The Media Template

Occasionally it is good to remember how the exempt media journalists are (apparently) trained. It is quite simple, really.
IF remark=blatantly racist AND speaker=liberal THEN no harm, no foul. Explain it as a "mistake" and moveon.org.

IF remark=praise of a former racist AND speaker=conservative AND former racist=conservative THEN raise huge stink. Demand head of both speaker and recipient of praise. Any Democrat can praise Robert KKK "Sheets" Byrd. No Republican can praise Strom Thurmond.

IF country has been attacked AND president=Republican THEN war=Vietnam AND quagmire.

IF country has not been attacked AND president=Clinton THEN shooting missiles=great diplomacy.

IF member of White House staff is indicted for something AND charge is "serious" AND president=Republican THEN situation=Watergate OR Iran-Contra.

IF president is actually convicted of perjury and disbarred AND president=Clinton THEN situation=political axe-grinding by right-wing attack machine.

Recent examples of this are the Libby and DeLay indictments where the "seriousness of the charge" raises "grave questions about" the 'culture of corruption". Or the Abramoff fiasco where several prominent Democrats received money, but this is a "Republican" scandal.

And then there is Mayor Nagin who wants New Orleans to be rebuilt as a "chocolate" city. Both Scott Ott and Ann Coulter have a field day with it. But it is just par for the course.

Baby Noor

This story shows the US military in a positive light. Probably why it isn't on the nightly news.
She began her journey on 30 Dec, as documented by CNN.
She arrived in Atlanta on 31 Dec and underwent the first surgery to correct her spina bifida.
To their credit, Fox News and CBS News covered the story in their online editions.
Update: From the local paper.

Doublespeak

For those of you who have not read George Orwell's 1984, I urge you to do so.
Those of you who have will recognize the title of this post. The concept of Doublespeak is to say the exact opposite of what you mean. For example, in a "People's Republic of..." the people have little or no say about their lives. Rather, the state controls them. Or the old Russian standby Pravda, which means "truth", was the propaganda vehicle for the Communist Party.

Closer to home is the incantation "tolerance" used to ward off evil Christian symbols and holidays. Or "diversity" used to ensure homogenous thought at universities. Or "freedom of speech" used to demand an audience and a platform.

The exempt media wants to shut down bloggers because they have "no editorial oversight", yet bristle about their own freedoms when challenged, aka Dan Rather and memogate. Blogger AJStrata has some interesting thoughts about the media.

See some thoughts by the Anchoress, Kobayashi Maru and Sisu also. If we start a class-action lawsuit, I'm in.

Niner Charlie: It's cold in Kyoto

Well, global warming continues to wreak havoc as reported by
Niner Charlie: It's cold in Kyoto

This is too good not to share

I saw an article by Dave Barry in yesterday's paper. In it, he reviewed the year with his sardonic wit. It turns out, the same article is online here.

Some of my personal favorites:

. . when President George W. Bush is sworn in for a second term, pledging in his inauguration speech that, over the next four years, he will continue, to the best of his ability, trying to pronounce big words. In a strongly worded rebuttal, the Democratic leadership points out that, when you get right down to it, there IS no Democratic leadership.

... On the social front, Prince Charles gets formally engaged to Camilla Parker Bowles. The British public responds with sincere and heartfelt wishes that the happy couple will not reproduce.

... In entertainment news, controversial anchorman Dan Rather retires from CBS News with a poignant farewell speech, cut short when Dan is felled by a tranquilizer dart fired by his producer.

... In a strongly worded rebuttal, angry congressional Democrats state that, because of a scheduling mix-up, they missed the president's speech, but whatever he said, they totally disagree with it, and if they once voted in favor of it, they did so only because the president lied to them.

.. . when Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announces her retirement, setting off a heated debate between right-wing groups, who think the president should appoint a conservative to replace her, and left-wing groups, who think the president should drop dead.

And it goes on. Read the whole thing and enjoy.

Happy New Year

So far, so good.
I have written a post every day of this year. Maybe I can continue that string.
This is the year that all House and about 33 Senate seats are up for reelection. The Democrats expect to take control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate this year. Then they can impeach the President.
OK. Reality check. The 17 Democrat Senate Seats for reelection are:
Akaka, Daniel- (D - HI)
Bingaman, Jeff- (D - NM)
Byrd, Robert- (D - WV)
Cantwell, Maria- (D - WA)
Carper, Thomas- (D - DE)
Clinton, Hillary- (D - NY)
Conrad, Kent- (D - ND)
Corzine, Jon- (D - NJ)
Dayton, Mark- (D - MN)
Feinstein, Dianne- (D - CA)
Kennedy, Edward- (D - MA)
Kohl, Herb- (D - WI)
Lieberman, Joseph- (D - CT)
Nelson, Ben- (D - NE)
Nelson, Bill- (D - FL)
Sarbanes, Paul- (D - MD)
Stabenow, Debbie- (D - MI)
Also one independent who usually sides with the Democrats
Jeffords, James- (I - VT)
The 15 Republicans are
Allen, George- (R - VA)
Burns, Conrad- (R - MT)
Chafee, Lincoln- (RINO - RI)
DeWine, Mike- (RINO - OH)
Ensign, John- (R - NV)
Frist, Bill- (R - TN)
Hatch, Orrin- (R - UT)
Hutchison, Kay- (R - TX)
Kyl, Jon- (R - AZ)
Lott, Trent- (R - MS)
Lugar, Richard- (R - IN)
Santorum, Rick- (R - PA)
Snowe, Olympia- (R - ME)
Talent, James- (R - MO)
Thomas, Craig- (R - WY)