YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK

NPR presented us this morning with another great example of what makes NPR left. In Elizabeth Arnold's story today on Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R), we learned that she's pushing for drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge -- as all Alaska politicians must in order to get elected -- NPR makes this point so we understand that there's no good reason to support the drilling, just greed for power and for money. Nevertheless, a good position, which the Senator supports in the story by pointing out that 60% of the nation's wilderness is in Alaska and that certainly limits the ability of Alaskans to make a living. I wonder what New Yorkers would think if the majority of New York was off limits to human development because a bunch of liberal Alaskans liked it that way (yet never visit)? Anyway, Elizabeth Arnold thought her job as narrator was to attack the Senator's points, as she made clear that the Alaskan's don't own that wilderness, but all Americans do, because it is "federal" land. No mention of the principles of Federalism, of course.

But the real kicker came with Ms. Arnold's final sentence of the piece, which, in NPR fashion is always more conclusion than denouement. Comparing the Senator to her father Frank, who held the seat before her, Ms. Arnold quotes a critic (yes, a critic's statement is used to sum up the profile), saying that while Lisa's style is different than her father's, she's still selling the same old "snake oil." (You can hear this example of fair and balanced journalism here after noon eastern). And that's why we call it National Liberal Radio.