Media Bias, It's Not About Race, Thuggery In Hong Kong

Monday, July 22, 2019

Media Bias
 
There are always plenty examples of the media's left-wing bias.  But anyone watching CBS's "Face The Nation" this weekend was treated to a real doozy. 
 
It was a packed show with New Jersey Senator and presidential hopeful Cory Booker, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff and Rep. Liz Cheney, a member of the House GOP leadership team.  The way host Margaret Brennan handled her guests was very revealing. 
 
Booker and Schiff were afforded tremendous deference.  They were allowed to make whatever points they wanted without interruption.  But Brennan engaged Cheney like a prosecutor cross-examining a guilty defendant, interrupting Cheney nearly a dozen times.
 
To her credit, Cheney persevered and argued that opposition to the four female members of  "the Squad" isn't about race but policy.  Cheney said:
 
"Our concern and our opposition to what these women are saying -- and many other members [of Congress] -- has to do with the fact that they're advocating policies that will destroy this nation and we will fight against it. And I think the news media, you included, ought to cover the substance. . ."
 
While there is a lot of fake news that focuses on scandal rather than substance to make the president and his administration look bad, I am pleased to report that in recent days real journalism has forced the left to eat crow.  For example:
 

  • When Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced in May that the Harriet Tubman $20 bill was being delayed, Squad member Ayanna Pressley blamed the delay on "Trump's racism and misogyny."  Chuck Schumer demanded an investigation.  But multiple Obama Administration officials later admitted that the redesigned $20 was never scheduled to enter circulation until 2030. 
  • Remember all the hysteria about Trump interfering in the White House security clearance process to help Jared and Ivanka?  Recent congressional testimony by career officials debunks that claim.
  • When Puerto Rico struggled to recover after Hurricane Maria, the left blamed "Trump's racism," just like it blamed George Bush's "racism" for post-Katrina New Orleans.  Well, have you seen the headlines out of Puerto Rico lately?  There are massive protests against the island's progressive governor and top members of his administration were arrested recently on corruption charges.
  • The left has repeatedly blamed Trump's "racist" and "inhumane" immigration policies for migrant deaths at the southern border.  Well guess what?  Border deaths are down significantly under Trump compared to the Obama years, but I don't recall the left's outrage about hundreds of border deaths each year under Obama.

 
 
 
It's Not About Race
 
What do Elizabeth Warren, Jeb Bush, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Bob Corker, Bernie Sanders, John McCain, Nancy Pelosi, Mitt Romney, Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron and Justin Trudeau all have in common?
 
This is a partial list of high-profile political leaders who have faced withering attacks from Donald Trump . . . and none of them are persons of color. 
 
My point is simply this:  While the left and its media allies are obsessed with branding the president as a "racist," in reality Trump is an equal opportunity advocate.  He confronts his opponents no matter their race, gender or party. 
 
 
 
The Left's Bigotry

New York Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame yesterday, and rightfully so.  He holds several records and is the first player ever to be voted in unanimously.

An immigrant from Central America, Rivera arrived in the United States in 1990 not knowing a single word of English.  He is the epitome of the American Dream.

Yet The Daily Beast, a left-wing media outfit, viciously attacked Rivera this weekend.  Why?  Because Rivera is an outspoken Christian and a strong supporter of Israel.  In fact, Rivera was a featured speaker at this year's Christians United for Israel Washington Summit.

For that, The Daily Beast (an aptly named publication), attacked Rivera for his "secret far-right politics" and support for the "apartheid government in Israel."  From the Women's March to the halls of Congress, we are seeing how blatant anti-Israel attitudes and thinly-veiled anti-Semitism are becoming defining characteristics of the progressive movement.

Meanwhile, "Slaughter the Jews" was spray painted on the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem this weekend.  A Palestinian woman has been arrested for the vandalism.

Perhaps The Daily Beast could do some real journalism and investigate the pervasive anti-Semitism that exists throughout Palestinian society. (Here, here and here.)

 

 

Thuggery In Hong Kong
 
Pro-democracy demonstrations have continued to take place in Hong Kong, weeks after the government introduced and then withdrew legislation allowing for the extradition of political activists from the semi-autonomous region to mainland China.  Those demonstrations took a disturbing turn this weekend.
 
Yesterday, communist thugs attacked a group of peaceful demonstrators with clubs and metal pipes.  Hong Kong police looked on as the demonstrators were beaten mercilessly. 
 
This is the sort of thing we have seen in Venezuela, Cuba, Iran and authoritarian regimes in other countries.  Like Hitler's Brownshirts, these gangs administer pain and suppress opposition in ways that official state agents cannot do without inviting international condemnation.
 
Predictably, Trump's media critics are now complaining that he has been silent on the Hong Kong demonstrations.  But don't forget that this president has been taking Beijing on across the board -- from its unfair trade practices to its human rights abuses.