"You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We'll preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we'll sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness." – Ronald Reagan

As of the time of the original story’s posting on Big Journalism, I still had not received word back from Rob Wolchek, the Detroit Fox affiliate investigative reporter in question. In an email I wrote to Wolchek on Thursday, July 14, I asked, simply:

I think you did a really great piece about auto workers using their lunch breaks to drink and smoke, but I’m curious: Why did you and the anchors end the segment by basically apologizing for the report? Was it in response to viewer backlash after the previous story? Why couldn’t the segment stand alone without the disclaimer at the end?

I appreciate your hard work. As a former news writer, it’s good to see hard-hitting investigative pieces like yours.

Thanks so much, and I look forward to your reply.

I will bring you his response if and when I hear from him.

If you’ve discovered this post by coming through Big Journalism, I encourage you to check everything else out here. If you’re a regular visitor to this site, I encourage you to check out the related post at Big Journalism.

UPDATE I: Last Friday, I tweeted at Fox Detroit’s Rob Wolchek to make sure he received my email. He replied – unsure if he’d received it, so I sent it again. Mr. Wolchek has not yet replied to my email.

UPDATE II: Mr. Wolchek replied to my original email just now (on 7/20) with the following message:

As you can imagine, these stories generate a lot of emotions from our viewers. This is Detroit and we depend upon the auto industry. It is a heavy load to do a story that can affect so many lives.

As a reporter, I investigate my stories as fairly as possible. I try not to take sides or put my political opinions in the stories. Regardless, a story like the “Busted Auto Workers” will be interpreted in many different ways by our local viewers and those across the country and even the world. You saw the on-camera banter as being apologetic. Others had very different opinions.

So let me state my feelings on the story. Most of the people that work in our factories are extremely hard-working, dedicated people. That’s why I get tips about the bad apples. The people we caught on camera make the good people look bad. I have many friends that work at Chrysler. They are good people. I don’t like to put a negative spotlight on their company. However, it is my job to investigate. I don’t apologize for what I found. The workers who chose to party during their lunch made those decision and we caught them on camera. They messed up and made their company and fellow employees look bad.

I appreciate Mr. Wolchek’s reply and understand his position.

UPDATE III: According to the most recent Fox Detroit update:

From the Fox 2 story on Chrysler Group’s Trenton Engine Plant, the Company was able to identify nine employees captured on video. To date, all nine employees have been suspended indefinitely without pay pending further investigation. While the evidence seems conclusive, the Company needs to act in accordance with corporate policy and the terms of the collective bargaining agreement before further action is taken. The investigation is ongoing.

The Atlantic has the scoop on Paul’s ads – old and new… but Ron Paul just picked up a huge chunk of TV time in Iowa and New Hampshire.

And the ad is damn good:

ABC News has the story, too.

As I announced previously, I am now a contributor to Andrew Breitbart’s Big Journalism. My first post focuses on Bill Maher’s appearance on CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight:

Forget about the liberal “new tone” that was touted in the wake of the tragic shooting in Arizona by a crazed political party-less lone wolf. It’s open season for media talking heads, who continue to marginalize conservative women because they embrace a right-of-center form of feminism.

The most recent — and altogether unsurprising — culprit is Bill Maher, who sat down with CNN’s Piers Morgan to spew his misogynistic rhetoric Monday night. Morgan proposed a choice between either Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann. That part of the interview went something like this:

Morgan: Now, if you had a choice – gun to your head – which one is it? Palin or Bachmann?
Maher: I would need a gun to my head.
Morgan: [Laughter.]
Maher: I hope Sarah Palin gets in, so that they split the MILF vote.
Morgan: [Laughter.]
Maher: But I guess Bachmann… at least she’s somebody who can read. You know, she has a job. She was a lawyer. She’s in Congress. She’s not someone who just sits there and reads the prayers on her BlackBerry like Sarah Palin does. I mean, you know, we’re splitting hairs here.
Morgan: Could Sarah Palin become President? Is it possible in the current climate?
Maher: Absolutely. Absolutely. Yes. People who say this one is a joke or this one is a joke. I remember when I was 12 years old in 1968 and Ronald Reagan was first considering running for President. And I remember what a joke that was. Ronald Reagan? You mean, the “Bedtime for Bonzo” guy?… though, I think he did become President. Yes, absolutely. Because if she could get the nomination and anything can happen… I mean, this Republican Party is not your father’s Republican Party. Somewhere along the line, they got on a short bus to Crazytown… And if someone gets the nomination of one of the two major parties — especially, in a bad economy with a black President… Yea, she could become President.

Ignore the fact that Morgan continues with the mainstream media’s Bachmann v. Palin false dilemma. (Perhaps I’ll save that for another day.)

He kicks off this line of questioning by using violent rhetoric: gun to your head. Where have we heard that recently?

Oh yea! Both Barack Obama and liberal investor Warren Buffet used the violent imagery to argue against Republican attempts to stop an increase to the debt ceiling last week. Buffet went as far as to say Republicans would “blow your brains out” in their quest for fiscal sanity in Washington. If anyone’s holding the American people hostage, it’s those in Washington who want to continue to spend us deeper and deeper into debt.

But nevermind that. Back to Maher’s hatred of conservative women. Piers Morgan didn’t so much as raise an eyebrow as Maher carried out his rant against conservative women. Morgan’s approving laughter is enough to make one shudder.

Just a last week on Maher’s HBO program, he was bested by Ann Coulter, who accused Maher (rightfully so) of being a misogynist. You can see the video here. While Maher flatly rejected the accusation, he then went onto defend his history of dating only supermodels by saying, “They don’t have to be [supermodels], it’s just suggested.”

Certainly, if a conservative pundit demeaned women in the way Bill Maher does, he’d be roundly criticized.

However, why should we be satisfied letting one of our own (Coulter) make the case against Maher’s misogyny? Feminists from my home state — the Tennessee Guerilla Women — have plenty to say about Maher’sunacceptable attitude toward women. (Their documentation of Maher’s offenses goes back to 2007.) It’s unfortunate the mainstream media is complicit in the marginalization of conservative women.

Is this the kind of backwards behavior we can continue to expect from our enlightened progressive friends? Regrettably, the answer is most likely yes.

G’morning, friends. I apologize for the late start, but there’s a lot to go over!

First and foremost, you can check out my inaugural post to Andrew Breitbart’s Big Journalism right here.

Excellent evaluation of Obama fundraising by TPCarney (Washington Examiner)
Academia wants to take your fat kid from you (ABC News)
VA girl found trying to eat herself in a cage (NY Daily News)
Speaking of eating, “manorexia” (UK Daily Mail)
House Dems won’t support balanced budget amendment (The Hill)
Sen. McCaskill calls GOP a “hot, sloppy mess” (The Hill)
Something about Mitt Romney (Politico)
Moody’s puts debt rating on review (Politico)
GOP lacks coherent message, messenger in debt talks (Politico)

Blogs:

Media Matters coverage of the Frank Luntz focus group I was in last night (Fox News)
Obama warns Cantor in debt debate (Huffington Post)
Erickson pens letter to Speaker Boehner (Erick Erickson | RedState)
Weigel offers a snarky title for so-called “exposure” of conservative policy org (Weigel | Slate)
McConnell plan institutionalizes gridlock (BlueCollarMuse)

Local:

Herman Cain comes to Murfreesboro (DNJ)
Murfreesboro rezoning issue (DNJ)
Clarksville woman charged for airport disturbance (Tennessean)