Fox News: Get Ready To Tea Party

Posted by on April 15, 2009 at 1:24 am. 4 Comments :

The astroturf-roots charades that Fox News has been reporting as “Tea Parties” are almost here. Tomorrow is the big day and Fox has been ramping up their promotions. It has been well documented that these shams were conceived and executed by major players in the Republican Party and affiliated partisan advocacy groups like FreedomWorks. But now Keith Olbermann has put together a brilliant montage that shows just how hard Fox has been working to make these events successful.

The giddy elation these people project is reminiscent of a six year old being told that tomorrow the family is going to Disneyland. This has to be the high point of the year for these pathetic souls. The anticipation with which they are dripping seems to fill them with ecstasy. They apparently have gotten over their fear that ACORN’s Soros-backed community organizers are lurking in the shadows waiting to pounce just as their festivities get under way.

The White House is reacting to the day of revolting right-wingers in a particularly appropriate way:

QUESTION: Thanks, Robert. Tomorrow is tax day and a number of conservative groups are organizing these so called “tea parties” across the country; there are going to be grassroots uprising revolts against the administration’s policies so far. Is the President aware that these are going on and do you have any reaction to this?

ROBERT GIBBS: I don’t know if the President is aware of the events. I think the President will use tomorrow as a day to have an event here at the White House to signal the important steps in the economic recovery and reinvestment plan that cut taxes for 95 percent of working families in America, just as the President proposed doing; cuts in taxes and tax credits for the creation of clean energy jobs.

We’ll use tomorrow to highlight individual and instances in families that have seen their taxes cut and I think America can be — Americans will see more money in their pockets as a direct result of the Making Work Pay tax cut that the President both campaigned on and passed through Congress.

First of all, the reporter who asked the question needs to be schooled on what constitutes a “grassroots uprising revolt.” When the organizing principals are political insiders like Dick Armey and Ari Fleischer, and the PR is run by Fox News, it is beyond absurd to describe it as grassroots. More to the point, though, it’s nice to see that President Obama is not devoting much attention to this. The Tea Baggers can throw their pity party in the vast wasteland of their imaginations.

For those of you contemplating joining in on the Tea Bagging, I have this word of advice: Be careful out there. The crazy is extra thick.

Update: President Obama: For too long, we’ve seen taxes used as a wedge to scare people into supporting policies that actually increased the burden on working people instead of helping them live their dreams. That has to change, and that’s the work that we’ve begun.

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Right Wing Radicals Resist Recognition

Posted by on April 14, 2009 at 6:42 pm. NO Comments :

The Department of Homeland Security has issued an interesting report titled, “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment.” An excerpt:

“The consequences of a prolonged economic downturn-including real estate foreclosures, unemployment, and an inability to obtain credit-could create a fertile recruiting environment for rightwing extremists and even result in confrontations between such groups and government authorities.”

Despite the fact that the DHS has previously published a report on left-wing extremists, rightists are outraged, and convinced that they are being targeted for harassment by government spooks. Michele Malkin got so fired up that she let loose this tirade:

“…the piece of crap report issued on April 7 is a sweeping indictment of conservatives. And the intent is clear.”

She then seemed to suggest that the intent was to sabotage her precious tea bagging parties. Really? Does she honestly believe that the DHS is so fearful of Fox News viewers congregating to wave tea bags and whine about Socialism that they produced this report to protect themselves? It is also notable that nowhere in the report were “conservatives” even mentioned. The report went into some detail describing the potential risks associated with groups that traffic in hate, racism, and antisemitism (maybe it did mention conservatives after all – implicitly). It warned of violent militias that oppose immigrants, abortion, and any manner of regulation of guns. To anyone with a fourth-grade comprehension it is clear that the report refers exclusively to extremists and militants that pose a threat to other law-abiding citizens.

So why is Malkin, and the rest of the conservative cabal, defending these dangerous malcontents? Is it because they support criminality in pursuit of a radical conservative agenda? Or is it because they see themselves in the descriptions in the report? Either way it is clear that that they are acting as advocates for these repugnant cranks. They are apparently offended that the government would seek to protect citizens from domestic terrorists like Timothy McVeigh and Eric Rudolph.

If anything, the complaints about this report demonstrate that the likes of Malkin, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, etc., are indeed aligned with the radical extremists the report warns of. They just really don’t like having that spotlight shone on them.


Glenn Beck Gives Guest The Vapors

Posted by on April 13, 2009 at 4:48 pm. NO Comments :

On today’s Glenn Beck show, a guest was stricken and, after warning Beck three times that he was about to pass out, he fell to the ground. The alert director made sure to take a wide camera shot so that the audience could see the poor man prostrate on the studio floor. David Buckner, professor of organizational leadership at Columbia University, was discussing the economy with Beck when he wobbled and fell.

Shortly after the incident, Beck announced that Buckner was OK. But, not one to waste a catastrophe, Beck made a point of cheerfully describing how this was a good thing for his show:

“Everybody thought it was part of the show because this show, you never know what to expect. [Buckner] apologizes, and I’m like ‘are you kidding me, the ratings will be through the roof!'”

How thoughtful. It appears Beck has gone the full Howard Beale. Either that, or this is a preview of his just announced Comedy Tour:

This makes perfect sense. What’s funnier than a guy who goes on TV everyday crying like a baby about the impending end of western civilization? He’s a natural. Here’s a sample joke from Beck’s show:

A priest, a minister and a rabbi go into a bar – and they are all killed by Soros-backed ACORN protesters bused in from FEMA camps where they were re-educated by the mainstream media to worship Obama and Islam.

Funny stuff. I can’t wait.


Fox News Tea Baggers Consumed With Fear

Posted by on April 9, 2009 at 10:14 am. 6 Comments :

The upcoming Tax Day Tea Parties are shaping up to be a source of unending hilarity. A week before the event, supporters are already fretting over their self-invented fears of being infiltrated by the liberal, Soros-sponsored, ACORN hordes, who apparently have nothing better to do than disrupt the Foxbots’ Mad Hatter Fests.


[Isn’t it a little disrespectful to place a used tea bag on the American flag, staining it?]

The right-wing blogosphere is all atwitter with anxiety at the thought of lefties crashing their lame parties. Take a look at some of these examples:

Michele Malkin: And on the ground, the tax-subsidized and Soros-subsidized troops are going to try and wreak havoc every way they can. Many readers and fellow bloggers have seen signs that ACORN may send in ringers and saboteurs to usurp the anti-tax, anti-reckless spending, anti-bailout message.

Neil Cavuto: Only eight days before a nationwide tea party, some over-caffeinated crashers aiming to lay waste to it. Reports of very well-organized infiltrators trying to mix in and rain on this parade. Talk about taxing.

Townhall: The latest attack from the left is not aimed at the Republican party or Michael Steele or Rush Limbaugh, but at Democrat, Republican and Independent Americans across the country who have dared to organize “tea parties” to oppose rising taxes, more government control over private enterprise and less individual liberty.

I’m still having trouble grasping how the right can view liberals as weak, tottering, appeasers of Socialism, yet still fear their foreboding presence at a political rally. It parallels their thoroughly illogical perception of President Obama as lacking the courage or strength to be an effective leader, yet he is also a tyrannical despot plotting to enslave America and bend the world to his will.

The truth about these astroturf-roots charades is that they are nothing more than promotions for Fox News. They are pitched on the air and on Fox Nation. At least four Fox “personalities” are hosting the events (Glenn Beck, Neil Cavuto, Sean Hannity, and Greta Van Susteren). Fox even describes them as “FNC TAX DAY TEA PARTIES.”

Any other news enterprise that covers these shams is acting as Fox’s PR agency. Would Fox hype NBC’s Today show concerts outside their Manhattan studio? Of course not. The press should ignore these staged commercial publicity traps and cease to be bullied into providing free advertising for their competition. The only coverage these jokers deserve is on The Daily Show and Saturday Night Live.


Who’s Afraid Of Fox News? The Rest Of The Media!

Posted by on April 6, 2009 at 4:26 pm. 8 Comments :

Fox News has long established itself as the biggest bully on the block. We already know that they have no journalistic standards. They will lie, proselytize, demean, and censor, all in pursuit of an ultra-rightist ideological agenda.

But it is not enough for them to spread disinformation on public policy, they are also engaged in a fierce campaign to discredit every outlet for news with whom they disagree. This campaign has the double-barreled benefit of advancing their political goals, while simultaneously tarnishing the reputations of their competitors.

This is not a new development. Fox has been shoving around the other kids on the press playground for quite some time. In October of 2007, Chief Bully, Bill O’Reilly, took a wild swing at the media with an overtly hostile tone:

“[T]here is a huge problem in this country and I’m going to attack that problem. I’m going to attack it. These people aren’t getting away with this. I’m going to go right where they live. Every corrupt media person in this country is on notice, right now. I’m coming after you…I’m going to hunt you down […] if I could strangle these people and not go to hell and get executed…I would.”

Even then, the broader media community refused to fend off these assaults. They seemed to take the beatings like emotionally defenseless battered spouses who just kept coming back for more abuse. In response to O’Reilly’s tantrum I wrote:

“It is a little surprising that, in the aftermath of these threats, his targets haven’t bothered to stand up for themselves. Media organizations and individuals in broadcast, cable, and newspapers, are all being hammered by this seriously disturbed shill-miester and they don’t seem to have the slightest desire to defend their reputation or professional honor. How can they when they are so busy trying to emulate him?”

In the nearly two years that has elapsed, not much has changed. O’Reilly still harangues everyone from NBC to the New York Times; from Nobel laureate Paul Krugman to multiple Peabody honoree Bill Moyers. And of course, it isn’t just O’Reilly. The rest of the Rupert Murdoch stable is eagerly joining the attack. It’s even spilling out into the marketing of Fox News and its affiliates. Here are some of the ads they have run on air and in print:



So what does the allegedly responsible faction of the journalistic community do in response? Absolutely nothing. I have yet to see a single ad by any other network that addresses the biases of Fox News. Never mind that Fox is so much more corrupt than anything on America’s airwaves – and independent documentation proves it. But CNN, NBC, and the rest, seem to be hiding under their mattresses.

Given the brazen nature of Fox’s aggression, it would be understandable for the targets of their wrath to respond. It would be justifiable to expose Fox as a haven for hacks who are more committed to corporatist advocacy than to journalism, or even democracy. It would, in fact, be their responsibility to simply report the truth about Fox’s deliberately deceptive programming.

What’s wrong with these losers? They are neglecting their duties to inform the public. They are validating the allegations against them by surrendering to them. They have the truth on their side to fight back with, so why don’t they use it? On top of all of that, they are trailing Fox in the ratings which impacts their fiscal well being. Can’t they see that it would be in their interest to fire back at Fox?

A concerted effort on the part of Fox’s victims could turn the TV landscape around. If the other networks were to serve the audience by disclosing Fox’s suspect motives and reportorial failings, they could dampen the public perception of the Republican network. They need to deal honestly with Fox as a propaganda machine. They need to do more than take opposing positions in their programs. They need to take the battle to Fox with at least the same intensity as Fox takes it to them. They need to use documentation and mockery to illuminate to the world what is obvious to those of us who are paying attention: That Fox is a fraud and a joke.

They need to do these things as an act self defense. They need to do them to restore confidence in their product. They need to do them to compete with a pseudo-news enterprise that has no qualms about destroying reputations with insults and falsehoods. They need to do these things in the interests of both professional journalism and their own bottom lines.

In the end, the targets of Fox’s animus have to stand up for themselves. They can’t rely on gadflies like me to come to their aid. They have to bring their case to the people in their advertising, their on air promotions, and in their reporting. They have to demonstrate that they have pride in their work and faith in the truth. And by doing so they can revitalize broadcast journalism. They can prevail over Fox’s ratings domination. And they can help to diminish the crazed voices that are haunting the paranoid conspiracy brigades who watch Fox News.


How To Get Fired At Fox News

Posted by on April 6, 2009 at 2:07 am. NO Comments :

Roger Friedman, the entertainment columnist at FoxNews.com has reportedly been fired for an unforgivable breach of Fox’s ethical standards. He disclosed in his column (since deleted) that he had acquired and viewed a bootleg copy of 20th Century Fox’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” A statement from Fox said:

“This behavior is reprehensible and we condemn this act categorically.”

Friedman chose the wrong ox to gore. He ought to have known that Fox would view dimly any action that might impact their bottom line. There would have been no problem if he had joked about assassinating Barack Obama (as Fox contributor Liz Trotta did), or read Republican Party press releases on the air as if they were actually news (as anchor Jon Scott did). He would still have a job today if he had only expressed a desire to strangle competing reporters (as Bill O’Reilly did), or to choke Michael Moore to death (as Glenn Beck did). The problem with Friedman’s transgression was that it put future corporate profits at risk, not mere human lives. So, obviously he had to go.

As it turns out, Friedman has been asking for it for years. In previous reviews of the aforementioned Michael Moore, Friedman praised both “Fahrenheit 9/11” and “Sicko”:

On Fahrenheit 9/11: “It turns out to be a really brilliant piece of work, and a film that members of all political parties should see without fail.” He continued, “…a tribute to patriotism, to the American sense of duty – and at the same time a indictment of stupidity and avarice.”

On Sicko: “Filmmaker Michael Moore’s brilliant and uplifting new documentary, ‘Sicko,’ deals with the failings of the U.S. healthcare system, both real and perceived. But this time around, the controversial documentarian seems to be letting the subject matter do the talking, and in the process shows a new maturity.”

Perhaps Fox was looking for an opportunity to boot this Commie out the door. But since even threatening the lives of public figures doesn’t warrant termination, they were stuck with him. Until now, when he was caught watching a video that has been circulating on the Internet and was freely available to web surfing movie fans around the globe. It was that ethical infraction that cost him his job.

I suppose we should just be grateful that Fox is demonstrating any ethical standards at all. Now if they would just look into Beck’s fomenting of armed rebellion.

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Fox News: Comfort Food For Fearful Fools

Posted by on April 3, 2009 at 3:59 pm. 4 Comments :

Last month I composed an analysis of the ratings success at Fox News this year. Amongst the reasons I posited was this:

“…by heating up the aggressive tone, Fox has fashioned a hearth around which despondent conservatives can huddle. In 2006 they suffered the loss of both houses of congress. Now they have lost the presidency as well – and to what they view as an unpatriotic, Muslim, elitist, intent on driving the nation to Socialism in a Toyota hybrid. So now they congregate in the warm red glow of the Fox News logo that provides them the comfort that comes from numbing propaganda and the righteous smiting of perceived enemies.”

Guess what? My theory has now been affirmed by none other than Fox News Senior VP Bill Shine:

“…one suggestion for FNC’s strong showing is that, to a degree, it serves as comfort food in troubled times for loyal viewers.

‘I think that is somewhat the case,’ said Bill Shine, the network’s senior vice president of programming. ‘There are people who want to check out or read or look at places where they feel comfortable.'”

Thank you, Bill. That validation will serve to lend credibility to my other observations regarding how Fox News repeatedly misrepresents their status in the media. You know, the Mainstream Media that they constantly castigate for being biased despite their prominent role in it.

As a recent example of their deceit, Bill O’Reilly has spent much of the last week parading around the dial in celebration of his 100th month as the top-rated show in cable news. He even went so far as to make comparisons of himself with groundbreaking historical TV programs:

“I don’t think it’s ever been done in any kind of TV milieu. We had our people research all programs going back to the 50s, like Gunsmoke and things like that. Nobody’s ever stayed on top this long.”

Keith Olbermann, however, revealed that O’Reilly isn’t even close to the record he claims. The Today Show has been #1 for 166 months, and Meet the Press for 131. Even worse, the comparison to network programs like Gunsmoke is deliberately dishonest. Gunsmoke was #1 against ALL network programming. O’Reilly never did that. The Factor was never even #1 against all cable programming. He has merely been #1 against cable “news” programming – a much smaller pond.

This is the sort of self-deception that losers have to exploit to maintain their self-esteem. So O’Reilly will continue to boast about feats he has not achieved, and Fox News will continue to provide a home for America’s orphaned conservatives. They will give each other solace as they strive to disseminate falsehoods about creeping Socialism and leftist monsters hiding under the bed.

Fox News is like chicken soup for socially stunted right-wingers.


Rush Limbaugh Leaving New York?

Posted by on April 2, 2009 at 11:44 am. 7 Comments :

When Rush Limbaugh says something, you can take it to the … well, the AIG subsidiary that manages credit default swaps.

On his radio program yesterday, Limbaugh went on an extended tirade over taxes in New York. Seeing as how hundreds of millions of dollars, and villas in New York, Florida, and probably more, aren’t enough to satisfy his thirst for opulence and Oxy-Contin, he is threatening to abandon the Big Apple and relocate elsewhere:

“I’m gonna look for an alternative studio somewhere outside New York. I’ll sell my apartment. I’ll sell my condominium. I’m gonna get out of there totally because this is just absurd, and it’s ridiculous.”

I’m going to go record now as being completely and utterly skeptical that Limbaugh will keep his word and flee the city. It is just another example of his boorish posturing that is more theatrical than truthful (which pretty well describes his whole act).

Although I don’t for a second believe that Limbaugh will bail, Jon Stewart (and millions of New Yorkers) are hoping that he will:

Go on Rush…we DARE you!


David Letterman And The Goon: Bill O’Reilly

Posted by on April 1, 2009 at 11:57 am. 1 Comments :

The latest installment of the ongoing episodic series, Letterman and the Goon, aired last night, and the madcap misadventures of this odd couple didn’t fail to entertain. The program began with David Letterman revealing how the show got it’s name when he told Bill O’Reilly that…

“I’ve always thought of you as a goon”

From there it segued into an endearing scene that demonstrated the touching bond between the two men, with Letterman obviously lying as he told O’Reilly that…

“You’re too smart to believe what you say.”

That compassionate attempt to spare the feelings of O’Reilly certainly drew a few tears from viewers (or at least Glenn Beck). Everyone knows, of course, that O’Reilly isn’t that smart at all, and likely believes everything he says, no matter how dishonest. But Letterman took the high road on behalf of his friend, just as he did when O’Reilly hilariously declared himself to be a journalist:

O’Reilly: “Glenn Beck is a talk show host. Rush Limbaugh is a talk show host.”
Letterman: “What are you?”
O’Reilly: “I’m a journalist.”

And how do we know that O’Reilly is a journalist? Because he “got a degree” that he “paid a lot of money for.” Well, that settles it then.

The pair did endure a bit of drama when Letterman raised the specter of Al Franken. O’Reilly tried to dodge the issue, saying…

“I’m gonna recuse myself because I don’t like Al Franken and it’s not fair to me to go on and say bad things about him and I don’t want to do that.”

Letterman challenged that position, pointing out that O’Reilly says bad things about people he doesn’t like all the time. O’Reilly insisted that it happens “very rarely.” By very rarely, he must have meant just about every night. Not only does O’Reilly frequently bash his perceived enemies (just ask Sean Penn, Helen Thomas, Jeffrey Immelt, the Dixie Chicks, and any of the hundreds he has labeled “Pinheads”), he has been particularly hard on Franken:

  • “You don’t get any lower than that man, Franken.”
  • “That’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen in American politics – is this man maybe becoming a senator.”
  • “It’s personal with me. He’s lied about me. He’s slandered me.”
  • “The fact that he was even competitive […] depresses me about America.”

Those are all just love notes from a man who now says that it would “not fair to me to go on and say bad things about him.” No wonder Letterman closed the episode by saying…

“I’d like to see you in about six months for a cleaning.”

Precisely. A visit with Bill O’Reilly was pretty much the same as a visit to the dentist.


If You Believe This Country Is Great, But…

Posted by on March 31, 2009 at 11:48 am. 6 Comments :

Glenn Beck, who has been reduced to tears more often than Tammy Faye Bakker, says that it’s because he loves this country – and fears for it. Apparently he feels that the country he loves is dangerously weak and will collapse, but for his weepy entreaties.

However, his expression of that love always seems to have a disclaimer attached to it. He only loves America if it conforms to his delusive vision. And it isn’t just a few principles or values. In fact, he adds new criteria every day. Here is how he opens every episode of his Fox News program, along with some of his qualifications for loving his country:

If you believe this country is great, but…

  • …progressive fascists are trying to destroy it, this is your wake-up call!
  • …you believe these weasels are really only as trustworthy as far as you can throw ’em — then your voice needs to be heard.
  • …you feel like the government is trying to steer us to mob rule lately, then it’s time to get back on the road.
  • …our government is trying to demolish everything that our founders stood for, it’s time to take our country back.
  • …fear the tyranny that’s starting to take hold, don’t stay silent.
  • …the government is clamping down on your freedom, now’s the time to throw the shackles off.
  • …the government’s solutions are the problem, what do you say we get the government out of the way.
  • …the government is putting our lives, liberty and fortunes in jeopardy, it’s time to say enough is enough.

That’s just a sampling of the many flaming hoops America must jump through to earn Beck’s affection. And it is no coincidence that most of them express an overt antagonism and require some sort of adversarial activism on the part of Beck’s disciples.

So what does Beck love about America? Well, on his program yesterday he hosted Burton Folsom Jr., a revisionist historian who believes that robber barons were beneficial to the country, and that FDR exacerbated the Depression. In the course of the dialogue, Folsom and Beck praised Henry Ford for opposing labor unions and refusing to participate in FDR’s National Recovery Administration. Of course, it was the labor movement that rescued America’s work force, and FDR’s recovery program that restored economic stability.

What Beck didn’t mention is that, at the very same time, Ford was helping to finance Hitler’s rise to power. While American workers were desperate for jobs, Ford opened a new plant in Germany. His anti-Semitic tract “The International Jew” was a Hitler favorite. And the Nazi regime awarded him the highest honor that a civilian can receive.

What, then, is the message that Beck intends to convey? Is it that we should turn to corporatist (i.e. Fascist) policies to allow the robber barons to return and save the nation? You would think so by his defense of AIG executives’ salaries and bonuses. Beck’s personal interest in this was obvious. Despite the fact that he makes tens of millions of dollars a year, he likes to pretend he’s a man of the people, and he had the gall to articulate this stuporously insensitive complaint:

“As a small businessman, I don’t know what they’re going to do next. I don’t if they are going try to come after me, if they are going to raise my taxes, if all of a sudden I’ve got to pay a new carbon tax, or I’m an unpopular… So you don’t know.”

That’s right, Glenn. You’re a small businessman, they’re all out to get you, and you’re an unpopular…(?). Thanks for enlightening us.

After all that, all I can say is … if you believe this country is great, but wealthy blowhards who produce nothing but hostility and division are distorting American values with their self-centered griping … Come on, follow me.