Month: September 2017

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. NO 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.

Eric Bolling is the Latest Fox News Perve to Be Given the Boot

Posted by on September 8, 2017 at 6:22 pm. 3 Comments :

The culture of misogyny has tarnished Fox News in recent years with a string of heinous exposures of sexual misconduct. Many of their top executives and stars have been fired, suspended, or otherwise separated from the network after accusations by dozens of female victims.

Fox News Eric Bolling

Eric Bolling was the host of the new afternoon program “The Specialists.” He also anchored a weekend business themed show called Cashin In. But a few weeks ago he was accused of sending inappropriate texts, including male genitalia, to women colleagues. He was temporarily suspended pending an investigation. But now Yashir Ali of the Huffington Post reports the latest development:

“Fox News has parted ways with host Eric Bolling, the network confirmed Friday, just over a month after an exclusive HuffPost report revealed Bolling sent inappropriate text messages to current and former female colleagues.

“News of the departure comes after two HuffPost reports revealed a pattern of inappropriate behavior by Bolling, who co-hosts “Fox News Specialists.” Fox News will cancel the program, it said in a statement.”

A Fox News statement characterized the separation as an agreement “to part ways amicably.” Then they wished him “the best of luck.” That hardly seems like a suitable tone for an employee being jettisoned for sexual improprieties. Except,of course, for Fox News where such behavior seems to have been a prerequisite for employment. And Bolling has not exhibited any remorse. In fact, he’s pursuing a $50 million lawsuit against the HuffPost reporter who wrote the original story.

Bolling’s departure caps a long list of prominent Fox News perverts who have left the hive. It began with the former CEO, Roger Ailes. Then Fox’s biggest star, Bill O’Reilly, finally succumbed to years of rumored sexual harassment. The president of Fox News, Bill Shine, was also dismissed under a cloud. As were Fox Business host Charles Payne, Fox Sports President Jamie Horowitz, and the Vice-President of Fox News Latino, Francisco Cortes. That many high-level abusers is not a coincidence, it’s a guideline.

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

In addition to the loss of those sleazeballs, Fox News also said farewell to some of the female talent who resigned after being victimized. They include Gretchen Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Laurie Dhue, Andrea Tantaros, Rudi Bakhtiar, and Julie Roginsky. That has exacerbated Fox’s struggle to maintain its status as the top cable news network. In recent months it has been losing to both MSNBC and CNN in the critical advertising demographic of 25-54 year olds. That’s partly due to the unpopularity of its primary benefactor, Donald Trump. American news consumers are switching to networks where they can get more honest accounts of Trump’s corruption and incompetence. And perhaps they aren’t so thrilled with a network that is teeming with degenerate dirtbags either.

Rush Limbaugh is Fleeing Florida, Two Days After Ranting That Hurricane Irma Was a Liberal Hoax

Posted by on September 8, 2017 at 1:20 pm. 2 Comments :

On Tuesday Rush Limbaugh took to the airwaves to warn his listeners of a horrific and impending danger. He valiantly sought to protect them from a threat that would cause grave harm were they not prepared. This warning came just a couple of weeks after Hurricane Harvey devastated much of Texas. And now Hurricane Irma was rapidly bearing down on Florida.

Rush Limbaugh

However, Irma was not the threat that Limbaugh was referring to. It was something far more devious and destructive. What Limbaugh feared was that the media focus on Hurricane Irma was really just part of a liberal plot. The plotters, he said, were conspiring raise TV ratings and help markets sell more bottled water and other supplies. It’s Limbaugh’s confirmation of the notorious cabal between Democrats and the dreaded convenience store lobby. Furthermore, Limbaugh disclosed the unsavory connection between coverage of Irma’s approach and the “hoax” of climate change:

“So there is a desire to advance this climate change agenda, and hurricanes are one of the fastest and best ways to do it. You can accomplish a lot just by creating fear and panic. You don’t need a hurricane to hit anywhere. All you need is to create the fear and panic accompanied by talk that climate change is causing hurricanes to become more frequent and bigger and more dangerous, and you create the panic, and it’s mission accomplished, agenda advanced.”

That was two days ago. On Thursday morning Limbaugh made an announcement that undermined his prior alarm. Apparently he would be evacuating from his home and studio in Florida ahead of Hurricane Irma’s arrival. He said (video below):

“OK, I may as well go ahead and announce this. I’m not going to get into details because of the security nature of things. But it turns out that we will not be able to do the program here tomorrow. That will be in the hands of Mark Steyn tomorrow. We’ll be on the air next week, folks, from parts unknown. So we’ll back on Monday, it’s just that tomorrow is gonna be problematic.”

Problematic? That’s a cute way of saying that a life-threatening natural disaster is about to destroy much of the region. Limbaugh made additional comments that continued to belittle the Hurricane’s potential harm. He said that he couldn’t legally stay and do the show, presumably because of the mandatory evacuation. The implication was that absent that decree he would remain and ride it out.

Limbaugh’s persistent downplaying of a historically unprecedented storm is criminally irresponsible and lives may hang in the balance. His claim that the media was hyping the story for ratings and disaster supply consumption was bad enough. But now he’s giving people a reason to stay in harm’s way by pretending that he’s being forced to evacuate without any real need. Odds are Limbaugh is actually scared out of his drug-addled mind.

A conscientious broadcaster would be imploring people to get out and seek safety. But Limbaugh has issued no such advice. And his listeners are such blind followers (self-proclaimed “Ditto Heads”) that they might very well ignore the official warnings. After all, Rush wouldn’t steer them wrong, would he?

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

How Far Has Fox News Crawled Up Trump’s A$$? They’re Praising Trump’s Deal With Democrats

Posted by on September 7, 2017 at 2:10 pm. 6 Comments :

For anyone who’s still wondering whether or not Fox News is a brazen propaganda outfit devoted to propping up Donald Trump, you can put your doubts to rest. On Thursday morning they demonstrated that they will go to any lengths to praise Dear Leader. Even when he’s violated their most precious principles.

Fox News Trump

The subject of Trump’s agreement on legislation to raise the debt limit and fund relief for Hurricane Harvey came up on Fox and Friends. Republicans were anticipating a bill that would put off further debt limit matters until after next year’s congressional election. Democrats sought a much shorter, three month period. Surprisingly, Trump sided with the Democrats. Some pundits surmised that this was evidence of Trump embracing bipartisanship. But it’s more likely that he was just punishing Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan for their recent failures to advance his agenda.

However, it’s the reaction by the hosts of his favorite TV show that is truly a revelation. There was a time when Fox News could be depended on to push whatever Republican scheme was being peddled. The network’s loyalty was to party over personality. That appears to be a thing of the past. With the election of Donald Trump the Fox News mission seems to have shifted somewhat. They are now committed to the cult of the alleged personality of Trump. The blathering of the Fox and Friends crew made that abundantly clear (video below):

Steve Doocy: The president, not wanting a fight, apparently said, “That’s the deal I’m going to take right now because we’ve got tax reform and other stuff we have got to do right now.”

Ainsley Earhardt: Good for him. He’s doing this for the folks that are affected by [Hurricane] Harvey.

Two things to note here. First, they suddenly think it’s laudatory that Trump is backing down from a fight. Prior to this cave in, they specifically admired his pugilistic tendencies and called everyone else snowflakes. Secondly, the Hurricane Harvey relief efforts were going to be getting these funds regardless. That was not in contention. And then they continued:

Pete Hegseth: Well some conservatives are upset … Big time. But you know what? This is a clear shot at Mitch McConnell and [Paul Ryan: “Hey guys, if you can’t get things done, then, listen, I’ll go work with the Democrats” […]

Hegseth: I think it’s very strategic from this president. Clear out the underbrush of the stuff that could be contentious, that Washington likes to fight about, so you can clear the deck to fight for the stuff that really matters. […]

Earhardt: Isn’t it refreshing to see them work together though? … isn’t that the art of the deal? Isn’t that what they do?

Doocy: It’s the art of the Dems.

“The stuff that really matters?” Apparently they don’t think that hurricane victims, or the full faith and credit of the United States, really matter. Because they just want to get that out of the way. But they are conceding that working with Democrats is the right thing to do. Previously they would have gone into hysterics at the thought of it. They would have branded anyone Republican who did so a RINO (“Republican in Name Only”), and called for his defeat. And don’t even ask what they mean by “art of the Dems.” They probably just thought it sounded cute.

So is this a pivot toward bipartisan cooperation in Congress? Or is it unvarnished idolatry of their presidential messiah? Considering that they still oppose everything that Democrats stand for, it’s hard to see peace breaking out on Capital Hill. Trump, Republicans, and Fox News, still want to kill ObamaCare. They still want to cut taxes for the wealthy. Their commitment to building a border wall is still rock solid (even if the wall/fence isn’t). They remain convinced that climate change is a hoax. They’re almost giddy about deporting DREAMers.

Consequently, the only conclusion is that Fox News is taking this position because it’s the one that Trump has taken. And they don’t want to to seen as disagreeing with Hair Drumpf. Which means that Fox News is determined to be steadfastly faithful to their Chief Oval Officer. And regardless of what diversions he takes from doctrinaire conservatism, they will blindly follow. That’s a recipe for totalitarian disaster.

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

BREAKING: Donald Trump Says Something That’s Actually True – Hurricane Irma Will Be ‘Not Good’

Posted by on September 6, 2017 at 1:48 pm. 2 Comments :

The frequency with which Donald Trump has been caught lying has broken all records for political chicanery. And in the world of politics, that’s saying something. The Washington Post has documented more than a thousand Trump falsehoods just since Inauguration Day. PolitiFact records sixty-nine percent of his statements as being “Mostly False,” “False,” or “Pants on Fire.” Consequently, another disgorged dishonesty isn’t really news anymore. But when he says something that’s true – even accidentally – Stop the Presses!

Donald Trump

Wednesday morning is one of those rare occasions when Trump uttered something with some semblance of truth buried in it. That’s if you could decipher the inarticulate word salad he tosses around. In response to reporters questions about the approaching Hurricane Irma, Trump managed to squeeze out this brutal mangling of the English language (video below):

“The fact that there’s a new and seems to be record-breaking hurricane heading right towards Florida and Puerto Rico and other places. We’ll see what happens. We’ll know in a very short period of time. But it looks like it could be something that will be not good. Believe me. Not good.”

Well, the residents of “Other Places” better be on high alert. Because “something that will be not good” is headed their way. Apparently it’s very different than the catastrophic weather that pummeled Texas recently. When visiting the victims there Trump described it in positive terms saying that “It’s been a wonderful thing.”

However, the “not goodness” of Hurricane Irma may just be another example of the left-wing media fake news. At least according to Rush Limbaugh. He floated his theory yesterday that the the press focus on Irma was really just part of a devious plot. The purpose of the plotters was to help markets sell more bottled water and other supplies. It’s Limbaugh’s confirmation of the notorious cabal between Democrats and the convenience store lobby. What’s more, Limbaugh also claims that warnings about Irma advance the “hoax” of climate change:

“You can accomplish a lot just by creating fear and panic. You don’t need a hurricane to hit anywhere. All you need is to create the fear and panic accompanied by talk that climate change is causing hurricanes to become more frequent and bigger and more dangerous, and you create the panic, and it’s mission accomplished, agenda advanced.”

Since Limbaugh, a resident of South Florida, isn’t buying the fake news reports about Irma, he might want to consider a day at the golf course. He surely doesn’t need to prepare for that phony storm the media is trying to sell. Maybe he could even plan to meet Trump at the President’s mansion on the island of St. Martin. Which is, or is not, in the direct path of Irma, depending on whether you believe Limbaugh or some nerdy scientists.

Trump has yet to embrace Limbaugh’s conspiracy theory. But that may just be because he’s too busy manufacturing his own. The White House reported today that the President will go to North Dakota to deliver remarks about his (still non-existent) tax reform initiative. He tweeted the announcement of his trip saying that “We are the highest taxed nation in the world.” And with that, he added another notch to his belt of outright lies. We are not even close to the top. But at least he got the thing about Hurricane Irma being “not good” right. Even if he did sound like choleric two-year old.

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

WTF? Fox News is Now Making (Lie-Riddled) Campaign Ads For Donald Trump (VIDEO)

Posted by on September 5, 2017 at 1:59 pm. NO Comments :

One of the most neglected observations about Donald Trump’s presidency is that he never wanted to be president. His stage-five narcissism and bloated ego has always found campaigning to be more to his liking. He feeds off of the mindless cheers of his glassy-eyed disciples. In his bubble-bunker he imagines (falsely) that they reflect the views of the whole country.

Fox News Trump Ad

For that reason Trump commenced his reelection campaign moments after completing his poorly attended inauguration address. It was an earlier start than any other president. And it was plain that he did it to justify holding more rallies before screaming Deplorables.

Now, in support of Trump’s reelection efforts, Fox News has stepped forward to do their part. This isn’t the typical Trump-fluffing that goes on everyday on the pro-Trump network. Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, and the “Curvy Couch” potatoes on Fox and Friends, were always expected to slobber over everything Trump does and says. No, this is something else that goes way beyond the mere contemptibility of biased journalism.

Fox News posted a video that can only be described as a campaign ad for Donald Trump. It is filled with positive imagery and clips of the President advocating American labor and goods. It even attributes laudable policies to Trump that have no factual basis. Watch for yourself:

Some of the statements in this brazenly partisan propaganda deserve more detailed analysis. For instance:

  • “President Trump has made Job creation a central focus of his administration.”

    • Where is the evidence of that? He has talked about it from time to time, but has done nothing substantive about it. His bragging about bringing jobs back from other countries has turned out to be a hoax. The companies he touted still laid off Americans and shipped those jobs elsewhere. He hasn’t even managed to get an infrastructure bill off the ground. The border wall is the only project he proposed that might create a few jobs, and the country is opposed to that.

  • “When signing the Buy American, Hire American executive order, Trump said ‘The policy of our government is to aggressively promote and use American made goods.'”

    • This order has no plans attached to it to produce anything at all. It doesn’t require any action on the part of employers or manufacturers. And if Trump were really interested in hiring Americans, he could start by hiring them to staff his luxury golf resorts. He might also consider having his ties, suits, etc. made in the U.S. instead of China, Mexico, and Bangladesh.

  • “We are building our future with American hands, American labor, American iron, aluminum, and steel.”

    • Not in Trump’s world we aren’t. He has illegally employed foreign construction workers on his buildings. He uses steel shipped in from China. And even the furnishings inside are mostly made in other countries.

Revelations about Trump lying have become so commonplace that people are beginning to tune it out. But what’s troubling about this video from Fox News isn’t just the bald-faced lies. It is that Fox News has no business producing campaign videos for any candidate for office. It is blatantly improper for an alleged “news” organization and a breach of journalistic ethics. It should be reported to the Federal Elections Commission as an in-kind contribution to Trump’s campaign. And the network should be fined and explicitly prohibited from further breaches.

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

However, it may be too much to expect the FEC to act on this. It is a notoriously toothless agency. So Fox may get away with their electioneering for now. But the more the public knows about this violation of trust, the more they will shun the network and its cast of Trump shills. That’s already happening as MSNBC, on the strength of Rachel Maddow’s superb investigative reporting, has surpassed Fox in the ratings. Rupert Murdoch recently took his own Fox News off the air in the U.K. citing lack of viewers. Let’s make him do the same here at home.