In Fox's latest ridiculous effort to pretend Donald Trump is a serious pundit, Greta Van Susteren hosted him last night (1/18/12) for a double session in which she treated Trump – whose only real business experience is in real estate – as an expert on the Keystone pipeline, the related environmental issues, the 2012 presidential election, Snooki and - my personal favorite – Iran. 

Politico’s Dylan Byers reports that FoxNews.com lifted material from John Hudson of the Atlantic Wire about Navy-trained dolphins. Byers reports that Fox News never responded to his inquiry about the piece. But he did find a note on their website apologizing for failing “to properly source and add original reporting or language that would significantly distinguish it from an article that was posted (earlier) on theatlanticwire.com.”

Jerry Springer visited Fox & Friends this morning, ostensibly to discuss the “liberal slant” of Newsweek for its cover story by Andrew Sullivan calling President Obama’s critics “dumb.” But he didn’t pussy foot around calling out the hypocrisy of Fox News accusing anyone else of bias. He obviously touched a nerve belonging to Gretchen Carlson. Go, Jerry!

In reporting on Alveda King's commentary, on Monday's Fox & Friends, "Jezebel" nails it in their description of the interview, on her uncle's birthday, as an example of how Fox News can "wrap a crap sandwich in a lie and call it history."  And that's precisely what the right wing is trying to do in attempting to change the legacy of MLK, Jr. in order to make it more user friendly for right wing memes. No social justice or union advocacy here so move along. As part of her revisionist history of MLK, Jr., ultra anti-choice, anti-gay conservative Alveda King claimed, on Fox, that he was a "pro-life conservative." While we have no King quotes regarding abortion, one thing is clear - he was a staunch supporter of Planned Parenthood, admired Margaret Sanger, and advocated for all women to be able to control their fertility. If anything, he would be appalled by his niece's right wing militancy.

We at News Hounds know as well as anyone what it's like to have your work pirated on the internet. But Congress' so-called solution not only creates more problems, it threatens the very freedom and openness that we cherish in the internet. Wikipedia, which has blacked out for the day, has more. Please join us in speaking out!

(Original graphic by longtime News Hound supporter Dee, PbD.)

With our new site, I thought it was time for a new hound logo. Check out Artemis, the News Hound and let me know what you think. Artemis is a real dog who happens to live with my sister. As you can see, she has inherited Aunt Ellen's affinity for blogging!

In the last of the five O’Reilly Factor segments in which Bill O’Reilly used Martin Luther King Day to play the racial victim, he consulted Karl Rove for an explanation as to why the Obama administration is opposing Republican voter ID laws. O’Reilly was puzzled because in his mind, standing up for African Americans is a turn off to everyone else! 

The O’Reilly Factor used Martin Luther King Day once again last night to portray whites as victims of blacks. I’ve already posted about three other segments in which Bill O’Reilly played the white victim last night. In this one, the context was the Republican efforts to impose voter ID laws. O’Reilly forbid his guests, Monica Crowley and Alan Colmes, from debating such laws and insisted the discussion stick to the Obama administration’s decision to block the one in South Carolina on the grounds that it violated the Voting Rights Act. In other words, he laid the groundwork for another opportunity to race bait - and Crowley seized it without objection from O'Reilly.

Every year at this time—due to the same internal clock that drives cicadas and the Phony War On Christmas—Fox “News” uses the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., to reinforce Right Wing Talking Points and Fox “News” memes.  The practice reaches its height on Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, which always falls on a Monday for the 3-day weekend.  It’s a fascinating exercise in necropunditry: divining what MLK would think about current affairs, based upon readings—and sometimes misreadings—of what he said and wrote in his lifetime.  The Foxy friends at Fox and Friends played host to two separate guests on Monday, both of whom knew precisely what Martin Luther King would think: Star Parker and MLK’s own niece, Alveda King.

In a third segment in which Bill O’Reilly used Martin Luther King Day to play the racial victim last night, he hosted Bernard Goldberg specifically to attack journalists who expressed concerns that Republican racism will be a part of the 2012 race. Unfortunately for O’Reilly, Goldberg hilariously shot himself in the foot with a failed attempt to look racially hip. Goldberg brought a photo (undoubtedly Photoshopped) of him posing with Ice Cube. But Goldberg mistakenly and repeatedly called Ice Cube “Ice-T” and O’Reilly had to correct him.