William Endicott, former deputy managing editor of The Bee, wrote a column about liberal bias in the media – his claim is about the lack thereof.

Endicott dug deeply into his political file cabinet to reference a disgraced Republican, former Vice President Spiro Agnew, “ripping into one of their favorite bogeyman, the liberal media.” Endicott reminded readers that Agnew “resigned the vice presidency in disgrace in 1973 after being charged with tax evasion and money laundering while governor of Maryland.”

This is true. Agnew was a bad boy. Liars and cheats are on both sides of the political aisle, but it seems that only Republicans resign.

Notorious and nefarious Democratic politicians Barney Frank, Jon Corzine, Chris Dodd, Charlie Rangel, William Jefferson, Bill Clinton, John Edwards, and many other Democratic politicians have been linked or charged with dubious deeds and crimes, but are never described as “disgraced.” And they don’t resign elected office.

Endicott’s own bias is telling with his immediate reference to the hated Nixon Administration and Spiro Agnew.  But Endicott never pointed out that Agnew, Nixon and former Democratic President Bill Clinton all lied under oath… that would have been unbiased.

“Such visceral reaction can bear little or no resemblance to what actually appears in the newspapers, online or on television day in and day out, but ‘the liberal media’ image is fueled, interestingly enough, by ‘the conservative media,’ as represented especially by Fox News and the crown prince of talk radio, Rush Limbaugh,” Endicott said.

He may be right that it’s only conservatives and non-traditional news media who point out liberal bias in media. But Liberals aren’t going to poke holes in their own stories, are they?

And notice that Endicott couldn’t resist mentioning liberals’ most hated media, Fox News and Rush Limbaugh. How predictable. Endicott and many others in the traditional media have complained loudly about the impact of  Fox News, since the network came on the scene in 1996.

The bias Endicott fails to address is not just in obvious partisan biases, but how the subtle bias is when crucial details are left out of stories and even op eds. Journalists are usually able to choose how to tell the story, and everyone has an angle. But the best journalists present the good, the bad and the ugly details, and let the reader decide.

Most of the criticism I hear about the mainstream newspapers and television is the way in which they report the news, and the obvious omissions. Television reporters and anchors now offer bold opinion about the news stories they present. Newspaper reporters make blatant, non-sourced opinion statements in news stories.

Endicott’s last barb sums up his own glaring bias: “Strangely enough, you rarely hear Democratic candidates and/or their allies bashing ‘the conservative media,’ even though, for instance, they have ample reason to question Fox’s ‘fair and balanced’ slogan. Either they have a more even temperament, or the right just enjoys a more receptive, quick-to-anger audience.”

The blending of news and opinion, as well as the omission of events and facts that differ from a liberal ideology, is the bias that non-liberals reference.

A perfect example are the hundreds of stories about current Presidential Candidate Newt Gingrich and the many accusations that he cheated on one of his three wives. Gingrich may have cheated on his wife. It’s been in the news for many years.

But when Bill Clinton was running for President in 1992, before Fox News was even created, the media appeared to work harder at ignoring and covering up stories of his dalliances while he was Arkansas Governor, despite his notorious reputation in Arkansas. The media made him out to be so cool, sexual affairs and dalliances were just part of his repertoire and mystic. It only came out years later, that Clinton paid a large settlement of more than $800,000 to accuser Paula Jones.

The media and Democratic politicians continually covered for Clinton, and said that his only crime was sex. Tell that to Monica Lewinsky, the world’s most famous intern.

By 5:00 p.m. this evening, the Bee story had more than 250 comments left online. It appears that Endicott’s denial struck a nerve.

FEB. 4, 2012

Ever wonder if America is a police state? Wonder no more. Reports the Daily Mail:

“Two British tourists were barred from entering America after joking on Twitter that they were going to ‘destroy America’ and ‘dig up Marilyn Monroe’.

“Leigh Van Bryan, 26, was handcuffed and kept under armed guard in a cell with Mexican drug dealers for 12 hours after landing in Los Angeles with pal Emily Bunting.

“The Department of Homeland Security flagged him as a potential threat when he posted an excited tweet to his pals about his forthcoming trip to Hollywood which read: ‘Free this week, for quick gossip/prep before I go and destroy America’.

“After making their way through passport control at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) last Monday afternoon the pair were detained by armed guards.

“Despite telling officials the term ‘destroy’ was British slang for ‘party’, they were held on suspicion of planning to ‘commit crimes’ and had their passports confiscated.

We’re tyrannized over by a bunch of dumb thugs. They don’t understand that British English is different from American English. They don’t want you to have fun. They don’t want you to party. They want you to obey, pay taxes and shut up.

And note that the government spies on Twitter, as it does on Facebook. Big Brother not only is watching you, he’s reading everything you write.

Welcome to 1984 — in 2012.

Jan. 30, 2012

The centralized tyranny in the United States has gone too far. It now is assaulting Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.

After the TSA’s microwave “scanners” broke down, Paul was ordered — like a concentration camp inmate — to undergo a full body pat-down. He refused. The last word is that the TSA is detaining him.

Sen. Paul obviously is the son of Rep. Ron Paul, who is running for president. Ron finished second in the New Hampshire Primary.

Ron also has sponsored the American Traveler Dignity Act, which would stop the TSA/KGB from molesting us.

So this obviously was retaliation for the father’s attempt to lessen the police-state total control usurped by the TSA.

I recently flew from Orange County to Sacramento and back again. I refused to walk through the new imaging machine. I don’t want to be microwaved like a TV dinner.

So both times they forced me to submit to a pat-down. Total humiliation. I’ve never been arrested, so that never happened to me before.

Basically, now government does anything it wants, all the time, to anyone.

The excuse is to “keep us safe.” But that’s the lying excuse police states everywhere use to terrorize their own people.

Officially, America now is a tyranny.

Jan. 23, 2012

UPDATE 10 am: ABC News is reporting that the TSA eventually released Sen. Rand Paul from its gulag

But it’s worth remembering that Sen. Paul could have been “disappeared” under the new the National Defense Authorization Act. The NDAA was opposed by Sen. Paul, but overwhelmingly passed by both Republicans and Democrats in Congress. It was signed into law by President Obama on Dec. 31, 2011.

Under the NDAA, the federal government can arrest anyone without a warrant, imprison or execute him without a trial, and tell no one about it.

The NDAA is the reign of absolute tyranny in America.

Welcome to the American Gulag.

The average American can’t fathom the kinds of issues and protests people in other countries face. “The stakes are very different in different places. In North America and most of Europe, there are no dictators, and dissidents don’t get tortured. Any day that Tunisians, Egyptians or Syrians occupy streets and squares, they know that some of them might be beaten or shot, not just pepper-sprayed or flex-cuffed,” reported the TIME story.

While there are no dictators in America, and dissidents are not usually tortured, there are protestors who seem to make a career of protesting – animal rights protestors, environmentalists living in trees, union-sponsored picketers outside of non-union businesses, and the almost daily SEIU members protesting something at the state Capitol.

Rarely do Americans see passionate protestors that aren’t sponsored by some political party or labor union.

Californians should take notice of a large group of protestors from Chino Hills, who traveled from the Southern California city to Sacramento today to meet with Capitol legislators. The group is hoping to gain more attention and help in their fight against mega-utility company, Southern California Edison, over the installation of 3.5 miles of 200 foot monster electrical towers erected within only feet of residences.

More than 75 residents were confirmed to make the 416 mile trip north to represent the community.

But it doesn’t end with a visit and tour of the state’s Capitol. Tomorrow, members of Hope For The Hills will travel to San Francisco to attend a hearing at the California Public Utility Commission, about the future of the Southern California Edison Tehachapi Transmission project. SCE and the CPUC will appear before an Administrative Law Judge to begin review of SCE’s response to a PUC Commissioner’s Ruling on the transmission project.

Chino Hills residents will be observing the meeting and are staging a protest.

Moms, dads, husbands and wives, single men and women, grandparents and college students, have been fighting for several years to stop the installation of the mega-towers near homes, and instead have the towers re-routed to the nearby state park. They are not asking for the end of the project – but just want the towers moved away from their homes.

In October 2010, Southern California Edison (SCE) contractors began removing the old, mostly idle, 200 kilovolt (kV) transmission lines from an easement running through Chino Hills, and immediately began installation of the new, 200 foot towers,with 500 kV transmission lines. Residents immediately contacted SCE worried that the power towers were too close to homes, and concerned about living so closely to beefed-up electro-magnetic frequencies and radiation.

The Chino Hills residents have been persistent in their quest. Despite many setbacks and legal decisions rendered in the utility’s favor, as well as a few wins for the community, the Hope For the Hills crew has functioned entirely as a grassroots operation with no outside funding, no union backup, and no political help. The only help they’ve had has been from the city of Chino Hills, which has spent $2 million on legal fees for its own fight against SCE over the towers. The residents have waged the fight with sheer willpower and determination, and with a love of community rarely seen these days.

This is no whining group of NIMBYs. In October, I traveled to Chino Hills to see for myself just how bad the situation was. I had seen photos of the monster towers. I had written stories of the resident’s plight. I followed the hearings, and read the legal documents. I knew it was bad, but I didn’t know how bad.

When I stood at the base of the electrical towers just outside of Joanne’s home, and near the monster tower erected in the middle of the nearby city park where kids were playing soccer, and on top of a hill in a lovely residential development, I was stunned and disgusted.

I thought of the increased electrical current that would run through the monster lines when the towers went live. I thought of the plummeting home prices when residents tried to sell. I started to imagine a once-beautiful bedroom community turning into a wasteland as residents opted to leave rather than stay and wonder about future potential health issues and home values.

But the project seems to be a done deal. Members of Hope For The Hills report that they have been told by several SCE insiders that the utility agreed long ago to build the towers, and have no intention of altering the plan. Some say that there was a contract signed with a cellular company for use of the towers. Others says that because the California Renewable Energy Portfolio was passed and signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown, no California officials are going to help stop it. And others report that the project has been partially funded with federal stimulus money, which SCE doesn’t want to return.

The Tehachapi Transmission Project feels similar to the High-Speed Rail project. Despite the outrageous and increasing costs, lack of ridership, ongoing long-term debt, California officials seem unable to stop it.

One Chino Hills resident wrote on the Hope For the Hills Facebook page.”As many celebrate MLK day, the quote on our website comes to mind; ‘Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.’ We need to all join hands in front of the CPUC and become one big chain that cannot and will not be broken. The Chain of Chino Hills! We can and will do this!”

JAN. 17, 2012

So despite the weeping and gnashing of teeth in some quarters, we should be relieved that most redevelopment officials will soon be out of work. Redevelopment is a process where government bureaucrats abuse eminent domain against property owners to benefit politically well-connected developers. RDA officials are some of the worst people I’ve ever met as I’ve watched them heartlessly drive people off of their businesses and out of their homes, oftentimes offering them pennies on the dollar for their property and subjecting them to legal nightmares. RDA officials run up debt that citizens are on the hook to pay for. They distort land-use policies in cities and do myriad bad things. So it’s great news if most of them soon end up unemployed thanks to the ending of redevelopment agencies, as upheld by the state Supreme Court.

Here is a typical news story about job losses. I wish all former RDA officials much success in finding new, lucrative employment in the private sector, where they will have to deal with other people from a position of mutual agreement rather than one where they exert force over others.

JAN. 10, 2012

In November, after several years of legal battles with the city of Chino Hills, Southern California Edison was ordered by the CPUC to provide alternatives to their Tehachapi Renewable Transmission Project located in Chino Hills. SCE has until January 10 to provide the alternatives to the CPUC.

Meanwhile, on Dec. 22, Chino Hills received word that the California Supreme Court denied the City’s petition for review of a Sept. 12 Court of Appeal’s decision in a property rights case against SCE.

Still, Hope for the Hills presses on to get the towers moved into the state park, instead of running through the city’s neighborhoods.

No NIMBY’s

This is not just a case of ‘not in my backyard.’ Nowhere in the country has any utility installed 200 foot tall, 60ft wide towers, energized with multiple 500,000 volt power lines near residential communities. The monster towers are erected so close to homes, that Chino Hills residents are fearful of potential damage and health risks from the massive electricity lines.

And, there can be no doubt that property values have dropped because of the ugly monster towers looming up from behind backyard swing sets, over the tops of swimming pools, and against the rolling hills of the bedroom community.

Hope For the Hills President Bob Goodwin said today that he is anxious about the upcoming CPUC decision because it has been “eerily quiet” lately.

Goodwin also said that the CPUC recently ordered all of its commissioners to travel to Chino Hills for meetings, and to see the towers first hand. However, despite other stakeholders attending the meetings, no city representatives were included.

“Michael Peevey and Paul Clanon from the CPUC, the State Parks people, and Aerojet attorneys and representatives were there, but the City Manager said no city representatives were there,” Goodwin said. “And, there was no follow-up or debriefing with the city.”

The January 10 decision has everyone in Chino Hills holding a collective breath. But they have not been idle during the holidays. The group has sent many letters to Gov. Jerry Brown for emergency involvement, but to no avail. Residents say they are frustrated because the governor has not done a thing, other than send form letter responses to their correspondence. The most recent response letter from the governor said:

Thank you for writing to Governor Brown regarding the Tehachapi Renewable Transmission Project. The Governor is committed to improving California and greatly appreciates your input. Participation by the people represents an important component of our state. It is people like you, who take the time to communicate ideas and present solutions to the Governor, that contribute to the innovation for which our great state is known. 

Unfortunately, due to the many demands on the Governor’s schedule, he is unable to tour the site of the Tehachapi Project. However, we do encourage you to share your suggestions with the California Public Utilities Commission. You may contact the Commission directly at: Public Utilities Commission, 505 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102; (415) 703-2782 – Again, thank you for taking the time to write to Governor Brown. 
Sincerely, 
Constituent Affairs
Office of Governor Jerry Brown

After fighting the CPUC for several years, one resident replied, “What a crack-up! Giving us the CPUC information. What a joke. Thanks Gov. Brown. For nothing.”

read all of CalWatchdog’s stories about the Tehachapi Renewable Transmission Project including:

 Chino Hills Fights Monster Electric Towers; Chino Hills Wins Battle Against SCE; FAA Halts Electrical Tower Project; Chino Hills Monster Towers; Green Power Project Jolts Citizens

JAN. 3, 2012

California obviously is a divide state that ought to be divided in two — at least. That clearly is shown in the following map of how easy to get a concealed carry weapon’s permit in California. The map is from California Concealed Carry Weapon, a great group that promotes the right to carry a gun.

California is a “may issue” state, meaning each county sheriff determines who gets the permits. As you would expect, the counties on the Left Coast issue almost no permits. While the counties in the more sensible interior of the state make it easy to get a permit.

The anomaly is Orange County, which is conservative Republican, but has a gun-control fanatic as sheriff, Sandra Hutchens, whom foolish voters re-elected in 2010.

It’s typical that the Left Coast doesn’t understand that, as the title of gun scholar John Lott’s book put it, “More Guns, Less Crime.” (Now available for just $3.42 on Kindle.)

The reason is that, when honest, law-abiding citizens carry concealed guns, criminals don’t know which potential victim is armed, and which unarmed. So crime goes down.

Here’s the map. It’s obvious that the green, freedom-loving areas should be split off from the red, repressive, pro-criminal areas.

Jan. 3, 2012

In all seriousness, Brown deserves praise for pursuing this strategy, even if his main goal was gaining more cash for the state rather than ending the property rights abuses.

DEC. 29, 2011

The redevelopment groups argued that Gov. Brown’s plan to kill the agencies was a violation of Prop. 22, which banned the redirection of resources from those agencies. But the court agreed that the state was well within  its rights to end what essentially are state agencies and use the funds for different purposes. We should applaud the incompetence of the CRA and the League of California Cities. Their challenge opened the door for end of the agencies in their entirety. Had they not challenged the laws — an arrogant move, borne of years of arrogance in their treatment of property owners — most agencies would have bought their way back into existence. Now they are kaput.

As usual, the state’s hapless Republican Party — with a few notable exceptions, including Assemblyman Chris Norby of Fullerton, a long-time anti-RDA activist — was mostly on the wrong side of this. Instead of championing the one area where Brown and his fellow Democrats were in the right, the GOP stood up for corporate welfare. One of these corporate welfare kings, Bob Huff of Diamond Bar, will soon be elevated to Senate minority leader.

In many areas, Brown is a disaster, but this victory would never have come if Meg Whitman were governor. It almost makes all the coming Brown indignities tolerable.

DEC. 29, 2011

“In a strongly-worded opinion(Case H035033), California’s Sixth District Appellate Court reversed a Santa Clara County Superior Court for dismissing a lawsuit alleging that a San Jose Police Detective fabricated evidence in an attempt to convict an innocent man of raping a mentally disabled woman.

“San Jose Police Detective Matthew Christian created a document, on letterhead that bore the seal of the Santa Clara County Crime Lab, which falsely stated that Michael Kerkeles’s semen was found at the alleged crime scene. The fake report purported to be authored by a technician named ‘Rebecca Roberts.’ Christian then testified under oath that the report was true. Mr. Kerkeles was ordered to stand trial after Christian gave this false testimony — which was the only evidence that supported the charges. Christian’s fabrication came to light only when Kerkeles’ criminal defense attorney called the Crime Lab shortly before trial and learned that no one named Rebecca Roberts worked there and that the report was a fake. The Appellate Court also reinstated Mr. Kerkeles’ claim against the City of San Jose based on evidence SJPD officers routinely created false crime lab reports and there had been other instances where fake reports had been presented in court as genuine. [emphasis added]”

Consider that the lower court gave the officer a pass for a false report, accepting the defendant’s argument that this outrageous abuse of power did not violate anyone’s constitutional rights. The city of San Jose defended this horrible behavior. The officer, according to the court, claimed that “he had ‘completely forgotten’ that the report was ‘fake’ when he testified.”

Fortunately, the appeals court reversed the ruling: “Finally, defendants contend that the facts of this case do not rise to a constitutional violation by Christian. They remind us that plaintiff was never incarcerated and the charges were eventually dismissed. … We have already rejected the first of these arguments, as a deprivation of liberty may be established regardless of whether the plaintiff was convicted or even incarcerated.”

Thanks in part to law enforcement unions and their tendency to stand up even for their most corrupt members, Californians have had to deal with a plague of police abuse. Obviously, all professions will have their share of bad apples, but police agencies have so much power over citizens. The culture within departments revolves around protecting one another rather than protecting the public.

I recall one case I wrote about (first reported by OC Weekly) where Huntington Beach police planted a weapon on a suspect, but after they were caught doing so, the department claimed that the officers were merely a training exercise. When Orange County deputy sheriffs were caught changing their stories to protect an abusive officer, the DA accused them of engaging in a code of silence. Sheriff Sandra Hutchens didn’t seem outraged that her officers would behave that way, but she was outraged that anyone would use the term “code of silence” even though that’s exactly what took place. That lets you know why police corruption festers.

Our last protection is the courts, which have a mixed record on this score. Fortunately, in this case, justice seems to have prevailed.

DEC. 28, 2011