Liberal Media: We Love Socialized Medicine, But Not That Dam Hydroelectric Power Thing

February 1st, 2007 8:44 AM

Most media storylines on the economy are predictable. Tax cuts "cost" the government money. The wealthy don't pay their fair share, and, socialized medicine is the only comprehensive way to address health care problems.

That last one's been in vogue lately as Democrats have raised health care as part of their "100 Hours" agenda. So our very own Julia Seymour took a look at the media's push for Big Brother to play doctor to 300 million Americans.

You can find that here.

But then there's the ones that are just patently laughable. Like where the media pick the interests of say fish, over people. Look to none other than our friends at The Washington Post for that one. You can find our writeup on that here.:

So much for energy independence.

The Washington Post downplayed the potential loss of four Western hydroelectric dams that might be destroyed to make life easier … for salmon.

According to the January 31 article by the Post’s Blaine Harden, the destruction of the dams “has extraordinary potential to rebound as a major salmon resource, according to fish biologists and regional officials.”

It wasn’t until the seventh paragraph that Harden even mentioned the four dams provide power for 70,000 people near the Klamath, “which straddles the Oregon-California border.” There was no clear answer where the substitute power would be obtained.

According to the article, the federal government ruled that the dam owners must spend $300 million to modify them to accommodate the needs of salmon. That is $101 million more than it would cost to tear down the four dams.

Harden explained the real motivation behind the dam destruction – problems that include “angry irrigators, litigious environmentalists and Indian tribes whose diet and culture have been substantially damaged by the disappearance of salmon.”