Yesterday’s Special Report "All-Star Panel" focused on the violence in Afghanistan in the wake of the burning of Korans at a U.S. military base. Although many conservative foreign policy and military experts have agreed that the Obama administration did the right thing in apologizing, Fox has used the incident to attack Obama – and particularly to suggest that he’s suspiciously sympathetic to Muslims. Host Bret Baier set the scene for the panel to follow suit with his introduction: "Four U.S. service members have been killed in Afghanistan since the protests began there, big protests over the weekend, continuing today with a car bomb at the Afghan airport. What about the situation and the policy involved?" 

Last night Bill O’Reilly, in the preciously named “Back of the Book” segment, punched his pop cultural ticket for the week to play concern troll for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, aka The Oscars™.  Bill called Sacha Baron Cohen a pinhead for not showing the proper respect to the Red Carpet and the conspicuous orgy of consumerism the Oscars represent.  Yet, earlier in the show Bill’O sent Jesse Watters to the Red Carpet to yell out provocative questions and tease Liberals.  What O’Reilly did was far worse than anything Borat may have done.  Baron Cohen was being true to his art, and used Hollywood’s massive publicity machine to play a prank on Hollywood itself, and drum up some publicity for his next picture.  You’ve got to admire that.  Jesse Watters, and by extension Bill O’Reilly, are the real pinheads for attempting to interject partisan politics into the Oscars.  An official even told Watters, “The Academy is very disappointed in you” over some of the questions.  What sense does it make to send someone to The Oscars to ask people what they think of Bill O’Reilly? 

In what is either bad reporting or deliberate lying, Trace Gallagher, on alleged Fox "news" show, America Live, reported on the recent archeological discovery of a tomb, in Jerusalem, which could represent the earliest representations of Christian belief in the Resurrection of Jesus. There is an inscription, in the tomb, of a whale which is connected to the biblical story of Jonah and could, in this case, represent a belief in the Resurrection.  Gallagher got it right up until the comment that "researchers have pushed back the clock to find evidence of the Resurrection shortly after Jesus died." Uh, no Trace, the "evidence" relates to a religious belief system - not the actual Resurrection which is a matter of faith and not science. Big difference.

Sean Hannity’s obsession with Louis Farrakhan continued last night as he tried to use Farrakhan’s fiery speech over the weekend as a not-so-thinly veiled excuse to portray President Barack Obama as some kind of Farrakhan soulmate. This is a tactic Hannity uses over and over, even though his own investigation turned up evidence to the contrary. Unfortunately for Hannity, his designated accomplice, Herman Cain, either didn’t want to play the game or didn’t catch on.

Today's Christian right hates, truly hates, sex education as, in their twisted world view, it lures pure and virginal young Christians into a life of sexual degradation and - gasp - evil homosexuality. (Could it be Satan?) As the mouthpiece for the Christian right, Fox "News" is there to provide aid and comfort. In 2010, Fox went full tilt boogie against a proposed Helena, Montana sex education curriculum. Not only was the coverage inaccurate, but some of it barely concealed an underlying homophobic message. Gretchen Carlson was very up front about her absolute disdain for this program which was supported by many parents - an inconvenient truth ignored by Gretch. Now that the Muskegon Michigan school district has a new sex education program that some right wingers oppose (part of "the Gay Agenda"), Fox & Friends is there to validate the opposition as articulated by anti-public education, right wing partisan Kyle Olson who is now Fox & Friends resident right wing education "expert" on "The Trouble With Schools." Once again, Fox & Friends is taking a local issue and creating a national "outrage."

Here’s what we know so far: 1). Brad Stine is a hypocrite who wears his religion on his sleeve, yet has no problem attacking President Obama for “faking” his religion, in contravention of that whole “lest ye be judged” Bible thingamagig in Matthew; 2). For the Foxy friends at Fox and Friends there is no low where Stine can’t go, unlike Hank Wilson, Jr., another celebrity out of his depths.  From wherever the (still to be determined) Fox “News” Producer produced ex-carny Stine, it’s obvious he is still championed (you don’t really think Kilmeade, Carlson or Doocy book the guests, do you?).  I thought we’d never see him again after last week’s train wreck, when he bet President Obama $1000 that he would not declare Jesus Christ as his Savior on tee vee and then decided the president was “faking” his religion.  Whatever producer, booking Stine as a regular pundit was a Machiavellian masterstroke.  The Foxy Friends are able to outsource all those Right Wing Talking Points to Stine, who rants like a street-corner crazy, while their hands remain clean.  What’s more: it’s done in that aw-shucks, good, clean, morning fun happy talk, which disguises the fact that they are table-setting the Fox “News” Talking Points for the day.  However, this week Steve Doocy forgot to leave all the agit-prop to Stine (or was simply reading off his teleprompter like a good little Foxbot) because of the 169 seconds in this segment Doocy used 56 (28 to introduce Stine and another 28 seconds spouting Right Wing Talking Points).  This left Stine with a scant of 1:13 to push the meme du jour: Hollywood leans left.  Stop the presses.

It seems that Rick Santorum wants to be taken more seriously as a force for economic freedom, not just an aspiring-between-the-knees religious extremist. As an example, gentle reader, I offer you Santorum’s “economic freedom agenda” op-ed in the Wall Street Journal (Here’s the executive summary: he’s going to be BOLD. Romney will cut taxes and entitlement spending a little; Santorum will cut them a lot – except for defense spending of course.) Coincidentally, today, on Happening Now, host Jon Scott brought Alan Colmes, as well as Jim Pinkerton of American Conservative, on the show to cast a shadow on Santorum’s treatment by the media

Fox "News" does love culture war wedge issues which they can spin into "controversies" and "outrages" that are used to further divide the world into their dualistic world view of good vs. evil. Fox has designated the management of the Empire State Building as part of the evil forces (could it be Satan?) that are continuously fighting against the forces of good. The "outrage" is their refusal to light up their building to honor NY's Cardinal Timothy Dolan. Head of the Catholic League, Bill Donohue, whose claim to speak for Catholics is dubious, says Catholics are angry. Never wanting to waste an opportunity to pander to victimized Christians,  Fox News (Dolan's personal network) is running with the outrage meme. Last Friday, Megyn Kelly and Donahue got a tad apopletic over this issue. And on Saturday's news block, this topic was part of Heather Childers' women's panel. But when Childers tossed to Greg Jarrett, all semblance of journalistic objectivity flew out the window with an amazingly idiotic quote from Jarrett.

As I monitored Fox and Friends this morning my ears perked up every time the Three Stooges mentioned the train derailment in Ontario, Canada, because that’s only about 15 miles from my last Canadian address, before I moved back to the States 7 years ago.    All morning long they’ve been locating the train tragedy, in which 3 are confirmed dead so far and dozens injured, as in Ontario, Canada “just north of Niagara Falls.”  The Three Stooges, who complain about the president using a teleprompter, will read anything on their teleprompter, no matter how inaccurate it may be.  However, this is sloppy tee vee “news” writing, and I say that as a 10-year veteran of tee vee news writing.  Take a look at the map and then I’ll break down the 4 simple words “just north of Niagara Falls” like I were Tosh.0:

In the happy interregnum between Sarah Palin losing the vice-presidency and ignominiously quitting as Alaska governor—and before she was hired as a super-duper, special Fox “News” contributor—grabbing an interview with the notoriously press-shy Palin [see: Katie Couric and other fun stuff] was the Big Talk Show Get.   Therefore, it was actual news when it was announced that Governor Palin would be on the very first Glenn Beck Program on January 19, 2009 on Fox “News” Channel.  Now, according to newly released (Freedom of Information Act) emails, Governor Palin required her questions from Beck in advance and the crack “journalist” readily complied.  Palin then asked a staffer to come up with answers to “these softball questions,” as described by karoli at Crooks and Liars, who delved into the latest avalanche of Palin emails for Fox “News” Channel connections, so I didn’t have to.  karoli seems bemused: