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.

2008 Elections

Malkin touts exposure of Clinton Asian-American donors who she says were "smellier than stinky tofu"
In an October 24 column -- posted on National Review Online (NRO) and Townhall.com -- noting recent coverage by the Los Angeles Times and the New York Post of certain contributions to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-NY) presidential campaign by Asian-Americans, right-wing pundit and nationally syndicated columnist Michelle Malkin referred to "Hillary campaign contributors" who were "smellier than stinky tofu." Read more

Regarding national anthem "controversy," Hannity asks: "Is this another statement" by Obama?
On the October 23 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes, during a discussion of Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) purported failure to place his hand over his heart during the national anthem at an Iowa campaign event, co-host Alan Colmes said to Fox News contributor and nationally syndicated columnist Dick Morris, "Just as long as conservatives are going after Obama, let me put up on the screen another person during the national anthem." An on-screen image of President Bush appeared in which Bush's hand is resting on his midsection as the national anthem is reportedly being played. Later, co-host Sean Hannity said: "[F]irst of all, at least the president wasn't making a statement, and he did have his hand over his heart in the right place, Alan," adding: "That was a cheap shot. That was one little, you know, freeze-framed picture from one second." After Colmes said "Obama is a cheap shot," Hannity replied: "No. Obama -- but the difference here is Barack Obama made a statement about the Iraq war with the flag pin. And to not do it here, people are raising questions about why. Is this another statement?" Read more

Washingtonpost.com's Kane, Sun-Times' Sweet rehashed Clinton/Yankees myth
In an online discussion, washingtonpost.com blogger Paul Kane asserted that Sen. Hillary Clinton "tried to have it both ways when she was running for the Senate, claiming that she was a Yankees fan all her life." Similarly, the Chicago Sun-Times' Lynn Sweet wrote that Sen. Barack Obama said he was "a 'principled' sports fan, a slap, perhaps, at chief rival Hillary Rodham Clinton, who switched allegiance from Chicago to New York teams when she started her run to represent New York in the U.S. Senate." In fact, Clinton's 2003 autobiography contains a photograph of her wearing a Yankees cap in 1992, and The Washington Post reported in 1994 that "Mrs. Clinton ... was a 'big-time' fan of the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees and 'understudied' Ernie Banks and Mickey Mantle." Read more

Wash. Post's Abramowitz claim Clinton is "one of the most polarizing figures in politics today" contradicted by Post article
In a washingtonpost.com discussion, Michael Abramowitz asserted that Sen. Hillary Clinton is "one of the most polarizing figures in politics today." However, Abramowitz's own paper reported in an October 4 article that there is no "potential Republican nominee who appears significantly less polarizing" than Clinton.
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MSNBC's Carlson "outraged" by discussion of Giuliani's marriages -- but not the Clintons'
Tucker Carlson said he was "outraged" by a statement from Rep. Charlie Rangel critical of Rudy Giuliani's "personal life," adding, "I don't think you should attack Giuliani for philandering." But Carlson has previously asserted that Sen. Hillary Clinton's marriage to former President Bill Clinton is "[o]f course" an issue in the 2008 presidential election, discussing the Clintons' marriage in TV appearances, with references to Bill Clinton's "philander[ing]" and "famous appetites."
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Immigration

Several reports contradict claim by CNN's Sylvester that DREAM sponsors "held a news conference ... with illegal alien[s]"
During a report on the DREAM Act, a measure proposed by Sen. Dick Durbin that would have provided permanent resident status to a select group of undocumented immigrants, CNN's Lisa Sylvester reported that the bill's sponsors "held a news conference in the Capitol with illegal alien college students who'd benefit from the program," and that "[o]pponents demanded federal immigration officials detain the illegal aliens." However, several media outlets have reported that the three students featured at the press conference all have temporary legal status.
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Global Warming

On Glenn Beck, Horner claimed Earth warmed "1 degree Fahrenheit over the past 150 years, most of which occurred before World War II"
On CNN Headline News' Glenn Beck, Chris Horner of the Competitive Enterprise Institute claimed that "[t]he warming that the alarmists are talking about is 1 degree Fahrenheit over the past 150 years, most of which occurred before World War II. None of which occurred in the last decade." In fact, NASA's Goddard Institute of Space Studies stated in 2006: "Global warming is now 0.6° C [1.08° F] in the past three decades and 0.8° C [1.44° F] in the past century. It is no longer correct to say that 'most global warming occurred before 1940.' " Read more

Propaganda/Noise Machine

Despite extensive coverage of Medal of Honor ceremony by CNN and MSNBC, O'Reilly said they "are not going to report stories that reflect well on the American military"
Bill O'Reilly asserted that "some television news organizations ignored the Medal of Honor awarded to Lieutenant Michael Murphy"-- a Navy SEAL who was killed during a rescue mission in Afghanistan -- claiming that "CNN and MSNBC just said no to Lieutenant Michael Murphy" on their prime-time newscasts, finally concluding, "The hard truth is that MSNBC and CNN are not going to report stories that reflect well on the American military." In fact, though CNN and MSNBC did not cover the story during the 8-11 p.m. ET prime-time period, both provided extensive coverage of the Medal of Honor ceremony earlier in the day: MSNBC reported on Murphy at least five times, including carrying the award ceremony live, and CNN covered the Murphy story on at least seven distinct occasions. Read more

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