Washington Bridge Collapse Being Used to Push Big Government

By all accounts the Interstate 5 bridge collapse in Washington State was a result of an over sized truck load as opposed to "failing infrastructure." But a plea for greater federal spending figured prominently in many reports on the accident nonetheless. by Warner Todd Huston 25 May 2013, 5:26 AM PDT

Journalist, Author Haynes Johnson Dies at 81

Johnson's shoe-leather reporting and keen insights on the struggle of Southern blacks during the civil rights era won him the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting in 1966, one of many honors showered upon him during a brilliant career that spanned more than 50 years. from AP 25 May 2013, 2:08 AM PDT

Tavis Smiley Marks 10th Year on PBS

Tavis Smiley has stood out in 20 years in broadcasting, and he has no intention of changing his style or substance. from AP 24 May 2013

Politico: Attkisson Fights Bias of 'CBS Evening News' Producer

When you work at CBS in the capacity Attkisson does, getting on the "CBS Evening News" is what it is all about -- it is why you get up in the morning. Therefore, Attkisson's willingness to rub one of the holders of the keys to that kingdom the wrong way says a lot about her character. by John Nolte 24 May 2013

Politico Takes Hit with Loss of Jonathan Martin

"As big a move as it is for the New York Times, it may be double for Politico, for Martin offers the sort of reporting that the site badly needs." by Breitbart News 24 May 2013

Strassel: IRS Scandal's Roots in Obama's 2008 Campaign; Attacked Clinton, Edwards, Too

Kimberly Strassel has a must-read column at the Wall Street Journal today that explains the context in which the IRS scandal emerged--not just during the Obama administration's attempt to quash the Tea Party, but in Obama's efforts to shut down all opposition, both Republican and Democratic, in the 2008 campaign. by Joel B. Pollak 24 May 2013

AP Reporter: DOJ Harassing, Intimidating Journalists

After State Department Deputy Spokesman Patrick Ventrell praised the agency's support of a "free press" on Thursday, Associated Press reporter Matt Lee engaged Ventrell over the release of Department records and the Department of Justice's investigation into James Rosen's activies. by Meredith Dake 24 May 2013

Ailes Letter to Journalists is a Battle Cry for Press Freedom

Fox News chief Roger Ailes's letter to his employees is a battle cry that will echo beyond the Avenue of the Americas. "The administration’s attempt to intimidate Fox News and its employees will not succeed and their excuses will stand neither the test of law, the test of decency, nor the test of time. We will not allow a climate of press intimidation, unseen since the McCarthy era, to frighten any of us away from the truth," he wrote. by Joel B. Pollak 23 May 2013

Roger Ailes: Obama Press Intimidation 'Unseen Since McCarthy Era'

Fox News president Roger Ailes has released a scathing letter to his employees regarding the Department of Justice investigating FNC reporter James Rosen for a 2009 story on North Korea's plans for a nuclear test. by Breitbart News 23 May 2013

How the New York Times Shapes 'Correct' Perception of News

Some real news came out of the release of the Inspector General's report on the IRS abuse, and from the Congressional hearings this week. The Obama administration lied when it claimed it had no idea the IRS was targeting Conservative groups for delays & denials of their applications for tax-exempt status. by Brian Cates 23 May 2013

Politico Reporter: Gitmo a 'Tar Baby' For Obama

POLITICO'S LOIS ROMANO: "His then-counsel, Greg Craig, was pushing to close Guantanamo; he set a date that they couldn't meet, and it ended up being a really bad political tar baby for him." by John Nolte 23 May 2013

Weekly Ratings: Fox News 3rd, CNN 29th, MSNBC 33rd

The Fox News Channel continues to obliterate the competition, not just among its cable news competitors, but in all cable. Out of the 94 cable channel measured by Nielsen, Fox News was ranked third in what is known as "total day" and in primetime last week. Only TNT and the USA Network had more viewers. by John Nolte 23 May 2013

Propaganda: NPR Incorrectly Claims IRS Has Nothing to do With Obamacare

During the May 22 broadcast of National Public Radio's "Talk of the Nation," host Neil Conan repeatedly contradicted a guest by claiming that the IRS has nothing at all to do with Obamacare. NPR's Conan is, of course, completely incorrect. The IRS is up to it's Tea Party harassing neck in Obamacare. by Warner Todd Huston 23 May 2013

Stratfor Email: Brennan Behind 'Witch Hunt' of Journalists Reporting Leaks

An obscure November 2012 Wikileaks email dump points to former White House counterterrorism adviser and now-CIA chief John Brennan as the person behind the “witch hunt” of journalists who reported unflattering Obama administration leaks. by Kerry Picket 22 May 2013

Anthony Weiner's Disdain for Women Goes Beyond Twitter Hijinks

The Washington Times' Emily Miller warns New Yorkers that mayoral hopeful Anthony Weiner's sexually demeaning tactics didn't just involve social media. by Breitbart News 22 May 2013

Milbank: Reporter Snooping Actions 'Shatter the President's Credibility'

“If Obama really is ‘a fierce defender of the First Amendment,’ as his spokesman would have it, he will move quickly to fix this,” wrote Milbank. “Otherwise, Obama is establishing an ominous precedent for future leaders whose fondness for the First Amendment may not be so fierce.” by Wynton Hall 22 May 2013

Chuck Todd: Obama Wants to 'Criminalize Journalism'

Todd said individuals he now talks to are “quite uncomfortable having conversations on the phone. Maybe that’s the intent.” The NBC reporter added: “you can't look at this and see it as anything other than an attempt to basically scare anybody from ever leaking anything ever again.” by Wynton Hall 22 May 2013

New York Times: Rush Limbaugh Among Reasons Media Ignored IRS Scandal

In a May 21 piece, the New York Times' Michael D. Shear blamed the lag time between the IRS targeting of conservative groups and the reporting thereof on Rush Limbaugh. by Warner Todd Huston 22 May 2013

Israel Releases Damning Report on Al-Dura Hoax

The Israeli Government has released a comprehensive report into the infamous Al-Dura incident of Sep. 30, 2000, declaring that the 12-year-old Palestinian boy was not killed by Israeli soldiers and that journalists had perpetrated a "misleading and mendacious" hoax that had inspired terrorist violence against Jews and Israel. by Joel B. Pollak 22 May 2013

Media Fail: Obama Approval Dips Below 50 In Four Polls

Coming out of the weekend, after a brutal week for their president, the media held tight to a little lifeboat in an ocean of bad news: Polls from CNN and The Washington Post had Obama's approval rating at 53% and 50%, respectively. But Monday was a lifetime and countless revelations ago, and today, four newer polls all show Obama's approval rating sinking below 50%. by John Nolte 22 May 2013

Columnists Who Met with White House Tuesday Write Same Thing Wednesday

Tuesday, the Washington Post's Ezra Klein and Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo were spotted walking into the West Wing. Wednesday, both called for firings at the IRS within a half-hour of one another. by John Nolte 22 May 2013

IRS's Own Internal Investigation Ended 6 Months Before Election, Hidden From Congress

In a startling exchange Wednesday during the IRS hearings before the House Oversight and Reform Committee, America learned that the IRS knew in May of 2012 that its employees were targeting conservative organizations with paralyzing harassment and Kafka-esque audits. Although the IRS knew this, they did not report this information to Congress. by John Nolte 22 May 2013

New York Times: Obama Leak Investigations 'Chilling,' 'Threatening'

At least when it comes to the overreaching Department of Justice leak investigations, President Obama has finally lost one of his biggest fans, The New York Times. In a Wednesday editorial written by the full editorial board, the Times said it was a threat "to fundamental freedoms of the press to gather news" when the Obama administration labeled a Fox News reporter a "co-conspirator" in a criminal investigation. by John Nolte 22 May 2013

Liberal Columnists Quietly Gather at White House

NPR's Ari Shapiro reported that Jonathan Capehart and Ezra Klein of the Washington Post, and Josh Marshall of the left-wing website TalkingPointsMemo.com were attending a meeting together at the White House on Tuesday. by Warner Todd Huston 22 May 2013

Report: DOJ Seized Records of Five Fox News Phone Numbers

"The Obama Justice Department has seized the phone records of numbers that are associated with White House staffers and, apparently, with Fox News reporters, according to a document filed on October 13, 2011, in the case of Stephen Jin-Woo Kim[.]" by Breitbart News 21 May 2013

BuzzFeed Staffer: Ted Cruz 'Latino In Name Only'

Using her Twitter feed, BuzzFeed staffer Aswini Anburajan lashed out at Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) for not being left-wing enough when it comes to immigration. Anbuarajan not only knocked the Senator's chances at becoming president due to his stand on "immig and benefits," she attacked Cruz racially, declaring him a LINO, or Latin In Name Only. by John Nolte 21 May 2013

Top IRS Official to Plead Fifth

Tuesday afternoon a bombshell was dropped into the already explosive IRS scandal when it was reported that Lois Lerner, a top IRS official in the non-profit division that paralyzed Tea Party groups with ongoing harassment, would invoke the Fifth Amendment. by John Nolte 21 May 2013

WaPo/ABC Poll: Majority Distrust Obama, Media in Various Scandals

A new poll conducted jointly by The Washington Post and ABC News revealed some interesting trends. Among other findings, more Americans feel that Obama and his administration are lying about Benghazi. A majority feel that the IRS acted inappropriately by targeting conservative groups. The media are still distrusted, with a majority feeling that the Justice Department's seizure of the AP's phone records was justified. Despite all this disapproval, Obama's approval rating is still just over 50 percent positive. by Warner Todd Huston 21 May 2013

Investors.com: Obama's White House 'Reminiscent of Totalitarian Regimes'

An editorial at Investors.com Monday noted that, having succeeded twice at electing a candidate with a radical socialist background, Barack Obama’s political advisors have now moved from a goal of merely controlling the “narrative,” to one of control of the actual “news.” The “seizure of AP phone records and surveillance of Fox employees,” says the editorial, demonstrates the White House’s “real aim.” by Dr. Susan Berry 21 May 2013

Outgoing Chief Admits IRS Targeting 'Partisan'

During his testimony today, outgoing IRS chief Steven Miller not only stopped objecting to the use of the word "targeting," but seemed to agree with Burr that the targeting was in fact partisan. by John Nolte 21 May 2013

Eugene Robinson Hammers Obama Over AP

The provocative headline "Obama administration mistakes journalism for espionage" doesn't appear in a traditionally conservative paper like the NY Post or Wall Street Journal; it's in the Washington Post. And before you equivocate, no, it's not hovering over the byline of Charles Krauthammer or George Will at WaPo, it's accompanying a column by long-time Obama apologist Eugene Robinson. by Larry O'Connor 21 May 2013

Milbank: If You Oppose Immigration Bill, You're a Segregationist

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post compared Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) to Jim Crow-era segregationist (Democrat) Alabama governor George Wallace: "Not since George Wallace, perhaps, has an Alabamian taken as passionate a stand for a lost cause as the one Jeff Sessions is taking now." The irony of the false comparison to Wallace is apparently lost on Milbank. Wallace famously stood in the door to defy federal enforcement of the law. Sessions is standing up to demand federal enforcement of the law. by Joel B. Pollak 21 May 2013

IRS Scandal: Outgoing Chief Says Planted Question His Idea

In Tuesday's Senate hearings into the ever-widening IRS scandal, outgoing IRS chief, Steve Miller, acknowledged that the planted question that broke the story last week was his idea. by John Nolte 21 May 2013

White House Correspondent: Carney Should 'Threaten To Resign'

Jay Carney's credibility is now on the line, according to veteran White House correspondent Keith Koffler. He reports today, at White House Dossier, that Monday's briefing by Carney was filled with acrimony over the ever-evolving narrative put forth by the White House Press Secretary over the Inspector General report dealing with the inappropriate targeting of conservative groups by the IRS. by Larry O'Connor 21 May 2013

Carney Can't (Or Won't) Name 'Senior Staff' Who Knew About IRS Report

We also learned, from press secretary Jay Carney, that many other members of the President's "senior staff" knew about the report and purposely failed to inform their boss, Barack Obama. When pressed about the names of these "senior staff" members, Carney replied "I don't have a list for you." Was this his way of refusing to disclose the names? Or, was he merely saying that he didn't have the names "at that moment" and will provide them later? by Larry O'Connor 21 May 2013

Factchecker Destroys White House Claim of 'Doctored' Benghazi Emails

Working together again, the White House and Media Matters have spent the last week attempting the herculean task of turning the Benghazi-scandal battleship around in the hopes of attacking conservatives. Washington Post factchecker, Glenn Kessler, just destroyed that cynical maneuver. by John Nolte 21 May 2013

Ratings: MSNBC Hits 7-Year Low, Fox News Rises

Last week, between May 13-17, MSNBC averaged 350,000 overall viewers and only 94,000 in the all-important 25-54 demo. One day last week, in that demo, MSNBC averaged only 83,000 viewers, a low not seen since July of 2006. by John Nolte 21 May 2013

Roll Call Reporter Implies Lawmakers Demanding Offsets Aren't Concerned About Tornado Victims

As Oklahomans were suffering after Monday's devastating tornado, Roll Call reporter Meredith Shiner callously wondered on Twitter if Republican lawmakers who were tweeting "thoughts and prayers" to the victims of the deadly tornado would demand that disaster aid be offset. by Tony Lee 21 May 2013

While Rosen Is Pursued, Gregory's Gun Violation Gets a Pass

If there is one lesson I have learned over my decade and a half at Judicial Watch, it is this: you must never overestimate the hypocrisy of the Left--especially in covering for their own. Lest you have even the slightest doubt, cast an eye to the outrageous behavior of District of Columbia Attorney General Irvin B. Nathan when he allowed NBC-TV’s David Gregory to walk away scot free for a firearm offense, even while openly acknowledging “the clarity of the violation of the law.” by Tom Fitton 21 May 2013

CBS News Mocks Benghazi Whistleblower

CBS News has a piece quietly mocking a Benghazi whistleblower for writing poetry in a classic example of how the MSM marginalizes opponents of Barack Obama by William Bigelow 21 May 2013

Huffington Post: NRA Doesn't Understand Constitution, James Madison

In one of the less rational attacks on the NRA to date, the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence's Josh Horwitz used his May 20 column to make the case that the NRA doesn't understand the Constitution or the man who wrote it--James Madison. by AWR Hawkins 21 May 2013

Politico's Thrush Politicizes Oklahoma Tornado: 'Global Warming Denier'

The destructive tornado that destroyed the quiet town of Moore, Oklahoma was only a few hours gone. The devastation had yet to be measured, and the dead barely counted much less mourned and laid to rest. Politico's Glenn Thrush felt it was already time to politicize the event by scolding Oklahoma's Senators because they are against global warming and big government spending. by Warner Todd Huston 21 May 2013

Policy, Discretion Guide Media Sources Probes

It was a rare moment in relations between the media and the government: In 2008, FBI Director Robert Mueller called the top editors at The New York Times and The Washington Post to apologize because the bureau had improperly obtained reporters' telephone records four years earlier. from AP 21 May 2013

Even The New Yorker Sides with Fox News Reporter on DOJ Attack

On Monday it was reported that several Fox News reporters were targeted by the Department of Justice over interaction with an employee(s) at the State Department. In the investigation, Fox News' James Rosen was fingered by the DOJ not just as a reporter getting "classified" information, but an "aider and abettor and/or co-conspirator." by Warner Todd Huston 20 May 2013

Google and Verizon Gave Government Reporters' Records

Google and Verizon Wireless reportedly gave government officials reporters’ private email and phone records as part of the Department of Justice’s seizure of journalists’ communications. by Wynton Hall 20 May 2013

Beinart Calls Drudge & Boyle Racists--Hilarity Ensues

The Daily Beast's Peter Beinart took some time out from defending the indefensible IRS today to accuse Matt Drudge and Breitbart News' Matt Boyle of racism for their entirely non-racial reaction to President Barack Obama's commencement address at the all-black, all-male Morehouse College in Atlanta on Sunday. Beinart's attack is so clumsy, however, that he undermines his own case--and proves Drudge and Boyle's point. by Joel B. Pollak 20 May 2013

IRS Scandal: Armed Police 'Escort' Reporters Through Cincinnati Office

According to ABC, an "armed uniform police officer with the Federal Protective Service" "escorted" reporters through the public building. ABC says if the intent wasn't to "scare off" employees who might talk, "it was the effect." by John Nolte 20 May 2013

Angry Press Corps Grills White House on Reporter Scandals

The White House press corps posed several angry questions to Obama administration spokesperson Jay Carney about the James Rosen case in his daily briefing Monday. The Washington Post revealed Sunday that Rosen, who works for the Fox News Channel, had been the target of unusual surveillance by the Department of Justice, which treated his reports on North Korea as potential crimes against national security. by Joel B. Pollak 20 May 2013

NY Times Reporter: Justice Department Leak Targeting Already Having 'Chilling Effect'

"It certainly seems like they’re being very serious about hunting down people talking to reporters. All we know are the results. The fact that you have so many [cases] now, it scares people who talk to us. [Sources] who might have talked to us once may not talk to us now.” by John Nolte 20 May 2013

Report: Three Fox News Staffers Targeted By Justice Department

Fox News reports that three Fox staffers, two reporters and one producer, were targeted by Barack Obama's Justice Department. by John Nolte 20 May 2013

IRS Scandal: Washington Post Factchecker Busts Washington Post

On Sunday, "The Washington Post" tried to argue that one reason the IRS might have singled out Tea Party for paralyzing harassment in 2010 was due to a sudden surge in applications for a tax-exempt status. Monday, the "Post's" own factchecker said there was no surge. by John Nolte 20 May 2013

CBS' Attkisson Reports She's Been Shut Out by White House

The intrepid Sharyl Attkisson of CBS News has been one of the few reporters attempting to dig deep into controversial stories--and by controversial we mean stories that Obama would rather see go away. But after her work on Fast & Furious and Benghazi, she is now reporting that she's been shut out of the information loop by the White House. by Warner Todd Huston 20 May 2013

Gov't Memo Proves CBS's Sharyl Attkisson Got Benghazi Email Story Right

One of the earliest reporters revealing the internal emails about Benghazi exchanged between the U.S. Department of State and the intel community was CBS' Sharyl Attkisson. Her original report was based on "written notes" and, as she said from the beginning, was not derived directly from the emails themselves. by Warner Todd Huston 20 May 2013

Issa Defeats Media: 59% Approve of GOP's Benghazi Handling

Unfortunately for the media, their sinister plot to smother the Benghazi scandal is not working. In a just-released CNN poll, 59% of the American people say that they believe the GOP have acted appropriately with respect to Libya. by John Nolte 20 May 2013

IRS Scandal: Beinart Stands up for Poor, Helpless Bureaucrats

Peter Beinart of the Daily Beast often takes positions that are merely liberal, but his stance on the IRS scandal is laughable. Sticking to the government's debunked narrative that a lowly, understaffed Cincinnati office was to blame, Beinart argues that the lesson of the IRS scandal is that the agency needs more power, staffing and funding. The IRS scandal, he writes, was just a "mess"--one "born less of overregulation than underregulation." by Joel B. Pollak 20 May 2013

Exclusive: Facebook Promotes Palestinian Propaganda in Jerusalem

Internet companies are forcing a biased Palestinian narrative onto users. First, Yahoo artificially divided Jerusalem into Israeli and Palestinian sections. Then Google made headlines by creating a Palestinian state. Now Facebook is promoting “East Jerusalem.” by Danielle Avel 19 May 2013

Politico: AG Holder Now Untouchable

Politico has declared embattled Attorney General Eric Holder untouchable after the many scandals, lapses, overreaches, and contempt charges have failed to induce the President to fire him. by Warner Todd Huston 19 May 2013

Yahoo to Buy Tumblr for $1.1 Billion

Yahoo, Inc. has announced that it has cleared the way to purchase the social website Tumblr for a cool $1.1 billion. The Yahoo board approved the deal in a conference call on May 17, but by Sunday, it wasn't clear whether Tumblr had accepted the offer. Yahoo reports that it will hold a press conference as soon as Monday to make an announcement on the matter. by Warner Todd Huston 19 May 2013

CNN's Crowley Admits Obama Didn't Call Benghazi a Terror Attack

On the May 19 broadcast of CNN's State of the Union, host Candy Crowley said that Obama was late in identifying the attacks in Benghazi as terrorism quite contrary to what she said during the Presidential debates late last year. by Warner Todd Huston 19 May 2013

Woodward: White House Lied

"You look at the whole Benghazi thing. You look at those talking points and the initial draft by the CIA very explicitly said we know that activists who have ties to Al-Qaeda were involved in the attack. Then you see what comes out a couple of days later and there is no reference to this. This is a business where you have to tell the truth and that did not happen here." by Larry O'Connor 19 May 2013

Schieffer On IRS Scandal: 'Dumb And Dumber'

CBS News' Bob Schieffer took aim at the Obama White House today and their involvement in the IRS scandal. "Welcome to dumb and dumber," Schieffer intoned, as he railed against the administration's contention that no one really knew anything about this or the other scandals until they heard about it on the news. by Larry O'Connor 19 May 2013

CNN's Cooper 'Marries' SNL's Stefon In Weekend Update Sketch

Hader's flamboyant character, Stefon, is a regular on Myers' Weekend Update segment and there has been an ongoing, flirtatious subtext to the segment between the two and that plot line came to full fruition this week as Myers chased after Stefon (in the style of "The Graduate") to interrupt his marriage. As the camera pans to reveal the church setting Stefon's groom is revealed: CNN's newsman Anderson Cooper. by Larry O'Connor 19 May 2013

Rumsfeld, Cuccinelli Headline 'Breitbart News Sunday' on Sirius XM 125

Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld will headline "Breitbart News Sunday" on SIrius XM Patriot Channel 125. The show airs from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. EDT. Virginia Attorney General and Republican gubernatorial nominee Ken Cuccinelli will also join the show. Catherine Engelbrecht, of True the Vote, and Jenny Beth Martin, of Tea Party Patriots, will also be on the show to talk about the IRS's targeting of their organizations. by Breitbart News 19 May 2013

No, Nate Silver Did Not 'Debunk' IRS Scandal

Nate Silver, the New York Times' political number-cruncher, has earned his bragging rights after schooling conservative pollsters in the 2012 presidential election. However, his attempted "debunking" of one aspect of the IRS scandal is nothing of the sort. by Joel B. Pollak 19 May 2013

Full Spin Mode on IRS, Benghazi, AP Scandals as WH Advisor Does 'Full Ginsburg'

Senior White House advisor Dan Pfeiffer is set to perform the 'full Ginsburg' on Sunday, appearing on all five major Sunday morning news shows in the latest sign that the Obama administration is determined to fight for control of the news cycle following an explosion of major scandals in the past several days. Pfeiffer will appear on CNN's State of the Union, ABC's This Week, CBS's Face the Nation, NBC's Meet the Press, and Fox News' Fox News Sunday. by Joel B. Pollak 19 May 2013

New York Times Lauds Jay Carney

The New York Times, ever eager to leap to the defense of embattled Obama Administration officials, has a puff piece extolling the virtues of White House Spokesman Jay Carney amid the slings and arrows he must suffer. by William Bigelow 18 May 2013

Joe Scarborough, Piers Morgan: Obama Scandals Prove Gun Advocates Aren't Crazy

How big of a wake-up call are the Obama scandals? So big that two of the media's most shameful and shameless gun control advocates -- Joe Scarborough and Piers Morgan -- have finally conceded that arguments made by pro-Second Amendment activists against the expanding of background checks might not be so ridiculous. by John Nolte 18 May 2013