Joe Cooper
2017-05-03 13:20:05 UTC
Situational ethics define the liberal media. There is no pursuit of
truth. There is only a double standard.
When former President Barack Obama bowed to dictators in Cuba and Iran,
it was "historic" diplomacy. When President Donald Trump talks up meeting
with autocrats, that's another dangerous and disgusting sign of his lack
of respect for human rights.
The Washington Post front page on May 2 carried the headline "Praise for
strongmen alarms rights advocates: Trump's vocal affection for
totalitarians marks major U.S. policy shift." Pictures included Russian
President Vladimir Putin, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and
the crackpot North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
So, what was different when President Obama launched a Russian "reset"
with Putin? And when Obama praised Muslim Brotherhood tyrant President
Mohammed Morsi in Egypt, that was smart? Did the Post freak out on the
front page in 2008 when then-presidential candidate Obama stared down
Hillary Clinton and said he would talk to dictatorial regimes, that
refusing to talk is "ridiculous"?
You won't find a Washington Post headline on "Obama's vocal affection for
totalitarians."
What about the media's happy talk for murdering brutes? Go back a few
months to Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's death. "Revolutionary remade
Cuba," read the Post headline. The obit gushed that he was "a romantic
figure in olive-drab fatigues and combat boots" and a "spiritual beacon
for the world's political far left." The New York Times preferred to
describe him as "the fiery apostle of revolution."
Do we really need to revisit the media's opportunistic tendency to kiss
dictatorial rings to gain access for softball interviews? Should we have
to recall Scott Pelley celebrating the ethics of Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Dan Rather babbling to deposed Iraqi ruler Saddam
Hussein or 20 different anchors lauding Castro to his face?
Nevertheless, CNN anchorman Jake Tapper opened his show on May 1 with
blazing snark, saying: "The world according to Trump: Journalists are the
enemies of the people, but he would be honored to meet Kim Jong Un. ...
President Trump today saying he would be honored to meet where North
Korea's despotic dictator under the right circumstances. And that is not
the first maniacal and murderous strongman he has opened up to in the
past day."
Trump called the North Korean tyrant a "pretty smart cookie" on Sunday,
and Tapper offered a rebuttal, saying: "Kim Jong Un had his uncle
murdered. That doesn't make Kim Jong Un a smart cookie. That makes him a
murderer."
This on the network that confessed it squashed tales or torment and
murder for years in order to keep its Baghdad bureau open, to distribute
only "news" that was acceptable to that great humanitarian Saddam
Hussein.
Here's another CNN blast from the past. In June 1994, former President
Jimmy Carter went to Pyongyang and hugged North Korean despot Kim Il-
Sung. CNN anchor Frank Sesno summarized it, saying: "Jimmy Carter, Korean
peacemaker! Did his trip to Korea reduce the threat of war?" Carter even
called the Stalinesque dictator the "Great Leader" without getting
scalded.
And let us not forget CNN was founded by Ted Turner, who did embarrassing
interviews with "murderous strongman" Fidel Castro and broadcast a
documentary in 1988 called "Portrait of the Soviet Union" that fawned
over the Communist revolution with lines like this howler: "Once, the
Kremlin was the home of czars. Today, it belongs to the people."
Tapper concluded his commentary by quoting Ronald Reagan, saying that "a
violation of human rights anywhere is the business of free people
everywhere." That sounds great. But that same press fought Reagan tooth
and nail in his day, assaulting him for being a crazy Red-baiting
warmonger for statements like that.
It's good for journalists in free countries to question leaders about
their commitment to advocating human rights instead of pragmatically
enabling dictators. Unfortunately, our media display a reflexive habit of
questioning only Republican presidents. The Carters, the Clintons and the
Obamas skate free.
truth. There is only a double standard.
When former President Barack Obama bowed to dictators in Cuba and Iran,
it was "historic" diplomacy. When President Donald Trump talks up meeting
with autocrats, that's another dangerous and disgusting sign of his lack
of respect for human rights.
The Washington Post front page on May 2 carried the headline "Praise for
strongmen alarms rights advocates: Trump's vocal affection for
totalitarians marks major U.S. policy shift." Pictures included Russian
President Vladimir Putin, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and
the crackpot North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
So, what was different when President Obama launched a Russian "reset"
with Putin? And when Obama praised Muslim Brotherhood tyrant President
Mohammed Morsi in Egypt, that was smart? Did the Post freak out on the
front page in 2008 when then-presidential candidate Obama stared down
Hillary Clinton and said he would talk to dictatorial regimes, that
refusing to talk is "ridiculous"?
You won't find a Washington Post headline on "Obama's vocal affection for
totalitarians."
What about the media's happy talk for murdering brutes? Go back a few
months to Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's death. "Revolutionary remade
Cuba," read the Post headline. The obit gushed that he was "a romantic
figure in olive-drab fatigues and combat boots" and a "spiritual beacon
for the world's political far left." The New York Times preferred to
describe him as "the fiery apostle of revolution."
Do we really need to revisit the media's opportunistic tendency to kiss
dictatorial rings to gain access for softball interviews? Should we have
to recall Scott Pelley celebrating the ethics of Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Dan Rather babbling to deposed Iraqi ruler Saddam
Hussein or 20 different anchors lauding Castro to his face?
Nevertheless, CNN anchorman Jake Tapper opened his show on May 1 with
blazing snark, saying: "The world according to Trump: Journalists are the
enemies of the people, but he would be honored to meet Kim Jong Un. ...
President Trump today saying he would be honored to meet where North
Korea's despotic dictator under the right circumstances. And that is not
the first maniacal and murderous strongman he has opened up to in the
past day."
Trump called the North Korean tyrant a "pretty smart cookie" on Sunday,
and Tapper offered a rebuttal, saying: "Kim Jong Un had his uncle
murdered. That doesn't make Kim Jong Un a smart cookie. That makes him a
murderer."
This on the network that confessed it squashed tales or torment and
murder for years in order to keep its Baghdad bureau open, to distribute
only "news" that was acceptable to that great humanitarian Saddam
Hussein.
Here's another CNN blast from the past. In June 1994, former President
Jimmy Carter went to Pyongyang and hugged North Korean despot Kim Il-
Sung. CNN anchor Frank Sesno summarized it, saying: "Jimmy Carter, Korean
peacemaker! Did his trip to Korea reduce the threat of war?" Carter even
called the Stalinesque dictator the "Great Leader" without getting
scalded.
And let us not forget CNN was founded by Ted Turner, who did embarrassing
interviews with "murderous strongman" Fidel Castro and broadcast a
documentary in 1988 called "Portrait of the Soviet Union" that fawned
over the Communist revolution with lines like this howler: "Once, the
Kremlin was the home of czars. Today, it belongs to the people."
Tapper concluded his commentary by quoting Ronald Reagan, saying that "a
violation of human rights anywhere is the business of free people
everywhere." That sounds great. But that same press fought Reagan tooth
and nail in his day, assaulting him for being a crazy Red-baiting
warmonger for statements like that.
It's good for journalists in free countries to question leaders about
their commitment to advocating human rights instead of pragmatically
enabling dictators. Unfortunately, our media display a reflexive habit of
questioning only Republican presidents. The Carters, the Clintons and the
Obamas skate free.
--
"Liberals dont hold other liberals to different standards; they hold
them to no standards. Standards are reserved exclusively for
conservatives, mostly because they know we have them and they mean
something." (Derek Hunter)
"Liberals dont hold other liberals to different standards; they hold
them to no standards. Standards are reserved exclusively for
conservatives, mostly because they know we have them and they mean
something." (Derek Hunter)
