WND Writer Praises Book He Co-Wrote, Doesn't Disclose It Topic: WorldNetDaily
From Jon Dougherty's July 5 WorldNetDaily column:
Colorado Republican Rep. Tom Tancredo's new book, "In Mortal Danger: The Battle For America's Borders and Security," should be required reading for every high-school student, public official, elected representative, judge and presidential candidate, as well as every citizen and prospective citizen in America. It is that important. It is that valuable. And were its contents widely digested, I have no doubt it would radically alter the political, cultural and social landscape of our country.
[...]
Pick up a copy of Tom Tancredo's book. As a political manifesto, it is a once-in-a-lifetime find. Such rational, cogent clarity of thought doesn't come along in our public servants very often. I'd hate for you to miss out on the most important message of our time: That America is indeed in mortal danger, but there is a leader who knows how to deliver us from evil.
Dougherty fails to note anywhere in the column that he co-wrote Tancredo's book, as evidenced by the WND Books website putting Dougherty's bio on its page for the book.
Also, Dougherty's tagline shows that he has a new gig, as a policy analyst for Oliver North's Freedom Alliance.
New Article: The Bush Administration Research Center Topic: Media Research Center
As its promotion of a dubious WMDs-in-Iraq claim and its attacks on the New York Times demonstrate, the Media Research Center is much more interested in advancing White House talking points than engaging in media research. Read more.
Breaking: WND Admits Existence of Right-Wingers in Israel! Topic: WorldNetDaily
We've previously noted WorldNetDaily reporter Aaron Klein's aversion to labeling right-wing politicians in Israel as such. That may be changing: A July 4 article by Klein contains the following paragraph:
If Shas bolts, Olmert may then be forced to bring Arab parties into his government or form a coalition with the Knesset's right-wing bloc, which would likely only enter the government on condition a Judea and Samaria withdrawal is either cancelled or postponed.
This is a boilerplate paragraph Klein first used in a June 24 article on a dubiously slanted anti-Olmert poll (which he again cites in the July 4 piece). As far as we know, that's the first time Klein used the term "right-wing" to describe an Israeli politician or political party; he's usually whitewashing that sort of thing.
Congratulations, Aaron, on your ackowledgment of reality. Now, about your anti-Olmert bias...
NewsMax Attacks NYT for Running Story NewsMax Did Last Year Topic: Newsmax
On June 30, NewsMax repeated David Horowitz's overheated blog post claiming that by running an travel-section article on Donald Rumsfeld's and Dick Cheney's summer homes, "The New York Times points cranks, radicals, al-Qaida operatives and would-be assassins to the summer homes of Cheney and Rumsfeld."
NewsBusters Nonsense Topic: NewsBusters
-- Tim Graham dedicates twoposts to Dana Priest's allusion to Bill Bennett's gambling habit. In the second post, he's shocked -- shocked! -- that a political radio host would take pleasure in an political attack. It's undercut a tad by the post's first commenter; he attacks Priest for bringing up a "personal insult not relevant to the conversation," then states: "Priest is a dyke lesbo."
-- Mark Finkelstein insists that Michael Smerconish, who thinks the United States is "a nation of sissies" where "limp-wristedness" is "compromising our ability to win the war on terror," is not a conservative but, rather, just a "middle-of-the-road Republican." Such mislabeling, Finkelstein further insists, "exemplifies the MSM's truth-in-packaging problem." Since this appears to be a concern, Finkelstein might want to have a chat about labeling with his NewsBusters colleague Noel Sheppard, who called Chris Matthews a "San Francisco liberal" with an "ultra-left, San Francisco Chronicle columnist side" despite 1) Matthews being from Philadelphia and 2) Matthews' history of bashing Clinton and saying nice things about Bush.
'Legitimate Media' Topic: Accuracy in Media
In a protest designed mostly to be a conservative photo-op and mini-rally and to provide B-roll for TV news (CNN was there, along with a couple other obscure TV outlets and Michelle Malkin's Hot Air, as well as ex-Wonkette Ana Marie Cox), featuring a chant in which "Lichtblau" was rhymed with "Gitmo," I inadvertently provided the highlight.
Accuracy in Media's Cliff Kincaid started taking questions, so I thought I would ask one: Given his criticism of Ann Coulter's inflammatory statements, did he think his own statement that the New York Times' stories on government surveillance programs were "comparable to interfering with police operations to investigate and arrest child killers" was similarly inflammatory? I started to ask it, but Kincaid tried to cut me off, declaring that he would take questions only from "legitimate media." I raised my voice, he raised his, I asserted my right to ask the question, and I eventually was able to do so. He answered it (in short: no), and steered things to one of his talking points.
Funny -- we thought Kincaid liked alternative media and opposed the idea of "legitimate media." Apparently, media is "legitimate" only if they're not challenging him.
As a special bonus, here's what passes for celebrity citings:
Michelle Malkin (right) records Free Republic's Kristinn Taylor (left, in suit).
Kristinn Taylor (left) and Cliff Kincaid.
Michelle Malkin and Hot Air crew member (behind her).
UPDATE: MyDD has more pictures, and TPM Muckraker wonders about the protester who thinks the NYT would have revealed Anne Frank's hideout.
Dubious Assertion of the Day Topic: Accuracy in Media
"It's comparable to interfering with police operations to investigate and arrest child killers."
-- Cliff Kincaid, July 2 Accuracy in Media column asking, "What motivates the New York Times to publish information that helps the enemy kill Americans?"
On a related subject, in a little while we'll be here handing out this.
Update: Conservative Medicine Topic: The ConWeb
Last year, we wrote an article about the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons and how its right-wing agenda dovetails with the likes of NewsMax and WorldNetDaily. The Neurodiversity weblog has a new article that serves up much more detail about the AAPS' political agenda.
We Write Letters Topic: CNSNews.com
A letter we wrote criticizing the Washington Examiner's embrace of Jered Ede as a poster boy for alleged conservative student censorship -- in which we recount Ede's factually dubious history as a CNSNews.com intern -- appeared in Friday's edition of the Examiner.
NewsMax Defends Coulter Again, Still Doesn't Find Alec Baldwin Funny Topic: Newsmax
NewsMax takes Ann Coulter's side yet again, this time defending in a July 1 article her statement that her "only regret with [Oklahoma City bomber] Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times building."
Coulter's statement is A-OK with NewsMax because critics of the remark "have yet to express outrage when left-leaning figures called for the killing of prominent Republicans." Mentioned is Alec Baldwin's 1998 statement that "we would stone Henry Hyde to death." That's a favorite statement for NewsMax and other conservatives to bring up, as we've previously noted.
NewsMax also brought up "Al Franken told Matt Lauer on NBC’s "Today” show that Karl Rove and Lewis Libby should be 'executed.'" Not exactly; Franken merely pointed out that the penalty for outing a secret agent, which Franken said Rove and Libby did to Valerie Plame, is death, and "they are going to be executed, it looks like." In other words, exactly what conservative radio host (and WorldNetDaily columnist) Melanie Morgan said about New York Times executive editor Bill Keller -- and we haven't seen NewsMax raise any objection to that.
If NewsMax is insisting that those offended by Coulter should be offended by Baldwin as well, shouldn't NewsMax lead by example by criticizing Coulter's remark as much it does Baldwin's?
Those Classy NewsBusters Commenters Topic: NewsBusters
In response to a June 30 NewsBusters post by Tom Johnson noting a columnist who stated that "The First Amendment needs a Terri Schiavo moment" in order to bring awareness to the issue of freedom of the press, the very first commenter, "bigtimer," states: "I'd be all for that suggestion if we could put Helen Thomas in place of Terri Schiavo."
Gee, maybe we should change our Free Republic quote of the week to NewsBusters...
WND's Lack of Context on Israel Criticism Topic: WorldNetDaily
A June 29 WorldNetDaily article by Aaron Klein makes a big deal out of how "countries around the world have been urging restraint" in Israel's current incursion in Gaza, even though prime minister Ehud Olmert had assured that "the international community would understand and would support any Israeli action."
Klein's article is misleading. In fact, Israel's military actions against Palestinians have regularly drawn criticism from other countries, as WND itself has reported. For instance, a Nov. 23, 2000, WND article noted that "officials in the U.S. issued their harshest criticism yet of Israel's use of force" following a "helicopter gunship attack against Palestinian security offices in Gaza."
Klein article conflicts with his own assessment, posted at WND later on June 29, that the current Gaza incursion is "just a show" designed to boost Olmert's popularity.
Klein offers no evidence that the current criticism of Israel is any different than previous criticism, let alone acknowledge that history of criticism. Then again, as we've detailed, Klein is making use of every tool at his disposal to attack Olmert.
NewsBusters Hits Matthews With Anti-Semitism Smear Topic: NewsBusters
Reads the headline on a June 29 NewsBusters post by Mark Finkelstein: "Chris Accusing WH of Anti-Semitism in Criticism of NY Times?"
Nope. As Finkelstein himself demonstrates, in asking why the Bush administration and conservative critics (like Finkelstein) are bashing only the New York Times over its reporting on a financial surveillance program when the Los Angeles Times and the Wall Street Journal reported the story at the same time, Chris Matthews never once says the word "Jew."
The flimsy basis for Finkelstein's smear is that Matthews mentioned "big ethnic New York way up there in the Northeast that never votes Republican" and did an impression of a Noo Yawk accent, coupled with an entirely unrelated San Francisco Chronicle column by Jon Carroll which did suggest an anti-Semetic motive in criticism of the Times.
Finkelstein ominously states: "Bear in mind that Matthews just happens to be a former San Francisco Chronicle columnist himself. Was it just pure coincidence that on the day the Carroll column appeared, Matthews seemed to be suggesting a similar theory?"
Switch to decaf, Mark. Carroll's and Matthews' theories aren't similar. There are many ethnicities in New York other than Jewish, and the Noo Yawk accent isn't a Jewish accent.
And Finkelstein himself never offers an answer to Matthews' question. That seems like something he might want to answer rather than carelessly tossing around anti-Semitism allegations.
UPDATE: Finkelstein adds in the comments:
If Matthews had been speaking of Bush administration animosity to 'ethnic' New York in general terms, I would agree with you. But here he was doing so in specific reference to the New York Times, historically identified as a 'Jewish' paper. Don't know if you saw the segment, but particularly when Matthews went into his wink and nod with 'New Yawk', I don't think there was any mistaking the point he intended to make.
Ah, those sinister winks and nods. And we thought the Forward was the New York paper "historically identified as Jewish."
WND's Klein: Olmert Wagging the Dog in Gaza Topic: WorldNetDaily
A June 29 WorldNetDaily "news analysis" by Aaron Klein appears to exist for only one reason: to smear Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert. That's no surprise, since Klein's been smearingOlmert for months. But the extent Klein goes to here is surprising, even for WND; it's as if Olmert is the new version of Bill Clinton, who must be taken down at any cost.
In a nutshell, Klein claims that the current Israeli incursion into Gaza is "mostly a show," suggesting that Olmert is pulling a "Wag the Dog" by staging the incursion to improve his low poll numbers. Klein offers no solid evidence for any of this; all sources he cites are anonymous. Even the links to previous articles of his are mostly devoid of on-the-record sources. He even links to his June 24 article on a poll as evidence of Olmert's unpopularity -- we've already described the dubious, biased sourcing behind that poll.
Given Klein's clear animus (if not outright hatred) toward Olmert, he is less than trustworthy on this subject. This is the guy, mind you, whom WND thinks can support a subscription-only newsletter. If all Klein is going to do is attack Olmert, bash Palestinians and promote right-wing Israelis while not labeling them as such or hiding or whitewashing their extremist, violent backgrounds -- in short, Klein's history of Middle East coverage for WND -- it's hard to see what's worth paying for under his pen.
In case you wondered how WND would have covered the Iraq war if Al Gore was president, this provides a clue.
UPDATE: Bartholomew points out even more Klein bias, this time by not explaining what Klein didn't about just how orthodox the Orthodox rabbis Klein featured bashing Olmert are.
