Warped Huckster

The selection of decent talk radio programs in my area is decidedly right-wing, which is an immediate turnoff. The only show near to being rational and objective is – believe it or not – Geraldo Rivera's weekday broadcasts.

However, the other day I happened to be stuck in a drive-through line at a convenience store. I turned on the radio and began listening to former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee's rather repulsive jabber. He was going on about homeless people receiving cell phones subsidized by the government (aka "Obama phones"), commiserating with a caller when she declared homeless shelters in New York City were indeed passing out free cell phones to the indigent.

I don't know whether it was my timing, or if the actual content of his typical weekday show is gleefully mocking of the poor and homeless, but this is what I heard (the wording paraphrased from my memory, but I'm sure you’ll get the drift):

I hope homeless people who receive cell phones spend all their free minutes dodging marketing ads. Wouldn't it be great if they got calls from insurance companies fishing for homeowners? Poetic justice, indeed!

Hmmm. Might not the homeless use cell phones to schedule job interviews, or contact family members worried about their well-being? Did Huckabee consider his joke wouldn't be funny to those who lost perfectly good homes – and livelihoods – because of the Republican-Bush-rotted economy?

What the hell kind of Christian is former Baptist minister Huckabee?

Unfair & Unbalanced

Interesting graphic from Media Matters:

I know how Fox News distorts or simply ignores the facts, so I never watch their reports or lunatic-fringe programs.

 

However, the disproportion in coverage is still surprising.

More Right-Wing Bunk

The right wing can't even tell the truth about their little rallies:

• Freedom Works Inflates Attendance at 9/12 Rally by Over 2,000 Percent

The initial claim that 1.5 million attended the ludicrous Beck-driven event was typical bunk. I might accept that "tens of thousands" showed up, comprised of mostly white people, but it is still an irrelevant faction of the 300 million-plus Americans in the United States who want real healthcare reform.

Inequitable Stew

This particular example is the prime reason Fixed News remains a biased and non-legitimate source for current events:

• Hannity Reluctantly Calls On Ensign To Resign

But only after being prodded by Democratic strategist Bob Beckel.

Hannity claimed not to know where Senator John Ensign stood on "moral values" issues, although it is common knowledge Ensign claims himself as a protector of the institution of marriage.

Finally, Hannity admitted to Beckel: "If you're going to be a family-values candidate and a family-values politician, and you don't live up to that, I think you should resign."

Why didn't he just say that to start with? If the Senator in question had been a Democrat, you can bet your bottom dollar Hannity would have been all over it with his smug and uninformed posturing. It's hard to imagine that anyone can listen to his nightly spew and not question the accuracy of its origin or intent.

The man is a hypocrite in the truest sense of the word, which seems to go hand in hand with being a member of the Republican party.

Fixed Diatribes

Some examples of the "fair and balanced" reporting to be found at Fixed News:

• Fox News falsely asserted Obama claimed there is no more terrorism
• Hannity's new false talking point: Obama decided to take over Fannie, take over Freddie
• Hannity, Steyn misrepresent Obama's comments on Hamas
• Hannity falsehood: Obama gave "go-ahead" for Iran nukes
• Fox hosts revive Fox-manufactured Obama apology tour
• Fox Nation headline falsely claims: Obama Says U.S. Is a Muslim Country

For more pearls of twisted wisdom, visit the Fixed News page at Media Matters.

How can the Fixed "newscasters" keep a straight face on camera? Their viewers are likely brainwashed and gulp down anything they report, no matter that it's comprised of blatant fiction.

I'm sure it helps that most of the viewers are probably Obama-haters and bigots to their secret cores.

Double Talk

The ultimate hypocrites doing some of their best work:

• Fox Condemns Sykes's Act: If A Talk Radio Host Compared Obama To A Terrorist, He Would Be Fired

Oh good grief. Who accused Barack Obama of "palling around with terrorists" during the Presidential campaign? Who still refers to his "suspect" friendships in the present because they have nothing legitimate to really gripe about?

Fixed Fodder

After yesterday, I think it's safe to say Fixed News has lived up to its sham reputation. I'd rather not mention them at all because I don't consider them a reliable or believable news source, but their hate-ridden tirades continue to appear in brief segment spurts on legitimate news channels and/or late night talk shows. Thankfully, the real news entities treat the segments with the humor and incredulity they deserve. What else can it be but entertainment?

From The Nation:

This fast recap of Fox News' Obama coverage is actually rather effective (100 Days of "Fair and Balanced"). Media Matters runs through one quote a day from the first 100 days, revealing Fox's early and abiding interest in tarring the new President as a socialist sell-out presiding over an "Obama bear market." There are also reports of a "Blame America vibe."

Some of the more interesting public comments following the video include:

When you're the party organ (in more ways than one) representing the views of Utah, Wyoming and the deep, deep South, with no ideas of your own, what else can you do?

That is an amazing video and shows just how bent and warped Fox "News" really is. One could speculate that there is some sort of horrible, horrible anger at the fact that the Republicans are now in the wilderness behind these demented tirades on Fox.

More goodies:

• Fox not granted a question at Obama's press conference

Why acknowledge a non-entity? Fixed News is not a legitimate news source, and in my view should be banned from the White House altogether. "Fair and balanced" is an appropriate misnomer for the worst possible channel on the airwaves. It has to be obvious to reasonable people by now that Fixed News is hate-driven, fanatical and ruled with the demented iron fist of Rupert Murdoch.

• Republicans struggle for direction in wake of Sen. Arlen Specter's defection

Republicans tried to downplay Specter’s defection by saying it was not a national issue but rather an issue for the voting public of Pennsylvania only. Good luck with that form of denial. Despite what they may think at this point, the GOP does not control the relevance of any news issues.

However, my favorite quote of the day has to be from RNC Chairman Michael Steele who said that it was "disingenuous for conservatives to blame Democrats for bailing out Wall Street, since the original bailouts were approved by President Bush."

As noted by Think Progress:

STEELE: Look, we can't go back out and start pointing fingers at Democrats and saying look how bad they're performing, look at what they're doing with the economy when we jump-started this thing. We were the ones that put the $700 billion on the table and said, all right, let's start nationalizing the banking system. So now, for us to stand back and go, oh, that's a bad thing to do is disingenuous. So let's own up, do the "my bad" and move forward.

I always begin my morning with a cup of coffee and a perusal of Think Progress. I just love starting the day with a smile on my face.

Day Be Blessed

I made the mistake of flipping into Fixed News tonight while the Hannity sideshow was airing. In my area, Fixed News follows MSNBC in the channel lineup so I am often the unfortunate but very quick recipient of their psycho-babble.

I hovered for about a minute, dumbstruck by his panel: Mark Fuhrman, a dark-haired lady who wouldn't let anyone else talk, and one lone man to the left of the screen who seemed to be the only voice of reason in the "discussion" lineup.

First of all, is it any surprise that former racist cop Fuhrman is dead-set against President Obama or that the dipstick Hannity welcomes him into the same airspace?

They were talking about the milestone of Obama’s first 100 days in office, and Hannity made a side remark along the lines of "you mean the first 100 days down the toilet."

Eh? Where do these people get their information? The country was already down the toilet when President Obama stepped into office, thanks to Bush and friends.

Here's the real news, folks:

• Poll: Obama gets high marks for first 100 days

Someday Fixed news will wake up and smell the coffee, or maybe – rather hopefully – go the way of their mealy-mouthed counterparts in the Senate minority.

Typical Day at Fixed News

Will this news organization ever join the ranks of the legitimate?

• Fox won’t air Obama’s 100 days press conference

However, ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC and CNN will be airing the press conference.

What is Fixed News afraid of now? That their viewers will finally see the light and make them even more irrelevant than they already are?

Rants & Chuckles

Janeane Garofalo is right on the money when it comes to identifying the hypocrisy of the Republican Party and its self-righteous members.

Therefore, I had a long chuckle over the following:

• Fixed News Guest Smears Garofalo With His Own Rant

The so-called television news organization and it's moronic guests are obviously uncomfortable with Ms. Garafalo. Is her truth hitting a little too close to home?

Covering Thine Arse

Dick Cheney's recent round of public interviews are nothing more than lame attempts to cover his ass, and that of his former boss. If the former veep had any sense, he would fade into the woodwork because he is not doing the Republican party any favors.

• Gruesome origins of torture tactics overlooked: Officials failed to probe the history, efficacy of brutal interrogation methods

The entire right-wing broadcast display is as obvious as the sun in the sky, but in typical Republican fashion Cheney and friends (namely Fixed News) view the general public as a horde of complete idiots who will buy into anything they have to spew. Maybe the Stepford-wife-type viewers of Fox Noise buy into it because they still cannot accept Obama as President and will try anything to detract from the work he is doing, but those of us with a brain in our head know which way the wind blows.

On the other hand, it is a good thing if the likes of Cheney, Limbaugh and Fixed News continue to scream into the airwaves. It makes them, and their affiliated party, look more idiotic and irrelevant by the day.

Keep up the good work, boys!

On a totally unrelated note, has anyone else noticed that Fixed News refers to the President as "Obama" rather than "President Obama" in their news headlines? Their not-so-transparent hostility and denial is laughable and paints that particular news agency as far from "fair and balanced."

Friday Roundup

I found a wonderful source for current news in the political spectrum. My wrap-up for the week includes headlines from Think Progress.

More proof that Fixed Noise (Fox News) reports are biased, corrupt and inaccurate...

• Ignoring Fox News polling, Fox News' Neil Cavuto claims radical anti-Obama tea party protests are a popular wave.
• Fox seeks to profit off recession, plans new reality show exhibiting company layoffs.

And further proof, as if we needed it, that Republicans are increasingly irrelevant and mainly comprised of Southern extremists that have no place on the National Stage:

• Right Wing Hysterical Over Obama's 'Not At War With Islam' Remarks.
• Perino: Where is the proof that Bush alienated people around the world?
• Republican Members of Congress Embrace Radical Anti-Obama Tea Party Protests.

With the South, we all know it's not about taxes but rather that a man of color is sitting in the White House.

I don't know how they can label themselves as legitimate Americans.

I wrote this on my Twitter page yesterday:

I have a question: What have Republican members of Congress accomplished since the election, besides gripe about every move President Obama makes and wave a spurious alternative budget in the faces of the country?

During a report on MSNBC the other day, I heard one commentator (Robert Shrum), state in so many words that the Republicans are trying to scramble to get their face back in time for the next elections.

Isn't their purpose in Washington to serve their constituents back home rather than furthering their own political agendas?