Sunday, April 06, 2008

The 'Emotion Police' are at it again

Good grief! Perhaps some of the MSM forgot to publish their formal declaration on how politicians are supposed to convey their emotion. Is there an official, politically-correct, media-endorsed format? You'd almost think so, watching how they sit in judgment like little demagogues deciding whether a particular MP's display of emotion passes their smell-test. (Remember how Helene Guergis couldn't please Don Martin?)

Let's face it. If Stephen Harper had said anything at all during his visit to Auschwitz, it would have been condemned as too trite.

Instead, he chose to keep his emotion as private as possible and left his thoughts in a book of remembrance.

Oh, but that's not good enough for the Star. Instead of showing a photo of the Prime Minister kneeling in respect and prayer, the Red Star displays an image of Harper ranting in Parliament. The inference is that he has plenty to say there, but his lack of public rhetoric in Auschwitz does what? Portray some kind of lack of feeling?

Some emotion is so intense, it cannot be conveyed by words.


But the Toronto Star Inquirer's level of insight is so superficial, that it's not surprising they would pillory the Prime Minister for the way he handled himself at such a profound occasion.

Hunter points out at CBL's that the Globe originally had posted the photo of Harper kneeling, but then changed it. Why?

She suggests that it may be time for all the 'knuckle draggers' to start fighting back.

I'm in.

* * * *
Update: Great advice from Platty regarding how to complain effectively about MSM bias - So, ya wanna dance?


37 comments:

Anonymous said...

I know that this "knuckledragger" is sick and tired of this fight. The straw has broken the camel's back.

I will be keeping track of every headline that insinuates something negative against the Tories even though the story may not be negative.

I will be keeping track of every nuanced comment or shake of the head or laugh when a reporter discusses the Tories.

I will be keeping track of every idiot pseudo scandal the loser Liberals keep trying to gain traction with - and every actual scandal, comment and story that does NOT get play from the MSM.

There are so many that have happened that we tend to forget until reminded. Some are so subtle that it would be hard to go to that person and say they did this - like Hannah Boudreau's tut-tut style of speaking whenever she reports on the Conservative government. It makes me sick - in fact I turn her off.

But keeping a list is only the first step - perhaps we could enlist a columnist to assist us - we find the info, they get it into print. I wonder how left wing supporters would react if they saw a list of everything the Liberals have said or done that has been forgotten about.

I e-mailed Mike Duffy yesterday regarding Bob Fifes comments saying I would turn his show off if he was going to be on and asking him to - in the spirit of fairness - air some of the racist and homophobic comments made by members of the Liberal and NDP party (which I sent him so he didn't even have to look it up) have said. It will be very interesting to see if it gets any play.

I find him to be fairly balanced, however we are talking about someone who works for the same network so it might be another no talking policy like the NAFTA leak.

Any ideas?

Anonymous said...

'When he got up the Prime Minister turned around and appeared to swallow hard as if the event had significantly affected him emotionally.'

At least the G&M left this in.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Anon, I agree. The actual text of the Globe report is the least torqued of any I could find.

Alberta Girl - Keep sending those emails. At least they'll know we're holding their feet to the fire.

Anonymous said...

From The TO Star link provided:
"That statement was the only clue Canadians have as to what was in Harper's mind as he bore witness to the depravity of Auschwitz, where upward of one million Jews were exterminated, along with more than 100,000 Poles, Gypsies and homosexuals."

"the only clue"? Perhaps The TO Star staff is demonstrating its own cluelessness by always suggesting the worst about our PM and his government.

In any case, how can Canadians possibly know anything about the PM's SUCCESSFUL trip abroad when the national news broadcasts hardly paid any attention to those achievements, preferring to dwell on a now notorious tape.

And re: Don Martin. I pointed this out before in a previous thread here:
Don Martin in his own words:
"After six years of lollygagging around Kabul -- shopping for carpets along Chicken Street, munching fresh lamb kabobs and generally wearing the ***cheese-eating surrender monkey*** uniform like a legion of honour -- French troops will reluctantly step into the line of Taliban fire this year."
Not exactly a prime example of diplomatic nuanced language."

Now, here is a nationally syndicated columnist using the derogatory "cheese-eating surrender monkey" description in a nationally syndicated column. It appeared in The National Post, The Montreal Gazette and The Vancouver Province, and perhaps in other Can-West newspapers.

Unfortunately, I've seen that same description often used by commenters in some blogs I visit regularly. If negative comments are to be condemned, then they should equally be condemned when they're made by a supposedly more enlightened columnist, or by the Ottawa bureau chief of a major network.

Anonymous said...

The dangerous manipulation by the MSM is the largest threat to our democracy in Canada.
Jane Taber said on MDL on Friday that a person's belief do not change after the age of forty.
That pretty well covers all of the National Press Gallery.
The message is always Liberals the good and conservatives the bad.
The unelected, unaccountable National Press Gallery. They are like a pack of WOLVES roaming Canada attacking the government showing no signs of mercy.They do not even attempt to hide their pleasure after the kill. Revolting!
This morning on CBC Sunday, Lawrence Martin described the Conservative Government as Red Necks.

Anonymous said...

I don't know about you, but our Prime Minister impresses me more and more as time goes on. His actions speak much more than simple words could have.

Anonymous said...

Ya, Harper should have had a full out press conference at Auschwitz. So he could use the deaths of millions of people to pontificate about how good it was to be there, and how great of a PM he is. That would be classy(eyes roll).

Anonymous said...

"Ya, Harper should have had a full out press conference at Auschwitz. "

And the headlines would have been

Harper attempts to politicize the victims of Auschwitz.

or

Harper uses Auschwitz victims to score political points.

or

Harper's speech at Auschwitz rings hollow given Lilwiski (sp??)tape.

or

Harper's display of emotion in Auschwitz speech is seen as attempt to play politics.

Stephen Harper knows these idiots better than they know themselves. He knows better than to give them ANY ammunition to lie to the Canadian public.

Anonymous said...

The way I see it is that it is desperation on the part of the media as they see their Liberal party's chance at reagaining power slipping away. So they ratched up all the false psuedo-scandal stuff and try to bring up all the scary hidden agenda thing. AT the same time ignore all the good accomplishments this government has made. Then they wonder why Harper doesn't want to talk to them. I don't blame him one little bit. They know this goverment is doing a good job and Canadians are satisfied that's why all this is going on.

They have declared war. They want war, we'll give them war. Time for us conservatives to fight back. We have been taking that abuse from the opposition and the media for far too long now.

Alberta girl is right. That knuckledragger comment was the last straw.

I did see that photo of our PM at Aucshwitz and was very touched by it. Made me feel proud. PM Harper is a true leader.

hunter said...

Thanks for the link Joanne! We talk about the left leaning press, and get the standard responses like, "it's all in your imagination". It's time to prove that the bias exists by calling them on it, not just turning off our TV's or not reading certain papers.

Anonymous said...

"We talk about the left leaning press, and get the standard responses like, "it's all in your imagination". It's time to prove that the bias exists by calling them on it, not just turning off our TV's or not reading certain papers."

Many times I want to email the writer but I go to the story and there is no contact information. It would be great to have a source of email addresses to send complaints.

I appreciate the ones who do provide links to contact them - but then, those are usually the ones who are pretty balanced.

Reid said...

And the CBC instead of showing the moving photo of Harper kneeling shows him sort of walking towards the wreath before he kneeled to pray. Interesting that they would intentionally go with the less moving photo.

Also, in their web story on this when quoting he entry in the book of rememberence:

We are witnesses to the vestages of unspeakable cruelty, horror and death. Let us never forget these things and work always to prevent their repetition. Lord, bless the souls of those who suffered and perished here and deliver them from evil."

The CBC intentionally left out the "religious" part at the end. The CBC quotes his entry as:

The prime minister said nothing publicly during his visit. His message in a book of remembrance read, "We are witnesses here to the vestiges of unspeakable cruelty, horror and death."

I guess if they had published the full comment to include:

Let us never forget these things and work always to prevent their repetition. Lord, bless the souls of those who suffered and perished here and deliver them from evil."

it would have been to insulting the the CBC's "progressive" readers.

Anonymous said...

I e-mailed TD Canada trust...they are one of the advertisers on CTV.ca

bluetech

Anonymous said...

platty has a good post:
and o good idea


http://plattytalk.blogspot.com/

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Just watching the beginning of CTV's Question Period, and Craig Oliver keeps referring to it as 'hate speech'.

Really? 'Stupidity', perhaps. I think hate speech is something one does in a public platform to try and entice an adverse reaction against a certain minority.

Something like what Robert Fife was doing...

Anonymous said...

Again Craig Oliver reminds viewers that at the age of 40 you are too old to change. Pretty well the whole National press gallery are too old to change.
Shameful that they spent the majority of the show bashing the Harper government for statement made on a tape 17 years ago!!!
Question period will never change.

Reid said...

Fay. Of course they will never change. It's why they also claim that Lukiwski can't have changed since he was 40. They can't change from being Liberal mouthpieces so how could Lukiwski possibly change? If he did it would make him better than them... and we all know there's no way a Conservative can be better than a "progressive."

Anonymous said...

This whole homophobic tape issue is not contained at home here anymore. There is a good take on it at
http://rense.com/general81/homophobe.htm

Joanne (True Blue) said...

frm grl - Interesting POV; although not politically correct in Canada!

Anonymous said...

Frmgrl, if I may give you a bit of friendly advice, I wouldn't take what is said on the link you provided too seriously.

Better to find out a bit of background on the person who owns (?) that site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Makow
"Many of his articles cite evidence of a hidden hand shaping modern history according to a long-term occult (satanic) agenda. He associates this force with the "-isms" :Zionism, Communism, Liberalism, Secularism, Neo-Conservatism, Fascism, Nazism and Feminism. ..."

Not exactly a balanced view, but it's up to you to decide.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Thanks for that, Gabby. Always good to look to the source when viewing any information.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

I e-mailed TD Canada trust...they are one of the advertisers on CTV.ca

Good for you, Bluetech! That's a powerful way to deal with shoddy journalism and bias. Hit them in the pocketbook.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Gabby, I will gladly take your advice research my sources well first from now on.
By the way I didn't catch Question Period today. Did they at all discuss the great accomplishment that our PM made at the NATO summit this week and how he stood out as a true statesman and how we should all be proud? Just wondering.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Did they at all discuss the great accomplishment that our PM made at the NATO summit this week and how he stood out as a true statesman and how we should all be proud? Just wondering.

Ha! How would that further their goal of returning the Natural Non-Voting Party back to power? ;)

Anonymous said...

I just had a thought. Our men and women are over in Afghanistan helping those people fight for freedom and justice. Yet on our own soil we have those who are trying to tell us how we should feel,what we should say and how we should say it. Crucifying a man who 17 yrs. ago at a party a little too much to drink said something inappropriate. He appologizes still not good enough. The media and the opposition still want his head. Is me or is something wrong with this picture?

Anonymous said...

The Globe and Mail states that Harper looked "as if he had been significantly affected". He WAS affected; why are the media unwillingly to attribute any human emotions to our PM?

Anonymous said...

Martha Hall Finlay, now the "big spoke person for the liberal party" on Question Period today, is trying to bring up the "Hidden Agenda" scare tactic again... how many of the Harper's Minister have this feeling... what would they ever do if they got a majority... the same "crap" Robert Fife was bringing up.... They think they see something to take the "heat" off Dion's incompetence, they will go to any length. These liberal are really grasping at straws and are really "sick" if they think Canadians are that stupid...

Möbius said...

What did they want him to do?

Hold a press conference afterwards?

I find it refreshing that he doesn't like to pose for the cameras at times like this.

This story was a slanted piece of crap.

paulsstuff said...

Hey, what ever happened to Brenda what's her name in Mexico?

Surely the Liberal's and MSM haven't forgotten about her and moved on because they realized it was doing nothing against Harper in the polls, have they?

Kinda like Schreiber, Cadman, blah, blah, blah.

As for Fife, the only thing I can figure is his parents left him in a really hot car with the windows rolled up as a child. Obviously part of his brain has received some damage. Then again, I'm a knuckle-dragger so what do I know.

Anonymous said...

Knuckledragger T-shirts?
Lets do it!!Maybe we should have parades...invite all the politicians...and the media...

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Yet on our own soil we have those who are trying to tell us how we should feel,what we should say and how we should say it.

Good point. Now voting records on 'matters of conscience' are being dragged up as an example of homophobia. So what was previously a 'matter of conscience' suddenly becomes evidence of human rights abuse.

Interesting.

Anonymous said...

Is there any other course of action we could take besides voicing complaints? Someone on another site suggested looking into a class action suit on behalf of Conservative Party members. I don't know how or if it would be feasible or appopriate.

Apparently Premier Wall has filed a motion of intent to sue the Canadian Press.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Apparently Premier Wall has filed a motion of intent to sue the Canadian Press.

That's right! I just put up a post about that. Good for him.

We're looking for accountability in the media here. Contact ombudsmen, sponsors, anyone you can think of.

Anonymous said...

Who is the head of the National Press Gallery - if we all sent e-mails complaining - and outlined examples (we could find alot over the past few days alone) of bias, maybe they would get the picture.

Does anyone know their e-mail address?

Anonymous said...

This post will soon be gone, I hope "someone" will post another article on this "issue" and please if anyone can tell contact people we can email... please provide us with the information. I have written CTV.... several times.... but we must have the correct people to contact in order to MAYBE have something done about this bias reporting!... Robert Fife got on T.V. demanding more in an explanation from the Minister... well we deserve more as well from him. We want to know if this liberal bias he has reflects everything he does and ever thing he reports...... if at age 40 plus, plus... he can change, or like Jane Tabor said... after 40, you can't change....... there is lots we need to know of him in order for him to KEEP HIS JOB! Contacting Robert Fife would be useless... what would he do? Ignore it!. We must write sponsors, even the ombudsman of CTV... what would his email be? HELP!

Joanne (True Blue) said...

We must write sponsors, even the ombudsman of CTV... what would his email be? HELP!

Platty suggested the CBSC, which seems to be a good place to start.

Anonymous said...

Alberta Girl says..

"Who is the head of the National Press Gallery"

It is Richard Brennan of the Toronto star.

No luck with him. Hear is a good link for the PPG.

http://www.gallery-tribune.ca/members.html#executive