“Liberal” Bob Beckel not only didn't mind Sean Hannity badgering and belittling his Muslim guest. No, Beckel made it two-on-one by trying to humiliate the man over Islamic terrorism, something he had no connection to and wasn’t even there to discuss. If ever there was a doubt that Beckel has become a complete Fox News stooge, watching this segment should dispel it.
As we previously posted, Fox’s Todd Starnes has kicked off Fox News' War on Easter grievance industry this year with a dishonest attack on Muslim parents in Dearborn, Michigan. Starnes twisted a news report about the parent’s objections to a public school handing out flyers for a church-sponsored Easter Egg hunt into a FoxNews.com article accusing the Muslims of (irrationally, fanatically) objecting to the Easter Egg hunt, itself.
Leave it to Hannity – and O’Reilly, but more on him later – to pick up on this false story and run with it. Tonight, Hannity hosted the father at the center of the Detroit Free Press article Starnes twisted to suit his agenda.
Sadly, guest Majed Moughni, an obviously very intelligent man, was not well prepared for Hannity’s tactics.
Predictably, Hannity began badgering Moughni from the get-go: “Why are you so hostile? …Why don’t you stop whining… and tell us why you’re complaining (about the church flyer)? What’s the big deal? I asked you. Tell us!” And then, of course, Hannity interrupted before Moughni had a chance to finish a single thought.
As Moughni started to explain that he has a problem with a church having flyers passed out, Hannity started yelling, “So what? So what? …You’re that outraged over a stupid Easter Egg hunt? You’ve gotta be kidding me!”
It never got any better.
This is not a surprise coming from a bigoted bullyboy like Hannity. But what’s Beckel’s excuse? That he hates Muslims and couldn't resist the opportunity to pile on to one, no matter how far-fetched the pretext?
Just one day earlier, Beckel downplayed his strident anti-Islamic rhetoric to Howard Kurtz on Media Buzz. But usually Beckel attacks Muslims over terrorism – and falsely accusing them of not condemning it. But Moughni’s situation was not even remotely connected to a terrorist event.
Clearly, Hannity included Beckel in the segment because he wanted Beckel to attack Moughni. Even worse, Beckel went along. That is, assuming it wasn't his idea in the first place.
Beckel seized on one of Moughni’s remarks - that he had stood up for some Christians – with praise that was really an excuse to attack all Muslims:
I’m delighted to hear that you stood up for the Christians because it has been appalling to me that the Muslim community both in the United States and certainly overseas, the presidents of every Muslim nation, the radicals certainly, but the mainstream Muslims, supposedly moderate Muslims have said NOTHING! When children get bombed at Boston Marathon, when the Cole gets blown up, when the World Trade Center – nothing is ever said!
The only thing you can conclude from that is, most Muslims are either complicit in it, they agree with what these radicals are doing or they’re cowards.
Well, I’m sorry, Bob, but when you work as the liberal on Fox News and sit through a dishonest and deliberate attempt to make a serious guest look like a fool, as Hannity clearly was doing – and then do your part to make him your own personal punching bag, too – then you are either complicit in Fox News tactics or too cowardly to stand up to them.
Shame on you.
Now, that’s one of the best, most concise analyses of the issue I’ve ever read. It’s pinned on my bulletin board next to David from Elyria’s definition of Bush spongiform encephalopathy (aka mad ex-president disease).
And then Hannity tells one of the smudged white lies about always having those of the opposite viewpoint on his show—but these “liberals” either talk too slow; are naive and act too polite, and so are immediately KO’ed; or sound exactly like Teabots.
*For what it’s worth, Eid al-Fitr wouldn’t be possible for a number of years. It celebrates the end of Ramadan and, as the Islamic calendar is based on the lunar cycles, Eid al-Fitr is movable. This year it happens at the end of July and will move forward in the year at the rate of about 2 weeks per year, so that the next time Eid al-Fitr lands within the “standard” school year (Sept-May) will be in 2020. (Fun fact: About every 33 years, by the “Western” calendar, Eid al-Fitr, as with all Islamic holidays, is celebrated twice within the year. It happened in 2000 and will happen again in 2033.) Muharram, on the other hand, will be observed/celebrated in late October this year and will stay within the “standard” school year through the end of this decade.
It should also be noted that most Muslim holidays are incredibly religious in nature so a mosque’s inviting public school students to participate would likely result in a 1st Amendment case (and, most likely, brought by a “concerned” Christian parent with the support of one of these “Christian civil rights” groups—which have no problem suing Muslims over their “crossing” the “separation of church and state” but whine at the slightest hint when Christians cross the line). Of course, it’s a bit ironic that the biggest reason that public schools tend to ignore when Christians “cross the line” is because most “Christian” holidays have been secularized enough that the religious aspects are routinely undervalued (if not completely ignored) by the majority of Americans (who end up being subjected to annual whinefests by “Christians” and their handlers and supporters who can’t stand the fact that people “forget” the “reason for the seasons”). Islamic holidays haven’t had the luxury of being intertwined into the American psyche to let them become secularized.
Putin lover Hannocchio would have a hissy fit if a Muslim sent a notice of a party to his spoiled-can’t play tennis-children. The aging media hack probably would call the Muslim group out on both his radio and tv shows.
All of these cafeteria Catholics at this fraudulent “news” outlet are all jokes.
NOTE TO HANNITY
Genius, if any church that passes out flyers to an Easter egg hunt on CHURCH PROPERTY it’s technically a religious event. Of all people you should know this, grandpa.
I saw that segment tonight, and really, ewww.
The one thing I will only tangentially agree with Beckel on is that it’s a damn shame the Muslim community in this country is as camera-shy as they are and can’t come up with a brigade of more focused and articulate spokespeople than this guy from Detroit. If you didn’t know he was a real person, you’d be tempted to think he was a Hannity/Beckel puppet designed to make Muslim Americans look loony and incoherent.
Beckel seriously turns my stomach. What, did a Muslim go “booga-booga-booga” at him when he was a toddler and gave him a lifelong fear? Really, what in God’s name is his excuse? (And Hannity accuses the Muslim guy of being irrationally angry and hostile?)