Bias

We all know that the media outlets in our country are fair and balanced, right? They report things without coloring them a bit, right? And they don’t take sides.

Take this quote from a Cynthia Tucker opinion piece. Wikipedia says: “She was recognized with a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 2007 ‘for her courageous, clear-headed columns that evince a strong sense of morality and persuasive knowledge of the community.’” She’s no novice.

Here’s what she wrote last week: “Career criminals are rare among the population of illegal immigrants. Most are law-abiding, hardworking family folk whose only infraction has been crossing a border illegally to find work. (A first-time illegal border crossing is a misdemeanor.) Some commit other minor offenses, often related to driving without proper documents. Most strive to stay out of trouble.”

She says nothing about ID theft or scamming the system for welfare benefits.

In the same commentary she talks about the 2005 federal study of illegal aliens in custody, so she knows the data.

Perhaps she doesn’t know that Costa Mesa California, a town that does 100% screening, found that 46% of people booked in their jail were foreign born. Nearly 11% of all criminals booked were illegal aliens, subject to deportation.

The assumption of innocence, perpetuated by the likes of Tucker, leads people like Carlos Acosta, executive director of the McHenry County Coalition to complain that we are picking on Hispanics and/or immigrants when he says, “They’re focusing on a very small part of the demographic. Have they done a study of how many blue-eyed people have been in DUI accidents?”

As a matter of fact, Carlos, they have. A right-wing organization called the U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration did a statistical study called “Race and Ethnicity in Fatal Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes 1999-2004”.

I quote from the report: “Drunk driving continues to play a major role in the motor vehicle traffic crash experience across race, ethnic, age and gender divides. Data showed that the percentage of fatally injured drivers who were drinking was highest for Native Americans (57%) and Hispanics or Latinos (47%). This trend appeared to be independent of such socioeconomic influences as education levels or the proportion of female-to-male drivers in the population of drivers killed.

“Fatally injured Native American and Hispanic drivers, followed by African American drivers, were less likely to hold valid licenses than White or Asian and Pacific Islander drivers. Moreover, these Native American drivers were more likely to have had prior driving while intoxicated (DWI) convictions and license suspensions, but African American drivers were the most likely to have had speeding convictions and convictions for other moving violations.

“For those killed in passenger vehicles, safety belts for children and adults, and safety seats for small children were not used as frequently by those in minority groups when compared with the non-Hispanic White population.” (page i, Findings)

You could read the entire report, Mr. Acosta, at:
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/809956.PDF

I didn’t see a chart on blue eyes but I think it addresses his concern.

So now, Cynthia and Carlos, comes your cue to complain that the police are creating those statistics by racial profiling. But that song tires the ears since the ACLU has made so much noise that most citizens fear that the police are working with one arm tied behind their backs.

Besides, the highway study is about fatalities. Are you accusing the coroner of discrimination? By the time you get to the death certificate, I don’t think your feelings of indignation matter much.

The time has come for the media to look around. White males aren’t the only targets that are fair game. Only when the objective is truth will you be able to get beyond this nonsense of political correctness.

I was pleased to read the commentary by Mark Steyn in the O C Register. Google him and the title “Speaking of sanctuary, where’s ours?” as he expresses his disgust with coverage of the undocumented. I liked it a lot.