FACT CHECK: Palin Goes Rogue on Some Details

Nov 13, 2009 - WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sarah Palin's new book reprises familiar claims from the 2008 presidential campaign that haven't become any truer over time. Ignoring substantial parts of her record if not the facts, she depicts herself as a frugal traveler on the taxpayer's dime, a reformer without ties to powerful interests and a politician roguishly indifferent to high ambition. Palin goes adrift, at times, on more contemporary issues, too. - 5 Comments

The DORF Matrix: Towards a Theory of NPR's Taste in Black Music

Oct 22, 2009 - Source     Posted Monday, October 12, 2009 4:07 PM | By Jody Rosen   In August, National Public Radio's flagship music program All Songs Considered published "The Best Music of 2009 (So Far)," a rundown of the top 30 songs and albums of the year-to-date as voted by the show's listeners.   The results of the survey suggest that the All Songs Considered audience has a fuzzy understanding of the word "all." "The Best Music of 2009 (So Far)" consists almost entirely of indie-rockers: acts like The Decemberists, Wilco, Grizzly Bear, Neko Case, Andrew Bird, Regina Spektor, and Animal Collective, the Brooklyn art-rock group that took the top spot in both the best songs and best albums tallies. - 3 Comments

Misery math: Great Recession by the numbers

Oct 11, 2009 - NEW YORK - A year ago this weekend, the Dow Jones industrial average had just finished a slow-motion crash. Over eight days, it fell 2,400 points, or 22 percent, and stood at 8,451. One year later, the Dow is at 9,865. - 1 Comment

Tom Brokow's World Implodes

Sep 15, 2009 - http://spectator.org/archives/2009/09/15/media-malpractice-tom-brokaws/   Media Malpractice: Tom Brokow's World Implodes By Jeffrey Lord on 9.15.09 @ 6:08AM Tom Brokaw. With the passing of Walter Cronkite, Mr. Brokaw is considered perhaps the new "dean" of journalism. As such the former NBC News anchor is periodically summoned forth to assess the current world, an occasion that presented itself recently on the venerable NBC Sunday newser Meet the Press. - 15 Comments

Dishonesty, Intimidation, Hypocrisy and Medicare Advantage

Sep 30, 2009 - by Newt Gingrich Posted 09/30/2009 ET   The editorial writers at the New York Times thought they were getting the White House’s back when they defended cuts to Medicare Advantage last week.  In fact, they were validating the blatant dishonesty of administration and congressional officials pushing for the cuts.   In their editorial last Sunday, the Times writers revealed in stunning fashion the lies that have been used to convince increasingly skeptical seniors that their Medicare Advantage benefits won’t be sacrificed to pay for government-run health care.   Dishonesty:  Cuts Won’t Affect Medicare Advantage Participants   In one breath, the Times claimed the effect of Medicare Advantage cuts will be “modest”:     “Although Republican rhetoric has triggered fears that Medicare Advantage enrollees might lose their coverage entirely if private plans drop out of the system, the real effect of the bill would likely be modest on average.”     Then, literally on the next line, the Times contradicts itself, and stumbles inadvertently on to the truth:   “The value of an enrollee’s added benefits would shrink by more than half from current levels but would not disappear; they would still be worth about $500 a year in 2019 (emphasis added).”     Intimidation:  Free Speech Rights of Insurance Companies Denied   Medicare Advantage was created to do what the Center for Health Transformation (CHT) has long fought for:  To give all seniors more private choices of higher quality health care.  It currently provides almost 11 million Americans coverage through private insurance plans.  Recent data shows that these seniors have better health outcomes than those in traditional Medicare. - 1 Comment

Obama and over exposure

Sep 14, 2009 - Barack Obama Jumps the Shark By Stuart Schwartz Barack Obama has jumped the shark. This past week was when the forty-fourth president of the United States tugged on his leather jacket, strapped on his water skis, roared off behind a motorboat and fearlessly jumped over a live shark   The term "jump the shark" comes from a late seventies Happy Days episode when the series, desperately trying to stop its ratings slide, had the character Fonzie, in his trademark leather jacket, water ski over a shark during a visit to Hollywood. Since then, a show or movie series that tries increasingly more desperate moves as its audience disappears is said to have "jumped the shark." - 9 Comments