"A lot has changed in just four years" is the headline of a piece written by Carol Marin, political columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times.  In it, she writes:

Unemployment in 2008 was 6.7 percent. Today it’s 7.9 percent

The federal deficit was $1 trillion. It still is.

And later:

Sarah Palin was running for vice president and she could see Russia from her house. Presumably she still can.

The award-winning journalist has her facts wrong.  According to the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment in 2008 was 5.8 percent.  The Congressional Budget Office reported the Fiscal Year 2008 budget deficit was $455
billion.  Oh, and it was comedian Tina Fey, not the real Sarah Palin, who said she could see Russia from her house.  Even Snopes.com got that right.

Funny, isn't it, how often mainstream media types make mistakes that just coincidentally damage Republican credibility?  Voters relying on Marin may conclude that economic conditions under President Barack Obama aren't much worse than under his predecessor.

Marin's headline is right: A lot has changed in just four years. And much of it isn't good.  When will the fact checkers start checking their own facts?

Lynn Sweet, Washington, D.C. bureau chief for the Chicago Sun-Times, covers the final presidential debate in "Sweet: Obama in command in campaign’s last clash" on the newspaper's Web site.  In the piece she writes:

As soon as Romney pledged not to cut military spending (incorrectly implying that was an Obama proposal — something he has done before) Obama pounced, portraying Romney as woefully uninformed about how a modern military measures its strike force.

In her enthusiasm, Sweet overlooked one thing: Obama does intend to cut defense sending.  Who says so?  Well, President Barack Obama for one.  From his July 15, 2011 press conference:

". . .I’ve said that in addition to the $400 billion that we’ve already cut from defense spending, we’re willing to look for hundreds of billions more."

Additionally, in his proposed Fiscal Year 2013 budget, Obama's own Office of Management and Budget shows (Page 103) that total national defense spending in FY 2011 was $717 billion while estimating it will be $566 in FY 2014.

Liberals look to government, often the Federal government, for solutions to almost everything.  Chicago's murder rate is appalling, with at least six people killed and another 31 shot  last weekend.  So to whom does Chicago Sun-Times columnist Stella Foster turn for help?  President Barack Obama.

On the newspaper's Web site today appears Foster's plea, titled "Letter to President Obama: Please help address city violence."  The article also appears in the newspaper's print edition with the headline "Dear Mr. President: Help our city!"  It begins:

PRESIDENT OBAMA, you came into your hometown of Chicago last weekend to attend the backyard wedding of the daughter of your personal friend and senior advisor Valerie Jarrett in your Kenwood neighborhood. I am sure the affair was lovely and heartwarming. Hopefully, your schedule, one day soon, will allow you to return to Chi Town to spearhead an anti-violence rally of huge proportion to speak out against the senseless gun violence that has overwhelmed various areas of our city. . .

Later she writes:

. . . I truly do care that our people — yes, I said “our people” or minorities — are continuing to hurt, kill and disrespect each other, especially when the hot sun comes out to play.

I VOTED for you, Mr. President, and now I am personally asking you to care enough to come back to Chicago and speak out. Who knows, coming straight from the president’s mouth may just deter potential criminal activity or touch the soul of a person contemplating killing someone!

She ends by preparing for less than a positive response:

BUT, Mr. President, if you can’t make it, I will certainly understand, and will still continue to catch you whenever you are on the news and talk shows. . .

Over the years, Chicago has held dozens, perhaps hundreds, of anti-violence marches.  They've been headed by Chicago mayors and other politicians, police superintendents, and community activists such as Jesse Jackson and Father Michael Pfleger.  The killing continues.

Thinking that Obama showing up at a rally would have any significant impact on Chicago crime is, charitably, unrealistic.  Despite his disastrous record on jobs, the debt, deficits, home foreclosures, gas prices, etc., some in the mainstream media still view him as The One.  OK, OK, so the rise of the oceans hasn't slowed and our planet hasn't healed like he promised.  The mainstream media know what the solution is:  Four more years.  In the meantime, marching in Chicago would sure help.

You might not think you're going to miss Oprah, but you are. There are stories that only Oprah can do, and there are things that only Oprah and God can make happen.

 

Mitchell's adulation for Oprah is shared by many in the mainstream media.  From early shows devoted to male-bashing through attacks on free enterprise and limited government to her campaigning for Barack Obama's election, Winfrey has burnished her liberal credentials.

In bracketing Oprah with God, however, I wonder why Mitchell didn't include Obama, as in "There are things that only Oprah and God and the Federal government under the unparalleled leadership of Barack Hussein Obama can make happen."

In January, Mitchell wrote:

Hopes for the Obama administration are high, not only when it comes to fixing the economy and stemming the job losses that have dampened the spirits of so many Americans.

 

Who knew it would take almost a year to fix the unemployment problem with the magic wand of a "jobs summit"?  Months of serial failures may finally have some of even The One's most ardent worshipers questioning his magnificence. 

Still, there are bright, shining rays of hope.  Oprah and God.  It's lonely at the top.  

He stood up for disadvantaged
People in Chicago are still so divided over Hampton that, a couple of years ago, efforts to erect a street sign in his honor caused an uproar.
Hampton will always be remembered by some for advocating violence.
But for many others -- those who benefitted from his courage -- he will always be remembered for giving hungry children a hot breakfast.
Or for opening a free walk-in health clinic on the West Side.
Or for trying to open a swimming pool, so poor black children could get relief from the heat.
Or for being a bold advocate for justice.

The Panthers' breakfast program for children has long been applauded, even by some conservatives, as a worthwhile endeavor.  Ignored are the severe problems associated with that program across the country.  Chicago was hardly an exception.

In September, 1969, the Chicago Tribune reported that money donated to the Black Panthers

"by merchants and other businessmen to feed breakfast to needy children appears to have been channeled by Panther officials to their own personal use, investigators for local and federal law enforcement agencies indicated after a close scrutiny of Panther activities.  The Tribune reported yesterday that the Panthers' breakfast program, which they claim feeds 3,500 school children a day, is almost nonexistent in Chicago.  Yet, the Panthers continue to solicit money and food to run the program."

The piece went on to identify program money given to Fred Hampton for a suit and books, as well as disbursements to other members.  One I found of particular interest since it involves a current U.S. Congressman:

Bobby Rush, the deputy minister of defense, is listed as receiving $145 on April 9. On the same day, the records show "Che" as the recipient of $20 for tires.  Investigators say that Che is Rush's nickname.

So did media exposure spur the Panthers to make good on their pledge to feed needy children?  In a word, no.  In January, 1970, the Chicago Tribune featured the story "Panther Free Food Project Barely Alive."  The article began:

The Black Panther party's program of feeding hungry school children is barely operating in Chicago, a survey by The Tribune disclosed yesterday.
It was found that only 44 youngsters actually showed up for the breakfasts at four locations yesterday, despite claims by Panther leaders that 1,000 children are being fed each week.

The report also noted:

Since Dec. 4, when Illinois Panther leaders Fred Hampton and Mark Clark were killed in a raid by state's attorney's police, investigators say the party has received many large cash donations for the program. . .
It was Hampton who last September claimed that the Panthers were feeding 3,000 to 4,000 children each week at three locations.  A Tribune survey found at that time showed that on most days the breakfast centers never opened and on others only a handful of children showed up.

Mary Mitchell writes that "Many of us did an (sic) poor job of passing on the spirit of men like Hampton."  Don't beat yourself up too much, Mary.  You liberals are still doing what you can, even 40 years later.