News and Views is a twice-weekly column containing an assortment of interesting state, national and international political and financial information, opinions, candidate reviews, scheduled events, Tea Party information, meetings and press releases that we hope will interest you. We will now offer a special section segregating media bias and Hollywood bias to give the reader a better idea of how prevalent it is.
WashPost’s Henderson Suggests FNC & ‘Far Right’ May Help Obama by Race-Baiting: Appearing as a panel member this weekend on the syndicated Chris Matthews Show, Nia-Malika Henderson of the Washington Post predicted that Fox News and the “far right” may drive independents and women to vote for President Obama, as she suggested that they may “hint at” racial issues or birtherism and cause “blowback” that would benefit the President.
She also theorized that mothers may vote to re-elect Obama because they “take some pride” in having their children “growing up in this country with an African-American President.”
After Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker theorized that people who are racist against the President are a group he cannot win over and are therefore irrelevant to the campaign, Henderson responded:
I think, in some ways, the way race might play a role – I think you’re right, that the people who don’t like Obama because he’s black or because they think he’s not eligible to be President or he’s the other, they’re not going to support him.
And I think, if Super PACs, if Fox News, if they sort of hint at that sort of language, I think it’s going to turn independents off from Republicans. I think that’s the danger that Republicans and people from the far right play, is going to be a blowback because a lot of women, especially, I think, they do, you know, take some pride in this idea that their kids are growing up in this country with an African-American President.
Another Obama Boondoggle: Ties With U.S. Loosened as Saudi Arabia Takes on New Role
Saudi Arabia has watched as the political tumult of the Arab Spring has swept rulers from power and thrown once stable nations into chaos. It has also kept a close watch on the expansion of terrorist activity in the region, especially in Yemen, and has become increasingly alarmed at al-Qaeda’s influence there. In reaction to this change in the region, Saudi Arabia’s traditionally low-key foreign policy has given way to a more activist approach. It is supporting the Syrian rebels, and may support military action against Iran. But it is also forming ties with China, and leaning less on its long friendship with the United States.
NBC’s Snyderman – It’s Pro-Science to Abort Children with genetic Defects: On Friday’s NBC Today, chief medical editor Nancy Snyderman explained to viewers that it’s just good science to abort an unborn child that may have a genetic disorder, explaining that testing for such conditions “gives parents a chance to decide whether they’re going to continue that pregnancy or not. This is the science of today.” Snyderman then predicted: “I think the future will be such that you’ll find out that your child may have a genetic hit. You can fix that genetic problem, and improve your chance, a child’s chance…” When co-host Savannah Guthrie raised ethical questions about aborting children under such circumstances, Snyderman matter-of-factly replied: “Well, I’m pro-science, so I believe that this is a great way to prevent diseases.”
Earlier in the discussion, advertising executive Donny Deutsch raised the possibility of parents using the genetic information to abort children based on superficial preferences: “Look, I’m a pro-choice guy, but at the end of the day what’s stopping people, “Oh, my son is going to be blonde, I want…”
Snyderman largely dismissed such concerns: “I get the genetic engineering issue. But the reality is we’ve already jumped out of that with amniocentesis. So, the science is there. The problem is that science goes faster than we have these societal questions. And that’s exactly why we should have these societal questions now.” While Snyderman sounded briefly open-minded on the issue, she soon made her “pro-science” declaration and later completely rejected any legal argument against selective abortions.
Another Threat to the EU: Illegal Immigration
The agreement last week by EU ministers to impose tighter internal border controls comes in response to rising illegal immigration from the Middle East and North Africa in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings. The change in policy shows that the bonds holding the EU together are weakening in ways beyond the current sovereign debt crisis, although the two issues are intertwined
Media & Hollywood Bias
ABC and NBC Ignore Holder Hearings, CBS’s Fast and Furious Coverage Slows to a Crawl: The news that the House Oversight Committee will vote next week on whether to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress, for refusing to turn over subpoenaed documents in the Fast and Furious investigation, was met with silence from the Big Three (ABC, NBC, CBS) network news shows. There was no mention of the Holder hearings on Monday’s evening news shows or Tuesday’s morning shows.
The blackout of the Holder hearings continues a stunning trend. Since December 2010, when the Fast and Furious scandal first broke, there have been zero stories about the gunwalking scandal on NBC Nightly News and Today show. On ABC there was only one brief aired on Good Morning America. Only CBS has truly covered the story, mainly due to the work of one reporter, Sharyl Attkisson. Since Attkisson broke the gunwalking story, there have been a total of 30 full stories and 1 brief aired on CBS’s Evening News and This Morning programs.
Curiously, Attkisson’s stories on the gunwalking scandal have screeched to a halt.
From February 4 through this morning’s news there has been only one report (An Erica Hill brief on the May 3 This Morning) on the Fast and Furious controversy. It’s not as if Attkisson stopped paying attention, as she authored a story for CBSNews.com on Tuesday, but oddly her reporting did not make the air on that night’s CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley.
The following brief, aired on the May 3, 2012 CBS This Morning, represents the sum total of stories by the Big 3 on the Fast and Furious scandal in over a month:
ERICA HILL: There is new information this morning in the Fast and Furious gunwalking operation, first exposed last year by our own Sharyl Attkisson. Sources tell CBS News that today lawmakers will take the first formal step toward charging Attorney General Eric Holder with contempt of Congress. Republicans on the House Oversight Committee accused Holder of obstructing their investigation. In Fast and Furious, U.S. officials allowed thousands of guns to flow from the U.S. into Mexico. Two of those guns were later found at the scene where a U.S. border patrol agent was murdered.
Television Critics Love Rachel Maddow, Cite Her ‘Outstanding Achievement in News and Information’: Last week, for the third year in a row, the Television Critics Association – which “represents more than 200 journalists writing about television for print and online outlets in the United States and Canada” – nominated MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow for their annual award for “Outstanding Achievement in News and Information.”
The left-wing host is the only consistent nominee in the category over the past three years — though she has yet to win. CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS hosts and programs have earned nominations over the years, but no one at the Fox News Channel has ever been nominated per the association’s press releases posted back to 2002.
Another favorite of liberals, Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, which won in 2004, has been nominated in two of the past three years. PBS’s Frontline and CBS’s 60 Minutes are perennial nominees.
The 2012 “Outstanding Achievement in News and Information” nominees are:
Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN)
The Daily Show (Comedy Central)
Frontline (PBS)
60 Minutes (CBS)
The Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC)
Not surprisingly, NOT one journalist from FOX News, nor independents like Rush Limbaugh have even been nominated in the last TEN years!
NBC’s Curry Argues Obama’s ‘Fine’ Gaffe “Taken Out of Context”: NBC’s Curry Straining to find a way to excuse President Obama’s Friday remark that “the private sector is doing fine,” on Monday’s NBC Today, co-host Ann Curry did her best to spin for the White House: “He is right in saying that the private sector is doing better than the public sector, is he not? And so that was his point, that this comment was taken out of context.” Curry’s attempt at Obama campaign damage control was prompted by left-wing guest and MSNBC host Chris Hayes arguing: “I would also say that the point he’s making specifically about the difference between where the private sector’s at and where the public sector’s at is a really important one. We’ve lost 600,000 jobs in the public sector….Those layoffs did not have to happen if we had extended revenue sharing from the federal government.”
CBS’s Rose Lets Axelrod Forward White House Denial on National Security Leaks: Charlie Rose deferred to Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod on Monday’s CBS This Morning regarding the controversy over several recent national security leaks. Axelrod repeatedly denied that the leaks came from the administration. Rose didn’t challenge his guest’s talking point, even though during a May 2012 interview with the anchor former Defense Secretary Robert Gates indicated that White House officials went “out in public with operational details” of the Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden.
Despite knowing about Gates’s disclosure, Rose claimed that President Obama “seems to be upset about the spy leaks,” and asked the Democratic campaign official whether the leaks came from the “national security apparatus at the White House.”
Rose brought up the leak issue midway though his interview of Axelrod, which began seven minutes into the 7 am Eastern hour. After making his “upset” line about Obama, the CBS journalist asked, “Where did they come from, and who should be doing the investigating?” When his guest replied that he didn’t know their origin, Rose interjected, “Was it in the White House?”
Axelrod continued in full denial mode, citing his experience as the former senior adviser to the President
MSNBC’s Chris Hayes on National Security – “We Need More Leaks, Not Less”: Reacting to allegations that the White House leaked several pieces of highly classified national security information to the press for political gain, on Monday’s NBC Today left-wing MSNBC host Chris Hayes demanded: “I think we need more leaks and not less…we should know how the war is operating and what’s going on with a kill list that’s operating out of the White House or what covert activities we’re engaged in.” Only seconds earlier, fellow guest Meghan McCain, daughter of Arizona Senator John McCain, explained that her father called the leaks “the worst security breach he’s ever seen in his entire career.” She added: “…whomever is doing this is not putting their country first and thinking about America and the safety of our troops, and that’s scary.”
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