O'Reilly On David Letterman
Bill O'Reilly was on David Letterman last night and there were some pretty funny moments, mostly at his expense. But I have to say one thing about Bill: He knows how to go on oppo shows with good humor. There are a lot of earnest Democratic pundits who could take a lesson from him. And if they don't understand that going on a Fox News show is very little different from going on, say, Late Night with David Letterman - well, you have no business going on Fox in the first place.
Read moreHow did O’Reilly’s Producer Know He Saw So Many “Illegal Immigrants” Working In Las Vegas?
After a “Watters World” segment about Las Vegas on last night’s O’Reilly Factor, Bill O’Reilly hosted producer Jesse Watters in the studio for some follow up Q & A. As Watters discussed the high unemployment and lack of good jobs there, he suggested that most jobs created were menial jobs being done by “illegal immigrants.” Yet Watters gave no indication he had any actual knowledge about anyone’s immigration status and every indication that he had merely made an ethnically-based assumption. Or, as the dictionary might say, displayed his prejudice.
Read moreHannity vs. "Ground Zero Mosque" Imam Rauf
Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the imam associated with the so-called Ground Zero Mosque, visited the Hannity show last night, where he attempted to promote his message of combating extremism on all sides. I'm not sure Imam Rauf did himself any favors with this appearance.
Read moreBill Hemmer Reinforces Cardinal Dolan's Objections To HHS Mandate
Now that Fox "News" seems to have become an arm of the Catholic arch-diocese of NY, they realize that if Catholic church prince Cardinal Timothy Dolan ain't happy ain't nobody happy. Even though the Obama administration tried to accommodate the concerns of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Dolan (head of the group), ain't happy about the Obama administration's birth control mandate. And as such, Fox seems to be more than happy to reinforce Dolan's message about how this mandate is a "war" on Catholics - a message, that like the teaching of the Catholic catechism, is repeated in order to inculcate the one "true" piece of dogma which, for Fox, will hopefully result in bringing the Catholic sheep into the GOP fold. (Ailes as the "Good Shepherd?!) Yesterday alleged "news" anchor Bill Hemmer discussed how a 1993 "religious freedom" law, being cited in all the lawsuits being filed by a minority of Catholic organizations, could "sink" the HHS mandate. And in the process he also managed to reinforce Cardinal Dolan's Fox catechism lesson about "religious freedom." Gotta love the "fair & balanced" gospel of Fox "News."
Read moreBret Baier Pretends He Never Helped Legitimize Arizona Birther Claim
On Monday’s Special Report, Bret Baier reported in the Grapevine segment that Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett, a Republican, threatened to remove President Obama from the Arizona ballot if Hawaii officials couldn’t prove the President was born there. Baier failed to mention that the President’s birth certificate has been produced and verified, that a newspaper announcement of his birth in a Hawaiian newspaper has also been produced and that there is no merit to the birther claims. This is not the first time Baier has slyly helped legitimize birtherism claims.
Read moreColin Powell Brushes Away Hannity’s Attack Dogs
Sean Hannity is a Man with a Message, which he tries to put across at every opportunity. Including last night’s interview with General Colin Powell, former aide to President Reagan, Secretary of State under George W. Bush, and (oh horrors!) Republican who supported Obama in the last election. Powell, though, calmly and firmly gave Hannity back as good as he got.
Read moreFox Attacks ObamaCare Advertising - In Lockstep With GOP
On yesterday’s Your World, Stuart Varney and Dr. Marc Siegel debated the Obama administration hiring a PR firm to promote the Affordable Care Act. Of course, the Republicans were for such advertising by the Bush administration before they were against it from the Obama administration. Therefore, so is Fox.
Read moreShannon Bream Promotes Radical Catholic Group's Video On "Non-Negotiable" Catholic Voting Issues
Yesterday, at the beginning of her interview with the sainted Ronald Reagan's sainted, conservative adopted son Michael, Shannon Bream showed a piece of a video which showed a background of flames and a branding iron with "life" inscribed on it and the words "non-negotiable" underneath.This was followed by a quote about "life" from Pope Benedict. It looked familiar. Turns out there's a reason why. It's not the first time that this video has appeared on the Fox News channel. While its first showing was on an official Fox "opinion" show, its curtain call appeared on an official Fox News show. What is vaguely troubling is that it has a definite message about how Catholics should vote. (Hint, not for Obama). So one wonders if Bream merely used the video as support for Michael Reagan's cheerleading for those Catholic groups who filed a lawsuit against the HHS birth control or is it part of Fox's strategy to ensure that Catholics vote GOP - or both. If Fox is a GOP "perfect world," Blondie's lyrics "Accidents never happen in a perfect world. Complications disappear" come to mind!
Read moreGreta Van Susteren’s Wasteful Spending Probe Ignores Republican Waste
If you spend much time watching On The Record, you’ve undoubtedly seen one of Greta Van Susteren’s many segments on government waste. Yet, somehow she has not noticed two very egregious examples of wasteful spending by Republicans: a $17,000 drip pan, courtesy of a Republican Kentucky Congressman, and Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s birther investigation in Hawaii – at taxpayer expense. This while she was questioning Congress’ oversight with Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy – with regard to a federal judges’ junket in Hawaii.
Read moreOn "America Live" - Catholic Role Model Michael Reagan Praises Catholic Lawsuits Against HHS Mandate
Unlike the liberal biological son of President Reagan, Ron Reagan Jr., Michael Reagan shares no DNA with the former president. But as his adopted son, Michael has taken on the mantle of his father in order to promote views that make his conservative father look downright moderate. Thus, not surprisingly, he is a frequent guest on the Fox News channel where he is allowed a full platform for his extremist and frequently incoherent positions. Given that the Catholic Church's opposition to the HHS contraceptive mandate dovetails nicely with the position of the hard right GOP, it's not surprising to see Reagan weigh in on the issue. Yesterday, on the alleged Fox "news" program, "America Live," Reagan was allowed to offer his usual brand of right wing blather not only as a conservative but as a Catholic which is rather interesting seeing that Reagan once called for the murder of an anti-war activist and the killing of Muslim women and their babies. Go figure!
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