411 Politics Fact or Fiction: Week 50
Posted by Ryan Latimer on 07.02.2007
That's a lot of birthday candles...
Good Monday, dudes and dudettes, and welcome to edition 50 of 411 Politics Fact or Fiction. I'm your host Ryan Latimer, and I'm the guy who wrote that premature entry on Wik…nah, too soon.
Should the Fairness Doctrine rise from the grave? Should President Bush stop being a poo head and hand over the documents regarding Attorney Gate to lawmakers? Is the media sensationalizing the Chris Benoit story? Is the toasting of the immigration bill good or bad? Do these pants make my butt look big? 411 Politics' own Mark Radulich and Dan Martin debate these questions and more (except the "more" part) on FOF's 50th birthday. Pay it a few compliments because it feels unsexy.
Enjoy…
1) In a radio interview on WNYC's The Brian Lehrer Show, Senator John Kerry stated he thought the Fairness Doctrine should be revived, calling it one of the "most profound changes in the balance of the media." The FCC discontinued the Fairness Doctrine in 1987, deeming it unconstitutional. The Fairness Doctrine should be brought back.
Mark Radulich: FICTION - What part of "free market" are people not understanding? None of these media establishments are government institutions with the exception of NPR, which is not fair and balanced in the least. There is no law that says you can't have a news operation be completely biased. If I want to start the Ham Sandwich News Channel: All Conservative News, None of the Baloney, that is my right. I will live or die by the amount of consumers interested in my product. The Fairness Doctrine is nothing more than a knee jerk reaction to elite media types not getting their way using the same old tricks. You know, if you don't like freedom which includes unpopular or popular and obstructionist speech, move to Russia and hope Putin doesn't poison you too!
Dan Martin: FICTION - How would the Fairness Doctrine apply to new mediums of communication such as those found online? YouTube played a huge role in George Allen's loss in Virginia. Do we need equal time on YouTube? On 411mania.com? Should the film Sicko be accompanied by an equally long film entitled Healtho? Even if the law once made sense, it is obsolete.
That has always been my complaint with the FD as well, the fact that it would be relatively impossible to enforce; everyone and their dogs would always be complaining that the famed "fair time" is being violated or not regulated properly. It makes me wonder how they even did it all those years ago in the first place. Great idea, but a perfect world this is not. 1 for 1
2) President Bush asserted his executive privilege last Thursday and rejected lawmakers' demands for documents that may shed light on the firings of federal prosecutors. Bush's attorney told Congress that the White House would not turn over subpoenaed documents for former presidential counsel Harriet Miers and former political director Sara Taylor. Bush should honor Congress' request and turn over the documents.
Mark Radulich: FACT - Yes he should...but he won't, because he's an elite ex-CEO who believes that privilege includes being above the law. And after all, life goes on.
Dan Martin: FACT - It seems as though the Justice Department is surrounded by a cloud of scandal and uncertainty. As a citizen, I think we should be able to know if Ashcroft was taken advantage of on domestic spying and if U.S. attorneys were fired for not pursuing Democrats with enough vigor. A free society should have some free flow of information and neither of these issues represents disclosing sensitive national security data as much as restoring confidence in the rule of law.
File this one into my There Are Things We As Citizens Will Never Fully Know About filing cabinet. I want very much to say that Bush should "do the right thing" and hand ‘em over if he has nothing to hide on the matter, but I believe there is more to this story here -- a lot more, and as result it is hard to take a side, so to speak. Or perhaps I‘m just complicating a simple situation and Bush really is the man everyone says he is. Either way. 2 for 2
3) The tragic story of the Benoit murder-suicide was picked up by many mainstream news outlets, giving WWE and the wrestling business in general a great deal of worldwide exposure as a result. WWE chairman Vince McMahon has accused the media of "sensationalizing" the story. McMahon is correct in his assessment.
Mark Radulich: FACT - Just like America hates kids, the media hates wrestling. The media is also half stupid so instead of doing any kind of investigation, it's easier to just depend on stereotypes and report that as news. For example, wrestlers take steroids and have died. This wrestler killed someone and himself. Wrestler + death = steroids, TO THE BLOGS - STOP THE PRESSES! The American mainstream media cannot for the life of them handle thoughtfulness or complexity. They don't factor in depression, any on going stress or family issues and they don't bother to get to know the subject they are reporting on (Nancy Grace and Bill O'Reilly, shame on you). I don't even know why they are bothering to show file footage or even repeat the man's name. They are reporting this as if wrestling itself committed double homicide, not a troubled human being.
Dan Martin: FICTION - For the WWE to accuse someone else of sensationalizing things in order to get ratings is crazy. The more that comes out about this story the more it stinks. Drunk Driving arrests, domestic violence complaints, medical data suggesting that repeated head injuries lead to increased risk of suicide, steroids from an internet pharmacy that was raided by the Feds, signs of injections into Daniel Benoit, multiple prescriptions in the house, Benoit's doctor's office having documents seized, and of course the early Wikipedia entry from someone either in CT or using a WWE server make this story plenty sensational and depressing all on its own. Throw in a 3 hour nationally televised love fest when common sense might have said wait and see what is going and you can add bad taste to the WWE's handling of the situation.
The sad thing is I think some of the tributes make more sense in light of the greater details because it easily could have been someone else who killed his wife due to anger. A pathological sense of fraternity is what I would chalk the tribute up to if the Wikipedia story suggests WWE foreknowledge of the double murder suicide.
Sensationalizing? More like just being irresponsible and reckless. Speaking as a former journalist, I have zero problem with the media covering this story even to the degree it has in the last few days; it‘s a BIG story, one with much oncoming fallout and repercussions resulting in more stories worth reporting on. But I believe many outlets and personalities just don‘t do their homework and speak before thinking, something that seems to be the case more often than not lately. 2 for 3
4) The Senate last week voted down President Bush's immigration bill, likely postponing major action on immigration until after the 2008 elections. The Senate made a mistake in voting this bill down.
Mark Radulich: FICTION - Not because it was a bad bill, per se. The government works for the people and they decided en masse that before we deal with the illegals that are here, they want a fence. Right or wrong, that's what the voters wanted, so in that sense they did the right thing. Now the fact that the fence will probably never get finished being built, that's a whole story. On that note, I'd like to leave you with a quote, "Sire, the people are revolting!" "They certainly do, they stink on ice!" Mel Brooks - History of the World Part I
Dan Martin: FICTION - I want to see some sort of path to citizenship for these immigrants which separates me from many of its opponents. However, this bill was one of those omnibus Washington bills that was being pushed for the wrong reasons - i.e. Bush needing a signature second term legislative victory rather than it being a good law. Ron Paul's constitutionalist positions must be rubbing off on me because if a bill is poorly thought out or no longer applicable (see the fairness doctrine) there is no need to put it on the books.
The bill wasn‘t perfect, but I did want it to pass only because I wanted SOMETHING as opposed to the nothing we‘ve had for decades. But hey, I‘m hopeful they will come back with another "something" soon because the public interest won‘t die on this one. 3 for 4
Greatly appreciated, good gents. But next time I want to see more blood. See you all in seven.
STAY CURRENT