<<http://www.needlenose.com/pMachineFree2.2.1/weblog.php?id=P720>>
Right-wing press bias goes mainstream Speaking of the Iowa presidential debate, here's the lead paragraph of a news article that just came off the Associated Press wires: <<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/01/04/ politics1725EST0565.DTL&type=printable>> " For a brief time in their debate Sunday, Democrats seemed to be hewing to a New Year's resolution to stick more carefully to the facts on taxes, the budget and more. But old habits die hard. " To repeat, that's the lead paragraph of a news article. From the Associated Press, the most mainstream source of news in the United States -- where, apparently, it's now accepted newsroom policy to "objectively" label all Democrats as liars. And what constitutes a lie, in the view of the AP? Why, even true statements, if they're uttered by a Democratic presidential candidate like Howard Dean: " He said 60 percent of Americans got a tax cut of $304 from Bush -- revising a statement in an earlier debate that 60 percent saved $325. Those cuts appear to be in the ballpark when it comes to the poorest 60 percent of Americans -- many of whom pay little federal income tax to begin with. But the independent Tax Policy Center has calculated much larger tax cuts for middle income earners . . . " It's hard for me to come up with anything clever to say about the scope of bias in this article. Seeing it come from a supposedly neutral news organization -- and thinking about what it implies for the coming election -- is simply appalling. It's like watching the death of democracy in real time. ---- More AP spreading Right-Wing Propaganda as news this week. -- I Pledge Impertinence to the Flag-Waving of the Unindicted Co-Conspirators of America and to the Republicans for which I can't stand one Abomination, Underhanded Fraud Indefensible with Liberty and Justice Forget it. -Life in Hell (Matt Groening) _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
