Journalism
The truth about the anti-health care reform rally in Washington, DC
Mar 24th
There are really only a limited number of conclusions that can be made concerning the media coverage of the anti-health care reform rally that took place in Washington, DC, 20-21 March 2010. Among those conclusions, I have first hand experience that no coverage that I’ve seen thus far has been anywhere close to accurate. I was there all day long on the Capitol grounds on both Saturday and Sunday.
The majority of media coverage that I have seen portrays the numbers as much fewer than I experienced and characterized the group as out of control racists coordinated by the GOP. I received no such request by any political group, nor did my traveling companions, one of which was a lifelong Democrat. I saw and met thousands of people from all around the country who are concerned about losing their freedom and desired that the government return to operating within its Constitutional limits of power. Not one time did I hear, nor did I read any sign that was racist in nature or intent. I saw people of all ethnic backgrounds and races on both sides of the issue co-mingling through the crowds and saw not one instance of the hatred that the media projected upon the participants of this rally.
I walked around and throughout the crowd seen in this video on Saturday, and found less than a dozen participants (anti-war protesters) who were not part of the anti-health care bill sentiment. This video give a good impression about how many participants there were at the height of the rally.
Anti-health care reform rally, Washington, DC, 20 March 2010
Rally participants outside of congressional office buildings.
Where was the media when I saw someone through a window on the third floor of our Nation’s Capitol, the House Rules Committee Office, flip a middle finger to American Citizens on the ground below on Sunday? What that unknown servant of the People projected in their crass salute was a metaphor for what a majority of the House of Representatives would do to the American People later that day.
This is the first time that I have experienced firsthand the incompetence and bias in the mainstream media. It is sure not to be the last.
Obama administration rhetoric is suspect: Their lackey, the U.S. media.
Feb 4th
I can’t help but take notice of the the vitriolic rhetoric coming from the Obama administration against Toyota in its recall of over 4 million of its automobiles Worldwide. Yesterday in testimony before Congress, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood said “My advice is, if anybody owns one of these vehicles, stop driving it, take it to the Toyota dealer because they believe they have the fix for it.” and then confirmed that his federal department is looking into levying civil penalties against the automaker. In a statement the same day LaHood said “I want to encourage owners of any recalled Toyota models to contact their local dealer and get their vehicles fixed as soon as possible. NHTSA will continue to hold Toyota’s feet to the fire to make sure that they are doing everything they have promised to make their vehicles safe. We will continue to investigate all possible causes of these safety issues.”. These particularly inflammatory statements predictably caused stock prices for Toyota to immediately drop and a panic among Toyota owners who deluged dealers with demands for immediate action.
LaHood later took a step back from his comments and the same day White House Deputy Spokesman said “The administration’s involvement with GM, of course, would not have any impact on this administration’s commitment to making sure that Americans are kept safe on our roads”. This was said even as GM launched a campaign targeting incentives specifically toward Toyota owners.
The U.S. mainstream media, too focused on the blood in the water, is oblivious to the particularly biased government-backed pressure on Toyota. The recent and near-constant barrage of mainstream media hype about this particular recall has attained an unprecedented fervor that is fueling a pro-bono slander campaign against Detroit’s (and Obama’s) biggest non-union competitor. This attention has also stirred up union-backed anti-foreign product sentiments, despite the fact that Toyota makes the top-three American Made automobiles in the Country with non-union American Labor.
Since the initial bailout of GM by the federal government and the Cash for Clunkers program, auto sales have dropped sharply for the government controlled and largely union-owned automaker. Pandering politicians like Michigan Democrat U.S. Rep. John Dingell, (D.-Mich.), who wrote in a letter “NHTSA’s actions related to the Toyota recalls trouble me, especially as reports of sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles predate the recalls by at least two years.” I’m sure there’s no conflict of interest in this statement either…
The fact remains that Toyota has a problem with certain models of an electronic accelerator pedal that might stick which has been linked to many accidents, some of which may have caused deaths. Absolutely, Toyota should take care of this problem and it appears to be doing so. However, government interest and control of major private industry cannot be overlooked in these matters. The Obama administration has much to gain or lose from the ultimate success or failure of General Motors and Chrysler companies. Where is the unbiased media attention regarding this?