The Latin saying, “carpe diem,” translated literally means, “seize
the day.” What it really means is seize the moment, for once it has
passed, the opportunity may never re-occur. The entertainment industry
and its Siamese twin, the news media, are certainly seizing this
political moment. They are pulling out all the stops in their efforts
to maintain their control of the White House.
It is certainly no coincidence that in the space of the past week we
have seen a news documentary on the National Rifle Association, Peter
Jennings’ “The Gun Fight” on ABC; an anti-gun episode of “West Wing”; a
story in the Los Angles Times slamming the Texas record on the issuance
of concealed carry permits; and the beginning of a new round of Handgun
Control Inc. advertisements slamming George W. Bush, narrated by none
other than the star of “West Wing,” Martin Sheen.
In addition on Oct. 4, the Federal Communications Commission
suspended their rules governing political editorials and personal
attacks for the next 60 days. Thus, until Dec. 3, any radio or
television station broadcasting a political editorial will not be
required to inform the opposition or give the opposition a chance to
respond. The same suspension covers personal attacks by any radio or
television station.
The FCC action was taken as a result of a lawsuit that was sent back
to the FCC by the U.S. Court of Appeals. The
Washington
Post concisely summarized the consequences of the FCC decision. It stated, “The FCC’s decision means the rules will be suspended during the last weeks of the political season — a time when they are most likely to be invoked.” The FCC responded that this action was being done in “an ideal time to determine how broadcasters are affected” with rescission of the fairness doctrine.
Thus we have an FCC experiment being done during a critical election and the judges of the efficacy of this experiment will be none other than the broadcasters themselves. The FCC has let the fox not only into the chicken coop, but has let it report on its success in snagging the chickens. The broadcasters get to decide what is an editorial and whether other outlets also editorialized on the same races and then report it all to the FCC. Also, it expects those same broadcasters to collect information regarding complaints concerning personal attacks received while the suspension is in effect. So who is kidding whom?
It is obvious how well the Federal Election Commission and the Department of Justice mishandle illegal activity in elections. Why should the FCC be any different? What is certain is that the FCC has given the Gore allies in the broadcast media another means of bashing the Republican ticket without any chance of rebuttal. Ten thousand complaints to the FCC from the Bush-Cheney ticket and their supporters won’t affect the outcome of this election. The timing is perfect.
Debbie Schlussel writing in Jewish World Review summarizes it best.
She wrote, “You know the liberal media? You ain’t seen nothing yet. It’s about to get a lot worse.” She points out that media moguls such as Disney’s Michael Eisner, USA networks’ Barry Diller, and Fox’s Chaim Saban, who are all huge contributors to Clinton and Al Gore, have all the tools at their disposal to produce coverage that is patently unfair and biased.
After last spring’s final episode of “West Wing” ended with gunfire, we knew that the next installment would somehow focus on guns. However, I certainly was surprised that it took one hour and 45 minutes of a two-hour show until Press Secretary C.J. Cregg, played by Allison Janney, delivered the politically correct sermon:
- It is easy to think that President Bartlet, Joshua Lyman, and Stephanie Abbott were the only ones shot last night. They weren’t. Mark Davis and Sheila Evans of Philadelphia were killed by a gun last night. He was a biology teacher and she was a nursing student. Tina Bishop and Belinda Larkin were killed with a gun last night. They were twelve. There were 36 homicides last night, 480 sexual assaults, 3,411 robberies, and 3,685 aggravated assaults all at gunpoint.
If anyone thinks those crimes could have been prevented if the victims themselves had been carrying guns, I would only remind you that the president of the Unites States was shot last night, while surrounded by the best trained armed guards in the history of the world.
Her speech reflects the positions of Al Gore or Joe Lieberman. In addition the shooters’ motives were attributed to racial hatred a not so subtle way of supporting Al Gore’s campaign position on the issue of “hate crime” legislation.
It all fits neatly together: Hollywood, the news media, and the Clinton-Gore administration. It is easy to understand why Hillary believes there is a “vast right wing conspiracy.” She is part and parcel of the vast left wing conspiracy; it is all there on the Lincoln Bedroom guest list.
Peter Jennings was just a bit subtler in his coverage of the NRA, the organization the media loves to hate. When Jennings told us that everyone ABC interviewed for “The Gun Fight” was pro-gun, he forgot to mention that he, the moderator, would interject his opinions, biases, and, of course, ask loaded questions. He also failed to tell us that over 90 percent of the Gore footage ABC used would make Gore look good, while ABC photographed Charlton Heston from weird angles and most often photographing a TV image of the NRA President.
The dividing line between drama and documentary has become blurry. It has become difficult to tell where fact has turned into fiction. Maybe that’s why Al Gore thinks he co-sponsored McCain-Feingold when he wasn’t even in the U.S. Senate; thinks he was present in Texas during last year’s wildfires when he was elsewhere; or believes sob stories about needing to return cans to pay for prescription drugs from a little old lady driving a Winnebago. Fact and fiction have become one. The FCC decision giving broadcasters an unlimited license to attack candidates and others on the eve of the presidential election 2000 is fact. If you don’t think it was politically motivated and timed to help the Democrats, you must believe Al Gore’s lie that he invented the Internet. The political opportunity is right now and the Democratic controlled FCC seized the day and the news media and Hollywood will take advantage of the opportunity.
Servile Biden-puffing ‘journalists’ loyal to the end
Tim Graham