CNN, MSNBC Reject Ads Based Purely On Their Politics

I know many will say that by now this kind of thing should no longer surprise me, but I must admit, this story still caught me off-guard. Two major (well, perhaps “major” is a bit of hyperbole) news organizations refusing to air commercials, and in the process make money – the supposed purpose of their existence, simply because the movie Atlas Shrugged has a “conservative” bent. Actually all it really stands for, is men standing on their own two feet rather than suckling on the government tit, but somehow that’s become extreme conservatism in this day and age of rampant socialism.

Mind you, this movie contains no violence, that would be fine. No nudity, that would be okay too. It’s not a documentary purporting the benevolence and general greatness of Che Guevera or Stalin – they’d air those commercials for free and probably with glee. Nope, this movie contains none of those things a rational person might find inappropriate. So, what makes it so bad that CNN and MSNBC refuse to even air advertisements for it? Well, you tell me, because I literally can not imagine. Here’s how Wikipedia describes this great American novel…

The book explores a dystopian United States where leading innovators, ranging from industrialists to artists, refuse to be exploited by society. The protagonist, Dagny Taggart, sees society collapse around her as the government increasingly asserts control over all industry (including Taggart Transcontinental, the once mighty transcontinental railroad for which she serves as the Vice President of Operations), while society’s most productive citizens, led by the mysterious John Galt, progressively disappear. Galt describes the strike as “stopping the motor of the world” by withdrawing the “minds” that drive society’s growth and productivity. In their efforts, these people “of the mind” hope to demonstrate that a world in which the individual is not free to create is doomed, that civilization cannot exist where people are slaves to society and government, and that the destruction of the profit motive leads to the collapse of society.

Ooooh, scary stuff; let’s organize a book burning party quick before anyone else reads this thing! Of course, I kid. This amazing work should be on every reading list in every American Literature class in the country. It’s a compelling novel, and it’s an even more compelling look at the destructive force of government take-over of society and manipulation of free-markets. So, why then have most have never even heard of it, and why are CNN and MSNBC suppressing advertisements for a movie while claiming to present an unbiased look at news? Something seems queer, doesn’t it? Oh well, “Who is John Galt?”

Media Says Obama is “Like GOD”

Are you still clinging to that fantasy that the media is an unbiased neutral entity just providing the country with the facts and letting the citizenry make up its own mind? I hate to burst your bubble, but check out this clip from MSNBC’s Hardball (yeah, hard ball, right!)  in which Evan Thomas, Assistant Managing Editor of Newsweek magazine says that, “Obama is like God”. As if that weren’t enough, listen carefully as Chris Matthews gets in a quick, “uh-huh” in agreement.

That’s some hard hitting journalism there Chris. Someone just came on your “news” program and called the President “God” and all you could muster was  a grunt of agreement. I’m just speculating here, but had someone come on the program and said the same thing about President Bush, I can almost guarantee you’d have had a coronary on the spot!

Often when the subject of media bias comes up, the left will bring up Fox News as if one right leaning media entity outweighs every other television station, newspaper, magazine, etc. First, one can’t possibly offset hundreds, and perhaps more to the point, I dare someone to say with a straight face that a Fox News anchor would have allowed a guest to go unchallenged if he/she had been juvenille enough to come on the air and call a Republican President “God”.

Media bias is clearly present and if anything becoming more extreme today. When you’re looking for it (on the right or the left) keep this in mind… A good journalist tells you the story without you being able to determine what they think about it. When’s the last time that happened?

Another Bail Out?

If you are at all like most people you’ve spent the past few months wondering who the Government is going to bail out next?” Well, Senator John Kerry (D-MA) has your answer and it is… wait for it – the U.S. Newspaper industry. It seems many of the nation’s most well known newspapers are in serious financial trouble. The New York Times is a reported $133 billion in debt and its subsidiary, the Boston Globe,  is expected to lose $85 million this year. Major daily papers in Seattle and Denver have been shut down completely and the LA Times, Chicago Tribune and many others are seeking bankruptcy protection.

Whether one is in favor or opposed to the financial and automotive bailouts by our Government (and I’ll admit, I go back and forth), there is little doubt that there are complex issues at play and it’s a tough question. Perhaps the experts are correct and a collapse of the financial system was imminent, and potentially catastrophic, had the government not stepped in. Perhaps there is more to be gained than lost by saving the U.S. auto industry, although I doubt it. But newspapers Senator Kerry? Really?

Apparently Mr. Kerry wasn’t listening on April 15th when hundreds of thousands of American citizens took to the streets at 800 tea parties around the country to demand that this government stop throwing money away, money it doesn’t have to begin with. Although the incompetent U.S. media (some of the same ones who apparently now need a bailout) tried to portray these peaceful rallies as anti-tax, the key issue for these concerned citizens was out-of-control spending. Now Senator Kerry wants Congress to consider spending even more.

Consider the political ramifications of such an action. Afterall, journalists although they rarely act like it in these partisan days, were once known as the Fourth Estate for their ability to provide one more check and balance on government. So, I ask the question that is obvious to everyone except John Kerry; how does a newspaper honestly report on a government that is subsidizing their very existence?

Is There a Journalist In the House?

For those who don’t know “Teabagging” is a relatively disgusting sexual expression that conveniently for the comedians impersonating journalists at CNN and MSNBC doesn’t happen to be banned by the FCC, although most people would find the act it describes more repugnant than many sexual innuendos the FCC does restrict. You’ll have to Google it for more information; my mother occasionally reads this blog.

On Wednesday both “news” networks chose to use this off-color humor (CNN example, MSNBC example) to insult a group of citizens expressing their political views, something I was under the impression we encouraged in this country. When you repeatedly insinuate that tens of thousands of your fellow citizens have genitalia in their mouths, you irrefutably demonstrate your complete disregard for anyone with a conservative perspective and exactly why calling yourself a journalist is out of the question, not to mention your complete lack of class!

These hacks went on to insinuate, as Nancy Pelosi did yesterday, that the entire Tea Party concept and events were organized and promoted by Fox News and/or America’s wealthy to keep the conversation on taxes. What they failed to do (heck, they failed to even attempt to do it) was to support this claim with any actual reporting. They didn’t interview anyone who could validate the claim. They didn’t produce any emails or letters from an organizer to support the claim. No, they didn’t even pretend to have an unnamed source that could corroborate their version of reality. Just throw it out there – some people will fall for it, right.

Meanwhile, in a slightly subtler but significantly more deceptive tact, both networks talked repeatedly about the events as if they were protests of high federal income taxes and how ridiculous that is because the President just lowered everyone’s taxes. Of course, they knew better than this, but the truth doesn’t fit their agenda. The truth is these were protests about out-of-control government spending first and foremost. They were protests of Congressional earmarks and bank bailouts and illegal immigration. And yes, they were protests of higher taxes; maybe not today, but in the years to come. Is there anyone out there so delusional as to think all this spending will get paid for by taxing just the “rich”? This is a simple bait and switch by the Obama administration – it’s the “offer” from the credit card company to skip your next 3 payments, meanwhile the interest keeps accruing. Average Americans will pay for this spending in the end!

CNN and MSNBC know this. At least I don’t think their so stupid as to not know it. But, it doesn’t fit the agenda. So they’ll keep insulting conservative minded Americans, giving a major nationwide political rally limited coverage and dropping perverted sexual innuendos; anything to distract you from the glaring lack of actual journalism.