Granted, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) is a trade organization which will, as trade organizations do, try to put the best face on a bad situation. And granted, part of the press's job is to filter through hype and false sunniness to report the truth of what's really going on.

But that is most emphatically not what the Associated Press did with yesterday's NAR report on the state of the national housing market. Instead, AP failed to report overall statistics in favor of reporting individual metro areas; ignored most of the legitimately good news; ignored an important piece of historical context; and, most importantly, and as has been the case for well over a year in the national business press, emphasized reductions in unit sales while de-emphasizing much smaller reductions in sale prices.

Here are five of the key paragraphs AP's unbylined report ("New data reveal breadth of housing slump"):

You vill obey update . . .

The domestic policy differences between Hillary and Obama are negligible. But the Clinton camp likes to claim that his national health care plan would leave 15 million people out, whereas hers covers everyone. Let's put aside for the moment the fact that former Clinton cabinet member Robert Reich says the Obama plan would actually wind up covering more people. The key to Hillary's claim that she would cover everyone is that . . . she would punish people who refuse to fall in line.

Naturally, Clinton isn't eager to specify just what such punishment would be. But under intense questioning by Tucker Carlson on his MSNBC show this evening, senior Clinton advisor Kiki McLean employed an Orwellian euphemism. People who didn't comply wouldn't be punished. They'd simply incur an . . . "outcome."

View video here.

ABC's "Political Radar" blog reported Wednesday (h/t NBer Gat New York, paragraph break removed for space):

On Wednesday, a top adviser to John McCain said more definitively than he has in the past that he will step down from the Arizona senator's presidential campaign if the presumed GOP nominee faces Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., in the general election..."I would simply be uncomfortable being in a campaign that would be inevitably attacking Barack Obama," said McCain adviser Mark McKinnon in an interview with NPR's "All Things Considered." "I think it would be uncomfortable for me, and I think it would be bad for the McCain campaign."

If you were McCain, would you fire this man immediately due to his obviously divided loyalties? Any other thoughts, NBers?

Noting Sen. Barack Obama's recent statement that he considers the Second Amendment an individual right -- setting aside for a moment his pro-gun control record and defense of the D.C. handgun ban -- ABC's Jan Crawford Greenburg dismissed private gun ownership as constitutionally protected, holding instead that the "orthodox" view defends only a state's right.

Here's the relevant portion from a February 15 entry at Greenburg's Legalities blog (emphasis mine):

During a two part interview on the Thursday and Friday CBS "Early Show," co-host Maggie Rodriguez asked Hugo Chavez’s ex-wife, Marisabel Rodriguez, "Is Hugo Chavez a charismatic leader or a mad man?" This was followed later by the question, "Is he a Communist?" To which Marisabel Rodriguez responded: "If he's not, he's very similar to one."

Maggie Rodriguez, who is Cuban-American, had several other questions critical of Chavez:

Just last week Hugo Chavez reportedly boasted about chewing coca leaves, which is the base of cocaine. What do you think about this? Could this have altered his mind?...Do you think he should step down as president of Venezuela?

Vice President of the Business & Media Institute Dan Gainor outlined the media's failure in covering consumer confidence numbers in a February 15 appearance on the Fox Business Network.

"What we're talking about, instead of consumer confidence, we're talking about media competence," Gainor said. "Last year, July was the six-year high for consumer confidence and yet if you watch any one of the three network news shows, evening news shows, you didn't see it."

Once again, the media have demonstrated its disregard for the rationale behind business decisions.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) and Northwest Airlines (NYSE:NWA) are in negotiations for a merger, which could be a win-win for both companies. However, a segment on NBC's February 15 "Today" portrayed it as the two airlines teaming up to take advantage of travelers and ignored the possibility that the survival of both airlines may hinge on this merger.

"But airline mergers have traditionally meant job losses, especially in the airlines' hub cities, as well as fewer flight options for passengers in smaller cities and higher ticket prices," NBC correspondent Tom Costello said. "In Atlanta, we found frequent travelers fearing that's exactly what could happen."

Hillary Clinton appears with a young mariachi at a campaign event in Texas.

H/t to lunaticcringeradio.

New York Times media reporter Jacques Steinberg interviewed conservative talk radio giant Rush Limbaugh on his strong opposition to GOP presidential front-runner John McCain for Friday's "Warring on McCain, Limbaugh Sees No Reconciliation." The interview was OK, but the response from the Times's liberal readership was vitriolic.

"Rush Limbaugh took his show on the road this week, forsaking his main broadcast studio in Palm Beach, Fla., for one in Midtown Manhattan. But the change of scenery did nothing to dampen the Republican-on-Republican smackdown he has been waging from afar against Senator John McCain, the party's likely presidential nominee, whom Mr. Limbaugh considers too moderate.

As he opened his radio program Wednesday, Mr. Limbaugh lobbed yet another grenade.

NPR senior news analyst Daniel Schorr has a new book out, a package of his radio commentaries. In a nod to where the NPR brand appeals most, Schorr will be selling his book at a members-only meeting of the Woman’s National Democratic Club next week, as Fishbowl DC passes along:

"Legendary broadcast journalist Daniel Schorr will speak about and sign his book, Come to Think of It at a luncheon program co-sponsored by the English-Speaking Union on Tuesday, February 19 at the Woman's National Democratic Club. ... The cost of the program is $30. For tickets, contact the English-Speaking Union at esuwdc.net/(202) 234-4602, or the Woman's National Democratic Club at (202) 232-7363."

The media has been reporting Hillary's latest "talk is cheap" line of attack on Barack. In the same vein, here's the opening paragraph of an email just received from the Clinton campaign:

When the bright lights are off and the speeches are over, who can you count on to listen to you, to stand up and deliver solutions?

Hillary Clinton: delivering in the dark. Good to know.

Numbers don't lie. Make your own conclusions. Number of donors then dollar amount from army, navy, airforce active personel.

Ron Paul: 1160 $249k
John McCain: 438 $83k
Mike Huckabee: 126 $37k
Mitt Romney: 126 $24k
Barack Obama: 443 $76k
Hillary Clinton: 154 $41k

source: opensecrets.org

Well isn't this special?

Not only does Keith Olbermann get to attack the President of the United States on national television five nights a week, but now he's giving previews of his deplorable rants at the far-left website Daily Kos.

All likely with the blessing of MSNBC's top brass, I suppose.

After all, they're clearly not trying to hide their political leanings anymore. So, why should they care if one of their hosts speaks and writes such detritus that it evokes the following vitriolic commentary from his readers aimed at America's president (vulgarity alert, h/t NBer Thomas Stewart):

Sure, it's garden variety AP labeling/double-standard bias, but it bears busting anyway.

At KnoxNews.com (h/t NB reader coffee260), one can read the tale of Nashville, Tennessee, state representative Rob Briley, who "has pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and property damage prior to leading authorities on a high-speed chase last September." Briley is a Democrat, but his party affiliation was not mentioned in the 6-paragraph story.

Yet another AP dispatch on another state politician, this one from Maryland, had a quite different treatment of that legislator's political affiliation.

Via the Baltimore Sun's Web page:

Sources on the Internet show Stephen P. Kazmierczak (identified as the alleged Northern Illinois University (NIU) Shooter) had been a member and an officer of an NIU organization called the Academic Criminal Justice Association a search of that site shows that Steve K. (as he was apparently known to his friends) attended a "Potluck" where photos were taken and posted with links and filenames that named him "Steve" or "SteveK". Those photos are linked to below (Steve K. is apparently the thinner man with the crewcut and dark hair.) The webpage above indicates that Kazmierczak. was at one time the treasurer and later the vice-president of the organization.

Photo 1 >>

Photo 2 >>

Photo 3 >>

You know, if the Associated Press ever straightens up and starts reporting the news like a truly unbiased news agency it would ruin our little game of "Democrat or Not?" Fortunately for us, it doesn't seem like the AP is going to go legitimate any time soon and our little game can go on ad infinitum. Today our game is being hosted in the Tennessee House of Representatives where State Representative Bob Briley pleaded guilty to a DUI from last September.

The AP gives us the low down on the lowlife with all the details... except one.

State Rep. Rob Briley of Nashville has pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and property damage prior to leading authorities on a high-speed chase last September... Authorities said he struck the rear of a truck and then left the scene.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/niu_shooting

 As I was reading up on the shooting in Illinois I noticed in the article that Bush talked with NIU President John Peters.

 So the President of the United States is just plain old Bush, but John Peters is the "president" of NIU?

AP showing it's true colors once again...

Freedom is not free, and must always be defended

So I will defend my freedom to vote - or not to vote...

I choose to vote for Romney/Thompson

As a true patriot I believe John McCain does not want my vote unless it truly comes from my head and my heart - my conscience - and it would not - so it will not...

I do not hate John McCain. I just don't like his moderate/democrat politics. I am not strategically engineering 4 years down the road, or 20 years down the road, this is not a vote for Hillary or Obama, or the demise of the US, or for higher taxes, it is not a tantrum, I am not taking my ball and going home, it is not a protest, it is not dis-loyalty to the Republican party, yada yada yada...

It is simply a vote for whom I feel will best serve me and our country - to do otherwise would be the tremendous dis-service to our country - and I cannot do a dis-service to my country...

I am not telling anyone else who to vote for. IMO Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson are the most qualified individuals to lead the Republican party and the nation moving forward.

If the surge in Iraq did not work, you can be sure the networks would all use its one-year anniversary to highlight its failure, but on Thursday night only ABC's World News, of the three broadcast network evening newscasts, marked the anniversary. With “Surge Success” on screen, anchor Charles Gibson noted “it was one year ago today that the surge began in Iraq -- the troop buildup ordered by the President when so many of his critics were calling for a draw down of troops. 30,000 additional troops started arriving a year ago.” From Iraq, Clarissa Ward began over matching video:

If you're looking for one measure of the impact of the surge, look at General David Petraeus, walking through a Baghdad neighborhood with no body armor and no helmet. It's one year since the beginning of what's known here as "Operation Fardh al-Qanoon." According to the U.S. military, violence is down 60 percent. One key to the success, reconciliation.

In Friday's Post Politics Hour on washingtonpost.com, Anne Kornblut, the Post political reporter deployed to travel with Hillary, suggested that now that the Clinton-juggernaut image has been junked, it's funny that Hillary didn't make any verbal mistakes, that the mistakes could be attributed more to Bill and her staff. (Her ice-queen personality and wooden vocal delivery and persistently high negatives had nothing to do with it?)

McLean, Va.: Anne: We were told by any number of reporters and pundits (including -- ahem -- you, I believe) that the Clintons had this awe-inspiring, flawless political machine set to roll through the primaries. Given that they've blown their lead (not to mention their aura of inevitability), care to re-evaluate?

Given the lack of media concern over the teachings of Barack Obama's church, I don't expect much media interest in this either:

A conservative Christian group yesterday criticized a large Methodist church in the District for planning to offer services that recognize gay and lesbian relationships, saying they violate the United Methodist ban on same-sex unions.

Foundry United Methodist Church, which Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton attended when he was president, decided last month to support its senior pastor's decision to lead services that "recognize and honor" committed gay relationships. Foundry clergy, however, do not perform union ceremonies, the local bishop said.