I'll steal some numbers from Glen Greenwald, because they speak for themselves.
In the past two weeks, the following events transpired. A Department of Justice memo, authored by John Yoo, was released which authorized torture and presidential lawbreaking. It was revealed that the Bush administration declared the Fourth Amendment of the Bill of Rights to be inapplicable to "domestic military operations" within the U.S. The U.S. Attorney General appears to have fabricated a key event leading to the 9/11 attacks and made patently false statements about surveillance laws and related lawsuits. Barack Obama went bowling in Pennsylvania and had a low score.
Here are the number of times, according to NEXIS, that various topics have been mentioned in the media over the past thirty days:"Yoo and torture" - 102
"Mukasey and 9/11" -- 73
"Yoo and Fourth Amendment" -- 16
"Obama and bowling" -- 1,043
"Obama and Wright" -- More than 3,000 (too many to be counted)
"Obama and patriotism" - 1,607
"Clinton and Lewinsky" -- 1,079
I'm begging, BEGGING, Warner Todd Huston to explain how this proves the media has a liberal bias. I know you can do it, Warner!
Monday, April 07, 2008
Quit Whining About Liberal Media Bias!
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8 comments:
So let me get this straight:
I show examples of record cold temperatures happening this year around the Globe, which I feel helps to discount the theory of Global Warming. You tell me they are isolated incidences that don't prove GW doesn't exist, but are expected in the GW "model".
Using that same logic, how can your "there is no Left wing bias in the news" post hold up?
Additionally, the Obama/Wright story is still a big deal out there, and not just to Righties. Folks in the "flyover" part of the Country are still talking about it (I've been in Omaha the last few days, and overhead the topic being discussed at dinner). Just because the base on the Left thinks it's no big deal, doesn't make it so.
Clinton/Lewinsky was back in the news, thanks to Spitzer.
Obama bowling made news because of how poorly he did rolling those gutterballs. People like to see their elected leaders (and nominees) perform better in sports situations. Remember Kerry windsurfing? His lame attempt at catching a football? One-hopping a "first pitch" appearance?
As far as the torture/Mukasey/Yoo stories, they have been beat to death for so long, people just don't care anymore.
And by the way, using Glenn "Sockpuppet" Greenwald as a source doesn't help out the credibility issue.
I'm glad you asked! And thanks for playing.
As I've often said about global warming, the proof isn't that it's really hot outside this afternoon; it's that the average temperature of the globe is higher than it was ten years ago, and that was higher than ten years before that, and so on.
This list of nexus hits looks like there is a right-wing bias to the news, but I'm not saying that. I'm merely saying your left-wing bias is illusory. If anything, it proves the bias is away from serious stories and toward fluffy human interest pieces, no matter where on the political spectrum. If there was a left wing bias, wouldn't there be more stories about McCain's temper, or Bush's college drug use, or the rumors of Rove's sexual orientation? And at this late date, I can see a few Clinton/Leinsky hits, but OVER A THOUSAND? Why aren't the Elders of Flower Power keeping a lid on that, mmmmm?
If Greenwald as a source bothers you, the numbers are pretty easily checked. By the way, whose sock puppet is he? It's Satan, er Soros, isn't it. Curse his malevolent name!
By the way, I'm amused to see you use the phrase "beaten to death" in that context. Those kinds of incidents are surprisingly rare during our interrogations. I wouldn't have brought it up myself.
Well, Daniel, my first tactic is to say... what story? I never saw it so I can't comment. (I always love it when people confront a general question with this line. It's as if they can't comment even on the general concept without having read the particular story exampled. It's such a cop out.)
Unfortunately, commenter wamk sort of stole some of my thunder with his point that your isolation of this one incident doesn't dispel the basic claim that the media is mostly filled with leftward bias.
Next, I'd actually like to agree with your thought that the media shies from "serious stories." I agree with that quite a lot,r eally. I think we do have a dumbed down news media. That is why the Internet has been growing so in importance.
Now, I would also like to agree that the issue of how our government should operate in this age of terrorism has NOT been discussed enough. We have not had the national debate that we need on where so-called "torture" fits in or should fit in with our policies.
And the lack of that debate IS the left-wing bias on full display. Instead of a serious discussion of what we should or shouldn't do, how we should or shouldn't act, what the Constitution does or doesn't say, if we need to throw away the Geneva Convention, or what its status is.... all these subjects have been eschewed by a liberal media whose only response to these important questions has been this in depth treatment:
"George Bush is evil."
There you go. THAT is the length and breadth of the Liberal media's treatment of these important and momentous issues. They are so sure that the answer is that simple that they cannot take the time to have any serious discussion. So, they'd rather discuss "Obama and bowling" because they feel they have finished answering the important question. George Bush is evil. There. Done. Let's move on to some bowling. Who NEEDS any more discussion?
There is your leftist bias on full display.
(Thanks for the invite, by the way.
Warner, that last comment concluded with (and I am paraphrasing) the media has concluded George Bush is evil, so they have moved on to ridicule Obama for being a bad bowler, and this proves the media has a liberal bias. That simply doesn't make any sense.
I didn't say the media was "ridiculing" Obama. In fact, I don't see the media taking on Obama at all. They constantly give him a pass on substantive issues. Even this bowling thing was reported with a "humanizing" angle. The media is in love with Obama.
Again, Clinton/Lewinsky is in the news for several reasons:
1. Spitzer's wife, standing next to him as his sexual "adventures" are revealed. It's a logical conclusion that folks would compare it to Clinton. And McGreevey. And Craig.
Greenwald is his OWN sockpuppet. I was referring to when he lost all credibility when he was commenting (under an assumed name) on how brilliant his own posts were.
Spitzer! That reminds me - wouldn't a liberally biased media kept the lid on that story? It was all you heard about for a week. Why control the media if you can't squelch scandals involving liberals?
And again, over a thousand references?
Warner, I agree that the media is in love with Obama, but for other reasons. He's the most telegenic of the candidates now that Romney is out of the running; and he presents the best underdog narrative. Good storytelling sells more papers. Truth is, McCain is the underdog at this point, but he's leading his division finals.
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