Archive for the ‘Media Bias’ Category

Obama Snubs Medal of Honor Inaugural Ball – 1st time in 50 years

Monday, January 26th, 2009

This is the ONLY article on this I could find in a major U.S. news outlet in a search of Google News:Obama Snubs Nation’s Heroes, Becomes the First President to Skip Ball Honoring Medal of Honor Recipients in Over 50 Yearshttp://www.clevelandleader.com/node/8627

The Cleveland LeaderBarack Obama may have stumbled over his words briefly during his inauguration, but he made an even bigger blunder later Tuesday evening. The newly sworn-in President opted not to appear at what should have been one of the most important Balls on his agenda that evening – The Salute to Heroes Inaugural Ball.The Salute to Heroes Inaugural Ball was begun in 1953 for President Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration. The event recognized recipients of the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military award. There were 48 Medal of Honor recipients in attendance, who were undoubtedly disappointed by the Commander-in-Chief’s failure to show. Over the past 56 years and 14 inaugurations, no President has skipped this event – until now.

The Salute to Heroes Inaugural Ball is sponsored by the American Legion, and co-sponsored by 13 other veteran’s service organizations, including those such as the Paralyzed Veterans of America and the Military Order of the Purple Heart.

Instead of attending this ball honoring our nation’s heroes, Obama was busy making stops at 10 other official balls. Obama and his wife’s first stop was at the Neighborhood Ball. From there they went to the Home State Ball for Illinois and Hawaii, the Commander-in-Chief Ball, the Youth Inaugural Ball, and the Home State Ball for Delaware and Pennsylvania. They finished off the night with brief appearances at the Mid-Atlantic, Western, Midwest, Eastern, and Southern regional Balls.

Celebrities were a plenty at the balls, with Stevie Wonder, Shakira, Mary. J. Blige, Faith Hill, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Adam Levine, will.i.am, Sting, Mariah Carey, and Leonardo DiCaprio in attendance at the Neighborhood Ball. In addition, the other nine balls also featured a star-studded lineup including Kanye West and Kid Rock at the Youth Ball, Marc Anthony at the Western Ball, and Cheryl Crow at the Western Ball.

It was the party without all of the celebrities that Obama skipped. The very people who he sought to have support him during his candidacy and campaign, who have fought to protect this country, were snubbed in favor of publicity and the opportunity to rub shoulders – yet again – with the out-of-touch Hollywood elite.

Ushering in the error of Obama

Friday, January 23rd, 2009

THE FOUNDATION

“The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.” –James Madison

PATRIOT PERSPECTIVE

Ushering in the error of Obama

By Mark Alexander

Presidential oath – redux

The inauguration-ordination-coronation of Barack Obama on Tuesday was heralded by his fawning media as nothing less than a “messianic” revival, with endless inaugural balls and star-studded celebrations on either end.

Strange, but I seem to recall that the Leftmedia skewered George W. Bush for spending almost $40 million on his first inauguration, proclaiming the events to be “grotesque” and all about “excess.”

But with deficit spending estimated to fly past the trillion-dollar mark in Obama’s first year in office, not one of his media sycophants has questioned the cost of this week’s events. Perhaps that is because it cost a mere $.00017 trillion, or about $1.25 million for each of the 130 tons of garbage his constituents dumped on the Mall.

All this was apparently not enough funding, however, to provide for his attendance at the Salute to Heroes Inaugural Ball, which has been attended by every president since its inception 56 years ago. The event, hosted by the American Legion, the Military Order of Purple Hearts, and Paralyzed Veterans for America, recognizes their service and was attended by 48 of the nation’s 99 living Medal of Honor recipients. This is the 50th anniversary of the Medal of Honor Society.

Of course, it might be deemed indecorous to question the cost to inaugurate the first “African-American” president. (I hyphenated Obama’s heritage because, unlike 99 percent of blacks in America who are native to this land, one of Obama’s parents was actually African.)

Millions across the nation and around the world were watching as the climactic moment of the festivities arrived — the part where Barack Hussein Obama interrupted Chief Justice John Roberts just four words into the oath, then choked as he vowed to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Who could have predicted that? (Justice Roberts administered the oath of office again, Tuesday evening, in the Oval Office. Reportedly, Obama waited for his cue the second time around.)

To put Obama’s inaugural address into context, consider this proclamation at his kick-off celebration in Philadelphia: “What is required is a new declaration of independence, not just in our nation, but in our own lives…” While he spells out his vision for that “new declaration” for our nation in his inaugural speech, I can only presume that his reference to “in our own lives” means rehab for those of us who are “bitterly clinging to guns and religion.”

As a public service, we analyzed Obama’s speech with The Patriot’s proprietary Leftspeak decoder software, using it to translate his speech into Rightspeak so that our fellow Americans might more fully understand what he was saying. I selected a few excerpts from our analysis for your consideration.

BHO: “My fellow citizens,” Apostles and disciples of hope and change,

“On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.” Disagree with me and you must be racist or ignorant, or both.

“Our Founding Fathers … drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man … and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake.” But we will overwrite them with judicial diktats until my rule is the rule of law.

“What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply.” Our founders are dead and so is their vision for our nation.

“In the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things.” Disagree with me and you are in violation of Scripture.

“We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth…” Let’s not offend anyone with the simple and undeniable truth that our national heritage rests on a Judeo-Christian foundation.

“Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some…” Blame our badly weakened economy on Wall Street greed and irresponsibility rather than Democrats in Congress.

“The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act … to lay a new foundation for growth.” Government growth…

“The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works.” More government growth…

“Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill … but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control.” We must not only grow the government, but also ensure that it regulates every aspect of the economy.

“The nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.” Darwin had it right, except in regard to human nature and free market capitalism.

“A new era of responsibility…” An era in which the fiscally responsible will bear an ever-greater tax burden for those of us who are not…

“Less measurable, but no less profound, is a sapping of confidence across our land; a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, that the next generation must lower its sights.” The crisis of confidence and propagation of fear was the staple of my campaign rhetoric, and it was largely responsible for my election.

“Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.” I will remake America into Amerika.

“We will restore science to its rightful place.” Global warming hysteria is a great catalyst for expanding government control.

“The world has changed, and we must change with it.” Out with national sovereignty and in with the New World Order…

“Power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please.” Appeasement works…

“Our security emanates from the justness of our cause; the force of our example; the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.” Appeasement really works…

“To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.” To the Islamic terrorists, we seek to appease you.

“To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.” Except for my mentors Frank Marshall Davis, Jeremiah Wright and William Ayers, and my colleagues in the Democrat Party, the Socialist New Party, the ACORN crowd, Rod Blagojevich, Richard Daley, Saul Alinsky, Father Michael Pfleger, Khalid al-Mansour, Kwame Kilpatrick, Louis Farrakhan, Rashid Khalidi and Raila Odinga. You guys can just keep up the good work.

“This is the source of our confidence: the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.” I am calling on you to follow me.

Obama ended his speech with the last of several references to our Founders, calling on Americans to remember the words “the father of our nation” delivered to troops: “Let it be told to the future world … that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive… that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it].”

Of course, those words were written by Thomas Paine on 23 December 1776 in his work, “The American Crisis,” which, indeed, George Washington ordered read to his Patriot countrymen on the eve of the Battle of Trenton.

Paine’s pamphlet, which begins famously, “These are the times that try men’s souls…” was about the animating contest for freedom and liberty from government oppression.

However, Obama’s entire treatise on the role of government, “a new declaration of independence … a new foundation for growth … a watchful eye … a new era of responsibility … remaking America,” contradicts everything that Patriots have died for since our Declaration of Independence.

Our Founders outlined their just cause for revolution with these words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government.”

During the next four years, every thoughtful American will come to learn that Barack Hussein Obama is no friend of freedom and liberty; that his “vision for America” is the antithesis of that held by our Founders.

George Washington admonished future generations to “Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.”

Indeed.

Media Bias – It’s For Real

Tuesday, January 20th, 2009

Headlines on this date 4 years ago:“Republicans spending $42 million on inauguration while troops die in unarmored Humvees”

“Bush extravagance exceeds any reason during tough economic times”

“Fat cats get their $42 million inauguration party, ordinary Americans get the shaft”

Headlines Today:

“Historic Obama inauguration will cost only $120 million”

“Obama spends $120 million on inauguration; America needs A Big Party”

“Everyman Obama shows America how to celebrate”

“Citibank executives contribute $8 million to Obama inauguration”

No He Can’t

Wednesday, January 7th, 2009

Anne Wortham is Associate Professor of Sociology at Illinois State University and continuing Visiting Scholar at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. She is a member of the American Sociological Association and the American Philosophical Association. She has been a John M. Olin Foundation Faculty Fellow, and honored as a Distinguished Alumni of the Year by the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education. In fall 1988 she was one of a select group of intellectuals who were featured in Bill Moyer’s television series, “A World of Ideas.” The transcript of her conversation with Moyers has been published in his book, A World of Ideas. Dr. Wortham is author of The Other Side of  Racism: A Philosophical Study of Black Race Consciousness which analyzes how race consciousness is transformed into political strategies and policy issues. She has published numerous articles on the implications of individual rights for civil rights policy, and is currently writing a book on theories of social and cultural marginality. Recently, she has published articles on the significance of multiculturalism and Afrocentricism in education, the politics of victimization and the social and political impact of political correctness. Shortly after an interview in 2004 she was awarded tenure.

This article by her is something else.

No He Can’t
by Anne Wortham

Fellow Americans,

Please know: I am black; I grew up in the segregated South. I did not vote for Barack Obama; I wrote in Ron Paul’s name as my choice for president. Most importantly, I am not race conscious. I do not require a black president to know that I am a person of worth, and that life is worth living. I do not require a black president to love the ideal of America. I cannot join you in your celebration. I feel no elation. There is no smile on my face. I am not jumping with joy. There are no tears of triumph in my eyes. For such emotions  and behavior to come from me, I would have to deny all that I know about the requirements of human flourishing and survival,  all that I know about the history of the United States of America, all that I know about American race relations, and all that I know about Barack Obama as a politician. I would have to deny the nature of the “change” that Obama asserts has come to America. Most importantly, I would have to abnegate my certain understanding that you have chosen to sprint down the road to serfdom that we have been on for over a century. I would have to pretend that individual liberty has no value for the success of a human life. I would have to evade your rejection of the slender reed of capitalism on which your success and mine depend. I would have to think it somehow rational that 94 percent of the 12 million blacks in this country voted for a man because he looks like them (that blacks are permitted to play the race card), and that they were joined by self-declared “progressive” whites who voted for him because he doesn’t look like them. I would have to be wipe my mind clean of all that I know about the kind of people who have advised and taught Barack Obama and will fill posts in his administration.  Political intellectuals like my former colleagues at the Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

I would have to believe that “fairness” is the equivalent of justice. I would have to believe that man who asks me to “go forward in a new spirit of service, in a new service of sacrifice” is speaking in my interest. I would have to accept the premise of a man that economic prosperity comes from the “bottom up,” and who arrogantly believes that he can will it into existence by the use of government force. I would have to admire a man who thinks the standard of living of the masses can be improved by destroying the most productive and the generators of wealth.

Finally, Americans, I would have to erase from my consciousness the scene of 125,000 screaming, crying, cheering people in Grant Park, Chicago irrationally chanting “Yes We Can!” Finally, I would have to wipe all memory of all the times I have heard politicians, pundits, journalists, editorialists, bloggers and intellectuals declare that capitalism is dead  and no one, including especially Alan Greenspan, objected to their assumption that the particular version of the anti-capitalistic mentality that they want to replace with their own version of anti-capitalism is anything remotely equivalent to capitalism.

So you have made history, Americans. You and your children have elected a black man to the office of the president of the United States, the wounded giant of the world. The battle between John Wayne and Jane Fonda is over and that Fonda won. Eugene McCarthy and George McGovern must be very happy men. Jimmie Carter, too. And the Kennedys have at last gotten their Kennedy look-a-like. The self-righteous welfare  statists in the suburbs can feel warm moments of satisfaction for having elected a black person. So, toast yourselves: 60s countercultural radicals, 80s yuppies and 90s bourgeois bohemians. Toast yourselves, Black America. Shout your glee Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Duke, Stanford, and Berkeley. You have elected not an individual who is qualified to be president, but a black man who, like the pragmatist Franklin Roosevelt, promises to Do Something! You now have someone who has picked up the baton of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society. But you have also foolishly traded your freedom and mine what little there is left  for the chance to feel good. There is nothing in me that can share your happy obliviousness.

Tale of two presidential workout fanatics

Sunday, December 28th, 2008

Tale of two presidential workout fanatics

By Michelle Malkin  •  December 27, 2008 09:08 AM

Chris Matthews won the Media Research Center’s quote of the year with his Obamedia-topping Leg O’ Thrill and Tingle remark. But Matthews only took first honors because Washington Post reporter Eli Saslow waited until Christmas to file his tribute to Obama’s sun-kissed pectorals. Have they no shame? No, they do not.

The gushing reminded me of a blog post I did three years ago on how Bush-deranged journalist Jonathan Chait reacted to President Bush’s workout regimen. It’s the subject of my syndicated column today. More liberal double standards: It’s just how they roll.

***

Tale of two presidential workout fanatics
by Michelle Malkin
Creators Syndicate
Copyright 2008

Ah, the perks of media affection. On Christmas Day, the Washington Post delivered a front-page paean to Barack Obama’s workout habits. The 1,233-word ode to O’s physical fitness read more like a Harlequin romance novel than an A-1 news article.

Sighed smitten reporter Eli Zaslow: “The sun glinted off chiseled pectorals sculpted during four weightlifting sessions each week, and a body toned by regular treadmill runs and basketball games.” Drool cup to the newsroom, stat.

Zaslow imparted us with vital information about buff Bam’s regimen: “Obama has gone to the gym for about 90 minutes a day, for at least 48 days in a row.” The Washington Post enlightened us with more gushing commentary from Obama friends and associates who explain how, as the subtitle of Zaslow’s opus put it, “Gym Workouts Help Obama Carry the Weight of His Position.”

For adoring journalists, you see, Obama’s workout fanaticism demonstrates his discipline and balance in his life. Apparently, what’s good for Obama’s glistening pecs is good for the country. Zaslow quoted Obama Chicago crony Marty Nesbitt, who offered this diagnosis: “He doesn’t think of it as something he has to do — it’s his time for himself, a chance for him to reflect. It’s his break. He feels better and more revved up after he gets in his workout.”

And when Obama feels better, the skies will part, the sun will shine (in moderate, environmentally-correct, non-global warming-inducing amounts, of course) and peace will reign worldwide!

Too bad the doughy, McDonald’s-chomping, coffee-guzzling members of the White House press corps couldn’t see the merits of White House exercise over the past eight years. After giggling about his out-of-shape colleagues in the media, Zaslow mentioned in passing that President George W. Bush shares Obama’s commitment to health. What he failed to acknowledge is that the same reporters who so greatly admire Obama’s lithe figure derided Bush for his training schedule.

Former Washington Post writer Jonathan Chait famously attacked Bush three years ago in an opinion piece for the Los Angeles Times headlined, “The (over)exercise of power.” Recounting how President Bush ran 3 1/2 miles a day and preached more cross-training to a federal judge, Chait fumed: “Am I the only person who finds this disturbing?…What I mean is the fact that Bush has an obsession with exercise that borders on the creepy.”

Chait argued that Bush’s passionate devotion to exercise was a dereliction of duty. “Does the leader of the free world need to attain that level of physical achievement?” he jeered. “It’s nice for Bush that he can take an hour or two out of every day to run, bike or pump iron. Unfortunately, most of us have more demanding jobs than he does.”

Can you imagine any member of the Obamedia mocking the incoming gym rat-in-chief this way?

Chait was not alone. Reuters journalist Caron Bohan weaved the same unhinged themes into a piece on Bush’s two-hour, 17-mile bike ride with cycling champ Lance Armstrong in Crawford, Texas in 2005. After noting his six-day-a-week workout schedule, Bohan steered the piece into an anti-war screed:

“Bush says exercise helps sharpen his thinking. But some of his critics view his exercise obsession as an indulgence that takes time away from other priorities. Among them is Cindy Sheehan, the Vacaville, California, mother of a soldier killed in Iraq, who until late last week was camped out down the road from Bush’s ranch seeking a meeting with him to discuss her opposition to the war. Sheehan, who left her vigil on Thursday to tend to her sick mother, has said she believes Bush should take fewer bike rides to have more time to focus on the “the nation’s work.”

Fit Republican president = Selfish, indulgent, creepy fascist.

Fit Democratic president = Disciplined, health-conscious Adonis role model.

The good news: In just a few short weeks, W. will be able to exercise in peace, free from the disapproving glares of journalists now rushing to mop the sweat — er, the glisten — from Barack Obama’s hallowed brow.