8/14/12 Words Matter on All Fired Up Radio
Controlling the Narrative
“Perhaps the most obvious political effect of controlled news is the advantage it gives powerful people in getting their issues on the political agenda and defining those issues in ways likely to influence their resolution.” W. Lance Bennett
Mitt Romney announces Paul Ryan as his choice for Vice President, which the media have decided means this election is about Medicare.
15 to 20 percent real unemployment, record Food Stamp numbers, downgraded credit rating, record spending and a stagnating economy, three years without a budget, a divided Congress flailing with divisive leadership, and the media has declared the narrative of this election is about Medicare.
Romney announces Ryan as VP choice (full speech in Norfolk, VA)
Unintentional Endorsement? Planned Parenthood slams Paul Ryan: http://nation.foxnews.com/planned-parenthood/2012/08/12/unintentional-endorsement-planned-parenthood-slams-paul-ryan
Paul Ryan criticisms: Voted for TARP, ending Medicare as we know it, in-laws are benefiting from oil subsidies, votes on taxing AIG bonuses and bailouts. Paul Ryan explains his vote for TARP, bailouts, and tax on AIG bonuses: http://dailycaller.com/2010/02/14/paul-ryan-explains-his-votes-for-tarp-auto-bailouts-and-tax-on-aig-bonuses/
Ryan’s voting record: http://votesmart.org/candidate/key-votes/26344/
Ryan voted for H.R. 1424 (http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/110/hr1424) (110th Congress, Oct. 3, 2008): http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/110-2008/h681
Ryan voted against H.R. 384 (111th Congress, Jan. 21, 2009) http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/111-2009/h26
ThinkProgress: Paul Ryan and his family to benefit from $45 billion in subsidies for big oil in his budget: http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2011/06/17/247570/paul-ryan-family-beneft-subsidies-for-big-oil-in-his-budget/?mobile=nc
Huffington Post writer digs Paul Ryan. Why Obama May Lose:
Increasing taxes on the wealthy is barely a Band-Aid on the exponential growth of Medicare, social security and defense spending. If President Obama wants to defeat Mitt Romney and lead America back to prosperity, then it’s his responsibility to stop the negative ads (he’s behaving like a Republican) and deal with the country’s most pressing issue — economic reform. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rob-taub/why-obama-may-lose_b_1770312.html?show_comment_id=176834319#comment_176834319
Medicare media spin
The Democrat narrative. They get their agenda out first, then it’s up to Paul Ryan and Republicans to debunk it. This one from The Hill even quotes a Republican strategist in the very article that defines the narrative:
“It can be an asset or a mixed bag depending on how quickly Republicans can define it, rather than letting Democrats define it for them,” Ron Bonjean said.
The Hill listed the Democrat spin first in the article. Journalists are taught that most people will only read the headlines and maybe the first couple of paragraphs of any news story, which is why journalists are trained to put all the basic summary information in the lead paragraph (who, what, when, where, why and how). From there, we are trained to prioritize the information and put the most important information in the article first. Details and expendable information go at the end.
Important to know about your media: We are trained to view politically correct content as “The Most Important.” If it fits the left-wing agenda we’ve been taught throughout our formal educations, then we are trained to consider that “important,” lead-paragraph information. As a discerning news reader, you have to scrutinize the article carefully and read it to the end. The order the information is presented reveals the spin of your source. It’s very likely that all the information that conflicts with the source’s agenda will be in the bottom half of the article, where most people won’t reach. When you read any article, make sure you get to the bottom. In today’s leftist-trained media, the “least important” information to the media may well be what you consider the most important as an American.
The majority of people won’t look under the fold of Page 1 in a newspaper. Most people read the top headlines only, which often do not even reflect the article content. Bias bleeds into every step of news creation. Every article you read has a biased priority to its arrangement. It’s important as a voting American to note the priority of the information in which an article is arranged: http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/243187-with-ryan-pick-medicare-takes-center-stage-in-election
This Hill article starts out declaring the narrative of the election – a VP choice of Ryan puts Medicare on center stage – the biased headline of The Left sets the narrative. Then it goes into the Democrat narrative quoting Democrat strategists and follows up underneath that with Republican counterpoints.
“[He's] not going to win any personality contests,” Anzalone (Democrat strategist) said. “Research shows voters are turned off by the smartest guy in the room.”
Romney & Ryan defend Medicare on 60 Minutes but CBS won’t air it: http://www.ijreview.com/2012/08/12878-video-romney-and-ryan-defend-medicare/
Answering critics on Medicare on 60 Minutes:
Paul Ryan’s Path to Prosperity Plan:
Get the facts, Paul Ryan’s Medicare Plan: http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2012/08/13/Get-The-Facts-Watch-Paul-Ryans-Medicare-Plan
Even Politi-“fact” called the Democrat Medicare fear-mongering the 2011 Lie of the Year: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2011/dec/20/lie-year-democrats-claims-republicans-voted-end-me/
Forbes published article claiming the Mediscare lies won’t work: http://www.forbes.com/sites/aroy/2012/08/11/why-the-democrats-mediscare-attack-wont-work-against-paul-ryan/
3 Things every voter needs to know about Paul Ryan’s Medicare Reform Plan
In his most excellent post on the Paul Ryan vice presidential pick, AEI’s Andrew Biggs highlights some key facts about Ryan’s approach to saving Medicare. These are clip and save:
1. No one over the age of 55 would be affected in any way.
2. Traditional Medicare fee-for-service would remain available for all. “Premium support”—that is, government funding of private insurance plans chosen by individuals—is an option for those who choose it. No senior would be forced out of the traditional Medicare program against his will.
3. Overall funding for Medicare under the Ryan-Wyden plan is scheduled to grow at the same rate as under President Obama’s proposals. Is this “gutting Medicare” and “ending Medicare as we know it”? In reality, it’s the market giving seniors cheaper, higher quality choices they can take if they wish, with the traditional program remaining an option.
Paul Ryan has a budget plan, a Medicare reform plan, a deficit-reduction plan. Democrats and the media are picking it over with a fine-toothed comb at the very same time they are ignoring the fact that not even a single Democrat voted for Obama’s last two budget proposals. They are criticizing Ryan’s budget plan for reducing spending and ignoring the fact that it has been 3 years since Congress passed a budget at all.
Nurses in Congress rip Obama’s ‘plan’ to save Medicare: http://www.humanevents.com/2011/06/15/nurses-in-congress-rip-obamas-plan-to-save-medicare/
The Paul Ryan veep pick – and the truth about his medicare reform plan: http://www.aei-ideas.org/2012/08/quick-thoughts-on-the-ryan-pick/
Obama ads
Even the left-wing media has been calling out the Obama campaign for baseless attacks on Romney [Romney’s taxes: http://factcheck.org/2012/08/obamas-boss-baloney/]
Romney ad calls out Obama for his lying campaign ads: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-EEETo3Sqo
President Obama cannot run on his record, so he is committed to tearing down Mitt Romney. His campaign tried to use the tragedy of a woman’s death for political gain. Then, his top campaign aides were caught lying about it. Doesn’t America deserve better than a president who will do anything to stay in power?
Fox’s Ed Henry Tears down Obama Campaign claims about Obama Super PAC ad:
New Obama Panic: Romney crowd sizes: http://washingtonexaminer.com/new-obama-panic-romney-crowd-sizes/article/2504781#.UCmMEaOrTyU
Representative Allen West (R-FL)
Allen West has been one of the most ferociously attacked Republican candidates in recent elections.
Allen West depicted punching a senior woman, a young woman, and a black family:
Democrat campaign against Allen West gets dirty with lies and fear-mongering: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/too-far-new-attack-ad-targeting-allen-west-depicts-him-beating-women/
Allen West responds to the ad on Fox & Friends (8/10/12):
Allen West hits back at Dems’ racially charged ad: http://www.westernjournalism.com/allen-west-hits-back-at-dems-racially-charged-ad/
House Democrats hold protest at Allen West’s headquarters (2010): http://shark-tank.net/2010/10/22/house-democrats-hold-protest-at-allen-wests-hq-video/
Obama’s Iftar Dinner Tradition
Obama hosted the 4th annual Iftar dinner at the White House Friday, Aug. 10, 2012, in celebration of Ramadan. To the media, these Muslim religious dinners aren’t noteworthy and mean nothing about Obama’s professed Christian religous beliefs — apparently because Obama said Thomas Jefferson started the tradition.
Obama hosts an Iftar Dinner, 8/10/12:
Of all the freedoms we cherish as Americans, of all the rights that we hold sacred, foremost among them is freedom of religion, the right to worship as we choose. It’s enshrined in the First Amendment of our Constitution — the law of the land, always and forever. It beats in our heart — in the soul of the people who know that our liberty and our equality is (sic) endowed by our Creator. And it runs through the history of this house, a place where Americans of many faiths can come together and celebrate their holiest of days — and that includes Ramadan.
As I’ve noted before, Thomas Jefferson once held a sunset dinner here with an envoy from Tunisia — perhaps the first Iftar at the White House, more than 200 years ago. And some of you, as you arrived tonight, may have seen our special display, courtesy of our friends at the Library of Congress — the Koran that belonged to Thomas Jefferson. And that’s a reminder, along with the generations of patriotic Muslims in America, that Islam — like so many faiths — is part of our national story.
4th Annual Iftar dinner in the White House, Aug. 10, 2012: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/08/11/president-obama-hosts-fourth-annual-iftar-dinner-white-house
Obama’s 2010 reference to Jefferson:
Apparently, we’re all supposed to hear the name Thomas Jefferson and stop all questions. Thomas Jefferson did it. No more discussion. Nevermind that the obscure reference to Thomas Jefferson doesn’t even hold true. [Democrats in general do the same thing with Bush. Anything Obama does is okay and acceptable as long as Bush ever did anything remotely like it. Fast & Furious was a non-issue in the Democrat mind because Bush’s administration had a gun-running program too. Trillion-dollar-deficits are okay, because we had deficits under Bush too. Gitmo, The Patriot Act, and illegal wars are all okay, because Bush did it too.] It is not unusual for Democrats to drop Thomas Jefferson’s name in trying to convince us that the left-wing agenda is constitutional.
Jefferson didn’t hold an Iftar dinner. Jefferson had a visiting diplomat from Tunisia over for dinner, and they had to postpone it until later in the evening because the diplomat was celebrating Ramadan. Thomas Jefferson never held an Iftar dinner in the White House as a matter of ceremony. Barack Hussein Obama is holding annual Iftar dinners in the White House. It’s vile the way this administration rationalizes history and rewrites it in order to preempt scrutiny. It’s even viler the way our national media lets him do it without question.
Obama’s Iftar dinners have been high profile events with plenty of press, politically deliberate guests, and an annual Ramadan message. While Obama makes a big hoopla out of his Ramadan dinners, he started another tradition of recognizing the National Day of Prayer in private. The media has failed to question it, and Liberals scoff at the very idea that Obama might be a Muslim. However, the man has slipped up enough in speech alone to warrant scrutiny on both his faith and his word. He doesn’t even hide it, yet anyone who questions his religion gets ridiculed as some kind of theocratic conspiracy theorist.
Check out this comparison of Obama on the meaning of Christmas and the meaning of Ramadan:
Obama spreads false claim that Jefferson held Iftar dinner: http://www.jihadwatch.org/2011/08/obama-spreads-false-claim-that-thomas-jefferson-hosted-first-ramadan-iftar-dinner-at-white-house.html
Reuters headline of the event: At Ramadan Dinner, Obama calls Clinton aide a “patriot.” The article throws in the quip about Jefferson, of course, even though the article fails to question the celebrations:
Thomas Jefferson held the first known White House Iftar in 1805, a sunset dinner in honor of Tunisia’s envoy in Washington. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/11/us-usa-obama-abedin-idUSBRE87A01N20120811
The 2009 Obama-hosted Iftar dinner: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3GEQ01egB8
The 2011 Obama-hosted Iftar dinner focused on honoring Muslim 9/11 service: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dey5M9LqrcA
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