Jack Kingston

By now, I’m sure you’ve heard about the Rush Limbaugh’s ‘phony soldier’ comment and how the left-leaning Media Matters has decided to distort it.

Michelle Malkin and others have been following this from the beginning and have a great breakdown. If you read the transcript of the show, it is clear that the ‘phony soldier’ comment was directed to such people as Jesse MacBeth who just recently pled guilty to falsifying claims to the Veterans Affairs. MacBeth posed as a military hero and became a darling of the anti-war groups with appearances at rallies and a YouTube video.

MacBeth’s conviction was part of a year long investigation by the U.S. Attorney in Washington called “Operation Stolen Valor.” ABC News did a story on this days before Rush’s comments and in the story, correspondent Brian Ross used the phrase “phony heroes.”

The left has long targeted conservative talk radio and in particular, Rush Limbaugh. Today, I plan to file a resolution that all Americans serving in the Armed Forces and commending Rush for his efforts to help build and maintain troop morale. Once we are all set, we will post it up.

The liberals in hollywood the mainstream media just can’t control themselves.

Thanks to the good folks at the Media Research Center for pointing out that Barbara Walters has named Nancy Pelosi as the “most fascinating” person of 2006.

Walters celebrated Pelosi’s victory: “We picked our most fascinating person on election day this past November. Next month, Congress will get a Speaker of the House unlike any before. Our most fascinating person of 2006: Mother of five and Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi. In January, Nancy Pelosi will become the most powerful woman in America. She will assume office as the first-ever female Speaker of the House, two heartbeats from the presidency.” Walters soon pleaded to Pelosi: “You’ve talked about sometimes using your mother-of-five voice. Now I sit here, and you’re very gentle. Talk to me in the mother-of-five voice.” She also asked Pelosi to confirm that she thinks President Bush is “incompetent and irresponsible and not a leader?”

How many more fluff pieces must we endure?

Recently we had some decent things to say about the blog of Anderson Cooper 360. But then they slipped back to their liberal ideology and prescribe the “softer” side of terrorists.

They note:

The United States and others clearly call Hezbollah a terrorist group: The source of countless raids, bombings and attacks on Israel; the bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983, which left 241 people dead; and the architects of all those displays in which young men cover their faces, strap mock bombs to their chests, and parade before the cameras pledging to kill any and all soldiers and civilians alike who oppose their cause.

Followed up by what other, perhaps by what a more enlightened, elitist journalist, might call Hezbollah:

But some people describe another part of Hezbollah. They talk about a group that is beloved in southern Lebanon for running schools, hospitals, social services, even clearing snow in the winter for some communities that the official government of Lebanon does not serve. They say these things make Hezbollah something other than a terrorist group: A quasi-government; a nation within a nation.

This appears to be classic “objective” journalism, right? Wrong. Does anyone here need to take a step back and think about what a “terrorist” really is? I don’t think so.

Fortunately, those who left comments on the post weighed in quickly with a similar candid response:

For the definition of a terrorist, we think it’s apropos to point Anderson and Co. to the President’s speech on 20 September 2001 where he said rather succinctly:

The terrorists are traitors to their own faith, trying, in effect, to hijack Islam itself. The enemy of America is not our many Muslim friends; it is not our many Arab friends. Our enemy is a radical network of terrorists, and every government that supports them. Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped, and defeated.

There is a mission at hand Anderson, and you won’t find any apologists here.

UPDATE (1:15 PM): It doesn’t look like Anderson will find any apologists at Wizbang either.

UPDATE (2:41 PM): Mary Katharine Ham doesn’t seem to be sympathizing with Hezbollah either.

As early as today, the House of Representatives will take up a House Resolution responding to the outrage we are hearing from constituents and Members regarding the leaking and publication of subsequent information which has now tipped off the terrorists to surveillance efforts (Jack discusses this below in his latest JackCast).

Today’s Associated Press has the latest:

Rep. Jack Kingston, a member of the House GOP leadership, said it will be clear that Republicans are mainly concerned about The New York Times because of what he said was a record of publishing classified information.

“Somebody clearly broke the law in leaking this to The New York Times. The New York Times in my opinion has simply acted irresponsibly,” Kingston, R-Ga., said.

If you haven’t been closely monitoring this issue, here’s a few items to help bring you back to speed:
Michael Barone
Treasury Secretary John Snow [via Michelle Malkin]
Jack Kelly
Hugh Hewitt
John McIntyre

Add any good reads in the comments…

“Somewhere a terrorist has changed his operations and saved his life thanks to the New York Times, and somewhere an American is in danger because of that same article in the same newspaper.” -U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston

iTuners subscribe to the JackCast by clicking the poster above. All others can find the audio file at the podcasting station.

The Vice President just delivered hard-hitting remarks about NYTgate.

Excerpts below and emphasis mine.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: “In the decade prior to 9/11, we spent more than $2 trillion on national security. Yet we lost nearly 3,000 Americans at the hands of 19 men armed with box cutters and airline tickets. In the case of al Qaeda we are not dealing with large armies that we can track, or uniforms we can see, or men with territory of their own to defend. Their preferred tactic, which they boldly proclaim, is to slip into countries, blend in among the innocent, and kill without mercy and without restraint. They have intelligence and counterintelligence operations of their own. They are using the most sophisticated communications technology they can get their hands on.

“Some in the press, in particular The New York Times, have made the job of defending against further terrorist attacks more difficult by insisting on publishing detailed information about vital national security programs.

Read the rest of this entry »

Yup, even the photogs have bias folks…

[h-t Mary Katharine]

The new White House Press Secretary, Tony Snow, is taking media bias head on. Check out this article.

White House sources said Snow, who started on the job Monday and has yet to give his first public press briefing, is determined to aggressively counter what the administration considers unfair assertions in both news and editorials about Bush. At the same time, he is eager to make the notoriously secretive administration more accessible to the press.

WELCOME news!!

After reading this post by CNN’s Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider, someone please tell me that there’s no bias in the media. I mean seriously. Is the sky really falling?

Thanks to the good work of one of our favorite blogs, NewsBusters.org, it looks like ole’ Bill Schneider has quite a track record of distorting the “news.”

Some people laugh at blogs and the blogosphere or put the word “blog” or “blogosphere” in quotes (like that) to help distance themselves from the medium. It’s a small little thing to put a word in quotes, but in this business, punctuation can make quite a difference. And we notice.

Anyway, just cruising some of my favorite blogs when I was surprised to see that Exxon, yup that one, had just hosted a bloggers conference call with some of the top conservative bloggers.

Mary Katharine Ham has a good summary of the call with links to the other bloggers.

This is interesting because it shows that “real” businesses, (quotes added for emphasis and sarcasm) are starting to work with blogs to get around the MSM to tell the other side of the story.

What do you think?

This is a great example of young conservatives calling it like they see it.

You be the judge. Post a comment and let us know what you think.

UPDATE: PeachPundit agrees.

Is The Mainstream Media Bias?

Michael Barone of the U.S. News & World Report has an interesting post on his blog, Barone Blog, where he seeks to help answer this question by taking a closer look at the hiring practices of The New York Times and the Washington Post.

Barone sums up media bias well when he recalls a conversation he once had with a network executive:

The evidence suggests that editors at the NYT and the Post have found it natural to recruit from the liberal magazines but that it does not seem to have crossed their minds to recruit from the conservative magazines. Why not?

Here’s my guess. I once had a conversation with an executive at one of the three broadcast network news organizations that went about like this. “Don’t you think the fact that 90 percent of your people are Democrats affects your work product?” “No, it doesn’t affect our work product at all, because we have professional standards of objectivity,” etc., etc. “Then what you’re saying is that your work product would be the same if 90 percent of your people were Republicans?” “No, then it would be biased.”

In other words, only liberals can see the world objectively. Conservatives are inherently biased. If that’s your mind-set, it makes sense to recruit people from the New Republic and the American Prospect, and it makes no sense to recruit people from National Review, the Weekly Standard and the American Spectator.

Media bias is one of the driving reasons why Republicans should look at New Media strategies to send their message and articulate their ideology.

In fact, Michael Barone is quoted today by the folks at the Wall Street Journal saying:

“Stories about American heroes, stories about soldiers building schools and water systems, stories about the successes of Iraqis — you have to look awfully hard to find them in most news media today. What you do see is a determination to make Vietnam and Watergate happen again. All of which brings to mind an old politician’s comment on an idealistic young colleague: ‘He actually thinks this place is on the level.’ The good news is that many Americans have caught on. Newspaper circulation is down, and so is viewership of broadcast TV network news. New media offering a different point of view — talk radio, Fox News, the blogosphere — are thriving. We can’t design the news media from scratch, but we can scratch some of the news media we have.”

The Revolution moves forward.

In the spirit of debate and to move the discussion away from ad hominem attacks, Congressman Kingston sent the following email to Cindy Sheehan apologizing for his characterization of her as a “nutcase”:

A NOTE FROM CONGRESSMAN JACK KINGSTON

April 3, 2006

Dear Ms. Cindy Sheehan,

Thank you very much for your email. I appreciate your spirit in dialogue and debate and our mutual devotion to the First Amendment.

I want to apologize for my personal categorization of you and for allowing myself to get involved in such low-level name calling.

While you and I disagree on the war effort, I certainly did not intend to attack you personally. I have great appreciation for your perspective and your sacrifice as an American who has lost a loved one in the War on Terrorism.

This is a very emotional time in America, and my concern these days has been my 20,000+ constituent soldiers. As I have spoken with them in Iraq and their families back home they have expressed grave concern about the pessimistic media coverage of the war and its dissenters.

As you know, these volunteer soldiers aren�t in it for praise but I do think their spirits are hurt by coverage that reports all the bad news and none of the good. Such coverage tends to focus on dissenters of the war and less on those in the field.

This isn�t just my own personal opinion, but one that has been formulated by listening to the troops and their families. I suppose in my own stumbling way, I am trying to speak for them.

In any case, I hope you�ll accept my apology and I look forward to continuing our discussion about this issue.

Sincerely,

Jack Kingston

Member of Congress

Congressman Kingston believes that soldiers in the field should be covered more by the media and is frustrated that the household names of this war will be its dissenters.

Here are some of the stories Congressman Kingston would like to read more about in the MSM:

• Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith (3^rd-ID)�First CMH Winner in OIF

First CMH winner (from 3^rd ID)

Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with an armed enemy near Baghdad International Airport, Baghdad, Iraq on 4 April 2003. On that day, Sergeant First Class Smith was engaged in the construction of a prisoner of war holding area when his Task Force was violently attacked by a company-sized enemy force.

Realizing the vulnerability of over 100 fellow soldiers, Sergeant First Class Smith quickly organized a hasty defense consisting of two platoons of soldiers, one Bradley Fighting Vehicle and three armored personnel carriers. As the fight developed, Sergeant First Class Smith braved hostile enemy fire to personally engage the enemy with hand grenades and anti-tank weapons, and organized the evacuation of three wounded soldiers from an armored personnel carrier struck by a rocket propelled grenade and a 60mm mortar round. Fearing the enemy would overrun their defenses, Sergeant First Class Smith moved under withering enemy fire to man a .50 caliber machine gun mounted on a damaged armored personnel carrier.

In total disregard for his own life, he maintained his exposed position in order to engage the attacking enemy force. During this action, he was mortally wounded. His courageous actions helped defeat the enemy attack, and resulted in as many as 50 enemy soldiers killed, while allowing the safe withdrawal of numerous wounded soldiers.

Sergeant First Class Smith�s extraordinary heroism and uncommon valor are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the Third Infantry Division �Rock of the Marne,� and the United States Army.

• Spc. Chris Barron (Bronze Star) and Spc. Carl Jackson (Purple Heart)�Georgia National Guard 108^th Armor Regiment, 48^th Brigade Combat Team

From 108^th Armor Regiment, 48^th Brigade Combat Team

Spc. Chris Barron�Bronze Star nominee

Deployed to the violent insurgent stronghold south of Baghdad known as �the Fiyahs�. Three months into first overseas tour, the 30 year old father of three was attached to a platoon at a small outpost by a Euphrates River bridge dubbed JSB. Barron, a medic, drew guard duty the evening of August 12^th. The bridge he was monitoring was closed off to traffic but, just before sun set, he noticed an approaching bongo truck. After signaling the truck to stop had to effect, he realized it was going to try to attempt to ram the building that contained his platoon. To protect his platoon, he instinctively fired into the windshield, causing the truck to blow up before it reached the building. As a result, only one soldier suffered a minor injury in the explosion. For his valor, he has been nominated for a Bronze Star.

Spc. Carl Jackson�Purple Heart Recipient

Jackson was among a group of soldiers picking up an insurgent who had bombed some of the 108^th�s tanks earlier. On the way, they drove headlong into a roadside bomb ambush set up by the insurgents. Jackson and the Truck Commander suffered the brunt of the explosion. He�s lost a chunk of flesh from his right elbow as well as his right kidney. He also suffered a broken back, ribs, and a collapsed right lung. After four months of treatment, Jackson returned to duty.

***Both Jackson and Barron have returned to duty with the 48^th BCT and are currently treating local children and adults in Southern Iraq for burns, colds, and other ailments at a free clinic

• Seaman Nathaniel Leoncio

On October 4, 2005, Leoncio of Marines Company L was on patrol in the southern part of Ar Ramadi in support of Operation Bowie, capturing or destroying insurgents and their weapons. When the convoy made its way to the dirt roads and unincorporated areas that make up the southern part of the town, four IEDs went off about two feet from their vehicles. Leoncio was caught underneath one after the explosion and, as a result suffered an amputated right leg below the knee, a shattered right femur, and serious internal bleeding.

Before he allowed himself to be medically evacuated from the scene, Leoncio began directing the other Marines on how perform aid on him and the other injured. After explaining to one Marine how and where to put the tourniquet on his leg, he leaned over and, despite his own injuries, opened his medical kit and began to treat the 4^th Platoon commander�s shrapnel wound.

• USMC Sergeant Matthew Dalrymple

Sgt. Matthew P. Dalrymple, team leader, 2nd TOW (Tube-launched, Optically-tracked, Wire-guided Missile) Platoon, 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, is recovering from his third improvised-explosive-device attack. He declined the usual ceremonies for the two Purple Hearts he received since April 2005 and, instead, chose just to receive the certificates in formation because he �doesn�t need big ceremonies.�

�I do think we�re changing Iraq,� said Dalrymple, who holds a black belt in tae kwon do. �I think the Iraqis want (the insurgents) gone as much as we do. They just don�t have our capabilities. If we deter the insurgency in a certain area, things start to get better there.�

• Marine Cpl. Jason L. Dunham

Died April 22, 2004 at Bethesda from wounds sustained after using his body to shield his fellow Marines from a hand grenade. A report from the Marine Corps said Dunham was commanding a check point near Karbala when a man got out of a car and tried to flee. Dunham tackled the man, who then pulled a pin from a hand grenade. Dunham dove onto the grenade before it exploded, the Marines reported.

Two other Marines were injured.

Dunham, with K Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, was remembered in Iraq at a service attended by more than 500 Marines, sailors and soldiers.

• Capt. David M. Rozelle

Commander, Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo., is the first amputee to return to a combat zone. While conducting an operation in his first tour of duty, he ran over an anti-tank mine with his Humvee. The explosion destroyed both his Humvee and his lower right leg, causing the amputation of his foot and ankle. Rozelle describes the incident as a �blessing in disguise� because, after three weeks at Walter Reed, he was rushed home to be present for the birth of his son, Forrest.

After fighting to prove himself fit to fight to the Army, Rozelle had many job opportunities within the Army that would have taken him away and given him a lighter duty. He declined them all saying, �When I took the oath of office, I knew I was going to spend my life in the military�. He returned to Iraq to command the regimental commander�s headquarters and, last June, returned to Walter Reed to become a program manager for the new amputee center there.