CNBC: Paulson 'Put a Gun to All Their Heads
Gee, and I thought I might be pushing the envelope on September 28 when I expressed concern that the "bailout" with the made-up $700 billion price tag that turned into the pork-loaded "bailout" with the made-up $850 billion price tag "blackmail" (though "extortion" may be the more appropriate word). It is clear that this is indeed the case, at least twice over. First, there were the threats made…
CBS’s Smith Scoffs at Giuliani Suggestion of Media Bias...Again
On Tuesday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith talked to former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and asked about negative attacks in the campaign: "Alright, one of the things that's happened in the McCain campaign over the last couple of days is the personal attacks seem to have at least subsided or quieted down a little bit. Do you think, in the long run, this might actually have been a fatal…
CNBC Reporter: Obama Suffers 'Blind Loyalty' to Economy-killing Polici
The stock market is casting a vote of "no confidence" in Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and his Republican opponent is missing an opportunity to slam the freshman senator for an economic agenda that is a rehash of the worst of Presidents Herbert Hoover and Jimmy Carter.So argued on-air editor Charles Gasparino in an October 13 op-ed in the New York Post, where the CNBC talent mentioned that even Obama's…
AP Gets It Right in One Article, Wrong in Another, About Historical Ex
Given that the topic of this post is the Associated Press, I guess I should be pleased to report that one of its two reports tonight about the dive in the stock market last week is correct. In one article ("Gov't eyes plan to take ownership stakes in banks"), AP's Harry Dunphy and Tom Raum correctly said that "the Dow Jones industrial average just completed its worst week ever, plummeting more…
IBD: Market Dive Due to Impending 'First Socialist President,' Taxes
There has been an unreality in the reports on the falling stock markets for at least the past 10 days. Each day's plunge seems to have been exclusively due to the "global economic crisis" and/or the supposed "freeze on credit." Oddly enough, the admittedly small bank where I have my business accounts is having absolutely no problem funding mortgage, home-equity, and other loan applications from…
Name That Party: Former SF Supervisor Guilty of Shakedowns; AP, Chron
A former San Francisco Supervisor pleaded guilty Friday to three felonies Friday that go to the fundamental integrity of city operations. Both the Associated Press's Paul Elias and the San Francisco Chronicle's Wyatt Buchanan did not see fit to name the party of Ed Jew, who is, naturally, a Democrat. Interesting, Jew attributes his downfall to the examples of others, and, according to Buchanan…
Morning Show Consults Kids, Not Experts about Crisis
Who you gonna call to fix the economy? Kids. The Dow dropped 5,585 points since its high a year ago, banks have been afraid to lend and the government bought billions in toxic mortgage-backed securities. So CBS's "The Early Show" went to some top finance experts to explain what was happening to viewers, right? Nope, they went to kids, Oct. 10. Weatherman Dave Price talked to fifth graders…
The Biz Flog Said Short Selling Ban was Bad Idea Weeks Ago
The Securities and Exchange Commission ended the 16-day ban on short selling Oct. 9, which has left many journalists asking if the ban actually worked to keep more banks from failing. The staff at the Business & Media Institute's video blog, "The Biz Flog," could have told you the ban wasn't a good idea when they put together "Who's Afraid of a Big Bad Short Seller?" But, it's nice to see…
Media Gives Obama Pass on 'Deregulation' Smear
One of Barack Obama's biggest lines, which he repeats at every campaign event and delivered in Tuesday night's Town Hall Debate in Nashville, is that the Wall Street financial crisis was created by deregulation - deregulation, he hastens to add, is the policy of George W. Bush, John McCain and the Republicans.He made the charge in response to the first question in the debate (transcript) last…
Lehman CEO Contributed Heavily to Democrats – Will Media Notice
You would think what donors are cozy with which campaigns - especially in the midst of a presidential election cycle - might be a relevant story for the media, especially at a time when everyone is quick to point fingers at which political party is to blame for financial turmoil. When Lehman Brothers CEO Richard Fuld testified before the House Oversight Committee Oct. 6, the media criticized…
CBS's 'Dangerous' Cough Medicine Segment Hard to Swallow
So what "dangerous" product should you not give your children now? Cough syrup, if you were watching the October 3 "Early Show." "They're safe if they're used properly, but so often they're not and so I consider them to be dangerous," said Dr. Alanna Levine, a pediatrician based in Englewood Hospital in New York. The CBS segment focused on new regulations of over-the-counter cough and cold…
CNBC: Congressional Republicans ‘Hate Wall Street
If you don't give me money, I won't bail you out! Conservative opposition to a federal bailout of financial institutions is over campaign donations, not a desire to uphold sound market principles, according to CNBC. CNBC's chief Washington correspondent John Harwood said Sept. 25 on "Squawk Box" that he had a conversation with "a top Republican member of congress last night" who told him…
Friedman: Gov't Should Attach 'Green' Strings to $700 Billion Bailout
Nationalization has its consequences. Just note the rhetoric coming from some prominent voices on the left. The government's foray into offering services normally provided by the private sector by bailing out aging mortgage giants gives it the power to implement "green" building requirements, according to New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. He suggested Sept. 23 that any construction…
