Good riddance to Air America

Air America, we hardly knew ya! After less than 6 years, the liberal radio network was forced to file for chapter 7 bankruptcy. If you didn’t listen to Air America, don’t feel bad, not many people did.

When I heard the news, I couldn’t help but laugh. Liberals like Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse like to refer to conservatives as the “lunatic fringe,” but isn’t Air America’s bankruptcy evidence that the exact opposite is true? » read more

Make your voice heard

Time “Person of the Year”: The finalists

Time magazine is set to announce its “Person of the Year” on Wednesday. So far, here are the finallists: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, President Barack Obama, General Stanley McChrystal, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Apple CEO Steve Jobs, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, and the Chinese worker. Not much to choose from, is there?

If we were choosing based solely on cool names, I’d go with Usain Bolt. After all, what’s cooler that a sprinter named Bolt? If I had to guess, I’d say Barack Obama will be the winner. I’m not saying he deserves it, but he is the darling of the media. Plus, he didn’t deserve the Nobel Peace Prize, but look how well that turned out for him!

The global warming cult silences the media

Watching how climate researchers have handled themselves during climategate has made me reflect on my own scientific training. One way in which science is advanced is buying questioning what was done before. Such questions shouldn’t be taken personally. They should be seen as an attempt to find “the truth” and further the field of study. Any disagreements can be refuted by citing past research, or by conducting further studies. Unfortunately, professor Stephen Schneider, a climate researcher at Stanford, doesn’t seem to have this basic understanding.

While speaking at a press conference at the climate summit in Copenhagen, a film-maker asked him some questions he wasn’t comfortable answering. The proper thing to do would have been to answer his questions, seeing as though it was a press conference, then use scientific findings to support his claims. Instead of taking this scholarly high road, Professor Schneider’s associates had armed U.N. guards remove the questioner from the premises and ordered his cameraman to stop filming. Here is the exchange caught on tape: » read more

“Law & Order’s” lies

On a recent episode of “Law & Order,” the show’s liberal bias was once again on display. In an episode which dealt with illegal immigration, a character made this assertion:

“Limbaugh, Beck, O’Reilly, all of ‘em, they are like a cancer spreading ignorance and hate…They’ve convinced folks that immigrants are the problem, not corporations that fail to pay a living wage or a broken health care system…”

So, if you are to believe Dick Wolfe and those on the “Law & Order” team, anyone who believes the United States has the right to determine who can or cannot enter the country is spreading ignorance and hate. If you mention that illegal aliens are taking jobs and bringing down wages, you’re spreading ignorance and hate. » read more

Rupert Murdoch is half right

I’m glad to see Rupert Murdoch come out so strongly against government intervention in the media. Some lawmakers have suggested that the media might need government assistance due to the effect of the internet on the changing industry. One idea involved converting newspapers to nonprofit organizations. Murdoch is right to criticize these types of ideas, along with regulations which prevent companies from owning newspapers and TV stations in the same market. It’s funny how government hampers competition, then offers a bailout of sorts.

Besides government intervention, Murdoch once again commented on the future on online media. Specifically mentioning the “theft” of material by aggregators, and the failure of the current business mode. Murdoch has recently stated his intention to move to a subscription service, and there have been rumors about removing Newscorp’s sites from Google and providing exclusive access to Bing (for a price, of course). For as right as Rupert Murdoch is on government intervention, he is wrong about his ideas for the future of media. » read more

Chris Matthews is the real “enemy”

MSNBC talking head Chris Matthews is a buffoon. If you haven’t realized it by this point, check out the video above. In it, he talks about the “strange venue” Barack Obama chose for his speech, and he questioned why the President would visit the “enemy camp.”

Barack Obama is the Commander-in Chief. As such, giving a speech to cadets at the country’s premiere military academy seems like an appropriate place. As for Matthew’s “enemy camp” comment, it is shameful. These men and women are pledging to defend the United States. If an individual sees these soldiers as “enemies,” then they themselves are enemies of what America stands for.

Tiger Woods doesn’t owe us an apology

It bothers me when people get wrapped up in the private lives of celebrities, and it bothers me almost as much when these celebrities feel the need to issue an apology. Tiger Woods is the latest celebrity to fall into this trap. He released this statement yesterday:

I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family. Those feelings should be shared by us alone.

Although I am a well-known person and have made my career as a professional athlete, I have been dismayed to realize the full extent of what tabloid scrutiny really means. For the last week, my family and I have been hounded to expose intimate details of our personal lives. The stories in particular that physical violence played any role in the car accident were utterly false and malicious. Elin has always done more to support our family and shown more grace than anyone could possibly expect. » read more

The Hamed Haddadi controversy: Are you kidding me?

I was checking out the headlines on Yahoo, when I saw a link to a story about two Los Angeles Clippers announcers who made some offensive remarks about Vancouver Grizzlies Center Hamed Haddadi. I hadn’t heard about this controversy, so I read the article to see what it was about. The story went on at length about how sorry announcers Ralph Lawler and Michael Smith were over their offensive remarks, how they apologized on-air, and directly to Hamed Haddadi before a Vancouver/L.A. game in the presence of three members of the Alliance of Iranian Americans.

It seemed like a serious situation, and as I read on, a transcript of the offensive exchange was at the end. Here it is:

Smith: “Look who’s in.”

Lawler: “Hamed Haddadi. Where’s he from?”

Smith: “He’s the first Iranian to play in the NBA.” (Smith pronounced Iranian as “Eye-ranian,” a pronunciation that offended a viewer who complained.)

Lawler: “There aren’t any Iranian players in the NBA,” repeating Smith’s mispronunciation.

» read more

Questions about Tiger Woods’ car accident

By now, you’ve probably heard about Tiger Woods single-car accident. Woods has issued a short press release, but has otherwise been silent. This leaves a lot of unanswered questions, such as:

1. Where was Tiger Woods going at 2am in the morning?

2. Did his wife, Elin Nordegren, cause his injuries?

3. Is Tiger Woods Woods cheating on his wife? » read more

Oprah Winfrey, Barack Obama, and a nauseating Christmas special

Do you have any plans on December 13th at 10pm? If you have nothing better to do, you can watch Oprah Winfrey’s Christmas Special. It will include a tour of the White House, a conversation with Barack and Michelle Obama, and an interview with the President. I’m sure the interview will be filled with hard-hitting questions.

The celebrity President will probably be right at home, since there will likely be several teleprompters around. At any rate, I wonder why the special is aring on ABC rather than Fox News? I think Glenn Beck would have done a great job hosting.

Chris Matthews misses the point on Patrick Kennedy

Bishop Thomas Tobin appeared on “Hardball” to discuss his decision to ask Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy to refrain from receiving Holy Communion. The funny thing is that Thomas Tobin is criticized in this clip, even though Patrick Kennedy began this nonsense by criticizing the Catholic Church’s stance on abortion, then brought up a conversation he had with the Bishop 2 years ago, when he was asked not to receive Communion.

In the interview, Chris Matthews seems thoroughly confused. Part of it may be due to him attempting to reconcile his prochoice stance with his life as a Catholic. He continually criticizes the Bishop and essentially demeans him by asking how he would write particular laws, and attempts to make him look incompetent. » read more

The partnership between Microsoft and News Corp seems odd

Sometimes, I feel like I’m missing something. As a blog owner, I like writing, and I like having people read what I write. You might notice that many blogs also advertise. Even though the typical blogger doesn’t make much money from their posts, some bloggers do quite well financially. Since advertising a blog can be costly, the dream is to get good placement in the results of the major search engines. Normally, high traffic can mean high revenue, while reduced traffic can mean less revenue. That’s why News Corp’s Rupert Murdoch has me puzzled.

There’s no doubt that Rupert Murdoch is a bright, successful guy. That’s why his latest idea seems to be risky: Removing all of his newspapers from Google’s index. News Corp owns well-known newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal and The Sun. Murdoch seems to feel that Google is unfairly benefiting from News Corp’s content. In the past, Murdoch had mentioned ending their use of a free model and going to a subscription format. Now, another plan may have surfaced. » read more

Running a race or running a campaign?

If you were writing an article about the electability of a politician and their future in government, what type of photo would you use? If it were me, I’d probably stick to a photo which portrays them as they are most commonly seen. For politicians, this would be in a traditional business suit. This makes sense to me, but I’m assuming that the person choosing the photo is unbiased and interested in presenting a fair picture of the individual. » read more

Barack Obama’s approval rating continues to fall

What do you think about Barack Obama? For many Americans, the answer to this question has changed dramatically over the last 11 months. According to Gallup, 68% of American approved of Barack Obama shortly after his inauguration, while just 12% disapproved. Today, the latest approval rating is just 50%, while those who disapprove has increased to 44%.

Support among Democrats has been steady, while there has been a drop in support among Republicans, and a substantial decrease among independents. If you compare Barack Obama’s poll numbers to other Presidents at the same point in their Presidency, the numbers aren’t good. George W. Bush leads at 87%, followed by John F. Kennedy at 79%, George H.W. Bush at 70%, Dwight Eisenhower at 60%, Richard Nixon at 57%, Jimmy Carter at 56%, Ronald Reagan at 52%, and Bill Clinton at 49%. Isn’t it strange that the only President on the list to have a lower approval rating was also widely criticized for his handling of health care reform? What a coincidence! » read more

Lou Dobbs to run for Senate…or President

After more than 30 years at CNN, Lou Dobbs is considering his career options. It appears that politics might be in his future. He is reportedly considering a run for U.S. Senate in New Jersey, or an independent run for President in 2012. Dobbs had this to say:

“I am ruling nothing out. … I have come to no conclusions and no decisions,” he said. “Do I seek to have some influence on public policy? Absolutely. Do I seek to represent and champion the middle class in this country and those who aspire to it? Absolutely. And I will.”

If Lou Dobbs were to run for President, he would certainly be a factor. Presidential debates normally include the Democrat and Republican, but exclude candidates from other parties. If Dobbs were to run, he would almost certainly poll well enough to be included by the debate committee, thanks to his long television career. Giving Americans an opportunity to hear a different voice could draw some support from the other parties. Of course, Dobbs is also controversial. » read more

If only Fox News were more like…Jon Stewart?

The Obama administration looked bad once again as communications director Anita Dunn criticized Fox News and praised Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart. In a laughable moment, Dunn was able to keep a straight face as she said MSNBC isn’t biased. Her evidence? Former Republican Joe Scarborough is employed by the network. If hiring one person from another ideological background is the litmus test, then should Fox News meet that threshold by employing Geraldo Rivera?

Of course, Fox News is biased, and so is MSNBC. Fox has a conservative slant, while MSNBC proudly pushes the liberal agenda. Anita Dunn surely realizes this, but chooses not to acknowledge this because because she wants the typical person to believe that the glowing reports on MSNBC are the “truth” and not pure liberal propaganda. » read more

Barack Obama vs. Fox News

In a perfect world, the media would be 100% unbiased. They would cover every important story appropriately without prejudice and never bury some stories and over-emphasize others. They would approach each topic with indifference, in order to let readers come to their own conclusions. They would exist solely to gather and distribute information without any agenda other than the desire to have an informed citizenry. That should be the goal, but it is far from the reality.

I enjoy watching Fox News, but it certainly isn’t “fair and balanced,” as the network claims. There is certainly a conservative slant that cannot be denied. I hear this mentioned frequently, but what I don’t hear mentioned often is the liberal bias demonstrated by MSNBC. They behave exactly like Fox News. They just do so at the opposite end of the political spectrum. » read more