While the rest of Fox News is bashing President Obama for his trip to Denmark to lobby for Chicago to win the right to host the 2016 Olympics, Bill O’Reilly and Ann Coulter both said on O’Reilly’s FNC show that the trip is no big deal. O’Reilly said, “It is not a big deal. He can work on Air Force One coming and going and they got everything else.”
Glenn Beck’s mini-me Lou Dobbs has jumped on board with the right wing paranoia over swine flu vaccinations. Dobbs called it “detestable” that healthcare workers in New York City have been required to take the swine flu vaccine shot, because there is nothing more American than a flu epidemic being spread through our healthcare system.
While nothing stops this quite so well as shedding the light of day on the ugly attitudes of the far right, it seems increasingly that outlets like Fox News would prefer to sugar-coat this conduct (including ignoring the conduct of head cheerleader Glenn Beck) – and instead refer to this as simply ‘angry citizens’ protesting the President’s plans. What can be done to finally cause organizations like Fox News to finally expose these people as both ignorant, and dangerous?
Glenn Beck unveiled his latest cause for paranoia and fear today, and it is the fact that some state and local governments are mandating that some workers get vaccinated for the swine flu. Beck claims that eventually the government is going to force everyone to get the shot, or be rounded up by the government. Beck is using fear to discourage his listeners from getting the shot.
Sarah Palin’s ghost-written book, “Going Rogue; An American Life†is set to come out early, on Nov 17, in time for the holiday season, and I’m really impressed that she has now managed to complete, albeit with the help of 4 writers and who knows how many editors, one speech and one book! Looks like she may not quit everything she starts….just those things icky, hard like being governor of a state facing financial difficulties after years of being flush. When the going gets tough, the pitbull gets quittin’!
Two different amendments that would have added the public option to the Senate Finance Committee’s heathcare reform bill were defeated today. Five Democrats joined the Republicans in voting against the Rockefeller amendment, Ben Nelson, Blanche Lincoln, Tom Carper, Kent Conrad, and Max Baucus. These five are Democrats in name only.
Here is an open letter that I’m writing for all of those patients who are too sick and depressed after receiving their Death Panel Denial Form to call or write you. Yes, I know, you’ve heard it all and more importantly, ignored it all, before. But let’s pretend United cares about my health.
It appears that Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) will stop at nothing to kill healthcare reform. Nelson made his latest proposals while speaking to constituents yesterday. He wants to split the bill in half to pass a cost saving bill before the 2010 election, and pass expanded coverage, “at a later date.” Nelson also claims that any bill that passes without 65 votes isn’t legitimate.
Glenn Beck keeps talking about his free market solution to rising healthcare costs, and in his book Arguing with Idiots, he outlines his solution. He wants to send the uninsured to Walmart and Walgreens for healthcare. Beck touts the fact that these stores are cheaper than a trip to the emergency room, without acknowledging that they don’t provide serious care.
Michael Moore has been making the TV rounds promoting his new film Capitalism: A Love Story, but he claims that CBS canceled an appearance on The Early Show today after he went on ABC’s Good Morning America last week and blasted Disney which owns ABC. Moore thinks CBS was worried that he would do the same to them. CBS said he was never booked for the show.
On his radio show today, Rush Limbaugh continued his campaign to make every minority group in the United States hate him. Today’s target was the Native Americans. On the Native Americans almost being wiped out, Limbaugh said, “They all have casinos. What’s there to complain about?” In other words, the Native Americans need to get over it.
On his Comedy Central show, The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert hilariously took Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh to task for their race baiting rhetoric. Colbert explained that, “Those guys aren’t racist. They’re just saying that a program that helps the poor is actually a secret plot by African Americans to steal white people’s money.” Check out the video.
The city council of Glenn Beck’s hometown of Mount Vernon, WA has distanced itself from the mayor’s plan to honor Beck on September 26 with Glenn Beck. Last night the city council unanimously passed a motion that stated that the council is not affiliated with Glenn Beck day in any way.
A new poll released by Public Policy Polling today revealed that if he was up for reelection today, President Obama would at worst win by the same margin as 2008, if not more. Obama currently leads Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Jeb Bush, and Sarah Palin by 7-15 points. Huckabee came the closest to Obama, while Sarah Palin did the worst.
President Obama’s critics often complain that he is overexposed and on television too much, but the ratings disagree. The latest example of this was the president’s Monday night appearance on David Letterman’s The Late Show. Obama delivered Letterman his highest ratings in four years and over 7 million total viewers. It seems that Americans still like to watch this president.
On his radio show today, Glenn Beck claimed that George W. Bush and John McCain were progressives, and this is exactly what hurt the Republican Party. Beck said, “George W. Bush was a progressive. He was a Republican. John McCain is a bigger progressive. He was a Republican.” In the new GOP, according to Glenn Beck, Bush and McCain are liberals. Wow.
Sarah Palin actually managed to show up for her speech in Hong Kong, which wasn’t surprising because apparently all it takes to get her to go anywhere is a healthy paycheck. Palin spent her first speech on foreign soil trying to equate herself with President Obama, and going on the attack. Welcome to the new definition of patriotism in the GOP.
Glenn Beck sat down for an interview with Katie Couric for her CBS News.com series @katiecouric. Couric asked Beck if his joke about poisoning Pelosi was part of his show business side. Beck responded, “Have you asked Jon Stewart this question?” The implication being that the man followed by millions of conservatives considers his program to be a comedy, just like The Daily Show.
My life in the house I’ve been living in for 25 years is on the line and I feel utterly helpless. I’ve been involved in what seems to me to be an eternal process of loan modification, and as I’ve been massacred by that same process very recently, the trauma of that colors my fears today.
A new analysis by Public Policy of President Obama’s approval ratings found that his approval rating matches his support in the 2008 election. The people who don’t support Obama now, didn’t vote for him last year. 94% of people who approve of Obama support him against Sarah Palin. The numbers are equally high when Obama is matched up against Mitt Romney or Jeb Bush.
If you have ever wondered why some people on the right don’t understand basic facts, I give you the fine example of Carl Cameron on Fox News, who today held up the Baucus bill in front of the camera called it huge, and said, “because of that so too could the price be huge.” Cameron’s dubious point was that you can always tell the cost of legislation based on the size of the bill.
The talk radio fear mongering over healthcare reform hit a new low today, as Sean Hannity invoked death panels to allege that senior citizens will be last on the list for swine flu vaccinations. Hannity insinuated that the Obama administration is intentionally denying seniors swine flu shots. while undercutting his claims by saying that seniors are less likely to get the swine flu.
CNN’s Rick Sanchez has really sunk his teeth into Fox News’ role in the 9/12 protest in Washington, DC. Sanchez took FNC to task for a producer that encouraged the crowd to cheer during one of their live reports. Sanchez said, “Real news organizations are not supposed to stage events. Nor should they promote news events. Nor should they hype news events.”
Here is a real non shocker. Before Glenn Beck joined Fox News he not only supported the $700 billion bailout of Wall Street, but also called on the government to spend even more. On September 22, 2008 on CNN Beck said, “But these are anything but normal times. I thought about it an awful lot this weekend, and while it takes everything in me to say this, I think the bailout is the right thing do.”
Here is yet another nail in the coffins of Fox News’ claims that they are fair and balanced, and that they were only covering the 9/12 protests. Check out this video from Media Matters of a Fox News producer coaching a group of 9/12 protesters and pumping up the crowd during a report by Griff Jenkins.
On CNN today Rick Sanchez blasted Fox News today for running a full page ad in some of the biggest newspapers in the country that claimed that the other news networks did not cover 9/12 protests. Sanchez broke out the tape to show CNN covering the protest. Sanchez also pointed out the picture in the ad belonged to CNN. Sanchez even pointed out that Bill O’Reilly showed CNN’s coverage.
In response to Glenn Beck telling his Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski to shut the hell up yesterday, Joe Scarborough did something he has been itching to do for a while. He opened up on Beck. Scarborough said, “Suddenly the Glenn Beck that nobody watched six months ago is now the Glenn Beck who he thinks is an international superstar.”
Former president Bill Clinton returned to Comedy Central’s The Daily Show last night, and he had some interesting comments and insights about the current healthcare reform debate. Clinton expressed optimism that a healthcare reform would be passed this year. He said, “I have always believed from the night of the election, he would pass healthcare.”
On his show last night FNC’s Bill O’Reilly endorsed the public option element of healthcare reform. O’Reilly said, “If the government can cobble together a cheaper insurance policy that gives the same benefits, I see that as a plus for the folks.” So does this mean that in Glenn Beck’s mind, Bill O’Reilly is now a socialist?
On his radio show today Rush Limbaugh upped his race baiting rhetoric by claiming that Barack Obama is promoting racism, “He is promoting this, just as he is ACORN, just as he is Van Jones. He is racism.”Of course, in Limbaugh’s mind Obama is promoting racism by being black. The racism in the GOP is not an Obama conspiracy.
On MSNBC’s Morning Joe today Mika Brzezinski expressed concerned that the conservative voice wasn’t being well represented by Glenn Beck. This comment sent Beck on the warpath. Beck and his crew mocked her on his radio show, and Beck told Mike to, “Shut the hell up.” It is looks like Beck has a new enemy.
After Jimmy Carter brought up the right wing’s racism last night, today Rush Limbaugh attacked former President Carter by claiming that Osama Bin Laden reads his books. Limbaugh called Carter, “the nation’s biggest hemorrhoid.” If Carter is a hemorrhoid, is Rush an STD?
Sen. Max Baucus released his Finance Committee’s healthcare reform bill today with no support from Republicans and outrage from liberal Democrats. The one group who did like the bill was insurance companies, whose stocks rallied across the board once Baucus released a bill that contained no public option.
Today on his radio show, hypocrisy was on the air as, Glenn Beck ranted about the danger of false cries of racism. Beck wanted to see the evidence that Rep. Joe Wilson is a racist. I think that is a great idea, and Beck himself should be held to the same standard. We should ask Glenn Beck to present his evidence that President Obama is a racist.
In a piece on the NBC Nightly News former president Jimmy Carter stated the obvious. Many of the people who hate President Barack Obama the deepest hate him because he is black. Carter said, “I think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man.”
Late this afternoon the House of Representatives voted to reprimand Republican Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina for his outburst calling President Obama a liar during the president’s speech to a joint session of Congress last week. The vote followed along party lines, 240-179.
On his radio show today, Rush Limbaugh went used Newsweek’s story about babies’ abilities to distinguish race to defend racism. Rush asked, “How much sensitivity training have we had starting with the Civil War? You can’t get very more sensitive than the Civil War.” According to Limbaugh, the Civil War was a sensitivity training exercise.
Apparently part of RNC Chairman Michael Steele hip-hopping of the GOP included the performance of birther rapper Hi-Caliber who rapped about “communist czars,” and Obama’s birth certificate at the 9/12 protest in Washington, D.C. This really must be seen to be believed.
Color of Change today announced that their organized boycott of advertisers on FNC’s Glenn Beck is costing the network $600,000 a week, even though Beck just set a personal record for viewers last Thursday, his show as gone from $1.06 million a week in ad revenue in early August to $492,000 last week.
Today on his radio show Glenn Beck not only claimed that the U.S. media is under reporting the 9/12 protest attendance, but also that the protest was the biggest march on Washington ever. Beck quoted The London Telegraph as placing attendance at over a million, which they didn’t, and didn’t bother to quote the police and fire department estimates of 30,000-70,000.
This is an open letter to Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) regarding his lack of respect for the presidency, ” We know what you all are up to — it doesn’t matter what this President proposes. It would appear that as far as you all are concerned, the Presidency is a “White Males Only” Country Club. ”
On the Freedom Works blog, the organization is still claiming that hundreds of thousands of people attended yesterday’s DC protest, “The crowd was HUGE. Any reporter that claims thousands, or even tens of thousands of attendees was either not there or was willfully misreporting the significance of the event.” However, actual attendance was estimated at 30,000-70,000.
On the Sunday talk shows today, Republicans Newt Gingrich, Sen. Cornyn (R-TX), and Bill Kristol all ran to the defense of Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC). Cornyn said, “The Democrats have done a pretty consistent job of trying to demonize the people who show up at town halls, anyone who disagrees with their proposal.” Apparently the GOP sees nothing wrong with calling the president a liar.
Today on his radio show Rush Limbaugh ranted against the fact that President Obama has made 9/11 a day of national service. Limbaugh said, “Obama is trying to take this and transform these events to advance his own political left wing agenda.” Limbaugh also claimed that community service is about tearing down the American system.
Today on his radio show, Glenn Beck got himself a new conspiracy theory. He blamed ACORN for allowing the levees to fail during Hurricane Katrina, so that all of the records of their corruption could be destroyed. He also implicated Van Jones, and blamed Jones for spreading around that George W. Bush hates black people. This makes no sense at all.
While speaking to the media today, Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) hinted that the Republican Party made him apologize to President Obama for calling him a liar. Wilson said, “Last night I heard from the leadership that they wanted me to contact the White House and state that my statements were inappropriate.” Wilson also continued to state that the bill covers illegal immigrants.
Last night President Obama called death panels a lie in his joint speech to Congress. Obama also promised to call out anyone who spreads lies about healthcare reform. This led Sarah Palin to not only continue to stand by her death panels claim, but also promise that she will call out Obama on death panels, but there aren’t any death panels, so this should be interesting to say the least.
Republicans and Joe Wilson shamed this nation, shamed their party, shamed South Carolina, and shamed their office last night. Having established that our Republican representatives are liars and/or illiterates, it seems that being Republican representative should be considered a pre-existing condition. As such, We the People no longer wish to pay for their healthcare, which they currently receive for the duration of their lives after serving.
After setting himself up for the holy mother of all political backlashes after calling President Obama a liar during his healthcare address to Congress, Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) quickly put out an apology for his outburst and lack of civility. He didn’t apologize though for being completely wrong.
During President Obama’s speech tonight to a joint session of Congress, GOP Rep. Joe Wilson called Obama a liar when the president said that illegal immigrants aren’t covered in the healthcare bill. This led MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough to tweet that anybody who calls the president a liar is a dumbass who should show the president respect.
In a comprehensive speech before a joint session of Congress, President Barack Obama laid out his plans for healthcare reform, dispelled myths about reform, and invoked the late Sen. Ted Kennedy to argue the morality of healthcare reform. The intention of this speech was to change the tone and focus of the reform discussion.
Today on his radio show, Rush Limbaugh took aim at a ninth grader who asked President Obama yesterday, why Iraq and Afghanistan have universal healthcare coverage, but the United States does not. Limbaugh claimed that the kid had to be a plant. Limbaugh asked, “Where does a ninth grader come up with the notion that they have universal coverage in Afghanistan and Iraq?”
Congressional Democrats have been sending President Obama some strong signals about what they would like to hear him say in his address. For instance, powerful Finance Committee Chair Sen. Max Baucus today told Republicans that healthcare is moving forward with or without their support. This is something that many Democrats would like to hear the president say.
Lou Dobbs continues to plan for a post CNN career by using his radio show to audition for a job on Fox News. Today Dobbs defended Glenn Beck calling Obama a racist, and attacked Color of Change for boycotting Glenn Beck’s advertisers. Dobbs said that Beck has guts. Beck may have guts, but he doesn’t have advertisers.
In her written testimony to the New York State Senate on healthcare reform former Alaska governor Sarah Palin continues to insist that her claim that healthcare reform would create death panels is real and now has been validated. Palin wrote, “Despite repeated attempts by many in the media to dismiss this phrase as a “myth”, its accuracy has been vindicated.”
Today Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) claimed today that the public option will not pass the Senate because the public is not in favor of it. Lieberman said the public option is off the table because the Senate can’t get 60 votes for it. He also went on MSNBC and said, “Yes, I mean a government-run health insurance plan. The public doesn’t support it.”
Today on his radio show Rush Limbaugh a perfect example of why bipartisanship is dead in the United States. Limbaugh claimed that Obama’s back to school speech to school children about personal responsibility was a “trick and a scam, and a joke.” The real joke is that Rush would continue to rail against such a harmless speech.
Apparently sensing that his Red Scare campaign was not frightening enough to his listeners, today on his radio show Glenn Beck upped the ante and claimed that the left is trying to get him. Beck urged his listeners to pray for his protection because George Soros and other lefties are funneling billions of dollars to stop him. I hate to tell him this, but the left doesn’t take Beck’s Chicken Little act seriously.
The right wing furor over President Obama’s back to school speech was revealed to be even more insane than initially thought after the text of the speech was released today. The speech emphasizes students’ personal responsibility for their own education. This is a principle that even the most conservative Americans should support.
President Obama spoke today at the AFL-CIO Labor Day picnic in Cincinnati, OH, and supporters of the public option are sure to be disappointed by the fact that Obama dedicated exactly one line of his speech to the public option. Obama did say that that the nation has never been this close to healthcare reform, but it seems that his idea of reform does not have to include a public option.
The right wing’s reaction to President Obama’s planned back to school speech has brought about criticism from mainstream Republicans. Today Rudy Giuliani, Newt Gingrich, and Sen. Lamar Alexander all went on the Sunday talk shows and supported the idea that the president should be allowed to speak to school children.
On NBC’s Meet the Press today White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod sent the strongest signals yet, that the Obama administration is preparing to dump the public option in order to get a healthcare reform bill passed. Axelrod said, “He said there must, he said there must be a, an exchange where people can get insurance at a competitive price.” This doesn’t sound like a firm stand on the public option.
Glenn Beck’s daily attacks on Obama adviser Van Jones paid off today as Jones resigned his position as Obama’s green jobs adviser. There was not a great outcry among the general public for Jones’ resignation, but FNC’s Beck decided to retaliate against Jones to combat the advertiser boycott of his show carried out by the group Color of Change, which was co-founded by Jones.
In an interview with World Net Daily, Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann claimed that Democrats are sabotaging both her and Sarah Palin because they want to see a Democratic woman become president first. Bachmann said, “So they’re doing everything they can to, I think, sabotage women like Sarah Palin.”
Even though MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough has been hammering Fox News and talk radio over the last couple of days for fear mongering with Obama’s speech to students, FNC still touted Scarborough today as potential 2012 Republican presidential candidate. However, Scarborough has shown no interest in running for president.
On his MSNBC show Countdown tonight, host Keith Olbermann, in a parody of Glenn Beck’s communism in Rockefeller Plaza segment, exposed Beck and Fox News’ own communism, by revealing that Glenn Beck works at the Fox News building, which is also a part of Rockefeller Center. Thus Beck and FNC are also communists. Check out the video.
Fox News’ Glenn Beck has managed to make some new enemies, or at least he considers them enemies, this time in the art world. Last night on his show Beck tried to play art critic, to demonstrate to the communistic and fascist messages in the art on display in Rockefeller Plaza. The art world responded by pimp slapping Beck’s ignorance. Check out Beck, and the reaction to his interpretations.
Fox News has jumped on the President Obama’s back to school speech is really indoctrination bandwagon today. On Fox and Friends, they right wing host Dana Loesch who claimed that the focus of the speech is, “submissiveness to the government.” They also featured a concerned parent who keeping their kids out of school. This is more wing nuts gone wild.
ColorofChange.org announced today that 11 more advertisers have stopped airing ads on FNC’s The Glenn Beck Program. Beck has now lost 57 advertisers since he called President Obama a racist on Fox and Friends. The new additions include Capital One, Dannon, and Mercedes-Benz.
On his radio show today, Glenn Beck labeled President Obama’s back to school speech for children next week indoctrination. Beck said, “They are capturing your kids. As Van Jones himself has said, the earlier we get the kids, the earlier we make this adjustment with the youth, the easier this transition is going to be.” Of course, Beck took Jones out of context.
Levi Johnston keeps dropping bombs on Sarah Palin as in the new Vanity Fair piece where he claim wanted to secretly adopt, her teenage daughter’s baby, “Sarah told me she had a great idea: we would keep it a secret—nobody would know that Bristol was pregnant. She told me that once Bristol had the baby she and Todd would adopt him.”
Beck has spent the week foaming at the mouth about the Van Jones, White House special adviser who is the inactive co-founder of Color of Change. Yeah, that Color of change; the organization behind the very effective boycott against Beck’s racism, but it is time for some truth about Van Jones.
In what’s been described as the “American Ding Dong goes to Hong Kong” by astute international posters, Mrs Sarah Palin (failed beauty contestant, failed VP candidate, and aborted first term Governor) has been asked to speak at the CLSA Investment Convention in Hong Kong, where she will give a speech on a topic such as geopolitics.
Even though MSNBC’s August 2009 ratings are not surprisingly down, compared to the August 2008 convention and election coverage, Rachel Maddow’s show has continued to grow. Maddow is up a whopping 61% among views 25-54, and 92% in total viewers over last year. Maddow’s show continues to become a force on MSNBC.
In an interview today former Bush Attorney General Alberto Gonzales came out in support of an investigation of CIA interrogators who may have broken the law. Gonzales said, “And if people go beyond that, I think it is legitimate to question and examine that conduct…” It looks like Cheney is standing alone again by defending torture.
At a town hall protest in San Diego over the weekend a town hall protester tried to say that healthcare reform is unconstitutional, but it didn’t quite come out that way. He said, “I got a book here called the U.S.S. Constitution.” Ahoy, matey, the U.S.S. Constitution may not give the government authority to reform healthcare, but the U.S. Constitution does.
