Media Bias - Nothing to See Here, Just Move Along

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I heard about this - plus the audio - on Glenn Beck's show on Thursday. At first, I thought it was a parody - but it wasn't. Now, I thought the guy claiming Obama is a fascist could have presented some cogent arguments, but it was pretty clear where the interview was headed even before it started - "Chicago style tea - does that come with the pizza as well too, Susan?"

"Well, you know, this is, uh, a party for Obama bashers. I had to say this is not entirely representative of everybody in America."

Nice to see you so "fair" and all - if it were anyone on the left protesting, you'd certainly include that disclaimer, now wouldn't you?

"This was organized by three different conservative groups."

Yes, I've noticed in the past how well y'all look into the organizers of liberal protests - like the constant hounding of George Soros, for instance. Oh, wait....

Susan Roesgen interviews the guy who stubbornly insists Obama is a fascist, and does a poor job of supporting his argument. But, honestly, considering what happens next, would a logical presentation of ideas matter to Ms. Liberal Sound Bite?

"Why do you say he's a fascist? He's the President of the United States."

What about being the President is a talisman against fascism? And when did we go from objective reporting of the news to defending the President against criticism?

"Do you realize how offensive that is?"

She doesn't see how offensive current events are to the protesters - which, by the way (disclosure), would include me. She also doesn't see how offensive she is - the supposedly unbiased and unswayed by any opinion professional reporter she so obviously isn't.

Then, she interviews the guy with the little girl who tried to use Lincoln as historical perspective.

"Okay. Let's see. You are here with your 2‑year‑old and you are already in debt. Why are you here, sir?"

He tries to answer: "Because I heard the president say he believed in what Lincoln stood for. Lincoln's primary thing was he believed that people had the right to liberty and had the right" interrupted

"Sir, what does this have to do with taxes?"

Glenn said: "This shows the ignorance of this reporter. She doesn't have any clue as to what this man is talking about. What this man is talking about is Abraham Lincoln saying it is immoral to pull down the house of one to build another house for someone else. You can't do that. He thought it was immoral, he thought it was unconstitutional. You do not take the fruits of the labor of one person and give them to someone else. He was very clear. But she didn't even know where he was going with this because she clearly doesn't understand and she's like, well, what does this even have to do with taxes? That was the point of Abraham Lincoln! You cannot take and tear down the house of one to build a house for another. That has everything to do with taxes. That is the point that Abraham Lincoln was trying to make."

This is when the "interview" gets surreal.

" Sir, what does this have to do with taxes? What does this have to do with your taxes? Do you realize that you're eligible for a $400 credit"

Why you uneducated unwashed convervative mouth breather. Don't you realize your munificent goverment allows you to keep $400 of the money you should gratefully fork over? What a deal!

"Let me finish my point" (what? Just who is interviewing whom here? Couldn't Ms. Unbiased Journalist take a moment to actually, oh, I dunno, do her job?) "Lincoln, Lincoln believed that people had the right to share in the fruits of their own labor and that government should not take it, and we have clearly gotten to that point. "

"Wait, did you know that ‑‑ did you know that the State of Lincoln gets $50 billion out of this stimulus? That's $50 billion for this state, sir.

What? What? There is so much "fail" in this little slip of information that I had to get out the duct tape to keep my head from exploding. Yep, this guy's home state would get $50 billion from the Feds. How much did the State of Lincoln send? Why shouldn't the State of Lincoln keep it in the first place? Why should there be that much tax money floating around? I guess when you're talking trillions, a few odd billion or so should keep the proles happy.

And she quoted a line from Illinois' license plates to counter the gentleman's Lincoln quotes? "Land of Lincoln" it says. So, because he is in the state of the Land of Lincoln - that is her answer to the moral implications of the guy's assertation that Lincoln was against excessive taxation?

She then ends the interview with some pretty scathing commentary - but she's a reporter of course, not an editorialist.

"I think you get the general tenor of this.It's anti-government, anti-CNN. Since this is promoted by the highly right wing conservative network Fox, and since I can't really hear much more and because I think this is not really family viewing - toss it back to you, Keira."

She just got through grabbing a big stick and stirred up a pot full of sh*t, and now she's complaining about the smell. It's like she jumped a bunch of antiwar protesters with declarative statements about how the draft should be started again to deal with you kids, or she did smoky burnouts with a Hummer in front of a global warming crowd before telling them they were full of it while getting the "unbiased" truth of the story. So, she wades in and insults the protesters, they respond, and it's not family freindly. She obviously cannot buy a clue.

Anti-government and anti-CNN? A bit of a Freudian slip? Hand in hand, they are showing us the true path to righteous groupthink, and those evil hate mongerers at Fox are slowing the wheels of progress. Odd that she actually applied at Fox, and was rejected. Harboring a bit of resentment, much?

And, it's kinda odd that CNN has shut down her email account and she's on a "pre-planned vacation," so she cannot be reached now.

Enjoy your vacation, Susan. I'd recommend you read up on journalistic principles, or just study the difference between journalist and editorialist and the appropriate place for both, but I fear there is no cure for moron fail.