The president's secret Thanksgiving trip to Iraq prompted predictable gushing from major media. As we head toward a presidential election, mainstream media and their pundits are telling us Bush will be difficult to beat. What mass media don't discuss much is their own role in public opinion and public ignorance, two measures that run hand in hand.
That half or more Americans think Iraq was involved in the 9/11 attack -- perhaps the most media-covered event in our history -- stands as a horrific indictment of U.S. media today. Such levels of ignorance can't be found in other countries.
Americans who are fundamentally misinformed about 9/11 provide the bulk of those tallied in polls as supporting Bush and the Iraq war. Subtract them from polls and Bush is an unpopular president -- widely seen as having accomplished a bait and switch, redirecting U.S. anger and vengeance toward a country that did not attack us.
The run-up to the Iraq war offers a case study in news bias: how mainstream media, especially television, were incapable of getting the truth out in the face of administration lies and innuendo about Iraq's 9/11 role and weapons of mass destruction.
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New York Immigration Lawyer Marina Shepelsky, located in Brooklyn, assists clients from the New York metro area and across the United States in all immigration and naturalization matters http://www.e-us-visa.com
The Candidates on Immigration
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In December 2007, Huckabee released his immigration plan, which includes the completion of the border fence with an "interlocking surveillance camera system" by July 1, 2010. He also proposed granting illegal immigrants a 120-day "window to register" with Immigration Services. Those who register would be able to return to their home countries and "face no penalty if they later apply to immigrate or visit." Those who stay, according to his plan, would be deported and "barred from future reentry" for ten years.
Duncan Hunter
Rep. Hunter (R-CA), who represents a district in southern California, has been a prominent conservative voice against illegal immigration. Hunter, who generally advocates an "enforcement-only" approach to dealing with illegal immigrants, co-sponsored the Secure Fence Act of 2006. In 1994, Hunter voted for the Prohibiting Benefits to Undocumented Immigrants Amendment, which denied illegal immigrants' any emergency food and shelter from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
John McCain
Sen. McCain (R-AZ) has been a moderate voice who supports both increased border security and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. McCain was the only GOP candidate (FOX) to support the recent immigration reform bill.
He was also a co-sponsor of the Senate Immigration Reform Act of 2006, which called for establishing a guest-worker program as well as setting up a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. At a May 2007 debate with Republican presidential candidates, McCain defended his position in this way: "(W)e've got to enforce our border. That's our first and foremost priority. But we also have to have a comprehensive solution and it has to be bipartisan. And I believe we're close to reaching that, and that's what the American people expect us to do."
McCain voted for the Secure Fence Act of 2006. With John Edwards, among others, McCain co-sponsored the Save Summer Act of 2004, which would have increased the legal limit on H-2B visas for seasonal nonagricultural laborers by forty thousand.
Ron Paul
On the Texas Congressman's campaign website, Paul stresses the importance of secure borders and lists a six-point plan for immigration policy that says the U.S. must secure borders, enforce visa rules, and end birthright citizenship. Paul is against amnesty and "welfare for illegal aliens." Paul voted in favor of the Secure Fence Act of 2006.
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