Cantor’s non-softball interview: Meet 60 Minutes

Have you noticed the virtually secretive leadership of the GOP has availed themselves for very public interviews (outside of Fox News)? When politicians become suddenly more visible, questions arise.  Why?

I will never forget the look on Cantor’s face as Boehner conceded this years’ “December Legislative Battle”.  He and Boehner won-out in previous years at the expense of common citizens, but this year was different.  He looked as if he had swallowed a frog or he looked as if he had lost a bundle of cash. In either case, he looked sick.

On the first day of an election year, he sits with CBS (formerly a “liberal media”) and tries to speak in an amenable manner.  The House Majority leader has not spoken in such a manner as long as I have been aware of his existence. I distinctly remember his comments that the President should just ‘work with us’.  ”Just work with us” is a loaded statement and only works from a person who feels they hold a position of power.

Fox News: A Driver for the GOP Primary?

Cross posted from http://www.theprogressivesinfluence.com

FOX-FIX?

Fox News takes the lead in parading towards the eventual selection of the GOP Presidential candidate. You and I know that Fox News is truly not a news network. from the top down it is a political entity and serves effectively as a public relations wing of the Party. Do you need more convincing for your (already) accurate perception.

MEDIA-ite

Dick Morris on the Fox News Couch

It is clear the entire crew on that hyperbolic morning show was scripted as a Fox News commercial. Morris has proven he is a “pay-to-player’ based on this recent admissions that he has accepted money from both Palin and Cain camps in the past. I can only assume that such monetary receipts were for endorsements and supportive comments.

The salient point about the comment is an ever-present show producer sat nearby; a fact that adds validity to a position espoused by Jonathan Freedland guardian.co.uk, How Fox News is helping Barack Obama’s re-election bid, December 13, 2011. Why does Freeland posit as he does?

The extremism, anger, paranoia and sense of victimhood that Fox incubates are all unhealthy for the United States. But it’s inflicting particular damage on the Republican party, which could well lose a winnable election because of its supine relationship to a TV network. It turns out it is not liberals who should fear the Fox – it’s conservatives.

Now for the backstory…..

Freeland acknowledges that Fox News has the largest cable audience in the Untied States.

It’s not just usual-suspect lefties and professional Murdoch-haters who say it, mischievously exaggerating the cable TV network’s influence. Dick Morris, veteran political operative and Fox regular, noted the phenomenon himself the other day while sitting on the Fox sofa. “This is a phenomenon of this year’s election,” he said. “You don’t win Iowa in Iowa. You win it on this couch. You win it on Fox News.” In other words, it is Fox – with the largest cable news audience, representing a huge chunk of the Republican base – that is, in effect, picking the party’s nominee to face Obama next November.

Th real “wirra’ in Freeland’s work; Fox News will pick the 2012 GOP candidate for President. Freeland, with great imagery, depicts Roger Ailes does one who (based on the media and remaining shy of the obvious) will not endorse a candidate for president; he will ‘provide “sunshine” for some and “mouldering shadows” for others.

You ask how does The Guardians writer substantiate such a point?Well, he goes to one of the most reliable international information sources and media watchdogs: Media Matters.

Mediamatters.com offers Fox News Primary reports dating back to June 1, 2011. The reports are revealing in making a points via use of that which the Right: data.

How about supporting one’s (Freeland’s) argument with facts from a MediaMatters November 22, report: The Fox Primary By the Numbers, November 14 – 20. Why does Freeland posit as he does?

Last Week’s Results

Total time: 2 hours and 26 minutes; Total appearances: 20

Most Total Airtime on Fox: Newt Gingrich (34 minutes)

Most Total Appearances: Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry, and Mitt Romney (3 appearances each)

Fox Show with the Most Total Candidate Airtime: Your World with Neil Cavuto (35 minutes)

Fox Show with the Most Candidate Appearances: Your World with Neil Cavuto (4 appearances)

Longest Candidate Interview: Hannity (15 minutes with Newt Gingrich)

Softball Question(s) of the Week: During the November 18 edition of The O’Reilly Factor, host Bill O’Reilly asked Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry this:

O’REILLY: Do you believe that Barack Obama — the person, not the President, the person because a lot of conservatives do believe this — doesn’t like America?

(A table of the November 14 – 20 data is available here.)

The Numbers Since June 1

Total time: 61 hours and 9 minutes; Total appearances: 505

Most Total Airtime on Fox since June 1:  Herman Cain (9 hours and 50 minutes)

Most Total Appearances since June 1:  John Bolton (67 appearances)

Fox Show with the Most Total Candidate Airtime Since June 1: On the Record with Greta Van Susteren (10 hours and 15 minutes)

Fox Show with the Most Candidate Appearances since June 1: On the Record with Greta Van Susteren (75 appearances)

Longest Candidate Interview since June 1: Stossel (40 minutes with Gary Johnson)

(A table of all the data since June 1 is available here.)

Over the past two weeks we have learned Fox News viewers may be the less informed viewers of any cable news network. If we take the MediaMatters premise (Fox News Primary) and data indicating Fox News viewers are less informed, we have a dilemma. A dilemma that will lead to the likes of Newt Gingrich as the GOP Presidential candidate.

Need anymore evidence of how Murdoch’s and Ailes’s Fox News may have the “FOX- FIX” on? Did Newt Gingrich not recently comment that John Boulton would be a good choice for Vice President of the United States of America? Now, on what basis would Gingrich make such statement. It is not a leap for me to make a connection to the MediaMatters data (above). [ Most Total Appearances since June 1: John Bolton (67 appearances) ] Gingrich has to know that compared to John Boulton, Dick Cheney would seem a disheartened, fearful and non-confident Lion of OZ.

The MediaMatters series and Freeland’s work for The Guardian are certainly worthy of continued following and review.

If I may take my concerns a bit further, are we absolutely certain a longstanding business model of News of the World (NoW) is not being deployed in some way in the United States?

How about a piece of humor. The data are truly revealing. Until his demise, Herman Cain was the most visible on Fox News. Now, that would have been a scary (Primary winner) thought.

Is Freeland suggesting the Fox will shoot itself in the foot?

I’m just sayin!

FOX NEWS: “Yellow’ Journalism” and “Less Informed” Viewers

OOOPS!!!! Again

MediaMatters keeps a watchful eye on Fox News. The site often reports on misleading information on the Ruppert Murdoch owned network. How about a brief look at how Fox informs its viewers. Notice my use of the word viewers. While the word is commonly used to denote viewers of the news (television news), I have used it here as a ‘double entendre’. Fox News does not have many real listeners. They view while grabbing visuals and talking-point verbiage.

A classic example.  (I am going post an article from MediaMatters. In compliance  with  permission  directly from MediaMatters (to use their material with proper attribution). I am posting the link also.

Media Matters….Take a look!

Today In Dishonest Fox News Charts

December 12, 2011 11:53 am ET by Zachary Pleat

It looks like Fox is trying to mislead its viewers on the unemployment rate. Again.

On Monday, Fox News displayed a chart illustrating changes to the unemployment rate during 2011:

Note how the 8.6 percent unemployment rate in November looks higher than March’s 8.8 percent rate, and about the same as the 9 percent unemployment rate in October.

Here’s how an honest chart of changes to the unemployment rate during 2011 looks:

Read More at MediaMatters…..

Enough said!

Breitbart Attacks Higher Education; Video Tape, Lies And Hannity

Cross Posted from Addictinginfo.org

November 19, 2011

By The Pardu

The Fertile and Innocent Fields of Academia

Junior Colleges, Colleges and Universities are institutions of’ higher learning; after this referred to as colleges. The facilities and campuses of the colleges are by charter devoted to and focused on educating people (young, middle-aged, and seniors). Over the past two decades colleges have technologically evolved with our ability to use technology in just about any way imaginable.

Professors and Instructors use online teaching, learning and classroom management tools to facilitate learning, learning that can be accomplished over vast distances or delivered to people who might not be able to attend a classroom setting. The United States is working to advance higher levels of education and learning to compete in a changing technologically advancing world. We are not winning in that arena. Classrooms in Europe and Asia are winning the ‘education battles.’ In the long run, those lost education battles will lead to the lost jobs and lost quality of life.

60 Minutes Reveals Congressional Privilege But ‘Missed The Mark’

Cross Posted from http://www.Addictinginfo.org

November 14, 2011

By The Pardu

’60 Minutes’ Hit On Boehner, Pelosi Falls Short

As city officials all across the nation embark on dismantling Occupy Wall Street protest encampments,  a central grievance of the OWS was broadcast last evening ’60 Minutes’.

The main issue is the potential ‘privilege’ by members of Congress.  While the 60 minutes segment focused on House Speaker Boehner and Nancy Pelosi, HUFFINGTON POST POLITICS, Ryan Grim writes that ’60 Minutes’ was off-the-mark.

A Referendum Against Republicanism Circa 2011?

After reviewing last evenings voting results, it is clear the 2010 sweep of the Tea Party and the GOP gubernatorial 2010 electoral wins has resulted in  ’buyer’s remorse’. I prefer the words ‘cognitive dissonance:  ” Psychological conflict resulting from incongruous beliefs and attitudes held simultaneously”.  (Merriam-Webster)  Both phrases are one in the same. After less than one full year, it became obvious many voted without full grasp of what was to come.  The GOP agenda that swept into the elected offices just after inauguration was not inclusive of issues that were part of the  campaigns.

The GOP and the GOTP (Tea Party) with their skilled political operatives and funders, overwhelmingly applied a “shellacking” according to President Obama.  Yes, they did just that. Let’s take a look at the post 2010 election environment.

After taking office victorious state governors started their agenda based marches as surely as the Tea Party members of Congress locked the House and the Senate in gridlock. The governors started dismantling public service collective bargaining in their states. Thus, laying-off thousands of public service employees.  Some governors fought for legislation that would forbid opportunity for employees to collectively bargain in the future. State legislatures voted with the governors making their Right-Wing attack on the nation legislatively valid and  constitutionally correct.  In Congress, Tea Party House of Representatives commenced their dismantling programs they perceived as ‘liberal’.  The House worked  unusually hard to defund programs that  Republicans  have history viewed as too progressive. (i.e., NPR).  Another widely reported assault on Health Services Programs was the efforts to defund Planned Parenthood. An assault based on the GOP ’lie’ that its services were 99% ‘abortion’ related.  These were but a few of the GOP agenda items voters swept into office in the fall of 2010.

“Legislatively valid and  constitutionally correct“, ah but they forgot the People!

Poll Shows….Reasons to Get Your News From Multiple Sources.

Don’t rely on a single news source!

I received an email notification related to the following linked article and excerpted information.  The email notification was from a blog that I have grown to often view.  You will find articles from the blog on the Talent Place for Special People page, on the http://www.theprogressivesinfluence.com blog.

I thought I would share the information after reading the linked  blog, and thinking about how the media impacts us everyday and most certainly influenced the 2008 and 2010 elections.   Of more importance; how information will influence the critical vote in 2012. The World Public Opinion article will leave the reader with an impression worth serious contemplation.  (See at end of this article)

The “Press” was widely debated by men who ‘crafted’ the United States Constitution.  They took great pains to build a governing document and governing foundation of a nation with serious respect and appreciation for the press and its a role in society.  I use the word respect;  the word also embodies ‘fear of abuse’, by the press. A bit of history and perspective before going further.

“…To Fix U.S Politics”, Mr President?

Reuters….

“The challenge we have now is fixing our politics,” Obama said at fundraiser held at a private home in Washington.

“That is probably the biggest piece of business that remains unfinished. That’s probably the area where we’ve been most stymied over the last three years.”

President Obama spoke those word at a Monday night fund-raiser.  The wisdom and veracity of such blanket statements has to come in questions. The current climate in Washington D.C. and the mountains our president has tried to climb since taking office make some wonder, why ‘go there’.  I am an ardent Obama supporter.  I have archived articles related to his legislative accomplishments and his role as Commander-In-Chief. While the words were spoken at a fund-raiser,   hope in “fixing our politics” could be nothing  more than a dream. There are far too many powerful forces who derived direct benefit form the current way of doing business in our politics.

Occupy Wall Street Gets a Grassroots Boost..DEMS WAKE-up!

I am extremely pleased to see that a Director and a small team of OWS supporters   have taken a major step in sharing the OWS message.

Sexual Harassment Leak? Left or Right? What a GOP Run?

Ann Coulter differentiates between GOP “blacks” and Democrat ”blacks” much like slave owners vying for the title of the most physical slave in the county.  Sean Hannity sitting and feeding her guttural racism, like a Jerry Springer like moderator.  How sickening and ridiculous; and a testament to even newer ‘lows’ from Fox News and the socio/political Right?

Rush Limbaugh sits in front of his dedicated camera and rails about how liberals cannot tolerate conservative ’blacks’.

Conservative pundits and paid mouth pieces across the land joined Limbaugh and Coulter.  Cain, himself, even alluded to a suspicion of subterfuge from the Left.