We've previously noted how Newsmax took a few tentativestabs before the 2008 presidential election at repeating baseless claims about Barack Obama's birth certificate -- yet also credited Obama for knocking down those claims. Since then, Newsmax has largely stayed away from the issue (aside from the occasional wacky column).
Until now, that is. Newsmax appears to have decided it will follow WorldNetDaily'slead and fully embrace the conspiracy.
A July 22 article by Jim Meyers purports to correct MSNBC's Chris Matthews over his assertion that Obama has released a valid birth certificate:
But Matthews made a false claim. Obama has never released his actual birth certificate. He has released another document, often provided by state authorities in lieu of a birth certificate, called a certificate of live birth.
[...]
The indisputable fact is that Obama has not released his birth certificate, which the state of Hawaii issues for all citizens born there.
Instead, his campaign has only released his certificate of live birth from the state of Hawaii, which is a document that offers a summarized version of the birth certificate.
Adhering closely to the conpsiracy's talking points, Meyers went on to insist that "Obama is the only president in history whose birthplace is unknown to the public" and that "Obama’s refusal to release his birth certificate does mean that Obama remains one of America’s most mysterious and opaque presidents ever."
Meyers concluded: "Chris Matthews, get your facts straight and demand full disclosure – that’s the best way to keep an honest government."
Aaron Klein Mighty Wurlitzer Watch Topic: WorldNetDaily
A July 21 WorldNetDaily article by Aaron Klein once again invokes the Rabbinical Congress for Peace. As we've detailed, the group is a frequent go-to source of easy attacks on Klein's favorite targets -- in this case, President Obama.
As per usual, Klein fails to tell his readers about the right-wing nature of the congress, describing it benignly as a "coalition of Israeli rabbinic leaders."
Ronald Kessler uses a July 22 Newsmax column touting how right-wing Zionist Organization of America head Morton Klein was allegedly "barred" from attending a meeting of Jewish leaders at the White House to recount how "Klein and Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, believed Obama’s Jewish support was eroding as a result of his recent Middle East activities."
But, as we've detailed, Hoenlein never made that specific claim, and Hoenlein has since distanced himself from Kessler's interview of him.
Kessler never mentions Hoenlein's reversal -- after all, Kessler was trying to have Hoenlein fill the role of Jewish critic of Obama that Klein has ably stepped into.
While Kessler describes Klein as a "major Jewish leader" and an "important Jewish leader," at no point does he mention Klein's or ZOA's right-wing leanings -- though Klein's attacks on Obama clearly demonstrate that bias.
Porter's False Attacks on Health Care Reform Topic: WorldNetDaily
In her July 21 WorldNetDaily column, Janet Porter falsely claims that health care reform would mean "jail sentences for those who seek treatment outside the socialized health care system." That's an apparent reference to an Investor's Business Daily editorial claiming that the health reform bill contiains "a provision making individual private medical insurance illegal." It doesn't.
Porter also writes:
Even the Mayo Clinic, which Obama touted as the health care model, said, "… the proposed legislation misses the opportunity to help create higher-quality, more affordable health care for patients. In fact, it will do the opposite."
Duh.
In fact, the Mayo Clinic did not criticize Obama's approach to health care reform. It criticized the House reform bill for not including "a fundamental lever -- a change in Medicare payment policy -- to help drive necessary improvements in American health care" -- a reform Obama supports.
Newsmax Falsely Claims Obama Not Familiar With Health Reform Bill Topic: Newsmax
A July 21 Newsmax article by David Patten asserts:
Members of Congress haven't read the 1,018-page proposed healthcare-reform legislation, but then, apparently neither has President Obama.
The president recently confessed he is "not familiar" with key provisions of the legislation.
Patten goes on to write that during a conference call with bloggers, "a blogger referenced an article in Investor's Business Daily indicating Section 102 of the House bill would 'outlaw' private insurance," and that Obama responded that he was "not familiar with the provision you are talking about."
Actually, that IBD "article" is an editorial, and the claim that the bill would outlaw private insurance is false. Why should Obama be familiar with a section of the health care reform bill that doesn't exist?
Patten even concedes the point later in the article: "No version of the legislation now under consideration 'outlaws' private insurance coverage." But then he adds: "However, it increases its cost relative to publicly subsidized plans in a way that leads some experts to believe private insurance would no longer be a viable option."
The only "experts" he cites to back up his point, however, is the decidedly partisan and anti-reform Heritage Foundation. Then again, Patten's false claim that Obama is unfamiliar with the bill is lifted from Heritage as well (not to mention the Drudge Report).
New Article: Meet Molotov Mitchell Topic: WorldNetDaily
The WorldNetDaily video commentator claims he's talking "for the record," but his version of the "record" is filled with lies and smears. Read more >>
WND Still Trying to Claim Obama Birth Certificate Is Forgery Topic: WorldNetDaily
If Joseph Farah thinks the authenticity of the birth certificate issued by Barack Obama's campaign "was never the major issue of contention" -- or, as it appears now, he appears to accept that the certificate is authentic -- why is WorldNetDaily still touting claims that it's a forgery?
Bob Unruh does exactly that in a July 20 article, rehashing previous WND claims that "a document expert contends Obama's "Certification of Live Birth" image itself doesn't stand up to scrutiny." At no point does Unruh acknowledge that the person making that claim, "Ron Polarik," is hiding behind a pseodonym, nor does Unruh mention that Polarik's research has been largely discredited -- even though WND purports to offer "the full story" on Obama's "eligibility."
The truth about Ron Polarik and his research is yet another thing that WND is hiding.
Oh, and Unruh completely fails to mention that WND itself declared the certificate to be authentic. And we thought that WND had finally come around to basic journalistic concepts like reporting the truth.
By the way — if after all that you're a Columbia University economics professor, and you ever gave a student named Barack Obama an A, YOU MIGHT BE A SOCIALIST.
WND Thinks Telling the Truth About Obama Is News Topic: WorldNetDaily
Only WorldNetDaily could consider correcting articles to that they tell the truth to be newsworthy.
A July 17 WND article makes a big deal out of an article on a Ghana news website changing a reference in an article about Barack Obama's visit to Ghana from Africa being "the continent of his birth" to "the continent of his father's birth."
but then, reporting the truth about Obama is a novel concept to WND.
Declaring that "it’s clear that neither President Barack Obama’s economic plan nor his world peace plan is working," Ronald Kessler makes misleading claims in his July 20 Newsmax column to attempt to prove his point.
Kessler asserts that "Funneling money through the federal government has no multiplier effect and does not give businesses incentives to expand and hire more people. ... If Obama had instead offered tax incentives, as the Republicans proposed, rather than planning to raise taxes, businesses would have felt more confident about hiring more workers." In fact, government spending does have a stimulative effect; further, according to economist Mark Zandi, government spending has a higher multiplier effect than do business tax cuts.
Kessler went on to claim: "While the administration promised immediate results, Obama is now saying the stimulus was meant to have an effect over two years." In fact, White House chief economic adviser Larry Summers said in February that while there would be some immediate effects, "the effect will build over time."
Kessler also falsely claimed that Obama, in a 2001 radio interview, "expressed regret that the Supreme Court hadn’t engaged in wealth redistribution." That's a lie -- as we've detailed, Obama said no such thing, no matter how manytimes Kessler insists he did.
Of course, Kessler is a serialoffender in making misleading claims about Obama, so none of this is a surprise.
Another Empty Article from Aaron Klein Topic: WorldNetDaily
WorldNetDaily's Aaron Klein serves up an empty July 19 article in which not a single person he cites has a name.
Klein cites:
"a top official from Syria's Information Ministry"
a "U.S. official"
"other diplomatic sources"
a "senior U.S. official"
a "senior Middle East diplomatic source"
Not only are none of these people named, Klein offers no explanation for why he granted them anonymity.
This is a follow-up of a July 14 article in which Klein also failed to quote anyone on the record.
Such blanket anonymity appears to go against WND's policy on using anonymous sources, which editor Joseph Farah has dismissed as "usually quotes made up out of whole cloth to help make the story read better."
This is the latest in a string of emptyarticles from Klein, in which the anonymous sources he cites can't actually prove the claims they make.
But the biggest vampire population of all is huddled together in Washington, D.C. Mostly Draculas of the Dem kind, they’re sucking the lifeblood out of us. And they’re doing a number on our spirits as well by demoralizing us with talk of crises, urgencies, and things getting even worse if we don’t heed their words and offer up our necks willingly.
How many days till “The Vampire Diaries” airs?
The lib undead dig up health scare reform to suck the soul out of the free market. G.M. is prevented from going through a normal bankruptcy process and is turned into a corporate zombie for the ghoulish unions to feed on.
Maybe I’ll catch a midnight preview of “Thirst.”
C’mon GOP. And Blue Dogs, too. Save us from death by a thousand bites.
Your WND Hate Crime Lies of the Day Topic: WorldNetDaily
A July 18 WorldNetDaily article by Bob Unruh is a veritable compendium of falsehoods and distortions about the hate-crimes bill.
Unruh begins with a distorted, pejorative description of the bill as creating "federal protections and privileges homosexuals and others who have chosen alternative sexual lifestyles" and that it "essentially makes homosexuals a protected class of citizens."
Unruh also repeats the false claim, as forwarded by the right-wing group Liberty Counsel, that "Matthew Shepard is touted by homosexual advocates as a hate crime victim, but the evidence now shows he was not targeted because he was homosexual but was killed because of a drug deal." As we've detailed, by promoting this claim, Liberty Counsel has chosen to believe convicted killers and known liars over law enforcement and the official record of the case.
Unruh calls the bill "The Pedophile Protection Act" without mentioning that, as we've also documented, the bill does not protect pedophiles. Unruh also repeats claims that the bill will lead to "prosecutions of pastors and churches for teaching the biblical injunction that homosexual is sin" without mentioning that the bill contains a clause stating, "Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this Act, shall be construed to prohibit any expressive conduct protected from legal prohibition by, or any activities protected by the Constitution" -- which would include the First Amendment protection for freedom of religion.
Like we said -- a perfect storm of lies and bamboozelement from a writer with a long record of lies and bamboozelement.
Newsmax takes the next step in its Bernard Kerik rehabilitation project by giving him his own archive, his own bio page (which, of course, mentions nothing about the numerous charges of corruption he faces trial on) and a place on Newsmax's "blog" page (which aren't blogs at all but renamed opinion columns).
This coincides with a new column (sorry, we're not calling them "blogs") by Kerik.
NewsReal Falsely Asserts Obama Health Reform Modeled on Canada Topic: Horowitz
In a July 20 NewsReal post, Claude Cartaginese asserts that the Canadian health care system is "the same system that President Barack Obama has chosen as a model for this country to emulate as he takes us down the path towards socialism.
