Banned In Fresno: Veterans Demand Fox News Be Turned Off – Fox News Whines

A local TV station in Fresno, California did a rather trivial story about a waiting room at a Veterans Administration pharmacy. The story concerned an allegation that Fox News had been banned from the televisions at the facility. So the reporter sent one of his veteran buddies into the pharmacy to pretend to want to view Fox News. Whereupon they discovered that the channel was not accessible.

That set off a flurry of outrage over at the Fox News mothership. They aired panicky segments on this massive censorship plot on multiple programs, including America’s News Headquarters, The O’Reilly Factor, and Fox & Friends. In each case they characterized the situation as a blatant attempt to silence Fox News due to their reporting on the scandalous backlogs and corrupt management at some V.A. hospitals. The only thing wrong with these reports was – well – everything.

Fox News

First of all, there was no attempt to censor Fox News. A spokesperson for the facility made it clear that that the channel was removed because of patient concerns. At least some of the patients explicitly objected to Fox News and the resultant controversy created an uncomfortable environment.

“It was just a misunderstanding. We’ve had a lot of veterans with diverse personalities. A lot of veterans complaining about one news station or the other, so the intent was really to be fair and equitable and take all stations off. […] We’ve had several incidents of veterans actually arguing, fighting over the different news stations. Some wanted to watch news, some did not. Others wanted to watch specific stations.”

In addition, while Fox News did air reports on the V.A. scandal, so did every other news network. Fox had no more coverage of the affair than their cable news peers. Although they certainly had more spittle-inflected animosity directed at President Obama than some of the others. However, It was CNN that originally broke the story, so if there was an intent to censor the source of bad news about their operations, the pharmacy would more likely have banned CNN. Here is how Politico reported the evolution of the story:

“The slow-burn story at the Phoenix VA went from a largely ignored congressional hearing and a local news report before it landed on CNN and then exploded in the national media and seized the White House.”

Particularly disturbing was the framing of this phony whining about censorship by the Fox & Friends crew, where co-host Brian Kilmeade packaged the segment as “Abandoned Brothers.” They actually employed language generally reserved for prisoners of war or fallen soldiers on the battlefield to describe people waiting to get their prescriptions filled in a downtown Fresno drug store who weren’t able to watch a gaggle of Fox News blondes in short skirts mutilate journalism.

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It’s pretty nauseating that Fox regards not being able to watch their network for a few minutes as comparable to being abandoned in wartime. Especially so soon after their repulsive coverage of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, whom they defamed as a deserter, a traitor, and a jihadist, before any hearing or even getting his version of events.

Some Fox commentators literally advocated for Bergdahl to be abandoned to his Taliban captors. So Fox hardly has the moral authority to use rhetoric about “abandoned brothers” in their programming. But you can always expect them to make themselves a part of every story with an emphasis on how victimized they are by the rest of the media. That’s the sort of behavior generally exhibited by crybabies who can’t accept not getting their way.

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17 thoughts on “Banned In Fresno: Veterans Demand Fox News Be Turned Off – Fox News Whines

  1. I was in a Costco in Maryland and the TVs on display were tuned to Faux News. It took a few minutes but I finally got someone to change the channel. The change didn’t seem to bother anybody except for one employee who seemed to hang around the TV section trying to look busy so he could watch. As I think back to that episode now, it’s seems I had found an example of a RWNJ being lazy.

    • You have no sense of boundaries at all, do you?

    • Try to pay attention. You linked to the very same article I linked to, and quoted from, above. And it says exactly what I quoted regarding the patient’s concerns.

  2. I’ve often wondered if there was more to the connection between FOX noose being available in waiting rooms, lobbies, laundry mats, and geriatric storage facilities. Additionally, in places like Iraq and Afghanistan where troops are in chow halls and recreation facilities, (furnished by Halliburton and Co.) the troops are provided the “news” from FOX. I particularly remember a buddy of mine who while during a tour with the Navy CB’s in Iraq said that it was bad enough that FOX was blaring constantly but when Glen Beck would come, all pandemonium would break loose with soldiers and sailors throwing cans and cups at the tee vee.

    • That’s priceless! Maybe instead of physically torturing our enemies we should just have Fox News blaring at them 24/7.

      • Yes, and they can feast their eyes on Brian Kilmeade, who always manages to look like a retarded child.

        • Wow, how insensitive was that comment making fun of those who are learning disabled? Slap yourself!!!

  3. How droll. Nobody with an independent ability to think would ever allow Faux Nooze on in their presence. If Rupert Murdoch had a soul he would go on the air on every station, apologize for creating News Corps and hang himself in public. Fortunately for him, he has no soul.

  4. I, along with some of my fellow Vet’s had the Fox station changed numerous times while waiting for our appointments at the local VA hospital. Listening to the imbeciles on that station, many who have never served their country, raised our blood pressure to dangerous levels, especially when they interviewed their idol who they claimed to be an American patriot, draft-dodger Ted Nugent. Fox, Veteran’s spit on your vile and commie leaning views. Pathetic jerks!!

    • Pete A, thank you for your past service! It’s comforting to know that Veterans realize what a sorry excuse for a news provider Fox is. To hear the imbeciles at Fox talk about it they have full support of every patriot in the country. Hmmm, maybe they don’t consider Veterans to be patriots. By the way, my opinion of Ted Nugent matches yours!

  5. I find it very disturbing that where ever I go and there is a television set it is ALWAYS on FUX so called NEWS! Hospitals, restaurants. etc… you should see the onslaught in Washington DC! You literally cannot escape it. I have yet to find a TV that I can find MSNBC on. hmmmmm?

  6. I love to see Faux News panic when they get caught in a lie. These cockroaches will never tell it like it really is. That whole network staff and reporters are ran by Communist. They make these lies up and then call it “news.” I challenge their reporting skills. And a question I want to know, and I assure you everybody else wants to know, HOW is it possible that they get all these “top secret documents?”

  7. The only thing worst than watching Faux noose is listening to Rush. A friend gave me a ride one day and Rush was on . It literally made me so sick, he had to stop his car so I could vomit ( true story ). Faux Noose needs one of those disclaimers that you see on prescription meds warning of the side effects because to much of it is bad for your health and can drive you insane.

  8. It amazing how they don’t seem to care about the freedom of speech from musicians, but when their lying freedom is in danger, then they loose their freaking minds!

  9. Fox, on a daily basis, is the equivalent of yelling fire in a crowded theater. Knowing what would happen to anybody who did that its hard to understand why they are tolerated. Would Lord Haw Haw have been allowed to broadcast from London? Axis Sally live from New York? After all, we are still at war and these folks have poisoned the minds, the morale of a large part of the population.

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