Posted on 07/22/2007 6:30:32 AM PDT by Mobile Vulgus
As Tim Graham notes in his report on the passing of Tammy Faye Bakker-Messner, liberal MSMers of the past loved to portray the woman as the "very model of Reagan's Decade of Greed," but Graham made me wonder how the media is reporting her passing, at least during this early morning time as the country wakes to the news.
Of course, I have also observed Mr. Graham's reporting on how Tammy Faye was treated in the past. She has been reviled for many years, though recently seems to have gained a sort of kitschy popularity. So, I admit that I went in assuming that the MSM would unleash their worst comments on her passing and thinking that the MSM would use her death as just another excuse to attack her in their common, mean-spirited fashion. But, I was surprised upon finding that most of these early reports have shied away from the "decade of greed" tagline to her life and have refrained form gauche personal attacks.
All except for the Associated Press, that is.
Even the New York Times didn't editorialize much about Bakker-Messner's life in their report. Neither did the L.A.Times. Both papers stuck closely to a rather straight forward reporting of her life and history, surprisingly enough.
I found but one MSM news source that used the occasion of her passing to get in a dig. Naturally, it was the AP that couldn't just report the facts and had to slip in an editorial comment. Here is the AP doing so when even the L.A.Times and New York Times, two of the most notoriously leftist papers in the country, wouldn't do so.
The AP says of Bakker-Messner:
For many, the TV image of then-Mrs. Bakker forgiving husband Jim's infidelities, tears streaking her cheeks with mascara, became a symbol for the wages of greed and hypocrisy in 1980s America.So, there is the first example on full display of the attack on Bakker-Messner as being representative of that "decade of greed" that Mr. Graham has alerted us to.
Now, I don't imagine that the MSM's niceties for Tammy Faye will stay de rigeur for long as we have yet to see any editorials about her passing and her life. No MSM columnist or pundit has had a chance to belch out their "feelings" on the evangelist's life as of yet, so I don't expect the MSM to much longer treat her passing with much respect.
But, surprisingly, so far there is little by way of attack.
Still, maybe the New York Times story referenced above holds the key to that reason.
Gay men came to embrace Ms. Messner as a camp figure, making her the subject of gender-bending look-alike contests. She embraced them as well. She began attending gay pride events, and in 1996, she became the co-host of a syndicated television talk show with Jim J. Bullock, an openly gay actor.Maybe the Times and other MSM outlets have at last found a readership they don't want to offend by attacking one of their celebrities?
Maybe.
In any case, so far it is refreshing that they aren't all immediately piling on at her passing. Could the MSM have found a heart in their emaciated breasts after all this time?
I guess I wouldn't wanna bet on it.
The AP must have been reading a certain thread here last night, same thing some FReepers were saying. Disgusting.
Is that an inaccurate statement? Isn’t that what most people think of her? The super rich lady who cried that she couldn’t spend millions of church donations any more?
Although the Liberals (like AP) would be the first to claim they don't advocate the death penalty, their Islamofascist friends (and the Koran) declare that the hypocrites must be slaughtered.
These guys should be required to get together out in some big desert and stay there.
I agree with you. She, her husband(s) and other so called tele-evangelists are/were an embarrassment to Christianity.
“The AP must have been reading a certain thread here last night, same thing some FReepers were saying. Disgusting.”
Not at all, though any slightly critical posts were removed, turning the thread into swiss cheese.
Because of that, no one can verify you’re making it up. But you are.
No doubt Falwell will get dug up for this weeklong kickfest as well...
I saw quite a few deleted posts, as they should have been I am sure. Perhaps those were the posts to which you refer.
As for the AP, it is always pompous, pretentious and predictable.
Throw a stick into a pack of dogs, the one that yelps, got hit.
I saw quite a few deleted posts, as they should have been I am sure. Perhaps those were the posts to which you refer.
They were. I posted my comment and left the thread.
“Throw a stick into a pack of dogs, the one that yelps, got hit.”
$130 million, oversold timeshares, divorced her hubby when he was in jail and married his crook best friend. What a shining light to all.
I threw the stick - the mean spirited people who are OK with people stealing little old ladies life savings to live the high life and unwilling to see that their hero is a shyster crook, yelped.
Even their pets had it good. One week, the viewing audience was treated to a tour of the custom air-conditioned doghouse--mansion, actually-- they had for their pets. It was magnificent.
I always wondered why PTL donors wanted to give their money to the Bakkers for a blinking doghouse that was nicer than what a lot of their donors lived in. And then there were yachts and limos for the Bakkers and vacation complexes for the faithful--all of that COMPLETELY unrelated to anything Christian. She was greedy and hypocritical as Mrs. Bakker.
“No doubt Falwell will get dug up for this weeklong kickfest as well...”
Falwell DID buy PTL because he could never get his own TV network going.... so it’s likely, since he involved himself in the tragedy known as PTL. (Pass the Loot!)
In that case,please accept my apology.
Were any of your post removed par chance?
Don’t worry about it. :)
The facts support the headline.
Didn't Jim take a plea deal that let Tammy off without prison time?
That they were.
Wikipedia summarizes why I don’t respect PTL or anyone who had anything to do with it -
“Between 1984 and 1987, the Bakkers received annual salaries of $200,000 each and Jim awarded himself over $4,000,000 in bonuses. Their assets at that time included a $600,000 house in Palm Springs, four condominiums in California, and a Rolls Royce[citation needed]. In their success, the Bakkers took conspicuous consumption to an unusual level for a non-profit organization. PTL once spent $100,000 for a private jet to fly the Bakkers’ clothing across the country. It also once spent $100 for cinnamon rolls because the Bakkers wanted the smell of them in their hotel room.”
Regular salt of the earth, those two.... /s
Tax cheats and bandits!
They never got a penny from us. That saying, a fool and his money are soon parted comes to my mind, but I won’t dance on her grave. The things she did, that’s God department to sort out.
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