From the Queens Chronicle:Thomas Jefferson famously wrote of the “wall of separation” he said should exist between religion and politics in the fledgling America, and the idea has been one of the nation’s guiding principles ever since.
In journalism we have another wall of separation, the one between news and advertising, or a media company’s other revenue sources. Like the one between religion and government, that wall is at times stronger than others, but it’s always there if you’re serious about fair news coverage.
One of our competitors, the Queens Tribune, recently obliterated both walls at once with an unfair front-page story about Dan Halloran, the GOP candidate for the 19th City Council District. Halloran is a former Catholic who converted to a pagan religion, and the story focused on his beliefs. It made no mention of the beliefs of his opponent, Kevin Kim. Instead, the front page labeled Kim the “Democratic victor” and Halloran a “Pagan lord.”
To make matters worse, Kim is a client of the Tribune’s affiliate, Multi-Media Corp., which does political consulting and other services for candidates. The story was silent on the $80,000 Kim has paid the firm this year.
The Tribune story was a hit piece, journalism at its worst, and the financial tie between Kim and the paper makes it all the more unseemly. Many readers were rightly disgusted. We hope the Tribune takes a lesson from their anger and takes a more fair approach next time, and discloses in its articles any financial connection to the people it’s writing about. Queens deserves no less.
26 comments:
That photo should have pictured Congressman Ackerman wiping his ass with the Constitution.
But...alas...seeing his corrupt bloated countenance with that sacred document in the background is quite enough for my delicate...uh...er...constitution!
Ackerman would not endorse a "Merry Christmas" resolution, bashes a local pagan, but at the same time, has no problem with Diwali, Chinese New Year, and the Eids.
You either honor all of your constituents' beliefs, or none at all.
Crapper, talk about sincere reporting and balance and neglect to run this?
http://www.queenstribune.com/not4pub/FreedomOfReligionDoesNotDe.html
I'm not done with my Trib coverage yet, jerky.
Be patient.
Fair job on research by the Chronicle. Jefferson did write of a wall separating Church and State in a letter to the Danbury Baptists.
James Madison is often credited as the true architect of the First Ammendment, and he added a caveat to Jefferson's wall idea, essentialy calling it a one-way wall.
"I have sometimes thought there could not be a stronger testimony in favor of religion or against temporal enjoyments, even the most rational and manly, than for men who occupy the most honorable and gainful departments [of government] and are rising in reputation and wealth, publicly to declare their unsatisfactoriness by becoming fervent advocates in the cause of Christ."
The Separation clause, which you so fervently burn behind Gary, is geared at keeping government from meddling in the private religious affairs of citizens. But nearly all of the founding fathers favored religion as a moral compass for elected leaders.
John Adams: "It is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand. The only foundation of a free constitution is pure virtue."
Ben Franklin: "I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid?"
Hence: "In God we trust" on the back of our currency and mostly all of our political institutions.
Washington himself laid the cornerstone of the capitol building in full Masononic getup during a Masonic ritual. The Declaration of Independence. mentions we are "endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights." Etc. etc. etc.
The founders of our country recognized man's inability to separate HIMSELF from God, no mattter what his role in society. Seeing as how we're all corporium creatures affected by our beliefs, it's fair to wonder aloud how being the leader of a pagan sect will effect one's views on legislating, and why Halloran went through great pains to hide this leadership role.
That's all the Trib did.
Can we please stop with the sanctimonious nonsense from the other weeklies, who act like they knew about Halloran as well and actively decided to not run the story?
A story with journalistic merits is just that. Had any them, with maybe the exception of the Republican-fellating Courier, had the story, they'd have sprinted with it like greyhounds.
That's all the Trib did.
BULLSHIT!!! Schenkler and his gang of thieves used their publication to promote one candidate over another. The sensationalistic front page, the editorial, and other articles clearly show this intent. Who are you? Ruffles at it again but too chickenshit to ID yourself? This will not go away. It will only get worse!
C-mon...
Schenkler and Nussbaum would drink their own piss insisting that it was Dom Perignon!
Thanks for the "GOD" lesson.
The "Trib" crossed the line no matter how you attempt to prattle your way out of it...uh...is it "ruffles" Rafferty?
This issue wont go away even after the election is over.
There will be fallout to deal with!
"A story with journalistic merits is just that."
Yeah too bad the Halloran hatchet job wasn't one of them.
The mentioning of "The Supreme Being", "the Creator", etc. in the founding documents has nothing to do with sectarian religions. It is pure deism.
Thank God for that!
Deism is not theism.
Schenkler and Nussbaum those old wind bags screwing Kim.
Is it illegal to take the Trib's copies out of their boxes?
I need toilet paper and am tired of paying for it.
Ackerman is under orders from Sri Chinmoy, his dead guru.
He got the cult leader waked in the private tennis court on Normal Road in Jamaica. You might want to ask how his cult came to own a vacant lot that was owned by NYC.
The brainwashed followers tried to keep Chinmoy's dead body to watch over them, except it started to rot and smelt bad. Another reason is that only the good die young. Chinmoy had been stinking long before he finally dropped dead.
Follow the money from Jamaica's own dangerous cult to Ackerman's office and assistance he gave them such as flouting cemetery/burial laws on the cults behalf. That is only the beginning.
The head bag boy, Ashrita Fhurman, now treasurer of the non-profit, Sri Chinmoy Meditation Center Church, Inc., has a daddy who is real estate lawyer and good friends w/ Ackerman.
Ackerman and James Gennaro were often photographed with Chinmoy.
The last anonymous should take the award for hypocrisy, bashing Gary Ackerman, while insulting Sri Crinmoy's group as a cult.
An insult against one religious group is an insult to all.
A pox on the Trib and on Hackerman. I always resented the fact that he ran the Tribune as a personal campaign strategy to get enough name recognition to run for office. Since he's been in office, he's been nothing but a knee-jerk lefty hack. How nice that Mr. Kim is studying at the feet of the master.
An insult against one religious group is an insult to all.
Why don't you tell Schenkler how you feel?
The last anonymous should take the award for hypocrisy, bashing Gary Ackerman, while insulting Sri Crinmoy's group as a cult.
bashing? try fact checking,
dear.
http://www.rickross.com/reference/srichinmoy/srichinmoy44.html
The only people who read that rag is old yentas.
The only people who read that rag is old yentas.
--
Old yentas that would not leave Tony A twisting in the wind with 'hope' and 'wish' and whining like the posters on this blog did.
They vote. Big time.
I did tell Schenkler how I feel.
What about you signing your name to your gripe?
Errand boy "ruffles" Rafferty sure has got one hell of an assignment from his boses.
He has to read "Queens Crap" every waking hour and counterpost with some degree of style lest Shenkler fire him!
You're not doing good enough to work for me Brian!
It seems to me that there are enough whore/massage parlor ads running in the "Trib" to qualify it being "X" rated as adult material...to be kept out of the sight of minors.
Get this "on your back" ad/rag off the street racks.
Please express your disgust to your religious, etc. groups to request having these distribution kiosks removed from the sidewalks.
Aren't they in violation of NYC's administrative code anyway?
I've already spoken to my local bank and retail stores about not allowing the "Trib" to be placed on their premises.
Promoting front page religious intolerance and perpetrating sexual lust in your ad section are "great" lessons to be teaching our children...eh Mr. Shenkler?
And what have you got to say for yourself "Congressman" Ackerman?
After all...you're the one that appears to be behind it all!
Puh-leeeeze...
the "Trib-rag" is printed on recycled toilet paper!
So its "news" stories are full of shit too!
from "new yorker" ,the traitor,the case against jonathan
pollard by seymour m. hersh,1/18/99.
in the last decade,jonathan pollard,the Americaan Navy employee who spied for Israel in the mid-nineteen-eighties and is now serving a life sentence, has become a cause celebre in Israel and among Jewish groups in the United States. The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations,a consortium of fifty-five groups.has publicly called for
pollard's release, arguing, in essence, that his crimes did not amount to high treason against the United States.
according to the Times,George Tenet, the director
of c.i.a., warned the President that he would be forced to resign from the Agency if pollard were to be released. Clinton then told Prime Minister Netanyahu that pollard's release would not be imminent.
the President's willingness to consider clemency forced the c.i.a.to go public.
the man who lobbied,along with pollard's ex-wife,
in the press,radio and tv media for his release was
our congressman,GARY ACKERMAN.
pollard estimated that he stole documents that stacked 6' wide,6' long,and 10' high!!! the data revealed the entire specific American intelligence systems and how they worked. from Israel, they then
reached the soviet union.
kevin kim is in good hands with this patriot??
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