A daily compilation edited by Brent H. Baker, CyberAlert items are drawn from daily BiasAlert posts and distributed by the Media Research Center's News Analysis Division, the leader since 1987 in documenting, exposing and neutralizing liberal media bias.
Tracking Liberal Media Bias Since 1996
Wednesday May 05, 2010 @ 09:26 AM EDT1. MSNBC's Contessa Brewer 'Frustrated' That Times Square Bomber Is a Muslim
MSNBC host Contessa Brewer appeared on the liberal Stephanie Miller radio show on Tuesday and lamented the fact that the person arrested for the attempted Times Square bombing is a Pakistani American. She complained, "I get frustrated...There was part of me that was hoping this was not going to be anybody with ties to any kind of Islamic country."
2. ABC Sees Optimistic Terrorist: Wife Enjoys American Sit-Coms While He Dots 'i' with a Heart
Before "a disturbing change" of character in early 2009, arrested terrorist Faisal Shahzad, ABC's Chris Cuomo asserted Tuesday night, "seemed to be living the American dream" with a wife whose Facebook page "says she loves Everybody Loves Raymond and Friends" while "his signature seems to suggest optimism -- it appears a heart is dotting the 'i' in Faisal" in a job application found outside his foreclosed house.
3. On Hardball: Worried Next Terror Attack Could Strengthen Tea Party
Chris Matthews, on Tuesday's Hardball, brought on two former CIA officials to discuss the latest terror attack, and the MSNBC host agreed with Tyler Drumheller that the most recent attacker was motivated by his house being foreclosed on and also agreed with Robert Baer who feared another attack could lead to "the Tea Party being strengthened," which could lead to "people blaming the White House for a situation it didn't create." Baer also hit Matthews' sweet spot of talking points when he went on to warn that the last successful terror attack "got us into a war in Iraq we didn't need to be in."
4. MSNBC's Ratigan Worries About 'Racism' Toward Muslims After NYC Bomb Attempt
Near the top of Tuesday's Dylan Ratigan Show on MSNBC, host Dylan Ratigan fretted over American Muslims being harassed in the wake of the failed Times Square bombing: "how do you deal with these types of crimes without resulting in racism, effectively, towards people of Pakistani or Middle Eastern descent?...is there not a natural backlash to this?"
5. Misleading NYT Poll Doesn't Stop People from Favoring AZ Immigration Law
The New York Times initially spun a 60%-36% pro-enforcement gap as a "slim margin." And the law doesn't give "police the power to question anyone they suspect is in the country illegally," as the misleading poll question claims, but requires reasonable suspicion of such by a policeman, coupled with a "lawful stop, detention or arrest."
6. Lib Reporters Reminisce About Kent State on Chris Matthews Show
Tuesday marks the 40th anniversary of the Kent State shootings, and over the weekend Chris Matthews and his liberal cronies, on his syndicated The Chris Matthews Show, previewed the event as they reminisced about where they were at the time. Their memories reflect how anti-war they were back then and how that moment shaped them into the libs they are today as Matthews revealed the likes of his guests, like Newsweek's Howard Fineman and CNN's Gloria Borger, as students, were "editorializing against the war."
MSNBC's Contessa Brewer 'Frustrated' That Times Square Bomber Is a Muslim
MSNBC host Contessa Brewer appeared on the liberal Stephanie Miller radio show on Tuesday and lamented the fact that the person arrested for the attempted Times Square bombing is a Pakistani American. She complained, "I get frustrated...There was part of me that was hoping this was not going to be anybody with ties to any kind of Islamic country." [Audio available here.]
Brewer continued, "...There are a lot of people who want to use terrorist intent to justify writing off people who believe in a certain way or come from certain countries or whose skin color is a certain way. I mean they use it as justification for really outdated bigotry."
The News live host didn't explain which ethnicity or religion she had been hoping the bomber would have been affiliated with. She did defensively mention members of a Michigan militia group arrested in March and asserted that they were "from far different backgrounds than what this guy is coming from."
Attempting to understand the mind set of Faisal Shahzad, Brewer speculated, "Were there failed family ties? Did he have a strong community network here in the United States? Did he feel isolated?" She opined that these types of terrorists are "guys who are, I don't know, isolated in some ways from their families."
This isn't the first time journalists have worried about the effect of Muslim extremists being responsible for terrorist acts. On November 7, 2009, Newsweek editor Evan Thomas worried:
EVAN THOMAS: I cringe that he's a Muslim. I mean, because it inflames all the fears. I think he's probably just a nut case. But with that label attached to him, it will get the right wing going and it just -- I mean these things are tragic, but that makes it much worse.A partial transcript of Brewer's appearance on the Stephanie Miller show can be found below:
CONTESSA BREWER: I mean the thing is that- and I get frustrated and there was part of me that was hoping this was not going to be anybody with ties to any kind of Islamic country because there are a lot of people who want to use terrorist intent to justify writing off people who believe in a certain way or come from certain countries or whose skin color is a certain way. I mean they use it as justification for really outdated bigotry. And so there was part of me was really hoping this would not be the case that here would be somebody who is not the defined. I mean he's accused, he's arrested you know I don't want to convict him before it's time to do so. He's the guy authorities say is involved. But that being said, I mean, we know even in recent history you have the Hutaree militia from Michigan who have plans to, let's face it, create terror. That's what they were planning to do and they were doing so from far different backgrounds then what this guy is coming from. So, the threat is not just coming from people who decide that America is the place to be and you know come here and want to become citizens. And obviously this guy did.—Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.
09:11
BREWER: What's interesting is you know we're seeing within the boundaries of the United States it's the people that they're arresting seem to be you know- these loners, in some ways. I mean, the underwear bomber had obviously been sent. There was a network behind him. But, they're guys who are, I don't know, isolated some ways from their families. It will be interesting when we hear what is the background of Faisal Shahzad as we are, you know, of course our NBC crews are on that and looking onto more background there. We'll find out more. Were there failed family ties? Did he have a strong community network here in the United States? Did he feel isolated?
ABC Sees Optimistic Terrorist: Wife Enjoys American Sit-Coms While He Dots 'i' with a Heart
Before "a disturbing change" of character in early 2009, arrested terrorist Faisal Shahzad, ABC's Chris Cuomo asserted Tuesday night, "seemed to be living the American dream" with a wife whose Facebook page "says she loves Everybody Loves Raymond and Friends" while "his signature seems to suggest optimism -- it appears a heart is dotting the 'i' in Faisal" in a job application found outside his foreclosed house. (larger jpg image)
How heartwarming.
The "big question" for a befuddled Cuomo: "Why did someone, with apparently so much to live for, simply decide to throw it all away?"
From the Tuesday, May 4 ABC's World News:
CHRIS CUOMO: Diane, we've also recently learned that Shahzad is actually the son of a prominent member of the Pakistani military. But for all we learned, the big question remains: Why did someone, with apparently so much to live for, simply decide to throw it all away? Faisal Shahzad seemed to be living the American dream. Wife, two kids, nice house in the suburbs, an immigrant from Pakistan bettering himself through education and hard work.
NEIGHBOR: They had little picnics in the backyard. They were always to themselves. The wife looked happy.
CUOMO: Her Web page, filled with baby photos, says she loves Everybody Loves Raymond and Friends. Under the photo of her husband, the caption: "He is my everything."But in this pile of trash left outside his former home, we found traces of a life left behind. This job application lists primary school in Saudi Arabia, and several schools in Pakistan. There are signs of his efforts to learn the English language, as well. He lists the "University of Auston Taxes" -- as in Austin, Texas. Yet, Shahzad would go on to earn a BS and MBA at the University of Bridgeport. Even his signature seems to suggest optimism -- it appears a heart is dotting the "i" in Faisal....— Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.
On Hardball: Worried Next Terror Attack Could Strengthen Tea Party
Chris Matthews, on Tuesday's Hardball, brought on two former CIA officials to discuss the latest terror attack, and the MSNBC host agreed with Tyler Drumheller that the most recent attacker was motivated by his house being foreclosed on and also agreed with Robert Baer who feared another attack could lead to "the Tea Party being strengthened," which could lead to "people blaming the White House for a situation it didn't create." Baer also hit Matthews' sweet spot of talking points when he went on to warn that the last successful terror attack "got us into a war in Iraq we didn't need to be in." [audio available here]
ROBERT BAER, FORMER CIA FIELD OFFICER: But what I'm really afraid, Chris, is the next time one of these guys are going to get through. And what's it gonna do to this country? It's gonna rip it apart. Because people are gonna be looking for quick, immediate answers.The following exchange was aired on the May 4 edition of Hardball:
MATTHEWS: How so?
BAER: You know, they're gonna, they're gonna look, you know, crack down on, you know, who knows where it's gonna to end up? You're gonna see the Tea Party being, you know, being strengthened. You're gonna see people blaming the White House for a situation it didn't create.
MATTHEWS: Yeah.
BAER: It could affect the, you know it could affect the United States for a long time. Look, it got us into a war in Iraq we didn't need to be in...
MATTHEWS: Yeah well I agree.
CHRIS MATTHEWS: You know, Roger Cressey made a point earlier, Tyler, along the lines you're talking about, about how they recruit overseas. We've been very successful in American and I know we are, about assimilating people, it's our great strength. You can become an American in very few years. You learn a bit of the language, you make an effort to really become an American, you get into our culture, you get into our values, you're an American damn quick. And the danger, of course, is some people don't have that motive. That they may be doing all kinds of things to us. In this case, this guy radicalized, how do you figure? How do you figure the radicalization occurred?—Geoffrey Dickens is the Senior News Analyst at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here
TYLER DRUMHELLER, FMR CIA EUROPE OPERATION CHIEF: Well I think this is, I think the, the assimilation of, of the Islamic community in the United States has protected us to this point. But I think as things go along. I mean in his case it could be, it could be an economic problem. It could be, it could be all sorts of things.
MATTHEWS: Yeah I think you're onto it. I think you're on to the economic problem.
DRUMHELLER: And, and he, his house was being foreclosed on. It's the same thing if you, what you saw in Europe. And I keep going to that because that's what I - I think that's an important lesson to learn. You have a group of disgruntled people or a disgruntled guy and all they need to do is run into one person that's a serious recruiter or a trainer or something like that. And then like Bob said, they end up in a camp, they get a, they get a degree of training, they go back. And for the Pakistani, and for the people in Pakistan there, they see this as a war with us. I mean we, we, we should not think that we can attack them and they're not going to retaliate. And so this, it's, I think it would be a mistake to think that we're looking for a specific plan. Like go to Times Square and blow it up. But I think the, what they said was, probablytrain him and said, at an opportunity do something like this. Which makes it much more dangerous. It would be easier if it was a highly-organized thing because that's easier to penetrate.
MATTHEWS: You know Bob everybody knows about people that emigrate, some successfully, and others not. A lot of people came here from Ireland, for example, and most made it in America and some had to go home. They didn't make it here, they didn't fit in. Is this an opportunity for recruitment?
ROBERT BAER FMR CIA FIELD OFFICER: Oh absolutely! With the, immigration is going up, we're getting a lot more people. The State Department effectively does not screen people immigrating to this country. And it's barely cursory. We don't know who's inside our borders. We're nothing like Israel who keeps track of people for obvious reasons. We're still very non-militarized, liberal country. But, you know, we simply don't know who's within our borders. A lot of people still don't speak English. And their primary loyalties are outside the country.
MATTHEWS: Yeah but people coming from Pakistan, generally do speak English. That wouldn't be the problem here, would it?
BAER: A lot of them don't. A lot of them just speak Urdu and Pashtun. They don't speak it very well. And they're not integrated. They're moving out into communities in Connecticut and New Jersey, and they're, they're, they're sticking together, and we don't really know who they are. This is a, this is a big statement. But we, the FBI, let's put it this way, cannot keep track of every immigrant in this country. What happened in Times Square was not an intelligence failure. In fact it was, it was a brilliant wrap-up of this guy and - but, but what I'm really afraid, Chris, is the next time one of these guys are going to get through. And what's it gonna do to this country? It's gonna rip it apart. Because people are gonna be looking for quick, immediate answers.
MATTHEWS: How so?
BAER: You know, they're gonna, they're gonna look, you know, crack down on, you know, who knows where it's gonna to end up? You're gonna see the Tea Party being, you know, being strengthened. You're gonna see people blaming the White House for a situation it didn't create.
MATTHEWS: Yeah.
BAER: It could affect the, you know it could affect the United States for a long time. Look, it got us into a war in Iraq we didn't need to be in...
MATTHEWS: Yeah well I agree. And by the way, I think coming up on airplanes, I thought this with the Christmas bomber. Tyler, you on this. I thought there was gonna be, well I'll predict it right now. We get a real bad airplane situation in the next couple of years, we're gonna have all kinds of stuff going on about who gets on airplanes, we're gonna be so close to Israel in the way that they do it, don't you think?
DRUMHELLER: I think it's gonna...
BAER: Oh absolutely! People are gonna demand it.
MATTHEWS: Your thoughts Tyler?
DRUMHELLER: I think it's gonna go more and more in that direction. And I think the other thing to worry about is the reaction. Again this is going back to your. This is the reaction of the extreme right to the, where you have a counter reaction against these communities. And that just adds to bring in more recruits for these-
MATTHEWS: Yeah explain how that happens?
DRUMHELLER: Well it's because, as, as, as these attacks occur, it feeds a certain, a certain part of the, of the extreme right that looks on immigration as a threat to the American identity and then they react, and a violent fringe of that reacts violently against Moslems in some part of the country. And the next thing you know, then the recruiters or the people on the Internet, who if they're doing it remotely, play on this and say "See, this is America, hates Moslems." I mean you hear that more and more when you talk to young, to young Moslems. That it's not, it's not a majority, but it's and Bob knows more about this, about that part of the world than I do.
MATTHEWS: Yeah I know, I know. You know Bob, the problem is really not so much people who have a lot of contact with people from the Middle East or from South Asia, like I do. It's, it's people who don't meet anybody. So they make the generalization, I assume.
BAER: Yeah.
DRUMHELLER: Yeah.
MATTHEWS: Obviously they can't differentiate among the 99 percent that are wanting to become Americans and the, and the small element is just are misfits, basically and are open to recruitment. It's a, it's a situation that takes a little bit of thought to put into it. But I'll tell ya, when it comes to airplanes, people aren't gonna be so discriminating. They're gonna want to know who's going to be getting on that airplane if we another problem like Christmas.
MSNBC's Ratigan Worries About 'Racism' Toward Muslims After NYC Bomb Attempt
Near the top of Tuesday's Dylan Ratigan Show on MSNBC, host Dylan Ratigan fretted over American Muslims being harassed in the wake of the failed Times Square bombing: "how do you deal with these types of crimes without resulting in racism, effectively, towards people of Pakistani or Middle Eastern descent?...is there not a natural backlash to this?"
Ratigan asked that of Sofian Zakkout, the director of the American Muslim Association of North America, who replied: "We should calm down, it's – thank God nobody got hurt. We all know – and also I spoke today, this morning, with CAIR and other Islamic organizations....we denounce what was going to happen." Zakkout's organization has had links to questionable Islamic organizations on its website and has voiced support for the terrorist organization Hamas.
Ratigan seemed to be following the lead of his MSNBC colleague Contessa Brewer, who appeared on Tuesday's Stephanie Miller radio show and lamented the ethnicity of the would-be bomber: "I get frustrated...There was part of me that was hoping this was not going to be anybody with ties to any kind of Islamic country."
Here is a transcript of Ratigan's exchange with Zakkout:
4:06PM—Kyle Drennen is a news analyst at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here.
DYLAN RATIGAN: Sofian Zakkout is the director of the American Muslim Association of North America. Sofian, welcome to the conversation. How do you – how do you deal with these types of crimes without resulting in racism, effectively, towards people of Pakistani or Middle Eastern descent?
SOFIAN ZAKKOUT: You know, how I – how I deal with that?
RATIGAN: How do you suggest it be dealt with? In other words, is there not a natural backlash to this? That variable?
ZAKKOUT: Yes, yes, yes. We should calm down, it's – thank God nobody got hurt. We all know – and also I spoke today, this morning, with CAIR and other Islamic organizations of Florida. We all understand, we denounce what was going to happen. Thank God there is nobody got hurt. Thank God the authority was open-eyed and took the car away from the people – from the surrounding population.
And we have to wait to see exactly the motives of – of this kind of act, terrorist act that was going to happen on our soil. We have to know who's behind it. What's the reasons. Then, you know, we all should also listen to all Muslim leaders around the nation.
Because it's very important to send a message from the Muslim leaders, around the nation. From California, New York, Miami, Washington, Chicago, that we – to show that we all – we've been denouncing all acts of terrorism and to condemn it strongly to send a message to the Muslims and to the non-Muslims all around the world that we are working closely with our authorities in prevention. And to try to stop any future – may Allah forbid – any future terrorist acts or terrorist activities.
As a matter of fact, we just came from Haiti, we put our life in danger for non-Muslims. We went to Haiti. We went to Katrina, we've been working to save lives. And we are against any, any terrorist attacks from any places in our soil or any Americans here or abroad. As clear as it sounds.
Misleading NYT Poll Doesn't Stop People from Favoring AZ Immigration Law
The latest New York Times/CBS News poll focused on Arizona's tough new anti-illegal immigration law, summarized in a story by Randal Archibold and Megan Thee-Brenan that only made the top of the National section, not the usual front-page placement for a poll story.
At least the print headline was strong: "Poll Finds Serious Concern Among Americans About Immigration." Here's the lead, slanted toward the protesters point of view:
The overwhelming majority of Americans think the country's immigration policies need to be seriously overhauled. And despite protests against Arizona's stringent new immigration enforcement law, a majority of Americans support it, even though they say it may lead to racial profiling.
When the poll was first posted at nytimes.com Monday evening, a teaser headline claimed that only a "slim majority" favored the immigration law, but that was misleading if technically accurate. There was nothing "slim" about the actual results.
51% say the law "is about right," while only 36% said it "goes too far," while another 9% said it "doesn't go far enough." In other words, 60% agree with the thrust of the law, with only 36% thinking it goes too far. (The "slim" modifier was dropped from Tuesday's print edition.)
Not even the liberal slant of the question posed by the Times and CBS stopped the public from showing strong support for Arizona's law. (There's a .PDF version of the poll here.)
Here's question 67:
67. As you may know, the state of Arizona recently passed a law that gives police the power to question anyone they suspect is in the country illegally, requires people to produce documents verifying their status if asked, and allows officers to detain anyone who cannot do so. Do you think this law goes too far, doesn't go far enough, or is about right?
Actually, the law doesn't give "police the power to question anyone they suspect is in the country illegally." It requires reasonable suspicion of such by a policeman, coupled with a "lawful stop, detention or arrest." Even with the slant, people favored tougher enforcement by a substantial margin. One can't help but suspect the poll would have gotten front-page play if the numbers had been reversed.
Clay Waters is editor of Times Watch. You can follow him on Twitter.
Lib Reporters Reminisce About Kent State on Chris Matthews Show
Tuesday marks the 40th anniversary of the Kent State shootings, and over the weekend Chris Matthews and his liberal cronies, on his syndicated The Chris Matthews Show, previewed the event as they reminisced about where they were at the time. Their memories reflect how anti-war they were back then and how that moment shaped them into the libs they are today as Matthews revealed the likes of his guests, like Newsweek's Howard Fineman and CNN's Gloria Borger, as students, were "editorializing against the war."
In his teasers for the segment Matthews set the table by claiming Kent State marked the time when "The sweetness of the anti-war movement turned sour" and "in the eyes of many the government lost moral authority." While the Chicago Tribune's Clarence Page was actually serving in the Army at the time, the other panelists had already begun their journey towards becoming elite members of the liberal media as Howard Fineman remembered the day this way:
"But I had just finished a year of being editor of the Colgate newspaper, and I'd written editorials questioning the war and so forth. And we reviewed a lot of the violent history of the '60s, we'd lived through it, the civil rights movement, people dying. That night, the night of Kent State, there was a mass gathering in the Colgate chapel, and I remember standing next to one of the few African-American students at Colgate at the time, and he was reflecting on that civil rights history. And he just said - out of nowhere, he said, "Man, they're killing white kids now."Borger, still an impressionable high school student then, revealed Kent State also was a watershed event for her:
"We were against the war, we were editorializing against the war. But Kent State really turned things around for us. And as somebody who was going to college the next year, I remember getting in a car with my best girlfriend and driving from New Rochelle to New Haven to go to a rally at Yale and thinking, gee, what is my college life going to be like because students were shot at a liberal arts college, that, that sort of said, wait a minute, is it dangerous?"The following teasers and segment were was aired on the May 1, Chris Matthews Show:
CHRIS MATTHEWS IN OPENING TEASER: And finally, 40 years since Kent State. Four decades ago this week the shots fired at Kent State turned the country's heart. The sweetness of the anti-war movement turned sour. The '60s gave way to the '70s. Where were you that May?—Geoffrey Dickens is the Senior News Analyst at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here
...
MATTHEWS: Welcome back. Forty years ago on May 4th there were campus protests around the country against President Nixon's decision to invade Cambodia. But when the Ohio National Guard opened fire at Kent State and four students died, in the eyes of many the government lost moral authority. Here were Vice President Agnew's prepared remarks that same day.
SPIRO AGNEW: (From May 4, 1970) They make no bones about their hatred of our society, their contempt for traditional morality and their delight in the unbridled passions that lead them to their orgies of violence.
MATTHEWS: Well, after Kent State the fight against the war took on a darker, more violent dimension. On May 14th, two students at Jackson State in Mississippi were shot dead by police, and later that summer came the bombing of the science research lab at the University of Wisconsin. In '71, someone planted a bomb right in the US Capitol.
Forty years ago, Gloria was a high school senior. Here she is editing the school paper. Howard Fineman was a senior at Colgate - he was an Amish person then. Here's his yearbook photo. Andrea Mitchell was a local news reporter in Philadelphia. There she is in London. And recent Army inductee Clarence Page was training in good old Fort Dix, New Jersey.
CLARENCE PAGE, CHICAGO TRIBUNE: Mean green fighting machine.
MATTHEWS: And I was over in Africa in the Peace Corps in Swaziland. There I am with some pals. Clarence, you talk about that time all -and I was just thinking, you were there right in the Army. You were on furlough, I guess, at the time.
PAGE: I haven't changed a bit, have I? No, that's true. I was, I had gone back to Ohio U. just to visit. I was heading west, thinking I was going to Vietnam. And when I got to, to my old campus, everybody was watching TV. Nixon was announcing the invasion of, or the incursion into Cambodia. And, and Ohio U., Kent State, University of Toledo, Ohio State, everybody just kind of took to the streets. It was really that kind of a time. And we avoided that Kent State tragedy because the National Guard never came onto the campus. They stayed out at the county fairgrounds.
MATTHEWS: Good move. Andrea, you were on a beat already in Philly.
ANDREA MITCHELL, NBC NEWS: I was on the beat in Philly, and I remember with the incursion – incursion, not invasion – my younger brother called me from the Penn campus and said, 'Hey, we're all going down to Independence Hall. There's a protest against Richard Nixon.' And I said, well, I'm sort of curious, and I went down and started talking to some cops that I knew, whom I knew, and they said, "Are you here covering it?" And I realized I was watching my brother and all of these college kids, many of whom I knew, were graduate students I'd gone to school with, and all of a sudden that's when I realized I had crossed a divide, I was on the opposite side. I'm an observer. And from, since then...
MATTHEWS: And you'd gone to Penn.
MITCHELL: I had gone to Penn. And from then on I was an observer of events, never again a participant.
MATTHEWS: Howard. I love the beard, by the way.
HOWARD FINEMAN, NEWSWEEK: Well, thank you very much. I was thinking of bringing it back.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN: No, no, no.
FINEMAN: It'd look a little--it'd look a little different now. But I had just finished a year of being editor of the Colgate newspaper, and I'd written editorials questioning the war and so forth. And we reviewed a lot of the violent history of the '60s, we'd lived through it, the civil rights movement, people dying. That night, the night of Kent State, there was a mass gathering in the Colgate chapel, and I remember standing next to one of the few African-American students at Colgate at the time, and he was reflecting on that civil rights history.
MATTHEWS: Yeah.
FINEMAN: And he just said--out of nowhere, he said, "Man, they're killing white kids now."
MATTHEWS: Having gone through all the rioting in '68.
FINEMAN: Having gone through all the rioting and all that in '68. "They're killing white kids now." And, and I, my reaction was one of emotional solidarity. And what that did for a whole generation of kids, or at least some of them, is made them think that they were outsiders. Agnew had it exactly backwards. It wasn't that we thought we were better than America or
different from America, we felt that America was leaving us.
MATTHEWS: Gloria, you were still in high school-
BORGER: Sort of like the Tea Party.
MATTHEWS: -editorializing against the war as the editor of the paper.
BORGER: I was. And, and mostly, I went to a very diverse high school-
MATTHEWS: New Rochelle.
BORGER: -in New Rochelle, New York, where Andrea Mitchell went. I also ended up at Colgate University, where Howard went.
MATTHEWS: Yeah, there's a lot of poor kids up in New Rochelle, weren't there?
BORGER: New Rochelle, New York, was very diverse.
MITCHELL: Actually, it was. It was very diverse.
MATTHEWS: Was it really?
BORGER: Very, very diverse high school. Civil rights had really been our focus.
MITCHELL: Yep.
BORGER: We were against the war, we were editorializing against the war. But Kent State really turned things around for us. And as somebody who was going to college the next year, I remember getting in a car with my best girlfriend and driving from New Rochelle to New Haven to go to a rally at Yale and thinking, gee, what is my college life going to be like because students were shot at a liberal arts college, that, that sort of said, wait a minute, is it dangerous?
MATTHEWS: Wow.
MITCHELL: You know, and I remember only two years later I was covering the Republican National Convention, the renomination of Richard Nixon in Miami, and I guess because I was the youngest person who worked for the company then, they sent me out to cover the protests in Flamingo Park with pepper spray and all that.
MATTHEWS: Sure.
MITCHELL: And so what it started with Kent State as a candlelight vigil at Independence Hall for me with speeches and a quiet protest, by two years later it was all-out hell breaking loose in Flamingo Park.
PAGE: Yeah.
MATTHEWS: You know, I was away, out of the country from '68 to '71 in the Peace Corps in Africa, and the big difference you're talking about that happened at that moment I noticed when I came back. When I left in '68, the anti-war movement was sort of positive, upbeat, a lot of--and by the time I came back, it was very sour and angry and bitter. And I think Kent State had a lot to do with that.
PAGE: One thing about Kent State. Yeah one thing about Kent State, though, it did, that was where the rubber met the road, when kids realized, like Howard said, you can get killed doing this.
BORGER: Right.
PAGE: It wasn't just a lark to go out and demonstrate against the war or burn your draft card.
It got serious at that point. But also, Nixon ended the draft.
MATTHEWS: You were in the Army.
PAGE: Yeah...Kent State.
MATTHEWS: You got sent to Germany.
PAGE: Yeah, I wound up in Germany, yeah. But I was surrounded by Vietnam vets who were short timers waiting to get out. The military was sour by then too, really. The original mission of Vietnam had gotten all muddled. And for the troops, for us grunts, it was just, you know, protect your buddies, watch out for each other.
MATTHEWS: That was the mission.
Mr. PAGE: That was what it was about.
MATTHEWS: Thank you. We gotta go.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Fwd: MRC Alert: MSNBC's Contessa Brewer 'Frustrated' That Times Square Bomber Is a Muslim
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Fwd: US Citizen From Pakistan in Custody Over Times Square Bomb Plot
Today's Headlines Tuesday, May 04, 2010
US Citizen From Pakistan in Custody Over Times Square Bomb Plot
(CNSNews.com) – The fast-moving investigation into Saturday's attempted car bombing in Times Square netted its first suspect overnight Tuesday, when a Pakistani-born U.S. citizen was arrested at JFK airport as he tried to leave the country for the Middle East...
After Oil Spill, Obama Uncertain on Offshore Drilling Policy
Washington (CNSNews.com) – Whether President Obama's plan for limited expansion of domestic offshore drilling continues or is scrapped will depend on the findings of an Interior Department investigation into the oil spill in the Gulf Coast, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Monday...
Democrat Arizona Congresswoman: Deputy's Shooting a 'Wake Up Call,' Border 'Out of Control,' 'Immediately Deploy National Guard'
(CNSNews.com) – Declaring that the shooting of a Pinal County, Ariz., sheriff's deputy by suspected illegal-alien drug traffickers should be a "wake-up call" for politicians in Washington, D.C., Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.) said the "border region is out of control" and called for immediate deployment of the National Guard there...
ABC's Joy Behar: Obama Is Not Sarah Palin, 'Do Not Drill, Baby, Do Not Drill!'
(CNSNews.com) – Emmy award winner Joy Behar, a co-host of ABC's The View, told CNSNews.com that she does not know why President Barack Obama "feels like he has to be nice to Republicans" by supporting an offshore oil-drilling plan. She also referenced Sarah Palin with Obama on the issue, saying, "Do not drill, baby, do not drill!"...
ABC's Sherri Shepherd: 'I Don't Care' About Report on Drugs from Mexico, Arizona Law on Illegal Immigration 'Very Unfair'
(CNSNews.com) - When asked, in the context of Arizona's new immigration law, about a Justice Department report showing that one-out-of-five Amreican teenagers uses illegal drugs and that most of those drugs come out of Mexico, Sherri Shepherd, a co-host of ABC's "The View," said she did not care. Arizona's new law against illegal immigration is "very unfair," she said, and America has got to do better....
Kim Jong-il Visit to China Raises Hopes, Skepticism
(CNSNews.com) – A rare trip by Kim Jong-il beyond North Korea's borders has stoked speculation in the region that Pyongyang's remaining ally, China, will pressurize him to return to multilateral nuclear talks, possibly in return for economic assistance...
CNSNEWS.COM VIDEO
ABC's Joy Behar: Obama is Not Sarah Palin, 'Do Not Drill, Baby, Do Not Drill!'
Emmy award winner Joy Behar, a co-host of ABC's The View, told CNSNews.com that she does not know why President Barack Obama "feels like he has to be nice to Republicans" by supporting an offshore oil-drilling plan.
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COMMENTARY
Aborting Facts for Political Purposes
By Judie Brown
A couple of recent studies that reflect negatively on abortion have come to our attention. We in turn want to make you are aware of them—not because they are shocking, but rather because the secular "news" media has once again found it not in their best pro-death interest to report them objectively. For the most part, there has been no mention of them...
Black Americans and Liberty
By Walter E. Williams
Having recently reached 74 years of age, if one were to ask me what's my greatest disappointment in life, a top contender would surely be the level of misunderstanding, perhaps contempt, that black Americans have for the principles of personal liberty and their abiding faith in government...
Catholic Teaching on Immigration
By Rev. Michael P. Orsi
There is no scriptural injunction regarding immigration policy other than the Torah's admonition to treat the resident alien living among you fairly. The Gospels and other New Testament writings simply adjure Christians obey the laws of the state and to be good citizens of the cities in which they live...
Fwd: Stay Single and Save 15 Percent or More on Health Insurance
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May 4, 2010
Stay Single and Save 15 Percent or More on Health Insurance
No, this isn't a Geico commercial. Come 2013, America's bachelors may want to think twice before popping the question. Thanks to Obamacare, some couples can save thousands on health insurance just by opting to cohabit rather than marry.
How? The subsidy system erected in the complicated new health law manages to create a brand new "marriage penalty."
Under the law, individuals who earn between 133 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level and can't get health coverage through their employers qualify for generous subsidies to buy insurance in the government-run exchanges. These subsidies decrease with need, so the more you make, the less you get.
But, as Diana Furchtgott-Roth of the Hudson Institute recently remarked, the subsidies are structured so that two people can get more government as singles rather than as a married couple.
Furchtgott-Roth gives the example of two people making $43,000 each. As singles, they both qualify for subsidies, but if they marry, their combined earnings of $86,000 far exceed the $58,000-cut-off for aid to a couple.
Heritage analyst Robert Rector raised a red flag about this problem back in January in an analysis of the Senate-passed version of Obamacare. He showed that for two young individuals making a combined $35,000, marriage would result in a loss of $3,451 in government aid. For older couples, the effect is more pronounced: two individuals in their sixties making a combined $60,000 would receive an additional $10,425 to purchase insurance if they become or remain single. The reconciliation bill made slight modifications to the subsidy system, but the marriage penalty remains substantially intact.
Who suffers most from marriage penalties? Single mothers. They head up 45 percent of all families living in poverty. For the sake of these women and their children, Washington should be embracing policies that encourage marriage, rather than punish it. As Furchtgott-Roth notes: marriage promotes a stable society; penalizing it will "increase the number of fatherless families, leading to more poverty and a lower quality of life."
To help low and middle-income families purchase insurance, Congress should have created an equitable and universal tax credit. To learn more, click here.
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Fwd: Morning Bell: Defending Freedom is a Choice
05/04/2010
In April 2009 in Strasbourg, France, President Barack Obama was asked at a press conference if he "subscribe[d], as many of your predecessors have, to the school of American exceptionalism that sees America as uniquely qualified to lead the world, or do you have a slightly different philosophy?" President Obama then responded: "I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism."
In other words, the President does not see anything unique about America's role in history or the world. Some of our past Presidents have seen it differently, including President Ronald Reagan who once explained to Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev:
When World War II ended, the United States had the only undamaged industrial power in the world. Our military might was at its peak, and we alone had the ultimate weapon, the nuclear weapon, with the unquestioned ability to deliver it anywhere in the world. If we had sought world domination then, who could have opposed us? But the United States followed a different course, one unique in all the history of mankind. We used our power and wealth to rebuild the war-ravished economies of the world, including those of the nations who had been our enemies.
Fwd: MRC Alert: CBS Frets Illegal Aliens 'No Longer Feel Welcome' -- and the Problem Is?
A daily compilation edited by Brent H. Baker, CyberAlert items are drawn from daily BiasAlert posts and distributed by the Media Research Center's News Analysis Division, the leader since 1987 in documenting, exposing and neutralizing liberal media bias.
Tracking Liberal Media Bias Since 1996
Tuesday May 04, 2010 @ 09:48 AM EDT1. CBS Frets Illegal Aliens 'No Longer Feel Welcome' -- and the Problem Is?
Most support Arizona's impending immigration enforcement law and a solid 78 percent think the federal government should do more to keep illegal immigrants from getting into the U.S. where, Katie Couric noted in citing the new poll numbers, "hundreds of thousands of them now live in Arizona." So, how did CBS take these hardly surprising findings? Couric fretted "many" of those illegals "no longer feel welcome." Instead of seeing that as good news which will lessen the problem, CBS empathized with the plight of a reproductively profligate law-breaker. "On a dusty block in Phoenix, 15 years of the Quintana family's possessions are for sale," reporter Kelly Cobiella despaired over video of teddy bears before translating for the mother, Manuela, who managed to churn out ten kids who are now U.S. citizens, but hasn't bothered to learn English.
2. CBS's '60 Minutes' Highlights Illegal Immigrant 'Carnage' in All-American Canal
In wake of Arizona's new immigration law, CBS 60 Minutes anchor Scott Pelley fretted over illegal immigrants entering the United States by swimming across California's All-American Canal: "a national moat on our southern border, and hundreds of people have perished in its waters. It is a carnage that has gone mostly unnoticed because many of the victims are buried without their names." It did not take long to for Pelley place blame for drownings, not on those crossing the border illegally, but on those operating the canal: "The water is 225 feet across, 20 feet deep, with almost no rescue lines or climb-out ladders, safety devices that you would find in some other canals....management is controlled by a regional authority called the Imperial Irrigation District....They've taken votes, commissioned studies, but done almost nothing."
3. Time Editor Thrills Over Obama Performance, Compares it to the Beatles
The hosts and guests of a special Sunday edition of Morning Joe fawned over Barack Obama's May 1 performance at the White House Correspondence Dinner. Time managing editor Richard Stengel appeared and knocked host Jay Leno by comparison: "I think that's one of the things that undermined Jay's routine is that it's like coming after the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show."
4. Obama Draws Rave Reviews from Today Show's Cast
Barack Obama's performance at the Washington Correspondent's Dinner drew rave reviews from the Today show cast on Monday, as everyone agreed with Al Roker's assessment that the President was "on fire." While Today co-anchor was impressed by Obama's "fantastic timing" NBC's Norah O'Donnell, in her story filed for Today, praised Obama, even at the expense of fellow NBC employee Jay Leno: "After the President's comedic tour de force Tonight Show host Jay Leno had a hard act to follow."
5. CBS Features NY Mayor Bloomberg Speculating Bomber Was Mad About ObamaCare
With Katie Couric drawing him out, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg agreed the Times Square car bombing was likely "homegrown" as he proceeded, in an interview excerpt run on Monday's CBS Evening News, to speculate it could have been placed by "somebody with a political agenda who doesn't like the health care bill or something. It could be anything."
Most support Arizona's impending immigration enforcement law and a solid 78 percent think the federal government should do more to keep illegal immigrants from getting into the U.S. where, Katie Couric noted in citing the new poll numbers, "hundreds of thousands of them now live in Arizona." So, how did CBS take these hardly surprising findings? Couric fretted "many" of those illegals "no longer feel welcome."
Instead of seeing that as good news which will lessen the problem, CBS empathized with the plight of a reproductively profligate law-breaker. "On a dusty block in Phoenix, 15 years of the Quintana family's possessions are for sale," reporter Kelly Cobiella despaired over video of teddy bears before translating for the mother, Manuela, who managed to churn out ten kids who are now U.S. citizens, but hasn't bothered to learn English. Cobiella explained how she decided to leave Arizona (for Colorado) because of the new law which has yet to go into effect.
Cobiella cited how over the past two years about 100,000 illegals have left Arizona and after sharing the complaint of a landlord who has lost tenants, Cobiella raised the sympathy quotient, relating how the 12-year-old daughter's "best friend left to California with her family on Saturday," asking the crying tween: "Did you get to see her yesterday before she left?"
Cobiella cued up mom to deny she's a criminal: '"No,' she says, 'a criminal is someone who kills. I just want to work." Over video of the kids piling into a SUV, Cobiella concluded: "The family packed up before dawn today and headed north to Colorado. Manuela says she's lost hope in this state. She thinks she'll find it again in another."
Under-reporting support for the new Arizona law:
Setting up Cobiella's piece, Couric noted that a new CBS News/New York Times survey determined "slightly more than half said the law is quote, 'about right.'" CBS put "51%" on screen, without pointing out only 36 percent answered "goes too far" and 9 percent said it "doesn't go far enough" – putting the pro v con disparity at a wide 60 to 36 percent.
Earlier:
- "Saturday night: "Nets Celebrate May Day Pro-Illegal Immigrant Protests, Barely Mention Shot Deputy"From the Monday, May 3 CBS Evening News:
- Friday night: "NBC Promotes May Day Anti-Arizona Protests While CBS Finally Notices Crime that Fueled New Law"
- Thursday night: "CBS Trumpets Opposition to 'Notorious' Arizona Law from One Cop and Linda Ronstadt, Already Finds 'Chilling Effect'"
- Wednesday night: "Couric Touts San Francisco as Proof of 'Backlash Against Arizona's New Immigration Law'"
- Tuesday night: "ABC and NBC Champion 'Growing National Backlash' Against 'Laughing Stock' Arizona"
- Monday night, April 26: "CBS Again Focuses on Victims in Arizona: 'Many Feel the Sting of Racism in New Law'"
- Friday night, April 23: "CBS Frames Arizona's Anti-Illegal Alien Law Through Eyes of Opponents: 'Veto Racism'"
KATIE COURIC: We asked about Arizona's new immigration law which empowers the police to demand anyone show proof he or she is in this country legally. Slightly more than half said the law is quote, "about right" [51%]. Nearly two out of three Americans see illegal immigration as a "very serious" problem [65%]. More than three quarters say the U.S. should do more to keep illegal immigrants from crossing the border [78%]. Hundreds of thousands of them now live in Arizona. But as Kelly Cobiella reports, many no longer feel welcome.CBSNews.com version of this story.
KELLY COBIELLA: On a dusty block in Phoenix, 15 years of the Quintana family's possessions are for sale.
COBIELLA TO MANUELA QUINTANA: When did you decide to leave?
COBIELLA, TRANSLATING FROM SPANISH: "When the governor signed the immigration law," Manuela Quintana says, "I knew we had to move."
COBIELLA: For years their family thrived with jobs in restaurants and construction. Their ten [!] children were born here and are U.S. citizens. But she and her husband are undocumented and currently unemployed.
COBIELLA TO MANUELA QUINTANA: What is your biggest fear?
COBIELLA, TRANSLATING: "I'm afraid I will be put in jail," she says. "and my children will be taken away from me."
COBIELLA: Just the thought of moving scares 12-year-old daughter Graciela.
GRACIELA COBIELLA: I think it's gonna be my worst day.
COBIELLA, AT EMPTY PARK: Two years ago this park was filled with families like the Quintanas every weekend. Arizona was home to more than half a million illegal immigrants. Since then at least 100,000 have left.
KYLE KESTER: On this block alone we have 20 vacancies at least.
COBIELLA: Kyle Kester is the Quintana's landlord. He's lost seven tenants in the past week.
KYLE KESTER: This is hurting not just illegals. I was born and raised in the United States and it's hurting me now.
COBIELLA: Graciela's best friend left to California with her family on Saturday.
COBIELLA TO CRYING GRACIELA WITH HEAD IN ARM: Did you get to see her yesterday before she left, Graciela? No?
COBIELLA: Manuela knows she broke the law when she came here 15 years ago.
COBIELLA TO MANUELA QUINTANA: Do you see yourself as a criminal?
COBIELLA, TRANSLATING: "No," she says, "a criminal is someone who kills. I just want to work."
COBIELLA: The family packed up before dawn today and headed north to Colorado. Manuela says she's lost hope in this state. She thinks she'll find it again in another. Kelly Cobiella, CBS News, Phoenix.
— Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.
In wake of Arizona's new immigration law, CBS 60 Minutes anchor Scott Pelley fretted over illegal immigrants entering the United States by swimming across California's All-American Canal: "a national moat on our southern border, and hundreds of people have perished in its waters. It is a carnage that has gone mostly unnoticed because many of the victims are buried without their names." [Audio available here]
Pelley began the story by proclaiming: "In the California desert, in a field of mud, is a graveyard that is hard to imagine in America. Bricks mark the final resting place of hundreds of human beings, identities unknown. They died traveling to America in search of a life better than their home countries could offer." Moments later, Pelley explained: "While the canal is a death trap, it is also a lifeline for the nation....Two thirds of our winter fruits and vegetables are grown with this water. But half of the people who pick those crops are illegal immigrants. To get the jobs created by the canal, they cross the canal, usually at night on makeshift rafts or using plastic jugs for flotation."
It did not take long to for Pelley place blame for drownings, not on those crossing the border illegally, but on those operating the canal: "The water is 225 feet across, 20 feet deep, with almost no rescue lines or climb-out ladders, safety devices that you would find in some other canals....management is controlled by a regional authority called the Imperial Irrigation District....They've taken votes, commissioned studies, but done almost nothing."
Pelley grilled one of the authority directors, Stella Mendoza: "I wonder whether you feel the canal is safe?" Mendoza began to explain: "The canal is intended to convey water to the Imperial Valley via – from the – from the Colorado River. It's not intended as a – as a recreation and – and so we-" Pelley indignantly retorted: "We're not talking about recreation here. We're talking about people desperate to come into the United States and who are losing their lives in your canal."
Mendoza again attempted to express common sense: "When an individual decides to cross the desert, decides to cross the mountains, decides to jump into the canal to swim across, they're taking their life in their own hands. They have to be accountable for their actions." A brief time later, Pelley continued to portray Mendoza as uncaring: "There doesn't seem to be any sense of urgency here, if you see what I mean."
Early in the piece, Pelley found a token "life-long Republican" to bolster his case: "Dr. John Hunter showed us the hydroelectric dams, or drops, that catch most of the bodies. Hunter is an unlikely activist. He is a physicist and life-long Republican who has spent much of his career designing weapons for the U.S. government." Hunter declared: "I'm a very right-wing guy. I'm not a – an open border kind of person. I just don't believe we should let – be letting people drown in our backyards. It's – it's inhuman."
Pelley waited until the end of the story to reveal Hunter's full identity:
...in the 1990s, after scenes like this of immigrants rushing border stations, Congress beefed up the border, and a California congressman led the charge to build a better fence in San Diego....The fence channeled illegal immigrants away from the cities and rerouted them to the desert and the remote canal. Drownings rose rapidly from 6 in 1994 to more than 30 in 1998. That county cemetery we showed you earlier had to expand....Former Congressman Duncan Hunter says the fence is a success and now the canal should be made safer. The Congressman's brother, John Hunter, feels the unintended cost of the fence has been too high.
After springing that family connection on viewers, Pelley asked John Hunter: "I wonder whether any of this is family guilt that motivates you?"
Pelley concluded the segment by again talking to Mendoza and again portraying her as insensitive:
SCOTT PELLEY: The Imperial Irrigation District has recently started a year-long test of a single safety line. If the board votes to install the system that it's testing, it will still cover only a short stretch of the canal that's lined with concrete. So three-quarters of the canal would have no safety features?
MENDOZA: Correct.
PELLEY: And there's no plan for putting in safety features?
MENDOZA: Not at this time.
PELLEY: So it's not likely people are going to stop drowning in the canal?
MENDOZA: Probably.
Here is a transcript of relevant portions of the story:
7:04PM—Kyle Drennen is a news analyst at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here.
SCOTT PELLEY: For the first time beginning this summer, police in Arizona will be able to stop anyone they like and order a check of their ID to determine whether the person is in the U.S. illegally. The new powers – just recently signed into law – have reignited the national debate on immigration. Since 9/11, getting into the United States has become a good deal harder and for some much more dangerous. With border enforcement increasing, many illegal immigrants are now attempting to cross one of this country's most important irrigation projects, called the All-American Canal. The canal has become sort of a national moat on our southern border, and hundreds of people have perished in its waters. It is a carnage that has gone mostly unnoticed because many of the victims are buried without their names.
In the California desert, in a field of mud, is a graveyard that is hard to imagine in America. Bricks mark the final resting place of hundreds of human beings, identities unknown. They died traveling to America in search of a life better than their home countries could offer. They rolled the dice in the underworld of human smuggling and lost. Their families back home never learned that their journey ended here in the All-American Canal. Where do they find the bodies?
JOHN HUNTER: Typically, they'll find them at the drops. And so for example, there's five of these big hydro drops here. Drop one, they found over a hundred bodies at drop one. Drop two, they had 60. Drop three, 60, etcetera.
PELLEY: Dr. John Hunter showed us the hydroelectric dams, or drops, that catch most of the bodies. Hunter is an unlikely activist. He is a physicist and life-long Republican who has spent much of his career designing weapons for the U.S. government.
HUNTER: I'm a very right-wing guy. I'm not a – an open border kind of person. I just don't believe we should let – be letting people drown in our backyards. It's – it's inhuman.
...
PELLEY: While the canal is a death trap, it is also a lifeline for the nation. It flows a length of 85 miles, just north of California's border with Mexico, transporting water from the Colorado River to the Imperial Valley. Two thirds of our winter fruits and vegetables are grown with this water. But half of the people who pick those crops are illegal immigrants. To get the jobs created by the canal, they cross the canal, usually at night on makeshift rafts or using plastic jugs for flotation. The water is 225 feet across, 20 feet deep, with almost no rescue lines or climb-out ladders, safety devices that you would find in some other canals. The All-American is owned by the federal government but its management is controlled by a regional authority called the Imperial Irrigation District. And for ten years, Hunter has been lobbying the elected members of the Irrigation District to add safety features. They've taken votes, commissioned studies, but done almost nothing.
...
PELLEY: One of the directors listening that day was Stella Mendoza, who's been with the Imperial Irrigation District, the IID, for 9 years.
STELLA MENDOZA: Is the IID supposed to save every individual that jumps into the canal? Is that – is that my role as a director?
PELLEY: Mendoza told us that she worries adding safety features like buoys, lines, or ladders would give illegal immigrants a false sense of security. I wonder whether you feel the canal is safe?
MENDOZA: The canal is intended to convey water to the Imperial Valley via – from the – from the Colorado River. It's not intended as a – as a recreation and – and so we-
PELLEY: We're not talking about recreation here. We're talking about people desperate to come into the United States-
MENDOZA: I – I understand that.
PELLEY: -and who are losing their lives in your canal.
MENDOZA: I understand that. When an individual decides to cross the desert, decides to cross the mountains, decides to jump into the canal to swim across, they're taking their life in their own hands. They have to be accountable for their actions.
PELLEY: In 2007, as the drownings continued, the board approved climb-out ladders along about one quarter of the canal's length. But they're spaced every 500 feet, a drowning man would be lucky to reach one.
...
PELLEY: There doesn't seem to be any sense of urgency here, if you see what I mean.
MENDOZA: I understand what you're saying.
...
PELLEY: In fact, crossing illegally is a Class B misdemeanor, same as loitering. But in the 1990s, after scenes like this of immigrants rushing border stations, Congress beefed up the border, and a California congressman led the charge to build a better fence in San Diego.
DUNCAN HUNTER: I'm Duncan Hunter. We built this double fence here at the Mexican border in San Diego, and reduced the smuggling of hundreds of thousands of people and tons of drugs by more than 90%. The fence works.
PELLEY: It did work. The fence channeled illegal immigrants away from the cities and rerouted them to the desert and the remote canal. Drownings rose rapidly from 6 in 1994 to more than 30 in 1998. That county cemetery we showed you earlier had to expand. There are now 850 bricks in the paupers graveyards, mostly people who drowned or perished in the desert. Former Congressman Duncan Hunter says the fence is a success and now the canal should be made safer. The Congressman's brother, John Hunter, feels the unintended cost of the fence has been too high. I wonder whether any of this is family guilt-
HUNTER: Well-
PELLEY: -that motivates you?
...
PELLEY: The Imperial Irrigation District has recently started a year-long test of a single safety line. If the board votes to install the system that it's testing, it will still cover only a short stretch of the canal that's lined with concrete. So three-quarters of the canal would have no safety features?
MENDOZA: Correct.
PELLEY: And there's no plan for putting in safety features?
MENDOZA: Not at this time.
PELLEY: So it's not likely people are going to stop drowning in the canal?
MENDOZA: Probably.
The hosts and guests of a special Sunday edition of Morning Joe fawned over Barack Obama's May 1 performance at the White House Correspondence Dinner. Time managing editor Richard Stengel appeared and knocked host Jay Leno by comparison: "I think that's one of the things that undermined Jay's routine is that it's like coming after the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show."
Stengel highlighted an off-putting moment from the 2009 dinner when the President joked to the assembled journalists: "Most of you covered me; all of you voted for me." He described this as a "sour note" and admitted, "And there was kind of an awkward laughter because no one wants to reckon with that. I mean, we're in an adversarial relationship, but a respectful relationship."
Scarborough also hyped Obama's performance, praising, "The President so easily outperformed Jay Leno, it wasn't even close. It was like Secretariat against my 17-year-old dog..."
The Morning Joe host seemed to have a different interpretation than that of the Washington Post. Scarborough extolled, "And he actually started...with something that works, self-deprecation from a guy who gets knocked around by people in this room as being arrogant, aloof."
Paul Farhi of the Post disagreed, finding little self-deprecation in the routine:
Breaking with presidential punch line tradition for the second consecutive year, Obama dropped zinger after zinger on his opponents and allies alike at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner. Obama went all Don Rickles on a broad range of topics and individuals: Vice President Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, presidential advisers David Axelrod and Rahm Emanuel, the news media, Jay Leno, and Republicans Michael Steele, Scott Brown, John McCain and Sarah Palin.[Emphasis added.] A partial transcript of the May 2 segment follows:
Except for a mild joke pegged to his falling approval ratings, Obama mostly spared Obama during his 14-minute stand-up routine.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: The President, listen, can we just- I know it's an NBC-owned entity, this MSNBC thing we talk about, but can we just say it? The President so easily outperformed Jay Leno, it wasn't even close. It was like Secretariat against my 17-year-old dog, Willie.—Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.
8:07
SCARBOROUGH: I'm telling you, he was very good. And he actually started, I thought, Jon, with something that works, self-deprecation from a guy who gets knocked around by people in this room as being arrogant, aloof. And he just went right after, talking about his ratings, everything else. I really thought that was one of the funnier performances I've seen a president perform.
8:39
RICHARD STENGEL: I'm not a historian of the White House Correspondents' Dinner, although I've been here way too many times, I don't think the President has ever preceded the comedic act before.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: That was a shame.
STENGEL: I think that was the first time that ever happened and it was a very smart thing to do. Remember, he came after Wanda Sykes last year. And, again, you don't want to be after the President. I think that's one of the things that undermined Jay's routine is that it's like coming after the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: And you're the juggler after, yeah, the Beatles. And of course what a funny joke last night, the president talking about why he wanted to be before Jay because if you're after the time slot, it's always very dangerous.
...
SCARBOROUGH: You brought up a great point off camera about the President being self-deprecating. I thought, again, for a guy who is playing against type who is always accused of being aloof and smug by people in the room, he did something different this year than he did last year.
STENGEL: Yes. Yes. Because, remember last year- and it hit a little bit of a sour note in the room- where he said, "You know, I know you all loved me. I know you all voted for me." And there was kind of an awkward laughter because no one wants to reckon with that. I mean, we're in an adversarial relationship, but a respectful relationship. This year I thought he was much more self-deprecating. He talked about the highs and lows constantly. I mean, he would sometimes make fun of the lows and sometimes make fun of the highs. I mean, he was a little penitent. He'd been- It's like he had his comeuppance.
Barack Obama's performance at the Washington Correspondent's Dinner drew rave reviews from the Today show cast on Monday, as everyone agreed with Al Roker's assessment that the President was "on fire." While Today co-anchor was impressed by Obama's "fantastic timing" NBC's Norah O'Donnell, in her story filed for Today, praised Obama, even at the expense of fellow NBC employee Jay Leno: "After the President's comedic tour de force Tonight Show host Jay Leno had a hard act to follow."
In the 10:00am hour Kathie Lee Gifford called Obama "brilliant" and Hoda Kotb, also taking a shot at her NBC colleague noted: "Keep in mind Jay Leno was on the stage, as was Obama, and the funniest person in the room was definitely the President."
The following is the full O'Donnell story followed by the Today show cast's reaction as they were aired on the May 3 Today show:
MATT LAUER: President Obama showing off his lighter side over the weekend at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Here's NBC's Norah O'Donnell.—Geoffrey Dickens is the Senior News Analyst at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here
NORAH O'DONNELL: It's where Washington meets Hollywood, where the Capital's best known politicians and reporters walk the red carpet with celebrities and pop stars. It's the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner, a black tie gala so eagerly anticipated inside the Beltway, it's known as the Oscars on the Potomac. The real star of Saturday's dinner, the President of the United States, who wasted no time showing off his comedic chops, lampooning his Vice President.
BARACK OBAMA: And so I wasn't sure that I should actually come tonight. Biden talked me into it. He said, "Mr. President, this is no ordinary dinner. This is a big [bleep] meal!"
O'DONNELL: Mocking Wall Street.
OBAMA: By the way, all of the jokes here tonight are brought to you by our friends at Goldman Sachs. So you don't have to worry. They make money whether you laugh or not.
O'DONNELL: Tweaking his Republican opponents.
OBAMA: I hear that I'm still pretty big on Twitter, Facebook or, as Sarah Palin calls it, the socialized media.
O'DONNELL: Even taking a jab at the night's keynote speaker.
OBAMA: The only person's whose ratings fell more than mine last year is here tonight. Great to see you, Jay.
O'DONNELL: After the President's comedic tour de force "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno had a hard act to follow.
JAY LENO: You know the President has the most diverse staff in history, they represent every ward of Chicago. And I think that is fantastic, Mr. President. Fantastic. I can see the White House press corps, very excited tonight. This is about as close to a White House press conference they've had in a year. So this is it. So enjoy it while it lasts. Yeah.
O'DONNELL: A night to remember as Washington gets back to work today. For Today, Norah O'Donnell, NBC News, Washington.
MATT LAUER: We were there.
AL ROKER: He was on fire.
MEREDITH VIEIRA: Yeah.
LAUER: Small room.
ROKER: Yeah only 3,000 people. Wow.
ANN CURRY: 3,000.
VIEIRA: I know, exactly.
CURRY: That's why you lost your voice this morning, all the shouting.
LAUER: Just trying to talk over all the din in the room. Yeah.
VIEIRA: But if this White House gig doesn't work out he could go on the road, as a comedian, easily.
ROKER: Man!
CURRY: Timing was fantastic.
VIEIRA: Timing is everything.
ROKER: I bet there are a bunch of Republicans who wish he would.
VIEIRA: Exactly.
LAUER: Yeah exactly right.
...
KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: President Obama was brilliant!
HODA KOTB: He was-
GIFFORD: He was the funniest I've ever seen him.
HODA KOTB: There, just keep in mind Jay Leno was on the stage, as was Obama, and the funniest person in the room was definitely the President. Definitely!
GIFFORD: Yeah it was not the best night for old Jay. He's, he's still riding high at his old show now, but last night or Saturday night was not his night.
KOTB: But let's listen I think we have a little bit of Obama. Let's listen to President Obama.
(Begin clip)
BARACK OBAMA: I wasn't sure that I should actually come tonight. Biden talked me into it. He leaned over and he said, "Mr. President, this is no ordinary dinner. This is a big [bleep] meal!...The only person whose ratings fell more than mine last year is here tonight. Great to see you, Jay.
(End clip)
KOTB: It was a fun night.
GIFFORD: It wasn't, it wasn't real mean-spirited at all.
KOTB: No it was, it was light.
GIFFORD: It was really fun, it was really fun. And, and then do we have any sound of Jay? That's it.
KOTB: I think that's, I think that's all we have. No we just...that's all.
GIFFORD: Yeah, yeah. We don't want, yeah you don't want to see that.
KOTB: No. Yeah, you don't. But you know what's interesting. While...
(audible groans and laughter in studio)
With Katie Couric drawing him out, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg agreed the Times Square car bombing was likely "homegrown" as he proceeded, in an interview excerpt run on Monday's CBS Evening News, to speculate it could have been placed by "somebody with a political agenda who doesn't like the health care bill or something. It could be anything."
Could be "anything," but the first thing Bloomberg thinks of are those who don't like ObamaCare, presumably conservatives or Tea Party activists.
Audio: MP3 clip
From part of Couric's interview with the mayor aired on the Monday, May 3 CBS Evening News:
CBSNews.com version of Couric's interview.KATIE COURIC: Law enforcement officials don't know who left the Nissan Pathfinder behind, but, at this point, the mayor believes the suspect acted alone.
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG: If I had to guess -- 25 cents -- this would be exactly that, somebody-
COURIC TO BLOOMBERG: A home-grown?
BLOOMBERG: Home-grown, maybe a mentally deranged person or somebody with a political agenda that doesn't like the health care bill or something. It could be anything.
— Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Fwd: Morning Bell: Another Bullet Dodged in New York
05/03/2010
Another Bullet Dodged in New York
This past Saturday evening at 6:28 p.m., a white male in his 40s drove a 1993 Nissan Pathfinder into Times Square, parked, departed the vehicle, and slipped down a nearby alley. Within minutes a t-shirt street vendor alerted authorities about smoke emanating from the vehicle and, after pedestrians had been cleared from the area, a bomb squad discovered that the SUV was packed with what was intended to be lethal incendiary materials.
The device inside the SUV has since been described by investigators as "at the bottom of the food chain when it comes to explosives." The large amounts of fertilizer surrounding the gas and propane tanks in the car was good for growing plants but bad for explosions; it was not the ammonium nitrate grade that can explode. Still if the propane and gas had ignited, the SUV would have exploded in half, spraying shrapnel with enough force to kill innocent pedestrians enjoying a warm summer evening in a busy Times Square.
On Sunday, the Pakistani Taliban posted a YouTube video created on April 30th claiming responsibility for the attack. But New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, "So far, there is no evidence that any of this has anything to do with one of the recognized terrorist organizations," and New York police Commissioner Ray Kelly noted that the same group had falsely taken credit for previous attacks on U.S. soil.
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