Month: August 2010

Fox News: Terrorist Command Center

Posted by on August 21, 2010 at 10:31 am. NO Comments :

The increasingly surreal debate over the non-mosque that is not at ground zero took another turn with Jon Stewart’s insightful and hilarious analysis.

After establishing that right-wing mosque opponents have devolved into overt Islamaphobes who regard Islam as a faith of “women-stoning, suicide bombers” (Media Matters has more on this), Stewart documented the absurdity of their position which centered on there being a threat that the Park51 project must not be allowed because it would become a “Terrorist Command Center.” Stewart’s pithy response:

“Just for the record, I’m against establishing a terrorist command post at 9/11 and ground zero…or really anywhere in the city.”

The rightist argument against Park51 seems to be that a terrorist command center near ground zero is unacceptable, but somewhere in Chelsea or the Upper East Side would be fine.

Stewart went on to ridicule conservative pundits on Fox News like Eric Bolling who, through the use of high-tech 4×6 index cards, “proved” that Park51 was directly linked to Hamas and Iran. So Stewart used his own index card and highlighter pen to prove that Fox News is a clandestine terrorist cell with Rupert Murdoch as its leader. Stewart could have gone one step further to note that Murdoch donated $1 million dollars to the Republican Governor’s Association, which means that the GOP is funded by terrorists.

Funny stuff. Watch it here:

Update: Not only is the GOP funded by terrorists, but the terrorists are funded by agents of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. It has now been revealed that Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, News Corp’s largest shareholder outside of the Murdoch family, has donated over $300,000 to organizations run by Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the principal planner of Park51. Amidst the outcry from the right about the Park51 project, one of the things they most feverishly demanded was to know who was financing it. Now we know it was an owner of Fox News. Where is the outrage?

Fox Nation Affirms Commitment To Fake News

Posted by on August 20, 2010 at 12:04 pm. 5 Comments :

In an affirmation of their opposition to truthful reporting, Fox Nation posted an article to complain that other news providers have the audacity to strive for truthfulness. The headline on Fox Nation said…

AP Orders Staff to Stop Using Phrase ‘Ground Zero Mosque’.

The Fox Nationalists linked to a memo from Tom Kent, AP’s Deputy Managing Editor for Standards and Production, that said in part…

“We should continue to avoid the phrase ‘ground zero mosque’ or ‘mosque at ground zero’ on all platforms. (We’ve very rarely used this wording, except in slugs, though we sometimes see other news sources using the term.) The site of the proposed Islamic center and mosque is not at ground zero, but two blocks away in a busy commercial area. We should continue to say it’s ‘near’ ground zero, or two blocks away.”

Oh my heavens. AP is ordering their staff to publish accurate accounts of news events. What are these totalitarian, lamestream, fascists trying to do? Do they want to infect the media with honesty and factual analysis? Don’t they know that there is no place for facts in the press as envisioned by Fox News? AP is suggesting that reporters instead use far-fetched phrases like “mosque near ground zero.” It’s a travesty!

Fox News is not going to take this laying down. They have made their reputation (and their fortune) on misrepresenting the truth and misleading their readers and viewers. They have worked hard to advance the cause of propaganda and remain committed to their mission of turning as much of the public as possible into ignorant, rightist zombies. And they aren’t about to let a decades old upstart like the AP interfere with their plans to pervert reality and drive Republican talking points.

Fox News will continue to lie about the non-mosque that is not at ground zero, and they will promote this non-story incessantly to the exclusion of irrelevancies like the economy, jobs, Iraq, Afghanistan, Climate Change, health care, etc. In fact, stay tuned for a special edition of Sean Hannity’s program tonight on the “Mosque at Ground Zero,” proving that Fox News isn’t afraid to call it what it isn’t.

Bonus Fox Nation Fakery: Photo-ops, Fundraisers, and Vacations: Is That All This Pres. Does?

Never mind that Fox has repeatedly castigated President Obama for doing too much. They have regaled against him for addressing reforms of health care, Wall Street, and environmental policy. They attack him for his initiatives in Iraq and Afghanistan. They complain that he has taken on Gay marriage and civil rights. According to Fox this is the busiest president in generations. That is until he takes a vacation and then that’s all he does. Well, if that’s all he does then I suppose that Fox and their right wing constituents will stop complaining about all the harm being done by the projects that he apparently isn’t working on.

Glenn Beck Drops Veterans From 8/28 Rally

Posted by on August 19, 2010 at 7:06 pm. 32 Comments :

Glenn Beck Deploring HonorIn a notice posted today at Congress.org, Glenn Beck finally got the permit for his 8/28 rally approved. It was also noted that he changed the purpose of the rally from a “demonstration to honor veterans” to simply a “restoring honor rally.”

Why would Beck alter the purpose to something so generic it that it doesn’t have any real meaning? Could it be that his little scam was revealed and he could no longer pretend that this event was for charity? It was previously revealed that the Special Operations Warrior Foundation would not receive any money until after all of Beck’s expenses had been covered. So the possibility exists that there will no donation at all.

With this more vague description of purpose, Beck can turn the affair into the evangelical revival meeting that he always wanted it to be. It can be the celebration of his “Divine Destiny” which, by the way, is the name of his event to be held the night before where he promises to “heal your soul.” We already know that he believes this event will be a turning point in history, and he said today that it will be this generation’s Woodstock (?). And don’t forget that he was told by “someone” in the Vatican that what he is doing is “wildly important.”

This isn’t the first time that Beck has changed the purpose of the event. At one time the purpose was to launch the publication of his next book, “The Plan,” a 100 year blueprint for the restoration of America. Here is how he described it in his original announcement:

“On August 28, 2010, I ask you, your family and neighbors to join me at the feet of Abraham Lincoln on the National Mall for the unveiling of The Plan and the birthday of a new national movement to restore our great country.”

After that he claimed that God had chosen the date:

I believe in divine providence. It was not my intention to select 8-28 because of the Martin Luther King tie. It is the day he made that speech. I had no idea until I announced it and I walked off stage and my researchers said, New York Times has already just published that this is Martin Luther — and I said, oh, geez. We were going to use 9-12 but 9-12 is a Sunday. I’m not going to ask anyone to work on the Sabbath. I’m not going to ask anybody to honor God on a Sunday.

I have no idea what he means by not honoring God on a Sunday. And apparently he isn’t expecting any Jews to attend his rally because for them (and many Christians for that matter), Saturday is the Sabbath.

Beck’s next explanation for the event was that he was doing it all on behalf of our brave fighting men and women and their families. That didn’t last long. Now he has dropped the reference to the veterans from his permit application, though I’m sure he will continue to exploit them.

One other amendment to the permit application concerns the attendance. He raised the projected figure from 150,000 to 300,000. He must be feeling pretty confident. Which is funny because he said on his radio program today that he was discussing the event with Bill O’Reilly who guessed that between 10 and 15 thousand people show up. Beck was obviously surprised by O’Reilly’s estimate so O’Reilly asked him how many people he thought would be there. Beck said modestly, “I don’t know. Over a hundred thousand I hope.” This seems like false modesty from someone who just doubled his official projection to 300,000.

Apparently O’Reilly is not as optimistic as Beck. According to Beck, O’Reilly told him that if that many people showed up that Beck could take over the O’Reilly Factor. Now that would be fun. I bet Beck would hold O’Reilly to this. I would love to see the two of them go at it for the primetime slot. We’ll see how that unfolds in a couple of weeks.

The Ever Irrelevant Fox Nation Slams Sheryl Crow

Posted by on August 19, 2010 at 3:23 pm. 9 Comments :

Sheryl CrowToday on Fox Nation the editors featured a story that further demonstrates how out of touch they are and how desperately dishonest. The Fox Nationalists decided to go after the beautiful and talented Sheryl Crow for her audacity to exercise her First Amendment rights. The headline in their entertainment section was “Increasingly Irrelevant Sheryl Crow Sings Anti-Palin Tune.”

For the record, Crow is a nine-time Grammy winner. Her last album, “Detours,” debuted on the billboard charts at number two and received another Grammy nomination just last year. Her just-released “100 Miles From Memphis” is presently #10 on Amazon’s overall music listings and #1 on Amazon’s Adult Contemporary list.

For a news enterprise that repeatedly features Ted Nugent, Jon Voight, and Victoria Jackson, they have a pretty funny definition of “irrelevant.” Especially since Crow’s new album is getting a lot of buzz and she is making high-profile appearances around the country and on national television programs like Letterman and Leno. Her anti-Palin song only reinforces her relevance. Plus, it’s a great song:

I think what the Fox Nationalists may really be upset about is that Crow speaks her mind, and does so effectively. A previous article on Fox Nation referenced an interview of Crow by Katie Couric in Glamour Magazine. In that interview Couric asked Crow what she thought of the Tea Party.

“My main concern is that it’s really fear-based. What’s coming out of the Tea Party most often, especially if you go onto YouTube, and you see some of the interviews with these people who really don’t even know what the issues are, they’re just swept up in the fear of it and the anger of it. They’re not sure what they’re angry at; They don’t understand what’s happening on Wall Street. They haven’t educated themselves, but they’re just pissed off. And I understand that, I’m pissed off too. But knowledge is power, and anything less than that when it comes to anger is dangerous.”

Those remarks led the right-wing media machine to condemn Crow for calling Tea Partiers angry, uneducated, and dangerous. I don’t know what they’re complaining about, it seems fairly accurate to me. Now her new song is getting blasted by the same wingnut crowd, and even though they call it an anti-Palin song, it is much broader than that. In fact there is only one reference to Palin via her notorious Tweet asking her disciples to “reload.” There’s your angry, uneducated, and dangerous, right there.

The central theme of the song addresses the noisy bickering of cable news shoutcasters. It is more a critique of the media than a hit on Palin. In one line she laments that, “Ignorance is patriotic. Reasons are so idiotic.” That pretty much describes the state of debate amongst the right-wingers who inhabit Fox News. They glorify ignorance and revile reason. All the better to exploit emotion and propaganda. And if that’s not relevant, I don’t know what is.

Get Sheryl Crow’s new album here:


Fox News Tells 9/11 Families To Fear Fox News

Posted by on August 19, 2010 at 11:47 am. 1 Comments :

This morning on Fox and Friends there was another ridiculous, fear mongering, discussion of the non-mosque that is not at ground zero. In this farcical parade of ignorant banter the hosts were aghast at the notion that some of the funds for the proposed Islamic community center at 51 Park Place might come from sources in Saudi Arabia.

Brian Kilmeade: He [Imam Rauf] is going to be looking for fundraising to Muslim nations around the world.

Alisyn Camerota: If the 9-11 families are worried now and are concerned and feel hurt about this mosque, imagine if Saudi Arabia were to give some of this $100 million. … Saudi Arabia, where the majority of the hijackers, the terrorists came from. You can only imagine how much the victims’ families would speak out in that case.

Exactly! You can only imagine how much the victims’ families would speak out if Fox News were to get millions of dollars from Saudi Arabia, where the majority of the hijackers, the terrorists came from.

Murdoch MoolahOh, wait a minute…..Fox News does get millions of dollars from Saudi Arabia. In fact, the biggest shareholder of News Corp stock outside of the Murdoch family is Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal of the Saud family.

One has to wonder why it would be such an abomination for what is, in effect, an Islamic YMCA in lower Manhattan to be partially funded by Saudis, but no outrage is in order for an international news organization whose top investors include members of the Saudi royal family.

Rupert Murdoch has already shown that he is susceptible to influence by financial considerations and relationships. He agreed to let the government of communist China censor his news reporting in order to gain access to their markets. He acquiesced to a demand that MySpace China display a link on every page for users to report “inappropriate information” to the authorities (I wonder how many Chinese dissidents disappeared as a result of that little feature). He also altered stories on protests in France at the request of the very same Prince who is his business partner:

Al-Waleed: I picked up the phone and called Murdoch…(and told him) these are not Muslim riots, these are riots out of poverty. Within 30 minutes, the title was changed from Muslim riots to civil riots.

It seems to me that there is much more to fear from a worldwide media conglomerate caving in to the demands of foreign powers, than from a single interfaith social club in an old Burlington Coat Factory building in New York. And if the morons on Fox and Friends want to spin scary tales about imaginary terrorists, they would find more material in their own building than in the one a few blocks from ground zero.

Olbermann Features News Corpse On Countdown

Posted by on August 18, 2010 at 9:44 pm. 9 Comments :

On yesterday’s broadcast of Countdown on MSNBC, host Keith Olbermann featured a story about News Corpse. I couldn’t be more proud.

Actually, it was a story on the $1 million donation from Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp to the Republican Governor’s Association. Although I did report on this unprecedented bankrolling of GOP candidates by a major pseudo-news organization, Countdown’s segment was an interview of Media Matters’ Eric Burns on the subject.

It was an informative and entertaining discussion that hit on most of the salient points. I would have liked it if they had also pointed out that some of the funds received by the RGA would likely be stuffed right back into Murdoch’s pocket via ads they purchase on Fox News and in the Wall Street Journal, but in the end I was just jazzed to see my web site name on the screen for several minutes.

Keith should be grateful that I am not as litigious as Murdoch, whose company is presently harassing the folks at Skype because they think the name is “confusingly similar” to their Sky satellite television service. I’m still waiting for Murdoch to come after me.

Fox News Refuses To Discuss GOP Donation

Posted by on August 17, 2010 at 3:12 pm. NO Comments :

When former White Director of Communications, Anita Dunn, said that Fox News was an arm of the Republican Party, she was merely articulating a fact that was known to many for years. And now that it has been revealed that Fox’s parent company, News Corp, made a $1,000,000 donation to the Republican Governor’s Association, there can be no more doubt. But it gets even worse as reported by Sam Stein at The Huffington Post:

In a brief interview with the Huffington Post, Nathan Daschle, the executive director of the DGA, said that he has tried on numerous occasions to go on Fox News to discuss the donation made by News Corp. None of his entreaties have been answered as of 3:30 p.m on Tuesday.

“We haven’t gotten a single phone call or email returned. We want to engage in a discussion with them about this,” Daschle said. “But they didn’t even respond.”

The story further details that emails were sent to numerous Fox producers on several different programs, but no one responded. I wouldn’t assume that there will be no coverage of this story at all in the next few days, but it will be coverage after Fox has had time to develop their spin and formulate an attack strategy to blame the “liberal” media for the whole affair.

It’s typical that Fox News is presently consumed with a non-story about a non-mosque that is not at ground zero, but doesn’t have time to even respond to the head of the Democratic Governor’s Association on an unprecedented matter that concerns the network itself.

Glenn Beck Refudiates Glenn Beck And Opposes His Own Rally

Posted by on August 17, 2010 at 9:52 am. 2 Comments :


Once again Jon Stewart has embarrassed the Conventional Media by conducting better research and placing current events in more relevant context. This time the subject is the New York City non-mosque that is being planned for not-ground zero. Here is what Beck had to say about America’s role in motivating the 9/11 terrorists, compared to his dumbfounded (with an emphasis on the “dumb”) outrage at remarks by Imam Feisal Rauf:
 

Glenn Beck, 8/10/2010: What did this “moderate” say just a few days after 9/11? Well of course what all moderates say, quote:

Imam Feisal Rauf, 9/30/2001: Glenn Beck, 4/15/2010:
I wouldn’t say that the United States deserved what happened, but United States policies were an accessory to the crime that happened. Did we deserve 9/11? No. But were we minding our business? No. Were we in bed with dictators and abandoned our values and principles? Yes. That causes problems.

What this tells us is that Beck is at least as guilty of radical hyperbole as Rauf. Beck believes that a cultural center two blocks from “hallowed” ground should not be permitted due to Rauf’s allegedly extremist views. But using the same logic, Beck should cancel his “Deploring Honor” rally at the Lincoln Memorial which is just across the Potomac from the Pentagon, another “hallowed” site of 9/11 terrorism. Beck’s views are no less extremist than Rauf’s, and no less an insult by Beck’s standards.

And it isn’t the first time that Beck has insulted the victims and survivors of 9/11. He previously said “I didn’t think I could hate victims faster than the 9/11 victims.” That was a reference that also insulted the victims of Katrina whom he called “scumbags.”

If Beck were consistent he would immediately announce that his August 28 rally has been canceled or moved to a less sensitive location farther from the Pentagon. He simply cannot tolerate having the graves of our brave soldiers being defiled by the likes of himself. It’s time for him to rebuke himself and decline any further association with himself and his television and radio programs. Glenn Beck is an extremist who hates America and Glenn Beck should have nothing to do with him.

Update: Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren agrees:

On August 28th my colleague Glenn Beck is going to lead an event on the mall in Washington, DC. It is the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech. The event is causing much controversy …some support and some don’t support and some are even furious and upset. Yes he has a First Amendment right to do it…but what about the wisdom of it? Remember…the Muslims in NYC have a First Amendment right to build a mosque but most Americans don’t want it…and you have to ask the wisdom of the Muslims to push the issue. Just because you have the right to do something does not mean you should. My view? No mosque at ground zero and Glenn should move his event.

Van Susteren was taking so much flack from the FoxBots that infest her blog that she had to post a disclaimer walking back her remarks and claiming she was just “raising a question.” Of course, that isn’t true. She explicitly stated that her view was that Beck should move his event.

Fair And Balanced Fox News Funds GOP

Posted by on August 16, 2010 at 11:56 am. 6 Comments :

A report from Business Week reveals that Rupert Murdoch is keen on electing Republican governors. His News Corp donated a million dollars to the Republican Governors Association in June.

Fox News GOP TeaThis is a significant contribution to a partisan electoral committee. There are 37 governorships on the ballot this year. Democrats currently hold a majority of state houses, Republicans hope reverse that. And since this is census year, the control of state governments can have a huge impact on the make up of Congress for the next decade by managing the redistricting process.

It should come as no surprise to political observers that partisans on both sides are lining up to support the party they regard as most sympathetic to their views. Unions will back Democrats. Wall Street and Oil companies will back Republicans. But what makes this unique is that the media are supposed to be unaffiliated politically. How can they produce unbiased coverage of electoral issues while they are spending millions to benefit one side. Can we really expect them to be critical of the GOP when they are bankrolling their campaigns?

Not that Murdoch’s news enterprises have ever produced unbiased coverage in the first place. His Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, Fox Radio, etc., have made it their business to advocate on behalf of the GOP for years. Their anchors and reporters routinely bash Democrats and liberals. But the funds they are providing to the RGA will result in further Democrat bashing which Fox News will dutifully report on the air. And no doubt the RGA will allocate a considerable amount of their advertising budget to Fox News and other Murdoch entities. So Murdoch is effectively putting that money right back in his own pocket while advancing the goals of Republican candidates.

This is one of the most disturbing consequences of the modern media environment where giant corporations have been permitted to control so much of the press. They are devoted only to their own fiduciary interests as opposed to the public interest. Their international stature means that have no loyalty to any particular nation including the United States. Yet they can provide virtually unlimited funding to influence elections that impact the lives of millions of actual citizens who cannot hope to match that kind of political philanthropy. And with the recent ruling in the Citizens United case, these corporations can now expand their charitable largess to federal campaigns. Congressman Paul Hodes and Senator Chris Dodd have each introduced legislation in their respective chambers to reverse Citizens United, but there is still much work to be done.

What Can You Do?

  • Support Congressman Alan Grayson who has introduced a package of bills designed to “Defend Our Democracy.”
  • Sign on to the Pledge to Protect America’s Democracy sponsored by People For the American Way and Public Citizen.
  • Move to Amend the Constitution to establish that money is not speech, and that human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to constitutional rights.
  • Support The DISCLOSE Act to combat the new, unregulated corporate influence over elections.
  • Join the Fair Elections Now campaign to end corporate funded elections.
  • And get aboard the Free Press movement to reform the media, save the Internet, and restore independence, diversity and local representation in the media.

If we don’t succeed in returning control of our elections and our media to the people, we will continue to see perversions of democracy like that which News Corp is engaging in. Media corporations can’t serve the public while simultaneously financing partisan politics and padding their bank accounts, all at the public’s expense.

Update: For reference, the RGA also received donations (pdf) from wingnut billionaire David Koch ($1,000,000), GE ($105,000), Comcast ($50,000), Time Warner ($25,000), and SEIU ($100,000) Does Glenn Back know about that last one?

The DGA received donations (pdf) from AFSCME ($1,000,000), GE ($105,000), Comcast ($100,000), Time Warner ($35,000), and SEIU ($325,000), but $0.00 from News Corp.

Note that many organizations, including unions and media companies, play both sides of the fence. But News Corp is the only media enterprise that contributed to just one party. Fair and balanced my ass.

Sunday Funnies: Fuck Tea

Posted by on August 15, 2010 at 2:42 pm. 8 Comments :

The Agenda Project brings us a delightful and lilting smack down of the most over-hyped, non-movement since Heaven’s Gate.

I dare you to get that chorus out of your head the rest of the day. This is the sort of catchy jingle you might get if Karen Carpenter were reincarnated as a lefty activist. I’m sure it will set off some fireworks in the Tea Bagger’s domain where the profanity alone would bring on the vapors. And the Culture Warriors, from Sarah Palin to Bill O’Reilly, will come utterly unglued and declare this a harbinger of the decline of western civilization.

Stay tuned for the upcoming cover by Justin Bieber or maybe Lady Gaga.