Apparently some members of the press still haven't forgiven
the November election results.
While they haven't yet blamed President Bush for the tsunami, a
pair of Washington Post reporters, John F. Harris and Robin
Wright, have written an article that seems to fault Mr. Bush's
actions and words for indicating a lack of urgency about the
catastrophic events in Asia. The article reported on
"complaints that the vacationing President Bush has been
insensitive to a humanitarian catastrophe of epic
proportions." The reporters noted that the predominant voice
in Britain speaking about the disaster was not Mr. Bush but
President Clinton, who immediately called for a coordinated
international response. One is left with the impression
"Bush bad, Clinton good."
One has to wonder where these reporters were in 1994 when Rwanda
was awash in genocidal bloodlust and the man whom author Toni
Morrison dubbed our first black president was in office. Unlike a
natural phenomenon, the killing of nearly a million Rwandans was
preventable, but it was exacerbated by the inaction of the most
powerful man in the world, who did not even convene a Cabinet
meeting to discuss the issue.
But I'll leave it to others to infer whether this week's
Washington Post article is just another example of liberal bias
against any Republican. Tomorrow is the first day of a new year,
and if Roy Innis, chairman of the Congress of Racial Equality,
has anything to say about it, things may be starting to turn
around. He's started a campaign to break the press censorship on
the voices of reason in Black America.
Called Fairness in Media, the CORE campaign mission statement
begins: "Mass media is involved in a dangerous practice of
censoring the voices of reason and decency in America. They
choose, instead, to carry only the comments of those individuals
whose primary objective is to incite and encourage division -
because according to them 'it sells newspapers.' "
An e-mail link from its Web site, http://www.core-online.org, is
provided to the editors and publishers of New York's most
important news outlets, where registrants can urge fairness in
reporting on minority issues.
The statement continues: "CORE and our National Chairman,
Roy Innis, have been victims of this censorship. Press releases
and statements we make on critical issues, such as racial harmony
and tolerance, are ignored by the media. Instead, they choose to
exclusively carry the race baiters and haters who seek to fan the
fires with abusive and irresponsible rhetoric. This kind of
exclusive access to the mass media gives the world the impression
that all in our community think their way when just the opposite
is true."
I received a copy of a press release announcing CORE'S
co-sponsorship of the World Conference on the Implications and
Realities of Biotechnology. The conference is being held at the
United Nations on January 18 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Scientists
will address such issues as the impact, regulation, and ethics of
advances in biological engineering. Seating is limited and
reservations will be taken no later than January 10, at (212)
598-4000. This press release has been sent to all major news
outlets. Let's count how many actually report it.
Cindy Adams of the New York Post wondered why Karl Rove had
accepted an invitation to CORE's Martin Luther King Jr. dinner on
January 17 at the New York Hilton. She wrote in her Tuesday
column, "but seems to me smart Rove already won what he
needs and got his man elected and doesn't have to kowtow,
cootchy-coo or make nice with anyone anymore. So? Why's he
honoree?"
What an odd thing to say, but perhaps Cindy is confusing the Rove
invitation with the way some politicians take the black vote for
granted and then disappear after the election. The issue of civil
rights, however, has always been the hallmark of the Republican
Party, and this administration's commitment to them did not end
on November 2.
Did you know that black icons such as Frederick Douglass and
Jackie Robinson were Republicans? Did you know that the NAACP was
co-founded by two black Republican women, Ida Wells and Mary
Terrell? I didn't, and I also never knew that most suffragettes,
including Susan B. Anthony, were Republicans. Condoleezza Rice
and Colin Powell are only two of the many Republican
"firsts" elected or appointed to historic positions of
importance. Those little-known facts are just a few of the 365
achievements listed in the 2005 Republican Freedom Calendar,
published by the House Policy Committee, whose chairman is Rep.
Christopher Cox. Perhaps the CORE campaign and the Freedom
calendar will bring a more balanced coverage of the political
scene next year.
***
What a sad end to the year. My prayers go out to the victims of
the tsunamis and their families.