Red Lines, Deadlines, Bylines and Storylines

By William L. Garvin 

“There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword. The other is by debt.”         John Adams

 

 

As the New Year begins, some things change and some things remain the same.  After the Obama administration’s political rush to exit Iraq, the al Qaeda forces have now recaptured Fallujah.  All the assistance, blood and treasure expended to provide Iraq with the keys to democracy seems to have been in vain.  Also, the democrat refrain from the president and his supporters that “al Qaeda is on its heels” has proven to be patently false.  Simultaneously, civilian and military casualties, which were front page news, accompanied by running fatality totals, during the Bush administration, no longer pique media interest.

There is a similar lack of media interest with Syria now that the numerous “red lines” have become a fading memory.  Apparently, the “Assad must go” mantra is no longer a best seller.  Apparently, all the world-threatening chemical weapons have been destroyed or minimized.  Apparently, all the refugee camps are no longer teeming with fearful families.   Apparently, once again, the Arab Spring is blooming magnificently.  Apparently, according to the once esteemed New York Times, the Benghazi murders REALLY were caused by a video!  If there were ever any doubt, the “Gray Lady” has now fully evolved into the “Bearded Lady,” just another propaganda freak in the media circus.

Given the lack of accountability at the highest levels of government, it is not surprising that the lack of accountability in media circles is not only accommodated but duplicated and exacerbated.  In the “look, a shiny object!” manic movement from deadline to deadline, there is little desire to follow through, thoroughly investigate, or expose failures in the progressive schematic.  More time will be devoted to the latest celebrity entering rehab than to matters that shape the future of this country.

This journalistic malfeasance ranges from the insignificant to the monumental.  For instance, in 1999, Al Gore said that all the polar ice caps would have been melted by 2014.  Well, here we are and irony of ironies.  A group of global warming scientists were trapped in ice at the Antarctic along with rescue ships!  The polar vortex is breaking cold records across the United States and airports are nearly “polar-ized’ and paralyzed.  What do you have to say about global warming now, Al?  Don’t worry; be happy; count your money…the media won’t ask.

On a larger scale of non-accountability, the media “bromance” with the President is typified by Chris Mathews of NBC.  “I look at Obama as a perfect American. I don't mean politically. We can disagree left and right on him. You can argue about the drones. Argue about the fiscal policy, all that stuff. But as a citizen. The guy went to school, he never broke a law. He did everything right.” gushed Mathews.  No need to remember his admitted use of marijuana and other drugs.  No need to pay attention to his continual changes via executive order to the “settled law” of Obamacare.  Why expect responsible journalism when Newsweek shows Obama with a halo on its cover and Barbara Walters admits “We thought that he was going to be – I shouldn’t say this at Christmastime, but – the next messiah” and Mathews continues to feels tingles up his leg?

But the long knives will come out to eviscerate any conservative who speaks up.  When Sarah Palin spoke about the rising national debt and resultant obligations to China, she said "When that note comes due -- and this isn't racist…but it's going to be like slavery when that note is due. We are going to be beholden to a foreign master. Because there is no plan coming out of Washington, D.C. to stop the incurrence of debt."  Naturally the PC police began bleating their racist rant.  Take note:  slave, slavery, enslavement, slavish and other derivatives may not be used in metaphors, similes, or allegories by white people!  And just ask David Howard (and others) what happens if you ever use “niggardly” in regard to budgetary matters.  (Pssst…it means “stingy”!)

Another reason liberals love to mock Palin is because she appears on Fox News, the ultimate sin.  However, no one on Fox ever wore tampon earrings.  No one on Fox ever said your children did not belong to their parents.  No one on Fox ever said someone should defecate in anyone’s mouth.  No one on Fox ever said a heart should be torn out and kicked around like a football then stuffed back in.  No one on Fox ever mocked a white family for adopting a black child.  All of this occurred on MSNBC, the leading Democrat media wing.  Don’t even bother hoping for change.