Daily Archives: March 19, 2014

03/19/14

Raul Ruiz (D-CA 36) – KeyWiki Progressive/Marxist Profiles

By: Trevor Loudon
Editor: Terresa Monroe-Hamilton

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KeyWiki.org Page: http://keywiki.org/index.php/Raul_Ruiz

Election Facts for 2014:

• Party – Democrat
• State – California
• Location – California 36
• First Elected – 2012
• Candidates in 2014:
Terri Sewell – D
Brian Nestande – R

Raul Ruiz is a freshman Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the 36th District of California. He is a new member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.


Raul Ruiz (D-CA 36)

Background

Just months after he was born in Zacatecas, Mexico, Ruiz’s biological mother died.
This led to his adoption while still a baby by his father’s sister and her husband, and an upbringing in Coachella, California.

In Coachella, “it was the Filipino farm worker strike of 1965 that spurred subsequent strikes across the state for better wages and rights,” United Farm Workers (UFW) leader and Democratic Socialists of America member Dolores Huerta recalled.

Huerta and Cesar Chavez were inspired by the Coachella strikers. “It was the Filipino farm workers’ courage that helped spur them to action,” she said.

Many veteran UFW members from that era still live in the desert. Their influence reflected in groups such as Lideres Campesinas, Pueblo Unido and Promotores Comunitarios del Desierto – a group that Ruiz was involved with.

In the summer of 1990, Ruiz walked from business to business in the Coachella Valley asking them to invest in their community by contributing to his education. He made a promise to “come back home and serve the community as a physician.”

After a stint at UCLA, Ruiz studied at Harvard from 1995 to 2003, did residency work in Pittsburgh, PA and then a final academic year in Boston, MA in 2005-2006. Ruiz then returned to the Coachella Valley in 2007 to work at Eisenhower Medical Center.

Back in Boston, Ruiz performed as a “Danzante” – a folkloric dancer in traditional Aztecan costume with troupes from across New England. It was an activity Ruiz had started at UCLA.

Influence

Dr. Ruiz currently serves on the House Committee on Natural Resources and the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

Communist Connections

While in Boston, Ruiz was involved for several years with the radical North American Indian Center of Boston, a Jamaica Plain-based nonprofit that “provided support services to American Indians.”

The North American Indian Center led to Ruiz’s connection to the Marxist influenced United American Indians of New England (UAINE), a group very closely allied to the pro-Cuba/North Korea Workers World Party.

When leading UAINE activist Bob Gustafson died in 2012, Workers World published an obituary, in the November 21st edition:

Workers World Party mourns the loss of Bob Gustafson, a Warrior of the Mohawk Nation who was at the historic occupation of Wounded Knee in 1973 and was a longtime United American Indians of New England activist. Gustafson, who passed away on Sept. 21, was a steadfast fighter for Native-American self-determination, sovereignty and freedom, and a comrade in the struggle for socialism. We will pick up his banner and continue the struggle for liberation for all Native nations.

Day of Mourning Arrest

Ruiz participated for over six years in the UAINE’s annual Thanksgiving Day protest at Plymouth, MA – including a 1997 arrest with 24 other protesters.

The UAINE-led protest typically started at Cole’s Hill, a National Historic Landmark above Plymouth Rock, and the burial site for Pilgrims who died in the first winter after they landed there.

Tensions between authorities and protesters had existed since the first Day of Mourning in 1970. In 1997, tensions boiled over, gaining national attention.

Events turned violent after at least 200 demonstrators left Cole’s Hill, marched through Leyden Street, in downtown Plymouth, and approached a central town square.

Police arrested several protesters after scuffles broke out, with both sides blaming the other for initiating the violence.

Raul Ruiz was taken into custody during a second wave of arrests after the Day of Mourning protesters crowded into Plymouth’s Town Square. “At some point, police began hitting people with clubs,” Ruiz said in his account of the incident. “Another man and I shielded Sam (Sapiel) to prevent him from being hit. The police hit us with clubs, arrested us, and then pepper-sprayed us even though we weren’t resisting.”


Ruiz (left), with Fellow Arrestees

According to the police report, Sapiel was arrested for inciting the crowd after yelling “this is what they wanted,” and pointing to an officer to call him “the Mafia.” Police had difficulty pulling him away from Ruiz and other protesters and the group fell to the ground, the report stated.

In 1998, Ruiz pled not guilty to two misdemeanor offenses of disorderly conduct and tumultuous behavior. He faced up to three years in prison, but the charges were later dropped as part of a settlement that also dismissed claims of police brutality.

While awaiting trial in 1998, Ruiz told the Harvard Crimson newspaper that Thanksgiving is “the glorification of an incident in history which has a direct link to the… poverty and oppression which (Latinos and American Indians) experience today.”

Of the 25 people arrested that day, three: Steven C. Gillis, 36, of Boston; Kazi A. Toure, 47, of New Hampshire; and Stevan C. Kirschbaum, 44, of Roslindale; were leading supporters of the Workers World Party.

Rally Against Racism

The January 19, 1998, Rally Against Racism in Plymouth was organized by UAINE in response to an “unprovoked police assault on peaceful Native demonstrators and their supporters on November 27th.”

UAINE elder Sam Sapiel, opened the program with a greeting and prayer. He was followed by Raul Ruiz’s Danza Azteca’s ceremonial dances.

Imani Henry of the National People’s Campaign, a poet and actor from the lesbian/gay/bi/trans community, co-chaired the rally. One of the two black women arrested at the National Day of Mourning, Henry spoke of the long history of solidarity between the African American and Native struggles, from the Seminole War to the government repression of the Black Panthers and the American Indian Movement.

Henry said of the media: “It is almost laughable to mention Dr. King’s legacy of non-violence without mentioning the racist violence with which he was constantly met, including his finally being gunned down. Racism as systemic and systematic oppression is itself an act of violence.” Imani Henry is a member of the Workers World Party.

Moonanum James, Co-Leader of UAINE, showed how “the pilgrim mythology continues to be used to justify murder, theft, racism, repression and genocide against Native people today.” The crowd cheered when he called for freedom for Leonard Peltier, Mumia Abu-Jamal and all “political prisoners.”

Larry Holmes of Workfairness in New York and the Workers World Party thanked the organizers for rescuing the struggle essence of Martin Luther King Day from empty platitudes and corporate co-optation.

Holmes said that instead of “grandstanding and pandering to the right” with his “dialogue on race,” President Bill Clinton should investigate the police attack on the National Day of Mourning.

Other speakers included Brian Shea of the Boston Disabled People’s Liberation Front, also a member of the Workers World Party.

Solidarity messages were read from several chapters of the militant American Indian Movement and from convicted cop killer and Workers World Party cause célèbre, Mumia Abu-Jamal.

Raul Ruiz closed the rally.

30th National Day of Mourning, November 25, 1999

1999’s National Day of Mourning was an “activist effort by Native Americans and other indigenous peoples to tell the truth about the genocide — still ongoing in some parts of the world — which is erased by history books and holidays which celebrate the lies that we are all fed as children and adults.”

Speaker Teresa Gutierrez demanded freedom for political prisoner, Mumia Abu-Jamal.
Gutierrez noted that she had just returned from supporting the anti-U.S. Navy “struggle” in Vieques, Puerto Rico and the crowd cheered again when she demanded, “U.S. out of Puerto Rico now!”

Gutierrez was later a Workers World Party U.S. presidential candidate.

During the Thanksgiving protest, Raul Ruiz read a letter of support for American Indian activist Leonard Peltier, who had been convicted of killing two FBI agents in North Dakota. Ruiz also read another letter from Sub-Comandante Marcos of the Mexican Marxist/anarchist revolutionary group, Zapatista Army of National Liberation.

Foreign Policy/National Security

In Zapatista Territory

Raul Ruiz spent eight months in Chiapas in 2001, as part of a medical research project while attending Harvard medical school during a period of armed conflict between the Zapatista rebels and Mexican government.

Raul Ruiz, a member of the Partners in Health Chiapas Project, described his experience in seeing the risks women endure when delivering babies:

Julio was wet from the pouring rain and frightened. He ran through the streets of Polho, a community in Chiapas sympathetic to the Zapatista rebels, to find Carlos, the health promoter. He explained to Carlos, in Tzotzil, that his young wife, Ana, had delivered their first child an hour ago and was still heavily bleeding at home. I ran with the student nurse to the clinic’s poorly stocked pharmacy to the post-partum hemorrhage kit.

Raul Ruiz was also interested in local herbal medicines which were being investigated by doctors, obviously not sympathetic to anti-Zapatista Mexican Government forces:

As a Harvard medical student, I spent eight months investigating the use of herbs by health promoters in Chiapas during low intensity warfare. I interviewed several directors from non-government health organizations, doctors, curanderos, and countless health promoters from the highlands and jungle. I worked at two clinics and helped the organization, Equipo de Atención y Promoción de Salud y Educación Comunitario (EAPSEC) – a sister organization of Harvard Medical School based Partners in Health – train health promoters in preventive medicine and primary care. I wanted to better understand the factors that influenced health promoters’ use of herbal medicine.

Since the cease fire agreements in January 1994 between the Mexican Army and the Zapatista Army for National Liberation, the Mexican government militarized Chiapas with a third of its forces and promoted the formation of paramilitary groups to terrorize Zapatista sympathizers. Julio and Ana are two of 5,000 refugees in Polho displaced from their communities.

Physicians for Human Rights documented multiple violations of the neutrality of health care. Health promoters concurred that the Mexican government cause divisions amongst community members by providing aid only to non-Zapatista sympathizers, use state police and soldiers to assist the Mexican Red Cross deliver medicine, and interrogate clinic patients suspected of being Zapatista sympathizers. Moreover, military and immigration checkpoints are located in strategic entry sites creating fear and limits on community members’ ability to travel and organize. They also harass international human rights observers and providers of humanitarian aid, according to Physicians for Human Rights, and local non-governmental organizations.

To avoid the risk of interrogation and harassment, health promoters see herbal medicine as a means to be independent from government services. One promoter said, “we need to be prepared with medicinal plants [and] train more people in other collective work in order not to depend on the government.” Another questioned, “if there is war and we don’t know how to use medicinal plants, how will we treat the indigenous?”

Later in 2008, Ruiz further recounted the experience: “I went in romanticizing the poor and their struggle and issues with social justice. But I came out of there realizing the tremendous nature of poverty and how real policies can actually affect human lives.”

Council for a Livable World, 2012 Election Victory

Raul Ruiz was one of the 26 House of Representatives victories chalked up to the anti-U.S. military Council for a Livable World Political Action Committee in the 2012 election cycle.

Conservatives, Libertarians, 9/12 Projects, Tea Parties: Time to Clean House and Senate in 2014!

Vote for Constitutional Conservatives and Restore Our Founding Principles!

This research is part of KeyWiki.org’s ongoing efforts to expose Progressives throughout our political system. Funding for KeyWiki furthers our efforts to bring true transparency to American politics and hold our leaders responsible for their past actions. Donations can be made at Trevor Loudon’s site: New Zeal – http://www.trevorloudon.com/. More information on the Enemies Within can be found in Trevor Loudon’s latest book, “The Enemies Within: Communists, Socialists and Progressives in the U.S. Congress.” Trevor’s books can be purchased at http://www.pacificfreedomfoundation.com.


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03/19/14

Breathless

Arlene from Israel

When it comes to the “peace negotiations” with the Palestinian Arabs (to which I will return below), I’m able to sigh, and shake my head in exasperation.

But the negotiations between P5+1 and Iran? This leaves me breathless because of the dangers implicit and the willful blindness of the nations who are supposed to be stopping Iran from going nuclear. This is not just farce, it’s worse. It’s lethal game-playing. The only ones laughing are the Iranians.

Right now, P5+1, which theoretically put restrictions on Iran via an interim agreement reached in November, is negotiating a final agreement with Iran.

~~~~~~~~~~

This is what Emily Landau, of the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, says (emphasis added):

“According to the P5+1 negotiators, the interim deal with Iran has halted aspects of Iran’s nuclear activities and even led to some rollback of the program. Unfortunately, missing from this narrative is that in some important respects, Iran’s nuclear program is also progressing dangerously.

“The most important issue regards research and development on ever more advanced generations of Iranian centrifuges. The interim agreement did not prevent Iran from conducting R&D into any aspect of advanced new generation centrifuges, as long as it does not operate them.

“When stockpiles of low enriched uranium – which Iran continues to churn out at an increased rate – are fed into the advanced centrifuges under development, Iran will very quickly be able to enrich to the high levels needed for nuclear weapons.

“It is truly misguided to desist from delving into past military-related activities in order not to ‘upset’ the Iranians or interfere with negotiations on a new deal. Any comprehensive deal must reveal the military dimensions of Iran’s program, about which Iran has lied and cheated for decades.”

http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.580095

~~~~~~~~~~

As to that R&D, see here (emphasis added):

“Iran is moving ahead with a nuclear program that U.S. officials said would be frozen, and it is now clear the USA and other world powers are willing to accept an Iranian enrichment program that Iran refuses to abandon, say analysts.

“Iran has continued research and development on new, far more efficient machines for producing uranium fuel that could power reactors or bombs, and its stockpile of low enriched uranium has actually grown, according to a report by Institute for Science and International Security.

“The Iranian regime has also trumpeted recent tests of new ballistic missiles that could be used to deliver a future warhead…”

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/02/28/iran-nuclear-economic-advance/5835935/

Meanwhile (with emphasis added)…
“Iranian oil exports soared in January, hitting new highs just months after the United States consented to billions of dollars in economic sanctions relief under the interim nuclear deal.

“The spike in exports-mainly to Japan, China, and India-has helped Iran’s once-ailing economy stabilize and decrease inflation.

“…Iranian oil exports have steadily risen since negotiations with the West restored confidence in Tehran’s economy. The increase runs counter to a promise by the Obama administration that ‘Iran’s oil exports will remain steady at their current level of around 1 million barrels per day.’

“…While the White House said Iran would receive no more than $7 billion in relief, these experts say that the rise in oil exports and other economic spikes will give Iran “well more than $20 billion.

“…As international markets continue to open their arms for Tehran, South Korea is reportedly set to become Iran’s next oil customer.

“…Iran is still set to cash in on $4.2 billion in cash infusions courtesy of the Obama administration, which began unfreezing these cash assets last month. Iran will receive some $450 million on March 1 and another $550 million on March 7 under the deal.”

http://freebeacon.com/iranian-oil-exports-soar-under-sanctions-collapse/

~~~~~~~~~~

In the face of this, it’s difficult to find anything positive to say. Yet there is a glimmer of light, and it comes from here in Israel.

On Monday, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon spoke at Tel Aviv University, and shared the conclusion he had come to: that when it comes to responding to Iran, Israel is on its own.


Credit: Yehoshua Yosef/Flash90

As he explained, this conclusion represents a reversal in his attitude. That reversal may have huge implications.

Prime Minister Netanyahu, as I have repeatedly pointed out, talks with clarity and forcefulness when it comes to the dangers of Iran. But half a dozen times over I’ve observed – from my laypersons’ perspective – that it appeared to be time to hit Iran. And yet there was only talk. Nu? I have wanted to ask him. Nu? and Nu?

What Ya’alon was suggesting, however, is that Netanyahu was dealing with military advice that was not in concert with his position.

Explained Barak Ravid, in Haaretz: “Under the previous government, Ya’alon had led the opposition in the security cabinet to a solo Israeli attack on Iran.”

And now the dynamic within the government has changed. Said Ya’alon:

“We had thought the ones who should lead the campaign against Iran is the United States But at some stage the United States entered into negotiations with them, and unhappily, when it comes to negotiating at a Persian bazaar, the Iranians were better.

“Therefore, on this matter, we have to behave as though we have nobody to look out for us but ourselves.”

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.580421

~~~~~~~~~~

Nor was this the end of the hard hitting observations that Ya’alon made about Iran:

“People know that Iran cheats. But comfortable Westerners prefer to put off confrontation. If possible, to next year, or the next president. But in the end, it will blow up.”

Iran had been “on its knees” but was able to extract itself from economic pressure and diplomatic isolation, via a “smile offensive.” Ya’alon said, extracting itself from crisis.

“There have been delays in the nuclear program, but the [interim] agreement is very convenient for the Iranians. They’re settling down at the threshold and can decide when to make the breakthrough to a nuclear bomb.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Ya’alon referred as well to other ways in which Obama’s foreign policy has shown weakness in various places in the world:

“The moderate Sunni camp in the area expected the United States to support it, and to be firm, like Russia’s support for the Shi’ite axis. I heard voices of disappointment in the region. I was in Singapore and heard disappointment about China getting stronger and the US getting weaker. Look what’s happening in Ukraine, where the United States is demonstrating weakness, unfortunately.”

Ya’alon warned that if the American government continues to function internationally with weakness, the national security of the United States will be badly damaged:

“If you sit and wait at home, the terrorism will come again. Even if you hunker down, it will come. This is a war of civilizations. If your image is feebleness, it doesn’t pay in the world. Nobody will replace the United States as global policeman. I hope the United States comes to its senses. If it doesn’t, it will challenge the world order, and the United States is the one that will suffer.”

Ya’alon said, finally, that American military aid to Israel needs to be “seen in proportion”:

“It isn’t a favor America is doing, it’s in their interest. They get quality intelligence and technology. We invented Iron Dome. The wings of the F-35 stealth fighter – we invented. We invented the Arrow [an anti-ballistic missile].

~~~~~~~~~~

It is not every day that we see this sort of honesty at high levels of the government, and it is to be applauded.

~~~~~~~~~~

I had wanted to circle back, just briefly, to matters regarding “peace negotiations” with the PA. I had missed this yesterday when writing about Abbas’s visit to the White House, but share it now because it is so exquisitely a propos:

Obama praised Abbas – who speaks of “resistance,” and promotes incitement and lauds terrorists – as “somebody who has consistently renounced violence.”

http://freebeacon.com/obama-abbas-has-consistently-renounced-violence/

What can one say?

~~~~~~~~~~

Dan Diker, who is a Research Fellow at the International Institute of Counterterrorism, wrote an informative piece about the positions of Abbas in the JPost today:

Abbas has been blocked, says Diker, by Jordan. Abbas had insisted that the IDF could not remain long term in the Jordan Valley (which borders Jordan). But King Abdullah of Jordan has communicated to the Americans an insistence that it be the IDF and not Palestinian Arab forces that must be at his border. It is with solid reason that he wants this, although he would be reluctant to admit it publicly.

Similarly, Abbas had demanded control of the Old City of Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount. But the peace treaty between Israel and Jordan acknowledges Jordan as being the sole custodian of the Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem – and the king today refuses to relinquish that role to the PA.

http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/The-World-From-Here-Has-Obama-unmasked-Abbas-345778

~~~~~~~~~~

I received a link to a video last night, sent to me by a reader. It shows Arafat speaking about a Jewish state. On the chance that others may have seen this, I want to clarify:
There is no context in the video to the Arafat statement. International lawyer Alan Baker wrote about this (emphasis added):

“Arafat did not issue a clear declaration recognizing Israel as a Jewish state, but only summarized the language of UN General Assembly Resolution 181. The US government concluded that Arafat’s statement did not meet Washington’s demand that the PLO unequivocally recognize the State of Israel…”

http://jcpa.org/article/arafat-jewish-state-setting-record-straight/

03/19/14

Watcher’s Council Nominations – Putinmania Edition

The Watcher’s Council

Welcome to the Watcher’s Council, a blogging group that’s your must-read weekly journal of news and opinion written by some of the most incisive blogs in the ‘sphere and the longest running group of its kind in existence. Every week, the members nominate two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. Then we vote on the best two posts, with the results appearing on Friday morning.

This weeks’ contest is lovingly dedicated to the memory of Rabbi Abraham Avrech (Z”l).

Baruch Dayan Emet… Blessed Be The True Judge.

***********************************

The last few days saw the interesting proximity of two holidays… the Jewish festival of Purim and St. Patrick’s Day. Interestingly enough, both holidays, by tradition, feature partying and the hopefully responsible use of alcohol. (!)

Purim of course, is about the Jews turnabout on a Persian maniac who wanted to annihilate them all. As Ecclesiastes put it, there ain’t nothin’ new under the sun. And what better way to portray it than as a Spaghetti Western?:

St. Patrick’s Day is a cultural and religious holiday based on the death date of the patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick (c. AD 385–461). It’s essentially become a world party, with festivals held as far afield as Malaysia, Japan, Montserrat and Germany. There’s also something about snakes, but hopefully not the kind you see when you drink too much. My favorite part? Aside from the Bushmills, the Guinness and the fond memories of some previous adventures of my misspent youth… it’s the music:

Speaking of celebrations, here’s one we’ll celebrate a bit belatedly… the birthday of our dear friend Hube, of the The Colossus of Rhodey!

The actual event occurred March 3rd and somehow got lost in the mix, without anyone letting on (Translation: Rob screwed up). So, what the hey… why not celebrate it now? Just be careful with that loincloth, big fella!

For Hube’s special cake, I picked out a Bundt-style Delaware Raisin cake, made with raisins, chopped apples, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg:

Chips and various kinds of salsa on the side, because they go well with something I also know Hube likes…

Beer and Tequila!

Aside from being a great guy all around, Hube has one the most unique blogs you’ll find anywhere… one that looks at sci-fi, comic books, film, media, TV and graphic art as signposts as to which way our culture is going.

Tiempo passado, mi querido amigo… but hopefully, it gets better as it goes, no? Many many more.

Council News:

The Council In Action

Author and Council Alumnus Trever Loudon will tape his appearance for Glenn Beck’s TheBlaze TV on March 26th and his spot will air at 5 PM. Check your local listings. And definitely don’t miss this one!

Dave Schuler at The Glittering Eye celebrated his 10th anniversary in the blogosphere and his entry this week in the links below concerns his reflections on a decade of blogging… including the secret of where the name of his site came from! Happy tenth, Dave!

Elise Ronan of Liberty’s Spirit has a new post up at the Times of Israel, Tzedakah or Tikkun Olam, How about Just Being Kind to Families with Special Needs.

Nice Deb’s new post at Breitbart is up, Obama May Be Leading From Behind But He’s Looking Sharp In His Jeans.

Joshuapundit’s latest is up at the Times of Israel, Abbas calls Israeli defense against Gaza rocket attacks ‘Cold blooded murder’.

Honorable Mentions

This week, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, The Pirate’s Cove, Maggie’s Notebook, Boker Tov Boulder and The Political Commentator earned honorable mention status with some great articles.

You can, too! Want to see your work appear on the Watcher’s Council homepage in our weekly contest listing? Didn’t get nominated by a Council member? No worries.

To bring something to my attention, simply head over to Joshuapundit and post the title and a link to the piece you want considered along with an e-mail address (which won’t be published) in the comments section no later than Monday 6 PM PST in order to be considered for our honorable mention category. Then return the favor by creating a post on your site linking to the Watcher’s Council contest for the week when it comes out Wednesday morning.

Simple, no?

It’s a great way of exposing your best work to Watcher’s Council readers and Council members, while grabbing the increased traffic and notoriety. And how good is that, eh?

So, without further ado, let’s see what we have this week…

Council Submissions

Honorable Mentions

Non-Council Submissions

Enjoy! And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us Twitter… ’cause we’re cool like that!

03/19/14

The Liberation of Sharyl Attkisson

By: Roger Aronoff
Accuracy in Media

Sharyl Attkisson has been “liberated” from her post at CBS, finally resigning after months of rumors of a rocky relationship with the broadcast news company. It turns out that she planned on leaving CBS a full year ago, but was persuaded not to at the time. Now the American mainstream media have lost one of the greats of modern journalism.

According to her CBS biography, Attkisson received several Emmys for her work at CBS, but not all was well in her relationship, as she began to be utilized less and less on the nightly news. “Andrew Tyndall’s quantitative analyses of network news trends” shows that Attkisson had 160 minutes of nightly news exposure in 2007. This had dropped to 54 minutes in 2013, according to Erik Wemple with The Washington Post.

Attkisson told Fox News in a brief interview that this wasn’t about her getting air time, but “the idea that so few of the incredibly interesting and important original and investigative topics I brought to the table, often exclusively, could find no home at CBS in the past three years or so.”

Regrettably, there have been longstanding suggestions in the liberal media that Attkisson was biased, and that’s why she didn’t exactly fit in. “Attkisson is a dogged reporter, driven by a strong skepticism of government,” wrote POLITICO in 2013. “Her drive can produce great journalism, but it can also cause her to push stories to the point that colleagues, especially those of a more progressive bent, suspect a political agenda.” The key here is the phrase “those of a more progressive bent.”

Attkisson was doing what journalists are supposed to do, and she did it with Democrat and Republican administrations. She attempted to hold them both accountable, and served as a watchdog on the overreaches of government. For that, she has been banished from the mainstream media. “During the Bush administration, Attkisson won an Emmy for her reporting on shady Republican fundraising,” notes Katie Pavlich for Townhall.com. Attkisson also did exposés on TARP, Fast & Furious, Solyndra, and Benghazi, among other topics.

It is clear that much of the criticism of Attkisson’s anti-government—not anti-Obama—reporting comes from the White House, and White House-favoring media acolytes. “White House spokespeople declined to discuss their attitude toward Attkisson’s reporting on the record, though they are said to view her recent work as being more in line with that of Fox News than CBS,” reported POLITICO back in 2013. And you know what happens with Fox News or any uncooperative media with this administration? They are generally shut out.

Or, alternatively, the administration may choose to scream and cuss at the reporter because it doesn’t like her reporting on Fast & Furious. “The White House and Justice Department] will tell you that I’m the only reporter—as they told me—that is not reasonable,” said Attkisson back in 2011, describing how she was cussed out by the White House. “They say The Washington Post is reasonable, the LA Times is reasonable, The New York Times is reasonable, I’m the only one who thinks this is a story, and they think I’m unfair and biased by pursuing it.”

In 2013, CBS confirmed that Attkisson’s computer had been compromised by “an unauthorized, external, unknown party on multiple occasions” in late 2012.

In 2012, Accuracy in Media gave Attkisson the Reed Irvine Award for Investigative Journalism to honor her “outstanding contributions to journalism.” She was unable to attend the ceremony, but CBS’ Washington Bureau Chief Chris Isham indicated in her stead that Attkisson had donated the proceeds to Border Patrol agent Brian Terry, whose “murder was connected to the Fast & Furious Operation.” “CBS News is very proud of Sharyl’s groundbreaking reporting…It represents the best at CBS News, the kind of original reporting that we are extremely proud of that we are fully committed to and will remain committed to,” he said in February 2012.

Attkisson’s departure from CBS is said to be on “amicable” terms.

But what this journalist apparently failed to adhere to was the double standard, and how it applies to Democrats such as the current resident of the White House. All scandals are to be labeled “phony scandals” and nothing is the fault of the President himself—except maybe sometimes he doesn’t communicate his ideas as well as he means to. Thus, we are supposed to accept that there isn’t a “smidgeon of corruption” at the IRS, despite evidence to the contrary, and that the Benghazi victims are just “bumps in the road,” not a sign of gross dereliction of duty by this President.

Attkisson refused to play by those rules. Sadly, it’s hard to find another journalist at any of the three broadcast networks who does the same.

She has done some good reporting on Benghazi as well, but she wasn’t able to do all she wanted to. CBS delayed her Benghazi stories and ignored scoops.

We wonder if the fact that the president of CBS News, David Rhodes, is the brother of Ben Rhodes—who was Obama’s Deputy National Security Advisor, and involved with altering the Benghazi talking points—played any role in Attkisson’s fate.

Attkisson is currently working on a book, tentatively titled Stonewalled: One Reporter’s Fight for Truth in Obama’s Washington, while staying active on social media.

Roger Aronoff is the Editor of Accuracy in Media, and can be contacted at [email protected]. View the complete archives from Roger Aronoff.