Part II: Media Bias and The Sounds of Silence--And Crickets

In a previous post, we mentioned that left-of-center media polemicists and politicians often accuse their right-of-center counterparts of lying even though it is the left that often puts forth disinformation, canned talking points, or other forms of obfuscation. In other words, a classic case of projection. The unprofessional, inappropriate outburst by the formerly obscure South Carolina congressman notwithstanding, nothing has changed. If anything, the left has stepped up its efforts.

So, with that in mind, here is the second installment of our media bias roundup (in no particular order). Again, please feel free to forward additional double-standard examples to us--or in the alternative, let us know if you disagree with our premise. As in Part 1, we include the crickets sound effect (well known to political- and sports-talk radio fans) to signify instances when the so-called mainstream media ignores--primarily for ideological reasons--a legitimate news story.



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Republican lawmaker calls President Obama a liar
Media response: saturation coverage, demands for assorted groveling

Democrat lawmakers spend eight years calling President Bush
a liar
Media response: crickets

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Republican lawmaker leaves office early to run for higher office
Media response: strong denunciation, quitter

Democrat lawmaker stays in office (thereby neglecting
his/her job) while running for higher office
Media response: crickets

===================================

Scattered, random offensive signs at "tea party" rallies
Media response: focus coverage almost exclusively on
the small percentage of offensive signs

Extensive number of offensive signs at anti-war, anti-capitalsm,
anti-globalism, or other left-of-center demonstrations
Media response: crickets

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Right-of-center politician who supports school choice
sends children to public schools
Media response: crickets

Left-of-center politician who opposes school choice and
unconditionally supports teachers union sends children to
private school
Media response: crickets

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Right-of-center think-tank releases study or representative
of think tank appears on cable news network
Media response: makes sure to ID think-tank as conservative
[also raises issues concerning who is funding the organization]

Left-of-center think-tank releases study or representative
appears on cable news network:
Media response: no adjective included
in front of think-tank's name--no discussion of funding sources

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Right-of-center candidate runs negative ads
Media response: unseemly, undignified, poisonous
of the electorate, "smear machine"

Left-of-center candidate runs negative ads
Media response: crickets

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Right-of-center former govt. official makes big
money on lecture tour
Media response: greedy, excessive, compromising

Right-of-center former govt. official makes big
money on lecture tour
Media response: crickets

===================================

Embarrassing info on the family of right-of-center
politician or activist--or politician him/herself.
Media response: major headlines and coverage

Embarrassing info on the family of left-of-center
politician or activist--or politician him/herself.
Media response: crickets

===================================

Right-of-center blog/website reader posts offensive
comments. Media response: yet another example of
lack of civility, extremism

Left-of-center blog/website reader posts offensive
comments. Media response: crickets

===================================

Right-of-center politician supports traditional marriage
and/or takes pro-life position
Media response: constant mention

Left-of-center politician supports traditional marriage
and/or takes pro-life position
Media response:crickets

===================================

Hate crime allegedly committed against media-favored
group Media response: saturation coverage

Hate crime allegedly committed against media-disfavored
group Media response:crickets

===================================

Right-of-center persons regularly mischaracterized as
"racist"
Media response: accept caricature at face value

Longest serving Democrat in U.S. Senate is a former
Ku Klux Klan member
Media response: crickets

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Top White House Official: Mao and Me

FNC's quirky and controversial Glen Beck seems to cry on camera more than someone sitting down for a Barbara Walters interview. Perhaps he was understandably moved to tears by this footage of White House Communications Director Anita Dunn singing the praises one of her favorite political philosophers, Mao Tse Tung, the Communist dictator who sent tens of millions of Chinese citizens to their death.

Britain's Homeland Security Chief Defends Post-9/11 Actions

Our idea of torture is when the cable goes out or a slow Internet connection. But seriously, MI5--the UK's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency--is under investigation (sound familiar?) for allegedly outsourcing the torture of terror suspects. MI5's chief had this to say recently:

Jonathan Evans, the head of MI5, has defended Britain's decision to co-operate with foreign intelligence agencies accused of torture in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

Mr Evans, the director-general of MI5, said British lives had been saved as a direct result of intelligence received from overseas agencies in the years following the 9/11 attacks on the United States.

Speaking on Thursday night at a private event at Bristol University to mark MI5's centenary, he said they would have been "derelict in our duty" if they had not worked with foreign agencies in countering the threat from al-Qaeda.

Mr Evans acknowledged that contacts with agencies in countries with standards and practices "very far from our own" had posed "a real dilemma" for the service, but insisted he had "every confidence" in the way his officers dealt with them.

His comments come at a time when MI5 is facing a series of claims through civil courts that it colluded in the mistreatment of suspects held overseas, as well as an unprecedented investigation by the Metropolitan Police.

While he could not comment directly on the allegations, he said that it was "a very clear and long established principle" that MI5 did not collude in torture or solicit others to torture on its behalf.

However he said that events in the aftermath of the 9/11 had to been seen in the context of the times, when the UK and other Western countries were faced with a terrorist threat that was "indiscriminate, global and massive"...

The dilemma MI5 faced was whether to work with those security services which had experience of dealing with al-Qaida on their own territory, or risk cutting off a potentially vital source of information that could prevent attacks on the West.

"In my view we would have been derelict in our duty if we had not worked, circumspectly, with overseas liaisons who were in a position to provide intelligence that could safeguard this country from attack," Mr Evans said.

Separately, an FBI official identified the top three terrorism threats in the Missouri area (and perhaps by extension the entire country):

• fundraising for terrorist activities
• recruiting individuals to send overseas for terrorist training
• gang activity