Clueless Ezra Klein: Big Government Programs Not Progressive, Just 'Go

Ezra Klein has unwittingly offered a telling insight into the liberal mind.  On Morning Joe today, the liberal Washington Post blogger actually argued that quintessential big government programs like massive involvement in housing finance and the imposition of a carbon tax aren't "progressive" but simply "good policy." Joe Scarborough pushed back saying Klein's notion of "good policy" was…
Mark Finkelstein
February 6th, 2012 11:39 AM

Open Thread: Syrian Troubles

Today's starter topic: Unrest in Syria has become so bad that the State Department has closed the American embassy in Damascus. Do you think there will be any U.S. intervention in Syria? Details below:
NB Staff
February 6th, 2012 11:09 AM

Pop Star Who Flipped Off Camera During Super Bowl Show Has Radical His

The Super Bowl halftime show wouldn't be the Super Bowl halftime show without some controversy. In 2004, Justin Timberlake infamously ripped open part of singer Janet Jackson's costume. This year, controversy arose in the form of a backup singer, using her middle finger to draw attention to herself. British pop star Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam, better known as M.I.A., raised her middle…
Paul Wilson
February 6th, 2012 11:03 AM

NBC's Lauer Chats With Obama About GOP Candidates 'Pummeling Each Othe

Once again touting the latest cover of New Yorker magazine, NBC Today co-host Matt Lauer lobbed this softball to President Obama in a pre-Super Bowl interview: "...you watching the big game on TV...on screen it's not the Patriots and the Giants. It's Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, same team, and they are pummeling each other. And look at the smile on your face there. Is art imitating life here…
Kyle Drennen
February 6th, 2012 10:56 AM

Study: Media Go to Bat for Abortion Giant, Ignore Catholics vs. Obama

When the Susan G. Komen Foundation announced on February 1 that it would no longer be donating to Planned Parenthood, the Big Three networks -- ABC, CBS, NBC -- rushed to the defense of the left-wing organization, which is the largest abortion conglomerate in the United States. Over the course of about 60 hours, ABC, CBS, and NBC emphasized the controversy with a whopping 13 morning and evening…
Matthew Balan
February 6th, 2012 10:28 AM

Network Newscast Blackout of Mandate on Catholics Continues, But Sunda

The broadcast network evening and morning newscast blackout, of the Obama administration plan to force health insurance offered by Catholic charities and hospitals to cover sterilization, abortion-inducing drugs and contraception without a co-pay, continued over the weekend, yet the ABC and NBC Sunday morning talk shows took up the topic. Meanwhile, the media double standard in ignoring the…
Brent Baker
February 6th, 2012 9:53 AM

NBC's Mitchell: Bloomberg Donation to Planned Parenthood Helped Him 'C

On Sunday's Chris Matthews Show, after panel member Richard Stengel of Time magazine argued that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt is an example of a wealthy President who connected with average Americans more effectively than GOP presidential candidate Mitt Rommney does, NBC Andrea Mitchell praised New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg for donating $250,000 to Planned Parenthood, arguing…
Brad Wilmouth
February 6th, 2012 8:44 AM

WashPost Promotes Lesbian Couple and Pre-Kindergarten 'Lessons About G

It’s apparently never too young to push social liberalism and call it “anti-bullying education.” Sunday’s Washington Post promoted D.C. schools with the headline “Redefining Family.” As usual, the Post featured happy color photographs of two lesbian moms – two on the front page of Metro, and two on the back page where the story continued. Reporter Michael Alison Chandler began: “In the…
Tim Graham
February 6th, 2012 8:23 AM

'Does Axelrod Poll For ABC

Joe Scarborough had a jocular way this morning of pointing out the pro-Dem bias in ABC/Washington Post polls. On Morning Joe, after Mark Halperin cited a new poll from the conglomerate with many findings favorable to President Obama, Scarborough facetiously asked "does Axelrod poll for ABC?" He went on to detail the way the polling combine consistently puts its fat left thumb of the scales…
Mark Finkelstein
February 6th, 2012 7:33 AM

Honoring 'Bill Belichick the Progressive

For those who like to root against the New England Patriots (or simply wonder about how much they remind you of our original New England patriots), there’s always the Daily Kos, which on Thursday honored “Bill Belichick the progressive.” The blogger “upstateNY” (should be a Bills fan?) professed “I marvel at how a thoroughly progressive man with a progressive plan has come to dominate NFL…
Tim Graham
February 6th, 2012 6:48 AM

CNN's Crowley Brings Up Catholic Uproar; Gov. O'Malley Dismisses Bisho

Kudos to CNN "State of the Union" host Candy Crowley for bringing up on Sunday the undercovered story of the recent Obamacare-related decision to force Catholic employers to insure sterilizations, abortifacients, and contraceptives. When she mentioned "real outrage within the Catholic community" -- and bishops' letters opposed Obama were again read in parishes across America at Mass on Sunday…
Tim Graham
February 5th, 2012 11:20 PM

Howard Kurtz Gives Jonathan Martin 17 Minutes on CNN Without Asking Ab

As NewsBusters reported Tuesday, Politico's Jonathan Martin, while chatting with MSNBC's Chuck Todd, referred to some of Florida as "cracker counties." Despite the firestorm this created, Howard Kurtz on CNN's Reliable Sources spent seventeen minutes Sunday - almost half of the show when commercials are taken out - with Martin as one of his guests and never said a word about this controversy.
Noel Sheppard
February 5th, 2012 4:01 PM

CNN's Crowley Does Two Segments on Jobs Numbers Without Mentioning Plu

When I saw CNN's Candy Crowley on Sunday tease an upcoming State of the Union segment saying she'd be discussing Friday's unemployment report after a commercial break, I was hoping to see a complete analysis of the data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Much to my shock and dismay, although she and her guests discussed the economy and the jobs market for eight minutes over two…
Noel Sheppard
February 5th, 2012 2:58 PM

Rachel Maddow Falsely Claims Santorum Wants States to be Able to Ban C

To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, there she goes again. On Sunday's Meet the Press, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow falsely claimed, "Rick Santorum says that he would like states to be able to make contraception illegal' (video follows with transcript and commentary):
Noel Sheppard
February 5th, 2012 1:38 PM