Politiks As Usual: In The News 12/22/13

Cracker Barrel Reverses Decision, Will Resume Selling Duck Dynasty Products

As Utah Gay Couples Celebrate Marriages, All Eyes On US Appeals Court

Doubling the Minimum Wage Actually Hurts Employees

Katie Couric's Oprah Try Fails, Kathy Griffin Back on CNN for New Year's Bash

Homo-fascists Are Overplaying Their Hand With Duck Dynasty

Obama Warns South Sudan

Paul Ryan Doubles Down on Cutting Veteran Pensions

Who Are You To Judge Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson?

Atheist-Funded Group Behind Attack on Koch Foundation Donation to Catholic U.

Research Shows TV Shows Underrating Violence

Douglas County Sheriff Will No Longer Cooperate with A&E in Filming 'Duck Dynasty'

Politiks As Usual: In The News 10/1/12

Election Raises Stakes For Possible Supreme Court Vacancies

Some Illegal Immigrants May Get Drivers Licenses Under New California Law

The Media's Net Full Of Red Herrings

US Military Deaths In Afghanistan Hit 2,000

Romney Facing Make-or-Break Week With First Debate, Key Jobs Data

MSNBC's Toure Argues Put 2008 Aside; Only Re-electing Obama in 2012 Will Prove America Isn't Racist

And the Emmy-Winner is … Liberal Politics!

Liberal Websites Bash Steven Crowder for Not Having Pre-Marital Sex

Katie Couric Voted ‘The Worst Reporter in History of Man’

Meet Nickelodeon's Trash-Mouthed Misogynist Jason Biggs

Paul Ryan Calls For Eric Holder's Resignation Over Fast and Furious

As Race Stands, Obama Within Reach Of Second Term

WE ARE THE 91%: Only 9% of Americans Cooperate with Pollsters

Outrage: Obama Administration Want To Give Egypt $450 Million In Aid

In Libya, Security Was Lax Before Attack That Killed U.S. Ambassador, Officials Say

Sarah Palin Is Still Bitter About Katie Couric

Instead of letting Katie Couric's fall for grace speak for itself, Sarah Palin, still showing signs that she remains bitter about a 3-year-old question that a 5th grader could answer, felt the need to throw some childish jabs at The Perky One:

As Katie Couric gets set to leave CBS News after five years in the anchor chair, it doesn't appear as if Sarah Palin will be sending any flowers.


Appearing on Fox News Tuesday, Palin mocked the CBS newswoman who told People Magazine she is looking forward to a new position that will facilitate "multi-dimensional storytelling."


"Yeah, and I hear that she wants to now engage in more 'multi-dimensional story telling' versus I guess just the 'straight on, read into the, that teleprompter screen story telling,'" Palin said. "More power to her. I wish her well in her - 'multi-dimensional story telling.'"


Palin has repeatedly made clear she is still no fan of Couric, who's interview with Palin produced one of the most memorable political foibles of the 2008 presidential campaign.


In a series of interviews with Couric authorized by the McCain campaign, Palin stumbled over a number of questions, most memorably when asked, "When it comes to establishing your world view…what newspapers and magazines did you regularly read?"


Palin appeared unable to name a single publication – a performance for which she was much maligned – and later said she found the question insulting, as well as emblematic of a liberal slant in the mainstream media.

Yes, Katie Couric was never a credible journalist to begin with. And yes, as yet another rich, liberal elite fronting as a "reporter", Couric most likely did come with an agenda when she interviewed Palin in 2008. But really how hard is it to answer somebody when they ask about what kind of stuff you read? I'm sorry, but I saw the interview and in no way did I see Couric try to trick or pull a fast one on Palin. Bottom line, there's no excuse for anybody over 7 years old, much less a potential vice-president, to not have the ability to answer that question. Palin screwed up and it's sad to see that all these years later she remains so bitter over it.

Politiks As Usual: In The News 4/4/11

George W. Bush Warns Of Fallout From Early Afghanistan Exit

AP Source: Katie Couric Leaving News Anchor Post

A Brutal Endgame In Cote d'Ivoire

Why Are Republicans Afraid Of Shutdown?

Snookipocalypse: The End Has Come

America's Marxist Media 

Rebecca Black . . . On Second Thought

Obama: 'No Amount of American Lives' Can Resolve 'Someone Else's Civil War'

HuffPo To NYTimes Mag: What In Huffpost Did You Consider 'Lefty'?

Herman Cain: Public Now Sees Obama's Weakness--He's Beatable in 2012

Ed Schultz: 'Why Are We Concerned With Who Gets Arms?'

Sarah Palin Gets Angry When Called Out To Speak Beyond Talking Points

Mediaite.com:

Despite not being among the network personalities Fox News suspended due to exploring presidential runs, Sarah Palin hasn’t been heard from much on TV lately. Tonight, she changed that with an O’Reilly Factor appearance. Did she celebrate her return with an explosive stance on a hotly debated topic? If by “hotly debated topic” you mean “entitlement programs” and by “explosive stance” you mean “they must be reformed,” then yes!


O’Reilly agreed that changes must be made, but when he tried to push Palin for specifics on what she’d do, he was met with limited success. She praised Rep. Paul Ryan’s Roadmap for America’s Future as having good ideas on the subject – specifically, it sounded, that Social Security benefits should remain the same for those 55 and older, while creating “personal accounts” for younger enrollees (lest we trust the government more than individuals to plan their futures).


When O’Reilly questioned her on whether poor people would be hurt by Medicare and Medicaid reform, though, he got…jabs at Michael Moore, Hollywood, and Washington. After multiple attempts to turn the conversation back to “the poor people,” he was able to finagle something out of Palin about the need for a “safety net” (coupled with her chiding the federal government for not letting Alaska tap further into its natural resources).

I've noticed this several times with Palin, esp. when she's on The O'Reilly Factor: when asked to go beyond her standard points she gets pissed. We saw it first with Katie Couric (granted The Perky One is an overrated and overpaid smug, liberal elitist, but still how hard can it be to respond to someone questioning you on what you read?) and you see it a lot with O'Reilly, who challenges her every time she comes on there which in turn often flusters Palin.

So what does she do when made to feel uncomfortable? Resort to a mood of crabbiness, condensation and oftentimes a defensive attack mode when repeatedly asked questions she should be more prepared for if you're going to be on the national stage (much less, a possible candidate for President). All this isn't to say Palin's stupid (far from it), but when it comes to smarts she's no Ann Coulter either. Really now if a little bit of constructive criticism is something that Palin can't handle, don't make it to be about your gender (as she's done before) when it really just might have to do with your own elitist attitude (or what Chris Christie said) displayed when challenged to go beyond your talking points.

NBC Fires Employee Over “What Is Internet” Video

Crunchgear.com:

By now you’ve probably seen the Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel pondering the wonders of the Internet. It’s a bit hokey and of course shows the NBC hosts talking nonsense about something outside of their expertise. Well, NBC clearly didn’t find it as cute as everyone else and reportedly fired the employee that uploaded it. Best Buy almost did that once. Remember how that turned out?


NBC went and pulled most of the videos from the Internet. The video we embedded is dead. But of course they couldn’t get them all. Simply searching Google for Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel pulls dozens of copies. Nothing ever goes away online. NBC should know this by now. It’s called the Internet.


Seriously, NBC. No one was laughing at your then-star hosts. We were all laughing with them. It’s not like they were asking questions about the Internet now. This was 1994. No one outside of universities and X-Files watchers had any clue about the Internet. The video simply served as a nice reminder that the Internet grew in importance so rapidly that even some of the world’s most versed newscasters were simply clueless in the early days.

Democrat Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz Uses Daughter To Blame Political Rhetoric For Giffords Shooting

It's uberliberals like Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who put ideology first and the American people second, that are the reason Congress continues to get such low approval ratings:

During a bipartisan panel discussion with members of Congress on Wednesday's CBS Evening News, anchor Katie Couric asked about the role of political rhetoric in the Tucson shooting, to which Florida Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz replied: "After my daughter heard...Gabby [Giffords] had been shot, the first thing she asked me was...'Mommy, are you going to get shot?'"


Schultz went on to recall: "...the next thing she said to me was – and this is where you don't realize how closely they're watching – 'But Mommy, Florida's going to pass an immigration law like Arizona and then people are going to be mad at you.'" The Congresswoman concluded: "The civil discourse is very important because it's not just – it's not just adults that – that this permeates. It's our children." Couric did not challenge Schultz's suggestion that the enforcement of stronger immigration laws would cause violence.

Condoleezza Rice Schools Katie Couric on Why U.S. Invaded Iraq

Leftist revisionism gets it card pulled:

On December 3, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gave CBS's Katie Couric a much-needed lesson on why America invaded Iraq.


When Couric said to her guest during an "HBO History Makers Series" interview, "Documentaries have been made about how intelligence was incorrectly analyzed and cherry-picked to build an argument for war, and memos from that time do suggest that officials knew there was a small chance of actually finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq," Rice stopped the host dead in her tracks:

Chris Matthews Shows It Wouldn't Matter How Sarah Palin Answered Couric's Reading Question

Newsbusters.org:

For well over two years, the liberal media have made fun of how Sarah Palin answered Katie Couric's ridiculous question concerning what she reads.


On Thursday, Chris Matthews, along with MSNBC political analyst Richard Wolffe, made it clear that no matter how the former Alaska governor answered that question, she was going to be ridiculed


CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: Here she is telling Barbara Walters what she reads, a dangerous area. Let’s listen.


(LAUGHTER)


(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)


SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: I read a lot of C.S. Lewis when I want some divine inspiration. I read Newsmax and "Wall Street Journal." I read all of our local papers, of course, in Alaska, because that’s where my heart is. I read anything and everything that I can get my hands on, as I have since I was a little girl.


MATTHEWS: I just love Barbara Walter’s face, that discerning look: I have seen you people come and go. What is this number all about?


I could just see her looking at this candidate.


Your thoughts?


NEWTON-SMALL: Well, I mean, if you read "America By Heart," I think this book is actually a giant sort of tribute to Katie Couric. And, essentially, it’s like, here, Katie. You asked what I read. Here is a giant list of everything that I have read. And it’s just excerpts of every single thing that she’s read in the last two years.


MATTHEWS: But Newsmax. Explain Newsmax, why she would say something like that. That’s a digest of conservative to right-wing thinking. You don’t have to read. They just tell you the little items you’re supposed to know.


NEWTON-SMALL: I mean, that’s her base. That’s exactly her base, is Newsmax, people who read Newsmax, people who watch Newsmax.


MATTHEWS: Well, why would you say that’s among your reading every day?


Your thoughts about that? Why would you say something like that? It’s like I’m getting ingested. I don’t read.


WOLFFE: It’s not reading it for the news in Newsmax, is it?

Sarah Palin Won't Be Talking To Katie Couric Again

First Newt Gingrich and now Palin, I'm seeing a pattern developing (ignoring the liberal media) and I'm loving it:

If you find that your Sarah Palin needs are somehow unsated, good news! Tonight she sits down with Fox News’ Sean Hannity and reveals that she wouldn’t bother sitting down again with CBS Evening News Anchor Katie Couric, calling her ‘a reporter who already has such a bias against whatever it is that I would come out and say?’


TV Newser has the transcript:


“As for doing an interview, though, with a reporter who already has such a bias against whatever it is that I would come out and say? Why waste my time? No.”


“I want to help clean up the state that is so sorry today of journalism. And I have a communications degree. I studied journalism, who, what, where, when, and why of reporting. I will speak to reporters who still understand that cornerstone of our democracy, that expectation that the public has for truth to be reported. And then we get to decide our own opinion based on the facts reported to us.”


“So a journalist, a reporter who is so biased and will, no doubt, spin and gin up whatever it is that I have to say to create controversy, I swear to you, I will not my waste my time with her. Or him.”


Couric’s interview with then Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin in the Fall of 2008 raised many eyebrows because the then Alaska Governor seemed unwilling to reveal the specific magazine titles that she read, among other bon mots that many saw as damaging to the McCain-Palin ticket.

Liberal "Glee" Actress Dianna Agron Apologizes For Risque GQ Photo Shoot

When even Katie Couric is complaining about your highly publicized sexualized photo shoot because her kids watch the show, you know there's a problem:

Speaking only for herself, actress Dianna Agron said she's sorry about some aspects of GQ's recent racy "Glee" spread.

"If you are hurt or these photos make you uncomfortable, it was never our intention," Agron wrote on her Tumblr blog, noting that "Glee" is not the first pop phenomenon to push this particular envelope.

"And if your eight-year-old has a copy of our GQ cover in hand, again I am sorry," she said. "But I would have to ask, how on earth did it get there?"

Agron, whose cheerleader character, Quinn, closed out the first season by giving birth in scenes intercut with a group performance of "Bohemian Rhapsody," admitted that the show's rooting-for-the-underdog sensibility wasn't echoed in the GQ photos and noted that although the concept of the shoot wasn't her favorite idea, she "didn't walk away."

The Parents Television Council, in a statement from president Tim Winter, criticized the cover and spread Wednesday for hypersexualizing actresses who play high-school age students, saying the shoot with a high school backdrop "borders on pedophilia."

It's an increasingly growing phenonemon in Hollyweird: Girls Gone Wild wannabee porn stars with no morals or values posing as "professional actresses".

Katie Couric Made Fun Of Sarah Palin Before Interviewing Her

HotAir.com:

Via C4P and The College Press, the video of the day on the right shows Katie Couric taping some promo spots for CBS News coverage of the Republican convention in 2008 on the day that John McCain announced his selection of Sarah Palin as running mate.  The tape appears genuine, although it’s difficult to know when the YouTube version was taken; the camera was pointed at a monitor during the playback (which is why the black bars appear, as refresh rates differ between the monitor and the camera).  Did a CBS News employee shoot this while watching the satellite feed, or did a C-band satellite owner get a now-rare unencrypted feed from CBS at the time?  Why did it take two years for this to come out?  I assume these questions will eventually get answered, but for now, Couric’s snobbish reaction to Palin, the names of her children, and mooseburgers is pretty instructive...


.....Couric was hardly the only person to make a snide comment about the tradition of names in Palin’s family, and Sarah Palin herself talked about their efforts to find unique names for their children during the campaign. Couric may have been first, however, even if it was in a presumably off-air moment. People make similar comments about Hollywood celebrities and the names they select for their children, but that usually doesn’t extend to major network news anchors. The comments themselves aren’t an indictment as much as they are a window into the first biases that formed in Couric’s mind, to such an extent that she felt it necessary to share them with her co-workers — and why the McCain campaign bet badly on having Palin give her first major interview to CBS News.

The irony of an utter fail like Katie Couric making fun of anybody is funny to watch, and people wonder why Palin got so upset at being interviewed by an elitist, liberal snob like Couric,

Hypocrite CoverGirl Spokeswoman Ellen DeGeneres Says Women Shouldn't Be Worried About Outer Beauty

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Newsbusters.org:

During a web-only interview with CBS's Katie Couric to promote her new role on "American Idol," comedienne Ellen DeGeneres went on a rant about our sexist culture that demands women look more attractive than men.

There's just one problem: DeGeneres is the face of Proctor and Gamble's famous makeup line CoverGirl. In fact, she even appeared in a well known commercial saying, "Inner beauty is important -- but not nearly as important as outer beauty."

Too bad a serious journalist like Couric didn't think to ask if DeGeneres's fans might get confused. Then again, The Perky One would have had to confront her own complicity in flouting short skirts on network news programs and giving condescending interviews to women like Sarah Palin.

Without regard to the obvious hypocrisy, Couric teed up the subject by asking if DeGeneres was concerned for women who "are so obsessed and worried and spend so much time thinking about their bodies." DeGeneres used the question to accuse American culture of a sexist double standard.

Do liberal celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres ever think before they talk? I mean, with this being the YouTube age, you'd think she'd be a tad, bit smart enough to realize that she sound just a little hypocritical here.

Katie Couric Uses Liberal Propaganda To Smear Joe Lieberman

"His constituents"?!? So are Lieberman's "constituents" suddenly independents? Because thanks to King Of All Liberals George Soros and his minions on the Left, Senator Lieberman was ousted from the Democrat party 3 years ago. Secondly, Lieberman isn't the only senator "holding up" ObamaCare, if Couric paid attention to the news she'd know that Democrat senators like Mary Landrieau and Ben Nelson are also expressing opposition of health care "reform". And hey Katie, great way to sneak in a little plug for an upcoming Hollyweird film starring that great libtard Alec Baldwin. Edward R. Murrow would be so proud.

Sarah Palin Admits Annoyance In 2008 Interview With Katie Couric, 'The Perky One'

I just watched the interview Sarah Palin did on "Oprah" and must say that it was pretty fair and engaging. There were times that Palin did look a little on edge, like she thought Oprah was going to attack with some partisan schuckery, but Oprah's far too experienced at the interview game to let something like that happen. My favorite part was towards the beginning when Sarah unintentionally, intentionally put the Queen's ego in check by alluding that Oprah's "snub" (not interviewing Palin during last year's presidential campaign) of her was the last thing on her mind at the time she was prepping to be VP. Overall, Sarah did a good job here.


Source

Obama White House Lying About Job Stimulus Numbers

Newsbusters:

When Katie Couric and the folks at CBS start doubting what the Administration says about how effective February's economic stimulus package was, you know President Obama is in trouble.

Consider that on Thursday's CBS "Evening News," Chip Reid began a segment with the following startling statement about a jobs report card to be released by the White House Friday:

Well, Katie, that report is going to claim that the stimulus has already created or saved hundreds of thousands of jobs, but if the administration`s first effort at counting stimulus jobs is any guide, tomorrow`s numbers could be hard to believe.

Alex Rodriguez Admits To Doing Steroids

SportingNews.com:

Alex Rodriguez admitted Monday that he used performance-enhancing drugs from 2001-03, saying he did so because of the pressures of being baseball's highest-paid player.

"When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure. I felt like I had all the weight of the world on top of me and I needed to perform, and perform at a high level every day," the New York Yankees star said in an interview with ESPN that was broadcast Monday shortly after it was recorded.

His admission came two days after Sports Illustrated reported he tested positive for steroids in 2003, one of 104 players who tested positive during baseball's survey testing, which wasn't subject to discipline and was supposed to remain anonymous.

"And I did take a banned substance and, you know, for that I'm very sorry and deeply regretful. And although it was the culture back then and Major League Baseball overall was very -- I just feel that -- You know, I'm just sorry. I'm sorry for that time. I'm sorry to fans. I'm sorry for my fans in Texas. It wasn't until then that I ever thought about substance of any kind, and since then I've proved to myself and to everyone that I don't need any of that."

The 33-year-old All-Star third baseman was regarded by many in baseball as the most likely to break Bonds' record of 762. He's already 12th on the career list with 553 homers, 209 behind Bonds.

I'm biased because I'm no Yankee fan (instead I root for the Mets, blame my mother), but should anyone really be shocked by this news? Especially after Jose Canseco recently outed the Steroid Era (with the Mitchell Report nailing it later on) in that "Juiced" book. For years Alex Rodriguez has proven himself to be nothing but a phony--a ballplayer more concerned about his own greatness than that of his team. Is it any wonder why the Yankees haven't even made a World Series since A-Fraud put on the famous pinstripes?

People will naively congratulate A-Fraud for telling the truth, but this is the same guy who lied to Katie Couric's face (and the American public) about ever taking steroids just a couple of years ago. In other words A-Fraud is only coming out as a cheater now because he got caught. From his dismal postseason numbers to cheating openly on his wife to former manager Joe Torre calling him out for being "selfish" in his new book, Alex Rodriguez has been nothing but a disappointment and a failure as a Yankee. I'd say get rid of him, but considering that the Yankees are about nothing but making money these days, they deserve 9 more years of A-Fraud.

Sarah Palin "Annoyed" At Katie Couric

From Newsbusters.com:



Palin had every right to be upset: at the fact that Couric is only taken seriously as a journalist by the Left and that the interview was clearly a sham made to make her look bad.

Katie Couric To Get Next Sarah Palin Interview

Oh great, wonder if Couric, the most highest paid news anchor despite consistently dismal ratings, will ask her about Tanning salon-gate, yunno just the latest attempt by the loons to smear Palin:

Second in the broadcast network competition to talk to Sarah Palin: Katie Couric.

The CBS anchor will spend two days on the road with the Republican vice presidential candidate as well as presidential hopeful John McCain, the network said Tuesday.

Couric's interview material will be aired Sept. 29 and 30 on the "CBS Evening News" and "The Early Show."

It's timed for just before the Oct. 2 vice presidential debate between Palin and Democrat Joe Biden.

ABC's Charles Gibson had the first in-depth network interview with Palin last week. She's also talking to Fox News Channel's Sean Hannity this week.

There's no word on whether Couric's interview material will appear on "60 Minutes," which competed hard to get the first Palin interview.

Seriously, I don't know if this is a good idea by the McCain camp. Although liberals will cry about the GOP being afraid to let the press grill Palin, after the literal hatchet job ABC and Gibson did to the potential vice-president, what good can come out of an inept news anchor with a liberal bent go one-on-one with her? I mean, despite being so perky, Katie is still no different then those nutjobs who co-host "The View": bullying folks they disagree with little knowledge of the facts. A Sarah Palin interview by the likes of a dimwit Katie Couric can only do the McCain-Palin ticket harm.

$15 Million Per Year Katie Couric Plays The Sexism Card

Consistently last in the news ratings war, America's highest paid newsreader is now claiming that she is a victim of sexism and that discrimination based on gender is more prevalent - and tolerated - in US society than racism:

"I find myself in the last bastion of male dominance, and realising what Hillary Clinton might have realised not long ago: that sexism in the American society is more common than racism, and certainly more acceptable or forgivable," Miss Couric told the paper as she covered Senator Barack Obama's Middle East tour.

"In any case, I think my post and Hillary's race are important steps in the right direction."

Ms Couric, who in 2006 became the first woman to present a primetime network news broadcast solo, has faced intensive scrutiny not only of her job performance but her outfits and personal life since taking over the CBS Evening News.

What a narcissist. But then this is Couric's best hope--make herself out to be victim while playing the Hillary Clinton card and blaming sexism for her sagging ratings, not her liberal bias on reporting the news or the fact that she isn't the least bit qualified to report on world issues. Now quick, can you name a black news anchor in this country who gets paid $15 million per year? Of course you can't, because there isn't any.