"This week, Sarah Palin compared the Tea Party movement to the civil rights movement, saying that the same patriotic indignation drove both efforts, as well as the American Revolution. It's an interesting comparison. After all, the civil rights movement led to two landmark pieces of federal legislation, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965."Poor Audie Cornish; it's no wonder she's a bit confused. After all, she works at a Tea Party friendly news organization, which in the past week has run piece after piece bestowing the mantle of legitimacy on the Republicorporatist Tea Party movement. Tuesday morning featured a glowing account of Tea Party "star" Keli Carender whose blog profile states, "I will not allow corrupt socialists and communists to infect this country without a hard, hard fight." On Friday afternoon Don Gonyea was at the Tea Party convention in Nashville chatting up some real winners like Susan Curran who "sees President Obama as a threat to the Constitution and a threat to the America she loves." He also played a clip of Tom Tancredo's convention speech : "People who could not even spell the word vote or say it in English, put a committed socialist ideologue in the White House." Fortunately, by Saturday morning Gonyea was back to explain what socialism actually is and demonstrate that only a liar, fool, or ignoramus would accuse Wall Street friendly Obama of being a socialist (JUST KIDDING!). What Gonyea actually did was let Judson Phillips, the convention organizer, comment on Tancredo's speech by saying, "The word socialist ....has a very specific political meaning. It refers to a specific political ideology. And I think it's very clear that that is the political ideology of Barack Obama."
With all the tea vapors and talk of socialism swirling around the newsrooms at NPR, it's no wonder that Audie Cornish just got a little mixed up. So I figured I'd have one of my cartoon friends on to help Audie to play Who's the Civil Rights Hero?
15 comments:
You nailed it! Sweet Jesus, after I heard this piece this AM, I couldn't even focus on the Dan Schorr inanity that usually gets my dander up -- and that was an hour later.
I thought I'd reproduce my comment at NPR here:
Teebugs are paid by Dick Armey's Freedom Watch which is paid (like NPR) by the insurance lobby to go to town hall meetings armed to the teeth and carrying signs that say, in essence, "Lynch the N@gger" and NPR, without a trace of irony, allows Palin to equate that with the Student Non-violence Coordinating Committee? So racism+corporatism = the new civil rights movement? "You vote Obamacare, We'll vote you out of there?" Really??!!! You push me to the limits of non-violence.
btw, great comment My2words, funny no one who agrees with the comparison has chimed in.
I swear, NPR is pushing this crap (pissin' on Zinn & Shepard's wipe up; Breitbart; American Breakfast Tea, etc) because.... it's pledge week.
I'm pissed but not surprised that npr this am leads off with the 'tea party convention'.
This thing is only news bec. the media make it news. If the media gave even a smidgen of attention to a Socialist convention, or a Green convention or even a Dennis Kucinich talk, then they would be news too.
FAH!
or is that FEH!
You're in top form with this one MM.
This 13-year-old article from Current, What else changes after Buzenberg leaves? describes, in part, the move to corporatism at NPR:
It's certain that Buzenberg sees his job as inherently requiring fights with upper management. Typically, "News worries about independence and fights over the budget," he says. He's had to ensure that there's a firewall between News on the one hand, and fundraisers and underwriters on the other hand, he says.
The story is about how Buzenberg was fired and no one will say why.
Been looking into who managing editor of NPR, David Sweeney is and found this:
NPR to Stations: 'Avoid' Saying '46 Million Americans' Are Uninsured from the Business and Media Institute (Advancing the culture of free enterprise in America.)
The Business & Media Institute exposed the error of many journalists in July 2007 when everyone from politicians, to Michael Moore to major broadcast and print media were claiming that there were between 40 and 50 million uninsured Americans.
Those claims were incorrect because (at that time) the Census was reporting 46.577 million people uninsured in America – including nearly 10 million in the “not a citizen” category.
Apparently Sweeney is someone who picks up the phone when BMI calls and then relays BMI's directives to all the stations and news desks.
It seems that BMI is yet another of the many heads of the industry (Agency) lobbying group that includes (with some overlap) Creative Response Consultants and Swiftboat Veterans for Truthiness, or whatever.
On Friday afternoon Don Gonyea was at the Tea Party convention in Nashville chatting up some real winners like Susan Curran who "sees President Obama as a threat to the Constitution and a threat to the America she loves."
Don Begoneaway is a threat to good journalism and a threat to rational thinking in general.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
With this story I give you the smoking gun, the bloody glove, the Downing Street memo, the (GOP) elephant in the room, that there's no FOX News/Right Wing meme too stupid, too ahistorical, too insane that NPR will not repeat.
Yeah just like the civil rights movement, a bunch of white red neck goober no nothings, especially onerous given that the opening speaker gave a race-baiting anti-immigrant speech, (soft petaled by NPR).
Heck of a job Audie, Dr. King would be proud.
Anon,
Did you miss the all the time NPR devoted to the Green Party convention?
The Cynthia McKinney schmooz fest?
After all she was top of her ticket unlike Palin in the #2 slot!
The coverage they gave Kucinich's presidential run was so thoughtful, informative and extensive I began to tire of it.
IN MY DREAMS!!
I had a feeling, can't imagine why,
that NPR would lead with tea people and Palin.
Sadly, our media has given this bizarre group the cloak of credibility by the extensive coverage to the point that I heard all I could bear on BBC and worse yet, a bit on Al Jazeera.
grace
btw, this cartoon is darkly hilarious. Sad there was such a firm basis for it.
gs
Three items off the top of my head that could be said or mentioned when giving Tancredo any coverage.
Failed to raise even a modest amount of $$ when running for pres.
Failed to get primary votes.
Wants $500,000 back from his bad investment thru fund with Madoff.
Big government is okay if it is redistributing wealth to ppl like Tancredo.
And for all his anti immigrant rants, is the son of immigrants.
Maybe he can be more successful running for hypocrite of the year.
When will NPR & msm say ciao or adios to this creep?
gs
MyT:
What an ace you had up your sleeve here. You nailed this Party of No-Nothings spokesperson!
edk
Do you suppose Rosa Parks wrote the word "No!" on the palm of her hand to remind her what to say when the bus driver asked her to give up her seat for a white passenger?
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