President Obama has decided that his real enemies aren’t Iranian genocidal dictators, anti-Semitic reporters or Muslim terrorists. His real enemies are conservatives and corporations.
How can we tell? From his rhetoric. Obama doesn’t punch anyone in the face directly (not that his fists would do much damage, judging from the way he throws a baseball). But he does lash out at his enemies with his most valuable tool: his silver tongue. When Obama talks about his enemies, his honeyed mouth becomes a blunt instrument rather than a scalpel. The supposed master of the nuances of the English language is apparently rendered stupefyingly inarticulate when faced with those he dislikes; he’s suddenly a WWE wrestler pumped up on testosterone, the mic boosted to deafening levels. He calls people out. He uses colorful and confrontational language. He threatens physical force.
[...]
When Jew-hater Helen Thomas suggested that Jews in Israel return to the lands of the Holocaust, Germany and Poland, Obama said that her remarks were “out of line, “ but said it was a “shame, because Helen’s someone who ... was a real institution.” (So was Father Coughlin, for the record.)
-- Ben Shapiro, June 10 column, published at CNSNews.com
New Article: Anti-Semitic Hypocrisy Topic: Media Research Center
WorldNetDaily and the Media Research Center have attacked Helen Thomas' controversial remarks on Israel and cheered her abrupt retirement. So why did they publish Pat Buchanan's complaint there are too many Jews on the Supreme Court? Read more >>
CNS Still Hiding Half the Story on Job Offers Topic: CNSNews.com
A June 9 CNSNews.com article by Fred Lucas uncritically repeated claims by Rep. Darrell Issa that the Obama adminstration "violated the Hatch Act that restricts federal employees from using their official authority to influence or interfere in an election" through alleged job offers to Joe Sestak and Andrew Romanoff in exchange for not running in Senate races.
Lucas failed to tell his readers that legal experts have disputed Issa's claim that ther Hatch Act was violated.
CNS has previously failed to tell readers the entire truth about the Sestak-Romanoff "scandal," including the fact that the Bush and Reagan administrations engaged in the exact same behavior.
NewsBusters Falsely Claims Olbermann Didn't Criticize Thomas Topic: NewsBusters
A June 10 NewsBusters post by Brad Wilmouth carries the headline "Olbermann Slams Anti-Helen Thomas Rabbi in ‘Worst Person’ Segment, But Not Helen Thomas." But in his post, Wilmouth quotes Olbermann, um, slamming Thomas' remarks on Israel and Jews: "It was sad. It was narrow minded. I can't defend it."
That lie aside, Wilmouth seems more upset that Olbermann criticized the person who posted the Thomas video, Rabbi David Nessenoff, for a video in which he engages in Mexican stereotypes. Such mocking stereotypes are apparently hunky-dory with Wilmouth, for he offers no word of criticism of them.
Then again, neither Wilmouth nor his MRC co-workers saw anything wrong with Pat Buchanan's Jew-counting.
Will Fox Allow O'Reilly to Shill for Newsmax? Topic: Newsmax
As we've previously noted, Bill O'Reilly has signed on to join Dick Morris in hawking Newsmax's latest money-making scheme. But Fox News in the past has reined in its hosts' previous shilling, such as Glenn Beck with Goldline and Sean Hannity at a tea party event. And then there's O'Reilly's own professed claim that "I'm not an economist."
Will Graham Criticize His Co-Worker's Mocking of Thomas? Topic: NewsBusters
Tim Graham spends a June 9 NewsBusters post appearing to be offended that liberals are "making fun of [Helen Thomas'] face." Perhaps Graham thinks that making fun of Thomas' looks are the province of conservatives.
Indeed, just a couple hours before Graham's post went live, his Media Research Center colleague Matt Philbin Twittered:
And a NewsReal post from earlier in the day featured this photo, captioned "The Potomac Troll Heads Back to the Bridge":
It seems Graham doesn't want liberals to horn in on conservatives' territory.
Media Matters' Matt Gertz dismantles Jerome Corsi's latest conspiracy theory, as outlined in a June 7 WorldNetDaily article -- that BP has escaped regulation under the Obama administration because Rahm Emanuel once lived rent-free in a bedroom at the house of friend Democratic consultant Stanley Greenberg, who has also served as a consultant for BP.
Gertz sums up nicely: "The theory crumbles for the same reason most conspiracies do -- there are far simpler, more rational explanations for what happened."
All Mr. Obama seems capable of lately is reading the teleprompter and giving another stupid speech that sounds good but will do little to address the underlying problems. Mr. Obama would rather find fault than find a solution. Just as any good attorney, if he can find fault he can sue.
Mr. Obama, a lawsuit will not mop up the oil. Suing Ahmadinejad will not stop him from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Litigation will not stop lawbreakers from coming across the border and invading our country. Kim Jong Ill is not concerned about a court room.
Either lead or get out of the way. I suggest you get out of the way. Then call on one of the few adults left in your administration with some practical experience who can get to work on the problems. In the meantime, you go hang out on your 747, play rock star around the world and eat your $200 a pound Waygu beef. Turn over the critical issues to people who can lead. People who are willing to serve a child, while the child plays. Let them clean up your mess while you play golf.
May I suggest Hillary as your first choice? At least she has a pair and understands how to get things done.
We Get Results: WND Reports on Beck's Embrace of Anti-Semitic Author Topic: WorldNetDaily
Coincidence?
A few hours after we pointed out that WorldNetDaily was among the ConWeb outlets who had attacked Helen Thomas for making controversial remarks about Jews and Israel that had ignored Glenn Beck's embrace of the anti-Semitic Nazi sympathizer Elizabeth Dilling, up pops a June 7 WND article by Drew Zahn noting that "Glenn Beck has come under heavy criticism for citing a book on the air last week written by an anti-Semitic Nazi sympathizer named Elizabeth Dilling."
If WND got the idea for the article from us, it would never admit to doing so -- they're too busy pretending we don't exist -- so we'll embrace the correlation-equals-causation fallacy and take credit anyway.
If it seems strange that WND would attack a fellow conservative like Beck, it really isn't. WND editor Joseph Farah has had it in for Beck for mocking birthers.
MRC's Poor Excuses Offensive Remarks By Conservatives Topic: Media Research Center
Are conservatives really so blindered that they are unable to detect offensive comments by their fellow conservatives that, if said by liberals, would have them bringing out the heavy artillery? Or are they merely so craven and hypocritical that they must constantly devise ways to dance around it?
A June 8 MRC Culture & Media Institute post by Jeff Poor seems to be the latter. When a Salon.com writer cited Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity as examples of peopl, like Helen Thomas, who have "uttered controversial, even despicable comments," Poor tried to change the subject, making the irrelevant point that "neither Limbaugh, Beck, Stern nor Hannity have been designated the 'dean' of the White House press corps, or even have access to the White House briefing room."
Poor, it appears, is not going to concede that Limbaugh or Beck have ever made "controversial, even despicable comments" -- even as Beck has gotten in trouble this week for promoting the writings of an anti-Semitic Nazi sympathizer, Elizabeth Dilling.
That's offensive whether or not Beck has ever set foot in the White House briefing room -- but don't expect Poor to admit that, let alone condemn it.
Aaron Klein Proves Cowardly As Book Dishonesty Continues Topic: WorldNetDaily
WorldNetDaily's practice of dishonestly promoting Aaron Klein's anti-Obama screed "The Manchurian President" by cherry-picking criticism of the book and falsely presenting it as the only substantive criticism of it continues a June 5 article taking offense at a single paragraph of a Los Angeles Times article on "Pumped-up polemics."
The paragraph reads:
Not even out yet — but already topping Amazon.com's list of political bestsellers — is "The Manchurian President: Barack Obama's Ties to Communists, Socialists and Other Anti-American Extremists" by Aaron Klein and Brenda J. Elliott, which echoes the 1962 classic film in which Chinese communists try to hypnotize their way into the White House.
WND declared this to be an "attack" and a "smear." How so? Because Klein and co-author Brenda J. Elliott really weren't trying to evoke "The Manchurian Candidate," really:
While the title is taken from "The Manchurian Candidate" movie, Klein writes in the book's introduction the work specifically does not echo the film's plot of a hypnotized president.
Writes Klein, "The authors are by no means arguing herein that President Obama has been brainwashed by anyone or is a sleeper agent for any international party."
"However, the main theme of The Manchurian Candidate's various incarnations – that of a powerful politician whose true past has been intentionally obscured, and who has become the vehicle for implementing a hidden radical agenda – absolutely fits with the theme of this work and with the facts that are carefully documented in these pages," Klein writes in the intro.
A suggestion to Klein: If you don't want people to think you're trying to paint Obama as a "Manchurian candidate" -- a perfectly reasonable and essentially accurate assumption, WND's protestations aside -- perhaps you shouldn't have named your book something very similar.
(And you should also explain why your WND boss, David Kupelian, wrote an article headlined "Yes, Barack Obama really is a Manchurian candidate.")
Meanwhile, Klein has yet to offer any substantive response to our detailed, substantive documentation (published at Media Matters) of false and misleading claims in his book.
If you want the ultimate example of how petty and cowardly Klein is, consider this: He has blocked me from following his Twitter account.
Klein will confront terrorists -- as he frequently promotes himself -- but he's afraid to confront me. Sad, isn't it?
P.S. Elliott is just as cowardly, refusing to post comments I've made on her blog, The Real Barack Obama. These two really are afraid of the truth.
CNS Examines Thomas, Not Its Own Columnist Buchanan Topic: CNSNews.com
A June 8 CNSNews.com article by Fred Lucas focuses on "Helen Thomas’ controversial comments about Israel and Jews, which led to her immediate retirement on Monday."
No mention, of course, of Pat Buchanan's comment that there are too many Jews on the Supreme Court -- which CNS published on May 14.
WND Touts Bogus Crowd Numbers on Protest Topic: WorldNetDaily
The headline of a June 7 WorldNetDaily article by Chelsea Schilling blares, "10,000 throng to stop Ground Zero mosque." But Schilling offers no evidence that this is a fact.
Schilling begins her article by claiming that "As many as 10,000 protesters from across the country" protested a mosquet to be built near the site of the World Trade Center in New York. She later repeated claims by anti-Muslim activist Robert Spencer that "Police estimated that 5,000 people were there, and other estimates ranged as high as 10,000." But as an anti-Muslim activist, Spencer has motivation to inflate numbers, and Schilling offers no evidence his numbers have any basis in fact, let alone from which bodily orifice Spencer is pulling his "other estimates" from.
Indeed, the truth appears to be much less grandiose. As Media Matters notes, New York newspapers placed crowd estimates as somewhere between 350 and 1,000.
This sort of bamboozlement is just one of many reasons that WND has to spend precious time and money trying to convince people it's telling the truth -- something considered axiomatic with real news outlets.
UPDATE: WND has changed the headline to put "10,000" in quote marks, as if that hides the fact that the number is completely unsubstantiated.
Journalism Fail: WND Has To Convince Readers It's Telling the Truth Topic: WorldNetDaily
Here are a couple of promos WorldNetDaily has been running on its site in recent weeks:
If the key point of your self-promotion is having to convince readers you're telling the truth -- admittedly a hard sell given WND's trackrecord of spreadinglies -- haven't you pretty much lost the battle to be taken seriously as a "news" organization?
ConWeb Hypocrisy: Bashing Helen Thomas, Silence on Buchanan Topic: Media Research Center
When Helen Thomas made a very stupid statement regarding Jews and Israel, the ConWeb was quick to pounce. The Media Research Center slapped together a compilation of "liberal eruptions" from Thomas, as if being liberal was the same as criticizing Israel. When Thomas announced her immediate retirement in the wake of the controversy, NewsBusters was all but dancing on her grave, portraying any nicething said about Thomas' career as tacit endorsement of her remarks.
At WorldNetDaily, Joseph Farah declared without any hint of irony that Thomas is an "embarrassment ... to the entire White House press corps" -- remember, WND employs the highly embarrassing Les Kinsolving. Farah added, "This is a first-rate, raw-boned, dyed-in-the-wool Jew-hater."
Can you smell the stench of hypocrisy? Because as vociferous Farah and the MRC have been about Thomas, they completely ignored similar comments by Pat Buchanan.
As we detailed, both WND and the MRC's CNSNews.com published a May 14 column by Buchanan in which he complained that with the appointment of Elena Kagan, there were too many Jews on the Supreme Court. The column remains live at bothoutlets, and both have continued to publish Buchanan's column. Similarly there was complete silence about Buchanan's remark at NewsBusters, as its archive on Buchanan demonstrates.
Further, the MRC seems more than willing to gloss over Buchanan's Israel-bashing. Mark Finkelstein all but gave Buchanan a pass in a January 2009 NewsBusters post after Buchanan accused Israel of carrying out a "blitzkrieg" against Gaza and turning it into a "concentration camp":
I like Pat Buchanan. I do. He's wise, funny and charming. But every so often . . .
Like tonight. If Buchanan wants to criticize Israel's conduct of the current war, and its treatment of the Palestinians, so be it. But in doing so, is it really necessary to employ terms associated with the Nazis?
Can you imagine Finkelstein or his NewsBusters fellow travelers so blithely dismissing similar remarks by Thomas? Of course not -- Thomas would never get the "wise, funny and charming" defense. And she didn't in this case.
It seems WND and the MRC complain about alleged anti-Semitism only when it suits their political agenda -- which makes you wonder just how genuine the depth of their support for Jews and Israel really is.
UPDATE: You also won't find a disparaging word at either operation -- or any word -- about Glenn Beck promoting the amti-Semitic Nazi sympathizer Elizabeth Dilling.
UPDATE 2: NewsBusters' Tom Blumer laughably complains that "the establishment press is for the most part attempting to give Helen Thomas's hateful remarks and her dubious apology a very light once-over." Which would be more than Blumer and NewsBusters gave to Buchanan's hateful remarks.
