CNN Refusing To Run Health Care Ad Critical Of Insurance Industry | The Plum Line

CNN Refusing To Run Health Care Ad Critical Of Insurance Industry | The Plum Line

The network — already taking criticism for declining to run an ad criticizing Lou Dobbs — is now refusing to run an ad nationally criticizing the insurance industry, the group that tried to place the ad tells me.

CNN’s reason: The ad “unnecessarily” singles out a top insurance industry executive by name for criticism.

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That very well may be CNN’s policy. But AUC maintains that the mention of Cigna’s CEO was necessary to dramatize the enormous stake the insurance industry has in the health care wars. What’s more, AUC argues, the industry is made up of companies that are run by individuals deciding how to spend huge money to impact the health care debate — so why are they off limits?

“The bottom line question is: Would CNN run ads from Cigna that are positive about the company?” Funk asks. “If yes, why would they turn down an ad critical of the company for their role in trying to kill health insurance reform?” ...

H2O Man's Journal - "Top Secret" CNN Memo (re: Lou Dobbs) [Is this for real? ed.]

H2O Man's Journal - "Top Secret" CNN Memo (re: Lou Dobbs)
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Due to the Democratic Underground’s ground rules on the number of paragraphs from other sources which can be copied here, I am only able to provide readers with about 1/5 of the actual "TOP SECRET" memo. ...
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Now, for the memo. It was sent to the heads of various CNN departments, after a number of workers throughout CNN had filed complaints against Lou Dobbs. Many were concerned about his apparent unstable, increasingly threatening behavior. Some highlights from the memo include:

"Please be aware that the management of CNN is fully aware of the issues regarding Mr. Dobbs’ recent behavior, and shares everyone’s concerns. We have held a series of high-level meetings with the senior staff of our Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and with the CNN attorneys. In order to protect the rights of all of the members of the CNN Family, we are not allowed to comment on the specifics of any single employee’s status. However, due to the high volume of complaints filed this week against Mr. Dobbs, our attorneys have suggested that we share some ‘generic’ information with department heads. Please use this general information when dealing with individuals who continue to express concerns about Mr. Dobbs’ behavior. ….
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"(3) Employees of CNN are not allowed to actively campaign for public office while on company time. There are further restrictions in CNN policies for CNN employees who appear ‘on air’ time. Before discussing this matter with Mr. Dobbs, CNN attorneys did review the seven documented cases of Mr. Dobbs violating this policy. Six of the seven groups that he was in contact with on company time were listed on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s list of extremist, white-supremacist groups. ...
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The memo is signed by Jonathan Klein, who apparently has a high-ranking position at CNN. I’ve never heard of him before, but this document appears very official

Raw Story � AP, other news outlets omit killer’s racist diary rants

Raw Story � AP, other news outlets omit killer’s racist diary rants

The Associated Press and other news outlets have omitted references to President Barack Obama, the election of “The Black Man” and remarks that black men have “their choice of the best white” women when republishing excerpts of the diary by a Pittsburgh-area man who killed three women and himself at an LA Fitness gym Tuesday evening.

In fact, the Associated Press’ primary story contains no reference to Obama at all, even though the first entry of the killer’s diary came the day after Obama was elected and references Obama’s election directly.

The omission was noted by the blog of Editor and Publisher. ...

Israeli settlers 'are wrecking peace process' - Times Online

Israeli settlers 'are wrecking peace process' - Times Online

Britain has accused Israel of allowing extremist Jewish settlers to disrupt attempts at relaunching the peace process after police evicted more than 50 Palestinians from their homes in Jerusalem.

As Jewish settlers moved into the Palestinian homes, the British consulate said it was appalled by the evictions, which took place a few hundred yards from the diplomatic mission, after an Israeli court decided in favour of the settlers.

“Israel’s claim that the imposition of extremist Jewish settlers into this ancient Arab neighbourhood is a matter for the courts or the municipality is entirely unacceptable,” the consulate said in a statement. “Their actions are incompatible with Israel’s desire for peace. We urge Israel not to allow extremists to set the agenda.” ...

Op-ed pages: 77 percent of pieces authored by think-tank affiliates came from conservative outfits

The Right-Wing Op-Ed Insurgency | CommonDreams.org

Liberal bias? A Daily Beast investigation crunches the numbers and shows how conservative think tanks have quietly achieved domination over the opinion pages of America's biggest papers.

For all the noise about liberal bias in newsrooms, you'd think the country's big three papers had contracted George Soros, Ralph Nader, and Gloria Steinem as their exclusive opinionators.

But a Daily Beast review of the archives of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post tells a much different story: Conservative think tanks are pummeling their liberal peers in the race for the most prominent placement on op-ed pages. During the past year, 77 percent of pieces authored by think-tank affiliates came from conservative outfits, 18 percent came from centrist groups, and a tiny 5 percent came from the left wing.

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The American Enterprise Institute [the organization that brought you the Iraq war ... ed.] crushes the competition, liberal and conservative, in racking up bylines, scoring 99 of the total 217 pieces published by major think tanks from the third week of July 2008 to July 21, 2009, as shown by a review of the archives of the Times, Post, and Journal.

Of course, you're four times as likely to find an AEI piece in the right-leaning pages of the Journal than in the more liberal pages of the Times and Post put together. In fact, 79 AEI-bylined op-eds appeared in the Journal during the period surveyed. Considering that the Journal publishes only six days a week, that's one AEI appearance every four days. Bush hawks like John Yoo, John Bolton, Paul Wolfowitz, and Richard Perle, who nest at the D.C. institute and are frequent contributors, help pad the stats. A recent offering from Yoo, the former Bush Justice Department official: " Why We Endorsed Warrantless Wiretaps." Last month, Bolton, Bush's former representative at the United Nations, floated this thought balloon in the Journal: " What Would Happen if Israel Strikes Iran?"

But it's important to note that the AEI crowd is not completely confined to the Journal. They also find themselves in the opinion section of the Washington Post more times-16 during the last year-than any other think tank. ...

New Poll: Less Than Half Of Republicans Believe Obama Was Born In U.S.

New Poll: Less Than Half Of Republicans Believe Obama Was Born In U.S.

Less than half of Republicans believe that Barack Obama was born in the United States of America, a new public opinion poll finds.

Only 42 percent of Republican respondents in a Research 2000 survey, conducted for the liberal website Daily Kos, said they thought Obama was a natural born citizen; 28 percent said they did not believe Obama was born in the United States; 30 percent said they were not sure.

The responses, which were gathered afterseveral prominent conservative media personalities fed suspicion that Obama was unconstitutionally holding office, show the extent to which the conspiracy has taken hold in the GOP.

That only a plurality of Republicans were willing to acknowledge the president was born in America is nothing short of astounding, considering the preponderance of evidence that confirms his Hawaiian birth.

The conspiracy has a regional flavor. Overall, even including Democrats and independents, only 47 percent of respondents in the South said they believed Obama was born in America, with 23 percent saying he was not and 30 percent saying they were unsure. In the Northeast and Midwest, the percentage of respondents who believe Obama was born in the U.S. was over 90 percent.

Ninety-three percent of Democrats say the president was born in the United States, as do 83 percent of independents. ...