Spectacular Fib: How Horrid PBS Health Care Reporting Morphed Into an

Over the weekend, poor and biased media reporting, dysfunctional politics, blindly ambitious activism, and economic ignorance fed on each other to produce a phenomenally false narrative that went out to hundreds of thousands if not millions of people. The result not only doesn't pass the smell test; it fails the stench test from a mile away. The first origins of the activist narrative burst…
Tom Blumer

On Today: Should GOP Be Afraid of Palin and Her Tea Party Supporters

NBC's Matt Lauer, along with MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, spent a whole segment on Monday's Today show wondering if Sarah Palin, and the Tea Party supporters she appeals to, posed a problem for the GOP, with the Today co-anchor going as far to boldly state: "Republicans are afraid of Sarah Palin. Republicans have a right to be afraid of some of the people she was talking to also." [audio available…
Geoffrey Dickens

CBS’s Rodriguez: Critics ‘Having Fun’ With Palin’s Hand Notes

While discussing Sarah Palin’s Saturday Tea Party Convention speech with political analyst John Dickerson on Monday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Maggie Rodriguez remarked: “She was really scrutinized because she wrote those notes on her hand during her speech....I want to show real quick....boy, are her critics having fun with that one.” As Rodriguez mentioned the incident, a headline on screen read…
Kyle Drennen

MRC Video: Is Mandatory Health Insurance Even Constitutional

It's the central question of the health care debate to liberty-loving Americans: Where in the Constitution does our charter of government grant the federal government the power to make us buy health care (or make us buy anything, for that matter)? But to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, it's an illegitimate question. "Are you serious?!" she shot back at a CNSNews.com correspondent Matt Cover. Pelosi…
NB Staff

CNN: Palin's Crib Notes Same As Obama's Teleprompter

In a perfect example of how the mainstream media often channels liberal blogosphere hysteria, what is destined to be called "Handgate" -- Sarah Palin's use of crib notes at Saturday's National Tea Party convention -- was all the rage on CNN Monday.The network's political editor was even wheeled out to discuss the matter -- as if somehow threatening to national security! -- informing viewers how…
Noel Sheppard

MRC's Bozell, American Papist Blogger Discuss Harry Knox's Anti-Cathol

Anti-Catholic bigot and Obama faith-based initiative advisor Harry Knox must be fired, Media Research Center's Brent Bozell and numerous other conservative signatories demanded in an open letter to President Barack Obama.Picking up on the story, "Hannity" substitute host Tucker Carlson had Bozell and fellow signatory American Papist blogger Thomas Peters on the Friday, February 5 show to discuss…
NB Staff

Why Hasn't Obama Had a White House Press Conference Since July

Washington Post media reporter Howard Kurtz noticed on Monday what may be lost as Barack Obama grants piles of interviews to supportive folks like Oprah and Katie Couric: President Obama hasn't held a full-scale news conference since July. Still, a press corps that periodically complained about George W. Bush's infrequent news conferences should not let Obama walk away from the practice…
Tim Graham

ABC Touts Blizzard of 2010 as Obama-esque 'Mini-Jobs Program

Amid all of the snow news on Sunday night’s World News, ABC reporter David Kerley tossed in a positive reference to President Obama’s supposed abilities to create jobs. “While President Obama didn’t come up with it, the storm is its own mini-jobs program,” Kerley touted, talking about the extra cash some people made helping to shovel out their neighbors.Actually, the jobs “created” by the snow…
Rich Noyes

Open Thread

NB Staff

How Conservatives Found Twitter and the Evolution of '#TCOT' According

If you're a follower of conservative politics and also a user of the social networking tool Twitter, you've more than likely have noticed the use of "#tcot," for "top conservatives on Twitter" associated with certain posts that pertain to that subject matter. But it all didn't happen by accident. In the early stages, it was a concerted effort. And most of it was because of the work of Michael…
Jeff Poor

AP Error: Writer Suggests Tebow Ad Had Abortion Talk

The sharp eyes at Powerline caught AP writer Emily Fredrix really messing up on the Tebow ads for Focus on the Family that aired on the Super Bowl last night, which did not discuss abortion: And a commercial by conservative Christian group Focus on the Family, perhaps the most anticipated ad of the night, hinted at a serious subject although it took a humorous tone too. Heisman winner Tim Tebow…
Tim Graham

How Conservatives Found Twitter and the Evolution of '#TCOT

Grassroots activist Michael Patrick Leahy explains how conservatives used social networking to organize out of the wilderness.
Jeff Poor

Mitchell Mocks Palin's Hand Notes

Scratching my head, wondering if I can remember a so-called correspondent so openly mocking a major political figure . . . On Morning Joe, NBC "correspondent" Andrea Mitchell ridiculed Sarah Palin's use of hand notes during her Tea Party Q. and A. by displaying some hand notes of her own . . .
Mark Finkelstein

Politico's Calderone Has a Woefully Bad Memory When It Comes to TEA Pa

UPDATE II: Politico Executive Editor and Co-Founder Jim VandeHei on Monday appeared on Fox News Channel's O'Reilly Factor to defend the indefensible (video at right; audio here). UPDATE (below the fold): Calderone responds to us in electronic print. ----------------------------- The Politico's Michael Calderone on Sunday wrote the following headline and first paragraph. With what would appear…
Seton Motley