Here are today's news items from Media Matters for America, click on the title or 'read more' to read the entirety of each story.

Propaganda/Noise Machine

UPDATE: Several papers explain decision to keep publishing Coulter; two newspapers added to list
Several newspapers that publish right-wing pundit Ann Coulter's syndicated column recently announced their intention to continue publishing her column after remarks Coulter made on March 2 at the Conservative Political Action Conference. During her speech at the conference, Coulter referred to Democratic presidential candidate and former Sen. John Edwards (NC) as a "faggot." To date, nine newspapers have been confirmed as having dropped Coulter's column since her remarks. In addition, Media Matters for America has added two newspapers -- Stars and Stripes, a daily published for the U.S. military community, and The Morning Journal of Lorain, Ohio -- to its list (below) of papers that publish Coulter's weekly column. Read more

CNN's Beck, Fox & Friends continued smearing Pelosi over Syria trip
On the April 2 edition of his CNN Headline News program, Glenn Beck characterized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-CA) trip to Syria as "a little sun and sand and an ... unauthorized negotiation with our enemies" and referred to it as "Nancy's little play date in the Middle East." Beck also hosted deputy White House press secretary Dana Perino, who said that Pelosi's trip "does sort of defy common sense" because "[w]e, as an administration ... discourage them [U.S. officials] from going to Syria. It does not help the situation." At no point, however, did Beck mention that a delegation led by Republican Reps. Frank Wolf (VA), Joseph R. Pitts (PA) and Robert Aderholt (AL) met with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad in Damascus on April 1. Read more

CNN reported on Pelosi's "bad trip" to Syria
On the April 2 edition of Lou Dobbs Tonight, CNN ran an on-screen graphic reading "Pelosi's Bad Trip?" throughout a report about a congressional delegation visit to Syria led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). As Media Matters for America noted twice on April 2 (here and here), CNN aired reports about White House criticism of the Pelosi-led trip without mentioning the White House's inconsistency in not also criticizing a Republican-led delegation that met with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad in Damascus on April 1. While Dobbs, unlike some of his colleagues, did report at the end of the segment that Pelosi had responded to criticism from the White House by noting its silence regarding the Republican-led trip, in subsequent reports, CNN persisted in leaving out any mention of the GOP-led delegation or the White House's inconsistency. Read more

Self-described Nobel Peace Prize "accredited nominee" Limbaugh: "I don't even know why Gore's qualified for this"
On the March 30 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, after noting that Ole Danbolt Mjos, the chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize committee, reportedly "praise[d]" former Vice President Al Gore's efforts to draw attention to global warming, Rush Limbaugh declared: "I don't even know why Gore's qualified for this. ... I have done more for world peace to promote liberty and freedom than Al Gore has." Limbaugh stated that he is "an accredited nominee this year for the Nobel Peace Prize" and asserted that it was "cheap" that "Gore's over there" in Norway "lobbying" for the award. He later said: "My lawyers at the Landmark Legal Foundation are looking into the possibility of filing an objection with the Nobel committee over the unethical tampering for this award that Al Gore is engaging in." In fact, according to a February 22 Associated Press report, Limbaugh's "nomination" by the Landmark Legal Foundation "appeared to" be "invalid" because the foundation may not have "nomination rights." Read more

AP's Loven asked Bush at presser if Pelosi's Syria trip was "pre-empting" diplomacy -- no mention of GOP visit
During his April 3 press conference, President Bush called first on Associated Press staff writer Jennifer Loven, who asked if Bush was "worried" that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-CA) scheduled trip to Syria "might be pre-empting your own efforts" to establish a dialogue with Syria. Sixteen minutes after Bush finished answering Loven's question, she posted a report noting that Bush "voiced displeasure" with Pelosi's trip, "saying it sends mixed signals to the government of President Bashar Assad." Although in the article she quoted Bush saying that "a lot of people have gone to see President Assad ... and yet we haven't seen action," in neither the question nor the article did Loven note that a Republican-led congressional delegation met with Assad on April 1. Read more

War in Iraq

CNN's Malveaux asked about Iraq debate: "[E]ven if the White House loses, they win?"
On the April 2 edition of CNN's The Situation Room, while discussing a bill co-sponsored by Sens. Harry Reid (D-NV) and Russell Feingold (D-WI) to begin phased redeployment from Iraq, guest host Suzanne Malveaux asked CNN White House correspondent Ed Henry, "[I]s the thinking here that even if the White House loses, they win, ultimately?" Henry responded: "[T]he White House does believe they have Harry Reid on the defensive because, if you remember, right after the last election, Reid said that while the Democrats would be tough on Iraq policy, they would stop short of cutting off funding for the war. Now it appears Reid is backpedaling from that." Neither Henry nor Malveaux explained Malveaux's suggestion that the White House would "win" regardless of actions taken by congressional Democrats. Read more

O'Reilly on possibility of Arab-Persian warfare: "[L]et them kill each other"
On the April 2 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, while discussing the British soldiers recently captured by the Iranian government, Nancy Soderberg, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, stated that "the Arab Sunnis are uniting against Iran" and said: "[I]t's going to be the Arab world against the Persian world. And that's a fight we don't want to have played out in Iraq." Host Bill O'Reilly responded: "Well, I'd like to see that fight with us out of it. That's what I'd like to see." O'Reilly continued: "I want -- let them kill each other." Read more

Fox's Kelly: Democrats "stymieing [Bush's] requests for supplemental funding in Iraq"
Immediately following President Bush's April 3 press conference, Megyn Kelly, anchor of Fox News' America's Newsroom, reported that Democrats are "stymieing [Bush's] requests for supplemental funding in Iraq." In fact, as Media Matters for America noted, bills have been passed by both houses of Congress, which are expected to reconcile the two versions in conference and send a final bill to the president for his signature. Bush, however, has promised to veto the bill if it includes provisions from either the House or Senate versions of a timeline for the redeployment of troops from Iraq. Bush has stated explicitly, "I've made it clear for weeks that if either the House or Senate version of this bill comes to my desk, I will veto it." Read more

"Breaking News": ABC flashes Bush claim that it's Congress -- not Bush veto -- that would stop troop funding
Following President Bush's April 3 press conference, ABCNews.com flashed a "Breaking News" alert on its website: "President Bush says if Congress fails to act on troop funding 'the price will be paid by our troops and their loved ones.' " ABCNews.com also featured an article bearing the headline: "Bush Says Democrats' Failure to Send Him Iraq Funding Bill Is 'Undercutting Troops.' " But missing from either headline was any indication that Congress is already "act[ing] on troop funding," having passed bills in both houses that fund the troops and that are expected to be reconciled in conference, with the final bill to be sent to the president for his signature. Bush, however, has promised to veto the troop funding bill if it includes provisions from either the House or Senate versions of timelines for the redeployment of troops from Iraq. He has stated explicitly, "I've made it clear for weeks that if either the House or Senate version of this bill comes to my desk, I will veto it." Read more

2008 Elections

Hill article reported positive assessments of Iraq by McCain and Graham -- no mention of massive security in Baghdad market visit
Reporting on a recent visit to Baghdad by Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey O. Graham (R-SC) and Reps. Mike Pence (R-IA) and Rick Renzi (R-AZ), an April 2 online article from The Hill uncritically quoted McCain's claim during a press conference following the lawmakers' visit to Baghdad's Shorja market that Americans "are not getting the full picture of what is happening here." The article further quoted Graham saying that there are "signs of progress" in Iraq and that "it would be a huge mistake to set a deadline" to withdraw U.S. troops. Although McCain cited his trip to the market as evidence of the improved situation, the article did not report the security measures that made it possible for the members of Congress to stroll through the market, located outside the Green Zone. In fact, McCain and Graham reportedly traveled to the market in armored military vehicles while under heavy guard by more than 100 U.S. troops and five helicopters. Read more

ABC's Tapper claimed Clinton was "cooking the books" because she has not yet released information on primary campaign funds
In an April 2 posting on his weblog Political Punch, ABC News senior national correspondent Jake Tapper wrote that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-NY) campaign "can be seen as cooking the books" because the campaign has not disclosed how much of the reported $26 million Clinton raised in the first three months of 2007 is available for primary election spending. While the phrase "cooking the books" might suggest wrongdoing or illegal activity by the Clinton campaign, the 2008 presidential campaigns "do not have to make detailed fundraising and spending reports public until April 15," as the Associated Press reported on April 2. Read more

CNN's Paula Zahn Now investigates: "Is Sen. Barack Obama's church racist?"
At the end of the April 2 edition of CNN's Paula Zahn Now, guest host Rick Sanchez teased the April 3 program, saying: "Is Senator Barack Obama's church racist? A question a lot of people are asking." As Media Matters for America documented, several conservative media figures have attacked Obama's church, Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, as "separatist" and a "cult." A February 6 Chicago Tribune article reported that "conservative critics have seized on Trinity's 12-point Black Value System, especially the portion relating to 'middleclassness,' as evidence that Obama is a divisive candidate who rejects mainstream American values and is primarily focused on the black community." Read more

Detainees/Abu Ghraib/Guantanamo Bay

CBS' Mitchell called Supreme Court decision on detainees "a victory ... in the war on terror"
On the April 2 edition of the CBS Evening News, the Evening News Sunday anchor Russ Mitchell said that the Supreme Court's refusal to hear an appeal from Guantánamo Bay terrorism suspects, who want to challenge their detention in court, "handed a victory to the Bush administration in the war on terror." But while the decision leaves standing, at this point, a provision in the Military Commissions Act of 2006 denying the right of noncitizens to challenge their detention -- a measure sought by Bush and approved in 2006 by the then-Republican controlled Congress -- to characterize it as a "victory ... in the war on terror" is to take a position on the merits of the bill and the Bush administration policy on fighting terrorism. In fact, the bill's contribution to U.S. efforts to fight terrorism is a matter very much in dispute. Many would argue that the denial of habeas corpus rights authorized in the bill ultimately harms U.S. efforts to fight terrorism, in that it "undermines America's moral authority," "is not what a great and good and powerful nation should be doing," and exposes Americans captured abroad to a comparable denial of basic civil and human rights. Read more

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