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February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
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Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
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Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
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Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
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Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Oct. 12, 2005
/ 9 Tishrei, 5766
Such brilliant, substantive journalists
By
Tony Blankley
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
During the Reagan years, and even during the Gingrich years, the
central complaint about the mainstream media by conservatives was that they
misrepresented the substance of our policy proposals. A 4.5 percent budget
increase (after adjusting for inflation and the size of the beneficiary
class) of the hot lunch program was characterized by the media as a cruel
cut in the program that would leave poor little children hungry and with
empty tummies, thus causing empty minds. (The second part was true, but that
was due to the damage caused by National Education [SIC] Association not
the government-provided nutrition programs.)
A guarantee that the current traditional Medicare program would
remain available for any beneficiary who wanted to participate in it was
called an end to such benefits. Increases in spending were called cuts.
Guarantees were called broken commitments.
Reagan's war efforts to defeat communism and create democracies
in Central America were called support for fascism and brutal right-wing
regimes. (Funnily, the effect of his "support of fascism" resulted in an
unprecedented blossoming of democracies in Central America.)
Oh, for the good old days. Then, at least the media cared about
the substance of our proposals even if they lied about them. (Of course
they also calumniated the personalities of conservative leaders, but that
was only part of the coverage. We should have been grateful.)
Today, big media has lost interest in policy substance almost
altogether. Analyses of major policy announcements are viewed, almost
exclusively, through the prism of polling numbers.
If the president were to call for two plus two to equal four,
the media would report that such a proposal had the support of only 42
percent of likely voters, and a slippage of even conservative support from
87 percent to 63 percent. Perhaps on the jump page, in the 38th inch of the
story in the New York Times, they might get around to quoting a professor of
mathematics from MIT to the effect that, in fact, the president was right
that two plus two still equals four. But for television and radio break
news, the story would end at the polling result, which is bad news for the
president.
What brings this melancholy observation to mind was the
grotesque non-reporting of President Bush's arguably historic remarks last
week concerning the nature of the enemy in the "War on Terror," that until
last week was the enemy of which we dared not mention the name.
For the first time the president of the United States named the
enemy: "islamfascist" and "radical, militant Islam." He compared it to the
Nazi and communist ideological threat of the previous century.
I and others had been calling for precisely such language. From
what one had heard, there had been a powerful debate going on within the
administration for over six months on the advisability of such verbal
boldness. So long as political correctness blocked even the president from
naming the enemy, he or future presidents would be unable to provide
leadership to the nation. If a president could not name the enemy, how could
he provide the vital war leadership of explaining the danger and advising
the public on the necessary strategies? How could the progress or lack of
progress be rationally discussed with the public?
And in this shadow war that lacks the classic war battles that
told previous war generations of victory or defeat, how could the public
begin to even understand that there is nonetheless a battle raging that may
define their lives and safety for generations to come?
There were serious arguments against such language being used.
Reasonable people feared that any mention of Islam in the context of the war
on terror might needlessly outrage and estrange countless millions of
non-radical Muslims around the world thus driving them into the enemy
camp.
Countering that argument, I, and others, made the case that, to
the contrary, by defining precisely and explicitly the enemy as only the
radical, jihadist, fascist element, we were narrowing the scope of our
definition of the enemy. And anyway, even unstated, doubtlessly millions of
people falsely had assumed we thought we were at war with an entire
religion rather than only with those who espoused and acted on their
violent ideology.
But million-dollar nincompoop television news stars led with the
absurdly ignorant observations that there was "nothing new" in this speech,
and that the president was not likely to improve his reduced 35 percent
public support for the Iraq war.
Having decided that the speech (which they manifestly did not
substantively understand or report) was not going to make the president
immediately more popular, their reporting trailed off into a rehash of his
other current political problems.
One doesn't mind, so much, mainstream journalists being
b-st-rds. It's being such dumb b-st-rds that one finds so irksome.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Tony Blankley is editorial page editor of The Washington Times. Comment by clicking here.
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© 2005, Creators Syndicate
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