Sirotablog
David Sirota is a political journalist and nationally syndicated newspaper columnist at Creators Syndicate. David writes about political corruption, globalization and working-class economic issues often ignored by both of America's political parties.
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June 8, 2007 12:46 PM
Howard Fineman Is My Nomination for Worst Writer In America
Newsweek's Howard Fineman really might be the worst writer in America, and that's saying a hell of a lot. For some bizarre reason, I stumbled onto his new piece about Pittsburgh and really - this piece should be Exhibit A in the museum display labeled Everything That's Wrong With American Journalism. Here you have a city hurt by international trade policy and globalization. And here you have a Washington pundit saying the real problem facing the city is that the local politicians aren't optimistic enough. No, I'm really not kidding: "What the city and region need most is unity and optimism," Fineman writes. That's right - it doesn't need, say, globalization or trade policies that work for ordinary people. It doesn't need, say, universal health care or worker retraining. It needs more smiley politicians willing to hold hands and it needs citizens to simply cheer up and sing Kumbaya.
It really boggles the mind that a writer - even a cloistered Washington pundit - can look at a region whose blue-collar job base was decimated by years of corrupt public policies and then say the real problem is that local politicians and residents aren't happier and more upbeat. God forbid he should actually spend a few hours and take a hard look at the history, economics and public policies that hurt the region - oh, but I forgot, that would take some actual "work."
Really, it's just incredible. This guy gets paid probably a lot of money to write. In other words, writing and reporting is all he is asked to do in his job. And charged with this one thing to do, he actually goes out and produces this. It's just...well, again, incredible.
If anyone wonders why Americans look at much of the media as a vapid joke, just read this article and you'll wonder no more.
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About David Sirota
David Sirota is a political journalist and nationally syndicated newspaper columnist at Creators Syndicate. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Hostile Takeover. He lives in Denver, Colorado. His daily blog can be found at CREDO Action. He contributes regularly to the Denver Post's Web site, is a senior editor at In These Times magazine and is working on his second book. He has been profiled in Newsweek and the Rocky Mountain News and is widely known for his reporting on political corruption, globalization and working-class economic issues often ignored by both of America's political parties. Sirota serves as co-chair of the Progressive States Network, a 501(c)3 organization that supports state legislators and that is a partner of CREDO.
You can subscribe to Sirota's e-mail newsletter by going to davidsirota.com and signing up in the lefthand corner. To find out more about Sirota, download his official biography or see his recent media appearances. You can e-mail him at sirota@credoaction.com.
The views expressed on this blog are his own, and do not necessarily represent the views of Working Assets (publisher of CREDO Action) or the institutions Sirota works for.
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More David Sirota
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This Modern World
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Discussion
I believe I'd like to nominate David Brooks for something after listening to him and E.J. Dionne on public radio and t.v. today. I'm not sure what, but surely there must be something for the biggest toady/brown-noser/lackey...
I'm actually bothered more by Fineman's editor's statement: "Why should anyone care about a political story from Pittsburgh?" Typical New York-centric attitude. Why shouldn't people care about a political story from Pittsburgh?
But then, given permission to do the story, Fineman makes no mention of the biggest political story in Pennsylvania of the past decade: the introduction of slots parlors as the "solution" to high property taxes. A casino license has been approved in Pittsburgh (the Majestic Star casino), in my hometown of Bethlehem (Las Vegas Sands BethWorks), and in a few other locations across the state. There was vehement public opposition at many of these locations, including Pittsburgh and Bethlehem.
The legislation legalizing slots parlors was passed in the middle of the night with virtually no opportunity for public input until after it was a fait accompli (sound familiar?).
The method chosen by the Sands BethWorks developers was to get former steelworkers on their side by promising to preserve some remaining buildings from the steel plant, and to paint opponents of the project (social service providers, pastors, and the like) as sanctimonious moralizers. Thus the legacy of 100+ years of blood, sweat, and tears in Bethlehem's biggest industry will be memorialized by a monument to idleness and profligacy.
Most of the slots parlors have not even opened, but the governor and Democratic legislators are already pushing to allow casinos to add table games (for "additional tax relief"). Makes me ashamed to be a Democrat.
"It's in the Contract, Yossarian..!"
You see it just like in the full uncut Zapruder film that i had access to for hours watching with Rush Harp and played over and over stop action slow motion and you head Dan Rather saying:
"Now we see the President's head thrust violently forward..!"
Of course the thing is poor Kennedy's head snaps back when hit and not forward at all as Dan is saying thrusts forward his head actually snaps back...
Well that was the beginning of the corporate oligarchy and when journalism in America became a joke and it's only gotten worse of course leading us to Wolf Blitzer and alike...
Tell the people what They are seeing while their seeing it and they will see what you tell them and not what is before their eyes..!
Simple as that..!
Howard Fineman and some of these other pundit/ "Journalists have the reason-ability factor going for them they round off the hard edges and help keep the American people under the collective ether..
While the Republic is under threat from these pernicious presidential directives which supersedes the Constitution we get Paris Hilton and $400.00 haircuts as issues from Hardball to Wolf Blitzer why not outrage over the threat of NSPD-51 and HSPD-20...!
Well it was fun while it lasted the these so called Journalists will be as much to blame when it's gone as are our ever more worthless sold out so called elected representatives..
Jefferson said "Ours is not a system based upon trust but one of suspicion..!"
How can anyone but an imbecile trust G.W. Bush and Gonzales, Chertoff, Alito, Scalia, and the rest of these Federalist Society sycophants and usurpers..?
So I guess most of our so called Journalists like Fineman and Alter and the rest are even more stupid than G.W.Bush aren't they..?
And people like Fineman wonder why the internet and blogs are so strong and threatening to their hold on the public discourse. Because they more often escape from the cloistered beltway-borne point of view. This is Al Frankens favorite journalist.
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