Good riddance to Rather (Thomas Sowell)

Townhall.com ^ | March 11, 2005 | Thomas Sowell

[cbkaty]

If it was just a matter of Dan Rather's zeal for a story letting him get carried away -- another popular spin -- then why was this zeal for digging into what George W. Bush did or didn't do three decades earlier in the Texas National Guard not matched by an equal zeal to dig into John Kerry's military record?

This is the essence of the bias that has driven a knife through the MSM heart.................RIP!

[G.Mason]

"I read the "he did not mean to tell a lie" in a different way ..."

Again, I admire and respect Dr. Sowell.

There are many that believe that the Rathers of this world are simply misguided. That they trip over themselves from time to time and in reality have no malicious intent.

I do not.

The majority of the Democrat Party, along with many in the Republican Party and their enablers, are on a course deliberately intent on the destruction of the United States as it was given us by the Founding Fathers.

It is no accident that the Supreme Court has developed into a rogue Europian (from Europa) body.

It is no simple difference of opinion that drives federal courts to usurpt the powers of legislators when they (the courts) enact defacto legislation.

It is by design.

[DCPatriot]

"If a lie is necessary to advance that position, then it is an acceptable lie.

Excuse me?

[cyncooper]

Right now RW "Johnny" Apple of the New York Times is on Imus.

These "real journalists" kill me with their teeny and selective memories.

The fool just told Imus that Rather was only a news reader (thereby excusing the faked documents with that dismissive pronouncement) and while Apple admitted Rather may have not liked this President Bush, he thinks he likes the other President Bush.

Imus was naturally not swift enough to recall the Rather/Bush 41 exchange on Iran/Contra which, as just one glaring example I immediately remembered, demonstrates Apple is just plain wrong (no surprise for a Times "reporter").

[cyncooper]

This is where conservative pundits blow it. Of course Dan Rather set out to tell a lie. Dan Rather did set out to get George Bush. If you believe otherwise, you've been taken for a fool. As always, Sowell, like most conservative pundits, is trying to throw Rather and the Leftists a little bone here. A sure sign of a crack in the armor that the Leftists will always take advantage of.

I completely agree. We've all noticed this distressing tendency of the pundit class. For all of our good they need to take a full and frank measure of who we are dealing with here and start calling a spade a spade.

[Diva Betsy Ross]

Good one,again Linda. You do such great work!

[The Great Yazoo]

Definitions are the guardians of reason and logic.

Itself a nugget!

[KC_Conspirator]

Mike Wallace referred to Rather's "contrived" performances.

"Contrived" is a polite word for phony.

Rather is a phony through and through. His fake tears while reciting the vague and almost forgotten verses of "America the Beautiful" on Letterman was over the top.

[The Great Yazoo]

Rather is a phony through and through. His fake tears while reciting the vague and almost forgotten verses of "America the Beautiful" on Letterman was over the top.

I don't think Professor Sowell was suggesting Rather was not a phony. Rather (no pun intended), Dr. Sowell was saying even Mike Wallace recognized Rather's contrivance.

[Ozone34]

I remember very clearly when I first encountered Dr. Sowell. He was part of the discussion panel that took place after each installment of Milton Friedman's series "Free to Choose" which aired circa 1980. Sowell was brilliant. I wish I could remember who else was on the panel? I'm certain there was a lefty economist professor type as well.

[katana]

The left in this country has been trying its best to ignore Dr. Sowell for decades, ever since he effectively demonstrated the direct relationship between increases in the minimum wage and increased unemployment among black youth. If they had to confront him he'd eat them alive. Plus, the very last thing they can afford is a demonstration of the intellectual power of a man like Dr. Sowell, who is brilliant, conservative, and black.

[Interesting Times]

Good article, but it's a shame Dr. Sowell didn't mention The Wall Within.

[The Great Yazoo]

Professor Sowell's autobiography, A Personal Odyssey, is quite interesting.




As are:

Vision of the Annointed: Self-Congratulation As a Basis for Social Policy



Basic Economics

Applied Economics

The Quest for Cosmic Justice.

In April, Professor Sowell's latest book, Black Rednecks and White Liberals: And Other Cultural And Ethnic Issues, is scheduled to be published.

[Tax-chick]

"Knowledge and Decisions" is my favorite Sowell text. I'm always looking for his books in the used book store or library sale. There's a standing reward for any of my kids that finds one!

[facedown]

Sowell bump.

[The Great Yazoo]

I haven't read either "Knowledge and Decisions" or "Cultures and Conquests." I think I'll skip over to the local public library link...

[Tax-chick]

I haven't made it through "Conquests and Cultures" yet. I keep checking it out and taking it back :-). "Knowledge and Decisions" took me 4 months, but the library let me keep renewing it.

[GraceCoolidge]

There are many that believe that the Rathers of this world are simply misguided. That they trip over themselves from time to time and in reality have no malicious intent.

Like you, I am not one of those people. I believe that Dan Rather's bias is not a case of him just making an occasional error. If nothing else, the fact that these "errors" always seem to occur to the detriment of a conservative or Republican, I think, proves that point. But I don't think Dr. Sowell is one of those who believe Dan Rather and his ilk are "simply misguided" either. It seems that some of us are just reading that line in the Sowell essay differently.

[bandleader]

ThankYou for providing me with a WEALTH of reading material!!