Month: February 2018

Fox News Host Tells LeBron James to ‘Shut Up and Dribble’ in Vile, Racist Rant

Posted by on February 16, 2018 at 10:54 am. 6 Comments :

Laura Ingraham has long been a vocal opponent of the First Amendment, particularly as it applies to entertainers and other creative or famous people. Fifteen years ago she wrote the book “Shut Up and Sing“ purporting to reveal “How Elites from Hollywood, Politics, and the Media are Subverting America.” In reality it was an extended diatribe against the free expression rights of anyone with whom she disagrees. It was a transparent attempt to silence some of the most effective and passionate communicators our society produces. And it is no coincidence that these complaints from Ingraham and other right-wingers is only directed at liberals. They frequently, and hypocritically, embrace conservative “celebrities” like Scott Baio, Ted Nugent, and ballplayer Tim Tebow.

Fox News Laura Ingraham

On Thursday Ingraham expanded the scope of her anti-speech mission to include blatant racism. On her primetime Fox News program she ventured into a loopy tirade that attacked basketball greats LeBron James and Kevin Durant (video below). The spittle inflected rant displayed her overt racism and disrespect for important voices of successful contributors to American society and culture.

The segment featured badly edited clips from an interview of James and Durant by Cari Champion. Ingraham began the piece with a demeaning tone by misrepresenting the interview as an ESPN podcast. In fact, it was produced by James’ own media company, Uninterrupted. It was not on ESPN, and it was not a podcast. Following those journalistic failures, Ingraham continued with her trademarked assault on personalities who dare to speak out. Ironically, the part of the video she highlighted (which is well worth watching in full) was actually talking about the responsibility of role models in politics, entertainment, and sports. The featured exchange began with Champion asking “How do you describe the climate for an athlete with a platform nowadays that wants to talk about what’s happening in our world?”

What surely rattled Ingraham was the part of James’ response that portrayed Donald Trump as “someone who doesn’t understand the people and really don’t give a f*ck about the people.” That’s a characterization that perfectly fits this president, and he proves it every day. He is a narcissist who was born into wealth and spent a lifetime avoiding and insulting the “little people” for whom he had nothing but disdain. His background of exploitation and prejudice is well documented.

Nevertheless, Ingraham lashed out against James and Durant with ugly slurs intended to belittle them. She described them as “barely intelligible, not to mention ungrammatical.” James discussed Trump’s racism noting that it was predictable to the point of being laughable. But he also agreed that it was “frightening” and that people shouldn’t become “numb” to it. Whereupon Ingraham mocked James with a Valley Girl “like” expression and asked “Must they run their mouths like that?”

Yes, they must. Especially because of people like Ingraham whose ignorance and bigotry actually affirms the criticisms that James and Durant put forward. She couldn’t possibly be a better example of the bias that permeates society at large and Fox News in particular. And her summation at the end of her screed closed the case on her contemptuousness:

“This is what happens when you attempt to leave high school a year early to join the NBA. And it’s always unwise to seek political advice from someone who gets paid $100 million a year to bounce a ball. Oh and LeBron, Kevin, you’re great players but no one voted for you. Millions elected Trump to be their coach. So keep the political commentary to yourself or, as someone once said, shut up and dribble.”

First of all, James graduated from high school. And his decision to join the NBA after that resulted in a remarkably successful career in sports and business. You have to wonder, has Ingraham ever criticized Bill Gates for dropping out of college? Secondly, James gets paid for winning. He gets paid for mastering both the physical and strategic aspects of a complex athletic enterprise. Ingraham is ignorantly diminishing the achievements of someone who has become a historic figure in his field.

Finally, if Ingraham wants to tout the millions of votes Trump got, she might also mention that Hillary Clinton got millions more. And also that he holds the distinct dishonor of having the lowest approval rating of any president on record. There’s good evidence that James knows more about the lives of average Americans than Trump ever will. And Ingraham’s repulsive and oppressive demand that he “shut up” is nothing more than a plantation master’s approach to uppity lessers who don’t know their place.

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

Warning Signs: Is Donald Trump the Next Mass Murderer? (See Something, Say Something)

Posted by on February 15, 2018 at 11:29 am. 4 Comments :

It is unbelievable that it’s become so redundant and tedious to respond to yet another senseless massacre of children. But that’s where we are now in America. There have been eighteen school shootings so far this year, and it’s only February. And what have our “leaders” done about? Well Republicans have taken millions of dollars from the NRA and passed, with Donald Trump’s signature, a bill making it easier for the mentally ill to buy guns.

Donald Trump AR-15

There are actually ways to prevent these killings, but they are being actively suppressed by right-wing politicians and organizations. They say that after heinous shootings it is “not the right time” to discuss taking deadly weapons of war out of the hands of dangerous miscreants. But apparently, it is always time to offer “thoughts and prayers” (which worked so well the last time?). The callousness of people who refuse to seek common sense solutions are escalating the body count. They insist that there is no gun problem in America, only mental health issues.

The risks imposed by psychological deviants are all too real. But there is more to the matter than that. These sick individuals are helped by arming them with ever more destructive methods of killing. But if conservatives, who love their guns more than they love their kids, aren’t willing to do anything about that, than let’s take a look at those who truly present a danger to our society.

The preindicators for mentally disturbed persons who could pose a risk of becoming the next mass murderer are well documented. And, frighteningly, they are all observable in our president, Donald Trump. We have been told by law enforcement authorities that when we “see something, say something.” So in the spirit of community service it is critical that we take note of these warning signs:

Donald Trump:

  • Has amassed a lethal cache of deadly weapons. And he he’s seeking to expand it even more in his current budget proposal.
  • Has spoken casually of committing grievous crimes of mass violence and the use of nuclear arms: “If we have them, why can’t we use them?”
  • Has posted violent images attacking Hillary Clinton, the media and more on social media.
  • Is filled with resentment toward perceived enemies and yearns for revenge.
  • Incites violence among his followers and even offers to pay their legal fees.
  • Displays a near constant, uncontrollable rage.
  • Feels isolated and threatened by a world that he thinks is out to get him.
  • Has delusions of grandeur and imagined respect.
  • Associates with unsavory characters who share his flaws (i.e. Vladimir Putin, Rob Porter, Bill O’Reilly).
  • Dreams of vindication and making his persecutors sorry.

Allowing someone with these troubling psychological deviancies to remain in a position of power is asking for trouble. Trump tells us almost everyday that he is seething with animosity that could boil over into hostility. And the more he feels pressured and under attack, the more likely he is to explode into a tantrum of hatred and vengeance. That’s especially dangerous since he currently has the worst approval ratings of any president on record. Add to that the fact that is being investigated for serious and impeachable crimes. If ever there was someone who might be viewed as a threat to society, it is Donald Trump. And now that we’ve seen this, it would be irresponsible and potentially catastrophic not to do something about it. #Impeach #25thAmendment

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

Fox News Mainstreams Racism By Headlining Trump’s ‘Pocahontas’ Smear of Sen. Warren

Posted by on February 14, 2018 at 1:11 pm. 1 Comments :

The White House has now been struggling with their atrocious handling of Rob Porter, the wife-beating aide to Donald Trump, for eight days. By repeatedly putting out lies and contradictory accounts they have assured that it gets more coverage than if they had simply told the ugly truth. And Trump’s stubborn refusal to show any concern for the victims of domestic violence only makes matters worse, even though it’s exactly what we expect from the serial Sexual-Predator-in-Chief.

To be sure, the story is important. It involves a deviant figure at the highest levels of government. One who hasn’t been able to obtain the necessary clearances for access to the classified information that is part of the job. He therefore poses a significant risk to national security, in addition to being disgusting thug.

So what is Fox News to do under these circumstances? Their mission being to glorify and defend the President at all costs is hitting a massive obstacle. They tried ignoring the story through much of their broadcast day, and especially on their primetime programs. Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, and Laura Ingraham have downplayed the Porter scandal from the start. And when they did bring up it up, it was only to try to protect Trump with embarrassing excuses and awkward praise.

That leaves only one other tactic to get Porter, and Trump’s association with sexual abuse, out of the headlines: Distractions. Consequently, if you visited the Fox News website Wednesday morning you would have found a peculiar story in the top spot that was hardly the most newsworthy item of the day.

Fox News Trump Warren

Sen. Elisabeth Warren gave a speech to the National Congress of American Indians. It was a lovely speech, although a fairly typical appearance by a senator during an election year. She talked about her family history, told the moving story of the real Pocahontas, and promised to be a voice for Native Americans in Washington. And she even took a swing at Trump saying that…

“Now we have a president who can’t make it through a ceremony honoring Native American war heroes without reducing Native history, Native culture, Native people to the butt of a joke.”

That was a reference to Trump’s disrespectful treatment of Native American war heroes at a ceremony meant to honor them. But her speech overall was by no means the sort of earth-shattering affair that would make it newsworthy enough to feature as the lead story. So Fox News dressed it up in the racism that has become integral to the Trump era Republican Party. The image that Fox News chose to run with the story revives Trump’s derogatory and juvenile use of the “Pocahontas” nickname he has attached to Warren.

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

Ignoring the demands of the Native American community to cease exploiting and insulting them, Trump and Fox continue to do so. It is a deliberate attempt to sow division and hatred and the disunity that is emblematic of the GOP. They rely on this sort of bigotry to inflame their base and to tear at the seams of the diversity that makes the country strong. And in this case, they are also cynically using it to shift attention from yet another Trump scandal that they can’t plausibly or morally defend.

Fox News is SHOCKED that President Obama Knew What Was Going On During His Presidency

Posted by on February 13, 2018 at 12:34 pm. 5 Comments :

Republicans are flailing furiously as they try to avoid sinking further into the depths of Donald Trump’s presidential sewer. The controversy over the now-former White House staff secretary Rob Porter’s domestic violence continues to simmer as Trump’s excuses and explanations keep changing. And Trump’s legislative incompetence is preventing a popular resolution to the immigration debate from progressing.

Fox News Obama Hannity

Meanwhile, over at Fox News there is a budding pseudo-scandal involving an email that President Obama’s National Security Advisor, Susan Rice, sent to herself last year. The email was essentially a documentation of her notes after an Oval Office meeting. There is nothing remotely controversial about the email (which Rachel Maddow breaks down brilliantly here), but that doesn’t stop Fox News from trying to whip up outrage in their easily excitable and dimwitted viewers.

The most hair raising excerpt that the Fox folks could find is a single sentence that says merely that Obama “reiterated that our law enforcement team needs to proceed as it normally would by the book.” Grab the smellin’ salts, Bertha. That darky Kenyan tried to do some stuff the way it’s ‘sposed to be done!

Throughout the day Fox News hammered on this irrelevancy as if they had just resolved O.J. Simpson’s search for the “real” killers. And by the evening Sean Hannity was primed and rarin’ to go with his own hyperbolic distortions of reality. His ranting was on the order of Alex Jones-style conspiracy freak-outs. But that’s become so common it hardly needs mentioning. What stood out were the comments of one of his trio of ultra-rightist guests (video below). After offering his own interpretation of the Rice email as “CYA” (cover your ass), Hannity asked GOP Florida Attorney General (and enthusiastic Trump-fluffer), Pam Bondi for her interpretation. Bondi replied that:

“Of course that’s what it is. And to say that the President of the United States, Barack Obama, didn’t know what was going on is ludicrous.

Well, thank you very much. That was generous of Bondi to concede that the former president was well informed and competent. It is certainly ludicrous to suggest that Obama was ever negligent or inattentive in his duties. That’s such a stark contrast from what most Americans think about the current president. Even Republicans have been adamant that Trump doesn’t know what the heck is going on at any point in time.

For instance, they insist that he knew nothing about the Porter affair. He didn’t know that the anti-Muslim videos he retweeted were fake. He didn’t know that Nazis were marching in Charlottesville. He didn’t know that his son was meeting with Russians. He didn’t know that he wasn’t supposed to tell Russian diplomats secrets he learned from Israeli intelligence. He didn’t know how hard it would be to be president. And on and on.

Given Trump’s obvious ignorance on so many issues critical to governing, it’s nice to see that someone appreciates that Obama knew what was going on. And for that opinion to make it to the air on Hannity’s program is downright startling. Unless I’m missing something. You don’t think I’ve misinterpreted Bondi’s meaning, do you?

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

Trump Aide Huckabee-Sanders Accuses the Press Corps of ‘Leaking Out Classified Information’

Posted by on February 12, 2018 at 4:07 pm. 2 Comments :

The daily White House press briefing has become a predictably contentious affair during the presidency of Donald Trump. His press secretaries, first Sean Spice and now Sarah Huckabee-Sanders, operate more like defense attorneys for Trump than public servants. And the briefing held on Monday affirmed that twisted perversion of the relationship between the White House and the people.

Sarah Huckabee-Sanders

Not surprisingly, much of the briefing focused on the weekend’s disturbing news regarding Trump’s staff secretary, Rob Porter, who was fired (or resigned depending on which story you believe) due to reports of his having assaulted his former wives. Trump’s only public comments on the matter were to offer praise for Porter and best wishes for his future. Trump shockingly expressed his sympathy for how sad it was for Porter, without mentioning the suffering of the victims.

Sanders was asked by several reporters about why Trump would not personally address the plight of the victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse. She could not offer an explanation for his deafening silence except to say that the President “supports the victims of any type of domestic violence, but the President also supports due process. And I don’t have anything else further to add beyond that.” When asked why he couldn’t just say that himself she said that he told her and that she’s telling the media, and that that was the end of the story.

Later, Sanders was asked if Trump still wishes Porter well, and hopes that he has a great career ahead. Her painfully tone deaf response was that “the President wants success for all Americans, and that he was elected to serve all Americans, and he hopes for the best for all American citizens across the country.” And apparently that goes for wife-beaters and other criminals as well. Good to know.

Addressing another angle of the Porter affair, NBC’s White House correspondent, Kristen Welker, sought to sail down some inconsistencies in the White House’s explanations for the lack of security clearances by top Trump officials. She engaged Sanders in the following exchange (video below):

Welker: Why are high-level aides allowed to work with classified information without a permanent security clearance?
Sanders: That’s a question that the FBI and other intelligence communities — they make that determination. That’s not something that’s decided by the White House.
Welker: Can you guarantee that you are protecting classified information given that you have someone like Rob Porter who didn’t have a permanent security clearance to access classified information?
Sanders: I think we’re doing and taking every step we can to protect classified information. I mean, frankly, if you guys have such concern with classified information, there’s plenty of it that’s leaked out of the Hill, that’s leaked out of other communities well beyond the White House walls. If you guys have real concerns about leaking out classified information, look around this room. You guys are the ones that publish classified information and put national security at risk that doesn’t come from this White House.

First of all, it is absolutely not the determination of the FBI whether the White House provides access to classified information to people without proper security credentials. That decision was made solely by the President. But more troubling is the way that Sanders deflected her answer to level scurrilous allegations at the press. The problem with unsecured persons receiving classified information isn’t just that they might leak it to the media. It’s that they might leak it to other unsecured persons, or even hostile foreign operatives. In addition, they could be subject to blackmail and present a serious national security risk.

But Sanders avoided all of that in favor of insulting the press. She had absolutely no evidence of anyone in the White House press corps leaking classified information. But she leveled that accusation as if it were a verified fact. What’s more, the press cannot leak anything at all. They can only report information that is leaked to them. They can be the recipients of leaks, not the originators. And the originators, contrary to what Sanders said, are in the White House.

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

The utterly irresponsible accusations by Sanders were unsupported by any proof of wrongdoing by reporters. And if she has “real concerns about leaking out classified information,” she should look to her colleagues in the administration. They are the ones who provide information to the press, and reporters are just doing their jobs when they inform the public. Sadly, that is often the only to get information to the people in this administration. Trump and company have been notoriously determined to keep deep, dark secrets like tax returns, financial backers, and clandestine meetings with Russians.

Fox News Blames Obama (?) for Trump’s Wife-Beating Aide – And Joy Reid Aint Havin’ It

Posted by on February 11, 2018 at 10:44 am. 1 Comments :

There’s nothing Fox News likes better than to invent phony scandals about Democrats, particularly Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. But second on their list of not-so-secret pleasures is blaming Donald Trump’s scandals on those same innocent Democrats. There doesn’t even need to be any plausible relationship between Fox’s victims and the heinous misbehavior of Trump.

Donald Trump

Case in point, on Saturday’s episode of Fox’s Justice with Jeanine Pirro, the former alleged judge stepped about as far off the limb of reality as possible when she sought to defend Trump’s Chief of Staff, John Kelly, and his wife-beating aide, Rob Porter. In a typically unhinged, spittle inflected rant, Pirro unloaded absurd accusations that only affirm that she must be suffering from a brain-eating virus. Outraged that anyone might criticize Trump or Kelly, Pirro bellowed:

“Stop a four-star general who is running the White House, who believes in chain of command, who made decision within forty minutes, becuase you hate Donald Trump? Find another scapegoat. You might want to look at the last president.”

That’s a good a point. I would much rather look at the last president than the orange-crusty facade of the current one. But if she’s implying that President Obama had something to do with Porter’s documented assaults on his former spouses, Pirro is barking up the wrong scapegoat.

Fortunately, MSNBC’s Joy Reid caught Pirro’s act and wasn’t impressed by the surreal performance art that passes for news on Fox. Reid replied to Pirro in a succinct manner that reminded everyone that, not only is Obama a role model for presidential fidelity, but that Pirro’s network has been a haven for sexual predators and perverts (video below):

“Fox News, Donald Trump’s favorite TV channel, has revived its tried and true tactic for getting the Republican president out of a jam: Blame Obama. Yes Fox has actually found a way to blame the former president – a man did not abuse women, much less his wife; who did not face multiple allegations or sexual misconduct or assault – for the latest White House scandal.

“Fox’s Trump defense should come as no surprise. The network reflects the attitude of Trump himself, who has a long history of defending men accused of misconduct against women and girls. Including Alabama’s Roy Moore and Fox’s own Bill O’Reilly and Roger Ailes.”

That pretty much says it all. But if you’d like a primer of the repulsive and deviant culture that Fox News nurtures, look no further than the list of perverts who were forced out due to “inappropriate” behavior. Then imagine how many others are still there who haven’t yet been caught. And the same can be said of this White House where the President predictably sides with abusive men over their victims.

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

Trump Plagiarizes a Dubious Fox News ‘DREAMer’ in an Inflammatory Anti-DACA Tweet

Posted by on February 10, 2018 at 3:36 pm. NO Comments :

With the March 5 deadline rapidly approaching, Donald Trump continues to politicize immigration and blame Democrats for the lack of progress in Congress. Never mind that the problem only exists because Trump rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that was implemented by President Obama in 2012. And Trump’s insistence on tying the restoration of DACA to other punitive measures and his idiotic border wall further set back any reasonable resolution.

Fox News Dreamer

In this scenario Fox News predictably has come to the aid of the White House they are in collusion with on virtually everything. The “Curvy Couch” potatoes of Fox and Friends magically managed to find a conservative DACA recitpient to join them for a Trump-fluffing session on Saturday morning (video below). Hilario Yanez was introduced as a “DREAMer” and was immediately asked what he likes about Trump’s plan. He responded with praise for Trump’s alleged leadership, compassion, and courage. Presumably these are traits demonstrated by first rescinding DACA and then throwing up numerous obstacles to its restoration.

Yanez expanded on the reasons for his admiration of the President by noting his support for the border wall, his opposition to the diversity lottery, and his view that DACA advocates Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi were using DREAMers as pawns. What Yanez was actually revealing was his ultra-conservative political bias which he seasoned with heavy doses of religiosity. He was hardly a representative DACA recipient, nor was he particularly knowledgeable on the subject. As an example, he offered this criticism of Democrats:

“Democrats owned all three branches of the government back in 2008 to 2011, and they still chose [not] to do anything.”

It’s true that Democrats did absolutely nothing about DACA between 2008 and 2011. They might have done more except for the fact that it didn’t exist. The policy was established by Obama in June of 2012 by executive action after the Congress was stymied by persistent GOP opposition. As noted above, it was later rescinded by Trump in September of 2017.

However, it’s absolutely untrue that Democrats “owned all three branches of the government” from 2008 to 2011. George W. Bush was president until January of 2009. And Democrats were short of filibuster-proof majorities during much of that time due to the months-long delayed election results in Minnesota (Al Franken’s race), and the death of Sen. Ted Kennedy. Also, Republicans assumed the majority in Congress in January of 2011. That’s a lot to get wrong and Fox didn’t bother (or know) to correct these easily identified falsehoods.

There’s a good reason for that. These distortions of reality play well on Fox News. And that’s especially true for its number one fan in the White House. Trump spends untold hours watching and recording Fox News and frequently regurgitates what he sees on Twitter as it happens. That appears to be the case here. Shortly after Yanez’s appearance on Fox and Friends, Trump tweeted out an almost verbatim replay of what he said:

There is so much wrong with that tweet it’s hard to know where to begin. First of all, Trump didn’t bother to attribute this comment to its source. That’s the definition of plagiarism. His language was nearly identical, complete with the factual inaccuracies. And the timing of the tweet further proves where he stole this from. Secondly, it’s ludicrous to assign any interest in DACA to Republicans who have been working tirelessly to quash it. And finally, Trump’s political cheerleading at the end does nothing to further a legislative solution. But it does imply that he isn’t interested in any solution until next year when a new congress is seated.

Ironically, Trump’s total abandonment of the DREAMers is going to frustrate his hopes for a more republican Congress. The American people overwhelming favor DACA with a pathway to citizenship. And Latinos are presently the fastest growing segment of the electorate. All of this combines to bolster what many election analysts are predicting will be a “blue wave” in November. Let’s hope that comes to pass. But more importantly, let’s work our butts off to insure that it comes to pass. We may have the political winds at our backs, but Trump has a massive propaganda platform and, of course, Russia.

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

Offensive Article By FOX Exec Deleted Because it ‘Does Not Reflect the Values of FOX News’

Posted by on February 9, 2018 at 1:22 pm. 2 Comments :

On Wednesday Fox News published an article about the United States Olympic team that took a surprisingly negative tone. And the author was no back-bencher on Fox’s roster. It was John Moody, the Executive Vice President and Executive Editor for Fox News. Apparently he was upset by reports that the U.S. athletes represented a broader scope of diversity than in the past.

Fox News Moody

Moody’s column was a thinly veiled defense of bigotry and unapologetically titled, “In Olympics, let’s focus on the winner of the race — not the race of the winner. The message he was putting forth was that because of the diversity, there must have been some unsavory manipulation to favor athletes who were not straight and white. That allegation, of course, was never supported by any facts in the article. It was simply Moody’s suspicion based on remarks by an Olympic Committee official praising this year’s team. The article began with an uninhibited display of prejudice:

“Unless it’s changed overnight, the motto of the Olympics, since 1894, has been ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger.’ It appears the U.S. Olympic Committee would like to change that to ‘Darker, Gayer, Different.’ If your goal is to win medals, that won’t work.

“A USOC official was quoted this week expressing pride (what else?) about taking the most diverse U.S. squad ever to the Winter Olympics. That was followed by a, frankly, embarrassing laundry list of how many African-Americans, Asians and openly gay athletes are on this year’s U.S. team. No sport that we are aware of awards points – or medals – for skin color or sexual orientation.”

Not only was Moody flaunting his noxious hatefulness with the disparaging reference to being “Darker, Gayer, [and] Different,” he whined about the USOC official being proud of America’s team. And nowhere in the official’s comments did he suggest that anything but skill and talent would result in the award of medals. The entirety of Moody’s complaint was wrapped up in his personal biases.

After the article was published, it drew an onslaught of well-deserved criticism from the public and many of the organizations that represent the groups that Moody was insulting. So yesterday Fox News deleted the article. They left no explanation or apology in its place. It was simply gone. Well, except for the fact that nothing is ever really “gone” on the Internet, and the article can still be found here thanks to the Web Archive. And Fox News was later forced to comment when the Hollywood Reporter contacted them to find out what happened. A Fox News spokesperson said that “John Moody’s column does not reflect the views or values of FOX News and has been removed.”

Really? The opinions of the Executive Vice President and Executive Editor for Fox News don’t reflect the views and values of the network? If Moody doesn’t reflect those values, than who does? He is literally the person who decides which views are aired on Fox News, and which aren’t. He tells his producers and hosts what to cover each day and how to frame the coverage. And if there is one thing that is unmistakable, it’s that his views in this matter are identical to everything you see on Fox News regarding American diversity. Just watch a few minutes of Tucker Carlson, or Sean Hannity, or Laura Ingraham, or Fox and Friends (if you can stomach it).

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

For some background on Moody, last year he penned a column praising French presidential candidate, and leader of France’s neo-Nazis, Marine Le Pen. Moody even favorably associated Le Pen with Donald Trump. He called her “France’s Trump” and “the candidate closest to Trump in ideology.” And make no mistake, he considered that a compliment to both. So it’s impossible to separate him from the disgusting hate speech that he disgorged in his latest column. Even if Fox News deletes it. Moody is unalterably the personification of the network’s views and values, no matter how badly they might want to distance themselves from this.

Mr. Trump, Can We Put An End to the ‘Rights Come From Our Creator’ Nonsense?

Posted by on February 8, 2018 at 6:37 pm. 2 Comments :

Donald Trump made an appearance at the annual National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday to deliver a typically wooden, TelePrompted speech (video below). Most notable from a style perspective was his awkward, overly coached pauses for applause after nearly every sentence. But just his presence is peculiar. As a thrice-married, confessed sexual abuser, who doesn’t think he needs to ask God for forgiveness, he becomes emblematic of this evangelical organization’s hypocrisy.

Donald Trump Messiah

The President’s speech was a basket of pseudo-spiritual cliches that represent the whole of what he has learned about religion. But if he can’t read a ten page document from the Intelligence Committee, he surely has never read through the bible. So he mechanically recites platitudes about “the Lord’s grace,” about faith being “central to American life,” and about how “blessed we are to be Americans” then he unloads one of the oldest tropes about what our Founding Fathers intended for this nation at its birth:

“Our founders invoked our Creator four times in the Declaration of Independence. Our currency declares ‘IN GOD WE TRUST.’ And we place our hands on our hearts as we recite the Pledge of Allegiance and proclaim that we are ‘One Nation Under God.'”

Whoever wrote this tripe for Trump was as ill-informed as he is about both religion and history. First of all, the Founders very deliberately referenced a “Creator” to avoid any appearance of favoritism. That’s something our Muslim-banning president couldn’t care less about. Secondly, the references to God on currency and in the pledge of allegiance are relatively recent additions that have little significance in our nation’s traditions.

However, the most annoying rhetorical rubbish in this simpleton sermonette is the hoary affirmation that “our rights are granted to us by God.” Sure. And storks bring babies, and fairies shell out cash for used teeth. These childish notions can only be believed by the sort of incurious and dependent minds that populate cults. Which explains why Trump’s followers applauded this line so enthusiastically.

If our rights were actually granted by God, there would be no use for the Constitution at all. Why bother to write down protections for free speech or privacy or speedy trials if those rights were already assured by an omnipotent power? And did God actually ordain from on high the bearing of arms by well-regulated militias? He must really be a stickler for detail.

It’s a sad testament to human progress that so many people still rely on such intellectually thin concepts. This is not an indictment of religion per se. There are plenty of deep thinkers among the faithful of all flavors. But those who fall for dimwitted drivel like this are not in that group. It is obvious to any thinking person that if we value our rights we must make certain that we grant them to ourselves and document it with specificity. Otherwise, they do actually exist, no matter what any particular God says.

Trump’s Prayer Breakfast speech was just his latest performance art, pretending to be pious before an audience of blind worshipers. And on a side note, that audience also welcomed some of Trump’s Russian pals. In fact, as CNN reported, “As many as 60 representatives from Russia” attended the affair. That’s more than three times the number who attended last year. Now why do you suppose that was?

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

State-Run TV (aka Fox News) is Frantically Covering for Trump’s Repulsive Administration

Posted by on February 8, 2018 at 12:28 pm. 2 Comments :

The biggest news of the day on Wednesday was unarguably the resignation of yet another top member of Donald Trump’s White House. Staff secretary, Rob Porter, submitted his resignation (which Trump initially declined to accept) after allegations of domestic abuse by both of his ex-wives. The White House tried to downplay the matter with hopes of weathering this storm until pictures were released documenting the injuries he inflicted.

Donald Trump Fox News

Porter held a senior position that required a top-level security clearance that he was unable to obtain. Trump kept him on with temporary clearances for more than a year. It was the police records of his abuse that held up a permanent clearance and Trump, and his top aides, had to know this. All of that makes this a significant story that touches on issues ranging from criminal spousal assault to national security to the President’s judgment (or lack thereof).

So it is interesting to note how determined Fox News has been to bury this story. While CNN, MSNBC, the national broadcast news networks, and even most local news were responsibly reporting what happened, Fox News virtually ignored it. CNN reports that:

“The Trump administration is reeling over domestic violence allegations against a top White House aide, Rob Porter. But you might not know it if you watch Fox News, where the disturbing story has been largely, and conspicuously, absent. […]

“The matter was only discussed a handful of times on-air Wednesday by Fox News reporters and anchors, according to transcript searches.”

The entirety of Fox News’ primetime lineup (Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham) kept this story a deep, dark secret from their already ignorant viewers. And Trump’s favorite TV program, Fox and Friends, didn’t mention it once in their three hours of Trump-fluffing. Even during an interview with Trump senior advisor (and alternative facts disseminator), Kellyanne Conway, the “Curvy Couch” potatoes failed to ask about the scandal.

You might wonder what Fox News was reporting while they desperately swept the Porter matter under the rug. Not surprisingly, they were digging ever deeper into fake scandals and tabloid trash. They delved into some new FBI text messages that were of no significance whatsoever. They reanimated various Hillary Clinton “scandals” that never had any life to them in the first place. For instance, the Uranium One story was brought back despite having been totally debunked by Fox’s own Shepard Smith. And they filled whatever time was left with hokey paeans to Trump and praise for his ludicrous military parade sham.

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

That’s what passes for news on Fox News. It is a network that has transformed fully into America’s version of Pravda, a state-run TV outlet that reports only happy talk about their Dear Leader and smear campaigns directed at anyone with the temerity to dissent. And this example of making an important story completely disappear really drives home how far gone they are.