By , ,
Published May 21, 2015
And now the most telling two minutes in television, the latest from the political grapevine:
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Who Can You Depend On?
A new survey shows that, following three months of trouble at the New York Times, only a minority, 46 percent, of Americans now consider the Times reliable, and 23 percent say the Times is not reliable. Also, the poll by Rasmussen Reports finds 72 percent say FOX News Channel is "reliable," and 66 percent say that about CNN. Meanwhile, another pollster is directing Democrats to keep their political advertising and their interviews away from FOX News. Former Clinton pollster Mark Penn (search), quoted by U.S. News and World Report, tells Democrats, "If you want to talk to your base, then go on CNN or public radio."
On the Defense
Amnesty International (search) says that after decades of brutality by Saddam Hussein, "now the human rights of Iraqis are being violated" by U.S. troops, who, among other, "very severe" violations, have forced some Iraqi prisoners to stand under the hot sun for two days. An Amnesty International spokeswoman now tells Reuters that "we are disappointed that human rights were used as an excuse to go to war in Iraq." Meanwhile, Israel now has to defend its own alleged human rights abuses in front of a United Nations (search) commission this week, a commission presided over by a representative from Libya, the nation responsible, among other things, for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. And The Scotsman newspaper notes the judging panel will also include Cuba.
Drawing Attention
A Sunday political cartoon by Michael Ramirez of the Los Angeles Times has drawn the attention of the Secret Service. The drawing is based on this award-winning photo from the Vietnam War (search). It shows a man putting a gun to the head of a hand-tied President Bush. The message seems to be that President Bush is threatened in Iraq not by Iraqi resistance but by politics back home. The secret service says it hasn't decided what, if anything, should be done about the image.
Over the Line
CBS now says its news division, "maybe ... went over the line" last month when it proposed a TV movie to Jessica Lynch (search) while trying to win an interview with the former prisoner of war. CBS Chairman Les Moonves says, "That was not respecting, possibly, the sanctity of CBS News." Meanwhile, the Associated Press says CBS is working on a four-hour miniseries called "The Reagans" about the former president and his family. Playing the staunch republican will be James Brolin, husband of devoted Democratic activist and fundraiser Barbara Streisand.
— FOX News' Michael Levine contributed to this report
https://www.foxnews.com/story/who-can-you-depend-on