Is President Obama A Christian? Santorum? Gingrich? Romney?

Posted by on February 21, 2012 at 10:53 am. 4 Comments :

It’s always comforting to know that there is someone you can turn to who can provide answers to the perplexing spiritual problems that we all face on a daily basis. Someone with wisdom and insight and experience in the ways of the Lord.

Such a person is Rev. Franklin Graham, at least in his own mind. He is the son and heir to the Billy Graham evangelist empire, and he appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe today (video below) to discuss the personal faiths of some national leaders. Here is what transpired:

Willie Geist: Do you believe that Pres. Obama is a Christian?
Graham: You have to ask Pres. Obama.

After that dodge, Graham spent several minutes evading the question by repeating the excuse that he doesn’t know what is in another person’s heart. Throughout the segment he pointedly refused to simply say that he believes that Obama is a Christian. However, he does say that he thinks Obama bends over backwards for Muslims and he finds it significant that some Muslims regard him as one of their own.

So what about Rick Santorum? Is he a Christian? Geist posed that question to Graham and got this response:

Graham: Oh, I think so. Because his values are so clear on moral issues. No question about it.

So he cannot answer the question about Obama because he can’t see into another person’s heart, but apparently he can see into Santorum’s heart. And that’s not all. Graham then volunteered this about Newt Gingrich:

Graham: I think Newt is a Christian. At least he told me he is.

Well, Obama also told Graham that he is a Christian, but that didn’t seem to stick. Graham said that what matters most is not what people say but how they live their lives. So of course he would be suspicious of an assertion of faith from Obama, a devoted husband and churchgoer, but he would accept Gingrich’s testimony, despite being a thrice-married, admitted adulterer who left his congressional post in disgrace for ethical violations.

Which brings us to Mitt Romney. When Alex Wagner asked Graham if Romney is a Christian, Graham wiggled this out:

Graham: I like him. He’s a Mormon. Most Christians would not accept Mormonism as part of the Christian faith.

Nevertheless, Graham praised Romney as a candidate. So there you have it. According to this Christian leader, being a serial sinner or a practitioner of a false religion is not an impediment to either the White House or Heaven. But God has much stricter standards for heathens like Obama who are faithful to their families, charitable to others, and ethical in their profession. It really makes you want to sing the praises of whatever brand of Christianity Graham is peddling.

Find us on Google+
Advertisement:

Glenn Beck: We Are All Catholics Now – Except For Muslims

Posted by on February 20, 2012 at 7:38 pm. 2 Comments :

Evanga-Pundit Glenn Beck is once again sermonizing on religious freedom as he interprets it. By his account any church that engages in any activity, even those that have nothing to do with the practice of their faith, deserve the protection of the First Amendment of the Constitution.

Glenn Beck

That, of course, is absurd. If a church buys a chain of Jack-in-the-Boxes, they are not permitted to force their employees and patrons to adhere to their spiritual doctrine. The freedom that religion is granted under law is specifically applicable to the practice of the religion, not every other enterprise they may engage in. There are innumerable examples of limitations on the absolutist theory of religious freedom. For instance, the use of peyote by some Native Americans is not legal in most of the country, despite it being a legitimate and long-standing religious practice. And who would argue that human or animal sacrifice ought to be a protected activity?

However, when the Catholic church complains that they have to live by the same rules as the rest of society, even when they leave their churches to operate hospitals or other non-religious businesses, folks like Beck insist that their rights are being violated. And yesterday, in the Washington Post, Beck made that exact argument. It really is too bad that the Post sullied themselves by giving Beck that platform for his crackpottery.

So Beck has proclaimed that “We are all Catholics now.” No, actually, we are not. And Beck’s assertion that “Americans are offended by the ruling from the White House” fails to note that most Americans agree with the President’s position – even most Catholics. But that doesn’t stop Beck from spewing phony bravado like this:

“[W[hen the state comes against the Catholics, or the Jews, or the Muslims, or the Pentecostals, or the Mormons or those of any other faith – exotic or familiar – we must all stand up as one: We are all Catholics now. “

That’s funny. I don’t remember Beck or his ilk standing up as one with the Muslims who wanted to build a community center in lower Manhattan. While he was slow to condemn the project, and made some noises about respecting their rights at the outset of the controversy, he eventually found cause to oppose it based on spurious and unproven allegations about the Imam who was spearheading it. In other words, Beck came around to the same position that his rightist compatriots had already assumed. Here’s what Beck had to say about it:

“[T]here are some highly questionable statements surrounding this man that should be looked into before he is allowed to build a mosque a block away from Ground Zero or for that matter, in Kansas.”

That’s Beck’s version of religious freedom, wherein it is perfectly acceptable to trample the rights of religions you find distasteful as a result of your own bigotry. I’m sure he would also want to investigate the backgrounds of every Catholic or Mormon who proposes building a place to gather and worship. I can’t wait to hear Beck challenge the building permits for a new YMCA in his neighborhood.


Vietnam Veterans of America Demand An Apology From Fox News

Posted by on February 20, 2012 at 1:00 pm. 5 Comments :

The despicable remarks from Fox News commentator Liz Trotta last week are still reverberating through the ranks of the military and the civilian populace as well.

Liz Trotta

Trotta, attempting to dismiss reports that sexual assault had increased 64%, admonished women for complaining saying “What did they expect? These people are in close contact. She added her disapproval of support for programs that serve “women in the military who are now being raped too much.” She did not define what the acceptable amount of rape would be.

These comments were properly condemned by a wide variety of people in and out of the armed services. Now the Vietnam Veterans of America has issued a press release that expresses the thoughts of all decent Americans and demands that Fox News hold Trotta accountable.

“As veterans who fought to uphold our Constitution, we hold sacred all the rights it insures, said Rowan. “As such, we are appalled that Ms. Trotta would use the Fourth Estate as a vehicle to condone the criminal acts of some by contending that sexual assault in the military is ‘expected’ behavior. It is a disgrace that FOX would stand behind this type of commentary. Ms. Trotta owes the men and women of our military and those in the veterans’ ranks an apology, and VVA believes FOX should demand it of her.”

Trotta responded to the criticism yesterday in a manner that only makes matters worse. She began by implying that any account of heroism on the part of women soldiers amounts to “silly and dishonest fairy tales.” She went on to disparage their competency saying that “their instincts and reactions in crisis are markedly different [from men].” But worst of all she reiterated her belief that “biology is destiny” and that sexual assault is inevitable. She regards the basest criminal tendencies of the lowest forms of behavior as superior to common decency, respect and military training. Shes says that…

“…the environment of combat by definition sets up a situation where basic instincts rule. The niceties of male-female interaction fade in this arena, and any scientist will tell you that testosterone rules.”

This is not just an affront to patriotic women who choose to serve their country, it is an insult to every man in uniform. Trotta believes that male soldiers can be ordered to risk their lives by charging up an enemy held hill, but that they can’t follow an order to refrain from raping their comrades.

On top of everything else, the response Trotta delivered on air was a phony play acted out by her and the Fox host Eric Shawn. It was plain that she was reading her remarks and Shawn was asking the questions that were obviously a part of the script. Somebody at Fox apparently thought it was necessary to control the message so tightly that they had to put on this embarrassing charade. And they also thought that it was unnecessary to apologize to everyone they offended.

Please let Fox News know that this abhorrent rhetoric is unacceptable. You can email Fox here and sign this petition calling for Fox to dismiss Trotta and apologize.


The Psycho Analyst: Fox News Quack Analyzes Media Matters Founder

Posted by on February 18, 2012 at 3:27 am. 14 Comments :

The Abominable “Doctor” Keith Ablow, part of the Fox News medical “A” Team, published an article on FoxNews.com with his insights into the mind of Media Matters founder, David Brock. Suffice to say that ducks would be offended by referring to this character as a quack.

Keith Ablow

The article sported the headline: What’s Eating Media Matters’ Founder David Brock? It purported to be a psychological profile of Brock and an attempt to explain what Ablow perceived as Brock’s hostile motivations. Ablow, whose dubious ethics resulted in the severance of ties with the American Psychiatric Association, began his column with a disingenuous disclaimer saying that…

“David Brock is not one of my patients. I have not interviewed him, and I would never hazard a diagnosis of him.”

First of all, it needs to be noted that Ablow frequently “hazards” diagnoses of public figures despite never having examined, or even met, the subject. And hazard is just the right word for it. He has offered an utterly deranged psycho analysis of President Obama, as well as perverse praise of Newt Gingrich, specifically citing his history of serial adultery as a positive character trait that would make him a better president.

However, Ablow’s disclaimer falls flat when just a few paragraphs down he says this:

“A sailboat adrift, in danger of capsizing, looks for the strongest wind to keep it moving. Direction matters little or not at all when drowning is the other option. Brock would seem to be captaining such a ship-of-self. […] his own self-loathing might be unbearably palpable.”

Somehow Ablow doesn’t consider that to be a diagnosis. Neither does he regard his later comments comparing Brock to “despots and dictators and even cult leaders” to be outside the bounds of remote analysis. And to top it off, Ablow concludes his unprofessional and ethically offensive ravings by prescribing advise to Brock that he…

“…take those steps necessary to uncover those demons from the past he has denied, for they are now quite visible to those of us who have the proper lens to see them, and they will not be denied forever.”

So while Ablow began by declaring that he wouldn’t “hazard a diagnosis” of Brock, by the time he finished he had delivered not only a diagnosis, but a prescription as well – a prescription replete with demons who will not be denied. Frightening, isn’t it?

This article is just another episode of Fox News’ week-long campaign to smear Brock and Media Matters. It is their attempt at a preventative first strike in advance of the book Media Matters is releasing next week: The Fox Effect: How Roger Ailes Turned a Network into a Propaganda Machine

Fox News has launched a massive effort to counter what they must fear is an effective, critical examination of the network and its principles. They have already aired more than a dozen stories so far on their most popular programs, including the O’Reilly Factor and Hannity. Friday morning’s broadcast of Fox & Friends featured a Steve Doocy interview of Tucker Carlson. Doocy could not even mention Brock’s name without appending a pejorative. For instance, “David Brock, an admitted drug user…” or “David Brock, an admitted liar…” And take a look at the on-screen graphics they used

Fox News - Media Matters

Note that the subject of this interview was an alleged expose of the donors to Media Matters. So it was a financial story that had nothing to do with Brock’s mental status. But even from a financial perspective, the story was a bust. Apparently Doocy was astonished by the shocking revelation that a liberal media watchdog group was supported by liberal donors. It must have taken a pretty sharp reporter to uncover that scoop. But the really good news was disclosed by Doocy himself when he revealed at the end of the segment that…

“Finally, this has been such an explosive series that you’ve had at the Daily Caller, exposing what these people at Media Matters are doing, and yet, aside from a few blogs and the Fox News Channel, it really hasn’t gotten much traction in the mainstream media, which floors me.”

Poor Steve and Tucker. Nobody likes their hollow and brazenly biased smear campaign enough to help them to disseminate it. They must be awfully depressed. Maybe they could schedule some time with Dr. Ablow to try to get to the root of their depression. Actually, it wouldn’t require much of a commitment in time because of Ablow’s unique ability to diagnose patients without even having to meet with them.


OMG: Rush Limbaugh Destroys The Liberal Media

Posted by on February 17, 2012 at 9:02 pm. 6 Comments :

Well it’s all over folks. It was a nice run, but now we have to resign ourselves to reality. Pack it in, people. We’ve been destroyed.

Fox Nation - Rush Limbaugh

I really don’t know what’s worse: The third grade mental capacity of whoever wrote that headline for Fox Nation, or Rush Limbaugh’s puerile logic.

A couple of months ago I wrote a column that featured some of the hysterical hyperbole plastered on Fox Nation day in and day out. I noted that, by Fox News standards, any time someone criticizes someone else they are either obliterated, demolished, destroyed, annihilated, crushed, torched, or nuked. But this just broke all records for Olympian Asininity.

Limbaugh thinks that by rattling off the names of three Republican women and three Democratic men he proves that the GOP is all in for feminism (or as he calls them, feminazis). Never mind that the women he chose would set back women’s rights 100 years if they had the chance. And the Republican men he declined to name include misogynists who would like nothing better than to force women back into the kitchen and relegate them to pumping out babies. A good example would be the current GOP frontrunner for their party’s nomination for president, Rick Santorum, who has been known to complain about women working outside the home and earning pay that is equivalent to men.

For the record, it is Democrats who drafted and passed just about every pro-woman piece of legislation including the landmark Violence Against Women Act that was authored by then-senator Joe Biden and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. And it was generally Republicans who opposed such legislation including the reauthorization of VAWA this year that is being held up by Republican Chuck Grassley.

For Limbaugh to complain that the media doesn’t give Republicans enough credit for all they’ve done for to women is a joke. But for the Fox Nationalists to praise his lame rationale is downright delusional. I’m not sure they know what winning an argument means.


Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Gas Price Myth

Posted by on February 17, 2012 at 2:32 pm. 3 Comments :

Fox Nation has joined Fox News and most of the right-wing noise machine in attempting to slow President’s Obama’s increasing popularity due to the recent trends in the improving economic and employment numbers. They have settled on the issue of rising gas prices as a means of disrupting the President’s positive momentum.

Fox Nation

The only problem with asserting that Obama is responsible for a massive spike in gas prices is that it doesn’t happen to be true. The 83% figure was derived from calculating gas price changes from Obama’s inauguration to the present. But that doesn’t take into account that in the weeks prior to the inauguration there was a worldwide economic meltdown that was the catalyst for a precipitous drop in gas prices. As noted by economists at the time, “The overwhelming cause of the collapse in oil prices has been the faltering world economy, which has fueled the drop in consumption.”

Here are the facts: Gas prices peaked at $4.12 per gallon in the summer of 2008. By the time Obama was inaugurated the following January, the Bush recession that began in the fall had caused prices to drop to $1.61. While everyone likes lower gas prices, nobody wants them to decline due to people being too poor to purchase it. But that’s what happened in late 2008.

Arguably, the rise in gas prices since then validates the Obama economic revival that has produced higher retail fuel consumption. So a proper comparison would not begin at the lowest point of a recession that Obama had nothing to do with. It would begin from the pre-recession market until the present. By that measure gas is 17% lower.

Don’t hold your breath waiting for Fox News to present these facts, or any others that make the President look good. Their mission to destroy this presidency and anything that resembles progressivism is more important to Fox than facts.

Find us on Google+
Advertisement:

Fox News Steps Up Their Anti-Media Matters Campaign

Posted by on February 17, 2012 at 4:46 am. 6 Comments :

For much of this week Fox News has been engaged in a scorched earth campaign to smear the reputation of Media Matters timed to the release of a new book from the watchdog group (The Fox Effect: How Roger Ailes Turned a Network into a Propaganda Machine). They have blanketed their news properties with stories sourced from The Daily Caller (TDC), which is run, coincidentally, by Fox News contributor Tucker Carlson. Never mind that TDC’s “investigation” has uncovered nothing of significance and almost everything it has published was either old news published elsewhere, or laughably obvious and not news at all (i.e. the latest installment that jolts its readers with the surprise revelation that Media Matters receives funding from progressive donors. Shocking, I know). To date Fox has featured the story twelve times on its Fox Nation web site and at least as many times on the Fox News Channel. And all of that “news” activity occurred in just three days. You’d think this was the equivalent of the Berlin Wall coming down.

On Thursday the story made the leap online from Fox Nation to the mothership, FoxNews.com.

FoxNews.com

This promotion took the form of three articles on the same day – one in the opinion section and two categorized as “Politics.” The subject matter for the articles covered two angles that any enterprising journalist would regard as evocative of nothing but boredom. All of the articles failed to produce anything that could be considered newsworthy, and even fell short of the tabloid appeal that Fox usually exploits so well.

First up was an article reporting that Media Matters had received a $50,000 grant to scrutinize religious media. Fox framed this as some sort of attack on religion, a topic it has been hammering on recently anyway. However, the work done by Media Matters in this area has focused exclusively on religious broadcasters who feature news as a part of their programming. For example, Pat Robertson’s 700 Club. Robertson is a veteran of political activism and even ran for the GOP nomination for president. His program routinely discusses political issues and has its own news segments. The story, as reported by TDC and Fox, contained no examples of any work done by Media Matters that was critical of religious content from Robertson or any other religious broadcaster. Media Matters has remained true to their mission of monitoring bias in the news, regardless of the venue on which it appears and TDC produced nothing to show otherwise.

Secondly, there as article on FoxNews.com that sought to manufacture some controversy over an allegation that “Media Matters Took Gun-Control Money While Boss Paid A Bodyguard…Packin’ Heat.” The first point that should be recognized is that TDC has produced no evidence whatsoever that this allegation is true. It was made by a single anonymous source and is uncorroborated by any other documentary proof. But even if we accept the allegation hypothetically, so what? Advocates of gun control, contrary to the frantic hyperbole of right-ringers, are not opposed to the existence of guns. They are, as the label makes clear, advocates of “controlling” access to weapons so that they are not easily available to people who would use them to commit crimes or harm others. A gun in the possession of a bodyguard is entirely appropriate and would not be objected to by gun control advocates or the pro-gun-control Media Matters donor.

So once again, Fox News has succeeded only in pumping up their highly coordinated and self-serving campaign to misinform their audience about Media Matters and to damage their reputation. And this campaign is all taking place the week prior to the release of a book by Media Matters that pulls the curtain aside to reveal the makings of The Fox Effect. I’m sure that the timing of the Fox smear is totally unrelated to the book’s release.


Fox Nation vs. Reality: Al Gore On Capitalism

Posted by on February 16, 2012 at 8:32 pm. NO Comments :

Not one to miss an opportunity to bash a Democratic leader, Fox Nation posted an item that featured a headline deliberately designed to cast the former vice-president in a negative light: Al Gore Takes Aim At ‘Unsustainable’ Capitalism.

Fox Nation

Followers of the Fox Nation vs. Reality series have probably already guessed that the article that Fox linked to never once cited Al Gore saying that capitalism is “unsustainable.” It also never cited Gore disparaging capitalism. In fact, the Reuters article that the Fox Nationalists referenced quoted Gore saying that…

“While we believe that capitalism is fundamentally superior to any other system for organizing economic activity, it is also clear that some of the ways in which it is now practiced do not incorporate sufficient regard for its impact on people, society and the planet.”

The story was about the launch of an initiative to promote more long-term investing that would have a beneficial impact on business and the economy. The goal was to highlight the changes in the investment world that has seen some mutual funds turn over their entire portfolios in seven months when 20 years ago it took seven years. The short-term investing philosophy is credited with causing higher levels of volatility in the stock market and hampering the sort of real wealth creation that results from committed investors making wise decisions.

In all likelihood the financial analysts that Fox relies on for commentary would agree with Gore, but the Fox Nationalists care more about misleading their audience than reporting the truth. And snipping parts of the announcement out of context in order to imply that Gore hates capitalism is the way Fox keeps their audience so blissfully ignorant.


The New And Improved War On Religion: Catholic Hypocrisy In The Media

Posted by on February 16, 2012 at 2:00 pm. 1 Comments :

The manufactured controversy over President Obama’s initiative to make employer-provided contraceptive coverage available to all women, regardless of where they work, has been morphed into a phony debate on religious freedom. OK, if it’s a religious debate they want, then bring it on.

Juan Cole has published a brilliant analysis on Alternet enumerating the 10 Catholic Teachings Conservatives Reject While Obsessing About Birth Control.

1. Pope John Paul II was against anyone going to war against Iraq

2.The Conference of Catholic Bishops requires that health care be provided to all Americans.

3. The Catholic Church opposes the death penalty for criminals in almost all situations.

4. The US Conference of Bishops has urged that the federal minimum wage be increased, for the working poor.

5. The bishops want welfare for all needy families, saying “We reiterate our call for a minimum national welfare benefit that will permit children and their parents to live in dignity. A decent society will not balance its budget on the backs of poor children.”

6. The US bishops say that “the basic rights of workers must be respected–the right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to the organization and joining of unions…”.

7. Catholic bishops demand the withdrawal of Israel from Palestinian territories occupied in 1967.

8. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops ripped into Arizona’s law on treatment of immigrants, Cardinal Roger Mahony characterized Arizona’s S.B. 1070 as “the country’s most retrogressive, mean-spirited, and useless anti-immigrant law.”

9. The Bishops have urged that illegal immigrants not be treated as criminals and that their contribution to this country be recognized.

10. The US Conference of Bishops has denounced, as has the Pope, the Bush idea of ‘preventive war’, and has come out against an attack on Iran in the absence of a real and present threat of an Iranian assault on the US.

Cole goes into more detail on each item and provides examples of legal cases where the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against select religious activities. For instance, both polygamy and peyote (used in religious rituals) are prohibited despite the Constitution’s enunciation of freedom of religion. So if the Catholic puritans who insist that an insurance company can’t offer legal medicine to patients on the basis that it is against their faith, then they had better switch their positions on all of the issues above as well.

The media needs to be honest about the framework of this debate. It is not about freedom of religion. Catholics are not encumbered in way from engaging in their chosen form of worship. But if they leave their churches to participate in the broader society, whether by opening hospitals or McDonalds franchises, they have to play by the same rules as everyone else. A church that preaches racial segregation can say whatever they want to their parishioners, but they can’t open a hotel and refuse to hire African-Americans or decline to admit them as guests. And any church-owned business that employs and serves the general public in a non-religious capacity cannot discriminate on the basis of their personal beliefs.


The Mutt Romney Blues

Posted by on February 16, 2012 at 12:39 pm. 2 Comments :

For your entertainment pleasure:

The whole story of this animal abuse includes the fact that Mitt Romney’s Irish Setter, Seamus, suffered fear-induced diarrhea that ran down the sides of the car. Romney pulled into a gas station and hosed down the car and Seamus, then put Seamus back into the cage on top of the car and proceeded down the highway for a 400 mile trip.

The video is courtesy of Brave New Films and Ry Cooder.