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.
Walsh: Illinois Is Still Hurting : Congressman Joe Walsh (IL-8) hosted another successful job fair in Schaumburg, which brought over 500 jobseekers and 43 employers together. This is the third job fair Walsh has held since coming to office. “Illinois is still hurting, and the success of these job fairs show how desperately Illinoisans want to get back to work,” Walsh said.
The state’s unemployment rate has hovered above 8% for over a year and roughly half a million Illinoisans remain unemployed. The purpose of the job fairs are to put these unemployed workers with Illinois employers who can provide good-paying, local jobs. Walsh, who chairs the House Small Business Committee’s Subcommittee on Economic Growth and Capital Access, recently held a hearing in Washington that delved into crippling federal tax policies burdening small businesses. Representatives in Illinois testified that the Death Tax, which must be paid when family businesses pass on to one another after a death, limit the amount of money they can put into creating more jobs needed by Illinoisans. “President Obama and his liberal allies think over regulation, higher taxes like the Death Tax, and more spending will get Americans back to work – they are dead wrong. Putting those needing jobs directly in touch with those who can provide them like we did at today’s job fair, does. ”
Walsh’s job fair in Schaumburg featured a number of Illinois employers, including Northrop Grumman, Carmax, Pace, Abbott Laboratories, Cardinal Health, GCG Financial among others.
Walsh will host another job fair on July 23rd with Representatives Bob Dold (IL-10), Peter Roskam (IL-6), and Randy Hultgren (IL-14).
China’s Investment in Canada’s Oil Sector: Espionage in Disguise
After the Obama administration shelved the Keystone XL pipeline last November, vocal critics, including former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, expressed deep concern that the decision would push Canada into the open arms of China. While this could still happen, a less talked-about issue is arguably of greater importance; namely China’s ongoing efforts to acquire oil extraction technology and know-how under the benign umbrella of investments in Canada’s energy sector.
British-Russian Relationship Turns Cold With Putin Olympic Snub
Russia is an important market for British exporters and investors. Six hundred British companies do business in Russia, making the UK one of Russia’s largest sources of foreign investment. This relationship, however, has soured in recent months, with Russian President Vladimir Putin declining the invitation to appear at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics in London next month. This snub, and ongoing disputes, could put the relationship between Russia and the UK on ice for years to come.
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.
Media & Hollywood Bias
Warning of “Reaction” to “Nastiness” from the GOP’s “Limbaughs”: “For three and a half years, Republicans and Fox News have painted Barack Obama as the devil incarnate…. [But] if there’s a feeling that he is being treated unfairly, there’s a feeling they are trying to get rid of, take Michelle Obama and those nice two cute kids out of the White House and take his job away from him the American people gave him, there are going to be people who will come out there and turn out. We are early in this part of the campaign, but you can count on the nastiness to fire up the base. The nastiness is going to come out. The Limbaughs are just going to let it all hang out, and you will see a response to that. There will be a reaction.”
— Washington Post columnist Colbert King on Inside Washington, May 25.
NBC Gives More time to ‘Obama Boy’ Than to Fast & Furious Scandal: NBC provided its first coverage of the Fast & Furious gun running scandal on Tuesday, providing a scant 30 seconds on Nightly News. In contrast, Thursday’s NBC Today devoted a 37-second report to a video of “Obama Boy,” a gay activist singing over his support for the President in 2012. Today news anchor Natalie Morales proclaimed: “Justin Brown’s viral YouTube video focuses on the President’s support for gay marriage.” A long clip played of Brown musically professing he had a “crush on Obama” and wanting to the President “get hard on Romney in debate.” Morales added: “Meanwhile, ‘Obama Girl’ says she loves the video. She hopes she and ‘Obama Boy’ can maybe get together for a duet.”
CNN Legal Analysis Dismisses GOP Accusations Against Holder: Dismissing Republican accusations against Eric Holder as “politics,” CNN legal analyst Jeff Toobin claimed that allegations of corruption against the Attorney General have “not been proven at all, at least as far as I can tell.” Exasperated anchor Carol Costello teed him up by wondering why Republicans in Congress won’t believe the Attorney General’s admitted ignorance of tactics used in the infamous “Fast and Furious” operation. “Eric Holder has testified before the House Judiciary Committee nine times. Each time he has admitted ‘Fast and Furious’ was a dreadful mistake, and each time Holder says he was unaware of the tactics of the operation,” she insisted.
Joy Behar Wants to See Mitt Romney’s House Burn Down:
Once again we see a liberal saying something stupid and provocative that a conservative could never say and get away with. Here’s what Behar said in an interview with the liberal group Mediaite: “I mean, I’d like to see his house burn, one of his millions of houses burning down. Who’s he going to call, the Mormon fire patrol?”
Behar’s comments were designed to attack Romney and conservative calls for cuts in government spending. If someone burns down Mitt Romney’s house, will Joy Behar take responsibility for it?
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!
At Obama Fundraiser, CBS Boss Admits to Media “Partisanship”: “L.A.’s gay community turned out in force to celebrate the man who has been dubbed the nation’s ‘first gay president.’… Obama, [CBS President Les] Moonves said, ‘has shown great leadership’ on the issue of gay marriage. Though he heads a news division, Moonves said, ‘ultimately journalism has changed … partisanship is very much a part of journalism now.’ He hastened to add that despite his presence, ‘I run a news division. I’ve given no money to any candidate.’”
— Moonves as quoted in a June 7 Los Angeles Times story by Robin Abcarian and Kathleen Hennessey about the Obama campaign fundraiser held the previous night.
Out of Context?
“In 2008, conservatives gleefully attacked the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., Mr. Obama’s home pastor in Chicago, for his provocative remarks in sermons, taken out of context, including his assertion that 9/11 was evidence that ‘America’s chickens are coming home to roost.’ They persuaded many that Mr. Wright was wielding something called ‘liberation theology’ — and that Candidate Obama had to answer for it.”
— New York Times “Beliefs” columnist Mark Oppenheimer, May 27.
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.
Military-Bashing Chris Hayes: Climate Change Is the ‘Biggest Governing Challenge We Face’: Effete MSNBC host Chris Hayes, in a new Lean Forward commercial airing on the network, can be seen merrily biking around New York City while lecturing Americans that climate change is “the biggest governing challenge I think we’ve ever faced.”
The cable anchor, who on May 27th infamously said he was “uncomfortable” calling fallen military members “heroes,” pranced around the city as his voice-over pontificated: “…The scale and scope of [fighting global warming] is every bit as transformational as the industrial revolution or the transition to the digital age.”
Hayes added that this battle would be “thrilling.” Although Hayes finds the struggle against climate change to be thrilling, he wasn’t as enamored of the men and women who fight for America’s freedom. From the May 27 Up With Chris Hayes:
CHRIS HAYES: I think it’s interesting because I think it is very difficult to talk about the war dead and the fallen without invoking valor, without invoking the words “heroes.” Um, and, ah, ah, why do I feel so comfortable [sic] about the word “hero”? I feel comfortable, ah, uncomfortable, about the word because it seems to me that it is so rhetorically proximate to justifications for more war.
O’Brien Embraces Democratic Mayor, Belittles Romney Advisor: While CNN’s Soledad O’Brien tossed softballs at Democratic Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles, she was not so kind to her Republican guest during the next hour, on Thursday’s Starting Point. O’Brien was content to ask Villaraigosa about both Romney’s and Obama’s economic plans polling poorly with independent voters. But with Romney advisor Jim Talent, O’Brien specifically put the Romney campaign’s poor numbers in the spotlight – even though the actual ABC News/Washington Post polling report emphasizes President Obama’s “chilly reception” from independent voters.
Chris Matthews to Elizabeth Warren – “Let Me help You” as much as “I, as a journalist, Can”: Chris Matthews isn’t even trying anymore. The liberal anchor on Wednesday went into full Democratic adviser mode. Talking to Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren, he turned an interview into a strategy session, saying of the campaign against Republican Scott Brown: “Let me help you on this, to the extent that I, as a journalist, can help you.” Providing an additional contribution, Matthews somehow managed to skip the controversy that’s been plaguing Warren’s campaign for a month and a half: The fact that she has repeatedly tried to pass herself off as a Native American. (At one point, the Democrat claimed she was 1/32 Cherokee.) While avoiding this embarrassing subject, Matthews incredulously wondered, “Why are the polls so close?…You should be miles ahead of [Brown].”
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