There have been a number of stories in the press in recent months about Geographically-Challenged America. None tops the report about Miami Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder confessing he hadn't known that people spoke English in London. "I couldn't find London on a map if they didn't have the names of the countries," he explained. "I swear to God. I don't know what nothing is. I know Italy looks like a boot." I suppose we'd all have another chuckle if Mr. Crowder were asked to find Estonia on a map, but in truth how many can? And for those of us... continue reading
Let's face it: the Clintons will say anything in their quests for the presidency. Just as Bill Clinton railed against Republican corruption in 1992, promising his would be "the most ethical administration in history," Hillary Clinton now is presenting herself as the antidote of the Republican "culture of corruption," and the antithesis of the Bush administration's penchant for secrecy. What makes this argument all the more laughable is that secrecy has always been their modus operandi, and their key method of their scandal damage control. It's on display again. In the October 30 Democratic debate on MSNBC, Tim Russert asked... continue reading
If the "peace" movement holds a protest and no one in the press covers it, does it still exist? If Americans are sick of the war, they're also sick of the "anti-war." Even the media have grown anti-war-weary. Rallies on October 27 drew only perfunctory news mentions. The peaceniks have now become a bipartisan political problem, now that the Democrats who control Congress haven't dared to placate the radicals by cutting off money for the troops. Cindy Sheehan is threatening to run against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. But suddenly - surprise, surprise - the media aren't interested in Sheehan's new... continue reading
In a political act loaded with cultural symbolism, Senator Hillary Clinton endorsed an effort to earmark a million taxpayer dollars for a museum in Bethel, New York celebrating the circus of 1969, the Woodstock music festival. Other senators smelled the pork and successfully voted to remove it. The tie-dyed, drug-soaked post-war babies that populated that muddy plain are now approaching Social Security age, and the aging hippies that made their way into the establishment want to imbue the notorious excesses of their youth with respectability. The New York Times said the Bethel complex would be "what Cooperstown is to baseball"... continue reading
As much as liberals decry major corporations that act as if they're above the law, there's always quiet when the subject is Planned Parenthood, America's number one corporate provider of abortions. During its 2005-2006 fiscal year, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America performed a record 264,943 abortions, reported a tidy profit of $55.8 million - and received a record high in taxpayer funding of $305.3 million. This is one corporation the media hold in the highest regard. They're not "merchants of death." That would be the tobacco companies, or gun manufacturers, or hamburger joints. These are the heroic "providers" of... continue reading
Portland, Maine found itself in the national spotlight on the morning of October 17. The King Middle School was debating whether to provide birth control to sixth graders without their parents' consent or knowledge - not just condoms, but even birth control pills or contraceptive patches. ABC's "Good Morning America" picked up the story, with anchor Diane Sawyer first professing shock at the young ages involved, but then echoing the proponents' justification: Children "are caught in the changing worlds of early puberty and sexual messages everywhere." That's the line that rings in the ear. ABC is addressing a social problem:... continue reading
Twenty or thirty years ago, the Nobel Peace Prize was considered to be among the most prestigious awards in the world. It helped make historical figures out of Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, and Lech Walesa. But in the last twenty years, its prestige has lessened as its political correctness has hardened. It went from an award that championed human rights to an award that honored dictators and terrorists (Mikhail Gorbachev, 1990 or Yasser Arafat, 1994). It even honored frauds - Rigoberta Menchu, a Guatemalan Indian, was honored in 1992 upon the 500th anniversary of the historic voyage of that... continue reading
The Miller Lite people have a new ad featuring beer drinkers being instructed by a pro-sports-type commissioner in etiquette for the "More Taste League." But the entity needing a "More Taste" lesson is the Miller Brewing Company itself. Last year, Miller infuriated opponents of illegal immigration when the Chicago Tribune reported it paid $30,000 for a convention and newspaper ads publicizing a march of illegal-alien advocates to protest against Speaker Dennis Hastert's congressional office in Batavia, Illinois. Consumers launched a national boycott. Apparently Miller learned nothing. What the brewing giant has now done is far more offensive. Now Miller has... continue reading
The ruckus over the Rush Limbaugh "phony soldiers" statement is dying down. It ought not to. There is a huge story here. What did Rush say? In a September 26 conversation with a caller to his program who claimed the media never interview "real soldiers," but just people out of the blue, Rush added for emphasis, "the phony soldiers." The left saw its opportunity and pounced with a vengeance. Led by the George Soros-funded and Hillary Clinton-inspired Media Matters outfit, it unleashed a scorched-earth attack on Limbaugh for insulting the military, stating that any servicemen or women who might oppose... continue reading
On September 25, the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection, chaired by Bobby Rush (D-Illinois), held a very unique hearing, focusing on the way the culture is being soured by the makers of sexist and racially charged rap music. Inspired by the furor over fired radio host Don Imus and his "ho" talk, the hearing was titled "From Imus to Industry: The Business of Stereotypes and Degrading Images." That's a great title. For years now, record companies have made untold millions of dollars spreading a message glorifying the thug life, preaching greed and lust, and portraying women as... continue reading