Houston Chron: Obama Flag Pin Question 'Planted from the Right

Houston Chronicle blogger Bob Cavnar needs to take some time off, or lay off the caffeine, or maybe someone should gently tell him that the black helicopters aren't following him after all. Whatever the case, Cavnar used his April 19th posting to go off on a wild eyed rant that is so twisted that it ends up blaming Republicans and Mickey Mouse for the fact that Barack Obama isn't patriotic enough…
Warner Todd Huston

Rove Sends Letter to MSNBC's Abrams Accusing Him of Bad Journalism

Although many press outlets have reported a so-called nefarious connection between former White House advisor Karl Rove and the prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, none has focused as much attention on this conspiracy theory as MSNBC.In the last four months, MSNBC has addressed this issue thirteen times, with nine involving former General Manager Dan Abrams.Seemingly fed up with…
Noel Sheppard

Time Magazine Still Unrepentant Despite Veteran Complaints

Spokesman calls use of iconic Iwo Jima image a 'respectful use of this symbol of American valor and courage.'
Jeff Poor

CNN Reporter Arrested in Central Park, Most Media Ignore Sex Element

Imagine for a moment that a Fox News reporter was arrested in Central Park early in the morning with a rope around his neck that was tied to his genitals. Do you think this little nuance would be included in press coverage of this bizarre event?Probably in the headline and the opening paragraph, right?Well, for some reason, though news outlets did report the odd happenings in NYC Friday morning…
Noel Sheppard

NYT Whines About No Global Warming Debate Questions Despite ABC Poll

When it comes to news, much as comedy, timing is everything -- and it's clear the good folks at the New York Times don't have it.On Saturday, the Times published an op-ed by graphics director Charles M. Blow carping and whining about the now infamous Democrat presidential debate broadcast on ABC Wednesday, and, in particular, that no time was spent talking about climate change.Well, Charles,…
Noel Sheppard

Weekend Sports Open Thread

NB Staff

Open Thread

For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: another former Clinton administration official backs Obama:The endorsement in question is that of Robert Reich, Bill Clinton's first Secretary of Labor and a friend of both the former president and his wife for four decades. Around 1 p.m. EST, Reich informs me, he intends formally to declare his support for Obama on his blog.What do these…
NB Staff

Maher 'Apologizes' to Pope by Suggesting He Should Be In Jail

Bill Maher on Friday night's "Real Time" made something crystal clear that conservatives have known for decades: Liberal means never having to say you're sorry.Update at end of post includes response from the Catholic League. Having on last Friday's program (as reported by my colleague Matthew Balan) "stated that the Pope 'used to be a Nazi,'" Maher was supposed to apologize for his transgression…
Noel Sheppard

Time Ignores Tough Primary Fight While Declaring 'Democrats Rule the W

P.J. Gladnick

Did The Press Miss the Boat on the D.C. Mass

Several friends and co-workers have asked me what it was like to attend the Papal Mass at Nationals Park in DC. It certainly didn’t seem reflected in many news media accounts. The standard AP template was largely secular and political. Reporter Victor Simpson summarized that Pope Benedict focused on "decrying that the nation's promise has been left unfulfilled for some." As I listened to the…
Tim Graham

AP One Word Short of Record for Revealing Arrestee's Republican Roots

With the Olympics coming on, what's more poignant than the image of the sprinter hopefully awaiting the official time, only to learn he missed the record by 1/100th of a second? I'm in that same heartbroken mood for the Associated Press this morning. The wire service came so close to equalling the world record for revealing the Republican party affiliation of someone finding himself sideways of…
Mark Finkelstein

Derrick Z: Stephanopoulos, Gibson 'Tried to Eviscerate Obama

The left-wing blogosphere's outrage against ABC ["Boycott Fig Newtons!"] over its allegedly unfair questioning of Obama during Wednesday's debate has seeped over into the MSM in the form of Derrick Z. Jackson's Boston Globe column of this morning. While the headline moots the matter in the interrogative "Tough questions or just plain bias?", there's no doubt as to the answer in Jackson's mind.…
Mark Finkelstein

Rush: AP Doesn't Identify Who Promises to Raise Taxes, Trade Barriers

Today, talk-show heavyweight Rush Limbaugh picked up on a curious oversight by an AP business reporter whose negative spin in supposedly objective stories on the economy has frequently been noted here. In a Friday story about a survey of top financial company executives, the Associated Press's Martin Crutsinger wrote the following (bold is mine): Turmoil in credit and housing markets will be…
Tom Blumer

Hillary About to Go Poof? Smerconish Thinks So

Hillary–gone in a week? Yes, if you believe Michael Smerconish.The Philly-based radio talk show host was the only Pennsylvanian on the panel on this evening's Race for the White House on MSNBC. He saved his bombshell for last. Nothing in the kibitzing preceding the show-closing Predictions segment foreshadowed Smerconish's surprising suggestion. But when it came time to break out the crystal…
Mark Finkelstein