Monthly Archives: September 2011

What Do You Call a Guy Like Rick Perry?

Posted on 09/09/2011 by Peter Hart

Frontrunner-of-the-moment Rick Perry is getting a lot of press for his performance at the recent Republican debate–especially because he's standing by his belief that Social Security is a "monstrous lie" and a Ponzi scheme, and that climate change is an … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Election, Media Criticism, Social Security | Tagged , , , , | 41 Comments

When a Headline Says a Lot

Posted on 09/09/2011 by Peter Hart

The Washington Post today: Diplomatic Efforts Unable to Derail Palestinians' UN Gambit "Gambit" is the kind of word that seems intended to send a certain message–as if there some kind of sneaky maneuver at work here. That's especially true when … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel/Palestine, Washington Post | Tagged , | 10 Comments

The Fading Bachmann 'Momentum'

Posted on 09/09/2011 by Peter Hart

It seems like just yesterday that Michele Bachmann was in the "top tier," thanks to her narrow victory in the mostly meaningless Iowa straw poll. She had "momentum." Then came this week's debate and, well, things are looking different. As … Continue reading →

Posted in Election, Washington Post | Tagged | 18 Comments

Jonathan Chait's Not-So-Magical Thinking

Posted on 09/07/2011 by Peter Hart

As progressive criticism of the Obama administration has intensified, the critics of the critics have stepped forward to defend the White House. Much of the case comes down to saying that Obama's lefty critics don't know how the game is … Continue reading →

Posted in Barack Obama, Economy, New York Times | Tagged , | 18 Comments

The Pragmatism of Dirty Air

Posted on 09/07/2011 by Peter Hart

The New York Times has a story today (9/7/11) by Jeff Zeleny about how both sides are branding Obama: The White House is in the midst of rebranding the president as a pragmatic problem solver prepared to set aside ideology … Continue reading →

Posted in Barack Obama, Environment, New York Times | Tagged , | 12 Comments

Smog Rules and Hazy Reporting

Posted on 09/06/2011 by Peter Hart

The Obama White House made (yet another) move bound to disappoint progressive activists. But good luck trying to get corporate media to explain the impact. Here's how the September 3 New York Times piece by John Broder started off: WASHINGTON … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Environment, Media Criticism, New York Times | Tagged , | 9 Comments

Dick Cheney's Ho-Hum About Liberal Media Bias

Posted on 09/06/2011 by Peter Hart

When Dick Cheney appeared on the Today show, at the conclusion of the interview a camera that shows the crowd outside the studio picked up this image: That sign probably represented the harshest take on Cheney's record that TV viewers … Continue reading →

Posted in Fox News, NBC | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

Richard Cohen Is Sorry You and He Got It Wrong

Posted on 09/06/2011 by Peter Hart

Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen (9/5/11) takes the eve of the 10th anniversary of 9/11 to say that he's sorry: I went home on September 11 with my shoes dusted with the detritus of the World Trade Center. I felt … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Iraq, Media Criticism, Washington Post | Tagged , | 28 Comments

NYT's Misleading Rendition of the Reason for Rendition

Posted on 09/06/2011 by Peter Hart

Documents discovered in Libya suggest a close relationship between the Libyan government and the CIA. The New York Times described it this way on September 3: TRIPOLI, Libya — Documents found at the abandoned office of Libya's former spymaster appear … Continue reading →

Posted in Libya, New York Times | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

NYT on WikiLeaks: Move Along, No Atrocity to See Here

Posted on 09/01/2011 by Peter Hart

(UPDATE: Today's Times includes a story about the WikiLeaks Iraq cable, under the somewhat strange headline "Cable Implicates Americans in Deaths of Iraqi Civilians." Still very little in the rest of the press– nothing on television, according to a search … Continue reading →

Posted in Iraq, McClatchy, New York Times | Tagged , , , | 32 Comments

Fox Business Uses Fake Quote to Bash Islamophobia Report

Posted on 09/01/2011 by Steve Rendall

Recently on Fox Business (8/30/11; cite by Think Progress, 8/31/11), host Eric Bolling tried to discredit the Center for American Progress's excellent new report on Islamophobia with this colossal falsehood: I need to point this out–I'm reading directly from this … Continue reading →

Posted in Cable TV | Tagged , , | 26 Comments