associated Press.
"Students fighting laws that target illegal immigrants are taking a page from the civil rights era," reporter Rusell Contreras wrote, "adopting tactics and gathering praise and momentum from the demonstrators who marched in the streets and sat at segregated lunch counters as they sought to turn the public tide against racial segregation."
Contreras cited several illegal immigrant activists comparing themselves to protestors of the civil rights era. He compared the fact that undocumented students "don’t qualify for federal financial aid and can’t get in-state tuition rates in some places" to the segregation of black and Mexican-American students in the 1950s.
Contreras referred to the "fighting" methods illegal college students are using to promote the DREAM Act, a federal bill that would grant legal status to illegal immigrants who obtain a college degree or serve in the military and meet other conditions.
College students in particular are using protest strategies which were championed in the civil rights era to further their cause.
"Their struggle then is ours now. Like it was for them, this is about survival for us. We have no choice," said Deivid Ribeiro, an illegal immigrant from Brazil. Contreras also quoted University of Massachusetts professor Amilcar Shabazz, who called the strategy "genius" and said by attaching themselves to the civil rights movement, illegal immigrant students "can claim the moral high ground and underdog status of the debate."
Contreras didn’t offer any opposing viewpoint, which may have pointed out that civil right protestors sought equal treatment for minority Americans, whereas illegal immigrants are seeking the rights and privileges afforded to American citizens and those who immigrated through legal channels.