Media isn't leftist? Think again.

An interesting post over at Bill Nowling's site, Lunch Bucket Conservative.

Michigan Reporters Give To Liberal Candidates, Causes (Like that’s a shocker!)
(snip)
Dedman scoured online public campaign finance reports and found 144 journalists who contributed to political campaigns and causes between 2004 and now. Of that number (and I know loyal LBC readers will be shocked) 125 — or a whopping 87 percent — gave to Democrat or Left-leaning causes. (Three Michigan journalists made the list; more on that later.)

The MSNBC report also found that news organizations varied greatly in their policies dealing with the activism of their staff, ranging from strict prohibition to nothing at all. When I was hacking for a living, it was made pretty clear to me by my editors that I could not: date the interns, drink at my desk, use profanity in my stories, and participate in partisan causes.

I managed to play by those rules, mostly because they were common sense. “We cover the news; we don’t make it,” is the adage I and countless others heard coming up through the ranks. I didn’t need a written policy to know I shouldn’t give my money or time to a candidate, even if a paltry amount.

Now, if journalists think it is OK for them to give to political causes, they should publicly disclose that. I wonder how readers/viewers would react if they got to the end of the story and read or heard a disclaimer that went like this: “Oh, by the way, they guy I just wrote about, I gave him a $1,000 check last month”? I am pretty certain the public would take a dim view and hold such reporting in suspect. But that’s just me.

Now, back to the three Michigan hacks who ponied up…they are (Click here for complete list and lamo responses from 144 the journalists):

Susan Hall-Balduf, a Detroit Free Press copy editor, gave $300 to John Kerry in July 2004. Now editing news copy, she gave when she was in features. Here’s what she said:

“I was scolded,” Hall-Balduf said. “We did a story on how easy it was to look up these records on the Internet, and they were not happy to find a couple of our own people on the list. But I made the point that I worked only in features, and I never edited any stories that have to do the election. I was told not to do it again. I wouldn’t do it again. But at the time my job was focused on the doings of Britney Spears.”

Joel Thurtell, a Detroit Free Press reporter, gave $500 to the Michigan Democratic State Central Committee in September 2004. Here’s what he said:

“Whatever the Free Press policy is,” Thurtell said, “I actually have my own policy about that: I’m a citizen of the United States. I have a right to support whatever candidate I like.”

Thurtell said his political views don’t influence his reporting, as demonstrated by his role as a reporter on the stories disclosing the ways that Democratic Rep. John Conyers used his congressional staff to run personal errands and do campaign business.

“I got tons of e-mail from liberal-type people who likened me to Karl Rove. I have tried to be as honest as I possibly can as a reporter.”

Terry Judd, reporter and chief of the newspaper’s Grand Haven bureau for the Muskegon Chronicle, gave $1,900 to the Democratic National Committee in six contributions from 2004 through 2006; and $2,000 to John Kerry in March 2004. Judd let his editor do most of the talking:

“You caught me,” Judd said. “I guess I was just doing it on the side.”

The paper’s metropolitan editor, John Stephenson, said appearances of a conflict do matter. “We run letters all the time from people who say we’re right-wing this or left-wing that.” He checked with the paper’s senior editor and found that the paper has no written policy on donations, but he said it will consider one now.

“This information makes us want to think further and more deeply about what we encourage and discourage in reporters,” Stephenson said. “We have always historically said, ‘You guys can have any political beliefs you want, just don’t wear your hearts on your sleeve, or your bumper. Truthfully, this sort of thing may be the new bumper.’ Ten years ago, you may have to have waded through a mountain of paper to find this stuff. We are rethinking. It’s OK to do something if our readers don’t know it? Is it all about appearances, or is there more principle here? It’s an interesting question.”

"Peaceful" individuals vandalize Mike Rogers' Office

As someone who has seen some of these "peace" protestors in action, I can not say that I am surprised by this. From the Lansing State Journal.

Vandals struck U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers’ Lansing offices Monday night, slopping red paint on the building, spray-painting slogans on the sidewalk and gluing the front door lock shut.

Large globs of red paint covered a sign on the front of the building displaying the congressman’s name. A “Support our Troops” sign also was hit with red paint.

A poster pasted to a window facing Michigan Avenue read, “Rogers: There is blood on your hands.”

Rogers’ press secretary, Sylvia Warner, said it was the work of an aggressive and threatening group.

“It would almost be sophomoric, if it weren’t so threatening,” Warner said

The Ann Coulter and Cleary University Controversy

As we all know, Ann Coulter is scheduled to be a speaker at Cleary University in Genoa Township on October 1. This is causing a controversy after her comments at the last CPAC convention. The controversial comment is as follows:

“I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate, John Edwards, but it turns out that you have to go into rehab if you use the word faggot, so I kinda of at an impasse, can’t really talk about Edwards, so I think I’ll just conclude and take your questions. Thank you.”

Ann Coulter is known for her blunt sense of humor, a more political version of Sam Kinison. She's somewhat like the Al Franken or Bill Maher of the right. Her schitck is writing blunt controversial columns and books pissing off the left, while making money as a speaker and book writer. That is what Ann Coulter is about. Every three months or so, she makes an outrageous statement that gets a lot of press. Then a book comes out around the same time.

Am I surprised by her statement? No. Do I agree with it? No. Am I offended by it? No. It is what I expect. At certain events, we should all know what to expect. I expect violence and one liners in a Bruce Willis movie. I expect bad football from the Matt Millen led Detroit Lions. I expect bad refereeing when watching Big Ten Basketball. I expect tax increases and poor leadership from the Matt Millen of governors, Jennifer Granholm. I expect controversy from an Ann Coulter speech.

So now she is scheduled to speak this October at Cleary University in Genoa Township. The democrat party is showing their "tolerance" for "diversity" by supporting censorship. From the Argus.

The Livingston County Democratic Party, meanwhile, will petition Cleary University to have Coulter cut from the series. If that fails, the local Democrats will protest, party Chairman Matt Evans said.
"We feel really strongly about this, and if they decide to go ahead with her, we'll be organizing protests. This is ridiculous," Evans said. "There is a perception due to the Klan activity that was out here so many years ago that this is just an area of white bigots, and we need to change that."

Matt, I thought you dems supported diversity. I thought you democrats supported free speech. I have no problem with a protest, but why are you people trying to shut her up? Where is the diversity of thought? Where is the tolerance of views that you don't agree with? More on that later.

As for the Klan comment, that's crap. Robert Miles has been dead for almost 20 years. The only reason that keeps being brought up is due to white guilt and leftists who always need to throw that out there. This is the fastest growing county in the state. Activity from 20 years+ ago doesn't really matter anymore.

Cleary University is like most universities. They invite speakers, and some of them controversial. Kwame Kilpatrick is one of the more well known speakers they had there. At Michigan State, there were several speakers from both the left and the right. Jesse Jackson, David Horowitz, Tom Tancredo. Western Michigan had Pat Buchanan.

Lastly, truth be told, the left has as much tolerance for free speech as they do for the 2nd Amendment. Very little.

At MSU, when Tancredo spoke, the "tolerant" left showed their support for "diversity" when they pulled firearms and disrupted the speech. Bill O'Reilly has a good videoclip. Here and also viewed there


At Western Michigan - Dan Flynn has the story about the left's tolerance of Pat Buchanan.

With the behavior of the "tolerant" left and their fascist wing, maybe we need some concealed pistol license holders ready on hand in case of emergency. Who knows to what lengths the left will resort to in their assault on diversity.