Farah Falsely Smears Fluke As 'Avowed Fornicator,' 'Slut' Topic: WorldNetDaily
Joseph Farah apparently loves Rush Limbaugh so much -- they worked together in the 1980s when Limbaugh was a local radio host in Sacramento and Farah was dragging the Sacramento Union even farther to the right -- he mindlessly repeats his most sleazy insults.
Rush Limbaugh calls an avowed fornicator who testified publicly before Congress about the financial hardship of paying for contraceptives a “slut,” which she is, according to the dictionary definition, and dozens of national advertisers capitulate to boycott threats.
We're not sure what "dictionary definition" of "slut" Farah is referring to here, but given that Sandra Fluke has never discussed her sex life in public, let alone in her congressional testimony, it can't be a volume existing on this plane of reality.
It seems that Fluke has a more credible claim of defamation against Farah than Farah has against Esquire magazine.
It's hardly the sign of a competent media critic when he starts channeling 20-year-old teen movies. But that's how Noel Sheppard reacts to Rosie O'Donnell losing her TV show on the Oprah Winfrey Network. Sheppard states this in a March 17 NewsBusters post:
I really am deeply saddened by this news and wish my former classmate all the best...NOT!
There you have it: Sheppard channels the juvenelia of "Wayne's World" to offer "media criticism."
WND Baselessly Claims Man Who Threatened Arpaio Is A 'Fanantical Supporter' of Obama Topic: WorldNetDaily
A March 14 WorldNetDaily article states that "A Tennessee man described as an Obama 'fanatic' has been convicted of threatening to kill Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his family, possibly in connection with the lawman’s investigation into the president’s eligibility for office." The article goes on to state that "Authorities say [Adam Eugene] Cox’s postings indicate – and his own mother confirms – that Cox is a 'fanatical supporter' of Obama." The "fanatical supporter" quote is repeated in a March 16 WND article by Joe Kovacs featuring Rush Limbaugh's claim that themedia is ignoring the threat against Arpaio.
Even though the articles put "fanatical supporter" in quotes, the person who said that is never identified. Turns out it's Arpaio himself -- and he's wrong.
The Phoenix New Times points out that despite Arpaio's description of Cox as an "Obama fanatic" conflicts with his actual writings, in which he claims "Satan "ordered" him to kill "birthers" to spark a war between political parties in order to decrease the population in America.
Just consider this another part of WND's sucking up to Arpaio in order to keep him promoting the WND birther agenda.
MRC's Graham: What Are All Those Gays Doing At the White House? Topic: NewsBusters
Tim Graham is having another anti-gay freakout, folks.
The headline of Graham's March 16 NewsBusters post reads, "Was Obama Playing Politics By Loading State Dinner Guest List With Gays?" Graham goes on to note that "fifteen prominent gays" attended the state dinner at the White House for British prime minister David Cameron. He then goes on to list them, noting that this may be part of an effort to "end the media-enabled charade that Obama (the 'committed Christian') opposes 'marriage equality.'"
Of course, Graham has long been a gay-basher, and this obsession with gays at the White House is just another part of that.
As Obama’s favorability ratings keep bouncing back up toward 50 percent, the only plausible explanation is that close to half of America’s voting public is so addicted to government benefits that they are prepared to re-elect a Marxist who has clearly demonstrated that he intends to completely free himself of the constraints of the Constitution.
Put in the most simple terms, we are at a crossroads because Barack Obama has brought us there. He is the first genuine Marxist to sit in the White House, and his agenda is to dismantle our capitalist economy and destroy American influence in the world.
Obama’s policies place us at this crossroads of history. This year is different because there will be no turning back from the road to European-style socialism and Caesarism if Barack Obama wins a second term. Rick Santorum understands this.
The fish stinks from the head down, and this is Obama’s foreign policy. Is it any wonder that jihadist attempts in this country have skyrocketed under this president?
There have been many people in the history of the world who called evil good and good evil. None of them lasted very long. America has had presidents before who called good evil and evil good, but none, I believe, with the audacity of Barack Obama.
What makes matters even more perilous, notwithstanding the desire of these mullahs to not only obliterate the promised land of Jews and Christians, Israel, but to wipe the United States off of the face of the map as well with their soon-to-be-manufactured atomic weapons and long-range missiles capable of being delivered to our shores, is the now transparent fact that our own so-called president, Barack Hussein Obama, is in at least his heart also a Muslim. This, more than anything else, explains his near complete disdain, if not hatred, for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the nation of Israel.
[...]
Whether it is siding with radical Islamic groups like the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and other Arab states, resulting in the overthrow of leaders like former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and others friendly to Israel and the West, or taking no real action, save for meaningless so-called economic sanctions to “stop” the Iranian march to nuclear weapons, Obama is no Roosevelt of Churchill! Instead, he is apparently bent on furthering Islamic domination around the world and cutting the United States, with its Judeo-Christian roots, down to size. And, if you think this is too far a stretch, then study the history of Obama’s Kenyan father, who as a proud anti-neocolonialist, socialist and Muslim despised the United States and the West. Indeed, this scenario, an American president like Obama, being so heavily influenced by his father, is why our Founding Fathers wrote into the Constitution, and the Supreme Court has agreed, that an American president must be a “natural born citizen” who is the offspring of two American citizens.
So the Obama problem is not just a Netanyahu-Israeli problem, but our own collective problem. The plain fact is that we have not only a socialist, but, even more dangerous, a Muslim sympathizer and traitor in the White House.
And that is why we all are in such peril, not just the state of Israel.
On the other hand, our dear leader in the White House shows a great deal of compassion toward his favorite world citizens, Mideast Muslims. He cheered the protesters in Egypt, yet ignored pro-Western protesters in Iran who were hoping at least to receive his moral support.
Sure, President Barack Hussein Obama – a Muslim sympathizer not coincidentally born to a socialist Muslim Kenyan father – has intentionally been negligent, along with his Democratic comrades, in allowing this cancer to grow to the point where it not only is an imminent threat to Israel, but also Europe and the United States – but Republicans as well bear a significant responsibility for the mess we now find ourselves in.
[...]
Obama is a traitor, but there has been no political counterweight to his treachery from the other party. We no longer have a republic, but just a bunch of dangerous political hacks from both sides of the aisle occupying time, space and “growing fat” in Washington, D.C., at our expense!
Almost every week brings a new reason for the United States House of Representatives to bring impeachment charges against President Obama. The question of the day is not why he should be impeached but why it hasn’t already been done.
MRC Doesn't Back Up Attack on 'GCB' Topic: Media Research Center
A March 12 MRC Culture & Media Institute article by Lauren Thompson attacks the new TV show "GCB," claiming it has a "true agenda of degrading Christianity, conservatives, and Texans." Thompson goes on to assert that the show contained "a total of 72 attacks on the Christian faith" in its first two episodes, with the second episode alone "mocking Christianity a total of 42 times."
Strangely, though, Thompson provides no list of all 72 instances of these "attacks."
Why? Certainly Thompson made a list of the alleged offenses -- that's how she knows there are 72 of them. Why not post that list along with her article?
We're guessing that at least some of those purported "attacks" are specious at best, designed to run up the numbers in order to bash the show.
So, Ms. Thompson, what are you afraid of? Post the entire list.
Newsmax Remains Unenthused About Romney Topic: Newsmax
As with the aftermath of Super Tuesday, the aftermath of Tuesday's primaries in Mississippi and Alabama is continuing to leave Newsmax less than enthused about the prospect of Mitt Romney as the Republican presidential nominee.
Here are a couple post-election headlines from Newsmax:
In addition, before the election, Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy posted a column that began: "I am continually amazed how those at the Romney campaign continue to act victorious when they have such a poor case to make about cinching the nomination."
Ouch. None of this unenthusiasm, by the way, precludes Newsmax fromcranking up its hype machine for Romney should he actually get the nomination. It's done that sort of flip-flop before.
Brent Bozell Demands That Obama Break the Law Topic: Media Research Center
Not content with merely dispiaying rampant hypocrisy in attacking liberals who say offensive things in order to distract fromthe offensive things Rush Limbaugh has said, Brent Bozell has expanded to launching a really dumb attack on President Obama.
For the past several days, Bozell has been tweeting this message, changing the number of days appropriately: "Obama's had XX days to decide what to do with misogynist Bill Maher's $1 million check. It should have taken one."
First, Maher did not donate that $1 million to Obama; he donated to Obama's PAC, which by law Obama has no control over. By asking Obama to direct his PAC to do something, Bozell is asking Obama to break the law.
Second, Bozell's raginbg hypocrisy again rears its ugly head. Whatever day Bozell lists as Obama havnig not yet decided "what to do with misogynist Bill Maher's $1 million check" is the exact same number of days Bozell has had to issue meaningful criticism of Rush Limbaugh's misogyny, and he has utterly failed to do so. As the man said, it should have taken one.
Why should anyone take direction from Bozell when he doesn't even have the basic decency to genuinely criticize Limbaugh for the same misogyny he bashes others for? We can't think of a reason.
Farah Laughably Claims He's Never Said Anything 'Hateful or Defamatory' About Gays Topic: WorldNetDaily
A March 14 WorldNetDaily article brands the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation's new Commentator Accountability Project -- which seeks to track statements made by anti-gay activists -- as an "enemies list" whose goal is "to limit the effectiveness of their media outreach."
The article includes the responses from numerous people on that list, one of which is WND's very own Joseph Farah:
In response, Farah said he has never spoken a hateful or defamatory word about homosexuals in his life.
“The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation should more accurately be called the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Criticism,” said Farah. “These people actually believe that if you have a different viewpoint and a different value system from them you are a hate-filled, bigoted monster. Here’s a group that claims in its own name that it is ‘against defamation,’ but actively defames those with whom it has disagreements. Not one example of hateful or defamatory language is offered as evidence against any of those listed in this report.”
Here are some of the things Farah has said about gays that we are to believe are not "hateful or defamatory":
Likening those to favor the legality of gay marriage to terrorists.
Expressing unhappiness that Rick Perry doesn't hate gays as much as he does, and advocating the dissolution of the United States over gay marriage.
Is angry that homosexuality is no longer defined as a psychiatric disorder.
Additionally, he employs a rabid homophobe as a White House correspondent, Les Kinsolving, who Farah has granted a weekly space to denigrate gays.
It's also laughable that Farah is portraying others as censors when his own website does the very same censoring of views it opposes. John Woodman, anyone?
CNS Oil Industry Shilling Watch Topic: CNSNews.com
CNSNews.com keeps up its shilling for the oil industry -- which has funded CNS' parent, the Media Research Center -- in a spate of recent articles.
In a March 13 article, Penny Starr lets the American Petroleum Institute uncritically attack Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s claim that the oil and gas industry is not taking advantage of the leases it already holds. Starr does not permit anyone to respond to the API's claims.
Melanie Hunter managed to derive three separate articles out of a C-SPAN interview with former Shell Oil President John Hofmeister. The first, in which Hofmeister claims that, in Hunter's words, "the U.S. won’t have enough oil to fill gas tanks whatever the price and that high gas prices could lead to another recession," is seemingly contradicted by the second, in which Hofmeister notes that the recession has reduced U.S. demand foroil, and has a result "the [oil] companies are not just going to let gasoline sit in storage tanks, when the demand by Americans has been reduced. They’re going to sell it outside the country, which is what they’re doing."
Hunter seems uninterested in exploring whether U.S. oil needs would be better met if oil companies weren't exporting U.S. petroleum products.
The third article reinforces the right-wing talking point that most new drilling takes place on private land and that federal land permits have been "dramatically reduced in the last several years."cns
Hypocritical Bozell Accuses MSNBC of Hypocrisy Topic: Media Research Center
Brent Bozell writes to MSNBC president Phil Griffin:
Dear Mr. Griffin,
Your network, working on marching orders from Media Matters, is on a mission to take Rush Limbaugh off the air. Far from being an independent journalistic enterprise, MSNBC is the very essence of a political lapdog of the far left.
Just last night on MSNBC, Ed Schultz, Al Sharpton, and Lawrence O’Donnell all devoted time on their programs attacking Rush. In each case, they grabbed at thin air looking, looking, looking for the opportunity shamelessly to keep the story alive.
These assaults by MSNBC have nothing to do with what he said about Sandra Fluke, and everything to do with censoring prominent voices on the right. Gas prices are nearing $4 a gallon, the unemployment rate hovers over 8%, the US debt is soaring to astronomical highs, but MSNBC is too busy to cover these legitimate news stories. Instead you go after Rush.
And you're doing it in the most hypocritical manner imaginable.
While your network continues to attack Rush, you personally continue to employ Ed Schultz. Ed Schultz, the man who called Laura Ingraham a “right wing slut.”
[...]
If what Rush said is so offensive that it deserves your network's obsession with having him removed, then what are you going to do about a host who has a history of insults a hundred-fold worse than anything Limbaugh has ever said? Unless you fire Ed Schultz, you are a complete hypocrite.
It's time you take responsibility for hiring and promoting this hate-filled misogynist, and resign.
Hoo-boy. Where to begin?
We have the utterly shameless hypocrisy of a man who has offered nothing but the most tepid, milquetoast criticism of Rush Limbaugh's misogyny lecturing somebody else on hypocrisy about offensive remarks.
We have a man who has a regular weekly slot on Fox News, the political lapdog of the far right, lecturing somebody else about purported "marching orders from Media Matters" (which he offers no evidence of) and media bias.
We have someone who is paying his employees handsomely to steer the topic of discussion to anything except Rush lecturing someone about covering Rush.
And how, exactly, did Bozell calculate that Limbaugh calling Fluke a slut and a prostitute, that she's "having so much sex she can't afford her own birth control pills," that she's "round-heeled," that she "wants to be paid to have sex," and that she should "post the videos online so we can all watch" -- a torrent of sleaze inspired by one of Bozell's own employees, Craig Bannister -- is oneone-hundreth the insult of any single thing Ed Schultz said? Does the fact that Limbaugh is a conservative and, thus, is granted immunity by Bozell for these sleazy insults play a major role in that calculation?
If MSNBC must fire Schultz, Bozell must demand that Limbaugh not only be fired from his radio show but also that he return his Buckley award to the MRC. Unless that happens, he's an even more complete hypocrite than he already was.
WND Presents Pro-Birther News Report As 'Balanced' Topic: WorldNetDaily
A March 13 WorldNetDaily article touts the "stunner" of a purportedly "balanced" news report by a CBS affiliate in Phoenix on the press conference for the "investigation" by Joe Arpaio's cold case posse into President Obama's "eligibility."
But if you watch the segment, it's clear that it's slanted in favor of uncritically presenting only what the posse concluded, and there's no "balance" whatsoever in the form of telling the other side of the story, which is that birthers are pushing discredited conspiracy theories.
Funny idea of "balance" there, WND.
WND also presents as a "stunning challenge" birther posse leader Mike Zullo's claim that anyone who thinks the posse's conclusions are nothing but "B.S." should prove it.
But as WND should know by now -- but won't tell its readers about -- the posse's claims have been discredited. WND doesn't actually care about "balance."
NEW ARTICLE: Silence and Slime at the MRC Topic: Media Research Center
Not only have Brent Bozell's Media Research Center subordinates refused to criticize Rush Limbaugh for his misogynistic attacks on Sandra Fluke, they defended Limbaugh's purported humor and did some Fluke-bashing of their own. Read more >>
WND's Massie Just Can't Quit Larry Sinclair Topic: WorldNetDaily
Mychal Massie is apparently basing his Obama-hating columns on chain emails now, as his March 12 WorldNetDaily column:
If the media declared it their job to find the truth about George Bush, Justice Thomas, Sarah Palin, Herman Cain, ad nauseum, why do they not feel the same way about Obama and his wife? Why are they not applying the same effort, and nearly unlimited resources, to once and for all settle Obama’s birth controversy? Why have they not applied the same determination in uncovering the truth surrounding the Obamas’ surrendering their law licenses? Lawyers I have spoken to tell me that lawyers would literally give up their families before surrendering their law licenses, unless there was a legitimate reason.
Sharon Bialek and Ginger White had a long history of impropriety and sordid pasts, but their accusations against Herman Cain were accepted as gospel truth. Anita Hill offered only disgusting allegations, but they were accepted as gospel truth. Do not the allegations of the late Larry Sinclair deserve the same investigative attention from the media that went into looking into President Bush’s past?
Sinclair, if you'll recall, is the man who claimed he did drugs and had sex with Barack Obama, a claim hyped by WND despite Sinclair offering no proof whatsoever to back it up.Massie ignores the fact that Sinclair is a habitual criminal who utterly discredited himself in a June 2008 press conference.
As for " the truth surrounding the Obamas’ surrendering their law licenses," Massie need only have consulted with the mythbusters at Snopes, which points out that both Barack and Michelle Obama placed their law licenses on inactive status because they didn't need them for the jobs they were performing at the time they surrendered them, not for any disciplinary action as Massie suggests.
It appears that Massie hates Obama more than he cares about the truth. Sad, isn't it?
Roland Martin Returns to CNN; MRC's Graham Hardest Hit Topic: NewsBusters
Tim Graham informs us in a March 13 NewsBusters post that CNN has lifted its suspension of Roland Martin as a commentator following what Graham called "Super Bowl Sunday tweets that offended the gay censorship lobby." Graham added, "CNN is apparently pleased with Martin's sackcloth-and-ashes apology tour with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. Martin met with GLAAD lobbyist (and former CNN producer) Herndon Graddick on Valentine's Day."
As one of the lead gay-bashers at the Media Research Center, Graham made sure to get in some potshots by suggesting that Martin is still trying to curry favor with GLAAD: "He no doubt pleased GLAAD by complaining on Twitter Monday that no one had a sense of humor who was 'tripping' at the show 'GCB.' He said Christians should 'lighten up.' The show could not be made if it was titled 'Good Gay Bitches.'"
Of course, the MRC's idea of humor is Rush Limbaugh denigrating a woman for speaking out on birth control, so Graham and Co. may not be the best judges of what is and is not funny.
Graham added this detail of his tweet-fight with Martin over "GCB":
When I asked Martin if his wife the Rev. Jacquie Hood Martin objected or if the "bitches" title was okay because there were no black actresses in ABC's gang of "bitches," he only replied, "Nope. I get satire. But go ahead and knock yourself out, dude."
It appears Graham missed Martin while he was away and is glad to have someone to spar with again.
