New York times violates its own policies with Move-on advertisement

Conservatives should be happy for the "Betray us" ad. It really makes move-on.org look BAD. There are some legitimate concerns about Iraq that should be questioned, but these kind of ads actually lessen the credibility of the questioners.

But, please don't whine like victims, oh righteous conservatives. Right wing smear campaigns have been standard fare for decades (Karl Rove was genius at this).

As a moderate, I tend to question the propaganda of everyone.

You forgot William J. Jefferson, Democrat-Lousisiana, who has been indicted for accepting over $100,000.00 in bribes.

What? The liberal media is more concerned about a guy in a bathroom taking a dump?

What a surprise.

Yes, Jefferson has been indicted. That would be the US legal sytem taking care of a matter it's supposed to take care of. If he's guilty of wrong-doing, he'll be gone. It's not up to me to decide his guilt. Craig however, pled guilty, so his guilt is not in question. And he was certainly doing, or trying to do, more than "take a dump."

But like I said, you wouldn't be mischaracterizing the Craig case unless you thought he was getting a raw deal. I'm not saying Jefferson is getting a raw deal. He's been indicted, and is being dealt with. He'll get his due, just like Tom DeLay. The difference is, you don't hear a chorus of "witch hunt" whining from liberals about the Jefferson case. If Jefferson had pled guilty, like Craig, and was still drawing a paycheck as a US Congressman, that would be a HUGE deal. But that's not the case, is it?

But speaking of Louisiana, how about David Vitter?

legally blond wrote:

It's their newspaper, they can break their own rules if they want to. It's not a federal crime.

Sure, but that doesn't mean they won't lose credibility with the public, which should be important for a newspaper.

I don\'t hear anything from the left because that\'s what they do. They look the other way when one of their own is caught and say things like, \"let the justice system run their course.\" I\'m sure you said the same thing about Delay, dind\'t you? By the way, what happened to that indictiment against Delay? Come on, tell us.

Pleading guilty to some misdemeanor in a batrhoom is hardly the same as pleading guilty fo several felonies of bribery.

But, I wouldn\'t expect a biased liberal like yourself to notice that subtle difference.

Since you just got schooled and your hypocrisy has been exposed, you can get off your attack wagon now and go back to the topic at hand.

Which is, the NY Times is a piece of trash, biased fish wrapper that is in bed with whacko lefties like Move On.

Leftie Hypocrite wrote:

You forgot William J. Jefferson, Democrat-Lousisiana, who has been indicted for accepting over $100,000.00 in bribes.

What? The liberal media is more concerned about a guy in a bathroom taking a dump?

What a surprise.

You obviously haven't been paying attention, because the people who went ballistic over the Larry Craig situation were conservative republicans. It was members of his own party who insisted that he resign and removed him from his committee positions. Even the ACLU has supported him.

Hey orbitboy, what happened to Patrick Kennedy who wrecked his Mustang at the Capitol and was arrested for DUI? Why is he still drawing a pay check?

At least he wrecked alone in to a wall and didn\'t kill a woman by driving in to a lake.

I\'m still wondering why there wasn\'t a left wing, media driven investigation in to Dianne Feinstein who had to resign from a commmittee because money was steered from it to a company owned by her husband.

Funny how little Democrat scandles get swept under the rug, isn\'t it?

But, ignore the NY Times running attack ads, giving deep discounts to liberal organizations and violating its own policies in the process. A major US news paper being totally biased doesn\'t matter, right? Riiiiiiiiggggghhhtttt?

Is Fox News public enemy No. 1. It would appear so.

I like it how it took over 2 weeks of scrutiny by other newspapers before the NYT admitted they violated their own policies.

If this illustrates how truthful they are when dealing with a story in which they have, and control, all of the facts; imagine how little they can be trusted reporting important geopolitical stories?

Keith Stone wrote:

It's pretty funny to see another typical brain dead conservative pull out the old "they've done studies" proving 90% is liberal when anyone with half a brain (and yes, I know that excludes conservatives) knows they haven't. It's true that conservatives are just a bunch marginally functional lemmings (and they do have studies priving that) and as such should be given the same deference one gives the mentally handicapped but even retards need to be scolded from time to time.

"They" actually have done studies that seem to indicate a left slant to most major media outlets.

I find it humorous how most political party members will be quick to point out the flaws in the other side while at the same time overlooking the major issues within their own chosen group.

Fine. You want a pissing match? Here you go then (bear in mind this is only 2007):

January 23, 2007: Republican radio personality Scott Eller Cortelyou of

Denver arrested on suspicion of using the Internet to lure a child into a

sexual relationship

January 29, 2007: Republican former Jefferson County, Colorado, Treasurer

Mark Paschall indicted on two felony charges "in connection with an

allegation that Paschall solicited a kickback from a bonus he awarded one of

his employees"

January 31, 2007: Republican Congressman Gary Miller is named by Republicans

as ranking member of oversight subcommittee of House Financial Services

Committee despite the FBI's investigation into his land deals

February 14, 2007: Major Republican fundraiser Brent Wilkes and former CIA

executive director Kyle "Dusty" Foggo are indicted by a grandy jury for

corrupting CIA contracts

February 16, 2007: Major Republican donor Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari,

aka Michael Mixon, is indicted in federal court on charges of providing

material support to terrorists

March 5, 2007: Ethics complaint filed against Republican Senator Pete

Domenici for his role in the Attorney Purge scandal

March 6, 2007: I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former chief of staff to Vice

President Dick Cheney found guilty of obstruction of justice and perjury

March 8, 2007: Republican former U.S. Congressman and Speaker of the House

Newt Gingrich admits to extramarital affair

March 23, 2007: Former Deputy Interior Secretary J. Steven Griles, an oil

and gas lobbyist who became an architect of George W. Bush's energy

policies, pleads guilty to obstructing justice by lying to a Senate

committee

March 27, 2007: Criminal charges filed against Republican Pennsylvania State

Senator Robert Regola in connection with the death of a teenage neighbor who

was shot with the senator's gun; he is accused of three counts of perjury,

allowing possession of a firearm by a minor, recklessly endangering another

person and false swearing

March 27, 2007: Ronald Reagan's budget director, David Stockman, "indicted

on charges of defrauding investors and banks of $1.6 billion while chairman

of Collins & Aikman Corp., an auto parts maker that collapsed days after he

quit"

March 28, 2007: Robert Vellanoweth, a Republican activist and appointee of

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, is arrested on suspicion of gross vehicular

manslaughter and felony driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol,

after a crash that killed three adults and one child

April 18, 2007: The FBI raids the home of Republican Congressman John

Doolittle, investigating his ties to Jack Abramoff

April 19, 2007: The FBI raids a business tied to the family of Republican

Congressman Rick Renzi, as part of an investigation into his business

dealings

April 23, 2007: The FBI questions Republican Congressman Tom Feeney about

his dealings with Jack Abramoff

April 23, 2007: Federal auditors find repeat violations of federal election

law from the 2004 Senate campaign of Republican Senator Mel Martinez

April 26, 2007: David Huckabee, son of Republican Presidential candidate

Mike Huckabee, is arrested at an Arkansas airport after a federal X-ray

technician detected a loaded gun in his carry-on luggage

May 4, 2007: Bruce Weyhrauch and Pete Kott, former Alaska state Republican

legislators, were arrested and accused of soliciting and accepting bribes

from the corrupt VECO Corporation

May 4, 2007: Republican state Assemblyman Michael Cole is censured and

stripped of his leadership position after the married father of two spent

the night at a 21-year-old intern's apartment

May 11, 2007: A field coordinator for Republican Congressman Patrick McHenry

is indicted for voter fraud in North Carolina

May 12, 2007: NBC News breaks the story that the FBI is investigating

Republican Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons for suspicion of accepting bribes in

exchange for securing government contracts

May 15, 2007: Connecticut Republican Party Chairman Chris Healy is arrested

for drunk driving (he pled no contest on June 1, but didn't publicly

disclose the event until June 11)

May 18, 2007: Republican former South Dakota State Representative Ted Klaudt

is charged with eight counts of second-degree rape, two counts of sexual

exploitation of a minor, one count of sexual contact with a child younger

than 16, two counts of witness tampering and one count of stalking against

two foster children in his care

May 21, 2007: Republican state Senate candidate Mark Tate is indicted on

nine counts of perjury and two counts of election fraud by a grand jury

June 11, 2007: Republican Senator Larry Craig is arrested for lewd conduct

in the men's bathroom of an airport

June 19, 2007: South Carolina Republican state Treasurer and South Carolina

Chairman of Giuliani for President Thomas Ravenel is indicted by a grand

jury on cocaine distribution charges

July 2, 2007: President George W. Bush commutes the sentence of former

Cheney Chief of Staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby following Libby's conviction

on obstruction of justice and perjury

July 3, 2007: A grand jury report declares that the sale of public land to

Republican Congressman Ken Calvert and his business partners violated the

law

July 11, 2007: Republican state Representative and Florida co-Chairman of

McCain for President Bob Allen is arrested for soliciting a male undercover

police officer, offering to pay $20 to perform oral sex

July 16, 2007: Republican Senator David Vitter holds press conference

acknowledging being on the D.C. Madam's list and past involvement with

prostitutes

July 16, 2007: Story breaks that Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski was

involved in a sweetheart real estate deal

July 19: Republican former state legislator Coy Privette is charged with six

counts of aiding and abetting prostitution

July 24, 2007: Michael Flory, former head of the Michigan Federation of

Young Republicans, pleads guilty to sexual abuse

July 26, 2007: Media report that Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski will sell

back land purchased in a sweetheart deal, following close scrutiny of the

shady transaction

July 29, 2007: Glenn Murphy Jr., recently-elected Chairman of the Young

Republican National Federation, is accused of sexually assaulting a sleeping

man

July 30, 2007: The FBI and IRS raid the home of Republican Senator Ted

Stevens following investigations into Stevens' dealings with the corrupt

VECO Corporation

August 2, 2007: Bush administration senior adviser Karl Rove disregards a

Congressional subpoena and refuses to testify before the Senate Judiciary

Committee

August 6, 2007: Investigation called for after House Republican Leader John

Boehner leaked classified information regarding a secret court ruling over

warrantless wiretapping

August 8, 2007: Republican Senator Larry Craig pleads guilty to misdemeanor

disorderly conduct following his June 11 arrest

August 9, 2007: Major Republican donor Alan Fabian is charged with 23 counts

of bankruptcy fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice, and perjury

August 15, 2007: Republican state House candidate Angelo Cappelli is arrested for perjury and grand theft

August 22, 2007: Republican political consultant Roger Stone resigns his

role with the New York state Senate Republicans after reports surfaced that

he made a "threatening, obscenity-laced" phone call to the 83-year- old

father of Governor Eliot Spitzer

August 27, 2007: Story breaks that Republican Senator Larry Craig was

arrested and pled guilty - he had not publicly disclosed the events to that

point

I don't think the issue is a liberal versus conservative one. Yes, the New York Times slants fairly liberal - something they ought to be free to do on their editorial page. But practices like this with the MoveOn ad - don't hurt the cause of conservatives, and really don't hurt the cause of liberals either - most don't have much faith in MoveOn or their positions - but they do harm the credibility of the Times itself - which has taken quite a beating on the Jayson Blair incident - the Duke Lacrosse incident (where they got the story so badly wrong that a group of erstwhile bloggers pushed to uncover prosecutorial malfeasance, rather than the well heeled news organization), and so on.

As difficult as it may be for the Times, a bunch who really does think the world ends at the Hudson River (a cultural infirmity), they are simply going to have to take great pains to de-politicize their views and their coverage of news. This is so because newspapers are an incredibly mature, if not substantially declining, business cycle, and just playing to the their own echo chamber will cause their demise. In other words, they need real competition for ideas and different points of view, and ought to encourage the same.

LOL, I could match that list and then some with the Clintons alone. Hilary\'s latest fund raising scandal is just the latest example.

Then, I\'d go in to all the politicians from New Jersey who were just busted.

Hey, is Marion Barry still mayor of DC, or did he give that up along with his crack pipe?

You still didn\'t tell me what happened to that indictment against Delay. We\'re all waiting.

No need to change the topic on this one.

Yes, the NY Times probably gave favorable treatment to an anti-war ad. So?

And if "90%" of the media has a "liberal bias" then what does that tell you?

Btw, that's total bullshit, it's not a "liberal" bias, it's and anti-Bush bias. And it's valid. The guy is the biggest fu\ck-up this side of Uranus and it's harming all of us. The fact that you're too stupid to understand that is completely irrelevant.

hypnotoad wrote:

To the war-horny Bushbots, 90% of America is left-wing.

Well, if the American public is the real enemy then why are you wasting your bullets on Iraqis? Bring it on!

HAHA, really? Man, with the public so one-sided, its amazing Bush won the electoral college with only 10% of the popular vote. Oh wait, its impossible!

not this again - it really should not be a partisan issue - and it doesn't relate to whether the Bush administration is competent (they have in many ways proven themselves not to be). But the Times' work reflects more than just a liberal bias - they are too often wrong on stories, and have somehow lost the notion that true competition for ideas is not only desirable for a newsroom, but essential at ferreting out the truth and getting to the news. And it is not that they are intentionally negligent - it is just that their world view is so narrow, so stuck in mid-town Manhattan, they are insufficiently receptive to other points of view. Put another way, very few of us run fast in races by ourselves - competition invariably brings out the best in us - the news business is no different.

Remember, this is a fiercely competitive business, and it only has become more so with the rise of bloggers (who while inconsistent in terms of quality are often accurate, and with alarming frequency). The news cycle is absurdly short - and I am not sure it is a rational business any longer. This having been said, the Times simply most look beyond its typically myopic world view - its reporters are mostly world class - and in the environment that reigns, they are underutilized assets. They need to be institutionally free to push boundaries, in all political directions.

The New York Times is not the only victim of a myopic mentality. Last year, the LA Times ran a piece quoting the Governor of Wyoming, ascribing to the Governor absurd views on hunting along the lines of "kill them all". The source of the quote? The lovable Onion - meaning that the LA Times reporter was so infused with a yuppie, urbane, secular progressive world view that she could not (and nor could her editor) pick up on parody - and fairly obvious and funny parody at that - and ran it as straight news. The LA Times response? Well, it sounded like it could have been true. There was a time when a reporter would have hung his head in shame at such shoddy reporting - and their editor too - not now - because to them the narrative (it could have been true and it rings true with what I know about "those people" in the hinterlands) is all that counts and not the facts.

And while certainly myopia is no stranger to conservatives (they do it too and one can pick it up occasionally on Fox), the fact is that the media business is staffed with those that lean fairly liberal to the tune of 80% of the population, and the criticism is valid. Really, the NY Times and other similar organizations must pay attention to this phenomena, and really work to de-politicize their coverage (except of course on the editorial page). This again is not because conservatives will be "hurt" or liberals will gain "advantage," but rather because the institutions themselves will suffer.

Letsrun is no place for the well thought-out, well worded exchange of ideas. Unless you are going to fill your next post attacking someone because of race, political affiliation, or leg speed, I suggest you go else where.

quantum wrote:Last year, the LA Times ran a piece quoting the Governor of Wyoming, ascribing to the Governor absurd views on hunting along the lines of "kill them all". The source of the quote? The lovable Onion - meaning that the LA Times reporter was so infused with a yuppie, urbane, secular progressive world view that she could not (and nor could her editor) pick up on parody - and fairly obvious and funny parody at that - and ran it as straight news.

The point should be is that the LA Times allowed that piece to be published, even though they believed that Times employee PLAGIARIZED the story. Pick up any newspaper today, the stories look all the same, as if they were all copied off the same Drudge Report story then edited to give the illusion of original content. This is happening all too often within the legacy media these days. Liberals fall for anything that fits their narrow-minded preconceptions.

Remember the famed Lovenstein Institute study that proclaimed W to have the lowest IQ of any President? It was posted here by many of the same people who post their angry liberal rants. It was also published in many newspapers. Only there's no such thing as the Lovenstein Institute and no such study.

The legacy media has a long history of shameful distortion and fabrication of the news. A few of the notables.

Jason Blair (NYT)

Mick Baracle, Ron Borges (Boston Globe, owned by the NYT)

Janet Cooke (WashPo)

Patricia Smith (Boston Globe)

Reuters New Service, photo doctoring

60 minutes, Pallywood Story, phony middle east stories

CBS News (everything Dan Rather has ever reported)

ABC's Food Lion story, CBS producers put tainted meat in grocery stores

NBC's staged gas tank explosions on GM trucks

60 minutes - 1986 Audi 5000 story. CBS producer caught drilling holes in transmission.

60 minutes - 1980 Jeep CJ. CBS producer caught putting weights in vehicle to cause it to flip in slow speed turns.

These are just a few of the phony stories being perpetrated by the legacy media. What's scary is that these are only the ones that were caught.

ABC's Food Lion story, ABC producers put tainted meat in grocery stores