Shorter Matthew Balan
Topic: NewsBusters
Al Gore said he waited two years to criticize the Bush administration when, in fact, he waited only a year and eight months. Liar! Gore is just like Dick Cheney!

Humes, Newsmax Still Won't Apologize for False Obama Quote
Topic: Newsmax

In March, we reported how Newsmax columnist James Humes asserted -- without any substantiation whatsoever -- that President Obama said of a bust of Winston Churchill on the Oval Office, "Get that goddam thing out of here."Humes was eventually forced to walk it back and admit it "was never fully substantiated, despite frequent repetition on radio talk shows," though he named no radio host who had advanced the claim -- but not before Newsmax itself approvingly cited it, correction-less, in a March 15 "Insider Report."

Now, Humes has penned his first Newsmax column since then, a May 15 piece on how George Washington was a cooler guy than Abraham Lincoln. While Humes references Obama's reverence for Lincoln, at no point does Humes apologizes for falsely smearing Obama over the purported Churchill quote, let alone offer any substantiation for even the walked-back claim that he heard it frequently repeated on talk radio.

You'd think that person who holds the titles of historian and scholar that he claims to have would care enough about factual accuracy to correct the record and apologize for repeating a false claim -- or would have refrained from reporting it in the first place without more solid documentation than the word of mysterious radio hosts. Humes, apparently, is not that kind of historian and scholar.

Your WND Hate-Crimes Lie of the Day
Topic: WorldNetDaily

From a May 15 WorldNetDaily column by Robert Knight, the former director of the MRC's Culture & Media Institute who is now with Coral Ridge Ministries as "senior writer and Washington, D.C., correspondent":

 

Listen to Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., who read a list of paraphilias (unorthodox or perverse sexual urges) that will be covered under the "sexual orientation" portion of the [hate-crimes] bill:

"'The term sexual orientation,' this proposed amendment said, 'as used in this act, or any amendments made by this act, does not include apotemnophilia, asphyxophilia, autogynephilia, coprophilia, exhibitionism, fetishism, frotteurism, gerontosexuality, incest, kleptophilia, klismaphilia, necrophilia, partialism, pedophilia, sexual masochism, sexual sadism, telephone scatalogia, toucherism, transgenderism, transsexual, transvestite, transvestic fetishism, urophilia, voyeurism, or zoophilia.'"

Knight is lying. Hastings was not describing the "list of paraphilas ...  that will be covered under the "sexual orientation" portion of the bill. As Knight later suggests (but doesn't outright state), Hastings is reading a rejected amendment by  Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert that would have put that list into the bill as exemptions from protection.

Knight further lies by omission by not stating that the reason the amendment was rejected is because  the bill already has a specific definition of "sexual orientation," and none of those "paraphilias" falls under it.

'The Axis of Liberal Media Bias'
Topic: Accuracy in Media

K. Daniel Glover has found the conspiracy!

In a May 13 Accuracy in Media blog post, Glover claims that "a Brigham Young University political scientist has confirmed that the axis of liberal media bias runs straight from lefty blogs into the mainstream press." How so? According to the BYU professor's survey of of "more than 200 journalists":

Despite equal awareness [of liberal and conservative bloggers], journalists spend more time reading posts in the liberal blogosphere.

For example, more journalists know about Michelle Malkin than Talking Points. Yet twice as many journalists actually read Talking Points than read Michelle Malkin.

Both Glover and the BYU professor appear to be erroneously assuming that Malkin and TPM are equivalent. Malkin's website is a blog written almost entirely by herself that is almost entirely opinion and not original, reported news. TPM, on the other hand, started as a blog but is now a full-blown news organization with several employees that regularly gathers and reports original news. In other words, there is more to read at TPM than there is at Malkin's website.

So, the conspiracy, the "axis of liberal bias," is that working journalists read more news websites than opinion blogs? We don't get it.

Nevertheless, Glover goes on: "Lefty bloggers and liberal journalists undoubtedly will dismiss the finding because it does not, and cannot, prove cause and effect. But the hostile online encounter I had recently with a former co-worker is all the proof I need." That co-worker complained about Obama-bashing, which Glover declared sounded like "something he might have read on a liberal blog -- the sweeping generalization about talk radio with no evidence to support it," as opposed to the "'Bush Derangement Syndrome' documented so thoroughly by Malkin, Charles Krauthammer and others."

Of course, there is ample evidence to support claims of Obama-bashing on right-wing talk radio -- Glover apparently doesn't want to admit it.

This is what Glover is hanging his conspiracy on. Sad, isn't it?

 

Meanwhile, Over At HuffPo...
Topic: The ConWeb
We have a review of Mark Levin's new book, "Liberty and Tyranny," up at Huffington Post.

NewsBusters Hides Fox News' Deception
Topic: NewsBusters

NewsBusters has joined Newsmax in hiding a blatant case of deception on the part of Fox News. A May 14 post by Noel Sheppard asserted that Fox News correspondent Griff Jenkins "happened upon" Janeane Garofalo "at a Starbucks in Boston" and asked about her calling tea party protesters racists.

In fact, as the Washington Independent detailed, at no point did Jenkins give his name to Garofalo or identify himself as working for Fox News, which would seem to be a serious breach of journalistic ethics.

And Sheppard doesn't explain how following Garofalo around with a video camera and radio host in tow qualifies has having "happened upon" her at a Starbucks. Others might call that lying and stalking.

WND's Rush: Sykes, Hilton are Obama 'Surrogates'
Topic: WorldNetDaily

In his May 14 WorldNetDaily column, Erik Rush called Wanda Sykes and Perez Hilton "surrogates" of President Obama who "instill fear into the collective American subconscious." Rush offered no evidence that Sykes and Hilton are working under the direct orders of Obama or are speaking for him -- the common definition of surrogate.

Rush goes on to lament: "Since Obama took office, any pretense of shame, propriety or decorum has gone out the window." So true, as Rush himself as demonstrated -- someone who calls Obama a prison rapist and his attorney general a piece of shit clearly has no pretense of shame, propriety or decorum.

At WND, Extremist Is Now A 'Nationalist'
Topic: WorldNetDaily

When the list of people banned from visiting Britain was released last week, we noted that trusted Aaron Klein source Mike Guzovsky, aka Yekutiel Ben Yaacov, was on the list. Richard Bartholomew went on to note that WND initially accepted the description of Guzovsky as a "Jewish extremist."

Not any more. The May 5 WND article to which Bartholomew links has been edited, and it now describes Guzovsky as a "Jewish nationalist" -- a description repeated in a May 13 WND article by Art Moore. WND has not indicated why it made the change, let alone inform readers that it was done in the first place.

Apparently, endorsing the killing of people you don't agree with -- the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and calling Baruch Goldstein a "hero" for massacring 29 Arabs is just "nationism" -- is just benign, patriotic "nationalism" in WND's eyes.

Does WND have the guts to publicly defend Guzovsky and his extremism and tell its readers the full truth about him? We doubt it -- Aaron Klein has already tried to whitewash his buddy's history.

This is just another reason why it's foolish to trust WND.

CNS Misleads on Health Care Reform Criticism
Topic: CNSNews.com

As we've just detailed, CNSNews.com has developed a disturbing habit of refusing to tell the whole story. Here's another example.

A May 13 CNS article by Matt Cover purports to cite criticisms by "Big Labor" -- that is, SEIU -- who "accuses the group Conservatives for Patients’ Rights (CPR) of 'swift-boating' President Obama’s health-care agenda in new ads which highlight what CPR says are the downsides of government involvement in health care." But Cover fails to explain the full nature of SEIU's criticisms.

Cover writes:

The union accused Scott and CPR of mischaracterizing the views of two doctors, Dr. Brian Day, president of the Canadian Medical Association, and British oncologist Dr. Karol Sikora. SEIU claims that neither man is opposed to universal health care, stating that CPR twisted the doctors’ words in its ad campaign.
 
“The advertisement further deceives viewers by blatantly misrepresenting the positions of two physicians,” the SEIU states in a letter to stations airing the ads. “While the advertisement paints both as opponents of any role for government in health care reform, in reality, just the opposite is true.”

But according to the SEIU action alert Cover is presumbaly citing, SEIU issued a more detailed criticism that Cover doesn't acknowledge:

The advertisement further deceives viewers by blatantly misrepresenting the positions of two physicians. While the advertisement paints both as opponents of any role for government in health care reform, in reality, just the opposite is true. Both physicians are in fact supporters of universal health care. What they are opposed to is the U.S.'two-tiered' system that already rations health care based on the ability to pay. In fact, Mr. Scott misrepresented Dr. Day's comments, and Dr. Day openly mocked the ineffectiveness of the U.S. health care system. What Dr. Day is opposed to is Canada's outdated funding model, not Canada's healthcare system. Dr. Day actually advocates reform of the funding structure to preserve Canada's healthcare system, not dismantle it.

Cover then allowed Scott to issue a parsed response:

But Scott said the Conservatives for Patients' Rights ad never suggested the doctors did oppose government health-care -- it portrayed the comments only as being those of British and Canadian doctors and patients discussing, in their own words, their experience with government-run health-care systems.

Scott said his ad does not oppose “any role for government,” but does say any proposed reform which would give government control over health care decisions– “the first step,” he said, “towards socialized medicine.”

Cover did the same thing with another SEIU claim:

The labor union also accuses CPR of “misleading” television viewers about a new federal council created as part of congressional Democrats’ $787 billion stimulus spending bill – the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research.
 
“Mr. Scott makes a specific claim: ‘Not only could a government board deny your choice in doctors, but it can control life and death for some patients.’ This statement is demonstrably false,” the union said.

But the full claim reads:

Mr. Scott makes a specific claim: "not only could a government board deny your choice in doctors, but it can control life and death for some patients." This statement is demonstrably false. In reality, the powers of this so-called "government board" are clearly defined and cannot do what Mr. Scott claims. The statutory authority of the Council specifically excludes the power "to mandate coverage, reimbursement, or other policies for any public or private payer." It is worth noting that even under President Bush, the National Institute of Health already had an annual budget of $355 million to conduct precisely this type of research. Plainly, this has not led to the sort of catastrophic consequences in America that Mr. Scott warns against.

Cover allows Scott to give a similarly parsed response:

Scott, meanwhile, said his ad discusses the potential effects of the establishment of a government health board, saying the Comparative Effectiveness Council is “the first step in government health care” -- not that it would control health decisions.
 
Specifically, the ad states: “It’s (the Council is) not so innocent, it’s the first step in government control over your health-care choices,” Scott says in the ad. “Not only could a government board deny your choice in doctors, but it can control life and death for some patients.”

Nowhere do Cover or Scott acknowledge SEIU's claim that the health board is specifically barred from  mandating coverage or health decisions.

Meanwhile, Cover describes Scott as a "former Columbia/HCA Healthcare Association CEO" but failed to note that Scott was ousted from the company in 1997 over accuastions that Columbia/HCA overbilled state and federal health programs, for whcih t he company eventually paid a $1.7 billion fine. Cover alsofails to explain while SEIU referred to the ads by Scott's group as "swift-boating": it hired the same conservative PR firm that aided Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

New Article: Half-Stories and Non-Stories
Topic: CNSNews.com
If CNSNews.com isn't trying to make an anti-Obama mountain out of a molehill of news, it's hiding the full story of how a terrorist plot was foiled and refusing to disclose its ties to a group agitating against Obama's planned appearance at Notre Dame. Read more >>

Obama Derangement Syndrome Watch
Topic: Newsmax

Whose interest was President Obama serving when on March 30 he ordered Chrysler to either conclude a merger with Italian automaker Fiat within 30 days or lose federal bailout funds which would lead to its immediate demise?

[...]

Why would Obama undercut a U.S. company, involved in a heated negotiation, in favor of a foreign company’s interest?

Clear answers are not available, but there is one very curious shareholder in Fiat that raises some interesting questions. The African nation of Libya owns at least a 2 percent stake in Fiat and thus makes Moammar Gadhafi, who controls the wealth of Libya, a direct beneficiary of the deal favoring Fiat.

Does Obama owe Gadhafi?

-- Scott Wheeler, May 13 Newsmax column

Meanwhile...
Topic: NewsBusters
Media Matters catches NewsBusters' Warner Todd Huston blaming President Obama for funding a $2.6 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to "help train Chinese prostitutes to 'drink responsibly on the job.' " In fact, the grant was awarded in November 2008 -- by the Bush administration.

WND Columnists Take Obama Out of Context
Topic: WorldNetDaily

Mychal Massie asserted in his May 12 WorldNetDaily column: "On April 6, 2009, Obama told the Turks that America was not a Christian nation." In a May 13 WND column, Roy Moore similarly stated, "On April 6, while in Turkey, Obama stated at a press conference that 'we [American citizens] do not consider ourselves a Christian nation.' And Obama has acted in accordance with his views!"

Both Massie and Moore are taking Obama out of context (as Moore and other WND writers have previously done on similar statements made by Obama). Here's what Obama actually said, in full context:

I think that where -- where there's the most promise of building stronger U.S.-Turkish relations is in the recognition that Turkey and the United States can build a model partnership in which a predominantly Christian nation and a predominantly Muslim nation, a Western nation and a nation that straddles two continents -- that we can create a modern international community that is respectful, that is secure, that is prosperous; that there are not tensions, inevitable tensions, between cultures, which I think is extraordinarily important.

That's something that's very important to me. And I've said before that one of the great strengths of the United States is -- although as I mentioned, we have a very large Christian population, we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation; we consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values.

I think Turkey was -- modern Turkey was founded with a similar set of principles, and yet what we're seeing is in both countries that promise of a secular country that is respectful of religious freedom, respectful of rule of law, respectful of freedom, upholding these values and being willing to stand up for them in the international stage. If we are joined together in delivering that message, East and West, to -- to the world, then I think that we can have an extraordinary impact. And I'm very much looking forward to that partnership in the days to come.

Joseph Farah also took Obama's words in Turkey out of context in an April 14 WND column, declaring that "Obama told the world that whatever America once was, it is no longer a 'Christian nation'" and ignoring the fact that Obama stated that America is "a predominantly Christian nation."

Why are Massie, Moore and Farah afraid to put Obama's words in their proper context? Perhaps because it would demonstrate that they are resorting to making up stuff to attack Obama.

Newsmax Hides Fox News' Deception
Topic: Newsmax

A May 13 Newsmax article by Dan Weil reported on Janeane Garofalo "being questioned this week by Griff Jenkins of Fox News" about "her comments that those attending anti-tax tea parties last month are racist." But Weil fails to note the deceptive circumstances through which Jenkins obtained the interview.

As the Washington Independent details, Jenkins and a radio host ambushed Garofalo outside of a Starbucks in Boston. At no point does Jenkins give his name or identify himself as working for Fox News.

Weil even cites "another questioner, who identified himself as a blogger" in the ambush of Garofalo. That, in fact, was Jenkins, according to the Independent.

Farah Perpetuates Hate-Crime Lies
Topic: WorldNetDaily

Joseph Farah's May 13 WorldNetDaily column asserts that the hate-crimes bill "actually offers special protections for pedophiles who are targeted in crimes."

As we've repeatedly detailed, that is a lie -- the bill does not protect pedophiles.

Farah also repeats the right-wing revisionist claim that "'Hate' was not a motivation for" the killers of Matthew Shepard; "'Love' was the motive – love of money, that is, which the Bible says is the root of all evil." Farah's claim ignores the fact that one of his killers used a "gay panic" defense during his trial and relies on trusting the word of convicted killers.

What good is a newsman who tells lies? None that we can think of.