A Typically Malicious Morning On Fox News

Posted by on February 10, 2014 at 3:02 pm. 2 Comments :

With no new scandal bait emerging over the weekend for Fox News to exploit, they may consider this a slow news day. But in the 24/7 world of cable news the show must go on. Consequently, the editorial team over at Fox was forced to scrape up some chum for their ravenously disgruntled audience. And this is what they came up with:

Fox News

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The Clinton Suck-Up
There’s a new book that contains flattering remarks about Hillary Clinton by Gen. David Petraeus. He says that “she’d make a tremendous president,” and sites as an example of her qualifications a reason that is certain to rattle your average Foxie:

Petreaus: “Like a lot of great leaders, her most impressive qualities were most visible during tough times. In the wake of the Benghazi attacks, for example, she was extraordinarily resolute, determined, and controlled.”

Uh oh. A respected general who was revered by the right, and even solicited by Fox News CEO Roger Ailes to run for president in 2012, has high praise for Clinton and her handling of Fox’s favorite anti-Clinton cudgel, Benghazi. Fox’s response was to rush John Bolton into the studio for his reaction. Bolton seemed a bit confused as he struggled to find the meaning of this development. He eventually settled for claiming that Petraeus must have made a mistake or that he was sucking up to Clinton. That was about the best they could do on short notice as they sought to walk the fine line between their reverence for Petraeus and their hatred for Clinton.

Trapped In ObamaCare
If Clinton and Benghazi are Fox’s favorite punching bags, ObamaCare is a close second. They have spent countless hours trying to sabotage the program and frighten their viewers from participating in it. This morning they brought in Fox Business anchor Melissa Francis to discuss what they called an “ObamaCare Coverage Gap.” In reality what they were describing were people whose income fell below the threshold to qualify for ObamaCare subsidies.

Originally these people were supposed to become eligible for Medicaid, but last year the Supreme Court issued a ruling that made that provision voluntary in each state. It is in mostly Republican controlled states where they declined to take advantage of the billions of federal dollars available to expand their Medicaid programs. As a result, the low income residents of those states have been left without any coverage at all. So the coverage gap that Fox attributes to ObamaCare is actually the fault of GOP governors and legislatures who were more interested in scoring a political blow than they were in the well being of their citizens. For some reason Fox left that detail out of their report.

The Olympic Terrorist Bombing
On Fox News Sunday this weekend, the Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, Mike McCaul (R-TX), discussed his concerns about terrorism at the Sochi Olympics and said that “There’s a high degree of probability that something will detonate, something will go off.” This is a concern that has been articulated by many people, especially after a couple of actual terrorist bombings in southern Russia. But few officials have gone so far as to say that it is “probable.” [For the record, the last terrorist bombing that occurred during the Olympics was in the United States at the games held in Atlanta. The bomber was a right-wing extremist upset by socialism and abortion. Before being caught he bombed a couple of family planning clinics.]

Which brings us to the appearance this morning by Fox contributor Ralph Peters. For those who are unfamiliar with him, he has a long record of vile commentary that includes advocating torture and accusing President Obama of seeking “common ground” with Al Qaeda. Asked to respond to McCaul’s prediction, Peters went on a bender of his own. After agreeing that the risk in Sochi is real, Peters offered some praise for how the Russians handle these sort of affairs.

Peters: “Sometimes a heavy hand and brutality works. [The Russians] don’t do stop-and-frisk, they do stop-and-frisk and beat the hell out of you. And you know what? It’s brutal, it’s ugly, and sometimes it works.”

Obviously Peters approves of the exercise of brutality. And this is not the first time he has said so. He believes that American soldiers should use the same tactics that are used against them by enemy forces and terrorists. In his view there is no place for preserving the values and humane principles that most Americans revere. And by repeatedly inviting Peters onto their network, Fox News is just as bad.

That’s how the morning went at Fox News. It was fairly typical and filled with the sort of lies and animus that is characteristic of the network. No doubt they will escalate their hostile rhetoric as the day proceeds. The morning crew is setting a pretty high bar for the prime timers, O’Reilly and Kelly and Hannity, to clear later today.

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Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Voter ID Photo Fallacy

Posted by on February 9, 2014 at 7:15 pm. 2 Comments :

With a weekend full of legitimate news stories like the Olympics or immigration reform, Fox Nation reserved the top spot on their web page to post a blatant lie: “NAACP Requires Marchers Protesting Voter ID Law To Show Photo ID.”

Fox Nation

Read the acclaimed ebook Fox Nation vs. Reality for more of Fox’s blatant lies.

One of the favorite tactics of propagandists is to expose alleged hypocrisy on the part of their foes. And when they can’t find any actual hypocrisy, the more unscrupulous among them will simply invent some. That’s the case with this article on Fox Nation. Sourcing the information from the Daily Caller, a right-wing webloid run by Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson, the article states flatly that…

“North Carolinians marching to protest voter-ID laws must present a valid photo ID to participate in an NAACP-hosted protest against voter-ID laws in Raleigh on Saturday.”

The evidence of what would be an embarrassing misstep is a tweet by a conservative blogger that showed a portion of a flyer promoting the protest. The flyer had a list of “do’s and don’t’s” for the marchers. One of the “do’s” said to “bring a photo identification (driver’s license, passport or other valid photo ID) with you and keep it on your person at all times.” So there you have it. Except that what you have is something completely different than what the headline and story alleged.

There was absolutely no requirement by the NAACP, or anyone else, that a photo ID be shown in order to participate in the march. No one would be checking for them, and no one would be refused without one. The Fox Nationalists apparently can’t tell the difference between a requirement and a suggestion. The advice to carry a valid ID is one that is commonly given to people who participate in public protests. Occasionally such events encounter police interventions, and having your ID handy can smooth the process. That is the only reason that the flyer recommended that participants carry an ID. It was in no way a prerequisite for participating.

Even if there were a requirement to have an ID for the protest, there still wouldn’t have been any hypocrisy. Conservatives like to make irrelevant analogies when defending their voter suppression plans. They point to the need to show an ID when boarding a plane or buying alcohol. However, flying and drinking are not in the same category as voting, which is regarded as right and a duty in our democracy. Any attempt to depress turnout, particularly in a way that is so transparently prejudicial, is undemocratic.

What’s more, the incidence of fraudulent voting is practically nil, so they are proposing to disenfranchise thousands of citizens in order to solve a problem that doesn’t exist. But that’s how they operate. And they don’t care any more about fair elections than they do about honestly representing the facts in a story like this one.

FYI: The “Moral Mondays” protest march, that Fox was so brazenly lying about, drew upwards of 80,000 people – in North Carolina!It was the largest civil rights march in the South since 1965.


Oy Vey: Tea Party Xenophobes Think ‘E Pluribus Unum’ Is English

Posted by on February 9, 2014 at 1:51 pm. 20 Comments :

The rightist wing of the Republican Party (aka Tea Party) has never been shy about making fools of themselves, particularly with regard to popular culture. An advertisement by Cheerios that featured a biracial family was a recent example of this as the conservative wackos went ballistic over a tweet that correctly predicted they would hate the ad. Following that, Coca-Cola incited wingnut rage by committing blasphemy with a multilingual rendition of “America the Beautiful” during the Superbowl.

Not content to growl menacingly at heart warming celebrations of America’s diversity, Tea Party factions are now claiming that their bigoted tantrums have won them a victory over the liberal multiculturalists in charge of the international soda conspiracy.

Breitbart News is reporting that Coke has “surrendered” to the Tea Party after complaints that their commercial offended right-thinking conservative xenophobes who are unable to tolerate people who show their love for America in a variety of languages.

Breitbart Tea Party Coke

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It is the evidence of this surrender that is so strikingly preposterous. The Coke ad was reworked a bit when it was broadcast during the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. A short segment was added to the beginning of the ad with the words “E Pluribus Unum. Out of many, one.” It is that modification that the BreitBrats are asserting is proof that their vilification of human harmony was successful. So let’s get this straight. Coke, they said, “bowed to conservative critics” who insist on English-only by inserting a short phrase in — Latin.

These are the same rocket scientists who carried signs to their Tea Party rallies saying “Government hands off of my Social Security.” They are the same people who pledged to burn their ObamaCare cards (which do not exist). And now they think that appending a Latin phrase onto an ad is a testament to their strength in getting a cold corporation to acquiesce to their demands for an English-centric America.

All I can say is ach du lieber. These people are obviously loco. If they had any esprit de corps with their fellow Americans they wouldn’t show such disdain toward them, capiche? After all, these are the villains upon whom they are showering their hate:


AYFKM? Fox News Asks “Are We Playing A Role In Politics That Maybe We Should Not Be Playing?”

Posted by on February 7, 2014 at 1:26 pm. 7 Comments :

If there is one thing we can count on from Fox News, it is a steady supply of commentary that violates the standards of ethical journalism and provides a rich source of raw material for mockery and/or debunking. Whether it is Bill O’Reilly declaring that his own interview of President Obama will “go down in journalistic history,” or the Fox “Psycho” analyst, Keith Ablow, peering into the mind of the President (and everyone else), Fox keeps America’s media watchers and comedians busy. Today is no exception as we embark on a deconstruction of remarks made by Fox News anchor Jenna Lee.

Fox News

In a segment with Fox’s Media analyst, Howard Kurtz, the topic was whether the media is setting up the “inevitability” of Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee for president in 2016, and even as the next president. Of course, Fox News itself has been amongst the most hyperactive media outlets obsessing over the, as yet non-existent, Clinton campaign. But the interesting part of the discussion came when Lee had a peculiar inquiry for Kurtz which she set up thusly:

“The purpose of the media in a democracy is freedom of the press. We want to make sure that voters are informed on issues so that they can actively participate in democracy. I believe that. In this way that we’re already looking ahead at the election, are we serving our purpose as journalists? Are we productive members of this freedom of the press and democracy? Or are we playing a role in politics that maybe we should not be playing?”

Let’s just skip over the contorted linguistic absurdity that freedom of the press is the purpose of the media, and go right to Lee’s insistence that she wants to “make sure that voters are informed.” To the contrary, everything that Fox has done for the past seventeen years has served to make sure that voters are stuffed to the brim with disinformation, right-wing propaganda, and lies. And if Fox is so concerned with people being able to “actively participate in democracy,” then why do they promote voter suppression policies so aggressively?

But the real stunner came when Lee asked if Fox is “playing a role in politics.” Are You Friggin’ Kidding Me? It’s impressive that a Fox News anchor can ask that question with a straight face. A network that was bankrolled by an international propagandist (Rupert Murdoch), built by a Republican media strategist (Roger Ailes), and staffed by partisans both behind and in front of the camera, is obviously playing a role in politics.

Fox News serves as Media Central for conservative pundits and politicians. They help them to shape their messages, to organize, to fundraise, and to gain invaluable exposure to the public. So yes, Jenna, you are playing a role in politics that maybe (definitely) you should not be playing. And you know it. And you are not going to change, because it is what you and your colleagues were hired to do. So stop asking such stupid questions.


Bill O’Reilly Says His Obama Interview “Is Going To Go Down In Journalistic History”

Posted by on February 6, 2014 at 1:36 pm. 5 Comments :

Bill O'Reilly

The Titanic ego that we all know as Bill O’Reilly of Fox News, has once again demonstrated the enormity of regard that he has for himself. In an appearance on fellow Foxie Geraldo Rivera’s radio show, O’Reilly critiqued his performance during the Superbowl interview of President Obama saying…

“I’m going to predict that the interview that I did is going to go down in journalistic history as what should be done. It takes a certain skill to pose questions in a factual way and be persistent without being disrespectful.”

I totally agree. It does take a certain skill, one that O’Reilly utterly lacks. However, there are many elements of the interview that merit historical remembrance. For instance, he likely broke his own record for flagrant rudeness by interrupting the President forty-two times. He also earned a place in history by raising only the topics that his bosses at Fox have certified as official scandal bait (the ObamaCare website, the IRS, and of course, Benghazi), or as Jon Stewart described it, O’Reilly was “dipping whole-scale into the full Fox scandal grab bag.” And History will surely note that some 40% of the interview consisted of O’Reilly talking, making him nearly as much the subject of the interview as the President.

After the interview, O’Reilly was taken to task by Dana Milbank of the Washington Post for many of the reasons enumerated above. This caused O’Reilly to bust a gasket, calling Milbank a weasel and a liar, although never once did he specify what Milbank said that was allegedly false. PolitiFact, however, assessed the dispute and gave Milbank a “Mostly True” rating.

It’s endlessly entertaining to watch O’Reilly exalt himself as the journalistic eminence that he clearly believes himself to be. It’s like watching a child brag about his sports ability and then taking his ball and going home after he embarrasses himself. The difference is that O’Reilly is so egotistical that he is impervious to shame. So thanks, bill, for showing us all how it should be done – by negative example.


Tea Party Values: Obama Should Be Executed As An Enemy Combatant

Posted by on February 6, 2014 at 10:37 am. 28 Comments :

The right-wing outrage machine is a sensitive instrument that requires little more than a sideways glance to set off a fierce rumbling. For instance, a tweet that noted that conservatives would hate a Cheerios commercial with a biracial family, that they already said they hated, produced a fury of immense proportions. But where is their outrage when this happens:


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In a town hall meeting in the district of Rep. Jim Bridenstine (OK-Tea Party), one of his God fearing, traditional values loving constituents rose to express her patriotic desire to send President Obama to the morgue:

Crazy Lady: “Obama, he’s not president, as far as I’m concerned, he should be executed as an enemy combatant. […and congress is…] doing nothing and that legally allows this moron to make decisions. He has no authority. None!”

Obviously this woman has an inability to grasp the concept of democracy. But far more disturbing is the response of her neighbors (who laughed) and Rep. Bridenstine. Rather than admonish her for advocating birtherism and treasonous violence, Bridenstine validated her comments with examples of why he agreed with her:

Bridenstine: “Everybody knows the lawlessness of this president. He picks and chooses which laws he’s going to enforce or not enforce. He does it by decree. When he can’t create a law, or when he can’t create a law through Congress, then he uses the bureaucracies of the executive branch to create rules and regulations through executive order. And, ultimately, when he can’t even get that done, then he uses foreign bodies. He uses the United Nations to try to change the laws in the United States.”

Nothing in his response repudiated the woman’s presidential death wish. To the contrary, Bridenstine elaborated on it with charges that are the substance of the most inane conspiracy theories that swirl through Fringelandia. The right is fond of castigating this president for the use of executive orders, even though he has used them less often than any president in over a hundred years. Just today, over at Fox News, their Fox Nation website featured an article about Obama’s “Executive Order Tyranny.” [Read Fox Nation vs. Reality for more than 50 examples of documented dishonesty]

But Bridenstine can’t let facts get in the way his Tea Party agenda. At least not while he is still standing in front of his wild-eyed constituents. After the meeting, and presumably some criticism, Bridenstine released this statement on his web page:

“A public figure cannot control what people say in open meetings. I obviously did not condone and I do not approve of grossly inappropriate language. It is outrageous that irresponsible parties would attribute another person’s reckless remarks to me.”

It’s true that a public figure cannot control what people say in open meetings. But he can respond in a manner that indicates his approval or disapproval. Bridenstine, contrary to his assertion that he did not condone the “grossly inappropriate language” (that he doesn’t specify), actually did condone it by not repudiating it, and worse, by embellishing it with his own pseudo-facts.

This sort of thing is commonplace among Tea Party politicians and pundits. They demonize the President, and all Americans who hold progressive views, as traitors and commies and villains who salivate at the thought of destroying America. Then they turn around and complain if a liberal correctly points out bad behavior by a Tea Party disciple. But they cannot escape their repugnant views when they are captured on video expressing them. And sadly, this is just one more example of their vulgar hostility and seething hatred.

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Koch Brothers Take Their Campaign To Kill Net Neutrality To Fox News

Posted by on February 5, 2014 at 8:27 pm. 2 Comments :

Last month the corporate-friendly majority on the Supreme Court struck down FCC rules that required Internet service providers (ISP) to treat all content equally. Known as “Network Neutrality,” these rules prevent companies like AT&T from providing fast service for Internet sites it favors, while impeding content from those it does not. Without Net Neutrality, you might try to access Dominoes Pizza, but your ISP could refuse that request and direct you to Papa John’s, who paid them to do so. Or they could simply slow down the connection to Dominoes so that you would give up and try some other pizzeria.

Net Neutrality insures that you are able to access any site on the Internet that you want without interference from your provider. Unfortunately, the big ISPs (i.e. AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, etc.) oppose that freedom. They want to control your access and make either you, or the destination sites, pay them to open the highway to free-flowing traffic. Theoretically, they could just as easily obstruct your access to content they find objectionable politically, morally, or economically (i.e. their competitors).

Fox Nation

Read the acclaimed ebook Fox Nation vs. Reality for more brazen Fox lies.

In response to the Supreme Court ruling, Democrats in Congress drafted the “Open Internet Preservation Act of 2014,” with the stated goal of…

“…restor[ing]the Open Internet Rules struck down by the D.C. Circuit in January 2014 prohibiting broadband Internet service providers from engaging in discriminatory behavior or blocking content altogether.”

Within hours the conservative opposition to the bill cranked up on behalf of the corporations that bankroll them. Prominent among them was the Koch brothers who have long been aggressive opponents of an open Internet. Their fake news wire service, Watchdog.org, quickly published an article that thoroughly mischaracterized the facts and featured a deceitful headline saying “Democratic federal lawmakers really want the FCC to regulate Internet.”

By casting this as an issue of regulation, the Koch brothers seek to marshal support for their anti-Internet agenda. To the extent that this bill can be portrayed as regulation, it is a regulation that guarantees more freedom for all users of the Internet. Granted, there is somewhat less freedom for ISPs to gouge consumers and inhibit free speech. Despite the fact that the legislation was drafted by Democrats, the only member of Congress that the article quoted was arch-rightist Marsha Blackburn who said…

“It’s more than ironic that the same Administration that can’t figure out how to make Healthcare.Gov work now thinks that regulating the Internet like China and Russia will make things better for American consumers.”

Clearly Blackburn doesn’t understand either Net Neutrality or the nature of Russian and Chinese censorship. It is Net Neutrality that actually makes the Internet more open, and the lack of it that permits government and corporate interference. But she is just another Republican who is doing the bidding of her well-heeled corporate donors.

koch-news
True to form, Fox News picked up the story from Watchdog and ran it on their lie-riddled, community website Fox Nation with the headline “Dems Pushing FCC To Regulate Internet.” Fox News regularly publishes articles from the fake Koch brothers wire service that always seem to advance the interests of wealthy industrialists like the Kochs. It’s one of the perks of being rich enough to create your own “news” distribution outlet that can feed propaganda to friendly publishers like Fox.

In this case, Fox News is doing a disservice to their audience by failing to disclose the partisan interests of their source. But more seriously, they are feeding them disinformation about net neutrality that could result in a severe reduction in the freedom that has always been a part of the open Internet if Fox and the Kochs are successful.


Fox Nation vs. Reality: Giving Workers More Freedom Is ‘Devastating’ To Fox News

Posted by on February 4, 2014 at 10:00 pm. 3 Comments :

The Congressional Budget Office just released their latest set of economic projections for the next decade and the data provides some good news for America’s workers. But never let it be said that Fox News would receive such information and honestly present it to their woefully deceived audience. The headline at the top of the Fox Nation website trumpeted that the CBO’s report was “Devastating News for ObamaCare: Over 2 Million Workers Will Lose Jobs.”

Fox Nation

For more brutal deconstructions of Fox lies, read Fox Nation vs. Reality.

Oh my. That would be devastating – If it were true. However, the CBO report never said any such thing. The truth is that ObamaCare will provide workers with more freedom of choice due to the fact that they will no longer be shackled to jobs they don’t want or need simply because they can’t afford to lose their medical benefits. What ObamaCare does is to make health care affordable so that people can decide whether to continue their employment based on factors other than their health plan. Here is how the CBO phrased it:

“The estimated reduction stems almost entirely from a net decline in the amount of labor that workers choose to supply, rather than from a net drop in businesses’ demand for labor, so it will appear almost entirely as a reduction in labor force participation and in hours worked relative to what would have occurred otherwise rather than as an increase in unemployment (that is, more workers seeking but not finding jobs) or underemployment (such as part-time workers who would prefer to work more hours per week).”

What this means is that workers may voluntarily choose to leave their jobs or work fewer hours. It does not mean that employers will fire anyone or cut staffing. And when a worker freely decides to resign, it is ridiculous to say that they “lost” their job. They didn’t lose it. They know where it is still. It’s just that they have chosen not to go there anymore (h/t Bobcat Goldthwait). That’s called freedom of choice.

There are many reasons why someone might leave a job under these circumstances. They may be seniors who wish to retire. They may be young mothers who want to be at home with their children. They may want to seek opportunities at other companies. They may be entrepreneurs who require more time to start a new business. Before ObamaCare these choices may not have been available because people were locked into their employer-provided health plan at a job that was not otherwise helping them achieve their personal goals. Now they will have more freedom to structure their lives in a manner that is more satisfying or appropriate to their circumstances.

Nevertheless, the Fox Nationalists falsely portrayed this exercise of free choice by workers as “lost jobs.” Then they judged this phony loss a devastating blow to ObamaCare. Their source for this blatantly misleading analysis is the “Moonie” Washington Times, a disreputable newspaper with an ultra-conservative bias. But it doesn’t stop there. The same fraudulent reading of the CBO study was aired on the Fox News Channel where they recruited criminal/congressman Darrell Issa to lambaste the “bombshell” report.

It’s no wonder that so many studies have proven that Fox News viewers are more ill-informed than viewers of other news outlets – and even those who view no news at all. The problem with the Fox News audience has never been that they lack information. The problem is that the information they have is more than likely untrue. We’ve been warned about this in the past by some notable thinkers:

“Beware of false knowledge. It is more dangerous than ignorance.” ~ George Bernard Shaw

“It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” ~ Mark Twain

“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wise people so full of doubts.” ~ Bertrand Russell

Fox Nation
[Update] As Fox Nation escalates their mischaracterization of the CBO report with a feature story asserting a “Death Blow,” PolitiFact has analyzed the spin and the conservative claim that jobs will be lost due to ObamaCare. They found specific allegations, as articulated by House Speaker John Boehner and Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson, to be “Mostly False.”

PolitiFact: “They made it sound as if jobs are going away because businesses don’t create them or because they eliminated existing jobs. The CBO report, though, was referring to workers who decide on their own to leave the workforce, because they don’t have to keep working a job just to keep their health benefits.”


The Tea Party’s Dream Candidate Files For Tennessee Election

Posted by on February 4, 2014 at 12:52 pm. 8 Comments :

There is joy in Teaville today as perhaps the most admired figure in the ultra-rightist wing of the GOP has answered their hopes and taken concrete steps to embark on a political career.

Victoria Jackson

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That’s right, former Saturday Night Live ukelele strummer, Victoria Jackson, has declared her candidacy for a seat as a county commissioner in Williamson County, Tennessee. As a commissioner Jackson can be expected to bring her unique “knowledge” of economics, urban planning, law enforcement, business development, and government administration to Williamson’s county hall. Plus, she can recite poetry while standing on her head.

Jackson is revered for her policy positions that include support for a White History Month and opposition to gay marriage. She is a staunch opponent of Islam which she characterized in song as being pro-beheading and pedophilia. She promises that her campaign will focus on issues important to Williamson County’s citizens, like resisting the Muslim Brotherhood, battling the U.N.’s Agenda 21 conspiracy, and obstructing Common Core standards for education.

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Once in office Jackson can be expected to be a small government, fiscally conservative advocate for the Constitution and the Christian values that she would unconstitutionally impose on her neighbors. And when the county meetings got to be a little dull, she could whip out her uke and do a chorus of “There’s A Communist Living in the White House!”

If you live in Williamson County, be sure to give Victoria your support and your vote. She told local reporters that she is running a campaign that will rely on word of mouth rather than conventional fundraising, so it may be difficult to donate. But we at News Corpse are wishing her the best and hope that she prevails. Good luck Victoria.


MSNBC: Fire Phil Griffin And Rehire The Cheerios Tweeter

Posted by on February 3, 2014 at 5:46 pm. 10 Comments :

Remember way back about four days ago when Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, wet his britches over a tweet by someone at MSNBC that said that right-wingers would hate a new Cheerios ad that featured a biracial family?

The reaction from Priebus and the rest of the conservative throngs was to lash out at MSNBC and demand satisfaction for what they regarded as an insulting insinuation that there were racists in the ranks of the right. Priebus even threatened to boycott the cable network. Never mind that the tweet was thoroughly justified by the fact that right-wing racists actually did hate the very same biracial family when they appeared in a previous version of the ad. In fact, YouTube had to close off the comments on the video due to the volume of vulgar responses. That didn’t stop Priebus from throwing a tantrum and insisting on an apology.

In a classic demonstration of just how pusillanimous a corporate media weasel can be, the president of MSNBC, Phil Griffin, disgorged a sniveling apology and announced that the person responsible for the tweet had been terminated. It was an embarrassing supplication to conservative bullies whose outrage was transparently fake.

Coke - America

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Today we have additional evidence that Griffin’s knee-bending was uncalled-for. An ad for Coca-Cola aired yesterday during the Superbowl (video below) that featured Americans of various nationalities, races, religions, and cultures, all singing “America the Beautiful” in a rich tapestry of the languages that represent our country’s diversity. The response from conservatives to this heartwarming advertisement was predictably hostile. They lit up Twitter and Facebook with hateful messages vilifying Coke, as well as all Americans who do not fit the European, Caucasian mold favored by these bigots. Some of the more prominent feces-flingers were:

  • Todd Starnes of Fox News, who tweeted “Coca Cola is the official soft drink of illegals crossing the border.”
  • Tea Party ex-congressman Allen West, called the ad “a truly disturbing commercial,” because “the words went from English to languages I didn’t recognize.”
  • Michael Patrick Leahy of Breitbart News, who lamented that the “ad also prominently features a gay couple.” and somehow found a message in it that the U.S. “is no longer a nation ruled by the Constitution.”
  • Eric Bolling of Fox News, who objected to this use of a patriotic song saying “Don’t put it to ‘America the Beautiful.’ You used the wrong song.”
  • Armageddonist Glenn Beck, who inexplicably derived division from this ode to unity, saying “That’s all this is – to divide people.”

If anything exonerates the unjustly fired MSNBC tweeter, it is this parade of conservative xenophobes who validate the original message about right-wingers hating an ad that honors what really makes America beautiful: as the song says, brotherhood. And if anyone should be fired by MSNBC it’s Phil Griffin, the executive who didn’t have the balls to stand up for what’s right.