Will Rips Irene Hype: Journalism ‘Shouldn’t Contribute to the Manufacture of Synthetic Hysteria’
August 28, 2011 No Comment
With Irene downgraded to a tropical storm, it is clear that this weather event has become another example of America's media hyping every potential crisis into a full-blown calamity before the fact. Observing such was George Will on ABC's “This Week” Sunday who told his fellow panelists, “Whatever else you want to say about journalism, it shouldn’t subtract from the nation’s understanding and it certainly shouldn’t contribute to the manufacture of synthetic hysteria that is so much a part of modern life” (video follows with transcript and commentary): JAKE TAPPER, HOST: George, you think we’re making too big a deal of all this. GEORGE WILL: I have a home on South Carolina’s Atlantic Coast. I know that the Atlantic Ocean generates hurricanes, and they can be dangerous and unpredictable. That said, this too must be said: Florence Nightingale said, “Whatever else you can say about hospitals, they shouldn’t make their patients sicker.” And whatever else you want to say about journalism, it shouldn’t subtract from the nation’s understanding and it certainly shouldn’t contribute to the manufacture of synthetic hysteria that is so much a part of modern life. And I think we may have done so with regard to this tropical storm as it now seems to be. When you think about the unnecessary panic and fear ginned up by the media over what indeed turned into a tropical storm before it hit Manhattan, one has to wonder how much time and money was wasted in preparing for the hyped worst case scenario that fortunately never transpired. Reminds you of 2009's predicted swine flu pandemic. But maybe far more importantly, this event shows us how our current computer models can't accurately predict either the size, strength, or precise location of a hurricane within hours of it making landfall. Yet we're supposed to radically change our entire economy over what computer models are forecasting regarding the impact carbon dioxide theoretically will have on the climate decades out. We've just witnessed how media hype and hysteria concerning weather misleads the nation on events happening in days if not hours. Shouldn't we be extraordinarily dubious about any calamity these same folks predict well into the future?
Continue reading …Media Magazine Worries ‘Queen’ Bachmann Is Too ‘Well-Coached’ for Wimpy Media
August 28, 2011 No CommentBroadcasting & Cable magazine published a cover story in its August 22 issue [not available online] complaining that the stakes are too high in the 2012 campaign to just led (Republican) candidates get away with their own talking points. The headline was “Just Say Something! Candidates have been dodging questions for decades, but with astronomical stakes this election cycle, it's more prevalent than ever .” Right underneath this headline was a picture of Rep. Michele Bachmann wih the headline in capital red letters ” The Queen of the Page .” It continued: “As in the ones Rep. Michele Bachmann's talking points are written on, as she may be the most well-coached candidate to come along in years — and certainly in this election cycle — according to national news anchors.” Is that an insult to Obama? Or does it simply mean he doesn't need to have his talking points questioned?
Continue reading …CFAP Report: $42 Million From Seven Foundations Helped Fuel The Rise Of Islamophobia In America
August 27, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media Keith Olbermann talked to ThinkProgress ‘ Faiz Shakir who helped author a new report from the Center for American Progress — REPORT: $42 Million From Seven Foundations Helped Fuel The Rise Of Islamophobia In America : Following a six-month long investigative research project, the Center for American Progress released a 130-page report today which reveals that more than $42 million from seven foundations over the past decade have helped fan the flames of anti-Muslim hate in America. The authors — Wajahat Ali, Eli Clifton, Matt Duss, Lee Fang, Scott Keyes, and myself — worked to expose the Islamophobia network in depth, name the major players, connect the dots, and trace the genesis of anti-Muslim propaganda. The report, titled “ Fear Inc.: The Roots Of the Islamophobia Network In America ,” lifts the veil behind the hate, follows the money, and identifies the names of foundations who have given money, how much they have given, and who they have given to The money has flowed into the hands of five key “experts” and “scholars” who comprise the central nervous system of anti-Muslim propaganda: FRANK GAFFNEY , Center for Security Policy – “A mosque that is used to promote a seditious program, which is what Sharia is… that is not a protected religious practice, that is in fact sedition. ” [ Source ] DAVID YERUSHALMI , Society of Americans for National Existence: “Muslim civilization is at war with Judeo-Christian civilization…the Muslim peoples, those committed to Islam as we know it today, are our enemies. ” [ Source ] DANIEL PIPES , Middle East Forum: “All immigrants bring exotic customs and attitudes, but Muslim customs are more troublesome than most. ” [ Source ] ROBERT SPENCER , Jihad Watch: “Of course, as I have pointed out many times, traditional Islam itself is not moderate or peaceful. It is the only major world religion with a developed doctrine and tradition of warfare against unbelievers.” [ Source ] STEVEN EMERSON , Investigative Project on Terrorism: “One of the world’s great religions — which has more than 1.4 billion adherents — somehow sanctions genocide, planned genocide, as part of its religious doctrine. ” [ Source ] These five “scholars” are assisted in their outreach efforts by Brigitte Gabriel (founder, ACT! for America), Pamela Geller (co-founder, Stop Islamization of America), and David Horowitz (supporter of Robert Spencer’s Jihad Watch). As the report details, information is then disseminated through conservative organizations like the Eagle Forum, the religious right, Fox News, and politicians such as Allen West and Newt Gingrich. Much more there including a summary of these foundations, their donation amounts and who the recipients are, so go read the rest. As Shakir relayed to Keith, this report by no means is a complete list of every corporation or group that is contributing to the fearmongering Islamophobia we’ve seen in recent years, but exposing some of these groups they’ve uncovered so far might help put an end to some of this if they are forced to associate their names with this type of hatred. And as Shakir also noted in the interview, one of them already contacted the CFAP off the record and said they were unaware of where their donations were going. As he told Keith, they said to them, now might be a good time to cut off their funding if that is the case.
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Highlights of this day in history: Krakatoa erupts in South Pacific; President Lyndon Johnson and Mother Teresa born; America’s first successful oil well; Britain’s Lord Louis Mountbatten killed; Beatles manager Brian Epstein dies. (Aug. 27)
Continue reading …There’s some strange respect shown today for one particular multi-billionaire investor in the liberal pages of the New York Times. Friday’s lead story by Nelson Schwartz, “Buffett to Invest $5 Billion In Shaky Bank of America .” introduced Buffett as “ Warren E. Buffett, the legendary investor, is sinking $5 billion into Bank of America in a bold show of faith in the country’s biggest, and most beleaguered, financial institution.” Schwartz also called him “the legendary investor” in a March 23, 2008 story. In all, Times reporters have referred to Buffett as a “legendary investor” at least nine times in its pages over the last five years, not counting several references to him as a “legendary investor” on the paper’s DealBook blog. No other investor has been hailed as “legendary” in print more than once by the Times. The top of Friday’s Business Day section story by Ben Protess and Susanne Craig also hailed Buffett’s bounty: “Buffett’s Bank of America Stake Viewed as a Seal of Approval.” Why would a paper traditionally hostile to business interests hail this particular multi-billionaire business? Because Buffett is the sort of rich person liberals like – the kind who demands the government make him pay even more in taxes. Buffett previously made waves with an August 15 Times op-ed that went viral in liberal circles, “ Stop Coddling the Super-Rich ,” pleading for the government to raise the effective tax rate on wealthy investors like him: “Some of us are investment managers who earn billions from our daily labors but are allowed to classify our income as “carried interest,” thereby getting a bargain 15 percent tax rate….what I paid was only 17.4 percent of my taxable income — and that’s actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office.” Buffett is of course free to donate directly to the Treasury Department, or take his income as salary instead of in the form of capital gains and dividends, which would raise his effective tax rate.
Continue reading …The new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall may be a milestone “in the turbulent history of race and democracy in America,” but let’s not kid ourselves: “King weeps from his grave,” writes Cornel West in a New York Times op-ed . Despite our reverence for King, we…
Continue reading …How Many Innocents Have To Die Before We Get Honest About The Death Penalty?
August 26, 2011 No CommentWe’ve written about how death penalty-happy Rick Perry is . But bless him, guest host Ron Reagan really narrowed down the question that we must address if we want to be honest about having a death penalty: How many innocent people is it permissible to kill in order to exact vengeance on the guilty? There’s no easy answer for that if you’re still advocating for the death penalty. Personally, I’m against the death penalty. I’ve participated in protests and vigils against it. It horrifies me that we’re one of the only Western nations still acting so barbarically . But besides that, the death penalty has inherent flaws : [The application of the death penalty is often] racist, unfair to poor and the mentally retarded, and often ends in the state sanctioned murder of innocents. Less than 1% of all murderers are condemned to death 2% of death row inmates are actually executed Over 113 people on death row have been exonerated since 1973 68% of the death penalty convictions between 1973 – 1995 were reversed Today more than 75 death row inmates have spent 20 years on the Row. Capital punishment is applied to a higher percentage of minorities than whites. It is not cost effective: Capital murder trials threaten to bankrupt townships costing taxpayers: $2 million in legal fees to try a death penalty case, nearly 4 times higher than comparable murder trials. The automatic appeal process costs up to $700,000 in legal fees. $1.2 million in execution costs. 1973 -1998, Florida spent $57 million on 18 executions. It is does not deter crime: The European Union (EU) is opposed to the death penalty in all cases and is “deeply concerned about the increasing number of executions in the United States of America (USA), all the more since the great majority of executions since reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976 have been carried out in the 1990s. Furthermore, in the US, young offenders who are under 18 years of age at the time of the commission of the crime may be sentenced to death and executed, in clear infringement of internationally recognized human rights norms.” Russia and Turkey have abolished the death penalty which is condemned by the European Union and the World Court, which claimed that the U.S. violated the rights of 51 Mexicans on death rows in eight states. Despite a U.S. Supreme Court ban, Texas has continued to send mentally retarded criminals to death row. Will a Mexican immigrant’s case correct this injustice? The two states with the most executions in 2003, Texas 24, and Oklahoma 14, saw increases in their murder rates from 2002 to 2003. Both states had murder rates above the national average in 2003: Texas – 6.4, and Oklahoma – 5.9. The top 13 states in terms of murder rates were all death penalty states. The murder rate of the death penalty states increased from 2002, while the rate in non-death penalty states decreased. Death Penalty Information Center So it’s ineffective as a deterrent, applied inequitably, unfairly focusing on the poor, mentally challenged and minorities, costs more than life in prison and we’re basically applying the same punishment that countries we hold up as barbaric do? What exactly is the benefit of the death penalty except for Rick Perry’s bloodlust?
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Click here to view this media The author of a new article about Eagles quarterback Michael Vick in ESPN The Magazine says he was “dismayed and horrified” when he discovered that the publication had photoshopped the football star into a white man. “I didn’t imagine that they would do that and it contradicts what I’m doing in the story,” Touré told CNN’s Carol Costello Friday. “This whole concept doesn’t really make any sense. Race informs your entire life. So, you wouldn’t even enter the same moment the same way. If Michael Vick were white, if that were even imaginable, he may not even go to the NFL because he might see other options for his life.” “So, just the concept of re-imagining somebody is white or black is extraordinary difficult, and I dismiss the concept of that right away in the story. For the headline and the image to suggest, ‘Let’s look at him as white’ is extremely — it’s just a perpendicular relationship to the story that I wrote.” ESPN The Magazine senior editor Raina Kelly was quick to defend the decision. “Well, the first reason we did it is because, I mean, I’m sure, as you know, the purpose of the art in a magazine, on television, in the newspaper, is to accompany and make the reader think in a way similar to the story,” she explained. “What we wanted to do is discuss Michael Vick as fully as possible and discuss the dog-fighting issue as fully as possible.” “You can use all kinds of code words so that nobody really knows what you’re saying, or you can just put the issue out there and let people talk about it. That’s what we did and that’s what we have done.” “You heard her explanation, what do you think?” Costello asked Touré. “I deal with it as a writer. I can’t even deal with the marketing of the story, putting that image, taking that title. When you see the image in particular, which goes counter to what the story is all about, you come to the story with a pitchfork,” he replied. “I mean, there is so many issues. Race is so layered. You can’t just switch people’s races and know the answer… In America, we love dogs. And for a lot of people, hurting a dog is morally equivalent to hurting a toddler. I think if Tom Brady were found to have a massive dog-fighting ring in his backyard, he would do two years in jail as well, and be thrown out of the Patriots and out of the NFL. And he would not be able to get away with it because he is white.” ESPN briefly removed the photo from their website Thursday, but by Friday morning it reappeared again.
Continue reading …NYT’s Keller Admits Paper ‘Late to Rev. Wright’ in 2008, But Claims It Handled Story Well
August 26, 2011 No CommentThe New York Times’s outgoing Executive Editor Bill Keller received some pushback on his recently posted column that demanded, in rather insulting fashion, that the media more aggressively question the religious views of the G.O.P. candidates. Times Watch and others noted that his paper was hardly a model of journalistic assertiveness during the spring of 2008, when Barack Obama endured political controversy over the racially inflammatory and conspiracy-minded Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's minister at Trinity United Church of Christ. Keller responded via Twitter on Friday morning: Yes, Dems should be asked about their faith (and influences) too. We were late to Rev. Wright in '08, but we got there, and did it well. Did they really? Times Watch’s coverage from March 2008 finds Keller half-right; his paper was late to the story, glossing over Wright’s rants on the attacks of September 11 and leaving off his notorious “God damn America” quote for months. But they did not cover it particularly well even after they woke up, instead comparing Obama's politically necessary political address on the matter to speeches on civil rights by JFK, LBJ, even Abraham Lincoln . The Times showed unseemly eagerness not only to help Obama move on from Wright, but to paint the confrontation to his political advantage against a racially challenged G.O.P. Reporters Larry Rohter and Michael Luo glowingly redited candidate Obama’s speech with trying to start a conversation on race in the March 20, 2008 ” Groups Respond to Obama's Call for National Discussion About Race .” “Religious groups and academic bodies, already receptive to Mr. Obama's plea for such a dialogue, seemed especially enthusiastic. Universities were moving to incorporate the issues Mr. Obama raised into classroom discussions and course work, and churches were trying to find ways to do the same in sermons and Bible studies.” A March 23, 2008 Week in Review piece by Janny Scott contrasted Obama, who “spoke with seriousness and gravity and at length” about race to Republicans who used code words to win elections: “Race did not disappear entirely from presidential campaigns; it went under cover. It lay buried in code phrases like ‘crime in the streets,’ ‘states' rights,’ and ‘welfare mothers.’” The celebration of Obama's speech on race even continued into Easter Sunday, in a front-page story by religion reporters Laurie Goodstein and Neela Banerjee. The Times canvassed pastors at mostly urban liberal churches to see how Obama's speech would politicize — I mean, enrich–their Easter sermons, in ” Obama Talk Fuels Easter Sermons — Some Religious Leaders Interweave Race and Resurrection.”
Continue reading …Bernanke says Federal Reserve will hold off from more quantitative easing
August 26, 2011 No Comment
• Jackson Hole speech dashes hopes for QE boost • Wall Street expects Fed will reconsider next month The Federal Reserve on Friday dashed Wall Street’s hopes of an immediate boost to the flagging US economy when its chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank was adopting a wait-and-see approach to fresh stimulus measures. Bernanke’s eagerly awaited speech to fellow central bankers at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, proved to be an anti-climax as he failed to repeat his announcement at the same venue a year ago in which he signalled a fresh dose of electronic money creation through the quantitative easing (QE) process. Shares on Wall Street dropped as Bernanke spoke but recovered after investors were reassured the Fed would consider more QE should the US continue to struggle over the coming weeks. The Fed’s key policy committee will now meet for two days rather than one next month to discuss a range of options. By noon in New York, stocks had shrugged off initial disappointment at the Bernanke speech and at official figures showing that the world’s biggest economy grew at an annual rate of just 1% in the second quarter of 2011, a downward revision from the initial estimate of 1.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up more than 130 points after falling by almost 200 points earlier. The Fed chairman admitted that recovery from recession had been slower than hoped and that short-term growth prospects for the US had been adversely affected by Europe’s debt crisis and by the wrangling between Democrats and Republicans over the US budget. He stressed that any repetition of the partisan in-fighting could make global investors less willing to hold assets or to put money into job-creating enterprises. “Bouts of sharp volatility and risk aversion in markets have recently re-emerged in reaction to concerns about European sovereign debts and developments related to the US fiscal situation, including the recent downgrade of the US long-term credit rating by one of the major rating agencies and the controversy concerning the raising of the US federal debt ceiling. It is difficult to judge by how much these developments have affected economic activity thus far, but there seems little doubt that they have hurt household and business confidence and that they pose ongoing risks to growth,” said Bernanke. Bernanke said economic healing would take time and warned that there could be setbacks along the way. While the Fed was alert to the risks, he said there was also a strong case, despite the poor state of America’s public finance, for the new jobs package being planned by the Obama administration to tackle long-term unemployment. The Fed chairman help for the jobless need not jeopardise long-term plans to cut the budget deficit. “Although the issue of fiscal sustainability must urgently be addressed, fiscal policymakers should not, as a consequence, disregard the fragility of the current economic recovery. Fortunately, the two goals of achieving fiscal sustainability – which is the result of responsible policies set in place for the longer term – and avoiding the creation of fiscal headwinds for the current recovery are not incompatible. Acting now to put in place a credible plan for reducing future deficits over the longer term, while being attentive to the implications of fiscal choices for the recovery in the near term, can help serve both objectives.” Rejecting the idea that slow growth could “morph” into a long-lasting downturn, Bernanke said there had been some encouraging signs, including a 15% rise in US manufacturing output and a narrowing of the trade deficit. “There have been some positive developments over the past few years, particularly when considered in the light of economic prospects as viewed at the depth of the crisis. Overall, the global economy has seen significant growth, led by the emerging-market economies. In the United States, a cyclical recovery, though a modest one by historical standards, is in its ninth quarter.” However, he added: “Notwithstanding these more positive developments, it is clear that the recovery from the crisis has been much less robust than we had hoped.” A second estimate of the UK’s growth performance in the second quarter of 2011 showed no change from the original assessment of a 0.2% increase in activity, a similar rate of expansion to the euro area and the US. Quantitative easing Ben Bernanke Economics US economy Financial crisis Global economy United States Larry Elliott guardian.co.uk
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