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Assorted Elian Gonzalez & CNN Questions

by Kendall CLARK

Saturday, 22 April 2000

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Why weren't all these paranoid, nutty Cuban-American politicians and community leaders decrying state violence last week when thousands of non-violent anti-globalization protesters were being assaulted and repressed? Where was Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (Rep., FL) who today made a big show of decrying the "violent federal government" but whose concern for freedom of expression and other civil rights apparently only extends as far as his right-wing ideology.
Did CNN anchors really need to tell us repeatedly that Juan Miguel Gonzalez, a Cuban national, didn't have the authority to determine who did or didn't gain access to Andrews AFB? Surely most viewers would have figured that out on their own.
Where was CNN last week during massive state violence and civil rights violations? Why is the fate of one Cuban alien more important than 20,000 citizens in DC protesting the World Bank and IMF? Why is the fate of one Cuban alien more important than national Earth Day events?
Bob Novak again confirms that he is, in fact, the Prince of Darkness. Is it official CNN editorial policy to fail to count Ralph Nader as a legitimate presidential candidate or is Novak just freelancing? They regularly include Buchanan, along with Bush and Gore, as the only legitimate presidential candidates, but they regularly exclude any mention of Nader, even though he's outpolling Buchanan -- an ex-employee of CNN -- nationally by a wide and growing margin.
As much as CNN makes my blood pressure rise, it occurred to me that not watching Fox News was a smart move; it makes CNN look like fair and progressive.
Did the gullible CNN anchors really completely fail to challenge Diaz-Balart's claim that "Cuban psychiatrists had already started brainwashing Elian with drugs" solely because the most recent pictures of the child show him with a BandAid? I nearly died laughing when he said that; why did Novak et. al. swallow it whole cloth?
Where is this new found, faux concern for federal agents breaking down doors of private residences when, in the inner-city of ever major city in America, federal agents break down doors to rescue the world from the perils of marijuana? Tom Delay (Rep., TX) deserves particular contempt and ridicule on this issue (as on so many others) since he's "outraged about the abuse of federal power" in the Gonzalez case but a fierce proponent of the "drug war," including the militarization of the police.

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