Full disclosure: I used to be a reporter. In my salad days, I was the news director of my college radio station. Not exactly a stepping stone to the next Pulizter, but I bring this up to illustrate that I am aware of what it takes to work on an explosive story, and the fact that it can be difficult to keep one’s opinions neutral, when writing about topics that can elicit a partisan response.
Having said that, it really isn’t that difficult to tell when a reporter (or an entire network – NBC) is in the tank for a candidate. That’s bad – and a complete repudiation of journalistic ethics. (There’s a reason why newspapers have a “news” section and a “opinion” page. What’s worse is when a journalist decides to carry the water for their candidate’s attack dogs, and turn their bully pulpit into a venue for personal attacks.
Ladies and gentlemen, may I give you Ms. Heather Mallick, of the CBC News.
The CBC is the Canadian Broadcasting Company. They’re busy trying to out-liberal NBC, PBS, and CBS, but they are doing it from beyond our borders. Canada, if you’ll recall, is the country that routinely sues conservatives in the media with the slander of groups like Islamic terrorists. (I’m not making this up.) Ms. Mallick has decided it would be a dandy idea to offer up her opinions on the upcoming election, especially from a woman’s view. Keep in mind, in the Reality Distortion Field™ World that is Professional Journalism, there are two kinds of women: feminists and simpletons. If you don’t support the causes near and dear to Gloria Steinem’s heart (abortion on demand, equal pay legislation, anti-military, pro higher taxation), you’re a traitor to your sex. (The same is true, by the way, of Liberals vis a vis minorities. If you’re a conservative and happen to be black or Hispanic, you’re a traitor to your race.)
Lest you think I’m exaggerating (or taking any of her remarks out of context), here’s a link to her column.
Allow me to pick a few bon mots from her magnum opus for your consideration:
“She added nothing to the ticket that the Republicans didn’t already have sewn up, the white trash vote…”
“Palin has a toned-down version of the porn actress look favoured by this decade’s woman, the overtreated hair, puffy lips and permanently alarmed expression.”
“No, she (Palin) isn’t even female really. She’s a type, and she comes in male form too.”
“John Doyle, the cleverest critic in Canada, comes right out and calls Palin an Alaska hillbilly. Damn his eyes, I wish I’d had the wit to come up with it first. It’s safer than “white trash” but I’ll pluck safety out of the nettle danger.”
“White trash — not trailer trash, that’s something different — is rural, loud, proudly unlettered (like Bush himself), suspicious of the urban, frankly disbelieving of the foreign, and a fan of the American cliché of authenticity. The semiotics are pure Palin: a sturdy body, clothes that are clinging yet boxy and a voice that could peel the plastic seal off your new microwave.”
Now of course, she’s not alone. There are lots of liberal women that hate Sarah Palin with a passion that approaches the heat of a thousand suns. Wanna know who? Pick a prominent liberal woman, and you can make book that she’s already come out and said something crude, rude, and inflammatory toward Palin – and usually something of a personal attack in nature.
Most of these women, however are either politicians or entertainers. You can choose to turn off Joy Behar, Whoopie and Baba Wawa. You can vote Barbara Boxer and Nancy Pelosi out of office. (Please!) But reporters – that’s not so easy. The CBC is like PBS – taxpayer supported. But the reporters answer to no higher journalistic standard. They get to spew hate without reproach, and evidently, without consequence.
The good news (and there is good news), is that every over-the-top attack by the Left makes the GOP’s chances of winning that much stronger. Palin has a thick skin. She’s one tough hockey mom, and she has the look of one that can take what she’s been getting, and a whole lot more. (In a sort of ironic way, I almost feel sorry for Joe Biden…he has to debate her on national television.)
So what can you do? I think a little righteous rage directed toward the Left in general (and the CBC in specific) is perfectly appropriate. But the real answer is to simply vote, and show our Leftist friends from the North exactly how much we like being told who to vote for, and how much we value their opinions.
Ms. Mallick: You reveal more of yourself than you might imagine, when you write the things you do. But, please…keep it up. I really want to see McCain and Palin innagurated on January 20th, and I, for one, appreciate your help in making that a reality. And I’ll be laughing (at you) loud and long, when it does.
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