The Power of the Press: Local Reporter causes Obama Benghazi trouble

The mainstream media has just been handed a teachable moment. Back on October 26th, a reporter named Kyle Clarke at NBC 9 in Denver had an interview with Barack Obama and asked him three rather pointed questions about Benghazi while Brian Williams was relaxing in the time share he has somewhere inside Obama's... uh, never mind.

Anyway, though Clarke didn't really get any of his questions answered by Obama, the president's responses have captured the attention of the House Armed Services Committee, chaired by Rep. Buck McKeon.

Via Armed Services Committee:

October 29, 2012
The President
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

I noted with interest your interview with Kyle Clark on October 26th, in which you stated, in reference to whether or not any requests for help from U.S. personnel under attack in Benghazi were denied, “Well, we are finding out exactly what happened. I can tell you, as I've said over the last couple of months since this happened, the minute I found out what was happening, I gave three very clear directives. Number one, make sure that we are securing our personnel and doing whatever we need to.” (Emphasis added.) Although this response did not specifically answer the reporter’s question, your first directive would appear to involve potential actions by the U.S. military. Since you personally provided this directive, I have a series of additional questions that I am confident you can answer in advance of the conclusion of any formal investigation.

There appears to be a discrepancy between your directive and the actions taken by the Department of Defense. As we are painfully aware, despite the fact that the military had resources in the area, the military did not deploy any assets to secure U.S. personnel in Benghazi during the hours the consulate and the annex were under attack. I find it implausible that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Commander of U.S. Africa Command, and the Commander of U.S. European Command would have ignored a direct order from the Commander in Chief. Therefore, could you please clarify:

•To whom did you issue this first directive and how was this directive communicated to the military and other agencies – verbally or in writing?
• At any time on September 11, 2012, did you specifically direct the military to move available assets into Libya to ensure the safety of U.S. personnel in Benghazi? If so, which assets did you order to Libya?
• At any time on September 11, 2012, other than ISR assets, did you provide the authority for the military to take any and all necessary measures to secure U.S. personnel, including specifically the authority to enter Libyan airspace?
• Did you have any communication with the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, or any Commanders of regional Combatant Commands regarding military support to U.S. personnel in Benghazi on September 11th? If so, could you please describe any recommendations provided to you regarding available military support and any orders you gave to them?

Thank you for your prompt attention to these matters. Members of the Committee on Armed Services are keenly concerned that any breakdown in communication that may have occurred not be repeated. Given your stated interest in transparency and sharing all relevant information with the American people and the families of our fallen, I am hopeful you can promptly address these questions.

Respectfully,

Howard P. “Buck” McKeon
Chairman

Here is a real journalist, Kyle Clarke, in the interview that prompted this letter from McKeon:



Here is a pathetic example of a man masquerading as a journalist, Brian Williams, bowing to Obama in 2009:



Time to start a campaign to have Brian Williams and Kyle Clarke switch jobs. No, wait. Clarke should get Williams' job and Williams should be a gopher at NBC 9 (no disrespect to gophers intended).

h/t GWP

NBC's Brian Williams and the not-so-subtle hit piece on Romney's religion

The common refrain from the Republican establishment - as well as from conservatives who think it's best to get fully behind Mitt Romney despite his lack of appeal to them - has been that this election is too important and the nation cannot afford more of Obama. While that last part is true, the establishment insisted on Romney. One of the reasons I (and others) thought Romney was nowhere near the best choice was what we believed the liberal media and other Democratic apparatchiks would at some point do - go after his religion.

It was never a matter of if, only when.

NBC's Brian Williams, with his typical pseudo-objective, liberal nuance, delivered a one hour hit piece on Mormonism.

Via NewsBusters:

Opening an hour-long special on the Mormon Church for Thursday's NBC Rock Center, anchor Brian Williams proclaimed to viewers: "Most Americans say they know next to nothing about the Mormon Church. Tonight, a rare look inside the lives of modern Mormon families....A church still dealing with the issue of polygamy....And other issues of inequality."

Teasing a report on the history of the Church, Williams promised to answer the question of "why so many Americans still today are suspicious of the religion." Introducing that portion of the broadcast, Williams touted pop culture mocking the faith, starting with a clip of Fox's Family Guy in which lead character Peter Griffin declares: "I'm going to be a Mormon....Come on, nailing a different wife every night. That's a no-brainer."

Williams announced: "Comedy now takes liberties with Mormons, say nothing of the polygamy-based dramas and then there's Broadway." Footage appeared on screen of Comedy Central's South Park and the HBO series Big Love, followed by a clip of The Book of Mormon musical produced by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone.

After briefly describing the founding of the religion, Williams quickly focused on negative perceptions of Mormonism: "Part of the history of the Church that they can't shake is polygamy....even though polygamy was officially banned a century go, it's something the Church still has to deal with....Critics in other religions have openly called them a cult."

For more insight into the Church, Williams turned to Abby Huntsman, daughter of former Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman, who left the Mormon faith after meeting her future husband, a non-Mormon. She lamented: "It's very black and white still, there's no gray area. You either are in or you're out. And you live by the Mormon doctrine or you do not."

Picking up on that theme, Williams explained: "In this modern world, some old-school rules still govern the Mormon Church, and that means no non-Mormons allowed inside their temples." He then suspiciously asked Huntsman: "I can't get into the Mormon temple. Will that ever change?...What goes on in there?"

Huntsman regretfully replied: "I hope it does. But I don't think that it will....[It] causes a lot of people to feel maybe not good enough, 'Why am I not allowed in there?' So this idea of – maybe being more accepting and moving with the times a little bit is much needed in the Church today."

Williams then turned to those "issues of inequality" that he hyped at the top of the program: "There is another part of Mormonism in the recent past that was late to change, and that's racism. African-Americans were not allowed to become full members until 1978."

Those who think Romney will fight back against these attacks by going after Rev. Jeremiah Wright offer no indication from the Romney campaign that he will do so. Where Obama is perhaps weakest - like Operation Fast and Furious - Romney has avoided.

Read it all.

Video: NBC's Brian Williams covers Fast and Furious Contempt Hearing

Though NBC's Brian Williams covered the Fast and Furious contempt hearing held yesterday, he seemed more interested in chalking up the contentious arguments to 'caustic' partisanship than to legitimate concerns that Eric Holder may be at the center of a scandal that makes Watergate look like jaywalking.

The biggest takeaway from this is that Williams seems more interested in focusing on partisan fisticuffs than on getting to the truth about what's behind it.

Surprise, right?

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

h/t Hot Air

NBC'S WILLIAMS AND TODD: NO IDEA WHERE MONEY COMES FROM

As Congress is forcing Obama to extend the current tax rates rather than let them expire, the quid pro quo is yet another extension of unemployment benefits and a reduction in the social security tax. While reporting to NBC's Brian Williams, whack job Chuck Todd bemoaned the notion that Government would suffer a significant loss of income - $450 Billion - as a result, perfectly illustrating that he's either completely ignorant of where money comes from or he's in on the scam.

Via NewsBusters:

TODD: Brian, none of this is paid for. In terms of lost revenue for the government next year, it's $450 billion, nearly half a trillion dollars. To compare this, in comparison, the stimulus that President Obama put in, enacted back in early 2009, that cost on an annual basis, approximately half a trillion dollars. So the deficit in the short term is going up. Whether it's on Social Security or all sorts of things, none of that has been dealt with with this plan.

What Todd doesn't get - intentionally or unintentionally - is that the government only wastes money; it does not save nor protect it. Conversely, businesses either MAKE money or go out of business. As a consequence, the businesses that remain in existence are ones that can actually PAY the government. It has been proven over and over again that when tax rates drop, tax revenues increase.

This is lost on Chuck Todd and once again, liberals prove they have no idea where money comes from.

More at NewsBusters

Brian Williams: The Most Shameless Man in America

Folks, saying I cannot get excited about honoring Walter Cronkite would be an understatement. In fact, I'd be willing to give Michael Jackson more of my time. Walter Cronkite undermined our military and our war effort in Vietnam. There's no telling how many American soldiers died as a direct result of Cronkite's deceptive and manipulative reporting.

Now we have Brian Williams who is neck and neck with Chris Matthews for the "Most Shameless Man In America" Award. Williams appeared on Larry King and had this shameless message about his reverence for Cronkite:

I announced my intention to my family, apparently, at the age of 8, that he was the man I wanted to be. And this was the profession I wanted. And I have lived such a charmed life that I got the chance to explain that to Walter and tell him that and make it clear. And just was able to breathe the air he exhaled and know him a little bit, as friends.

Hey Brian, you breathed the air Cronkite exhaled? UGH. So how close did you really get to Walter? Was it closer than this?


Considering that Cronkite was a globalist, I was struck by how many times Williams referenced the words, "universe", "world", "air", "globe", and "space".

I did discover the globe behind him was just kind of a lime green and a wood model of the -- of the earth, and he sat at a mundane white Formica wrap-around desk. But to me, as a little kid, as a viewer who watched him narrate the cold war, the space program, the Vietnam War, it was the center of the universe from small-town America.

I personally find this glorification of another man to be more than just a little disturbing.

Williams simply couldn't help himself:

Again, just to have known him, to occupy this same space just means the world.

SNAP OUT OF IT, MAN! You're like a teenager ogling over Hannah Montana, who is actually more deserving.

Speaking of "earth" and worldly things, perhaps Williams should take the time to look at this despicable award being presented to Cronkite in 1999 along with his despicable acceptance speech.

Not only did Walter Cronkite attempt to deceive the American people during the Vietnam War but he was also a globalist. Check out this video (you will need to use external force to keep your jaw shut, especially when you see what Mr. Cronkite had to say about Satan). Watch all the way to the end and guess who honors him via satellite (you may or may not be shocked but it speaks volumes either way).



h/t to NewsBusters for the Williams story.