Canadian Commentator: The Press Gave America ‘An Untried, Unknown,’ ‘Incompetent Figure As President’
September 18, 2011 No Comment
Maybe what America's press really need is a Canadian television commentator to explain how atrocious their coverage of Barack Obama has been since the moment he tossed his named into the presidential ring in February 2007. Although they may not be familiar with CBC's Rex Murphy, they should certainly heed the marvelous piece he wrote for the National Post Saturday entitled ” The Media’s Love Affair With a Disastrous President “: As the bad economic news continues to emanate from the United States — with a double-dip recession now all but certain — a reckoning is overdue. American journalism will have to look back at the period starting with Barrack [sic] Obama’s rise, his assumption of the presidency and his conduct in it to the present, and ask itself how it came to cast aside so many of its vital functions. In the main, the establishment American media abandoned its critical faculties during the Obama campaign — and it hasn’t reclaimed them since. Murphy then walked through some of the press's most egregious examples of malpractice: Gliding past Obama's pretentions Ignoring his arrogance Not reporting his gaffes Side-stepping his connection to Rev. Jeremiah Wright Trashing Hillary Clinton Burning Republicans Ransacking Sarah Palin and her family “Palin, in particular, stands out as Obama’s opposite in the media’s eyes,” wrote Murphy. “As much as they genuflected to the one, they felt the need to turn rotweiler toward the other.” After offering further examples of so-called journalists' unforgivable obsession with attacking the former governor of Alaska, Murphy gave his strongest criticism. “As a result, the press gave the great American republic an untried, unknown and, it is becoming more and more frighteningly clear, incompetent figure as President.” Murphy crescendoed to his spot on conclusion: “To the degree the press neglected its function as watchdog and turned cupbearer to a styrofoam demigod, it is a partner in the flaws and failures of what is turning out to be one of the most miserable performances in the modern history of the American presidency.” Almost on cue, “American Conservative's” Jim Pinkerton observed a few hours later on Saturday's “Fox News Watch” that some of Obama's enablers are starting to get it. “There’s a strange thing happening in the media which is, I think, liberalism has sort of concluded that Obama is kind of a turkey, and they're sort of trying to distance themselves from him.” They might try, but too many observers know the truth: the press aided and abetted this national disgrace, and they're going to have a lot to answer for in the coming years regardless of how much they try to distance themselves from the current White House resident. Hopefully more members of the foreign press will assist those of us in the States that have been sending out warning signals since February 2007. Maybe with their help, the media malpractice will be totally acknowledged by the guilty parties, and America will never have to witness such a disgraceful episode again. A conservative can dream, can't he?
Continue reading …Looks like Joe McGinniss is in full spin mode after reviewers largely decimated his biography of Sarah Palin. Although The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin mostly depicts her as a racist, bulimic bully who indulges in religious nuttiness and extramarital affairs, 68-year-old McGinniss insists his book is no…
Continue reading …As Student Loans Hit All Time Record, One High School Valedictorian "Gets It"
September 18, 2011 No Comment
This it NOT what you would expect from a traditional valedictorian speech. Hopefully people, especially young people, are starting to wake up to just how corrupt and broken at its core, the US educational system is. Alas, tangentially, as the following data from Stone McCarthy indicates, there is little danger that the revelations captured in this video are anywhere near widespread, courtesy of record… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : zero hedge Discovery Date : 18/09/2011 19:45 Number of articles : 2
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Sudanese girls brought to Britain for series of operations are finally parted at Great Ormond Street hospital Conjoined twin girls born with the tops of their heads fused together have been separated in a rare and risky series of operations at London’s Great Ormond Street hospital. Eleven-month-old Rital and Ritag Gaboura who are from Sudan were flown to Britain for the surgery which took place in four stages, with two operations in May, one in July and the final one on 15 August. Tissue expanders which are essentially balloons intended to help stretch the babies’ skin over their newly exposed heads were inserted in July. Twins born joined at the head are known as craniopagus twins and they occur in about one in 2.5 million births. Separating them can be dangerous, especially if as in this case, there is significant blood flow between their brains. However, a failure to operate can be equally dangerous as conjoined twins almost never pump the blood across their bodies evenly and the strongest sibling strains his or her heart trying to pick up the slack. Facing the World, a charity which helps disfigured children, said that Ritag’s overworked heart was already failing by the time her family arrived in Britain. Lead surgeon David Dunaway said: “Incidences of surviving twins with this condition are extremely rare. The task presented innumerable challenges and we were all very aware of our responsibilities to the family and these two little girls.” Even successful operations can leave neurological damage, but experts are confident Rital and Ritag are healthy. “Within days the twins were back on the general ward interacting and playing as before,” said Sarah Driver-Jowitt, from Facing the World. Driver-Jowitt predicted that the girls’ parents, who have not been named, may soon return home “with two healthy, separate girls”. Although rare, operations to separate twins linked by their heads have been carried out for many years. The American National Library of Medicine records that one of the first successful operations took place in 1956. In 2003, surgeons in Dallas separated Egyptian craniopagus twins and a year later doctors separated Filipino twins in four major surgeries that took place over a period of 10 months. London Health Children Sudan Damien Pearse guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …There’s a brand new sheriff in town. Only problem is, he’s a moron, Maureen Dowd writes in the New York Times . Sizing up a Rick Perry–President Obama race for 2012, Dowd sees “a classic cultural collision between a skinny Eastern egghead lawyer who’s inept in Washington gunfights and a pistol-totin’,…
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Drunk Fight at FSU Game Ashlee’s Kitten Florida State University FSU football opener NoCommentNews says: New post: Bobby Bowden Give Spirit FSU Football http://t.co/5Y76QxLB
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Newly-elected Republican Bob Turner officially took over Anthony Weiner’s House seat on Thursday. But he won’t literally be taking over his chair. That’s because Turner’s wife Peggy apparently wants Weiner’s office chair, the one the embattled former Congressman tweeted lewd pictures from, removed from the office. Turner took over Weiner’s old office, suite 2104, in
Continue reading …This time, Dominique Strauss-Kahn will face his own people. The former head of the IMF will speak on French television tonight, making his first public appearance since his arrest in May for allegedly raping a New York hotel maid. The maid’s lawyers are calling for him to give his version…
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Postal service overhaul could result in Post Office run along same lines as John Lewis or Co-operative Ministers will on Monday unveil plans to move the Post Office into mutual ownership as part of the government’s major overhaul of the Royal Mail. The Post Office could be on a “clear path” to mutualisation by the end of this parliament, ministers said, in advance of the launch of a consultation on the proposals. Subpostmasters, customers and communities could be given a say in how the Post Office arm of the network is run, including the appointment of directors. The move follows the announcement of a plan to privatise the Royal Mail side of the postal business, which the government argues is necessary to protect its future and ensure growth. The consultation – Building a Mutual Post Office – follows a report earlier this year led by Co-operatives UK , the trade body that works to promote them, which suggested that a mutual body, such as a company or a co-operative, could be set up, with members including staff and customers. The government would then transfer ownership of the Post Office to that body, which would have a say in board appointments as well as sharing in profits. Postal affairs minister Edward Davey said: “The consultation … sets out the different options for how we might enable subpostmasters, employees, post office customers and local communities to have a real stake in the future of the Post Office. “Combined with our major investment programme and the Post Office’s ambition to become the ‘front office for government’, a mutualised Post Office could help link a new commercial focus with an even stronger community purpose.” The government said it believed that Post Office Ltd could be ideally suited to a mutual model, with those that know it best working together, giving them a greater say in how the business is run, as well as a stake in its success. Changing Post Office Ltd – the national company which sets the strategy for the post office network and operates some larger branches – to a mutual would not affect the thousands of privately owned branches across the UK, said Davey. The Co-operatives UK report suggested a number of models, such as John Lewis or the Co-operative, but Davey said the Post Office mutual could be a hybrid of different ideas. The coalition was investing £1.34bn into the Post Office to improve efficiency and levels of service, but mutualisation would help secure its future, he said. The consultation will continue until mid-December, but it could take years before the process is completed. The government’s plans to privatise the Royal Mail were waiting for regulatory changes and European clearance on state aid, but Davey said there had been a “dramatic change of atmosphere” now the postal services legislation had been approved by parliament. Post Office Royal Mail Postal service Privatisation Economic policy Damien Pearse guardian.co.uk
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A World War II-era plane had a video camera facing outward, and memory cards were found at the scene of its crash near a grandstand in Reno. It raises the possibility of video of the crash that killed nine, including the pilot. (Sept. 18)
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