A Tablespoon of Truth

The delineation between journalism and propaganda gets blurrier the closer we march to November. Left-leaning people, including members of my extended family, will accept without skepticism any news reports disseminated from news outlets like NPR, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and their ilk. Perhaps you can't blame them: there was a time most of us felt we could trust journalists to abide by some unwritten code of journalistic objectivity. No more.

Enter the new media, rapidly becoming my go-to source for clarification, explication, and debunkation. The latest character assassination about Governor Romney--that he's racist, inept, gaffe-prone, etc.--gets the full frontal media assault (aka "free campaign ad time for Barack Obama"). Thank heavens for the good people at Breitbart.com, in this case, Joel Pollack, who points out that the source for the latest attack against Romney, dutifully reported by NPR and Associated Press, is a Palestinian official named Saeb Ereka. NPR and AP accept at face value this Israel-hating official's take on Romney's speech to supporters in Israel and report Ereka's assessment as fact.

If only one of my left-leaning family members would be intellectually honest enough to at least consider the possibility that they're being spoon-fed not just a bowlful of lies about Romney but a cauldron of propaganda about their president, I'd rest a little easier. But I fear these people have been so brainwashed by the leftist culture they embrace, there's little hope of that.

Meanwhile, here's a tablespoon of truth, for those who crave it, as I do.

How AP, NPR Lied About Romney Jewish Donor Speech, Using Palestinian Propaganda

"Eat Mor Chikin," or, Why I Believe People Should Support Chick-fil-A Even if They Disagree with the Owner's Views on Marriage

Important perspective expressed by Michael Scherer in Time Magazine on Boston and Chicago mayors' attempts to deny Chick-fil-A a business license in their respective cities because Dan Cathy, the CEO of Chick-fil-A, said he supports traditional marriage. “Generally speaking,” Scherer writes, “governments have a responsibility to not discriminate against businesses on the basis of personal beliefs, just as restaurant chains cannot discriminate against employees on the basis of personal beliefs (or sexual orientation).”

When government officials begin denying business owners the right to open a business in their cities because they supposedly don’t reflect their city’s values, as Rahm Emmanuel (Chicago mayor) and Thomas Menino (Boston mayor) have said, we’ve moved dangerously away from one of America’s most treasured liberties—the right to express one’s views without government repercussion.

I like what Dennis Prager had to say the other day, commenting on the matter: “If you love freedom, buy Chick-fil-A. Even if you support gay marriage, buy Chick-fil-A. Even if you’re a vegetarian, buy Chick-fil-A (you can always give your sandwich to a homeless person, if you don’t want to eat it).”

Prager is right. This issue isn’t about whether you agree or disagree with Dan Cathy's views. It’s about preserving our Constitutionally-protected, fundamental right to free speech. This should trump any disagreement over gay marriage.

Scherer concludes his article by writing, “Presumably, many business owners in both states are among those who oppose same-sex marriage. Should those businessmen and women worry that their hopes for city permits or mayoral cooperation could be jeopardized if they express their opinions publicly?”

Answer? Absolutely not. This is America, for heaven's sake. There’s a time-honored approach to expressing your disagreement with a company over its stated values—it’s called boycott. If you don't agree with Cathy, fine. Don't buy his product! However, that's not what's at issue here. Now is not the time to boycott Chick-fil-A. Now is the time to stand with this company in solidarity over the right to speak your mind freely and openly without government oppression. 

"Chick-fil-A Meets a First Amendment Buzzsaw in Chicago" (Michael Scherer, Time)

Increasingly Desperate Obama: Truth be Damned

Barack Obama is not only beginning to appear not credible, he's looking desperate. This is "lying of the worst kind...dissembling in the first degree...a campaign of deceit... as quickly as the media debunks their lies, they spew out another...one lie to justify the next." (I enclosed those phrases in quotes because I'm listening to Guy Benson and Mary Katharine Ham discuss this latest Romney-smear by the Obama campaign as I write this and I want to give credit where credit is due).

Barack Obama's true colors are in full display. What we (conservatives) knew four years ago, the rest of America is now beginning to glimpse.This man plays dirty, he plays cheap, he lies, he doesn't care if he gets caught lying as long as the lie serves the greater good, all he's interested in is whether the lie has successfully created a "narrative" that will destroy his opponent, truth be damned.

To those who continue to believe Barack Obama deserves a second term: is this what you want from your president? If so, shame on you. You're no better than Obama.

"Romney Demands an Apology for Obama Campaign's 'Felon' Lie"

Mitt Romney's Full Speech at NAACP Convention

Today Mr. Romney spoke before the NAACP Convention. Since most news outlets will focus on the moment during the speech when Mr. Romney was booed when he discussed "Obamacare," my guess is that most people will assume Mr. Romney was reamed and that the speech was a disaster. But I listened to the speech and was impressed by the fact that he was applauded several times (politely, yes, but applause is applause).

The audience applauded when he said, "With 90 percent of African-Americans voting for Democrats, some of you may wonder why a Republican would bother to campaign in the African American community, and to address the NAACP. Of course, one reason is that I hope to represent all Americans, of every race, creed or sexual orientation, from the poorest to the richest and everyone in between."

The audience applauded when he said, referring to black children who are disproportionately represented in under-performing schools, "Our society sends them into mediocre schools and expects them to perform with excellence, and that is not fair. Frederick Douglass observed that, 'It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.' Yet, instead of preparing these children for life, too many schools set them up for failure. Everyone in this room knows that we owe them better than that."

He was applauded when he said he would defend traditional marriage.

And the "booing" was actually an interesting moment in the speech. Yes, the audience booed, but Mr. Romney handled it in a way that I thought was very classy. He didn't seem to get flustered, he didn't ignore the booing and then carry on with his speech. Instead, he let the audience express themselves, and then, going off-script, he explained further what he meant and didn't back down. If you can't respect him for that, then you'll never respect him.

Anyway, for those who didn't watch or listen to the speech, here's the video (source: PBS NewsHour).

"Scared into Silence"

Typical egregious behavior coming from the left in response to the story of Brad Pitt's mother, Jane Pitt, who expressed her views supporting Mitt Romney for president and encouraging Christians to support him, as well. The more I learn about the left, the more I realize how vicious, cruel, and vile they are. She has received death threats, been called horrendous names, and has even been on the receiving end of the left-wing media's smear-job. She says she has been "scared into silence."

So far only one person has publicly defended her (besides her other son Doug) and that person is Jon Voight, who said "good for her," and that he agrees with her positions (Jon Voight being Brad Pitt's father-in-law).

Good for Mr. Voight, and shame on Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie for refusing to comment (so far, at least). Maybe these assaults on his mother opens his eyes--these are the people he supposedly agrees with on social issues. Maybe it's time for self-examination. I hope and pray that other conservatives in Hollywood (and from what I hear, there are more than we know) will summon the courage not only to defend Ms. Pitt but to begin speaking up in support of conservative values. The time for cowering in shadows is over.

Jon Voight Defends Brad Pitt's Mom