In an importnat posting in the DailyBeast Republican pundit David Frum takes direct aim at the NRA for their attack ads against Obama and daughters in the name of the NRA’s Armed Guards in Schools. This is the nasty swill that permeated the Presidential election and which an electorate in bipartisan fashion has rejected for […]
Republican Pundits Find Their Voices Read More »
Is this the best Chart used in US Media for 2012? What is growing in popularity on news sites like cnn.com, The Christian Science Monitor, theDailyBeast, HuffingtonPost, NYTimes, The New Republic, and Time Magazine is the frequent use of charts [or infographics] to clearly describe a situation or better illustrate some analysis. If a picture is worth
Best Charts of 2012 : The Power of Good Graphics Read More »
Greg Hampkian has written a grocery-store checkout counter piece for ther NYTimes – entiled Men, Who Needs Them. Rather than exploring the motivation around the piece it is worth doing some PolitiFact-like check of truthiness in the arguments. So lets start out with the premise and first argument. The central behaviors of mammals revolve around
Men, Who Needs Them Read More »
There is a growing Moral Vacuum in the US . It is about institutional interests that are able to shape and transcend Justice first internally and then in the broader public realm. Institution’s ability to delay and outwit Justice is an eternal gambit; however the stakes have become ever greater for 3 reasons: 1)Because the
Justice in the Media Read More »
For the past 2-3 months, this sports fan has been scrambling to find coverage of the many Olympic trials going on throughout the World and North America in particular. The competition is fierce and dramatic for those Tickets to London as old faces triumph or waver [see Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake, Phelps and Lochte,
Summer Olympics Coverage Read More »
The weekend produced the usual crop of great reads. Here are 4 that captured our attention: NYTimes, Paul Krugman – Why Elect Mitt, We Already Have a Failing Republican Economy Salon, Horowitz and Wakefield – “All We have to FEAR” looks candidly at the 20 fold rise in Anxiety disorders in modern life. TheNewYorker, Amy
In case you had not noticed, The Wheels Are Coming Off The Republican Party. You know that is the case when George Will on ABC TV’s This Week with George Stephanopoulis [again] starts taking historical potshots at the Republican chances of defeating President Obama ‘when it should be a cakewalk”. But more seriously, the Republican
The Wheels Are Coming Off The Republican Party III Read More »
We said it here first but now David Brooks at the NYTimes is confirming what has become ever more obvious – the wheels are coming off the Republican Party. And this is not just the fact that all of the GOP Presidential candidates trail President Obama in the polls. David attributes the phenomenon to the
The Wheels Are Coming Off The Republican Party II Read More »
The Republican Presidential campaign has been a dramatic example of Just in Time Journalism. Each time a new candidate has reached the top of the Media Hype Heap a simple fact-checking pin prick does in the new Pseudo Presidential front-runner. And there have been 7 pretenders – Sarah Palin, Donald Trump, Rick Perry, Hermann Cane,
Just in Time Journalism: the GOP News Read More »
John Stewart’s the Daily Show along with the Colbert Report and Real Time with Bill Maher are crossing the News-Infotainment Divide in the opposite direction – going from infotainment and humor to educating their audiences on some rather subtle aspects of current political events[also note the balance here, Democrats get their fair share of criticism
Jon Stewart’s the Daily Show: Humor Crossing Back Into Education/Informing Read More »
Some media argue that Occupy Wall Street, now that it has been disbanded will peter out and the group will have minimal influence. Don’t let anybody sell you that notion. The vote in Ohio on November 8th restoring Union Collective bargaining in state and local government showed that Occupy Wall Street had managed to change voting preferences.Suddenly
What Occupy Wall Street Accomplished Read More »
In an article on her website, Ariana Huffington raises the issue of the level of lying in politics – Mitt Romney Brazenly Lies and the Media Lets Him Slide. Here is he crux of the complaint against Mitt Romney and his election team: The lie is found in Romney’s first television ad, run last week in New
The Level of Lying Stokes Radical Political Partisanship Read More »
Harry’s Law, in yesterday’s episode called Head Games, takes up the Occupy Wall Street Message in full form.The episode deals with a woman whose home is foreclosed; so in desperation she goes and robs one of the bank’s branches. The team’s defense for the woman is the so called Outrageous Government Misconduct defense. In the
Occupy Wall Street Moves to TV? Read More »
Is it a tenor of the Times that only an American writing for a British paper, the Guardian, could produce a plausible story of why the Occupy Movements, predominately peaceful, non-violent protests, were shutdown? Naomi Wolf writing for the Guardian,has produced a story that shows that Federal Homeland Security officials worked in co-ordination with 18
How and Why the Occupy Wall Street Camps Were Shutdown Read More »
Here is one party that can’t believe that the GOP, Masters of Manipulation of their Message, allowed so many debates to take place. God bless them, because unlike in the broader media coverage and analysis, much is being revealed in the debates about the candidates inherent knowledge of the domestic and world scene, their beliefs
The Unbelievably Revealing GOP Debate in Las Vegas Read More »
The NYTimes, just like in its coverage of the Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami, show that it is ahead of the print and Web media pack with its coverage of Hurricane Irene with its interactive storm track. This Google Map powered animation shows the relevant timeline and trail of Hurricane Irene, its precise direction, wind power, etc. As
NYTimes Ahead of the Media Pack Read More »
If Pastor Rick Warren can say “Half of America Pays no Taxes, Zero”- you better believe it! But Andrew Sullivan at the Daily Beast has helped to uncover some data that refutes this notion easily. The Pastor is beginning to sound like Senator John Kyl of Arizona who was caught damning Planned ParentHood(“90% of its services are abortions”
“Half of America Pays No Taxes, Zero” Read More »
News Corp International is the name of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire that stretches from his native Australia [owning many of the largest Australian newspapers] thru Europe with many interests based in England [including Harpers Collin Book Publishing, Sky Italia and other Sky TV networks, several newpapers including the Sunday Times and the just now defunct
As Murdoch’s News Empire Crumbles: Rule of Law Implications Read More »
Update as of July 16,2011: See the resignation of Les Hinton as WSJ CEO due to his role as head of Murchoch’s News of the World during its most scandalous period of phone hacking and police bribes which Les claims he was unaware of. Also see NYTimes Joe Nocera with his own mea culpa for
WSJ’s Sins of Omission and Commission on Budget Deficits Read More »
What is long over due from John Q. Public is a revolt against the Banksters But there are signs that the public is doing “a Network” against the Elite Powers That Will Be Damned Until John Q. Says No!”. Here is what is happening in the Capital 1 takeover of ING Direct banking. First the
Whats Long Overdue From John Q. Read More »
The Republican Party directs often shrill attacks on so-called “intellectuals” or “Liberals”. And Republicans have a very loose definition of a liberal, probably close to “any non-engineer, non-business person with a graduate degree from any Ivy League-like School who maintains their academic or scientific relationships” [ye Editor is just kidding]. Thus, it is a surprise to
Republican Leadership: Intellectuals Read More »
Ye Editor has been following Republican intellectuals like George Will, Charles Krauthammer, and David Brooks wondering how could they tolerate the extraordinary flip-flops and utter political nonsense emanating from the Republican Party for the last decade. Start with the Republican’s treasonous “Starve the Beast” policy and the takeover of Republican messaging by the extreme right
No1 Issue: Fear of National Decline Read More »
Why is Marketwatch’s David Weidner calling Peter Diamond and Paul Krugman Sissies? Is he envious of their respective Nobel Economics Prizes or has the Partisan Congressional Rancor and Name-calling spilled over into the Financial Press? Is Marketwatch becoming the Fox News tough guy affiliate for New Corp common parent? Does David want Jon Friedman’s job
Why is Marketwatch’s David Weidner Calling Diamond and Krugman Sissies? Read More »
Why is Pimco boss Bill Gross, manager of trillion dollars in assets Pimco Funds, under fire from the Wall Street Journal? The WSJ published a report today which examines in great detail how Bill Gross lost over $3billion on Lehman Brothers bonds going bankrupt in September 2008 tripping off the Financial meltdown which the US is still
Why is Pimco Boss Bill Gross Under Fire From WSJ? Read More »
David Brooks at the NYTimes has said about unlimited campaign funding and lobbying allowed by the Supreme Court in January 2010 – “What?, Me, Worry?” [ye Editor paraphrases only slightly]. But in describing the gridlock over climate change and broader legislation, Felix Salmon at Reuters describes the consequences of the Supreme Court’s sheer blundering judicial
Lobbyists “Free Speech” Read More »
There is a tsunami of mindless pap that permeates the Media Beacon – call it the Shrill Shills. These dual edge headlines perched atop every story are designed to capture attention for 15 seconds or however long it takes to imbibe 140 characters of mass communications. But the shills are craving more than attention these
Update: April 22, 2011. After massive shootings of 70++ demonstrators today, Syria Live is back to being truly live on Aljazeera. Syrian PM Assad and the Syrian government warned that demonstrations would be subject to arms fire – and did it. This is a Rubicon crossing. Tribal influences may be coming into play – see
Aljazeera Blinks in Syria: Update Read More »
Who said this? …Republicans should understand that when self-described conservatives such as Malzberg [or Trump]voice question-rants like the one above and Republicans do not recoil from them, the conservative party is indirectly injured. As it is directly when Newt Gingrich, who seems to be theatrically tiptoeing toward a presidential candidacy, speculates about Obama having a “Kenyan,
Republicans at TruthSpeak Read More »
The WSJ Opinion is predictable – Alan J Reynolds says that taxing the rich won’t work at helping to reduce the huge $14trillion US Deficit. Alan cites the fact that even when tax rates for the rich go up, tax revenue do not increase measurably [and Businessweek supplies the answer to that little puzzle –
Tax Dodgers Play Hardball Read More »
IBD-Investors Business Daily is the chamber of commerce of business daily newspapers. It caters to small and upcoming businesses – the Russell 2000 companies. This is not a bad marketplace to be in today as the need to change and grow new companies becomes the norm in the business world. Also the IBD offers some
IBD Editorials: Jekyll and Hyde Read More »
The NYTimes published an editorial on Sunday April 3 2011, urging the rejection of a pipeline from Canada and the Northern US States to the US Midwest and Gulf Coast. Of all things, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will have the final say on this pipeline approval because the pipeline crosses the border between the
NYTimes Editorial: Journalistically Compromised? Read More »
One of the most dysfunctional aspects of the current GOP is its rigid PartyThink. Some credit Ronald Reagan for the 11th commandment – thou shalt not speak ill of a GOP candidate or policy. There is a mighty uniform GOP messaging operation on all policy matters . And it is remarkable how uniformly that PartyThink=PartySpeak
David Brooks: On Defection Read More »
