mjh's blog

Media Censorship

Who’s Really ‘Playing Politics’? by Timothy Karr, Media for Democracy 2004

Sinclair executives give overwhelmingly to Republican causes and candidates. Of the top twenty TV and Radio companies to make political contributions in 2004, Sinclair Broadcasting Group is among the most conservative, giving 98 percent of its $65,434 in political contributions to GOP candidates. Sinclair CEO and President David Smith personally gave $2,000, the maximum individual contribution, to President Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign. …

Sinclair’s snub of “Nightline” — and their disingenuous rationale for the action — smacks of censorship and political manipulation.

McCain Calls Nightline Nix ‘Deeply Offensive’ By CARL HULSE, NYTimes

”There is no valid reason for Sinclair to shirk its responsibility in what I assume is a very misguided attempt to prevent your viewers from completely appreciating the extraordinary sacrifices made on their behalf by Americans serving in Iraq,” Mr. McCain wrote. ”War is an awful, but sometimes necessary business. Your decision to deny your viewers an opportunity to be reminded of war’s terrible costs, in all their heartbreaking detail, is a gross disservice to the public, and to the men and women of the United States Armed Forces. It is, in short, sir, unpatriotic. I hope it meets with the public opprobrium it most certainly deserves.” …

”I supported the president’s decision to go to war in Iraq, and remain a strong supporter of that decision,” Mr. McCain’s letter said. ”But every American has a responsibility to understand fully the terrible costs of war and the extraordinary sacrifices it requires of those brave men and women who volunteer to defend the rest of us.”

Sinclair Responds to Senator McCain

In fact, we will be replacing ”Nightline” this evening with a balanced report addressing both sides of this controversy. … lest there be any doubt about ”Nightline’s” motivation, both Mr. Koppel and ”Nightline’s” executive producer have acknowledged that tonight’s episode was
influenced by the Life Magazine article listing the names of dead soldiers in Vietnam, which article was widely credited with furthering the opposition to the Vietnam war and with creating a backlash of public opinion against the members of the U.S. military who had proudly served in that conflict.

Sincerely yours,
David D. Smith
CEO [and Bush contributor]

Dimdahl is an Ass

href="http://www.abqjournal.com/opinion/guest_columns/168683opinion04-30-04.htm">ABQjournal: President’s Team Ready to Face Full Court

Press By John Dendahl, Syndicated Columnist BFD

In fact, ultra-liberals such as …. rather than sticking with their

promises to leave if George W. Bush were elected …. Not altogether ignorant of history, the Left is always alert to

the usefulness of disinformation. … Then there’s the environment, that handy concealment for its socialist agenda

around which the Left has formed numerous organizations armed with many billions of dollars. …

The next six months will be

exactly as advertised by the president’s opponents, rough and tough. While that will be discomforting to many, it’s a price we

pay for the right to speak freely about our government.

John Dendahl pays no price whatsoever to

”speak freely about our government.” In spite of casting himself in a heroic light, Dimdahl is PAID to do this, paying

nothing. A small part of his compensation comes out of my subscription fee, so, John, I pay dearly for every column inch of your

nonsense.

Everyone knows that Dimdahl plays rougher than most. He used to be quite proud of his bully-nature. Now, sniff, he

wants us to know he can dish it out if the traitorous socialist liberals push him hard enough. Ha! Keep the change, John, this really is

worth the price.

Since his latest column doesn’t say much (liberals are the source of all evil, republicans are god’s chosen

people), I will respond to one quote: ”the almighty state the Left adores.”

Would this be the state which

increasingly spies on me? Is this the state that increasingly embraces a god I don’t believe in? The state that favors media

conglomerates that in turn stifle alternate views? The state that will deny most of the people I know the right to control their futures

and families, to wed whom they will? Is this the state that says the rich owe little and the poor should expect nothing? Is this the

state that is reviving nuclear weapons for use in battle? John, I do not adore your almighty state.

The era of

big government is back with a terrible vengeance and in the iron grasp of nice people like JD, who will verbally assassinate anyone

who dares disagree with them. Give them four more years and we may never pry the power out of their grip. The pendulum swings in

November. Vote against bully tyrants! mjh

Bush and Jesus

The Jesus Factor: Understanding the President and His God By ALESSANDRA STANLEY, NYTimes

The question is not, When did George W. Bush accept Jesus as his personal savior? The ”Frontline” documentary ”The Jesus Factor,” on PBS tonight, raises a different issue: Do most Americans realize just how fervent the president’s evangelical faith really is?

[T]he program reminds viewers that this ”faith-based” president has blurred the line between religion and state more than any of his recent predecessors: a vision that affects the Iraq conflict as well as domestic policy. …

Once the younger Mr. Bush’s faith took hold, it spread to his political ambitions. ”I believe that God wants me to be president.” …

Bush and Jesus

The

Jesus Factor: Understanding the President and His God By ALESSANDRA STANLEY, NYTimes

The question is not, When did George W. Bush

accept Jesus as his personal savior? The ”Frontline” documentary ”The Jesus Factor,” on PBS tonight, raises a different

issue: Do most Americans realize just how fervent the president’s evangelical faith really is?

[T]he program reminds viewers that

this ”faith-based” president has blurred the line between religion and state more than any of his recent predecessors: a vision

that affects the Iraq conflict as well as domestic policy. …

Once the younger Mr. Bush’s faith took hold, it spread to his

political ambitions. ”I believe that God wants me to be president.” …

Pledge Your Vote

This is a completely unscientific, untrustworthy poll. Still, you may want to see the results. To vote, you have to register with an email and postal address. mjh

Pledge your Vote – Pledge Statistics Congress.Org

If the Presidential election were held today, who would America choose? Who would your state pick?

Mission Accomplished

May 1st will be the first anniversary of ”Mission Accomplished” and Bush’s first campaign commercial. Remember it well. mjh

Keepers of Bush’s image

George W. Bush’s ”Top Gun” landing on the deck of the carrier Abraham Lincoln will be remembered as one of the most audacious moments of presidential theater in American history.

The Image of Security

Tom Ridge, 57, is talking a lot about ”branding” these days. …

THE campaign commercial

All this so one draft dodger could put on a show for the cameras? So an AWOL Texas air guardsman could play hero for a day? So an armchair warrior could gloat over defeating a fourth-rate army while our fighting men and women were forced to spend an extra day away from their families? I want my money back, Mr. President. — JON DRUCKER

George Waffle Bush

Frankly, I think if your position never changes, you’re probably dead. Still, it is amazing how the myth of a ”resolute” Duhbya is so out of touch with the reality of Duhbya:

* in the 2000 campaign, he opposed using the military for nation building
* in the 2000 campaign, he said the president should ”jaw-bone” OPEC to lower prices
* in the 2000 campaign, he claimed to be ”a uniter, not a divider”
* Bush opposed the Homeland Security Department
* Bush refused to let Rice testify before the 9-11 Commission
* Bush invaded Iraq because of 9-11, no, to destroy WMDs, no, to depose a tyrant, no, to liberate a grateful populace, no, to make democracy bloom in the Middle East, no, to find WMDs …

This is just part one, off the top of my head. I honestly think one should not expect people to never change a view; I appreciate subtlety and nuance. However, it seems to matter to Bush that Kerry ”flip-flops”. In that case, I say hoist Bush on his own petard, hang him by his own words, make him eat his own dog food.

Please contribute other examples of Bush’s flip-flops. Thanks. mjh

Mark Fiore Again

Fiore’s animation is usually worth a weekly visit. Today’s is particularly good. mjh

On Message 4/28/04

American Ayatollah

John Kerry’s Catholic

problem by Cal Thomas

When Kerry and other Catholic politicians say they accept church teaching but selectively deny it when it

comes to abortion, they place the state above the church and man above God. They mortgage their consciences to convenience and

principle to pragmatism. Should such a person lead this nation?

Ah, the arrogance of the Righteous Right. We have

Calcified Cal Thomas ‘reasoning’ that John Kerry is not a ”good” Catholic and, therefore, not qualified to be President — only

radical fundamentalists need apply. I think Cal was considerably more tolerant of Bush judicial nominee William Pryor, another Roman

Catholic, who strongly opposes abortion but promises to enforce the law (wink-wink). If this is our litmus, how is Pryor trustworthy and

Kerry not? And, who is Cal to judge the quality of their faith — Saint Peter or an American ayatollah? Judge not, least ye be judged,

Cal.

The self-righteous right dominates public discourse because they are relentlessly aggressive bullies and stunningly over-

confident (after all, they believe god is only on their side). One cannot discuss color with people who only see black and white and,

worse, insist that seeing color is a defect. This kind of conservative doesn’t simply lack nuance, he despises it and ridicules the

ability to see more than one aspect of an argument. Better a president who can reconcile conflicting thoughts than one who can’t speak

one clearly.

I say it is precisely someone who puts the state above god, or, at least, can keep them separate, who should lead

America. We have no need for a pharaoh. mjh

PS- The Albuquerque Journal finally published this two months later

(6/15/04).

Ann Coulter, Elitist

title="Conservative Coulter" href="http://www.dailylobo.com/news/673286.html?mkey=1290977">Conservative Coulter

She frequently

called Liberals elitist and, because of their public schooling, inherently unintelligent.

Why anyone respects a

word from Ann Coulter is beyond me. She lauds the American fascist Joseph McCarthy and repudiates ALL of the people who helped bring

about the Civil Rights movement — there’s a never-ending war that built something.

The stunningly-elitist Ann Coulter says liberals,

along with being traitors and un-American, are elitists (huh?) and can’t reason because we all went to public school — what an example

of reasoning that is. Just what is the MIT of Christian home schooling, Ann? How many global-warming-denying creationists have won the

Nobel prize? Or advanced science in any way?

The self-righteous right dominates public discourse because they are

relentlessly aggressive bullies and stunningly over-confident (after all, they believe god is only on their side). One cannot discuss

color with people who only see black and white and, worse, insist that seeing color is a defect. This kind of conservative doesn’t

simply lack nuance, she despises it and ridicules the ability to see more than one aspect of an argument (critical to what used to be

called reasoning).

This has little to do with the quality of anyone’s education or faculties; it has much to do with hubris. Pride

goeth before the fall, Ann. We’ll try not to laugh too hard at your inevitable come-uppance. Not that you’ve demonstrated the slightest

compassion or grace to us. mjh

Maps of Contributions

This site has several interesting maps based on contributions to Democrats and Republicans. I found this at blogsforbush.com, which I got to through a long, strange series of clicks from sportsmenagainstkerry.com to armedliberal.com and on and on. The armedliberal was almost as odd as the pro-choice republican. mjh

The Money Map

Keep Your Mouth Shut!

This small news item caught my attention this

morning:

A woman ”was charged with aggravated assault on a peace officer with a deadly weapon after

she spit in an officer’s face early Sunday morning, police said.”

The woman was stopped for weaving while driving.

She was arrested and, during an odd-sounding stop on the way to the station, she struggled with the cop and spit on him.

Notice that

spitting on a ‘peace officer’ is akin to shooting one.

You will obey and keep your mouth shut in the process, understand? mjh

Future Docile Citizens of America

U.S. Secret Service agents questioned a high school student here about anti-war drawings he

turned in to his art teacher…. [

href="http://www.mjhinton.com/blogs/000610.htm">read more]

Future Docile Citizens of America

Secret Service questions student about anti-war drawings By Associated Press

U.S. Secret Service agents questioned a high school student here about anti-war drawings he turned in to his art teacher, one of which depicted President Bush’s head on a stick.

Another pencil-and-ink drawing depicted Bush as a devil launching a missile, with a caption reading ”End the war — on terrorism.”

The 15-year-old boy’s art teacher turned the drawings over to school administrators, who notified a police officer assigned to work with the Prosser High School campus.

”We involve the police anytime we have a concern,” Prosser Superintendent Ray Tolcacher told the Tri-City Herald newspaper. ”From our perspective it was an incident that needed to be reported to the police on campus.”

Secret Service agents interviewed the boy last Friday. The student, who was not arrested, has not been identified.

The school district disciplined him, but district officials refused to say what the punishment was. Tolcacher said the boy was not suspended.

Tolcacher insisted it was not a freedom of speech issue, but a concern over the depiction of violence. …

”If this 15-year-old kid in Prosser is perceived as a threat to the president, then we are living in ’1984′,” Cravens said.

I think the important fact of this story is that a teacher betrayed a student and turned that student over to the government. So much for fostering independent thought and reasoning.

High school students should know they have no rights and no freedom. In this zero tolerance age, all search and seizure is ‘reasonable.’ No doubt this will make for very pliant, docile citizens in the future. mjh

Tight Race in NM

Bush and Kerry Tied Among Likely Voters in New Mexico

George W. Bush and John Kerry are tied among likely voters in New Mexico according to a survey by the American Research Group. A total of 46% of likely voters say they would vote for Bush if the presidential election were being held today and 45% say they would vote for Kerry. A total of 3% of likely voters say they would vote for Ralph Nader and 6% of likely voters are undecided.
In a race between just Bush and Kerry, Bush and Kerry are tied at 47% each, with 6% undecided. …

A total of 45% of likely voters say they have a favorable opinion of Bush and 45% say they have an unfavorable opinion of Bush.

A total of 42% of likely voters say they have a favorable opinion of Kerry and 19% say they have an unfavorable opinion of Kerry.

[Also polled:]
Iowa
Wisconsin
West Virginia
New Hampshire
Florida