Writing About Helms

How, pray tell, does an AIDS program "promote homosexuality"?

From an AP story tonight on Jesse Helms, which refers politely to his opposition to civil rights but leaves out the uglier stuff.

In the debate over reauthorizing a domestic AIDS program, Helms tried but failed to prohibit any money from being used to promote homosexuality.

There is already considerable complaining on the blogs about TV news stories tagging Helms as a conservative while glossing over his racial remarks and actions.

Not So Liberal

Media Matters has been counting the numbers of liberal and conservative columnists run by American newspapers and concluded that the latter outnumber the former.

The results show that in paper after paper, state after state, and region after region, conservative syndicated columnists get more space than their progressive counterparts. As Editor & Publisher paraphrased one syndicate executive noting, "U.S. dailies run more conservative than liberal columns, but some are willing to consider liberal voices."1

Though papers may be "willing to consider" progressive syndicated columnists, this unprecedented study reveals the true extent of the dominance of conservatives.