Censorship

Press Virtually Ignores Obama's 'No Interference' Hypocrisy on Not Meeting Netanyahu
By Tom Blumer | February 2, 2015 | 5:43 PM EST

According to the Israeli publication Haaretz and many other news outlets, President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry won't meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu because it's "inappropriate."

Specifically, "The White House cited the proximity of the Israeli election to Netanyahu's visit, and the desire to refrain from interfering in the election." Certain blatant falsehoods are too much to take, and at Investor's Business Daily, this was one of them. An IBD editorial also tied the actions of those who are clearly acting as Team Obama agents trying to oust Netanyahu in those upcoming Israeli elections to a more comprehensive indictment of the administration's foreign policy (HT to a frequent tipster; bolds are mine throughout this post):

Ignored Gaffe: Obama Says Washington, Who Never Lived in the White House, Made 'Some Booze' There
By Tom Blumer | February 2, 2015 | 9:44 AM EST

It only took about 15 seconds into a live segment NBC aired from the White House kitchen before Sunday's Super Bowl for President Barack Obama to commit a historical gaffe about the very place where he resides. He told the network's Savannah Guthrie that "We make beer — The first president since George Washington to make some booze in the White House."

Heavens to Betsy. The White House's construction wasn't completed until 1800, when John Adams, the nation's second president, moved in.

Worse Than Seattle’s Super Bowl Call? The Media’s Calls on Government Power Grabs
By Seton Motley | February 2, 2015 | 9:37 AM EST

The Seattle Seahawks yesterday - in a moment of profound foolishness - forsook Beast Mode for Least Mode.  And it cost them the Super Bowl.   But they can take ever so slight solace - the Media has been in Least Mode for decades. 

This has been on prominent display throughout the Barack Obama Administration - and certainly when it comes to the Administration’s many, MANY unilateral power grabs.

First, a bit of a Constitutional primer for a Media that seems to desperately need it.  Congress is the Legislative Branch.  They write laws - which the President then signs.  Said President presides over the Executive Branch.  His many, many, MANY Departments, Agencies, Commissions and Boards are then - and only then - charged with executing the legislation Congress first composed. 

AP Double Standard: Atlanta Chief's Firing Over Religious Views Is National News, But His EEOC Challenge Isn't
By Tom Blumer | January 30, 2015 | 11:48 PM EST

Former Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran, who alleges he was fired from his position solely because of his Christian beliefs, has filed a religious discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

That's not news at the Associated Press's national site, and it appears that the AP has not even carried a local story about Cochran's EEOC complaint — omissions that reek of a double standard.

Email from Al Jazeera English Bans Staff from Using Terms ‘Terrorist,’ ‘Militant,’ ‘Islamist’
By Curtis Houck | January 27, 2015 | 6:20 PM EST

On Tuesday afternoon, Brendan Bordelon of National Review Online (NRO) reported on the latest leaked email from Al Jazeera English that showed executive Carlos van Meek telling employees not to sure the terms “extremist,” “Islamist,” “militant,” and “terrorist” in their news coverage to “avoid characterizing people.”

Van Meek’s email came following a deadly shooting earlier in the day at a hotel in Libya that killed at least eight (including one American). Writing to the outlet’s New York and Washington newsrooms, van Meek felt that it was pertinent to “bring to your attention some key words that have a tendency of tripping us up” considering “[o]ne person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter.”

Santa Barbara Newspaper Holds Its Ground - "Illegal" is a Legal Word
By Melissa Mullins | January 24, 2015 | 10:45 AM EST

Here's a follow-up from a blog we posted about two weeks ago on the Santa Barbara News-Press, and its use of the term “illegal” when describing illegal immigrants.

MRC’s Brent Bozell Assesses 'The State of the Media' in 2015
By NB Staff | January 24, 2015 | 9:37 AM EST

On Tuesday, just as President Obama was putting the finishing touches on his State of the Union address, MRC President Brent Bozell assessed the “State of the Media” in 2015. He warned of four trends that could be expected in the coming year: the continued media cover-up of Obama’s scandals and his many policy failures; positive coverage for left-wing initiatives such as Obama’s executive amnesty; coverage that dishonestly paints Hillary Clinton as a moderate, and “scorched earth” attacks against any conservatives who decides to run against her.

As National Press Mostly Snoozes, Add Seattle to the List of Cities Where Homelessness Is Rising
By Tom Blumer | January 22, 2015 | 11:53 PM EST

A week ago, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, a Democrat, called homelessness in his city and the rest of King County a "full-blown crisis."

Based on the numbers presented in coverage of the area's situation, we can certainly add the Emerald City to the list of areas where homelessness has been on the rise. Odds are that many readers here didn't know that, because the national press hardly ever pays attention to homelessness when a Democrat occupies the White House. Now imagine the firestorm which would erupt if a Republican or conservative proposed the "solution," however allegedly temporary, Murray is advancing (bolds are mine):

Not News: Islamic State Brutally Executing Gays and Adulterers
By Tom Blumer | January 18, 2015 | 10:20 AM EST

The nation's establishment press is virtually ignoring the existence of horrifying and officially approved Islamic State videos showing the executions of accused homosexuals and adulterers. 

A search this morning at Google News on "Islamic State gay" (with "Islamic State" in quotes, showing duplicates) for items appearing since January 14 returned 83 results. Roughly 30 of them are directly relevant, and almost none are from U.S. establishment press outlets. As usual, the British tabloids and new media outlets are ahead of the game. Here are several paragraphs from the U.K. Daily Mail's coverage (bolds are mine):

NBC News Terrorism Expert: ‘We Have to Put Ourselves in the Eyes’ of Terrorists to ‘Understand’ Them
By Curtis Houck | January 15, 2015 | 5:46 PM EST

On Wednesday’s edition of The Cycle on MSNBC, NBC News terrorism expert Evan Kohlmann was at it again, telling the hosts that we, as Americans, must “put ourselves in the eyes” of Islamic terrorists considering “there wouldn't be violent attacks but there would be an uproar” and “anger” among Christians if Muslims burned crosses or trampled “Christian artifacts.”

NBC & ABC Censor Charlie Hebdo Cover, But Tout it As 'Declaration of Defiance'
By Kyle Drennen | January 14, 2015 | 2:37 PM EST

Reporting on the release of Charlie Hebdo's first issue since the January 7 terrorist attack, NBC's Today and ABC's Good Morning America on Wednesday refused to show the cover of the satirical magazine that depicted a cartoon image of Mohamed. Despite such censorship, both networks touted the publication as "a triumph for free speech" and "a kind of declaration of defiance against terror."

Bogus '1 in 3 Men Would Commit Rape' Study Discredits Itself in Opening Sentence, Goes Downhill From There
By Tom Blumer | January 13, 2015 | 3:17 PM EST

The feminist-leftist fever swamp is apparently thrilled to have learned of a North Dakota University "study" purporting to show that almost one in 3 college men would commit rape "if nobody would ever know and there wouldn’t be any consequences."

I'll get to the study's specifics shortly, but first want to note that the work, published in December, automatically discredited itself in its body's opening paragraph: