Topic: WorldNetDaily
The WorldNetDaily reporter wants you to believe that a respected scholar who has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom is a radical Muslim who's working to undermine America. Read more >>
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
NEW ARTICLE: Aaron Klein's Guilt-By-Association Smears: A Case Study
Topic: WorldNetDaily The WorldNetDaily reporter wants you to believe that a respected scholar who has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom is a radical Muslim who's working to undermine America. Read more >>
Posted by Terry K.
at 3:48 PM EDT
CNS Word Obsession Watch
Topic: CNSNews.com CNSNews.com apparently doesn't want to explain to its readers why its attack on Michelle Obama mysteriously disappeared, but it's more than happy to fall into its old pattern of obsessing over specific words President Obama says or doesn't say. A June 20 CNS article by Jerad McHenry carries the headline "Obama Omits ‘Creator’ When Citing ‘Inalienable Rights’ of LGBTs":
Yes, CNS this this omission is such an important issue that it has devoted an entire article to it. But CNS joins its Media Research Center bretheren at NewsBusters in its silence on Fox's editing of a "Fox News Sunday" interview with Jon Stewart to remove criticism of Fox News.
Posted by Terry K.
at 11:10 AM EDT
Kinsolving Flaunts His Homophobia Again
Topic: WorldNetDaily Les Kinsolving is certainly not shy about demonstrating how much he despises gays, and he does so yet again in his June 21 WorldNetDaily column. Kinsolving defends an upcoming prayer event being held by Texas Gov. Rick Perry by assailing the New York Times for noting that the religious organizations Perry teamed up with to put on the event hate gays as much as Kinsolving does: Then came the New York Times' ill-famed support of the deadly disease-spreading sodomy lobby, with the following: "Gay rights groups are also objecting because Mr. Perry placed the event in the hands of conservative religious groups that not only oppose gay marriage but also stridently condemn homosexuality." Kinsolving also uncritically repeated a claim that one religious leader that "Nobody's imposing anything on people of other faiths" at the event. In fact, another leader has said that the goal of the event is to convert people to Christianity.
Posted by Terry K.
at 9:54 AM EDT
AIM/WND Smear Fails: Panetta Named Secretary of Defense
Topic: Accuracy in Media We've noted how Accuracy in Media's Cliff Kincaid has teamed up with foreigner Trevor Loudon to hurl claims that CIA director and secretary of defense nominee Leon Panetta had "close and personal relationship with a member of the Communist Party" and other purportedly insufficiently right-wing connections. WorldNetDaily's Aaron Klein also regurgitated the claims by the foreigner Loudon. What did the Kincaid/Loudon/Klein combine's attempt to red-bait Panetta net them? Nothing. Panetta was unanimously confirmed as defense secretary. It seems that such blatant red-baiting is unable to escape the echo chamber of the three men who were pushing it. Nobody cares what they have to say, not even politicians who might otherwise have been tempted to make hay with the accusations. After years of Kincaid, Loudon and Klein being ignored. How will they handle it? Not well, we suspect.
Posted by Terry K.
at 12:08 AM EDT
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
CNS Attack on Michelle Obama Disappears
Topic: CNSNews.com In a June 21 CNSNews.com article, James Zilenziger wrote:
Note that, in that excerpt at least, Zilenziger offers no proof that the flights cost $171,000, just Congressional Research Service estimates. We can't examine the story further because CNS has apparently removed it from its website and took it off its front page. The article's URL returns an "access denied" message. (The above excerpt was taken from a copy iof the story at Free Republic. The obvious implication is that the story is so inaccurate that it had to be deleted. But as of this writing, CNS has not explained why the story was pulled. If CNS has deleted a story after it was posted on its website long enough for other websites to pick it up, it has an obligation to explain why -- and to correct the false information. That's just basic journalism. UPDATE: Here's the original CNS story as it appears in Google cache.
Posted by Terry K.
at 1:22 PM EDT
Updated: Wednesday, June 22, 2011 2:42 PM EDT
WND Slyly Likens Obama to Al-Qaeda Leader
Topic: WorldNetDaily Bob Unruh writes in a June 20 WorldNetDaily article:
The suggestion that Obama as president is the same as a terrorist as president is unmistakable -- and deliberately offensive. But that's WND, which has no problem likening Obama to Nazis and the Antichrist. Unruh also appears to falsely state the case for Awlaki and Hasan's eligibility for the presidency as being the same as Obama's. While both Awlaki and Hasan were born in the U.S., Unruh offers no evidence that either set of parents were U.S. citizens at the time. It's generally agreed (even if WND doesn't concur) that one parent must be a U.S. citizen for the child to be considered a "natural born citizen," which applies to Obama but apparently not Awlaki or Hasan. Unruh also regurgitates WND's tired argument that Vattel's "Law of Nations" states that "The natives or natural-born citizens are those born in the country of parents who are citizens." As we documented, that's not a direct translation of Vattel, the term does not appear in the original French, and he translation WND apparently used was published after the adoption of the Constitution; pre-Constitution translations do not use the term "natural born citizen." UPDATE: A reader reminds us that the only citizenship situation that requires one parent to be a U.S. citizen is when the child is born outside the United States. Otherwise, implicit interpretation over the past century is that one must only be born in the U.S. to be a "natural born citizen," regardless of the citizenship status of the parents. Since Obama had one parent who was an American citizen, he is arguably more qualified to be president than Awlaki or Hasan. Further, Unruh's failure to make a distinction between Obama and terrorists who kill Americans is not only offensive, it's irrelevant. Just because one is eligible to be president does not mean one will ever serve as president. Unruh is eligible to run for president too, but his chances of actually getting elected are a lot closer to that of Awlaki's than Obama's.
Posted by Terry K.
at 8:48 AM EDT
Updated: Tuesday, June 21, 2011 10:57 AM EDT
NewsBusters Selective Outrage Watch
Topic: NewsBusters Last week we noted that NewsBusters invented a charge of racism against Jon Stewart but ignored actual racism from a Fox Business host. But it's a new week, so there's even more selective outrage. NewsBusters went ballistic over a pretaped sequence airing during NBC's coverage of the U.S. Open golf tournament that used parts of the Pledge of Allegiance but not the "under God" part. Noel Sheppard declared this was "disgraceful," apparently notconsidering the possibility that merely taking the originalist interpretations conservatives like to apply to the Constitution to its next logical step (after all, "under God" wasn't added to the Pledge until 62 years after its creation). Nevertheless, NBC swiftly issued an apology, which wasn't good enough for NewsBusters; Mark Finkelstein complained that the apology didn't mention the words that were omitted. Meanwhile, NewsBusters' overlords at the Media Research Center wants some heads to roll:
Meanwhile, the MRC has never publicly fired anyone for its mistakes. Brent Bozell still runs the place even after having to pay a $3.5 million out-of-court settlement for making false claims about World Wrestling Entertainment. And the MRC's egregious stitching together of quotes pages apart in a book by former New York Times editor Howell Raines to falsely portray it as an attack on President Reagan was merely fixed as a "clarification" with no indication that anyone was fired, let alone disciplined, for the falsehood. Where does the selective outrage come in? The same day that NBC omitted "under God" from a video piece, an interview of Jon Stewart by Chris Wallace as aired on "Fox News Sunday" edited out a reference to a major Fox News scandal: a series of emails by Fox News executive Bill Sammon directing his reporters and hosts how to inject conservative bias into their coverage of certain stories. (It appears in an unedited version of the interview on the Fox News website.) NewsBusters has yet to acknowledge the deceptive edit as of this writing, even as it has written about other aspects of the Stewart interview. Why did NewsBusters and the MRC will get so outraged about two dropped words out of the Pledge of Allegiance, but not censoring of Stewart on Fox? Because the MRC is in the pocket of Fox, and attacking NBC serves its right-wing agenda (and, presumably, its fundraising) much better.
Posted by Terry K.
at 12:55 AM EDT
Monday, June 20, 2011
Newsmax's Hirsen: Gore Is An "Eco-Cult Leader"
Topic: Newsmax In the midst of taking potshots at Anthony Weiner in a June 20 Newsmax article, James Hirsen felt the need to take a particularly nasty shot at Al Gore, smearing him as an "eco-cult leader." Believing in global warming makes you a cult member, Really, Mr. Hirsen? This must be some of that media psychology Hirsen claims to have a master's degree in. As if Hirsen's devotion to Mel Gibson was any less cult-like.
Posted by Terry K.
at 7:21 PM EDT
How WND Moved From Denouncing Terror Group To Praising It
Topic: WorldNetDaily We've detailed how newly minted WorldNetDaily "senior reporter" F. Michael Maloof was part of a clandestine team of intelligence researchers who were pushing the false claim that Saddam Hussein was linked to 9/11. It appears that's far from the only thing Maloof will lie about. In a June 18 WND article, Maloof writes:
In fact, as of June 16, MEK remains on the State Department's list of terrorist organizations. Why is this important? Because, as Maloof hints above, WND would like to downplay the terrorist history of MEK and portray it as a U.S. ally because of its anti-Iran stance. WND didn't start out that way. A January 2003 article by Ken Timmerman, part of WND's content-sharing agreement with the now-defunct Moonie magazine Insight, attacks the New York times for publishing a full-page ad for MEK, which he points out is "an Iraqi-based terrorist group" that "claims to have thousands of armed members based in military camps in Iraq, financed and equipped by Saddam Hussein."Timmerman goes on to highlight the members of Congress that have accepted donations from MEK-linked individuals and groups, among them current WND columnist Tom Tancredo. Larry Klayman is even quoted as saying that people who support the MEK are "terribly misinformed." By the start of the Iraq War, however, WND began to change its tune.A May 2003 article touted an MEK claim that "Iran is building an arsenal of biological weapons incorporating six pathogens, including anthrax and smallpox," adding that "weapons experts and intelligence officials consider its previous claims about Iran's weapons programs to be largely reliable." A January 2004 article, however, noted that MEK is "an Iranian terrorist group supported by Saddam Hussein" and that the Red Cross would not accept proceeds from a MEK fundraiser for victims of an earthquake in Iran.Paul Sperry wrote in an April 2004 article that MEK is "an Iranian dissident group that has killed Americans." WND flipped again in a November 2004 article by Jerome Corsi, noting that a group called the National Council for Resistance in Iran that made claims about Iran's nuclear program was a "shadowy organization" that is the political arm of the MEK, designated "a foreign terrorist organization." Corsi then added: "The problem is that information about Iran's nuclear weapons program previously released by the NCRI has turned out to be true." In 2007, an WND article by Art Moore was touting an Iranian dissident who called the MEK "Iran's best-organized and most capable opposition group." Moore also quoted "Iran scholar" Michael Ledeen as saying that he opposes U.S. involvement with the MEK, stating that while the MEK is "is a first-class espionage organization that has provided valuable information to the West," the group operates in a "cult of personality" and "I just can't imagine they are going to be an effective force in a non-violent revolution, which is what I favor." But Moore also cited a study by the pro-MEK Iran Policy Committee (a group that included retired Army Gen. Paul Vallely, last seen at WND ranting that the long-form birth certificate President Obama released is a forgery) WND's whitewashing of MEK began in earnest after that. An October 2009 article declared that MEK "is regarded as an Iranian exile group, while a June 2010 article touted how MEK "opposes the current Iranian regime and is known to have worked with Special Forces." That brings us to now, with WND's Maloof peddling the false claim that the U.S. no longer considers MEK a terrorist group. And that's just one of the many, many reasons WND's reporting cannot be trusted.
Posted by Terry K.
at 1:43 PM EDT
NewsBusters Denies That Racist Jokes Were Racist
Topic: NewsBusters As we've noted, NewsBusters is more than willing to invent accusations of racism by its perceived enemies, but it has a certain blind spot when it comes to racially charged rhetoric by its allies. Taht blind spot has grown to massive proportions, as evidenced by a June 18 post by Noel Sheppard that makes every effort to deny the obvious. Sheppard complains that "America's liberal media are having a field day claiming that an Obama impersonator at a Republican event was pulled off the stage Saturday for telling racial and gay jokes." But that's not the truth! Reggie Brown was pulled offstage at the Republican Leadership Conference because he told too many jokes about Republicans: "The crowd seemed to be getting antsy as Brown started going after the various GOP presidential candidates. This was after all a Republican event." Besides, Sheppard wrote, those racial jokes weren't offensive at all:
So being intolerant of humor targeted at fellow Republicans is somehow more acceptable than being intolerant of racist humor? That, it seems, is what Sheppard wants you to believe. UPDATE: Corrected the name of the event the Obama impersonator appeared at.
Posted by Terry K.
at 8:49 AM EDT
Updated: Monday, June 20, 2011 7:54 PM EDT
WND Author: Immature Men Are Created By 'The Female Left's Desire to Obliterate Male Nature'
Topic: WorldNetDaily
-- WND-published author Suzanne Venker, June 18 WorldNetDaily column. Venker, by the way, committed the arguably feminist act of divorcing her first husband after he didn't accede to her desire to move out of New York.
Posted by Terry K.
at 12:20 AM EDT
Sunday, June 19, 2011
MRC: Requiring Catholic Colleges To Follow Labor Law = 'Attack'
Topic: Media Research Center The federal government is attacking Catholic colleges! The Media Research Center says it, so it must be true! Paul Wilson provides the shocking details ina June 15 MRC Culture & Media Institute article headlined "Media Ignore Labor Attacks on Catholic Colleges," asserting that the federal government is leading an "assault on religious freedom." And how are the feds conducting this dastardly attack, you ask? Is it oppression? Arrests? Enhanced interrogation? Um, not exactly. The NLRB is merely ruling that professors at Catholic schools have the right to form labor unions. That, of course, is not the way Wilson portrays it. Rather, he asserts that the NLRB ruled that the two Catholic schools in question "lacked enough of a religious character to be exempt from provisions of federal labor law," meaning that the schools were "forced by the NLRB to recognize an adjunct faculty union." What Wilson doesn't tell you, however, is the reasoning behind the NLRB's rulings. For instance, in the case of Manhattan College, the NLRB noted that the school receives no significant financial assistance from the Catholic Church or the Catholic sect it's affiliated with, that the school has declared itself to be "strikingly different from that of parochial schools and Catholic high schools where indoctrination in the faith and insistence on religious observance is seen as part of their mission," and that it asserts that its has "no intention" of imposing "Church affiliation and religious observance as a condition for hiring or admission, to set quotas based on religious affiliation, to require loyalty oaths, attendance at religious services, or courses in Catholic theology." Similarly, in the case of Wilson's other example, Xavier University, the NLRB noted that the school's articles of incorporation "does not contain any reference to religion, God, Catholicism, Sisters of Mercy, or CMHE; instead it speaks only to the purpose of education," that the school "does not investigate the religious beliefs of its students, faculty, or trustees," and that it "has no requirement for faculty, including adjuncts, to espouse or emphasize Catholicism in their teachings or imbue students with the tenets of the Catholic faith." The real question here is why these institutions are trying to hide behind their religious affiliations to apparently mistreat their faculty members to the point that they feel they must form a union. Instead, Wilson tries to portray this as a religious freedom issue. How is mistreating your employees an issue of religious freedom? It's almost as silly as that nutrition "ministry" WorldNetDaily loves so much that's crying religious discrimination when the feds want it to prove its claims that its nutritional supplements cure cancer. So, no, the NLRB is not attacking Catholic colleges; it's merely ordering them to recognize faculty unions. Wilson never explains why that's a bad thing.
Posted by Terry K.
at 10:08 PM EDT
The Week In Tim Graham's Gay-Bashing
Topic: Media Research Center We've detailed how Tim Graham has emerged as the Media Research Center's chief gay-basher. Here's what he's done on the subject over the past week: On June 15, he freaked out about "gay Russ Feingold-donating PR man" who questioned the idea that Romney was a hockey fan. On June 16, he declared that CNN's Don Lemon was a "gay-vangelist" and appeared to be offended that Lemon "'learned' that the Bible should never be taken literally" after he prayed to God to change his sexuality, and he definitely was offended that Lemon "compared gay acceptance to slavery, segregation and female suffrage." On June 17, Graham asserted that GLAAD are "gay censors" who want "to drive any conservative point of view off CNN and other cable news networks." As if Graham doesn't want the gay point of view driven off the air.
Posted by Terry K.
at 1:17 AM EDT
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Farah: Ron Paul Doesn't Hate Gays Enough
Topic: WorldNetDaily
-- Joseph Farah, June 17 WorldNetDaily column
Posted by Terry K.
at 12:05 PM EDT
Friday, June 17, 2011
Obama Derangement Syndrome Watch
Topic: Newsmax
-- Lev Navrozov, June 15 Newsmax column
Posted by Terry K.
at 3:12 PM EDT
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