Pallour of the media
One of many qualities US news media lack is fact-checking. Relaying the claims of some politician or bureaucrat is not news; it is a reporter’s responsibility to investigate their veracity. That’s the difference between reporting news and distributing a press release.
So, it was heartening to see an Associated Press piece by Calvin Woodward, “FACT CHECK: Palin’s book goes rogue on some facts.” Tuesday, Palin’s book, Going Rogue, will hit the stores. Based on an advance copy, Woodward questions many, many statements. By the way, several major newspapers repeated the story, even the headline, taking the AP at their word.
One complaint: Palin claims she financed her run for governor mostly from small donations, and that her campaign returned large checks if a conflict-of-interest was possible. Woodward questions some of the statistics, doesn’t come close to proving deception. Couldn’t the same be said of most politicians, including Barack Obama?
Overreaching governments invite corruption.
Calvin Woodward cites several instances of possible conflicts of interest, despite Palin’s boast that she rooted out such activities. Nothing conclusive, but it’s good to know AP will be doing the same for all lawmakers. They can start with Barney Frank.
Representative Frank was present during his partner James Ready’s marijuana arrest in 2007. Marijuana plants were found in Ready’s backyard. Frank claimed then, and subsequently, that he would not recognise the plants, since he’s not an outdoors-man. Really? Unimportant, in the scheme of things, but his role in manufacturing the housing finance crisis also is ignored by the press, even his history-reinventing justifications. Just check C-Span.
Some of the complaints about Palin are wrong. She notes that Obama said his climate-change policies will cause electric bills to “skyrocket.” The AP reporter notes that Obama has since changed his tune, but that doesn’t erase his previous comment. If AP had the contributing reporters investigate the actual effects and found Obama’s original statement was wrong, Palin would still be telling the truth. Obama said it. The president’s new appraisal may be based on the likelihood of no one being able to afford any electricity, as the effects of his economic policies kick in.
I’m not a Palin supporter because, come on, she’s a Republican. [Full disclosure: I ordered the book from Amazon, since it was only $9 (with no reading tax). Now AP have spoiled the surprise.]
I maintain an open mind, as real journalists should. Since the governor entered the national spotlight, there have been constant, mostly erroneous and mean, criticisms of Palin. No one was troubled about inventing facts during that process. Certainly, she can present her side.
After following politics in newspapers, news and opinion magazines for decades, this is the first fact-checking article I’ve seen on a politician’s book or speech. It could be cynicism, but the article seems more a hit piece than anything else.
Reconsider “climate change.” Al Gore and his minions warned about “global warning” for a few years, until they were proved wrong. Now their cry, echoed in the media, is climate change. Problem is, defying nature by changing the climate sounds far more ridiculous than trying to slow global warming. Most large, sealed buildings — like the UN building in New York — cannot manage the inside temperature to the satisfaction of their occupants. Now humans will control the Earth’s climate?
Where is the skepticism that greeted Reagan’s Star Wars proposal? Seems the skeptics were eaten by starving sycophants. 
