Egotistical musicians often exaggerate their political influence, none moreso than the nattering, narcissistic rapper Kanye West. He has compared himself in global stature to Apple founder Steve Jobs, and has titled his latest album “Yeesus.” Rolling Stone magazine has posted part of a West song titled “I Am a God,” where West raps that Jesus is the “Most High,” but he’s a “close high.” Now it’s the New York Times pandering to West’s colossal self-regard – and it’s downright embarrassing. Mouth-breathing Times writer/superfan Jon Caramonica stooped to telling West that “what I find probably the most moving thing that you've... continue reading
The unfolding story of the Obama administration monitoring not just telephone records but Internet usage has drawn media coverage with adjectives like “astonishing.” No doubt about it, even the pro- Obama press acknowledges it is a scandal. Still, it is laughable that the media would label him a “dictator” or discuss the “I word.” That’s not what greeted George W. Bush at the end of 2005. Just eight years ago, journalists openly discussed tyranny and the possibility of impeachment. On Newsweek’s website on December 19, 2005, Jonathan Alter went ballistic: “We're seeing clearly now that Bush thought 9/11 gave him... continue reading
The specter of school shootings has brought a too-typical staple to local newspaper sections: the boys disciplined at (or suspended from) grade school for bringing a toy gun or anything resembling a gun. The Washington Post just found the latest wild overreaction, from Calvert County, Maryland, a blue state that’s cracked down on gun rights. “A kindergartner who brought a cowboy-style cap gun onto his Calvert County school bus was suspended for 10 days after showing a friend the orange-tipped toy, which he had tucked inside his backpack on his way to school,” according to the family. Post reporter Donna... continue reading
The national media have evinced some outrage over the Obama Justice Department’s aggressive persecution of investigative journalists. But not enough. It is more important to help President Hope and Change overcome the legacy-strangling notion of an “atmosphere of scandal” than to investigate a scandal that is strangling their very profession. On Sunday’s “Face the Nation,” New York Times editor Jill Abramson claimed to be very concerned about the leak probe, but proclaimed of all these scandals that, “I’m just not sure, you know, they come together and create, you know -- quote, unquote -- ‘an atmosphere of scandal.’” Even worse... continue reading
Stop the presses! Decadence dominated the publicity oozing out of the Cannes Film Festival in France. The festival’s highest honor, the Palme d’Or (or Golden Palm) went to “Blue Is the Warmest Color,” which drew most of its buzz from an explicit ten-minute lesbian sex scene. This, apparently, was art, not pornography. The Cannes jury headed by Steven Spielberg took the unprecedented step of insisting that the movie’s two stars be included as Palme award recipients. New York magazine’s Vulture blog cooed these awards were the festival’s “Most Pleasant Progressive Surprise.” In a review, Jada Yuan at Vulture reported that... continue reading
Here’s a story you probably haven’t heard, unless you read Drudge or Breitbart. The Independent (U.K.) has published a story (from which I pull freely), as have a couple of Jewish outlets. That’s all I can find. You tell me if it qualifies as “news” that the “news “ media should be covering. It involves a young man who would someday become one of the best-known and most powerful men in the world. A new book is out. It explores recently uncovered diaries kept by this young man. The journal entries document his fascination with Adolf Hitler and Nazism. This... continue reading
Usually movie makers strive to stay ahead of the cultural curve. It makes them “visionaries,” who are “cutting edge,” because they “push the envelope.” Two years ago, “Occupy Wall Street” was the hot fad, stoking the usual left-wing outrage at bankers and the finance industry, who were portrayed as greedheads never held accountable for their crimes. Businessmen just twirl their mustaches and laugh evil laughs. But that was two years ago. Time for something fresh – and edgy. A new movie suggests that movement was for sissies. It’s time for someone to start a new campaign: Assassinate Wall Street. Trashy... continue reading
As the Obama scandals surround the White House, some conservatives are suggesting that -- finally -- the media are "getting tough” on Obama. Don't count on it. All our modern experience suggests tough reporting on a Democratic president is more of a temporary sensation than an ongoing trend. The news media honestly believe they were tough on Team Clinton. It is simply not true. There was a seemingly endless supply of Clinton administration (and Clinton pre-administration) scandals, yet can you name one that was resolved? The floating FBI files. The illegal fundraising. Whitewater. On and on they went, and the... continue reading
The annual network list of cancelled prime-time shows cannot be pleasing to the progressives who measure shows based on their cultural and political usefulness. “TV Will Be a Lot Less Gay Next Year,” the commissars complained at Slate.com. They counted 11 cancelled shows that featured regular gay characters. That bothersome thing called the market: why must it get in the way! CBS’s gay sitcom “Partners” lasted six episodes and was cancelled shortly after Barack Obama’s victory. NBC’s “Smash” only featured four regular gay characters, but couldn’t keep anyone watching. The most prominent victim was “The New Normal,” Ryan Murphy’s NBC... continue reading
The Obama scandals started piling up on top of each other in the last few days. The civil servants who testified on Benghazi were heart-breaking. Then the IRS admitted a punitive agenda against tax exemptions for groups with “Tea Party” in the name, or groups which “educate about the Constitution.” Then Eric Holder’s Justice Department was revealed to be wiretapping the Associated Press in April and May of 2012 to nail a leaker. President Obama is not a “victim” of a “second-term curse.” This is the corrupt first term beginning to smell, it is his administration, and even the media... continue reading