News Roundup - Hour 1
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010-07-23/news-roundup-hour-1
Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke testifies before the House Financial Services Committee, 2008
Flickr user talkradionews
An ousted USDA official is offered her job back. Fed Chair Bernanke says the economic outlook remains "unusually uncertain." And the administration turns its attention to the struggling housing market. A panel of journalists joins Diane for analysis of the week's top national news stories.
Guests
David Welna
congressional correspondent, NPR.
Jeanne Cummings
Politico's assistant managing editor in charge of Enterprise.
Doyle McManus
columnist, Los Angeles Times.
News Roundup Video
The panelists discuss the USDA's firing of employee Shirley Sherrod over a video posting by blogger Andrew Breitbart that took Ms. Sherrod's remarks out of context, including the media's role. David Welna noted the Obama administration's apology to Ms. Sherrod and subsequent job offer for a new USDA position dealing with improving race relations, and Diane highlighted Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson's take on the incident:
The Diane Rehm Show (Friday News Roundup): The panelists discuss the possible appointment of Congressional Oversight Panel Chair Elizabeth Warren to head the Consumer Protection Agency:
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Let's hope the Friday Roundup moves beyond "What did the White House do wrong on the Sherrod controversy?" to something more important like, What has become of national reporting generally and to Fox News in particular?"
Fox has a pattern of playing to anxious whites in what the Nixon Administration pursued in its Southern Strategy, called "Negrophobia"
The examples: Van Jones, ACORN, New Black Panthers and now Shirley Sherrod.
Let's hope the Friday Roundup moves beyond "What did the White House do wrong on the Sherrod controversy?" to something more important like, What has become of national reporting generally and to Fox News in particular?"
Fox has a pattern of playing to anxious whites in what the Nixon Administration pursued in its Southern Strategy, called "Negrophobia"
The examples: Van Jones, ACORN, New Black Panthers and now Shirley Sherrod.
U.S./ALLIES vs. N KOREA: CHANGE OF STRATEGY- IF NOT NOW, WHEN??
PART 2:
One possible model:
North Korea retains a titular head of state, with, in effect, only ceremonial powers, while S. Korea, the U.S., U.K., Japan & allies pump whatever funding & civil resources are possible into N. Korea to enable the establishment of a- human rights based- secular, rule-of-law democracy with a briskly functioning responsibly regulated capitalist market system.... & with working energy, transportation, education, health & related infrastructure country-wide...
After nearly 60 years of stalemate between the minnow- HIGHLY IMPOVRISHED North Korea & the Goliath ENORMOUSLY WEALTHY U.S. & allies- during which countless millions of North Koreans have suffered egregiously- & unnecessarily died- wouldn't NOW be appropriate for a change of strategy by the player in this disaster (IE: U.S./allies) possessing the most to give & with- by far- the least to lose??
_________________
Roderick V. Louis
Vancouver, BC, Canada
A "one country, two systems" approach between the 2 Koreas- similar to (but in-reverse) that of Hong Kong after its handover from the United Kingdom to China in 1997...
A "one country, two systems" approach between the 2 Koreas- similar to (but in-reverse) that of Hong Kong after its handover from the United Kingdom to China in 1997...
A "one country, two systems" approach between the 2 Koreas- similar to (but in-reverse) that of Hong Kong after its handover from the United Kingdom to China in 1997...
...ought to have been expeditiously promoted years ago...
Contrary to the criticism coming from many in the media it wasn't just the administration that took Fox news reporting at face value and rushed to judge Shirley Sherrod. Many mainstream journalists also bought Fox News's story without fact checking which was highly unprofessional conduct.
Sadly just this morning I heard a prominent commentator excoriating the Democrats for not moving faster against Charlie Rangel. Since the accusations against him are complex and involve possible criminal charges they deserved to be examined carefully before ruining the man's career.
I thought the media would wait at least a week before advocating yet another rush to judgment but I am afraid many have learned nothing from the Sherrod debacle.
Even though we can acknowledge C. Coolidge's observation that the "chief business of the American people is business," the business community's disdain for the Obama administration is misplaced.
As posited by M. Zuckerman in a POLITICO article yesterday, the basis of this contempt stems from the admin.'s overly "hostile" rhetoric. This claim is risible when the reality of action - not words - are taken into account. Do these CEOs, et al., not understand that ALL business, and especially the financial industry, was near collapse? The Obama admin.'s intervention on their behalf literally saved their bacon.
The other concern about tighter regulation and the end to _parts_ of the Bush tax cut is also unwarranted. Business always fights for a laissez-faire approach, but what is apparent (again) from the economic disaster is that market busts occur rather frequently and it is the job of government to maintain some semblance of regulation to absorb extreme shocks and to provide system stability, all of which had deteriorated.
The close of the Bush tax cuts for those making over $200K will actually help the economy. As we have seen from the Clinton tax increase in 1992, that increase laid the ground work for balanced budgets and created one of the best economic expansion in recent history during the 1990s.
because they "judged a book by it's cover!"
this country is racist and no one will cut the president any slack.
maybe now Fox News will be exposed, but i doubt it.
steve
cambridge, ma
I feel sorry for Sherrod who was made to feel humiliated. Vilsak should resign, for one thing.
However a huge point (lost on most) is the reaction of the all black audience, not so much Sherrod. The NAACP admitted that in March, 2010, the audience "Yukked it up", enjoyed it when Sherrod told how she "dissed" the white man (which we later discover was 24 years ago.)
Mr Breitbart demonstrated the NAACP who is throwing stones against the Tea Party from a glass house. (Put aside the New Black Panthers)
Also Sherrod's bias against people who have money is VERY obvious. I guess even if a person worked their butt off for decades to be successful, and scrimped and saved -- since they became wealthy, they're to be despised by those who are poor, according to how I read between the lines of Sherrod's extended speech.
Class warfare is a bigger issue these days than racism, I think.
I think Ms. Shurrod should take the job and voice her conerns about the Black Farmers who have not been given justice yet. The won an monetary award but have not been processed by congress. I will Diane would have brought some of these things up as "Teachable Moments".
My feeling is that if President Obama wanted to make a point about how "out of character" for his administration the termination of Sherrod was, he should fire the person who hastily ousted her to send the message: "Due diligence IS mandatory."
(I am hopeful she sues for wrongful termination instead of accepting the job that President Obama offered her with the USDA - the administration would not have a leg to stand on in their own defense.)
I disagree that Fox News "acted responsibly" with the Sherrod story. Laura Ingraham, O'Reilly, and other talking heads were vicious in their denouncement of her. I also disagree that the Obama Administration acted too quickly because they were afraid of Fox and Glenn Beck. It was the NAACP's call for her resignation that concerned them. The Beck aspect was only mentioned to convey a sense of urgency to Sherrod in asking for her resignation. Not to let the administration off the hook on this, but if the national NAACP was calling for her dismissal, I can see where that would cause concern.
I am disappointed that no time was found to discuss the Financial Regulation Act which passed and was signed this week. I suggest that its importance will be much more important in the long run than the bushwhack of Shirley Shirrod by Andrew Breitbart. My understanting is that the Administration feared that the Shirrod firestorm would cause the media to focus all its attention on it instead of the signing of the financial regulatory bill. Looks like its fears were well justified.
@ssillari,
Villsack, at the behest of the Obama Administration, fired Shirley before Breitbart's video was aired on FOX News. Maybe now the Obama Administration will be exposed, but I doubt it.
Interesting to compare Shirley Sherrod to David Howard.
In 1999 Howard used the word "niggardly" while making a public statement on handling the DC city budget. His "resignation" was hastily accepted by then D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams who reinstated him in a different position one month later.
http://www.google.com/search?q=david+howard+niggardly&rlz=1I7GGLD_en&ie=...
The omission of this fitting example by the producers and panel is ironic. Itself an example of media superficiality and the very lack of scrutiny they cite as the origin of the Sherrod media storm.
Deeply disappointed that no one on the panel brought up the ACORN videos. That was yet another example of Brietbart editing "news" to make a false point. It was also very recent. If Dan rather is the best comparison then I felt you compared Apples to Oranges or worse. Is there a quid pro quo left-leaning version of Brietbart? I think he is unique.
I am not sure if established journalist understand just how much this hurts their profession, the longer this bald and false propaganda is allowed to coexist next to legitimate journalism the worse we all are.
One of your guests, I believe it was Doyle McManus, stated that Fox News "acted responsibly" with respect to the Sherrod story.
Please see all this evidence to the contrary.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/video/video_2817.html?1279912258
I can't believe Jeanne Cummings referred to Brietbart(sp?) as a "journalist". He doesn't make the claim for himself. True/false is irrelevant to him, which he readily admits. Fox uses him to create videos that they can run "breaking news" and "firestorm of controversy" under. The fact that the entire panel considers him a journalist was the amazing fact of the day.
Also, these journalist constantly repeat the mantra "both sides do it" but couldn't come up with a single example of the left blogoshere getting somebody fired. Dan Rather only managed to get himself fired and as I recall Mr. Bush, the target, was reelected.
Breitbart, Beck, et. al have quite the collection of scalps right now - ACORN, Van Jones, Shirley Sherrold.
re: Vilsack - I would have never guessed that the way to prove that the USDA is not racist is to fire a black woman on the word of a white man - a white man who's been proven in court to be a liar.
re: NAACP - haven't they seen what a heavily edited video tape did to ACORN? Couldn't they have placed a phone call or two before jumping for Fox? Didn't they consider the source of this "breaking news"?
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/03/01/2010-03-01_bklyn_aco...
When O'Keefe (Breitbart protege of ACORN video fame) got a slap on the wrist for trying to set up Sen. Mary Landrieu the judge called them "the future of journalism." Looks like she was right.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20006067-503544.html
NewsBusters: NPR Listeners Loathe 'Fox's Sleazy Reporting' and the GOP 'Propaganda Machine'
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tim-graham/2010/07/23/npr-listeners-loathe-...
Just got around to listening to the Friday News Roundup. So depressing on so many levels.
Most telling was the attempt to come up with "Left-wing" smears equivalent to the Sherrod affair. Mentioned were Dan Rather's (unintentional) use of a forged document that 'proved' special treatment for Bush's National Guard entry. The other was on use of chemical agents in Vietnam.
Note to esteemed journalists: While both stories were badly sourced, the basic facts of the stories have been proven accurate with subsequent reporting. Not the case with the Sherrod story.
The truth is that the lies overwhelmingly come from the right, a fact that Diane, in her search for equivalency, feels she must obfuscate in order to be considered non-partisan or "serious", or civil.
Haven't heard a mea culpa from your panel over the Acorn videos, which at they time they described as "damning". Maybe it is safe now.
But this will continue to happen as long as the Right and Center are represented on your show, but not the left. If David Corn is too strident and personal, make an effort for balance and find someone else. Your show will have less egg on its face. And you won't have NPR contributors like me tuning out.
Breitbarts of the world exist because people like those on your panel, who know better, look for false equivalency and "balance", which serves to enable and embolden the paid right-wing operatives. Why do people like those on your panel do this? Breitbart, at least, isn't a coward. I'm not sure I can say that about the folks on your panel.
Cheers,
Dan McGuire
Oh, and by the way: Has it occurred to any of your panel that the reason why Republicans are opposed to a Consumer Protection agency headed by Elizabeth Warren is because the Business lobby and Financial Services Industry don't want consumers to be protected? Read "The Big Short". The entire sub-prime mortgage industry could never have existed without deceiving home buyers with teaser-rate mortgages.
But you guys know that. You just can't say that.
Cheers,
Dan McGuire
Let's see...
Could it be that the reason Business, Financial Services, and Republicans don't want a Consumer Protection Agency headed by Elizabeth Warren is that they don't want consumers to be protected?
What a wacky theory!
Cheers,
Dan McGuire
@ Daniel McGuire
The "right" and "center" are the only POV represented on the DR Show? This must be your attempt at satire.
That you continue to believe the "basic facts" that the U.S. military used nerve gas in a mission to kill American defectors in Laos, and in a forged document that Bush 43 disobeyed an order to appear for a physical exam, despite overwhelming evidence that proved these reports to be sci-fi is quit revealing.
I am sure you were equally distressed about the 2008 New York Times above the fold, front-page, 3,000-word infidelity story that didn't have any facts to support their allegation about John McCain. Oh, wait. That is exactly the sort of story you would believe with or without corroboration.