Cavuto on Business yesterday attacked discussed Vice President’s Biden’s call for more stimulus. Neil Cavuto’s response? He called it an  “over-the-top fix for the economy and jobs.” After playing the clip of Biden, Cavuto sneered that Biden’s audience looked like they were in a hostage tape. He added “You’ve got a government spending more than a trillion bucks on jobs, and isn’t getting any bang for those bucks, now wants to spend more of your bucks on jobs. So we’re asking this morning, what the buck?” That set the tone for the rest of the segment.

Fox's propaganda messaging involves clever manipulation of language such as the use of incendiary words to describe what they are framing as an "outrage." They are also adept at manipulating others words in order to convey whatever agitprop meme they are advancing. A classic example would be how Obama's campaign statement about reproductive freedom was really "endorsing contraception" for kids. In Today's Sunday homily by Fox News' only full time clergy contributor (no rabbis or liberal Protestant clergy - especially icky women clergy - need apply in the America's Vatican newsroom), employed this type of propaganda in that it conveyed what seemed, ostensibly, an inspirational message but was really an attack on President Obama whose cleverly cropped words were, at the beginning of the piece, very cleverly misinterpreted manipulated dare I say twisted. 

In addition to being part of a network that specializes in conservative victimhood, Jesus' very own morning show, Fox & Friends specializes in the travails of persecuted Christians. This morning they ratcheted up the pity party by interviewing an author who claims that Christians are being given a bad rap in the non Fox media and popular culture. Their guest, Michael Coren, who has had a multifaceted religious journey, defended Christianity whilst working in a little snark at Islam. Jesus must be very happy.

Neil Cavuto is not normally the kind of flame thrower you see elsewhere on Fox News. But on Friday (7/6/12), he accused President Obama of “serially lying” and suggested that one of the lies was that our economy is still suffering from the George W. Bush years.

You know the Mitt Romney campaign is in trouble when Fox News trumpets conservative complaints as the top story on The O’Reilly Factor. Even though Fox would have you believe President Obama is on the verge of losing his re-election bid, it was clear from guest host Lauran Ingraham’s criticisms and the lack of a good  argument from the Republican strategist guest that there isn’t a winning game anywhere to be seen.

You don't need extraordinary powers of divination to predict the path that Fox "News" will take when evil, librul atheists get in Jesus' way. First, Fox's "fundamentalist barking dog" Todd Starnes writes about it on his blog. It then appears on Fox Nation where righteous Christian indignation can be further whipped up. And then it appears on Jesus' very own morning show, Fox & Friends so that persecuted Christians everywhere can nurse their perpetual victimhood. As reported by Starnes, a family owned PA restaurant is being investigated, after a complaint from a local atheist, for offering discounts to church going folks who bring in their church bulletin. Not surprisingly, the restaurant owner and her lawyer appeared on this morning's Fox & Friends where the friends were in total agreement that this is no big whoop. Not surprisingly, the Civil Rights Act wasn't mentioned. Just Fox & Friends doing the lord's work!

Chalk up Rep. Andre Carson as the latest African American to be demonized by Fox News. In a speech several weeks ago – but just blared by Breitbart a few days ago – Carson promoted madrassas as a model for ingenuity and innovation that should be looked at by American schools. Thursday night (7/5/12), Hannity guest host and conspiracy-theorist extraordinaire, Monica Crowley jumped at the opportunity to use that quote to portray Carson as some kind of poster child for creeping Sharia. And how did “Democratic strategist” Julie Roginsky advocate for her side? By immediately distancing herself from Carson and completely ignoring Fox’s over-the-top hate mongering.

Fox News finally got around to discussing Rep. Joe Walsh’s callous attacks on his Democratic challenger, war veteran and double amputee Tammy Duckworth – now that there was an opportunity to “clarify” them, as FoxNews.com described the segment. Walsh appeared on The O’Reilly Factor tonight where guest host Laura Ingraham offered a sympathetic platform and didn’t ask any tough questions. Rather than apologize for having said Duckworth talks too much about her military service and suggesting she is not a “true hero” because of that, Walsh played the victim: “All she does is film me talking to people and the left-wing blogs just went crazy with it.”

In what appears to be a small victory for journalistic integrity, Fox management might have, under pressure, directed Todd Starnes to change one of his headlines. As reported by Mickey Weinstein, head of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, "Fox News' Fundamentalist Barking Dog" Todd Starnes erroneously described the MRFF, in one of his headlines, as an "atheist group." As noted by the MRFF's attorneys, in a letter to Fox News' legal department, 96% of the group's membership are Christians. The MRFF lawyers indicate that they had previously sent another letter regarding another misleading Starnes headline. A request was made that the headline be "modified" and that Starnes issue a retraction. While no retraction was done, the headline changed from "Military Halts Use of Trademark on Bibles as Atheist Group Demands Their Removal" to "Group Calls Military Bibles a National Security Threat."  Good times.

In the two years of teabagger triumphalism there has been a concerted effort by the American right wing to curtail women's reproductive rights. While Bill O'Reilly's prediction that Planned Parenthood would be defunded hasn't materialized, a record number of anti-choice measures, many of which have passed, have been pushed by those for whom Fox News provides a mouthpiece. As we speak, only a court injunction prevents Mississippi from being, as the GOP governor proudly proclaimed, an "abortion free state." But that doesn't stop "pro-life media luminary" Laura Ingraham from using the "fair & balanced" news network to push anti-choice talking points. Last week, however, when she subbed for Bill O'Reilly (June 25th), she got as good as she gave. And for that, Alix Magill Johnson gets muchos kudos from your humble correspondent!