The Unmitigated Hate of Fox News

Posted by on January 27, 2011 at 9:58 pm. 20 Comments :

In response to a long and repulsive record of anti-Semitism and insensitive allusions to Nazis and the Holocaust on the part of Fox News, a coalition of 400 rabbis published an open letter calling on Rupert Murdoch to sanction Glenn Beck and demand that Roger Ailes apologize for their atrocious behavior. The letter was printed in a full page ad in Murdoch’s own Wall Street Journal, and said in part…

“We share a belief that the Holocaust, of course, can and should be discussed appropriately in the media. But that is not what we have seen at Fox News. It is not appropriate to accuse a 14-year old Jew hiding with a Christian family in Nazi-occupied Hungary of sending his people to death camps. It is not appropriate to call executives of another news agency ‘Nazis.’ And it is not appropriate to make literally hundreds of on-air references to the Holocaust and Nazis when characterizing people with whom you disagree.”

Rather than take the responsible path and accept that the criticism of hundreds of independent rabbis is sufficient evidence that Fox has stepped way over the line, Joel Cheatwood, senior vice president of development for Fox News, took a confrontational stance that proved once again that Fox News is committed to an agenda of hate. He said…

“We haven’t seen the ad, but this group is a George Soros backed left-wing political organization that has been trying to engage Glenn Beck primarily for publicity purposes.”

Really? The 400 rabbis who signed the letter are from a diverse spectrum of congregations, from reform to orthodox. They include liberals and conservatives and they have no organizational affiliation other than their common faith and a shared disgust for those who tarnish the memory of their families and heritage. But Cheatwood insults them by accusing them of being publicity seekers. And worse, he asserts that they are but minions of the “puppet master,” as Glenn Beck dubbed George Soros, thus recycling the same sort of vilification that Jews were subjected to in Hitler’s Germany.

There is simply no excuse for this overt hostility and insensitivity. This is no longer confined to the brutish ignorance of a few television hosts. It extends to the network management from Cheatwood, to Ailes, and all the way up to Rupert Murdoch himself. These people have no respect for others who have suffered under the most horrendous circumstances. They are only concerned with their own obsession for spreading hate and division. Ironically, Glenn Beck spoke of this on his program today:

“We can’t treat everyone as an enemy. We need to stop focusing on the things that divide us, but the things that unite us. […] Do you know why you can shoot a cop or beat somebody at Wendy’s; why you can call neighbors – neighbors – enemies because they voted for a different person? Because we no longer see people as human beings.”

If that wasn’t so sick coming from someone who spends every waking hour demonizing his ideological foes, it would be a laugh riot. Beck is the man that has likened progressives to cancer and warned that they can only be dealt with by shooting them in the head. And now he wants to deliver sermons on unity and respect for fellow Americans?

Glenn Beck has spoken more about the Nazi affiliations of Democrats and liberals than anyone on radio or television. It is an obsession with him. Hardly a day goes by that he doesn’t make some comment about the Holocaust. Which is interesting because today was one of those rare days when he never brought it up at all. He completely ignored the subject of the Holocaust today – the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. On this day Beck remains silent on the subject. A silence that speaks volumes.

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No Wonder Glenn Beck Is So Stupid. He Hates Teachers

Posted by on January 26, 2011 at 12:06 pm. 6 Comments :

This morning Glenn Beck took to the radio to bash President Obama’s State of the Union speech. As usual, his rambling screed was littered with lies. But it wasn’t enough to merely hurl baseless insults at the president, for some reason he felt compelled to disparage teachers and come out in favor of America producing offspring who are as intellectually vacant as he is.

Glenn Beck

The President spoke at some length about the need to focus on education and the value of teachers. Beck’s response to this was to shriek “Don’t talk to me about a teacher sir. That’s indoctrination, Talk to me about parents.” He continued…

Beck: “Last night, I don’t know how many people picked it up, he said the solution came from China. They have their kids in school much longer for the year, and they also keep them in school a much longer day. And teachers are known as nation builders. And I wish we could just give them the respect they deserve.”

Where to begin. Let’s set aside Beck’s bizarre opinion that teaching is synonymous with indoctrination. Obama never said that “the solution came from China.” He merely noted that nations like China and India were devoting more resources to education than we are, which happens to be true. This is what the President actually said:

Obama: “Meanwhile, nations like China and India realized that with some changes of their own, they could compete in this new world. And so they started educating their children earlier and longer, with greater emphasis on math and science. […] Over the next 10 years, nearly half of all new jobs will require education that goes beyond a high school education. And yet, as many as a quarter of our students aren’t even finishing high school. The quality of our math and science education lags behind many other nations. America has fallen to ninth in the proportion of young people with a college degree.”

But don’t bother Beck with facts or aspirations to improve ourselves in a competitive world. Beck also erred when he said that it is communist China where teachers are know as “nation builders.” As was stated clearly in the President’s speech, it is actually our democratic ally, South Korea. Beck has as little regard for truth as he does for teachers, whom he seems reluctant to show any respect. But it just gets worse from there.

Beck: “I don’t know anybody that talks down about a teacher, I really don’t. I’ve never heard a teacher introduce himself and say ‘I’m just a teacher.’ I’ve never heard that. I have heard ‘Well, I’m just a mother.’ The greatest teachers are our mothers and our fathers, period.”

So Beck thinks that teachers in this society are treated with equal esteem as say, architects, or doctors, or pop stars? And he also thinks that motherhood is frowned upon? I really have to wonder what country Beck is living in. And while parents are obviously an important part of the life of any child, to say that they are our “greatest teachers” is missing the point. Of course our parents teach us values and shape our character, but how many of us learn astrophysics, or mechanical engineering, or medieval literature, or neurosurgery from our parents? That’s what the dialogue on education is about, and anyone with any sense knows that.

Finally, Beck demonstrated his own sorely deficient comprehension skills. This may explain why he is such a bad student and so ill-informed on so many subjects.

Beck: “He said last night the teacher, the one in front of the classroom, is the one that affects the child the most. Well, there’s your problem, President Obama.”

No, it’s your problem, Glenn, because he distinctly did not say that. Here is what he did say:

Obama: “That responsibility begins not in our classrooms, but in our homes and communities. It’s family that first instills the love of learning in a child. Only parents can make sure the TV is turned off and homework gets done. We need to teach our kids that it’s not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair. […] Let’s also remember that after parents, the biggest impact on a child’s success comes from the man or woman at the front of the classroom.”

Glenn Beck gets the simplest things so perversely wrong that you almost feel sorry for him. He is obviously suffering from a severe learning disability. He would have benefited immensely from the sort of teaching he now belittles. But the people for whom I feel most sorry are his listeners. They are being barraged on a daily basis by untruths and delusional analyses. And the damage that does to our society is tangible and dangerous. He is creating a congregation of frightened, hostile, idiots. That can’t end well.

[Addendum] On his TV show today Beck reprised his attack on the State of the Union speech. In doing so he provided another example of his pathological dishonesty:

What Beck Said: I actually feel bad for teachers. I mean the good ones. We should fire the bad ones. Which he wouldn’t say last night.
What Obama Said: We want to reward good teachers and stop making excuses for bad ones.

And there was also this charming thought:

“Last night was all about unity. I didn’t get my little ribbon, but it was all about unity.”

That little ribbon was worn in honor of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the other victims of the Tucson shootings. How nice of Beck to mock that tribute and laugh at the the suffering of others.


CNN Sinks Lower Into The Tea Party Swamp

Posted by on January 25, 2011 at 6:15 pm. 3 Comments :

CNN Tea PartyAfter the State of the Union speech by President Obama, every network will broadcast the official Republican response that will be delivered by Wisconsin representative Paul Ryan.

CNN, however, will also broadcast a response by the chair of the House Tea Party Caucus, Michelle Bachmann. So Democrats will have one speech on the air and Republicans will have two rebuttals. This is CNN’s idea of fair and balanced. Ironically, Fox will not be airing Bachmann’s response.

So why would CNN go out on limb to give the farthest right element of the GOP an additional platform to bash the president and his policies? One word: RATINGS!

CNN is wearing their desperation of their sleeve as they seek to manufacture controversy that they hope will result in drawing in curious viewers. This is the modus operandi of the current network leadership. This one fact goes a long way toward explaining this bonehead move on the part of CNN:

CNN’s new president, Ken Jautz, is the man who gave Glenn Beck his first job in television!

That needs to be repeated relentlessly and shared with the world. Jautz is an unrepentant sensationalist who cares more about ratings than ethical journalism. He knows that the Tea Party is not a serious political player, but he believes the drama they generate will produce viewers.

Jautz is also responsible for CNN’s recent partnership with Tea Party Express, a racist and disreputable enterprise that was expelled from the Tea Party Federation. That’s the organization that Jautz thought would be a good partner to host an upcoming Republican presidential primary debate.

After taking criticism from all sides on this decision to fluff Bachmann and her Tea Bagger Brigades, CNN issued this defense of their move:

“The Tea Party has become a major force in American politics and within the Republican Party. Hearing the Tea Party’s perspective on the State of the Union is something we believe CNN’s viewers will be interested in hearing and we are happy to include this perspective as one of many in tonight’s coverage.”

That mirrors their lame defense of the Tea Party Express deal. And it still doesn’t make any sense. Poll after poll shows that the Tea Party is an insignificant segment of the population and that their views are wildly out of touch with the American mainstream and even the Republican Party. There is no justification for giving them this free promotional airtime. And it is notable also that CNN has not offered to give the Democrat’s Progressive Caucus equal time.

Everyone who who cares about ethical media and fair elections should let CNN know that this is inappropriate and unprofessional. You can use this form on CNN’s web site to tell them that they should not be partnering with Tea Party Express or any right-wing wing PAC (or left-wing for that matter). You can also Tweet them at http://twitter.com/cnn. Use the hashtag #NoCNNTP.

[Update] Bachmann’s address was surreal. She never looked into the camera. It was like she was talking to an invisible person to her right (as if that’s possible) the whole time. She also brought up the debunked (and hilarious) assertion that the IRS is hiring thousands of agents to “enforce” ObamaCare. What’s more, the Minneapolis Tea Party (from her home state) is protesting that Bachmann does not speak for them. Even her GOP colleagues are criticizing her speech. All in all, a massive fail.


Banksy Nominated For Best Documentary Oscar

Posted by on January 25, 2011 at 12:08 pm. NO Comments :

Guerrilla artist and conceptual gadfly, Banksy, has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for his “Exit Through the Gift Shop.”

I don’t care if it’s the best documentary or not. I just want to see this:

By the way, it is an outstanding documentary and worthy of its nomination. Congratulations Banksy, Jaimie, et al.


Colin Powell Gets It (almost) Right

Posted by on January 24, 2011 at 12:56 pm. 2 Comments :

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday and addressed the “nastiness” in our public dialogue:

“There has crept in our society and our public dialogue, a coarseness, a nastiness, an attack of people who don’t share the same views as you do,” he said. “All sorts of nastiness. And it is not just politicians who are doing this to each other, and, frankly, politics has always been a contact sport in this country, but with all of the cable channels and talk radio and blogs, especially blogs, where people can be anonymous with their nastiness, I think has caused a level of coarseness in our society that we’ve all got to think about.”

Especially blogs? That was a gratuitous dig that doesn’t really advance the point he was making. Blogs don’t have nearly the influence that politicians and national television and radio commentators have. Their contribution to the coarseness in public dialogue is tiny by comparison.

I’m glad to hear that Powell agrees that violent rhetoric directed toward political adversaries has escalated beyond reason and can result in potential harm, but did he really have to shift the responsibility from the media to anonymous commenters on blogs? That just diminishes the message and lets characters with millions of followers, like Glenn “Shoot them in the head” Beck, and Rush “Don’t kill all the liberals” Limbaugh, off the hook.


Glenn Beck Guns For More Money

Posted by on January 23, 2011 at 12:33 pm. 10 Comments :

If there is one thing you can say about Glenn Beck it’s that he is the consummate capitalist, practiced in the arts of Snake Oil salesmanship and Apocalypse Marketing. He has parlayed those skills into a commercial exploitation empire that spans television, radio, Internet, publishing, theater, merchandising, and of course, advertising.

As the survivors and victims of the Tucson massacre are still mourning and healing, Beck has reached out to new clientele in the pursuit of higher profits:

Note that this is not an advertisement for sporting gear or self defense. It is an ad selling “revolution.” As any marketing professional will tell you, the words and images in ads are deliberately chosen and tested to produce a desired response from their target audience. It is plain that Beck is seizing upon the recent tragedy to fatten his wallet. At the same time he is advancing his mission to arm his congregation for the approaching battle.

This new sponsor fits in well with the Apocalypse Marketing strategy Beck has forged. After acquiring your Food Insurance, stashing your valuables in Liberty Safes, and hoarding coins from Goldline, don’t forget to stock your armory.

It would be naive to assume that the timing of this is coincidental. Beck and his sponsor are taking advantage of current events to commence, not an ad campaign, but, as the ad says, a new revolution. In fact, Beck has already declared explicitly that…

“The revolution has begun – I never thought I would say those words, but I understand that it has today. […] You must understand, you are in a revolution, a global revolution whether you like it or not and the rules of the games have changed.”

This is the same man who recently said that the only way to stop the progressives in Washington is to “shoot them in the head.” This man is an imminent danger to society. It is the pinnacle of irresponsibility for Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes to continue to allow him this platform that he uses to foment hate and violence. And it only makes it worse when they brazenly profit from this madness.

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Keith Olbermann To Launch Internet Venture?

Posted by on January 22, 2011 at 1:45 pm. 6 Comments :

Not 24 hours has elapsed since Keith Olbermann shocked the cable news world by announcing that Countdown has reached ignition and been lifted off the MSNBC schedule. And due to the vague explanations offered by the principals, the public is left to their imagination as to what happened.

Today The Wrap is reporting that the move was entirely driven by Olbermann’s desire to become an Internet media baron:

“With two years left on his $7 million a year contract, Olbermann was seeking a full exit package but he really has his eye on creating his own media empire in the style of Huffington Post.”

Why not? It seems like everybody’s doing it.

Back in the day Matt Drudge, a small-time scandal monger, began publishing his conjecture-laden tabloid, The Drudge Report. Then his spawn, the terminally choleric Andrew Breitbart, followed with his BigWhatever network of outright lie sites. Tucker Carlson, the Biggest Loser (who may hold the Guinness record for the number of times he’s been canceled) launched his Daily Caller. Former MSNBC chief Dan Abrams founded Mediaite. Even Glenn Beck jumped on the bandwagon and lit up The Blaze, an appropriate masthead for a purveyor of incendiary rhetoric.

Still the leader in this parade of personality-driven press is The Huffington Post. If Olbermann chooses this model for an online presence it could be profoundly rewarding. He has a built-in following that already resides in cyberspace. He would have no problem attracting investors. He could cover the issues that interest him most and would be free to appear on any television network to discuss the stories he breaks online.

One minor point, last year Tucker Carlson boasted that he had acquired the domain name, keitholbermann.com. It was a typically puerile act on Carlson’s part that was also brazenly hypocritical. Read the whole sordid story here. Olbermann may have to retrieve his name from Carlson, but that shouldn’t be difficult under the current regulations of the World Intellectual Property Organization, the agency governing such matters.

I, for one, would be thrilled to see the launch of the Olbermann Observer Online. But as with everything else that has been written about his future since the surprise announcement, this story is not verified by any authoritative source. Howard Kurtz is saying the separation was the inevitable result of frayed relations between Olbermann and MSNBC management (i.e. the reprehensible Phil Griffin). And the suggestion that Olbermann initiated the departure doesn’t square with his statement that he was “told” that last night was “going to be the last edition” of his show.

MSNBC has already announced schedule changes to shore up the Olbermann hole. Lawrence O’Donnell is moving up to Olbermann’s 8:00pm slot. Ed Schultz will go to primetime to replace O’Donnell at 10:00pm. And Cenk Uygur will fill in for Schultz at 6:00pm.

If it were up to me I’d make additional daytime adjustments as well. There is no reason for two episodes of Chris Matthews’ Hardball in the afternoon. His ratings certainly don’t warrant the real estate. I’d let him have 7:00pm and give the 5:00pm slot to recently retired congressman Alan Grayson, where he would be on opposite Glenn Beck. That’s a ratings war I’d love to see.


Keith Olbermann Quits MSNBC, Joins Fox News

Posted by on January 21, 2011 at 10:21 pm. 10 Comments :

* * * Psyche! * * *

Keith OlbermannA cable news bombshell was dropped this evening, but not the one in the headline above. And anyone who clicked on this article thinking it might be true should take a minute or two to have a little chuckle at your own expense.

The actual breaking news is that Keith Olbermann closed his program tonight with the announcement that it would be his last. That’s pretty shocking in and of itself. Countdown is the highest rated program on MSNBC. It has been the launching pad for the rest of the network’s primetime lineup and its ratings cornerstone. It isn’t often that a network will jettison its top fare without some compelling justification. Although it should be noted that MSNBC did it once before when they canceled the number-one-rated Phil Donahue Show. At that time it was conservative politics that precipitated the cancellation. One can only hope that it is not the same case here.

There has already been rampant speculation as to the reason for this split, most of it centering on the just-approved acquisition of NBC by the notoriously conservative folks at Comcast. I find it unlikely that the new management stepped in to abruptly set Olbermann adrift before they have even moved into their offices. But since speculation is the special of the day, I’ll add mine. Olbermann’s au revoir began with him noting that…

“I think the same fantasy has popped into the head of everybody in my business who has ever been told what I’ve been told: That this is going to be the last edition of your show.”

Keith Olbermann has always been an artful author who chooses his words carefully. In saying that he was “told” that this show was his last, it is fair to say that the decision to leave was not his own. So what sort of issue could get a popular news anchor canned on such short notice? Generally it is either something he did recently, or something he was about to do. And since there doesn’t appear to be any event in the recent past that might have gotten him in trouble, it is more likely that there was some conflict with where Olbermann wanted to go in the future. My guess is that he wanted to cover a major event in the world of television news: The Comcast acquisition of NBC.

If Olbermann were to produce a report on this merger, I would expect that he would insist on addressing the passionate opposition to it. Most progressive media reformers have been lobbying mightily to prevent the merger from going through. Coincidentally, today happens to be the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s disastrous support for corporations over people in the Citizen’s United decision. There may have been an irresistible temptation for Olbermann to comment on the loss of rights for average Americans resulting from the CU case in the context of a media merger which puts even more power into the hands of a giant corporation. And if Olbermann pitched this story to his bosses who are presently jockeying to keep their jobs post-merger, they may have forbade him to do the report. And that could possibly have led to a heated disagreement and a parting of ways.

[NOTE: Sign this petition from MoveOn to Support a Constitutional Amendment to Reverse Citizens United: Corporations Are Not People]

Phill GriffinOf course, this is just conjecture. No one will know what the real low down is until the parties involved spill the beans and, as of now, no one’s talking. However, it would be in line with the management philosophy of Olbermann’s boss, Phil Griffin, who is an admirer of Roger Ailes, the CEO of Fox News.

The biggest unanswered question after why is where. What will happen to Olbermann going forward. CNN stands as the biggest potential beneficiary. If the 3rd place network were able to snap him up it would deliver another million or so loyal viewers. But the hardest part of this to understand is how Olbermann, a caring, passionate, honest, progressive voice has lost his job, while Glenn Beck, a hostile, lying, egomaniacal, rodeo clown remains employed even after telling his viewers that to stop progressives “You’re going to have to shoot them in the head.”


An Open Letter To Julian Assange

Posted by on January 20, 2011 at 9:43 pm. 8 Comments :

Dear Julian,

Few stories last year were more dramatic than the WikiLeaks document dump. It exposed both the internal workings of American diplomacy and the weaknesses of its infrastructure. The impact of it was so great that you were even on the short list for Time’s Person of the Year.

Subsequent to the tsunami you created there was a backwash of attacks from critics and legal authorities. I was one of those who defended you as a journalist who was doing what any journalist would do after coming into possession of controversial documents that had a clear value to the public. I saw no difference between your actions and those of Daniel Ellsberg of the Pentagon Papers fame.

I was encouraged to hear that you regarded yourself as journalist and proudly asserted the rights and privileges of the profession. However, you cannot assert those rights selectively.

Recently you announced that you were in possession of documents that you were holding as “insurance” in the event that anything happened to you or WikiLeaks. You made it known that included in that batch were cables referencing Rupert Murdoch and News Corp.

The description of these documents as insurance implies that if they were to be released they would cause some discomfort to the subjects. So you are confessing that you have damaging information about Murdoch that you are deliberately keeping secret.

This violates the code of journalistic ethics to which you are lately claiming to be signatory. It is wholly inappropriate to use such documents as a bargaining chip for your own personal benefit. The information you are hoarding belongs to the people. What’s more, Rupert Murdoch, in his role as the planet’s chief propagandist and media baron, is doing tangible harm to the world and to the practice of journalism. If you have information that, if released, would diminish Murdoch’s grip on the press, you have an obligation to release it now. It does not belong to you. It is not your “get out of jail free” card.

By stashing these papers away for your own purposes you weaken your case for being a journalist. But worse than that, you make yourself culpable for every evil thing Murdoch does. If you have the ability to diminish his influence and refrain from acting, then you share responsibility for whatever he does until you do act.

That is why I am calling on you to release what you have on Murdoch now. If it has public value then it belongs to the public. Murdoch’s secrets have no special grant to be kept secret. Ellsberg didn’t squirrel away batches of data to blackmail his adversaries and neither should you. And remember this, if Murdoch had any damaging information about you he wouldn’t hesitate for a second to broadcast it far and wide.

Set it free, Julian. And if you do not I certainly hope someone at WikiLeaks leaks the info despite you. It would really be a shame if let your paranoia turn you into the thing you have been fighting against.


America Hates Fox News

Posted by on January 20, 2011 at 2:18 pm. 4 Comments :

A new survey from Public Policy Polling shows that Fox News is the least trusted news network in the nation.

Network Trust Distrust
PBS 50 30
NBC 41 41
CNN 40 43
CBS 36 43
ABC 35 43
FOX 42 46

This is the second annual poll on news network trust. Last year had Fox at a higher level overall, but the poll’s internals showed that this was the result of the monolithic fanaticism of committed Fox viewers.

The same dynamic was present this year with PPP noting that “Democrats trust everything but Fox. Republicans don’t trust anything but Fox.” Democrats trust for Fox was at 22%. Their trust for all other sources fell between 56% and 73%. Sixty-seven percent of Republicans trusted Fox with no other source breaking 30%. Last year this led me to say:

What these numbers tell us is how effectively Fox has programmed their viewers to salivate when the bell rings. For these people, Fox is their remote brain. Consequently they will only respond to Fox and will shun any other source.

Fox NewsIt’s still true today. Fox News is, not surprisingly, distrusted by a majority of Democrats (65%) and liberals (82%). But it is also distrusted by a majority of Independents (52%) and moderates (60%). The only groups who place their confidence in Fox are conservatives and Republicans. This is an affirmation of all those who recognize that Fox is nothing more than a right-wing PR firm for the GOP and their interests.

The American people are clearly paying attention and responding rationally to the fraud that Fox News represents. The question now is when will the media wake up and wipe the glaze from their eyes. There is no reason for them to continue to regard Fox News as their peers. They need to start treating Fox as they would any other disreputable propaganda organ.

They need not envy Fox’s ratings because they are just the result of Fox having corralled a big chunk of a niche demographic. By validating Fox they are assigning it credibility it does not deserve and hurting their ability to compete. When you have the president of MSNBC praising Fox CEO Roger Ailes as a role model, there is something seriously wrong with your perspective. Not being a news network, Fox is no more competition for news than is Nickelodeon (which I’ve said before is a better source than Fox for news and plays to a smarter audience). And it’s time the media realized this and acted accordingly.