Jonathan H's Blog
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CNN Fails To Point Out That Obama Wasn't Lying
- Posted on 09.09.09
One of the more frustrating things about the media is their reluctance to print all the facts, in fear that they'll be labeled as biased. Here's the latest example.
President Obama's, during his speech tonight to the joint session of Congress, attempted to debunk several of the myths running through blogs and town hall meetings about the health care bill. Among these myths: death panels, rationing of care, and increased taxes on the middle class. Obama also said that the proposed bill would not give coverage to illegal aliens, as has been claimed. At that point, Congressman Joe Wilson from South Carolina shouted out "You Lie!" drawing significant ire from the crowd. Obama continued his speech, but Wilson's heckling became the primary story of the evening, with every major news outlet exposing what was said, who said it, and detailing Wilson's subsequent apology. Here's CNN's article on the story: http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/09/10/obama.heckled.speech/index.html
Notice anything missing? They leave out one very important detail: illegal immigrants will NOT be covered by the bill. CNN has no problem referring to Obama's statement and Wilson's disagreement, however the most significant aspect of the story (that Obama, in fact, wasn't lying) isn't mentioned. It's not biased to report this, either. The proposed bill specifically says, as the non-partisan site FactCheck.org has pointed out, that illegal aliens will not be covered. http://factcheck.org/2009/08/seven-falsehoods-about-health-care/
It would not show liberal bias to point this out. It's a fact and indisputable. The fact that Wilson "disagrees" with the statement shows him to be either a liar himself or as ignorant as the millions of Americans who've been convinced of these lies over the last several months.
To be fair, the CNN article does have a link that says "Fact Check: Will Reform Plan Cover Illegal Immigrants?" That link takes you to the following page, where you have to scroll all the way to the bottom to find the real answer: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/08/27/cnn-truth-squad-will-health-bill-pay-for-illegal-immigrants-an-update/
Our media has a duty to tell us what's in the bill and what's not. Too often, they seem to following whatever talking points both parties have come prepared with. Reporting the truth is not bias. In fact, withholding or hiding relevant facts may suggest bias the other way.
http://www.causecast.org/news_items/8937-joe-wilson-you-lie
Related causes: Health
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