George Will Is An Ass

He wrote a decent piece about beer and civilization. How the two grew together but in the end he had to throw some insults that do not help the piece at all.

But that is a potential stew of racial or ethnic sensitivities that we need not stir in this correction of Investor's Business Daily. Suffice it to say that the good news is really good: Beer is a health food. And you do not need to buy it from those wan, unhealthy-looking people who, peering disapprovingly at you through rimless Trotsky-style spectacles, seem to run all the health food stores.

I doubt Will has been in health food stores.

Keith Olbermann

As Atrios says:

It's quite interesting watching Keith Olbermann when he's in the mix with the rest of the MSNBC gang. He doesn't share the same set of basic assumptions about the world that most cable talkers, across the ideological spectrum, do. He's also more likely to tweak

Media Matters caught this gem.

During MSNBC's March 5 coverage of the March 4 Democratic presidential primaries and caucus, NBC News anchor Brian Williams and MSNBC hosts Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann discussed Sen. Hillary Clinton's March 1 appearance on NBC's Saturday Night Live. Referring to former SNL head writer Tina Fey's statement on the February 23 edition of SNL that " 'bitch' is the new black," Matthews asked: "Dare we repeat what Tina Fey said was the new black?" Olbermann responded: "There's another word that begins with the same letter as "black" does. Let's distance ourselves -- especially you. Distance yourself as far as you can from that." Matthews said, "No, anyone I think would be fair, from that regard."

Congratulations

To Josh Marshal and the gang at his Talking Points Media Empire. They won the George Polk award for media excellence. Here is Scott Horton at Harpers.

The George Polk awards remember a great CBS correspondent who died covering the Greek Civil War. They are, alongside the Pulitzer Prize, a recognition for the profession’s high achievers. Today Talking Points Memo, the team web effort led by Joshua Micah Marshall, has received a Polk Award for its coverage of the U.S. Attorneys Scandal. The award is well warranted, and TPM’s work on this front has been invaluable.

Of course, the Mukasey Justice Department recognized TPM in a different way. It declared the internet publisher persona non grata. That may be an equally significant badge of honor.

For most of the nation’s broadcast and print media, the announcements of a stream of resignations by U.S. attorneys across the country were not significant news. They were seen as routine personnel transitions. Marshall and his group are among the handful of people who quickly detected a pattern in the news and worked hard to bring the facts to the forefront. Notwithstanding a torrent of lies jushing from the Justice Department and the White House, they succeeded in laying bare a plan involving Attorney General Gonzales, White House Counsel Harriet Miers, and the President’s key political advisor, Karl Rove. Not coincidentally, all three have since left the Bush Administration. But the White House and Justice Department’s stonewalling continues. Indeed, it seems to get more melodramatic every week, as last week’s contretemps in the House showed.

Who Owns the Media?

Who owns the roads? It could be an Australian media conglomerate.

If you happen to live in Alice, TX, your news is now brought to you by an Australian firm, Macquarie, that builds toll-roads. The big story is about the mayor's dognapping, but tomorrow it may be why you want a toll road.

The same is true of several other small towns whose independent newspapers have been bought up by that firm, which is now vying for the growing toll-road building industry in the Trans Texas Corridor that the legislature in Austin is considering.

Hat tip Avedon

Getting Duped

The Scientific American has a great article on how the media distorts the news. I like the conclusion.

Nevertheless, an astute consumer of the news can catch many straw man and weak man fallacies by knowing how they work. Another strategy is to always consider a speaker’s or writer’s motivation or agenda and be especially alert for skewed statements of fact in editorials, television opinion shows, and the like. It is also wise to obtain news from more balanced news sources. An alternative approach is to try to construct, in your own mind, the best argument against what you have heard before accepting it as true. Or simply ask yourself: Why should I not believe this?

Do not assume that the TV news is trying to inform you. (bold mine) Via Avedon.

Bipartisanship

Glenn Greenwald takes on the beltway journalists and bipartisanship.

But more importantly, "bipartisanship" is already rampant in Washington, not rare. And, in almost every significant case, what "bipartisanship" means in Washington is that enough Democrats join with all of the Republicans to endorse and enact into law Republican policies, with which most Democratic voters disagree. That's how so-called "bipartisanship" manifests in almost every case.

Many people, especially partisans, always believe that their own side is compromising too much and that the other side is always winning, so it's best to consult objective facts in order to know how "bipartisanship" works. Here are the vote breakdowns by party over the last couple years on the most significant and contentious pieces of legislation, particularly (though not only) in the area of national security.

In almost every case, the proposals that are enacted are ones favored by the White House and supported by all GOP lawmakers, and then Democrats split and enough of them join with Republicans to ensure that the GOP gets what it wants. That's "bipartisanhip" in Washington:

To support the new Bush-supported FISA law:

GOP - 48-0

Dems - 12-36

Glenn goes on to provide many more examples. You should read the whole thing.

Stimulation Two

Tengrain presents the Bush tax cut stimulation plan. It is dummied down enough that even the media could understand what is going on. Not that the media will explain it to the people. Really click through. It is worth it.

Shameful

It is ashame that there is no mention of Edgar Allan Poe in this weekends Baltimore Sun. The Associated Press covered the Poe toaster. Every January 19th a man places half a bottle of cognac and three roses on Poe's grave. It has always been a mystery who does it. It would have been Poe's 199th birthday.

Political Reporting

Krugman takes a swipe.

Since this is an election year, the debate over how to stimulate the economy is inevitably tied up with politics. And here’s a modest suggestion for political reporters. Instead of trying to divine the candidates’ characters by scrutinizing their tone of voice and facial expressions, why not pay attention to what they say about economic policy?

In fact, recent statements by the candidates and their surrogates about the economy are quite revealing.

It is amazing how little reporting on issues the media does. If you want to find the candidates positions click on through.

Update: I just wanted to add these two links to show you the lengths the media will go to to not inform you of what is going on. On December 11, 2001, The Washington Post had four articles about John Edwards. None of them discussed his positions on the issues. Media Matters and Daily Howler.

Product Placement

The NYT has an article about how products are getting placed in TV shows. It is hard to believe that people do not realize that this happens. As a NASCAR fan, I get bombarded by advertising. I personally root for the number 17 DeWALT Powertools Ford, driven by Matt Kenseth. The announcers, commentators, drivers, crew chiefs, and everyone else is in on it. You are more likely to hear the name of a sponsor than the number of the car. Coke is the largest placer of product. It is easy to believe if you watch NASCAR. Drivers are always drinking it during interviews. Coke even had an add joking about which driver could get in TV the most drinking Coke. Rumor has it they get a bonus. Who cares?