Are members of the media “post-abortive?”
A day before the 2015 March for Life, prolife leaders staged a “Million to One Memorial Die-In” in front of the White House. For the event, youth lay on the pavement in a fetal position to “demonstrate unity with the preborn” by representing the 57 million lives lost to abortion since 1973. While there, Urban Cure's Star Parker slammed the media for their coverage of abortion and mused, “I'm just wondering how many of them are post-abortive themselves.”
On today's Morning Joe, Nicolle Wallace was asked to comment on conservative columnist Byron York's panning of Palin's speech as "long, rambling, and at times barely coherent." York's column also passed along criticism of the speech by a number of Iowa Republicans. Wallace said that it was interesting to see York come "full circle," since back in 2008 he had been a Palin defender, blaming the campaign for the way she was packaged. Wallace then doubled down with this dig: "This is who she is. This to me is evidence that she has finally shed every last one of those annoying handlers." Reeoorw!
This week, as President Obama gives his State of the Union address, NBC's Brian Williams touts the "generosity" of his plan for "free college for millions," even as NBC morning host Matt Lauer slaps Republicans for their "pettiness" and "disrespect" for applauding Obama's statement that he cannot run for President again. Also, Bryant Gumbel growls about the "pigs" in the National Rifle Association, and the left-wing erupts in anger against American Sniper, a movie about a hero of the Iraq war.
As President Barack Obama and Governor Jerry Brown continue to extol the wonders of the alleged economic recovery of nation and the Golden State, respectively, stories of significant growth in homelessness continue to rain on their parades. The latest example comes on the heels of reports on Seattle's burgeoning problem and the city's apparent willingness to allow officially sanctioned outdoor encampments to serve as a "temporary" (yeah, sure) solution.
In a Saturday item in the Los Angeles Times about the expansion of "homeless camps" outside of what had been known as the LA's "skid row," Times reporter Gale Holland apparently learned not to repeat a revealing disclosure she made in a December Times report covering the situation in San Jose. Her coverage was remarkably vague, failing to provide specifics I believe she could have relayed with little effort, especially given that homelessness and poverty is her assigned beat. Excerpts follow the jump.
So much for this being a mere snub or breach of protocol. If left-wing radio host Thom Hartmann had his way, House Speaker John Boehner would be in shackles and awaiting trial for inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak before Congress without first clearing the invitation with the Obama White House.
Citing the Constitution to justify his claim, Hartmann said on his show Thursday that Boehner may be guilty of treason or sedition for going around Obama, who reportedly detests Netanyahu (and vice versa) and would much rather converse with YouTube class clowns who bathe in milk and cereal.
Actor Rob Lowe sounded conservative again on Friday, hitting the President for doing an interview with a YouTube celebrity, but ignoring Benjamin Netanyahu. Lowe tweeted out, "Hold up. Is it true that a woman who eats cereal out of a bathtub gets to meet with the President and the Prime Minister of Isreal [sic] does not?"
Liberal actress Jane Fonda has renounced a famous anti-war picture she posed in. Speaking of a 1972 photo featuring her sitting next to North Vietnamese anti-aircraft battery, Fonda called it a "huge, huge mistake." The actress appeared at an event in Maryland that was protested by Vietnam vets.
Georgetown professor Aaron Hanlon argues that Stewart’s foul-mouthed rants in response to conservatives are appropriate given that “his objects of critique aren’t interested in reasoned dialogue, clever jabs or unveiled truths.”
CNN.com published two stories in a row last week about the developing Sex Fiend Island scandal. Most of the focus was on Prince Andrew while a certain former president was noticeably missing despite being mentioned in numerous stories from sources other than CNN.
Following Congressman Steve King’s (R-IA) Iowa Freedom Summit, which hosted several potential 2016 Republican presidential candidates, the panel on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday morning happily scolded the GOPers for attending the prominent conservative gathering. During the discussion, Helene Cooper, correspondent for The New York Times, argued that Republicans “in many, many ways are their own worst enemies. They go so far to the right in order to out-conservative everybody else.”
Over the weekend, Congressman Steve King (R-IA) hosted the Iowa Freedom Summit, which featured several potential Republican presidential candidates and on Sunday's ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Cokie Roberts, correspondent for NPR, eagerly took a shot at the gathering of influential conservatives. Speaking during the show’s panel discussion, Roberts slammed the GOP event and insisted that “Republicans should stay out of Iowa altogether. What happens to them is that they get pushed so far to the right in those venues that it gives them a terrible time in the general election.”
Chuck Todd, NBC News Political Director and moderator of Meet the Press, appeared on Sunday’s Today to preview his upcoming show and to discuss the fallout following the White House’s announcement that President Obama will not meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he visits the United States in March. Speaking to Today co-host Erica Hill, Todd found no fault in President Obama’s snub of Netanyahu and instead placed the blame squarely on the Israeli prime minister. Todd insisted that “the impact is probably going to be more acute potentially in Israel itself. I mean this is about Prime Minister Netanyahu, he's in an election year and one of the criticisms he's gotten is for strained relationships with President Obama."
Noting Secretary of Transportation Jamie Foxx was this year’s “designated survivor” for the State of the Union address, FNC’s Bret Baier ended his Thursday FNC show with how “it was last year’s cabinet pick who really caught the eye of late night TV.” Viewers then saw clips of ABC’s Jimmy Jimmel, from this year, and NBC’s Jimmy Fallon, from last year, zinging Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz.
New York Times reporter (and chief Hillary Clinton follower) Amy Chozick made an indignant defense of the Democratic front-runner in "Clinton Opponents Hone New Barbs and Attacks as 2016 Campaign Nears." She introduced the article, which dripped with anti-Republican sarcasm, with a vivid description on Twitter: "The cottage industry of Hillary hating has never gone out of business, but it has evolved with the times."
Those awkward silences from your audience, Bill Maher? That's them saying they aren't amused. You might want to pay more attention to what they're telling you.
First time it happened on Maher's HBO show last night came when he was speaking with The Atlantic's James Fallows about his cover story in the January-February issue, "Why Do the Best Soldiers in the World Keep Losing? The Tragic Decline of the American Military."