Media Bias

On Fox News RNC Chair Cites Laughably Phony Evidence that Facebook Censors Conservatives

Posted by on May 25, 2018 at 3:28 pm. NO Comments :

It is a miraculous twist of fate that Fox News and Donald Trump found each other. They both have so much in common. Their shared commitment to telling flagrant lies in pursuit of an ultra right-wing agenda is the tie that binds them in an embrace of harmony and mutual devotion. And if you’re feeling a little nauseous right now, just wait.

Fox News, Diamond & Silk

One of the defining characteristics of modern conservatism is the determination to blame anything and everything, other than themselves, for their problems. Trump is a master at this pretense of victimhood. He is certain that there are clandestine “Deep State” conspirators embedded in the government who are out to get him. Or at least he pretends to believe that. And the media is in on the conspiracy with their constant negative (i.e. truthful) assessments of his disastrous presidency. Every utterance from Trump is either a declaration of unprecedented success for which he is solely responsible, or a historic failure that his enemies blame him for. And Fox News reports all of these things exactly as Trump imagines them.

On Friday, Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer interviewed the chair of the Republican National Committee, Ronna Romney McDaniels, in a segment that perfectly demonstrates the rightist paranoia. McDaniels falsely claimed that Republicans are being censored on social media. She is parroting the whining by many on the right who think that their own failures must be the work of secret foes undermining them from hidden bunkers.

In fact, many people and organizations (including News Corpse) have suffered audience declines recently due to new policies implemented by Facebook and other social media platforms ostensibly to curb fake news. These changes can be legitimately criticized as they are often most harmful to small publishers. But they are not being applied differently based on any political bias. However, that hasn’t stopped Fox News and the GOP from crying foul and feigning outrage. And this segment with the RNC Chair is a perfect example (video below):

McDanniels: “In the history of Facebook there have been instances where they have changed the trending topics. They’ve suppressed conservative viewpoints as we’ve recently seen with Diamond and Silk – that they suspended their account. And we just wanted to preemptively go to Facebook and say that we want assurances that you are not going to suppress conservative voices. That the Silicon Valley thought police is not going to determine what voices filter through on social media platforms.” […]

Hemmer: “Just for the audience, state the evidence as to why you think there is bias on these platforms. I saw one number that suggests a forty percent decline in traffic for conservative viewpoints. Where is the evidence for that, Ronna?”

McDanniels: “Well, Diamond and Silk this morning said that their viewership has gone way down since they were suspended. They have since been reinstated. […] We know that it’s a liberal place in Silicon Valley, that we don’t usually have the same mindset. And we want to make sure that we’re fair and neutral.”

Holy Shitake Mushroom. McDaniels is citing the loopiest Trump-fluffers on Fox News as her evidence of anti-conservative bias. And the only proof of the alleged bias is that Diamond & Silk say so. ThinkProgress did the research and discovered that the fruitcake duo’s Facebook interactions actually increased during the period they claim to have been censored. But they have been telling these lies for quite a while, and even got a surreal hearing before Congress to spin this bullshit.

So without putting a single fact on the table, McDaniels slanders the “Silicon Valley thought police” she imagines are suppressing her Constitutional rights. And Fox’s Hemmer helps her along with a completely unsupported claim that he “saw one number” that he said showed a significant decline for conservatives. And that is the totality of their argument that conservatives are being held down by the all-powerful liberals who control everything on the planet. To reiterate: it’s a number that Hemmer says he saw and wildly false claims by two yokels who can’t string together a coherent sentence. So I guess that settles it.

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

Fox News ‘Judge’ Pirro: If I Were in Charge the President Would Be Playing Golf Right Now

Posted by on May 25, 2018 at 1:26 pm. 5 Comments :

Never let it be said that Fox News doesn’t have its priorities in the right place. They know their mission is to advance the interests of Donald Trump and his perversion of Republican Party politics. They dutifully pursue that mission with enthusiasm for the propaganda they espouse throughout their broadcast day.

Donald Trump, Jeanine Pirro

One of the most devoted disciples of Fox’s Trump Cult is “Judge” Jeanine Pirro. Her spittle-inflected ravings are a unique spectacle on cable news. Even Sean Hannity’s fawning adoration of Dear Leader doesn’t reach the passionate infatuation expressed by Pirro on every episode of her relentless Trump-fluffing program. After all, she recently declared that Trump had “fulfilled the biblical prophecy of the gods.” And on Friday morning she proved why she is viewed as the Fox “personality” who has the most direct line to Trump’s brain.

Pirro was interviewed Friday on Trump’s favorite Fox News program, Fox and Friends (video below). The segment began with a discussion of whether Trump should sit for an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller. Co-host Brian Kilmeade asked Pirro what she would do if she were in charge. “If I were in charge,” she began, “the President would be playing golf right now. There is no way the President should appear before Bob Mueller.”

OK then. Not only is Pirro against Trump talking to Mueller, she apparently isn’t keen on him doing any presidential work either. She wants Trump to be doing what he does more than anything else: visiting his luxury resorts and playing golf. That’s something he has already done more than 100 times since taking office. And to tell the truth, most Americans would also probably prefer that Trump camp out at Mar-A-Lago rather than do more damage to the nation. But Pirro wasn’t finished giving her view of Trump’s responsibility to the people. But her reasons for having the President avoid a sit-down with Mueller are sorely lacking in reason:

“Think about it. If a sitting president cannot be indicted, and this president were to be questioned, it would only be for the purpose of an indictment. The legislative branch is not gonna be in a position – which is what Mueller would like – to get the testimony of the President so that they can then use it to impeach him. That’s the problem.”

What’s the problem? Pirro isn’t making sense. First of all, there is no law prohibiting the indictment of a sitting President. It’s a rule within the Justice Department that can be changed at any time and has never been tested in court. Trump’s TV lawyer Rudy Giuliani has tried miserably to make the same argument. More to the point, Pirro says that Mueller only wants Trump’s testimony so that Congress can impeach him. Which implies that Trump has something to say that would warrant impeachment. Yes, Jeanine, that is a problem. And it’s also a problem when a president is afraid to talk with a law enforcement investigator. Is there any better indicator of guilt?

Pirro’s opposition to impeachment, however, is limited to its use against Trump. Later in this interview she insisted that Justice Department investigators, including Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, should be impeached. Never mind that she offered no justification other than her rabid hostility to anyone who is even tangentially critical of her White House boyfriend. The whole strategy of the White House and its PR division (aka Fox News) is to demean the nation’s institutions of law in order to convince their base that there is massive conspiracy against Trump. But the truth is that it’s reality that is conspiring against the President and his frantic and irrational behavior is proof that he knows it.

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

Fox News Host Sympathizes With Poor Kim Jong Un Having To ‘Murder His People All Day Long’

Posted by on May 23, 2018 at 11:24 am. 1 Comments :

The spectacle of a major cable “news” network flagrantly acting as the PR agent for the President of the United States is a frightening sign of America’s drift to totalitarianism. But that’s what has been happening for the past year as State TV (aka Fox News) has shamelessly shilled for Donald Trump 24/7. You know it’s bad when Bret Baier, the principle news anchor on Fox, concedes that the network’s hosts cause problems for him by acting as mouthpieces for Donald Trump.

Fox News, Pete Hegseth

This embarrassing display of sycophancy, however, took a sharp turn into the absurd on Wednesday morning during an episode of Trump’s favorite TV show, Fox and Friends. The “Curvy Couch” potatoes were engaged in their customary Trump-fluffing when co-host Pete Hegseth replied to a question about why North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, would agree to meet with Trump. His first response was that Kim “wants a picture with the American president.” And if you think that was about as idiotic as this program can get, you aren’t giving them enough credit. Hegseth continued to speculate as to Kim’s innermost thoughts (video below):

“The guy who wants to meet with Dennis Rodman and loves NBA basketball and loves western pop culture, probably doesn’t love being the guy that has to murder his people all day long. Probably wants some normalization.”

So there you have it. Kim is just a misunderstood pop culture fan who revers human rights but has been forced into being a homicidal madman by circumstances out side of his control. We’ve all been there. Kim really doesn’t enjoy being a murderous dictator and he’s just been waiting for someone like Donald Trump to come along and free him from this nightmare. Leave it to Fox and Friends to figure this out while the rest of the “fake News” is distracted by Trump’s treasonous criminality and the failures and corruption of his administration.

For the record, Hegseth is close to the President, who reportedly calls him during White House meetings to get his opinion. Trump even considered appointing him to lead the Veterans Administration, a job for which Hegseth has zero experience. However, he and Trump share a fondness for sexual misconduct over which they would surely bond.

Believe it or not, it’s possible to be a partisanly biased news network without justifying oppressive tyrants. But Fox News is so bent over backwards for Trump that they will actually soft-pedal assassinations of political opponents (see Vladimir Putin). Their determination to find something positive for Trump, no matter how repulsive the situation, is the undisputed priority for these fawning bootlickers. It’s how they can forgive Trump for his innumerable affairs and sexual harassment and abuse. It’s why they are comfortable with his pathological lying. And it’s their way of sustaining their adoration of a vulgar ignoramus who seeks his own authoritarian kingdom over which he can rule.

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

Trump’s Morning Tweetstorm Was Transcribed Verbatim from Screwball Rant on Fox News

Posted by on May 21, 2018 at 3:02 pm. NO Comments :

A rainy weekend in Washington, D.C. left Donald Trump with nothing to do but post tweets dripping with panic and desperation. So he assumed his “Golden Throne” and began tapping out nine messages regaling against the law enforcement agencies of his own administration that all have directors he appointed. He concluded with an authoritarian “demand” that the Justice Department investigate itself regarding its investigation of the 2016 presidential campaign. Which would, of course, be considered improper interference and obstruction of justice in a normal world.

Trump Baby

On Monday Trump must have determined that his weekend tantrum wasn’t sufficiently unhinged, so he resumed his raving with another series of tweets. In this volley of manic distress, Trump decided that it wasn’t necessary to unload his own psychoses. Instead he simply had some poor schnook serve as his stenographer and regurgitate what he just watched on Fox News:

John Brennan is the former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and a frequent Trump critic. He tweeted on Sunday that congressional leaders would bear the responsibility if they “continue to enable Mr. Trump’s self-serving actions.” That’s what set off Dan Bongino, a familiar face on Trump’s favorite TV show, Fox and Friends.

Bongino’s diatribe was pure fury and bluster with no substance or facts whatsoever. In other words, ordinary Fox News histrionics. He even destroyed his own premise by noting that Brennan briefed everyone, including Trump and both sides of Congress, about the infamous Steele Dossier. Had this been a “political hit job” the only parties notified would have been Democrats and Trump opponents.

More to the point, it is Trump’s obsessive addiction to anything and everything that appears on Fox News that is troubling. He has the resources of the world’s largest and finest intelligence agencies, but he relies instead on rejects and has-beens whose only credentials are as talking heads on a shamelessly biased cable “news” network. And on the basis of what he sees on Fox he makes decisions that will impact the nation and the world.

For the most part, Trump’s decisions lately have been narrowed to whatever he sees as what’s in his best personal interest. The Russia collusion story is almost all he talks about. And in his twisted mind, the story is solely about the asinine “Deep State” conspiracy to destroy his presidency. On that front he is getting plenty of help from Fox News. For instance, on Monday morning Fox host Maria Bartiromo, who used to be a business analyst but is now competing for the Alex Jones Crackpot Award, told her viewers that “President Obama, it seems to me, was politicizing all of his agencies: the DOJ, the FBI, the IRS, the CIA; they were all involved in trying to take down Donald Trump.”

Of course. It was Obama all along. Never mind that Republicans regarded him as an affirmative action dunce who never earned his academic or political achievements. He was also an evil genius who masterminded the anti-Trump crusade that’s threatening the most powerful man on the planet. It’s these sort of delusional visions and insane conspiracies that fuel Trump’s crusade to demean all of the institutions of American government. If his survival is reliant on the destruction of the country, then that’s a price Trump is willing to pay. And Fox News will be right there to help him along.

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

Fox News Fingers ‘The Single Most Dangerous Person to the Agenda of President Trump’

Posted by on May 20, 2018 at 3:48 pm. 2 Comments :

You can count on Fox News to be on top of any threats to the supremacy of Donald Trump and his totalitarian regime. Since Fox News is the designated media arm of the Trump White House and the President’s most passionate protector, they would naturally be the most ardent champion of Trump’s interests.

Jeanine Pirro Fox News

Consequently, one of Trump’s favorite Fox mouthpieces, “Judge” Jeanine Pirro, went on one of her spittle-inflected rants in defense of the Cheeto Jesus she worships. Her Saturday night massacre was jam-packed with unfounded allegations against Trump foes like James Comey, Hillary Clinton, and the FBI, among others. She bristled at this being “the one year anniversary of the Mueller investigation staffed with the singularly most biased attorneys in American history.” Never mind that special counsel Robert Mueller is a life-long Republican, as is Rod Rosenstein, the Deputy Attorney General who appointed him.

Pirro’s tantrum then veered off into tales that Democrats “chuckled” when Trump claimed he had been wiretapped. She insists now that the claim was true. But it was widely proven to be just another of his delusional outbursts with no basis in reality. She continued with allegations of a “shadow government” and “deep state” clinging to control, despite the fact that Trump and his appointees have been in power for more than a year. She invented fictional accounts of FBI agents conspiring to interfere with a presidential election and overthrow the President. And ignoring the dozens of indictments along with five guilty pleas by close Trump associates, she swore that he hasn’t been “touched” by any of the ongoing probes. Really? Most legal observers would say that he’s had a full body massage (with no happy ending).

But perhaps the most darkly entertaining portion of this wild-eyed segment was Pirro’s assault on one of Trump’s first and most loyal advocates. Former Senator Jeff Sessions was the first member of Congress to endorse Trump. He faithfully followed the candidate around the country like a devoted puppy. And for his devotion he was given his own Justice Department to play with. However, Pirro sees in him something different and far more ominous:

“What, ladies and gentlemen, is unmistakable in all of this, is that the single most dangerous person to the agenda of President Trump, the Republican party and ultimately to all Americans, is the Attorney General of the Untied States himself, Jeff Sessions.”

The danger that Sessions represents to America is something we can all agree on. But perhaps for different reasons. From Pirro’s perspective he “has done nothing to make anyone responsible for the blatant corruption” she asserts has plagued the FBI. She complains that he has “fought the release of telling documents” that in her cartoon brain would somehow exonerate the President or incriminate his enemies. And by failing to purify Trump’s aura and condemn his foes to purgatory, Sessions, she says, “has done nothing to create confidence that wrongdoers will be accountable.” Of course, her definition of accountability is the incarceration of all Democrats and the observance of the divinity of Trump. She closes with this hallelujah moment:

“With all the power and might of the Department of Justice behind him, he continues to do nothing. He refuses to take them out in cuffs. The most powerful prosecutor in the world, the man who holds the scales of justice in his hands, hides behind the coattails of a Rod Rosenstein – a man we’ve never even heard of – who is in fact behind all of Jeff Sessions decisions, who is in fact running our Department of Justice.”

There really isn’t anything more that could be added to that drooling screed. It proves once again that Fox News is deeply embedded in the inner regions of Trump’s rectal cavity. This assault on Sessions could not have been broadcast without the knowledge and permission of the White House. It signals some tough sledding ahead for Sessions. Which could be dangerous for Trump because Sessions knows where all of the bodies are buried. And if he feels like he’s been rolled over by a convoy of buses, he could easily become the next flipper on Mueller’s plate.

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

Fox News Outs FBI Informant For Trump After Warnings It Would Create Security Risks

Posted by on May 20, 2018 at 11:40 am. 3 Comments :

There is one cable news network that has made its proclamations of hyper-patriotism a part of its brand since the day it was founded. Fox News incorporates American flag logos into virtually every graphic that appears on the screen. And its hosts and guests relentlessly sermonize on the divine infallibility of the nation under almost any circumstances.

Donald Trump Fox News

The exceptions to this rule are those that involve their Dear Leader, Donald Trump. Whenever there is some controversy regarding the investigations into his collusion with Russia, financial corruption, or sexual misconduct, Fox News immediately changes course to lambaste the government institutions charged with keeping the nation safe and enforcing the law. Patriotism goes out the window whenever the FBI or other intelligence agencies begin to close in on Trump’s criminality.

A foreboding example of this emerged this weekend as reports that the FBI employed informants to ascertain whether Trump’s campaign was working with Russian operatives to help him win the election. Trump took to Twitter to post a frantic series of posts denouncing these investigations and misrepresenting the FBI’s conduct. Trump characterized the Bureau as “implanting” spies in his campaign for political purposes. In reality, they were seeking information about possible crimes using undercover sources, which is in keeping with their mission to protect the public, including Trump. But now the obviously panicked President is threatening his own Justice Department with ludicrous demands:

There is, of course, no evidence that any political shenanigans were being undertaken by the FBI or the Obama administration. But Trump’s interest in interfering with undercover investigations poses a serious problem for law enforcement. He and his sycophants in the right-wing press have been calling for the FBI informant’s identity to be revealed. However, that information would likely lead to security risks for both the informant and any other operation he might have been involved with. People’s lives may literally be at risk.

So naturally Fox News went ahead and reported the informant’s identity. Never mind the damage it does to ongoing inquiries or human lives. According to an article by Fox News, the Daily Caller (a website founded by Tucker Carlson who currently hosts a primetime show on Fox) was first to identify the informant. That news was subsequently regurgitated by the New York Post, which is owned by the same parent company as Fox News. So at least three members of the Fox family have been actively outing an undercover FBI asset.

The original stories about this informant were published by the New York Times and the Washington Post. Neither one disclosed his identity. But both were apparently correct despite Trump’s tedious accusations of them being “fake” news. However, Fox had no problem with endangering Americans and American interests. What’s ironic, though, is that this reckless brand of pseudo-journalism didn’t even support their premise that this was all a clandestine plot to destroy Trump. Their own article notes that the informant was not a deep state Obama spy, but had previously worked for the administrations of Nixon, Ford and Reagan.

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

In conclusion, what we have here is an attempt by Fox News to assist Trump in defaming the FBI in order to help a criminally suspect president. And their attempt fails due to the partisan affiliation of the informant who, it turns out, is a staunch Republican. But it succeeds in endangering American lives and ongoing investigations to protect the country in matters that may be unrelated to Trump. So we should all recognize Fox News for their stalwart patriotism that they demonstrate by deliberately hurting the country and its citizens.

Way Out of His League? Sarah Huckabee Sanders Has Delusions of Trump’s Grandeur

Posted by on May 19, 2018 at 11:31 am. 2 Comments :

While Donald Trump cowers in the safety of his White House residence (or his Palm Beach resort), his press secretary shows up on State-TV (aka Fox News) for a pity party with Sean Hannity. They spend much of their segment whining about how Trump is a victim of the press that just doesn’t like him no matter how awesome he is.

Fox News, Sarah Huckabee Sanders

Sarah Huckabee Sanders has the unique distinction of turning the daily White House press briefings into an extended presentation of lies and propaganda that surpasses any of her predecessors. The media participants in these charades, from across the political spectrum, openly lament that they can’t believe what comes out of her mouth. That absence of confidence is a real threat to the American system of democracy that relies on a free press. But since she represents a president who has repeatedly referred to the media in Stalinist terms as “the enemy of the people,” it would be naive to expect anything resembling honesty or integrity from her or this administration.

And so it was on Friday as Sanders canoodled with Hannity to malign the media in general and CNN’s Jim Acosta in particular (video below). “it’s unreal,” she grumbled, “the amount of negative coverage that comes from the media covering this White House.” Continuing, she said:

“Not just because it’s so one-sided, but because there’s so many good things they could be talking about. The economy is booming. ISIS is on the run. Remaking of the judiciary. Getting rid of the individual mandate. The foreign policy and the relationships that this president has built. Every single day there’s a good news story to tell. And yet ninety percent of the coverage is negative.”

For the record, the economy was booming for seven of the eight years Obama was president, after he guided it to recovery from the Bush recession. Trump stumbled into this expansion and immediately took credit for it. However, now that he has been at the helm for a year, the economy has rapidly cooled. It’s almost six months into 2018 and the Dow Jones is laying flat year-to date.

As for the other items that Sanders regards as “good news,” remaking the judiciary is a euphemism for packing it with ultra-conservatives who will favor corporations over people; getting rid of the ObamaCare individual mandate is already resulting in higher premiums and fewer people being covered; and Trump’s foreign policy is a perverse shift from alignment with our allies to cuddling up to totalitarian foes like Vladimir Putin and Xi Xiaoping. His biggest so-called accomplishments are a scheduled meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un (which may never happen, or produce the results he’s promised), and moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem (which has already cost more than sixty lives).

Still, Sanders insists that there’s “a good news story to tell” every day, even as reports pile up about Trump’s collusion with Russia and corruption connected to his business and personal affairs. There has never been an administration so mired in political malfeasance as the Trump Crime Family. And yet, Sanders and Hannity place all the blame on the media for doing their job. Sanders even addresses a direct challenge to CNN’s Acosta who expressed an interest in interviewing Trump:

“Just a little note to Jim. I think he should stick to going one-on-one with me because President Trump is way out of his league. And I don’t think he wants to take on that challenge cause he’s definitely not gonna win.”

First of all, Sanders has never gone one-on-one with Acosta, and she likely never will. She only encounters him in the daily briefings where she usually cuts him off without answering his questions. As for Trump being out of Acosta’s league, if that were true Trump would jump at the chance to be interviewed by someone he believes he could shred. The fact is that Trump has not had allowed an interview with anyone outside of the friendly media bunker he’s sheltered in for over a year. And he hasn’t had a solo press conference since the one he gave just after his inauguration.

Trump is quite obviously afraid to face someone who might ask questions relevant to his conduct as president. It’s Trump who’s afraid to take on the challenge of an interview with Acosta or anybody else other than bootlickers like Hannity and Jeanine Pirro and the “Curvy Couch” potatoes of Fox and Friends. It’s the same reason that Trump is scared to sit for an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller. He and his handlers are afraid – with good reason – that Trump will get himself in deeper trouble by lying. Because when it comes down to it, Sanders is right when she says that Trump is out of their league. He’s way below them in every way imaginable.

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

Fox News Senior Douchebag Asks: Why Would the Left Be Defending Violent Street Gangs?

Posted by on May 18, 2018 at 3:20 pm. 2 Comments :

On Thursday Donald Trump engaged in a discussion of immigration issues and created yet another controversy over his prejudice and dehumanization of whole classes of people. There is some dispute over whether Trump was referring to all immigrants or only MS-13 gang members when he said that “They aren’t people. They’re animals.” But there is no dispute that even bringing up gangs in a conversation about immigration is a deliberate attempt to associate immigrants with violent criminals.

Fox News, Tucker Carlson

Trump tried to justify his comments in a tweet wherein he insisted that he was talking only about MS-13. He whined about the “fake news” media purposefully misreporting his remarks. But even giving him the benefit of a doubt as to who he was talking about doesn’t change the fact that he was maligning all immigrants by making this association.

Not surprisingly, the Trump-fluffers of Fox News immediately scrambled to his defense with ludicrous allegations of media misbehavior. They uniformly accused the press of acting in bad faith and deliberately posting untruths in order to hurt the President. That’s nothing but a severe case of mass paranoia. And one of the worst sufferers of this malady is Fox’s Tucker Carlson. The poor guy seems to have the permanently furrowed brow of someone who is simultaneously dumbfounded and hostile. On his program Thursday night he launched into a recklessly slanderous diatribe that only certified his overt bias and inbred hatred for anyone not like him (video below). “Why would the left,” he began “be defending the country’s most violent street gang?” Which not a single person on the left ever did. He continued:

“Trump has made them irrational. That’s part of it. But the left also senses a threat to its most basic worldview. MS-13 is a living reminder that the left’s position on immigration is fundamentally a lie. The media tell you every day that every immigrant, legal or not, is a future brain surgeon or tech company founder. Therefore, immigration controls are unnecessary.”

That rant by Carlson is as clear an example of a cognitive meltdown as you will ever encounter. First of all, Carlson imagines some mysterious leftist worldview that is being threatened by the existence of MS-13. That makes no sense at all. And he delivers this nutty theory right after claiming that the left has been defending MS-13. Which one is it, Tucker? Is the left defending the gang or are they threatened by it?

Then Carlson launches into an attack on both immigrants and reality. He demeans the contributions of immigrants with his assertion that lefties wrongly believe that all immigrants have potential to achieve some form of greatness. Let’s just set aside the fact that many of America’s most successful and innovative companies were indeed founded by first or second generation immigrants (Tesla, Google, Reddit, Amazon, Yahoo, Ebay, Apple). In fact, that’s true of almost half of the S&P 500.

However, progressives also recognize the hard work performed by immigrants in the agricultural sector, as well as restaurants, hotels, and healthcare. And nowhere in the agenda of the left has there been a claim that “immigration controls are unnecessary.” Only that they are fair, reasonable, compassionate, and true to the American ideals expressed by the Statue of Liberty. But those are qualities that are foreign and abhorrent to right-wingers like Carlson.

Carlson’s hate-fest concluded with a tribute to his Dear Leader. He literally parroted the idiotic notion that Trump laid out in his address announcing his entry into the 2016 presidential campaign:

“If they admit that MS-13 is actually bad and must be stopped, they’d have to also admit that when some countries send their people here they aren’t sending their best.”

Of course, there isn’t a single person on the left who has any trouble condemning MS-13 as being something that is bad and must be stopped. However, everyone with a functioning brain knows that immigrants to the U.S. have not been sent here by by their native countries. Whether those immigrants are the best or not, they come here by their own volition. Carlson and Trump believe that there is a governmental authority that selects who will emigrate to America. And then they wonder why the left is constantly mocking them for their stupidity and preposterous ideas. Maybe it’s because they keep defending the country’s most asinine concepts.

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

Giuliani Lies to Fox News: The Mueller Probe ‘Is Essentially Over, They’re Just in Denial’

Posted by on May 16, 2018 at 4:16 pm. 6 Comments :

The legal rope that Donald Trump’s defenders in the media cling to might be more accurately described as a thread. They repeatedly claim that that there is no evidence that Trump colluded with Russia and, therefore, the whole investigation should be immediately halted. That’s a fairy tale resolution that might make the Trump Team feel better, but it has no basis in reality.

Rudy Giuliani

First of all, there have already been dozens of indictments and five guilty pleas. That’s hardly the track record of an investigation that isn’t going anywhere. Additionally, whatever evidence there is incriminating Trump directly in unlawful conduct with Russian operatives is tightly held by the special counsel and won’t be revealed until Robert Mueller is ready to take it to the next level. That doesn’t mean the evidence doesn’t exist, as the Trumpoids would like to believe.

Now Trump’s TV lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, is making some more of the ignorant statements that have gotten him in so much trouble in the few short weeks he’s been on the case. John Roberts of Fox News is reporting that Giuliani told him that:

“Two weeks ago the special counsel Robert Mueller assured the President’s outside legal team that he would follow DOJ guidelines that a sitting president cannot be indicted. Giuliani says that Mueller doesn’t really have any choice. That he has to follow the findings of a 1999 Clinton era DOJ memo.

“Now that’s not to say that Mueller couldn’t still find some evidence of wrongdoing that Congress could act on. But the President’s legal team doesn’t appear concerned. Giuliani telling Fox News a short time ago, “This case is essentially over. They’re just in denial.”

It’s curious that Giuliani is running to Fox News with this alleged statement by Mueller that is now two weeks old. Whatever the relevance of it, Giuliani is clearly using it now to argue that the probe ought to be shut down. And that’s what the Trump-fluffing, right-wing media is parroting with badly misinterpreted analyses that claim that if the special counsel is saying he can’t indict, that means he doesn’t have any evidence of wrongdoing.

For the record, there is Department of Justice memo that says that “The indictment or criminal prosecution of a sitting President would unconstitutionally undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions.” However, that is merely a legal opinion written at the time and has never been tested in court. What’s more, while this memo may apply to Mueller’s operation, it does not apply to Grand Juries, who could still file indictments. And even Fox’s Roberts correctly noted that Mueller’s investigation could yield evidence of criminal activity that could be taken up by Congress in an impeachment proceeding.

So the giggling wingnuts who think this means the investigation of their Dear Leader is over and he’s been proven to be as pure as the snowflakes who flutter around him are just fooling themselves. They still don’t know what Mueller knows, and they have no idea where this will end. And if they are putting their faith in anything that Giuliani has told Fox News, then seriously – who’s in denial?

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

UPDATE: Now Giuliani is saying that Mueller didn’t tell him that the President can’t be indicted. He now says that an assistant to Mueller said something to that effect to another Trump lawyer, Jay Sekulow, but he’d have to check. Sounds like the story is falling apart.

Fox News Senior Douchebag Tucker Carlson Demonstrates Why No One Should Ever Do His Show

Posted by on May 16, 2018 at 12:45 pm. 1 Comments :

Anyone who has watched more than five minutes of Fox News knows that the network is a wholly dishonest purveyor of right-wing lies and propaganda. Throughout the day they broadcast flagrantly biased stories that advance the interests of Donald Trump and the Republican Party. But it’s more than that. They are actually serving as an arm of the White House and the GOP by coordinating their messages and featuring Republican operatives and candidates almost exclusively.

Tucker Carlson Fox News

Among the most repugnant Trump-fluffers on Fox News is Tucker Carlson. He is a proud white supremacist who believes that Democrats hate America. On Tuesday night Carlson conducted a harangue (as opposed to an interview) with New Mexico congressional candidate, Pat Davis (video below). What brought this particular Democrat to the attention of Fox News was a campaign ad that held nothing back with the opening line, “F*ck the NRA.”

Needless to say that has caused much of the conservative snowflake community to belly flop onto their fainting couches. Oh my, a cuss word. This is from the same people who idolize the has-been schlock-rocker and NRA board member Ted Nugent, who has repeatedly dropped f-bombs while demanding that various politicians “suck on my machine gun.” See this for a compendium of Nugent’s violent obscenities.

The exchange between Carlson and Davis is a perfect demonstration of why no Democrat should ever lower themselves to appear on that thoroughly useless program. Carlson relentlessly badgered Davis with irrelevant questions, but wouldn’t give him ten seconds to try to provide a substantive answer. For example, When Davis explained that “If a curse word on TV offends you more than pictures of dead children in Parkland or Newtown then your priorities are all wrong,” Carlson interrupted to ask if rudeness would save lives. Huh?

Following that, Carlson asked Davis “How many NRA members have committed mass shootings?” Who cares? First of all, law enforcement doesn’t collect NRA membership data when investigating crimes. But more importantly, Davis’ ad did not attack NRA members, it attacked the organization that is known for opposing any and all reasonable measures to reduce gun violence. Davis tried to explain that to Carlson who refused to listen in between inappropriate chuckling and snide remarks.

Having proven absolutely nothing, other than that he’s an obnoxious buffoon, Carlson changes the subject again. He criticizes another ad by Davis that says that AR-15s can fire 150 rounds in fifteen seconds. Carlson disputes that and asks Davis how that would work. And Davis tells him. But Carlson continues to insist that it’s impossible and that Davis, a former police officer, doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Aren’t we supposed to respect our men and women in blue? Carlson belittles Davis’ service by saying “I know that you were a police officer, or you claim to have been.”

Davis provided support for his statements about AR-15s on website. He certainly wasn’t going to be able to do that on Carlson’s show with interruptions every ten seconds. And whenever Davis was making a salient point Carlson would laugh or sneer or mock him. Eventually, Carlson cut the segment short shouting abruptly, “Interview over! Cause you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

There is one lesson that can be learned from this disastrous affair. There is no reason – ever – for any Democrat, liberal, or even reasonable Republican, to sink so low as to appear on Carlson’s hate-fest. You will not be able to persuade him of anything regardless of the facts you present. His audience doesn’t care what you have to say and will cheer on his repulsive and childish taunting. He is an ignorant bully whose sole reason for being is to act superior and insult anyone who disagrees with him. Appearing on his show will never result in an informative interview. It will result in Carlson hanging by his tail and throwing feces at you.

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