The Associated Press’s business writers just won’t let go of their claim (or is it audacious hope?) that we are in a recession — not heading towards one, but actually in one.

Despite yet another decent economic report, this one on productivity, the AP’s Martin Crutsinger downplayed a significant beating of expectations, and continued to invoke the R-word (bolds are mine):

Click through to read the rest. At least if Obamessiah wins the Presidency we'll start to get good news from the MSM on the economy (regardless of the actual numbers). Just look at today compared to '96 heh

Labels: economy, MSM, recession

After two years of record-low ratings, both CBS News executives and people close to Katie Couric say that the "CBS Evening News" anchor is likely to leave the network well before her contract expires in 2011 -- possibly soon after the presidential inauguration early next year.

Ms. Couric isn't even halfway through her five-year contract with CBS, which began in June 2006 and pays an annual salary of around $15 million. But CBS executives are under pressure to cut costs and improve ratings for the broadcast, which trails rival newscasts on ABC and NBC by wide margins.

Her departure would cap a difficult episode for CBS, which brought Ms. Couric to the network with considerable fanfare in a bid to catapult "Evening News" back into first place. Excluding several weeks of her tenure, Ms. Couric never bested the ratings of interim anchor Bob Schieffer, who was named to host the broadcast temporarily after "Evening News" anchor Dan Rather left the newscast in the wake of a discredited report on George W. Bush's National Guard service.

Labels: CBS, failure, MSM

It’s the Politics, Stupid:

Comparing Labor Market Data in 1996 and 2008

Democrats on the Economy in 1996:

“Our economy is the healthiest it has been in three decades.” (President Bill Clinton, State of the Union Address, January 23, 1996)

Democrats on the Economy in 2008:

“The bottom line is that this administration is the owner of the worst jobs record since Herbert Hoover." (Senator Charles Schumer, Press Release, March 7, 2008)

Labels: democrats, economy, MSM, politics, republicans

Labels: democrats, MSM, scandal

Labels: Fred Thompson, MSM, Presidential campaign, Republican primary

Police: Father, Son Try To Kidnap Daughter's Fiancé
Family Says Matter Is
Private
POSTED: 5:48 pm EDT June 26, 2007
UPDATED: 8:57 am EDT June 27, 2007

MIDDLETOWN TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- A Bucks County father was accused of going to extremes to break-up his daughter's romance.

Police said the father and his son tried to kidnap her fiancé by beating him up and tossing him into a sport utility vehicle.

Robert Webber, of Middletown Township police, said he thought he was being dispatched to a Bucks County diner Friday night for a fight but once he got there he was in the middle of a family disagreement turned violent. "The victim advised me that his fiancée's family was trying to kill him, drag him into a car and take him somewhere, where he believed he was going to be killed," Webber said. Webber said the alleged victim told him his fiancée's family was upset the two had moved in together. (link)

Labels: crime, Islam, MSM

Four Women Fired for Gossiping

Idle Chatter Cost Four Seasoned Employees Their Jobs

What happened in the town of Hooksett, N.H., is no rumor.

Four town employees with 46 years of service between them were fired, in part for gossiping and discussing rumors of an improper relationship between the town administrator and another employee that Hooksett residents now agree were not true.

The administrator complained, and after an investigation the town council fired the women, finding, "Gossip, whispering, and an unfriendly environment are causing poor morale and interfering with the efficient performance of town business."(link)

Labels: gossip, MSM

Good Lord are those Democrats touchy!

Yesterday afternoon, I posted about allegations that Howard Dean had manipulated KS Governor Sebelius into criticizing the White House about federal response to the Greensburg tornado, as did others (a Technorati search should enlighten you as to how viral the story has become in the blogosphere).

The offended souls at the DNC have whittled down the reaction time to a very impressive overnight. Their lawyers sent a letter to both XM Satellite Radio (the ones who originally got the purported information) and to our buddies over at Free Republic. Both letters are not only denials of the facts as I mentioned them yesterday, but they also contain injuctions to cease and desist any further dissemination of allegations relating to this matter.

Did I just witness the 1st Amendment take a pick axe to the head?(link)

This is from Stop the ACLU and he links through to Michelle and others. Of course the story didn't originate from the blogosphere, merely grew wings there.

UPDATE:

I have received a comment from Coffee260, the Free Republic poster who is the subject of one of the above mentioned letters. I think it is definitive enough in its affirmation of the facts to pull it out of the dark recesses of the comment gallery and give it the exposure it belongs:

Coffee260 Says:
May 11th, 2007 at 12:32 pm e

RagingAnura–I posted the original post over at freerepublic, Howard Dean told Kansas Gov. Sebelius to Lie. I’ve since had correspondence with Jim Quinn of the Quinn & Rose show. He’s standing by the whole thing and had this to say about his source:

“i just got off the phone with my source. solid.”

And this about the C&D order by the KGB…oops…I mean the DNC:

“FUNNY. THEY HAVEN’T CONTACTED US”

So the stories specificity is so detailed that I think intimidation is their only defense.

Labels: BDS, democrats, MSM, scandal

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Politics as Usual

Mrs. du Toit

After receiving a quick email from my sister about the events unfolding at Virginia Tech, Kim and I turned on Fox News, just in time to hear a reporter at the White House Press Conference ask “Is the President reconsidering his opinions on gun control NOW?”

And, as usual, the Press Secretary responded calmly and politely.

That is not how I would have responded (which is why I’m not the White House Press Secretary).

Here is how I would have responded:

Listen, you heartless cow, you’re turning this into politics before the bodies have been identified and the next of kin notified. What kind of human being ARE YOU? Do you have ANY sense of compassion AT ALL? Can you turn off your agitate-for-all-things-stupid-machine EVER?

OK, you want to talk the politics of gun control? We’ll talk about it then.

No, the President is not reconsidering his stance on gun control because Virginia Tech is yet another reminder of how counterproductive and counterintuitive gun control is. Over 30 human beings have been added to the death toll, caused by gun control, and your side’s continued efforts to turn America into a nation of victims, instead of a nation of responsible adults. On the contrary, anyone who watched the events in Virginia and thinks that one more law would have made a difference is delusional. (link)

Labels: gun laws, MSM

House Schedules Vote on Iraq Resolution Feb 06 3:12 PM US/Eastern
By DAVID ESPO AP Special Correspondent

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Democratic-controlled House will vote next week on a nonbinding measure opposing President Bush's decision to dispatch additional troops to Iraq, officials said Tuesday, hastening a postelection clash between Congress and commander in chief.

The precise nature of the measure remains to be determined, the officials said, although Brendan Daly, a spokeswoman for Speaker Nancy Pelosi, said, it will be "our opposition to the surge" in troops.

The Pentagon is in the midst of implementing Bush's order to raise troop levels by 21,500, part of a plan to help quell sectarian violence in Baghdad.

Bush's revised strategy has sparked strong opposition among Democrats, and officials said that Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., had both pledged to their rank-and-file that next week's vote would merely be the first attempt to pressure the president to shift course in the war. Other legislation will be binding, they said.

Under House rules, Democratic leaders have the authority to advance a measure to the floor for three days of debate and a vote.

That stands in contrast to the Senate, where Republicans have so far blocked an attempt by Democrats to hold a full-fledged debate on a war that has claimed the lives of more than 3,000 U.S. troops.

House Democratic leaders charted their course as Defense Secretary Robert Gates told a Senate committee that U.S. forces might be able to start leaving Iraq before the end of the year _ if daunting conditions including subdued violence and political reconciliation are met. (link)

Labels: congress, MSM, politics

200 kgs of explosive used in ETA blast: Spain

Agence France-Presse

Madrid, December 30, 2006

Spanish police said some 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of explosive were used in Saturday's car bomb at Madrid airport which ended a nine-month ceasefire by armed Basque separatist group ETA.

Police based their estimate on the extent of the damage caused at a carpark at the brand new terminal four of the airport and the power of the explosion, which generated a huge pall of black smoke and shattered windows, the Europa Press news agency reported.

Investigators were checking hours of closed-circuit video to try to glean clues as to the identity of the bombers, who blew up a burgundy-coloured Renault van. (link)

Not a shot was fired yet the Somali jihad was suddenly over...

Xan Rice, in Nairobi
Sunday December 31, 2006
The Observer

Their fortress fell without a shot. After just nine days of clashes in Somalia's hinterland, the Islamists who had vowed to fight to the death abandoned Mogadishu, the city they had governed since June. From having controlled most of southern and central Somalia, they were holed up yesterday in the southern port city of Kismaayo, facing annihilation by Ethiopian troops.

Ali Mohamed Ghedi, Prime Minister in Somalia's transitional government - an irrelevance until last week - rode triumphantly into Mogadishu on Friday, announcing the end of 'terrorism' in the country. Ethiopia, which together with the US has stoked fears about the rise of a terrorist state {emp mine: LN} in the Horn of Africa, was basking in the success of a campaign that was swifter and more successful than anyone had predicted. (link)

Labels: Africa, Europe, MSM, terrorists

Dow closes above 12,500 for first time

AP Photo: In this photo released by the New York Stock Exchange, Noreen Culhane, third left, Executive...

By JOE BEL BRUNO, AP Business Writer 19 minutes ago NEW YORK - Wall Street surged higher Wednesday, hurtling the Dow Jones industrials past 12,500 for the first time as year-end bargain hunters picked up stocks across a variety of sectors. The auto industry was in focus after a meeting between executives at Toyota Motor Corp. and Ford Motor Co. sparked hope about a potential alliance between the two rivals. Shares of both companies moved higher on the speculation.

Further takeover activity lent support to the overall market after McClatchy Co. announced late Tuesday it agreed to sell the Star Tribune newspaper in Minneapolis to a private equity fund. Also, graphics communication company Cenveo Inc. agreed to buy rival Cadmus Communications Corp.

But investors looking to buff up their portfolios by year's end were behind most of the gains after major indexes languished last week. (link)

John Edwards joins presidential race

AP Photo: John Edwards smiles as he is interviewed by reporters during a break while working with...

By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer 7 minutes ago WASHINGTON - Former Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards jumped into the presidential race Wednesday a day earlier than he'd planned, prodded by an Internet glitch to launch a candidacy focused on health care, taxes and other domestic issues. The North Carolina Democrat's campaign accidentally went live with his election Web site a day before an announcement Thursday that was supposed to use Hurricane-ravaged New Orleans as a backdrop.

The slip-up gave an unintended double-meaning to his campaign slogan on the John Edwards '08 Web site: "Tomorrow begins today."

Aides quickly shut down the errant Web site but could not contain news of the obvious, even in the shadows of former President Ford's death.

"Better a day earlier than a day late," said Jennifer Palmieri, an Edwards adviser. (link)

Labels: economy, election, MSM

Pavlov's Blog
If you ever want an illustration of the psychological phenomenon known as conditioned reflex, write a disdainful article about blogs and get it into print. Our talented young colleague Joe Rago did just that yesterday, and, predictably enough, he was met with howls of outrage from the herd of iconoclasts collectively known as the blogosphere.

We need to clarify one thing, though. Chris Muir's Day by Day cartoon yesterday was devoted to faulting Rago's piece for about the most trivial error imaginable: a missing period at the end of a paragraph. Once that mistake was corrected online, Muir updated his cartoon (quoting verbatim): "Note: WSJ editurz have korrected punshuation punctuashion the period thing 10amEST.-Ed." Blogger Glenn Reynolds sneered, "I notice that Rago has fixed the typo, . . . after just a few hours, a speed that is only a bit slower than the average blogger."

Actually, it was your humble columnist (who also serves as editor of this Web site) who fixed this typo. What's more, we went back and checked, and it turns out that we, not Rago, were responsible for the typo in the first place. The period was there in the print edition, and apparently we deleted it through an errant keystroke while we were preparing the article for online posting.

You can still blame the MSM, though. After all, even though what we do has some resemblance to blogging, we are part of the mighty Wall Street Journal. (link)

Labels: blogging, MSM