Boston Globe

Mostly Strong USAT Coverage of Federal Obligations Marred by Ideological, Historically Brain-Dead Lefty Quote
By Tom Blumer | June 7, 2011 | 8:55 PM EDT

Dennis Cauchon at USA Today has been one of a very few establishment press reporters willing to expose federal workers' disproportionate pay and benefits (previous examples here and here) as well as Uncle Sam's precariously dangerous financial situation.

Cauchon has two USAT items today on the latter topic (HT to NB commenter Gary Hall): "U.S. funding for future promises lags by trillions," which reports that federal obligations totaled $61.6 trillion as of September 2010, a $5.3 trillion increase from a year earlier, and "Government's Mountain of Debt," which itemizes those obligations by major source.

Unsurprisingly, 75% of federal obligations, or a combined $46.2 trillion (actually more, which will be seen at the end of this post), relate to Social Security and Medicare, which no one but a few deluded leftists believe (or pretend to believe) are sustainable in their current form. Unfortunately, at the end of his first story, Cauchon quoted one of them, Michael Lind, whom the USAT reporter described as "policy director at the liberal New America Foundation's economic growth program," who said the following:

Lawrence O'Donnell Takes Conservative Boston Herald's Side Over Obama's
By Noel Sheppard | May 18, 2011 | 10:40 PM EDT

If you looked out your window at roughly 8:50 Wednesday evening, you may have seen pigs flying.

At that moment, MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell was actually taking the side of a conservative newspaper in a dispute with - wait for it - President Obama (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Boston Globe's Pierce: 'Half the Country Sinks' While GOP Denies Global Warming
By Ken Shepherd | May 17, 2011 | 4:12 PM EDT

"Today on the program, we'll ask whether Americans are losing the skills of true debate and with it a central pillar of this democracy," BBC's Jonny Dymond informed listeners of the May 15 "Americana" podcast.

Yet when it came to Dymond's guests, there was no dissent from the liberal line. 

Take guest  Charles Pierce, a Boston Globe columnist and author of "Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free."

During his segment, Pierce decried the state of debate in America over global warming lamenting that "it is impossible to accept the reality of global climate change and get nominated in the Republican Party."

 

Journalists Denounce Ryan for Not Raising Taxes: ‘Rich Get Off Like Scoundrels,’ Slam Tea Party as ‘Far Right’ Impediment
By Brent Baker | April 11, 2011 | 9:15 AM EDT

A round-up from over the weekend of journalists denouncing Republican Congressman Paul Ryan for not including a big tax hike in his deficit-reduction plan and discrediting the Tea Party’s pressure on House Speaker John Boehner as a “far right” impediment to good government.

“He doesn't deal with the revenue side at all,” despaired Newsweek veteran Evan Thomas on Inside Washington, arguing: “We cannot survive on 18, his goal is to do 18 percent of GDP as revenue. That's not enough. We're going to have to raise some taxes...”

On HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday night, Katty Kay, anchor of BBC’s World News America, echoed, “He does nothing on the revenue side,” fretting: “There is this allergy, amongst Republicans, about saying ‘you know what, we actually do have to deal with taxes too.’”

Juan Williams charged “the rich get off like scoundrels,” complaining on Fox News Sunday that Ryan is “not doing anything in terms of raising taxes.” Williams also worried: “John Boehner now has the Tea Party wrapped around his neck like an albatross.”

Ridiculous Bias in Boston Globe Hit Piece on Barney Frank Opponent
By Dave Pierre | February 17, 2011 | 9:30 PM EST

If you need any more evidence of the blatant animus that a mainstream newspaper like the Boston Globe can have for conservative Republicans, here you go. Compare the following:

  • Sean Bielat was the Republican challenger to Rep. Barney Frank in the 4th Congressional District in Massachusetts last November. While spending ten months to run for the seat, he paid himself a salary of $10,000.
  • Mac D’Alessandro, a self-identified "progressive Democrat," was a primary challenger in the 9th District. The Globe heartily endorsed D'Alessandro, a "public-interest attorney," "community activist," and political director for the SIEU. Even though his campaign barely lasted five months (he lost the primary), he collected stipends totaling nearly $27,000.
WaPo, Boston Globe, Others Laughably Trumpet Obama Budget's 'Deep' Cuts to 'Rein in Deficits'
By Alex Fitzsimmons | February 15, 2011 | 3:35 PM EST

With the unveiling of Obama's 2012 budget today, some newspapers around the country framed the $3.7 trillion proposal as a serious attempt to slash the federal deficit.

The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, the Daily Herald, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and the DC Express, couched the administration's massive budget as a fiscally responsible plan that makes "deep" and "big" cuts to "rein in deficits."

Olbermann Bashes Vietnam Vet's Letter to the Editor About Him
By Noel Sheppard | January 30, 2011 | 11:26 PM EST

Keith Olbermann must be starving for attention since his surprise exit from MSNBC.

On Sunday, he actually bashed a letter to the editor of the Boston Globe written about him by a Vietnam vet:

Media Trumpets Biased and Problematic Abortion-Mental Health Study (w/ UPDATED info)
By Dave Pierre | January 27, 2011 | 9:34 PM EST

Several media outlets are trumpeting a recent study out of Denmark that asserts that having an abortion does not increase the risk of mental health problems for women. Yet there are serious problems with the study that major media are not reporting:

1. The Danish study flies in the face of over 30 professional studies just in the past five years that conclude that there is a serious negative mental health impact on women who have abortions. The list of those studies is at the site of the Elliot Institute, TheUnChoice.com. Not one major media outlet reported this.

Media's Double Standard Continues When Reporting Child Sex Abuse
By Dave Pierre | December 18, 2010 | 7:14 PM EST

Here are two stories from this past week:

1. "A [newly released] General Accountability Office (GAO) investigation has found that people with histories of sexual misconduct are still getting hired by school systems across the [United States] ... The biggest problem may be 'passing the trash.' These were cases GAO found in which school systems just let suspected sexual offenders resign, and even wrote them glowing letters of recommendation, so they could find teaching jobs elsewhere."

2. "The Dublin (Ireland) Archdiocese should have taken action years earlier against Tony Walsh, probably the most notorious child sexual abuser among its priests, according to [a] commission investigating clerical child sex allegations in the archdiocese." The Church laicized Walsh (removed him as a priest) in 1995.

When Reporting on the Catholic Church, Media Can't Even Get Headlines Right
By Dave Pierre | November 13, 2010 | 3:34 PM EST

(HT: Phil Lawler/CatholicCulture.org) Major news outlets delivered a collective message about the Catholic Church this week. Here were the headlines:

  • "Pope orders sex abuse summit" (Boston Globe)
  • "Pope to Hold Sex-Abuse Summit" (Wall Street Journal)
  • "Italy: Cardinals to Ponder Response by Church to Sexual Abuse Cases" (New York Times)
  • "Pope summons cardinals over abuse: Vatican" (AFP)
  • "Cardinals to address sex abuse" (UPI)
  • "Pope calls meeting of cardinals on sex abuse" (Washington Post)

From what is presented, one would guess that Pope Benedict XVI called Cardinals and said, "Hey, let's get together and discuss the sex abuse scandals."

The problem: It didn't happen.

Newspaper Circ Drops Another 5%; WSJ Is Sole Meaningful Gainer
By Tom Blumer | October 31, 2010 | 9:02 AM EDT

This past week, we learned that it was another year, another dive for newspaper circulations: 5% for dailies, and 4.5% on Sundays, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. That's not as bad as some past declines, but it's still going the wrong way.

As usual, they'll blame the Internet, and reject the possibility that persistent, pervasive bias and blind adherence to politically correct reporting priorities have anything to do with the results. But as I've similarly asked before, how does one explain away the fact that the only daily paper in the nation's top 25 that has shown consistent gains during the past several years is the (usually) fair and balanced Wall Street Journal?

Barely News: RIP, Dr. Mildred Jefferson
By Tom Blumer | October 18, 2010 | 11:59 AM EDT

Most readers are probably unaware that the first African-American woman to graduate from Harvard Medical School who was also the first female surgical intern at Boston City Hospital passed away this weekend.

Though the wire service did file a brief local story, the Associated Press's national site has no coverage of Dr. Mildred Jefferson's death. 

I would suggest that the coverage is so quiet because Mildred Jefferson was also an important pro-life pioneer. 

Though marred by the fact that she consistently characterized Ms. Jefferson as "antiabortion" instead of as "prolife," the obituary by Kathleen Burge at the Boston Globe captured much of the essence of this marvelous woman (bolds are mine):