Lots Of New Stuff
President Bush addressed the nation last night, laying out in fine detail his plans for the immediate future of Iraq. The full speech can be read here. His plan was well-presented and complete. As you should know, on June 30 the coalition will transfer full sovereignty to a government of Iraqi citizens who will prepare the way for national elections. In 36 days, we will become guests in that nation, with no governing authority. The final step, free national elections, will be held no later than January. Our military will remain in Iraq for some time, offering protection, training and leadership to the growing Iraqi military. Our time in Iraq is limited, but we're setting up a future of freedom for the Iraqi people that is permanent.
Incidentally, the Democrats last night insisted that Bush still needs to lay out a plan for the future of U.S. involvement in Iraq. Go figure...
A lot of people are talking about the new movie The Day After Tomorrow. Former V.P. and enviro-hack Al Gore is promoting the validity of the film's premise. Unfortunately, it just ain't so. While the film might make for good escapist fare, it certainly has no basis in scientific fact. Patrick J. Michaels is senior fellow in environmental studies at the Cato Institute. He solidly refutes any claims that the book is based on science. Read it before you see the film. By the way, the film is based on a book by Art Bell (a black helicopter, alien abduction and Loch Ness Monster conspiracy theorist) and Whitley Strieber. In Strieber's previous work, Communion, he explained that he was told of the Earth's upcoming apocalypse by aliens. Yeah, they're reliable...
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Is the media biased? A new study by the Pew Research Center says... maybe so. The study polled 547 national and local reporters, producers, editors, and executives across the country. This study followed a Pew study of opinions of the general public.
In the study, only 7% of national journalists described themselves as "conservative," compared with 33% of the public. Thirty-four percent of national journalists called themselves "liberal," vs. just 20% of the public. A majority of national journalists (54%) called themselves "moderate," while 41% of the public did. So, while roughly 1 out of every 3 people considers themselves to be a conservative, only 1 out of 14 journalists is a conservative.
Asked about the media's treatment of President Bush, 34% of the general public said the media has been "too critical", 35% said "fair", and only 24% said the media isn't critical enough. Only 8% of the national press responded with "too critical", while 55% said the media was giving the president a pass.
The studies also questioned the general public and the media about moral issues. About 58% of the general public believes that a belief in God is essential to being a moral person. Of conservative journalists, 26% agreed. Of so-called moderate journalists, only 12% agreed. 85% of moderate journalists said belief in God isn't necessary for being a moral person. Asked if homosexuality should be accepted or discouraged by society, the responses from conservative journalists mirrored the general public. Among non-conservative journalists, however, about 90% overall were in favor of accepting homosexual lifestyles.
The report makes a thought-provoking read.
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Thought Of The Day
"Guns don't kill people, people kill people. Blaming a gun for killing someone is like blaming a pencil when you misspell a word."
