Watching Sarah Palin being interviewed is always a little like watching an incoherent art-student film or something from a William S. Burroughs fantasy. It obviously comes from a completely different planet in a different quadrant of the universe.
For example, among the things you learned by watching Palin on Sean Hannity's Fox News show last night were the following nuggets:
-- Palin still is unhappy with the McCain campaign for not having smeared Barack Obama enough with phony association-game stuff about Bill Ayers and Rev. Wright -- you know, issues Americans really cared about.
-- She seems to have been watching a lot of Glenn Beck, though, because she practically repeats Beck's favorite talking points about Obama's supposedly nefarious associations.
-- Palin says "it wasn't negative campaigning and it wasn't off-base to call someone out on their associations." Hmmmm. Well, when Max Blumenthal and I did just that with Palin over her lengthy far-right associations, she completely freaked out.
-- Obama is "dithering" in Afghanistan. And evidently, if Palin were president, the only people she would listen to regarding the use of troops would be generals. Civilian advisers? Fuggedaboutit.
-- The reason she "blew" the question in the Katie Couric interview about what she read? She was irked by Couric's "arrogance." Apparently it's arrogant of media folk to ask national politicians softball questions that every other politico on the planet can readily answer.
-- What does she read? The first publication she cites is NewsMax. Yep, that NewsMax: The folks who, in the late 1990s, were peddling "Y2K apocalypse" theories and Clinton "New World Order" conspiracy theories. The same NewsMax that recently published a piece extolling the virtues of a military coup in order to remove Obama.
One thing that I think will become obvious in the coming weeks: Palin will not risk any more Katie Couric interviews. She will be completely ensconced only with friendly interviewers like Hannity. Oprah will have been her most risky interview.Watching Sarah Palin being interviewed is always a little like watching an incoherent... more
Over a year after she infamously stalled on Katie Couric's question about what news sources she reads, Sarah Palin has told Sean Hannity what's in her media diet.
"She asked about what I read, and I read," Palin told Hannity in an interview to air Wednesday night on Fox News. "I read Newsmax and the Frontiersman and Wall Street Journal and everything online. I absorb the news via many, many sources."
Newsmax is a conservative news website, while the Frontiersman is the local Wasilla, Alaska newspaper.
In her interview with Oprah, Palin said the question annoyed her.
"I was already so annoyed, and it was very unprofessional of me to wear that annoyance on my sleeve," she told Oprah. "To me it was in the context of, 'Do you read? How do you stay informed? You're way up there!' It seemed like she was discovering a nomadic tribe."
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But, by not answering the question, doesn't it seem like Palin was confirming what she thought about Katie Couric's question about what news sources she reads?We finally have an answer.
Over a year after she infamously stalled on Katie... more
This was a video I made to contrast the coverage Fox News gave the 2009 Tea Party Protests to the coverage they gave to various other protests over the last decade.
A few notes of disclosure: While I'm a registered Independent voter, my views will often tend to lean left of center, so take this with a grain of salt if need be. That being said, it was NOT difficult to allocate this footage and I personally feel it's fairly representative of Fox's coverage as I've seen it.
I'm using this footage under the clause of Fair Use. If anyone would like links/sources for each of the clips used in this video, feel free to email me and I can provide them.This was a video I made to contrast the coverage Fox News gave the 2009 Tea Party... more
On Hannity, Andrew McCarthy attempts to explain why homophobia isn't "hatred".
bombs from the left coast: Rationalizing homophobia on Hannity http://bit.ly/3FvJzxOn Hannity, Andrew McCarthy attempts to explain why homophobia isn't "hatred".... more
Earlier this week, Jon Stewart did a segment on Sean Hannity's health care protest coverage in which he revealed that the Fox host had used footage of a different, larger event to make gathering look more impressive. The "Daily Show" went on to mock Fox by adding more video to Hannity's story, this time from Woodstock and the movie "300."
The next night, Hannity apologized saying Stewart was right. Stewart watched the show in anticipation of this moment, but after tons of tears and teddy-bear hangings, he revealed that "nothing's worth sitting through this."
Stewart went on to praise Ramin Hedayati, the young producer who caught the Hannity flub. (Full disclosure I know Mr. Hedayati personally.) "He" came came out on stage to take a bow and despite having graduated college in 2002, Ramin looks surprisingly old and begged Stewart to kill him so he could stop watching Sean Hannity's show.
Then file a complaint with the FCC. I bet we can make sure that FOX news will held to better standards next time. Here's a comment from the LA times with the info:
The appropriate Complaint Type is "Broadcast (TV and Radio), Cable, and Satellite Issues" and the Complaint Category is "Unauthorized, unfair, biased, illegal broadcasts" (the form states that this includes "Biased or distorted news stories by the media"). The original show aired on Fox News at 9:00 pm Eastern on November 5th 2009.
We have an avenue to correct this type of falsification and to make change we must make a complaint."
This person is absolutely right. It is one thing to sit around and talk about FOX news corrupting the value of journalism. It is another thing to shut them down when the world has seen proof of it. It is your choice, so what are you going to do about it?Then file a complaint with the FCC. I bet we can make sure that FOX news will held to... more
Sean Hannity speculated that "there is a chance our government knew all about" alleged Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan "and did nothing because nobody wanted to be called an Islamophobe," and asked, "What does it say about Barack Obama and our government?" But there is no evidence that Obama was aware of the emails between Hasan and an imam with alleged ties to Al Qaeda; moreover, Hannity did not address what the incident says about President Bush, who was in office when the authorities reportedly first intercepted the emails.
During his Fox News show on Tuesday night, right-wing pundit Sean Hannity attacked a new ad campaign soon to be appearing in New York City subway stations that raises awareness about atheism. The ad, sponsored by The Big Apple Coalition of Reason, reads: “A million New Yorkers are good without God. Are you?”
“These ads inform New Yorkers that a million or more of their neighbors are good without God,” said Michael De Dora Jr., the executive director for the New York branch of the Center for Inquiry. “That is, a million of us have found or created natural morality, and lead good, productive, and meaningful lives without appeal to religious dogma or God.”
Sensing an opportunity to exploit the ads for political benefit, Hannity told his audience that a Christian group could never get away with airing ads like that.
Hannity doesn’t seem to ride the subway. He has said, “I travel on private planes, I have an SUV that I’m proud of.” But his lack of knowledge never stops him from opining on things he knows little about.
More @ linkDuring his Fox News show on Tuesday night, right-wing pundit Sean Hannity attacked a... more
So much for post-partisan politics. Team Obama's attacks on Fox News are petty and childish. Top Bush strategist Nicolle Wallace on why the White House war on cable is backfiring badly.So much for post-partisan politics. Team Obama's attacks on Fox News are petty and... more
The White House is continuing the attack on Fox News. Today White House press secretary Robert Gibbs singled out programs featuring on air Fox News network personalities Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity for criticism. Gibbs, meeting with reporters in his office for an off-camera question-and-answer session, justified the White House's harsh condemnation of the cable news network.The White House is continuing the attack on Fox News. Today White House press... more
“Why would we not want a public option?” Shep Smith asked Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), kicking off a tense and lively exchange this afternoon on Fox News. When Barrasso quickly launched into his Frank Luntz-inspired GOP talking points, calling it a “government take-over of health care,” Smith — who’s been known to go off the Fox News reservation from time to time — pushed back:
SMITH: It’s not a government take over, Senator! That’s not fair and we both know it. It’s not a government takeover because what it would be is a government option if you have insurance now and you like it you can keep it. … That’s not a government take over if we’re being fair is it Senator?
Barrasso struggled to muster a response. “Well compare it to Medicare, which we know right now is going bankrupt,” he said. Later, Smith engaged in fierce advocacy in favor of the public option:
SMITH: As the costs have gone up, the insurance industry’s profits on average have gone up more than 350 percent and it’s the insurance companies which have paid and have contributed to Senators and congressman on both sides of the aisle to the point where now, we can’t get…what more than 60 percent of Americans say they support, is a public option. This has been an enormous win for the health care industry. That is an unquestioned fact.
As Smith railed against insurance companies, Barrasso responded, “I’m not going to defend the insurance companies — I’ve been fighting them for the last 25 years of practicing medicine.” In fact, the Wyoming senator has received a considerable amount of contributions from the health care industry: Over $500,000 from health professionals and nearly $100,000 from the pharmaceuticals and health products industry over his career and nearly $40,000 bundled from health care lobbyists in the last two years.
Fox News constantly peddles the false talking point that the Democratic health care plan would be a “government takeover” (see e.g. Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, and Greta Van Susteren). Kudos to Smith for letting the Fox audience know that most of their anchors are lying to them.
More @ link“Why would we not want a public option?” Shep Smith asked Sen. John Barrasso... more
The Globe cites sources close to the Obama administration.
“Obama is getting strategic guidance from Bill Clinton,” the report states. “Bill has met several times with Obama to discuss how he can counterattack his enemies, the source says. The most recent powwow was a 90-minute session at New York’s trendy Il Mulino restaurant on Sept. 14. As police and secret service surrounded the eatery, Bill sat with Obama plotting various ways to get even with his fiercest critics.” Clinton allegedly urged Obama to draw up an enemies list and “then take them down one by one.”
Wow, Ron Paul didn't make the list!The Globe cites sources close to the Obama administration.
“Obama is getting... more
This site rocks. Learn the origin and history of Death Panels and use it to Truth the unbelievers.This site rocks. Learn the origin and history of Death Panels and use it to Truth the... more
As right-wing radio foments anger over President Obama's scheduled speech to students next Tuesday, I'm reminded of a politically motivated elementary school assignment that inspired me all the way to the White House. The assignment was in praise of Ronald Reagan, even though I became a Democrat. This video is a brief video mashup of news items features Michelle Malkin, Sean Hannity, Charles Krauthammer, and others illustrating how this confusion and anger was fomented as well as pointing you to a resource that outlines Tuesday’s speech to the nation’s school children.As right-wing radio foments anger over President Obama's scheduled speech to students... more
Voight asks, "Is President Obama creating a civil war?"
Actor Jon Voight is on his way to Cincinnati, and Atlanta, in order to participate in Fox News host Sean Hannity's latest "Freedom Concerts." But first, he paused long enough to share some extra nuttiness with the Washington Times.
"There's a real question at stake now. Is President Obama creating a civil war in our own country?" Voight said in an interview with the paper.
He continued:
We are witnessing a slow, steady takeover of our true freedoms. We are becoming a socialist nation, and whoever can't see this is probably hoping it isn't true ...
Do not let the Obama administration fool you with all their cunning Alinsky methods. And if you don't know what that method is, I implore you to get the book "Rules for Radicals," by Saul Alinsky. Mr. Obama is very well trained in these methods.
The real truth is that the Obama administration is professional at bullying, as we have witnessed with ACORN at work during the presidential campaign. It seems to me they are sending down their bullies to create fist fights among average American citizens who don't want a government-run health care plan forced upon them. So I ask again: Is President Obama creating a civil war in our own country?Voight asks, "Is President Obama creating a civil war?"
Actor Jon Voight is on his... more
Conservatives accusing Democrats of trying to reap political advantage from the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) are conveniently ignoring the politicization of former president Ronald Reagan's death by Republican more than four year's earlier.
Just two days after Kennedy lost his yearlong struggle with brain cancer, conservative media personalities are already decrying Democrats for using his death to jumpstart health care reform's passage.
The main criticisms have come from the likes of Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh, who have warned of another "Wellstone effect" -- a reference to the partisan fracas that followed former Sen. Paul Wellstone's highly political memorial service in 2002, after his death in a plane crash.
But when the shoe was on the other foot, Republicans went to great lengths to use the death of a conservative icon to validate their candidates and policies. Four years before he accused Democrats of using Kennedy's death "as a sympathy ploy to advance a health care bill," Limbaugh was drawing direct lines between Reagan's legacy fighting communism and the need for further U.S. engagement in the war in Iraq.Conservatives accusing Democrats of trying to reap political advantage from the... more
Fox News, you disgust me. Why must you hate America so much and the TRUE reporting being done by Current?Fox News, you disgust me. Why must you hate America so much and the TRUE reporting... more
Another example of mainstream media commentators twisting words out of context, and ignoring actual experts that don't uphold the Network's agenda.
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Media figures have used a recent comment by Vice President Biden -- that the Obama administration "misread how bad the economy was" -- to suggest that the economic recovery package is a complete failure, rather than noting the assessment by economists then and now that the legislation does not go far enough and that further stimulus spending may be necessary.Another example of mainstream media commentators twisting words out of context, and... more
Hannity himself has claimed that journalism is dead. I wonder if he buried the knife and washed the blood from his hands before he said it. Editing the president's speeches to say what you want him to say should be illegal. It is forgery of an official statement by our Commander-in-Chief and should be punishable.
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Sean Hannity deceptively cropped President Obama's answer to a question about the Cold War to suggest that Obama did not acknowledge the actions of past U.S. presidents in freeing Eastern Europe.
From Fox News' transcript of Obama's July 7 interview with Garrett, with the portions of Obama's answer Hannity omitted in parentheses():
GARRETT: In your speech this morning, you said the Cold War reached its conclusion because of the actions of many nations over many years. Mr. President, are the Russian sensitivities so fragile that you can't say the Cold War was won? The West won it? And it was led by a combination of Democratic and Republican American presidents?
OBAMA: (Well, listen, the -- I think that you just cut out Lech Walesa and the Poles. You just cut out Havel and the Czechs.) There were a whole bunch of people throughout Eastern Europe who showed enormous courage.
And I think that it is very important in this part of the world to acknowledge the degree to which people struggled for their own freedom. (I'm very proud of the traditions of Democratic and Republican presidents to lift the Iron Curtain.)
But, you know, we don't have to diminish other people in order to recognize our role in that history.
After airing the cropped clip, Hannity said:
HANNITY: Unbelievable. Now, that's interesting, because Lech Walesa, the leader of the Polish Solidarity Movement, said this about the end of the Cold War; he said, quote: "We in Poland took him, Ronald Reagan, so personally. Why? Because we owe him our liberty. Now this can't be said often enough by people who lived under oppression for half a century."
Mr. President, if I were you, you may want to consider hitting the history books maybe before your next foreign trip.Hannity himself has claimed that journalism is dead. I wonder if he buried the knife... more
