Topic: CNSNews.com
Right-wing activists have used CNS as a way station to do "reporting" before moving on to more right-wing activism. Read more >>
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
NEW ARTICLE: CNS' Revolving Door
Topic: CNSNews.com Right-wing activists have used CNS as a way station to do "reporting" before moving on to more right-wing activism. Read more >>
Posted by Terry K.
at 3:22 PM EDT
Farah Can't Stop Misleading About 'Natural Born Citizen' Definition
Topic: WorldNetDaily Joseph Farah writes in his Aug. 29 WorldNetDaily column:
Farah is misleading. As he surely knows, the Constitution contains no definition of "natural born citizen," and and no U.S. court has explicitly defined the term as it applies to presidential eligibility. Thus, Farah's claim that Rubio and Jindal -- and, by extension, Barack Obama -- are "totally and inarguably ineligible" because they are "sons of parents who were not U.S. citizens when they were born" is merely an opinion expressed by a non-lawyer, not the undisputed fact he portrays it as. Which means WND is misinforming its readers again. Anyone surprised?
Posted by Terry K.
at 1:40 PM EDT
WND Cites Philandering Adulterer To Attack Obama
Topic: WorldNetDaily An Aug. 27 WorldNetDaily article by Bob Unruh cites "a former FBI special agent in Washington" to claim that "Infiltration of the federal government by members of the radical Muslim Brotherhood is worse than some have warned recently." But Unruh won't tell you that the agent's personal life has discredited him and cost him his job at the FBI. Unruh writes:
Note Unruh's credibility-building descriptors for Guandolo -- "former Marine Corps officer," "veteran federal agent." But Unruh doesn't mention why Guandolo is no longer with the FBI. Talking Points Memo reported that the married Guandolo resigned from the FBI after superiors found a list he wrote of his sexual conquests with agents and a confidential source. Notably, Guandolo had an affair with a key witness in the corruption case of former Louisiana congressman William Jefferson while simultaneously soliciting a $75,000 donation from her to an anti-terrorism group. Even Guandolo admitted that he may have jeopardized the Jefferson investigation with his sexual behavior. Given WND's long-documented hatred of deviant sexual behavior, why is it quoting a philandering adulterer as a trusted source? The rest of Unruh's article is problematic as well. It carries the subheadline "FBI: Penetration by radical agents worse than thought," though Guandolo is no longer an FBI agent. Unruh also repeats attacks by so-called "Muslim reformer" Tarek Fatah on Obama administration members Dalia Mogahed and Rashad Hussain. Unruh uncritically passed along Fatah's claim that Mogahed "writes (Obama's) speeches"; in fact, she's a researcher who was consulted on Obama's 2009 Cairo speech. Unruh further wrote of Mogahed:
In fact, in the interview Unruh is presumably referring to, Mogahed did not defend Sharia law; Mogahed said that she was "sure there are people out there" who believe that "the United States and Britain and other countries should be open to, the concept of, you know, integrating Sharia into laws in Muslim-majority societies," and she did not discuss what "a lot of Americans ... think" about Sharia law. Unruh also claimed that Hussain (whom Unruh quotes Farah misidentifying as "Hassain") "has raised suspicions" because he once "defended Brotherhood leaders like Sami al-Arian." Unruh didn't mention that Hussain later stated that his statements about al-Arian were " ill-conceived or not well-formulated." Unruh also portrays Hussain as a "devout Muslim" who "has told Afghans the antidote to Islamic violence 'is Islam itself,'" without mentioning Hussain's long record in opposing terrorism.
Posted by Terry K.
at 11:21 AM EDT
Updated: Tuesday, August 30, 2011 1:45 PM EDT
CNS Falsely Attacks Obama Nominee Over VAT
Topic: CNSNews.com Fred Lucas writes in an Aug. 29 CNSNews.com article:
In fact, as Media Matters details, Kruger didn't express support for a VAT in that Times article; he specifically stated that "I pose it only as a suggestion for serious discussion; I'm not sure it is the best way to go." Lucas further messes up by stating that "The VAT would be a levy that adds to the current tax structure." Actually, Krueger stated that over time, "income taxes or corporate taxes could be reduced and the revenue replaced by the consumption tax."
Posted by Terry K.
at 2:16 AM EDT
Monday, August 29, 2011
WND Misleads About Planned Parenthood Clinic Plans
Topic: WorldNetDaily An Aug. 27 WorldNetDaily article by Bob Unruh repeatedly calls a proposed Planned Parenthood facility in Michigan an "abortion center" and "abortion business." Unruh also states that "Planned Parenthood of Mid and South Michigan bought the location and announced it planned to establish an abortion business." Just one problem: Planned Parenthood has never stated that it plans to use the proposed facility to perform abortions. The Oakland Press quoted a Planned Parenthood as saying in May that the organization has not decided what services will be provided in Auburn Hills yet: “We know our core services will be there, which is preventive health care like annual exams, cancer screenings and birth control. We don’t know what the other range of services will be yet.” Unruh offers no evidence to back up his claim that Planned Parenthood intends to run an "abortion business" at the facility, nor does he mention the Planned Parenthood statement that it has not decided whether to offer abortions there. Indeed, Unruh makes no apparent effort to contact Planned Parenthood for their side of the story. That's just sloppy reporting, the kind we've seen over and over again from Unruh.
Posted by Terry K.
at 3:32 PM EDT
Newsmax's Patten Obscures True Political Affiliation of Pollsters
Topic: Newsmax David Patten begins his Aug. 28 Newsmax article by claiming: "The economy is so dismal that President Barack Obama will have to re-write the political history books if he hopes to win re-election, political strategists say." But Patten then misleads about the political affiliations of those "political strategists" -- actually, two pollsters. Patten describes Matt Towery as "CEO of the nonpartisan InsiderAdvantage polling company." But Towery's bio makes his political affiliation quite clear:
A steady Republican with bipartisan leanings does not a "nonpartisan" pollster make. Patten then describes his other source, Doug Schoen, as a "Democratic pollster and Fox News contributor." The latter affilation is more important than the former. Schoen has a ,long record of trashing Obama -- and he's holding fundraisers for Republicans -- so he appears to be less of a loyal Democrat than Towery is a loyal Republcan. Yet Schoen got the partisan label and Towery didn't. Funny how that works, isn't it?
Posted by Terry K.
at 11:10 AM EDT
Updated: Monday, August 29, 2011 11:14 AM EDT
WND's Geller Attacks Islamic Charity WND Was Caught Falsely Attacking
Topic: WorldNetDaily Pamela Geller's Aug. 23 WorldNetDaily column is one long tirade against the charity Islamic Relief, declaring "I equate 'Islamic Relief' with dhimmi pain," accusing it of guilt-by-association with terrorists, and calling it a "jihadist group." Funny thing about that: WND had to retract a similar attack on Islamic Relief. As we detailed, in December 2004, WND published an article by Aaron Klein claiming that Islamic Relief "is connected to several organizations that support terrorism," has taken money from "a front group for Al-Qaida," and suggesting that the orphans it claimed to be raising money for don't exist. Six months later, after what can be presumed to be a threat of a libel lawsuit by Islamic Relief, WND deleted Klein's article and published a retraction:
WND never explained what in the story was false -- which can only lead to the conclusion that so much was wrong with it that a simple correction would not suffice. And that, of course, means that Geller's playing guilt-by-association with Islamic Relief and terrorist is highly suspect as well. After all, WND has already retracted essentially the same claim by one of its own reporters, so there's no reason to think Geller is any more accurate. It seems that WND and Geller's anti-Muslim fanaticism have set themselves up for another battle with Islamic Relief.
Posted by Terry K.
at 10:39 AM EDT
NewsBusters' Sheppard Repeats Discredited Claim to Attack Gore
Topic: NewsBusters In order to rebut a claim by Al Gore that "scientists espousing a skeptical view of his money-making theory are exclusively doing so for their own financial benefit," Noel Sheppard writes in an Aug. 28 NewsBusters post:
But as we detailed at the time, Morano's analysis manages to be both inaccurate and dishonest. Morano not only falsely portrayed ExxonMobil's $19 million as the only money that climate "skeptics" receive -- there are numerous other organizations that donate to, and promote, climate "skeptic" causes -- he also counted an overly broad array of items, such as alternative fuels, under "man-made global warming" funding. Sheppard then claimed that "the Science and Public Policy Institute updated and confirmed these numbers." But the SPPI makes the same dishonest error that Morano did, comparing an overbroad "$79 billion since 1989 on policies related to climate change, including science and technology research, administration, education campaigns, foreign aid, and tax breaks" against the narrow amount donated by one company, ExxonMobil. Sheppard has been an incredibly dishonest global warming "skeptic," but you knew that already.
Posted by Terry K.
at 9:07 AM EDT
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Public School Derangement Syndrome Watch
Topic: WorldNetDaily
-- Patrice Lewis, Aug. 26 WorldNetDaily column
Posted by Terry K.
at 8:33 PM EDT
Aaron Klein Anonymous Source (And Language Misuse) Watch
Topic: WorldNetDaily An Aug. 27 WorldNetDaily article by Aaron Klein cites anonymous "Egyptian security officials" to claim that "The so-called popular uprising in Libya was supported and partially carried out by foreign mercenaries." Not only does Klein not explain why anyone should trust his "Egyptian security officials" -- possibly the same ones he relied on in his attempt to prop up the brutal Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak -- he doesn't explain why he doubts the extent to which Libyans support the rebellion against brutal dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Klein also has a little problem with the English language:
The claim may bolster critics who question the composure of the rebels' National Transitional Council, which has been recognized by the United States and most of the international community as the country's de facto government.
Posted by Terry K.
at 12:02 AM EDT
Saturday, August 27, 2011
NewsBusters' Sheppard: Mennonites Hate America
Topic: NewsBusters Noel Sheppard, in an Aug. 27 NewsBusters post, introduced a story about a Mennonite college banned the playing of the national anthem this way: "Just when you thought the America-hating in this nation couldn't go much further, a college campus decides to ban the national anthem at sporting events." Yes, Sheppard just declared that Mennonites -- a Christian sect known for their pacifism, modest living, and conservative dress -- hate America. Good job, Noel!
Posted by Terry K.
at 6:20 PM EDT
Updated: Saturday, August 27, 2011 6:21 PM EDT
WND's Erik Rush Doesn't Back Up His "Homofascist" Claims
Topic: WorldNetDaily Erik Rush's Aug. 24 WorldNetDaily column is about an alleged campaign on Facebook "to target and harass those who oppose homosexuals dictating the moral agenda in America, as well as people with whom they associate":
Completely missing from Rush's column is any substantiation of the claims he's making -- no links, no screenshots, nothing but a couple of anonymous, unsubstantiated quotes complaining about the purported harrassment -- or any direct quotes of the comments that set off the supposed harrassment. Somehow, we suspect that those comments go well beyond the mere expression of "traditional values" who are "simply trying to enjoy a new medium of information exchange" that Rush claims. Without any substantiation of his charges, it's hard to take Rush's gay-bashing seriously. After all, this is a guy who accused President Obama of "collectively sodomizing the American people in perpetuity."
Posted by Terry K.
at 10:15 AM EDT
Updated: Saturday, August 27, 2011 12:00 PM EDT
Friday, August 26, 2011
Farah Roots for DC's Destruction, Then Claims He's Being Misquoted
Topic: WorldNetDaily Joseph Farah appeared to be rooting for the destruction of Washington in his Aug. 23 WorldNetDaily column, in the wake of the earthquake that hit the East Coast:
Then again, God could just be sending a sign to Farah to stop using his website to peddle lies, distortions and birtherism and to become an honest journalist. Farah's probably too arrogant in his faith to have considered that interpretation, though. The following day, Farah asserted that ABC had "deliberately misquoted" him from his column:
Which, of course, is not "deliberately misquoting" at all; it's taking something out of context -- something WND does on a regular basis. Anyway, back to Farah:
You will notice the partial quote "there will be a bigger one coming." You will notice the linking word "because." But if you read my column, as I'm sure this ABC reporter did, you will notice that these ideas of a "bigger one coming" and "Washington needing a wallop" are nowhere close to each other in the piece. They are not related ideas. They were purposely and inappropriately linked by the ABC reporter to suggest I was talking about a bigger quake coming to Washington, D.C. I never said that. I said the city needs one. I said the city deserves one. But I never said one was coming. Actually, he kinda did. Here's the full context of that statement:
Farah is very much talking about a bigger earthquake coming. Given that the entire column is about warning people to get right with God or worse things will happen, it's entirely reasonable to conclude that Farah is talking about a bigger earthquake coming -- and entirely hypocritical for Farah to complain about being taken out of context when at no point in either column he establishes what the proper context is for his claim that there will be "a bigger one coming." Farah whining continued:
When you are talking about Washington deserving to get hit by a bigger earthquake, you are indeed talking about "D.C. politics." If Farah doesn't want to be as misinterpreted as he claims he is, perhaps he should have written more clearly in the first place.
Posted by Terry K.
at 1:50 PM EDT
Updated: Saturday, August 27, 2011 5:01 PM EDT
MRC Declares That ABC Hidden-Camera Show Is 'Liberal'
Topic: NewsBusters Gosh, you can't get anything past the liberal-bias detectors at the Media Research Center. Having already declared Twitter to have a liberal bias, the MRC has found yet another font of bias: ABC's hidden-camera show "What Would You Do?" The headline on MRC employee Scott Whitlock's Aug. 25 NewsBusters post declares "What Would You Do?" to be a "Liberal Hidden Video Show." Whitlock doesn't use that word in the body of his post, but he offers examples of what he presumably means:
PDA is "liberal"? We had no idea. Or is it only when gays do it? We've previously detailed how Whitlock criticized the hidden-camera segments on "What Would You Do?" while praising the right-wing hidden-camera entrapment antics of Lila Rose.
Posted by Terry K.
at 8:42 AM EDT
WND Ventures Into Racially Charged Territory By Implying That Obama Is Lazy
Topic: WorldNetDaily The right-wing media have spent much of this month sniping at President Obama for taking a vacation. Now, some are taking the criticism up a notch, venturing into racially charged territory in the process. (Cross-posted at Media Matters.)
Posted by Terry K.
at 12:39 AM EDT
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