Free Republic

<p>TEL AVIV – President Obama's presidential campaign focused on "making" the news media cover certain issues while rarely communicating anything to the press unless it was "controlled," White House Communications Director Anita Dunn disclosed to the Dominican government at a videotaped conference.</p>

It’s not just conservatives who accuse the media of showing a liberal bias. A new survey from the Sacred Heart University Polling Institute shows that 89.3 percent of Americans believe the national media played a sizable role in helping to elect President Obama. And 69.9 percent of respondents view the national news media as intent on promoting the Obama presidency, while 26.5 percent disagreed, and 3.6 percent were unsure. More than half of those surveyed, 56.4 percent, said the news media are promoting Obama’s healthcare reform without objective criticism. Another 39.3 percent disagreed, and 4.3 percent were unsure. A majority,...

More than $10bn in advertising disappeared from US media markets in the first six months of this year, according to new data that show intense pressure on media owners and ad agencies as they search for other business models. Preliminary figures from Nielsen show a 15.4 per cent year-on-year decline in US advertising revenues, the largest drop for any period in the decade since the marketing and media measurement group began compiling such reports. The study showed sharp differences in the behaviour of different media and product categories, with cable television the only medium on which ad spend increased, up...

Palmer, Alaska (AP) -- The mother of the man former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol had planned on marrying has reached a plea deal in her drug case. Sherry Johnston pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of possession with intent to deliver the painkiller OxyContin. Five other felony counts were dropped. Johnston was placed in pink handcuffs and taken to a correctional facility where she'll be held until her Nov. 20 sentencing.

Report: DNA Tests Proves Edwards Fathered Videographer's Daughter A secret DNA test proves former presidential candidate John Edwards is the father of the baby born from an affair with a campaign aide, the National Enquirer reported Wednesday. FOXNews.com Wednesday, August 12, 2009 A secret DNA test proves former presidential candidate John Edwards is the father of the baby born from an affair with a campaign aide, the National Enquirer reported Wednesday. The Enquirer, which last year broke the story of Edwards' affair with campaign videographer Reille Hunter and their alleged "love child," said the test was taken after Hunter tried...

In the last 18 years, highly personal information has been published about presidential candidates, including divorce and alimony details, drunk driving arrest records, college grades, urinalysis results, prostate cancer surgery – even details about George W. Bush's hemorrhoid troubles. The media have dredged up medical, military, college and detailed records for Republican and Democratic Party candidates in at least the last five elections. Candidates were subject to intense scrutiny of their health conditions, academic performance and military careers. However, while such private information about other candidates was divulged, more than 440,000 concerned citizens still have yet to see President Obama...

Kathy Griffin takes to the 'green' carpet at the Teen Choice Awards with her 'ultimate teen' Levi Johnston

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The former mistress of John Edwards arrived at a federal courthouse in Raleigh where a grand jury was meeting Thursday -- an appearance that comes as federal investigators examine the two-time presidential candidate's finances. Rielle Hunter walked into the building through a back entrance and holding a young child. Edwards adamantly denied during his confessional interview with ABC News last summer that he had fathered a child with Hunter, and he welcomed a paternity test. His wife, Elizabeth, has said while promoting her book that she doesn't know if her husband is the father.

SRES 511 ATS 110th CONGRESS 2d Session S. RES. 511 Recognizing that John Sidney McCain, III, is a natural born citizen. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES April 10, 2008 Mrs. MCCASKILL (for herself, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. OBAMA, Mr. COBURN, Mrs. CLINTON, and Mr. WEBB) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary April 24, 2008 Reported by Mr. LEAHY, without amendment April 30, 2008 Considered and agreed to -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RESOLUTION Recognizing that John Sidney McCain, III, is a natural born citizen. Whereas the Constitution of the United States requires that, to be eligible...

Anchorage NBC affiliate KTUU is trying to get one last ratings boost out of Governor Palin, running a "retrospective" series this week. The first entry was yesterday...of course it consists of pretty much nothing but criticism, but there are some interesting tidbits in there about the NBC policy toward Palin: "She knew when she came back that she came back to a different environment," Stapleton said. "I think it was -- and I hate to say it -- but I think the Thanksgiving pictures coming out of Channel 2 with a turkey getting slaughtered over her shoulder was her first...

President Obama should just join the cast of "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!" It's not that farfetched; he's been on everything else. I'm still a fan, but there's a fine line between being transparent and being overexposed. Every time you turn on the TV, there's Obama. He's getting a puppy! He's eating a cheeseburger with Joe Biden! He's taking the wife to Broadway and Paris -- this is the best season of "The Bachelor" yet! I get it: You love being on TV. I love my bong, but I take it out of my mouth every once...

FEC dismisses complaint on MoveOn's "Betray Us" ad @ 2:38 pm by Aaron Blake The Federal Election Commission (FEC) ruled Thursday that The New York Times did not provide MoveOn.org with a special rate for its 2007 full-page ad critical of Gen. David Petraeus. The ad, which ran in 2007 and called Petraeus "General Betray Us," caused a lot of controversy when it first ran, and Democrats were forced to separate themselves from the liberal group. Conservative commentators also alleged that MoveOn was given a special rate for the ad - evidence of the New York Times's supposed liberal bias...

Sympathetic media commentators are rushing to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's defense against Republican men, accusing them of sexism toward Washington's most powerful woman. The liberal-leaning Media Matters compiled a video of male conservative pundits making fun of the speaker's rumored use of Botox. Rush Limbaugh took it a step further, saying the best way to limit unwanted pregnancy would be to post Mrs. Pelosi's image in cheap motel rooms. "How do these people handle a strong-willed woman like Pelosi?" MSNBC's Ed Schultz lectured in his Monday show. "Well, they revert to calling her offensive names like 'hag'; they make demeaning...

Inconvenient Emails from the NY Times by: Bethany Stotts, May 19, 2009 Now that New York Times public editor Clark Hoyt has published his official story of the events surrounding the decision to spike Stephanie Strom’s investigation of ACORN’s alleged fundraising connections to the Obama campaign, it becomes imperative for this correspondent to reiterate that Strom personally attempted to mislead AIM just days after she cut off contact with Anita Moncrief. “The story involved allegations that Barack Obama’s campaign, in league with Acorn, a left-leaning community activist group, was guilty of technical violations of campaign finance law. Evidence supplied by...

Apparently they knew about the affair.

In addition to a sympathy tour on Oprah Winfrey’s show, Elizabeth Edwards was interviewed by National Public Radio on Thursday. But All Things Considered co-anchor Michele Norris deserves credit for channeling some of the resentment of voters – both Edwards voters and others – who feel defrauded not just by John, but by Elizabeth, who consented to completely fraudulent media stories celebrating her wedded bliss. Deep into the interview, Norris asked the toughie:

Stop the presses! A member of the mainstream media actually said something nice about Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. I kid you not: "Saturday Night Live" senior producer Marci Klein said during an interview last week, "This is the most confident person I've ever met." Certainly not the impression created by CBS's Katie Couric or ABC's Charlie Gibson, wouldn't you agree? Appearing on Julie Menin's "Give and Take," Klein had absolutely nothing but nice things to say about the press's current public enemy #1 (video embedded below the fold with partial transcript, relevant section at 2:25):

Dear friends, family, loved ones, conservatives, Republicans, libertarians, my brother in law, Sam, and my cousin Joe: I am sorry and you were right. These are not easy words for anyone to utter, much less a leftist from Berkeley, or a recovering leftist, that is. Even though I've been in recovery for 14 months, 2 weeks, and 3 days, leftists are always right in your face, in an I-hate-you-if-you-disagree sort of way. Hence, this letter of amends to all the people I've lectured, scolded, ranted and raved at, and otherwise annoyed during my 30 plus years of "progressive" politics. My...

The news that federal prosecutors are investigating John Edwards' presidential campaign payments to his mistress brings a sense of satisfaction. The phoniest man in American politics is finally getting the comeuppance he so richly deserves. With his $400 haircuts and investments in predatory lenders, all while saying ending poverty was a "moral issue" and the "cause of my life," Edwards set new standards for hypocrisy as he sought the Democratic nomination. His contrived compassion was a joke among rivals. And that was before we learned he had an affair with a campaign aide. Yet any sense of justice served is...

RALEIGH Federal investigators are sifting through the records of money that helped John Edwards' presidential campaign to determine if any was used to keep quiet his affair with Rielle Hunter. Edwards, a Democrat and former U.S. senator, acknowledged the investigation to The News & Observer. “I am confident that no funds from my campaign were used improperly,” Edwards said in a statement. “However, I know that it is the role of government to ensure that this is true. We have made available to the United States both the people and the information necessary to help them get the issue resolved...

Christina Bellatoni reports Zero's 100 day press conference next Wednesday at 8 PM.

In case you missed it ... HBO is making a movie about the 2008 presidential campaign. Hollywood doesn't wait around anymore, it seems. So already a casting director somewhere is probably asking herself this question: Who should play John McCain, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Barack Obama and -- yes -- Sarah Palin? Salon & Entertainment Weekly have posed the question, and it's a good one. Salon readers have pitched Megan Mulally, Hilary Swank, Sandra Bullock and Felicity Huffman for Palin and Laura Linney, Glenn Close and Meryl Streep for Clinton -- with Will Smith playing Obama. P.S. -- The movie...

Think about it. Has there been a lousier 10 years in American history? OK, the Civil War, granted. And the Great Depression wasn't so hot, either, the pictures suggest. But this one has been close enough to an all-time bad to merit the kind of willful amnesia that I'm proposing. sajohnson@tribune.com

From John Ziegler, creator of the documentary Media Malpractice: How Obama Got Elected and Palin Was Targeted. On April 15th, the once upon a time prestigious (and apparently now openly a political leftist propaganda tool, akin to the Nobel Prize given to Paul Krugmann -not elevating leftist quacks, but rather tarnishing once noble institutions) USC Annenberg School for Communication will be presenting CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric with the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Television Journalism. Now, for there to even be such a thing as an prize for Excellence in Television Journalism, in an age where a...

The father of Sarah Palin’s grandchild accused the Alaska governor on Wednesday of lying about him and his family. Levi Johnston said during an interview on CBS’s “Early Show” that he moved into the governor’s house a few weeks before Bristol Palin gave birth to their child. Palin’s camp has denied the claim, but Johnston insisted the governor is not telling the truth. “They said I didn't live there,” he said. “I was like, 'OK, well, whatever you want to call it. I had my stuff there.'” Asked if the Palin was lying about him, Johnston simply said: “Yes.” Palin...

CUMMING, Ga. (AP) - A woman who claimed her house was set on fire because she supported President Barack Obama and her boyfriend have been charged with first-degree arson. Forsyth County Chief Investigator Steve Anderson said Friday that 47-year-old Pamela Graf and her boyfriend, 46-year-old Steve Strobel, are being held in different jails. Graf is in Forsyth County and Strobel in Barrow County, where he was charged with obstruction of justice in the case earlier this week. Graf's home burned on Jan. 18 while she was in Washington, D.C., to attend the inauguration. Officials found spray-painted graffiti that included a...

She knew? You betcha, says the baby daddy of Sarah Palin's grandson. The Alaska governor most likely was aware before her daughter, Bristol, became pregnant that the teenager and her hockey hunk boyfriend were having sex, Levi Johnston said in a bombshell new interview. "I'm pretty sure she probably knew. Moms are pretty smart," said Johnston, 18, the father of the governor's first grandchild, in an interview that will air Monday on "The Tyra Banks Show." Johnston said he and Bristol Palin practiced safe sex "most of the time."

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department has decided to drop all charges against former Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens amid charges of prosecutorial misconduct, NPR reported on Wednesday, citing Justice officials.

All the Leftist news that they don’t seem fit to print: ‘New York Times’ Spiked Obama Donor Story A lawyer involved with legal action against Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) told a House Judiciary subcommittee on March 19 The New York Times had killed a story in October that would have shown a close link between ACORN, Project Vote and the Obama campaign because it would have been a “a game changer.” Heather Heidelbaugh, who represented the Pennsylvania Republican State Committee in the lawsuit against the group, recounted for the ommittee what she had been told by...

Instant Internet communication and an explosion in political commentary are magnifying President Obama's gaffes and administration missteps, and could erode his popularity faster than that of other presidents, say experts from both left and right. Intense scrutiny and rookie mistakes by an understaffed administration combine to draw attention faster to Obama's stumbles. Last week was notable for budget battles and a new Afghanistan strategy, rather than for headline-hogging gaffes, although the president didn't escape a few media jeers for his reliance on a giant TV screen in place of his trademark teleprompter to feed him his lines at Tuesday's primetime...

A lawyer involved with legal action against Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) told a House Judiciary subcommittee on March 19 The New York Times had killed a story in October that would have shown a close link between ACORN, Project Vote and the Obama campaign because it would have been a “a game changer

CHICAGO Newspapers perform a public service for democracy and should be allowed to operate as tax-exempt non-profits, U.S. Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D.-Md., proposed Tuesday. Cardin introduced a bill that would explicitly include newspapers among organizations eligible for 501(c)(3) status. The non-profit status is the same that public radio and television have now. The legislation would give a national green light for newspapers to adopt the so-called Low Profit Limited Liability Company business model, often shortened to L3C. The L3C model, which the Newspaper Guild supports as an alternative newspaper ownership model, is the subject of a feature story in the...

[video trailer of movie] The Supreme Court has agreed to review a case involving “Hillary: The Movie.” “The outcome of this case,” producer David Bossie said, “will dictate how we’re able to make films and educate people about them.” Bossie’s movie was released while Hillary Clinton was running for the Democratic presidential nomination. He wanted to run TV commercials in key states during the primaries and show the movie on cable TV. But federal courts said no and said “Hillary: The Movie” violated campaign finance regulations because it was nothing more than an attack ad. Bossie’s group, Citizens United, appealed...

John Ziegler takes a few minutes to tell EC about the hatchet job on Sarah Palin, how the media tilted the field towards Comrade Obama, and the reaction he's had from the media he indicts in his new film.

Remember when Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin accused journalist Katie Couric of "exploiting" their disastrous exchange — the one in which Palin couldn’t name some of running mate John McCain’s policies? Couric’s work obviously paid off, because the 52-year-old today received the prestigious Walter Cronkite Award for the exchange. The Baltimore Sun elaborates: "Couric, who weathered one of network TV’s most criticized anchor-desk launches when she took over from interim anchor Bob Schieffer, was named winner of the University of Southern California’s Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in TV Political Journalism for her focused and illuminating interviews with Republican vice-presidential candidate...

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Three more federal charges have been filed against a University of Tennessee student charged with hacking into the personal e-mail account of Alaska Gov. and former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.

It was reported with much glee today that conservative talker, Rush Limbaugh, and the Republican Party national chairman, Michael Steele, had a dust up. The reports went on to say Mr. Steele eventually felt a need to apologize for calling Rush’s show “ugly”. Since this is a story that fit a specific journalistic template, the one that states any intramural brawl between Republicans is always news; it received very heavy play on television, radio and in print. What was covered with less enthusiasm or not at all was the admission on Politico.com by President Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel,...

Story at link.

IN LETTER, ORACLE ADMITS TO ERRORS IN WORST-EVER '08 Warren Buffett admitted to doing some "dumb things" in 2008 - the worst year for Berkshire Hathaway in the 44 years he has run it. A brutal stock market decline amid a teeth-gnashing recession pushed Omaha-based Berkshire to a 96% drop in profits, its fifth straight quarterly earnings decline. Buffett, known as the Oracle of Omaha for his decades-long record of picking value investments, said buying ConocoPhillips shares when gas and oil prices were at their peak was perhaps the dumbest move in 2008. Berkshire bought 84.9 million shares at $82...

Senator: Demise of newspapers helps GOP @ 3:12 pm by Hill Staff Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) said on Friday that the demise of daily newspapers is helping the Republican Party. Coburn, responding to a question from an attendee about media bias at the Conservative Political Action Conference, said, “The daily newspaper will die.” Coburn added that advances in technology, such as the Internet, Twitter, text messaging, and YouTube, are helping Republicans get their message out because policymakers don’t need to rely on daily newspapers as much as they used to. The conservative senator, who agreed with the assertion that the...

Filmmaker John Ziegler has released a new documentary about the media’s coverage of Barack Obama and Sarah Palin before the election — and he asserts that Palin was held to a “completely different standard” than the other candidates. Ziegler, whose film is “Media Malpractice: How Obama Got Elected and Palin Was Targeted,” appeared on the “Today” show on Monday morning. In a sometimes heated exchange with host Matt Lauer, he said: “I was outraged during the primaries. I think the Hillary Clinton supporters have an awful lot to be outraged about. A lot in this film is about the primaries...

During the Monday 12PM EST hour of MSNBC news coverage, anchor Norah O’Donnell interviewed conservative film maker John Ziegler, creator of ‘Media Malpractice,’ a documentary on media bias against Sarah Palin, and denied any such bias: "Well, let me ask you, you called the treatment of Sarah Palin and her family a, quote, 'media assassination, one of the greatest public injustices of our time.' Is that a little strong? Are you and her a little thin-skinned?" Ziegler responded by pointing out O’Donnell’s own anti-Palin bias: "The evidence is overwhelming. It's continuing today. I mean, just a few weeks ago, Norah,...

Palin: Media sought to seek, destroy By: Andy Barr February 23, 2009 11:12 AM EST Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Alaska) believes that the media deliberately tried to bring her down during her vice presidential run. As part of an interview with conservative filmmaker John Ziegler for his new film out this week, Palin said she believes the media made a decision that “we’re going to seek and we’re going to destroy this candidacy of Sarah Palin’s because of what it is that she represents.” “Obviously something big took place in the media,” she added. It is “very frightening, I think, what...

WASHINGTON - Alcalde & Fay partner Vicki Iseman has settled her $27 million defamation lawsuit against The New York Times and several of its reporters. Iseman, a Washington lobbyist, sued the Times over a story published last February during the presidential campaign season that she claimed inaccurately depicted her as having an affair with Republican candidate Sen. John McCain. Iseman says, "I am pleased that The New York Times on behalf of its reporters, editors and company has issued a retraction and clarification." Iseman’s statement continues, "The New York Times, its reporters and editors, should and must be held accountable...

Appearing on Wednesday’s CBS Early Show, Evening News anchor Katie Couric discussed her White House interview with President Obama regarding the withdrawal of recent cabinet nominees: "He is surprisingly relaxed...extremely comfortable, very focused. It’s very different than sort of the buttoned-up Bush White House...he said to every person who interviewed him...that he ‘screwed up,’ he ‘messed up.’ And I think he really is trying to be the anti-Bush because President Bush was so criticized for never saying, you know, ‘I made a mistake.’" On Tuesday’s Evening News, Couric portrayed Obama as a victim. Early Show co-host Harry Smith agreed with...

Obama made a great spectacle of announcing that he was not going to comment on world and national events in the months between the election and the inauguration because there was only "one president at a time". Now we find out that he was having discussions with two problem nations before the election

In her new book, Guilty: Liberal ‘Victims’ and Their Assault on America — ironically, currently #2 on The New York Times Best Sellers List — Ann Coulter excoriates America’s newspaper of wretched. Here are a few of her disclosures: * “On October 15, 2008, the Obama campaign’s internal pre-debate talking points were inadvertently released to the media.” On the same day, The New York Times ran a story in its politics blog, “The Caucus,” that bore striking similarities to the Obama memo. For instance, both predicted that McCain would bring up Obama’s ties to ex-terrorist William Ayers. The Times essentially...

The sudden crash in oil prices might be the smoking gun that shows speculation, rather than supply and demand, drove the huge run-up in oil futures last year. Daniel Fine of the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology’s Center for Energy Policy told participants at a forum in Albuquerque Jan. 16 that massive, speculative trading by investment banks like Lehman Brothers, hedge funds and others is what drove oil above $140 per barrel.

WHEREAS: National television news has failed to tell the truth or perform the function of providing truthful and valid information to the American public; WHEREAS: National television news has failed to inform the American public about vital facts concerning the presidential election and the candidacy of President Barack Hussein Obama; WHEREAS: National television has failed to inform the American public about vital public policy and political questions, specifically, the activities of the Federal Reserve Bank; monetary inflation; national economic policy; and subsidies to corporations and banks; WHEREAS: National television has lied to the American public about the Iraqi War: I...

Elite Obama Donors Receive Early Gifts and Privileges from Obama While Under Senate Investigation and After Accepting Millions in Taxpayer Paid Bailout So many of the Elite Obama Donors arrived at Dulles International Airport in their personal private jets that an active runway at Dulles International Airport had to be shut down and then converted into a make-do parking lot. * * * * * Surprisingly no PETA, Global Warming, nor Code Pink protesters are seen as the Elite Obama Donors arrive in chauffeur driven stretch limousines dressed in their finest furs. * * * * * Their gilded...