The Five's lone liberal, Bob Beckel, jumped on his employers’ Islamophobia train and took it down the track further than any of the conservatives I’ve seen on Fox in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings. Beckel announced that we should restrict most Muslim or Chinese students from studying here.

This isn't about Fox News specifically, but it's related. The Koch brothers, noted bankrollers of the Tea Party and other conservative "grassroots" activity, are reportedly considering a bid to acquire eight major newspapers, including biggies such as the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times.

True to form, culture warrior Todd Starnes has found another piece of left-wing school brainwashing to get upset about. This time it’s a high school textbook which, according to “a group of outraged parents”, is anti-Semitic and promotes bias against Israel. Specifically, the book asks students to consider “If a Palestinian suicide bomber kills several dozen Israeli teenagers in a Jerusalem restaurant, is that an act of terrorism or wartime retaliation against Israeli government policies and army actions?”

While most people were horrified by New York State Senator Greg Ball’s call for torturing Boston Marathon bomb suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Sean Hannity didn’t have a discouraging word when he hosted Ball last night on Fox’ Hannity show. Ironically, Hannity was talking up “enhanced interrogation” and waterboarding on the very night that marked four years since he had said he’d undergo it for charity (to prove that it’s not torture) and yet hasn’t.

Bill O’Reilly has put aside his crusade against the Denver Post, at least for now, and taken up his pitchfork against Tom Brokaw. Brokaw, you see, had the audacity to suggest that Americans should examine the role United States drones may have played in the radicalization of Muslims such as the Boston Marathon bombers, Tamerlan and Dzokhar Tsarnaev. O'Reilly twisted Brokaw's words to accuse him of arguing that America doesn't have "a right to defend itself." And then baselessly suggested his trumped-up mindset is that of a "cadre" of Americans.

During his discussion with Brian Kilmeade, who wants mosques "bugged" and Muslims profiled, Peter Johnson Jr. said something jawdroppingly amazing. Johnson referenced how, earlier on Fox, a "wacky" state senator advocated that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev be tortured. Johnson didn't mention either the name of the senator or his party (Greg Ball - NY Republican) but he did say that Ball's statement was "irresponsible." So far, so good. But then Johnson made the claim that "we don't torture people in America" because "it doesn't help us." Johnson isn't stupid but he's either very naive or hasn't been keeping up with the news. An independent task force, headed by Democratic James Jones and Republican Asa Hutchinson who was Undersecretary of Homeland Security during the Bush years, just released a report which stated that "It is indisputable that the United States engaged in the practice of torture." Jebus, no wonder Fox viewers are so ill informed!

As has been shown on numerous occasions, Fox Nation is not only a retrograde sewer that seeks to foster divisive base bigotry; but it also misrepresents articles to which it links in order to foster the bigotry. In many cases, the Fox Nation headline has nothing to do with the actual linked article but it is rather an incendiary expression of a right wing talking point that is carefully crafted to produce the requisite mouth breathing, knuckle dragging responses so popular with those good Christians on Fox Nation. Today's explosive headline, "Immigration Bill Gives Illegal Immigrants Full Voting Rights!," is a classic example of this propaganda technique that is straight out of Goebbels. The linked Politico article did not suggest that this would happen because - wait for it - it just isn't true! But truth is a stranger in the strange land of Fox Nation. 

Meet Fox News’ newest terrorism expert: Ann Coulter. She appeared on the Hannity show tonight to answer the question, as FoxNews.com put it: Suspected bomber’s widow: Did she know? Not that Coulter offered any clues as to the answer but she employed the same brand of wit and insight that led her to joke about killing Meghan McCain not long ago instead. Coulter “quipped” that the widow, Katherine Russell (an American), should have been arrested for wearing a hijab. For her next knee slapper, Coulter “wondered” whether Russell had had a clitorectomy.  She must have been fresh out of murder humor.

It was four years ago today that Sean Hannity offered to be waterboarded for charity as proof that it's not torture. And yet, Hannity has weaseled out of taking part in this procedure that he likes to call "dunking." Either Hannity is a bigger coward than we can imagine or else he knows full well waterboarding is torture. Or both.

Brian Kilmeade deliberately upped the Islamophobia this morning when he said to attorney and Fox News contributor Peter Johnson, Jr., "I think that we should be able to put in listening devices in (mosques). Is that possible?" Kilmeade also offered a note of sympathy to New York State Senator Greg Ball who had earlier said that "red-blooded Americans" want to torture Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.