Sunday, March 11, 2012

Is there a Grain of "Truth" in Правда?

Being a cold warrior in the tradition of Ronald Reagan, I have always taken anything printed in Pravda with a grain bucket of salt.  This misnomer of a newspaper could always be relied on to parrot the propaganda and misinformation of its patron, the Soviet government.  I fondly remember Reagan’s reaction to one of Pravda’s many whoppers:  "We have a word for that.  It’s a word with a long and honored history in our rich agricultural tradition."


Mind you, I had never bothered reading anything in Pravda, at least until very recently, when I was alerted to an intriguing Pravda headline quoted in a Washington Times article, and out of curiosity I just had to follow the link:  “Arizona sheriff finds Obama presidential qualifications forged”.  To be sure, the article was written by an American-- Dianna Cotter—but why was it appearing in Pravda?

The gist of the four page editorial expresses astonishment at the U.S. media’s silence and dismissal of Sherriff Joe Arpaio’s independent investigation, in which he concludes that  the “long form” birth certificate released by President Obama last year is highly suspect, likely an electronically constructed forgery. 

(I should be quick to make clear that the intent of this post is not to resurrect the birth certificate issue.  I am not a “birther”.  Well, maybe not. I am 99.9% sure that President Obama was born in Hawaii, if for no other reason than that numerous prominent conservatives, ranging from center-right Karl Rove to ultra conservative Ann Coulter have all concluded that this is a non-issue, based on the evidence that they and others have seen.  Conservative Republicans would have every incentive to keep the issue alive and call for investigations, so if they say it is a dead issue, I am pretty certain it is a dead issue.  Perhaps I would be 100% certain if Obama and company had not obfuscated, tap-danced, and sternly resisted any and all attempts to bring his birth certificate to the light of day for more than three years, before finally releasing a facsimile of the long form last year.  But I digress….)

What I found most amusing and curious about this editorial appearing in Pravda is that it takes the U.S. media to task for protecting and carrying water for President Obama.   I happen to agree with that assessment, but I would not expect to find such an opinion printed in Pravda.   Despite the fall of the Soviet Union and the ensuing push toward freedom and democracy, Russia is still very much a socialist state.  According to Wikipedia, after a period of breakup and offshoots, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation recovered control of Pravda in 1997.  My guess would be that, despite the long adversarial relationship with the USA, the Russian government would be sympathetic to President Obama—which is why I found it amusing that this editorial appeared in Pravda.  The “birther” issue aside, the editorial was spot on about the U.S. media carrying water for the President. 

5 comments:

The Maryland Crustacean said...

I think now I am only about 98% sure that Obama was born in Hawaii.

http://times247.com/articles/immigration-records-missing-for-week-of-obama-s-birth

feeno said...

Hey Krusty

Just wanted say happy Easter to you. Miss you and your encouragement from my blogging days. Say hi to JD if you run into him for me.

feen

feeno said...

Happy Easter Krusty

feen

The Maryland Crustacean said...

Same to you and yours, feeno. I haven't felt as prolific on the blog lately, though every once in a while, the muse strikes me. It looks like JD is still going strong at Trees for Lunch. I've missed your writing as well. Hope all is well with you.

J Curtis said...

Happy Easter MDC!