George Stephanopoulos Touts Clinton Buddy Paul Begala While Hitting Ra

George Stephanopoulos on Wednesday highlighted Paul Begala, his old friend from the Clinton White House, while critiquing Senator Rand Paul and the state of Kentucky.  Without mentioning his personal connection, the Good Morning America host chided, "You know, in the Daily Beast yesterday, Paul Begala, pointed out that Kentucky gets more from the federal government than they give out." GMA…
Scott Whitlock
February 23rd, 2011 12:37 PM

Chris Christie to NBC's Ann Curry: It's Time to Say No to the Unions

New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie stopped by the Today show, on Wednesday morning, to educate viewers and NBC's Ann Curry about the problems of public employee unions and explained that when it comes to getting government costs under control sometimes you just have to say no. Curry mostly questioned Christie from the left, as she asked if there was "a coordinated" GOP agenda to make…
Geoffrey Dickens
February 23rd, 2011 11:59 AM

Mostly Suppressed in AP Pirate Hostage/Murder Stories: Leader's Threat

USA Today's Wednesday cover story ("Killings Escalate Piracy Crisis"), has this reference to a quote obtained by the Associated Press: Killing hostages "has now become part of our rules," said a pirate who identified himself as Muse Abdi in a statement to the Associated Press. "From now on, anyone who tries to rescue the hostages in our hands will only collect dead bodies," Abdi said. "It…
Tom Blumer
February 23rd, 2011 11:15 AM

Name That Party: Erratic Rep. David Wu's Party Registration Unnoted by

When a sitting U.S. congressman's behavior is so erratic and inexplicable that his own staffers want him to get psychiatric care and some of them quit in horror upon his reelection, it's a legitimate news story for national media coverage regardless of the political party of the person involved. Of course, if the congressman were a Republican, it's difficult to imagine his political…
Ken Shepherd
February 23rd, 2011 10:55 AM

Maddow Tells Leno Total Nonsense About Wisconsin, Unions and Tea Party

Last Monday, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman ironically asked his readers why voters are so ill-informed. Eight days later, MSNBC's resident Rhodes scholar Rachel Maddow, while chatting with the "Tonight Show's" Jay Leno about what's going on in Wisconsin, demonstrated perfectly why so many in our country have little factual knowledge of current events (video follows with transcript and…
Noel Sheppard
February 23rd, 2011 10:49 AM

Networks Stand with Wisconsin Unions, Ignore $1-3 Trillion Pension Def

For roughly a week, a battle has been raging in Madison, Wis. Evening news programs on the three broadcast networks framed these as "citizen uprisings" over pay cuts and "eliminating unions' collective bargaining powers to negotiate wages and benefits." Reporters also portrayed this as a national union issue, but mostly failed to point out the national problem of pension underfunding…
Julia A. Seymour
February 23rd, 2011 10:18 AM

PBS, AFI Embrace Pro-Castro Propaganda, Ignore Agustin Blazguez's Docu

For his documentaries on Fidel Castro and Che Guevara Cuban-American filmmaker Agustin Blazquez’ takes a truly revolutionary approach. Rather than expecting officials of Castro’s police state to reveal facts, Blazquez interviews eye-witnesses to Castroism who are (get this!) free to reveal facts without threat of Castro’s firing squads and torture chambers!
Humberto Fontova
February 23rd, 2011 9:27 AM

Open Thread: Mayor Rahm

That's right, Rahm Emanuel will be Chicago's next mayor. The former White House chief of staff took 55 percent of the vote Tuesday, enough to avoid a runoff. By itself that would not be so noteworthy, but he was facing five challengers. The Chicago Tribune reported: In a city with its share of racial divisions, Emanuel appealed to voters across those lines. He won the predominantly white…
NB Staff
February 23rd, 2011 8:50 AM

Tabloid Kiss-and-Tell: WaPo Hypes 'NC-17 Prose' About Clarence Thomas

The Washington Post stoops to the tabloid level today. On the front of Wednesday's Style section is this promotional plug: "The Supreme Court justice is only one of many partners whose caresses McEwen graphically recalls in NC-17 prose." The justice is Clarence Thomas, and the author of the steamy passages is Lillian McEwen, a former Joe Biden aide and Clarence Thomas girlfriend. Last…
Tim Graham
February 23rd, 2011 8:32 AM

Proposed Wisc. Voter ID Law Would Make Registering to Vote 'Really Har

Curse those wascally Wepublicans in Wisconsin, you'll never believe what they're up to now. Bad enough for the Badger State GOP to abet Gov. Scott Walker in his nefarious scheme to prevent public-sector unions from bankrupting the state. Worse, they are hatching even more diabolical plots while Dem state senators continue their courageous evasion of the law to avoid voting on Walker's…
Jack Coleman
February 23rd, 2011 7:08 AM

Rick Santorum Smeared: An 'Oldie But Goodie

If someone associated your last name with fecal matter, you probably wouldn't think it should be characterized as "an oldie but a goodie." That's just what CNN anchor Don Lemon said on Saturday night after Sen. Rick Santorum talked to the newspaper Roll Call about his "Google problem." Vile gay sex columnist Dan Savage -- a man CNN has presented as an "anti-bullying" hero -- has insured that…
Tim Graham
February 23rd, 2011 7:07 AM

Bozell Column: The Media on Wisconsin? A Bad Joke

The battle in Madison, Wisconsin between new Gov. Scott Walker and the public-sector union hacks offers an amazing study in journalistic double standards. The same national media that have spent the last two years drawing devil’s horns and Klan hoods on the Tea Party protesters have switched sides with lightning speed. In the Wisconsin protesters, they find sweetness and light, “hope and change…
Brent Bozell
February 22nd, 2011 11:00 PM

Irony: Lefty HuffPo Becomes Target of Union Wrath

Being consistently pro-union puts one in an awkward position when unions start making some very inconvenient demands. The Huffington Post is learning that lesson the hard way. On the heels of AOL's $315 million HuffPo buyout - the largest such acquisition in the blogosphere's short history - the Newspaper Guild said the following in a letter to Arianna Huffington (h/t Joe Pompeo): As we…
Lachlan Markay
February 22nd, 2011 7:53 PM

Confounded Chris Matthews to Pro-Gun Senator: You're Getting Us Into a

A confounded Chris Matthews, on Tuesday's Hardball, couldn't get his head around the concept of Texas allowing 21-year-olds on college campuses to carry concealed weapons to defend themselves, as he repeatedly threw out scenarios, seemingly from TV, movies and his own imagination, of crazed students with guns. Fortunately Texas State Senator Jeff Wentworth was on hand to repeatedly and ably…
Geoffrey Dickens
February 22nd, 2011 7:52 PM