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In this issue
Nov. 20, 2009
Rabbi David Aaron: How to make every second of your life come first
Caroline B. Glick: Whither American Jewry
Nov. 19, 2009
Binyamin L. Jolkovsky: Please Listen to this Godcast (5 minutes)
Jonathan Tobin: ADL Crosses the Line with Report Bashing Obama Critics
Nov. 18, 2009
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: What Judaism has to say about the secret of the Mona Lisa's smile
JWisdom.com: The (Jewish) Dating Game with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (8 minutes)
Nov. 17, 2009
Steven Emerson: How Does the 4th Amendment Impact Terror Finance Investigations?
JWisdom.com: If Frank Sinatra married Edith Piaf with Rabbi Y.Y. Rubinstein (2 minutes) Life lessons from what would be regarded as the most inappropriate lyrics ever sung
Nov. 16, 2009
The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : When borrowing is stealing
JWisdom.com: Deconstructing faith with Rabbi Warren Goldstein (9 minutes)
Nov. 13, 2009
JWisdom.com Sarah's subjective reality with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky ( 6 minutes)
Caroline B. Glick: Obama's failure, Netanyahu's opportunity
Nov. 12, 2009
The Kosher Gourmet By Marialisa Calta : A sweet sweet potato treat
JWisdom.com Does God get tired? with Rabbi Harvey Belovski ( 5 minutes)
Nov. 11, 2009
Rabbi Avi Shafran: Jews and money: When anti-Semitism isn't
JWisdom.com Marriages are not made in Heaven with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (VERY fast 15 minutes)
Nov. 10, 2009
Michael Doyle: Author of book exposing CAIR ordered to remove supporting documents from Web
JWisdom.com If the creation so loudly shouts the existence of the Creator, why aren't more people believers? with Rabbi Naftali Brawer (9 minutes)
Nov. 9, 2009
Mark Steyn: Shooter exposes hole in U.S. terror strategy
JWisdom.com It's never too late to have a happy childhood with Sarah Chana Radcliffe (5 minutes)
Nov. 6, 2009
Rabbi Berel Wein: Choosing to hear
JWisdom.com Zero to 1/60th: How to Empower An Hour with Gavriel Aryeh Sande (7 minutes)
Caroline B. Glick The mullahs' big week
Suzanne Fields A Fallen Wall for Fallen Man
Nov. 5, 2009
The Kosher Gourmet: Three scrumptious -- but simple -- butternut squash dishes
JWisdom.com Hidden Hints: Unlocking Faith & Prayer with Rabbi Jay Yaacov Schwartz (10 minutes)
Nov. 4, 2009
Tom Hamburger and Kim Geiger: Should prayers be covered?
JWisdom.com When God played peacemaker With Rabbi Sroy Levitansky (5 minutes)
Nov. 3, 2009
Martin Peretz: Beware, Barack. Beware, Rahm. Beware, Axelrod
JWisdom.com Are you are closet idolater? With Sara Yoheved Rigler (10 minutes)
Nov. 2, 2009
Paul Greenberg: The Holocaust is now on Facebook
JWisdom.com Abraham's Strange Change With Rabbi Yitzchok Fingerer (5 minutes)
Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review Jan. 17, 2005 / 7 Shevat, 5765

The Real Problem with American Journalism

By Tucker Carlson


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | This week CBS News finally admitted that the bomb Dan Rather tried to drop on President Bush during the election was in fact a pathetic dud. A columnist conceded that the White House paid him $250,000 to repeat its propaganda. And a debate broke out about debate. There's just too much of it on television for some people, for the smart people, anyway. Their paper, The New York Times, opined that television news is, "a wash with primal screams." It resembles, the Times said, "a pre-game show for professional wrestling." In other words, it's vulgar, in bad taste, or just plain bad.


Well all of this reminded us of the wars, Tipper Gore and an army of professional scolds used, to wage against rock musicians. Music is good, but Twisted Sister and Frank Zappa, well they're obscene. The children must be protected, and so on.

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Well this particular strain of elite American opinion knows exactly what's good for you. These days the consensus is that political debate on television is fine, but only when it is, as the Times suggested, cool. All light, no heat. Well in fact we got to see a handful of those cool debates during the presidential campaign. No one had to stray from the script or think on his feet, or actually answer his opponent's questions. And it turns out that was bad for America.


Informative debate does not have to be loud or nasty, as it sometimes is. Watching people yell at each other may be uncomfortable. But it's not the worst thing. Some opinions lurk behind a pose of objectivity. Others are paid for. Our response ought to be, more exuberant debate, not less.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and the media consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

CARLSON'S LATEST
"Politicians, Partisans, and Parasites: My Adventures in Cable News.  

The book is not about bashing liberals (indeed, Carlson admits that his Ober-liberal cohost James Carville is "one of my favorite people"), but about the colorful and at times irreverent people who make politics so interesting-and entertaining. The author reserves his criticism for stuffy politicians who take themselves too seriously, and he lavishes praise on those who make good on-air guests. Sales help fund JWR.


JWR contributor Tucker Carlson is a journalist, college instructor, public speaker and host and managing editor of the PBS show "Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered". Comment by clicking here.




01/11/05: Can't buy me love
12/07/04: Who's responsible for the stolen Ukrainian election?
11/09/04: Commitment of Bush voters
11/01/04: America's Big Winner
10/25/04: Not voting is also a choice
10/12/04: The X Prize
09/27/04: Authenticity vs. hypocrisy
09/20/04: Appealing to the ‘Alzheimer's vote’ — no joke
09/13/04:Who are our soldiers in Iraq?
09/07/04: Racial diversity at the RNC
08/30/04: Here's a scary thought: Political expression has been criminalized and nobody seems to care
08/16/04: Heterosexuality as a political ploy

© 2005 Tucker Carlson