New York Times – Biased as Ever
Posted By John Moore on March 26, 2003
Referring to the alleged loss of life in a Baghdad market, the New York Times asserts [emphasis added]:
“The deaths of civilians in a working-class neighborhood in Baghdad called into question the Pentagon’s assertions about the accuracy of its precision weapons. American officials said late today that the airstrikes, just before lunchtime, were intended to destroy mobile missile launchers placed in the neighborhood. Some of the launchers were less than 300 feet from homes, a statement by the American military said.”
The Pentagon has stated all along that even with the most precise weapons, there would be some civilian loss of life. They have also reminded journalists that not all weapons hit their target, due to malfunction or anti-aircraft fire.
But the Times statement implies that the Pentagon has claimed perfect accuracy for every weapon.
This is characteristic New York Times bias and is one of the reasons it is losing whatever little respect it has left.
By the way, the Pentagon says that the explosion may have been triggered by the Iraqi’s. It occurred in a Shia neighborhood, and the Shias have always been enemies of the Baathist regime.
The New York Times, long known as “The Gray Lady of Journalism,” is getting distinctly senile.
The new york times editorials on 8/21/03 condemns Hamas but does not report the terrible living conditions for Palestinians that produces Hamas.
Hamas is created by terrible ideas, not terrible living conditions.
There are many, many people who live in worse conditions than the Palestinians who do not intentionally murder innocent civilians as a matter of policy.
The Palestinians (and the Arab leaders who have long used them) are responsible for their own problems. The land they were in was conquered only after Israel was attacked from that land. Israel has sacrified huge numbers of civilians in an attempt to create conditions where the two peoples can live in peace. The Palestinians have responded with terrorism, initially against the whole world, and when that didn’t work, focussed on Israel.
There can be no excuse for barbarism. If the Palestinians choose to behave like barbarians, they may find themselves treated as such.
I would never have the patience of Israel, and I don’t think the US would either. If we had had the corresponding level of attacks against us, our actions would have made those of the Israelis seem positively wimpy.
It is people in the world, especially in Europe, who make excuses for the Palestinians and try to equate their barbarism with Israel’s defensive actions who help perpetuate the violence.
Those who condemn the hamas for their acts of terrorism are in the right. Any act of terrorism that is committed is purley unaceptable and should not be tolerated wether or not people live in bad conditions. there are plenty of other nations that are in bad states or have lived in bad states and has not lowered themselves to such acts of cruelty.
Washington – Democratic leaders gathered today in the nation’s capital to relish a period in American history when the Democratic Party easily commanded electoral victories in Congress and the presidency: the Great Depression. The event, titled: “The Road to Great Misery is the Ticket to Victory,” was hosted by DNC Chairman Terrence McAuliffe. Speakers included former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean, former President Clinton, and Democratic spiritual leader Osama bin Ladin.
DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe began the program by outlining the conditions that occurred during the Great Depression, including unemployment, economic stagnation, and businesses collapsing. Most Americans don’t want the Great Depression to happen again, but then again, they are not running a major political party that has been losing national elections since 1994. The solution to winning national elections, said Mr. McAuliffe, is to bring back the Great Depression.
Looking back at the time period of 1929, Mr. McAuliffe stated: “Listen, I know people don’t want to hear this, but we need a Depression, guys. That’s the only way we’re going to win this thing in 2004. We need to see massive unemployment and people jumping out of buildings.”
Mr. McAuliffe later mentioned what steps the government would be able to take once the Great Depression returned. He said his party would “propose things like national civil service jobs where people pick up garbage from the highways for $6.50 per hour. . . we can pay for this by raising the top marginal tax rate to 95%, which hopefully will create a larger economic contraction, and thus increase our political opportunities.”
Prosperity is not a good thing and should be looked at skeptically, said McAuliffe, because Americans will then be motivated to spend more of their time engaged in the private-sector, minding their own business without being concerned about Democrats taking back control of the government. “We simply cannot stand here and let Americans shop at the GAP when important issues, such as Democratic control over government are more important than ever before. If we aren’t in power, who will be there to protect terrorist sympathizers and call them patriotic; who will be there to protect anti-American professors, welfare mothers, malcontents, dissidents, Martha Stuart, and other Democratic constituencies?” the DNC Chairman said.
Former President Clinton, impeached by the House of Representatives and disbarred from his home state of Arkansas and the U.S. Supreme Court, said that his greatest mistake was letting Americans keep any of their paychecks.
Clinton ruefully said: “I knew that I had made a mistake. A lot of Americans really didn’t believe I created 18 million jobs. Heck, FDR was able to keep winning elections even with 17% unemployment.” Clinton paced back and forth in the room as he thought through what he would do differently if he could re-do his entire presidency. “What I ought to have done, which would have been effective in making Al Gore President, is to do what FDR did: tell business leaders not to invest; take over industries; raise taxes to the moon so no one can start a business in America; create a lot of red tape so people have to jump through hoops to do anything economically productive. It worked for FDR; it could have worked for Al.”
Clinton’s audience included a broad spectrum of the ideological spectrum, including an assortment of professors in Islamic and women’s studies, students with images of the flag upside down and tattered, bankruptcy attorneys, and poverty-studies graduate students. One poverty-studies graduate student, Robert Heim, told Mr. Kerry that if the Bush prosperity continues, he will be out of a job since few Americans would support continued funding of poverty studies when there is no poverty to study. “I am really afraid of losing my job, Mr. Kerry, and it’s vastly important that you bring back the Depression!” Heim said.
John Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee, tried to calm Hein’s fears by stating that he would continue to publicly criticize President Bush on job losses while privately seeking to create conditions that would retard job creation. “Like you, I agree that America has to lose millions of jobs if we are to radically nationalize private industries. However, there are a number of Americans who want to keep their jobs, too, and I’ll be sure to keep them happy long enough to vote for me.”
After mentioning this, John Kerry’s wife, Tereza Heinz Kerry, yawned and asked her husband to take her home. He left amid intense Secret Service protection. DNC Chairman Terrence McAuliffe then announced the last speaker, Osama bin Ladin, the Democratic spiritual leader. Mr. bin Ladin thanked Howard Dean for a spirited election campaign, Bill Clinton for his service to the pro-terrorist crowd, and repeated his endorsement of John Kerry for U.S. President.
“Let me tell you it is an honor to speak with you infidels in the audience. We all know that a second Great Depression would be a great electoral advantage for the U.S. Democratic Party. I can help you accomplish this,” Osama bin Ladin said, without being more explicit. The Democratic audience gave bin Ladin a standing ovation and clapped wildly. Osama bin Ladin was seen later drinking tea with many observers in the audience.
Although Osama bin Ladin is a rabid Islamic fundamentalist terrorist, he apparently has much in common with American leftists. He hates capitalism, Israel, Bush, free-trade, and the military just as much as university professors do. Perhaps that is why the session ended with Terry McAuliffe asking participants to join the Osama bin Ladin DNC PAC of 2004, which raises money for Democratic female candidates who believe that Americans should not sit in judgment of the terrorist leader Osama bin Ladin. As McAuliffe said, “Bush prefers to attack bin Ladin. I don’t think that is entirely productive and it is not effective in accomplishing our goal of electing John Kerry for President.”
My blog is here.