WATCH: Assaulting a CNN Reporter is Hilarious to Tucker Carlson of Fox News

Posted by on August 3, 2017 at 2:49 pm. 3 Comments :

On Wednesday the White House press briefing briefly turned into rhetorical warfare. Donald Trump’s senior advisor, Stephen Miller, went ballistic on CNN reporter Jim Acosta. The issue was Trump’s latest xenophobic position on immigration reform. Acosta, the son of Cuban immigrants, asked if Trump’s policy amounted to “trying to engineer the racial and ethnic flow of people into this country.” Miller appeared to take the question personally. He lashed out at Acosta, calling him “outrageous, insulting, ignorant and foolish.”

Fox News Tucker Carlson

Miller’s juvenile response typifies the emotional immaturity of the Trump administration. We should probably be grateful that Miller didn’t hurl profanities or feces. But the worst reaction to this exchange came from Fox News on the program hosted by proud Trump Fluffer, Tucker Carlson. Carlson’s guest was right-wing crackpot Mark Steyn, who unleashed a tirade of vitriol and bile (video below). He said that:

“One of the reasons we need immigrants to come here and do the jobs Americans won’t do is because one of the jobs Americans won’t do is drag Jim Acosta out of there, kick him to the sidewalk, and say ‘If you wanna do the Jim Acosta Show there’s a rusting boxcar round the back of the freight yards with three semi-comatose hobos who are interested in it. But nobody else here is.'”

So Steyn ignored everything that Acosta said and dismissed all of the substance of the debate. However, he did propose physically assaulting Acosta and denying him the free press rights guaranteed in the Constitution. The notion of violently attacking a journalist struck Carlson as hilarious. He repeatedly laughed at the thought of a beaten reporter being kicked out of a press briefing. This is what tickles the pro-Trump media during an era in which even the President has encouraged violence against reporters. Trump famously denigrated the media as “the enemy of the American people.”

Steyn went on to adopt a view of the Statue of Liberty that has been a staple of white supremacists for years. He said that:

“The French gave the Americans a pretty great Statue of Liberty. And then the Americans hammered a lousy poem by Emma Lazerus onto it and turned a pretty great Statue of Liberty into a Statue of Immigration. I regret that.”

Steyn is joining the Hate America First crowd by insulting the contributions of a poet whose “lousy” work was used to finance the pedestal of the Statue. But he is also echoing the White House. Miller made a similarly belittling comment at the press briefing, saying that:

“The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of liberty and light in the world. It’s a symbol of American liberty lighting the world. The poem that you’re referring to that was added later is not actually part of the original Statue of Liberty.”

And both of those comments reflect the abhorrent views of avowed white supremacist Richard Spencer:

For the record, the poem “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus made a simple plea of compassion and acceptance:

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

Notice that there is nothing in there about skilled labor, education, preferred language, or personal wealth. It is plainly reaching a hand out to people in need. It’s a standard based on the necessity of the immigrant rather than the greed of the host nation. Unfortunately, the only standard recognized by Fox News and Tucker Carlson is personal self-interest and unfettered political power. And if that means committing assaults against journalists with whom you disagree, well that’s just hysterical, isn’t it?

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEQFedkb1Lc

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MIC.COM: The 5 Most Damning Quotes from Trump’s Calls to Mexico and Australia

Posted by on August 3, 2017 at 11:23 am. 2 Comments :

The Washington Post has published some astonishing telephone transcripts from Donald Trump’s first week as President. They document conversations he had with the leaders of Mexico and Australia. Some of his remarks affirm his incompetence and how utterly unprepared he was to become president. Others just show him to be dishonest and vain.

Donald Trump Vladimir Putin

Mic.com scoured the transcripts and came up with what they regard as “5 of the most damning quotes from Trump’s conversations with the leaders of Mexico, Australia.” I must say I agree with thier assessment. So here is what they selected with some of their analysis. Be sure to read the whole article. It’s totally worth it.

  1. “You cannot say anymore that the United States is going to pay for the wall.”
    Trump effectively acknowledged in his call with Peña Nieto that he knew Mexico wasn’t going to pay for the border wall he promised on the campaign trail. But he begged Peña Nieto to stop saying that publicly.
  2. “I won New Hampshire because New Hampshire is a drug-infested den.”
    During a conversation about drugs coming across the border into the U.S., Trump took a swipe at New Hampshire.
  3. “I am the world’s greatest person that does not want to let people into the country.”
    [Australia’s] Turnbull was trying to ensure that Trump would uphold a deal to accept 1,250 refugees from Australia — assuming they passed U.S. vetting standards. And Trump was furious.
  4. “Are they going to become the Boston bomber in five years?”
    Trump went on to ask for assurances that the refugees would not become the Boston bombers, to which Turnbull reminded Trump that the two men who bombed the Boston Marathon were from Russia.
  5. “Putin was a pleasant call.”
    Trump spat at Turnbull: “I have had it. I have been making these calls all day and this is the most unpleasant call all day. Putin was a pleasant call. This is ridiculous.”

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

From day one Trump was embarrassing America and alienating our allies. And as that last quote shows, he was openly favoring Vladimir Putin, a staunchly hostile leader who had just engaged in criminal interference with our presidential election. It’s hard to characterize Trump’s behavior as anything short of treasonous. That’s been affirmed more recently by the discovery of his participation in the cover up of his son’s meetings with Russian operatives. And these transcripts further illustrate just how damaging his ignorance and ego are to the interests of the country.


Trump Signs Bill Sanctioning Russia for Election Tampering that he Believes is a Hoax

Posted by on August 2, 2017 at 12:14 pm. 2 Comments :

For several months Donald Trump has been dismissing reports that Russia interfered with the 2016 presidential campaign. He has had a variety of counter explanations for the documented cyberattacks. On some occasions he alleged that they were the work of China. On others he imagined that “somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds” had concocted the whole scheme.

Trump/Putin

The only party that he never exclusively held responsible was the one that was indisputably guilty: Russia. Every relevant intelligence agency concluded that Russia was behind the attacks and that they were certain to strike again. Former heads of the CIA, FBI, NSA, etc., unequivocally fingered Russia as the only culprit. And yet Trump ignored the analysis of the intelligence professionals in favor of his pals at Fox and Friends. He labeled the entire episode a hoax contrived by Democrats who were bitter at having lost.

On Wednesday morning, however, Trump signed a bill to impose sanctions on Russia for their involvement in the election tampering. The bill covers several matters on foreign policy that Congress acted on due to Trump’s opposition and/or neglect. According to NBC News:

“The bill sanctions Russia — citing its cyberhacking as well as aggression in Ukraine and Syria — while also slapping new sanctions on North Korea and Iran. But the legislation also makes it harder for the president to lift these sanctions unilaterally, requiring permission from Congress before waiving them.”

In effect, Trump’s signature puts into law that he is a liar. It directly contradicts his stubborn refusal to accept reality about the nature of Russia’s offenses. What’s more, the bill overtly prohibits him from altering the terms of the sanctions. Congress was so worried that Trump would ignore their legislation that they legally tied his hands. It was a smart move on their part given Trump’s creepy affinity for Vladimir Putin and aversion to criticizing him.

The bill passed in the Senate by an overwhelming vote of 98-2. Similarly, in the house it passed 419-3. Consequently, Trump knew that there was a veto-proof majority in Congress that would have made the bill law whatever his response. If he vetoed, or declined to sign, the bill it would have become law anyway. But he would be perceived as having aided and abetted Putin’s attack on American democracy. However, by signing it he accepts the premise that Russia did interfere with the election and deserves to be punished.

That dilemma resulted in Trump attaching a signing statement to the bill to express his objections. But that only exacerbated the hypocrisy. Seven times he asserted that the bill’s provisions were “clearly unconstitutional.” How can a president, sworn to uphold the Constitution, sign a bill that he believes violates it? That, by itself, is a breach of his oath of office. By way an explanation, Trump issued a separate statement saying that:

“Despite its problems, I am signing this bill for the sake of national unity. It represents the will of the American people to see Russia take steps to improve relations with the United States.”

First of all, his notion of national unity is not a justification for violating the Constitution. And secondly, this bill does not represent America’s desire to improve relations with Russia. It represents the desire to penalize them for criminal activity. Trump must think that incarcerating Charles Manson was an attempt to get along with him better. It’s that sort of illogic that infects so much of Trump’s thinking. Including this closing thought in his statement:

“I built a truly great company worth many billions of dollars. That is a big part of the reason I was elected. As President, I can make far better deals with foreign countries than Congress.”

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

In fact, he built a company that suffered multiple bankruptcies, and whose value is unknowable because he refuses to release his tax returns. Trump’s prowess (or lack thereof) at deal making has been apparent in the first six months of his presidency that has produced zero achievements. And as for the reason he was elected, many people say it is was actually due to Russia’s interference. So there’s that.


Death Spiral: Trump’s Favorite Poll Shows His Approval Rating at an All-Time Low

Posted by on August 1, 2017 at 11:37 am. 2 Comments :

Donald Trump must be finding it harder than usual to maintain his delusional rosy mental state. Despite a rash of crushing scandals, he tweeted recently that it’s “A great day at the White House!” and that there is “No WH chaos!” That was after his new (and now fired) communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, unleashed a profane rant against his White House colleagues. And his Chief of Staff, Reince Priebus, got the boot. Also, his attempt to kill healthcare went down in flames. He misfired with an illegal proposal to discriminate against transgender soldiers. And the Boy Scouts felt compelled to issue a public apology after Trump’s politicized rant at their Jamboree. What a great day.

Donald Trump Rasmussen

Now Rasmussen Reports has updated their daily tracking poll of Trump’s approval rating. It shows Trump having sunk to an all-time low of 39 percent. Bear in mind that that Rasmussen is a stridently right-wing survey outfit that generally has more positive results for Trump than any other pollster. Trump himself has lauded them for their accuracy. In June the President tweeted proudly that:

First of all, that wasn’t higher than Obama’s numbers. But Trump’s lying isn’t exactly news anymore. Don’t hold your breath waiting for Trump’s tweet about these new numbers. He is notorious for ignoring any information that is less than gratingly adoring. But with so little material that he will find flattering, he has to resort to making up criticisms that no one has offered. That explains the substance of his new tweet about his use of social media:

The embattled President doesn’t supply any evidence of these “enemies” clamoring for him to cease tweeting. To the contrary, it is supporters who are constantly shocked and and embarrassed by his Twitter tantrums. They frequently advise him to quit and they stutter while trying to defend his latest irrational outburst. His opponents couldn’t be happier about his tweet-storming. It presents his erratically unhinged temperament to the public better than they could with standard criticisms.

Some cable news pundits are mistakenly suggesting that the hiring of Gen. John Kelly as White House chief of staff marks a new beginning for Trump. But how many times have they reported that he was finally pivoting to a more presidential posture? It’s not going to happen, and Kelly isn’t going to help. Trump is a seventy-one year old narcissist who lacks any measure of self-awareness. Not only is he unable to change, he is unwilling.

Consequently, we can expect his tweets and ludicrous off-hand comments at speeches to continue. As for his approval ratings, he is already the least popular president in modern history so he has nothing to prove on that scale. But he is likely to achieve ever new lows that put the record out of reach for any aspiring dumbfucks that succeed him. He may want watch this video for helpful tips as he sinks lower into the muck.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXk_oSMYTBE


Unfit for Command: Presidential Historian’s Horrifying Warning About Donald Trump

Posted by on July 31, 2017 at 2:16 pm. 1 Comments :

Last week may have been the worst one so far for Donald Trump’s floundering presidency. His new communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, unleashed a profane rant against his White House colleagues. His Chief of Staff, Reince Priebus, got the boot. The attempt to kill healthcare went down in flames as a Republican controlled Senate couldn’t pass three different versions. He misfired with an illegal proposal to discriminate against transgender soldiers. And the Boy Scouts felt compelled to issue a public apology after Trump’s politicized rant at their Jamboree. These failures cap a six month span of domestic dysfunction and international embarrassment.

Douglas Brinkley CNN

[LATE BREAKING:] Scaramucci has been fired. Sources say that the new White House Chief of Staff, John Kelly, wanted to select his own team. Translation: Get that vulgar piece af crap out of my White House.

Not surprisingly, Trump is living in a bubble of narcissistic grandiosity. He is convinced that everything is going tremendously and that he is the bestest president ever. He tweeted Monday morning:

Of course, the performance of the stock market, the economy, and employment, has to be credited to the Obama administration. All of those metrics were ascending throughout his term and were the result of his policies. There has not been a single Trump initiative implemented that would impact any of them. Nothing on taxes, trade, jobs, and no budget has been passed in Congress. Trump is running on Obama’s fumes.

What’s more, if wages are “raising” (sic), it’s only because Democrats increased the minimum wage despite the opposition of Republicans. And if the border is secure, then we don’t need that damn wall anymore, right? As for the Supreme Court, the Senate couldn’t get Justice Gorsuch through without blowing up the rules to allow a 51-vote confirmation. Considering all of the above, Trump’s assertion that there is “No WH chaos” is absurd in the extreme.

Sunday on CNN’s Reliable Sources, presidential historian Douglas Brinkley was asked about the state of the Trump administration. Host Brian Stelter noted that observers from across the political spectrum were stunned. They’ve been using words like “crisis” and “chaos” to describe the current White House. Brinkley responded with his view that “It’s in utter disarray,” and that “Donald Trump [is] unfit for command.” Then he spelled out in detail where it has all gone so horribly wrong (video below):

“I think when you have a White House communications director that uses the kind of foul language that he does against fellow employees of the federal government, and makes threats the way that he did, and that’s supposed to be your solution to the United States’ way they are going to communicate to the world? It means Donald Trump picked the wrong person to be his communications director.

“He has a White House that’s leaking like crazy. As just mentioned, there are people ready to whistle-blow. He thinks that you can govern by chaos and it’s not working. It is true he has that 36 percent of the American public backing him, but that means over 60 percent of Americans think that he is doing a miserable job. And the rest of the world is laughing.

“We have a crisis in North Korea and we’re playing these reality TV, big time wrestling games because Donald Trump was weaned and raised on television. And it’s become like a TV episodic president where every day you’ve got to say something sensational to make sure that your name is in the headlines.

“We had a problem with Nixon. If there is any president this is like, it’s Nixon. You listen to the Nixon Watergate tapes – the secret tapes – and you hear Nixon ramble and it sounds like Donald Trump’s tweets. And it didn’t turn out well for Nixon.”

It’s hard to add anything that. Except for what Brinkley himself added:

“The key to Donald Trump is just this kind of blind fierce loyalty, and that’s what Franco expected in Spain. It’s what Mussolini wanted in Italy. These are kind of ways in which you’re asking people to march in lock-step with you.”

In other words, Donald Trump is a wannabe dictator. He has demonstrated that he has never had the intelligence, experience, or character to be a legitimate president. He is a joke who parlayed his role as a TV game show host to the White House on the strength of his celebrity and ability to lie. But now the consequences of making such an incompetent, unethical fraud the head of state are becoming painfully clear. Hopefully he won’t be in charge of anything for much longer.

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


Unprecedented Chaos in the Trump White House: 6 Key Posts Turnover in Only 6 Months

Posted by on July 30, 2017 at 11:40 am. 4 Comments :

The first term of Donald Trump’s administration is only six months old, But it’s such an unmitigated disaster that it’s effectively already over. Many of the top positions in the White House have failed spectacularly. Trump’s campaign assertion that he “has the best people” begs the question: best at what? Obviously they aren’t the best at governing or performing the jobs for which they were hired.

Donald Trump

In only six months Trump has already replaced several of his key staffers. And others are anxiously waiting for the ax to fall on their own precariously exposed necks. This is a historically catastrophic degree of turnover by officials tasked with essential civic duties. There is simply no way any administration can be functional with so much perilous volatility.

The departments that have seen their leaders repealed and replaced are not trivial figureheads. They are mission critical managers upon whom rest competent governance and national security. What follows are some of the posts that are already starting over after a disastrous half year of Trump’s failure of leadership.

National Security Advisor
Within a mere three weeks of his appointment, Gen. Michael Flynn was dismissed under a cloud of scandal. He was closely associated with Russian operatives during Trump’s campaign. What’s more, he failed to disclose those relationships as required by law. Trump said that he fired Flynn for lying to him and Vice-President Pence about his meetings with Russians. However, Trump denied that there was anything improper about the meetings.

Press Secretary
The most visible person in any presidential administration is the press secretary. Trump’s first choice for that post was Sean Spicer (Fibby Spice). In the few months that he managed to hold onto the job he was castigated for being overtly dishonest. His first public appearance was spent lying about the crowd estimates at Trump’s inaugural address. It was all downhill from there. Spicer often claimed not to have spoken with the President on key questions raised by reporters. And in an attempt to avoid further bad publicity, he shut down the daily press briefings or prohibited cameras. During his tenure far-right fringe outfits like Breitbart News and Alex Jones’ Infowars were granted press credentials. And all of this took place under the president who declared the media “the enemy of the American people.”

Communications Director
The first person appointed to this post was not especially noteworthy. Michael Dubke’s short tenure went almost completely unnoticed. He was replaced briefly by Sean Spicer in an acting capacity. Then Trump named Anthony Scaramucci to the post permanently. Scaramucci came screaming out of the gate with wild accusations and insults directed at Spicer and others in the administration. His profanity-laced diatribes against Trump’s Chief of Staff, Reince Priebus and Chief Strategist Stephen Bannon made headlines for the worst possible reasons. But he did represent the President in the vulgar fashion to which is accustomed.

[UPDATE:] Scaramucci has been fired. Sources say that the new White House Chief of Staff, John Kelly, wanted to select his own team. Translation: Get that vulgar piece af crap out of my White House.

Chief of Staff
And speaking of Reince Priebus, shortly after Scaramucci’s unhinged tirade, Priebus was ousted from his job. But like a good little sycophant, he praised both Trump and Scaramucci on his way out the door. Entering the Oval Office to replace Priebus was Gen. John Kelly, currently Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Trump announced Kelly’s appointment in glowing terms that highlighted the “spectacular” job Kelly did at DHS. It is, therefore, curious that Trump would take this star performer from his job protecting America, and selfishly limit his role to one of protecting just the President.

Secretary of Homeland Security
Of course, Kelly’s transfer leaves the vital post of DHS secretary vacant. It remains to be seen who Trump will offer as a replacement. Some Washington insiders have speculated that he might move Attorney General Jeff Sessions into the job. But you have to wonder why Trump would give such an important job to someone he has publicly said has disappointed him? The answer may be that Trump wants an excuse to remove Sessions as AG so that he can replace him as well. It’s no secret that Trump wants to fire special counselor Robert Mueller. Sessions can’t do that because of his recusal on matters related to that investigation.

FBI Director
Last May Trump shocked the nation by firing FBI Director James Comey. That impetuous and self-serving action set in motion many of Trump’s current problems. It’s why Sessions had to recuse himself. And it’s why there is a special counselor investigating Trump, his campaign, and his finances. In particular, Trump has exposed himself to impeachable charges of obstruction of justice. Comey’s department was investigating Trump’s unsavory connections to Russia. Trump even admitted that his reason for firing Comey was because of “this Russia thing.”

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

These high-level staff turnovers are unique for a presidency that’s only six months old. It speaks to the incompetence and erratic nature of this president. The rest of his cabinet is just as conflicted, corrupt, and unqualified as those that have been cast out. They just haven’t had their public meltdowns yet. And if anyone is surprised by the turmoil in Washington, they haven’t been paying attention. Donald Trump is the most conflicted, corrupt, and unqualified of the bunch. And his day will come as well. Hopefully before he has had a chance to do much more damage.

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FINALLY: Donald Trump Got Something Right: Republicans ‘Look Like Fools’

Posted by on July 29, 2017 at 4:04 pm. 1 Comments :

During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump thrilled his rally-goers with a typically boastful exclamation. “We’re going to win so much,” he warned, “you’re going to be so sick and tired of winning.” He nailed the “sick and tired” part, but after six months there has been almost nothing that he can claim as a victory.

Donald Trump

Most recently, his mission to repeal ObamaCare failed to pass in a Senate controlled by Republicans. Never mind that the GOP voted dozens of times to kill the popular healthcare plan when Barack Obama was president. They just couldn’t manage to do it with a fellow Republican in the White House with pen in hand.

Trump’s latest failure produced a predictable tantrum on Twitter that did nothing but affirm his affinity for whining. In a five-tweet opus, the crybaby President complained about the Senate’s voting rules and impotently demanded reform.

First of all, last week Republicans brought three separate repeal bills to the floor. They all lost with forty-nine or fewer votes. They only needed fifty-one votes to pass. So Trump’s tirade about the 60-vote rule was utterly irrelevant. There was no such rule in effect. More likely, he was just creating a distraction to take the sting off of yet another embarrassing defeat. So far he has blamed the Democrats, his press secretary, his chief of staff, and now the Republicans. Nothing is ever his fault. But wasn’t he supposed to be the brilliant dealmaker who would get everything he wanted on the strength of his magnetic personality? And . . . so much winning!

The one thing that Trump got right was his assertion that Republicans “look like fools.” And he, of course, is the titular leader of the Republican Party. The GOP’s obsession with killing a bill that polls show is favored by majorities of the public is indeed foolish. It is foolish to try so hard to replace that bill with one that has public approval in the teens. And pushing a proposal that will take insurance away from as many as 32 million people is foolhardy in the extreme.

So why is Trump suddenly ranting about arcane Senate rules that have nothing to do with last week’s vote? The answer is the same as to why Trump does almost anything: He saw it on Fox News. Saturday morning on Fox and Friends, GOP Rep. Sean Duffy was interviewed about the Senate bill’s failure. He dodged the substance of the matter to complain about his feeble senate counterparts. “We’ve passed 200 bills,” he said, “that right now sit in the Senate waiting for them to pass.” And while Duffy blamed the 60-vote rule for that logjam, the responsibility actually lies with Mitch McConnell. As Senate Majority Leader, he controls the calendar and decides what will come up for a vote and when.

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

Clearly, Trump was watching and, as he often does, tweeted what he just saw on TV. And it wasn’t just any news program. It was his favorite show, hosted by the biggest bunch of imbeciles on television. The “Curvy Couch” potatoes on Fox and Friends frequently discharge easily debunked falsehoods in the service of right-wing propaganda. And our incurious president retweets them without the slightest effort to confirm. It’s a cycle that repeats on a nearly daily basis. And it’s the best explanation for why Trump and his Republican colleagues – as Trump himself agrees – look like fools.


Fox News Calls for Trump Dictatorship and More Suffering After ObamaCare Repeal Fails

Posted by on July 28, 2017 at 3:53 pm. 1 Comments :

Late Thursday night the Republican effort to kill ObamaCare met its demise – for the time being. Despite having the majority, the GOP-run Senate couldn’t pass their last ditch scheme to repeal the Affordable Care Act. It’s a dream they’ve salivated over for seven years without doing anything about it. Now their incompetence and callous disregard for people’s well-being has been dealt a well-deserved loss. The vote was 49-51, with Republicans Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and John McCain joining all the Democrats.

Fox News Donald Trump

True to form, Fox News went into a total meltdown following the vote. They appeared on the verge of a severe depressive episode. Immediately after the vote Fox News aired the crestfallen remarks of a gloomy Sen. Mitch McConnell in full. Next to speak on the Senate floor was Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer. But Fox didn’t air any of his speech. Instead they cut to a phone-in analysis from daytime anchor Bret Baier. The woman anchoring last night interjected that “It’s a sad day for America.” Fair and balanced.

Perhaps the most repulsive reaction to the GOP’s aborted repeal came from Jesse Watters, co-host of The Five. In a post-vote rant Watters had the audacity to advocate for a Trump tyranny:

“A lot of people wish President Trump was a dictator, maybe we could repeal Obamacare. It would be a lot easier that way.”

He’s right. A lot of people do wish that Trump was a dictator. Starting with Donald Trump. Then add most of the people on Fox News, Trump’s most stalwart fans among the white supremacist community, and the dimwits who still support him after his treasonous betrayal of the country to Russia’s dictator, Vladimir Putin. Fascist minds think alike.

Watters’ reckless comments are emblematic of the dangers that an authoritarian, megalomaniac like Trump represent. The fact that he can get crackpots on Fox News to openly advocate for his elevation to dictator is frightening. But Watters wasn’t alone in making appallingly stupid comments in the hours of grief for Fox. His colleagues at Fox and Friends chimed in with idiotic outbursts of their own. Steve Doocy, always the cock-eyed optimist, found something positive to console the loser President. Doocy said the repeal failure was “good news” for Trump because “It’s gonna continue to be ObamaCare and people who have been suffering will continue.”

Well, isn’t that good news? Republicans like nothing better than seeing people suffer. Trump obviously agrees because he tweeted again his intention to “let ObamaCare implode.” That, of course, would produce unconscionable and unnecessary suffering for millions of Americans. And Trump is doing it on purpose. In fact, he is deliberately sabotaging healthcare for millions. Doocy even admitted that Trump “wants [Obamacare] to fail.” He’s rooting for pain and sickness rather than for the people he’s sworn to protect and defend.

Finally, Brian Kilmeade demonstrated the ignorance that is rampant on Fox News. While complaining about the loss in the Senate, Kilmeade sarcastically congratulated the Democrats who prevailed. In a boneheaded snark he said “Congratulations. The healthy people are paying for the sick people.” You don’t say? What Kilemeade has just done is define in very literal terms exactly what health insurance is. In fact, it’s exactly what all insurance is. But he’s casting it in a negative light as if it should be repudiated.

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

And with that Kilmeade has also demonstrated the pitiful stupidity of Fox News that infects and warps the brains of their glassy-eyed viewers. That’s why it’s so hard to have a rational debate with any of them. They are damaged beyond repair, and they cling to the defects and the lies they are fed by Fox. Fox News has led America into an era that cheers a President who says that he “loves the poorly educated.” Of course he does. No one else would believe his bull. That’s why he is destroying the Department of Education from within. And he’s lucky to have Fox News to make sure there are as many poorly educated Americans as possible.


Fox and Friends Lies About New York Times Calling Them ‘The Most Powerful TV Show in America’

Posted by on July 27, 2017 at 3:12 pm. 4 Comments :

Another morning, another flurry of dishonest reporting by Fox News and their “Curvy Couch” potatoes at Fox and Friends. While pretending to read the newspapers spread out on the coffee table, co-host Steve Doocy made a fake discovery. He held the paper so that the cameras got a good look at an advertisement on the back page. What viewers saw was a full page ad touting Fox and Friends.

Fox News Steve Doocy

The ad was obviously paid for by Fox News to promote the network and the program. It featured a quote attributed to the New York Times saying that Fox and Friends is “the most powerful TV show in America.” Doocy’s faux surprise was echoed by his co-hosts Ainsley Earhardt and Brian Kilmeade. They were pretending to be excited by the praise from an unexpected source:

Doocy: This program, the program you’re watching, according to the New York Times, is the most powerful TV show in America.
Earhardt: You know why Steve? Because we have the best viewers.

Earhardt would have been more correct if she had said “because we have the best viewer.” Because the only person in their audience that they play to is Donald Trump. That point was confirmed when that viewer proudly tweeted the same message Doocy was boasting about:

There’s just one problem. The Fox News crew horribly mangled what the New York Times was saying in their article. Calling the relationship between Fox and Friends and Trump a “Two Way Mirror,” the Times analyzed the perverse relationship between the TV program and the President. The full quote from the Times said:

“Suddenly, for no other reason than its No. 1 fan, it is the most powerful TV show in America,”

In context, the Times was criticizing both Trump and Fox for clinging to one another in a mockery of journalism. They went on to portray Fox’s posture toward Trump as a “Romper Room-style” broadcast intended to flatter our ego-obsessed, narcissistic president:

“President Trump is the show’s subject, its programmer, its publicist and its virtual fourth host. The stars offer him flattery, encouragement and advice. When he tweets, his words and image appear on a giant video wall. It’s the illusion of children’s TV — that your favorite show is as aware of you as you are of it — except that for Mr. Trump, it’s real.”

That’s an entirely different characterization than the one of pride that Doocy and company presented. And let’s not forget that Fox News paid for these ads. It’s an advertising campaign that deliberately distorts the quote they featured in the ad. And it’s further evidence of their aversion to ethics and truth. The author of the Times’ article, James Poniewozik, tweeted his own somewhat snarky thoughts about this saying that he was, “Excited to see @realDonaldTrump endorse my thesis that F&F’s weird childlike sway over him makes it hugely powerful! Thanks, POTUS!”

What’s more, why does Trump and Fox and Friends care what the New York Times has to say about them? Don’t they consider it fake news? In which case, Fox and Friends is not the most powerful TV show in America. And there is something peculiar about Fox News buying ad space in the Times. Trump has appended the word “failing” to every mention he makes of the paper. Fox News has adopted the same juvenile (and false) habit. But with this campaign they are helping the Times to be even more financially successful.

The Times’ article closed by noting that Fox and Friends has a unique mission with regard to Trump. They describe him as “the superfan in the White House who sees it as ‘Fox & Friend’ — singular.” That has been borne out by the numerous times that Trump has watched the show and, shortly after, tweeted what he saw. He has also promoted the program in dozens of tweets that amount to free publicity from the White House. The value of those tweet-vertisements has been put as high $5 million. So there is clearly a parasitical relationship between Fox News and Trump that benefits both. And we can expect that, and the lies, to continue for the foreseeable, lamentable future.

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


Trolling Trump Pays Off HUGE for Stephen Colbert: Ratings Leader and 5 Emmy Nominations

Posted by on July 26, 2017 at 11:44 am. NO Comments :

When Stephen Colbert took over for David Letterman on CBS’ “The Late Show” he got off to a surprisingly slow start. Audiences may have had trouble distinguishing the “real” Colbert from the character who hosted Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report.” Stephen may have had some trouble with that as well.

Stephen Colbert

However, a few months ago, Colbert hit his stride as he took more direct aim at politics generally, and Donald Trump in particular. The writing got sharper and funnier. Colbert was more confident and seemed to be more comfortable in his own skin. And as a reward for taking a bigger bite out of the ludicrous state of the nation, the show quickly rose to the top of the ratings hill. For the first time in years the “Tonight Show,” now starring Jimmy Fallon, was knocked from its perch.

Last week Colbert aired a special series of programs with segments taped during his recent trip to Russia. Among his adventures were an interview of a Russian oligarch and a night in the infamous “pee pee” room. He also guested on a Russian talk show where he announced that he’s considering a run for president in 2020. The obvious dig at the ongoing scandals involving the unsavory connections to Russia by Trump and his associates paid off bigly for Colbert. He scored his highest rated week since the program’s debut in 2015. According to the Hollywood Reporter:

“Stephen Colbert got a lot of love for his ‘Russia Week.’ The CBS late-night host, who documented his trip to St. Petersburg and Moscow, rolled out the segments for another big ratings win.

“For the week of July 17-21, Colbert’s The Late Show averaged nearly 2.9 million viewers before any DVR lifts. Not only is that a 14 percent jump from the same week during the prior year, but it also marks his widest margin of victory over NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon since Colbert’s CBS premiere week nearly two years ago. The Late Show outperformed Tonight by nearly half a million viewers.”

And there’s more good news for Colbert in addition to the Nielsen victory. The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences released the list of Emmy nominees for 2017 on Tuesday. The Late Show was nominated for “Best Variety Talk Series.” The program also received nominations for directing and writing, for a total of five Emmy nods for the show. And if that weren’t enough, Colbert will be hosting the Emmy Awards broadcast on Sunday, Sept. 17, on CBS.

There is an important lesson to be learned from Colbert’s success. America is bitterly disappointed with the ignorant, lying, bully occupying the White House. They are embarrassed by his infantile antics and blatant crimes. All the polls bear out this view of Trump as the most unpopular president in modern times. And his policies are as out of favor as he is.

Last May Trump made the mistake of taking a couple of swings at Colbert. He called Colbert a “no-talent guy” and said there was “nothing funny” about him. But Trump never never mentioned him again after Colbert’s devastating on-air response. That’s just one of the ways that Colbert is the beneficiary of Trump’s arrogance and fragile ego.

Colbert’s success proves that Americans are hungry for relief from the constant shame that Trump imposes on the country. And until such time as that relief comes in the form of his leaving office, they are clinging to some comic relief to get them through the day. Every rating point and award for Colbert is a vote against Trump, and you can bet it’s gnawing at him. Hopefully he will tweet about it and give Colbert some more material that’s ripe for hilarious mockery.

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