‘Willing to Kill’ at Oregon’s ‘Peaceful Protest’
Ammon Bundy, the leader behind the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupation, with his father Cliven Bundy
From the beginning of the armed standoff at the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Oregon, the militants were photographed carrying weapons and quoted declaring that they were “willing to kill and be killed if necessary”. But AP (1/2/16) presented a different picture, reporting:
A peaceful protest Saturday in support of an eastern Oregon ranching family facing prison terms for arson was followed shortly afterward by an occupation of a building at a national wildlife refuge.
Does taking up arms and threatening to kill federal agents make you no longer a “peaceful protest”? Not to hear AP tell it:
Some local residents feared the Saturday rally would involve more than speeches, flags and marching. But the only real additions to that list seemed to be songs, flowers and pennies.
The “pennies” were a reference to protesters throwing coins. No mention of their assault rifles.
Reproductive Rights Stories Told by Men–and Treated as Political Football
Looking at a year’s worth of coverage from major papers and wire services, the Women’s Media Center (1/19/16) found that female journalists wrote just 37 percent of articles about reproductive issues. Fifty-two percent were written by men, the rest unbylined. Quotes from men outnumbered those from women, 41 to 33 percent. Male reporters told 67 percent of presidential election stories related to abortion and contraception.
This helps explain why reproductive rights are so often presented primarily as political controversies or pawns in a culture war; female journalists, the study found, were more likely than men to use quotes that addressed the issues first and foremost as matters of women’s health.
Protecting the ‘Independence’ of Financial Interests
The Washington Post editorial board (12/18/15) complained that elected officials’ criticisms of the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes (like Bernie Sanders’ calling them “bad news for working families”) was “damaging to the Fed’s most precious resource: its political independence.” The Post did not suggest that the Fed’s “political independence” was compromised by the fact that 5/12ths of the members of its rate-setting committee are appointed by the banking industry, or by the legal requirement that the president choose the other members to be “a fair representation of the financial, agricultural, industrial and commercial interests…of the country.”
Have You Ever Been Experienced?
The New York Times‘ Trip Gabriel (1/31/16) wrote an alarmed piece about “deeply experienced, proven political leaders” being “brushed aside” in favor of “candidates on the ideological fringes.” As examples of the former he offered Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush, who have 12 years and ten years of experience, respectively, in elected or appointed office. Two candidates Gabriel placed in the latter category were Bernie Sanders, who’s had 33 years of experience in government, and Ted Cruz, with 13. Apparently government experience doesn’t count if the New York Times doesn’t approve of your “fringe” politics.
‘Punish, Punish, Punish…Endorsement, Endorsement, Endorsement’
You will hear people say that your paying for it is actually punitive. You’re going to punish people who make money, you’re going to punish the financial district, you’re going to punish, and wind up changing the idea of an open and free economy, because you’re going to punish them for speculating. Which means they won’t speculate as much, which means you won’t get as much activity.
–the kind of question CNN‘s Christopher Cuomo asked Bernie Sanders at CNN‘s Iowa town meeting (1/26/16)
Interesting weekend for you. Boston Globe endorsement. Des Moines Register endorsement. Maybe the best accolade: President Obama gave an interview, talked about this race. Seemed to get more into it than he has in the past. He said you’re, quote, “wicked smart. Knows every policy inside and out.” Sounds like an endorsement….
–the kind of question Cuomo asked Hillary Clinton
When Your ‘Voice of Reason’ Lives in a Fantasy World
The LA Times (1/12/16) said that to people hearing South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s remarks opposing discrimination in immigration, “she probably seemed like a voice of reason in a campaign that has often featured the opposite.” But what had Haley actually said? “When you’ve got immigrants who are coming here legally,” she told ABC News’ Jonathan Karl (1/13/16), “we’ve never in the history of this country passed any laws or done anything based on race or religion. Let’s not start that now.” That’s a reason to think she hasn’t given much thought to the US’s long history of racial discrimination–or its record of excluding immigrants based on their ethnicity.
Climate Denial on the Comics Page
Today’s Mark Trail—folks, I try not to get political over here, but I can admit to you that today’s strip is a little dose of “get real” to people that think mankind is ruining the planet by creating global warming! We are so tiny compared to this planet and what it can do (and recover from).
–James Allen (Facebook, 1/3/16), author of the “environmental” comic strip Mark Trail, explaining why a recent strip (1/3/16) included a factoid about a volcanic eruption causing acid rain
‘FAIR Filled the Void With Sharp Critiques’
It fell to the watchdog group FAIR to highlight the media’s failings in covering Trump and the rest of the presidential campaign. FAIR filled the void with sharp critiques of how the debates were organized (“Why Do Conservatives Get to Question Candidates—but Not Progressives?”) and vapid coverage (“Corporate Press Fails to Trump Bigotry”). FAIR focuses on much more than presidential politics, but the watchdog role it is playing in the 2016 race is essential.
–John Nichols (The Nation, 12/17/15), explaining why he put FAIR on the “Progressive Honor Role” for 2015, “celebrating progressivism that mattered in 2015 and that—if past is prologue—will matter even more in 2016 and beyond”
