Topic: Newsmax
Though James Hirsen portrays himself as a law professor and a "media analyst," his work for Newsmax puts his right-wing politics ahead of genuine, objective analysis.
That kind of agenda results in things like Hirsen's April 1 Newsmax column, in which he rails against Jim Carrey for making a satirical anti-gun video and -- even worse -- made fun of Charlton Heston. Hirsen actively rooted for Carrey's career to be hurt because of the video:
Interestingly, Carrey’s Funny or Die performance is emblematic of the latter. However, what may be even worse for the actor is what could potentially flow career-wise from the ill-conceived and terribly malicious video.
Carrey unfortunately aimed his bully-comedy sights on a legendary figure, who to this day is respected, admired, and missed by countless numbers of Americans; an individual who, incidentally, just days after the video made its ugly debut, graced TV sets across the nation with his onscreen appearance as Moses in the Easter season film favorite, “The Ten Commandments.”
Carrey made humorless matters even worse when he promoted the Funny or Die piece by characterizing those who happen to differ with the current liberal gun control proposals as “heartless [expletive] unwilling to bend for the safety of our kids.”[...]
It was predictable that Carrey would alienate a segment of his fans, and perhaps he is not all that bothered by the negative fallout. But apparently, he is not yet finished. He has additionally decided to go after the number one cable news network in America, the Fox News Channel.
Evidently displeased with Fox’s coverage of his video, Carrey released a statement claiming that his reputation has been harmed.
“Since I released my Cold Dead Hand video on Funny or Die this week, I have watched Fux News rant, rave, bare its fangs and viciously slander me because of my stand against large magazines and assault rifles. I would take them to task legally if I felt they were worth my time or that anyone with a brain in their head could actually fall for such irresponsible buffoonery,” Carrey’s statement indicated.[...]
In addition to obtaining some important instruction on the Constitution and the origin of our rights, Carrey may be about to learn a hard lesson on the power of the free market.
Hirsen fails to tell his readers what Fox News' "coverage" of the Carrey video consisted of. Much of it was not "fair and balanced" and consisted of right-wing opinionators like Greg Gutfeld hurling insults at Carrey for expressing his views. Carrey called the coverage "slander," which Hirsen also fails to mention.
Hirsen remained mum on another pertinent fact: He's a Charlton Heston fanboy. In 1999, Hirsen celebrated Heston's appointment as president of the National Rifle Association, calling him "one of the best spokespersons imaginable to lobby lawmakers." In 2003, Hirsen rushed to Heston's defense after he suffered the "indignity" of George Clooney making a joke about Heston's Alzheimer's disease. Hirsen sneered that Clooney "is not content to merely sit around and hurl tired, hackneyed anti-war phrases at the president, like he did while on the Charlie Rose show."
Hirsen slobbered all over Heston in a 2008 eulogy, declaring him "one of the greatest movie stars who ever lived" and lionized his "caring about the country and having the strength of character to actually put thoughts, words, and feelings into motion." Proclaiming Heston "an American archetype," Hirsen concluded: "Go rest high upon the mountain, Chuck."
But Hirsen, despite claiming to be a law professor, is prone to such ethical failures. He has long touted the work of Mel Gibson and defended the star from criticism over his anti-Semitic rantings while failing to disclose not only that he's a close friend of Gibson but also that he heads a foundation that purchased land where Gibson's father could operate a church for the dissident ultraconservative Catholic sect to which he belongs.
When Gibson got in trouble again over recordings of phone calls with his estranged girlfriend, Hirsen took more than two weeks to weigh in on it, then tried to whitewash things before finally admitting that "Mel Gibson is a business associate and friend."
