What will happen now in the liberated streets of Iraq? There are more questions than answers, but one thing is certain: journalists will continue their pose of relentless negativism. The U.S. has just won a spectacular military victory and rid the world of a hideous dictator. But we dare not celebrate. Why, the army is "allowing" the looting of museums! Ahmed Chalabi is a Western puppet! And then there's this amazing scandal: some Christian humanitarian groups are coming to Iraq with food...and dare we say it...Bibles! Why are journalists puzzled by their unpopularity? David Shaw of the Los Angeles Times... continue reading
Gulf War II will be remembered for many things, not the least of them being another American victory that left the world in awe, just as America's commanders predicted it would. It will also be remembered as having triggered another exercise in leftwing press agitation, with media armchair generalissimos making fools of themselves with one ridiculous pronouncement after another. The media's opposition to the war began long before the first cruise missile entered Saddam's window in Baghdad. For weeks on end, with evident and growing enthusiasm, the press played up the anti war protests around the country. In one twelve... continue reading
War is hell, but a short, successful war that ends with the natives dancing in the streets presents a particular hell for the "peace" movement. It hasn't been a great time for some reporters, either, at least the ones who live and breathe to rain skepticism on the power, the potential and the idealism of America. Think Ted Koppel. Embedded with the troops but never to be accused of being Mr. Rah-Rah, Koppel has been quite the opposite, Mr. Carp-Carp. Just after the war started three weeks ago, Koppel said achieving military success would be very difficult and we can... continue reading
The Federal Communications Commission has never been a U.S. Office of Censorship, browbeating broadcasters into relentlessly bland programming. Despite being mandated the responsibility to insure against broadcast indecency between the hours of 6 AM and 10 PM, tasked to protect the innocent eyes and ears of our young children, how many times has the FCC fined a TV station or network for violating decency standards? None. Try and find one. Radio broadcasting is just slightly different. A steady stream of complaints about Howard Stern and his ilk on the FM dial have drawn some minimal fines, nuisance fees for multi-million-dollar... continue reading
You know there's desperation on the American Left when they start picketing news organizations like CNN. First the Democrats wouldn't carry their anti-war water. Now the media won't do their job and undermine the war effort? So the Loudmouth Left is doing what it does best: moan and scream, this time outside cable news studios. This is very significant because the Left used to champion those everyday reporters as bravely independent heroes who would go around their allegedly conservative bosses with their plutocratic interests and speak the "truth," as defined by the Left. But now, the equation changes. The war... continue reading
When Americans are at war, fighting and dying halfway around the world for an idealistic end to a vicious and dangerous regime, the last thing we need is a silly pop music star exploiting the drama for commercial gain. But then, nobody ever accused Madonna of having any class, either. There's something almost pathetic about Madonna. She's an accomplished actress. She has real musical talent. Her fame has brought her fortune beyond measure. But it's not enough. It's never enough. She must be controversial, she must live up to her mantra: I shock, therefore I am. But it looks like... continue reading
In 1995, then-CNN star Peter Arnett told The American Spectator's John Corry that "Rush Limbaugh is the king. He is also a cretinous liar, with off-the-wall opinions. And he has the audacity to call himself a journalist." Arnett was half-right: Rush is the king of all media. But the rest of that diatribe doesn't describe Rush. It fits Arnett - to a T. You won't hear that from the princes of our press corps, now tiptoeing silently away from Arnett in embarrassment. Arnett was deified by the media establishment even after (or was it because?) he trashed America from Baghdad... continue reading
This year's Oscars telecast was the lowest-rated ever. Coming in the midst of our troops fighting valiantly abroad, that's understandable. It's a good thing for Hollywood, too, because it's beginning to look like the voters of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are slowly losing their minds. The Academy's Web site boasts that the Oscar voters are "the ablest artists and craftsmen in the motion picture world," so "the Oscar represents the best achievements of the year in the opinion of those who themselves reside at the top of their craft." But some of these "artists" can't artistically... continue reading
It's quite amazing what spurious nonsense a politician can get away with saying in Washington - if there's a "D" next to his or her name. Rep. Jim Moran can claim the Iraq war's all the fault of the Jewish lobby. Rep. Marcy Kaptur can compare Osama bin Laden to Ethan Allen and the Founding Fathers (religious nuts all, apparently). The most powerful Democrats can make outrageous, spit-take gaffes or drop-dead serious insults, and do so with abandon, knowing the press will let them get away with it. On Monday, March 17, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle spoke softly, then... continue reading
Entertainment television relishes salacious current events, so much so that countless hours of fictional television are brazenly advertised as "ripped from the headlines." That doesn't mean TV entertainment sees a responsibility to be fair. Quite the opposite. Oftentimes, drama and comedy writers shape events like clay to fit their own Hollywood prejudices. These prejudices can accumulate into a toxic pattern. The year 2002 was a terrible year for the Catholic Church in the United States, and a year in which some church officials deserved everyone's harshest rebukes. While the overwhelming majority of Catholics - and particularly their parish priests -... continue reading