Filling in for Lou Dobbs on Friday night, CNN's Kitty Pilgrim highlighted a case of bias at the “supposedly objective” Associated Press, which led a dispatch about the federal roundup Tuesday of workers at meatpacking plants, by referring to how “hordes of police” had “stormed” the plants, but “the illegal workers arrested may not have been the only victims.” Pilgrim marveled: “That's right, the Associated Press calling illegal aliens -- including some charged with stealing the identities of hundreds of Americans -- it called them 'victims.'"
Indeed, in a Friday morning AP dispatch as posted by Yahoo, "Immigration raids may affect meat prices," the AP's Roxana Hegeman led her Wichita-datelined story: “When hordes of police and immigration officials stormed meatpacking plants in six states this week, the illegal workers arrested may not have been the only victims. Consumers and the industry itself may be feeling the repercussions in a shortage of meatpackers, higher wage costs and, ultimately, higher prices for the beef that lands on America's tables at home and in restaurants....”
Pilgrim's short item toward the end of the first half hour of the December 15 Lou Dobbs Tonight:
“This broadcast is often criticized for taking a position on issues such as illegal immigration and border security. Well, here’s how the supposedly objective Associated Press covered Tuesday’s immigration raids on Swift Company meatpacking plants. In a story from Wichita, Kansas, and reprinted across the country, the AP reported that [text on screen under “Media Bias?”] 'hordes of police and immigration officials stormed meatpacking plants in six states this week, the illegal workers arrested may not have been the only victims.' That's right, the Associated Press calling illegal aliens -- including some charged with stealing the identities of hundreds of Americans -- it called them 'victims.'”
—Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center
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First 10 minutes
December 15, 2006 - 20:20 ET by Sonny LykosI rarely watch CNN, but just befoer it came on I said to my wife: "Let's see some DNC subtle brainwashing." and turned it on.
Predictable, for the first 10 minutes they shrewdly attacked Rummy and Bush. Without a doubt, it was a 10 minute ad for Democrats. Typical were phrases like "critics say....." and "some generals say......" Slash and burn!
Is CNN trying to look objecti
December 16, 2006 - 00:23 ET by mattmIs CNN trying to look objective by comparison? (Actually, considering it's the cr-AP, they don't have to try too hard)
Dobbs has received pretty fav
December 15, 2006 - 20:56 ET by SMGalbraithDobbs has received pretty favorable - or at least, not overly critical - coverage by the media critics since he's become more openly opinionated on his show. But it will be interesting if he continues his hobby horse on immigration in a Democratic polity whether that near silence will continue.
I.e., it's okay to criticize our borders problems when you're bashing the Bush Administration but be careful about your critique once they're out of power.
What part of ILLEGAL doesn't
December 15, 2006 - 22:18 ET by msh1973What part of ILLEGAL doesn't the msm understand?
HORDES???That is not just bia
December 15, 2006 - 23:17 ET by JPR1HORDES???
That is not just biased inaccuracy. That is simply inept use of the English language.
No doubt a proud product of the public education system.
When was the last time we had a real horde of any kind in this country?
“Hordes of shoppers rushed the store.”? Maybe.
The Orcs were a horde weren’t they?
"HORDES???That is not
December 15, 2006 - 23:56 ET by ckc1227"HORDES???That is not just biased inaccuracy. That is simply inept use of the English language."
Also interesting is it was "hordes" of law enforcement but it wasn't "hordes" of illegals, even though the numbers of both groups were roughly the same.
"Consumers and the industry itself may be feeling the repercussions in a shortage of meatpackers, higher wage costs and, ultimately, higher prices for the beef that lands on America's tables at home and in restaurants...."
It was TEN PERCENT of the workforce, spread over several states! How much of an increase can it be? Not TOO much, unless the meat people decide to take advantage of the situation and gouge us.
Yeah, so my “Peppered Garli
December 16, 2006 - 00:26 ET by JPR1Yeah, so my “Peppered Garlic Summer Sausage” costs me an extra 38 cents. There's a budget buster, we're doomed!
now thats just so not pc..
December 16, 2006 - 00:49 ET by lbcdawnnow thats just so not pc.. think of all the poor folks living paycheck to paycheck.. why they may have to add more breadcrumbs to there mealoaf to compensate for the decrease in portion size due to the projected increase!
lbcdawn, you’re absolutely
December 16, 2006 - 01:20 ET by JPR1lbcdawn, you’re absolutely right , it is not very PC. But you know my PC-ability has been wanning as of late. Not sure that I ever had much to begin with.
Anyhow, I imagine that the extra bread crumbs and less meat will lower the fat and cholesterol and heck, suddenly everybody is healthier! :-}
Gotta punch-out, eyes are blurring.
I think I would be pretty pis
December 16, 2006 - 06:31 ET by NortonalecI think I would be pretty pissed if I were a union meat worker. Don't illegals drive down the hourly wage? It seems the AP has forgotten about theie comrades in labor.
Nortonalec
It seems the AP has forgotten
December 16, 2006 - 09:10 ET by dmntd1Am I the only one that has noticed the number of liberal, presumably big-union supporters, that all drive foreign made cars (or, at least foreign makes of cars) that were built by non-union workers throughout the world? This came to me as I watched a young lady whose bumper was covered by "Got Solar" and Kerry bumper stickers, getting into a newish Subaru. It makes me wonder if they won't buy the domestics because of the reliability problems and the cost issues, both related to a dis-motivated union mentality at the Big-3.....
Please make sure your train of thought carries freight.
If you notice the majority of
December 16, 2006 - 19:27 ET by BW222If you notice the majority of cars with bumper stickers supporting liberal politicians or left-wing causes usually bear Japanese or European nameplates.
whatever else you may think,
December 16, 2006 - 21:41 ET by tumbler_2007I'm sometimes appalled by the closed-minded approach of so many here, as long as the ones being attacked are those aliens. No stick is too far-fetched for the purpose of demonizing the "other".
The very fact that an illegal employee in some untintended way may keep down union scale ought to be cause for celebration, not regrets. Unions are forever greedy after HIGHER pay scales. Constantly negotiating for another pay raise ad nauseam, they drive up consumer prices and force more raises in the minimum wage. The raised minimum breaks small business employers and costs millions of entry-level jobs. Union demands are POISON to our small-business owners and farmers.
Keeping wages reasonably low encourages entrepeneurship and investment. You cannot "drive down" anybody's existing pay scale. You keep it stable if employees settle for FAIR wages; not always going after the company, until it can't keep on hiring.
Already even the discount stores have been forced to cut back on personnel. They automate because it's cheaper. I used to frequent a "Watch & Wager" sports betting satellite. (Now I wager online.) More and more they have proceeded to automate, where the bettor slips his money into a machine, presses buttons and receives the tickets. WHY? Because ticket clerks are no longer cost-effective; they demand ever-higher wages. They've killed the goose who laid golden eggs.
Union meat-cutters cashing in on the job we're talking about here make every product cost consumers more. Would you like $25 a pound filet at your super market? Leave it to the negotiators --year after year. They'll bring it to you.
tumbler_2007: "The very
December 17, 2006 - 15:16 ET by Galvanictumbler_2007: "The very fact that an illegal employee in some untintended way may keep down union scale ought to be cause for celebration, not regrets."
Wrong answer, tumbler. Nothing offsets the cost or risks of unenforcement immigration laws.
tumbler_2007: "Already even the discount stores have been forced to cut back on personnel. They automate because it's cheaper."
That's just technical progress. Can't do anything about that.
tumbler_2007: "Would you like $25 a pound filet at your super market?"
This is the "$12 asparogus" argument offered by guys like Geraldo Rivera, who'll give us a story about how illegal immigrants are keeping the US economy booming by keepin gprices down (He even said on O'Reilly that they are vital to national security), and then do another story about how their wages are so low that they are being exploited by greedy American employers.
We have to shore up our borders, and prosecute employers who hire illegals.
Minimum wage problems
December 17, 2006 - 15:24 ET by dagdaArizona just instituted a minimum wage increase. It appears that it is going to put a couple of charitable businesses out of business. We have a couple of businesses that hire developmently disabled, etc and they cannot afford to pay them the new minimum and still compete in the market place. They are asking the legislature to go into special session to give them an exemption.
Our real problem, then, is not our strength today; it is rather the vital necessity of action today to ensure our strength tomorrow. Dwight Eisenhower
same old knee-jerk
December 17, 2006 - 15:33 ET by tumbler_2007I stand by what I say. You're free to disagree. That hasn't proved you right.
Anyway; we're not on the subject of border control. This was in reference to the wage scale. You're too obviously unwilling to see the facts.
Actually, the subject began w
December 17, 2006 - 21:09 ET by GalvanicActually, the subject began with AP description of illegal immigrants as 'victims' of police/ICE raids. Many of these peole were arrested for usaing the actual names and Social Security numbers of real American citizens. That's crime, not victimhood.
But whether the issue is identity theft, minimum wage, or domestic security, the place for the remedy to begin is at the border.
hi mr galvanic
December 18, 2006 - 13:24 ET by tumbler_2007Or is it Ms? OK, I stand corrected. The subject started as that "victims" tag, applied to the arrested illegals of Swift & Co.,
Yes. We can see this for bias favoring them. Not called for. Every illegal alien lives in the awareness and fear that any day a "migra" raid (immigration authorities) can overtake them. They can't plead victimhood. That is a situation they've chosen to live with.
You're nevertheless taking the side of the feds; officials not tied into immigration enforcement; for better or worse. The pretext for rounding up more than a thousand people (at work) is a serious crime committed by a small number of them. Not so many were identity thieves, caught in this sweep. I venture to say many thousands more identity thefts are commited by citizens of our United States, than by illegal aliens.
I've conceded the illegality of the status of many of them (not all the Swift bunch). FINE.
Do I agree with you, that the "remedy" begins at the border? Absolutely not. The problem begins there, yes. There IS no remedy, um afraid. That is the bad news.
Here's good news: Once naturalized, whether in the usual manner or by giving amnesty to the offenders, we'll have an immensely valuable human resource existing here with us, side by side with other productive American citizens. It will amaze you how good these people can be. They're almost ALL hard-working, religious and conservative. The ones who hold their opposite view of this ethnic minority do so for all the wrong reasons. Racial prejudice is one of them, the most noxious and unchristian.
Our Republican Party is foolish for not immediately beginning to cultivate their friendship.
Yes, it's only my opinion. But I hold it for good reasons. I have lived in close proximity and even friendship with many Mexicans; legal and illegal both. Experience is our best teacher.
Someone at CNN is suddenly su
December 16, 2006 - 08:19 ET by cunservatyveSomeone at CNN is suddenly surprised by lefty news bias? Give me a break. The Commie News Network is one of the biggest culprits.
Kudos to Kitty, though, for actually saying something.
Cunservatyve military medical guy
If you rob Peter to pay Paul, you can always count on Paul's vote!
Funny how CNN, including Mr.
December 16, 2006 - 08:49 ET by Chris NormanFunny how CNN, including Mr. Dobbs and Ms. Pilgrim, aren't concerned with the other biases of the AP. Funny, how the MSM, is concerned with the price the consumer pays for of meat, but is opposed to WalMart, who has lowered the cost for consumer goods, including food. Funny.
The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on.
- Arabian Proverb
A.P.
December 16, 2006 - 10:07 ET by iveseenitall"Workers Unite"---The A.P. is a communist propaganda machine.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
NEVER,NEVER trust a liberal