Sunday, March 23, 2008

Why We Are Red

Another example of how our media ejaculates a story all over the grateful faces of folks here in the heartland. OPUBCO, stands for the Oklahoma Publishing Company, part of the Gaylord family entertainment and self-delusional enterprise, owns the Daily Oklahoman, our only state-wide newspaper. They are nothing but a huge fucking vacuum cleaner of money, sucking advertising dollars from local businesses (rates among the highest in the nation, circulation among the lowest) bank in Dallas and spend their money in Tennessee. They are not the friends of Oklahomans.

But that is not the point of this post. The sins they have perpetrated against Oklahoma are both wide and varied, the latest of which is labeling that which is bad and evil and rooted in and founded upon religious doctrine by zealots and fanatics, in short, the base of the religious right, and turned that to represent mainstream Americans who oppose the war.

The story is about Westboro Baptist Church, which is famous for its lunacy, and a Marine that took exception to one of the WBC members sticking an American flag down her britches. He charged the hill and was arrested. Protesters and counter-protesters and police were there. The marine was cuffed and stuffed and jailed for his troubles.

The whole problem with the story was Westboro Baptist Church being identified as a war protester, thereby staining all war-protesters as flag-hating anti-American.

The "reporter" on this story is named Ann Kelley, and I do not know if the editing process lopped off all the heinous background of this religious right hate-group, or if she intentionally conspired to mislead readers into believing they were left-leaning anti-war protesters. The result is the same, a skewed and downright dishonest portrayal of who the crackpots are and are not.

Okie Funk has more.

4 comments:

Rena said...

This was the most heinous thing I've ever seen in that paper, and that's saying a lot. Plus, when I called them, they refused to accept there was any error or mischaracterization in the story, and to date have not published letters of complaint -- and I know for sure at least one was sent.

Jimmie Dale Martin, Blogmaster said...

I worked for once upon a time for the Gaylords. They are good and honorable people who unlike you hold to family values.
Get over your hate for rich people. People who accumulate sacrifice a lot of their life and provide jobs for the masses. You sound like Obama's preacher.

Oilfieldguy said...

rena,

When you wrestle with a pig, you both get dirty, but the pig enjoys it. We do need to keep swinging, however.

blogmaster,

we wonder if you worked for E. K. Gaylord, or his snotty little son, who fired his daddies secretary of over fifty years the day after his daddy died, giving Eddie the power he so desperately wanted.

Still, my problems are not with the Gaylord family personally, but with their biased rag, which has netted one Pulitzer prize (in 1939 for editorial cartooning) during its 100 year lifespan. This includes the period of the Oklahoma City bombing.

Coincidentally, in 1997, Oklahoma Gazette readers voted Eddie Gaylord second place as "Best Local Villain". Timothy McVeigh won first.

Congrats on your tender memories. I know lots of great people who really suck at what they do.

Jimmie Dale Martin, Blogmaster said...

You quote a pinko rag like the Gazette as authoritative and expect to be believable?
The secretary had a great job (I know her) and you can paint her fired after 50 years if want to create a hate Gaylord urban legend. An honest person would call it late retirement. You need to set down with Obams's preacher and work on issues.
Smile