Once upon a time, I used to watch CNN regularly. I watched so much CNN that I would even fall asleep with it on, but then I become more of a news hound with the internet, reading multiple dailies, blogs, and of course trusty old NPR or local non-profit radio stations.
One reason I don’t miss watching CNN is Lou Dobbs. His obsession with illegal immigration borders on the inane. The people at Media Matters have done a study finding that “his show devoted many more segments to immigration than did CNN’s The Situation Room, and 13 times the number of words per hour to the topic.” Not only is his tone offensive, but he is often inaccurate and misleading on issues not only relating to illegal immigration but now regarding the authenticity President Obama’s birth certificate.
Within the last few days, organizations such as Media Matters, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and even MoveOn.org have pushed back against CNN and Dobbs’ pursuit of the Obama birth certificate conspiracies. If you don’t support the latest Lou Dobbs’ stunt, I encourage you to sign the petition here.
And finally, there has been some on-line buzz about CNN’s upcoming Latino in America series in October. While I’m not an avid TV watcher, I’m even less inclined to watch this series precisely because of CNN’s association with Lou Dobbs and what he has been allowed to get away with under the guise of news reporting. I would encourage all readers of this blog who feel similarly to sign the petition or call CNN and tell them that you will not be watching this report “on us.” You can reach CNN here:
CNN
One CNN Center, Box 105366, Atlanta, GA 30303-5366
Phone: 404-827-1500
Fax: 404-827-1906
CNN is counting on advertising that will target our population during the Latino in America Series. We have a unique opportunity to send a message to this network about Dobbs in not watching it and in voicing our concern.
29 responses so far ↓
1 Wise Latino // Jul 28, 2009 at 10:25 pm
Has Dobbs been reporting false information?
2 Jack // Jul 29, 2009 at 6:29 am
Here’s Obama’s dilemma in a nutshell (READ VERY CAREFULLY AND DIGEST):
If BHO shows his original long form birth certificate, indeed showing he was born in Hawaii, it will also show his father was American citizen, Frank Marshall Davis, not the Kenyan/British citizen, Barack Obama Sr. While that would allow Barack Jr. to be POTUS eligible as BOTH a “citizen”/“native born citizen” AND an Article 2 “natural born citizen” — that is, born to two American citizens on American soil — it would simultaneously show he is a fraud hiding his real father — an unacceptable political debacle.
If, on the other hand, BHO keeps hiding his original long form birth certificate — while simply repeating, without showing, he was born in Hawaii — he can still CLAIM BOTH he was born in Hawaii AND his father was the Kenyan/British Barack Obama Sr. This would enable Barack Jr. to claim he’s a “citizen”/“native born citizen” but it would mean (if a federal court would ever get around to declaring and thus far no one has standing to bring the suit) that he’s NOT an Article 2 “natural born citizen” and thus not eligible to be POTUS — a legal/constitutional debacle since all acts under an illegal POTUS are void.
So it seems, BHO has elected option one until forced to go option two because for now it looks like no federal court will ever find a plaintiff with standing. (Of course, there’s the additional issue of BHO losing American citizen status if/when he became an Indonesian citizen — that is, IF he returned and was naturalized he would be a legal citizen, but would lose both native and natural born status, and, IF he returned and was not naturalized, he would be an illegal immigrant unlawfully in this country — but we’ll leave that for another day.)
3 El Cholo // Jul 29, 2009 at 1:12 pm
If you can’t see CNN’s downward spiral into tabloid journalism, and their attempt to revive racist dialogue and viewpoints as a legitimate platforms then there’s not much going on in your brain. I realize CNN has to sell commercial advertisements in the Bible belt, and therefore has to appeal to the rightwing fundamentalists, the Aryan Nation, crackers, and other white trash. But if you depend wholly on Network and Cable television news for your daily information then you’re more inclined to be that much more ignorant and stupid.
4 Anna // Jul 29, 2009 at 1:53 pm
I will not be watching the CNN special either. That is the LAST place I would go for information about Latinos.
5 Anna // Jul 29, 2009 at 2:01 pm
Jack: If you are born in America, you are an American citizen. It doesn’t matter where your parents are from. There is no evidence that Obama was born outside of Hawaii.
The Republican goal here is to invalidate the election. They tried with Bill Clinton, and they succeeded with Al Gore. They also succeeded with Governor Gray Davis. Now they are trying to do it with Obama.
6 Wise Latino // Jul 29, 2009 at 4:21 pm
So let me get this right! CNN is an advocate for whitey……? Now that is some BS. CNN is one of the biggest latino propagandist news sites around. It is like watching a porno where everyone is giving Obama a BJ 24/7. I’m guessing the only shows that are on the money is anything that advocates for total latino power.
7 webmaster // Jul 29, 2009 at 5:31 pm
“CNN is an advocate for whitey……?”
Nobody here ever said that CNN is an advocate for any color. If anything, CNN is an advocate for corporate America. CNN has become rather sensational and tabloid.
I don’t advocate for total Latino power either. Representation yes, but total (or absolute) power corrupts.
8 Wise Latino // Jul 29, 2009 at 5:34 pm
“I realize CNN has to sell commercial advertisements in the Bible belt, and therefore has to appeal to the rightwing fundamentalists, the Aryan Nation, crackers, and other white trash”. -ElCholo
I’m sorry Web. But someone said it.
9 Reyfeo // Jul 29, 2009 at 7:13 pm
I thinks its nuts that now Lou Dobbs is the anti-christ for all you leftist who used to love this guy…talk about eating your own!!
To say “If you don’t support the latest Lou Dobbs’ stunt, I encourage you to sign the petition here.”…ARE YOU KIDDING!?!?!
Also, I think El Cholo is an idiot for saying such an insane thing.
Wise Latino: Welcome to the most leftist website in the internet, you can’t have a logical conversation with folks here…prime example is El Cholo (racist commentor).
10 El Cholo // Jul 30, 2009 at 10:42 am
So when did ignorance become your point of view Reyfeo? Was it when Rupert Murdoch purchased FOX? Or was it when you embraced family values and became a member of the GOP?
11 Wise Latino // Jul 30, 2009 at 11:03 am
El Cholo,
Do you analyze this stuff using logic or just tow the Dem/La Raza party line? Keep thinking any of these folks are here to help you and you will continue to fall prey. I don’t watch Dobbs but the memo he recieved was sent prior to any real info gathering. I am not a so-called “birther’ but it seems the Prez could put this to rest by releasing the long form. If you research all that he has blocked from being released it sure puts a dent in the “most transparent administration” line.
12 theKaiser // Jul 30, 2009 at 11:06 am
Hey El Cholo…don’t waste your insults on this Reyfeo guy. Anna humiliates this guy every time they get into it, and she does it in American English. Save your words.
13 Wise Latino // Jul 30, 2009 at 2:33 pm
As opposed to the King’s English?
14 El Cholo // Jul 31, 2009 at 9:40 am
You’re not so wise…are you Wise Latino?
15 Wise Latino // Jul 31, 2009 at 10:03 am
Wise enough to recognize a FOS hypocrite.;)
16 El Cholo // Jul 31, 2009 at 10:58 am
So now that you’ve described yourself, and your cerebral functions in support of the Birthers, where does that take you?
17 BettyM // Jul 31, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Dobbs is tiring – there is nothing else for him to talk about. He is in a rut and CNN should replace him.
18 Wise Latino // Jul 31, 2009 at 2:47 pm
El Cholo,
Not once did I defend birthers. I asked for the information that Dobbs had reported that was false. Jump off Huffington Post for five minutes and present your case. It is very easy to produce the long form birth certificate. Why wouldn’t the Prez do this so we can move on to bigger things? I was never very interested in the story until the “most transparent” president ever, ever, ever started this little game. BTW, my previous post was very childish but your follow up went to a whole new level.
19 WhatThe.. // Jul 31, 2009 at 5:11 pm
The bottom line is when the smoke clears, we still have an immigration problem…
20 Jaango // Aug 1, 2009 at 10:06 am
America’s WhackJobs just can’t contain themselves from making fools of themselves. Take, for example, according to Salon.com, world net daily has up a video in which Obama is now the Satan.
Yup, and the translation from Aramaic to Hebrew to English, justifies this ‘unprincipled’ political ideology.
So, President Ob ama should consider himself fortunate that only in the Deep South, does the ‘birther movement’ actually exist. In contrast, here in the Sonoran Desert [insert Arizona, here], 19 extremist groups are operating, with 1 in New Mexico and 4 in the State of Utah.
And one of my military vet friends said the other day relative to the racists and the bigots, “I can ignore them or I can shoot ‘em. I much prefer the latter, but it’s against the law.”
Jaango
21 Wise Latino // Aug 1, 2009 at 11:30 am
Unfortunately for you Jaango and your buddy that pesky Constitution gets in the way. It is very interesting to log on to diffrent sites and see the extremist nature of both. As you said on WND you have the Obama satan deal. When Bush was around every unhinged libby was hanging effegies outside their house and many other wack job things. That all seems to be o.k. with so many of you. It is comforting to know that now that we are in the era of “Hope and Change” all the former US policies somehow have become o.k.. I am still waiting for them to build the unicorn factory in my neighborhood and my welfare checks still don’t have a strawberry scent to them.
22 Reyfeo // Aug 1, 2009 at 4:25 pm
Like I said, welcome to the most biased leftist Latino blog site on the web…any wonder why Latinos are mis-represented/understood and probably just ignored…lol!
23 What The.. // Aug 3, 2009 at 9:02 am
I don’t see the big deal, everybody has a birth certificate signed by a doctor. Just reveal your birth certificate if you have one and eliminate the controversy once and for all. Its these small petty inconsistencies which can be easily corrected that find their way into controversy. Its not about Dobbs, thats a smokescreen, he has his first amendment right to speak. Just turn him off. The problem with Obama is that after the honeymoon is over, people still don’t really know who he is or who he is about…
24 Michaelr // Aug 5, 2009 at 8:08 pm
Lou Dobbs just wants to be Rush Limbaugh, as does Bill O’Reilly, Glenn Beck, and most of those tabloid commentators on FOX news. I don’t believe any of them really believes what they say on camera, but they need controversy to shine the media light on all of them, and that notoriety drives viewer ratings and that generates into more advertising dollars which means larger salaries for all of them. This is more about money, than anything else.
25 Miss Karma // Aug 8, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Lou Dobbs enabling the “Birthers of a Nation?” What a surprise–NOT!!
May Walter Cronkite rest in peace despite the downfall of responsible journalism. He was the last of the best.
BTW for those who are wondering why I call them “Birthers of a Nation,” it is a take on the movie Birth of a Nation. Watch it and you’ll understand why.
26 The Movement to Drop Dobbs // Sep 15, 2009 at 9:12 pm
[...] in the end of July, I had a blog post about CNN, Lou Dobbs and the Latino in America series to be featured on that network. I thought [...]
27 A. Toral // Oct 9, 2009 at 4:38 pm
Thank you for an informative and well-portrayed view of the issue. I totally agree with you. You can also check out the post I just published on Dobbs, and the Bastadobbs campaign: http://blogs.journalism.cuny.edu/interactive2010/2009/10/09/getting-dobbs-off-the-air/
28 Lou Dobbs vs. Latino in America: CNN’s hypocritical juxtaposition // Oct 14, 2009 at 5:43 pm
[...] in July, I expressed my thoughts about CNN’s effort to reach out to Latinos, while continuing to give Lou Dobbs a platform. [...]
29 Frank Enriquez // Oct 22, 2009 at 3:26 am
Why is still Lou Dobbs Barking like a Dog
about Latinos, instead of washing his dirty
mouth, Lets organized through out the whole
nation to get him terminated working for
CNN, you can count on me.
Thank you
Frank Enriquez Cuban American Citizen
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