Jan 31
Jan
31
2009
Posted by: Mark @ 2:19 pm
A few days ago I wrote an article revealing that Bill O’Reilly Is Scared Out Of His Mind. Well, he is still trembling with fright, this time over the rampaging demons that have possessed our computers and the Internet – and are coming after our kids. In his latest column he warns that… “…the lives [...]
Jan 27
Jan
27
2009
Posted by: Mark @ 3:18 pm
September 11, 2001, was the sort of milestone that no one wants in their collection. Aside from the obvious and tragic loss of life, it opened up a vein of fear and a recognition that none of us are impervious to grievous harm in a dangerous world. Thank God, then, for George W. Bush. He [...]
Jan 27
Jan
27
2009
Posted by: Mark @ 12:28 pm
Just for the record, it needs to be noted who Chris Wallace, the host of Fox News Sunday, and contributor to Fox News, turns to for political advice and analysis. This exchange took place in an interview with Improper Bostonian (pdf) magazine: Improper Bostonian: Can you truly say that you’re proud to work alongside Sean [...]
Jan 23
Jan
23
2009
Posted by: Mark @ 2:15 pm
All the symptoms are present. The shameless self-glorification. The lashing out at perceived enemies. The mangling of reality. The desperate grasping for affirmation. Bill O’Reilly is scared out of his mind. To be a little more accurate, I should break that sentence apart: Bill O’Reilly is scared – and – Bill O’Reilly is out of [...]
Jan 22
Jan
22
2009
Posted by: Mark @ 4:14 pm
President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order today aimed at restoring the rule of law, as well as our nation’s commitment to human rights. He reiterates the message in his inaugural speech that we are not bound by “a false choice between our safety and our ideals.” The order provides for the… “…closure of the [...]
Jan 21
Jan
21
2009
Posted by: Mark @ 3:21 pm
One week ago I wrote that the Bush Era Of Secrecy May Be Coming To An End, noting that: George W. Bush has presided over the most secrecy-obsessed administration in the history of the country. Well, on his first full day as president, Barack Obama has issued a series of Executive Orders and Memoranda that [...]
Jan 20
Jan
20
2009
Posted by: Mark @ 4:24 pm
In 1996 Rupert Murdoch hired Roger Ailes, a Republican media consultant, to build a new 24 hour cable news network. Fox News immediately went to work to disparage Democrats and liberals. They spent their early years mired in debt, losing $80-90 million annually. It was only Murdoch’s deep pockets that kept them out of bankruptcy. [...]
Jan 19
Jan
19
2009
Posted by: Mark @ 10:50 am
The significance of this Martin Martin Luther King Jr. day takes on a new meaning with the awareness that tomorrow an historic milestone in American history will occur. The first African-American president is as potent a validation of King’s dream as anything I can imagine. But there are still battles ahead. Contrary to the declarations [...]
Jan 18
Jan
18
2009
Posted by: Mark @ 1:58 am
President-elect Barack Obama’s nominee for Attorney General, Eric Holder, appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week and was asked briefly about a couple of issues related to the media. First, on the Fairness Doctrine: Sen. Arlen Specter: Mr. Holder, there had been suggestions for a revival of the so-called Fairness Doctrine, and my question [...]
Jan 18
Jan
18
2009
Posted by: Mark @ 12:13 am
I’m getting a little tired of writing these responses to the paranoid rightist Chicken Littles who persistently pretend to be aghast at the prospect of the return of the Fairness Doctrine. I mean, how many ways can you say that it isn’t going to happen? There is no legislation being drafted. There are no hearings [...]
Jan 15
Jan
15
2009
Posted by: Mark @ 1:50 am
Ever since Pajamas Media hatched the sublimely idiotic publicity stunt of sending Sam “Joe the Plumber” Wurzelbacher to Israel to cover the war, I have read dozens of articles mocking the gesture with richly comic results. That, of course, prompted a flurry of pathetic defenses of J-Plumb by tunnel-visioned right-wingers who mainly argued that Joe [...]
Jan 14
Jan
14
2009
Posted by: Mark @ 3:16 pm
George W. Bush has presided over the most secrecy-obsessed administration in the history of the country. More documents have been classified than at any other time. White House officials have defied court orders to disclose data, calendars, and emails. They even claimed that the vice-president was not subject to Congressional demands for information from the [...]
Jan 13
Jan
13
2009
Posted by: Mark @ 12:05 pm
Next Monday Fox News will premiere a new program hosted by fabulist radio jock, Glenn Beck. In advance of this debut, Beck has dropped a bomb on his new boss and millions of others around the world. On his radio program, Beck spun a tale of McCarthyistic intrigue that slammed President-elect Barack Obama, his designated [...]
Jan 13
Jan
13
2009
Posted by: Mark @ 11:18 am
Remember this name: Julius Genachowski. He appears to be Barack Obama’s choice for chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. In that role he will have an opportunity to not only undue a lot of the damage done by Bush’s henchmen in the post, Michael Powell and Kevin Martin, but he can actually make progress toward [...]
Jan 12
Jan
12
2009
Posted by: Mark @ 6:28 pm
Yesterday I reported that a description associated with the newly unveiled portrait of George W. Bush at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery was grossly misleading. It said that the Bush administration was… “…marked by a series of catastrophic events” including “the attacks on September 11, 2001, that led to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.” Sen. [...]
Jan 11
Jan
11
2009
Posted by: Mark @ 2:20 pm
The highly anticipated debut installment of war correspondent Joe the Plumber has been filed and is ripping apart the fabric of the journalistic community. For someone who was ridiculed for not having the experience or skills to perform as a reporter, Joe showed his critics that he should not be underestimated with profound declarations like [...]
Jan 11
Jan
11
2009
Posted by: Mark @ 12:08 pm
It’s pretty sad when a respected national institution like the Smithsonian fails to uphold the minimum scholarly standards that its reputation implies. The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery recently unveiled the portrait of George W. Bush that will hang in the museum. Accompanying the portrait will be a description of Bush’s tenure that says it was… [...]
Jan 08
Jan
08
2009
Posted by: Mark @ 3:48 pm
Item 1: The host of MSNBC’s Hardball, Chris Matthews, has decided not to join the race for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania. In doing so he has resisted a groundswell of support from hard-of-hearing misogynists throughout the state. Some reports suggested that Matthews was only floating the campaign as a means of enhancing his contract [...]
Jan 07
Jan
07
2009
Posted by: Mark @ 11:00 pm
America’s own Renaissance Man, Samuel “Joe the Plumber” Wurzelbacher, has tackled many tasks. He has been an author, a country singer, a digital TV promoter, a tax advisor, a pundit, and a campaign mascot. One of the few things he has not been is a plumber. Now Joe has found a new peak to scale. [...]
Jan 06
Jan
06
2009
Posted by: Mark @ 3:22 pm
The Washington Managing Editor for Fox News, and anchor of Special Report, Brit Hume, has now officially moved from the anchor chair to the rocking chair. In his place is Bret Baier, who was interviewed today by Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post. Baier considers himself an independent (so does Bill O’Reilly), but his remarks [...]