Economic growth has stagnated so far this year, catching the broadcast news networks inexplicably off guard yet again.
The federal government’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) announced April 29 that gross domestic product (GDP) expansion slowed to only 0.2 percent in the first quarter of 2015. This meant the goods and services produced by the United States economy grew only minimally, lagging far behind growth in the previous two quarters.
A liberal worth $15 million crusading against the wealthy with a documentary. Now that's comedy gold.
It's also exactly what British comedian and left-wing activist Russell Brand has done by making The Emperor's New Clothes, which was directed Michael Winterbottom.
Appearing on NBC's Today on Monday, New Yorker magazine editor and former Washington Post Moscow correspondent David Remnick fretted that the United States lacked the moral authority to oppose Russia's invasion of Ukraine: "The United States also does not have the leverage it wants in historical terms. Invading countries is something the United States knows about from really raw experience. And Russia knows that and asserts that day in and day out on Russian television all the time. That's a cost, too." [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]
Moments earlier, co-host Savannah Guthrie excused the Obama administration's poor handling of the situation: "So what is the White House supposed to do? I mean, on Friday we see the President coming out saying to Putin, 'There will be high costs if you invade.' The very next day, he invades. What leverage do we have?" Remnick replied: "Economic leverage, diplomatic leverage, but I don't think in any way the United States or Europe has any interest in making this military, making it a military clash between the United States and Russia, because we know how horrible and bloody that could get."
Less than 24-hours after former Governor Bob McDonnell (R-VA) was indicted on 14 charges including conspiracy and fraud, all three network morning shows immediately identified McDonnell as a Republican. While McDonnell’s potential crimes are serious, the media failed to uphold the same party ID standard when it involved a scandal plagued Democratic governor.
NBC led their January 22 coverage of the McDonnell scandal with Today host Savannah Guthrie introducing the segment by saying, “And now to that bombshell indictment of the former governor of Virginia, Bob McDonnell, a one-time rising star in the Republican Party.” ABC provided an on-screen graphic identifying McDonnell as a Republican and CBS This Morning’s Nancy Cordes said that “McDonnell was once considered a possible presidential contender for the GOP.”
A Russian research vessel has been stuck in thick ice in the Antarctic since Christmas morning, and predictably the big three networks are enjoying the novelty of such an event. However, despite the obvious news story, ABC, CBS and NBC have all missed one great irony in their reporting.
On Monday December 30, all three networks covered the story, but only CBS even used the words “climate change” when discussing the trapped ship. All three failed to point out the irony that this event is an embarrassment for those pushing the liberal “climate change” narrative.
It's not enough that MSNBC regularly touts the liberal line on every issue from climate change to raising the debt limit -- and has the poor ratings to prove it.
But now, a press release sent out on Friday declares that NBC -- the parent company of the cable channel -- will begin on Monday a week-long series entitled “Ready or Not, the New Health Care” and described as “a multi-screen experience” to “help Americans get the most out of the Affordable Care Act,” otherwise known as the wildly liberal program ObamaCare.
Once again, NBC News has ignored important facts of a story to push its political agenda. The latest example centers around laws passed by the North Dakota legislature dealing with abortion in the Roughrider State.
The North Dakota legislature passed bills that banned abortions based on genetic defects, requiring doctors who perform abortions to be a physician with hospital-admitting privileges, banning gender-selected abortions, and banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. There are, of course, certain exemptions for the life of the mother built into these bills. [See video after jump. MP3 audio here.]
Sadly, MSNBC cannot follow sister network NBC’s lead in reporting the story of disgraced Democrat Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill) and his impending prison sentence for illegally using campaign funds for personal usage.
On the February 20 edition of NBC Nightly News as well as on the February 21 edition of Today, both shows correctly identify Jesse Jackson Jr. as a Democrat, but their MSNBC morning show Morning Joe skipped the important detail. [See video after jump. MP3 audio here.]
Over the years, comedian Wanda Sykes -- a staunch liberal Democrat and outspoken advocate of gay marriage -- has been no friend to Republicans. So it should come as no surprise that Ms. Sykes would appear on NBC’s Today on September 6 to promote her special on the LOGO television network entitled, ‘NewNowNext Vote.’ LOGO promotes itself as a cable channel devoted to gays and lesbians.
Appearing on Today, Sykes, who is lesbian, expressed her support for gay rights, but during the promotion of her special, decided to attack Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, calling them the Eddie Haskell and Forrest Gump of politics. Eddie Haskell, a character from the 1950's sitcom Leave It to Beaver, is often considered to be the archetype for those who are insincere. [See video below break.]
Wednesday's Today show on NBC ran a four and a half minute piece profiling Saratoga Springs, Utah, Mayor, and congressional candidate Mia Love, who has a very good chance of being the first black female Republican elected to Congress.
MSNBC's Daily Rundown show on Tuesday ran a similar report on the Utah Republican.
On the July 4 Today, guest co-anchor Willie Geist introduced the report: