In Monday's "Best of the Web Today" compilation , the Wall Street Journal's James Taranto highlighted a New York Times online column posted Friday, from "superannuated erstwhile TV host Dick Cavett," who "reports that the mosque controversy brought back childhood memories." Cavett recalled World War II when he "heard an uncle of mine endorse a sentiment attributed to our Admiral 'Bull' Halsey: 'If I met a pregnant Japanese woman, I'd kick her in the belly.'" In the post provocatively titled " Real Americans, Please Stand Up ," as if those who disagree with him are not "real" Americans - at... continue reading
ABC News set out Monday night to rehabilitate the reputation of the iman behind the proposed mosque near Ground Zero, Feisal Abdul Rauf, trying to discredit criticism of him from the right as Sharyn Alfonsi portrayed him as a model of religious tolerance who condemns suicide bombers, terrorism and Hamas and who deserves admiration because he "eulogized Daniel Pearl." The night before, in a Sunday World News story on protests over the mosque, ABC expressed sudden respect for former President Bush as reporter Linsey Davis used him to undermine opponents: "In an attempt to make a clear distinction between Islam... continue reading
Chris Matthews bizarrely accused Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of using code language to appeal to the Birther crowd for saying, on Sunday's Meet the Press, that "The President says he's a Christian. I take him at his word." The phrasing of "take him at his word" sent the MSNBC host, on Monday's Hardball, into a rage as he charged McConnell's statement was a "Pitch perfect, dog whistle to the haters." In fact, Matthews devoted much of his show to "The right wing's attempt to de-Americanize the President" as he invited on Newsweek's Howard Fineman and the Huffington Post's... continue reading
On Monday's Situation Room, CNN's Jeffrey Toobin used dire language to describe a federal judge's decision which struck down federal funding for embryonic stem cell research: "The bottom line is this is a major setback for stem cell research and for the Obama administration ....it will certainly cut way back on federal funding." Anchor Suzanne Malveaux labeled it a " potential wedge issue ." Malveaux led the 5 pm Eastern hour with the "breaking news" about Judge Royce Lamberth's decision, who issued a preliminary injunction against federal funding for the life-destroying research. The anchor brought in Toobin and asked, "What... continue reading
Good Morning America's Bianna Golodryga on Sunday featured a liberal activist arguing for more government intervention in the form of paid time off laws and "affordable" child care. The ABC host never identified Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner's ideology or the fact that she's a Huffington Post contributor. Instead, Golodryga fretted about "bias" against women who have children. The Rowe-Finkbeiner interview and the preceding segment lamented the fact that women who have children often don't end up making as much as men and also females who don't have kids. Neither segment even hinted that there could be two sides to the story. Instead,... continue reading
Opening Saturday's CBS Early Show, co-host Chris Wragge proclaimed: "Image Problem: The President is on vacation and under fire. From the jobless numbers to the Mosque mess - why is the man with the soaring rhetoric having such a hard time getting his message across?" The headline on screen during the later segment read: "Image Issues; Can Obama's Team Bring Campaign Magic Back?" Introducing the segment, co-host Rebecca Jarvis referred to "conservative critics" taking issue with President Obama's vacation time on Martha's Vineyard. In a report that followed, White House correspondent Chip Reid made sure to parrot administration talking points... continue reading
Good Morning America co-host Bianna Golodryga on Saturday chided the Reverend Franklin Graham, complaining that " one of the country's leading evangelicals is adding to the confusion " over Barack Obama's religion. Reporter Jake Tapper then played a clip of Graham being interviewed on CNN: "He was born a Muslim. His father was a Muslim. The seed of Islam is passed through the father. He's renounced Islam and he has accepted Jesus Christ." Yet, the New York Times struck a very similar tone in a May 12, 2008 op-ed . Contributor Edward Luttwak wrote, "As the son of the Muslim... continue reading
On Monday's Today show, NBC's Matt Lauer opened the show suggesting that Julian Assange was was being smeared by the Pentagon as the Today co-anchor teased: "And payback? The founder of WikiLeaks, the Web site that leaked classified war documents, briefly named in a rape case in Sweden. He says he's innocent. Those charges have been dropped and now he suggests it's all part of a Pentagon smear campaign today, Monday, August 23rd, 2010." However the Today show, never offered any evidence, other than Assange's claim, that the Pentagon was behind any of the charges. NBC's Ann Curry, in introducing... continue reading
On Sunday's Reliable Sources on CNN, during a discussion of the Ground Zero mosque controversy, after Bloomberg's Margaret Carlson recommended that the mosque be moved as a compromise, NPR's Michel Martin - formerly of ABC News - compared relocating the mosque to similarly treating a Catholic church after the Oklahoma City bombing. Even though McVeigh - who described himself as "agnostic" despite his Catholic parents - timed the bombing to coincide with the second anniversary of the Waco disaster to signal that he was motivated by revenge, Martin ridiculously responded: "Did anybody move a Catholic church? Did anybody move a... continue reading
Not even feigning the pretense of balance, a week after her roundtable hailed President Obama's initial endorsement of the Ground Zero mosque (GZM), on this Sunday's This Week host Christiane Amanpour featured an "exclusive" with two GZM proponents as she declared "the controversy has raised profound questions about religious tolerance and prejudice in the United States. And the backlash against Islam has been seen across the country..." Holding up the current Time magazine with its "Is America Islamophobic?" cover, she forwarded the contention: "Is America Islamophobic? Are you concerned about the long-term relationship between American Muslims and the rest of... continue reading