Free Republic

WE ARE IN the first war of the Information Age, and we have a critical advantage over our enemy: We are far better at gathering intelligence. It's an advantage we must utilize, and it's keeping us safe. But every time classified national security information is leaked, our ability to gather information on those who would do us harm is eroded. We suffered a setback Thursday when USA Today ran a front-page story alleging that the National Security Agency was collecting domestic phone records. This article hurt our efforts to protect Americans by giving the enemy valuable insights into the Terrorist...

U.S. Supreme Court SMITH v. MARYLAND, 442 U.S. 735 (1979) 442 U.S. 735 SMITH v. MARYLAND. CERTIORARI TO THE COURT OF APPEALS OF MARYLAND. No. 78-5374. Argued March 28, 1979. Decided June 20, 1979. The telephone company, at police request, installed at its central offices a pen register to record the numbers dialed from the telephone at petitioner's home. Prior to his robbery trial, petitioner moved to suppress "all fruits derived from" the pen register. The Maryland trial court denied this motion, holding that the warrantless installation of the pen register did not violate the Fourth Amendment. Petitioner was convicted,...

The USA Today "scoop" on the NSA's massive telephone surveillance program isn't really news at all - though liberal media outlets have been blaring the story as a shocking revelation all Thursday morning. The Agency, the paper announced ominously, "has been secretly collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans . . . The NSA program reaches into homes and businesses across the nation by amassing information about the calls of ordinary Americans — most of whom aren't suspected of any crime." But as NewsMax noted in December - back when the New York Times tried to...

Though in constant, inflation-adjusted dollars -- the only way to measure prices over time -- a price of a barrel of oil will have to exceed $87 to reach a record high, the broadcast networks have been falsely trumpeting nominal oil prices as a "record high." On Wednesday night, for instance, CBS Evening News anchor Russ Mitchell inaccurately asserted that "oil prices hit another record high today, closing above 72 bucks a barrel." NBC's Brian Williams wrongly claimed that oil prices were "surging to yet another record high close. The gain on the day 82 cents per barrel. Closing price...

READING HABITS: 1. The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country. 2. The Washington Post is read by people who think they run the country. 3. The New York Times is read by people who think they should run the country and who are very good at crossword puzzles. 4. USA Today is read by people who think they ought to run the country but don't really understand The New York Times. They do, however, like their statistics shown in pie charts. 5. The Los Angeles Times is read by people who wouldn't mind running...

Gannett Co. reported its earnings fell 9.2% in the fourth quarter, due primarily to weak ad sales at its U.K. newspapers and a drop in television revenue. The nation's largest newspaper publisher, which publishes USA Today and 90 other daily papers, said net income dropped to $343.4 million, or $1.44 a share, from $378.1 million, or $1.47 a share a year earlier. Earnings were at the high end of Gannett's forecast of $1.40 to $1.44 a share, and beat analysts' consensus estimate of $1.41 a share, according to a survey by Thomson First Call. Revenue increased 5.7% to $2.05 billion...

I spoke with a person who just got back from Iraq. We spoke this past week. I asked him about the Army Times magazine. He told me that he no longer reads it. He said it was run by a group that runs a MSM newspaper that is pretty left leaning. They seem to run under Military Times, but there is a parent company. The soldier told me he there was a USA Today reporter asking him questions. He said the questions were very left leaning and when he asked when his answers to the questions would be printed, he...

<p>I've seen images rolling in from Iraq, and I am stunned at just how little I care. I don't have an empathetic bone in my body and am amazed at just how truly unmoved I am. I see these purportedly "iconic" images and I realize — and readily admit — the stories coming out of Iraq are not worth the life of one American soldier. The war isn't worth the tears of one American mother, nor the sorrow of one American widow.</p>

As reported yesterday by NewsBusters, a brand new ABC News/TIME poll depicted Iraqis as being very optimistic about themselves and the future of their country. The Associated Press via USA Today is sharing this information with its readers by focusing attention on the negatives first. The article, entitled “Most Iraqis Oppose U.S. Troops, Poll Says,” began: “Most Iraqis disapprove of the presence of U.S. forces in their country, yet they are optimistic about Iraq's future and their own personal lives, according to a new poll." Then the article addressed the positives:

Gannett Nov. Revenue Drops 2.1% Published: December 08, 2005 10:20 AM ET MCLEAN, Va. (AP) Gannett Co., the nation's largest newspaper publisher and owner of several television stations, said Thursday that revenue fell 2.1% during November compared to last year, as lower advertising demand in its broadcasting group and British newspapers hurt results. At USA Today, ad revenue dropped 7.7%, as the number of paid ad pages fell to 345 from 412. Gannett said November revenue fell to $656.6 million from $670.9 million on a pro forma basis, which assumes that all properties the company owned were owned in both...

MCLEAN, Va. (AP) Gannett Co., the nation's largest newspaper publisher and owner of several television stations, said Thursday that revenue fell 2.1% during November compared to last year, as lower advertising demand in its broadcasting group and British newspapers hurt results. At USA Today, ad revenue dropped 7.7%, as the number of paid ad pages fell to 345 from 412. Gannett said November revenue fell to $656.6 million from $670.9 million on a pro forma basis, which assumes that all properties the company owned were owned in both periods. The publisher of USA Today, the largest U.S. newspaper, said newspaper...

The one-paragraph story appeared on page 1 D in USA Today and the headline was "Gallup Survey: Trust in media is growing." But it should have said: "Trust in media is 20 points behind 1976 levels." That's what the survey showed. Isn't it interesting how the media will publicize President Bush's falling approval ratings but will not emphasize their own? The "growing" trust in the media consisted of confidence in the media rising from 44 percent last year to 50 percent in the latest survey. But it was 54 percent in 2003, 68 percent in 1972, and 72 percent in...

Anybody see the difference between the two photos below? -- OJ Time Mage Mug Shot Pic Left Out For Blogger's Bandwith -- You guessed it. The Time Magazine version on the right was deliberately darkened to make OJ look more menacing, because as any liberal journalist knows, black is bad. The whole black community was up in arms about this scandal – as well they should have been. Under the heat of protest, Time issued an apology. Now, Anybody see the difference between the two photos below? You guessed it. The USA Today version on the right was deliberately altered...

October 26, 2005 MSM Makeover: Condi Rice Filed Under: Humor, Media This morning, Michelle Malkin points out the following circumstances regarding a recent photo in USA Today.“Notice anything peculiar about her eyes?,” asks Malkin.“No, Condi isn’t possessed; the photo was manipulated.”This news comes courtesy of From The Pen, which found a pre-doctored version of the Associated Press photo on Yahoo! España:What they didn’t find is the latest photo “revealing” who’s sitting behind Condi in the photo. By using propriety photographic algorithms, we were able to focus in on the background. (If only Dick Morris knew how to use photoshop)That might...

Includes many updates by Michelle Malkin DEMONIZING CONDI By Michelle Malkin   ·   October 26, 2005 06:41 AM ***scroll down for updates...345pm EDT flash: THE PHOTO HAS BEEN REMOVED from USA Today's site with an editor's note...I'll be talking about more unhinged examples of Condi hatred next week. More details here.*** Check out the photo of Condoleezza Rice that was published by USA Today last week: Notice anything peculiar about her eyes? No, Condi isn't possessed; the photo was manipulated. This news comes courtesy of From The Pen, which found a pre-doctored version of the Associated Press photo on Yahoo! España:...

DEMONIZING CONDI By Michelle Malkin   ·   October 26, 2005 06:41 AM Check out the photo of Condoleezza Rice that was published by USA Today last week: Notice anything peculiar about her eyes? (Click on the Extended Entry for an explanation.)No, Condi isn't possessed; the photo was manipulated. This news comes courtesy of From The Pen, which found a pre-doctored version of the Associated Press photo on Yahoo! España: Ask USA Today's Graphics and Photos Managing Editor, Richard Curtis (rcurtis@usatoday.com), what the ^$%#@+! is going on. *** Related: Katherine Harris vs. the Photo DoctorsTime's photo distortions

(CNN) -- Only one in 10 Americans said they believe Bush administration officials did nothing illegal or unethical in connection with the leaking of a CIA operative's identity, according to a national poll released Tuesday. Thirty-nine percent said some administration officials acted illegally in the matter, in which the identity of Valerie Plame, a CIA operative, was revealed. The same percentage of respondents in the CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll said Bush administration officials acted unethically, but did nothing illegal.

Shortly, the 2,000th death of an American serviceman or woman will occur in Iraq. That will generate an orgy of coverage in the American press on how “deadly” the war is. Sidebars will suggest that citizens are becoming “increasingly doubtful” about the conduct of the war. This Newsbusters article denounces that coverage as dishonest, in advance. I wrote on 24 April, 2004, that the War on Terror is the LEAST bloody war in the history of the United States, measured by deaths per month. This is true going back to the Revolutionary War, even though the nation’s population then was...

...More than 70 percent of what's broadcast on Arab TV stations... is U.S.-made; 80 percent of the films shown in Arab cinemas are made in Hollywood.... More than half of all major articles in the two main pan-Arab daily newspapers come from The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, Newsweek and Time magazines.... ...Stroll in the streets where books and video and audio tapes are on sale... 90 percent of the items vilifying America come from American, French and British authors. No Arab anti-American has produced anything like the conspiracy theories that American intellectuals...

In reporting on a Chinese company marketing condoms under the brand names Clinton and Lewinsky, USA Today notes that Clinton "was accused of having a sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky, a former White House intern." Accused? Clinton himself ultimately admitted he "did have a relationship with Ms. Lewinsky that was not appropriate. In fact, it was wrong." Moreover, a Federal judge fined Clinton more than $90,000 for providing ""false, misleading and evasive answers" about his relationship with Lewinsky. No, Clinton was not just "accused" of intimacy with a White House intern. Simple justice requires an accurate account of what he...