Fox & Friends' relationship with the truth seems to be on shaky grounds given the number of times that they have been called on their misinformation which they only rarely correct. Given the pattern, one wonders whether it's faulty research and fact checking or blatant attempts to promote right wing propaganda. Such was the case, on Sunday's Fox & Friends, during which Dave Briggs and the guest, Steven Crowder, promoted the right wing viral lie that the President is distributing free phones to minorities poor people. And in addition to the verbal propaganda, the lie was further reinforced by chyrons and a backdrop visual that looked like an official Obama administration website for obtaining "Obama Phones." It's not. It's unclear what Obamaphone.net is. However, it does seem to be part of the attempt to advance a right wing lie being advanced on the "fair & balanced" Fox News network.

In the delusional, bizarro world of the right wing, President Obama is providing lots of free stuff to lazy, criminal black and brown people in order to buy their votes. The newest iteration of this paranoid and racist right wing narrative is a viral video, released by Drudge and reported on the Fox website, that shows a black woman who claims to have received a free phone from the president. Since then, the right wing sites have been awash in commentary about free "Obama Phones" being distributed, to the poor, by the administration. This has been a topic on Fox Nation and the Fox News website. (Term used with quote marks) The reality is that while there is a program for free cell phones for low income folks, started under George W Bush, there is NO SUCH THING AS AN "OBAMA PHONE and the whole thing appears to be a hoax which has been around, in e-mail form, since 2009. But that doesn't seem to be a problem for Fox & Friends which provided Steven Crowder with a platform for advancing this bogus narrative.

Forget about Jesus - the US Conference of Catholic Bishops has a friend in Fox News and in this world of the twenty-four hour news cycle, that gets you far more mileage than Jesus! From the moment that these men in black began to howl about how the HHS birth control mandate infringes on their religious liberty (Special privilege to discriminate? Not on Fox!), Fox news validated their outrage. And it's not just me. Washington Post writer Melinda Hennenberger wrote that "Fox News bishops" are alienating some Catholics. The bishops' outrage continues, as shown in their immediate rebuke of Vice-President Joe Biden's debate comments about the birth control mandate.Thus, it wasn't surprising to see Catholic anti-choice zealot Laura Ingraham, in taking her marching orders from her bishops (and Roger Ailes), promote the bishop's talking points - including the Fox News/Catholic bishops zombie lie that the HHS mandate covers abortion drugs.

Remember how Fox Newsies couldn't get over how Vice President Biden disrespected Congressman Paul Ryan during the vice presidential debate last week? Apparently, respect is a one-way street on Fox. Because since then, Biden has been likened to an "obnoxious drunk," a senile Dr. Evil and had tests for dementia recommended. in the same vein, we also have Fox Nation saying that Biden was "off his meds." (h/t Aria)

With all the vilification of Vice President Joe Biden on Fox News lately, it was only a matter of time until their resident psychiatrist weighed in. This morning, on Fox & Friends, "Medical A Team" psychiatrist Keith Ablow proved once again that he may need a shrink, himself, as he insisted that Biden ought to be evaluated for dementia. How crazy was that? So crazy that two of the hosts argued otherwise. But Ablow's "assessment" just happened to match comments made by other Fox News pundits about Biden.

Rupert Murdoch is sticking his nose into the election again with more advice for Mitt Romney.

Last week’s Cavuto on Business (10/6/12) discussed the looming fiscal cliff coming on January 1. Near the end, the discussion turned to taxes. Ben Stein said, “I think high income people are going to have to take a lot of pain... Our taxes are just too low. We need higher taxes on well-to-do people. There’s not going to be a shortage of capital. There’s plenty of capital.” But panelists Gerri Willis and Charles Gasparino wrongly insisted raising taxes would lead to a “double-dip recession.”

It has now been 1270 days since Sean Hannity said, on April 22, 2009, he'd undergo waterboarding to prove it's not torture - and do it to raise money for charity. Time to man up, Sean, to borrow one of you favorite phrases and either do it or explain why you haven't.

Peter Johnson, Jr., Fox’s supposed “legal analyst,” appeared on Fox & Friends this morning for one of a zillion segments lambasting Vice President Joseph Biden’s debate performance two nights ago. But Johnson’s surely won the award for Most Hideous. He suggested that Biden may be senile and then compared him to Dr. Evil.

As more proof that respect is a one-way street on Fox News, host Mike Huckabee visited America’s Newsroom this morning and likened Vice President Joe Biden to “an obnoxious drunk who’s loud and boisterous and interrupts every conversation.” Despite all the hand-wringing the night before about Biden’s disrespect toward VP candidate Paul Ryan, do you think host Bill Hemmer found that out of line? Three guesses and the first two don’t count! (H/T Jay Diamond)