AP, AFP, Reuters: French Supporters of Pope 'Far-Right' or 'Right-Wing

The three largest mainstream media wire services all agreed that supporters of Pope Benedict XVI who dared to stand up to anti-Catholic leftists in front of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Sunday were extremists of the right of some sort. The Associated Press used the “right-wing” label to describe the faithful Catholics. Both Reuters and the French Agence France-Presse both used the term “far-…
Matthew Balan

John Mellencamp Blames Ronald Reagan for Ruining the Music Biz

While Time magazine honors Arianna Huffington as the Oracle of the Internet, anyone reading The Huffington Post knows it’s still a salon for liberal celebrities to channel their own self-involved conspiracy theories about how conservatism is ruining the world, and especially the world of the Artist. In a rant posted on Sunday night, '80s rock star John Mellencamp unfurled the theory that Ronald…
Tim Graham

Open Thread

NB Staff

'Masterful' Obama Performance with Leno 'Calmed Down' Totenberg

Since “I've really been getting pretty upset in the last week, just like every other American,” NPR's Nina Totenberg decided to watch President Obama on the Tonight Show “and he calmed me down. And he was presidential. I thought it was just a masterful performance.”  The eager-to-be-impressed Totenberg made her comment on Inside Washington, a weekly show produced and aired over the weekend by…
Brent Baker

D.C. Media's Gridiron Dinner Still Mocked Bush-Cheney, But Honored Oba

Tim Graham

A Playground You Can Believe In

Steve Kroft caught Barack Obama "laughing and chuckling several times while discussing the perilous state of the economy", at one point asking "Are you punch-drunk?" Politico says "his awkward laughter highlighted an issue Obama has faced dating back to the campaign, a sense that he sometimes is too 'cool' and detached to fully grasp the public anxiety over mounting job losses and economic…
Mithridate Ombud

CNN Defines 'A Moderate Republican

After earlier this week defining what a moderate Democrat is, on Saturday CNN tried its hand at defining what a moderate Republican is.  CNN Newsroom featured a segment on governors who are refusing stimulus funds because of the inevitable Federal strings.  Anchor Fredricka Whitfield had this exchange with CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser:WHITFIELD: Well, that's interesting, because…
Mike Bates

How Will Media Report Chavez Calling Obama 'A Poor Ignoramus

Barack Obama is hailed by sycophantic media members as one of the brightest men to ever be President, and was supposed to improve America's standing around the world.Yet, on Sunday, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez called Obama "a poor ignoramus" who "should read and study a little to understand reality." Given how impressed news members are with our new President, and how they regularly disparaged the…
Noel Sheppard

Bailed-Out Car Cos. Want More Money; Bloomberg Fails to Challenge Cons

Anyone who has followed the decline of General Motors and Chrysler since the two companies received a combined $17-plus billion in bailout money in December won't be surprised at the news that they need more -- or at the government's convenient weekend timing of the news. The financial cliff on which Chrysler stands was a given by the time its first bailout installment arrived. But, as shown in…
Tom Blumer

NYU Teacher in LAT: 'Hero' Late-Term Abortionist On Par With MLK and S

According to New York University instructor Jacob Appel, Kansas' notorious late-term abortionist George Tiller should be looked upon as "a genuine hero who ranks alongside Susan B. Anthony and Martin Luther King Jr. in the pantheon of defenders of human liberty." Good ... grief. Just when I thought I've read it all.Appel formulated his sick view in a letter to the editor in today's Los Angeles…
Dave Pierre

Sun-Sentinel Employee Soap Opera Played Out in Public

This is a soap opera that is currently being played out in similar form at many newspapers around the country as they face imminent collapse. In this case, the melodrama is being played out at the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel but it could be happening at any of a number of newspapers. The departure of an employee, one Pat Thompson who was the Deputy Managing Editor, along with a reshuffling of…
P.J. Gladnick

What CNBC's Jim Cramer Should Have Told Jon Stewart

When Jon Stewart eviscerated Jim Cramer for not doing a better job of warning Americans about the looming financial crisis, the "Mad Money" host should have brought videos and transcripts of some of his highly-publicized rants in order to thoroughly disprove the comedian's premise.In fact, as former investigative reporter turned actor and producer Dan Gifford revealed at Big Hollywood Sunday,…
Noel Sheppard

Maddow Blames Financial Crisis on Republican Deregulation; Ignores Ove

On Friday, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow accurately blamed a bill enacted in 1999 for today's financial crisis, but in so doing exclusively pointed accusatory fingers at its Republican sponsors while totally ignoring the overwhelming Democrat support it received in both Chambers of Congress. Maybe even more egregious, she chose not to address it being signed into law by President Bill Clinton until a…
Noel Sheppard

Parade Names Mugabe World's Worst Dictator, Ignores Carter's Role

Today's Parade Magazine names "The World's 10 Worst Dictators."  Topping the list is Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe:Inflation in Zimbabwe is so bad that in January the government released a $50 billion note — enough to buy two loaves of bread. The unemployment rate has risen to more than 85%. In 2008, Mugabe agreed to hold an election, but it became clear that he would accept the result only if he won…
Mike Bates