Topic: WorldNetDaily
The WorldNetDaily managing editor's new book is filled with the same factually suspect moralizing as his last one, though (so far) without the unethical promotion gimmicks. Read more >>
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
New Article: How David Kupelian's 'Evil' Works
Topic: WorldNetDaily The WorldNetDaily managing editor's new book is filled with the same factually suspect moralizing as his last one, though (so far) without the unethical promotion gimmicks. Read more >>
Posted by Terry K.
at 3:50 PM EDT
CNS Word-Count Watch
Topic: CNSNews.com The headline of a Sept. 7 CNSNews.com article by Terry Jeffrey reads, "Obama Used ‘Invest,’ ‘Investing,’ or ‘Investment’ Seven Times in Labor Day Speech to Describe Federal Spending and Special-Interest Tax Loopholes." CNS likes to count Obama's words.
Posted by Terry K.
at 1:32 PM EDT
MRC Flails to Portray Couric As Biased
Topic: Media Research Center The Media Research Center has long tried -- and failed -- to paint Katie Couric as an unrepentant liberal and her stewardship of the "CBS Evening News" as an unrelenting font of liberal bias. The MRC tries yet again in a new "Profile in Bias" to mark Couric's fourth year at CBS. It begins by citing its own report after her first year -- which, as we detailed, could only come up with a dozen instances of "liberal bias" from 200-plus shows. (Media Matters, meanwhile, found 17 instances of "conservative misinformation" from Couric during the same time period.) The new report claims to serve up "Katie Couric's top forty most biased quotes from her four years at CBS." That's much less impressive than it sounds -- it amounts to less than one a month. Actually, it's even less than that, since the MRC is also counting things Couric wrote on her blog or did, other CBS shows, and even a Facebook chat. We counted 12 non-"Evening News" attacks, which makes the instances of alleged "Evening News" bias much closer to one every two months. For most people, that would be a pretty good record. But the MRC tolerates no deviance from the right-wing agenda, so even just one instance would be sufficient to brand Couric as "liberal." Of that paltry evidence of "liberal bias," it's unsurprising that some examples are hypersensitive takes. For instance, two entries are questions to President Obama deemed insufficiently hostile. One was simply Couric's repetition of New York Times columnist Tom Friedman's statement that Obama is "better at making us smarter than making us angry." That, apparently, is the best the MRC can do in trying to brand Couric as biased, telling us that its researchers had to seriously struggle to come up with 40 examples.
Posted by Terry K.
at 1:04 PM EDT
Ron Kessler's False Equivalence
Topic: Newsmax Ronald Kessler's Sept. 7 Newsmax column presents the idea that Saddam Hussein wanted to develop nuclear weapons as some sort of recent revelation. Kessler proclaimed that the Iraq war "eliminated a nuclear threat," adding that "the mainstream media largely ignored Saddam’s admitted plans to pursue nuclear weapons." Of course, it's not news that Saddam wanted to have nuclear weapons. The more important question was whether he had the capability to do so. Kessler, however, seems to be conflating ambition with capability -- and Kessler ignores evidence that Saddam lacked the capability to do so in any quick fashion, despite Kessler's unsuported statement that Saddam planed to develop "nuclear capability within a year." As the CIA points out, Iraq's nuclear weapons program was dismantled in 1991. While Saddam likely intended to resume the nuclear program once sanctions were lifted against the country, those sanctions never were lifted. Saddam attempted to keep his nuclear scientists together and even ordered key equipment buried in one scientist's garden in anticipation of the day that sanctions were removed, the Iraq Survey Group report noted that Iraq's nuclear capability had decayed, not grown, after 1991. As ISG head David Kay stated:
Desire to have nuclear weapons is not the same thing as having the capability to do so. Kessler's attempt to pretend they are is dishonest.
Posted by Terry K.
at 10:48 AM EDT
NewsBusters' Double Standard on Juvenile Taunts
Topic: NewsBusters Mark Finkelstein devotes a Sept. 7 NewsBusters post to complaining that MSNBC's Ed Schultz "no fewer than four times referred to FNC host Steve Doocy as Steve 'Douche-y.'" Finkelstein -- who headlined his post "Schultz Goes Below Belt with Juvenile Name-calling of Fox's Doocy" -- sniffed that this was "middle school-worthy mispronunciation." Of course, NewsBusters is no stranger to juvenile name-calling. For instance, a September 2008 post by Noel Sheppard is headlined, "Did MSNBC Throw Matthews Out With The Bathtub Boy's Water?" Sheppard helpfully explains: "Finally, for those scratching their heads about the headline, 'Bathtub Boy' is Fox News John Gibson's pejorative nickname for Olbermann." Apparently, name-calling is only juvenile when liberals do it.
Posted by Terry K.
at 1:17 AM EDT
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
NewsBusters Feels Sympathy for Quran-Burning Pastor
Topic: NewsBusters Matthew Balan, in a Sept. 7 NewsBusters post, portrays Terry Jones, the Quran-burning pastor, as a victim after a CNN anchor dared to criticize him for the planned stunt. Balan wrote that CNN's Kiran Chetry "used General David Petraeus's denunciation of a planned Koran burning by a church to blast the church's pastor for any subsequent deaths of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan." Balan, curiously, doesn't highlight exactly what Petraeus said about the Quran-burning, leaving it buried in the transcript: "Their actions will in fact jeopardize the safety of young men and women who are serving in uniform over here, and also undermine the very mission that they're trying to accomplish." Later, Balan wrote, "Chetry turned theologian and quoted Scripture to Pastor Jones as she continued to question his planned action." It's not often you see a Media Research Center employee rooting for the burning of holy books, regardless of religion, but Balan -- like WorldNetDaily seems quite willing to acquiesce to this hateful pastor. UPDATE: NewsBusters did temper things a bit later, with Scott Whitlock declaring unhappiness that the upcoming Glenn Beck-Sarah Palin shindig in Alaska was mentioned in the same sentence as the Quran-burning. "Beck's rally, which will take place in Alaska on Saturday, will obviously not involve the burning of the Koran," he huffed.
Posted by Terry K.
at 9:57 PM EDT
Updated: Tuesday, September 7, 2010 10:00 PM EDT
WND Finds Suitably Homophobic Replacement for Coulter
Topic: WorldNetDaily The latest addition to WorldNetDaily's "Taking America Back" conference, Michael Savage, has one key advantage over dumped speaker Ann Coulter: He may hate gays even more than Joseph Farah does. Media Matters has the details.
Posted by Terry K.
at 8:25 PM EDT
WND's Klein Gives Quran-Burning Pastor The Softball Treatment
Topic: WorldNetDaily A Sept. 5 WorldNetDaily article promotes an radio interview by WND's Aaron Klein of Terry Jones, pastor of a Florida church who plans to stage a burning of Qurans on Sept. 11. The attached audio shows that Klein conducted a softball interview, not really challenging any of Jones' claims, not even the nonsensical one that the burning is geared toward "radical Muslims" and not "moderate Muslims" -- who just happen to follow the same Quran. Klein is also much more interested in the death threats Jones claims he has received over the planned burningthan Jones' lack of concern that the burning might provoke an attack against American interests. As Klein and WND rush to defend and promote Jones, others are backing away from him. Richard Bartholomew details how the publisher of Jones' screed "Islam Is Of the Devil," Creation House, has scrubbed the book from its catalog and website. Meanwhile, Little Green Footballs notes that Jones has posted a video insisting that the N-word is not racist.The video was posted before Klein interviewed Jones, indicating that Klein either did insufficient research before his interview or that he knew about it and chose not to bring it up. Heck, even Gen. David Petraeus thinks Jones' Quran-burning is a bad idea. So, Aaron and WND: Is this a guy you really want to be defending?
Posted by Terry K.
at 11:33 AM EDT
CNS Columnist Takes Ginsburg Out of Context
Topic: CNSNews.com In a Sept. 4 CNSNews.com column touting the anti-abortion film he made, "Maafa 21," Mark Crutcher writes:
In fact, Ginsburg did no such thing -- she attributed that view to others, adding that "There will never be a woman of means without choice anymore" and that a law restricting abortions "affects only poor women, and it can never be otherwise, and I don't know why this hasn't been said more often." Meanwhile, Crutcher's "Maafa 21" has its own issues. Michelle Goldberg writes that the the film takes Margaret Sanger out of context to falsely claim she specifically targeted blacks for abortion, as well as tells outright lies about Nobel-winning economist and family planning advocate Gunnar Myrdal as some who "believed that not only could blacks not help themselves, he felt that nobody could help them, and the only solution in his eyes was to get rid of them"; in fact, he opposed racism.
Posted by Terry K.
at 8:43 AM EDT
WND's Welch Conflicted Over Beck
Topic: WorldNetDaily Dave Welch is conflicted over Glenn Beck in his Sept. 4 WorldNetDaily column. While Welch appears to appreciate some of the things Beck has done, there is the issue of him being a Mormon:
Welch goes on to affirmatively cite a pastor who wrote that 'Mormonism is correctly categorized as a CULT." Welch adds, "Mormonism is not Christianity, and anyone who asserts differently is either ignorant or dishonest." Welch concludes: Glenn Beck could certainly be a follower of Jesus … but which Jesus? It matters. Regardless, he can be a patriotic, God-fearing American who understands the vision of our founding fathers and has given a voice and platform to strong, dynamic Christians like David Barton, Jim Garlow and others who present the real Jesus.
Posted by Terry K.
at 12:15 AM EDT
Updated: Tuesday, September 7, 2010 8:47 AM EDT
Monday, September 6, 2010
CNS' Revolving Door
Topic: CNSNews.com The Media Research Center has long complained about the supposed "revolving door" for people whose jobs shift between news organizations to liberal groups or Democratic administrations. It has even kept a list of "major media journalists who have joined the Obama administration." What the MRC doesn't want to admit is that there's also a revolving door to conservative advocacy at its news operation, CNSNews.com. Here is an incomplete list of CNS staffers who have made the leap from right-wing journalism to right-wing advocacy (like there's a difference): Scott Hogenson: He made significant use of CNS's revolving door. He worked for the Republican National Committee before joining CNS, where he eventually became editor, was CNS editor until 2004, when he left to be radio services director for the RNC during the 2004 presidential campaign. After briefly returning to CNS after the election, he left again in 2005 to become deputy assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Veterans Affairs. He's now at the PR damage control firm Dezenhall Resources and hangs out at the right-wing Leadership Institute. David Thibault: Like Hogenson, Thibault worked for the RNC prior to joining CNS, as well as working for Republican Sen. Judd Gregg. He filled in as editor during Hogenson's 2004 sabbatical and ascended to the post after Hogenson left for good. He died in 2007. Marc Morano: Like Hogenson, Morano was a right-wing activist before joining CNS, having worked for Rush Limbaugh's TV show. Morano left CNS in 2006 to join the press office of Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe, where he regularly peddled (often in a factually challenged manner) the position of global warming skeptics. Morano now runs the Climate Depot website for the right-wing think tank Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow. Jim Burns: He was a CNS reporter until leaving in 2003 to become press secretary for Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.). He had to leave that job after it was revealed that he copied large parts of a op-ed issued under Pearce's name from the Heritage Foundation. Nathan Burchfiel: He didn't have to go far to move from news to activism -- in fact, he didn't have to leave MRC headquarters. After serving as a CNS reporter, he moved on to other MRC divisions and is now an assistant editor for MRC's Culture & Media Institute. Robert Bluey: He's a former CNS reporter -- where he was an early promoter of the Swift Boat Vets attacks on John Kerry -- who left to join Human Events. He's now at the Heritage Foundation, as director of its Center for Media and Public Policy.
Posted by Terry K.
at 7:50 PM EDT
WND Conference Is 'All About Debate'?
Topic: WorldNetDaily A Sept. 5 WorldNetDaily article announces that WND's Joseph Farah will debate Christopher Barron, head of the "homosexual activist group" GOProud, at WND's upcoming "Taking Back America" conference. Farah goes on to explain:
Huh? The conference "has always been about debate"? So why not debate Ann Coulter, whom WND instead dumped as a speaker over her scheduled speech to GOProud? Farah tries to explain:
That still doesn't explain why WND dumped her instead of turning her GOProud speech into a teachable (albeit anti-gay) moment. On the other hand, as we've detailed, the water has now been poisoned between Coulter and Farah to the point where they will never appear in the same place at the same time for the foreseeable future, if ever. (Farah will still run Coulter's column at WND, though, for the traffic it brings in.) Meanwhile, we're still awaiting our invitation to debate the issues of the day -- well, actually, we'd like to debate WND's brand of journalism -- at this conference. Must've gotten lost in the mail...
Posted by Terry K.
at 1:26 AM EDT
Sunday, September 5, 2010
WND's Attack on Removed School Filters Sets Off Reisman
Topic: WorldNetDaily A Sept. 3 WorldNetDaily article by Bob Unruh is mostly a rewritten press release, this time from the UK's Christian Institute, about a school system in Scotland that allegedly lifted its Internet filtering so that students could access government health websites regarding sexual health. Unruh makes no apparent attempt to verify anything the Christian Institute stated, nor did he apparently contact the school system for a response. Unruh also whitewashed the Christian Institute by repeating its own description of itself as promoting "the furtherance and promotion of the Christian religion in the United Kingdom" as well as "the advancement of education." The Wikipedia page for the group, meanwhile, describes it a a "fundamentalist Christian" group that is anti-gay. If you think Unruh's article was full of distortions, wait 'til you see what Judith Reisman did when she got her hands on it. In a Sept. 4 WND column, Reisman asserts that Unruh's article was about "Scotland's opening up internet pornography to school children at lunch break thanks to the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, currently un-ratified by the repressed USA." In fact, neither Unruh nor the Christian Institute offer evidence that the school's Internet filters were modified to permit access to any "sexually explicit" site other than the government health sites. Reisman then goes on a tirade about the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, offering up her own -- shall we say -- creative interpretations:
Reisman added: "So a Scottish pedophile educator organizes access to 'all' media for any age, one to 18. Free 'expression … regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media,' it's a child's choice." That's right -- Reisman called some Scottish school official (she has no idea who, since Unruh's article did not name any officials) a "pedophile" for allowing students access to sexual health websites. Reisman's fanciful screeds -- and she has a history of them -- make one wonder about the factual veracity of her WND-published book.
Posted by Terry K.
at 11:24 PM EDT
Ad on WND Calls for 'Civil War'
Topic: WorldNetDaily This interesting ad popped up on WorldNetDaily (via Google ads) over the weekend:
That's right -- it's claiming that "Only A Civil War Will Save America -- But Only If It Comes Soon!" The ad links to a website promoting a book called "It's Over" by R. Keith Martin, aka Ron Martin. Martin reprints the book's introduction, which includes this:
Martin's book has chapter titles such as "Homosexuals," "The Second Reconstruction," "White Racism Is Rare, Black Racism Is Raging," "The Madhi Cometh," "Body Count Thus Far," "The Final Solution," "The Coming Demicide," and, yes, "Why Obama Must Murder You." There appears to be little about Martin on the Internet; the Southern Poverty Law Center notes that he distributed a flyer that discussed subjects such as “Race-Based Tyranny” and “Our Black Imbroglio.” The SPLC called such rhetoric "inspired" by the racially charged attacks on Obama by Fox News; we would add that WND arguably had a hand in shaping Martin's Obama-hate worldview.
Posted by Terry K.
at 1:44 AM EDT
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Shoebat Falsely Claims Rauf Wrote of Judenrein Israel
Topic: WorldNetDaily Walid Shoebat’s September 3 “open letter” to Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, published by WorldNetDaily, is a barely coherent mess of right-wing anti-Islam talking points and unexplained allusions. In the middle of it, Shoebat sticks in this slur: You have worked tirelessly for peace. All you wanted was: "an icon [Cordoba Mosque]." My mother asked me: On God's green earth, there is no other place you can put a mosque except by the 9/11 rubble? And since we rejected the mosque idea, will the pool at your center allow Jews to swim, or were you kidding when you wrote the N.Y Times that Israel will be Judenrein (free of Jews)? “Judenrein” was a term used by the Nazis to describe areas from which Jews had been “cleansed.” (Cross-posted at Media Matters.)
Posted by Terry K.
at 11:08 PM EDT
|
Find more neat stuff at the ConWebWatch store! Buy through this Amazon link and support ConWebWatch!
Entries by Topic
All topics « Accuracy in Media Capital Research Center CNSNews.com Free Congress Foundation Free Republic Horowitz Media Research Center NewsBusters Newsmax The ConWeb The Daily Les Washington Examiner Western Journalism Center WorldNetDaily
Watchers
Media Matters for America County Fair The Daily Howler LGF Watch SullyWatch Fact-esque Malkin(s)Watch Reading A1 (NYT) John Gorenfeld (Moonies) NewsHounds (Fox News) Media Watch CJR Daily The Counterpoint (Sinclair) BlatherWatch (Seattle Radio) Watching OlbermannWatch
Blogs
Talking Points Memo Eschaton Suburban Guerrilla World O'Crap Sadly, No! Oliver Willis Angry Single Mom Orcinus Bartholomew's Notes on Religion PFAW's Right Wing Watch Altercation Max Blumenthal
Support Bloggers' Rights! |