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I Am Somebody! (Dan Rather fights to reclaim his place in polite society.)
The American Prowler ^ | 9/21/2005 | George Neumayr

Posted on 09/20/2005 10:53:44 PM PDT by nickcarraway

It is now almost a weekly ritual: a member of the ossifying liberal establishment, looking very defeated and victimized, complains vaguely about some lost privilege. The person will couch his narcissistic complaint in the form of accusing someone of "turning the clock back," not sufficiently respecting "precedent," disregarding "scientific consensus," and so on. All they mean is: the monopoly power liberals once enjoyed across the culture is now gone, and that the public should regard the left's erosion of power as a great loss to the republic.

Dan Rather has performed this week's lament to an expiring liberal era. According to Reuters, he fought back tears on Monday as he spoke bitterly of a "new journalism order" before a crowd at Jesuit Fordham University in New York (add Rather to the long list of pro-choicers the modern Jesuits have entertained).

The night before Rather and a vainglorious Tom Brokaw had soaked up some bafflingly prolonged applause at the Emmy awards during a tribute to the nation's departed triumvirate of news readers. Rather seemed on the verge of tears then. He had a largely nonspeaking role during the tribute; the Emmys gave Brokaw control of the mike as if to acknowledge that he was the less tarnished of the two. The crowd treated this moment with misty-eyed solemnity too, perhaps realizing that the passing of what Brokaw called the "brotherhood" (perhaps one day he will call it the "greatest generation") represents a real danger to the left's future designs on culture.

The "new journalism order," said Rather at Fordham, is defined by a climate of "fear." This is just another euphemism for the loss of liberal monopolistic power and emergence of conservative competition. By "fear," what he means is that liberal journalists who could once spread their propaganda without looking over their shoulders now have to.

That Rather is fighting back tears these days is due to the shock of ending his career on a forgery ferreted out by the new journalistic order, and the unwillingness of CBS to back him up on the bogus report. As far as I know, he still hasn't disclaimed the forgery; O.J.-like, he is apparently still in search of letters confirming the "core truth" of his story. Through his tears, he is in effect saying to CBS: you guys didn't check my work for decades. Then you sideline me because of the complaints of some right-wing bloggers and media outlets?

Rather recalled for the Fordham crowd the glory days of old when conservatives couldn't drive a wedge between him and management. "There was a connection between the leadership and the led...a sense of, 'we're in this together,'" Rather said.

Speaking at Fordham alongside Rather, reports Reuters, was Sheila Nevins, an HBO documentary chief. She, too, misses the days when Rather could pass off propaganda as news and management would clap him on the back. "When a man is close to tears discussing his work and his lip quivers, he deserves bosses who punch back. I feel I would punch back for Dan," she said.

Then she spoke of her own troubles. It annoys her, for example, that the public wouldn't view a Charles Darwin documentary she might make with proper deference. "If you made a movie about (evolutionary biologist Charles) Darwin now, it would be revolutionary," she said. "If we did a documentary on Darwin, I'd get a thousand hate e-mails."

That controversies now have two or more sides instead of just one is at the heart of the left's complaint about the new media. This is what they mean by the loss of "objectivity." Since liberals can no longer determine by themselves what can be debated, and who should be permitted to speak during it, "objectivity" has given way to "fear," reporters who are worried that they can no longer escape scrutiny.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Editorial; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; Political Humor/Cartoons; US: District of Columbia; US: New York; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: armchairnobodies; danrather; journalism; media; politics
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To: nickcarraway
Poor Danny-Boy.

Look on the bright side. Your entire career won't be measured by that "six minutes of dead air".
41 posted on 09/21/2005 4:14:38 AM PDT by dinasour (Pajamahadeen)
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To: nickcarraway
Watched a bit of his performance on Larry King last evening.

He continues with his lying ways.

Spoke of how terrrible the Hurricane Andrew response was under the first President Bush and how excellent Witt was during the Clinton administration.

Needless to say he ignored the terrible response to Hurricand Floyd and bashed the response to Katrina.

The man is an unrecontructed LIAR, he just can't help himself.

42 posted on 09/21/2005 4:42:57 AM PDT by OldFriend (MAJ. TAMMY DUCKWORTH ~ A NATIONAL TREASURE)
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To: Howlin

Revised by sergeantdave -

Main Entry: vein·glo·ry
Pronunciation: 'vAn-"glOr-E, -"glor-, "vAn-' - 'Arrggghhh!
Function: liberal expression via whining nouns
1 : excessive or ostentatious bulging or ballooning of red veins, especially in one's neck area, accompanied by puffy face which activate tear ducts
2 : veins popping in liberal eyeballs defending propaganda: LIBERAL IMPLOSION


43 posted on 09/21/2005 5:07:24 AM PDT by sergeantdave (Member of Arbor Day Foundation, travelling the country and destroying open space)
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To: Fred Nerks

Thanks for posting that drawing. I had somehow missed it during Rathergate, even though I was practically glued to FR during the whole episode.

Hilarious.


44 posted on 09/21/2005 5:16:22 AM PDT by Rocky (Air America: Robbing the poor to feed the Left)
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To: nickcarraway
According to Reuters, he fought back tears on Monday as he spoke bitterly of a "new journalism order"

It's no longer a blue world, Dan!

45 posted on 09/21/2005 5:19:48 AM PDT by Maceman (Pro Se Defendant from Hell)
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To: ElderEdda

I find it telling that ol' Dan came out with a charge once issued to Quakers, and now co-opted by leftist groups, to "Speak Truth to Power".

So, if he didn't get the phrase from his dear, close Quaker friend Richard Nixon, why did he latch on to it?


46 posted on 09/21/2005 5:35:20 AM PDT by SlowBoat407 (The best things happen just before the thread snaps.)
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To: nickcarraway

Boo frickin' hoo...


47 posted on 09/21/2005 5:39:27 AM PDT by Pharmboy (There is no positive correlation between the ability to write, act, sing or dance and being right)
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To: Maceman

And it sure as hell ain't a CBS world anymore either....Thank Goodness!! When Rather left the CBS News post it was like part of me left-like an infected tooth maybe!!


48 posted on 09/21/2005 5:57:51 AM PDT by geezerwheezer (get up boys, we're burnin' daylight!!!)
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To: Fred Nerks

the guy who drew it is the one in the boxers...

the angry looking fellow.


49 posted on 09/21/2005 9:38:45 AM PDT by teeman8r
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To: nickcarraway

He is somebody! He's a blathering, blithering, leftist idiot!


50 posted on 09/21/2005 9:39:42 AM PDT by sheik yerbouty ( Make America and the world a jihad free zone!)
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To: Pharmboy

LOL. The problem Rather has, and network news along with him, is that they have lost respect for truth and fact, and filled the void with arrogance. It's over.

DA740


51 posted on 09/21/2005 9:46:55 AM PDT by DA740
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To: nickcarraway

Dan Rather - From a time when TV sets made a "clunk" sound when the channel was changed.


52 posted on 09/21/2005 9:56:08 AM PDT by N. Theknow (Kennedys - Can't drive, can't fly, can't ski, can't skipper a boat - But they know what's best.)
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To: teeman8r

I thought he looked familiar...


53 posted on 09/21/2005 3:29:58 PM PDT by Fred Nerks (Understand islam understand evil - read THE LIFE OF MUHAMMAD free pdf see link My Page)
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To: nickcarraway
"By "fear," what he means is that liberal journalists who could once spread their propaganda without looking over their shoulders now have to. "

BINGO

54 posted on 09/21/2005 4:01:55 PM PDT by Mr. K (Some days even my lucky rocketship underpants don't help...)
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To: BigSkyFreeper
Maybe he can run the live cam down at Galveston.
55 posted on 09/21/2005 4:13:53 PM PDT by pointsal
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To: All

That's a very funny drawing. But where are all the FReeperettes who wear night gowns?


56 posted on 09/21/2005 4:18:58 PM PDT by uncitizen
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