Newsmax TV Laughably Claims It Cares About 'Free Expression' Topic: Newsmax
Newsmax is trying to make hay out of a minor controversy involving its TV channel, as described in a Jan. 20 article by Jim Meyers:
A former senior White House aide to President Obama became furious after he noticed Newsmax TV airing on a United Airlines flight.
Bill Burton, who served as Obama’s deputy White House press secretary, was apparently outraged when he saw Newsmax TV yesterday on the plane’s video screens, and quickly tweeted:
"Hey there, @united. Why on earth is newsmax tv the default channel running on all of your screens when boarding your planes."
Burton apparently doesn’t have much use for the liberal ideals of free expression or allowing for an open exchange of ideas and opinions – at least when it comes to Newsmax TV.
[...]
The tweets of Burton and United have now gone viral, and some United customers are not happy about the airline’s quick cave-in to P.C. browbeating.
But Newsmax TV appears to care about "free expression" and an "open exchange of ideas and opinions" only when those ideas and opinions conform to its conservative ideology. Newsmax's archive of articles derived from Newsmax TV content shows it's almost entirely dominated by right-wing opinion from right-wing commentators.
For example, Newsmax TV's panel following Presdient Obama's State of the Union address featured only conservatives: Newsmax reporter John Gizzi, columnist John Fund and serial health care misleader Betsy McCaughey. Needless to say, all three bashed the president and his policies.
Where's the non-right-wing commentary that should be a key part of the "open exchange of ideas and opinions" Newsmax TV claims to offer? We're not seeing it.
Newsmax has always been dedicated to fixing the reputation of former New York City police chief Bernard Kerik in the wake of corruption allegations for which he served prison time. They're still at it, letting him appear on Newsmax TV to opine about Al Sharpton:
It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that controversial civil rights activist Al Sharpton "shakes down" companies for money in exchange for not attacking them as racists, according to former New York Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik.
"I don't think anyone that's followed Sharpton for any period of time would be surprised by the article," Kerik said during an appearance Monday on "America’s Forum" on Newsmax TV, during which he discussed a Sunday New York Post story that reported Sharpton takes corporate payoffs to keep quiet.
"It's what he does and I've said this before, he's an opportunist in many of these circumstances."
Unmentioned during the interview: Kerik served more than three years in prison for essentially doing what Sharpton is accused of doing: exploiting a tragedy to make money.
It's ironic that Newsmax lets a convicted felon to make such accusations, then hides his criminal record.
A Dec. 29 Newsmax article by Sean Piccoli dutifully transcribes an interview Klayman did on Newsmax TV. In the two entire segments he devotes to interviewing Klayman, guest host Ric Blackwell serves up softball questions and fails to ask any follow-up questions about Klayman's outrageous statements, such as calling President Obama an "emperor," or his laughable claim he's "neutral" on the issue of immigration. Blackwell ends the interview by fawningly calling Klayman a "leading voice on the right."
The promos attached to the video claim that Newsmax TV is devoted to "real news, better talk." Since when does turning over your network to a hateful nutjob like Klayman for 10 minutes and failing to challenge his extremist views equate "real news, better talk"?
Newsmax's Ruddy Laments 'Persecution' Of Christie As His Website Champions Persecution of Hillary Topic: Newsmax
Christopher Ruddy complains in a Dec. 17 Newsmax column:
The ongoing probes of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and his associates over the so-called Bridge-gate matter boil down to another example of political prosecutions that border on political persecutions.
The case involving the George Washington Bridge occurred in January, nearly a year ago, and should be open and shut by now.
Christie was recently cleared in a report by a New Jersey legislative committee of any prior knowledge of the plan to impede traffic onto the bridge by closing access lanes.
No one thinks or believes he ordered the closing of any bridge lanes. So why the worry?
It is clear that some of his aides may have acted out of political considerations in their decision to close the lanes. If that is the case, their actions were stupid, but not criminal.
[...]
Yet in a strange way, the Left's attempt to persecute Christie could actually help his GOP standing because it is so obviously motivated by their worry he actually might be the GOP nominee.
Hence, the Democrats want to keep pushing Bridge-gate as far as they can and for as long as they can. Perhaps they have finally gone a bridge too far and should finally “shut up,” as the New Jersey governor might put it.
Ruddy might have a point if Newsmax wasn't pushing another political persecution elsewhere on its pages the very same day. From a Dec. 17 unbylined Newsmax article:
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton could be called to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in the next Congress, said the incoming committee chairman, Rep. Jason Chaffetz.
According to The Hill, the committee intends to investigate the issue of embassy security in the coming congressional session, and the Utah Republican said that Clinton's record in managing it as secretary of state will be examined.
He said Clinton, "changed the way we do embassy security and how we build the infrastructure there and she created a mess. It's a disaster!" The Hill reported.
Asked if Clinton could be called before the committee as a witness, Chaffetz said, "I'm not going to rule that out."
The article did not mention the fact that, as ABC News reported, "Multiple independent, bipartisan and GOP-led inquiries have faulted the State Department for inadequate security in Benghazi, leading to four demotions," or that the State Department has implemented recommendations regarding embassy security made by an independent review board.
the fact that Chaffetz seems intent on dragging Clinton before yet another congressional committee even though she left the secretary of state post nearly a year ago suggest that he's acting on behalf of Republicans fearful that she may be the Democratic presidential nominee in 2016 and simply wants to keep pushing anything Benghazi-related as far as he can.
Ruddy doesn't explain why he apparently has no problem with cheerleading a political persecution of Hillary Clinton.
Newsmax Plays Class-Warfare Card on Obama Kids Topic: Newsmax
James Morrison snarkily writes in a Dec. 11 Newsmax article:
While many public school students complain about lunchtime mush that meets White House calorie guidelines, President Barack Obama's daughters are dining on gourmet meals at a posh private school in Washington.
School kids have been moaning about tasteless fare local governments adopt to comply with first lady Michelle Obama’s war on the waistline and posting photos of the mystery meals online.
The Sidwell Friends School, the $36,000-a-year private academy attended by Malia and Sasha Obama, also posts its menus on the Internet.
The Daily Caller discovered that Sidwell students eat well.
Thursday’s lunch included: potato sausage soup, firecracker slaw, California chef’s salad, all natural Jamaican jerk chicken wings, sweet potato black-bean bake, sauteed local greens, gemelli alfredo, and slice pineapple.
Morrison's reference to "gourmet meals at a posh private school" got further emphasis in the headline, which screamed "Obama's Daughters Enjoy Gourmet Lunches at Posh School."
Morrison doesn't explain why he has chosen to make such a blatant class-warfare-based attack on the Obama daughters.
Newsmax Promotes Ben Carson's Propaganda Topic: Newsmax
Jim Meyers serves up quite the cheerleading tone in a Dec. 8 Newsmax article:
A just-released documentary about the best-selling author and rising GOP star Ben Carson is getting rave reviews from conservative activists — a strong sign that the renowned neurosurgeon is seriously looking at running for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016.
The hour-long film "A Breath of Fresh Air: A New Prescription for America," airs every night this week on Newsmax TV at 9 p.m. and midnight Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.
You can tune into Newsmax TV on DIRECTV 349 and DISH Ch. 223, on NewsmaxTV.com, or via the free Newsmax app on any smartphone.
One thing Meyers doesn't mention: Newsmax is apparently being paid to air the Carson propaganda documentary.
A National Journal article that Meyers cites for its praise of Carson as a potential presidential candidate also notes that the documentary's producer, Armstrong Williams, insists that the documentary will never be placed online because that "would violate his paid-programming contract with the networks that aired it." That, preumably, includes Newsmax TV, which means that Newsmax is promoting something it's being paid to air.
National Journal also notes the propagandistic nature of the documentary:
In tone, A Breath of Fresh Air lies somewhere between a Church of Scientology recruitment video and a cash-for-gold infomercial. In the documentary, you'll learn about the dangers of political correctness and the "liberal orthodoxy," along with the triumphs of Ronald Reagan and Galileo. You'll also hear an almost inscrutable metaphor about American greatness and oxygen masks.
Meyers just wants you to watch Newsmax TV. He doesn't care about the quality or objectivity of its programming.
UPDATE: A Newsmax spokesperson tells ConWebWatch: "Newsmax was not paid to air the film, nor did we pay Dr. Carson anything."
Newsmax Writer's 'News' Article Stuffed With Editorializing Topic: Newsmax
Nick Sanchez's Dec. 2 Newsmax article on Chris Rock's comments about President Obama is filed under "The Wire," which presmably means it's supposed to be a "news" article. But Sanchez goes on a severe editorializing bender:
Comedian Chris Rock thinks President Barack Obama turned out more like a Shaquille O'Neal than the Michael Jordan that the nation expected.
"Everybody wanted Michael Jordan, right? We got Shaq. That’s not a disappointment. You know what I mean? We got Charles Barkley. It’s still a Hall of Fame career," Rock told New York magazine in an interview published Sunday.
Rock's analogy is shaky at best, as Obama will likely finish his presidency with one of the lowest approval ratings of any outgoing president. The broad strokes of his presidency – the failed stimulus, the undoing of progress in Iraq, and the ongoing disaster of Obamacare – doesn't put him in league with either the highest rated or most accomplished presidents. He's no FDR or Reagan, that’s for sure.
Even by Rock's own standard, which he laid out in the same breath as the Shaq/Jordan analogy, Obama is nowhere near Hall of Fame status.
"The president should be graded on jobs and peace, and the other stuff is debatable. Do more people have jobs, and is there more peace?' asked Rock. "I guess there’s a little more peace. Not as much peace as we’d like, but I mean, that’s kind of the gig. I don’t recall anybody leaving on an up. It’s just that kind of job."
Peace is on the wane. The U.S. is looking at active threats from resurgent terrorist groups – which Obama likened to "jayvee" teams in Lakers jerseys – and diplomatic relations with traditional allies like Turkey and Israel are in shambles. That's not even to mention ever-worsening threats from Russia and Iran.
In fact, the stimulus wasn't a failure, Obamacare is an "ongoing disaster" only to right-wingers like Sanchez whose failed attempts to repeal it are the real ongoing disaster, and it's hardly solely Obama's fault that "peace is on the wane." So it's not even factual editorializing.
If this is what passes for "news" at Newsmax these days, its efforts to be taken seriously as a news outlet are doomed to failure.
Newsmax Columnist Goes Godwin on Guns In Israel Topic: Newsmax
In a Nov. 26 Newsmax column, Stephen P. Halbrook goes Godwin by likening restrictive gun laws in Israel to, yes, Nazis:
Restrictive gun laws, imposed by a well-meaning government, deprive people of the means of self-defense. So say Second Amendment advocates. Modern history and recent headlines alike support their argument.
The recent atrocities in Israel, where terrorists slaughtered four unarmed Jewish citizens at prayer — three of them rabbis — have led that nation’s government to peel back some of its draconian laws restricting the private ownership of firearms.
The new proposals do not go nearly far enough, extending only to a small group of Israelis already licensed to carry firearms, such as security guards. It’s doubtful that such a reform would prevent a repeat of this week’s slaughter.
With all due respect to a grieving, embattled nation, Israeli lawmakers — and freedom-loving Americans — should remember some tragic events of history.
In 1943, Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels fulminated, “The Jews have actually succeeded in making a defensive position of the Ghetto . . . It shows what is to be expected of the Jews when they are in possession of arms.” He was outraged at the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, which impeded deportations to the death camps and allowed partisans to escape and fight from the forests.
[...]
One of Weimar’s emergency decrees imposed strict registration of firearms, and gave the state authority to confiscate them if “public security” so required. But the decree backfired: Law-abiding citizens had duly registered their guns, while the private armies maintained by the Nazis and communists had not. Worse still, this decree put obedient citizens at risk.
As the Weimar Interior Minister warned about the registration records: “Precautions must be taken that these lists cannot . . . fall into the hands of radical elements.”
Just a year later, in 1933, the worst “radical elements” in Germany indeed came to power.
Curiously, Halbrook never explains which Israeli gun laws are so "draconian" as to be Nazi-esque. In fact, those laws appear to be quite commonsensical. The Washington Post summarizes:
Israel limits gun ownership to security workers, people who transport valuables or explosives, residents of the West Bank, and hunters. People who don't fall into one of those categories cannot obtain a firearm permit. Moreover, Israel rejects 40 percent of firearm permit applicants, the highest rejection rate in the Western world. Both Switzerland and Israel require yearly (or more frequent) permit renewals to insure that the reasons are still applicable.
Janet Rosenbaum, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health at the State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Medical Center School, explained: "Ten years ago, when Israel had the outbreak of violence, there was an expansion of gun ownership, but only to people above a certain rank in the military. There was no sense that having ordinary citizens [carry guns] would make anything safer."
Halbrook doesn't explain how anything he proposes for Israel -- by way of invoking Nazis -- would change that.
Yes, Newsmax TV Show On JFK Assassination Was A Discredited Conspiracy Theory Topic: Newsmax
Remember that big "I Killed JFK" conspiracy theory special on Newsmax TV? Yeah, we didn't watch it either. But someone else did, and it turned out to be exactly what we predicted.
According to Inquisitr, the Newsmax show featured the confession of James Files, who says he was the man on the grassy knoll. Inquisitr notes Files' credibility problems, adding that "whether you believe James Files’ story depends largely on whether you trust Newsmax as a news source, and many people don’t believe a word of it."
As we previously noted, promoting a shady character in a JFK conspiracy theory is probably not the best way to position Newsmax TV as a credible news source.
Newsmax TV To Air What Sure Sounds Like A JFK Conspiracy Show Topic: Newsmax
Newsmax is strategically vague in a Nov. 13 article promoting a new show on its fledgling TV channel:
Marking the 51st anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination on Nov. 22, 1963, Newsmax TV will air the explosive, world premiere one-hour documentary "I Killed JFK" on Thursday Nov. 20, at 9 p.m. ET.
The documentary adds to the diverse programming featured on Newsmax TV, the new news, information and lifestyle channel that is currently ramping up to a formal roll-out in 2015.
Produced by Barry Katz Entertainment, "I Killed JFK" features never-before seen footage of the confessed killer of President Kennedy. The film presents compelling forensic and eyewitness evidence previously unavailable to the public. The documentary also includes interviews with the alleged assassin as well as two former FBI agents who found the assassin’s confessions credible.
"Until now, no one has ever confessed to the murder of JFK, and most people still believe that Lee Harvey Oswald was the killer. After the world sees this special, I am confident that the greatest mystery of our generation will finally be solved," said Executive Producer Barry Katz.
"As we ramp up Newsmax TV for our official launch, we're offering a range of provocative and original programming that interests a large and under-served audience, including the generation raised in the aftermath of that tragic day in Dallas," Newsmax Media CEO Christopher Ruddy said. "They’ll see a movie that adds to the scholarship and the debate surrounding the president's assassination."
"We are heartened by Newsmax TV's decision to bring this important and revealing program to the American public. We all deserve to know the truth behind what was truly one of the saddest moments in our country’s history," added Ernest Cartwright, co-executive producer for the project.
We couldn't find any other information about this documentary beyond a bare-bones website promoting the producers' production company. Reading between the lines, one can surmise that it appears to be another one of those JFK conspiracy things. As far as we know, Oswald never confessed to killing JFK, so the references above to the "alleged assassin" who allegedly confessed is apparently a reference to somebody else.
That doesn't exactly bode well for Newsmax TV's attempt to be something of a mainstream news outlet.
Interestingly, Newsmax is not the only part of the ConWeb going with JFK assassination conspiracy theories. The URL CorsiOnJFK.com takes you to WorldNetDaily hack Jerome Corsi's latest e-book claiming to summarize " the most important new research investigating the JFK assassination." In it, Corsi says he "believes investigations into the JFK Assassination are close to establishing irrefutable evidence documenting the JFK assassination a government-organized coup d’état, not the act of a lone-gun assassin." The website add: "Dr. Corsi fully expects the final true history of the JFK assassination will expose to the American pubic the history of CIA lies and disinformation that have distorted U.S. history since World War II, in favor of a series of international conflicts and wars favored by the military-industrial complex that JFK lost his life trying to prevent."
The fact that Corsi has already discounted his e-book to $4.90 (original price $9.99) tells you pretty much what even its author thinks his book is worth.
Newsmax Falsely Portrays Pat Caddell As A Democrat Topic: Newsmax
A Nov. 5 Newsmax article by Greg Richter introduces Pat Caddell as a "Democratic pollster" who's denouncing Harry Reid. But he's not a Democrat -- or at least he hasn't been in decades.
Caddell hasn't done anything for Democrats in years -- as we've pointed out, he's frequently seen on right-leaning Fox News where, as Salon's Alex Pareene notes, "he’ll reliably repeat every idiotic right-wing talking point that comes down the pike." Caddell also served as a consultant on an anti-Obama film made by right-wing group Citizens United.
It seems that Newsmax has fallen into the Fox News pattern of presenting Caddell as a "Democrat" even though they know he will reliably bash Democrats at every opportunity. That's dishonest journalism, and Richter and Newsmax should know better.
With less than 24 hours to go before Kansans decides what is inarguably one of the most intriguing U.S. Senate races of 2014, signs are growing strong that independent hopeful Greg Orman is fast running out of steam in his effort to unseat Republican Sen. Pat Roberts.
Whether it's his last-minute remark suggesting Kansas's much-loved Bob Dole was a "clown" or Republicans rallying over fear that the insurgent candidate will vote with Democrats to organize the Senate if elected, millionaire businessman Orman could well go the way of the last major independent candidate in the Sunflower State: Dr. John Brinkley, famed for transplanting the sex glands of goats into males, who came in a strong third in a nationally watched three-way race for governor in 1932.
Aside from Gizzi's desperate smear of Orman by likening him to a charlatan doctor, he misinterpreted what Orman said. From the Washington Post:
Independent Kansas Senate candidate Greg Orman sent a 256-word e-mail to former Senate majority leader Bob Dole last Friday, denying that he referred to the Republican luminary as a “clown” last week.
“I want to assure you that this is not true and is not my opinion of you in any way, shape or form,” Orman wrote. “My reference to a ‘clown car’ was commenting on the near-endless number of political supporters of Senator [Pat] Roberts who have piled out of Washington to support him, none of whom I think are clowns. I certainly wasn't calling you - or any of the others supporting Senator Roberts - a ‘clown.’”
Speaking earlier last Friday, Orman derided the stream of GOP surrogates who have come to Kansas to boost Sen. Pat Roberts (R), a three-term incumbent. Political visitors have included Mitt Romney, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). “It sort of seems like a Washington establishment clown car to me. Every day a new person comes out of that car,” Orman said.
Despite misleading his readers about the nature of Orman's remarks, Gizzi insists that "Most observers agree that Orman was badly hurt last week by his quip," though he doesn't name any of those "observers."
It's not until the final paragraph of his column that Gizzi concedes one major difference between the two-way race between Roberts and Orman and the 1932 governor's race that involved Brinkley:
Orman is not in a three-way contest as Brinkley was 82 years ago, and in many ways he is the de facto Democratic nominee. But Orman's fate may well be the same as the "goat gland doctor" in the closing days of the 2014 race.
Gizzi references goat glands or goat testicles four times in his column, driving home his desperate smear.
Is A Future Ruddy Candidacy Behind Newsmax's Endorsement of Rick Scott? Topic: Newsmax
After first opposing his campaign in 2010, Newsmax learned to love the idea of Rick Scott for Florida governor (though it took ignoring its own previous attacks on him to do so). Now that Scott is running for re-election, Newsmax has endorsed him again.
In an unsigned Oct. 26 editorial, Newsmax declared:
Early voting has already begun . . . so it's important to cast your vote in the closely watched Florida governor's race.
And when you do, Newsmax strongly encourages you to vote for Rick Scott.
We endorse Florida's Republican Gov. Rick Scott for re-election for three compelling reasons: jobs, jobs, and jobs.
What Newsmax isn't telling you: how much it has donated to Scott's PAC.
As we've previously documented, Newsmax Media gave $100,000 to Scott's Let's Get To Work PAC in 2010. In 2012, Newsmax donated another $5,000.
Additionally, Newsmax Media has donated at least $200,000 to the Florida Republican Party in recent years.
With its endorsement of Scott, Newsmax is not acting as a media outlet -- with its monetary interests in Florida politics, it's trying to buy influence. It has a vested interest in doing so; Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy's name was floated as a possible Senate candidate for 2012.
Two of the best ways to keep political ambitions alive is to support the party you like and support its candidates. Through Newsmax, Ruddy is doing both.
Of Course Newsmax Has A Special Deal For Dick Morris' Book Topic: Newsmax
It wouldn't be Newsmax if they weren't trying to sell Dick Morris' new Newsmax-published book in some kind of loss-leader deal, and by golly, they don't disappoint.
Here's the deal:Buy Morris' book from Newsmax for just $9.95 and they'll throw in an entire year of Newsmax magazine for free.
The usual caveat applies, though: You have to remember to unsubscribe from the magazine when the year is up, otherwise you will be automatically charged $39.95 for the following year's subscription.
Dick Morris And People With Incompetence Written All Over Them Topic: Newsmax
Courtney Coren writes in an Oct. 8 Newsmax article:
When Republicans attack President Barack Obama in their campaigns for the upcoming midterm elections, they ought to focus on his incompetence, says veteran political analyst Dick Morris.
"We are so busy attacking him from the right over ideology and issue differences," Morris, author of the new book "Power Grab: Obama's Dangerous Plan for a One Party Nation," told J.D. Hayworth on "America's Forum" on Newsmax TV Wednesday.
"If you just look at the issue of competence — incompetence at the VA, incompetence at the Secret Service, incompetence in protecting Benghazi, incompetence in assessing the risk of ISIS, and incompetence in dealings with Russia — you're dealing with a president who has incompetence written all over him," he explained.
Newsmax is trying to make hay out of a minor controversy involving its TV channel, as described in a Jan. 20 article by Jim Meyers:
Newsmax has 
Larry Klayman is a 
Christopher Ruddy complains in a Dec. 17 Newsmax 
Jim Meyers serves up quite the cheerleading tone in a Dec. 8 Newsmax 
Nick Sanchez's Dec. 2 Newsmax 
In a Nov. 26 Newsmax 
Remember that big "I Killed JFK" 
Newsmax is strategically vague in a Nov. 13 
A Nov. 5 Newsmax 
John Gizzi writes in a Nov. 3 Newsmax 
It wouldn't be Newsmax if they weren't trying to sell Dick Morris' new 
Courtney Coren writes in an Oct. 8 Newsmax 
