Who Has The Crystal Ball? : Information Clearing House: ICH

My conservative and Republican acquaintances believe that the “liberal media” is destroying America. When I ask them to identify the liberal media, the usual reply is, “all of it!” I ask them about Fox “News,” CNN, and point out that the TV networks are no longer independent but parts of large corporate conglomerates and that allof the “liberal” news anchors have been fired or died off.At that point my acquaintances fall back on the New York Times and the Washington Post.I remind them that the invasion of Iraq would not have been possible without the New York Times leading the way.

Judith Miller filled that newspaper with the neoconservative/Bush regime propaganda that was orchestrated to make the public accept US aggression toward Iraq. The Times later sort of apologized and Miller departed the paper.That left the Washington Post, apparently long a CIA asset, as the “liberal media” that is destroying America, until on October 31 the paper’s long-time pundit, David Broder, wrote that Obama should spend the next two years disarming the Republicans and renewing the economy by orchestrating a showdown with Iran.

Going to war with Iran, “the greatest threat to the world,” would simultaneously unite Republicans with Obama and restore the economy. By following Broder’s prescription, Obama “will have made the world safer and may be regarded as one of the most successful presidents in history.”

The war recovery? [Lefty David Broder encourages Obama to wage war in order to be re-elected]

When the midterm election cycle began, the prevailing opinion was that Barack Obama was cleverer and more inspirational than anyone else on the scene. As it ends, nothing appears to have changed.OH, YES, I know that Democrats have fallen into a peck of trouble and may lose control of Congress.

But even if they do, Obama can still storm back to win a second term in 2012. He is that much better than the competition.In what respects is he enduringly superior? Let’s start with the basics. He is much smarter than his challengers in either party, better able to read the evidence and come to the right conclusions.-snip-Here is where Obama is likely to prevail. With strong Republican support in Congress for challenging Iran‘s ambition to become a nuclear power, he can spend much of 2011 and 2012 orchestrating a showdown with the mullahs. This will help him politically because the opposition party will be urging him on. And as tensions rise and we accelerate preparations for war, the economy will improve.

Excerpt Read more at washingtonpost.com …

David Broder: Verdict Withheld?

WASHINGTON — I have this strange feeling that we are about to be badly misled about the political climate in this country. We are going to look at the returns on the biggest Republican victory in 16 years and think that it spells doom for the Democrats and a shift to the right in our politics. And we will be wrong.The size of the Republican gain will be exaggerated by the severity of their losses in the preceding elections.

They will pick up many seats in the House, perhaps 50 or so, because they lost so many in 2006 and 2008.A more realistic way of gauging their strength will be to ask about the size of their majority. And it is likely to be minuscule. If it reaches double digits, Republicans will have done very well. More likely, John Boehner will be elected speaker by a handful of votes.Moreover, it appears increasingly likely that Republicans will have to share control of Congress with a Democratic Senate. For the first time in eight decades, a shift in control of the House may not be accompanied by a similar shift in the Senate.

The mandate that is being given the GOP is of the most provisional sort.

Excerpt

WHAT IS THE FOURTH ESTATE or FOURTH BRANCH of GOVERNMENT?

 

 WHAT IS THE FOURTH ESTATE or FOURTH BRANCH of GOVERNMENT?
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SEE ALSO: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Estate
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Fourth Estate or Fourth Branch of Government?

excerpted from the book

Unreliable Sources

a guide to detecting bias in news media

by Martin A. Lee & Norman Solomon

A Lyle Stuart Book, Carol Publishing Group, 1990

p103
Does the press function as an independent Fourth Estate or as a fourth branch of government? Are media adversaries of the State or its accomplice?

TV’s top journalists are part of the wealthy and influential elite, often socializing with people they’re supposed to be scrutinizing. At an awards banquet for the Radio & Television Correspondents Association during Reagan’s second term, Kathleen Sullivan (at the time with ABC) was photographed on the arm of then-Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, while CBS Face the Nation host Lesley Stahl greeted the Republican Party’s national chairman Frank Fahrenkopf with a kiss. Vice President Bush serenaded the crowd with a speech and journalists got prizes ostensibly for good reporting.