America's right wing and their abettors on Fox News have no problem with the top income bracket (whoops, job creators) feeling entitled to their tax break. But when it comes to health care that includes free birth control, it's a different story. Many employers already provide free birth control as a result of a state mandate or employer policy. But when the Obama HHS issued its birth control policy, the GOP, the Catholic Church, and Fox News went into battle mode. The battle became even more heated after Georgetown Law student, Sandra Fluke, spoke to Democrats (after having been excluded from the official GOP hearing) about the unfairness of Georgetown's health insurance policy which covers birth control for employees but not for students who incur heavy expenses for their contraception. The rest, as they say, is history. Fox "News" wasted no time in smearing Fluke. Alleged "news" anchor Megyn Kelly started off by "joking" about all the sex that Fluke is having. She then moved into stage two of the smear by attacking Fluke for having a sense of "entitlement."  And for added enjoyment, Monica Crowley, in the grand tradition of Rush Limbaugh, slut shamed Fluke and her fellow Georgetown students.

Sean Hannity, the guy who palled around with a white supremacist and has a very disturbing record on race, was predictably excited over what he and Fox News touted as an “exclusive” airing of an “unedited Obama race video.” Unfortunately for Hannity, Fox and the Breitbart team, the video – showing President Obama hugging someone 22 years ago - is so underwhelming that it immediately became a Twitter joke. That big exposé telling you what the “mainstream media” would not turned out to be old mainstream media news. PBS’ Frontline aired the whole thing in 2008 as part of an election special. PBS’ website noted that the video has been posted there and on YouTube ever since.

It’s was only Wednesday, just the 3rd day of Fox “News” Channel’s newest “news” show “Fox and Friends First.”  Yet at the end of today’s hour Blonde #1 and Blonde #2 announced they are being rotated out already, in favor of two of the word-pitchers warming up in the bullpen.  While it’s a surprise they’d pull the hosts after just the third inning, it was always intended that a series of hosts would rotate through the 5AM hour.  Starting tomorrow Dave Briggs, of the “Fox and Friends Weekend” B-team, and Heather Childers will be manning the leg chairs.

In the reality based community, it's apparent that not only is the GOP waging a war on women's reproductive rights; but since 2010, it has revved it up into high gear. Tennis great, Billie Jean King has accused the GOP of "waging an epic battle against women's health care choices." As such, she is calling on Democratic supporters to sign a DCCC petition to ask that Republicans include women in congressional discussions about women's health. She was prompted to do this after GOP Congressman Darrell Issa convened a House panel which had no women participants. But some in the right wing community scoff at the idea that women's rights are being attacked. Yesterday, on Fox & Friends, Laura Ingraham claimed that there is no war on women. And today, on America Live, alleged straight "news" anchor Megyn Kelly and Monica Crowley mocked the idea that women are being treated unfairly. Kelly did a little defense work for Limbaugh, too. Thankfully, Sally Kohn was there to rebut the insanity. So I guess with two against one, it's almost "fair & balanced?" Ya think!

Bereft of life, Andrew Breitbart rests in peace; but his Web site is alive and well and dishing up his final scoop on President Obama – duly forwarded by Fox Nation to its faithful readers  Yesterday, Breitbart.com revealed the hideous skeleton in the President’s closet: fourteen years ago in Chicago, then-State-Senator Obama attended a play called The Love Song of Saul Alinsky, - a play that “glorifies” the late Chicago community organizer, and then participated in a panel discussion afterward, along with other agitators, community organizers and Communist apparatchiks.

Oh, horrors! Gentle reader, I am aghast! 

Neil Cavuto and Ann Romney – each of whom suffers from MS – held a poignant conversation on Your World on Monday (3/5/12) about what it’s like to suffer from the disease and how it changes your life. And we would never have criticized the discussion if it hadn’t been used as a blatant political ploy to make the Romneys look more like regular folks struggling like the rest of us. In fact, after Mrs. Romney shared how the illness has given her a “larger capacity” for “understanding and sympathy” for other people’s problems, Cavuto came right out and suggested the couple do more to show that humanistic side of the family. Even more astonishingly, she said she would “take that as good advice.” So it was with a big dash of skepticism that we received her comment, “I don’t even consider myself wealthy.”

When Glenn Beck retired from real tee vee, it didn’t take very long to learn who would replace him as the Fox “News” Conspiracy Theorist.  Step right up Eric Bolling, who apparently never met a conspiracy he didn’t like, except those about 9/11.  How wacky is this?  He promoted the crazy Birther Conspiracy, even after President Obama released his long form birth certificate!!!  As far as he is concerned this whole Fluke-Limbaugh-Contraception Controversy is nothing more than a White House plot to make the GOP look intolerant among women, as if they needed the help.  Yesterday on The Five, after an intro in which he called Sandra Fluke President Obama’s “foot soldier,” Bolling promised to “connect the dots.”  OMG!!!  That’s what Beck always said!!!  It must be true!!!

While the community that cares about women was appropriately appalled by Rush Limbaugh's misogynistic attack on a woman who spoke out in favor of women's reproductive rights, the right wing rallied around Rush. As the mouthpiece for the right wing, Fox "News" mounted a defense of Rush that consisted of attacks on Sandra Fluke's credibility and alleged licentious behavior. Truth was the first casualty. Bill O'Reilly brayed about not wanting to pay for Fluke's birth control which isn't an issue unless he has health insurance from Georgetown. Fr. Jonathan Morris claimed that Fluke wants government funded (not what she said) birth control to pay for all the sex she's having (she didn't speak about herself). Hannity and Kirsten Powers played the moral equivalency game by attempting to say that Limbaugh's sexist comments were no worse than Bill Maher's. Yesterday, on Fox & Friends Laura Ingraham defended her soul brother of hate. In addition to playing the now right wing standard "tu quoque" game, she also disparaged the women of "The View," and made the jaw dropping claim that there is no GOP war on women. But Laura's a devout Catholic who wears a great big cross so we know that she tells the truth!

Circle your calendar, or set the Tivo, because PBS’ award-winning Frontline series has scheduled a documentary on the “News of the World” phone backing scandal that’s been roiling Britain’s ruling class for the past year.  In “Murdoch's Scandal,” scheduled for March 27th, “correspondent Lowell Bergman tells the story of the battle over the future of News Corporation, Rupert Murdoch's reputation and his family's fortunes.”  After James Murdoch resigned as CEO of News International, Bergman appeared on “The Takeaway” (Public Radio’s morning show) and explained it is so important to get to the bottom of this scandal and why it could top Watergate in the Political Hall of Shame:

“Fair and balanced” Fox News trotted out Fox News contributor Ambassador John Bolton – smack dab in the middle of its Super Tuesday Republican primary coverage – for a little war mongering against Iran, a little bashing of President Obama on the same subject and an endorsement of Mitt Romney as the best candidate for going to war dealing with Iran.