We are really excited about our expanded time slot and looking forward to spreading our wings and not feeling like we have to talk as fast as the guy from those FedEx ads of the 1980’s
Here is an overview of some of the topics on the table on Pundit Review Radio, Sunday night at 9pm on Boston’s Talk Station WRKO. As always, you can stream the show live and participate by calling 877-469-4322
Hillary’s Plantation Comment has generated much discussion this week. Most of it was critical of Hillary, but still, some tried to defend her.
This episode, on the heels of New Orleans mayor Ray Naggin’s “chocolate city” comments have put the entire issue of race in politics back on the front burner.
More trouble with illegal aliens. In Salem, MA, an illegal who was caught entering the country and was released anyway went on to kill a pedestrian trying to cross the street. What makes this so infuriating is not just the insane ‘catch and release’ policy of the INS, but that this is the second such episode in a year in Salem. The first involved a cop on a traffic detail who was severely injured. Check out the look on his wife’s face when she found out the news. This is the consequence of our inability to deal with this problem.
I Can See Clearly Now
Media Bias isn’t only how the media covers a story. It also involves the stories they chose not to cover, those that do not fit their agenda. As Peggy Noonan said last week in the Wall Street Journal,
Eleven years ago the Democrats lost control of Congress. Then they lost the presidency. But just as important, maybe more enduringly important, they lost their monopoly on the means of information in America. They lost control of the pipeline. Or rather there are now many pipelines, and many ways to use the information they carry.
This week we see a classic example of an issue being covered extensively on the blogs but largely ignored by the MSM. Have you heard about the Barrett Report? Well, there is a good reason why you probably haven’t. It involves corruption at the highest levels of the Clinton administration. Here is an excerpt from the 11-year, $21 million dollar independent counsel investigation that led to The Barrett Report,
At the core of our investigation was the allegation that Cisneros lied to the Federal Bureau of Investigation on the road to his appointment as HUD Secretary, an accusation first leveled by his erstwhile mistress Linda Medlar. The story of Cisneros and Medlar on its face was a personal tragedy for the participants and their families, not in and of itself meriting public scrutiny. It became a problem of national concern when they and their associates decided that Cisnerosâ??s appointment was more important than obeying the laws that are intended to ensure that important government decisions are grounded on full and honest information.
The second part of our investigation was directed at the serious and unsettling possibility that certain high-ranking officials of the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service had improperly attempted to shield Cisneros from independent counsel scrutiny for tax offenses.
So, how did the Big 3 Alphabet Soup networks cover the report? Two ignored it completely, and one did its best to downplay it,
But the CBS Evening News and NBC Nightly News, which had time for some hardly hot news stories, such as a popular restaurant in New Orleans, didn’t utter a word about Barrett’s complaint. ABC’s World News Tonight allocated 35 seconds to Barrett and Cisneros. Anchor Bob Woodruff pointed out how â??Barrett accused Clinton officials of using their power to quote, ‘blunt any effort to bring about a full and independent examination.’â? Woodruff added: â??Critics called Barrett’s investigation ‘incompetent,’ ‘wasteful’ and ‘without merit.'”
This is a case study in agenda driven journalism, if it does not fit their agenda, they chose not to cover it. Thankfully, the blogs and the new media are out there to point these things out.
Wal-Mart
In the second hour (9pm), we will be speaking with a former college classmate of ours who is now Executive Director of WalMart Watch. Andrew Grossman will join us to tell us about his group, what they are trying to do, and their recent success in getting legislation passed in Maryland that,
mandated that large companies like Wal-Mart take responsibility for their workers and spend at least 8% of their payroll on healthcare benefits.
Is this Maryland’s shining moment as WalMart Watch says or is it what the Washington Post described as,
a legislative mugging masquerading as an act of benevolent social engineering.
Here is a good compilation of pro and con commentary on the issue.