Time and Newsweek aren’t much better than tabloid trash

Barack Obama: “The First Gay President.”

This week’s issue of Newsweek features a photo of Barack Obama with a rainbow halo and a headline proclaiming him as the “First Gay President.”. Of course, Barack Obama isn’t gay, it’s just Newsweek’s way of shocking people and grabbing headlines. I guess they’re not confident in the quality of their writing, and decided to use tabloid techniques to sell magazines.

It could also be a reaction to Time Magazine, which decided to place a picture of a woman breast feeding her child. That alone would be questionable, but when you take into account that the child was pretty big in comparison to his mother, it seemed very strange. Actually, sick is probably a better word. » read more

Memo to Drudge: Is this news?

I check the Drudge Report daily, and on a typical day, I check it several times. It’s a great way to keep up on the news, and it typically links to stories you won’t find in the main-stream media. It’s a great site, but sometimes, it leaves me shaking my head.

I’m used to the frequently misleading captions that link to articles on other sites. That’s annoying, but today, I think it topped itself. It’s headline featured the headline “Rick Rico ,” with a pictures of Rick Santorum wearing only swim trunks. This is news?

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3,000 hits isn’t synonymous with greatness

Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, two of the greatest players of all-time, never reached 3,000 hits

I know people are tripping over themselves in an effort to heap accolades on the New York Yankees Derek Jeter after his 3,000th hit. The worst part was the tendency for the media to constantly point out that he’s the only Yankee to ever attain 3,000 hits. Let me just point out one thing: 3,000 hits or not, Jeter isn’t in the same class as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, or Mickey Mantle.

After Jeter’s accomplishment, I checked out the list of career hit leaders. Here’s a list of the 28 men who reached 3,000 hits:

1. Pete Rose 4256
2. Ty Cobb 4189
3. Hank Aaron 3771
4. Stan Musial 3630
5. Tris Speaker 3514
6. Cap Anson 3435
7. Honus Wagner 3420
8. Carl Yastrzemski 3419 » read more

New York Times reporter Jose Antonio Vargas admits to being an illegal alien

Jose Antonio Vargas of the New York Times

Jose Antonio Vargas, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the New York Times, has admitted that he is an illegal alien. In his story, Vargas talks about how he came to the United States illegally 18 years ago when he was 12. He also details all the illegal and unethical things he and his family have done to stay here.

From what I’ve read, Jose Antonio Vargas is an intelligent, hard-working individual who has accomplished a great deal in his 30 years. He and his family have also broken immigration laws and committed document fraud, and now he is going public with his crimes. This might not be a popular sentiment, but the government needs to act. If it doesn’t, what kind of message is it sending? » read more

Bristol Palin’s book: Do publishers have standards any more?

Bristol Palin and her partner Mark Bellas from Dancing With the Stars

I just found out that Bristol Palin, daughter of potential Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, wrote a book. I was a bit surprised, since there doesn’t seem to be much reason for someone like her to write one. She’s 20 years old, and she hasn’t done anything of note besides passing through Sarah Palin’s birth canal two decades ago. Despite this, at least one publisher thought people would care about what she had to say. So what does she have to say? Not much. » read more

Ron Paul wins Republican Leadership Council’s straw poll

Ron Paul wins the Republican Leadership Council's Presidential straw poll.

It appears that Jon Hunstman paid for his votes. Check this out:

Rumors circulated here that Huntsman campaign had paid for supporters to attend the conference and a spokesman for the candidate, Tim Miller, didn’t deny that they had.

“Not commenting on internal strategy,” said Miller, adding: “The result demonstrates that young conservatives are responding to his record of success in Utah, willingness to take the debt problem seriously, and foreign policy message,”

Now, were these Huntsman supporters impressed with him, or were they just pleased with the free ride they were receiving? This looks like a rather desperate attempt to buy votes, which shows that these straw polls are a valuable source of media coverage. Remember this when Paul’s opponents try to down-play the results.

Former ambassador Jon Huntsman brought in many of his own supporters and still lost convincingly.

Weinergate: Anthony Weiner admits he lied

New York Representative Anthony Weiner admits that he sent graphic pictures to women on the internet.

Representative Anthony Weiner admits that the picture of a crotch sent to a college student was him, and that he sent it. Besides that, he admits to exchanging photos with six women over the past three years. Weiner also said he won’t resign.

This story seemed fishy from the beginnning. First, the picture surfaces, and he claims he was hacked but refuses to involve the authorities. Next he said the picture “could” be of him. Now that Other women have come forward, he feels its time to tell the truth. Of course, now he says he’s telling the truth. Are there any other facts out there that he forgot to mention? He wasn’t honest before, so why should anyone believe him now? » read more

MSNBC’s Ed Schultz calls Laura Ingraham a “right-wing slut”

Talk show host Laura Ingraham

After the Ed Schultz’s comments about fellow talk show host Laura Ingraham, I think he’s lucky to have a job. If MSNBC had any interest in being a serious news agency, they would have imposed a longer suspension or fired him. Of course, they make no effort to hide their biases. Their minions like to complain about right-wing news sources, but let’s face it, MSNBC is the left-wing Fox News.

In case you missed Ed Scult’s comments, the audio from his tantrum is below.

Barack Obama hires a Blog Czar

Barack Obama has created a position called the Director of Progressive Media & Online Response. I just call it the Blog Czar.

Barack Obama has hired a new “Director of Progressive Media and Online Response” named Jesse Lee. Since Obama just created this position, there’s no telling exactly what it will entail. It seems like Lee will be patrolling the internet for stories they don’t believe to be true, while making attempts to enhance Obama’s online image. Good luck with that Jesse!

I wonder why the Obama Administration didn’t just call him a “Blog Czar.” From what I’ve read, it seems like a fitting title.

Lara Logan attack makes you question media coverage

Lara Logan, of CBS News, was recently attacked in Egypt's Tahir Square

During celebrations in Tahrir Square in Egypt this past Friday, CBS News correspondent Lara Logan was brutally attacked. According to CBS News:

On Friday, Feb. 11, the day Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stepped down, CBS chief foreign correspondent Lara Logan was covering the jubilation in Tahrir Square for a “60 Minutes” story when she and her team and their security were surrounded by a dangerous element amidst the celebration. It was a mob of more than 200 people whipped into frenzy.

In the crush of the mob, she was separated from her crew. She was surrounded and suffered a brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating before being saved by a group of women and an estimated 20 Egyptian soldiers. She reconnected with the CBS team, returned to her hotel and returned to the United States on the first flight the next morning. She is currently in the hospital recovering.

There will be no further comment from CBS News and correspondent Logan and her family respectfully request privacy at this time.

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Aren’t there better options than Perez Hilton?

I just visited Alexa.com to check out the ranking for PerezHilton.com. For those of you who don’t know, Alexa provides traffic rankings for websites. Think of it as Neilsen ratings for websites. Anyway, after checking the rankings, I saw some disappointing statistics. Out of the tens of millions of websites in the world, PerezHilton.com is ranked 784th in the world, and 264th in the United States.

Why do I bring this up? Last night, Serene Branson of CBS2 was reporting live from the Grammy Awards, when her speech suddenly started to deteriorate and turn to gibberish. Some have speculated that her speech problems looked like the symptoms of a stroke. » read more

Esperanza Spalding and Lady Gaga: What’s right and wrong about music

Esperanza Splading won the Grammy for best new artist

What does a pop star do to distract people from the fact that their music is bland an uninspiring? They use gimmicks, stunts, props, and other nonsense to distract the sheep in the audience. If you need an example, look no further than Lady Gaga’s arrival and performance at the Grammy Awards.

Lady Gaga arrived in a translucent egg that was carried by four men. One of her assistants claimed she was “in an embryonic stage and won’t be born until the performance.” If you think I’m wrong, think about it: What is everyone talking about? Are they talking about her performance, or the the egg womb and the prosthetic shoulders? I rest my case. » read more

Julian Assange: Not as evil as you think

Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks

I think it’s safe to say that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is easily the most infamous person in the world. The big question is whether all the negative publicity is warranted.

Some have compared Julian Assange to a terrorist, and many have said repeatedly that he will have blood on his hands, since many of his leaks could endanger people. Of course, many of the people who are up-in-arms were also singled out for their own mistakes, so they might not be the best of choices if one is seeking an opinion. I’m not going to pretend there will be no negative ramifications from the Wikileak cables, but I do feel it will have some positive effects. » read more

Keith Olbermann is back on the air after much ado about nothing

After being suspended for giving campaign contributions to 3 liberal Democrats without MSNBC’s permission, Keith Olbermann will be back on the air. The suspension lasted for only two shows, and follows a great deal of criticism about the move.

I don’t like Keith Olbermann, I don’t watch his show, and politically, we’re about as opposite as you can get. With that said, suspending him was absolute nonsense. MSNBC’s policy on political donations is absolutely necessary for reporters and anchors who are trusted to be neutral and detached from the news they are reporting. Keith Olbermann is anything but neutral, and only an idiot wouldn’t realize that he is an unabashed liberal. By the way, there’s nothing wrong with that, since his show is opinion-based.
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Helen Thomas retires

It’s official: Helen Thomas has retired from the job she has had for nearly 60 years. As you might remember, Thomas criticized Israel by saying it’s citizens should go back to Poland and Germany.

I have a great idea. Maybe Miss Thomas can move to Iran and write about the Iranian government. I’m sure her views would be very popular with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

James Clyburn needs to focus on the real terrorists

Representative James Clyburn feels that Republicans are “aiding and abetting” terrorism. How are Republicans doing this? By criticizing Barack Obama! According to James Clyburn, criticizing the President and offering an opinion to the American people is considered “aiding and abetting terrorism.” In Mr Clyburn’s world, it is better to just sit quietly and allow the country’s leader to run roughshod over the nation. A totalitarian regime headed by Barack Obama might be Mr. Clyburn’s idea of a utopia, but it certainly isn’t mine. » read more

Rush Limbaugh mobilizes the troops

Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh

It looks like Rush Limbaugh has mobilized his listeners, and jammed Congressional phone lines and e-mails in the process. For the life of me, I don’t know why Rush Limbaugh doesn’t do this sort of thing more often. With his large, dedicated fan base, his suggestions could make a meaningful difference.

Charging for content will be a huge failure for the media

More and more news sites are thinking about charging for content. The newspaper industry is looking at dwindling circulation and assuming that their growing online readership will provide the path to profitability. They might be right, but they are heading in the wrong direction.

Online news sites benefit from type-in traffic and links from sites like Yahoo, Google, and the Drudge Report. Once sites require subscriptions, those links will disappear, along with the resulting traffic. What they’ll be left with is a small group of loyal readers willing to pay a reasonable fee for news that they could readily read at one of several free web sites. Let’s also remember that those links provided by news aggregators brought in visitors who clicked ads. When the traffic goes down, the ad revenue will probably follow. After all, do you want to advertise on a site that isn’t viewed much in comparison to its peers? » read more

Patrick Kennedy critiques the media

Let’s get this straight: Patrick Kennedy thinks the United States should leave Afghanistan and allow it to sink into even greater chaos? Sharp guy.

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