As I argued yesterday, the unanimous state court ruling in New York blocking Mayor Mike Bloomberg's ban on fountain soda cups larger than 16 ounces in capacity would be portrayed in the liberal media as a setback to a well-meaning public health effort and a boon to big business. True to form, taxpayer-subsidized NPR is peddling this spin to readers of its website while completely ignoring how the ruling is a win for consumer choice or how continuing to litigate this in courts may be a waste of taxpayer money.

Here's how Eliza Barclay dealt with the ruling in her July 30 blog post at NPR.org's food blog, "The Salt," headlined, "Despite Legal Blow, New York To Keep Up Sugary Drink Fight" (emphasis mine):

On Morning Joe today, the Reverend Al Sharpton agreed with Mike Barnicle  that anti-Semitism explains the opposition to Mike Bloomberg in his gun control campaign. H/t NB reader cobokat.

If ever there were an expert on anti-Semitism in America, it could be Al Sharpton, he of Freddie's Fashion Mart and Crown Heights riot infamy. The spectacle of Sharpton lamenting the supposed anti-Semitism of others was ironic, if not repulsive.  Note that Dan Senor, who might also know something about anti-Semitism, being Jewish and having attended university in Israel, rejected the notion.  View the video after the jump.

Appearing on Friday's NBC Today, special correspondent Tom Brokaw strained to explain why New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg endorsing President Obama would be helpful: "[It] may not move the needle, for example, in Colorado, but in Ohio and in places where they're trying to get white men, they can say, 'Look, this guy has got the endorsement of the Mayor of New York.'" Why would someone in Ohio care?

Co-host Matt Lauer noted that the endorsement "wasn't a very warm hug," prompting Brokaw to argue: "It wasn't a warm hug, but it was tough on Romney about not being the guy that he was when he was Governor of Massachusetts."

Turn a few pages of the "Time 100" -- ostensibly the "most influential people in the world"  -- and you can easily see it as a gimmick, and not a serious attempt to measure influence. Look no further than the media. In the new 2011 list, one media name stands out  -- Joe Scarborough, the liberal-pleasing "Republican" MSNBC host Mark Levin calls "The Morning Schmo." There are no Fox News hosts and no liberal-media TV stars and no talk-radio titans. Time editor Richard Stengel is a guest on the Scarborough show, and they often hype the new Time magazine cover, so declaring him influential looks very much like a bit of commercial/political pork-barreling. The tribute to Joe came from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg (the two Manhattan centrists have been talked up as a presidential dream team):

As a group, cable-television talk-show hosts are not exactly known for independent political analysis that is free of partisan favoritism, but that is exactly what makes Joe Scarborough, 48, so refreshing — and so important. Joe's approach to politics is the same as mine: call 'em like you see 'em, and even if people don't agree with you on every issue — and they won't — they will respect you for being honest. They will know you are not shilling for a party or an ideology. And they will do exactly what you would hope any voter — and any viewer — would do: listen with an open mind and come to their own conclusions.

In a strange departure from Morning Joe's typical spontaneity, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski issued what was clearly a scripted, teleprompted, manifesto this morning.  The statement purported to be non-partisan condemnation of "angry voices" and a call, citing a WWII poster, to "keep calm and carry on."  But even a cursory analysis reveals that the manifesto's message suits Dem themes to a 'T', and carries clear echoes of a recent partisan speech by Pres. Obama at a political event.

The manifesto amounted to a condemnation of the "angry voices" and the "political extremists" who, claimed Scarborough, "are dominating the airwaves and dominating the national debate." But at this juncture in American political history, the anger is understandably more present on the right. The Dems, after all, control both houses of Congress and the White House, and have used their power to promote a big-government agenda on everything from health care to trillion dollar spending schemes to higher taxes.  You're darn right we're angry!  In instructing us to calm down, Joe and Mika are really seeking to sap the vitality from the political movement that threatens to sweep Dems from office.