Author: Mark NC

Donald Trump Retweets Hateful, Misogynistic Video of Himself Assaulting Hillary Clinton

Posted by on September 17, 2017 at 12:07 pm. 3 Comments :

The tendency for the media to normalize Donald Trump has been evident in the past week or two. Following the tragic consequences of two major hurricanes, Trump behaved in a manner that would ordinarily be portrayed as routine. But for him it is heralded as a pivot to the presidential demeanor that has escaped him for the past ten months. The question of Trump pivoting keeps coming up despite the fact that he always reverts to his standard juvenile boorishness.

Donald Trump

Sunday morning Trump proved once again that he can’t maintain any semblance of dignity for more than a few minutes. He unleashed a fury of inane tweets that affirm his status as an infantile embarrassment to the nation. Most prominently is this one that also appears to advocate violence against women:

That’s right. Trump is now posting videos that show him deliberately assaulting Hillary Clinton. This is from the same man who frequently insults women and has confessed to sexual assaults. It is beyond repulsive that America now has a leader who has no qualms about such misogynistic hostility. Even worse, he thinks it’s funny.

Well, the Internet, not known for its subtlety, doesn’t agree. The reaction to Trump’s tastelessness was swift and brutal. For example:

A panel on CNN addressed this subject this morning and their reaction can be summed up by anchor John King saying that “We can’t find the words,” and that “It is insane.” A couple of panelists elaborated saying:

Julie Hirschfeld: He’ll come out on a Saturday morning and blow himself up with these crazy tweets that are not presidential. They don’t forward any particular agenda of his. I mean, this wasn’t about immigration, it wasn’t about any policy thing. It’s just something he probably thought was funny.

Malika Henderson: They believe in him they trust him. By and large they’re willing to make sort of excuses for him if he doesn’t follow through on whatever he says he would. He was right. He said that he could shoot somebody on 5th Avenue and he wouldn’t lose any followers.

Trump is so obsessed with his popular vote loss to Hillary Clinton that he can’t stop thinking about it. It’s eating him up, inside and out. So he has to attack her at every opportunity. His ego and vengefulness are character flaws that could erupt into catastrophe. He exhibits the same kind of schoolyard antics when referring to hostile foreign nations. This morning on Twitter he called North Korea’s Kim Jung Un “Rocket Man.” How is that supposed to ease tensions and resolve international conflicts?

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Note the media: Donald Trump is NOT going to change. He’s a seventy-one year old narcissist and bully. He doesn’t know how to behave like an adult, much less a president. He’s an imminent threat to the security of the country and the world. And in his spare time he promotes violence against women. While his approval ratings are in the toilet, he manages to hang on to a few Deplorable disciples. WTF is wrong with them? This scourge on America must end, and soon. #ImpeachTrump ASAP.

Fox News is STILL Obsessed With Hillary Clinton’s Email, But ‘New’ Evidence is Laughably Lame

Posted by on September 16, 2017 at 3:28 pm. 2 Comments :

There’s a lot going on in the news lately. Two hurricanes have trampled major U.S. cities. North Korea is rattling nuclear sabers. Terrorists have attacked again in London. Congress is struggling with DACA, tax reform, and yet another attempt to kill Obamacare. And special counsel Robert Mueller continues to close in on Donald Trump.

Hillary Clinton

Very little of this bodes well for Trump. His approval rating is still sliding down into record low territory. He has tried pathetically to change the subject with typically Trumpian attacks and juvenile insults aimed at capturing media attention. To no avail. So predictably, Fox News is riding to the rescue. They aired a segment Friday featuring an ultra-right wing guest who claimed to have new emails that prove Hillary Clinton guilty of pay-to-play.

The Fox News fetish over Clinton’s email is nearly psychotic. Despite years of trying, they have never produced anything that was remotely illegal. And it’s not for lack of effort. Fox News has devoted countless hours of valuable airtime to this subject, all aimed at defaming Clinton. And now, ten months after the election, they are still at it. It’s a demonstration of desperation. They simply have nothing else to distract the public from Trump’s disastrous reign of error.

On Friday Fox News hosted Tom Fitton of the conservative Judicial Watch (video below). Fitton claimed to have acquired new emails through the Freedom of Information Act that revealed wrongdoing by Clinton. The problem is, during the entire segment he didn’t produce a single one, or even offer a quote from any of the allegedly incriminating material.

Fitton began by accusing Clinton of having lied to Congress about turning over all her emails to the State Department. But the “new” emails he claimed to have were from the State Department, so obviously they had them. Then Fitton asserted that many of these emails contained classified information. But he didn’t offer any proof of that. And previous similar claims all turned out to be false. The gist of this appearance on Fox was to rehash the old email business, while presenting nothing new or relevant.

FITTON: Going back again to the pay-to-play scandal, it’s email after email of Doug Band, who was a Clinton Foundation top official, worked with the Clinton’s closely, coordinating and working with Huma Abedin to take care of favors for Clinton Foundation donors who were going through Band to get access and benefits from the state Department. Visas to Cuba. Meetings in Singapore. Other types of activity like that. It’s there in black and white.

None of that interminably run-on sentence contributed anything to the store of knowledge of this subject. There was nothing that could be described as proof of wrongdoing. What Fitton did say was rather mundane. He seems to think that the legitimate operations of the State Department (visas, diplomatic meetings) are inherently criminal. But he offered nothing to connect any of Clinton’s actions with her family foundation. No one ever has. And despite his assertion that “It’s there in black and white,” it actually wasn’t. Why didn’t he bring any of these supposedly damaging emails to the studio?

Fitton went on to make other random and unsupported allegations. He called the Comey investigation “a sham.” At one point he rolled completely off the rails by stating that Comey was fired because “no one trusted him.” But even Trump admitted that he fired Comey because of “the Russia stuff.” Then Fitton even undercut his own argument that this was new information by admitting that “The Justice Department knows about this.” Apparently he believes that Trump’s Justice Department, under the supervision of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, is covering up for “crooked” Hillary Clinton.

Clearly Fox News has run out of phony scandals to peddle. So they are reprising their hits from yesteryear. It’s the classic oldies network for Deplorables who still want to “Lock her up.” No wonder Fox’s ratings are lagging behind MSNBC. I suspect that even some Fox viewers are tiring of this rotting heap of garbage and are looking for some fresh news. And if this is the best Fox can do as they try to play defense for Trump, the President better start worrying about his future move from the White House to the Big House.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Fox News Attacks Superman Because He Defended Immigrants From a Racist Slaughter

Posted by on September 15, 2017 at 3:55 pm. 6 Comments :

For twenty years Fox News has marketed itself as an ultra-patriotic mouthpiece for conservative principles. Their editorial posture has brazenly taken the side of what it considers American exceptionalism. Never mind that such bias is a breach of journalistic standards. An ethical news operation cannot be seen as exhibiting such favoritism. It would make it impossible to objectively criticize the U.S. when necessary.

Superman

This makes the commentary by Fox News host Todd Starnes all the more peculiar. Starnes unleashed an opinionated column that viciously attacked the concepts of “truth, justice, and the American way.” That’s right, he’s taking on Superman. And the offensive behavior by the Man of Steel was that he saved the lives of brown people from a murderous racist. In an article titled “Superman defends illegals against angry American,” Starnes writes that:

“The Man of Steel has now become a propaganda tool for the defenders of illegal aliens. In the most recent issue of Action Comics, Superman comes to the rescue of a group of illegal aliens — under attack from a white guy wearing an American flag bandana and waving around a machine gun. The man is reportedly infuriated because the illegal aliens took his job,” […]

“Instead of rounding up the illegals and flying them back to where they came from, the Man of Steel snatches the white guy and with a menacing look snarls, ‘The only person responsible for the blackness smothering your soul — is you.'”

So Starnes is outraged that our fictional superhero prevented the mass slaying of innocent human beings. Which is pretty much what Superman has been doing for seventy-five years. But Starnes is unconcerned about the killer’s admitted racism and intention to kill Latinos he believes cost him his job. Apparently Starnes would have preferred a version of the story with more bloodshed and dead immigrants. He concludes his tirade with a lament that D.C. Comics is “turning its stable of iconic heroes into political pawns” and “indoctrinating our kids.” The author of the comic, however, sees it differently:

It’s notable that nowhere in the comic are the Latino victims described as undocumented. But that doesn’t stop Starnes from repeatedly referring to them as “illegals” And even if they were undocumented, that wouldn’t justify them being murdered to anyone but bigots like Starnes. Their hatred is exactly what heroes like Superman are dedicated to fighting against. And the comic contains a thought that could easily be applied to Starnes and his pals at Fox News and in Donald Trump’s White House:

“Something darker is at work here. As though anger and ignorance have boiled over all at once. Where people can’t look past their own selfishness and the common good is a foreign concept.”

Precisely. The dark anger and ignorance that is boiling over at Fox News is a product of selfishness and prejudice. It’s too bad we don’t have actual superheroes to protect us from the cretins who peddle such hate. But it’s even worse that we have to suffer idiots like Starnes who wallow in it.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Trump Threatens to Veto Medicare-For-All, But Gets a Brutal Slapback From Bernie Sanders

Posted by on September 14, 2017 at 7:04 pm. 1 Comments :

In the past couple of weeks, Sen. Bernie Sanders has been aggressively advocating for his proposal to make Medicare available to all Americans. The response from his senate colleagues has been exceedingly positive. He already has about sixteen co-sponsers. When he introduced a similar bill in 2013, he had none.

Bernie Sanders Donald Trump

Not surprisingly, Donald Trump is in panic mode castigating Sanders and his plan to insure everybody. Trump unleashed his typical fury on Twitter saying:

So now Trump is resorting to ultra-hyperbolic language to demonize single-payer healthcare as a “curse.” And the absurdity of telling people not to worry because he will veto it is downright laughable. He obviously doesn’t know what the American people are worried about.

Most polls show that a single-payer plan is broadly favored by a significant majority of voters. The Economist conducted a poll in April that showed sixty percent supporting Medicare-for-All. That included seventy-five percent of Democrats, fifty-eight percent of Independents, and even forty-six percent of Republicans. The poll also broke down the responses by candidate preference, showing support from eighty percent of Hillary Clinton’s voters and forty percent of Trump’s.

Clearly, the American people do not regard Medicare-for-All as a curse. Nor would vetoing the bill ease their worries. And given the level of support, Trump can hardly claim that such a veto would demonstrate that he loves the country and its people. Quite the opposite, as a matter of fact.

Bernie Sanders took note of Trump’s tweet and had something to say about it as well. He replied with a couple of tweets of his own that put Trump in his place.

Good points. It seems rather surreal to characterize providing health care to everyone as a curse. Particularly since the United States is the only major industrialized country that doesn’t have a national health plan. As a result, we are paying many times more for care and getting less for it.

What’s more, throwing twenty-three million people off of their health plans is an odd way to express your love. Americans are well aware of this. That’s why only seventeen percent supported the Republican bills which deservedly went down to defeat.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

The people are more tuned into this matter than at any time in the past. If Trump and his GOP cohorts think they can fool the people into accepting their deceptive plots to kill ObamaCare, or oppose Medicare-for-All, they are sadly mistaken. And we won’t have to worry about a presidential veto if Trump isn’t president. So there’s that.

TRUMP: ‘Does Anybody Really Want to Throw Out’ DREAMers? YES, You Do! (VIDEO)

Posted by on September 14, 2017 at 12:29 pm. 2 Comments :

Within the past twenty-four hours Donald Trump has surpassed his ordinary level of chaotic confusion. And that’s saying something. It began with the news that he had met with Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi. They reportedly discussed the status of the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), after he rescinded the executive order issued by President Obama.

Donald Trump

According to Pelosi, they agreed to codify DACA into law. But it didn’t take long for Trump’s team to flip and shoot that down, insisting that there was no agreement. And then, in another flop, Trump tweeted this:

So Trump wants to know if anyone really wants to throw out the DREAMers. And the answer to that is a resounding “YES!” Trump himself wants to throw them out. He said exactly that to Chuck Todd on Meet the Press in August of 2015:

CHUCK TODD: You’ll rescind the DREAM Act executive order–
DONALD TRUMP: You’re going to have to.
TODD: DACA?
TRUMP: We have to make a whole new set of standards. And when people come in, they have to come in legally–
TODD: So you’re going to split up families?
TRUMP: Chuck.
TODD: You’re going to deport children–
TRUMP: Chuck. No, no. We’re going to keep the families together. We have to keep the families together.
TODD: But you’re going to keep them together out–
TRUMP: But they have to go. But they have to go.
TODD: What if they have no place to go?
TRUMP: We will work with them. They have to go. Chuck, we either have a country or we don’t have a country.

The gall of this lying cretin to pretend that he’s concerned about these young people who have demonstrated their patriotism, is gravity-defying. He could have simply said that he was convinced by Schumer and Pelosi that this was the right thing to do. Instead he chose a flagrantly dishonest path in order to exalt himself. So even when he tries to do the right thing, he wraps it in lies and conceit.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

It’s Official: Fox ‘News’ Is Not News And is Allowed to Lie, Says UK Communications Agency

Posted by on September 13, 2017 at 1:39 pm. 3 Comments :

The mission of Fox News from its inception was to advance the agenda of America’s conservatives and the Republican Party. That could not have been more obvious due to its founding by ultra-rightist Rupert Murdoch and GOP media strategist Roger Ailes. The network has spent the last twenty years defaming liberals and Democrats while vigorously supporting right-wing politicians and policies.

Fox News Lies

Much of what Fox News produced brazenly ignored the standards of professional journalism. They aired overtly biased “news” stories that were filled with misrepresentations and outright lies. PolitiFact has rated sixty percent of their their work as “Mostly False,” “False,” or “Pants on Fire.” The other cable news networks don’t even come close to that dubious achievement. This shameful record may have contributed to Fox News being yanked from British television for what they said was lack of viewers.

Now Fox News CEO Rupert Murdoch is trying to acquire the remaining portion of Sky Broadcasting (a European network) that he doesn’t already own. The U.K. has some stringent requirements for approving media deals that will impact the independence of the nation’s journalism. They also review any deal that could put too much power into the hands of a single outlet. On those grounds their Office of Communications (OFCOM) has been investigating Murdoch and his 21st Century Fox corporation.

Unfortunately for Murdoch, concerns about Fox News are stalling, and might kill, the approval process. The network is awash in scandals involving presenters and executives engaging in sexual harassment and related misconduct. They fired their now-deceased CEO Roger Ailes, their top star Bill O’Reilly, host Eric Bolling, among others. That doesn’t look good to the regulatory body considering the acquisition.

And that’s not all. Fox News is also being scrutinized for its reporting and its chumminess with Donald Trump and his administration. Talking Points Memo writes that:

“British authorities have increased scrutiny of the impending deal following several complaints raising concerns that the Fox News parent company is not fit to own Sky News. That scrutiny followed several resignations at Fox News over allegations of sexual harassment, as well as a lawsuit alleging that the network worked with the Trump administration to push a conspiracy theory about a murdered Democratic National Committee staffer.”

The characterization of the personnel matters as “resignations” is overly generous. These slimeballs did not leave voluntarily. But their terminations were also not likely due to Fox having a moral awakening. In fact, it was more likely a self-serving attempt to appease the U.K. regulators by trying to show that they were correcting their problems.

However, the most troubling conclusions coming out of OFCOM’s review were related directly to the editorial content of Fox News. In an ironic twist wherein the agency was actually defending approval, they offered an odd justification for why Fox’s misreporting should not stand in the way:

“In dismissing complaints about certain claims made on Fox News shows, Ofcom determined that ‘Hannity,’ ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight,’ and ‘Fox and Friends’ are not news programs and therefore do not have a ‘due accuracy requirement.'”

To be clear, the agency is making a judgment call that those programs do not qualify as “news.” Consequently, they have no obligation to report factually or even to tell the truth. Anyone who has watched for more than a couple of minutes already knows that those shows have abandoned fact-checking and honesty. And now their flagrantly unethical standards may actually help the company’s acquisition bid. But they would have to accept the argument that they are allowed to lie because they aren’t really news. So far, Fox News has not complained about this characterization of their programming. What does that tell you?

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Fox News is Taking Drastic Measures to Deal With Rachel Maddow’s Awesome Success

Posted by on September 12, 2017 at 5:16 pm. 3 Comments :

For the past few months Rachel Maddow has been drawing big numbers in the Nielsen ratings. Her show has done what was thought to be impossible a couple of years ago. She is beating her competition on Fox News. On many occasions she has also been the highest rated programs on all cable news networks. And that includes Sean Hannity.

Rachel Maddow

Fox News is now reorganizing their schedule. In part that’s due to having parted ways with Eric Bolling, the co-host of “The Specialists.” Bolling had been on suspension after allegations that he sent lewd pictures to his female Fox colleagues. The suspension has now turned into a termination. Therefore, Fox News has canceled The Specialists and moved “The Five” from its primetime slot to that afternoon time period. That leaves an opening in primetime.

What Fox is doing with that vacancy reveals just how worried they are about Maddow. They are bringing in Laura Ingraham to host their 10:00 pm show, where Hannity has been for years. And they are moving Hannity to 9:00 pm, opposite Maddow. Hannity is Fox’s best performing program. By scheduling him against Maddow they are admitting that she has been hurting them and they need to juice their line-up. It’s a risk because TV audiences are creatures of habit. Fox’s viewers may not know where to find Hannity after he moves. And that could cause his ratings to suffer.

More importantly, if Fox News thinks that their top guy is a shoe-in to man-handle Maddow, they aren’t paying attention. As noted above, Maddow’s ratings have been better than Hannity’s even when they weren’t running head-to-head. There is no reason to expect anything different with Hannity’s move. Other than the viewer confusion previously mentioned. And if Maddow cleans Hannity’s clock in direct competition that would be a withering embarrassment for him.

The new Fox News primetime line-up would also be an unprecedentedly biased schedule with Tucker Carlson leading off, followed by Hannity and Ingraham. All three of these pundits are confirmed Trump-fluffers. Hannity is an unofficial advisor to Trump and even appeared in a ad for him. Ingraham was considered as a replacement for Trump’s press secretary, Sean Spicer.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

With every day the Fox News network becomes more and more an arm of the Trump administration. It’s the closest thing that the United States has ever had to state-run TV. But that doesn’t mean that America is going to accept it or like it. The country has already expressed a profound favoritism for Maddow. We’ll know soon enough how the ratings war between Hannity and Maddow turns out. And we can expect Hannity to venture ever further down the path of conspiracy theory nonsense as he tries to generate interest in his noxious brand of spin.

Crybaby: After Joking About Hurricane Irma, Alt-Right Icon Milo Yiannopoulos’ House Is Destroyed

Posted by on September 11, 2017 at 2:08 pm. 2 Comments :

As Hurricane Irma is downgraded to a tropical storm, its destructive consequences are still being evaluated. There is no doubt that it was the most powerful hurricane recorded in modern times. Dozens of fatalities have already been reported in its wake, and the numbers are expected to increase. The human tragedy is only just beginning to be fully understood as flood waters continue to rise.

Milo Yiannopoulos

These facts didn’t stop conservative pundits and politicians from belittling Irma’s impact. Prior to its landfall in Florida, Rush Limbaugh unleashed his conspiracy theory that the media was over-hyping it to juice their ratings. Some commentators assessed the aftermath as less than what they were led to believe by a panicky press.

They should tell that to the families who lost loved ones and homes. And no doubt the estimated six million people who are without power would disagree. Affected communities will continue to struggle with blocked roads and closed hospitals and schools. And, sadly, two Palm Beach officers died in the line of duty.

Among those who sought to underplay the disaster was the alt-right leader, Milo Yiannopoulos. He’s a former Breitbart author who was pilloried for comments defending pedophilia. He’a also a proud climate science denier. Prior to Hurricane Irma’s landfall in Florida he thought it would funny to joke about the imminent danger. As reported in The Independent:

“Mr Yiannopoulos, a former Breitbart News writer and editor and a vocal supporter of Donald Trump, had earlier appeared to joke about the destruction the hurricane had caused. Last week, as the storm hit the Caribbean, he wrote on Facebook: ‘In more positive Irma news, Richard Branson’s Necker Island has been devastated.'”

“And, as the hurricane headed towards the impoverished Caribbean island of Haiti, he said: ‘Irma is about to finish what Hillary started: leaving Haiti in ruins.’ That was a reference to Hillary Clinton, who faced questions during her presidential campaign against Donald Trump over the work of the Clinton Foundation in Haiti following the devastating 2010 earthquake there.”

He’s hilarious, isn’t he? But what’s really funny is what he posted on Facebook after the hurricane passed through his home of Miami. In all caps he whined “MY HOUSE IS GONE.”

Apparently that silly old hurricane blew his home away. In all seriousness, it is never funny when anyone suffers this sort of tragic loss. Natural disasters are not selective and they do not discriminate. Even though some of their victims, like Yiannopoulos, do in overtly racist ways. They nevertheless deserve sympathy and whatever assistance is rightfully theirs from their neighbors and their government. That’s one of the enduring strengths of America and the caring people who live here.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

However, in Yiannopoulos’ case, he also deserves his share of ridicule and shame for not giving a damn about any of this until it affected him. That’s a common personality flaw of right-wingers. But we also have to be alert to the possibility that he is lying. It would not be unlike him to use the tragedies of others as prank to get attention. Assuming he’s being truthful about his loss, he can apply for aid from FEMA as needed. But he also has to accept the laughter aimed at his blinding selfishness. Maybe he will learn something from it.

UPDATE: As I speculated above, it turns out that Yiannopoulos may be lying. The Miami Herald did a little digging and found evidence that the picture of rubble Yiannopoulos said was his home belongs to someone else. If this is a prank, it is an especially heinous one that exhibits callousness toward real people who are really suffering. But then, that’s pretty much what you’d expect from this sleazeball.

It’s Come To This? Florida Sheriff Has to Warn People NOT to Shoot Into Hurricane Irma

Posted by on September 10, 2017 at 12:40 pm. 0 Comments :

Sunday morning is bringing an unprecedented peril to Florida and much of the Southeast. As Hurricane Irma gets closer to population centers it’s size and strength are threatening both life and property. The most important thing now is for anyone who has not evacuated to find shelter and hope for the best.

Hurricane Shooter

That said, there are still surprisingly asinine incidents popping up that make one question Darwin’s theory of natural selection. For instance, Rush Limbaugh broadcast a ludicrous and dangerous conspiracy theory. He said that warnings to evacuate were just a plot by television companies and convenience stores to increase ratings and sell more bottled water. Less than twenty-four hours later he fled his Palm Beach estate, leaving his listeners to the fate of Irma.

However, a Facebook post later appeared to challenge Limbaugh’s idiocy. Ryon Edwards, a twenty-two year old prankster, posted an event coordinated to the arrival of Hurricane Irma. He invited readers to join him in shooting at the hurricane to alleviate any related stress or boredom. They responded in the tens of thousands. This did not go over very well with the law enforcement community. As Time Magazine reports:

“Florida authorities are advising people against firing weapons at Hurricane Irma following a Facebook event titled ‘Shoot At Hurricane Irma’ that garnered interest from over 45,000 accounts.

“‘To clarify, DO NOT shoot weapons at Irma,’ the Twitter account of the Pasco County Sheriff’s office tweeted on Saturday night, just hours before the eye of the storm passed over the Florida Keys. ‘You won’t make it turn around & it will have very dangerous side effects.’ Bullets fired into a storm system like a hurricane can have unpredictable and potentially dangerous trajectories.”

It may seem unnecessary to persuade people not to shoot at a hurricane. But we’re talking about people who think the Second Amendment permits them to take up arms against fellow Americans. And that includes those serving in the police and military that they sometimes praise as heroes. There are no shortage of stories about NRA members who shoot themselves or other innocents for frighteningly stupid reasons. And every Independence Day these cretins fire into the air despite warnings and news of tragic consequences.

The Pasco Sheriff was correct to assume that a fair number of the thousands who joined the Facebook event might take it literally. Many people hold views that are no less absurd. There are those who believe that these hurricanes, and other natural disasters, are God’s punishment for homosexuality. And others are convinced that only the pagans will be swept away. This doesn’t even address all the mainstream Republicans who deny the effects of climate change and the science that predicted these massive weather events.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

That absence of reason can also infect gun owners who imagine that their bullets in large numbers will turn Irma around. In reality, it’s the bullets that can be turned around, and directly back toward the imbecile who fired it. The fact that a professional law enforcement officer finds it necessary to issue this warning is a sad statement on the state of our nation. But it’s better to make the warning than to regret the suffering after the fact.

Fox News Smears Renowned Civil Rights Org With Slanderous Defamation and Lies

Posted by on September 9, 2017 at 3:21 pm. 7 Comments :

The cable “news” network most closely associated with the white supremacism of Donald Trump and the alt-right is living up to its heinous reputation. On Friday the Fox News program “The Five” broadcast a segment attacking one of America’s most honored civil rights organizations. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has been providing legal services to victims of prejudice for decades. So obviously Fox News had to invent some BS to charge them with.

Fox News Greg Gutfeld

The program’s cast mined the dregs of the ultra-rightist Washington Free Beacon for their material. And they sought the support of the Family Research Council, a notorious hate group, for confirmation. The SPLC responded with a demand for a correction and a detailed itemization of what Fox News got wrong.

The Fox News segment began with a diatribe by co-host Greg Gutfeld. He rattled off some falsehoods that portrayed the SPLC as charlatans and associates of violent nutjobs. His rant began with the charge that the SPLC was “a hard left outfit that loves to label people as extremists.” Then he dived deeper into the barrel of outright lies (video below):

“This poverty center has loads of [money]. A $320 million endowment and chucks almost 20% of it into offshore equities. Cayman Island stuff. I don’t understand it. So this poverty group sits on a pile of offshore dough. That’s like a personal trainer with a gut. Or a priest with a harem.

“The Center paid out $20 million in salaries in 2015 but provided just 61 grand in legal assistance. So the Southern Poverty Law Center appears to have no poverty and do virtually no law. It’s the most misleading name since the Democratic Party.”

The SPLC’s letter to Fox News addressed Gutfeld’s allegations and plainly showed them to false. All of the information was publicly available and posted on the group’s website. For instance, with regard to the charge that they spent only $61,000 on legal assistance, the Center replied that:

“That figure represents the amount that the SPLC spent on its own corporate legal services, not the amount it spent providing legal services for others. The same page of the SPLC tax returns that lists the $61,000 figure for internal legal services, shows that the SPLC spent more than $1.8 million on out-of-pocket case costs for litigation brought on behalf of its clients.”

The letter goes on to point out that they spent more than $15 million on initiatives on behalf of their clients. That’s a far cry from the $61,000 Gutfeld dishonestly reported. The whole segment was a smear job filled with easily disproved assertions. Clearly Fox News didn’t do even the most cursory research before broadcast. Consequently, the SPLC is demanding that Fox “acknowledge on the air its errors in the story.” But don’t hold your breath waiting for that to happen.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.