News Archives

October 13, 2006

'Nobody likes filing for bankruptcy'

That's what Air America's chief executive said after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following a legacy of controversy, accusations, scandal and financial failure. The basic problem is that Air America failed to attract an audience, which happens to be an essential quality for a radio network. The network has...

August 8, 2005

So Long Peter Jennings

Peter Jennings, prime-time anchorman for ABC News for more than two decades, has died of lung cancer at his home, the network said. He was 67. Jennings passing marks the end of an era which began with the retirement of Tom Brokaw Dec. 2004 and Dan Rather earlier this year....

July 31, 2005

Blogswarm Targets Air America

New York City's Department of Investigations has discontinued funding the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club after allegations of corruption. Part of the inquiry revealed that the organization’s founder "invested" city funds in the liberal radio network, Air America. [Source: FoxNews]...

July 11, 2005

Following the Herd off a Cliff

First one sheep jumped to its death. Then stunned Turkish shepherds, who had left the herd to graze while they had breakfast, watched as nearly 1,500 others followed, each leaping off the same cliff, Turkish media reported ... more There's a lesson to be learned somewhere in this story. [hint:...

July 8, 2005

Rehnquist to Retire

The media is on standby after growing reports Supreme Court Chief Justice Rehnquist is handing in his resignation ... developing on the Drudge Report. The Washington Post states, "A week after Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced her retirement, the White House and its allies are preparing for the possibility that...

June 19, 2005

Downing Street Memos were Destroyed

The authentic copies, if they existed, were retyed and then destroyed by Times Reporter Michael Smith. The AP reports,The eight memos — all labeled "secret" or "confidential" — were first obtained by British reporter Michael Smith, who has written about them in The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Times. Smith...

May 31, 2005

Washington Post Confirms Felt Was 'Deep Throat'

Woodward, Bernstein and Bradlee Reveal Former FBI Official as Secret Watergate Source One of the great mysteries of American politics came to an end today after Bob Woodward confirmed the identity of his Watergate Source, known as "Deep Throat". The Washington Post today confirmed that W. Mark Felt, a former...

Ex-FBI Official, Felt, Claims to be Watergate's 'Deep Throat'

According to Vanity Fair, a former FBI official claims he was "Deep Throat," the anonymous source who leaked secrets about President Nixon's Watergate coverup to The Washington Post. W. Mark Felt, 91, who was second-in-command at the FBI in the early 1970s, kept the secret even from his family until...

May 16, 2005

Newsweek Retracts Koran Desecration Story

Newsweek on Monday retracted a report that claimed U.S. interrogators at Guantanamo Bay had desecrated the Koran, which triggered days of rioting in Afghanistan and other countries in which at least 16 people were killed. - more...

Whitehouse Reacts to Newsweek Koran Blunder

Michelle Malkin covered the admitted mistake by Newsweek which provoked rioting in Afghanistan and led to the deaths of more than a dozen individual. The White House reacted strongly to the story:WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Monday that a Newsweek report based on an anonymous source had...

May 5, 2005

Doctor who treated herself at South Pole describes ordeal

An amazing story about a doctor who diagnosed and treated herself for breast cancer while stationed at the South Pole:After diagnosing herself with breast cancer, "I thought I might die before I got off this place," she said. With the help of a welder and a maintenance man, Nielsen performed...

April 19, 2005

White Smoke and Bells

... means a new Pope was elected. Still no word who got the nod. Updated:VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the strict defender of Catholic orthodoxy for the past 23 years, was elected Pope on Tuesday despite a widespread assumption he was too old and divisive to win...

April 8, 2005

Eric Rudolph to plead

Eric Rudolph has agreed to plead guilty to carrying out the deadly bombing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and setting off three other blasts in a deal that allows the anti-government extremist to escape the death penalty, Justice Department officials said Friday. Rudolph, 38, is scheduled to admit his guilt...

April 4, 2005

Coverage of Pope Bests Articles on Bush

Major news media around the world devoted 10 times as many stories to Pope John Paul II's death as they did to the re-election of President Bush, according to an analysis released Monday. - Associated Press And, the reporting seems to be positive. The same cannot be said for the...

March 30, 2005

Soviets Behind Pope Assassination Attempt

A remarkable revelation from East German intelligence files is that the assassination of Pope John Paul II was ordered by the Soviet KGB. The Corriere della Sera said that the documents found by the German government indicated that the KGB ordered Bulgarian colleagues to carry out the killing, leaving the...

March 3, 2005

Fossett Breaks Nonstop Solo Flight Record

Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett on Thursday became the first person to fly around the world solo without stopping or refueling 67 hours and 23,000 miles after taking off in his spindly-looking, experimental jet. - more His average speed was 343 mph. Not bad....

February 11, 2005

Eason Quits, the Blog Roars

NEW YORK - CNN chief news executive Eason Jordan quit Friday amidst a furor over remarks he made in Switzerland last month about journalists killed by the U.S. military in Iraq. Jordan said he was quitting to avoid CNN being "unfairly tarnished" by the controversy. [snip] But the damage had...

February 4, 2005

Easton Jordan Blog Swarm

Update: (Feb. 11) - Eason Quit Eason Jordan is executive vice president and chief news executive of CNN. He chairs the CNN Editorial Board, is a member of the CNN Executive Committee and provides strategic advice to CNN's senior management team. He's a very important person and what he says...

February 2, 2005

Bad News on Groundhog Day

Punxsutawney Phil's handlers said the groundhog has seen his shadow -- which legend has it signals six more weeks of winter....

January 4, 2005

Teen Charged in Death of His Unborn Child

A juvenile is being charged for aborting his child after he chose to use blunt force trauma to the abdomen of his willing girlfried (HT: Drudge)PRNewswire - Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith authorized criminal charges today against a sixteen-year-old Richmond male accused of terminating his girlfriend's pregnancy with a souvenir...

Man Charged in Laser Helicopter Incident

Although he claims that the incident was an accident, David Banach is being charged: Newsday - A Parsippany man who first claimed his daughter aimed a laser at a helicopter later told federal agents that he pointed the light beam at two aircraft, authorities said Tuesday. David Banach faces charges...

January 2, 2005

Another Laser Incident in Nashville at 3,000 Feet

NASHVILLE, Tenn -- An investigation is underway Sunday night at Nashville International Airport after an airline was hit by a laser beam. An FBI spokesman says United Airlines Flight 7136 from Nashville to Chicago landed safely. The FBI and TSA say the flight was flashed by a laser while it...

The Laser Incident was an Accident

The Parsippany man whisked from his home on New Year's Eve and questioned by the FBI about a laser pointed at a decoy police helicopter was in the "wrong place at the wrong time," his lawyer said last night. David Banach and his young daughter were playing with a laser...

December 31, 2004

FBI Interviews Man Over Cockpit Laser Incident

Law enforcement officers were questioning a Parsippany, New Jersey, man who they say may have pointed a laser beam at an airborne police helicopter Friday night and a Cessna aircraft two nights before, said a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

December 26, 2004

Football Player and Minister, Reggie White, is No Longer with Us

There is no football player that I have more respect for than Reggie White and was surprised when I read the news of his death on PoliBlog. As a man who put his faith in Jesus Christ and lived accordingly, I am confident that the "minister of defense" is present...

December 20, 2004

EBay Executive Arrested for Obscene Material

The CEO of India's Ebay subsidary, Baazee.com, was arrested after a seller listed an obscene video for sale [more]. Avnish Bajaj, a U.S. citizen, was taken into custody on Dec. 17 under section 67 of India's Information Technology Act, which relates to transmission of obscene material through electronic media. My...

December 19, 2004

Target: the Customer is Always Right

In a strategic move that is likely to please many Christian conservatives, Walmart announced it will match donations given to the Salvation Army bell ringers outside its store entrances. This comes on the heals of a controversy over Target's decision to prohibit the Salvation Army from fundraising at the entrance...

December 13, 2004

Peterson Gets the Death Penalty

Jurors today recommended Scott Peterson be put to death for the slayings of his pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn son. [more] I'm listening to a live interview with three of the jurors. They are emotional as they discuss the the case and the dark picture that developed of a...

December 2, 2004

Fired for Quoting Gibson on Stem Cell Research

Julianne Thompson, a NY school bus driver, states that she was fired after sharing with students an article about stem cell research without giving her opinion [Reuters]. It would seem her mistake was quoting actor Mel Gibson, who asserted that the 20 years of embryonic stem cell research have not...

November 29, 2004

Brett Farve Day Nov. 29, 2004

Here is one issue on which I actually find agreement with Wisconsin's liberal Governor: Governor Jim Doyle proclaims Monday as "Brett Favre" Day in Wisconsin in honor of the quarterback’s 200th consecutive start in a NFL game on Monday against the Saint Louis Rams at Lambeau Field in Green Bay....

November 20, 2004

Don't Mess with W

President Bush on Saturday reached into a throng of squabbling bodyguards and pulled a Secret Service agent away from Chilean security officers after they stopped the U.S. agent from accompanying the president at a dinner. [more] At one time Bush said, "Don't mess with Texas." It's a good idea to...

November 17, 2004

Scramjet Hits Mach 10

A tiny unmanned NASA "scramjet" soared above the Pacific Ocean Tuesday at nearly 10 times the speed of sound, or almost 7,000 mph, in a record-breaking demonstration of a radical new engine technology. [ABC News]. That's Los Angeles to New York in about 20 minutes. But this jet won't...

November 14, 2004

Vast Majority Support Peterson Verdict

I ran across an interesting post at the Furnace Journal, a new member of Pro-Life Blogs, regarding the verdict against Scott Peterson. Here is an excerpt, Consider the results of this poll by Fox News/Opinon Dynamics on April 22-23, 2003 (MOE +/-3%). In this poll, 900 registered voters were queried...

November 13, 2004

Cheney in Hospital for Tests

Vice President Dick Cheney, who has a history of heart trouble, was being taken to a hospital on Saturday for tests after experiencing some shortness of breath, a White House spokesman said. [more] Update: Cheney walks out of the hospital. "I feel fine," he said. More links on BlogsforBush....

November 12, 2004

Peterson Found Guilty of Murdering Wife and Son

Scott Peterson was found guilty today of murdering his wife, Laci, and the couple's unborn child. [sfgate, CNN]. I'm grateful that this jury has taken a stand for justice and for life by convicting Peterson of both murders. My prayers are for Connor and Laci's family, may they find closure...

November 10, 2004

John Ashcroft Resigns, Replaced with Alberto Gonzales

Attorney General John Ashcroft’s resignation and replacement have been officially announced today. Ashcroft begins his letter of resignation to President Bush with Nothing in my life compares to the high honor of serving America as Attorney General in your administration...and ends it with May God continue to bless, guide, and...

November 7, 2004

Election Conspiracy Theories

Curtis suggests, "Conspiracy theories running rampant on leftist sites on the internet as of late." I'm not sure where he gets that idea. Perhaps here, here, here or here. Or maybe here, here or here....

October 27, 2004

Bush on Religion and Heaven

In an interview with ABC News President Bush explains his view of religion and the path to heaven [hat tip: WorldMagBlog]. While the president often refers to God during public addresses to his supporters, Bush's religious convictions don't always seem to reflect those of the conservative Christians who make up...

October 21, 2004

Mrs. Laura Bush Shows Grace, Class

Responding to Theresa Heinz-Kerry's gaffe that Mrs. Bush never had a "real job" (despite working for 10 years as a school teacher), the First Lady showed grace and compassion. "Mrs. Bush knows that some days are more difficult than others when your husband is running for president," said her spokesman...

October 15, 2004

Powerline Sabotage Hits Milwaukee

A friend of mine alerted me to this interesting but bizarre story about a power line tower that was toupled after someone removed the anchoring bolts. The result was a blackout at the airport and rampant speculation about terrorism. Investigators have found a pair of gloves and a metal tool...

October 8, 2004

Mount St. Helens Eruption Prediction Update

Scientists said the earthquakes and explosions at Mount St. Helens could lead to an eruption as powerful as the one in 1980, KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reported.... Larry Mastin, of the U.S. Gological Survey said there's an outside chance that an eruption could send a plume of ash 15 miles...

Bin Laden in Iran?

Although it is hard to believe, here is the claim: Iran's cleric leaders are harboring Osama bin Laden, according to two Iranian intelligence officials cited in a new book. The sources say they have seen the al-Qaida terrorist leader alive and well, although he no longer resembles the picture on...

October 1, 2004

Mount St. Helens Erupts

Webcam feed here and local blogger here. [from Instapundit yesterday] Update: The FAA has been notified but it doesn't seem this will affect air travel since winds are fairly calm and aircraft fly well above the 1 mile high mark. Update2: At 40 miles away I didn't feel anything...

September 28, 2004

The Draft, Scare Tactics and Hoaxes (and yes, more from CBS)

On 9/30 INDC interviewed CBS representatives including the story's author. Great job, great interview!

September 25, 2004

The Hidden Hand in the CBS Memo Scandal

According to The Washington Post, Rather had little involvement in reporting the story; Mapes wrote the script, and he read it... more...

September 22, 2004

CBS Forgery Bumps Expose' of Forgery

What great irony it would have been if the CBS story that was based on forged documents (about President Bush’s military record) bumped a different story that exposed forgery. Wait a minute! This actually happened....

CBS Appoints Panel to Investigate Memo Scandal

The Honorable Dick Thornburgh, former governor of Pennsylvania and United States attorney general under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and Louis D. Boccardi, retired president and chief executive officer of the Associated Press, will comprise the independent review panel that will examine the process by which a recent "60 Minutes Wednesday" report was prepared and broadcast.

September 20, 2004

Dan Rather Speaks, CBS Expresses Regret

CBS News said Monday it cannot prove the authenticity of documents used in a 60 Minutes story about President Bush's National Guard service and that airing the story was a "mistake" that CBS regretted. CBS News Anchor Dan Rather, the reporter of the original story, apologized. Of note is...

September 19, 2004

CBS Close to an Admission (of being misled)

CBS now (probably) admits that the memos, which are the key to their story, are fake and that they were misled, literally victimized, by an anonymous unimpeachable source (or Bill Burkett). The White House is to blame, too. However, the story is accurate and Dan Rather is confident.

September 18, 2004

CBS Insiders are Worried - Investigation Ongoing

The New York Times reports that Betsy West, a top CBS news executive, has taken over the investigation of the forged memo scandal and Newsweek reveals that the network has directed substantial resources to investigate the controversy over 60 Minutes' use of forged memos to criticize the president....

September 17, 2004

AP Story Reports Boos Rather than Bush's Act of Kindness

I had a very close friend in the audience of exceptionally character that provided more information about the situation. She sat close to the front, near Mrs. Bush and said there no boos, "none." However, she did tell me that during the President's speech an acquaintance of hers fainted in the audience. After the speech, the President and Mrs. Bush visited the woman who passed out to make sure she was alright and express their concern for her well being. The elderly lady was, of course, delighted by both the concern and attention she was given by the President of the United States and his wife.

September 15, 2004

60-Minutes Interviews Knox, Rather Speaks Out

The spin from CBS is that the authenticity of the records they reported does not matter because they believe their story is true. Having witnessed Rather's profound inability to admit error, I lack confidence in his ability to report accurately the actions of those he is biased against.

CBS' Anticipated Statement

Statement by the President of CBS News, Andrew Heyward, concerning the CBS Memo Scandal (from Drudge): "We established to our satisfaction that the memos were accurate or we would not have put them on television. There was a great deal of coroborating [sic] evidence from people in a position to...

Networks Continue to Criticize Bush Despite Memo Suspicions

While the media feeding frenzy is well on its way there is likely to remain an awkward and obvious inconsistency in the articles by those who irrationally want the story to be true even though the evidence is false. Could this be THE DEATH CRY OF SNOB JOURNALISM ?

September 14, 2004

Document Experts Warned CBS Prior to Broadcast

While the media feeding frenzy is well on its way there is likely to be an awkward inconsistency in the articles by those who want the story to be true even though the evidence is false. Poliblogger notes, "The pro-Bush side is going to scream that they were right, that the docs were fake and the anti-Bush side is going to say, ok, they were fake, but the basic info in them is correct."

WorldMagBlog Interviews Last CBS Witness (Strong)

The CBS witness Robert Strong has been tracked down and interviewed by WorldMagBlog [note PowerlineBlog previously talked to him - see below]. It looks like his testimony was reported optimistically in favor of Bush's critics. The bottom line is that he says he can't authenticate the documents. "His testimony is...

USA Today Editor: White House Provided Memos

USA Today editor Ken Paulson revealed that his news agency was first given memos matching CBS's from an undisclosed source. What is interesting is that Paulson states four memos, matching the original six, were released to the USA Today by the White House....

September 13, 2004

The End is Near - Lead Source Can't Authenticate.

Following CBS' publication of an article listing, unanswered, serious questions about Dan Rather's representation of the Bush-Guard Memos, the Washing Post and New York Times have published highly critical, credible and persuasive reports that the memos are forged. Remarkably, CBS' document (actually handwriting) expert has not publicly denied that he authenticated the memos. Captain’s Quarters remarks, "You know that CBS is drowning when it relies on an "expert" with no credentials as a document analyst who refuses to authenticate the memos because he only saw them on line."

CBS Article Undermines Prior Assertions

Many items contradicting the CBS/Rather defense were reported and remained unanswered in a CBS/AP article and stood in stark contrast to Rather's feeble yet forceful assertions reported by WizBangBlog.

September 12, 2004

A Likely Source for CBS Bush Guard Memos?

Update: CBS now identifies Burkett as the source of the Guard Memos and is publicly stating that they were misled by him [more]. Burkett will be interviewed on the CBS evening news 9/20. Who is the most likely source for the Bush Guard Memos quoted by CBS? Ace of Spades...

List of Experts Mounts Against CBS Memos

Blogs for Bush has a summary of experts who believe that the Bush Guard Memos are likely not authentic. From my list of sources I would add one more. The benefit of the doubt goes to the accused and the burden of proof is on the accuser. Where's the proof?

September 11, 2004

Another CBS Source Turns, Undermining Memos

The New York Times interviews CBS source Hodges who suggests the CBS documents are falsified, INDC interviews Dr. Bouffard who claims he was misquoted, Wizbangblog catches CBS repeating the misquote and notes CBS' star witnesses previously written skepticism of copied documents.

Pentagon: Documents are Fake

More from the Powerline Guys on the CBS document scandal: KELLY WRIGHT [FOX NEWS]: Tony, here's the latest that we're finding out on this story. At least three Pentagon sources believe the documents about President Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard are fakes. CBS as you mentioned is...

September 10, 2004

CBS Against the World - Memos, memos, memos

Fox News (via Backcountry Conservative) reports in a teaser to open their 9 a.m. programming that CBS is supposed to issue a statement today related to the allegedly forged National Guard memos. No word on the nature of the statement. While CBS has held firm (or spun hard) others are systematically undermining every aspect of the original story - engineers, handwriting experts, lawyers forensic scientists, journalists ... bloggers

September 9, 2004

A Rush to Judgement on the President's Military Records?

Proverbs 18:17 ¶ The first to plead his case [seems] right, [Until] another comes and examines him..

September 3, 2004

African Christian Auctions Famous Weapon

In 1993, by God's grace, the St. James Massacre was prematurely ended through the bravery of one man. As terrorists sprayed the church congregation with bullets fired from their AK-47s, Charl van Wyk shot back. His story is gripping and his later ministry to the same terrorists that killed members...

May 4, 2004

United Nations Sudan Debacle

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters Story) - Sudan won an uncontested election Tuesday to the United Nations' main human rights watchdog, prompting the United States to walk out because of alleged ethnic cleansing in the country's Darfur region. Sudan's envoy immediately shot back that the U.S. delegation was "shedding crocodile tears," and...

April 30, 2004

Media Bias?

Interestingly, the Sinclair Broadcast Groups barred its ABC-affiliated stations from airing a planned "Nightline" tribute to fallen U.S. troops in Iraq saying the program is a political statement disguised as news (story). Certainly ABC's Nightline is presenting a political statement based on a particular social agenda. Is this a great...

April 26, 2004

March For Abortion Attracts Lower Numbers Than Expected

Pro-abortion advocates rallied in Washington last weekend amid public opinion that is shifting against their cause. While organizers of the rally claimed a national record of 1,000,000 protestors, others were significantly less optimistic. In particular, Lifenews.com reports that the crowd was dismally lower than expectations (see below). Perception is important...

April 24, 2004

Media Rush Leads to Photo Error

The media rush to distribute controversial photos about the war has led to a huge error involving the representation of Columbia space shuttle casualties as Iraqi war casualties. (complete story). "CNN Headline news was flashing several pictures of NASA Deputy Administrator Fred Gregory standing on the tarmac receiving the bodies...

April 19, 2004

Oklahoma Bombing Tape

Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were not the lone conspirators in the Oklahoma City bombing -- the attack that killed nearly 170 people in a few short seconds. They were part of a greater scheme, one that involved Islamic terrorists and at least one provable link to Iraq. (book by...

October 14, 2003

China Launches Manned Space Mission

Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it (Ps. 127:1) Interesting words were recently attributed to Chinese astronaut air force Lt. Col. Yang Liwei following the successful launch of the first Chinese rocket into space. Yang declared, "'I will not disappoint the motherland. I will...