News Hounds: Bush Hypocrisy on Terri Schiavo Ignored by FOX, the “Real Journalism” Network

While FOX News reporters fall over each other trying to prove their concern for the life of Terri Schiavo, nobody is reporting about the cases in Texas where life support is being removed by hospitals over the objections of family members. The law allowing that to happen was signed in 1999 by then-governor George W. Bush.

Lest anyone thinks this is a case of Bush “evolving” in his opinions, just five days ago a Texas hospital removed life support from a baby over the objections of his mother. Yet Bush never made a peep. Neither did FOX News.

Congress.Org — Issues and Legislation

For the relief of the parents of Theresa Marie Schiavo
On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass
03/21/2005
House Roll Call No. 90
109th Congress, 1st Session

Vote Map: House Roll Call No. 90
Votes For : 203
Votes Against : 58
Not Voting : 174

News Hounds: Bush Hypocrisy on Terri Schiavo Ignored by FOX, the “Real Journalism” Network

“The conservative constituency appears to consist exclusively of the Unborn, the Born-Rich, the Born-Again and the Undead.” — Rotwang

From No Payne – No Gain:

(1) “the ultra-sensitive ‘thinking class’ at the Journal editorial board”

(2) “But the Journal’s action brings to mind a line from Hamlet. To paraphrase, ‘The Biosphere doth protest to much, me thinks.'”

(3) “Thanks for saddling our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren with your debt, Gordo!”

(1) I don’t know what the “thinking class” is, but it doesn’t sound bad, to me. Or does GP imply with his original quotes that they aren’t really the thinking class. By the way, I agree with GP that it was quite unusual for the Journal to respond to a letter to the editor.

(2) WTF? Paraphrasing usually makes a quote fit better, but not in this case.

(3) This one made me laugh out loud because “Gordo” isn’t Duhbya, who has saddled us with more debt than Raygun AND has only just begun. mjh

Colorado Luis

[T]his compromise is a victory for liberalism, broadly defined as the belief that government is something more than just the enemy that steals your money through taxation. It’s just too bad it has taken a fiscal crisis to make that case for us in this state.

CEOs are fond of saying “Our employees are our most valuable asset,” and then they merrily go about announcing layoffs, which means they are giving away, for free, the company assets. You can tell a lot about an organization by how it treats people who are leaving, whether voluntarily or not.

Dale Dauten

ABQjournal: Talk of the Town

Don’t Feel Sorry for Drillers

THERE IS AN arrogance that comes with being the biggest bully on the block. Chuck Moran, president of the Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico, plays that bully perfectly in his recent commentary, “Otero Mesa Drilling No Longer Economical.”

Moran writes that pressure to preserve Otero Mesa, and subsequent dissatisfaction with BLM’s final decision to permanently protect less than 10 percent of the arena from drilling, comes from “they (grassroots environmental organizations) and their yacht and caviar foundations.”

Underhandedly, he suggests nonprofit environmental groups are rolling in cash, while the oil and gas firms he represents deserve the sympathy usually reserved for those down on their luck.

It reminds you of the bully that would push and push, and then run crying for a teacher when they were finally pushed back. Moran represents an incredibly powerful and rich lobby in New Mexico. They are required to pay the $1.3 billion in taxes that Moran mentions, and yet recently still cleared record profits.

Groups working to protect Otero Mesa operate with limited budgets, rely on volunteers and receive significant funding from members throughout New Mexico. Implying otherwise is doing a disservice to the real issue? whether a few days of energy from lands like Otero Mesa is worth the drilling of oil and gas wells all over that land.

NATHAN SMALL
Los Lunas

Drilling Debate Is All Talk

I HAVE TOURED several major oil and gas fields in New Mexico and have seen the industry’s standards and practices firsthand.

I challenge Chuck Moran and representatives from the Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico to tour these existing (oil and gas) fields with the “self-indulgent, perverted,” environmentalists and with reporters from the Journal. Wouldn’t it be ideal for Moran to confront his foes on the battlefield, to prove their dishonesty, right in front of journalists?

The Journal seems satisfied doing nothing at all, while presenting a stream of neverending, point-counterpoint editorial rhetoric on the drilling issue. The Journal seems completely incurious about the truth, which is most un-journalistic. Isn’t it time to report on drilling and production standards and impacts in New Mexico firsthand, with the opposing sides there to defend their positions?

JOE ADAIR
Albuquerque

mjh’s Blog: We Pay Taxes, So You Shut Up!
mjh’s Blog: anti-environmentalists

Noelle has a great series highlighting historical women from around the world for Women’s History Month at hedgeblog. mjh

From Hypatia of Alexandria:

All formal dogmatic religions are fallacious and must never be accepted by self-respecting persons as final.

To teach superstitions as truth is a most terrible thing.

Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all.

From Sojourner Truth:

Then that little man in black there, he says women can’t have as much rights as men, ’cause Christ wasn’t a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.

If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back , and get it right side up again! And now they is asking to do it, the men better let them.

hedgeblog: Women in History