Video: Bozell Bashes Liberal Media Censorship of Bad News on ObamaCare

The liberal media "are deliberately censoring news and information from the American people" on ObamaCare that would cast the Obama administration in a negative light, NewsBusters publisher Brent Bozell charged on the April 11 edition of Varney & Co.

The Media Research Center president rattled off a few such developments that the liberal media completely ignored (watch the full segment below):

BRENT BOZELL, NewsBusters publisher: March 22nd, you have a situation where 33 Senate Democrats join with 40-some Republicans to vote against the 2.3 percent sales tax on medical devices. That is a huge setback for ObamaCare. Total network news stories: zero.

March 26. Another report comes out that says the health claims in the states are going to rise between 32 and 80 percent and that health care spending is going to double. A dramatic reversal for ObamaCare. Network news stories: zero.

March 26. You get a new report that comes out that says the Secretary of HHS, Sebelius herself, admits that premiums for new policies are going to go up. That is a complete contradiction to what the president told the American people when he sold it [ObamaCare] to them. Network news stories: zero.

April 3rd. You have another report that comes out that the system of exchanges in this country that were supposed to help small businesses are being put off for a year because it's a complete train wreck of a system. How many news reports on that? None.

April 4th, you have a poll -- this was a good one -- that says that two out of three Democrats now believe that ObamaCare will hurt them or not help them. Overall, 78 percent of the American people now believe that ObamaCare is going to hurt them, not help them. Only 15 percent of the American public believes that ObamaCare is going to help them.

Put them all together: No single network news story on any of that. Now, I rest my case, they're censoring information.

STUART VARNEY, host, Varney & Co.: No question, Brent. You've laid out the case and I'm buying it. There is deliberate censorship of information about ObamaCare.

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Arctic Death Spiral, The Video

Kenneth Dunton, Professor of Marine Sciences at the University of Texas, Austin, has a somber video on “The New Arctic”:

h/t Climate Crocks

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VIDEO: How Oil Drilling Threatens Theodore Roosevelt National Park

The Center for American Progress released a new video today revealing how North Dakota’s oil boom is threatening Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The park is located in the heart of the massive Bakken shale play, which has recently become one of the most productive oil fields in the United States thanks to improved technologies like hydraulic fracturing.

As the video shows, oil wells are creeping closer and closer to the park’s boundaries, and drill rigs and flares can even be seen from within the park itself. Already, visitors are discovering that the national park’s three units are becoming islands in a sea of industrial development — from oil trucks on roads leading to the park to intrusive noise levels that ruin the park’s natural quiet. Soon, there could even be drilling within the national park itself, as it is one of 30 national park units that could have drilling within its borders in the future.

There is tremendous irony in the oil and gas industry tarnishing the very park that honors our greatest conservation president, Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt spent a few formative years on ranches in the North Dakota badlands, which he credited with giving him the depth of character he needed to be president.

Winthrop Roosevelt, Roosevelt’s great-great-grandson who narrates the video, also today has a piece in the Daily Beast about his e indignation towards drilling so close to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. As he puts it:

If you are outraged like I am that a national park could be sacrificed in the oil and gas industry’s quest for selfish profit, it’s time to take action.

The North Dakotans featured in the video are quick to note that they are not against oil drilling but argue there needs to be a better balance between drilling and conservation. As Roosevelt himself put it, “I recognize the right and duty of this generation to develop and use the natural resources of our land; but I do not recognize the right to waste them, or to rob, by wasteful use, the generations that come after us.”

We can have both energy development and conservation on our public lands. But right now, the industry is winning: over the last four years, 2.5 times more acres of public lands have been leased to oil and gas companies than have been permanently protected. This must change. As former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt stated in February, President Obama and Congress should put conservation of our public lands “on equal ground” with energy development. One step forward in this direction would be to ensure that Theodore Roosevelt National Park is adequately protected from the consequences of oil drilling.

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Hilarious Conan Video Skewers Media Reporting On Gasoline Price Rise

I guess you don’t need anyone to tell you gas prices are back on the rise:

But then what do we need local media for?

So maybe those folks who said there’s just one person writing all the news were right….

Add your punchline in the comments.

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Carter: Obama thanked grandson for '47 percent' video

President Obama thanked Jimmy Carter's grandson for his work in making public the secretly recorded "47 percent" Mitt Romney video, the former president said in a CNN interview airing Thursday.

"When James went to meet President Obama, President Obama ran across the room, embraced him and thanked him profusely for his time, by the way," Carter said.

The video, which shows Romney describing nearly half of Americans as "dependent" on government, created a national controversy and was thought to deal a serious blow to the Republican nominee's presidential chances.

"There are 47% of people who are with him [Obama], who are dependent on government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, you-name-it," Romney said at a private Florida fundraiser last year.

James Carter, the president's grandson, reportedly encouraged the owner of the video to turn it over to Mother Jones magazine.

In the interview airing Thursday, President Carter said the release of the tape was a "pivotal moment" in the contest.

"It was something [Romney] could not deny and it stuck with him for the rest of the election and I think it was a major factor, if not the major factor," he said, adding he believed it won Obama the election.

Obama met with Carter's grandson while in Atlanta for a post-State of the Union rally to champion his universal pre-K initiative.

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Republicans Blame Video Games, Not Guns, For Gun Violence

Republicans are more likely to place the blame for gun violence on video games, not guns, according to a recent poll from Public Policy Polling. Sixty seven percent of Republicans believe that such games are a “bigger safety threat” than firearms — only 14 percent think the reverse.

The only problem? There’s no data to support that position. There is evidence that limiting access to guns can help limit violence wrought by those machines. In particular, there’s evidence to show that the Assault Weapons Ban helped to limit gun violence on the Mexican-American border. And in states where gun ownership is high and gun laws are lax, violence rates are higher.

On the other hand, there’s absolutely no conclusive evidence showing that video games are the root cause of violence. There are countries with much lower rates of violence that have much higher consumption of video games.

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VIDEO: How The Military Treats A Fallen Soldier’s Same-Sex Widow

NEWS FLASH

VIDEO: How The Military Treats A Fallen Soldier’s Same-Sex Widow | Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Donna Johnson was one of three soldiers killed by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan on October 1, but she was the only one of the three whose spouse was not taken care of by the military after her death. Johnson’s wife, Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Tracy Dice, was not eligible to have her travel expenses to Dover Air Force Base covered, nor can she benefit from Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, the Survivor Benefit Plan, VA education benefits, or Tricare health coverage. The repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell allowed Johnson and Rice to be open about their marriage, but the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act still prevents the military from legally recognizing their relationship. Watch an interview with Dice about losing Johnson and the mistreatment she has experienced as a same-sex spouse (HT: Towleroad):

By Zack Ford on Jan 8, 2013 at 4:10 pm

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Senate Waters Down Privacy Protections For Online Video Streaming

Last week, the Senate quietly agreed to allow video streaming companies such as Netflix to share data on of their customers’ streaming histories for up to two years — after only asking their permission once. The Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), had previously mandated that consent be obtained from an individual each time their video-watching history was shared. It also requires law enforcement to obtain a warrant, court order, or grand jury subpoena to acquire that history, and prevents companies from sharing it for marketing purposes — provisions which all appear to remain in place.

The new bill has already been adopted by the House, and is now on its way to President Obama’s desk. Adam Serwer at Mother Jones has the latest:

Last Tuesday, the Senate quietly altered a key privacy law, making it much easier for video streaming services like Netflix to share your viewing habits. How quietly? The Senate didn’t even hold a recorded vote: The bill was approved by unanimous consent. (Joe Mullin of Ars Technica was among the first to note the vote.) [...] Video streaming companies that want to share your data now only need to ask for your permission once. After that, they can broadcast your video-watching habits far and wide for up to two years before having to ask again.

VPPA was originally passed in 1988 following outrage at the publication of Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork’s video rental history by a Washington newspaper. (An irony, as Serwer notes, given Bork’s own hostility to privacy rights.) The law caused headaches for Netflix’s attempt to integrate their services with Facebook, an arrangement the company has brought to over 40 countries but has yet to debut in the United States. Netflix recently challenged the application of the law to online streaming video, but was rebuffed by a federal district court.

Both Facebook and Netflix lobbied enthusiastically in the second half of 2012 for the changes to the VPPA, spending $1.6 million dollars and $400,000, respectively. Those efforts paid off with last week’s alteration.

The change was originally intended as a trade-off: Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) inserted language that would’ve strengthened privacy protections for email and other personal online documents under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (EPCA), even as it declawed the VPPA. But then the House passed a version of the VPPA update without the balancing update to the EPCA. That forced a negotiation, and the Senate eventually gave in to the House’s version.

Leahy has called for the Congress to take up the issue of strengthening EPCA’s online protections again next year. But as Serwer dryly points out, “not even the CIA director losing his job in the wake of an FBI investigation that led to no actual charges could provoke Congress into updating the country’s digital privacy laws. So Leahy’s calls for reform appear likely to go unanswered.”

Wording in the first paragraph has been altered for clarity. As far as ThinkProgress is aware, the provision concerning consent to share data is the only aspect of VPPA that has been altered of those listed.

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2012 in review: Top U.S. stories [VIDEO]

A look back at the stories that dominated the U.S. headlines in 2012.

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Revealing Video: Same Tired Rhetoric

The above video from the RNC compares Obama’s 2011 speech on the House budget to Obama’s 2012 speech on the House budget. The orator in Chief is often accused of rehashing used talking points in speeches, both from lack of imagination, and due to the fact that, having failed to tackle any problems effectively, he constantly has to address the same problems. As you can see above, it’s a valid criticism.

But I’ll say this for Obama: The above video from the RNC compares Obama’s 2011 speech on the House budget to Obama’s 2012 speech on the House budget. The orator in Chief is often accused of rehashing used talking points in speeches, both from lack of imagination, and due to the fact that, having failed to tackle any problems effectively, he constantly has to address the same problems. As you can see above, it’s a valid criticism.

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