Mark, You're No Ann Coulter Topic: NewsBusters
One gets the feeling that NewsBusters' Mark Finkelstein aspires to an Ann Coulter level of liberal-bashing, but he lacks the sophistication (let alone the gams or the little black dress) to pull it off. As a result, he comes off as even more mean and hateful as Coulter.
Fresh on the heels of smearing Chris Matthews as playing the anti-emitism card and his baseless attack of Ken Auletta as a Hamptons-inhabiting liberal elitist, in a July 7 post, Finkelstein bashes MSNBC's Joe Scarborough. His offense? Apologizing for saying that if Osama bin Laden were caught, "Democrats, George Bush's nemesis, would say 'Well, it's not really that big of a deal anyway, because Americans are dying in Iraq.'" Finkelstein wrote:
Really, Joe? If Hillary, Nancy and Harry woke up tomorrow, turned on the tube, and saw that OBL were caught, you honestly think they'd be happy?
What's the point here? Is Finkelstein think political discourse needs to be even less civil? Does he really think that such mindless, fact-free bashing of his political enemies (for Democrats are clearly beyond mere opponents to him) contributes anything useful?
Remember that Mark is not writing on a low-rent personal blog but the website of a multimillion-dollar nonprofit organization that the word "research" in its name and purportedly has at least minimal standards about said research.
Why does the MRC permit such irresponsible attacks from people like Finkelstein? Does the MRC have any standards at all? (On the other hand, we haven't seen far-right-wing Kahane supporter Cinnamon Stillwell there for a while, so there may actually be a standard or two).
UPDATE: And how could we forget Finkelstein's ultra-classless likening of Hillary Clinton to Kim Jong Il?
UPDATE 2: In a July 8 post, Finkelstein cites the ultra-slanted Horowitz-operated Discover the Network(s) to claim that the Center for Economic and Policy Research is "prominent supporter of, and apologist for, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez." High-quality research there, Mark.
It's All About David Topic: Horowitz
David Horowitz's Center for the Study of Popular Culture is now the David Horowitz Freedom Center. As board chairman Jess Morgan states: "David Horowitz, the Center’s founder, has become increasingly identified with issues of freedom at home and abroad."
Sure, much of that involves restricting the freedom of non-conservatives, but still...
'Lurid Media Speculation' Topic: NewsBusters
A July 7 NewsBusters post by Noel Sheppard laments that the Smoking Gun's posting of the Homeland Security manifest regarding Rush Limbaugh’s customs detention last month "is likely to incite more lurid media speculation." Gee, we thought that conservatives were all about lurid media speculation.
Oops, we're sorry. That's only when liberals are the target of it. Our bad.
Just Askin' Topic: CNSNews.com
If you're going to call a resolution to "support ... homosexual 'marriage'" a "Pro-Homosexual Resolution," as CNSNews.com does in the headline of a July 6 article by Nathan Burchfiel, shouldn't you also -- to be perfectly fair and logical -- label the "conservative family groups" like the American Family Association who have criticized the resolution "anti-homosexual"?
But then, where would CNS be without its labeling bias?
Update: Coulter and Plagiarism Topic: WorldNetDaily
We went back to the source from which WorldNetDaily lifted its John Kerry-Douglas Brinkley paragraph, an Aug. 28, 2004, Washington Post article. And it's not looking any better for Ann Coulter.
From the Post article:
The Kerry campaign has refused to release Kerry's personal Vietnam archive, including his journals and letters, saying that the senator is contractually bound to grant Brinkley exclusive access to the material. But Brinkley said this week the papers are the property of the senator and in his full control.
The Kerry campaign has refused to release Kerry's personal Vietnam papers on the grounds that Kerry is required by contract to grant Kerry hagiographer Doug Brinkley exclusive access to the archive. But then Brinkley contradicted the campaign saying the papers are Kerry's property and in his full control.
While both WND and Coulter stole the same paragraph from the Post, WND at least made a stab at attribution.
So, is Coulter guilty of plagiarism here? Even though she changed a few words, the structure of the paragraph is exactly the same, and she provided no attribution. She credits the Post earlier in the column for a Kerry quote, but that quote does not appear in the article from which she lifted the Brinkley paragraph. And given the growing body of evidence of a pattern of plagiarism, we'd have to lean toward the affirmative.
Wall? What Wall? Topic: WorldNetDaily
Further evidence that WorldNetDaily cares not one whit about separating news from advertising: a July 6 "news" article that is, in fact, an ad for a purported gas-saving device called the VortexValve. Actually, this is the third WND fake-news VortexValve article since early May (the first two are here and here). None of these "news" articles, of course, state that they are advertising; instead, they are promoted as "WorldNetDaily Exclusives," and the latest even gets a "SportsNetDaily" header.
WND had better be raking in some serious cash on this; after all, sullying what journalistic reputation it has ought to come with some kind of price. Assuming, of course, that Joseph Farah and the crew still care about such quaint things.
Kessler Attacks McCain Topic: Newsmax
Demonstrating that he's all about the conservative cause of his new corporate masters at NewsMax, Ronald Kessler has been on the attack against not-conservative-enough John McCain.
In a June 27 article, Kessler featured the response of conservative activist Grover Norquist to a report by the McCain-led Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. Norquist attacked McCain as "dishonest" and "delusional" and accused him of "lying" about the report's conclusion that Norquist's group, Americans for Tax Reform, served as a front to launder payments made to Ralph Reed, former Christian Coalition honcho and current lieutanant governor candidate in Georgia, for his Jack Abramoff-connected lobbying work. Kessler did not allow McCain to respond to Norquist's attacks.
Kessler continued the attack on McCain in a July 5 article asking "does McCain have the temperament to be president?" According to "insiders," Kessler writes, "McCain has an irrational, explosive side that make many of them question whether he is fit to serve as president and be commander in chief." Among those he quotes is former Rep. John LeBoutillier, who Kessler describes only as "a New York Republican." Kessler fails to point out that not only is LeBoutillier, like Kessler, a NewsMax employee, he has a longtime animus toward McCain that makes him less than objective on the issue. In a June 2005 column, LeBoutillier calls McCain "an arrogant, condescending prima donna," "a spoiled brat with a gigantic chip on his shoulder" and, last but not least, "a false image who, upon further reflection, is a total nothing. He stands for nothing; he says nothing; his record is filled with nothing." In a February 14 column, LeBoutillier called McCain "the angriest candidate of them all" and "the single worst human being any of us have ever met in the poilitical world ? period!" (Italics his.)
Further, LeBoutillier's buddy, discredited Hillary Clinton scandal-monger Ed Klein, is reportedly working on a McCain book.
On the other hand, such slanted reporting is NewsMax's style.
The ConWeb Job Board Topic: Newsmax
It's hard out there for a conservative news website. Not only has WorldNetDaily reposted its news editor position first advertised in May, there's this job posting at Media Bistro (registration required):
REWRITE EDITOR: Growing publishing company in West Palm Beach, Florida, seeks an experienced rewrite editor who can work on both magazine and Web copy. The ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate an ability freshen, rework, and sometimes reimagine news and feature copy. Speed, accuracy, the ability to multi-task, and excellent use of the written language are required. So too is a broad-based knowledge of politics, economics, and cultural trends, all of which are covered in our Web sites, newsletters, and national monthly magazine. Applicants who?ve excelled on a metro desk will receive special consideration.
The company describes itself as "one of America's most dynamic news media companies. We have been headquartered in West Palm Beach for more than seven years and continues to grow at an outstanding rate. We offer multiple groundbreaking publishing products and merchandise including a news site, magazine, newsletters, books, audio tapes, apparel, framed artwork and many other items." Sounds a lot like NewsMax to us.
As with any ConWeb job, the usual caveats apply -- such as no longer being taken seriously as a journalist.
Coulter Kills the Messenger Topic: WorldNetDaily
How does Ann Coulter respond to plagiarism allegations raised by the New York Post? By not addressing them -- and by attacking the Post.
Since WorldNetDaily is such a Coulterphile -- to the point where it restored something to one of her columns that her syndicated edited out -- does this mean it will follow Coulter's lead and refuse to address the plagiarism allegations, even though WND may be one of her victims?
The Return of the Clinton Body Count Topic: The ConWeb
Ah, but it never really went away despite all the evidence that it was bogus, did it?
The Freepers and their fellowtravelers are having a high ol' time reliving their Clinton-bashing glory days by tying the killing of an Arkansas urologist, David Millstein, to Clinton. The connection? Millstein's wife's first husband was Jerry Parks, a person with tangental Clinton ties who was murdered in 1993 and holds a prominent spot on the Clinton death list. But as we (and Snopes) noted, there are much more likely suspects than Clinton.
Well, as long as they're spinning their wheels on fevered speculation, they can't be plotting to harrass or kill New York Times employees, so there's an upside.
Coulter and Plagiarism Topic: WorldNetDaily
In 2004, we noted that a passage in an Ann Coulter column was suspiciously close to a passage from a WorldNetDaily article that appeared a few days earlier. At the time, we leaned toward blaming WND for cribbing from Coulter, given WND's history of plagiarism.
We may have to rethink that. The New York Post has revealed Coulter's history of lifting quotes for her books and columns without attribution, and it appears that the syndicate that puts out Coulter's columns is going to investigate.
Hey, WND, how about weighing in on this: Did Coulter steal from you or not?
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."
