Continuing the “Fox Nation vs. Reality” series, this episode has the Fox Nationalists declaring that things are “Ugly For Obama In Ohio.”
And to support their declaration, Fox Nation referenced a poll by Quinnipiac University that shows Obama out-polling every leading Republican challenger. Obama beats:
I can see why Fox thinks that’s ugly.
Now that Sarah Palin is officially out of the race for the GOP nomination for president, and is going to remain a full time wingnut pundit, Rush Limbaugh is feeling the pressure to amp up the stupid. Toward that end he had this to say on his radio program today:
“Obama is setting up riots. He is fanning the flames for riots and eventual violence. That’s all he’s got. And now you look, all this talk about millionaires and billionaires and people not paying their fair share, and this relentless assault on achievement in this country has resulted in … what? The appearance of a spontaneous combustion of angry, white, college students who are fed up with all the injustices that this country is famous for. That’s his base. Occupy Wall Street is his base. Those are his foot soldiers. The anarchists, the union thugs who are occupying Wall Street.”
Of course. Why didn’t I see it? The way to win reelection is to preside over civil unrest and a despondent population. That Barack Obama is a genius. But it took Limbaugh to see through the plot and reveal the President’s dastardly plan. Only Limbaugh could have done this because of his unique experience with setting up riots. Here is what he said just prior to the Democratic National Convention in 2008:
“Screw the World. Riot In Denver,” is the actual headline of Limbaugh’s article on his own web site. He continues…
“Riots in Denver at the Democrat convention would see to it we don’t elect Democrats – and that’s the best damn thing could happen for this country as far as anything I can think.” […]
“I mean, if people say what’s your exit strategery, the dream end of this is that this keeps up to the convention and that we have a replay of Chicago 1968, with burning cars, protests, fires, literal riots, and all of that. That’s the objective here.”
Limbaugh’s absurd allegation about Obama was based on his assertion that Obama expressed solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street protesters, although he offered no support for that claim. The only thing Obama said about the protest was…
“I think it expresses the frustrations that the American people feel. People are frustrated and the protesters are giving voice to a more broad-based frustration about how our financial system works.”
That’s not even remotely an endorsement, much less a call to riot. However, Limbaugh did advocate violence himself in no uncertain terms. That just makes his phony whining about Obama and the protesters on Wall Street all the more ludicrous and hypocritical.
Limbaugh is not alone in making unsupported claims about Obama and the peaceful protesters. Fox Nation posted an item with the headline “Obama Gives Blessing to Anti-Capitalist Wall Street Protests.”
This item not only falsely associates Obama with an independent, populist movement, it disparagingly refers to thousands of patriotic demonstrators, who are participating freely in a democratic process, of being anti-capitalist, which Foxheads read as anti-American. And once again, the claim is completely unfounded.
If all of this tells us anything, it is that Limbaugh, Fox, et al, are very much afraid of what’s happening in Lower Manhattan. They are afraid that their benefactors in the Ivory Tower suites on Wall Street and other corporate and media offices are finally being held to account for their abuses and crimes. They are afraid that their position of privilege is being challenged. But mostly they are afraid that Americans are no longer going to tolerate being held down by ultra-wealthy elitists who put more faith in corporations than in people, and don’t care about the Constitution, fairness, and democracy.
The subject of ethics might seem like obviously foreign territory for Fox News, but the way Fox Nation positioned an article this morning serves to cement their utter lack of ethical principles.
The Fox Nationalists posted an item that linked to CSNNews, a subsidiary of the ultra-rightist Media Research Center. The headline reads: “Obama: ‘I Don’t Think Ethics’ Was My Favorite Subject.”
Fox Nation was careful to selectively highlight just the portion of the article that made it appear that Obama shunned ethics. They quoted this portion of the article:
President Barack Obama told an audience of high school students in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday that he was “not always the very best student” and that ethics “would not have made it on the list” of his favorite subjects.
“I was not always the very best student that I could be when I was in high school, and certainly not when I was in middle school,” Obama said, speaking at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School.
“I did not love every class I took. I wasn’t always paying attention the way I should have,” Obama said. “I remember when I was in 8th grade I had to take a class called ethics. Now, ethics is about right and wrong, but if you’d ask me what my favorite subject was back in 8th grade, it was basketball. I don’t think ethics would have made it on the list.”
Even stopping there that would not be surprising for a typical 13 year old boy. But on a Fox web site it’s easy to imagine the responses in the comments by ignoramuses who never bothered to click through and read the article in full. The comments ranged from sorry attempts at humor to downright vile racism. They took from this excerpt that Obama had rejected ethics at an early age and that he has none today. Had they read further they would have learned what point Obama was actually making.
“I still remember that ethics class, all these years later,” Obama said. “I remember the way it made me think. I remember being asked questions like: What matters in life? Or, what does it mean to treat other people with dignity and respect? What does it mean to live in a diverse nation, where not everybody looks like you do, or thinks like you do, or comes from the same neighborhood as you do? How do we figure out how to get along?
“Each of these questions led to new questions,” said Obama. “And I didn’t always know the right answers, but those discussions and that process of discovery–those things have lasted. Those things are still with me today. Every day, I’m thinking about those same issues as I try to lead this nation.”
Clearly Obama was affected by his studies, and the lesson that he was passing on to the audience of school children was that subjects that may not seem interesting today are still valuable and will shape your character in years to come.
What a travesty! String him up. Another extremist, Marxist, attempt to indoctrinate American kids by the tyrannical Kenyan.
Fox News plainly lacks any speck of journalistic ethics. They could not have more deliberately misrepresented the facts in this story. And when you sink to these depths to twist facts that even the conservative source of the information reported accurately, you really should not be allowed to use the word “news” in your name.
Musician/Activist Tom Morello (formerly of Rage Against the Machine) appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher last night with a pointed message for President Obama:
“Much like the President, I am half Kenyan. Like the President, I’m a Harvard graduate. Like the President, I’m from Illinois. And, like the President, I’ve been on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine. I got a message for him. ‘Dude, it’s time to grow a pair. A lot of people who put you in office put you in office to fight for them; to fight against the Tea Party; to fight against this bullshit in Congress; to fight against those sons of bitches who are attacking the working class and the poor in this country.’ And he hasn’t done any of it.
At the same time, I’m not waiting for him. I’m with the people in Madison. I’m with the people who are occupying Wall Street. That’s what my music’s about. When progressive, radical or even revolutionary changes happen in this country, it’s come from below. When women got the right to vote, when lunch counters were desegregated, it was people you do not read about in history books who stood up in their place and their time for what they believe.”
Well said, Tom. And just to prove that this inspirational people’s advocate is also a radical shredder, listen to this rendition of “The Ghost of Tom Joad” with Bruce Springsteen:
[Update: 10/16/11] Tom showed up at OccupyWallStreet and answered a reporter’s question challenging his role as a political spokesman saying…
“Tom Morello: When you pick up a guitar you don’t put down your first amendment rights. And I don’t think that you have to be a Harvard graduate in political science to comment on political matters. But I am a Harvard graduate in political science.”
In an analysis of Barack Obama’s speech before congress last night, Bill O’Reilly invited Obama’s press secretary, Jay Carney, to the program to discuss the speech and its proposals. As usual, O’Reilly demonstrated his immense capacity for misunderstanding even the simplest concepts. He also reminded us of why no Democrat should EVER appear on his show. Here is how Fox Nation is reporting the exchange:
Technically, if Carney has been knocked into next week, then he’s ahead of the rest of us. Which is far better than living in the past like O’Reilly whose crusty and outdated approach to issues has proven to have failed unambiguously.
Much of the conservative media is disseminating the same absurd and false argument that O’Reilly made. The part of the interview that is making the rounds amongst the right-wingers this morning revolves around the example Obama gave of the inherent unfairness in the tax code:
“Right now Warren Buffett pays a lower tax rate than his secretary — an outrage he has asked us to fix.”
That is an objectively true statement. But that didn’t stop O’Reilly from pouncing on it with a fierce conviction of his righteousness as he demanded that…
“You’ve got to stop with Warren, OK? Warren is 88 years old or something. He says his secretary pays more tax. It’s not true. He’s talking about two different things. […] He’s talking about capital gains, Warren Buffett. The secretary pays federal income taxes, it’s two different taxes. But Warren and the president are trying to fool us. Stop it.”
Actually, the difference between earnings derived from capital gains and those derived from labor is immaterial with regard to reporting income. They are both subject to income taxes, (albeit at different rates) and are both reported as income on an income tax return. As can be clearly seen here:
So contrary to O’Reilly’s lunk-headed theories, anyone who receives income, whether from capital gains or wages, pays federal income taxes. For O’Reilly and the rest of the right-wingnuts to deny it is foolish and/or dishonest. The points that both Obama and Buffett are making is that different types of income are being taxed at different rates and that the result is one that favors the rich.
The tax benefits enjoyed by wealthy folks like O’Reilly were put in place by legislators who respond to big donations from the very people who will receive the benefit. It is not surprising to hear O’Reilly and other elitist media pundits defend that system of reward. What is surprising (and sad) is that there are so many deluded, middle-class citizens who have allowed themselves to become lackeys of the master-class. The Tea Party is a pathetic example of the doctrine of the “useful idiot” who can be exploited to work on behalf of policies that are demonstrably harmful to their own interests.
Hopefully the ever more transparent greed of the 1% of the population that is hoarding most of the nation’s wealth will motivate the majority to rise up in opposition to the unfairness of the current situation. This is the time to make your voice heard. Your representatives and your local media need to know what the people are thinking. They can’t read minds. So do them and yourselves a favor and speak up – NOW!
It’s hard to believe that the Fox Nation web site is published by an organization that considers itself a news enterprise. Anyone who takes the site seriously is gravely in danger of becoming irreversibly idiotized. For example, this morning the Fox Nationalists posted this item declaring that “Stocks Tumble Worldwide After Obama Speech.”
The implication, of course, is that Obama’s speech had something to do with the stocks tumbling. However, despite the deceptive headline, the article states that it is actually the “speculation congress won’t pass” the President’s proposals that contributed to the market decline. In other words, the markets favor Obama’s plan and want it to be implemented. So a more honest headline would have read “Stocks Tumble Worldwide Due To Republican Obstructionism.” But then again, if you’re looking for a more honest headline then you probably wouldn’t be reading Fox Nation in the first place.
In a new Facebook treatise, Sarah Palin has proven again how oblivious she is to reality.
The essay begins by criticizing President Obama for remarks he didn’t make. Palin, and much of the conservative noise machine, is aghast that Teamsters President James Hoffa, Jr. gave a speech with colorful rhetoric about “going to war” against anti-labor right-wingers and “taking out” the Tea Party “sons-of-bitches” in congress in the next election. In the post-Giffords era it is unwise to use such provocative language. But for Palin, who still defends her brazenly hostile admonition, “Don’t Retreat – Reload,” to complain about it is an Olympian feat of hypocrisy.
Then Palin begins the third paragraph with something that actually sounds reasonable:
“To the same degree Americans are concerned about irresponsible, greedy corporate execs who got cushy bonuses from taxpayer-funded bailouts…”
That’s a pretty enlightened comment from a Republican. The problem is that she and her GOP pals have never before accepted the notion that corporate execs are greedy and irresponsible, even though the American people have known it for some time. But Palin spoils the moment with the remainder of her sentence:
“…we should also be concerned about greedy union bosses who are willing to tank our economy just to protect their own power.”
Here we have a small lapse in logic in that Palin provides no evidence that union bosses are doing any such thing. And since union bosses become bosses through union elections, union members are confident that their chosen leaders are working on their behalf. And if you listen to folks like Hoffa you can always hear their passion for policies that benefit labor, as opposed to Palin’s agenda of further enriching the wealthy and powerful. Palin goes on to make the ludicrous comment that union leaders are…
“…chasing American industry offshore by making outrageous, economically illogical demands that they know will never work.”
Why would they do that? How would it help them to retain their power, which is what Palin asserts is their motive? If What Palin says is true, then union leaders could just as easily support her agenda and produce more jobs, which would produce more union dues and the loyalty of members. So once again, Palin’s critique is utterly devoid of logic.
Then Palin really goes off the rails. She makes some sort of connection between union leaders and their “politically aligned corporate friends.” Since when were union leaders and corporate honchos friends? And Palin continues into fairytale land where Obama is both a socialist and a corporatist:
“This collusion is at the heart of Obama’s economic vision for America. In practice it is socialism for the very rich and the very poor, but a brutal form of capitalism for the rest of us.”
The gist of Palin’s argument is that Obama of advocating spreading the wealth to poor people via services to prevent them from starving, becoming homeless, or dying from lack of medical care. And she also accuses him of socialist advocacy for the rich via bailouts and cutting back on regulations. Unfortunately for Palin, Obama never signed a bailout bill. That was George Bush’s baby. And as for regulations, she is trying to have it both ways by accusing Obama of giving in to the corporations on regulatory policy at the same time as she is criticizing the administration for executing too may regulations. This peculiar schizophrenia is summed up in her next paragraph:
“Ask yourself if the folks you heard demonize concerned, independent Americans [her name for Tea Baggers] yesterday really speak for the working class when they’re all too happy to burden your families with the bill to bail out the President’s friends on Wall Street.”
Really? The union bosses are happy to bail out Wall Street bankers? Since when? Where does she get this stuff? I’m beginning to get worried about her. From this bit of dementia she segues to an insinuation that Obama is guilty of graft and cronyism simply because he lived in Chicago for awhile. She provides no proof, of course. It is just the most vile brand of guilt by association, which she says “isn’t just the result of a few bad apples. It’s the nature of a skewed system.” So, according to her, everybody’s guilty.
This long-winded assault on working people, and the leaders of the union movement that supports them, is Palin’s way of endearing herself to the group. I’m afraid she is not going to have much success with that plan. American labor isn’t stupid and they know when someone is trying to use and manipulate them. They know who their champions are, as well as their enemies. And without any doubt, they know who the sons-of-bitches are who would lie to them on behalf of the corporate masters that seek only to exploit them for greater wealth. Give it up, Sarah. It isn’t gonna work.
The unvarnished racism of Fox News continues to reveal itself – over and over and over again.
The latest example of their repulsive hate messaging is an article purporting to show contrasting photos (below) of President Obama and Texas Governor Rick Perry in their youth. It’s actually generous to call it an article. To be accurate, it is just a link to a photo that some wingnuts are distributing on Twitter. The photo juxtaposes an image of Perry in military garb with an image of Obama that packs a more ethnic punch.
This deliberate attempt to insult the President is wrong on many levels. First, Perry’s photo may indeed be of him at or around the age of 22, but Obama’s photo is obviously much younger. [Note: I have confirmed that Obama was 18/19 when the pictures were taken by a student photographer, Lisa Jackson in 1980]. Second, while Perry did serve in the Air Force, he avoided combat duty despite the fact that his service began in 1972 and the Vietnam war was still raging until 1975.
The Fox Nationalists might just as well have featured a very different pair of photos that more realistically conveyed the contrasts between Perry and Obama. After all, Obama was an honors student who was the editor of the Harvard Law Review and graduated Magna Cum Laude. Perry, on the other hand, was a yell leader at Texas A&M and barely graduated with a 2.2 grade-point average and almost exclusively Cs and Ds on his transcripts.
It is painfully clear what Fox is trying to convey to their gullible and bigoted audience. This sort of open prejudice and hate mongering needs to be exposed and disseminated widely so that Fox does not get away with such revolting behavior. And every day that the rest of the media continues to treat Fox as if it were a legitimate news enterprise is another day of shame for the press.
And on the lighter side, the brainiacs at Fox can’t even count:
Notice that the article refers to Gawker and 7 other web sites that are dead or dying. However there are eight additional web sites represented by the logos. In fact, there are nine if you include the one in the bottom right corner. So Fox is admitting that they are dead or dying. And why not when they can’t even count to ten.
Fox Nation, the Internet community of Fox News, has completed its transition into a nearly 100% Obama Bashing Internet destination. Visit the site at any random time and you are likely to see something like this:
That’s 19 separate articles, all from just this morning, disparaging the President. They consume nearly all of the space on the site’s home page. Despite the fact that the Fox Nationalists assert that they aspire to fairness and balance, it is clear that they are engaged in non-stop propaganda to effect the political outcome they desire. It makes a mockery of their claim that…
“The Fox Nation is committed to the core principles of tolerance, open debate, civil discourse, and fair and balanced coverage of the news.”
How brain damaged does one need to be to believe that BS? And if your stomach is strong enough to venture into the community comments, you will be repulsed by a collection of racists and advocates of violence and even assassination.
Obviously the folks at Fox are escalating their campaign of hate. With the election season heating up they are redoubling their efforts to malign the President and every other Democrat. Perhaps their desperation is due to the pathetic field of candidates they are saddled with promoting. They are in the embarrassing position of having to support Tea Bagger Bachmann, Perp Walk Perry, and Corporate Mate Mitt.
What’s more, the conservative/Tea Party wing of the GOP is suffering a dizzying decline in popularity.
“[T]he Tea Party ranks lower than any of the 23 other groups we asked about — lower than both Republicans and Democrats. It is even less popular than much maligned groups like ‘atheists’ and ‘Muslims.'”
No wonder Fox Nation is ramping up their war effort. They have a steep hill to climb and they are convinced that their only prayer for victory is to smear the enemy and to do so harshly and repeatedly. Steady your nerves – there is going to be much more of this to come. It will include accusations of socialism and treason, as well as naked fear mongering. It will probably backlash against them completely, but it will still be an ugly spectacle.
Ever since the Tea Party Downgrade, the stock market has been a roller coaster of wild swings. Triple-digit ups and downs have become routine. And throughout, the media, and partisan politicians and pundits, have fretted over impending doom and the end of civilization.
So just to help us keep things in perspective…..
Neil Cavuto, and others on Fox News, have been relentlessly harping on every scrap of negative news they can find. Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh have been predicting London-style riots. But we should not buy into the Fox News pessimism.
The market is up more than 50%, and over 3,000 points, since Barack Obama was inaugurated as president. Corporations in many sectors of the economy are reporting record profits. Does that mean we shouldn’t be concerned about the recent gyrations. Of course not. We still have a serious deficiency of jobs and a severely unbalanced income gap. But at least we should recognize the reality of the big picture.
There is much to be hopeful about, and if Washington will do the right thing – i.e. invest in growth and job creation, and make the rich pay their fair share – we can prevail over hard times. To do that we must fight back against the obstructionism of the TeaPublicans whose only agenda is to enrich their wealthy, corporate contributors and defeat Democrats in 2012.