Dingell gets endorsement of conservative Detroit News

The endorsements continue to pile up for the Dean of the U.S. House, Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, this one from the conservative Detroit News.

The endorsement of Dingell – and one other endorsement - is the only part of the editorial I agree with that is also a cheap attack on Democrats and liberals. I do agree with this one sentence, “we feel he should remain in Congress,” “because he fought for the domestic automobile industry.”

That alone is a great reason for voting for Dingell, but the good news is there are plenty more reasons to vote for him.

All of the other endorsements are for the most out of touch, right-wingers possible, with the exception of Dingell and Sen. Hansen Clarke, D-Detroit, the candidate for the 13th Congressional District. Even the rightwing editor Nolan Finley couldn’t go as far as endorsing Dingell and Clarke’s opponents, but it must have pained him to do so.

There is no doubt that Dingell is the best choice for voters in the 15th District, but it’s sad they used it to take a backhand slap at President Obama and the Democratic leadership.

The fact that the conservative editorial board endorsed the extremist opponents of U.S. Rep. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Hills; U.S. Rep. Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek; State Rep. Gary McDowell, D-Pickford; and Democrat Pat Miles, a Grand Rapids attorney, speaks volumes for the Dingell endorsement.

He had to overcome a lot for the editorial board not to endorse his extremist opponent.

Rightwing media working overtime to promote dishonest teabagger

National rightwing radio and TV hosts have been working overtime in a vain attempt to pump up Congressman John Dingell’s teabagger opponent, but it is doing little good, other than to stroke his already large ego, because the Dean of the U.S. House still has a 19 point lead.

Frank Beckman, one of the most biased commentators in Michigan, had to get in on the act, and in his Detroit News column he says Dingell should apologize to the dishonest Rob Steele for a web site the Michigan Democratic Party put up about Steele. The only problem with that ridclious demand is that the web site is 100 percent true, and they have nothing to apologize about. Not only that, why isn’t he asking Steele to take down and apologize for the web site attacking Dingell?

The gist of Beckman’s column seems to be people who run for political office get criticized, so Dingell should apologize. Gee, that’s only happened in this race. The fact is George Washington endured so-called attack ads, and I wonder where he was when a Dingell townhall meeting was disrupted and he was disrespected by teabaggers?

Beckman claims “Dems stoop to new low in Dingell race” for pointing out the fact that Steele is out of torch with the struggles working people are going through, and we really know almost next to nothing about this guy.

Beckman writes:

“Dr. Steele happens to be a successful cardiologist who estimates that he has performed more than 15,000 cardiac catheterization procedures. In addition, he proudly says he runs a medical practice, which includes 36 physicians and about 300 employees with seven permanent, and two satellite offices in five different counties. At the anti-Steele website, the doctor is excoriated as a "rich doctor who made millions off the broken health care system," never mind the lives that he's saved and the large number of families that have benefited.”

That entire statement is true. Steele is rich doctor who made millions off the broken health care system. Why didn’t Beckman, Steele or Steele’s supporters talk about all the pro-bono work Steele has done, or the free clinic he has started? Because there is none of that.

His clinic’s payment policy really says it all: “Payment is expected at time of service for Entire balance when there is no insurance coverage.”

There is nothing wrong with making lots and lots of money, but the argument from Steele and his supporters is that Dingell must go because he’s out of touch because of his age and because he has been in office so long. Dingell did something about the 50,000 million Americans who don’t have health care coverage. Steele had a chance to help a few people with no coverage, and he chose not to.

Beckman goes on to say the heath care system wasn’t broken for people who were treated. “Didn't MSU football coach Mark Dantonio and his excellent physicians at Sparrow Hospital benefit from the "broken health care system"?
“And didn't Congressman Dingell benefit from the "broken health care system" with the surgeries that he has endured to repair his aging body in recent years?”

Aside from Beckman’s attack on Dingell’s age, he and Dantonio have excellent health insurance coverage, and Dingell wants people to have the same kind of quality converge he has. Now, if Dantonio and Dingell had to go out and buy coverage on the individual market they can forget about it because they have a pre-existing condition. The good news is that was before the health care insurance reform bill was passed.

‘Liberal media’ continues to bash Democrats with false attacks

One thing you can count on is rain in April and that the rightwing Livingston County Daily Press & Argus will go out of its way to bash Democrats; the editorial in Friday’s edition called "Throwing gas on the fire in Lansing” is just one more example.

It’s not surprising Democrats don’t get a fair shake when you consider the make up of the editorial board, and the war on journalism waged by Republicans that began in 1971 with the publication of "News Twisters" by Edith Efron and was turned into a political strategy by the Nixon Administration. What is surprising is that even though the paper’s editorial board knows how the legislative process works, they ignore it just to bash Democrats.

At issue is Senate Bill 1227 that addresses early retirement for public school teachers. The Governor introduced a reform plan back in January to induce more experienced teachers to retire and save $87 million the first year and $1.8 billion over the next 10 years. The plan had both carrots to entice them to take the early retirement and some sticks that kicked in if they did not.

Those who take the early retirement would see a small income boost. Their pension would be based on 1.6 percent of earnings rather than 1.5 percent. If they did not take the generous offer, the sticks would kick in that include taking away their dental and vision coverage and included capping years of credit at 30 years.

On April 14 the Republican-controlled Senate passed the bill almost along party lines. However, the carrot and the stick were both stripped out, so there was absolutely no reason for anyone to take it, meaning no money would be saved at all. The only thing left was a small stick that included requiring teachers and state employees who don't retire before October 1 to pay an additional 3 percent of their salary into their respective pension systems.

The newspaper ignored that.

The House passed version provides an "80 and out" threshold for retirement, which would require a person to have a combined age and years of service of 80 to be eligible. It would increase the retirement multiplier to 1.7 for people retiring between June 15 and July 1. Provide a 1.6 multiplier to people retiring between July 1 and October 1.

Because the House and Senate passed different versions, it goes into a conference committee consisting of three members from each body to work out a compromise to present to their respective bodies for an up or down vote.

The House Democrats are going to the negotiating table with something to bargain with, and early reports are that a deal may be reached with a 1.55 multiplier. Sounds like a smart move by the Democrats, but the paper does not see it that way. The final version the Governor will sign will not look like the version either the House or Senate passed.

“The people who write our state laws may work in Lansing. But they live in the same neighborhood as "Alice in Wonderland.” How else to explain the madness coming from House Democrats whose idea of economic reform is to increase taxpayers' obligations by $1 billion."

I would say the people who wrote this editorial must also live in "Alice in Wonderland." The fact is there are no savings if no one takes the early retirement, and under the Senate plan, no one will.

The paper takes its normal chap shots at public employees that are simply not true. Like Senate Republicans, the paper believes reform means cutting wages and benefits of public employees.

“Apparently, in their mind, the financial crisis in the state is a problem for the private sector, but it is an opportunity for greater financial gain for public employees.”

That’s plain old BS. Last August, respected Michigan State University professor of economics Charles Ballard issued a report that said state employees earn less than their private-sector counterparts with comparable educational attainment. The report also confirmed what we already know: state government is smaller now than it was in 1973.

Just last week, a study by the National Institute on Retirement Security confirmed that Michigan public employees are paid, on average, less than private-sector employees with comparable skills and educational levels. Public employees nationwide are paid about 12 percent less than their private-sector counterparts. That has been a trend for 20 years, according to the study.

Then this cheap shot at Democrats:

“The hard truth is that legislative Democrats concern themselves with only one constituency, that being the marching orders from public employee unions, particularly the Michigan Education Association which represents the majority of Michigan public school employees.”

I was under the impression that teachers were citizens. Not only that, but public education has always been a priority for Democrats.

But they end with the most ridiculous claim:

“Remember that this fall when state Democrats again ramp up the need for higher taxes. They will say that the state needs the money to take care of basic needs. What they won't say is that the "basic needs" is code word for even cushier benefits for state employees.”

If you want co condemn House Democrats for one single vote that is just part of the negotiating process no one can stop you. What you really need to remember when police officers and firefighters are being laid off, schools are closing and roads are in bad shape, is that Republicans refused to consider any new taxes or even reforming the tax system. The fact is we are moving toward a serving economy and away from a manufacturing economy, but Michigan’s tax system has not changed in years.

Rightwing newspaper ignores the facts to fawn over GOP candidate

The continued rightwing stand of the management and editorial board of the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus continues to amaze me.

After two straight days of trashing the Democratic Gubernatorial candidates, today Rich Perlberg and company are singing the praises of long-shot Republicans Gubernatorial candidate, Sen. Tom George, R-Kalamazoo, with an editorial called “Senator running for gov. deserves seat at policy table.”

“People such as George, who have seen the inside of both operating rooms and legislative chambers, are well-positioned to suggest meaningful changes. Regardless of the outcome of this year's race, there needs to be a way to get him a seat at the policy table.”

Well, considering George is the chair of the Senate Health Policy Committee and his party controls the Senate, he has more than a seat at the table, he has the head seat.

The editorial grudgingly acknowledges George is a long-shot, but it praises him without acknowledging his actions or doing a single bit of research on George. The editorial also says, “The four other announced Republican candidates have leads over him in both name recognition and campaign funds.”

That is not for a lack of trying on the part of Republicans. He has in the past given the GOP response to the Governor’s State of the State address, and he toured the state in 2008 speaking out against the successful Ballot Proposal 2 that allowed embryonic stem cell research.
He lost that battle, so he is currently trying to circumvent the will of the voters, and he has introduced and guided through his committee a package of bills – Senate bills 647-652 - that place so many restrictions on stem cells research that it will effectively kill it.

George, like all Republicans, is anti-worker, but it appears the newspaper supports that stance. Last year George introduced a resolution that urged “the Governor to work with the Civil Service Commission to require that state employees either work on President's Day or take the day off as an unpaid holiday.” The good news is that there were enough level heads in the Senate to defeat it.

But looking at the P & A’s online poll on Tuesday, we perhaps we see why the editorial board is fawning over George and ignoring the facts. The poll asks, “Yesterday, state employees had the day off for President's Day. Did you notice?”

Rightwing newspaper continues to trash Michigan Democratic Gubernatorial candidates

We know one thing for certain, the conservative Livingston County Daily Press & Argus will not endorse the Democratic candidate for Michigan Governor in November whoever it is.

For the second straight day the rightwing editorial page has taken shots at the Democratic candidates for governor. On Monday it said Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero – its second shot at him in less than two weeks – should not run because he was just reelected as Mayor, and today it gleefully editorialized on the decision of former state Treasure Bob Bowman to drop out of the race.

Monday’s editorial came from the Lansing State Journal, another newspaper in the corporate change, but since it ran in the P & A it’s obviously their position, too.

Monday’s editorial on President's Day was titled “Lansing mayor should stick to the job he has.” Now, some city residents might have a right to grumble about that, but the situation has change significantly since he was elected a few months ago. The decision by Democratic front-runner Lt. Governor John Cherry to drop out of the race last month change the dynamic.

The editorial takes the Mayor to task for saying he had no intention for running for Governor, and that was true then, saying “When Virg Bernero ran for the mayor of Lansing last year, most voters didn't expect him to run for the governor a year later - partly because he promised them he wouldn't do that.”

The charge seems even more ridiculous when you consider every single Republican gubernatorial currently holds elective office but one. Take Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, for instance. The former state Senator left that office in 1999 before his term ended to take the vacant Sheriff position, and he was elected to the post himself to serve until 2013. But that did not stop him from running for U.S. Senate in 2006 when U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-East Lansing, kicked his ass. Where was the Gannett chain editorializing that he should not run because he made a commitment to the residents of Oakland County then?

Now, he’s running for Governor. When can we expect that editorial from the P & A?

Today’s snarky editorial was titled “GOP hopes must be rising as more Dems sit out race.” In the same edition that the news that Bowman dropped out of the race ran, over a holiday weekend, they have an editorial prepared already.

The insulting lead is, “Will the Democrats have anyone left to run for governor this fall?” The answer is yes, and we have the best candidate from both parties, and his name is Virg Bernero.

It goes on to say, “That leaves two announced candidates for the Democrats, state Rep. Alma Wheeler Smith, D-Salem Township, and Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero. Neither appears ready to mount a strong statewide campaign.”

More misinformed crap from an editorial board that did not even know state Sen. Hansen Clarke, D-Detroit, had dropped out of the race. The fact is Bernero has already mounted “a strong statewide campaign.”

Obviously, the newspaper has abandoned all pretenses of being neutral, fair and nonpartisan.

Newspaper carrying water for rightwing think tank

The rightwing think tank the “Mackinac Center for Public Policy” began a bi-monthly newspaper called “Capitol Confidential” back in 2008, and it now appears it has a new daily newspaper called the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus.

In its mad dash to the right, the Press & Argus has been carrying water for the rightwing think tank, and today the paper helped the Mackinac Center out on its mission to kill the successful and award-winning Pure Michigan ad campaign to increase tourism in the state.

In a bleak economy, tourism has been one of the bright spots, and that has been borne out by the success of the Pure Michigan ads. In fact, in September the Michigan Lodging and Tourism Association released a survey of its members showing 72.9 percent had seen an increase in out-of-state visitors coming to their facilities over the summer compared to the summer of 2008.

A study conducted by the respected Toronto-based Longwoods International has demonstrated that the Pure Michigan campaign has helped significantly boost tourism spending in the state.

“According toe the newspaper, “preliminary results of the study were made available just after the governor's address, the full study will not be available for a month,” and the Mackinac Center is basically calling them a liar by saying they cannot verify the data.

Not only have the ads won awards, they have the support on both sides of the aisle. According to subscription only Gongwers, Republican “Attorney General Mike Cox, one of the favorites to become the next governor, has said the ad campaign has worked. Even Sen. Nancy Cassis, R-Novi,” supports it.

The Advertising campaign for the winter has already been canceled, and the fall ads are also in danger. House Bill 5017 would assess a $2.50 fee on cars rented near airports to fund the ad campaign. That’s what the Mackinac Center and its ally the Press & Argus are fighting.

Just another example of the conservative media bias

I have come to expect biased and misinformed editorials from the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus lately, and they did not disappoint today with one called ”Democrats must deliver some viable candidates for gov.”

This just continues the rightward veer of the paper's management and editorial board. The editorial could just as easily be called”Republicans must deliver some viable candidates for gov.”

The fact is that with the entry of Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero into the race yesterday, we have an immediate front-runner. If you don’t believe that, you just need to take a look at how quick the GOP attacks came after he announced. The editorial, of course, downplays his candidacy, saying, “…but he's at best a long shot. Virtually no one outside Lansing knows who he is. And not all of the Lansing folks think kindly of him, since they believe he promised not to seek another office when he ran for mayor last year.”

That’s just wishful thinking on the newspaper’s part. He served in the Michigan State Senate and State House from 2001 – 2006, and Bernero also served four terms on the Ingham County Board of Commissioners. You don’t get elected to the Senate without some people knowing who you are. He is the only candidate on both sides of the aisle who has had to balance a municipal budget on what Lansing sent him, and he knows the process in the Legislature.

Bernero has leveraged over $500 million dollars in new job-creating investments in Lansing, and he helped launch the area's first regional public-private economic development initiative. The city also has some major building and redevelopment projects underway.

If you think people don’t know who he is, I suggest the paper look up the youtube videos where Bernero appeared on every single major national news show to talk about the plight of the Big 3. He has as much name recognition as every single Republican candidate, with the possible exception of Manoogian Mike Cox, and that’s not really a good thing for Cox.

The editorial also says “Another state senator, Hansen Clarke from Detroit, jumped in after Cherry withdrew, but it's difficult to see Clarke putting together the machinery needed to mount a serious statewide campaign.”

They need to pay more attention to what’s going on in Lansing because he dropped put of the race almost a month ago.
The editorial also said “State Sen. Alma Wheeler Smith from nearby Salem Township long ago announced her candidacy and even proposed a far-reaching tax reform plan to balance the budget. But few, including her own party, give her the time of day.”

Where are they getting this crap? She is the chair of the Appropriations sub-committee that sets the budgets for the Department of Corrections; which, unfortunately, is one of the state’s biggest budgets. That certainly qualifies as giving her the time of day.”

Bank of America-subsidiary Detroit News says bank tax will hurt ecnomy

The news of an ownership change of a major newspaper drives another nail in the 30-plus year successful Republican political strategy of the liberal media.

Ownership of newspapers by a few mega-chains is not only hurting quality as the bottom line mentality rules the newspapers, but corporate ownership is also having effect on editorial policy.

The Associated Press is reporting that Affiliated Media Inc., the holding company for newspaper publisher MediaNews, filed for bankruptcy on Friday. Among MediaNews' properties is The Detroit News, which it acquired from Gannett in 2005. Bank of America will hold 80 percent of Affiliated Media Inc., meaning that the bailed out bank owns a controlling interest in one of Michigan’s largest newspapers.

There is no doubt that the mainstream media is conservative.

I wonder if it’s just a coincidence that just a few days after Bank of America acquired a controlling interest in the newspaper, it published an editorial today saying that President Obama’s proposed bank tax will hurt the economy?

Banks received millions of dollars under the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) to stop them from going under because in their quest to reap more in profits they made bad loans contributing to the mortgage crisis that led to the economy’s meltdown. But now those banks are refusing to loan money to drive the recovery and giving huge bonuses to employees instead.

The president’s proposal would enact a 0.15 percent levy on bank, thrift and insurance companies with more than $50 billion in assets and would start after June 30. It would not apply to certain holdings, like customers’ insured savings, but to assets in risk-taking operations. It will be levied for 10 years, but it would remain in force longer if all losses to the bailout fund, the TARP, were not recovered after a decade. The Treasury now projects that the losses from the $700 billion loan program, which was created in October 2008, could reach $117 billion, about a third of the loss that it projected last summer According to the New York Times.

It seems pretty logical; pay back what you owe us before you give bonus to your employees and CEOs. Banks will have no problem harassing you if you owed them money.

But the Bank of America-subsidiary Detroit News thinks otherwise. What’s really funny is who they use as a source: Rightwing think tank Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

Give me a break.

Rogers criticizes House Dems for 'politial ploy’ but ignores Senate GOP

Rep. Bill Rogers, R-Brighton, is filling his role as the minority party quite nicely, and his attack on a House Democratic plan to end so-called lifetime health care benefits for state lawmakers illustrates that.

In a story that ran in today’s edition of the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus, Rogers called it a "political ploy" and "the worst case of stupid politics, petty politics." But, that’s only when Democrats do it. Rogers is upset that a bill the Senate Republicans introduced, House Bill 5019, on May 28 would have eliminated the lifetime health insurance benefit, but House Democrats, who control the gavel, are going t take up a similar bill introduced by one of their members instead.

Welcome to being the minority party, Mr. Rogers. You would think his number one concern would be to get it done, but it’s not. The House Democrats plan to take up HB 4194 introduced by Rep. Dian Slavens, D-Canton, three months earlier on Feb. 5. That bill, unlike the Republican’s bill, has bipartisan support, and it was co-sponsored by Rep. Tom McMillan, R-Rochester Hills; a freshman and perhaps the most conservative Republican the House.

Under the bipartisan bill introduced by Slavens, only legislators elected before January 1, 2007 would be eligible for retiree health insurance coverage. The nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency said in its analysis of the bill that it “would provide long term savings by incrementally reducing and eventually eliminating the costs of health care benefits for members of the Legislature as the number of members in the closed system decreased over time.”

But Slavens has introduced a substitute to that bill, a very common practice on bills that have already been taken up, that goes even further and would exclude legislators serving on or after Jan. 30, 2009, from receiving the benefit. That would mean even she would lose the benefit.

What has Rogers upset is that he claims Republicans had the idea first, and that it is just a political ploy. But Rogers has been silent when earlier this week Senate Republicans unveiled their so-called reform package at a press conference that includes eliminating the benefit for lawmakers that have “not vested before January 1, 2010.” The problem there is that it would only impact future legislators, not current ones. No bills have yet been introduced based on that proposal.

Plus, the bill Rogers is pushing would have the state pay, according to the Press & Argus, “30 percent of costs after 10 years of service —a percentage that would increase 3 percent each year until 30 years of service were reached..” Considering that the most years a Senator can serve is 8 years and state Representative 6 years, it doesn’t make much sense.

I was bowled over to read the P & A editorial on Thursday that actual criticized a Rogers. The paper has a deserved reputation for being unabashed supporters of the Rogers family, especially U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers. But the editorial said “ it was disappointing this week to see Rogers fall into the partisan profile that he said he disdained when he was initially elected.”

I agree, but I was surprised not only to see the editorial, but a little confused as to why the editorial ran before the article the editorial was talking about.

I do not agree with either the Democrats or the Republicans on this issue.

It should be pointed out that the so-called lifetime health benefit is really not a lifetime health care benefit, unless they only live until 10 years after they reach age 55. It kicks in only after they are finished with their entire maximum term they can serve and it kicks in at age 55 and is in force until they reach age 65 when Medicare kicks in.

When you consider the responsibility the Legislature has, how much money they oversee and the amount of money lobbyists have to spread around, why is it we want to pay the people making our laws so little? Many mayors make more money and school principals make more that lawmakers. This will kill the notion of the citizen lawmaker, and all we will have in Lansing will be retirees and the independently wealthy. It will cut out the working class from serving that is actually close to the people. You also have to consider how much it costs to be a lawmaker. Lawmaker from the UP has to drive some 500 miles to work, one way.

In just the Democratic caucus, we have an auto worker, a miner a carpenter and a nurse. If we keep going in this direction, that will change, and we will have nothing but the independently rich and lobbyists will hold sway.

Climate change deniers have more to distort to deny a scientific fact

Global climate change deniers have some more evidence to deny the scientific fact of man-made climate change after climate scientists blew the whistle on themselves.

In a front page AP story in the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus on Thursday that did not appear in the online version, errors were discovered in a 2007 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a U.N.-affiliated body. “All the mistakes appear in a subsection that suggests glaciers in the Himalayas could melt away by the year 2035” instead of 2350, that number was apparently transposed as 2035.

The mistakes were found not by climate change deniers, but by climate scientists themselves, including one who is an IPCC co-author. “The climate panel and even the scientist who publicized the errors said they are not significant in comparison to the entire report, nor were they intentional. And they do not negate the fact that worldwide, glaciers are melting faster than ever.”

Here is the bottom line people like right-wing radio host Frank Beckman will ignore, “However, a number of scientists, including some critics of the IPCC, said the mistakes do not invalidate the main conclusion that global warming is without a doubt man-made and a threat.”

The errors were found in a half-page section of the Asia chapter in the 838 page report.

"It is a very shoddily written section," said Graham Cogley, a professor of geography and glaciers at Trent University in Peterborough, Canada, who brought the error to everyone's attention. "It wasn't copy-edited properly."

Still, Cogley said: "I'm convinced that the great bulk of the work reported in the IPCC volumes was trustworthy and is trustworthy now as it was before the detection of this mistake." The AP said “a number of scientists pointed out that at the end of the day, no one is disputing the Himalayan glaciers are shrinking.”

This mistake comes just a few months after climate change deniers jumped on 13 years of stolen personal emails to take one word out of context and ignore all the data from other agencies, like NASA, to make their case that climate change is a hoax.

Propaganda piece in local newspaper helps spread teabagger’s lies and misinformation

It’s tough time to a reporter for a local daily newspaper, and for an example you just need to see a story on health care reform published in the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus on Christmas Day called “Health bill bitter pill for activists.”

It’s also a prefect example of a reporter not having the time to not fact check a story, as well as example of how ridiculous the notion of the “liberal media” myth is. Reporters still have to find copy to fill the news hole during the holidays when it’s almost impossible to get hold of sources that are off and not in their offices. They also are trying to get enough copy in the can so they can have a day off, and the news hole is usually bigger because there are more advertising this time of year.

What you usually get as reporters struggle to find copy is this piece of garbage that is basically a propaganda piece. This paper has a history of supporting rightwing causes, and it worked hard promoting the racist, Astroturf tea party held in Brighton this fall. But this piece is unbelievable, and all it’s really doing is promoting a teabagger’s blog. It’s certainly not hard to find a teabagger in Livingston County and someone who is against health care reform. Some balance would be nice, and I find it hard to believe they could not find someone who supports health care reform, considering the majority of Americans support health care reform, it would not have been hard. Talk about a lack of balance in an article.

In the article a Hartland Township resident named Wes Nakagiri claims health care reform led him to become an activist, yet he has a page on the sewer of the internet known as “freedoworks.” Then he makes perhaps the most outrageous claim - and I have heard lots outrageous lies on health care reform - I have ever heard.

He claims that he knocked on doors in his subdivision, and he claims, “In a voting precinct where 40 percent of voters supported President Barack Obama in the 2008 election, Nakagiri discovered only about 28 percent of the same voters support what he calls "a federal takeover of health care."

First, it’s not a “federal takeover of health care.” Perhaps he has not heard of Medicare. But I know he has because his party is using the lie to scare seniors in opposing health care reform that it will kill Medicare.

Second, for him to come up with that 28 percent figure, he would have to have knocked on the doors of the 458 people who voted for President Obama in Hartland Township's Precinct 3, yet he admitted he didn’t. I don’t know how he would have even found out how they voted on a secret ballot, but, he said:

He “knocked on 142 doors in the Dunham Hills subdivision. He found 82 people home; of those, 59 people signed his petition opposing the health-care plan.” Of those 59, how many voted for President Obama? Even if every one of those 59 voted for the President, that would only be 12 percent.

The story says, “Nakagiri started a blog and is in the beginning stages of putting together a local activist group against big government — specifically, the national health-reform proposal — and has already received substantial local support.”

We already have a group like that: it’s called the tea baggers, and in conservative Livingston County is anyone surprised he found support for his “petitions” and his new rightwing group?

Just what Livingston County needs: Another rightwing group spreading false propaganda.

Fox ‘news’ rolls out another false war

Like the false “war on Christmas” rolled out every single year by Fox “news,” the latest made up war by fox is just as false.

The rightwing media is all aflutter about the false “war on Fox ‘news’” by the Obama Administration. The problem is it’s just made up. The claim is that the White House is attacking Fox for asking tough questions of the President, but that is a typical rightwing lie.

The President chose not to appear on “Fox News Sunday” in favor of real network shows, and Chris Wallace began appearing on every single fox segment whining about it. The simple fact is that Fox is not a news source. It claims its prime time line-up is like the editorial section of the newspaper, but the fact is even the alleged news is nothing but Republican talking points.

The GOP claims MSNBC does the same thing, and that is true for its part-time line-up. However, the news is straight. Plus, we have to endure rightwing Republicans Joe Scarborough, R-Fla., for three hours.

Where is the Democrat or liberal on fox?

The fact is there is a big difference between access and choosing to decline an invitation to appear on the opposition party’s propaganda arm. The White House has not said it will not appear on fox, but they want to make it clear that when they do, they are simply appearing on the opposition network. This crap about “the White House has declared war on Fox” is ridiculous.

However, the White House has not barred any so-called fox “reporters” from asking questions at the White House press briefing, traveling with the President or denied them any of the same access real reporters enjoy. But the fox viewers have drank the Kool-aid that they are being denied access.

Oceola Township resident Betty Cole wrote in a letter to the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus that, “For a sitting president to attempt to block a news station from attending a White House news conference because the White House does not like what the station has to say is unthinkable in our great United States of America.”

I could not agree more, Ms. Cole, but your letter is about eight years too late. The Obama Administration has never barred access to a fox “reporter.” Choosing not to endure their lies and misinformation is not denying access.

You will recall the Bush Administration’s real hatred and war on the press. You will remember during the campaign in 2000 Bush and Dick Cheney were caught on a hot mike calling a New York Times reporter “a major league asshole.” There was no apology, and the war continued.

Former Bush Press Secretary Dana Perino let it slip out - on fox “news,” of course - that they froze out MSNBC. Cheney has called the media un-American, and barred the New York Times from his airplane when he traveled. Bush froze out the New York Times, and in eight years he may have talked one-on-one with a NYT reporter three times, and no one made the claim about the “war on the New York Times.”

Michigan GOP pulls out the old ‘Liberal media’ myth to raise money

There is nothing like a classic, and Sharon Wise, the Co-Chair of the Michigan Republican Party, rolled out an oldie but a goldie in a mass fundraising email.

Wise used the old standby myth that hatched from the paranoid mind of Richard Nixon of the so-called “liberal media” political strategy that has worked so well for the GOP for more than 30 years. Wise claimed the so-called:
“liberal media is at it again-this time attacking the Michigan Republican Party through a variety of news stories for supporting the thousands of you, hard-working, taxpaying residents who showed up at Tea Parties across Michigan last week.”

We already know the misnamed tea parties were pro-Republican, anti-Obama partisan political rallies organized by Washington, D.C. lobbying firms, and the many of the small minority who showed up were extremist fringe groups. But the bankrupt GOP is continuing to use the Astroturf rallies as fundraisers.

The GOP collected a lot of email addresses on April 15, which was a major reason for the rallies, and Wise is asking people for an online contribution. Did anyone doubt this was coming?

“The Cherry Democrats and the liberal media are mocking you-and Republicans-who want to see accountable and responsible spending from state government.”

The Cherry Democrats?

The news “stories” in question is a single column by Booth Newspapers Lansing correspondent Peter Luke where he simply points out the anti-tax stance taken on April 15 is contrary to the stance taken by business-backed funding increases for transportation of traditional GOP friends like the Michigan Chamber of Commerce.

Luke also pointed out, correctly, that “Republicans intend to run next year against income and business tax increases approved in 2007, even though no Democrat was defeated in 2008 for voting for them.” In fact, the Democrats increased their majority by nine seats in the state House.

I guess it’s true that the facts have a liberal bias.

He also pointed out “the tax protesters conveniently neglected to mention that Michigan's 4.35 percent income-tax rate is lower than it was under most of Republican Gov. John Engler's 12 years in office.”

The simple fact is that the media is, for the most part, impartial, with the exception of GOP cheerleading outfits like Faux “News,” and if anything the media is conservative. Media consolidation by a few mega corporations where profit is the only consideration has proven that.

Unbiased Beckman is keynote speaker at MRP state convention

If you need any more proof of the rigtwing bias of WJR-AM radio commentator Frank Beckmann, just show up at the Michigan Republican Party state convention on Feb. 20 where Beckman is the keynote speaker.

Beckman says he is a conservative, but he also claims he is not a Republican. Right, and I’m not a Democrat. He will feel right at home at the Lansing Center surrounding by his audience.

The program bills his appearance as the “ Opening session with honored guest speakers “ Frank Beckmann, Host of the Frank Beckmann - WJR-AM Radio and The Honorable Haley Barbour - Governor of Mississippi.

Last year readers of Michigan Messenger ranked Beckmann in second place among the most biased reporters, columnists and commentators in Michigan. The rightwing Republican was not happy with the results of that reader survey, but his actions since then just reinforces that ranking and the rightwing slant of WJR.

What’s even funnier is how MRP chair Saul Anuzis, or whatever he is now, describes Beckmann’s appearance on his “blog.”

“We will also have WJR's Frank Beckmann there who will discuss "what media bias?” What media bias? The media bias you display on your radio show.

Former media darling McCain acts like jilted boyfriend

Grampy McSame campaign surrogate Phil Graham was half right with his disgusting comments that the U.S. is a nation of whiners, but he must have had his employer in mind when he made the ridiculous comment.

A McCain rant hit my email inbox today, and Grampy McSame is up in arms because he claims the “media is in love with Barack Obama.” The email claims “It's pretty obvious that the media has a bizarre fascination with Barack Obama. Some may even say it's a love affair.”

That got the rightwing echo machine revved up, and rightwing think tanks and organizations are picking up this theme, and the crying and whining can be heard coast-to-coast. The Communications Director for the rightwing propaganda machine the Media Research Center was on the Thom Hartman show today, and I thought he was going to come unhinged trying to get his talking points out. He was engaging in the Republican tactic of screaming over every one else to get his talking points out. It was his claim that this is proof of the myth – effective political strategy actually – of the liberal media. To me, I would prefer the media cover Grampy McSame more because his constant gaffs are rarely covered or are passed off as “senior moments” are going uncovered.

It sounds more like jealously from Grampy. He has courted the media over the years, and he is angry at being jilted. He was the media darling in 2000, and he sounds like a jilted boyfriend.

Hartman, who has to be the smartest man in the world, broke it down very simply. Network news stations, and most media outlets, are for-profit entities owned by a few mega corporations. That’s why the media is conservative. The simple fact is they want to increase their ratings because increased ratings means more profit and more profit means more profit to stockholders. It seems logical that they want to cover what people want to see.

“There going to follow the rock star instead of the boring, old man,” Hartmann said.

The media Research Center is launching a letter-writing campaign aimed at GE stockholders, owners of NBC, to alert them of this alleged love affair with Obama. I don’t think that will work. If you want to spur them to action, show them they are losing money by covering Obama and you will get results.

General Electric: now there’s a liberal corporation.

Online poll unmasks WJR’s bias

Either Detroit radio station WJR-AM 760 is not aware there was also a Democratic primary in Michigan or it’s finally admitting it only caters to the right side of the political spectrum. A recent poll asking people who they plan to vote for during Michigan’s Jan. 15 presidential primary only listed Republican candidates among the choices.

The poll confirmed what many former listeners of the powerful radio station have been saying for years since the station lost the broadcast rights for Detroit’s professional sports teams. To illustrate how conservative the listeners of the 50,000-watt radio station have become with a steady diet of conservative radio hosts, the poll put former conservative Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in second place with 25 percent over Arizona Sen. John McCain with just 10 percent. The real election results were much different, with McCain finishing in second behind former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney with 30 percent of the vote with Huckabee in third with just 16 percent.

The self-proclaimed “Great Voice of the Great Lakes” has become the “Great Conservative Voice of the Great Lakes” with an almost exclusive line-up of conservative hosts that includes Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin and Dr. Laura Schlessinger. Even the few local hosts are conservative, and in a poll the Michigan Messenger conducted last October, WJR morning host Frank Beckmann was voted the second most biased commentator or reporter in Michigan. This was an honor Beckmann did not appreciate, and he claimed in numerous emails he was fair and balanced, despite plenty of documentation to the contrary.

As Globe Warms, WJR's Beckmann discredits Granholm's Climate Initiative

WJR-AM radio host Frank Beckmann took his act -- and his conservative views -- on the road last week to the Los Angeles Auto Show.

On Thursday, he railed at Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s executive order creating the Michigan Climate Action Council to develop a comprehensive climate action plan for the state. Beckmann is well known for claiming climate change and global warming is a huge conspiracy and hoax thought up by liberals.

While the world’s most prominent scientists tell us the debate now should be about how best to combat the problem of climate change, not whether it is or isn't occurring, Beckmann thinks he has all the answers.

Beckmann complained that there were no scientists on the new council, which is still being formed, but he said the “… wackos will be represented.” His comments came just a couple of days before the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an international scientific body, issued its fourth assessment, which said “warming of the climate system is unequivocal.” I’m sure very soon Beckmann will use his daily show to prove the world’s best scientists wrong.

Beckmann joked that the high Michigan unemployment rate should help reduce the world’s reliance on energy, which contributes to warming. It may have been funny to him, but for the worker who saw his or her job outsourced, it may not be so hilarious. I wonder where Beckmann was in the ‘70s when the unemployment rate in Michigan was in double digits and gas stations were running out of gas and closing. That stretch of driving less didn’t seem to relieve the country's reliance on foreign oil much.

Beckmann, who came in second in an informal Michigan Messenger poll of the most biased commentators, has demonstrated one thing in recent years: If you want to get on his show, all you really need to do is find fault with the governor. He had Livonia Mayor Jack Kirksey on his show on Thursday to talk about the decision by online mortgage broker Quicken Loans to move from its Livonia headquarters to Detroit. Who do you think Kirksey was upset with over the move -- Quicken? Or perhaps Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick? No, he was upset with the governor for her role in the decision to move. Instead of complaining that 4,000 jobs are going from Livonia to Detroit, he should be celebrating that 4,000 jobs stayed in Michigan.

But Beckmann’s take was that Granholm aided the Quicken deal because she owed a debt to the city and Kilpatrick for helping get her re-elected last November. With her landslide win, garnering almost 60 percent of the vote, I don’t think she’s beholden to anyone.

As an online company, I would guess Quicken could have moved its headquarters anywhere in the world. I’m reading a good book called “The World is Flat,” by Thomas Friedman, in which he talks about jobs being outsourced to India and other developing countries. Quicken not only had the governors of 49 other states throwing money and incentives at it, I’m sure many other countries were making offers. It would have been incompetence for Granholm not to become involved, and I can guarantee Beckmann would have hammered the governor if those 4,000 jobs had gone out of state.

Kirksey called it job raiding, but it should be called job retention and expansion. I wonder how many companies fled from Detroit to the suburbs since 1967? How many people who work at Quicken actually live in Livonia?

The rest of the week brought more examples of Beckmann’s consistent bias, which includes primarily booking conservative guests on any issue and getting his own opinion in even when asking questions of the few non-conservatives be books.

A perfect example was William Cohen, who was on the show Thursday. Cohen, a former Republican congressman and U.S. senator, was secretary of defense from 1997-2001 under President Clinton. Beckmann tried to blame the draw-down and the “wrecking of the military” after the end of the Cold War on Clinton, but Cohen pointed out that it occurred during the senior George Bush's presidency, when he cut the military by one-third.

Cohen told Beckmann that Clinton actually increased military spending. Instead of admitting his obvious mistake, Beckmann's response was “… that was the Gingrich Congress.”

Despite a short week conservative talk radio host has lots of examples of his bias to choose from

Despite being only on the air for two shows last week because of illness, conservative WJR-AM radio host Frank Beckmann has plenty of examples of his bias on display.

His show on Wednesday, as are all of his shows, served as a two-and- one half hour platform for his conservative views. That’s fine, but not when he claims he is fair and balanced. He chose Wednesday to talk about what he calls the Global Warming hoax. Despite every reputable scientist agreeing that global warming and climate change have been caused by human beings through the high emission of greenhouse gases Beckmann, apparently, really knows the truth because he did the research on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) web site. He referred the guest to the links on his web site to prove he has the answers on climate change that Nobel Prize-winning scientists do not. So, I took a look. The things he chose to link to clearly demonstrates his bias.

A few that really got me were, “As discussed by (Republicans) L Brooks Patterson and Bob Daddow at the (Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce) Mackinac Policy Conference” and “Satirist, Lecturer, Writer, and Political Commentator recently spoke to the (conservative think tank) Heritage Foundation, "Regurgitating the Apple: How Modern Liberals 'Think."”

The day after Michigan resident Michael Moore’s latest movie “Sicko” was released on DVD, Beckmann had as guests on his show the makers of the documentary “Manufacturing Dissent,” a 2007 documentary that exposes what the creators say are Moore's misleading tactics and mimics Moore's style of small documentary makers seeking and badgering their target for an interview. The film was made over the course of two years by Canadians Debbie Melnyk and Rick Caine. Beckmann did not bother to hide his glee at going after Moore, and his closing comment to the filmmakers said it all, “We’re going to convert all of you liberals.”

On Thursday Beckmann had state Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, as a guest The softball questions he throws at Bishop are bad enough, but the disturbing part is what Beckmann lets him get away with saying without ever challenging him. Like this gem:

“The Republicans are in the minority in the Legislature,” Bishop said.

I almost fell out of my chair on that one. Even though that’s what voters clearly intended to do last November when 60 percent of the total votes cast for Senators were for Democratic Senate candidates, the Republicans still control the Senate 21-17.

Detroit News editorial page editor Nolan Finley had a few gems of his own. On Thursday he wrote, “Chrysler's new CEO Bob Nardelli is taking on more than just the nuts and bolts turnaround of the automaker. He appears to be out to break the mentality of collective entitlement that permeates the domestic auto industry, and infests much of Michigan as well. Nardelli is considering extending bonuses beyond the executive suite deep into the ranks of Chrysler workers, based on the company's performance and an individual’s contribution.”

The “mentality of collective entitlement?” We know where Finley stands.

Recently, the obscene compensation CEOs were making has been an issue as the gap between the rich and poor widens and the middle class is in danger of going the way of the dinosaurs. Nardelli was the poster boy for that problem.

In 1965 the average CEO was earning 24 times what the average worker was making. But in 2005, the average CEO was making 262 times what the average worker is making. As the CEO of Home Depot, Nardelli made $38 million, or roughly $100,000 a day, in 2005, but the average worker who is selling the product and is the public face of the company is making just $10 an hour on average with few if any benefits. Nardelli continued to make this outrageous salary despite the company’s stock going down 6 percent in six years, and it fell 40 percent during his tenure.

Finley uses his Sunday column to tell us how wonderful Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is and how bad Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton is.

“Romney gets the auto industry -- in fact, he's offered himself up to run an automaker if this politics thing doesn't work out. “

I’m sure he’s qualified.

Detroit Free Press reporter Dawson Bell came in third in our poll, but I have seen no bias. He wrote three articles last week: a story on the Supreme Court argument on same sex benefits, the court decision to stop the Michigan primary and a feature on term limits.

WJR's Beckmann balks at being rated among most-biased

WJR-AM radio commentator Frank Beckmann is not happy with the results of a Michigan Messenger reader survey.

Readers ranked Beckmann in second place among the most biased reporters, columnists and commentators in Michigan.

Beckmann tried to laugh the poll off, but it bothered him enough to email me six times.

Detroit News editorial page editor Nolan Finley was picked as the most biased. But the impression I got from him was basically an amused “so what.”

Beckmann was a little different. Those who have watched Bill O’Reilly on his Fox News show "The O’Reilly Factor” constantly describe the national blog Media Matters as a “left-wing smear site” know how some people react when you hold a mirror up to them. What is Media Matters' great sin and how is it smearing O’Reilly? Simply by posting actual video of some of the stuff he says on his show.

“I addressed this on the air this morning," Beckmann wrote of the survey, "and stressed my disappointment at finishing second.....clearly, I failed to energiize (sic) my base and plan to get a better turnout next year......you must be pleased with your truly massive response of 43 votes in a week....that's impressive.....I also adopted you as my official liberal website.”

I explained to Beckmann that although I too was disappointed at the small number of votes cast, Michigan Messenger has only been around for some six weeks, and that any startup venture in any medium begins slowly. I also explained that an online newspaper is a completely new medium, and obviously more people owned radios than computers. Also, to vote you had to register with a screen name and password, and like talk radio, many people may listen or read but they do not all call in or comment; I guess that’s where the term “long-time listener, first-time caller” came from. But the 43 votes was a constant theme with Beckmann, and he pointed it out in almost every email.

“You act as if your vote with 43 ballots is somehow significant,” he wrote. “By all measures, my show has been a success.....The Michigan Association of Broadcasters afforded me two major awards last year, for 'News Coverage' and for 'Personality of the Year.' ”

I pointed out to him, again, that although the 43 votes were fewer than I had hoped for, still it was the readers and not me who chose him as one of the most biased commentators. Perhaps the question I should have asked was if he thought a mere 43 votes was so insignificant, why was he wasting his time emailing me. He offered to let me appear on his show, but it wasn't clear he was serious.

I listened to his show last Wednesday and Thursday while working and a small portion of the show on Friday while driving. I discovered Beckmann was correct when he said he regularly has liberals and progressives on. But after listening I have little doubt that those who voted for him made a good decision. He clearly treats non-conservative guests he disagrees with much more differently than conservatives.

On the first show, on Halloween morning, just a few hours after the Michigan House had met until 4 a.m. to approve the final budget bills and avoid a second state government shutdown, he had a lot to say about the budget. He told his audience that the budget just passed actually was an increase from the previous year’s budget, but then failed to say why or point out that many payments made in this budget were payments that were delayed from last year’s one-time fixes that were due.

It was very telling who his first guest was. Tricia Kinley, the director of tax policy for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, was there to push the chamber's attempt to kill the recently approved sales tax on some services. There was no one from the other side as a guest, and as always, there was no one to talk about how the budget would be balanced without the tax increase.

Beckmann did have former Democratic Gov. Jim Blanchard on the show, but Blanchard had to call him out on trying to pass off White House talking points on the Iraq occupation as his own opinions.

The next day, Thursday, Beckmann had the House Republican leader, Rep. Craig DeRoche, R-Novi, on to talk about the budget, despite the fact that every published report pointed out DeRoche had absolutely nothing to do with the budget negotiations that avoided a government shutdown. Beckmann let everything DeRoche said go by unchallenged, including the misleading claim that House Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford, has grown government and the number of state employees.

The truth is that there are fewer state employees now than there were in 1973, as there were more state employees under Republican governors Bill Milliken and John Engler than there are now. After Dillon’s segment, Beckmann chose to comment on what Dillon had to say but not DeRoche, and DeRoche's comments went unchallenged again.

On Friday, he had the Senate Majority leader, Sen. Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, on to talk about the budget, and he got more softball questions than DeRoche. Beckmann did not bother to ask him how he actually planned to balance the budget without the revenue increases. Senate Minority Leader Sen. Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek, should have been on to counter Bishop’s claims -- following the pattern of the day before, when the leaders of both parties in the House were on the show. But that did not happen.