Newsweek.com Pushes Case for Tax Hike with Back-to-Back Posts
With congressional Democrats divided on how to approach the soon-expiring Bush tax cuts, reliably liberal Newsweek has taken upon itself the task of defending tax hikes, particularly those on the "rich." In back-to-back posts today, Ben Adler sought to dismiss the stimulative effect of tax cuts while Nancy Cook profiled some rich liberals who are allegedly looking forward to their taxes going up…
AP is 'Absolutely Protecting' MA-06 Dem Incumbent John Tierney Against
UPDATE: A 12:16 p.m. AP report gets to details the initial report (not labeled "breaking") should have contained.In an unbylined Associated Press story about the wife of incumbent Democratic Massachusetts Congressman John Tierney pleading guilty in a federal tax case, the wire service fails to mention which district Tierney represents. Far worse, it only reports that Tierney "is facing a…
WaPo Offers Up Gauzy Review of the 'Tropical Reign' of Hawaii Democrat
King Kamehameha's got nothing on Sen. Daniel Inouye (D). The former may have united the island kingdom of Hawai'i in 1810, but the latter's been a reliable vehicle of federal taxpayer pork for the Aloha State for more than 50 years.That, in a nutshell is the thrust of "Tropical reign," today's Style section front page profile of the 86-year-old president pro tempore of the Senate:More than any…
As Feingold Runs Afoul of NFL, AP Claims He Is 'Slightly Trailing' In
The National Football League is whistling incumbent Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold's campaign team for illegal use of film.The campaign has been playing a commercial which includes footage of former Minnesota wide receiver Randy Moss's pretend-mooning of Green Bay Packer fans during a 2004 playoff game, and is apparently doing so without the express written consent of the league. During the…
AP's Elliott Claims 'One Nation' Event 'Tapping Into the Same Anger' a
At about 3 p.m. Saturday, one version of the reportage from the Associated Press's Philip Elliott concerning the "One Nation" rally in Washington opened as follows (saved here at host for future reference, fair use and discussion purposes; bold is mine): Tapping into the same anger that fuels the tea party movement, a coalition of progressive and civil rights groups marched Saturday on the…
Newsweek's Adler Doubles Down on Complaint About GOP Pledge's Constitu
In their "Pledge to America," House Republicans have promised to "require each bill moving through Congress to include a clause citing the specific constitutional authority upon which the bill is justified." On September 22, Newsweek's Ben Adler denounced that simple pledge as "dangerous even as a mere suggestion," complaining that it intrudes on the constitutional prerogative of the courts to…
Obama's Cites GOP's Intent to Cut Education Spending; Press Ignores It
In New Mexico yesterday and probably in several other appearances, President Barack Obama criticized the House Republicans' Pledge to America on several fronts. To me, only because I tend to look at the real numbers during most months, his most obviously off-base critique had to do with federal education spending (as carried at Jake Tapper's Political Punch blog at ABC): Obama said the…
Democrat Rep. Grayson's Campaign Ad So Bad, Even Contessa Brewer Finds
MSNBC daytime anchor Contessa Brewer has recently drawn much attention for her shameless bias towards gay-rights activists, especially since she anchors an MSNBC news hour and not a talk show. But today, interviewing ultra-liberal Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), Brewer actually grilled him for his shamelessly-edited ad attacking his Republican opponent Daniel Webster.Grayson, a freshman Democrat, has…
AP's Elliott Looks for Post-Delaware Primary 'Expert' Commentary From
This goes back eleven days, but the entertainment value is too good to let it slide by without notice. On the Thursday after Christine O'Donnell defeated Mike Castle in the GOP primary for Delaware's open U.S. Senate seat, the Associated Press's Philip Elliott apparently felt the need to seek out an one-time Republican (or at least that's what he said) -- one of only a very few Republicans whose…
AP Report on Small Biz Lending Bill Omits Required Govt. 'Investments
In the earlier paragraphs of a Friday report on the recently passed small business lending bill at the Associated Press, reporter Pallavi Gogoi gave readers the impression that Congress's allegedly noble intentions might be thwarted because banks and businesses who should apparently be grateful for the "help" don't want it. Gogoi gives no direct indication that the bill involves government "…
AP-GfK Poll Report Concentrates on Voters' Emotions, Avoids Dem-Unfrie
So what's more important: The fact that independents are as "upset" as Republicans, or that Americans' disapproval of how President Obama is handling the economy is at an all-time high? Here's another priority-related question: Is it more important that "independents and Republicans were half as likely as Democrats to be inspired and less prone to be hopeful, excited and proud," or that…
Newsweek's Ben Adler Laments Republicans' 'Dangerous' Push to Ensure
Newsweek's Ben Adler is decidedly cool to the newly-unveiled Republican "Pledge with America." No surprise there, coming from a liberal journalist. But among his criticisms, perhaps he's most off-base in his complaint about Republicans' promise to ensure that legislation must be constitutional before it is passed along to the president for his signature (emphasis mine):Not so harmless, however,…
Big 3 Nets' Evening News Audience Fails to Break 20 Million in Mid-Sep
They're out of excuses. Summer's over. It's after Labor Day. The kids are back in school. People are back into their routines. The trouble for the Big 3 broadcast networks is that those routines don't include watching their early-evening newscasts. Beyond that, last week was a pivotal week in Campaign 2010, with key primaries in New York, Delaware, New Hampshire, and several other states. As…
AP Headline on O'Donnell 'Seeking' Establishment GOP Help Doesn't Matc
I suspect that headline writers at the Associated Press would be pleased as punch if readers stopped at their capsulization of Randall Chase's story and didn't read it. The headline at the AP's main site currently reads: "Surprise Del. primary winner seeks GOP support." Perhaps they're hoping that Christine O'Donnell's Tea Party base will be disappointed at the impression the headline gives,…
