"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value." Published on December 23, 1776.

The media have mattered in America for a very long time. The truly heartbreaking fact is that inspiring words such as those written by Paine, strong enough to be quoted centuries later, have been replaced by slanderous gibberish, twisted truth, and in some cases, outright lies, bought and paid for by some candidate or party whose only interest is his own power grab. In a few extreme cases, the media outlets seem to own the party. The American media do not call for courage and integrity; they howl for defeat and government dependence. Conflicts of any kind are to be avoided at all costs. Thomas Paine would surely call many of these media outlets "loyalists." The problem is divining where their loyalties lie. They speak of America’s greatness while beating the drums of defeat and socialism.

Where were Walter Cronkite’s loyalties when he announced to the American people in his February 27, 1968, report that the TET offensive was not a victory, but at best a stalemate and closed his report with these words: "But it is increasingly clear to this reporter that the only rational way out then will be to negotiate, not as victors, but as an honorable people who lived up to their pledge to defend democracy, and did the best they could." In other words, America did its best and lost so it should now "negotiate" its way to an honorable defeat. But is there such a thing as an "honorable defeat?"

In truth, the TET offensive was a clear victory for the American forces. Perhaps that is what the liberal Mr. Cronkite couldn’t bear. Cronkite aided the enemy that day and gave him the will to fight on. After all, America’s most beloved journalist had just declared that America had lost the war. Americans believed him and the enemy rejoiced. Historians are very clear on this: if there was a turning point in the Viet Nam War, it was Walter Cronkite’s report of our defeat. The American people were no longer supportive of the war. After that, it was only a matter of time before America withdrew. Our enemies have learned that if they can influence the American liberal media, they will win the war.

Much of today’s media has told the American people that there is either no war against Islamic terrorists, or that America is losing that war, or that the war is only about oil, or that America is getting what it deserves for decades of "imperialism" around the world. They do not exactly inspire greatness.

Now, those who do expound on America’s greatness are under attack. There are movements in the Congress for a "Fairness Doctrine" that is nothing more than an attempt to silence the opposition. Unable to counter the popular Rush Limbaugh with Al Franken’s mindless prattle on Air America radio, the plan now seems to be--if you can’t beat Limbaugh, destroy him and remove him from American airwaves.

While Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Glenn Beck are not journalists, (nor do they claim to be) they are very influential members of what Americans view as "the media." The leftists see them as a threat. All three of these conservative radio talk-show hosts expose the socialist plans of the left to Americans. Liberals feel that this cannot be allowed. Any dissent or exposure of their lies must be stopped.

The Limbaugh threat is seen as so great that the man who declared the war in Iraq is lost, Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.), took up valuable Senate time to attack a private citizen, Rush Limbaugh, on the floor of the Senate. Reid based this attack on an erroneous report from the website MediaMatters, which was founded by the friends of Hillary Clinton with her help, and funded by George Soros. Soros also funds the far-left website, MoveOn.org, which has stated that it owns the Democratic Party. The new "Progressive Party" that Senator Clinton (D-N.Y.) so proudly claims to be a member of, also seems to be owned by billionaire socialist George Soros. The only speech that Mr. Soros seems to want to hear is his vision for America: total socialism.

The fact is that most in the military love Rush Limbaugh. One hour of Rush’s show is aired on the Arm Forces Radio each day and even that one hour is far too much for the likes of Harry Reid. He wants Rush silenced. Freedom of speech in America apparently only applies to the socialist left. Democrats in America only want the people spoon-fed the information that they want them to hear.

While the leftists attempted to control the radio airwaves with Air America, it was a dismal failure. At the same time, the listening audience of the three top conservative hosts grew daily. What is even worse for leftists is the fact that many Americans who are "sitting on the fence" listen to conservative radio. When hearing words of hope and encouragement, many of these fence-sitters become loyal conservative followers. This is why leftists believe conservative radio must be stopped. It is not under the control of the likes of George Soros as are most of the television and newspaper media outlets. Talk radio is the only media outlet the liberals don’t control.

FOX News is also considered a threat by the leftists in America. Democratic Party candidates for president refuse to attend any debates hosted by FOX. While highly respected journalists Brit Hume and Chris Wallace are scorned by leftists, wildly liberal political hacks like Chris Mathews are accepted with a smile by Republican Party candidates. Are the Democratic candidates afraid of being asked hard questions? Apparently so. But since its debut, FOX News has grown to be the most watched cable news channel outdistancing even the well established CNN. Americans are starved for an honest news report.

The problem in America is that the media have chosen sides. Instead of reporting the news in an unbiased manner, they carefully edit and report the news as they want the viewer to see it. Sources are poorly vetted if they have a tidbit that will damage the "other side." Somewhere along the line, "freedom of speech" got lost in the shuffle and special interest groups took control. Reporting the truth is considered a threat instead of the golden rule of any media outlet.

As Thomas Paine proved, the media do matter and can have tremendous influence in American society. America still lives in "times that try men’s souls" and more then ever before the people need honesty from the media, not opinions. The future of America depends on it.