Media ignorance and bias as illustrated by CNN

The effort for Universal Health Care begins on CNN

CNN Anchor displays ignorance of the Congressional budget process   (view the video headlined: Rep. Matt Salmon: "I believe this will send us back into a part-time economy")

 

Ok, I could slam Fox News Channel because of its sloppy journalistic approaches in its prime time reporting, but unfortunately that would be an easy target because it IS NOT really simple reporting, but news analysis – usually with a conservative slant.

However, the CNN reports ostensibly are news reports and not just opinion. And the anchor/reporter in each segment above brings a particular point of view and agenda to the table. That is not good journalism, but it is what passes for it today.

However, the thing that set me off tonight (10/3/2013) was watching CNN news anchor Anderson Cooper questioning a Republican representative about the GOP-controlled House’s efforts to fund the federal government department by department in separate bills. To Cooper, this seemed to be such a bad thing.

HELLO MR COOPER! Where were you in your high school civics class? Asleep?

For those unfamiliar with the in and outs of way the US Congress has worked for the  past 225 years, it does not just pass one big bill to to fund the operations of the federal government. No, it passes a number of authorization bills – broken down by various subjects and departments – that authorize the various departments of the government to spend certain amounts of money for their operations. This is followed by a similar number of appropriations bills that actually allocate the available federal funds to pay for those things authorized. Anything left over … well usually Congress authorizes borrowing the money to cover whatever it wants to spend.

This really is just like us peons do when we pay our monthly and annual bills. We don’t just write one huge check. We write a plethora of little ones to pay our creditors … and we make agonizing decisions how much to spend on each separately and not all at one time.

Unfortunately, this process has broken down at the federal level in the last 35 years or so. Now, it seems that Congress and the President are content with literally kicking the can down the road. And for the last three years, it basically has given up on doing a budget and passing authorization and appropriations bills … well at least the appropriations bill parts … and instead votes for continuing resolutions or omnibus spending bills that include all federal spending in one lump sum.

Obviously, Mr. Cooper really likes omnibus bills because it is just one big story, but the problem with bills that big comes in the details. All sorts of various and sundry things get stuck in the bill – because it has to pass – which fund the famous pork barrel projects we all hear about and give this or that special interest group a special perk or tax exemption.

Now, continuing resolutions basically say that we authorize and appropriate money for all government programs and “current” spending levels (back to the last time a real budget bill was passed with whatever changes were made in the interim omnibus spending bills). This basically abrogates the responsibility of Congress – and especially the House of Representatives, where all taxing and spending legislation is supposed to originate.

However, since it basically has become the way that our government operates now, Mr. Cooper, President Obama and the Senate Democrats led by Harry Reid want to make it the way government is supposed to be funded. Or so it seems to me.

It seems to me that when a Democratic president is elected in this country, the Congress is to play lap dog and pass whatever the person in the Oval Office proposes. Oh, if a Republican president is in office, then this rule does not apply.

So, now, it apparently is against the civil rules of society to say: “Hey, here is how we have done things for 225 years (and it has worked pretty well up to now until people decided it had to be all or nothing) and the nation did pretty good.

As I said, I know this is not politically correct to say right now, but the House is not obligated to support anything, including measures passed by previous Congresses, if the majority in said House says it doesn’t want to.

If you don’t understand that, tell it to all those DoD contractors who have seen planned construction projects cancelled year after year (especially when contractors low-balled their estimates and tried to implement their contracts that would let them get more money … but that is another issue). What previous Congresses approved carry little weight then.

And even if an issue gets defeated, repeatedly, that doesn’t stop Congress trying to pass another law on it (note gun control and amnesty for non-American citizens who enter this country without following the legally mandated procedures and want to stay).

So, when you watch broadcast/cable TV news and see them talking about a “clean bill” continuing resolution what they really are talking about is Congress once again failing to do its fricking job in the first place … and unfortunately for the last three years the biggest culprit in this farce has been the members of the US Senate.

Yes, there is a “minority” in the House that has stiffened the spine of the majority party there, but that is how democratic republics work. Heck, it is even how democracies work.

The people at CNN and other national news disseminating organizations may not like or agree with the political views of that minority/majority, but it is wrong to portray them with disparaging views … like they are children or terrorists. They are neither. They are merely who have a profound politically and ideologically different view of the world.

A good journalist accepts that and tries not to become an advocate of either side in the questions he or she is pitching to the politicians or the public.

Nuff said!

Post Scriptum: I know there are those out there would will read this and see it as condescending or talking down to people. Folks, I am not doing that (at least not consciously) but I am trying to explain how the US system should be working and how it is failing to work … because sometimes we tend to forget that.