News Hounds

Fox News OK's Ad From Media Matters

Reported by Ellen - Thu 9:17 PM

Last week, we posted about - and voiced our support for - Media Matters' fundraising campaign to place an ad on Fox News reporting what the "fair and balanced" network has mostly ignored: Its parent company's donation of $1 million to the Republican Governors Association. After some negotation, Fox News has agreed to run the ad.

Megyn Kelly and Monica Crowley Pretend The Right Does Not Call Obama A Socialist Or A Muslim

Reported by Ellen - Thu 6:21 PM

Methinks Megyn Kelly and Monica Crowley protested just a tad too much Wednesday (9/1/10) in their sneering, condescending attacks on Newsweek for having the audacity to highlight the untrue, inflammatory attacks against President Obama, such as calling him a Muslim, a socialist, etc. Kelly and Crowley tried to pretend that Newsweek had overblown “mainstream” criticisms of Obama in order to defend him and attack the right. As Kelly valiantly, and with unintentional humor, accused Newsweek of not making a distinction between someone calling Obama’s policies socialist and calling him a socialist (as if Fox News pundits make that distinction), she and Crowley turned a blind eye to the mountain of instances right there on their own network where the accusation was made either directly or indirectly.

Sean Hannity And Fox News Do Republican Rehab For AK Senate Candidate Joe Miller

Reported by Ellen - Thu 2:09 PM

Now that Republican U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller has secured the Republican nomination in Alaska, he has come under increased scrutiny, especially for his recent comments suggesting that Social Security and Medicare are unconstitutional. So what’s a Republican candidate feeling the harsh glare of media attention to do? Why, go on Fox News, of course. And what better program than Hannity, where the host is sure to feed you his answers with his questions?

Fox News Military Analyst Tom McInerney Is A Birther

Reported by Ellen - Thu 2:24 AM

Fox News military analyst retired Lieutenant General Tom McInerney is reportedly a serious man. He's a West Point graduate who ran the Alaskan air command during the Exxon Valdez disaster. But he seems to have gone over the edge in retirement. In January, in the wake of the Christmas “underpants” bomber, he called for strip searching every “18-28 year old Muslim man” who wants to get on an airplane. McInerney told Fox News' astonished and dismayed Julie Banderas, “If we don’t do that, tbere’s a very high probability that we’re gonna lose an airliner.” Now McInerney has come out loud and proud as a birther.

Fox News Tries To Present Iraq War As A Bargain Compared To Stimulus

Reported by Ellen - Thu 12:46 AM

Co-authored by Brian

OK, Neil Cavuto didn’t actually call the Iraq war a bargain but he certainly compared it favorably to the stimulus with a questionable chart showing the cost of the war as $709 billion compared to the stimulus cost of $862 billion. It was a neat little twofer for the GOP: Make Obama’s spending look bad (more than the costs of a 7 ½ year war!), and suggest that President George W. Bush ran a tight or at least a tighter ship (Never mind the millions of dollars missing and the billions wasted. Don’t hold your breath waiting for that chart!).

Vanity Fair's Must-Read Article On Sarah Palin

Reported by Ellen - Wed 7:02 PM

There's a terrific article about Sarah Palin in Vanity Fair: It discusses her cowardice with the media, her stinginess as a tipper, her bad temper with her husband and suggestions about her mothering skills.

What Meghan McCain Didn't Say About Sarah Palin - That She's Competent Or Qualified

Reported by Ellen - Wed 5:18 PM

Meghan McCain visited The O'Reilly Factor to discuss her new book. Bill O'Reilly, who I suspect is not a big fan of Sarah Palin, asked McCain about what she had written about Palin. McCain talked about Palin's "enthusiasm" and star power: "No one can deny this woman's power and enthusiasm and what she can do for the Republican Party... I didn't see her as a diva. I saw her as a woman who knew what she wanted and had been preparing to be vice president her entire life. That's still how I see her. I think she was born to do this." Of course, as the daughter of John McCain, who chose Palin as his running mate, Meghan McCain can't say anything negative about Palin without it redounding back on her father. But she did say that she is looking for a leader for her generation and, "I'm not entirely convinced that she or any other person right now is really gonna be the person to take it all the way." Notably, McCain did not say a word about Palin's competence or ability to handle the job of being Vice President. Video after the jump.

Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Objects To Family Photos Behind Obama’s Desk

Reported by Ellen - Wed 1:05 PM

Fox News continued its shallow attacks on President Obama’s speech on Iraq as Fox News’ Tucker Carlson complained that Obama was exploiting his family by putting their photos behind his desk.

O’Reilly And Crowley Complain Obama’s Iraq Speech Was Too Boring

Reported by Ellen - Wed 1:23 AM

Bill O’Reilly and Monica Crowley may have found President Obama’s serious, substantive speech on Iraq last night (8/31/10) boring, but the two conservatives were unintentionally hilarious in their childish shallowness which was expertly highlighted by Alan Colmes. Funniest moment: O’Reilly imitating the Pips.

President Obama's Iraq Address - Streamed Live And Open Thread

Reported by Ellen - Tue 6:11 PM

Thoughts? Opinions? This is a great place to chat and watch in advance of Fox News' inevitable spin.

Megyn Kelly Politicizes USS Cole Prosecution

Reported by Ellen - Tue 2:31 PM

America Live with Megyn Kelly made a blatant attempt to politicize the prosecution of the so-called mastermind of the bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen 10 years ago. Kelly is an attorney and she’s supposed to be part of Fox News’ “objective news” lineup. But she offered nothing but shallow spin in her discussion about the Obama administration’s decision to put a hold on the prosecution of the alleged Al Qaeda member charged with coordinating the attack. Since the defendant is being detained indefinitely at Guantanamo Bay, she couldn’t fear monger about his release. So instead, she spun it to look as though the Obama administration was going to let him evade justice. Another scary person of color that Kelly was going to hold up as a beneficiary of the Obama administration's unjust Department of Justice.

Fox & Friend Guest - Child Abuser Who Claims Evolution Education Causes Teen Pregnancies

Reported by Priscilla - Tue 10:27 AM

No, I’m not kidding. Yes, the correct response is WTF??? Fox & Friends has hosted its share of denizens from the extreme bizarro world of the Christian right. In March, they hosted Victoria Jackson, a former SNL comedienne turned teabagger who thinks that Obama is a Communist. Earlier this month, on a panel of “media” types who oppose the Manhattan Islamic Cultural Center, Brian Kilmeade (who vehemently opposes Park 51) hosted homophobe Bradlee Dean, a Christian rock singer, who thinks that it’s fine to kill gays. (“American Taliban?!") But yesterday, along came somebody who makes Jackson and Dean look benign. Juliette Huddy interviewed two people on opposite sides of the issue involving distribution of contraceptives to public school students. Her guest, who opposes this measure, isn’t just another anti-choice crazy like Jill Stanek, who accused a Chicago hospital of stashing fetuses in closets. Stanek isn’t a convicted criminal. But Huddy’s “pro-life” guest, Bob Enyart, a proponent of corporal punishment for children, actually served 60 days in jail for beating his step-son with a belt. He has also served time for Operation Rescue hijinks. After the death of abortion provider, Dr. George Tiller, Enyart said that the murder was just an “occupational hazard.” He pickets homes of doctors who perform abortions. In a stellar addition to his resume, Enyart also read, on religious TV, the names of those who died from AIDS – while playing “Queen’s” “Another One Bites the Dust.” He’s also a “young earth creationist.” He advocates for a “Constitutional Monarchy” with a biblical criminal code incorporating a death penalty for homosexuals. ("American Taliban?!") He once sold tee shirts with “homos make me sick" emblazoned on them.” This information is all readily available. So is Fox not vetting its guests or do they bring these folks on as a shout out to their “pro-life” audience? Read on for details of the interview as well as a link to a petition to encourage Fox to vet their guests.

Media Coward Palin Whines Obama Not Given Tough Enough Questions

Reported by Ellen - Tue 1:10 AM

Sarah Palin was in a hypocritical snit that NBC’s Brian Williams didn’t ask President Obama tough enough questions in their interview Sunday night. Talking about it on Hannity on Monday (8/30/10), Palin sneered about the “mainstream, lamestream media” not asking “those basic questions” by which she meant that Williams should have grilled Obama for saying, “a mechanism, a network of misinformation that in a new media era can get churned out there constantly… I can’t spend all my time with my birth certificate plastered on my forehead.” Yes, the same Sarah Palin who hides from that “lamestream” media and only seems willing to “discuss” policy by posting on Facebook (where she can’t be questioned), who can’t take it when Bill O’Reilly challenges her, whose demands at her speaking engagements include pre-approved questions only, pre-approval of any media attendance at least 10 days in advance, and recording by the media of no more than three minutes of any speech which is to be used for B-roll footage only – that Sarah Palin is whining that the media needs to be more aggressive - well, with Barack Obama.

Glenn Beck Started A New News And Opinion Website

Reported by Ellen - Mon 11:22 PM

Glenn Beck has launched something of a conservative version of The Huffington Post tonight. It's edited by a former Breitbart guy who promises to bring a combination of news and opinion stories that are not being covered or are under-covered.

Some Say Bozell And Hannity Are Hypocrites About Reporting On Ground Zero Mosque

Reported by Ellen - Mon 2:30 PM

Brent Bozell and Sean Hannity may have made an honest mistake Thursday night (8/26/10) when they complained about the so-called liberal media using the phrase "some say" as a method of working in liberal bias, in this case in favor of the so-called ground zero mosque. But anyone who saw the film "Outfoxed" (which served as the genesis for this blog) knows that the phrase "some say" is one of Fox News' favorite ways of working in its own conservative bias.

One Year Later, Glenn “I Promise Not To Bury My Mistakes” Beck Says It Is “Inaccurate” To Call Obama A Racist

Reported by Ellen - Sun 7:26 PM

On Fox News Sunday today, host Chris Wallace conveniently offered Glenn Beck the opportunity to walk back his now-infamous comments calling President Obama a “racist” with a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture.” The clarification was somewhat suspect, however. While Beck told Wallace that it was “not accurate” to call Obama a racist, Beck immediately pointed to Obama’s religion as the true (racist) culprit. The exchange came after Beck “defended” other aspects of his racial record by suggesting that civil rights leaders and the Obama Justice Department are racists. But even if Beck truly regrets having called Obama a racist – and not just for having said it in a way that has caused him a lot of trouble – then why did he wait for more than a year to say it? This is the same Glenn Beck who solemnly vowed, “If I make a mistake, I'm not just going to gloss over it. I will not bury my mistakes. If it's a big mistake, I will correct them in the league.”

Glenn Beck’s Whitestock: Boring and - Yep – White

Reported by Alex - Sun 2:58 PM

The verdict is in: Glenn Beck’s “Restore Honor” rally yesterday in Washington, D.C, was one big snooze fest, so dull that even some of the cops left early. And the event, dubbed “Whitestock” in an early Tweet yesterday, was – you guessed it – 99.99% white. Fortunately for us, our regular New Hounds commenter and local resident, Jim, was part of the other .01%. Jim was in the area on completely different business when he and his wife got stuck in re-routed traffic and ended up circling the rally for over an hour, allowing him to get an eye-and-earful . Here is his report:

Glenn Beck Sermonizes About Rebellion

Reported by Ellen - Sat 6:49 PM

Glenn Beck didn't just sound like a televangelist Friday (8/27/10), he looked like one. Dressed in a dark suit and a tie, he kept handling a Bible as he sermonized about its importance. "You know why things are so screwed up today?" he asked early in the lengthy opening segment of his show. "Because you might have one (a Bible) but you'd never have it on your desk... When's the last time you opened it? A lot of Americans have lost sight of that and certainly our country doesn't focus on the Bible any more. Our neighbors in Canada think the Bible is hate speech now, believe it or not." Frankly, I don't believe it. But Beck didn't dwell on explanations or sources.

Glenn Beck/Sarah Palin "Restoring Honor" Open Thread

Reported by Ellen - Sat 4:03 PM

Unfortunately, I'm tied up today but please use this as an open thread about the rally. For those interested in reading more, I've got links to observations from others in the blogosphere. I'll be updating as I find new posts.

Beck opens his Big Weekend with "America’s Divine Destiny" Prayer Bonanza.

Reported by Guest Blogger - Sat 1:59 PM

Guest Blogged by Margarita

Fox News may not be covering Glenn Beck’s big weekend in Washington, but yours truly can capture it all for you via the miracles of the Internet. Beck’s "Insider Extreme" network is running the whole thing live, starting with Friday night’s "America’s Divine Destiny" rally held at the Kennedy Center in Washington. At this rally, according to the somewhat gramatically-challenged promo, "nationally-known religious figures from all faiths will unite to deliver messages reminiscent to those given during the struggles of Americas earliest days." Why not, I think. Dinner’s over and I’ve got nothing better to do.