New Article: Joseph Farah's Birther Revisionism
Topic: WorldNetDaily
The WorldNetDaily editor has not only lied about his website's birther coverage, he and Alan Keyes want you to believe that they're not questioning Barack Obama's citizenship. Read more >>

Blakeman: Militarize Mexico Border With Drones, Troops (But Don't Call It That)
Topic: Newsmax

Brad Blakeman declares in an April 6 Newsmax column that the government must "take swift and permanent action to secure our nation's borders immediately" -- and he wants U.S. troops to be involved.

The first step, according to Blakeman: "If we can send troops and deploy unmanned predator drones to secure the borders of foreign lands, then we can surely deploy them to help secure our own." Read that again -- he wants Predator drones of the kind that shoot missiles at suspected terrorists in Afghanistan on the Mexico border.

Does Blakeman really believe that someone sneaking into the U.S. for a job is worthy of the same fate as those who wage terror and command suicide bombers?

Blakeman then tries a little language bamboozlement: "We need a military style precision operation to effectively secure our borders. It is not about 'militarizing' our borders, which our president finds offensive." If you're sending armed troops and Predator drones to the border, how can that not be described as "miltarizing" the border?

Meanwhile ...
Topic: NewsBusters
Media Matters' Jamison Foser catches NewsBusters' Tim Graham once again saying something stupid -- this time, claiming the fact that President Obama adapts his speaking style to his audience, as most people do, means that Obama is a phony.

Obama Derangement Syndrome Watch
Topic: Horowitz

David Swindle uses an April 6 NewsReal post to liken PResident Obama to the "psychopathic" Mr. Blonde from "Reservoir Dogs." No, really:

Meanwhile ...
Topic: WorldNetDaily
Richard Bartholomew does a little dot-connecting regarding WorldNetDaily's Molotov Mitchell and anti-gay Ugandan pastor Martin Ssempa. Turns out Ssempa is buddies of the pastor of a neo-Pentacostal church in North Carolina linked to a movement called Every Nation, the current incarnation of a movement called Maranatha, which has been linked to authoritarian behavior. That church's previous pastor is Molotov's father.

WND Lies About Non-Discrimination Act
Topic: WorldNetDaily

An April 3 WorldNetDaily article by Drew Zahn engages in baseless and false fear-mongering about the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009, which would extend employment discrimination protection to to sexual orientation and gender identity.

The lies start in the headline: "House plans to resurrect law requiring 'gay' hires." This falsely impllies that the bill mandates a quota of gays to be hired and that the law forces employers to hire a certain type of person, which is a complete and utter lie.

Zahn does concede that the bnill makes "exceptions for the U.S. military, religious organizations and some businesses with non-profit 501(c) designations," but complains that it "makes no provisions for business owners' consciences." He then leaps into wild speculation: "A small construction company that wanted to maintain a Christian reputation, for example, could be sued if it refused to hire transvestites."

Zahn goes on to quote a representative of the right-wing group Concerned Women of America as saying the bill creates "special privileges" for gays and the transgendered, and he also quotes professional gay-basher Matt Barber claim the bill creates "special rights." But as Right Wing Watch points out, anti-discrimination protections for things like religion have existed for decades and the right-wingers never once complained about the fact that Christians were receiving "special rights."

Futher, as per WND's typical anti-gay, right-wing bias, Zahn permits no supporters of ENDA to respond to the right-wingers' criticisms. Thisalso follows in the tradition of WND's lies about extending hate-crime provisions to gays.

Ron Paul Derangement Syndrome Watch
Topic: Newsmax

Last week was a good week for the so-called “constitutional wing” of the Republican Party, those indomitable Ron Paul people. Sure, the next presidential election is a long way off but a recent snapshot taken by pollsters shows a surprising opening for the Texas congressman, the man who says that the Federal Reserve should be audited.

The general public is moving toward Ron Paul, even if most of them don’t even know who he is.

[...]

The country is ready. The man who pulled an upset to win the straw poll at CPAC, need only pull another one at the Iowa Cavalcade, 15 months from now, to be thrust into national prominence. The people are ready for some accountability. But the Wall Street bankers and establishment leaders in the Boston-New York-Washington corridor are watching.

The Ron Paul CPAC victory sent shock waves through their ranks. Don’t expect to see or hear about the Ron Paul revolution on the television news. The people who stand to lose from accountability are not about to help his cause.

[...]

He is right on the issues. And he has hardly changed his positions in a lifetime of public service. This gives him an immeasurable advantage over Obama and Palin. The country is moving to him, not the other way around.

And Ron Paul has one other ally: “Events.” Day by day, month by month, events are working, side by side, with Ron Paul, to prove him right and send his political star rising into orbit.

-- Doug Wead, April 5 Newsmax column

Janet Porter, Unrepentant Hater and Fearmonger
Topic: WorldNetDaily

Janet Porter ratchets up the hate and fearmongering in her April 6 WorldNetDaily column:

Be warned: The government that already controls access to the care you need to save your life has as its next target, already in its sites, the power to control your home's heat and your freedom to travel – all under the coldest "global warming" threat ever manufactured.

After that, be looking for a food shortage – another crisis you can rest assured Obama won't let go to waste. What happens when the government steps in to "rescue" the food industry? I would suggest you ask the survivors of such occurrences in Russia and Germany, but most all of them aren't around, of course. They were starved to death.

In World War II, we faced the National Socialist Party in Germany. Now we face it at home.

Porter again promotes her May 1 rally " to repent of our many sins, which have brought us to this point. " Porter still has not indicated whether she will, at this event or any other occasion, repent for the barrage of lies and hate she has become known for.

Newsmax Steals False Drudge Headline
Topic: Newsmax

The headline at the top of Newsmax's "Newsfront" section on April 6 looked strangely familiar:

It turns out we had seen it before:

Not only did Newsmax steal a headline from Drudge, the headline itself is false. As the Associated Press article to which Newsmax links explains (which carries the accurate headline "U.S. Unveiling New, More Restrictive Nuclear Policy"), Obama would permit the use of nuclear weapons in certain situations.

Note to Newsmax: If you're going to steal someone else's headline, make sure the headline is accurate.

UPDATE: Newsmax doubles down on the lie by making Drudge's false headline its lead story:

 

WND's Kupelian Claims 'Socialist Coup d'Etat'
Topic: WorldNetDaily

WorldNetDaily managing editor David Kupelian appeared on Sean Hannity's April 5 "Great American Panel," during which he claimed, "We're looking at an attempted socialist coup d'etat in Washington, D.C."

Media Matters has the video.

Kupelian also thinks Obama is a Manchurian candidate, so this is sadly not shocking at all.

Depiction-Equals-Approval Fallacy Watch
Topic: NewsBusters

An April 3 NewsBusters post by Anthony Kang takes the Depiction-Equals-Approval Fallacy approach to media criticism, claiming that network newscasts were issing "praise for the Obama administration's latest regulatory efforts" on new federal fuel efficiency standards. But the examples Kang claimed as evidence are weak:

• A statement on the NBC Nightly News that "Environmentalists are hailing the move as nothing short of historic."
• A person's quote that "This is sort of the first time that the United States government has stepped forward, to take the biggest single step forward to solving global warming," which Kang depicted as having "praised the new regulation."

Kang, by the way, appears to be a Media Research Center employee, where he also writes for the Business & Media Institute. Such specious "media research" means Kang fits right in.

Newsmax Edits Out Pat Boone's Smears of Obama
Topic: Newsmax

In his April 3 WorldNetDaily column, Pat Boone expressed vitriolic hatred of both Muslims and Barack Obama:

Differing from virtually every previous U.S. president, Mr. Obama seems to accept the claims of the Palestinian leadership, even the violent Hamas and Hezbollah, that the land given by God and settled by Israelites 4,000 years ago now rightfully belongs, at least in large part, to random settlers who moved into the area only in the last 200 years. And though the Balfour Declaration and the United Nations – and most civilized society the world over – have acknowledged and verified Israel's claim to their historic homeland, this president is doing everything he can to pressure Israel's leaders to cave in to the demands of the Muslim settlers.

This man spent his childhood in Indonesia and lived as a Muslim. Right through his teens and his three college experiences, as he recounted in his autobiography, he sought out the companionship and mentoring of dissidents and even Marxist teachers. As he began his ascent in politics and "community organizing," he joined a liberal church whose angry leader, Jeremiah Wright, is still pastor emeritus. Obama says he became a Christian there, but he apparently never read the biblical history of the Jews and God's eternal commitment to them of the tiny land that includes Jerusalem, the Holy City He calls Mount Zion. And he seems unaware of God's declaration to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob: "I will bless those that bless you – and I will curse those who curse you."

But when Boone's column appeared at Newsmax, it was in a severely truncated form.The second paragraph was removed entirely, and the first paragraph wasedited to remove specific references to Muslims and Hezbollah:

Differing from virtually every previous U.S. president, Mr. Obama seems to accept the claims of the Palestinian leadership, even the violent Hamas, that the land given by God and settled by Israelites thousands of years ago now rightfully belongs, at least in large part, to settlers who moved into the area only in the last 200 years. And though the Balfour Declaration and the United Nations — and most of civilized society the world over — have acknowledged and verified Israel’s claim to their historic homeland, this president is doing everything he can to pressure Israel’s leaders to cave in to the demands of the settlers.

Gone entirely, meanwhile, was the entire first section of the WND version of the column, a weird, incomprensible rant likening -- well, we don't quite know what he was getting at:

"Mrs. Obama, I'm Oskar Steinhaven, your next-door neighbor. We met once, when you and your husband were looking at this property, before you bought it. Remember? I told you my family and I were planning to buy this place. But somehow, you and Mr. Rezko made a deal for you to buy it, for less than I had already offered.

"You see, my family has lived in this area for over 80 years. We used to own all the land here, but our grandfather had to sell most of it in the Great Depression, keeping only our home next door. But our family has always felt this is still our land, and we've always intended to reclaim it. We were quite upset when you bought it and moved in, and then added another parcel to it. We tried to reason with Mr. Rezko, but he didn't listen or care about our heritage, our history on this very land.

"But then your husband was elected president, and whenever you come here, the place is swarming with Secret Service and other police; thousands of people drive by and gawk. We've had to just put up with it. In our neighborhood.

"And now, worst of all, you're planning to build other structures in the backyard – housing for security, a bomb shelter, huge satellite dishes, maybe even a guest house … who knows what else?

"We feel this is still our property, and we intend to have it again. You don't need it, and you keep adding things we don't want. We're seeking an injunction to prevent these additions.

"And one more thing. This is not a threat, just an observation. Our uncle Hermann was accused of running a Nazi camp; he told us it was a rest home for the elderly, the infirm, the undesirable. And we believe him. Yes, almost all of the people in his camp were Jews – but your husband gives us the impression he doesn't care much for those people or their precious Israel, so maybe we have that in common. But regardless, I'm just saying that, just as you found a way to buy this property, for less than its market value, we will find a way to reclaim it. It's ours, and we want it back."

Boone then added, by way of purported explanation:

The preceding is fiction, of course. But if it were true, how long do you think it would take President Obama to have this man dealt with, perhaps never to be heard from again? Do you think he or his wife would accept the man's claim, apologize, or stop their additions and maybe just deed the property over to him? No?

Well … that's what Mr. Obama seems determined to force on Israel.

Sorry, it still doesn't make sense. We can see why Newsmax cut it, demonstrating it has finally learned from its John L. Perry episode. So when will it demonstrate the final lesson by canceling for good the column by the hateful Pamela Geller?

WND Ignores Gary Kreep's PAC Scam
Topic: WorldNetDaily

WorldNetDaily loves Gary Kreep -- after all he's a birther lawyer who hates President Obama. Which is exacly why you will not see WND report on the fund-raising scam that is Kreep's political action committee.

Kreep heads the Republican Majority Campaign, which claims to have a goal "to elect an enduring Republican majority that will leave to future generations a stronger and more prosperous America" -- and which works out of the offices of Kreep's United States Justice Foundation. A few weeks ago, TPM Muckraker reported that while the Republican Majority Campaign, spent nearly all of the $1.7 million it raked in from conservative donors last year, less than 2 percent of that money went toward supporting candidates or independent political spending. Much of the money went to a murky Arizona telemarketing firm that has been linked to questionable PAC activities in the past.The PAC's main activity is soliciting donations to send faxes to Washington, an activity a campaign funding expert quoted by TPM Muckraker describes as legitimate but virtually worthless.

Kreep himself raked in about $60,000 from the group in 2009 for provinding "legal services."

Unsurprisingly, WND has not told its readers about the scam-like nature of Kreep's PAC. Instead, in the past month WND has reported on Kreep's latest birther-related activities and touted an ad attacking Sen. Harry Reid that Kreep's group issued. WND also promoted accusations by Kreep that allegations that two politicians were purportedly "offered jobs in return for dropping out of political races that challenge two U.S. Senate supporters of President Obama."

One more thing that WND won't mention in its role as Kreep's PR agent: Kreep and his USJF have previously represented WND in court, most notably in the Clark Jones lawsuit that WND ultimately settled out of court to avoid losing in the courtroom. Such non-disclosure is a violation of journalistic ethics that WND all too frequently engages in.

NewsBusters Runs to Erickson's Defense
Topic: NewsBusters

Jeff Poor spent an April 2 NewsBusters post defending right-wing commentator Erick Erickson, who he claims is the victim of a "witch hunt" by "left-wingers." Poor complains that the Politico, in writing a story about Erickson, is "taking news tips from left-wing storefronts that have staked out RedState.com founder Erick Erickson's Macon, Ga. radio show on Newstalk 940 WMAC, to capture any sort of gotcha moment to embarrass Erickson. And all of this seems to have been spurred on by CNN's announcement last month that Erickson would be a network contributor."

The "left-wing storefront" term is a reference to Media Matters, which captured Erickson saying on his radio show saying that if a census worker demands that he fill out the long-form American Community Survey, he will "[p]ull out my wife's shotgun and see how that little ACS twerp likes being scared at the door." And the act of monitoring someone's radio show for "gotcha moments" is exactly how Poor's employer -- the Media Research Center, which is a right-wing storefront -- operates, so what is he complaining about?

Poor uncritically relayed Erickson's defense that his statement is being "misconstrued," though Poor doesn't explain exactly what is being misconstrued given the straightfoward clarity of Erickson's statement.

Poor also complained that the Politico "something of continuation of behavior" in Erickson's statement, "which Erickson has since apologized for on CNN's March 28 'Reliable Sources.'" Poor doesn't explain why anyone should take Erickson's apology for past statements (like calling retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter a "goat f***ing child molester") at face value, since 1) Erickson's continued employment by CNN likely hinged on the apology, and 2) Poor and his employer would never treat a similar apology from a liberal that way.

Poor then unsurprisingly launches into a double-standard complaint regarding liberal personalities. Of course, as an MRC employee Poor is pretty much the last person who should complain about double standards given the MRC's refusal to denounce the frequent anal sex references by Rush Limbaugh while criticizing others who make them.

WND Still Whitewashing Minutemen Extremism
Topic: WorldNetDaily

WorldNetDaily has a long history of whitewashing the extremist aspects of anti-immigration border patrol groups like the Minutemen. It does so again in a March 23 article by Drew Zahn on the dissolution of one of those groups, the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps .

Zahn regurgitated the group's line that it was dissolving because it was "concerned that Americans have grown so angry over illegal immigration and border drug wars that violence may soon erupt." Zahn uncritically quotes group leader Carmen Mercer as saying, "This organization has grown too big for its own good; or rather, the problem has grown too big and serious for us to manage. I predict soon the violence will spill over the border (it already is) and I predict Americans, on their own, will lock, load and do what the feckless cowards in Washington refuse to do."

Zahn doesn't mention the fact that Mercer herself is responsible for encouraging some of that -- or that the backlash from it was a prime motivator for dissolving the MCDC.

As TPM Muckraker reported, Mercer sent out an email to MCDC members on March 16 -- a week before Zahn's article appeared -- in which she urged group members to come to the border "locked, loaded and ready." She added: "You are strongly encouraged to exercise your rights and duty as an American citizen to carry a long arm and if challenged use it to defend the United States of America."  Acording to the Arizona Daily Star, Mercer "received a more feverish response than she expected and decided the group couldn't shoulder the responsibility and liability of what could occur.

Zahn should have known about Mercer's remarks in writing his story. If he didn't he's a bad reporter. If he did and he chose not to report them, he's a dishonest one. Either way, he's a perfect WND employee.