Journalism is Dead
CAN AMERICA REMAIN FREE WITHOUT A FREE PRESS?
by Paul R. Hollrah, ©2012

Editor's Note: Re-posted with permission of The Post & Email.

(Apr. 22, 2012) — We all know what physicians do, we all know what teachers do, we all know what scientists and engineers do, and we all know what lawyers do. But do we understand what it is that journalists do? We are told by those in the profession that the journalist is one who searches for truth so that the truth can be communicated to the masses. But is that really the case?If one were to believe the hype that is circulated in the media on behalf of one of their own, the recently departed Mike Wallace, it would require what Hillary Clinton might describe as a “willing suspension of disbelief.” One does not have to be a “news junkie” to understand that the mainstream media is governed by left-wing political bias and that it is just as important to know which stories they fail to report as it is to recognize the bias in the stories they do.Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, tells us that, “Depending on the context, the term journalist may include various types of editors, editorial writers, columnists, and visual journalists, such as photojournalists… Journalism has developed a variety of ethics and standards. While objectivity and a lack of bias are often considered important, some types of journalism, such as advocacy journalism, intentionally adopt a non-objective viewpoint.”Not once is the word truth mentioned. That part of the conventional wisdom about the journalism profession… the notion that the journalist engages in a search for truth… is a fiction that has been created by “journalists” in order to enhance their standing as professionals.So the question arises, is it possible to have a free nation without a free press? The answer to that question is… perhaps, but only for a brief period of time.What causes us to consider this question now is the growing body of evidence surrounding the eligibility of Barack Hussein Obama to be president of the United States. From the day that he announced his candidacy, it was widely known that he lacked status as a “natural born Citizen,” one of the three principal qualifications for the office. Yet, the men and women of the media totally ignored that critical shortcoming.Then, throughout the 2008 presidential primaries, when Obama’s principal opponent was Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), hundreds of bloggers and freelance writers of the “alternative media” researched his background, producing thousands of authoritative articles and editorials for print media and the Internet. The “journalists” of the mainstream media, captivated by the notion of helping to elect the first black president, ignored the story.As powerful as the Clinton political machine might have been, they were no match for the fraud, violence, and intimidation practiced by the Obama forces. Hollywood producer Bettina Viviano produced a documentary titled We Will Not Be Silenced, which told the story of the criminal misdeeds committed by the Obama campaign against Clinton supporters. The men and women of the mainstream media ignored the documentary evidence and Obama was nominated by the delegates to the Democratic National Convention, 3,188.5 votes to Clinton’s 1,010.5.At the close of the convention, it was the responsibility of the convention chairman, Nancy Pelosi, and convention secretary Alice Travis Germond, to certify the names, home addresses, and constitutional eligibility of the party’s nominees to the 50 state election boards so that ballots could be printed. Pursuant to Hawaii Revised Statutes §11-113, the certification sent only to the State of Hawaii contained the following affirmation:“THIS IS TO CERTIFY that at the National Convention of the Democrat Party of the United States of America, held in Denver, Colorado on August 25 though (sic) 28, 2008, the following were duly nominated candidates of said Party for President and Vice President of the United States respectively and that the following candidates for President and Vice President of the United States are legally qualified to serve under the provisions of the United States Constitution.” The remaining forty-nine states received the following certification:“THIS IS TO CERTIFY that at the National Convention of the Democrat Party of the United States of America, held in Denver, Colorado on August 25 though (sic) 28, 2008, the following were duly nominated as candidates of said Party for President and Vice President of the United States respectively:”Affixed were the names and home addresses of Barack Obama and Joe Biden. However, the phrase, “… and that the following candidates for President and Vice President of the United States are legally qualified to serve under the provisions of the United States Constitution” was omitted from certifications sent to those 49 states. Other than that, the documents were exactly the same… even to the misspelling of the word “through” in the second line of the certifications. Hawaii is the only state with a law requiring the certification of constitutional eligibility.Clearly, Nancy Pelosi and Alice Travis Germond… and presumably other senior Democratic officials… were aware when they nominated him that Obama was ineligible to serve as president of the United States. But if the top leaders of the Democratic Party knew, then so did the men and women of the mainstream media. Yet, they looked the other way, knowing that the Democrats had nominated a man who was ineligible to hold the office of president.Throughout the 2008 General Election campaign, writers and bloggers of the “alternative media” continued to publish details of Obama’s lack of qualifications, but the men and women of the mainstream media continued to look the other way.In the three and one-half years that Obama has been in office, numerous lawsuits have been brought against Obama, charging that he is ineligible to serve in the office he occupies. A number of cases were examined by the members of the Supreme Court for grant of certiorari, but all were denied for “lack of standing,” taking the position that the people of the United States had no right to demand that their president be eligible to hold that office. The men and women of the mainstream media were fully aware of those efforts but, again, they looked the other way.Finally, during the month of April 2011, billionaire developer Donald Trump took an interest in the issue and openly questioned the circumstances of Obama’s birth. With the added attention brought by Trump’s inquiries, Obama caused what appeared to be an authentic long form birth certificate to be uploaded to the White House website on April 27, 2011. Within days, dozens of the nation’s most knowledgeable forensics experts examined the document and found it to be a poorly crafted forgery.Finally, on Thursday morning, August 18, 2011, the leaders of the Surprise, Arizona Tea Party presented Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio with a petition bearing the signatures of 242 county residents. The petition questioned whether or not a fake birth certificate could be used to document Barack Obama’s eligibility to have his name appear on the Maricopa County ballot in the November 2012 General Election. The petition requested that Sheriff Arpaio conduct a criminal investigation of the alleged forgery.Sheriff Arpaio assigned the task to a five-member team of retired attorneys and law enforcement professionals, known as the Maricopa County Cold Case Posse. Following a six month intensive investigation, Sheriff Arpaio and the Cold Case Posse presented their findings on March 1, 2012 at a nationally televised press conference. Their findings provided conclusive evidence that the Obama birth certificate… and the Obama draft registration card… were, in fact, forgeries.Inasmuch as Obama himself testified to the authenticity of his birth document, the findings of Sheriff Arpaio’s Cold Case Posse represent a felony crime by Barack Obama. But, again, the men and women of the mainstream media refused to report the story.Barack Obama’s usurpation of the office of the presidency is the greatest crime ever committed against the people of the United States… a crime greater than the attack on Pearl Harbor, a crime greater than the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. But what is most shameful and most unforgivable about the crime is that the men and women of the mainstream media, those who are supposed to be the eyes and ears of the people, the ever-watchful guardians of our precious freedoms, stood idly by and allowed it to happen. They are as complicit in the crime as if they themselves had planned it.When the terrible national nightmare of the Obama presidency is finally behind us, Obama must be called to answer for his crimes. He deserves to spend the rest of his days behind bars. But those who were his principal enablers: the leaders of the Democrat Party, the men and women of the Congress who refused to properly vet him, and the men and women of the mainstream media who failed to properly vet him, must also be held accountable. Until that work is done, we must conclude that journalism is dead in America.We the People will have to find a way to insure that future generations will have all the benefits of a free press… a press for which the search for truth and justice is the paramount purpose.