Today's Headlines Friday, June 18, 2010
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FCC Moves to Regulate Internet--Even Though the Law Calls for Internet to be 'Unfettered by Federal or State Regulation'
(CNSNews.com) – The Federal Communications Commission voted on Thursday to begin the formal process of bringing the Internet under greater federal control -- a move sought by both President Barack Obama and FCC Chairnman Julius Genachowski. The 3-2 party-line vote began the formal process of reclassifying the Internet as a telecommunications service instead of an information service. As a telecommunications service, the Internet would fall under a much broader regulatory scope.
Sen. McCain, Rep. Flake Introduce Bill to Allow Taxpayers to Voluntarily Help Pay Down the Federal Debt
Washington (CNSNews.com) – Two members of Arizona's congressional delegation have introduced legislation that would allow taxpayers to "earmark" up to 10 percent of their federal income tax liability to pay down the national debt. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) held a news conference on Capitol Hill Thursday to promote their "Debt Buy-Down Act of 2010" in the House and Senate.
Mexico's View of U.S. Worsens After Passage of Arizona Immigration Law, Says Global Attitudes Survey
(CNSNews.com) – While other nations' opinions of the U.S. "improved markedly" in 2009 in response to Barack Obama's presidency, America's favorability rating has tumbled in Mexico, apparently because of Arizona's new immigration law, a new survey concludes. Sixty-two percent of the Mexicans interviewed from April 14-20 had a positive view of the U.S., compared with just 44 percent of those interviewed May 1-6, after the Arizona law was passed. "The inference that we can draw from that is, there's a backlash in the United States as a consequence of this (Arizona) law," said the survey's director.
Biden Says 'Ripple Effect' From Last Year's $787-Billion Stimulus Will Create Jobs This Summer
Washington (CNSNews.com) – Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday that "ripple effects" from the $787-billion stimulus law President Barack Obama signed in February 2009 will create jobs this summer. "My point is that this summer, we're going to see even more ripple effects," Biden told reporters. Biden also answered questions about why the administration promised that unemployment would not reach eight percent if the stimulus passed, when in fact it has now reached 9.7 percent.
Obama 'Green Energy Jobs' Model--Communist China--Saw 5,983 Coal Miners Die in One Year, According to Greenpeace
(CNSNews.com) - In his speech to the nation from the Oval Office on Tuesday, President Barack Obama cited one foreign nation—the People's Republic of China—as a model for creating what he called "green energy jobs." But the environmentalist group Greenpeace released a report in October 2008 that said China was the world's "largest producer and consumer of coal," making coal that nation's largest source of air pollution, and that--in 2005 alone--5,938 people died in China as a result of coal-mining accidents.
Biden Predicts Energy Bill Will Pass Senate Amid Reports of Lame Duck Strategy
Washington (CNSNews.com) – Vice President Joe Biden expressed confidence that the Senate would approve energy legislation, including cap and trade -- which many critics view as an energy tax -- even though Congress-watchers think the chances of such legislation passing this year are slim. "There is clear consensus out there that something has to be done," Biden told reporters on Thursday. "All the folks on the [Capitol] Hill know we have got to do something about carbon emissions in the air and the amount of oil we consume from abroad."
Gasoline Prices Declined for the Fourth Straight Month—Despite April Oil Spill and Beginning of Warm Weather
White House (CNSNews.com) - Gasoline prices in the United States declined in each month from February to May of this year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, helping to keep inflation essentially flat during that period. At the same time, however, prices for food, services, and both new and used vehicles went up.
Hoyer Blames Financial Crisis, Oil Spill on Bush
(CNSNews.com) – House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) says both the financial crisis of 2008 and the Gulf oil spill stem from what he called the Bush administration's anti-regulatory attitude.
Recent Inspection Finds Six 'Areas of Concern' in Census Head-Counting
(CNSNews.com) - As the Census Bureau continues counting people who did not respond to forms delivered earlier this year, the procedures for asking questions about race and ethnicity are not being followed, says the Commerce Department's inspector general. And that's not the only problem, says a report dated June 11.
Former U.N. General Assembly President – a Critic of the U.S. and Israel – Will Provide 'Expertise' to U.N. Human Rights Council
(CNSNews.com) – Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann, a Nicaraguan leftist and arch-critic of the U.S. and Israel, was set Friday to be appointed to the advisory committee of the U.N.'s top human rights agency. D'Escoto's year-long presidency of the General Assembly was arguably the most polarizing in the organization's history.
U.N. Report on Maternal Deaths Disregards Optimistic New Statistics
(CNSNews.com) – A new U.N. report on maternal mortality includes a strong focus on 'unsafe abortion,' something pro-life critics view as part of an agenda to promote access to legal abortion as a human right. The report, by U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, was presented to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva early this week.
CNSNEWS.COM VIDEO
Gloria Estefan: 'I'm Not Affiliated' With Republicans or Democrats
(CNSNews.com) - Grammy award-winning singer Gloria Estefan told CNSNews.com that she is "not affiliated" politically with Republicans, Democrats or Independents, and that she does not know why she is often grouped with moderate or conservative Republicans in media reports.
Gloria Estefan: Arizona Immigration Law Won't 'Stop Criminals'
(CNSNews.com) – Grammy award-winning musician Gloria Estefan told CNSNews.com that Arizona's new law against illegal immigration is not "going to stop criminals." She also said, "You can't equate criminals with undocumented workers."
OTHER CNSNEWS.COM HEADLINES
Gulf Oil Full of Methane, Adding New Concerns
Obama Leaving Washington Again; Will Discuss the Economy in Ohio, a 'Battleground' State
Republican Lawmaker Apologizes for Apologizing to BP Executive
More Groups Exempt From Political Ad Rules Under House Deal
Toyota Restarts Construction of U.S. Auto Plant, Drawing Fire From UAW
Live Video of Gulf Oil Leak Could Haunt Obama
Utah Firing Squad Executes Convicted Killer
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NEWSPAPER ROUNDUP
Alert issued for 17 Afghan military members AWOL from U.S. Air Force Base
'As doctors find cancers earlier, more patients get overtreated'
Student's hat decorated with small plastic Army figures (and tiny guns) banned
FDA fines Red Cross $16 million after blood safety inspection
Arizona governor vows to fight any federal lawsuit over immigration law
After more than 30 years, FDA has yet to issue final regulations for sunscreens
National flood insurance program drowning in debt
Subpoenas coming if Republicans win House this fall, conservative lawmaker says
Obama's ratings slump in Muslim world
COMMENTARY
What Price Afghanistan?
By Patrick J. Buchanan
Eight years ago, the Taliban seemed finished. Since then, we have poured in scores of thousands of troops, spent $300 billion, lost 1,000 soldiers and seen thousands more wounded. Yet, the Taliban have never been stronger or operated more broadly. It is simply not credible that the United States and its NATO allies can prevail in this war in 12 months so U.S. troops can begin coming home, as Obama has promised, unless Obama is willing to write Afghanistan off.
Club Fed for Illegal Aliens
By Michelle Malkin
Thanks to their international "human rights" advocates, Gitmo detainees receive art therapy, movie nights and video games at their U.S. taxpayer-funded camp in Cuba. Now, bleeding heart leftists – including the head of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency -- want to provide similar taxpayer-sponsored perks to illegal alien detainees on American soil. Ensuring humane treatment of detainees is one thing. But the changes proposed by ICE are beyond ridiculous. Abandoning lockdowns, lights-out, and visitor screening? Continental breakfasts and Bingo?
Remembering Bob Hope's Service
By L. Brent Bozell III
The Library of Congress's new exhibit on Bob Hope, drawn from the great entertainer's donations to the library, is nothing more than an excuse to unveil a leftist political agenda, the likes of which Bob Hope would be the first to denounce.
Testify!
By Rich Galen
Another circus was presented on Capitol Hill yesterday when the CEO of BP, Tony Hayward, testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee about his company's role in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Hayward was either hypnotized by his lawyers into forgetting everything he ever knew about the oil business, including how to fill his car with petrol -- or, he is the most disengaged executive of a major corporation since the late Ken Lay was unclear about the financial condition of Enron.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Fwd: FCC Moves to Regulate Internet--Even Though the Law Calls for Internet to be 'Unfettered by Federal or State Regulation'
Fwd: Front-Page Surprise: Is Obama Over-Reaching on Govt. Takeovers?
Documenting and Exposing the Liberal Political Agenda of the New York Times
Friday June 18, 2010 @ 04:52 PM EDT
Front-Page Surprise From David Sanger: Is Obama Over-Reaching on Govt. Takeovers?
In a front-page story, reporter David Sanger actually wonders if Obama may be overdoing the government takeover thing just a bit: "[H]e will have to avoid painting with such a broad brush that foreign and domestic investors come to view the United States as a too risky place to do business, a country where big mistakes can lead to vilification and, perhaps, bankruptcy."
Holden Thinks Leftist Screed '8' Is Just Great
Stephen Holden, the Times' most liberal movie critic. embraces the pro-gay screed "8: The Mormon Proposition," which blames the Church for the vote repealing court-imposed gay marriage in California. Movies about women persecuted under Islam, on the other hand, are "lurid torture-porn."
Times Watch Quotes of Note - Times Takes 'Far Right' Angle on G.O.P. Senate Candidate from Nevada
"Among her detractors and her supporters [Angle] is known as a far-right conservative and a thorn in the side of both parties, routinely voting no on almost everything that came before the Legislature." - Reporter Jennifer Steinhauer, June 10. Plus: The GOP is already doomed in November, and anti-Tea Party snobbery among the "conservative" intellectual elite.
Front-Page Surprise From David Sanger: Is Obama Over-Reaching on Govt. Takeovers?
Has David Sanger, a veteran reporter whose opposition to Bush's supposedly reckless foreign policy seeped from his stories, been reborn as an Tea Party activist? Not quite, but Sanger's Friday A1 "news analysis" was surprising, especially from a reporter who usually concentrates on foreign affairs: "Strong Steps Or Oversteps? BP Is Latest Example Of Tactic by Obama."
Sanger took a wide view of Obama's first 18 months in office and the many and varied ways the administration has insinuated itself into the private economy.
First there was General Motors, whose chief executive was summarily dismissed by the White House shortly before the government became the company's majority shareholder. Chrysler was forced into a merger. At the banks that received government bailouts, executive pay was curbed; at insurance companies seeking to jack up premiums, scathing criticism led to rollbacks.
But President Obama's successful move to force BP to establish a $20 billion compensation fund that the company will have no voice in allocating -- just a down payment, the president insisted -- may have been the most vivid example of what he recently called his determination to step in and do "what individuals couldn't do and corporations wouldn't do."
With that display of raw arm-twisting, Mr. Obama reinvigorated a debate about the renewed reach of government power, or, alternatively, the power of government overreach. It is an argument that has come to define Mr. Obama's first 18 months in office, and one that Mr. Obama clearly hopes to make a central issue in November's midterm elections.
....
The Wall Street executives who needed the government to prop them up, but still thought their services were worth millions a year, were cast by Mr. Obama as a shameless privileged class. Toyota was described as seeking profits over safety; Wellpoint, the insurance giant, was castigated for seeking to insulate itself from the new health care legislation by taking actions that the law will soon prohibit.
Against that backdrop, forcing BP to take a $20 billion bath -- even before the inevitable lawsuits are filed -- seemed an easy decision. Mr. Obama had no legal basis for the demand, but concluded he did not need one. "He had a power other presidents have used -- you call it jawboning," Mr. Emanuel said.
The question is whether the cumulative effects of these actions create an impression that, over the long run, may make it harder to persuade both American and foreign corporations to cooperate with Mr. Obama's program to reinvest and reinvigorate the American economy.
Sanger compared Obama's strategy to that of FDR Franklin D. Roosevelt, who claimed that "forces of selfishness and of lust for power" had "met their master" under his administration.
It is in the "master" role, however, that Mr. Obama and his advisers know he is on dangerous ground. He has responded to his critics by making the case that every time American business predicted ruin from government intervention -- that "Social Security would lead to socialism, and that Medicare was a government takeover" -- American capitalism survived.
Sanger's concluding sentence has a skeptical tone -- has Obama overreached? -- that one hardly ever encounters in the Times.
Along the way, he will have to avoid painting with such a broad brush that foreign and domestic investors come to view the United States as a too risky place to do business, a country where big mistakes can lead to vilification and, perhaps, bankruptcy.You can follow Times Watch on Twitter.Holden Thinks Leftist Screed '8' Is Just Great
On Friday leftist movie critic Stephen Holden reviewed "8: The Mormon Proposition," a documentary detailing the role of the Mormon Church in passing Proposition 8 in California, the 2008 ballot initiative that defined marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman.
Holden apparently found nothing too partisan or out of balance in the pro-gay, anti-Mormon propaganda piece, merely hinting that it was "highly emotional" and that it "dives angrily into the fray."
Holden appreciates left-wing screed-filled documentaries like "8." Too bad he doesn't get as exercised when it comes to movies about the danger of Islamic fundamentalism, as opposed to the very mild form of Christian fundamentalism powering California's Prop. 8: Holden's review of "The Stoning of Soraya M" dismissed it as "lurid torture-porn."
Reed Cowan's polemical film "8: The Mormon Proposition" examines the successful campaign against gay marriage in California that was heavily financed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is implacably opposed to homosexuality. The highly emotional documentary is narrated by Dustin Lance Black, the screenwriter for "Milk," who, like Mr. Cowan, is gay and grew up in a Mormon household.....
The film dives angrily into the fray. It uncovers the classified church documents and the largely concealed money trail of Mormon contributions that paid for a high-powered campaign to pass Proposition 8. The Mormon involvement, the film persuasively argues, tilted the vote toward passage, by 52 percent to 48 percent, in its final weeks.
That involvement was concealed under the facade of a coalition with Roman Catholics and evangelical Christians called the National Organization for Marriage. Mormons raised an estimated $22 million for the cause. In the final week of the campaign, the film says, $3 million came from Utah. The money financed a sophisticated media barrage that involved blogs, Twitter and YouTube videos, as well as scary (and, according to the movie, misleading) television ads, and an aggressive door-to-door campaign whose foot soldiers were instructed on how not to appear Mormon.
Holden's criticism concluded on this polemical note:
The reason Utah's suicide rate is the highest of any state, the movie suggests, is the Mormon church's absolute rejection of homosexuality, which one church elder calls "contrary to God's plan." Chris Buttars, a proudly homophobic Utah state senator, compared male coupling to bestiality. The movie shows the depth of religion-based loathing of homosexuality, like that of abortion, to be primal.In the meantime the struggle to repeal Proposition 8 is under way.In his rush to link the Mormon Church to the vote, Holden also skipped over the inconvenient-for-liberals fact that it may have been the black vote -- the same vote that helped put Obama in the White House -- that carried the measure to victory (a CNN exit poll indicates the black community favored Prop 8 by 70%-30%).
At Newsbusters, Sarah Knoploh documented how even other liberal media critics (save Holden) felt obliged to admit the one-sided nature of the movie.
You can follow Times Watch on Twitter.Times Watch Quotes of Note - Times Takes 'Far Right' Angle on G.O.P. Senate Candidate from Nevada
The Times Takes "Far-Right" Angle on G.O.P. Senate Candidate From Nevada
"But on the other hand some of these women are, like in Nevada, against Harry Reid, Sharron Angle has, she's a Tea Party candidate who's given Democrats renewed hope of saving Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, from what was looking to be near certain defeat, because she is so extreme. So much so that some of the Republicans in the immediate aftermath have started distancing themselves from her....The Democrats generally at first blush on Wednesday morning when the results were in were happy that both Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, looks newly secure because the Nevada Republicans had nominated such an extreme, Tea Party-type member." -- Reporter Jackie Calmes in a June 10 "Political Points" podcast.
"Among her detractors and her supporters she is known as a far-right conservative and a thorn in the side of both parties, routinely voting no on almost everything that came before the Legislature." -- Reporter Jennifer Steinhauer, June 10.
G.O.P. Already Doomed
"Some critics are already asking Republican leaders how they managed to let a promising election season get so mightily out of control." -- June 10 front-page teaser to a story by Matt Bai on Republican election prospects for November.
You can read more of the most biased quotes from the Times of late at Times Watch Quotes of Note.
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Fwd: MyHeritage.org: BP's New Deal is a Raw Deal
June 18, 2010 | By Amanda J. Reinecker
BP's New Deal is a Raw Deal
Yesterday, BP announced that it would "voluntarily" place $20 billion into a government-administered fund to compensate victims of the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster and clean up the mess. The oil company also agreed to shell out another $100 million to a foundation that will support oil workers made unemployed by President Barack Obama's indefinite ban on offshore oil drilling.
Now, no one is disputing that this oil spill is real disaster wreaking enormous havoc on the environment and the economy. And BP should absolutely have to pick up the tab for all efforts to correct this mess. It's the beauty of the "you break it, you buy it" mentality. But there are right ways – legal and constitutional ways – to go about assigning responsibility, and the Obama Administration isn't following them.
Heritage Foundation legal scholar Hans von Spakovsky explains the law pertaining to the Gulf Coast situation:
The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) sets out exactly what BP and anyone else who caused the spill have to pay for. Under 33 U.S.C. § 2702, BP is responsible for all removal costs; all injuries to real or personal property; damages for loss of subsistence use of natural resources; loss of profits or impairment of earning capacity due to injury, destruction, or loss of natural resources or real or personal property; and damages for the cost of providing increased public services by any state. These categories of damages would cover all of the costs that everyone has been talking about…But the law says nothing about BP compensating the newly unemployed offshore oil workers. Why and how, then, can BP be liable? Legally, they can't. "Obama's moratorium is an unreasonable decision that is supported neither by the states in the Gulf nor experts in the oil and gas industry," von Spakovsky argues. In addition, the President's demand to transfer an immense portion of stockholders' wealth to the compensation fund without any legislation or court decision is extremely worrisome.
So why would BP "voluntarily agree" to these costly measures? Perhaps the company was intimidated by Attorney General Eric Holder's threat to open a criminal investigation. Perhaps BP is under the impression this agreement places a cap on their costs. (It doesn't. The White House made clear that the $20 billion was just a down payment and in no way represented a cap on BP's liability.)
Or perhaps this so-called deal between the White House and BP represents little more than what Heritage's Conn Carroll calls of "shakedown of Godfather-like proportions." BP is by no means off the hook with this deal – it has to pay big-time; it is still liable to individual and state claims; and it received no assurances that economic damages would not be higher or that the White House wouldn't come back demanding more.
But Carroll explains in a separate piece that BP is not the victim in this scenario. The rule of law is.
Wednesday's 'voluntary' deal between BP and the Obama administration was nothing less than a continuation of President Barack Obama's ongoing assault on the rule of law. Capitalism only succeeds if it is a profit and LOSS system. Well-managed firms should have every right to keep their profits, but mismanaged firms must be allowed to suffer losses… Failure is a necessary component of capitalism. But this administration refuses to allow the rule of law to work. From Fannie Mae to Freddie Mac, from GM to Chrysler, from AIG to Citibank, our government continues to subvert the established rule of law. This lawlessness creates uncertainty in the business environment, and it is a huge reason why our economy is not recovering as it should be.Another reason to celebrate husbands and fathers!
Did you know that the little gold band worn on a man's left ring finger is more than a sign of commitment and fidelity? It's a weapon against poverty for their children. "Now that's something to celebrate and encourage this Father's Day," writes Heritage's Ken McIntyre.
Heritage domestic policy expert Robert Rector explains in a new report that "The principal cause of child poverty in the U.S. is the absence of married fathers in the home." Now, how come we never hear this in the news and media? Rector, the architect of the 1994 welfare reforms, says it's because "mentioning the bond between marriage and lower poverty violates the protocols of political correctness." It is virtually hidden from public view.
Currently, more than $300 billion taxpayer dollars are pumped into means-tested government spending on low-income single moms and single dads. In his book, Audacity of Hope, then-Senator Barrack Obama wrote, "policies that strengthen marriage for those who choose it and that discourage unintended births outside of marriage are sensible goals to pursue." Well said, Mr. President.
But if our own President understands this, why isn't government doing more to share the facts on the role of healthy marriages in reducing poverty and improving the well-being of children? Why not teach skills for selecting a wife or husband? Why not explain the importance of developing a stable marital relationship before bringing children into the world?
Marriage is not an antiquated institution or a red-state superstition. "Research shows that a child raised in a home where Dad is married to Mom is much less likely to live in poverty, get arrested as a juvenile, be suspended or expelled from school, be treated for emotional or behavioral problems, or drop out before completing high school," explains McIntyre.
So let's get the facts straight and share them. And we can start by celebrating all the great husbands and fathers and honor their commitment to strengthening families. Happy Father's Day!
> Other Heritage Work of Note
- Join The Heritage Foundation for a special teleconference with the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Jeff Sessions (R-AL), and Heritage distinguished fellow and former Attorney General Edwin Meese. The two will preview the upcoming Senate confirmation hearings for President Barack Obama's Supreme Court Nominee, Elena Kagan.
Join us on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. for this timely discussion. Register today!
- Correction: The USA Today essay challenge advertised in Tuesday's newsletter is a "letters-to-the-editor" project, rather than a contest with winners and prizes. Certain submissions will be selected for a package of letters, which USA Today will publish around July 4. We encourage all of our members and supporters to participate in this letters to the editor project, but we would like to clarify that it is not a contest. We apologize for any confusion.
- On Wednesday, the Senate voted 45-52 against the "extenders "bill, which would extend a bailout of state Medicaid programs and increase Medicare's reimbursement of doctors above what current law allows. Right now, these Medicare payments are scheduled to be reduced automatically to control costs, but Congress routinely overrides these cuts. "[Permanently] adjusting the doctor reimbursement rates is necessary to avoid reimbursement cuts and limits to patient access," argues Heritage's Brian Blase. Congress, however, continues to kick the issue down the road six months until the temporary fixes expire.
- "Obama and congressional proponents of [cap-and-trade] had for months tried to repackage it as a jobs bill (all the green jobs from the new clean-energy economy) and an energy-independence bill (cap-and-trade will stick it to OPEC)," explains Heritage energy policy analyst Ben Lieberman. Unfortunately, they're back at it. Only this time, this scheme is now presented as the answer to the oil spill, and it comes in the form of a slightly watered-down version of cap-and-trade.
Lieberman also wrote an article for the New York Post on the potential for $7-a-gallon gas under the Obama energy plan. It drew plenty of attention, including a prominent link from the Drudge Report.> In Other News
- On Wednesday, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) filed a discharge petition, a maneuver which, if it receives signatures from a majority of representatives, will force an up-or-down vote on Obamacare.
- The Obama administration plans to sue Arizona for enforcing immigration laws.
- Speaker Pelosi withdrew the DISCLOSE Act before it could be voted on. The law would have imposed onerous restrictions on free speech in the name of campaign finance reform.
- U.S. jobless claims rose by 12,000 to 472,000 in the week ending June 12. The consumer price index, a measure of inflation dropped 0.2 percent.
- The Wall Street Journal reports that many banks may eliminate their free checking accounts in response to Congressional schemes to regulate financial transactions. The new fees on checking accounts would replace revenue sources like overdraft fees charged to less responsible consumers.
- Russia is sharply criticizing the U.S. and the E.U. for planning additional Iran sanctions in addition to measures recently imposed by U.N. Security Council.
Amanda Reinecker is a writer for MyHeritage.org—a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation. Nathaniel Ward, the Editor of MyHeritage.org, and Stephen Congdon, a Heritage intern, contributed to this report.
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Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Fwd: MRC Alert: Now They Tell Us: Pro-Obama-Care Study By 'Wonderful' Group Now Seen As Dangerously Faulty By NYT
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
Friday June 04, 2010 @ 09:12 AM EDT1. Now They Tell Us: Pro-Obama-Care Study By 'Wonderful' Group Now Seen As Dangerously Faulty By NYT
A study advocating cost-cutting of "wasteful" health-care spending, hailed by New York Times reporters for over two years during the debate over Obama-care, is now revealed as grievously flawed: "The mistaken belief that the Dartmouth research proves that cheaper care is better care is widespread -- and has been fed in part by Dartmouth researchers themselves. The debate about the Dartmouth work is important because a growing number of health policy researchers are finding that overhauling the nation's health care system will be far harder and more painful than the Dartmouth work has long suggested. Cuts, if not made carefully, could cost lives."
2. CBS: Memos Show Kagan 'Stood Shoulder to Shoulder with the Liberal Left'
On Thursday's CBS Evening News, correspondent Jan Crawford filed a report recounting revelations that Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan has a history of taking solidly liberal positions on issues like abortion, gay rights, and gun control – with evidence in the form of memos, some going back to her days working for liberal Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Crawford: "Documents buried in Thurgood Marshall's papers in the Library of Congress show that, as a young lawyer, Kagan stood shoulder to shoulder with the liberal left, including on the most controversial issue Supreme Court nominees ever confront: abortion."
3. Brian Williams Claims Great Compassion, But Has Faulty Memory of His Own Shows
In an interview on the Thursday with the Mediaite website, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams claimed the media would show more compassion and attention to the oil spill than Team Obama. But Williams inaccurately described his own coverage from just six weeks ago.
4. HuffPo's Grim: Real 'Crime' of White House Was 'Holding Back A Progressive Agenda'
On Thursday's 11AM EST hour on MSNBC, anchor Tamron Hall asked Ryan Grim of the left-wing Huffington Post about recent scandals involving the Obama White House tampering with Democratic primaries: "Darrell Issa of California...he wants the FBI involved in this....Any legs here, or is this, again, a situation that may be politicized by the other side?" Grim dismissed the idea that there was any need for an investigation: "I mean, this isn't criminal activity. This really is politics as usual."
5. Behar: Palin Made Her Children Targets, 'Passing That Kid Out More Than a Joint at a Grateful Dead Concert'
After having already used her appearance on Wednesday's The View show on ABC to defend author Joe McGinniss's claim that Sarah Palin was acting like a Nazi trying to intimidate him, Joy Behar again defended McGinniss on the same day's Joy Behar Show on HLN, and suggested that Palin is responsible for making her children into targets for daring to let the public see her family – as most politicians do – while she was running for Vice President. Behar: "The other thing is that isn`t she the one who put her kids in the spotlight in the first place? I mean, they, at the convention, when they were passing that kid out more than a joint at a Grateful Dead concert. Remember that? I mean, she started it, as far as I can tell."
6. NBC Skips Any Mention of Latest Obama Job Offer to Dem Politician, Touts President's Rock Concert
On Thursday's Today, the NBC program ignored the revelation that the Obama administration attempted to persuade a Democratic Senate candidate to drop out of a primary race. ABC's Good Morning America and CBS's Early Show both highlighted the story in full reports.
7. The AG vs. BP: Little Skepticism on ABC and NBC, While Lefty Talker Blasts Holder as 'Corporatist' Pretender
American lawyers who represent captured terrorists are simply fulfilling their duty to provide representation, it is often argued by those who seem to enjoy mucking up efforts to curtail future terrorism. But once representing the American beverage giant Coca Cola makes Attorney General Eric Holder a "corporatist" who's going to "do the Devil's work" and merely "pretend" to investigate BP's role in the oil spill, lefty talk radio host Mike Malloy argued Wednesday night. Meanwhile, the big three network evening newscasts reported Holder's announcement of a criminal probe during their Tuesday night broadcasts, but only CBS's Chip Reid struck what could be called a skeptical note about the Obama administration's motives in publicly touting the investigation after a week of criticism about the federal government's less-than-effective handling of the matter.
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Now They Tell Us: Pro-Obama-Care Study By 'Wonderful' Group Now Seen As Dangerously Faulty By NYT
Another "now they tell us" moment from the New York Times on Obama-care appeared on Thursday's front page: "Study Cited for Health-Cost Cuts Overstated Its Upside, Critics Say" by health reporters Reed Abelson and Gardiner Harris. The study originated from the obscure Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care group and was heavily promoted on Capitol Hill by Congressional Budget Office director turned Obama budget director Peter Orszag.
Abelson has trod lightly over this ground before, in a December 23, 2009 story, pointing out flaws in the Dartmouth study, but this is the first Times story that challenges the findings root and branch. This after years of Times reporters and writers promoting the study, itself heavily promoted by Orszag.
In selling the health care overhaul to Congress, the Obama administration cited a once obscure research group at Dartmouth College to claim that it could not only cut billions in wasteful health care spending but make people healthier by doing so.
Wasteful spending -- perhaps $700 billion a year -- "does nothing to improve patient health but subjects you and me to tests and procedures that aren't necessary and are potentially harmful," the president's budget director, Peter Orszag, wrote in a blog post characteristic of the administration's argument.
....
Even Dartmouth's claims about which hospitals and regions are cheapest may be suspect. The principal argument behind Dartmouth's research is that doctors in the Upper Midwest offer consistently better and cheaper care than their counterparts in the South and in big cities, and if Southern and urban doctors would be less greedy and act more like ones in Minnesota, the country would be both healthier and wealthier.
But the real difference in costs between, say, Houston and Bismarck, N.D., may result less from how doctors work than from how patients live. Houstonians may simply be sicker and poorer than their Bismarck counterparts. Also, nurses in Houston tend to be paid more than those in North Dakota because the cost of living is higher in Houston. Neither patients' health nor differences in prices are fully considered by the Dartmouth Atlas.
The mistaken belief that the Dartmouth research proves that cheaper care is better care is widespread -- and has been fed in part by Dartmouth researchers themselves.
The debate about the Dartmouth work is important because a growing number of health policy researchers are finding that overhauling the nation's health care system will be far harder and more painful than the Dartmouth work has long suggested. Cuts, if not made carefully, could cost lives.
(Unfortunately, the Times has been among those outlets advocating cuts in care for the old in front-page stories.)
But the atlas's hospital rankings do not take into account care that prolongs or improves lives. If one hospital spends a lot on five patients and manages to keep four of them alive, while another spends less on each but all five die, the hospital that saved patients could rank lower because Dartmouth compares only costs before death.
After some sorting of disparate views, Abelson and Harris suggest the Dartmouth team overreached in its cost-cutting rhetoric:
Because some regions spent nearly a third more than other regions without any apparent benefit, the Dartmouth team concluded that at least one dollar in three was wasted by Medicare. When applied generally to the nation's health care system, that meant about $700 billion could be saved.
But as it began publicly discussing its research, the Dartmouth team often extrapolated beyond this basic finding. Not only do high-spending regions fail to provide better care, the Dartmouth team began to argue, but those regions actually offer worse care.
....
In other words, there is little evidence to support the widely held view, shaped by the Dartmouth researchers, that the nation's best hospitals tend to be among the least expensive.
The Times uncovered similar problems with Dartmouth's regional data, such as ranking New Jersey last because of its high costs, when the federal government ranks New Jersey second in quality of care nationwide.
A June 6, 2007 column by economic writer David Leonhardt called the group behind the study "wonderful."
These numbers come from the wonderful Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care. The Dartmouth researchers adjust the numbers to take into account age, race and sex, which is another way of saying that there is no good explanation for the huge variations they find.
Times health care reporter Robert Pear has cited the Dartmouth study favorably on several occasions. From March 3, 2008:
Researchers at Dartmouth Medical School have found large variations in the amount of hospital care and other services that people with the same condition receive in different parts of the country. In some regions, where doctors favor more intensive treatments, Medicare spends much more without getting better results for patients.Clay Waters is director of Times Watch. You can follow him on Twitter.
CBS: Memos Show Kagan 'Stood Shoulder to Shoulder with the Liberal Left'
On Thursday's CBS Evening News, correspondent Jan Crawford filed a report recounting revelations that Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan has a history of taking solidly liberal positions on issues like abortion, gay rights, and gun control – with evidence in the form of memos, some going back to her days working for liberal Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Crawford: "Documents buried in Thurgood Marshall's papers in the Library of Congress show that, as a young lawyer, Kagan stood shoulder to shoulder with the liberal left, including on the most controversial issue Supreme Court nominees ever confront: abortion."
The CBS correspondent informed viewers that Kagan had fretted about conservatives restricting abortion rights: "In a case involving a prisoner who wanted the state to pay for her to have the procedure, Kagan writes to Marshall that the conservative-leaning court could use the case to rule against the woman and 'create some very bad law on abortion.'"
Notably, on Monday, May 10, as the broadcast network evening newscasts introduced Kagan to their viewers, only CBS referred to her liberal ideology, as Crawford asserted: "Her career has put her solidly on the left."
In addition to having suggested that she sees a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, Kagan had also admitted that "I'm not sympathetic" to a lawsuit challenging the D.C. gun ban as unconstitutional. Crawford: "A recently disclosed memo on gun rights, in a case challenging the District of Columbia's handgun ban as unconstitutional, Kagan was blunt: 'I'm not sympathetic.'"
Crawford predicted that the revelations would have a significant impact on her confirmation hearings: "Taken together, these documents will be much harder for her to explain away than other less controversial papers unearthed before her confirmation hearings for solicitor general. ... But the documents seem to show that Kagan had some pretty strong legal views of her own, and, while that may encourage liberals, it's going to give Republicans a lot more ammunition to fight against her."
Below is a complete transcript of the report from the Thursday, June 3, CBS Evening News:
KATIE COURIC: The Senate is scheduled to begin confirmation hearings at the end of this month for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan. Kagan has never been a judge, but she did clerk for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. And in this exclusive report, chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford tells us she does have a paper trail.—Brad Wilmouth is a news analyst at the Media Research Center.
JAN CRAWFORD: Elena Kagan has kept her cards so close to the vest that some on the left have worried she's too moderate.
ELENA KAGAN, SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: Everybody's treated me very well.
CRAWFORD: But documents buried in Thurgood Marshall's papers in the Library of Congress show that, as a young lawyer, Kagan stood shoulder to shoulder with the liberal left, including on the most controversial issue Supreme Court nominees ever confront: abortion.
CLIP OF PROTESTERS: Abortion's got to go!
CRAWFORD: In a case involving a prisoner who wanted the state to pay for her to have the procedure, Kagan writes to Marshall that the conservative-leaning court could use the case to rule against the woman and "create some very bad law on abortion." She expressed strong views in a school desegregation case, calling a school busing plan "amazingly sensible." She said state court decisions upholding the plan recognized the "good sense and fair mindedness" of local efforts adding, "Let's hope this court takes not of the same." Kagan also wrote a memo Republicans will use to say she found a constitutional right to gay marriage. That case involved a man who said the state of New York was required to recognize his marriage in Kansas, even though it was illegal in New York. Kagan told Marshall his position was "arguably correct." And then, a recently disclosed memo on gun rights, in a case challenging the District of Columbia's handgun ban as unconstitutional, Kagan was blunt: "I'm not sympathetic." Taken together, these documents will be much harder for her to explain away than other less controversial papers unearthed before her confirmation hearings for solicitor general. At the time, she said:
KAGAN, DATED FEBRUARY 10, 2009: I was a 27-year-old pipsqueak, and I was working for an 80-year-old giant in the law, and a person who, let us be frank, had very strong jurisprudential and legal views.
CRAWFORD: But the documents seem to show that Kagan had some pretty strong legal views of her own, and, while that may encourage liberals, it's going to give Republicans a lot more ammunition to fight against her.
Brian Williams Claims Great Compassion, But Has Faulty Memory of His Own Shows
NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams granted an interview to the website Mediaite on Thursday, boasting that whatever the Obama administration and BP are doing to stop the oil spill is due to TV news cameras. Obama is behind the Williams curve, apparently.
Williams insisted he led with the story on the first night and described it on air as potentially "one of the most catastrophic events of all time" for the environment. Except he didn't lead the news with it on the first night. And he didn't call it a catastrophe. Here's his claim today:
The night the rig exploded I went on the air, it was our lead story. I asked the question, 'Is this going to lead to one of the most catastrophic events of all time where the environment is concerned?'
I got a kick out of President Obama saying that even when the cameras go away we'll still be there for you. That ain't the way this is going to play out. If anything, the cameras being here have compelled outside interests -- government, BP -- to kick this into another gear.
With all due respect, the President might have had his scenario off by 180 degrees. So we'll keep coming back here, we won't take our eyes off this region, we haven't since we knew we had a Category 5 storm off the coastline five years ago.On April 21, the first Nightly News report came second in the broadcast, after a story about "massive cutbacks" for public schools, post-"stimulus." Then Williams introduced Ron Mott:
Coast Guard rescuers spent the day looking for as many as 11 missing oil workers after a huge explosion rocked a drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, about 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana. Came out of nowhere. It left several workers critically injured. And the vigil is on again tonight for people working in a dangerous job. Our own Ron Mott is with us tonight from Port Fourchon in Louisiana.On April 22, Williams led the newscast with it, but he didn't suggest catastrophe. He actually understated it, that it "can't be good for the environment." The full context:
It was a spectacular explosion, a massive fire and a genuine human tragedy involving 11 missing men. Tonight, the oil platform that was on fire off the coast of Louisiana is gone. It sank today into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and the first thing a lot of people thought about was all that oil. This can't be good for the environment. It's where we start off tonight with NBC's Ron Mott.Williams did call it "catastrophic" and a "slow-motion environmental disaster"...on April 26, once the conventional wisdom had hardened.
Steve Krakauer at Mediaite, who conducted the interview, noted that Jon Friedman had called Williams the Cronkite of the new century, and "it makes his Pres. Obama comments that much more damning. 'If we've lost BriWi'...."
This kind of talk only feeds the abundant arrogance of Williams, whose peacock routine in this interview might remind the public of a preening Peter Jennings. NBC and the other networks have persistently covered the oil spill. They might seem more persistent than the government (especially as Obama seems distracted with fluff like golf and Beatles). But Williams seems to miss that news anchors and cameramen don't close oil spills. He's not offering expertise. He's just offering persistent public embarrassment to spur action.
Here's another snippet of the interview where Williams feels "compelled by pride" to boast:
MEDIAITE: You returned to the gulf region this week after about four weeks from the last time you were there.What do you see as one of the biggest changes in the time that you've been away?So Williams, in an eight-minute interview, can both claim that (a) he knew immediately it would be a historic catastrophe for the environment and (b) that he never dreamed the oil spill would be this "healthy." It shouldn't make NBC Nightly News viewers confident that Williams will always give them a reliable account of what's just happened.
WILLIAMS: It was May 3, I guess, when we arrived last time. I'm compelled by pride to point out I think this is something like our 16th trip to this region as a broadcast. And it seemed so innocent looking back on that trip. We didn't know -- the slick was much smaller, we knew this time bomb was coming, I never dreamed we'd still be talking about an even healthier flow of oil into the water, and I never dreamed that we'd be in Grand Isle, looking out at - I'm looking right now at the water line, a beautiful harbor surrounding by orange plastic booms. It is unbelievable to behold once you're here.
—Tim Graham is Director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center.
HuffPo's Grim: Real 'Crime' of White House Was 'Holding Back A Progressive Agenda'
On Thursday's 11AM EST hour on MSNBC, anchor Tamron Hall asked Ryan Grim of the left-wing Huffington Post about recent scandals involving the Obama White House tampering with Democratic primaries: "Darrell Issa of California...he wants the FBI involved in this....Any legs here, or is this, again, a situation that may be politicized by the other side?" [Audio available here]
Grim dismissed the idea that there was any need for an investigation: "I mean, this isn't criminal activity. This really is politics as usual." He then lamented: "...the problem for the administration is that, you know, they ran against politics as usual....they were going to move beyond all of this."
Later, Grim described the real "crime" in the Obama administration pressuring candidates like Joe Sestak in Pennsylvania and Andrew Romanoff in Colorado to end their respective primary challenges to incumbent Democratic senators: "...the real problem is that the administration didn't – wasn't willing to allow the Democratic base to choose the candidates....having these primary candidates actually pushes the senator in a more progressive direction....if there's any crime here, it's a political one, in that the administration was holding back a progressive agenda by not allowing these primaries to go forward."
Here is a full transcript of the segment:
11:08AM EST—Kyle Drennen is a news analyst at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here.
TAMRON HALL: And the White House is explaining and defending reports they approached a Democratic Senate candidate in Colorado to discuss some potential jobs with the Obama administration. Now, the administration is denying there was ever a formal job offer to this man, Andrew Romanoff. Romanoff had announced that he would challenge the White House-backed candidate, Senator Michael Bennett, in the Democratic primary. Today the White House is in what some are calling damage control mode, especially given the recent controversy regarding Congressman Joe Sestak. Ryan Grim covers Congress for the Huffington Post, he's with us now. Ryan, thanks for joining us. So give us the lowdown here. What is Romanoff saying? What is the White House saying?
RYAN GRIM: They're saying basically the same thing, that Romanoff talked to Rahm Emanuel's deputy, Jim Massena, and Massena offered him, or said that there were a few job possibilities in the administration if he didn't continue to try to primary Bennett out in Colorado. Romanoff said that he declined the offer and he decided to continue running for Senate. So the allegations being made are that they were trying to influence the Senate election, which clearly they were.
HALL: Well, regarding the Sestak issue, you've got Darrell Issa of California saying – Congressman Issa saying that, listen, he wants the FBI involved in this with this Romanoff thing. Any legs here, or is this, again, a situation that may be politicized by the other side?
GRIM: Right. I mean, this isn't criminal activity.
HALL: Right.
GRIM: This really is politics as usual. But the problem for the administration is that, you know, they ran against politics as usual. They ran as this post-partisan, you know, post-political savior of the political system. That they were going to move beyond all of this. And this was destiny. When you run – when you run that type of campaign and then pick Rahm Emanuel as your chief of staff, you're going to have this contradiction bubble up.
HALL: And I guess also people are noting, Ryan, that there was an e-mail even that Romanoff had of at least the three job offers that may have been put on the table.
GRIM: Right. And here's the thing. I mean, all of these different things are jobs. Being a Senator is a job. Working in the administration is a job. What Massena was saying, was 'look, instead of going for the Senate job, why don't you think about taking one of these Senate jobs.' Now, he wasn't saying 'you're guaranteed to get these administration jobs,' but it is hard to think about a situation where he drops out of the Senate race and then doesn't get one of the administration jobs. But the real problem is that the administration didn't – wasn't willing to allow the Democratic base to choose the candidates and instead wanted to have its own candidate. What we've seen in these primaries, both – you know, with Lincoln, with Specter and Sestak, and out in Colorado, is having these primary candidates actually pushes the senator in a more progressive direction. We got tough Wall Street reform from Lincoln because she got a primary challenge. And you have Bennett backing the public option out in Colorado because he got a primary challenge. So, you know, if there's any crime here, it's a political one, in that the administration was holding back a progressive agenda by not allowing these primaries to go forward.
HALL: Interesting developments.
GRIM: Or they went forward anyway.
HALL: Yeah, absolutely. Alright, Ryan, thank you very much. Great having you on. Thank you.
GRIM: Thank you.
Behar: Palin Made Her Children Targets, 'Passing That Kid Out More Than a Joint at a Grateful Dead Concert'
After having already used her appearance on Wednesday's The View show on ABC to defend author Joe McGinniss's claim that Sarah Palin was acting like a Nazi trying to intimidate him, Joy Behar again defended McGinniss on the same day's Joy Behar Show on HLN, and suggested that Palin is responsible for making her children into targets for daring to let the public see her family – as most politicians do – while she was running for Vice President. Behar: "The other thing is that isn`t she the one who put her kids in the spotlight in the first place? I mean, they, at the convention, when they were passing that kid out more than a joint at a Grateful Dead concert. Remember that? I mean, she started it, as far as I can tell."
Guest Lizz Winstead, co-creator of the Daily Show, then chimed in that Palin had already written about her "dumb life": "She already wrote a book about her own dumb life anyway, and, as far as I can tell, when Joe McGinniss writes about Sarah Palin, he doesn`t go into her personal life. He`s writing about whether or not she has a modicum of skill to run anything."
Behar also seemed to agree with McGinniss that the way Palin has dealt with him is indeed "Nazi-like." Behar: "He didn`t really equate her with the Nazis. He`s saying the tactic is very Nazi-like. Which is, which is what? Which is unleashing the wrath of the Palinites out there on this guy. That`s where the Nazi tactic comes in because when she says they`re attacking or being a threat to my children, all of these little Palinites go berserk, over the edge."
Below is a complete transcript of the relevant segment from the Wednesday, June 2, Joy Behar Show on HLN:
JOY BEHAR: You know, there`s something other than Russia that Sarah Palin can see from her house. It`s Joe McGinniss, the author who moved in next door to Palin while, while he writes a book about her. She`s calling foul claiming her privacy is being invaded. Now, a nasty war of words has erupted between the two. With me now are Ana Marie Cox, Washington correspondent for GQ magazine, and Lizz Winstead, comedian and co-creator of the Daily Show. Okay, Palin has made McGinniss a target of a national, of national harassment because he moved in next door to her. Okay, he`s renting a house. You know the story. Most people, I think, know it at this point. She`s tweeted and Facebooked about him. A conservative radio talk show host gave out his e-mail address which he had to shut down, and, after he moved in, she posted a Facebook, a picture of him on Facebook in the house. Now, is she now invading his privacy, Lizz?—Brad Wilmouth is a news analyst at the Media Research Center.
LIZZ WINSTEAD, COMEDIAN: Here`s the thing. If she does this in her personal life-
BEHAR: Yeah.
WINSTEAD: -you know, just the pre-emptive crazy, can you imagine if she was holding a high public office. Like, it would be horrible. This is how she reacts, she`s just reactive and bizarre.
BEHAR: Yeah, she overreacts.
WINSTEAD: Yeah, and I think she is being a little bit weird. I mean, it`s, at first, I was like, it`s kind of weird he moved in next door-
BEHAR: Yeah.
WINSTEAD: -but then my second thought was, he made it very public he was doing this. So, because he knew she was going to react this way. I mean A, he`ll get press for it, but B, why not move in next door to her? It`s an investigative journalist's dream to have the subject that you are, living in the house next to you. How awesome is that?
BEHAR: Ana Marie, do you find it creepy at all that he`s there?
ANA MARIE COX, GQ MAGAZINE: Well, yes, I mean, I think, as a feminist, you know, as a woman, the male gaze is a little unsettling, but, as a journalist, I find it really upsetting the way that she`s reacting to him. And I have to agree with Lizz, I think the overreaction here and the escalation that she`s done, can you imagine if she had at her disposal, you know, a private police force or a national police force? I mean, if she was actually holding office and had an investigative team that she could have working for her, if she had access to people`s records, if she could do whatever she wanted, imagine what kind of havoc she could wreak in this guy`s life, which, of course, makes me think, remember Troopergate? That all seems, this all seems really familiar now and even more unsettling.
WINSTEAD: Well, and it also, she feels like she deserves this power, and that`s the part that freaks me out, is that she really feels like any amount of power that she is given, whether she`s governor or just a, you know, a talking bot, it feels like she's just, the second she gets a moment of power, she just feels like she can do whatever she wants with it.
COX: And not that she can do whatever she wants with it, but use it against her enemies.
WINSTEAD: Yes.
COX: She is someone who definitely like, feels like she has enemies.
WINSTEAD: Right.
COX: And that they are personal enemies. Like, she cannot take this to the level of abstraction.
BEHAR: Paranoid.
COX: She can`t think of this as like a journalist covering a subject, right?
BEHAR: Right.
COX: It is Joe McGinniss attacking her, her personally. And, you know, and she brought her kids into this, which I have to say I don`t has anything-
BEHAR: Well, she implies in her Facebook thing that he`s going to be staring at Piper through the window, which automatically makes him into some kind of pervert, which is not his intention at all. Okay, the fight escalated this morning when McGinniss went on NBC`s Today Show. Watch.
JOE MCGINNISSS, AUTHOR/SARAH PALIN`S NEIGHBOR: It`s probably a lesson for the American people of the power Palin has to incite hatred and her willingness and readiness to do it. She has pushed a button and unleashed the hounds of hell, and now they're out there slobbering and barking and growling. And that`s the same kind of tactic – and I`m not calling her a Nazi – but that`s the same kind of tactic that the Nazi troopers used in Germany in the `30s, and I don`t think there`s any place for it in America.
BEHAR: Okay, now she says in response, "When I say, all right, leave my kids alone, it means simply that. Let my kids have a fun summer without having a journalist 15 feet from their play area. How that equates me with the Nazis is quite beyond me." Okay, she`s not, he didn`t really equate her with the Nazis. He`s saying the tactic is very Nazi-like.
WINSTEAD: Well, I just think any time you know-
BEHAR: Which is, which is what? Which is unleashing the wrath of the Palinites out there on this guy.
WINSTEAD: Yes.
BEHAR: That`s where the Nazi tactic comes in because when she says they`re attacking or being a threat to my children, all of these little Palinites go berserk.
WINSTEAD: I know, but just Nazi thing kind of, like, he has (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the Nazi thing.
BEHAR: Over the edge.
WINSTEAD: Over the edge, you know what, I just find it boring. Now, here`s the thing that I think is the biggest problem with Palin, is that why didn`t Bravo find her two weeks before McCain did, and we could just had the real housewives-
BEHAR: I know, we have to blame him.
WINSTEAD: -of Alaska and have it begun because she is exactly like that crazy woman on the Housewives of New Jersey.
BEHAR: Yes, the other thing is that isn`t she the one who put her kids in the spotlight in the first place? I mean, they-
WINSTEAD: Yes.
BEHAR: -at the convention, when they were passing that kid out more than a joint at a Grateful Dead concert.
WINSTEAD: Yeah.
BEHAR: Remember that?
WINSTEAD: She drags them out constantly.
BEHAR: I mean, she started it as far as I can tell.
WINSTEAD: She already wrote a book about her own dumb life anyway, and, as far as I can tell, when Joe McGinniss writes about Sarah Palin, he doesn`t go into her personal life. He`s writing about whether or not she has a modicum of skill-
BEHAR: Yeah.
WINSTEAD: -to run anything.
BEHAR: Right. Now, do you think, Ana Marie, do you think-
COX: She`s certainly good at running her own branding.
WINSTEAD: Yes.
COX: I mean, I think, that, that`s what she has a skill at. I mean, I don`t think she has, she could be the CEO of anything other than, you know, Palinville, the Palin company. And she`s branded herself really expertly, like even this, her outcry over McGinniss, puts her in this weird, non-threatening female position. I mean, we were sort of sold a bill of goods about her that she`s a strong woman. But everything she does in the public eye makes me think she`s actually very retrograde.
BEHAR: So isn`t this, isn`t it, the fence is up, shouldn`t that be the end of the conversation? The fence is up.
WINSTEAD: Well, the fence is up, yeah. But you know what? I just feel, too, it`s not brave to attack through Facebook and Twitter. You`re a grown woman with a public platform. I mean, it`s really weird.
BEHAR: Okay. Thanks, ladies, very much. And you can catch the fabulous Lizz Winstead at the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, in Burlington, Vermont on June 19 th. We`ll be back in a minute with Alan Alda.
NBC Skips Any Mention of Latest Obama Job Offer to Dem Politician, Touts President's Rock Concert
On Thursday's Today, the NBC program ignored the revelation that the Obama administration attempted to persuade a Democratic Senate candidate to drop out of a primary race. ABC's Good Morning America and CBS's Early Show both highlighted the story in full reports.
CBS's Erica Hill announced, "There are new allegations of back room politics by the White House. A Colorado politician says the Obama administration hinted at a job offer if he stayed out of the Senate race."
ABC's Jake Tapper pointed out the potential problems for the White House: "But this does look bad. It looks, again, like politics as usual. And Republicans, you can expect them to make a lot of hay about this today."
The AG vs. BP: Little Skepticism on ABC and NBC, While Lefty Talker Blasts Holder as 'Corporatist' Pretender
The American lawyers who flock to Guantanamo Bay to represent captured terrorists are simply fulfilling their duty to provide representation, it is often argued by those who seem to enjoy mucking up efforts to curtail future terrorism. But once representing the American beverage giant Coca Cola makes Attorney General Eric Holder a "corporatist" who's going to "do the Devil's work" and only "pretend" to go tough on BP after the oil spill, lefty talk radio host Mike Malloy (a onetime CNN news writer) argued Wednesday night. (Audio here.)
I guess you know this by now, the, uh, Justice Department under Eric Holder who defended, uh, was it Coca-Cola, against murder charges in, uh, South America? Good old Eric Holder, another corporatist, who, uh, is going to do the Devil's work now and pretend that he is conducting a criminal investigation into the events that led to the oil gush?For their part, the big three network evening newscasts reported Holder's announcement of a "criminal investigation" against BP during their Tuesday night broadcasts, but only CBS's Chip Reid struck what could be called a skeptical note about the Obama administration's motives in publicly touting the investigation after a week of criticism about the federal government's less-than-effective handling of the matter.
"The barrage of attacks on BP may be motivated in part by politics," Reid assessed on the June 1 Evening News, an attempt to make the company "a villain to distract from a growing chorus of criticism of the President who has visited the Gulf only twice in 43 days."
On ABC, anchor Diane Sawyer was much milder, asking whether "declaring BP a potential enemy" might "make it harder" for the administration to work with them on a solution. (Ever the Obama sycophant, George Stephanopoulos assured her that threatening BP would actually make things better.) And on NBC, correspondent Anne Thompson offered no second-guessing of the administration, just a couple of sentences matter-of-factly noting Holder's announcement.
Here's more of how the network evening newscasts covered Holder on Tuesday, arranged from the least skeptical (NBC) to most skeptical (CBS):
ANNE THOMPSON: This environmental disaster is now the focus of the Justice Department, confirming today both criminal and civil investigations into the oil rig explosion and the crude that now taints Louisiana's coast.#ABC's World News
ERIC HOLDER: We will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law anyone who has violated the law.
DIANE SAWYER: If the administration is now declaring BP a potential enemy here, what does this do to the cleanup? Does it make it harder?# CBS Evening News
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Well that's the question I asked the Attorney General. And he said quite the contrary. Not only does BP have an interest to clean this up for their own reasons, but also that that would be taken to account in any civil or criminal proceeding, but there's a lot of politics at play here as well, Diane. The White House, the administration believes that BP hasn't been fully straight in all their press conferences and they don't want to get saddled with BP's problems.
CHIP REID: The barrage of attacks on BP may be motivated in part by politics.— Rich Noyes is Research Director at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here.
JOHN DICKERSON, POLITICAL ANALYST: This administration is doing what every administration under fire does, which is to defend themselves, and then also deflect the blame to someone else. Here they've got a ready villain, and that's BP.
REID: A villain to distract from a growing chorus of criticism of the President who has visited the Gulf only twice in 43 days. Even some supporters of the President including General Colin Powell have criticized his slow response....The relationship between the White House and BP has clearly moved into a new and hostile phase, leaving many people wondering how they`re going to work together to respond to this disaster.
Fwd: Morning Bell: The Jobless Obama Recovery
06/04/2010
This Wednesday in Pittsburgh, President Barack Obama defended his administration's economic policies telling the audience at Carnegie Mellon University: "Now, I've never believed that government has all the answers. Government cannot and should not replace businesses as the true engine of growth and job creation." But that is exactly what the President's big government policies are doing. Last week, USA Today reported that in the first quarter of 2010, thanks to President Obama's failed $862 economic stimulus, paychecks from private business shrank to their smallest share of personal income in U.S. history while government-provided benefits — from Social Security, unemployment insurance, food stamps and other programs — rose to a record high.
And now the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor and Statistics released its monthly jobs report today showing that the economy added 431,000 jobs in May. But don't let that number fool you. Of those 431,000 jobs, 411,000 jobs were temporary government Census jobs. In fact, private sector job growth actually fell in May, from 231,000 new private sector jobs in April to just 41,000 new private sector jobs in May. Combining the private and public sectors--the nation's unemployment rate fell to 9.7% as 286,000 workers left the labor force. In total the U.S. economy has now lost a net of 2.2 million jobs since President Barack Obama signed his stimulus bill and his administration is now 7.2 million jobs short of what he promised the American economy would support by 2010.
While there is little doubt our resilient economy is finally recovering, it is also becoming increasingly clear that this administration's policies are making it difficult for private sector firms to produce robust job growth. Obamacare not only raises taxes by $503 billion through 2019, but it also burdens small businesses with new 1099 IRS paperwork every time they do more than $600 in business with another entity, and it imposes an employer mandate which makes it harder for small businesses to hire new workers. Then there is Obama's budget which raises taxes on the small businesses that earn 72% of all small business income, raises capital gains taxes to 20%, and raises taxes on dividends to 39.6%. And don't forgot the recently passed tax bill in the House which manages to add billions in debt while adding on a job-killing tax on American corporations that compete overseas and a job-killing tax on innovation-creating venture capital partnerships.
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