Getting Over Themselves
I was struck by these recent examples of the mainstream press seemingly turning the corner on its blatantly observable anti-conservative bias. I know, I know, I'm probably just being foolishly optimistic, and these examples do seem like a mere drop in the bucket, but they're notable for the people and publications involved, and besides, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step . . . right? Right?
*tap tap tap*
Hello . . . is this thing on?
1. The Guardian's Emma Brockes, a journalist with one of the UK's notoriously left-leaning news publications (the same paper that invented the letter-writing campaign by British citizens to American voters urging them to consider world opinion of the Bush Administration during the run-up to the 2004 election), takes down Noam Chomsky a peg or two, and boy is he ever pissed about it, ranting about "lies" and "distortions" yet never once addressing the main point of the Brockes' interview -- that Chomsky is an often ill-informed hyperbolist who invests in and profits off the capitalist system and the military industrial complex he so publicly rails against.
Hats off to Brockes and the Guardian for putting the screws to one of their own. The resultant self-righteous shrieks from Chomsky's corner are sheer poetry.
2. The St. Louis Dispatch's own Ron Harris blows the whistle on former Marine Staff Sgt. Jimmy Massey, who has been circling the country with Sheehan and friends fabricating "atrocities" that he supposedly witnessed and/or participated in while on a tour of duty in Iraq (hey, just like Kerry's Christmas in Cambodia).
Massey's allegations have been reported in nationwide publications such as Vanity Fair and USA Today, as well as in numerous broadcast reports, and he joined the anti-war bus tour of Sheehan while also collecting speaking fees on the University lecture circuit. His two DVD set of his "eye-witness" accounts sells for $50 to $100 dollars, and he released a book last year in France (natch) titled, "Kill, Kill, Kill". While the majority of the MSM swallowed the "Marines are Monsters" performance hook, line and sinker, Harris, who was one of five journalists embedded with Massey's unit, has found no journalists to substantiate Massey's stories, no photographic evidence for any of Massey's claims (though there were numerous photographers in place), and no other Marines or Military Personnel who tell the same stories or who support Massey's account of events. Harris has additionally dug up a timeline of articles where Massey's stories repeatedly change according to who's listening.
Kudos to the St. Louis Dispatch for coming to the realization that genuine news is, well, actual information supported by corroborating witnesses and/or photographic support. Massey's stories of supposed atrocities had neither, and he should have his honorable discharge revoked for lying about the conduct of his fellow marines and smearing the reputations of his superior officers.
Re: Massey / Kerry -- Is it surprising that the anti-war Left would roll out the same tactic, especially when it was so effective the last time it was used? Thanks for nothing, Walter Cronkite.
3. The unexpectedly positive notations in both the New York Time and the Los Angeles Times regarding judge Sam Alito, the latest Bush nominee to the Supreme Court seat vacated by Sandra O'Connor. I found this little gem, buried deep in the Los Angeles Times article, particularly interesting: "'Sam Alito is my kind of conservative. He is intellectually honest. He doesn't have an agenda. He is not an ideologue,'" Higginbotham said, according to (Judge Timothy) Lewis. "I really was surprised to hear that, but my experience with him on the 3rd Circuit bore that out," added Lewis, who had a liberal record during his seven years on the bench. "Alito does not have an agenda, contrary to what the Republican right is saying about him being a 'home run.' He is not result-oriented. He is an honest conservative judge who believes in judicial restraint and judicial deference."
Agh! Will Liberals ever realize that the reason that Conservatives consider Alito a "home run" is precisely because he doesn't have an agenda, is not an ideologue and believes firmly in judicial restraint and judicial deference? While the Los Angeles Times has no compunction about telling its readers that Judge Lewis has a consistently liberal record on the bench, it's portrayed to Alito's credit that he himself doesn't have an agenda that one can point to.
*thwacks palm to the forehead*
While the Los Angeles Times loses points in its article for its thick-headed misunderstanding of Conservative politics as a whole, I am impressed with both the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times that they're not just taking the hatchet to Alito simply because he's a Bush Administration appointee, and I see this as perhaps a baby-step on the road to potential recovery from their bad cases of Bush Syndrome.
And with the riots in France growing out of control, might we possibly see the entire Mainstream Media do a bit of a double-take on immigration issues and the danger that unintegrated Islamic culture poses to open Western societies?
Stay tuned, indeed.
OFF TOPIC:
Quote of the day: "If a woman has something implanted permanently, it might as well do something useful."