Undocumented Journalist: David Brooks of The New York Times

In an effort to expose those working in the field without documentation, I will identify whether or not a journalist holds a degree in journalism or communications.

Why is this important?

Documented journalists have been taught in college to not only cover the who, what, where, when, why, and how of news, but they have also learned the reason why the Framers of the Constitution protected the press from the government in the First Amendment, and the role the press plays as the Fourth Estate by providing final checks and balances over the political process in the United States. Journalist malpractice can thus be exposed through training or lack thereof.

Simply put, it is not the job of the press to hold one political party more accountable than another. It is the job of the press to objectively report the truth.

David Brooks is an American political journalist. He is a columnist for The New York Times and commentator on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.

Brooks graduated from the University of Chicago in 1983 with a degree in history. David Brooks is an undocumented journalist because he does not hold a degree in journalism or communications.

Zogby: Obama Approval 48%, US on Wrong Track 51%

A new Zogby survey released Friday shows a decline in President Barack Obama’s job approval, with 48% of likely voters now approving of the job he is doing as president, down from 51% who said the same in mid-June.

Forty-nine percent now say they disapprove of the job the president has done so far in office and 4% are not sure.

Read it.

White House Press Corps: A Supermassive Fail

Last night the President had a press conference.

But where exactly was the press?

The press didn't ask one question about Iraq.

The press didn't ask one question about Afghanistan, where the new Obama war strategy has bloodied U.S. troops with the worst month of fatalities in eight years.

These folks in the White House press corps are not reporters, they are media prostitutes ... ridden hard and put away wet.

My question to the press is this: how does it feel to be used?

The Healthcare Chart Democrats Don't Want You to See

It's a bureaucratic nightmare....

Roll Call today reported that Democrats are preventing Republican House Members from sending their constituents a mailing that is critical of the majority’s health care reform plan, blocking the mailing by alleging that it is inaccurate.

The dispute centers on a chart created by Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) and Republican staff of the Joint Economic Committee to illustrate the organization of the Democratic health care plan.


At first glance, Brady’s chart resembles a board game: a colorful collection of shapes and images with a web of lines connecting them.

But a closer look at the image reveals a complicated menagerie of government offices and programs that Republicans say will be created if the leading Democratic health care plan becomes law.

Click here for an enlarged version.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Arrest Report

All law and order depends upon it: when the police tell you to do something, you must comply or be subject to arrest.

Thus is the case of one Henry Louis Gates. I have copied the report's text below and provided a link to a pdf of the report written by arresting officer, James Crowley:

On Thursday July 16, 2009, Henry Gates, Jr. - -, of Ware Street, Cambridge, MA) was placed under arrest at Ware Street, after being observed exhibiting loud and tumultuous behavior, in a public place, directed at a uniformed police officer who was present investigating a report of a crime in progress. These actions on the behalf of Gates served no legitimate purpose and caused citizens passing by this location to stop and take notice while appearing surprised and alarmed.

...When I arrived at Ware Street I radioed ECC and asked that they have the caller meet me at the front door to this residence. I was told that the caller was already outside. As I was getting this information, I climbed the porch stairs toward the front door. As [reached the door, a female voice called out to me. I looked in the direction of the voice and observed a white female, later identified {} who was standing on the sidewalk in front of the residence, held a wireless telephone in her hand arid told me that it was she who called. She went on to tell me that she observed what appeared to be two black males with backpacks on the porch of• Ware Street. She told me that her suspicions were aroused when she observed one of the men wedging his shoulder into the door as if he was trying to force entry. Since I was the only police officer on location and had my back to the front door as I spoke with her, I asked that she wait for other responding officers while I investigated further.

As I turned and faced the door, I could see an older black male standing in the foyer of {} Ware Street. I made this observation through the glass paned front door. As I stood in plain view of this man, later identified as Gates, I asked if he would step out onto the porch and speak with me. He replied “no I will not”. He then demanded to know who I was. I told him that I was “Sgt. Crowley from the Cambridge Police” and that I was “investigating a report of a break in progress” at the residence. While I was making this statement, Gates opened the front door and exclaimed “why, because I’m a black man in America?”. I then asked Gates if there was anyone else in the residence. While yelling, he told me that it was none of my business and accused me of being a racist police officer. I assured Gates that I was responding to a citizen’s call to the Cambridge Police and that the caller was outside as we spoke. Gates seemed to ignore me and picked up a cordless telephone and dialed an unknown telephone number. As he did so, I radioed on channel I that I was off in the residence with someone who appeared to be a resident but very uncooperative. I then overheard Gates asking the person on the other end of his telephone call to “get the chief’ and “whats the chiefs name?’. Gates was telling the person on the other end of the call that he was dealing with a racist police officer in his home. Gates then turned to me and told me that I had no idea who I was “messing” with and that I had not heard the last of it. While I was led to believe that Gates was lawfully in the residence, I was quite surprised and confused with the behavior he exhibited toward me. I asked Gates to provide me with photo identification so that I could verify that he resided at Ware Street and so that I could radio my findings to ECC. Gates initially refused, demanding that I show him identification but then did supply me with a Harvard University identification card. Upon learning that Gates was affiliated with Harvard, I radioed and requested the presence of the Harvard University Police.

With the Harvard University identification in hand, I radioed my findings to ECC on channel two and prepared to leave. Gates again asked for my name which I began to provide. Gates began to yell over my spoken words by accusing me of being a racist police officer and leveling threats that he wasn’t someone to mess with. At some point during this exchange, I became aware that Off. Carlos Figueroa was standing behind me. When Gates asked a third time for my name, I explained to him that I had provided it at his request two separate times. Gates continued to yell at me. I told Gates that I was leaving his residence and that if he had any other questions regarding the matter, I would speak with him outside of the residence.

As I began walking through the foyer toward the front door, I could hear Gates agai,n demanding my name. I again told Gates that I would speak with him outside. My reason for wanting to leave the residence was that Gates was yelling very loud and the acoustics of the kitchen and foyer were making it difficult for me to transmit pertinent information to ECC or other responding units. His reply was “ya, I’ll speak with your mama outside”. When I left the residence, I noted that there were several Cambridge and Harvard University police officers assembled on the sidewalk in front of the residence. Additionally, the caller, md at least seven unidentified passers-by were looking in the direction of Gates, who had followed me outside of the residence.

As I descended the stairs to the sidewalk, Gates continued to yell at me, accusing me of racial bias and continued to tell me that I had not heard the last of him. Due to the tumultuous manner Gates had exhibited in his residence as well as his continued tumultuous behavior outside the residence, in view of the public, I warned Gates that he was becoming disorderly. Gates ignored my warning and continued to yell, which drew the attention of both the police officers and citizens, who appeared surprised and alarmed by Gates’s outburst. For a second time I warned Gates to calm down while I withdrew my department issued handcuffs from their carrying case. Gates again ignored my warning and continued to yell at me. It was at this time that I informed Gates that he was under arrest. I then stepped up the stairs, onto the porch and attempted to place handcuffs on Gates. Gates initially resisted my attempt to handcuff him, yelling that he was “disabled” and would fall without his cane. After the handcuffs were property applied, Gates complained that they were too tight. I ordered Off. Ivey, who was among the responding officers, to handcuff Gates with his arms in front of him for his comfort while I secured a cane for Gates from within the residence. I then asked Gates if he would like an officer to take possession of his house key and secure his front door, which he left wide open. Gates told me that the door was un securable due to a previous break attempt at the residence. Shortly thereafter, a Harvard University maintenance person arrived on scene and appeared familiar with Gates. I asked Gates if he was comfortable with this Harvard University maintenance person securing his residence. He told me that he was.

Link.

Non-Government Motors Earns $2.3 Billion 2Q Profit

Ford Motor Co. posted a second-quarter profit of $2.8 billion Thursday, due to income related to a reduction of debt.

The nation's second-largest automaker said it earned 69 cents a share, compared with a loss of $8.7 billion, or $3.89 a share, for the same quarter a year ago. That quarter was the worst in Ford's history.

In contrast, government-controlled General Motors' sales dropped sharply last quarter as it headed into U.S. bankruptcy protection and the automaker ended up with global sales down 15 percent for the quarter.

General Motors Co., which has received $50 billion in U.S. government aid and emerged from Chapter 11 on July 10, said Wednesday that it sold 1.94 million vehicles worldwide in the April-to-June period, despite a 32 percent decline in North America.

Even NYT Disputes Obama's Healthcare Speech

Shortly after President Barack Obama finished his --deride the doctors and the cops while talking about himself -- healthcare press conference Wednesday evening, The New York Times posted an article at its Web site refuting some of Obama's arguments.

The New York Times harshly chastised Obama for "claiming credit for not spending money that, under the policy he inherited from Mr. Bush, would never have been spent in the first place."

Mr. Obama said doctors, nurses, hospitals, drug companies and AARP had supported efforts to overhaul health care.

While it is true the American Medical Association has endorsed a bill drafted by House Democratic leaders, a half-dozen state medical societies have sharply criticized provisions that would establish a new government-run health insurance plan.

Likewise, Mr. Obama said Medicare could save large amounts of money by creating "an independent group of doctors and medical experts who are empowered to eliminate waste and inefficiency" and hold down the annual increases in payments to health care providers.

Far from supporting this proposal, the American Hospital Association is urging hospital executives to lobby against it.

Need to check the story? The link is at the bottom:

Of the proposed new cost-control agency, Mr. Obama said: “It’s not going to reduce Medicare benefits. What it’s going to do is to change how those benefits are delivered so that they’re more efficient.”

Hospitals say the cuts could indeed cut services in some rural areas and from teaching hospitals, which receive extra payments because of higher costs.

But here was the most shocking part:

The president continued to take credit for deficit reduction by making a claim that has been challenged by many experts.

“If we had done nothing, if you had the same old budget as opposed to the changes we made,” the deficit over the next 10 years would be $2.2 trillion greater, the president said.

In fact, $1.5 trillion of those “savings” are mainly based on an assumption that the United States would have had as many troops in Iraq in 10 years as it did when Mr. Obama took office. But before leaving office, President George W. Bush signed an agreement with Baghdad mandating the withdrawal of all American forces within three years.

So Mr. Obama is claiming credit for not spending money that, under the policy he inherited from Mr. Bush, would never have been spent in the first place.

Read it.

Undocumented Journalist: Campbell Brown of CNN

In an effort to expose those working in the field without documentation, I will identify whether or not a journalist holds a degree in journalism or communications.

Why is this important?

Documented journalists have been taught in college to not only cover the who, what, where, when, why, and how of news, but they have also learned the reason why the Framers of the Constitution protected the press from the government in the First Amendment, and the role the press plays as the Fourth Estate by providing final checks and balances over the political process in the United States. Journalist malpractice can thus be exposed through training or lack thereof.

Simply put, it is not the job of the press to hold one political party more accountable than another. It is the job of the press to objectively report the truth.

Campbell Brown (born June 14, 1968) is an American television news reporter, currently an anchor and political pundit for CNN and a former co-anchor of NBC's Weekend Today. She won an Emmy award for her reporting on Hurricane Katrina while with NBC.

She was born to Jim Brown and Dale Campbell Fairbanks. Brown explains her name by stating "Alma Dale" was her grandmother's name, while "Campbell" was her mother's birth surname.

Brown graduated from Regis University in Denver, Colorado with a B.A. in Political Science. Brown is an undocumented journalist because she does not hold a degree in journalism or communications.

Source.

If 84 Percent of Americans are “Very Satisfied” or “Satisfied” With Their Current Health Care, Where's the Crisis?

A poll conducted by the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and Zogby International finds that 84 percent of Americans, including 46 percent of Americans without health care insurance, are "very satisfied" or "satisfied" with the health care they currently receive.

Released on Wednesday, the poll was glaringly absent from most news reports late last week and over the weekend.

Poll.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Responds to Drudge

Ignoring the obvious question concerning the difference between a sandwich-ready coldcut and a shovel-ready job, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack responds to the Drudge report of a two-pound frozen ham, sliced, priced at a cool $1.191 million.

USDA Link.

Congressman's Town Hall Erupts Over Obama Birth Certificate

End the controversy, just show us the birth certificate. Then again, maybe that's the problem.

Where's the press on this issue?

The press is off covering Mark Sanford.

Fixing the Past 8 Years