Reagan Makes Baseless Claim, Hurls Nazi Smear Topic: Newsmax
In his April 2 Newsmax column -- also published by the Washington Examiner -- Michael Reagan writes of "Barack Obama and his sorry conglomeration of far-out liberal confederates" who are "now polluting the government":
America’s industrial heartland, the storied fruited plain, is about to become the world’s largest ghost town as many of the nation’s most talented and wealthiest citizens contemplate fleeing for the hills — or in this case, other nations where they will be greeted with welcome arms.
[...]
Growing numbers of Americans are going to be pulling up stakes and fleeing to more accommodating areas of the world, taking their factories and businesses and wealth with them.
Reagan offers no evidence that this is, in fact, the case, nor does he name anyone who is purportedly contemplating such a move. But then, he's more interested in demonizing Obama than relating facts, joining his fellow right-wing brethren in hitting the button on Godwin's Law:
The prospect of paying $50 for a loaf of bread no longer is a potential nightmare, but a certainty. As the dollar loses its value, the cost of the goods it will buy soars. That’s just economic reality.
And when it happens, good old Dr. Obama will be there with the snake oil remedy that sold so well in Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.
The Apt Pupil Returns: WND Lets Von Campe Hurl More Nazi Smears at Obama Topic: WorldNetDaily
When you pride yourself on hurling Nazi smears at Barack Obama, as WorldNetDaily appears to do, it makes sense to make use of actual Nazis in the process -- after all, they learned at the feet of the master how to smear political opponents.
Thus, Hilmar von Campe, the self-proclaimed former Hitler Youth who has made a new career out of smearing Obama, puts his childhood training to use once again in his latest WND masterpice, an April 4 column:
Lenin and Hitler used the national and economic disasters in their countries to ride to political victory. Conquest in a time of disaster! I believe the United States is in the midst of a similar development, spearheaded by Barrack Hussein Obama.
[...]
Watching him in his speech to enthusiastic naïve youngsters, I recalled the times when I saw Hitler in the same position in front of masses of enthusiastic people who adored him. There is much similarity between Hitler and Obama, both being adored by millions. Both have an agenda that declares the march into slavery to be a march into a better future. If you look at the front cover of my recent book, "Defeating the Totalitarian Lie," and take the photo of Hitler out and put Obama's in, it would look real.
Von Campe also demonstrates his exalted place at WND by repeating some of WND's greatest Obama lies. In addition to repeating the WND lie that Obama "has not produced proof that he is legally eligible to be president of the United States," he wries:
Obama wants $6 billion for this plan in the next three years. Earlier he had called for a National Civilian Security Force. Whatever name they give this scheme, it is an attempt to control the youth of our nation and indoctrinate them with socialist lies at the expense of the taxpayers. Obama has copied Hitler who created what was called "Arbeitsdienst" (Service to Work). It was a mandatory six-month membership before being drafted into the armed forces and part of the Nazi national structure for indoctrination, which nobody could escape.
This would be another example of Nazi ideology here in America. The bill, approved by the House, 321-105, would forbid any participant engaging in religious instruction, conducting worship services, providing instruction as part of a program that includes mandatory religious instruction or worship, constructing or operating facilities devoted to religious instruction or worship, maintaining facilities primarily or inherently devoted to religious instruction or worship, or engaging in any form of religious proselytization. That means no church attendance or witnessing. The majority of the House has reached the level of Nazi godlessness.
In fact, the "National Civilian Security Force" has nothing to do with indoctrination (as we pointed out the last time von Campe claimed this), and given that the bill in question is about expanding AmeriCorps and other federal volunteer programs, it makes no sense to make religion a component of that -- which, anyway, would violate First Amendment provisions regarding the separation of church and state. It does not ban participants from going to church, as von Campe seems to suggest.
It appears that von Campe has learned to smear and lie like his mentor, Adolf Hitler. Far from appearing as ashamed of that as he ought to be, he's reveling in it. Apt pupil, indeed.
We've documented how Newsmax was one of the most vociferous defenders of Bernard Kerik from "leftist" attacks following his 2004 nomination as homeland security secretary, until a tidal wave of allegations of corruption finally forced it to reel its enthusiasm in. Now, Newsmax has decided it's time to rehabilitate Kerik's reputation.
A March 29 Newsmax article, headlined "Bernard Kerik Wins Round in Court," touted how Kerik "won a victory in court last week when a judge threw out several of the charges in his federal indictment." But the article obfuscates on the number of counts dismissed and the number remaining. In fact, the AP reports that a judge "dismissed one count of the 15-count corruption and tax fraud indictment against Kerik" and "removed some elements of a second count."
Now, an April 3 article by Jim Meyers cranks up the rehabilitation, calling Kerik a "highly decorated former New York City Police Commissioner" in the first paragraph. Meyers also writes that Kerik "was President George W. Bush’s nominee for Secretary of Homeland Security before he withdrew his name from consideration," but fails to mention the charges he faces on, as the previous Newsmax article noted, "wire fraud, mail fraud, and making false statements."
But then, Kerik is serving a more partisan purpose for Meyers, who uncritically quotes Kerik as endorsing the renewal of the Patriot Act.
A March 30 WorldNetDaily article by Drew Zahn uncritically repeated misleading claims WND had earlier reported in 2007 about compact fluorescent lights, referencing "a Maine woman quoted $2,000 for cleaning up a broken CFL in her home."
As we detailed, WND editor Joseph Farah, who write the earlier article, didn't tell his readers that, according to experts quoted in the news article upon which he based his report, it's not necessary to spend $2,000 to clean up a broken CFL. Farah's misleading scare tactics even got him enshrined at the urban legend-debunking website Snopes.
Zahn also touted how the Maine Department of Environmental Protection "studied the dangers of broken CFLs and the adequacy of recommended cleanup procedures," and then issued"eight new recommendations for usage and cleanup of CFLs." Zahn does not note that the Maine DEP study he cites also reported that "The pre-study cleanup guidance was generally found to be sound." That would be the guidance that Farah mostly ignored in his 2007 article.
Further, Zahn, like Farah before him, curiously omits mentioning amid the scare tactics they peddle the one essential -- and simple -- thing recommended to lower levels of mercury released by a broken CFL: venting the room where it was broken. As the Maine DEP stated, "A short period of venting can, in most cases, significantly reduce the mercury air concentrations after breakage."
Note to Colleen Raezler: Topic: Media Research Center
The more you feel the need to repeat that "the loss of human life is a tragedy," the more you raise suspicions that you secretly believe the deaths of the head of "California's largest for-profit abortion provider" and his family in a plane crash are not.
"Hip" is how rapt reporters referred to the iPod the president and first lady gave the queen of England. Thanks to his fawning friends in the British and American media, Barack Obama got away with giving another foreign dignitary a vulgar gift.
Shades of the reality show "Cribs" …
[...]
The queen might have preferred a rare recording of the great cellist Pablo Casals performing at the Kennedy White House. Jacqueline Kennedy was a cultured lady with impeccable taste.
Sheppard Wants All Journalists to Insult Obama Topic: NewsBusters
Remember when Noel Sheppard hypocritically claimed that, unlike liberal media watchdogs who wdant "complete and total elimination of all opinion and viewpoints that are not in complete and total lockstep with their own," whereas he just wants "a fair and balanced media"?
What are we to make, then, of Sheppard's enthusiastic approval of a British journalist who called President Obama's appearance at the G-20 summit a "disappointment" and a "bore"?
The only possible takeaway is that he wants all journalists to insult Obama like this guy did.
An April 1 Newsmax article by Jim Meyers uncritically repeats Dick Morris' contention that Republican Jim Tedisco made "a teriffic showing" in the essentially tied New York special congressional election against Democrat Scott Murphy:
“This is a seat held by a Democratic congresswoman in one of the bluest of the blue states, 70 days after a president was overwhelmingly elected who’s a Democrat.
“Let’s remember that 57 percent still approve of what Obama is doing, and the fact that Tedisco came so close that the absentee ballots might put him over the top I think was an extraordinary showing…
At no point does Meyers or Morris mention the fact that a month before the election, Tedisco held an double-digit lead in polling -- a lead that was completely erased by Election Day -- let alone explain how that happened. Nor do they mention that registered Republicans heavily outnumber registered Democrats.
Meyers also wrote that, according to Morris, Tuesday’s result shows that President Barack Obama is already "in trouble": "But the issue is not why didn’t the Republican win, but why didn’t the Democrat win by a lot."
This is surprisingly shot down by Newsmax reporter David Patten, who himself has been caught spinning the Tedisco-Murphy race. In an April 2 article, Patten quotes political analyst Larry Sabato:
Weary of pundits claiming the election would have great symbolic importance for the Obama administration, Sabato added, “In a way, I’m glad it’s a dead heat. Special elections like this one are given entirely too much prominence. In isolation, and so far from a general election, they really don’t tell us much, or anything, of lasting importance.”
Patten, however, didn't highlight Morris' previous remarks declaring that the closeness of the race meant that Obama was "in trouble."
WND's Obama-Hate Extends to Ads Topic: WorldNetDaily
WorldNetDaily's seething Obama-hate even extends to its ads. The following ad is currently running at WND:
Funny, we thought one paid the local power company, not Obama, for electricity. And what does "Prepare for Osama's strike!" even mean?
The ad itself, meanwhile -- from a company called HomeMadeEnergy.org -- does not even mention Obama. Did the advertiser sign off on this copy, or is WND merely projecting its Obama-hate where it doesn't belong?
Floyd Brown is proving himself to be as mendacious about the media as he is about President Obama.
Brown -- as we've detailed, the smearmonger who's the new head of the right-wing attack group Western Journalism Center -- asserts in an April 2 FrontPageMag column that the New York Times "missed" Obama's Special Olympics remark during his appearance on Jay Leno's show. In fact, the Times ran a story and blog post on Obama's apology for the remark, as well as publishing the complete transcript of the appearance on its website.
The premise of Brown's column is little more than a parroting of talking points from the Media Research Center -- that a "politically correct and liberal-biased newspaper industry that engages in censorship is the real reason for the industry’s woes and decline," not the paradigm shift from print to online. Brown cites a poll claiming that "fewer than 20 percent of Americans said they could believe “all or most” media reporting" without noting that organizations like the MRC have spent millions of dollars over many years to raise doubts about the media and promote anecdotal evidence of "liberal bias" while ignoring evidence to the contrary.
In railing against the "liberal-biased newspaper industry" for losing money, Brown fails to mention that the three most prominent conservative newspapers -- the New York Post, the Washington Times, and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review -- were money-losers long before the current newspaper crisis, and the only reason they remain in business is because of the deep pockets of their billionaire owners.
Brown also doesn't seem to understand that accusations of press "censorship" that he makes go both ways. We could claim, for example, that Brown is engaging in "censorship" by not highlighting our WJC profile on his WJC blog, even though it appeared at the Huffington Post, which has higher traffic than some of the websites Brown links to, and even though it would be of interest to his readers.
The general cluelessness of Brown's media critique demonstrates he cares nothing about genuine journalism and would seem to be a harbinger of how he plans to manipulate the WJC -- as a partisan cudgel against Obama.
Erik Rush Tries Reviving Discredited Obama-Muslim Link Topic: WorldNetDaily
Erik Rush has distinguished himself as one of the more unhinged Obama-haters at WorldNetDaily -- hurling the Nazi smear, likening Obama to a prison rapist and calling Attorney General Eric Holder a piece of shit. In his April 2 column, Rush tries to revive the long-discredited Obama-is-a-Muslim falsehood:
While he has given indications that he may be a closet Muslim (among other things; often, he's too inscrutable to tell), the common denominator vis-à-vis his actions since becoming president remains: Anything to compromise the United States or tear down its institutions is at least worthy of consideration.
[...]
More recently, President Obama has made overtures toward gratuitously recruiting Muslims for positions in the White House. Then, the United Nations Human Rights Council approved a measure backed by Muslim nations urging the passage of international laws protecting Islam from "criticism." Are we to believe that this action, pertaining to a religion that does nothing but inspire criticism, accidentally coincided with Obama's election to the White House?
[...]
Fortunately, the insinuation of Muslims into our society has been, until recently, very slow. Unfortunately, we now have the "perfect storm" of a substantial Muslim population in the U.S., a rekindled global atmosphere of Islamic extremism, a brainwashed, feminized populace and a subversive president. It has indeed been a stealth effort, which Barack Obama is willfully helping to consummate.
The refererence to "gratuitously recruiting Muslims for positions in the White House," by the way, goes to a badly written and misleading WND article that misportrays the issue at hand.
Kincaid Peddles Scare Tactics on Obama Nominee Topic: Accuracy in Media
In a April 1 Accuracy in Media column, Cliff Kincaid attacks Harold Hongju Koh, the dean of Yale Law School whom President Obama has nominated as State Department legal adviser, claiming that Koh "has extremely radical views that seem to subordinate U.S. laws and the U.S. Constitution to so-called international law" and that "one has to conclude that Koh believes in a world government financed by global taxes" and "wants to see this dangerous New World Order implemented."
In fact, Kincaid's just repeating discredited right-wing talking points. As Dahlia Lithwick at Slate details:
The underlying legal charge from the right is that Koh is a "transnationalist" who seeks to subjugate all of America to elite international courts. We've heard these claims from conservative critics before. They amount to just this: The mere acknowledgment that a body of law exists outside the United States is tantamount to claiming that America is enslaved to that law. The recognition that international law even exists somehow transforms the U.S. Supreme Court into a sort of intermediate court of appeals that must answer to the Dreaded Court of Elitist European Preferences.
But Kincaid isn't really interested in truth. He spends much of his column playing guilt-by-association by citing the purported one-world-government leanings of Koh's "acknowledged mentor," whom Kincaid calls "a dangerous crackpot."
Kincaid also writes of Koh: "Some say he even would allow the application of Islamic Shariah law in the U.S."That claim is apparently rooted in a letter by lawyer Steven J. Stein that he cc'd to National Review regarding a speech Koh gave, in which Stein cited cherry-picked Koran verses. But as Richard Bartholomew notes: "Islamic law is a complex phenomenon that has developed in many different ways, and only a fool would suggest it can be encapsulated in a few random sanguinary verses from the Koran."
Further, at least one conservative anti-Koh blogger has pointed out the spuriousness of that charge, calling it "an unsubstantiated overheard and poorly commented handoff from a Koh staffer. The thing is attacking him on being pro Sharia is easily refuted by looking back at some 2007 House testimony he gave."
WND Can't Stop Lying About Obama Topic: WorldNetDaily
WorldNetDaily lies and lies and lies about Barack Obama, to the point where the only possible conclusion for its existence is that Joseph Farah and crew have decided its readers are suckers and will believe anything they publish.
WND's inability to stop lying about Obama is approaching the pathological. An April 2 WND article repeats one of those lies:
Obama believes the Constitution is flawed, because it fails to address wealth redistribution, and he says the Supreme Court should have intervened years ago to accomplish that.
Obama told Chicago's public station WBEZ-FM that "redistributive change" is needed, pointing to what he regarded as a failure of the U.S. Supreme Court under Chief Justice Earl Warren in its rulings on civil rights issues in the 1960s.
The Warren court, he said, failed to "break free from the essential constraints" in the U.S. Constitution and launch a major redistribution of wealth. But Obama, then an Illinois state lawmaker, said the legislative branch of government, rather than the courts, probably was the ideal avenue for accomplishing that goal.
As we've explained, Obama NEVER said any of that. WND is putting words in his mouth and lying about him -- something it has repeatedlydone on this issue.
The Obama-hate at WND headquarters must be at a toxic level. How else to explain WND's utter disregard for the facts and its willingness to trash what little credibility it has by repeating such obvious lies? Farah appears to be disturbingly eager to immolate his own website in order to bring down Obama.
Sadly, it appears no WND employee has the guts to stand up to their employer's lies -- indeed, this article lacks a byline -- despite the fact that WND's complete lack of credibility destroys their own as well.
More Global Warming Bamboozlement From Phil Brennan Topic: Newsmax
Longtime global warming bamboozler Phil Brennan is at it again in his March 31 Newsmax column, declaring that "The climate stopped warming around 1998. During the past 10 years, she's lowered the thermostat to the extent this year is moving rapidly toward the distinction as one of the coldest on record."
In fact, 2008, while slightly cooler than previous years due to a La Niña cycle, was the 10th warmest year on record, and actual scientists point out that the Earth remains in a warming trend.
FrontPageMag Substitutes Obama Birth Certificate Conspiracy With New Conspiracy Topic: Horowitz
Good news: A major right-wing site is denouncing the Obama birth certificate conspiracy theory. Bad news: It's substituting an even more stupid one.
Following up on David Horowitz's March 30 attempt to get his fellow right-wingers to back away from Obama Derangement Syndrome (because it worked so well with them the last time he tried it), an April 1 FrontPageMag article by Andrew Walden attempts to put a stake through the heart of the birth certificate conspiracy:
For Obama to have been born in Kenya, Ann Dunham and Barack Obama Sr. would have had to fly from Honolulu to Mombasa, give birth in a substandard third world hospital, fly back and then somehow arrange for a fraudulent birth certificate to be entered by the State of Hawai'i on August 8, 1961 (at the time governed by Republican William Quinn). They would have also somehow planted the phony birth announcement in the Honolulu Advertiser (at the time edited by Republican Thurston Twigg-Smith) and the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Hawai'i’s current Republican Governor Linda Lingle would also have to be complicit in the cover-up as would all of the leftist 1960s University of Hawaii friends of Ann Dunham and Barack Obama Sr—among them US Rep Neil Abercrombie.
Walden even calls out WorldNetDaily -- one of the mainpromoters of the conspiracy -- for getting stuff wrong:
Since Hawai'i law forbids the release of birth certificates to anybody not authorized by Barack Obama or his family, Obama further feeds the paranoia by choosing not to grant such permissions. A World Net Daily story claiming Hawai'i’s Republican Governor Linda Lingle ‘sealed’ the birth certificate is totally false. The governor’s office has asked for a retraction.
It's rather curious, not to mention yet another breach of journalistic ethics, that WND has not reported the governor's denial or otherwise responded publicly to it -- indeed, the Oct. 26, 2008, WND article by Jerome Corsi making this apparently false claim remains live. Erik Rush even repeated the false claim in a December 2008 Newsmax column.
Then, Walden blows it by claiming that right-wing obsession over the birth certificate is exactly what Obama wants them to do:
By refusing media requests for a look at the actual paper birth certificate, Obama’s campaign gave sly backhanded assistance to the forgery hype. The internet release of the birth certificate via hyper-partisan website Daily Kos on June 12 before posting it on a campaign website was likely calculated to fuel the frenzy. This is Obama’s Gramscianstrategydesigned to redirect the opposition down a blind alley.
[...]
Obama benefits from creating an opposition which seems to be standing by the side of the road impotently pointing to a piece of paper as if it could stop 63 million voters from anointing their ‘chosen one’. Birth certificate lawsuit plaintiff Phil Berg is a Democrat and whether he understands it or not, he has done great work on behalf of his party.
It is time for folks to stop being played by the Obama campaign and drop this counter productive ‘phony birth certificate’ nonsense.
As the Huffington Post's Jason Linkins put it, Walden is "substituting an utterly insane conspiracy theory with a thunderously obtuse one."
Walden might not be a fan of the birth certificate conspiracy, but he has been a promoter of other Obama conspracies: As we've noted, Accuracy in Media has reprinted Walden's purported exposure of "the Frank Marshall Davis netweork in Hawaii,"and AIM's Cliff Kincaid has approvingly cited Walden's work of examining "Davis’s Sex Rebel book."
Ultimately, Walden's complaint seems to boil down to that the birth certificate conspiracy is drawing attention away from his own conspiracy.
