TresSugar

CBS News Edits Out McCain's Misunderstanding of Iraq

LibertySugar — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:30:40 -0700

John McCain may mock the media's love affair with Barack Obama, but CBS attempted to give him a generous pass by editing out McCain's incorrect account of crucial events in Iraq. Last night CBS replaced the plainly wrong assertion that the "surge" prompted the Sunni (Anbar) Awakening, which happened before the idea of a surge even existed, with a completely different answer.

Here's how it actually went down:

Katie Couric: Senator Obama says, while the increased number of US troops contributed to increased security in Iraq, he also credits the Sunni awakening and the Shiite government going after militias. And says that there might have been improved security even without the surge. What's your response to that?

McCain: I don't know how you respond to something that is as - such a false depiction of what actually happened. Colonel MacFarland was contacted by one of the major Sunni sheiks. Because of the surge we were able to go out and protect that sheik and others. And it began the Anbar Awakening. I mean, that's just a matter of history.

The record overwhelmingly shows that McCain was wrong. For example, the military official cited by McCain actually discussed the Anbar Awakening four months before the surge was even announced. To see how McCain's camp responded, read more.

McCain's spokesman issued a quick response: "Democrats can debate whether the awakening would have survived without the surge . . . but that is nothing more than a transparent effort to minimize the role of our commanders and our troops in defeating the enemy, because to credit them would be to disparage the judgment of Barack Obama and praise the leadership of John McCain."

Despite the fact that McCain demonstrated a lack of basic understanding of Iraq, an issue considered to be his strength, the mainstream media (not counting Keith Olbermann) has yet to pick up this story. Was CBS wrong to hide this mistake from the American people?

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Media Watching Media: Are You Glad There Is More Scrutiny?

LibertySugar — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 15:45:01 -0700

By using the term "Obama's Baby Mama" to refer to Michelle Obama, Fox News has once again caused outrage. Earlier this week we discussed how a Fox News host referred to the celebratory fist bump exchanged between Barack and Michelle, as a "terrorist fist jab." There seems to be a trend: news stations are making the news.

Today's Wall Street Journal examines how activist groups and everyday citizens are not letting these offensive statements slip by. The article states:

In a campaign that includes the first viable African-American presidential candidate, the lines of appropriate speech have become fuzzy. News organizations are under pressure from a broad network of self-appointed watchdogs, including organized groups like Media Matters and individuals. These watchdogs are likely to remain vigilant about gaffes, misstatements, and potentially biased language through the November vote.

Since this campaign season has started, news organizations have issued at least 10 apologies. Even if you don't find anything wrong with poorly chosen words on television, do you think the public benefits from at least knowing about these incidents?

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Arianna - Iraq Is McCain's Viagra: You Like a Dose of Huff Po?

LibertySugar — Fri, 09 May 2008 11:00:23 -0700

Last night on The Colbert Report, Arianna Huffington explained that John McCain's passion for Iraq is "his Viagra." Ariannna, the supreme ruler of the liberal site The Huffington Post, discussed how she fell out of love with her former hero McCain, while promoting her new short-titled book: Right Is Wrong: How the Lunatic Fringe Hijacked America, Shredded the Constitution, and Made Us All Less Safe.

The Huffington Post is not shy about its agenda - and love for Barack Obama. The fact that the site features unabashedly left-leaning opinions, often written by public officials or celebrities, probably means you either love it or hate it. I actually spend more time reading the comments, which are often fiery, but surprisingly nuanced.

Do you enjoy a regular dose of the Greek-born populous Arianna? Or, do you find The Huffington Post too partisan of a pill to swallow?

Where I'm Clicking Now: Chris Matthews Foot-in-Mouth Watch

LibertySugar — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:15:22 -0700

As my love/hate relationship with political MSNBC host Chris Matthews continues, Media Matters has chronicled the downs of our up-and-down affair. Media Matters, an online nonprofit, monitors and analyzes misinformation in the US media. Repeat offender Chris Matthews has his very own page. Some of the recent highlights:

On April 25: Sen. Barack Obama "can't walk into a dinette [sic] with five or six guys there, white guys, in some cases. He can't just shake hands and hang out."
On April 22: One of the grandees of the party would say "we need some ethnic balance. He's got that interesting, sort of Middle Eastern Hussein in his name. Let's put a Jewish running mate with this guy."
On March 31: Regarding Obama's bowling form, "it isn't the most macho form there, I must say, but who knows?"

There are many, many more. Go check it out! Do you think TV hosts impact the political system when they make irresponsible comments, or can the public see through distasteful remarks?

Get Ready For the First California Pole-Dance Championship

TresSugar — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:00:00 -0700

I have no doubt that pole dancing, as a press release for California's first pole-dance championship next month puts it, "requires strength, agility, flexibility, and endurance." Nor do I believe that pole dancing is "just posing against a pole" but rather involves "spinning, inverts, climbing, and power holds."

But what does it mean to elevate to a sport an act that originated in strip clubs and which symbolizes a woman's role as a sex object? We'd pause (at least, I hope we would!) if there were a competitive lap-dancing competition. But a similar argument could be made for making it a competition: a woman needs strong calf and thigh muscles to "dance" over a man's lap.

Pole-dance exercise classes have gone mainstream, so it's no surprise pole dancing has turned competitive. Women get enough reminders from the media that our jobs are to be sexually alluring - why not actually just learn a sport or emulate the acrobats who perform for Cirque du Soleil? At least a high-wire act doesn't come with symbolic baggage.

Do you think it's weird that pole-dancing is so mainstream that it has become competitive sport?

Gay-Married: A Term of Exuberance or Ignorance?

TresSugar — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 10:15:00 -0700

Some gay people may get married now, but do they get "gay-married"? Not so sure. The term is popular among a gaggle of campy gay (and straight) people to signify that they like something a lot. How much? They want to gay-marry it, like the Twitterer above who wants to do unmentionable things to a sandwich.

Good magazine cites our Do, Dump, or Gay-Marry Angelina Jolie post - and Pinko Magazine's more abrasive Gay Marry or Abort feature - as evidence that gettin' gay-married can be all in good fun. It's a new spin on the childhood taunt of "If you like it so much, why don't you marry it," and no different than 30 Rock's Tracy Jordan saying "I love it so much, I want to take it behind the middle school and get it pregnant."

Glib? Yes. Contemptuous? It depends. Some argue that it's insulting to gay people who want gay marriage to go mainstream; purveyor-of-the-bright-side Good thinks it entered our vernacular through the media and reflects society's comfort level with gay marriage. What do you think - is the use of "gay-marry" insulting to gays, or can it be a term expressing exuberance?

A Closer Look at the Chaos and Terror in Gaza

LibertySugar — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 09:45:13 -0800

The three-day death toll in Gaza rose to 315 today, including seven children under the age of 15 who were killed in two separate strikes Sunday and Monday. Israel began air strikes on Saturday in retaliation after rocket fire was aimed at civilians in southern Israeli towns. Here's a look at some of the news the mainstream media has received regarding the dispute and chaos.

Israel has launched more than 300 air strikes since midday Saturday. The bombings have "wreaked unprecedented destruction in Gaza, reducing buildings to rubble" and targeted symbols of Hamas rule. - Wall Street Journal
Thousands in the Arab world have attended rallies to express anger at Israel's air raids. Protesters burned Israeli and American flags in a string of Arab cities and demanded a stronger response from their leaders. - BBC News
Oil rose above $40 a barrel on Monday, in response to a weak dollar and Israeli attacks on Hamas that served as a reminder of tensions that could threaten Middle East crude oil supplies. - Reuters
Food and medical supplies are growing thin on the strip. One reporter noted "there is no food on the market" while humanitarian aid groups are reacting to the deteriorating medical situation and urging the opening of Gaza's borders to allow supplies to flow to hospitals. - Washington Post
What now for Obama's Mideast plan? Some experts say the Israel-Hamas violence could be a blow on peace-talk hopes. - Chicago Tribune

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Green With Ennui: 4 Ways Eco-Mania Wears Out Its Welcome

CitizenSugar — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 14:30:43 -0700

Organic or local? Fuel-efficient hybrid or used car? Will your plastic water bottle kill you? And, FYI, biofuel, which sounded so smart a few years back, could destroy Asian rain forests.

Sigh. Americans have been inundated with information since environmentalism went mainstream with An Inconvenient Truth and "green" became buzzword. It's possible that weariness is what's polluting our air and a backlash is a brewing.

The New York Times calls it green noise. Too much information on constant rotation. Some of it is contradictory. Most of it is vexing. And it's all overwhelming.

But this influx of pro-environmental info isn't just overwhelming people, it could be annoying them. What makes it so counter-productively obnoxious? To find out four ways, read more.

Marketing Ploys
Green is chic! Civilized. Enlightened. Like public radio and brunch. Or so advertisers would like us to believe. In 2007, Americans were between 22 and 55 percent less likely to buy green products than they were in 2006. Market research found people rolling their eyes and saying "not another green message."And let's not forget those ploys that are just bizarre and the marketing against the marketing. I need a nap with an organic blankie.
Conflicting Information
It seems every new piece of information contradicts the last. One man interviewed in the Times article flipped a coin in frustration to settle on his new car: a used Ford Escape hybrid. And then his brother, who works in the solar-power industry, asked, “Where are you going to bury the battery?” Oy!

And I'm not even touching the great Nalgene debate - those reusable plastic bottles, which as late as last summer were smart alternatives to bottled water, that are now a waste of petroleum and, possibly, cancer causing. Gulp.
Scare Tactics
The polar bears are drowning. We're the last generation to roam the earth. Those hurricanes are only going to get worse. Dr. Susanne Moser, the co-author of Creating a Climate For Change, told the Independent there's been too much emphasis on doomsday scenarios and the changes we're told to make yield few visible results. She compared it to a strict diet that only promised less weight gain in the future.
Eco Hypocrisy
The media is not letting the touted green life go unexamined. Did that celebrity just fly a private jet after speaking about global warming? Oh yes she did. Even Al Gore, the prince of greenness himself, has not escaped the media's hypocrisy meter.

Does any of this ring true to you? Is there a limit to the amount of green you can view before you see red?

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Check This: Two Can Play the Outrageous Pastor Game

LibertySugar — Mon, 05 May 2008 03:00:54 -0700

Frank Rich of the New York Times wrote a great piece about the other pastor with outrageous YouTube clips. John McCain sought out and received the endorsement of the Reverend John Hagee, the pastor of a Texas megachurch. Some of Hagee's most controversial statements include calling for a "holy war" against Iran, referring to the Roman Catholic Church as the "Great Whore" and saying that God punished New Orleans with Hurricane Katrina because the city was holding a gay pride parade that Monday. Rich says that race, and inconsistent treatment of the political parties, explain why these clips haven't been rebroadcasted in the mainstream media.

There is not just a double standard for black and white politicians at play in too much of the news media and political establishment, but there is also a glaring double standard for our political parties. The Clintons and Mr. Obama are always held accountable for their racial stands, as they should be, but the elephant in the room of our politics is rarely acknowledged: In the 21st century, the so-called party of Lincoln does not have a single African-American among its collective 247 senators and representatives in Washington.

Rich says that if we are going to judge black candidates based on their most controversial associates, we must judge white politicians by the same yardstick.

Both Rev. Hagee and Rev. Wright's comments offend me; however, neither of them is running for president. To some extent, the American people deserve to know what company their potential leader keeps. I'm just not sure it should be the focus of the campaign. How much should it matter to voters that Obama's pastor made inflammatory statements, or that John McCain offered some legitimacy to Hagee's positions by seeking out his endorsement?

Do you agree with Frank Rich? Will Democratic groups start circling the Hagee YouTube on television ads? Are they naive not to, since Republican groups are already buying ad time to play the Wright comments? Is there a high road?

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Funny Man Al Franken's Campaign Flummoxed by Blogger

CitizenSugar — Sat, 03 May 2008 09:00:52 -0700

Al Franken, former SNL funny man turned face of Air America is the Senate candidate running for election in Minnesota, interested in discussing problems that concern his constituents. You know the good issues like jobs, health care, and the environment. Enter the blogosphere. Oops. Unfortunately for the Franken campaign, what he's now being forced to discuss is his failure to pay his income taxes on time. To the tune of $70,000 in 17 different states.

Republican blogger Michael Brodkorb started the blog MinnesotaDemocratsExposed and scooped the mainstream media to out Franken's suspicious bookkeeping and calls Franken “mean spirited and un-Minnesotan” candidate behind a “desperate and ridiculous” campaign. Franken says of the blog, "when people talk about the right wing noise machine, that's what it is." Brodkorb says, "I do think it has some influence right now, but that's never what I sat down to do. This was always about a political junkie looking for an outlet."

Franken is taking on Republican incumbent Senator Norm Coleman.

But, Al - if it's true, how is it noise?

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