Wednesday, August 19, 2009

KC Star columnist: "Americans are ignorant" (updated twice)


I have never seen such a huge disconnect between the MSM media and average Americans than I am now seeing in the current debate over Obama Care.

For several weeks the drumbeat from the media has been town hall protesters are racists, thugs, crazies, or tools of the insurance industry. Funny how the media follows DNC talking points.

It doesn't seem to occur to elite media that Americans might have solid reasons to oppose Obama Care. (For starters, most citizens get it that the nation's future is being jeopardized by insane deficit spending and we can't afford a government scheme to cover another 20 million uninsured.)

The latest example of the contempt the media has for Americans is a column by KC Star columnist Yael Abouhalkah (pictured above left). He looks at a recent MSNBC poll showing a majority of Americans oppose Obama Care and concludes that Americans are ignorant.

Click here to see Abouhalkah's full column. (Note: link is now disabled, see update below.)

Note to Yael -- Americans aren't ignorant: they have good reason to believe Obama Care would saddle future generations with debt, and wouldn't improve the health care Americans get now.

They're not ignorant; it's you and your allies in the Democrat/Media complex who have alienated millions of Americans -- who also happen to be your audience and subscribers.

That behavior on your part is what's ignorant, Yael.

Hat tip: Newsbusters
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Update: The Star pulled down Yael's original column, which was posted yesterday -- the link to Yael's original post now returns "ACCESS DENIED, you are not authorized to access this page."

This morning (7:10 AM) Yael posted a revised column, which is available here.

If you go to the bottom of today's column you can see the time the revised column was posted: "August 19, 2009 7:10 AM." But the Newsbusters piece on Yael accusing Americans of ignorance was posted last night. It looks like he pulled the offensive column down, and posted a sanitized, less offensive version this morning at 7:10 AM.

I emailed Yael and asked why the original column was deleted.

Update #2: Newsbusters, which called out Yael last night for calling Americans "ignorant," posted this:

"It appears that the Kansas City Star and Abouhlkah have acknowledged their own ignorance by disabling the previous link entitled: "Poll: Ignorance abounds among Americans on health care plan." The new title aims to place less blame on Americans and more on the supposed web of lies being spun by the Republican party and conservatives in general."
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16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Come on, MW. Give the full quote instead of your selective editing.
The full quote: "ignorant about key parts of it." (President Barack Obama's health care plan)
Get the difference about being "ignorant" and "ignorant about key parts of the health care bill"? No, you probably don't.

Kevin Gregory said...

8:05 -- Yael pulled down his original post and put up a revised version this morning. So I can't tell if the phrase "ignorant about key parts of it" was one of his revisions.

John Altevogt said...

This was posted in the Stalinist Midwest Voices blog. This is a highly censored blog and it's not surprising that your link was restricted. In his normal columns (where he apparently is not in charge of censorship) Yael tends to be very measured and addresses local issues, but on Midwest Voices it's rather clear that he is more concerned with kissing Miriam Pepper's ass and her looney left agenda than in posting anything rational.

Yael has been the #1 hatemonger with regard to Sarah Palin and her children and lately has been writing extensively about how all of the brave Democrats/Communists are standing up to the dangers of the townhall meetings.

Dennis Moore, our cowardly 3rd District Congressthug has been refusing to attend any but the most staged events with The Star's full blessings and protection, once again demonstrating why losing these rags is meaningless.

Anonymous said...

NO THE MEDIA IS IGNORANT

ANOTHER PHONY OBAMACARE DOCTOR-- Is Really a Far Left Nut
Buck's Right may have found another phony protest doctor.
(Gateway Pundit)

I’m having trouble finding evidence that an ObamaCare supporter who spoke at Barney Frank’s town hall meeting last night, identified by the Associated Press and other media outlets as a Newton, MA doctor, actually is a doctor.

Here’s what AP had to say.

Others at Tuesday’s meeting were more supportive of reform.

Dr. Sheila Leavitt, a physician from Newton, said she hoped for changes that would support primary care physicians who aren’t paid as much as specialists. She said some of the rowdy critics at Tuesday’s meeting appeared to be using the same “talking points” as those who showed up at similar meetings around the country.

(This version CORRECTS Corrects spelling of ‘Leavitt’ sted “Levitt’ in last graf.)
The only references to Sheila Leavitt as a medical doctor I can find on Google (besides references to last night’s town hall) are self-references; where she identifies herself that way. I could find no listing for a medical office belonging to Sheila Leavitt. Physicians generally have offices where they practice medicine.

As far as I can tell, she is not listed as a licensed Physician at the Massachusetts State Medical Board web site. Several “Leavitts” are doctors in Massachusetts, but none are named “Sheila.” Just for kicks I tried the Associated Press’ original misspelling of the name, “Levitt,” and also found no “Sheila” as a licensed doctor.

Anonymous said...

..This was posted in the Stalinist Midwest Voices blog. This is a highly censored blog..

Translation: edited.

And the link isn't blocked. Go to kansascity.com, and you can access it.

Kevin Gregory said...

I just sent an email to Yael asking why his original column was deleted. Maybe he can clear it up.

Anonymous said...

Translation: edited.



Bullshit. He was right. That blog is completely CENSORED with only approved content posted after approved editing is applied.

They don't call him "Abdul Allahu Ackbar Obama" for nothing.

Anonymous said...

8:39 AM Good luck with that. No Response, Technical Error, Some sneaky bastard posted my rough draft, or Mama Pepper told me to lay low.

Anonymous said...

Just another lib, Marxist, COWARD who runs and hides under his bed when a little light is placed on him.

And McClatchy wants me to suscribe to this!

John Altevogt said...

A bit of history on The Star's editorial page. Miriam Pepper, The Star's editorial page editor replaced Rich Hood, a 29 year veteran at The Star who rose through the ranks as an investigative reporter. Pepper is an affirmative action baby. She previously held Derek Donovan's position as "Reader's" Rep (strange how they always have incompetent Stalinist low lifes in this position) before ascending to her current position over Steve Winn and others who were vastly more qualified.

John Altevogt said...

8:37 Idiot, the link IS blocked. Click on it and you'll find out. But, yes, there is a version of Yael's hate-o-gram still on The Star's site.

Next time before you write something stupid about Kevin's links, find out what a link actually is. This is why I hate anonymous postings. The moron at 8:37 should be recognized for just how stupid he/she/it really is.

"And the link isn't blocked. Go to kansascity.com, and you can access it."

Anonymous said...

...Stalinist low lifes...

John, John, John ... will you ever learn? Probably not.

Anonymous said...

Question: Does McClatchy employ ANY columnists who aren't lefty wingnuts?

Anonymous said...

12:00 PM


Let me put it to you like this. You know within a matter of seconds after the beginning of your interview, exactly what you better believe in, but it isn't really a problem.

The application process is designed to weed out anyone not subscribing to the hive.

I didn't believe it myself until the first time I heard a simple minded bimbo complaining about how long it took her to get hired. She was furious because it took so long and she was a double minority. (Female and Pakistani)

It became even more clear after a black writer was accused of sexual harassment and had no problem with it at all. We were at a softball game, not sponsored by the paper where he told a low rent bitch who kept chasing him. to "get her diseased p---y away from him."

They told him the following Monday that he was suspended until the EEO complaint was investigated. He told them, "you can't do that to me, I'm black."

Damn if he wasn't right. They rescinded the suspension within an hour and he never heard another word.

Anonymous said...

Yael's message? If you're not down with the President's plan, then you can only be classified as ignorant.
@NewsBusters

Yeal is an old Knight Ridder creep, that is all you really need to know.

Anonymous said...

John, John, John, I say calling them ‘Stalinist lowlifes’ is being too kind. I love these trolls that read every word here. That is how important we are to their lives. Amazing when you stop and think about it.