CONFIRMED: Fox News Was ‘Nakedly Colluding’ With Donald Trump

Posted by on November 11, 2016 at 4:39 pm. 4 Comments :

File this one under “Things We Already Knew.” Yes, it was painfully obvious that Fox News always had a clear preference for then-presidential hopeful Donald Trump. But until now there hasn’t been such a profoundly forthright admission of their bias.

Megyn Kelly Donald Trump

Fox News host Megyn Kelly has a new book, Settle For More, that contains some surprising revelations about her experiences at work. Among those previously excerpted in the press were her allegations of being a victim of sexual harassment. After a dozen other women revealed their harrowing encounters with the disgraced ex-CEO of Fox News, Roger Ailes, Kelly finally came forward with her own account.

In a similarly late confession, Kelly’s book also exposes a small piece of the political propaganda machine at Fox News. The New York Times received a pre-release copy from which they quoted a section about the Trump campaign. The excerpt describes Kelly’s discovery that someone at Fox was funneling debate questions to Trump:

“Then, the day before the first presidential debate, Mr. Trump was in a lather again, Ms. Kelly writes. He called Fox executives, saying he’d heard that her first question ‘was a very pointed question directed at him.’ This disconcerted her, because it was true: It was about his history of using disparaging language about women.

“She doesn’t speculate where the leak came from. (She reports. You decide.) But that’s another unambiguous takeaway from this book: Parts of Fox — or at the very least, Roger Ailes, the network’s chairman until July, when he was given the boot after several allegations of sexual harassment were made against him — seemed to be nakedly colluding with the Republican presidential nominee.”

There you have it. An eyewitness account of Fox News deliberately interfering with a candidates debate to benefit their chosen one. And the witness isn’t a wild-eyed, liberal, Fox hating, radical. It’s the fastest rising star on the network who is frequently referred to as “the future of Fox News.” So in addition to providing Trump with millions of dollars of free airtime, they were fouling supposedly neutral debate broadcasts.

On one hand, it’s admirable that Kelly includes this in her book. It casts a decidedly negative light on the heavily slanted editorial processes at Fox. On the other hand, she failed her obligations as a “journalist” by not saying anything when it occurred. The fact that a candidate was receiving tips on the questions for an upcoming debate is big news. And Kelly certainly agrees with that principle. She made a big deal about the exact same accusation when it was aimed at Democratic operative Donna Brazile.

In a stolen email released by WikiLeaks, Brazile made comments that implied that she had advance knowledge of a debate question and passed it on to the Clinton campaign. Kelly even raised this issue in an interview with Brazile wherein she asked “Can you imagine if this were a Republican had been fed a question by Fox News? You know, the different reaction we’d be seeing in the media?”

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

Yes, we do know, and we don’t have to use our imagination. The reaction on Fox News would be to cover it up until a for-profit book tour could be scheduled. So Trump got away with colluding with Fox News to help him in a debate. And Kelly got a juicy morsel of gossip with which to promote her book. It’s a win-win – for deceitful propagandists and dishonest TV hosts. And, of course, for ignorant, racist, xenophobic, misogynist, narcissistic, wannabe dictators.

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How The Obsolete Electoral College Can Save Us From ‘President’ Trump

Posted by on November 10, 2016 at 3:26 pm. 8 Comments :

Before I write a single word on the subject in the title of this article, I want to acknowledge that it is an extremely unlikely proposition. So anyone hankering to post frantic accusations of deranged liberals in denial, STFU. I know. That said, this deserves support purely from a conceptual perspective. It puts a focus on the legitimate reasons that Donald Trump’s election is an aberration of democracy. At the same time, it exposes the anachronistic nature of the Electoral College whose time was over long ago. And in the unlikely event that this notion should gain steam and become plausible, so much the better.

Trump Newspapers

The election of Donald Trump has caused a tsunami of critical analysis, most of which revolves around the shock that it occurred at all. Trump was opposed by an unusually broad array of Americans, including Republicans, national security experts, economists, and more. His utter unpreparedness for the job wasn’t sufficient to dissuade voters from choosing him over a far better qualified woman. In fact, Hillary Clinton’s experience was portrayed as a flaw. Because who wants experience in the most powerful leader in the world?

The day following the election, citizens across the country took to the streets to protest Trump’s victory. It was a spectacle unseen since the protest marches for civil rights or against the Vietnam war. Clearly there is a significant faction in the nation that is looking for a way out. And there just might be one.

There is nothing in the Constitution that binds members of the Electoral College to vote for any particular candidate. Some states have laws that impose a fine if the Elector doesn’t vote for the candidate who won the state, but those rogue votes are still counted. Consequently, Electors could still vote for Clinton when they meet on December 19, and she would then become the president-elect. And since Trump won with a bare majority of 279 Electoral College votes, only ten Electors would have to switch.

The Arguments For Electoral Vote Swapping:

Changing a vote in the Electoral College ought not to be done lightly. It should require thoughtful consideration and persuasive reasoning. Here is a summary of what might justify this radical step:

  1. THE POPULAR VOTE: Hillary Clinton received nearly a quarter of a million more votes half a million more votes than Donald Trump. The popular vote rarely diverges from the electoral vote, but this year the divergence is profound. Electors could be prevailed upon to honor the choice of the people.
  2. FRAUD AND SEX CRIMES: Trump is currently being sued for fraud with regard to his phony Trump University. Barring a postponement or settlement, the trial will be held later this month. If Trump is found to have committed fraud, it might sway some electors to rethink there obligations. There are dozens of other lawsuits pending against him. And he has promised to file suits of his own against women who have accused him of sexual assault.
  3. THE KKK KONNECTION: Trump has an unsavory relationship with the alt-right, white nationalist community. This includes the CEO of his campaign, Stephen Bannon, who is also the chairman of Breitbart News. Breitbart has become the alt-right’s home on the Internet. And racist icons like David Duke have been cheering on Trump’s candidacy. This affiliation makes it impossible for Trump to represent all Americans.
  4. THE PUTIN FILES: Trump’s ties to Russia are deeply disturbing. He owes millions of dollars to Russian financiers connected to the Kremlin. He has been linked to the Russian hacking that targeted Clinton. His policies are frighteningly aligned with those of Vladimir Putin (i.e. weakening NATO). And it was just disclosed that his campaign has been meeting with Russian officials. Need I say more?
  5. UNFIT TO SERVE: There is a general concern about Trump’s temperament that suggests his unfitness to carry out the duties of the president. He is thin-skinned and vengeful and subject to childish outbursts when he is opposed or criticized. Furthermore, he’s ignorant and shows zero interest in educating himself about the issues upon which many millions of lives rest.

These are serious arguments that could justify an Elector (or ten) voting against Trump. Taking an action like this would be an extreme measure reserved for only serious threats. But if anyone represents a clear and present danger to the United States, it’s Donald Trump. And there are many citizens who are worried about the prospect of his assuming residence in the White House. To that end they have started a petition directed to the Electoral College. It currently has over 1,000,000 2,300,000 3,500,000 signatures (and rising fast) and poignantly asks “Why not use this most undemocratic of our institutions to ensure a democratic result?”

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

That’s a good question. Feel free to sign the petition. No matter how long a shot this is, it’s still a good way for citizens to express their disgust and refusal to submit to the horror of a Trump presidency. Progressives are now the loyal resistance, and they should act like it.


You Maniacs. You Blew It Up. Damn You. Goddamn You All To Hell!

Posted by on November 9, 2016 at 10:44 am. 13 Comments :

On November 8,2016, the United States of America achieved a historic milestone. It elected as its president the first openly racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, narcissistic, wannabe dictator. A majority of the American people [UPDATE: Clinton won the popular vote] voted for an ignorant, unbalanced, pathological liar (see the Trump Bullshitopedia) who made childish insults and hate speech the centerpiece of his campaign. Donald Trump will now prepare to take up residence in the White House and proceed to make America an international embarrassment.

Planet of the Trump

To get there he defeated Hillary Clinton, perhaps the most experienced candidate to ever run for the office. She herself would have been a historic milestone as the first woman president. Apparently it didn’t matter that Americans regarded Trump as dishonest and temperamentally unfit to be president. They still favored him over a qualified woman, proving that male privilege continues to dominant the national culture.

So for its poor judgment, America can now look forward to the Trump agenda that consists of an array of idiotic and/or unachievable promises:

  • A wall along the southern border. Mexico pays.
  • ISIS defeated quickly and easily.
  • A dozen women getting sued by the President for reporting sexual assault.
  • ObamaCare repealed and replaced.
  • Eleven million undocumented immigrants rounded up by deportation force.
  • Outlaw abortion and punish women.
  • Guns everywhere.
  • Muslims prohibited from entering the U.S.
  • Hillary Clinton? Lock her up!
  • Threaten the media with loosened libel laws and lawsuits.
  • Cut taxes on corporations and the wealthy.
  • End all crime in the cities.
  • Disband NATO.
  • Cease all efforts to mitigate climate change.
  • Appoint more conservatives to the Supreme Court.
  • Shadow president Vladimir Putin.

Speaking of Putin, we have him to thank for our president-elect. Along with his accomplices Julian Assange and FBI director James Comey, there was a successful coup against the United States. Clinton’s defeat can be directly tied to Russia’s interference in our election. By stealing private documents, publishing them online, and fomenting fake allegations of criminality, this cabal swayed enough voters to surrender our national sovereignty to hostile foreign powers. Congratulations.

There will be many eulogies delivered today, along with some attempts to rekindle a strained fighting spirit. But there remains an unshakable reality that much of the progress we achieved over the last eight years (eighty years?) is destined for a ruinous reversal. Under the circumstances it’s hard to hold our heads up. At least for today. But this day will pass and the duty we have to our children, our planet, our future, must be honored. So grieve, rest, and then rise up with a roar. There isn’t any other alternative.

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

Putin Voted


Hillary Clinton Gets The Most Bizarre Endorsement Ever From A Fox News Douchebag

Posted by on November 8, 2016 at 9:15 am. 3 Comments :

And now, as the 2016 presidential campaign consumes its final hours, the evidence of its historic peculiarity becomes unmistakable. Fox News has spent the past year and half trying to package Donald Trump as a reasonable choice to lead the free world. At the same time they have been blistering Hillary Clinton with vicious attacks, many made up out of thin air. But nothing could have prepared us for the segment Monday on Stuart Varney’s Fox Business program.

Fox News Ralph Peters

Varney hosted Lt. Col. Ralph Peters, one of the most wild-eyed, vitriolic members of the Fox Contributor Corps. Peters is notable for his unhinged tirades against America’s bitterest enemy, Barack Hussein Obama. One especially deranged Obama rant (also on Varney’s show) saw Peters become hopelessly overcome with loathing. In mid harangue he blurted out that “This guy is such a total pussy it’s stunning.” That earned him a mild rebuke from the host and a two week suspension.

However, on Monday Peters made a shocking announcement with regard to the presidential election (video below). Despite his radically right-wing views, Peters affirmed that he will be voting for Hillary Clinton for President of the United States. Of America! But his endorsement was somewhat, let’s say unconventional:

“I think Hillary Clinton is despicable. She has committed criminal acts. And she’s greedy. She’s corrupt. And yes, I’m going to vote for her. I’m voting for Republicans down the ballot, but I’m voting for Hillary Clinton because it’s a vote against Donald Trump.”

OK, so it’s more of an anti-endorsement of Donald Trump than an endorsement of Clinton. But his explanation of what he finds so objectionable about Trump is worth noting:

“I don’t want Moscow’s man in the White House. I know I could be a lot more popular this morning if I said ‘Trump’s the Messiah, I’m gonna vote for him.’ This is about the future of our country, it is about our security. And here’s a guy who apologizes for everything Vladimir Putin does and makes crazy remarks about NATO, about Syria, about nukes, about the Mosul offensive. And, oh by the way, about foreign trade. Do you want a global recession? Do you want to see your portfolio really tank? Sure, just walk away from all our trade deals.”

Peters’ sacrilege clearly bothered Varney, who made a valiant effort to bring him back into the Fox fold. Varney tried to explain his reasons for being a Trump supporter. Let’s just set aside the impropriety of an alleged “news” anchor announcing that he’s a supporter of a political candidate. His reasons rest on his desire for an economic growth plan that will spur prosperity. So he ought to be supporting Clinton, whose continuation of Obama’s expanding economy, and record eighty consecutive months of job growth, is what he professes to want. Peters responded accordingly by asking with regard to Trump:

“Where is the plan? Show me the plan. Of course we want growth. He is lying to the American people. He is lying to blue collar workers and that is the background I come from. The village blacksmith shop is not coming back. People need skills for the jobs of the future and this cult of Trump is going to lead a lot of places.

“Look, Hillary Clinton’s domestic policies repel me. She is awful, but she is safer for this country’s security than Donald Trump. And I think Vladimir Putin has a deep hold on Trump and we should all be much more alarmed than we are.”

To reiterate, Peters is the guy who thinks Obama is a pussy. But he’s supporting Clinton because she’ll keep us safe and Trump is Putin’s puppet. If it weren’t on video it would be easy to dismiss as a prank or a lost SNL sketch. As it is, it may be the best Clinton endorsement we’re gonna get from a Fox News pundit. And it seems fitting to end the campaign season with an arch-conservative blowhard throwing Trump under the bus and backing up a couple of times to make sure he’s thoroughly flattened.

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


Glenn Beck Confesses ‘So Much Of What I Used To Believe Was A SHAM’

Posted by on November 7, 2016 at 6:01 pm. 3 Comments :

There have been too many bizarre events in the past year to keep track of. This election is going to provide material for a whole library worth of books and analyses. And one of the subsections of the collection is going to have to cover the metamorphosis of Glenn Beck.

Glenn Beck

When the campaign season began Beck was reluctant to choose a candidate. It was an embarrassment of riches with several of Beck’s favorite wingnuts in the running. However, as the roster whittled down he eventually decided that Ted Cruz was God’s choice for president and Beck took up the Lord’s cause.

Unfortunately for God, Cruz was bested by a reality TV game show host. Donald Trump tagged him as Lying’ Ted and cast him into the Lake of Fire. Throughout it all, Beck remained firmly opposed to Trump. At every opportunity he blasted The Donald as unbalanced and unfit. It was jarring to see Beck taking a position that was in alignment with many progressives, at least so far as NeverTrump was concerned. But he still wasn’t on board with Hillary Clinton.

Nicholas Schmidle of New Yorker magazine has noticed Beck’s descent into Bizzaro World as well. He writes that Beck was recently impressed with a speech by Michelle Obama. You know, the wife of the guy that Beck once said had “a deep seated hatred for white people.” On his radio radio show Beck described the First Lady’s speech as “The most effective political speech I have heard since Ronald Reagan.”

Continuing, Beck said that “If you’re a decent human being, those words were dead on.” Although you would still have to wonder what Beck knows about being a decent human being. He has spent most of the last decade condemning liberals to hell and prophesying the end of civilization. But according to Scmidle:

“That was the old Beck, he insists: ‘I did a lot of freaking out about Barack Obama.’ But, he said, ‘Obama made me a better man.’ He regrets calling the President a racist and counts himself a Black Lives Matter supporter. ‘There are things unique to the African-American experience that I cannot relate to,’ he said. ‘I had to listen to them.'”

Of course, Beck has had revelatory transformations before. There is no more reason to believe that this one is any more sincere than the others. It’s often just a scam to attract more media attention. But it is kinda fun. Especially when when he goes after Trump saying that “This guy is dangerously unhinged. And, for all the things people have said about me over the years, I should be able to spot Dangerously Unhinged.” That’s actually pretty funny, and suggests some measure of self-awareness. As does this:

“So much of what I used to believe was either always a sham or has been made into a sham. There’s nothing deep.”

That may be the truest thing that Beck ever said. He is tacitly admitting the fallacy of his whole career as a demagogic broadcaster. Although he isn’t quite admitting that he was responsible for creating the sham.

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

Time will tell if this incarnation of Beck lasts for more than a couple of ratings periods. But it’s gonna be interesting to watch how his fans react to this transformation. We may already have a hint of it as Beck worries about recent death threats he’s received from Trump supporters. He’s now saying about some of the folks who used to follow him like a prophet that “These people scare the hell out of me.” Me too, Glenn. Me too.


Military Donors Shoot Down Trump – Give Three Times As Much To Clinton

Posted by on November 7, 2016 at 2:33 pm. 4 Comments :

Voting blocs in the 2016 presidential campaign are often fairly easy to predict. Women, African-Americans, Latinos, and the college educated have been reliably trending toward Hillary Clinton. In the meantime, Donald Trump has sewn up the Second Amendment fetishists, evangelicals, white nationalists, and wall enthusiasts.

Donald Trump Military

One group that has been speculated on frequently as leaning Trump is members of the military, both active and retired. However, a new report knocks down that assumption, at least as far as campaign donations are concerned. OpenSecrets conducted a study of public records showing that:

“Individuals who listed their employers as the U.S. Department of Defense or major branches of the military, or who say they’re retired from one of those, have contributed a total of $972,709 to both nominees so far this year. Clinton has claimed $771,471 of the contributions, or nearly 80 percent.

“All major branches of the armed forces – including the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard – have favored Clinton to a much greater degree than GOP nominee Donald Trump.”

The numbers are especially bad for Trump among veterans, a group that he has focused on intensely from the start. The report notes that he received only two percent of the total donations from former military personnel.

These numbers might be surprising on first glance, but a deeper look into the candidates’ records yields some clarity. Perhaps military folk aren’t swayed by a mentally unbalanced candidate who only likes soldiers who weren’t captured (sorry John McCain). Maybe they are offended when they get ripped off by a phony charity event. It could be that they just know, better than most, the risks of having an inexperienced leader who seems to be excited by nuclear war. Then again, it might be they don’t appreciate calling vets with PTSD “weak.” And it surely doesn’t help if you malign the Gold Star family of a fallen hero just because they’re Muslim. All of that, in addition to having received five draft deferments, doesn’t paint a particularly positive picture of Trump as Commander-in-Chief.

On the other hand, Hillary Clinton has shown her ability to conduct diplomacy in a manner that can prevent unnecessary conflict. She’s a steady hand who has also shown her grit by helping to dispose of Osama Bin Laden. She may have voted to give George W. Bush authority to invade Iraq, but she also had the integrity to admit that she was unduly persuaded by the lies of the Bush administration and that her vote was a mistake. That’s a rare commodity in a politician.

A few days ago Trump compared himself to a group of decorated veterans he assembled for a photo op. He said that they were more brave than he is, but that he is “brave in other ways. I’m financially brave.” That’s only true, however, if you regard financial bravery as being responsible for repeated business failures. Then he sought to speak for the vets, suggesting that he could read their minds. Of course, his reading was entirely contemptuous of Clinton:

“To think of her being their boss, I don’t think so. I know what they are thinking. It’s not for them.”

Trump emphasized the word “her” in that comment. Because in his mind the military would object to a woman as Commander-in-Chief. Which makes this new report so valuable. Despite every attempt on his part to pander to soldiers and veterans, when it comes to putting up cold hard cash, Clinton is their clear preference. And that demonstrates the good judgment of our women and men in uniform.

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

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Trump To Campaign With Vulgar, Racist, Sexual Deviant Ted Nugent

Posted by on November 6, 2016 at 3:00 pm. 2 Comments :

On Saturday, Donald Trump devoted much of his stump speech to attacking Hillary Clinton for appearing with several music superstars. Her campaign event in Cleveland featured Beyonce and Jay Z. She also recently appeared with Jennifer Lopez, Katy Parry, and Stevie Wonder. And Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen are coming up.

Donald Trump Ted Nugent

Trump’s criticisms amounted to another rash of whining and bragging. Since he can’t get any beloved icons of entertainment to support him, he complains that it’s “cheating” if Clinton does. And anyway, he doesn’t need them because he’s just that awesome. On his scarcity of star power, Trump bragged:

“We didn’t bring any so-called stars along. We didn’t need them. The reason Hillary has to do that is, nobody comes for her. She can’t fill a room. That’s almost like a form of cheating, right?”

And on the injury to his tender sensitivities, he whined:

“So he [Jay Z] used every word in the book. I won’t even use the initials because I’ll get in trouble. They’ll get me in trouble. He used every word in the book last night.”

Which makes it all the more blatantly hypocritically that Trump will be campaigning with 1970’s washout rocker, Ted Nugent, Sunday night. If he doesn’t want celebrities boosting his campaign he’s still in the clear. Nugent is hardly a celebrity. He’s spent the last few decades performing as a novelty act at state fairs and shilling for the NRA. But it still demonstrates Trump’s tunnel-blind view of the world as he seeks to exploit his own famous deplorables.

What’s worse is Trump’s forgiveness of Nugent’s repulsive commentaries for the past several years. Trump may not like Jay Z using language that is relatable to his hip-hop audience, but it doesn’t come close to Nugent’s offensive outbursts aimed at his political enemies. For instance:

  • Nugent said that “Jews for guncontrol are nazis in disguise?”
  • He ranted that Clinton “should be tried for treason & hung.”
  • In a tweet portraying Clinton being assassinated, Nugent wrote: “I got your guncontrol right here bitch!”
  • He called President Obama a “subhuman mongrel.”
  • Referring to Clinton in an interview, Nugent said “”You probably can’t use the term `toxic cunt’ in your magazine, but that’s what she is. [and] This bitch is nothing but a two-bit whore for Fidel Castro.”
  • And just a week ago he exhorted his fans to vote for Trump or “the devilbitch will continue the fundamental transformation of the Barack ‘I Hate America’ Obama suicide death march for America.”

Perhaps the most appalling of Nugent’s public meltdowns was a video that went viral a few years ago. It showed him utterly unhinged at a concert where he fantasized about killing several Democratic politicians. While brandishing what appeared to be a couple of automatic weapons, Trump bellowed:

“I was in Chicago and I said ‘Hey Obama, you might want to suck on one of these you punk.’ Obama, he’s a piece of shit, and I told him to suck on my machine gun. Then I was in New York and I said, ‘Hey Hillary you might want to ride one of these into the sunset you worthless bitch.’ Then I was out in California and I thought, Barbara Boxer, she might want to suck on my machine gun. Hey Dianne Feinstein, ride one of these you worthless whore.”

That’s the sort of moral support that Trump is embracing just one day after castigating Clinton’s celebrity supporters. And it isn’t coincidental that most of his targets are women. Nor is it surprising that Trump has such affinity for Nugent. They both engage in childish vulgarity. They are both consumed with hatred for their fellow Americans. Racism is the prime motivating factor for both of them. They are both draft dodgers who now pretend to revere the military. And they have both publicly boasted about their misogynistic affairs and sexual assaults that have included women and girls.

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

The picture of Trump and Nugent together is a fitting finale for his repugnant campaign. They are the embodiment of the worst of the right’s bigotry and hateful propensity for violence. It sums up the GOP’s devolution into a party dedicated to division and hostility. And on Tuesday Americans will have the chance to reject all of that and turn the nation away from the neo-fascism that Trump represents. Don’t blow it, America.

UPDATE: Living down to expectations, Nugent managed to offend at the Trump rally. Repeatedly referring to Michiganders as “shitkickers,” Nugent grabbed his crotch and said “I’ve got your blue state right here.” Later he asked the crowd if he should play his stale hit “Wang Dang Poon Tang” for the children?


Watch Bill Maher Passionately Beg The Media To – ‘Do Your F**KING Job!’

Posted by on November 5, 2016 at 4:27 pm. 4 Comments :

In the waning days of this surreal election year, tempers are fraying beyond cognitive sustainability. For those with functioning brain stems, just the thought of Donald Trump as president is unfathomable. There is simply no sane explanation for this narcissistic wannabe dictator even being competitive in the race for leader of the free world. At least not without contorting the imagination into a bizarro glob of Silly Putty.

Bill Maher

No one knows this better than comedian and social observer Bill Maher. But the the strain is even beginning to show on him. In Friday’s episode of his HBO program Real Time, he is obviously at his breaking point with regard to the election and the media’s coverage of it. After noting some examples of the absurd obsession the press has for irrelevancies and false equivalence, Maher explodes. He stares directly into the camera and shouts “Media – Do your fucking job!”

That’s a sentiment that many have been expressing for more than a year. The American people watched with confusion as cable news surrendered their air to Trump’s rambling, racist diatribes. Hour after hour, Trump ranted incoherently with no balance from opposing candidates or the press. And as the campaign wore on, allegedly professional journalists treated Trump’s ignorance and hate-speech as if it were acceptable political discourse.

Maher addressed these failings with the sharpness of a properly jaded humorist. For example:

“The FBI says Americans should look out for terror attacks on Monday. They said they would do it, but they’re so busy with Hillary’s emails from 2009.”

And:

“A terrorist attack – that would be such a nightmare scenario. To watch terrorists ruin our election after all the work Russia has put into doing that.”

Maher noted that “We have reached peak insanity.” What’s really troubling is that that may be an understatement. He also noticed the disturbing relationship between Trump and Russia that the media mostly ignores:

“Republicans are trying to elect a sexually assaulting psychopath who, if not a Russian agent, is unwittingly working as one. And people in America are saying “Well, it’s better than Hillary.” No it’s F**KING not!”

Watch the video below and rest in the knowledge that you are not alone. If you believe a candidate for president who aligns himself with hostile foreign nations is treasonous, you are not alone. If you are feeling overwhelmed by the unconscionable negligence of the media, you are not alone. After November 8, there will be time to recharge and then to focus on these problems. Hopefully we can have some impact before the next election. In the meantime…let’s laugh at our pain.

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


HUSH MONEY: National Enquirer Paid 150K To Cover Up Trump’s ‘Affair’ With A Playboy Model

Posted by on November 5, 2016 at 10:01 am. NO Comments :

FBI insiders have spent much of the past week leaking dubious data about Hillary Clinton to Donald Trump’s campaign. It’s a horrifying state of affairs that implicates the agency in election tampering. Meanwhile, salacious information about Donald Trump is getting quashed by his pals in the tabloid media. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that:

“The company that owns the National Enquirer (AMI), a backer of Donald Trump, agreed to pay $150,000 to a former Playboy centerfold model for her story of an affair a decade ago with the Republican presidential nominee, but then didn’t publish it, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal and people familiar with the matter.”

Melania and Donald Trump

Karen McDougal, the 1998 Playmate of the Year, has told friends she was romantically involved with Trump in 2006. He was married to his current wife Melania at the time. The Journal’s sources said that McDougal expected her story to be published, but that AMI never intended to run it. From the beginning it was a means of killing a story that was potentially damaging to Trump’s presidential aspirations.

Imagine that. A sensationalistic supermarket tabloid declining to publish a sex-drenched scandal about a prominent public figure. It has all the elements of the model story for the Enquirer. But even after the Access Hollywood tapes were released and a dozen other women accused Trump of sexual harassment and/or assault, the Enquirer kept the lid on their blockbuster scoop. Why would they do that?

Maybe because David Pecker, publisher of the Enquirer, is a long-time personal friend of Trump and supports his candidacy. He has used his paper to advance Trump’s campaign and attack his opponents. For instance, the Enquirer published a story alleging that Ted Cruz’s father was an accomplice to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Another article purported to expose “Hillary Clinton’s Secret Health Crisis.”

On the other hand, the Enquirer published a series of glowing homages to Trump. These tributes were about, and written by, The Donald with the audacious title “The Man Behind the Legend.” And Trump returned the drooling adoration by publicly wondering why the skeevy tabloid never got a Pulitzer Prize.

The Enquirer denies that they deliberately bought McDougal’s story to kill it. They claim they were paying for her to write fitness columns and to appear on magazine covers. However, the paper never published a single column or photo of her during the two year term of the agreement. There was also an ambiguously worded provision granting AMI the exclusive rights to “any romantic, personal and/or physical relationship McDougal has ever had with any then-married man.” That certainly would have covered Donald Trump without the nastiness of saying so outright.

These are among the benefits of having a media entity in your pocket. You can get them to zealously praise you and to bitterly malign your foes. And you can also have them snatch up lingering problems from your sordid past and prevent them from ever seeing the light of day.

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

Donald Trump is fond of attacking the media in the most vile manner. He has literally made it dangerous to cover his campaign rallies. Many news organizations have had their press credentials revoked when they did something that displeased him. And prominent journalism organizations have condemned his overt threats to freedom of the press. But in his world the National Enquirer is a Pulitzer-worthy publisher that will come to his rescue when needed.


Fox News Doubles Down On Stupid: Tucker Carlson Gets Primetime Show

Posted by on November 4, 2016 at 12:15 pm. 5 Comments :

It was three months ago that Roger Ailes stepped down from his post as CEO of Fox News amid allegations of sexual harassment. Subsequently there has been much speculation as to the future direction of the network without its longstanding guiding force. Well, for anyone who thought there would be a tempering of Fox’s stridently conservative bias, you’re optimism was unfounded.

Tucker Carlson Fox News

Thursday Fox News announced that the vacancy left by Greta Van Susteren’s sudden departure would be filled by Tucker Carlson. Currently Carlson is a co-host of the weekend version of the Fox & Friends morning show. In that role he has ably fulfilled the Fox mandate to spew right-wing propaganda and smear Democrats. In the process he has cultivated an attitude of smug superiority while advancing a racist, misogynistic agenda.

For the record, Carlson is also the owner of the ultra-conservative web rag, The Daily Caller. As a publisher Carlson demonstrated his aversion to ethical journalism. In one instance he spiked an article that contained a criticism of Fox News for not being sufficiently anti-immigrant. Despite the fact that the piece castigated President Obama as a lawless tyrant, Carlson could not abide any Fox bashing. The article’s author said that Carlson told him “We can’t trash Fox on the site. I work there.” In other words, the Daily Caller is Fox’s puppet where free speech, and thought, is prohibited.

Additionally, the Daily Caller embraces the white supremacist alt-right movement that has adopted Donald Trump as its leader. In a wide-ranging essay about the budding “ethno-nationalism” crusades, Luke O’Brien writes for the Huffington Post about the relationships between America’s hate groups and the media. He singles out Carlson’s Daily Caller saying that:

“Other conservative sites, even ones that prefer bowties, appear to have accepted that angry right-wing populism translates into clicks. Take The Daily Caller, which now runs its fair share of immigrant knife-attack stories and Jew-baiting George Soros exposes. The reader comments on the site are at times indistinguishable in tone and racist content from those on Breitbart.”

That’s the same Breitbart News whose chairman, Stephen Bannon, is currently the CEO of Trump’s campaign for president. Bannon is also chairman of the Government Accountability Institute whose president, Peter Schweizer, authored the book “Clinton Cash.” Despite being filled with errors and lies, that book has been cited as the source for the FBI’s fatally biased review of the Clinton Foundation. It was also the subject of an hour-long special on Fox News. Oh, what a tangled web.

Prior to joining Fox News, Carlson’s career was a pitiful collection of failures. He had been canceled by PBS, CNN, and MSNBC. And if that wasn’t embarrassing enough, he was the first contestant voted off of Dancing with the Stars. He seemed to be a recidivist loser with no reasonable hope for redemption. He had even burned bridges with regard to Fox News when, after a childish prank (by both of them), he called Fox “a mean, sick group of people.”

Fortunately, For Carlson, Fox News has a policy of dredging the sewers of pseudo-journalism and rescuing the most offensive and desperate rejects, giving them a second chance at salvation. Of course that forgiveness comes at the cost of their soul. It rests on their willingness to supplicate themselves to their new savior. So when Fox called, Carlson went crawling back with his tail between his legs and fully prepared to obey.

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

Carlson knows his place and did what was expected of an indentured servant to the Wingnut Overlord. His reward is a spanking new program in primetime access where he can deliver his radically rightist, poorly reasoned rants. And he’ll fit right in with Bill O’Reilly, Megyn Kelly, and Sean Hannity. Proving that Fox News intends to continue being a fount of conservative propaganda, and a mouthpiece for Republican dogma, for many years to come.

And for your entertainment pleasure, here is the classic episode of CNN’s Crossfire where Jon Stewart called Carlson a “dick” and humiliated him so badly the show was cancelled soon after.