FYI ----- Original Message ----- From: Media Research Center <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, July 11, 2000 10:44 AM Subject: MRC Alert: Bush's "Contrition" for GOP; Greedy Drug Companies; Mayberrys Move > ***Media Research Center CyberAlert*** > Tuesday July 11, 2000 (Vol. Five; No. 113) > > Bush's "Contrition" for GOP; Greedy Drug Companies; Mayberrys > Move; Jacoby Suspended > > #### Distributed to more than 5,800 recipients by the Media > Research Center, bringing political balance to the media. Visit > the MRC on the Web: http://www.mediaresearch.org. Past CyberAlerts > are available at: http://www.mediaresearch.org/news/cyberalert/ > Subscribe/unsubscribe information at end of this message. #### > > > 1) ABC and NBC picked out this soundbite from George W. Bush to > the NAACP: "There is no escaping the reality that the party of > Lincoln has not always carried the mantle of Lincoln." ABC's Dean > Reynolds added: "Bush is associated in this community with his > proposed tax cut that many see as benefitting the rich." > 2) ABC's Jack Ford condemned the pharmaceutical industry for > "making enormous profits" while people die from AIDS: "The terms > 'greedy,' 'insensitive,' 'uncaring,' 'inhumane' have all been used > by critics to describe the pharmaceutical companies." > 3) Jeff Greenfield's greatest worry in life: "We are the most > wealthy country like ever in the history of the universe and we > have, we don't have, we don't have a decent rail system." > 4) The Mad Mayberrys. Friday night only the Fox News Channel > bothered to update viewers on how the Mayberrys, the family > renting the run-down house from Al Gore, gave up on him and moved > to Ohio after he failed to fulfill his promised repairs. > 5) Even Boston liberals agree with columnist Jeff Jacoby's > reaction to his suspension by the Boston Globe: "This suspension > is a brutal overreaction to something that even the Globe will not > call plagiarism and doesn't characterize as a willful violation." > > > >>> Now online for your viewing pleasure or pain: A clip of > the June 28 Dateline NBC piece by Keith Morrison in which he > previewed the wonderful opportunities and benefits for Elian in > Cuba. A few excerpts: > "Cardenas boasts twice as many doctors as you'd expect to find > in an American city the same size. Elian is more likely to become > a healthy adult in Cuba than in any other Third World country. > Housing? Even the government admits it's inadequate. Most > apartments and houses are old and small and often crowded with > whole extended families, but no one is homeless. Certainly not > Elian, who will return to a house and bedroom considered swank by > Cardenas standards.... > "Elian will almost certainly rejoin the Pioneers as almost all > Cuban children do. It's very much like the Cub Scouts, camping > trips and all, but with a socialist flavor and a revolutionary > spin. But besides politics, what will he learn? Cubans boast about > their universal free education...." > To watch a portion of this story via RealPlayer, go to: > http://www.mediaresearch.org/news/cyberalert/2000/cyb20000630.html#3 <<< > > Correction: The June 30 CyberAlert Extra twice quoted Bryant > Gumbel, in an interview about the Supreme Court's partial-birth > abortion decision, asking about "DNX and DNE procedures." That > should have read D&X and D&E. > > > > 1) "Bush's speech here today was, in many ways, a political > act of contrition," ABC's Dean Reynolds declared on Monday's World > News Tonight in a piece on George W. Bush's speech before the > NAACP convention in Baltimore. Like NBC Nightly News in a brief > snippet shown by Tom Brokaw, ABC played a soundbite of Bush > conceding, "For my party, there is no escaping the reality that > the party of Lincoln has not always carried the mantle of > Lincoln." Reynolds piled on: "Bush is associated in this community > with his proposed tax cut that many see as benefitting the rich > and with a death penalty that disproportionately punishes black > people." The CBS Evening News also delivered a full story, but > avoided using the soundbite of Bush bashing his own party. > > Anchor Peter Jennings introduced the July 10 report from > Reynolds: "For many years, Republicans conceded that a majority of > black Americans identify with Democrats, but Mr. Bush this week is > promoting the notion that he's a 'compassionate conservative.' > He's done so before." > > Reynolds began, as transcribed by MRC analyst Brad Wilmouth: > "George W. Bush came to Baltimore to get black Americans to give > his candidacy a chance, to underline his insistence that he's a > different kind of Republican, and to show middle-of-the-road > voters, both white and black, that he is more moderate than they > may have suspected. Among blacks, Bush has his work cut out for > him." > Reverend Harold Carter, New Shiloh Baptist Church: "If he > thought that we could turn the tide, he would more than want our > votes. At this point, I think he wants to be seen as wanting our > votes." > Reynolds: "Still the Reverend Harold Carter, who leads a > congregation of 6,000 in Baltimore, said he would listen to Bush. > And Bush's speech here today was, in many ways, a political act of > contrition." > George W. Bush, in his speech: "I recognize the history of the > Republican party and the NAACP has not been one of regular > partnership. For my party, there is no escaping the reality that > the party of Lincoln has not always carried the mantle of > Lincoln." > Instead of reminding viewers of how a higher percentage of > Republican than Democratic Senators voted for the 1964 Civil > Rights Act or how the Democratic Party was the party of > segregation and racism in the South for over a hundred years after > the Civil War, Reynolds stressed: "Bush is associated in this > community with his proposed tax cut that many see as benefitting > the rich and with a death penalty that disproportionately punishes > black people." > > Reynolds to Jackie Cornish, a "community development > activist": "Is that a big strike against him in the black > community?" > Cornish: "Yes it is." > Reynolds: "Capital punishment?" > Cornish: "Oh, yes it is." > Reynolds: "In fact, protesters reminded Bush of that today > before his introduction. For years, the Republican Party has > pursued a Southern electoral strategy that virtually wrote off > black voters and their concerns, a strategy made crystal clear > four years ago when Bob Dole snubbed the NAACP convention > altogether, but today Bush said he was glad to address the > convention to outline his plans to improve education, expand > opportunity, and broaden social services --welcome words to > Reverend Carter." > Carter: "If nothing else, I sensed that the Governor was > saying that the old order of reactionary politics is over." > Reynolds concluded: "It is a message the Governor hopes will > resonate within the black community and beyond." > > Preceding the piece by Reynolds ABC looked at the Gore > campaign. Terry Moran reported: "With his campaign stalled in the > polls, Al Gore ratcheted up his populist rhetoric." > Gore: "Will we stand up for the people, or will we serve the > powerful?" > Moran: "The Vice President accused congressional Republicans > of blocking action on several major issues....Every day this week > Gore intends to whack congressional Republicans on a different > issue." > > After some Gore soundbites, Moran led into a clip from Dick > Armey by noting how "GOP leaders in Congress mocked Gore's > approach as just another example of a desperate candidate grasping > for something to boost his campaign." > > Moran concluded: "Gore's aides claim the new populist approach > is helping to define the election around issues that favor > Democrats. The risk for Gore, however, is that he will turn off > the independents and Republicans he so desperately needs." > > Back to Bush and the NAACP, on the CBS Evening News Phil Jones > showed how Bush was heckled over the Graham death penalty case. > Jones added, however, that unlike previous Republican presidential > candidates, Bush did come to the NAACP. Jones characterized the > address: "It was a short 20 minute speech, with few details, as > Bush attempted to portray himself as a new kind of compassionate > Republican." > In the soundbite picked by CBS, Bush insisted: "Discrimination > is still a reality," as evidenced by "racial red lining and > profiling," as so "strong civil rights enforcement will be a > cornerstone of my administration." > To that, Jones found: "Today Bush received a polite but > skeptical reception." > > When the Jones piece ended, Rather told viewers: "For his > part, Democrat Al Gore is road testing one his strategies for the > fall campaign, the Vice President said today Bush is tied to, in > Gore's words, 'the nothing for the people Republican controlled > Congress.' Gore said Republicans are stonewalling legislation he > favors to give patients the right to sue HMOs and to expand > Medicare to cover prescription drugs for older Americans." > > > > 2) Pharmaceutical companies are greedy bastards if they dare > to make a profit while people are dying of AIDS. That seemed to be > the attitude, observed by MRC analyst Jessica Anderson, exuded by > Good Morning America co-host Jack Ford Monday morning when he went > after a spokesman for Merck. > > In a July 10 segment on AIDS in Africa, prompted by a > conference on the topic in South Africa, Ford pounced on Merck's > Dr. Jeffrey Sturchio. Here are Ford's first two attacks in the > guise of questions: > -- "Dr. Sturchio, the terms 'greedy,' 'insensitive,' > 'uncaring,' 'inhumane' have all been used by critics to describe > the pharmaceutical companies, saying that they are making enormous > profits here and should be doing much more to help save the lives > of the unfortunate. Why is that not true?" > -- "Let me toss some numbers at you. Estimates are that 20 > million people have died as a result of AIDS. Also estimates are > that some 5.4 million have contracted the disease just in the past > year alone. Your company, Merck, had indicated profits for the > first quarter of $1.5 billion. Many people will listen to what > you're saying here this morning and say, you know what, that's far > too little and it's far too late for these people." > > > > 3) More money from Amtrak, that's the ticket. Liberals in > the media seem unable to resist the lure of the wonders of > European socialism. The latest media figure to urge that the U.S. > adopt European priorities is a disappointing one: Jeff Greenfield > of CNN. The former long-time ABC News reporter is one of the > straightest shooters in his reporting, but Monday morning his > former life as a speechwriter for Robert Kennedy broke through. > > On Imus in the Morning, MRC analyst Paul Smith noticed, > Greenfield bemoaned how not even Al Gore is fulfilling "the > appetite for public works." Greenfield's recommendation for the > surplus: More money for railroads since "we don't have a decent > rail system." > > Here's Greenfield's suggestion in full, as expressed on the > July 10 MSNBC simulcast of the Imus in the Morning radio show: > "We've now got a projected surplus, and you know projections > are not always reliable, though in the next 10 years, we've got > about a four trillion, that's with a 't', trillion dollar surplus. > That's a trillion and change more than they were even estimating > and except for prescription drug benefits, there isn't anything on > the table for a proposal to put that money into some major new > project. It's all about tax cuts. That is what the Republicans > want. The Democrats say we'll have a tax cut, we also want to pay > down the debt, end it, wipe it out and we'll have a prescription > drug benefit. > "And it occurred to me, and maybe it's because I was traveling > in Europe for a couple of weeks, you know, we are the most wealthy > country like ever in the history of the universe and we have, we > don't have, we don't have a decent rail system. We are about forty > years behind, thirty years behind every other industrialized > country. And it's, I think the appetite for public works and the > kind of stuff that we used to want to do is so lacking that even, > even the Al Gores of this world, the 'Democratic progressives', > except for prescription drug benefits and raising teacher > salaries, they, there's nothing on the table about investing this > astonishing sum of money, investing some of it in things that we > might actually, that could actually make the country work better." > > Just what we need, more Amcrash derailments. > > > > 4) Friday night only the Fox News Channel bothered to update > viewers on how the Mayberrys, the family renting the run-down > house from Al Gore, gave up on him after he failed to fulfill his > promised repairs and moved to Ohio. > > None of the broadcast network evening shows touched the > subject Friday night, reported MRC analysts Jessica Anderson, > Brian Boyd and Ken Shepherd. CNN's Inside Politics and The World > Today skipped it, noted the MRC's Brad Wilmouth. And MRC analyst > Paul Smith saw nothing on Friday's The News with Brian Williams on > MSNBC or on Saturday's NBC Today. > > Since Republican Party officials and volunteers helped pack up > the moving fan, the situation had a partisan taint, but back in > early June, well before any politics were involved, the networks > similarly ignored the news that a presidential candidate owned a > house in which the tenants were unable to get overflowing toilets > repaired. Back in early June, while FNC ran full stories, ABC and > CBS never mentioned it. CNN's Inside Politics ran a brief item > with video and NBC's Today gave it a few seconds without video. > > On the July 7 Special Report with Brit Hume, from Carthage, > Tennessee, FNC's Bret Baier showed guys carrying stuff to a moving > truck: "They're not professor movers, they're staffers with the > Tennessee Republican Party. She's not just an unhappy tenant > moving out, she's Vice President Al Gore's unhappy tenant, who > says she's fed up." > Tracy Mayberry: "I ain't putting up with it no more. I'm going > to fight him. I'm going to take him to court for breaching his > promise." > Baier reminded viewers, over some unpleasant interior home > video: "Tracy Mayberry made national news when she called the Vice > President a slum lord in early June. Mayberry and her family lease > a small brick house from Gore for $400 a month just a few hundred > yards from the Vice President's Carthage, Tennessee, home....When > Mayberry complained publicly about overflowing toilets, stopped-up > sinks, moldy walls and shoddy electrical wiring, the Vice > President called personally, promising to move the Mayberrys out > of the house while repairs were made and even inviting the family > to dinner at the Gores' Carthage home." > > Mayberry told Baier: "And I said, 'No.' I said, 'That's a > bunch of bull. They're playing head games with us again.'" > Baier: "While Gore'' property manager made some improvements, > Mayberry says the job was sloppy and incomplete. And the toilets?" > Mayberry: "See the brown stains on it? That's where it's > overflowed. It actually splashed on the wall." > Baier: "That's when the state Republicans stepped in with > volunteers to help the Mayberrys pack and money to pay for their > move to Lima, Ohio." > > After a soundbite from Tennessee Republican Party Chairman > Chip Saltsman, Baier read a comment from state Democratic Party > Chairman Doug Horne: "This is the first time the Republican Party > has shown any concern for working families, and it's only to play > politics with this situation." > > Baier hit hard in his conclusion: "The Vice President spent > much of the day campaigning in Pennsylvania, a key electoral > state, speaking on his Medicare proposals, and in particular, > health benefits for women, while a woman claiming her family's > health was threatened living in Al Gore's house packs up and moves > on." > > A shorter version of Baier's piece ran an hour later on the > Fox Report. > > +++ See the movers and the condition of the house. Watch this > story via RealPlayer. Late Tuesday morning MRC Webmaster Andy Szul > will post it on the MRC home page: http://www.mrc.org > > To view Fox News Channel's unique June 5 story when this mater > first broke, go to: > http://www.mediaresearch.org/news/cyberalert/2000/cyb20000605.html#1 > > For an entertaining piece in The Weekly Standard by Matt > Labash about the Mayberry family, go to: > http://www.weeklystandard.com/magazine/mag_5_38_00/labash_feat_5_38_00.asp > > > > 5) Even his liberal colleagues are defending Jeff Jacoby. As > you may have heard elsewhere, The Boston Globe late on Friday > suspended conservative columnist Jeff Jacoby for four months > without pay, effectively a push to convince him to resign, for > writing a column about the same topic discussed in an anonymous e- > mail circulating around the Internet, about the fate of the > signers of the Declaration of Independence, without stating that > many of the same stories had been written about in the e-mail. > > It would be one thing if he were inspired by a column by a > particular columnist or historian, but this e-mail was unauthored > and therefore unreliable, leading Jacoby to check the tales before > writing his piece. The four month suspension of the lone > conservative voice at the very liberal paper will silence Jacoby, > coincidentally, through election day. > > In a statement, Globe publisher Richard Gilman claimed: "We > cannot look the other way if any of our columnists, reporters, or > writers borrow without attribution from the works of others, even > in an attempt to improve upon it. The Globe will not equivocate in > abiding by the highest journalistic standards and ethics." > > By this standard, any columnist who repeats commonly > circulated information is guilty of improper behavior. "They are > way overreacting," asserted even liberal media critic Dan Kennedy > of the Boston Phoenix, as quoted by the July 9 Boston Herald. > > Over the past couple of years, the Globe had punished > columnists Patricia Smith and Mike Barnicle, but those suspensions > and eventual separations were prompted, respectively, by clear > plagiarism and outright making up of anecdotes and events to add > color to stories about human tragedies. > > And what does it say about how clued-in Jacoby's editors are > when they didn't realize beforehand that the stories about the > signers were circulating around the Internet? > > The latest: In Tuesday's Washington Post Howard Kurtz > disclosed how many inside the Globe think the suspension was too > tough a punishment. Below is an excerpt from that article as well > as a reprint of Jacoby's reaction and links to other comments on > Jacoby's situation as well as to research on the whole signers > controversy. > > One issue I've not seen addressed: What happens to Jacoby's > syndication deal? The Globe is owned by the New York Times Company > and the New York Times News Service syndicated Jacoby's column to > papers around the nation which are paying for it. > > -- From the July 11 story by Howard Kurtz: > > The story line seems all too familiar: another Boston Globe > columnist punished for borrowing someone else's work. > > But this time the offender is an unabashed conservative on a > famously liberal op-ed page, and the penalty so harsh -- for > what many Globe staffers see as a minor infraction -- that some > rushed yesterday to defend a man with whom they rarely agree.... > > "It strikes me as a terrible overreaction," says Globe business > columnist Charles Stein. "The guy made a mistake. He wasn't trying > to put anything over on anybody. It's very different from the > other incidents the Globe has been involved in, where people were > making stuff up. Maybe a reprimand and a week's suspension would > have been appropriate." > > Steve Bailey, the Globe's "Downtown" columnist, calls the > suspension "way over the top. The guy's opinions were never > welcomed in this building from day one. One mistake and he's gone. > It's hard to imagine there wasn't some connection [with his > conservative views]. The guy has created a lot of enemies over the > years. I didn't agree with his point of view all the time, but I > admired his work.".... > > Says John Fund, a Journal editorial board member who first > published Jacoby's writing a dozen years ago: "It's an open > secret that Jacoby was viewed at best with sneering indifference > and at worst with contempt and hostility in the newsroom." He > calls Jacoby's mistake a "misdemeanor." > > Jacoby has been something of a lightning rod. In 1997, when he > criticized Harvard activists who tried to block a discussion > by a Christian group that believes homosexuality is sinful, two > gay copy editors complained, and the Globe's ombudsman -- who had > castigated Jacoby for "homophobic" columns -- called the piece > "offensive.".... > > END Excerpt > > To read the whole Kurtz story, go to: > http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18822-2000Jul10.html > > > -- Jacoby's letter to friends distributed on Sunday, which I > feel comfortable reprinting since it was quoted by Kurtz and is > posted in full on at least one conservative Web site: > http://jewishworldreview.com/0700/jacoby.letter.html > > The letter: > > As you may know, I am undergoing some difficulty. > > At 4:15 last Friday, I was suspended without pay for four months > from my job at The Boston Globe, and effectively invited to > resign. I was put on notice that if I do choose to return in four > months, there would have to be a "serious rethink" of the kind of > column I write. > > The Globe is accusing me of "serious journalistic misconduct" in > connection with my July 3 column on the signers of the Declaration > of Independence. That theme -- the lives of the signers, and what > happened to them after July 4, 1776 -- has been explored many > times. One bibliography lists works on the subject dating back to > 1820. When I sat down to write the column, I had before me a > version written by Paul Harvey, another published by Rush > Limbaugh, and a third sent to me a year ago by a reader. > > Using those versions -- which all told much the same story, in > much the same words -- as a starting point, I did my best to > verify the information. I checked encyclopedias of American > history, consulted books I own on the Revolutionary War, and > visited web sites that provide biographical material on the > founders. I made a special point of checking sites that debunk > "urban legends" and other Internet myths, since I knew that at > least some of what is said about the signers is not historically > accurate. > > I knew, too, that an anonymous e-mail on the signers of the > Declaration had been making the rounds. In fact, when I e-mailed > my column to a group of friends, fans, and family members on the > evening of July 2, I noted that what I was sending was NOT a > rewrite of that e-mail, which I knew to contain errors. Of course, > it too told approximately the same story, using approximately the > same language, as all the other versions. > > Since I was relating lore that has been related over and over, and > since all of the sources I relied on had relied in turn on even > earlier recitations, I assumed that all the material in my column > was in the public domain. It never occurred to me to include a > line pointing out that I was far from the first to write about the > fates of the Declaration's signers. Had I added such a line, Globe > officials tell me, none of this would be happening. > > On Monday, July 3, I asked if I could repair the oversight by > adding a correction to my next column. Permission to do so was > denied. Instead, an Editor's Note pointing out that "the structure > and concept for [my] column were not entirely original" appeared > on the op-ed page on Thursday, July 6. The next morning, I was > given an opportunity to explain how the column had been written. A > few hours later, I was suspended. > > I joined the Globe as an op-ed columnist in February 1994. (The > first line of my first column was: "So what's a nice conservative > like me doing in a newspaper like this?") In the six and a half > years since, I have produced close to 600 columns. I invite anyone > to judge my integrity and my journalistic ethics on the basis of > the work that I have done for the Globe. To my knowledge, the > paper has never had any reason to question my work, or to doubt > that I hold myself to the highest standards when writing for > publication. Six years' worth of superlative evaluations of me are > on file in the Globe's personnel records. I think it is fair to > say that I have been a credit to The Boston Globe and have > improved the paper's reputation. > > What is happening now is a nightmare. > > In accusing me of "serious journalistic misconduct," the Globe is > poisoning the good name I have spent years building up. This > suspension is a brutal overreaction to something that even the > Globe will not call plagiarism and doesn't characterize as a > willful violation. > > No one deserves to lose his income for a third of a year because a > column lacked a sentence that might have underscored how common > the column's theme was. I am deeply concerned about my family's > future, of course. And I am deeply concerned about my reputation. > > It is a great privilege to write a column for a prominent daily > newspaper. Over the past six years I often expressed my gratitude > to The Boston Globe -- both publicly and privately -- for giving > me such a wonderful pulpit. And I endeavored, twice each week, to > make good on that gratitude by writing a column of which the Globe > could be proud. > > I thought my future at the paper was limitless. It has been shocking > and traumatic to discover how wrong I was. > > END Reprint > > For the latest on all of this, go to Jim Romanescu's > MediaNews: http://www.poynter.org/medianews/ > > For reaction: http://www.poynter.org/medianews/extra6.htm > > For Timothy Noah's exploration of the origins of the stories > and their accuracy, go to: > http://slate.msn.com/code/chatterbox/chatterbox.asp?Show=7/7/00&idMessage=56 36 > > Oh, and the Jacoby column in question is still online at the > Globe. It's been de-listed, but this direct address still worked > as of Monday night: > http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/185/oped/56_great_risk_takers+.shtml > > -- Brent Baker > > > >>> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] Put "subscribe" or "unsubscribe" > in the BODY of the message, NOT in the subject line. 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