Snow leaves a void
I was deeply saddened by Tony Snow's passing ("Journalist embraced press secretary role," July 13).
I knew he was a good man the first time I listened to him filling in for Rush Limbaugh. Since then, he was the only political commentator who held my full, undivided attention.
He spoke the honest, educated truth. He was the human bright spot in a dark, phony business. I sorely miss him.
Daniel B. Jeffs
Apple Valley
The news and entertainment media are dangerous to your health
The media (newspapers, newsmagazine, television news, book publishers and the entertainment industry) are dangerous to public health. Why? Because most of what people know about what is going on outside their personal lives, they learn from the media. And the vast majority of the media are of the liberal, environmentalist, big government, socialist persuasion as opposed to conservative, limited government, pro-business, free market ideology. In other words, Democrats as opposed to Republicans.
Ordinarily, there would be nothing wrong with opposing ideas, as long as there are reasonable elements to healthy debate. But it's not working that way because the media are one-sided and essentially irresponsible, which makes them dangerous to all Americans.
It's bad enough when the media participates in the social engineering of society, constantly releases unreliable studies about health, corrupts young people with amoral entertainment, and does little if anything to turn around the failure of public education. Indeed, our schools have been turned into factories of ignorance and warehouses of violence.
But when the media blindly oppose our actions in Iraq and the war against terrorism, and they are instrumental in supporting extreme environmentalism to the degree of putting our energy producing capacity at increasing risk. And they oppose our attempts protect our oil import interests by stabilizing the Middle East -- regardless of the fact that it's better to fight terrorism there than here on our soil -- they put our country in danger of further terrorist attacks and economic collapse, which is simply unconscionable and tantamount to treason.
Public opinion is falsely created by media and transmitted to the public with selective, manipulated, invalid and unreliable polls -- ignoring the underlying opinion of the true majority. Unfortunately, the media has a single purpose in mind. To make President Bush, his administration and the Republican Party look so bad, that the Democratic Party can gain control of the presidency and Congress in the next two elections, at any cost -- which is dangerous to America's health.
Considering the events of the last half of the 20th century to the present, the people would be much better off with truth and balance in the media, without a superficial society of selfish interests and extremes, and without the two-party system. Our only hope may rest with the proliferation of communications and information via the Internet, nonpartisan elections, and much more democracy. Indeed, our survival may very well depend on it.
Daniel B. Jeffs, founder
DDC
January 5, 2006
Surprise! UCLA study finds "A Measure of Media Bias"
(18 of 20 major news media outlets are left of center)
UCLA Policital Science Professor Tim Groseclose
Groseclose appeared on C-Span Washington Journal
January 5, 2006
http://www.polisci.ucla.edu/faculty/groseclose/Media.Bias.pdf
Los Angeles Times replaces left-wing columnist, Robert Sheer with a more radical leftist, and America hater, Joel Stein. The Times' attempt at commentary balance is feeble at best. Here's an example:
Warriors and wusses
By Joel Stein
Los Angeles Times Op-Ed page
January 24, 2006
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-stein24jan24,1,9515.column
Visit American Digest at: http://www.americandigest.com for a response to Joel Stein's poison...
Saddam's Terror Training Camps
What the documents captured from the Iraqi regime reveal -- and why they should all be made public
By Stephen F. Hayes
Senior Writer
Weekly Standard -- January 16, 2006 issue cover story
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/006/550kmbzd.asp
Good news in Iraq
Published in the Washington Times
December 5, 2005
Making a big deal out of our Defense Department paying for feeding good news to the press in Iraq to counter bad news from insurgents is blatantly hypocritical, particularly when it comes from a free press rife with bias against any good news about the conflict in Iraq.
Staff Writer, Adrienne Ziegler and our local newspaper, the Daily Press, should be commended for providing readers with some rare good news from Iraq ("Fort Irwin officer speaks from Iraq" Victor Valley Daily Press November 20, 2005).
Re: Today's debate ...war was a mistake
USA TODAY November 16, 2005
War in Iraq and against terror a mistake?
It is disappointing to see how USA TODAY caved-in to the propaganda machine of the left-leaning news media, by joining the partisan political dispute undermining the efforts in Iraq and the war against terror.
Re: "Duty under siege"
By Tim Rutten
Regarding Media
L.A. Times Calendar section
November 12, 2005
Tim Rutten's defense of journalists is one thing. However, when responsible journalists are overcome by irresponsible partisanship and arrogance, it is a matter of deep public concern.
Letter to Meet the Press
November 13, 2005
The media's scary business
Since the election and re-election of President Bush, Tim Russert has betrayed his commendable journalistic signature of fairness and objectivity in favor of partisan interviews and reporting. His confrontational interview with King Abdullah of Jordon and his biased interview of Republican RNC chairman, Ken Mehlman on Meet the Press, November 13, 2005, are cases in point.
Attention: Brian Williams, Tim Russert, Chris Matthews and Laurel Erickson:
I worry about NBC News
October 16, 2005
I have been an avid news consumer for many years, and I am deeply concerned citizen troubled by the evolution of the news media
Re: Regarding Media: "It's hard to feel bad for Gerlado"
By Tim Rutten
L.A. Times Calendar section
September 17, 2005
L.A. Times Media critic Tim Rutten's commentary, "It's hard to feel bad for Geraldo," highlighted his venomous bias and hatred for Fox News, while minimizing New York Times TV critic, Alesandra Stanley's lie about Fox reporter
Re: "Maher strives to level the field"
By Paul Brownfield
L.A. Times Calendar September 16, 2005
Maher strives to slant the field, further left
Re: "Why don't we all have a recall"
By Bill Maher
L.A. Times Opinion September 9, 2005
(curiously missing from the L.A. Times website, or there would be a link to the commentary)
Recall Bill Maher
Bill Maher's feeble hatchet work about recalling President Bush is not cute, not satire, not funny, and it's certainly not political commentary...
Re: American Caesar: Nero Fiddled While Rome Burned
by Rosa Brooks
L.A. Times commentary September3, 2005
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-brooks3sep03,0,7334703.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions
Who is Rosa Brooks?
Rosa Brooks' "American Caesar," comparing President Bush and the hurricane disaster in New Orleans to Emperor Nero's burning of Rome, is undoubtedly one of the most shallow commentaries the L.A. Times has recently published.
Cindy Sheehan, Bush and Iraq
The left-elite news media are not interested in Cindy Sheehan as the
grieving mother of a son killed in Iraq who has been wronged by the evil
Bush administration ("Vacaville speaks," Inside Politics, Nation,
Wednesday).
Washington Times
August 13, 2005
Founder's letter published in the Washington Times
May 19, 2005
Newsweek's blunders send troubling message
L.A.Time Editorial Page Editor Commended
Andres Martinez was appointed Los Angeles Times Editorial Page Editor in
September 2004. His commentary, "Filibuster Doubletalk" is important, worth
reading, and a welcome, objective departure from the left-leaning op-ed
pages of the newspaper.
FILIBUSTER DOUBLETALK
By Andres Martinez, editor of the editorial page
Los Angeles Times April 6, 2005
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-martinez6apr06,1,429278.column
...The filibuster goes too far in upsetting the balance struck by the Constitution and empowering an obstructionist minority. Surely the founders didn't intend for the Senate's "advice and consent" review of presidential nominees to require a supermajority.