How Dare Hamid Karzai Take Our Money!
NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams had a most peculiar reaction to revelations that Afghan president Hamid Karzai receives regular deliveries of cash from the Central Intelligence Agency.
Peter Hart
North Korea Rattles Sabers While U.S. Drops Fake Nukes
Seemingly out of nowhere, North Korea became the top news story at the beginning of April. Tensions between the United States and North Korea were on the rise after new supreme leader Kim Jong Un conducted several missile and weapons tests, beginning at the end of 2012. The threats, bluster and provocations that followed led […]
Syria and the ‘Red Line’ Nonsense
The pundits’ message on Barack Obama’s talk of a “red line” on Syria is that they are concerned about the credibility of the president’s threats of violence–much more so than about the credibility of his evidence.
Breaking with Bush—Many Years Too Late
When someone says they “broke” with George W. Bush over the Iraq War, you might be inclined to think that they did that sometime before 2006 or so, which is about when Bush strategist-turned-TV pundit Matthew Dowd is saying he left.
Cutting the Military Budget Is a Problem…for the Left?
The Washington Post presents a “paradox” wrapped in a “conundrum” inside a “quandary”–all on top of a big heaping of right-wing policy advice for the left.
The Sick Madness of Tom Friedman’s Culture
What is going on in our community that a critical number of our columnists believe that every American military action in the Middle East is justifiable?
Bill O’Reilly’s Dangerous Islamophobia
Fox’s Bill O’Reilly, who hosts the most-watched cable news show, has spent much of the week making inflammatory claims about Islam. Sounds like somebody is looking for a religion to scapegoat–or, given his track record, some countries to attack.
Drone Strike Testimony: Not News?
In a moment when media are fixated on terrorism and the possibility that some people might be motivated to carry out acts of violence against the United States in part because of the effects of U.S. wars, a Yemeni writer’s account of the effects of drone strikes on his village would be well worth covering.
Erin Burnett Wants a Different Kind of Terrorism Suspect
CNN host Erin Burnett wonders whether it’s time to come up with some new laws in the wake of the Boston bombing, since the old ones seem to give Dzhokhar Tsarnaev too many rights.
George W. Bush Is a Swell Guy, Just Ask His Friends
The opening of the George W. Bush library is generating coverage about the state of the Bush legacy. But if the journalists who were far too generous in their coverage of Bush’s presidency are the same ones writing about how that presidency should be viewed now, he’s in safe hands.
Al Neuharth’s Front-Page Sexism
Seeing a photograph of USA Today founder Al Neuharth above the fold in the edition of his newspaper that reported his death calls to mind a rather famous story about Neuharth’s outburst at a 1983 USA Today editorial meeting.
Don’t Quote Me by Name, But My Friends the Koch Brothers Respect the Hell Out of Press Freedom
The New York Times finds anonymous sources to assure us that the Koch brothers are not trying to buy the Tribune newspapers in order to “destroy the other side.” But Mother Jones finds an actual person who explains how the Kochs actually treat media outlets whose reporting they don’t like.
FAIR TV: Boston Bombing, Defining Terrorism, Social Security ‘Bravery’
Covering the media’s rush to misjudgment on the Boston Marathon attack, which acts of terrorism are called “terrorism,” and PBS’s “debate” over Social Security–in which both sides call Obama “brave” for trying to cut benefits.
Democrats Can’t Blame Guns for ’94 Losses
There are perhaps plenty of lessons in the (most recent) Senate failure to pass even modest new restrictions/regulations on gun ownership. But one lesson needs to be resisted: The idea that passing a more expansive gun control law in 1994 came back to bite Democrats in the midterm elections.
Bill O’Reilly Gets Angry Because He Proved David Sirota’s Point
O’Reilly was outraged by Sirota’s point that the government’s response would be very different–more costly, potentially more violent–if the perpetrators fit a certain profile. This is ironic, because O’Reilly had, the night of the attacks, basically made Sirota’s point.
Thatcher Lifted Millions—Says Who?
New York Times reporter John Burns admires Margaret Thatcher’s legacy. But when he claims she lifted millions to prosperity, does he have any evidence?
Al-Qaeda Pressure Cookers?
Are the pressure cooker bombs used in Boston really a link to Al Qaeda? No. But some reporters are trying to make that connection.
Steve Emerson Gets It Wrong—Again
Why was the “Saudi national,” a young man who was injured at the Boston Marathon bombing, considered a suspect? Enter “terrorism expert” Steve Emerson, who continues to make the media rounds despite a checkered history.
USA Today: Venezuelans Voted for High Unemployment and Food Shortages
If USA Today is presenting an objective record of the Chavez years, how on Earth did he win so many elections? By that score, Venezuela must also have an especially ill-informed populace–or maybe Venezuelans know a different reality.
Social Security Cuts Are Media’s ‘Center’
The White House plan to cut Social Security benefits has been praised by major media as a brave move towards the “middle” by Obama, as well as an effort to use a more “accurate” measure of inflation. Neither claim is credible. Part of the White House plan is to change how inflation is calculated, by […]
