ConWebBlog: The Weblog of ConWebWatch

your New Media watchdog

ConWebWatch: home | archive/search | about | primer | shop

Tuesday, May 28, 2013
CNS Still Thinks Federal Money Spent on LGBT Issues Is A 'Waste'
Topic: CNSNews.com

CNSNews.com's unnatural obsession with the federal government spending money on LGBT issues continues with a May 23 article by Fred Lucas lamenting that "The National Institutes of Health issued a $536,526 grant to the University of Illinois, Chicago, for a two-year program ending in July to study the smoking cessation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population."

This reflects CNS' apparent view that any federal money spent on LGBT issues is a "waste."


Posted by Terry K. at 10:49 PM EDT
WND's Corsi Slobbers All Over Breitbart Film
Topic: WorldNetDaily

A May 25 WorldNetDaily "news" article by Jerome Corsi is little more than a promotion for the documentary "Hating Breitbart." Corsi gives film producer Andrew Marcus ample opportunity to lionize Andrew Breitbart, even revealing Breitbart's promotional strategy for the film had he lived.

After highlighting "one of the best sequences in the documentary," then rehashed claims that Breitbart may have been the victim of "foul play," as promoted by such sketchy folks as " private investigator Paul Huebl" (pictured right). Corsi does add, "WND was never able to locate other witnesses who reportedly claimed that in the days leading up to his death, Breitbart was particularly paranoid that he was being followed."

Corsi concludes by doing his promotional duty of informing readers where to find the film.

How much did Marcus and the Breitbart folks pay Corsi and WND for this prestigious placement?


Posted by Terry K. at 7:43 PM EDT
Beyond Heathering: MRC's Graham Calls Republican A 'Backstabber' For Criticizing Conservative
Topic: NewsBusters

The Media Research Center has long been a proponent of what we call Heathering -- the bullying of Republicans who they deem insufficiently loyal to the right-wing party line.

The Media Research Center's Tim Graham takes Heathering to the next level in a May 24 NewsBusters post, actually calling former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele a "backstabber" for daring to criticize far-right Virginia lieutenant governor candidate Rev. E.W. Jackson:

How does Steele sound any different than Rev. Al Sharpton in this quote package? How does Steele reconcile the idea of electing more black Republicans and diversifying the party by dumping on this nominee? At least Jackson was elected.

How does the former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland forget that he was merely selected, and was considered too socially conservative to win black voters in 2002? The Washington Post then found Steele saying he was pro-life and pro-death penalty, unlike his running mate Bob Ehrlich: "It's part of my religious upbringing," Steele said. "I will follow the next governor. I will argue my beliefs when asked."

Apparently, Steele threw out his religious upbringing when he started attending the same cable-news Church of Obama as Rev. Sharpton. The Post is enjoying these quotes too much to point out that Steele’s personal election record has two statewide losses and one win.

Needless to say, Graham is careful not to mention the details of Jackson's extreme views, nor does he provide any evidence that Steele ever held those very same views. And lost in Graham's attack on Steele's "personal election record" is the fact that it was under Steele that the GOP did so well in the 2010 midterm elections, while the Republicans under current chairman Reince Priebus did horrible in the 2012 elections -- and, unlike Steele, kept his job.


Posted by Terry K. at 11:22 AM EDT
WND And The Koinonia Connection
Topic: WorldNetDaily

We've detailed WorldNetDaily's stealth links to alleged cult figure Roy Masters. But that's not the only religious organization WND has ties with.

The Koinonia Institute portrays itself as something of a Christian think tank, claiming to be "dedicated to training and equipping the serious Christian to sojourn in today’s world." It's headed by Chuck Missler, an evangelist who uses a jar of peanut butter to attempt to disprove evolution. Missler also got busted for plagiarism in a book a co-wrote with Hal Lindsey.

So Koinonia appears to push a heavily fundamentalist, if not ultra-orthodox, version of Christianity -- perhaps unsurprising given its position that the Bible is "the inerrant Word of God." But another sign of Koinonia's extremism is its board of regents.

Two names jump out immediately: Joseph Farah and Jerome Corsi. That's right  -- two of the most dishonest writers on the planet are on the Koinonia board. Koinonia also sells lectures by Farah and Corsi, among others, on its website; Corsi's is called "Obama and the Deception," which doesn't strike us as advancing Christian theology.

But Farah and Corsi are only a couple of the extremist or questionable members of Koinonia's board of regents:

  • Walid Shoebat, who has been credibly accused of lying about his self-proclaimed past as a Palestinian terrorist.
  • Ergun Caner, who was forced out as dean of Liberty University's Baptist Theological Seminary after it was revealed he had made false statements about his past.
  • Pat Matrisciana, best known for making "The Clinton Chronicles," the Jerry Falwell-promoted film accusing (without evidence) President Clinton of various and sundry crimes and perpetuating the discredited "Clinton body count."
  • Alan Keyes, all-around crazy guy (and WND columnist).
  • Tom Horn, promoter of a dubious theory (also promoted by WND, of course) that Pope Francis will be the "final pope."

Are these really the folks you want "training and equipping the serious Christian to sojourn in today’s world"? It seems more like a rogue's gallery of charlatans and liars promoting questionable brands of Christianity. If Farah and Corsi can't be trusted in their day jobs, doesn't that dishonesty taint whatever Koinonia is trying to do?


Posted by Terry K. at 9:13 AM EDT
Monday, May 27, 2013
NewsBusters Upset That The Mockable Is Being Mocked
Topic: NewsBusters

John Williams devoted an entire May 25 NewsBusters post to complaining that NPR's media show "On the Media" dared to mock Glenn Beck and his "news" website, The Blaze. Williams whined that the host "found himself unable to maintain a professional tone, devolving into contemptuous name-calling (“crazy,” “vast conspiracies”), laughing and sneering.

Which raises the questions: Has Williams never listened to Beck or read The Blaze, which is dedicated in part to repeating what Beck says?

Did Williams miss Beck's ranting that an airport shooting in Houston was probably a "setup" like the Reichstag fire?

Did Williams miss Beck and The Blaze promoting the discredited story that a Saudi national who was briefly a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings but ultimately cleared really was involved somehow?

Did Williams somehow miss out on the fact that Beck has undeniably earned the mockery he receives?

That's the kind of "media research" that has apparently earned Williams -- who runs a Twitter account dedicated to bashing NPR -- a coveted slot at NewsBusters.


Posted by Terry K. at 11:30 PM EDT
WND Punts on Arpaio Racial Profiling Scandal
Topic: WorldNetDaily

Last week, a federal judge ruled that the office of Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio engaged in racial profiling by systematically singled out Latinos in its immigration patrols, and that some immigration patrols were not based on reports of crime but rather on letters and emails from Arizonans who complained about people with dark skin congregating in an area or speaking Spanish. It's the first time a court has made such a determination.

How did WorldNetDaily cover this story?

Remember that WND and Arpaio have been partners in crime, as it were -- Arpaio gave WND's birther obsession the sheen of officialdom by letting his cold case posse do a (biased and shoddy) investigation of President Obama's "eligibility" (not to mention letting WND's Jerome Corsi be a de facto member of the posse).

Thus, it will not surprise you to learn that WND has posted only a short wire article on the Arpaio ruling, linking to a Reuters article lifted from the supposedly liberal Huffington Post.

Once WND figures out a way to spin this to Arpaio's advantage, it will devote more attention to the case.


Posted by Terry K. at 9:02 PM EDT
Sunday, May 26, 2013
MRC Attacks Another Reporter For Telling The Truth
Topic: NewsBusters

The Media Research Center's modus operandi of late has been the Orwellian tactic of attacking the media for reporting the truth about conservatives under the name of a "Tell the Truth!" campaign.

Brad Wilmouth does the same thing in a May 24 NewsBusters post:

Appearing as a guest on Thursday's PoliticsNation on MSNBC, Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank mocked South Carolina Republican Governor Nikki Haley as someone who has "reached out to a minority" in the form of white supremacists since they are a "minority," as he reacted to accusations that a member of her reelection committee is a white supremacist.

At no point does Wilmouth contradict any of Milbank's claims -- indeed, it's quite true --  and all he does is bash Milbank and others on MSNBC for highlighting it.


Posted by Terry K. at 11:36 PM EDT
At WND, Gay Marriage Is 'The Bottom'
Topic: WorldNetDaily

Ask most people what the worst thing a nation can do, and you would get answers like warmongering or genocide. But WorldNetDaily is not most people.

WND sent out an email tease for a new article with the subject "Look who's following U.S. in race to the bottom." This is followed with some melodramatic fearmongering: 

Many Americans who hold to traditional values have wondered where they might emigrate with their families to escape the growing decadence in their own nation.

They probably should scratch THESE two countries from their lists, unless they don't mind jumping from the frying pan into the fire ... 

So what is this thing that is "the bottom," so horrible that it would cause "Americans who hold to traditional values"? Genocide? Warmongering?

Follow the link to the article in question, and it's about the United Kingdom and Australia considering legalizing gay marriage.

The article, by Nick Adams, sets up a false choice, pitting "homosexual activist" against those who are "vowing to stay true to the Judeo-Christian values that have guided civilizations for millennia."

That's right -- at WND, apparently gay marriage is worse than genocide.


Posted by Terry K. at 9:48 PM EDT
Saturday, May 25, 2013
CNS Screams: 'Obama Meets In Oval Office With Illegal Aliens'
Topic: CNSNews.com

Here's how the top of the CNSNews.com front page looked for a while on May 23:

In the article, Fred Lucas repeatedly uses the term "illegal aliens" despite the fact that real journalists tend not to use it because it's considered biased and pejorative.

Posted by Terry K. at 11:48 PM EDT
Gay Boy Scout Derangement Syndrome
Topic: WorldNetDaily

Sin is never satisfied. The homofascist thirst for absolute affirmation is unquenchable.

What’s the next step? Activists now demand that adult men who desire sex with other males (“gay” scout masters) be allowed to take your sons camping overnight. Soon they’ll be insisting that “transgender boys” (girls who wish they were boys) be allowed to join as well.

What a camping trip! Imagine the pup tent. Your son and Jimmy – who’s got a crush on him – along with Billy and Billy’s boyfriend Bobby, all snuggly warm in the middle of nowhere. But make room for Sammy (formerly Suzie) and Sammy’s boyfriend Gary (formerly Gertrude).

Don’t forget to hang the disco ball.

And “always be prepared!”

-- Matt Barber, May 24 WND column

May 23, 2013, was a sad day for the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and another tragic day for an America in decline. The Scouts’ corporate-driven leaders in their folly put sexual morality up for a vote, and when it was all over, the Scouts as we once knew them – a God-fearing, wholesome organization – were finished. Now, truly “morally straight” organizations (to quote the Scout Oath) will rise up to compete with the corrupted BSA, and parents by the hundreds of thousands will migrate with their sons to these trustworthy alternatives.

This was a completely unnecessary capitulation. The equivocating Scouts somehow managed to snatch defeat from their hard-won victory in the Supreme Court in 2000 – which preserved the Scouts’ right to live by their own moral creed. Now they have eviscerated that creed, thus rewarding the very homosexual lobby that tormented the BSA since its high-court triumph.

Pursuing godliness and virtue is not a democratic exercise but a walk of obedience. Truth is transcendent; it is not decided by polls or votes. (Two men or two women will never truly be “married.”) We all fall short and hence need a Savior, but absolute Truth never changes. God – not man – sets the standard for proper living. Allowing boys who identify with and, presumably, engage in homosexual behavior is the opposite of virtue – and certainly wasn’t a Scouting value in my father’s and grandfather’s America.

-- Peter LaBarbera, May 24 WND column

 


Posted by Terry K. at 5:45 PM EDT
Friday, May 24, 2013
MRC Smears Lesbian Teen As 'Accused Child Molester'
Topic: Media Research Center

The headline on Matt Philbin's May 21 MRC Culture & Media Institute article screams, "Left Defends Accused Child Molester Because She’s Lesbian." But it sounds like Philbin's attacking her because she's lesbian:

When your 18-year-old daughter is expelled and charged with sexual battery of a child, one option is to go public and declare she’s a martyr under fire from anti-gay bias. That’s the approach taken by the parents of Kaitlyn Hunt, a Florida teen who faces two felony charges of “lewd or lascivious battery” on a child. And sure enough, the tactic has earned Hunt some high-profile left-wing media defenders.

According to the charges, Hunt, a senior at Sebastian River High School who was set to graduate this spring, pressured a 14-year-old girl four years her junior to be her “girlfriend” and engage in sexual activity with her. But when Kaitlyn faced prosecution from her underage partner’s parents, her own parents and gay activists immediately granted her victim status, claiming she was unjustly persecuted for being homosexual. 

Would Philbin be writing about Kaitlyn Hunt if she wasn't a lesbian? Probably not -- we searched the MRC archives and found nothing at all about Genarlow Wilson, a 17-year-old male who was convicted of child molestation for having oral sex with a 15-year-old girl at a New Year’s party and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Philbin went on to whine:

Clearly, Hunt’s parents and her supporters in their “Stop the Hate, Free Kate” Facebook group disagree. They are portraying her story as a tragedy like Romeo and Juliet – two lovers separated by people who just don’t understand. 

Actually nobody's doing that -- as the link Philbin himself provides. It goes to an article about what's called a Romeo and Juliet law, which exists in several states to deal with situations such as the Hunt case, in which teenagers, one of whom is underage, get involved in a consensual sexual relationship. The goal is to keep the older teen from being branded a sex offender if the facts warrant it.

Philbin goes on to claim that those supporting Hunt are "homosexual activists anxious to topple any and all rules regarding sex." He offers no evidence to back this up, of course -- he's too slavishly devoted to his employer's anti-gay agenda to care about such things.


Posted by Terry K. at 11:55 PM EDT
Reza Kahlili Unverifiable Story Watch
Topic: WorldNetDaily

The latest unverifiable claim from "Reza Kahlili" at WorldNetDaily:

Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani issued a press release Tuesday denying reports that he received a letter from Secretary of State John Kerry that said the United States would support him if he chose to run in Iran’s presidential election next month.

[...]

In a May 15 exclusive, WND reported that a secret message from Kerry was delivered to Rafsanjani of U.S. support, according to a source affiliated with the office of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The source, who remains anonymous for security reasons and who has provided valuable information before, said that on May 3, Kerry’s letter was delivered via the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh to Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, who arranged through the Saudi Embassy in Tehran to present the message to Rafsanjani indicating support from both the White House and the Saudi monarch.

As per usual, "Kahlili" offers no on-the-record evidence to back up anything he says.

Remember, "Kahlili" a guy with a fake name using anonymous sources who has provided no reason whatsoever why anyone should trust him.


Posted by Terry K. at 8:40 PM EDT
Logrolling In Our Time: Trump and Newsmax
Topic: Newsmax

The lovefest between Newsmax and Donald Trump isn't showing any signs of slowing down.

A May 23 Newsmax article is dedicated to ... Trump tweeting nice things about Newsmax:

Donald Trump has expressed high praise for Newsmax and its CEO Christopher Ruddy. The billionaire mogul tweeted: "Newsmax Media is one of the top media outlets in the country. Chris Ruddy has revolutionized political commentary and reporting."

The message was spread far and wide: Trump has more than 2,227,000 Twitter followers. And his TV show "Celebrity Apprentice" is one of NBC's most highly rated programs.

Newsmax is indeed a "top" media outlet — Newsmax.com has reached the No. 1 position in comScore’s News/Politics category.

Of the 61 million Americans comScore tracks seeking political news across all digital platforms, more than 13 million monthly unique visitors turned to Newsmax.com's political sites, exceeding such competitors as Huffington Post and Fox News in March.

As we detailed, Newsmax had to compare its entire website to mere parts of others to be able to say that.


Posted by Terry K. at 3:57 PM EDT
WND Tries to Blame Gays For Sexual Assaults In Military
Topic: WorldNetDaily

In a May 21 WorldNetDaily interview, Elaine Donnelly of the Center for Military Readiness falsely suggests that an increase in male-on-male sexual assaults in the military is linked to allowing gays to openly serve in the military. According to WND, Donnelly said "the military and the federal government are kidding themselves if they don’t think some major policy decisions aren’t contributing to the rise in sexual violence."

But as the Washington Times article WND and Donnelly refererence in support of their claims points out, very few of the male-on-male perpetrators are gay. Indeed, this is a longtime problem in the military that is unrelated to the status of gays.


Posted by Terry K. at 11:03 AM EDT
Thursday, May 23, 2013
CNS' Lucas Fails At Trying to Create An Obama Conspiracy
Topic: CNSNews.com

Fred Lucas smells a conspiracy in a May 20 CNSNews.com article:

The head of the National Treasury Employee Union (NTEU), which represents employees of the Internal Revenue Service, met with President Barack Obama in the White House one day before the manager of the IRS’s “Technical Unit” suggested establishing a “Sensitive Case Report” for the tax-exempt status applications of Tea Party groups, according to data from the official White House visitor log and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

The White House visitor log shows that NTEU President Colleen Kelley met with Obama--“POTUS,” President of the United States--on March 31, 2010.

[...]

At 11:03 a.m. Monday, CNSNews.com e-mailed the White House press office, referencing the March 31, 2010 meeting between Kelley and Obama: “Did they discuss tea party groups or other conservative groups in any context?”

CNSNews.com also called the White House press office immediately and confirmed that it had received the e-mailed question.

As the White House press briefing was ending on Monday, CNSNews.com asked White House Press Secretary Jay Carney as he was leaving the podium, “Did the Treasury union chief talk about tea parties during her meeting with the president in March 2010?”

Carney did not respond.

Later on Monday afternoon, CNSNews.com again e-mailed the White House press office and Carney, with the same question sent earlier in the day. CNSNews.com also called the White House press office and confirmed that it had received the e-mailed question.

However, neither the press office nor Carney responded before this story was posted.

Had Lucas bothered to do a little actual research instead of trying to play gotcha by suggesting the White House's non-responses to him were evidence that Obama was trying to hide something, he would have learned that Kelley was one of 117 visitors who came to the Old Executive Office Building for what the log describes as a "Workplace Flexibility Forum," and she did not have a personal meeting with Obama.


Posted by Terry K. at 11:51 PM EDT

Newer | Latest | Older

Bookmark and Share

Get the WorldNetDaily Lies sticker!

Find more neat stuff at the ConWebWatch store!

Buy through this Amazon link and support ConWebWatch!

Support This Site

« May 2013 »
S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30 31

Bloggers' Rights at EFF
Support Bloggers' Rights!

News Media Blog Network

Add to Google