Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos on Monday offered a sympathetic take on the decision of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to release potentially damaging U.S. security documents. The ABC host wondered if it was " important information for the public to have. " Talking to Congressman Peter Hoekstra, Stephanopoulos read a quote to the Republican, repeating the words of Assange: "If citizens in a democracy want their governments to reflect their wishes, they should ask to see what's going on behind the scenes." Stephanopoulos then emphasized, "He says he's performing a public service." In contrast, CBS's Harry Smith also interviewed Hoekstra... continue reading
In a softball interview with retired liberal Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens on Sunday's 60 Minutes, correspondent Scott Pelley touted Stevens's opposition to the court ruling on the 2000 presidential election: "He thinks [Bush v. Gore] is one of the Court's greatest blunders....There were many people in this country who felt that the Supreme Court stole that election for President Bush." Pelley introduced the segment by proclaiming that Stevens "has shaped more American history than any Supreme Court justice alive" and made "decisions that have changed our times." The decisions Pelley focused on were the Justice's most liberal: "It... continue reading
As the long holiday weekend comes to an end, catching up with a humorous, seemingly spontaneous, moment on the last fresh Late Show before Thanksgiving. David Letterman is a big believer in cataclysmic predictions about global warming, but on Wednesday's program his mom, Dorothy, rejected his proposition that global warming was to blame for some unseasonably warm days in Indianapolis - prompting her disappointed son to shake his head in disapproval. ( Audio clip ) Dorothy, better known as "Dave's mom," appears annually from her kitchen in suburban Indianapolis to let her son guess the types of pies she's baked... continue reading
At a time when the American mood has turned against excessive government spending, Christiane Amanpour devoted Sunday's This Week to four liberal Democratic billionaires, though she failed to identify their political orientation, who want higher income tax rates on the wealthy. Unmentioned during the pre-taped interviews with Warren Buffett, Bill and Melinda Gates, Ted Turner and Tom Steyer revolving around their participation in "The Giving Pledge" - the promise to give away at least half their wealth: how they are free now to give all the money they want to the federal government. Amanpour began by touting: "Warren Buffett has... continue reading
Calling the uproar over the new TSA screening procedures "overblown" and "immature," Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus praised the majority of Americans polled who are okay with the body scanners at airports and scolded those who stand opposed to the searches. "'Don't tough my junk' may be the cri-de-coeur - cri de crotch? - of the post-9/11 world, but it's an awfully childish one," the columnist writes in her Nov 24 column for the Washington Post. Marcus argues that the new procedures are simply a "marginal invasion of privacy" when compared to the devastating consequences of a terrorist attack that... continue reading
MSNBC host Chris Matthews cannot understand how conservatives could think that free enterprise is somehow American, and that being anti-free enterprise seems anti-American. On Tuesday night's Hardball, Matthews boosted a new effort by Democrats like David Brock and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend to organize their own independent-expenditure campaign to beat Republicans. Matthews brought on Townsend, who couldn't even win a race for governor of a blue state (Maryland) to explain how she would make the Democrats victorious. Matthews aired BBC video of Rep. Michele Bachmann (clearly borrowed from the Think Progress blog , since you can see the "Pro" of their... continue reading
NBC correspondent Norah O'Donnell hyped Sarah Palin's criticism of her liberal opponents on Tuesday's Today show, stating that the former governor " rips the heart out of some of her opponents " in her new book. O'Donnell stated that Palin, " in very personal terms, also questions the President's [Obama's] patriotism, concluding he has 'a stark lack of faith in the American people.' " The correspondent covered "America By Heart," the Republican's second book, for the second straight day. Anchor Matt Lauer introduced her report, which began 40 minutes into the 7 am Eastern hour, by immediately noting Palin's attacks... continue reading
The New York Times has a funny way of defining protests as "news" or "not news" depending on who is being protested. For example, they've entirely ignored the March for Life against abortion in Washington in 2008 and 2009 (and in 2010, gave it part of a sentence ). But in Monday's paper, they openly worried that a left-wing protest is dwindling in popularity. They sent Times writer Kim Severson and a photographer to Columbus, Georgia for a protest against a U.S Army training center for Latin American military leaders. The headline was "A Protest Dwindles, If Not Its Passion:... continue reading
Early Show co-host Maggie Rodriguez on Tuesday glossed over the TSA's use of intrusive pat-downs while drilling down on the potential for "gridlock" if distressed passengers cause "chaos" this weekend over the enhanced security measures. "There is, as I'm sure you know, this online movement that's gaining more and more momentum calling for people tomorrow to opt-out of those full-body scanners and get pat-downs instead to create chaos at the airport," noted Rodriguez, interviewing aviation expert Peter Goelz. "The head of the TSA told me yesterday that will only serve to further delay and further irritate passengers. How bad do... continue reading
NBC's Today on Monday offered the most sympathetic take on the growing outrage over invasive pat downs being conducted at airports by the Transportation Security Administration. While ABC highlighted "outrage" and CBS observed how some find the procedures "violating," Today host Matt Lauer worried about the government "caving" on the policy. All three morning shows interviewed TSA Administrator John Pistole. But, only Matt Lauer fretted, "... I hate to even think of what happens if the government caves in on this , and relaxes these procedures, and someone manages to get something on board a plane and causes harm. Imagine... continue reading