Walter Krankheit: Press is Acornered

Hannah Giles and James O' Keefe. Extraordinary citizens doing the investigative journalism the American news media just won't do.

If I had my choice I would kill every reporter in the world, but I am sure we would be getting reports from Hell before breakfast.
-- William Tecumseh Sherman

Like my hero General William Tecumseh Sherman, I generally detest reporters, and my time in the Middle East only reinforced my dim view of this "profession."

Oh, there are some excellent ones: Robert Kaplan, Michael Yon and Michael Totten come to mind. Nat Hentoff is another good one, and I admired Lucia Newman's reporting on the Noriega regime. I was there and can verify she was brave and on-target, so much so her life was in danger. She had to leave so fast she couldn't even take her stuff with her. A friend of mine had to watch her apartment for her so her stuff wouldn't get stolen.

But the vast majority of reporters and news presenters could fall off the edge of the earth with no noticeable impact.

Is it any wonder Pew Research reports that the news media's credibility is completely shot?

Just 29% of Americans say that news organizations generally get the facts straight, while 63% say that news stories are often inaccurate.

Similarly, only about a quarter (26%) now say that news organizations are careful that their reporting is not politically biased, compared with 60% who say news organizations are politically biased

Walter Krankheit Syndrome (Noun):
A severe psychological disorder that seizes those who claim to be journalists. It is characterized by inflated ego coupled with paralysis of the thought process. It is made worse by the euphoric hopium-induced haze that beclouds the media's collective consciousness. Named in honor of the late war correspondent and CBS News anchor, and with a nod to the German-speaking psychologist Sigmund Freud. (Krankheit is German for Sickness.)

Examiner

Conservatives Outnumber Liberals 2-1

Results from the latest Gallup poll may just explain why the Democrats are trying to rush their agenda through: Self-identified conservatives outnumber self-identified liberals two to one. WSJ reports that support for an activist government is on the wane.

Gotta fleece the yokels and wrap up this flim flam jig before the townsfolk get out the tar and feathers!

The liberal zeitgeist sweeping the nation is not powered by enviro-friendly solar panels or Quixotic windmills, or even hot air from Al Gore. It's powered by charisma. Barack Obama's popularity is the miraculous engine driving a progressive agenda in a still-conservative nation. Once his popularity drops, liberalism will collapse like the rotten, intellectually-bereft edifice it is.

Like Glenn Beck says, We Surround Them!

55% Of Americans Realize Press Is Full Of Crap

From Rasmussen Reports

Fifty-five percent (55%) of U.S. voters believe the media tries to make the economy seem worse that it is. That’s an increase from 46% in November.

The majority perception that the media isn't painting a straight picture of the economy matches similar Rasmussen Reports findings about global warming and political coverage. Earlier this month, 54% of voters said the news media makes global warming appear worse than it really is.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/business/general_business/55_say_media_tries_to_make_economy_seem_worse_than_it_is

Ignorant Obama Voters

Zogby is under fire for publishing a poll showing the gross ignorance Obama voters have of the ticket they voted for:

The 12-question, multiple-choice survey found questions regarding statements linked to Republican presidential candidate John McCain and his vice-presidential running-mate Sarah Palin were far more likely to be answered correctly by Obama voters than questions about statements associated with Obama and Vice-President–Elect Joe Biden.

They could answer questions about McCain and Palin, even erroneous ones asking which candidate considered it a foreign policy credential to be able to see Russia from his or her house? Answer: Sara Palin, but not really. Actually, Tina Fey said it, but in the Messiah-induced press frenzy, little facts like that don't matter:

Ninety-four percent of Obama voters correctly identified Palin as the candidate with a pregnant teenage daughter, 86% correctly identified Palin as the candidate associated with a $150,000 wardrobe purchased by her political party, and 81% chose McCain as the candidate who was unable to identify the number of houses he owned. When asked which candidate said they could "see Russia from their house," 87% chose Palin, although the quote actually is attributed to Saturday Night Live's Tina Fey during her portrayal of Palin during the campaign.

Obama Voters didn't do so well answering questions about their messiah and his sidekick, Palooka Joe:

83% failed to correctly answer that Obama had won his first election by getting all of his opponents removed from the ballot, and 88% did not correctly associate Obama with his statement that his energy policies would likely bankrupt the coal industry. Most (56%) were also not able to correctly answer that Obama started his political career at the home of two former members of the Weather Underground.

Nearly three quarters (72%) of Obama voters did not correctly identify Biden as the candidate who had to quit a previous campaign for President because he was found to have plagiarized a speech, and nearly half (47%) did not know that Biden was the one who predicted Obama would be tested by a generated international crisis during his first six months as President.

The criticism of this poll, and it is a valid one in the realm of statistical sampling, is the equivalency of the questions asked about the two tickets. Nonetheless, it calls our stinking press into question and it also highlights voter ignorance. Maybe the two are related. Hmmm...

http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.cfm?ID=1641

Racism 2008

I find most articles about race disturbing. This one from Breitbart is no different. An AP-Yahoo survey supposedly reveals that 33% of white Democrats are racist. Here's how they define racist:

...one-third of white Democrats harbor negative views toward blacks—many calling them "lazy," "violent" or responsible for their own troubles.

Note how they group "responsible for their own troubles" with the obviously racist beliefs "lazy" and "violent." This is how they get a higher percentage of "racists."

Saying "blacks are responsible for their own problems" is not racist. It's expressing a belief in personal responsibility. The first step in problem-solving is to recognize a problem exists and take responsibility for it. No one will look out for you better than you look out for yourself. Millions of successful people who rose to success from poor or unfair circumstances can tell you that. They didn't wait around for a community organizer or government program, they just picked themselves up and moved on.

There are too many successful people of color for someone to claim that race is keeping people down. The only thing "keeping blacks down" is the steady diet of race resentment fed to them by liberals who have a financial or emotional interest in keeping the natives on the reservation.

The absurd questions are another reason to detest these pot-stirring polls.

Among white independents, racial stereotyping is not uncommon. For example, while about 20 percent of independent voters called blacks "intelligent" or "smart," more than one third latched on the adjective "complaining" and 24 percent said blacks were "violent."

So the pollsters ask people to select adjectives to describe (stereotype) all black people (a race), then accuse the respondents of racial stereotyping. By the way, those who call blacks "intelligent" or "smart" are also engaging in racial stereotyping. This is junk science at its worst.

Another reason for not liking this stuff is that it is naked propaganda. The not-so-hidden message is that we are all racist sinners, but we can expiate those sins by voting for Obama. Doing otherwise is to persist in our sinful ways. The forced conclusion: If Obama loses, it will have nothing to do with his being more liberal that the majority of Americans. It will be because America is racist.

So tell me again, how does all this improve racial relations?

Nanny State Dems: Yes We Can! No You Can't!

Michael Medved has written a brilliant analysis of the Democratic convention's contradictory message on success and the American Dream. The convention featured personal testimony from those who rose to success from humble beginnings. Their message for us, the great unwashed masses? We need government help in every aspect of our lives. These successful Democrats were able to do it on their own, but the rest of us are not. Mr. Medved zeros in on this in his article:

...in recounting their own stories of advancement and achievement, none of the speakers cited bureaucratic intervention or federal assistance as an element of success. Instead, they repeatedly invoked strong personal values – strong families, self-discipline, tireless effort, sacrifice – as the sole key to economic and educational progress.

If those values worked for the top Democrats themselves, why can’t they work for Americans everywhere?

By implication, these smug and preening politicians suggested that we’re brilliant and strong and special enough to make it to the top without government help, but most of the mere mortals who are watching us on TV will get nowhere at all unless we somehow use taxpayer money to assist them.

Right on! And polling data reveals 50% of Americans think government is doing too much. 84% of Americans reject income redistribution. Follow this link to see the details. As expected Republicans are overwhelmingly against more government, while Democrats are all for it. Most importantly, those who identify themselves as independents side with the Republicans on these issues.

Take this polling data into account as you contrast this week's Republican message with that of the Dems last week. Which is more coherent? Which accords with public opinion? More importantly, whose message accords with our Founding Fathers' ideal of a constitutional republic with a limited role for government?

America is receptive to a conservative message. Can the GOP deliver it?