Category Archives: Media

2008 Election, Media, Politics

John Edwards Out Of VP Consideration

Under most circumstances, if you’re a married man having a ‘meeting’ with a single woman at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles, you would have no chance for consideration to be Barack Obama’s running mate. Emphasis on ‘under most circumstances.’ For Bill Clinton, a little extramarital affair was a resume enhancement. But I don’t think that Clinton’s ‘pass’ will pass on to former senator John Edwards.

As always, you have to consider the source. OK, it is the National Enquirer. After that, you have to consider that they caught Edwards cold, down to the room numbers rented, who was in them, how both Edwards and Hunter got there, and how they left the hotel, and who drove them.

There is no evidence of what went on in the room between John Edwards and Rielle Hunter. After all, they could have been watching Keith Olbermann on TV. He could say ‘I did not have sex with that woman, Ms. Hunter,’ and everything would be OK. But he is not saying a word about it to reporters. Edwards was in the room from 9:45 p.m. Pacific time last Monday until 2:40 a.m. Tuesday.

His leaving was more like an escape than anything else. And there were plenty of witnesses that were not employees of the tabloid.

Knowing he had been caught, Edwards did not leave through the lobby. He went down a stairwell and into a bathroom, possibly to comb his hair. Or maybe to call hotel security to escort him out of there without the reporters all over him. Security did go down there and he was escorted out. Coincidence?

You haven’t seen a word about this little adventure in the mainstream media have you? It is in the undernews media and the blogosphere. And the Obama campaign is aware of it. One thing is for sure, he isn’t on Obama’s short list for Vice-President any more.

related link: John Edwards Love Child | Sen. John Edwards Caught With Mistress And Love Child!

2008 Election, Media, Politics

Obama Speaks At Concert Venue In Berlin

Like what happened in Oregon a few months ago, which was also ignored by the media, the crowd of over 100,000 young people in Berlin today were there because of a day and night of rock concerts more than they were there to see Barack Obama. al-AP describes it this way . . .

Police estimated that more than 200,000 people came to watch the speech, according to The Associated Press.

Oddly enough, the estimates of the size of the crowd varies from between 100,000 and 200,000. I guess it depends on who you want to credit with the turnout, the concert performers or the American political performer, Barack Obama.

Wolf Blitzer’s report on the ‘Situation Room’ said that the crowd was there to see Barack. The truth is that they had no choice but to sit through Barack’s performance. Got to give his campaign credit for the image that the pictures of the crowd create, disingenuous as it is. Trouble with all that is, Barack isn’t running for German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s job.

related link: CNN

2008 Election, Immigration, Judiciary, Media, Pensacola, Politics, War On Terror

Holebrooke Has It Wrong On McCain And Timetable

But that’s never stopped him before. On MSNBC’s Morning Joe show this morning, former Ambassador to the U.N. Richard Holbrooke perpetuates the media spin about Iraqi PM alMaliki and the timetable and McCain. In speaking about Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Holebrooke portrays McCain as being at odds with both Bush and alMaliki regarding a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq when they are all, in fact, on the same page.

The reality is that the timetable the three are in agreement with is more Table than Time, based on progress on the ground and political progress in Baghdad, not on the calendar. They next interviewed Andy Card, former Chief of Staff for Bush, who corrected Holebrooke’s spin. And much to their amusement, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski laughed at him.

What is most amusing, or disturbing, about the hosts on the show, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, is that they could not discern the difference between the two.

related link: Iraq’s Timetable Is More Table Than Time

2008 Election, Media, Politics, Race Relations

Jesse Jackson Shows His True Color

Stocks tumble in the race industry. Jesse Jackson’s stock that is. Affectionately called America’s beloved race pimp, the good Rev. Jackson took issue with first-term Sen. Barack Obama’s speech to a Black audience. It was a speech that was much the same as what Bill Cosby had said years ago. Fox has not released the transcript, but did say Jackson’s comment had to do with Obama telling them ‘how to behave.’

According to Fox, Jackson was referring to the audience in using the N-word. Jackson, like any entrepreneur, is seeing a rookie threaten his market share in the race business by making him irrelevant. And when you consider that Jackson is out for Jackson, and not Blacks, something like ‘Listen to him, he’s telling those n_____s how to behave’ would be a believable statement coming from Rev. Jackson.

One can’t rule out some personal animosity where Obama is concerned either. Obama, as far as we know, has not had a love child outside of his marriage like Rev. Jackson. In that respect, Obama is head and shoulders above Jackson.

About a year ago, Jesse Jackson and the NAACP buried the N-word in a mock funeral in Detroit. Now Rev. Jackson has resurrected it. But will he get the same treatment as Don Imus, Michael Richards, or George Allen?

Fox news showed great editorial restraint in not publishing the transcript. Their rationale is they can get the news out of the recording, which is Jackson’s hypocrisy and contempt for Blacks, without having to release the recording or the transcript.

Who thinks that the New York Times would have chosen that route if the offender was a republican, white or black? My guess is that there wouldn’t be anything else on the news until the guy was driven out of his job, if not charged with a hate crime. Or both.

related links:His Obama trauma speaks volumes about Jackson | Fox: Jackson used N-word in crude off-air remarks | NAACP delegates ‘bury’ N-word in ceremony | Jesse Jackson admits love child

Media, Politics

Iraq's Timetable Is More Table Than Time

Good news. Iraq is finally in the position to look toward taking over complete control of their country, and us out.

In politics, nothing happens by accident. Although the last of the five Army brigades that made up the surge will be leaving this month, political solutions still need to happen. 15 of 18 goals set forth last year have been met.

The widely publicized, and misrepresented, ‘timetable’ is a lesson in political maneuvering. PM al-Maliki has some coalition building of his own to undertake. Bringing together all the political parts to unify the country is required. Talk of a timetable, it is hoped, will facilitate that. The real timetable isn’t based on the calendar. According to his national security adviser, Mouwaffak al-Rubaie, it is based on the ability of Iraqi forces to provide security, which is in agreement with the Bush administration, not against it.

It is the media’s interpretation of a TIMEtable that the administration is against. Not Iraq’s.

related links:Iraqi security better; governance falling short | Iraq raises idea of timetable for US withdrawal

Media, Politics, War On Terror

Senate Overwhelmingly Passes FISA Law

In a 69-28 vote yesterday, the Senate approved a revised FISA bill that the House approved last month. The President is expected to sign it. It is a little disappointing that the vote wasn’t 97-0, since we are talking about taking out terrorists and terrorist cells, but it does show the far left’s commitment to their wacko base.

Bowing to President Bush’s demands, the Senate approved and sent the White House a bill Wednesday to overhaul bitterly disputed rules on secret government eavesdropping and shield telecommunications companies from lawsuits complaining they helped the U.S. spy on Americans.

alAP is not pleased. In fact, if you want to know where alAP stands on the issue, one only has to read the title of their article, ‘Senate bows to Bush, approves surveillance bill.’

They could have approached it from a different perspective, like an unbiased news perspective. They might have used one like this, ‘Washington United In Fighting Terror.’ Had they done that, it would have also sent the correct message to the enemy, instead of the wrong one.

link: Senate bows to Bush, approves surveillance bill

2008 Election, Immigration, Media, Politics

Embarrassed For The First Time?

I was flabbergasted today when Democrat Presidential Candidate Sen. Barack Obama said that he was embarrassed, as an American, compared to European countries. And for an even more innocuous, if not arrogant, reason. Speaking ‘Spanish.’

I’ve never before seen such contempt for their country from someone who wants to be president of it then what the possible first couple thinks of it. His wife, no, I won’t lay off her. His wife said that for the first time she was proud of her country. It doesn’t matter what kind of context she comes up with. That statement speaks for itself as far as where she is coming from. From her writings at Princeton, it makes perfect sense that she would and could say something like she said. There was no mis-speaking going on.

Now, Barack himself says today that the United States embarrasses him. What the hell kind of talk is that about this country from someone that wants to be President? What media figure will ask the first-term senator whether this was the first time he had been embarrassed by this country, or if he has felt that way all his life? That isn’t going to happen.

I wouldn’t expect the media to pick up on this. Which explains why, about 10 hours after it happened, there is no news yet about it in the drive-by media. Not the New York Times, not the Washington Post, and not al-AP.

Media, Pensacola, Race Relations

Nation's Best 'Black' Newspaper

Actually, the award is the ‘Best Newspaper,’ not the best Black newspaper. But I didn’t title it, E & P did. The relevance of the ‘Black’ aspect of it is the National Newspaper Publishers Association, known as The Black Press Of America. The NNPA is a 67-year-old federation of more than 200 Black community newspapers from across the United States. From Editor & Publisher . . .

The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), has bestowed 10 honors, including the John B. Russwurm Award for “Best Newspaper,” to the Philadelphia Tribune, the nation’s oldest continuously running black newspaper. This is the seventh time in the last 12 years that the Philadelphia Tribune has won the “Best Newspaper” award.

Among the awards the Philly Tribune received is Best Editorial for this piece from Sunday editor Mike Bruton titled ‘End The Chaos: Start Snitching.’

With the city’s crime problem and explosive murder rate, Mr. Bruton hit the nail on the head with this one. We could benefit from his message right here in Pensacola. And everywhere for that matter.

related links: ‘Philadelphia Tribune’ Named Nation’s Best Black Newspaper | End the chaos: Start snitching

Media, Politics

Happy Independence Day

We’ll be celebrating our independence with the family and thanking God that we were all born in the United States, where freedom is not a dirty word. Although that does depend on who you ask.

Others, like Mark Murray, Deputy Political Director at NBC, prefer to forget the purpose of the holiday. To him, it’s ‘Happy Fourth of July.’ It’s a day off from work.

At the time I read his post on First Read, there were no comments posted. So I commented to his post something to the effect of ‘Happy Fourth of July? Mark, it’s Happy Independence Day. But you knew that.’

I just checked in on the post and my comment is not among those listed. So I made another just for giggles.

This post probably won’t make it either, like the one I made yesterday. I guess because the author feels embarrassed at the thought of calling this holiday what it really is, Independence Day.

Not one, NOT ONE, post in this thread (so far) refers to it. It’s happy 4th of July to the left, and the media, who should know better. But won’t.

So, to all my conservative friends reading this, both of you, Happy Independence Day.

Not one of the ‘approved’ comments mention Independence Day. There can only be one of two reasons for this. Either Mr. Murray refuses to acknowledge the holiday and all that it represents, which would amount to malpractice for a ‘Political Director,’ OR like all the other commenters, he really doesn’t know what it is, which would amount to journalistic malpractice as well. Could there be another possible reason?

One thing is evident about the political climate today. The current batch of the majority party today would never have dreamed of splitting with the Crown. And if they did dream about it, they wouldn’t have the courage to do it.

related links: Happy Fourth Of July | History’s trash heap filled with dust of empire | Some Americans Are Saying We Shouldn’t Celebrate Independence Day | Independence Day: Happy Birthday, America! 232 Years Strong