BiasAlerts

Joe Scarborough's "intuitive gut reaction" to the mess in Wisconsin is that Gov. Walker's holdout against union pleas for collective bargaining "seems kind of un-American" to him. It supposedly pained the self-described small-government conservative to say it, but he held to his opinion on Monday's Morning Joe. "I'm going to get killed for saying this," Scarborough hesitantly prefaced his confession. "I'm going to get so killed for saying this - I hate to say this, but the concept of telling people that they cannot come together to negotiate with a government - it just kind of seems un-American to me."... continue reading

The New York Times took pains over the weekend to emphasize the nonviolent nature of the ongoing pro-union protests in Madison, over Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's plan to limit collective bargaining for government unions and increase the amount they pay for their health care and pension plans. From Monday's report by Richard Oppel in Madison on Wisconsin state authorities capitulating to protester demands they be allowed to remain overnight in the Capitol: Union leaders say one of the strengths of the demonstrations has been that despite harsh language and personal attacks directed at Mr. Walker, the protesters had been loud... continue reading

At the top of Saturday's CBS Early Show, co-host Russ Mitchell cheered unions protests across the country: "Workers uniting. 50 rallies are planned in 50 states today, as organizers show solidarity with Wisconsin state workers , fighting to preserve their right to collectively bargain for benefits and work conditions." Introducing the segment later, fellow co-host Rebecca Jarvis noted how the protests were organized by MoveOn.org. Rather than accurately label the organization as left-wing, she simply referred to it as "an advocacy group." In the report that followed, correspondent Cynthia Bowers announced that "workers who are coming to these rallies around... continue reading

Alex Jones, a 9/11 truther and promoter of other conspiracy theories, appeared on ABC's The View Monday to defend his friend Charlie Sheen, but diverted the interview into slamming George W. Bush for turning American into "a police state." Veteran journalist Barbara Walters did not denounce the radio host when he referenced the theory that the government was behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Co-hosts Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg, who walked out when they objected to a comment Bill O'Reilly made about Muslims, did not leave when Jones attacked, " [Charlie Sheen] didn't kill a million people in Iraq. He... continue reading

NBC's Mike Taibbi, on Saturday's Today show, portrayed the pro-labor union protestors in Wisconsin in almost heroic terms as he hailed "The crowds of overnight campers and protestors keep up their vigils. A weary resolve still evident " and depicted them as victims that were "taking the hits." On the other hand the GOP was painted as the bad guys with Taibbi detailing "Republicans used an obscure rule allowing them to end all debate" and "have tried other means of persuasion, suspending direct deposit of the Democrats' paychecks, even sending state police to several of their local homes." Taibbi's piece... continue reading

While even the liberal National Public Radio blog highlighted how the "U.S. Struggles to Evacuate; Others Don't" in Libya, on Saturday's CBS Early Show, correspondent Harry Smith gave the effort high marks: "If they were handing out a report card, as far as the embassy is concerned, it would be an A+." ( MP3 audio ) Co-host Rebecca Jarvis implied some displeasure with the evacuation in her question to Smith: "How do the Americans that you're talking to feel about the job that the U.S. embassy did throughout the ordeal in getting them to safety?" Smith dismissed any criticism of... continue reading

On Sunday's NBC Nightly News, a report filed by correspondent Kevin Tibbles mislabeled the Democratic Mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, Angel Taveras, as a Republican during the piece which recounted that the city's school board had fired all its teachers with the intent to hire back some of them to help solve the city's budget problems. Anchor Lester Holt briefly referred to protesters in Madison, Wisconsin, as he introduced the report: In Madison, Wisconsin, protesters who've camped out at the state capitol for more than a week were under orders to clean up and get out today, meaning remove their... continue reading

On Friday's Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, MSNBC host O'Donnell seemed to channel his predecessor, Keith Olbermann, as he ridiculously suggested racism in an RNC ad which accused President Obama of being beholden to organized labor, a charge often made against Democrats for many years in the past. But, as he began an interview with guest Jennifer Granholm, former Democratic governor of Michigan, O'Donnell wondered, "does that sound to you like they are trying to consciously or subconsciously deliver the racist message that, of course, of course a black man can't be the real boss?" The MSNBC host began the... continue reading

Catching up with a Thursday night appearance by Senator Rand Paul to plug his new book, Paul's segment on the Late Show exposed David Letterman as an arrogantly ill-informed ally of Wisconsin's public employee unions: "Why don't we just raise the taxes and let these folks have their collective bargaining, have their union representation and go back to their jobs? Raise the taxes on the wealthy." When Paul tried to educate Letterman about how a small percent of the wealthy pay far more than their fair share, Letterman was an oblivious student as he baselessly countered: "I think there's something... continue reading

CBS's Bob Schieffer hit Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie from the left on Sunday's Face the Nation, claiming he has "demonized" teachers and urging him to give some "straight talk" about the necessity to raise taxes. After asking if he thinks "Governor Walker out there in Wisconsin has gone too far?" in trying to end collective bargaining, Schieffer ludicrously asserted "everybody in this country on all sides of this thinks we need education reform," but he wanted to know if Christie realized his stance has "demonized teachers and will raise questions in young people's minds as to whether they... continue reading