It's as if they were waiting, breathlessly. The moment Ted Cruz announced his presidential campaign, the national media proclaimed their horror. He was “brash,” a “hardliner,” an “uncompromising conservative,” they warned. ABC anchor David Muir announced his agenda was the usual No list: “Promising no abortion, no gay marriage, no gun control, no IRS.” Apparently there's no room for hope and change -- if you're a conservative. Barack Obama owned the most left-wing voting record during his short tenure in the Senate. But when he announced his presidential campaign in Springfield, Illinois on February 10, 2007 – arrogantly comparing himself... continue reading
Sound the trumpets. The New York Times announced on March 18 that it is bringing in 20 new online-focused writers as contributors for its op-ed and Sunday Review sections. In an interview, Times editorial page editor Andrew Rosenthal claimed “We were looking for a broad range of viewpoints and subjects and backgrounds and geographical locations and every kind of form of diversity that you can think of.” Lower the trumpets. Bring in the fact-checker. It seems the viewpoint-diverse Times can’t seem to locate a conservative acceptable to executives prowling the halls in the snooty Times offices in midtown Manhattan. Some... continue reading
On March 10, eight days after The New York Times began the scandal over her private e-mail server, Hillary Clinton assembled the press at the United Nations in New York to offer a typically legalistic and crabby press conference lasting only 21 minutes. The first-blush reaction from the pundits? That wasn’t good enough. She can’t expect the story to go away just from that mess. But within 48 hours, that’s exactly what began to happen, with the networks suddenly finding other shiny news objects to explore. So here’s the question that needs to be asked: with the networks dumping investigators... continue reading
TV and movie producers rarely focus on Catholic priests in their plots, let alone use them as central characters, as in The Father Dowling Mysteries or Father Murphy in the 1980s. Maybe that’s a good thing, because when Catholic priests are part of the plot these days, there is an unmistakable odor of aggression -- mocking, vilifying, and disparaging not just Catholic priests, but the priesthood itself. On March 4, on the nation’s most religion-mocking channel, Comedy Central, the late-night game show @Midnight featured the comedian Neal Brennan. Host Chris Hardwick asked a question about confession, to which Brennan responded,... continue reading
The media have developed a predictable and equally annoying habit every presidential election cycle. We hear the Republicans are going to be crushed by pandering too much to conservatives. The Democrats are firmly moderate and need a push from the left so they don’t forget their “compassion.” So it was with Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter 35 years ago. So will it be in 2016, no matter who is nominated. Republican primary voters have nominated moderates in every election cycle since Reagan '88, but not because they are moderates. Instead, the moderates survive the usual conservative circular firing squad exercise;... continue reading
Elizabeth Harrington at the Washington Free Beacon offers a familiar old slice of sleaze funded by the federal government. An “investigative theatre” company in New York called “The Civilians” has been granted almost $950,000 by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and believe it or not, the National Science Foundation. Why should the American taxpayer -- you -- be forced to pay for the garbage that follows? Because you, and everyone else, would never pay for it if it weren't mandated by this radical administration which will be gone in 22 months, thank God. Their most recent work of... continue reading
On Inauguration Day, 2009, the White House website declared President Obama's administration would become "the most open and transparent in history." By the end of the next day, Obama had issued high-profile orders pledging "a new era" and "an unprecedented level of openness" across the massive federal bureaucracy. This has become a cosmic joke. The entirety of the Obama Era is marked by secrecy, obfuscation, and if all else fails, sheer dishonesty. Even allies in the network news acknowledged on Tuesday it was a damaging story that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had never used a public e-mail account during... continue reading
The press has barely noticed that President Obama has offered a new federal budget. Even in its paucity was a slant to be found. Like an obedient servant, NBC morning anchor Natalie Morales relayed: “President Obama, unveiling a record $4 trillion budget on Monday aimed at helping the poor and middle class. President Obama says the budget is practical, not partisan.” David Nakamura of The Washington Post began a story on the Obama budget sounding slightly less servile. He described it as “a bet that the country has moved closer to his way of thinking just three months after an... continue reading
The Academy Awards is meant to be the world’s most prestigious honors for achievement in movies. Politics should have nothing to do with it, but increasingly that's not so. Hollywood is now regularly treading beyond “artistic excellence” and letting political overtones sway he outcome. For months now the “diversity” crowd has wailed and gnashed its teeth over the lack of Oscar interest in Selma as if Hollywood harbors a racist underbelly. They will not accept that maybe the movie wasn't that good. Even worse, they won't accept that the studio executives at Paramount stupidly screwed up by not sending DVD... continue reading
When the Golden Globe awards telecast was over, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) proclaimed, “It was a great night for LGBT-inclusive television.” They could have added: "We run the joint." Gay actor Matt Bomer thanked his “husband” and his surrogate sons when he won an award for HBO’s Reagan-bashing AIDS drama “The Normal Heart.” But the bigger celebration came with a best actor award to Jeffrey Tambor, who plays Mort, a 70-year-old father of three who decides he's a woman named Maura in a show called “Transparent,” or literally, “Trans Parent,” since his three adult children have... continue reading