WND Not Even Bothering To Do Real Birther Reporting Anymore
Topic: WorldNetDaily

How much does WorldNetDaily not want to cover birther stories involving people other than Barack Obama? It's not even assigning reporters to write about it anymore.

The last bylined birther-related story at WND was a Feb. 12 article by Douglas Ernst on Donald Trump's threats to file a lawsuit challenging Trump's eligibility. It's a relatively balanced article -- not somsething that happened when WND covered the issue of Obama's eligibility.

Since then, WND has simply copied-and-pasted (read: stolen) the works of others in reporting on new birther issues:

• A Feb. 18 article on a Cruz birther case heading to court was stolen from CNN.
• A Feb. 22 article on Trump now going after Marco Rubio's eligibility was stolen from Politico.

By contrast, WND assigned reporter Paul Bremmer to cover Glenn Beck's declaration that he's fasting to benefit Cruz's campaign. Priorities!

MRC Loves That Spanish-Language Channel Is Spreading Anti-Clinton Sleaze
Topic: Media Research Center

The Media Research Center couldn't be more psyched that a news program on the Spanish-language network MegaTV spread a sleazy report about Hillary Clinton. From a Feb. 22 post credited only to "MRC Latino Staff":

A few days ago, we covered a one-sided pro-sanctuary cities story on Mega Noticiero and wondered aloud whether this new national Spanish-language newscast was going to do anything to differentiate itself from the rest of the market. Boy, were we wrong.

Interesting things happen when your network is not partially owned by a top Clinton Foundation donor who has pledged his “full might” to electing Hillary Clinton to the presidency. Case in point: Mega Noticiero actually went there and covered a fresh story regarding Hillary Clinton’s alleged lesbian proclivities:

MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR, ANCHOR, MEGA NEWS: Now, the supposed ex-lover of former President Bill Clinton is assuring that Hillary is a lesbian. Miss Sally Miller, who was once Miss Arkansas, says she had a romance with Bill in 1983, and that the then Governor of that state told her that Hillary didn't like having sex with him, because she preferred sex with women.

The story aired during the newscast’s new “Political Circus” segment, a daily roundup of the varied goings-on of the campaign trail and highlight, per Salazar, “what goes on under the tent.”

The story has yet to air on any other major national television newscast, in English or Spanish. Mega Noticiero was evidently willing to take the risk involved, trust its viewers to watch the reporting and let them decide for themselves.

The item signals the beginning of what appears to be real market differentiation in the national Spanish-language media space.

So it's good that a media outlet is expressing "real market differentiation" by acting like the obsessive Clinton-haters at WorldNetDaily -- which, unsurprisingly, promoted the same claim -- by promoting a woman who's widely considered to have no credibility? Apparently it is at MRC Latino.

When we pointed it out to MRC Latino on Twitter, he/she/they responded, "the post simply observes, takes note of the dynamics of the coverage out there." They later added: "focus is not promotion or endorsement, but analysis of what's already out there and going on in media segment."

That's a disingenous defense. MRC Latino could have distanced itself from the content of the smear it was promoting has it talked about "market differentiation," but it didn't. And MRC Latino is not afraid to judge content, at least when it comes to content that doesn't mesh with its ideology: Five days earlier, "MRC Latino Staff" dedicated a post to attacking the very same news show for a story on sanctuary cities, declaring that it was "breathtaking, to say the least, in the scope of its bias."

MRC Latino, meanwhile, chearly has no problem with the breathtaking bias of the Hillary smear promulgated by the very same people.

That's some very shoddy "media research" there. But that's what you get when people who aren't very fond of Latinos monitor Latino media.

Christopher Ruddy's Jeb Fail
Topic: Newsmax

Jeb Bush is out of the presidential race now, though Newsmax editor Christopher Ruddy shilled hard for him of late, writing two columns in the past few weeks to boost him.

Ruddy wrote on Feb. 5:

There’s a reason Florida is one of the most desired places to live: it’s Jeb Bush.

There is a reason that Florida is a strong, Republican-controlled state: Jeb Bush.

There is even a reason Marco Rubio is running for president today: Yep, Jeb again.

As New Hampshire voters come down to the wire, I think Republican voters there and across the country need to take a serious, second look at Jeb.

While I think we have a remarkable field — from a brilliant businessman like Donald Trump, a conservative champion like Carly Fiorina, a charismatic Rubio, and respected governors like Chris Christie and John Kasich, Jeb may fit the bill of what Americans want this November.

[...]

With all of the noise in the current campaign, it’s vitally important we conservatives look for a leader with a strong track record, a real leader.

Surely the American people will look for these qualities come November — and Jeb has them in spades. 

Ruddy went to bat for Jeb again on Feb. 17, doing his best to spin Bush's electoral problems:

Bush has had his share of stumbles, but he has shown resiliency for several reasons.

First, he has had a powerful conservative record as governor in Florida. No candidate in the race comes close to Jeb’s record on taxes, spending, pro-life, pro-gun, state’s rights and other issues conservatives are about. It’s indisputable.

Second, he has a national organization ready to fund and sustain him though a primary with either Trump or Cruz, and later through a fierce general election campaign against Hillary.

Third, while appearing rusty in early debates, Bush has risen to the occasion, having given a strong performance in Charleston.

[...]

So far, Jeb Bush has outperformed. The pundits said he would be an asterisk in New Hampshire. But he came in a solid fourth place, ahead of Rubio.

If he comes in second or third in South Carolina, he will be positioned as the leading establishment candidate through Super Tuesday.

After that, he will have an even stronger hand in primary states ahead like Florida, California, New York, Illinois, to name a few.

And, if day one of a Jeb Bush presidency happens, the country will be in very good hands.

Remember, Ruddy is a player in Florida Republican politics, where Bush is from and where Newsmax is headquartered. He's tried to play kingmaker for various Republican candidates there, and at one point was a possible candidate for the Senate seat currently held by Democrat Bill Nelson.

Of course, in between thouse two columns on Bush, Ruddy wrote one praising Donald Trump, gushing, "Donald Trump is a born winner."

Logrolling In Our Time, Jim Fletcher Edition
Topic: WorldNetDaily

We've documented that one of Jim Fletcher's duties as a WorldNetDaily columnist is to crank out rave reviews of WND-published books. He does this yet again in his Feb. 14 WND column:

America has endured epic crises in her history: the Great Depression, world wars, even internal strife. Perhaps none, though, compares with the current Thing in the White House. David Kupelian has it right in his spot-on new book, “The Snapping of the American Mind: Healing a Nation Broken by a Lawless Government and Godless Culture.” Kupelian, whose books are correctly defined by an endorser as “fearless,” has that rarest of virtues: he doesn’t care what critics think when he says things that need to be said.

In fact, Kupelian starts off early in “Snapping” by correctly defining the agenda of the Obama administration, calling it a “largely concealed agenda.” This key understanding, of course, is markedly different from those in the majority who lament the “incompetence” of Obama.

If only.

[...]

“The Snapping of the American Mind” is the kind of book that mavericks write and produce, and I dare say if we didn’t have independent outlets, the average American would know next to nothing. Because people do know what’s going on, thanks in large part to researchers like Kupelian, the country has a chance to survive the Marxist-in-chief. In fact, Kupelian also keenly understands what other fighters like David Horowitz understand: Our opponents have contempt for the “niceness” that has gripped the Republican Party.

Kupelian is having none of it. An example of how he skillfully dismisses ideological opponents: “To my liberal friends: Do me a favor and don’t tell me, ‘But the ’50s had racial segregation.’ Yes, and today we dismember, poison, vacuum, crush the skulls of, chemically burn, or decapitate three thousand beautiful human babies every single day. So just drop it.”

[...]

Every single chapter in “Snapping” is gold. The reader will learn not only why we are where we are, but also he points to the ultimate solution: not the false messiah so many are embracing, but the Real One.

(One final note: I love books with an index. This one has one; just an added reason to get it, read it, absorb it.)

Fletcher fails to mention even once that not only is the book published by WND, Kupelian is WND's managing editor. Yet every single mention of the book's title in this purported review is linked to WND's online store. Hype over substance!

MRC-Mark Levin Business Arrangement/Love Affair Watch
Topic: Media Research Center

It says something about the business relationship the Media Research Center has with right-wing radio host Mark Levin that the lead story on MRC's "news" website CNSNews.com yesterday was Levin starting a TV channel, with the giant patriotic handout shot of Levin that being the lead story entails (screen shot above). And CNS managing editor Michael W. Chapman has all the fawning details:

Best selling author, talk-radio giant, and conservative leader Mark Levin is branching out further in the digital media world by launching LevinTV, through the media company CRTV. The first episode of LevinTV will air on March 7.

Levin, who reaches millions of people daily through his radio program, The Mark Levin Show, will expand his audience through this digital based television platform, which is described as “America’s new televised Town Hall meeting,” in a statement from CRC Public Relations.

“I have the greatest audience in the world and I give them my best every night,” said Mark Levin. “I am thrilled we are expanding our Town Hall meeting place for patriots, by taking TV broadcasting to a new level on multiple platforms where I will speak directly to my audience -- uncensored, without middlemen, and commercial free.”

Chapman didn't mention that the MRC is apparently one of those platforms where Levin can speak  "uncensored, without middlemen, and commercial free." Nor did he mention that Levin's PR firm, CRC Public Relations, also does work for the MRC.

But that wasn't enough Levin boosterism for CNS. It followed up with an article by Susan Jones that's nothing more than a transcription of a speech by Levin.

WND's Farah Denounces Jewish Profiling, Hides That WND Columnist Did It
Topic: WorldNetDaily

Joseph Farah writes in his feb. 16 WorldNetDaily column:

It’s been going for decades in Washington – especially in the military and intelligence sectors.

Jews and former Israelis continue to be negatively profiled for government employment and contractor positions, especially those that involve security clearances.

Impossible you say?

No, it’s a dirty little fact and hardly a secret in Washington.

How can this be so when Barack Obama and the Washington establishment consistently denounce the idea of “profiling” people?

[...]

The sad fact is there is a growing bias against Israel in Washington, under the Obama administration, on college campuses where Israel defenders are often denied a forum to speak, in short, wherever so-called “progressives” reign supreme.

Farah didn't mention that one of his own WND columnists engaged in a more vile form of Jewish "profiling" -- to the point that it's arguably anti-Semitism.

WND columnist Ted Nugent proclaimed earlier this month that gun control was some kind of Jewish-led conspiracy, posting on his Facebook page pictures of Jewish politicians that included a small Israeli flag stamped on each individual’s face. He later defended the post, ranting, "What sort of racist prejudiced POS could possibly not know that Jews for guncontrol are nazis in disguise?" White nationalists loved it.

Yet Farah and WND has been silent about this offensive behavior by one of its columnists. Then again, Farah is too gutless to drop Ann Coulter's column no matter how offensive she gets gecause WND needs the clicks she brings.

(P.S. Two days after Farah's column appeared, Nugent finally apologized for the post, though it's still live on his Facebook page. WND hasn't mentioned that, either.)

NewsBusters Channels WND, Frets Over Hillary Coughing Fit
Topic: NewsBusters

NewsBusters' Mark Finkelstein loves his conpsiracy theories -- he will forever be associated with his claim that a checkered scarf worn by NBC host Matt Lauer might very well be a "Palestinian support scarf."

So it's not really a surprise to see Finkelstein channel his inner WorldNetDaily in a Feb. 16 post: 

How can we put this politely? "Choked up," our hind quarters . . . In  the most blatant case of the MSM covering for a liberal candidate with a potentially serious health issue that this NewsBuster can remember, CNN's Brianna Keilar has described a Hillary Clinton coughing fit as a case of Clinton getting "choked up."

Readers are urged to watch this clip from Hillary's speech in Harlem today. This is someone experiencing a serious, extended, coughing fit. Yet on Don Lemon's CNN show this evening, Keilar described this as Hillary being "choked up so badly that she struggled to speak for a few minutes and they actually cheered to fill the time." Rightttt.

This isn't the first time on the recent campaign trail that Hillary has suffered a serious coughing bout.

We're not kidding about the WND reference. Here's what WND wrote about the same incident:

Yet again, Hillary Clinton’s messaging to a supportive audience has been interrupted by a severe coughing fit.

A video posted online shows her at a recent appearance before a supportive fan base at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York.

Part way through her address, she starts coughing.

The hacking continues for half a minute while she's virtually unable to talk, then she gets out a cough drop. She sips water. She still coughs.

She tries to continue, with a voice like a bad case of laryngitis.

At a minute-and-a-half, she's still coughing.

At two minutes.

At nearly three minutes, she's recovering but still clearly affected.

WND had reported only about two weeks earlier on her issues with coughing.

But then, we know that WND has launched a jihad against Hillary that includes raising questions about her health. What's Finkelstein's excuse?

WND's Scalia Conspiracy Theory Fail
Topic: WorldNetDaily

WorldNetDaily's attempt to forward conspiracy theories about the death of Antonin Scalia seem to be running out of gas -- and it's not just because it's hiding inconvenient facts that refuse to play along.

In a Feb. 16 WND article, Cheryl Chumley highlights how the conspiracy has been "stoked" by the revelation of John Poindexter, who owns the Texas guest ranch where Scalia died, being -- gasp! -- pictured with President Obama and had "received an award from Obama for his Vietnam military service." Chumley then quoted a fringe blogger adding, "Coincidence? That will be for you the readers to decide."

Somehow, Chumley overlooked the fact that, as the Washington Post reported, Scalia's stay at the ranch was free, seemingly in appreciation of the Supreme Court declining last year to take up an age discrimination lawsuit involving a company Poindexter owns.But then, that conspiracy isn't as juicy as the one Chumley is trying to push.

WND followed that with an unbylined Feb. 17 article complaining that Scalia conspiracy theorists like itself -- er, "skeptics" -- are being mocked as conspiracy theorists. The article made sure to present the conspiracy as credible, highlighting how "Justice Scalia was found dead by millionaire Democratic Party donor and Obama ally John Poindexter near America’s unsecured, dangerous, porous, and cartel-controlled Southern Border" and lamenting that "If foul play or accidental poisoning was involved with the death of Scalia, much of that evidence has already been destroyed or corrupted when his body was washed and embalmed at a funeral home less than 24 hours after his body was discovered."

WND didn't mention the Poindexter case before the court, nor did it note that even Scalia's son rejects the conspiracy theories: "Our family just has no doubt that he was taken from us by natural causes. ... We accept that. We’re praying for him. We ask others to accept that and pray for him."

WND is having trouble finding people who aren't fringe whackjobs to keep the conspiracy going. Not a good sign for a "news" organization trying to pretend it has some journalistic credibility.

MRC Anti-Gay Watch
Topic: Media Research Center

The Media Research Center -- which doesn't exactly like gays in the first place -- has been on a bit of a tear with anti-gay sniping the past few days.

In a Feb. 14 post, Dylan Gwinn cheered an episode of "Family Guy" in which cartoon protagonist Peter Griffin being glad his son sent sent a picture of his gential to a girl instead of a guy: "So how about that, huh? An expression of relief and joy that your son isn’t gay on major network television? Not necessarily something you see every day. So that would be good."

A couple days later, Gwinn was distressed that boxer Manny Pacquiao, a candidate for political office in the Philippines, was being held accountable for likening gays to animals, lamenting that "Predictably, Pacquiao apologized for causing any offense in a Facebook video."

Gwinn sarcastically groused that "Pacquiao’s comments were greeted with warmth and understanding by the media and LGBT activists."But he quoted only Filipinos commenting on it, not Americans.

Meanwhile, Mairead McArdle picked Gwinn's anti-gay baton for a Feb. 15 rant attacking Adidas:

Adidas has jumped on the politically correct bandwagon with a Valentine’s Day Instagram post showing a same sex couple.

The picture of what looks like two women in a romantic embrace is captioned with the old Beatles line, “The love you take is equal to the love you make.” By Monday it had over 96,000 comments and counting.

Adidas responded to some of the displeased comments, “No, this is a day for love. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Business Insider, Buzzfeed, Mic.com, and other news outlets rushed to lionize the company for standing up for LGBT people.

Adidas has been a vigilant promoter of the LGBT agenda.

[...]

Adidas and the other companies should keep in mind that the LGBT lifestyle is still hotly debated in psychological circles.

Note that McArdle is ranting over something that she says merely "looks like two women in a romantic embrace." The Adidas Instagram post in question shows only legs and is arguably ambiguous as to the sex of the people involved. Adidas never explicitly confirmed that it's a same-sex couple, and McArdle seems angry that Adidas would invoke "love" in defending it.

The screenshot of the Instagram post accompanying McArdle's post is weirdly and needlessly cropped, as if the upper thighs of what might be a same-sex couple were somehow offensive.

And McArdle's proof that "the LGBT lifestyle is still hotly debated in psychological circles" is of an article at the conservative National Review -- which convolutedly asks, "Is it possible to to avoid 'homophobia' (a deliberately imprecise term) while preserving 'heteronormativity' (which at least sounds more scientific)?" -- not the first place one would go to find a fair "debate" on the subject. 

WND Can't Decide Whether Obama Or God Is Ruining The Economy
Topic: WorldNetDaily

Last week, WorldNetDaily was blaming President Obama for economic problems. Now it's blaming God.

Remember the Shemitah? That's the prophecy theory promoted by WND friend Jonathan Cahn that various world disasters and cataclysms operate according to a biblically dictated 7-year cycle. When things didn't happen exactly to plan last year -- Cahn and WND had strongly hinted that the U.S. would suffer an economic calamity last Sept. 13 -- they moved the goalposts to claim that as long as something happened in, oh, the next year or so, the Shemitah prophecy was fulfilled.

Cahn takes full advantage of this in a Feb. 14 WND column, in which he declares that "I shared how the Shemitah of 2015 caused stock markets to collapse all over the world, wiping out trillions of dollars from the global economy." He continued with the credit-taking:

Though it is one of the most overlooked and significant of stories, the Shemitah of 2015 caused global trade to literally collapse!

As the Shemitah began, industrial export orders in the world’s economic engine, China, began to crash. The collapsed continued throughout the Shemitah, month after month after month.

[...]

The Shemitah of 2015 collapsed the Baltic Dry Index to the point where it stood at its worst levels ever recorded since the index began! When 2014 began, the index was over 2,000. By the time 2015 had ended, it had descended to the 400s! The Shemitah of 2008 had pulverized world trade. The Shemitah of 2015 had now decimated it.

[...]

The Shemitah of 2015 caused global commodities to collapse. Demand dried up. Prices plummeted. Commodities were, in effect, abandoned. The Shemitah of 2015 caused global commodities to collapse so dramatically that it matched that of the Shemitah of 2008, and then exceeded it. The Commodity Index crashed to its worst levels of the 21st century. 

[...]

One of the most important commodities in the modern world is oil. The effect of the Shemitah of 2015 could be seen every time one drove into a gas station. The decline in trade and production caused a collapse in the oil market. What was welcomed by those filling up their cars was bad for the global economy. During the Shemitah of 2015, the price of oil plunged, and the average energy stock collapsed by 52 percent! 

Cahn's explanation of falling oil prices runs counter to the facts. The idea that a "decline in trade and production" of oil caused prices to decline doesn't make sense. In fact, what happened is that Saudi Arabia increased oil production specifically to drive down prices to the point that high-cost producers like fracking operations in the U.S. would be forced to halt production, thus preserving Saudi Arabia's share of the oil market.

We don't know enough about the commodies market to know if Cahn's being accurate about it, but his misinformation about oil is not a good sign.

Also of note: Cahn does not mention Obama once in his column. Which brings up the flaw in WND's economic philosophy: If the Shemitah is to blame for economic problems, then Obama cannot be. If the economic cycle is a slave to the Shemitah, as Cahn insists, then it's impossible for Obama to affect it.

WND cannot worship both God and mammon -- or in this case, blame a bad economy on both Obama and the Shemitah.

AP Subscriber CNS Criticizes AP Over Cruz Photo, Doesn't Understand How AP Works
Topic: CNSNews.com

Susan Jones complains in a Feb. 16 CNSNews.com article:

You have to wonder how long the Associated Press photographer waited for the chance to snap the photograph reprinted here -- the one that shows Republican Ted Cruz standing against the backdrop of a sign that reads "TRUSTED."

Except Cruz is blocking the "T," so the signed reads "RUSTED."

The photograph is one of two that accompanies an AP article about Cruz's experience arguing before the Supreme Court.

[...]

The "RUSTED" photo calls to mind an earlier AP swipe at Cruz.

In June 2015, the Associated Press published two photographs that appeared to show a large gun aimed at Cruz's head. Cruz was at a gun range in Iowa, standing in front of a large poster of a gun, but nevertheless, the image was jarring.

Jones leaves out a couple of important things here.

First, she apparently has no understanding of how the AP works. It's a news cooperative, not a media organization per se.  While the AP has a website on which it publishes stories, its main business is making content -- hundreds of articles and photos per day -- available to its subscribers. And the subscribers have the final say on what gets used: The AP does not force any subscriber to use any article or photo.

Which brings us to Jones' second big omission: CNS is an AP subscriber. As we've noted, CNS parent the Media Research Center has long bashed the AP for purported "liberal bias," but still pays it to use AP content on CNS, presumably because it gives CNS the veneer of a real "news" organization.

If CNS really wanted to send a message to the AP for it purported bias -- Jones' unsupported accusation that the AP is deliberately trying to make Cruz look bad aside -- it would stop paying what is believed to be hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars a month for access to AP's content. But it won't -- for all its hand-biting, CNS and the MRC apparently willing to put up with the occasional example of "liberal bias" in exchange for its assistance in masquerading as a real "news" organization.

WND Pushes Conspiracy That Scalia Was Murdered, Probably By Obama
Topic: WorldNetDaily

There are conspiracy theories floating around that Justice Antonin Scalia did not die a natural death, and WorldNetDaily wants to be at the forefront of promoting them.

The day after  Scalia's death was reported, WND was quick to push a suggestion by far-right anti-immigration activist William Gheen that President Obama might have had Scalia killed:

“Anytime a head of state, member of Congress, or the most conservative member of the U.S. Supreme Court is found dead, an extensive autopsy and toxicology examination should be both immediate and mandatory,” said Gheen. “The horrid reaction and comments about his death expressed by many liberals online illustrate that Scalia was hated by many people.”

Gheen said Scalia’s death “hands the power of the Supreme Court to the modern left for the first time in American history.”

“The court can now vote, even without a replacement of Scalia, to radically change the United States of America,” he said. “Scalia’s death means the Supreme Court is now very likely to rubber stamp Obama’s unconstitutional amnesty orders, tear down Republican drawn districts in many states including North Carolina, and take deep left turns on abortion, gun rights, or anything the liberals have ever dreamed of. Scalia was a solid vote against Obama’s immigration orders to be decided by April of this year.

“We do not contend there is a conspiracy, we contend that there should be no doubts, and the way authorities and the media are rushing conclusions will leave major doubts and legitimate concerns about a death that could lead to a radical political transformation of America to the left,” said Gheen.

Sorry, Mr. Gheen, if you are suggesting that Scalia was murdered and that the president may have been involved, you are indeed pushing a conspiracy.

WND then noted a minor detail in an interview with the owner of the Texas ranch resort where Scalia died, in which he said that Scalia's body had "a pillow over his head" -- and elevated it as the focus of its own article.

On Feb. 15, WND published a rant from right-wing talker (and friend of WND) Michael Savage demanding "a Warren Commission-like federal investigation" to look into Scalia's death because he may have been "murdered." He too suggested Obama had a hand in Obama's death because Scalia was pronounced dead "by telephone from a U.S. Marshal appointed by Obama himself."

Interstingly, all three of these WND articles lack bylines -- apparently, even WND writers don't want to be associated with pushing wild conspiracy theories.

Bob Unruh, meanwhile, apparently has no such shame. His Feb. 15 article begins by stating that "A local official’s quick determination that a staunch opponent on the U.S. Supreme Court of the progressive social agenda died of 'natural causes' and there would be no autopsy even though a pillow was found over his head has prompted a multitude of conspiracy theories along with a political firestorm." Unruh then uncritically rounds up said conspiracy theories, including an "unscientific online poll" at a right-wing website where "nearly 80 percent of the more than 45,000 respondents said they suspected foul play in Scalia’s death."

Obviously, Unruh found the poll to be credible enough to highlight in his article.

CNS Censors The Truth About Schumer Remarks About Supreme Court Picks
Topic: CNSNews.com

Eric Scheiner rushed to report the big news in a Feb. 14 CNSNews.com article:

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is describing current GOP calls to let the next president make a Supreme Court nomination “obstructionism”, but in 2007 Schumer said, “I will do everything in my power to prevent one more ideological ally from joining (Justices John) Roberts and (Samuel) Alito,” and recommended the Senate, “should not confirm any Bush nominee to the Supreme Court except in extraordinary circumstances.”

“The Supreme Court is dangerously out of balance,” Schumer told the American Constitution Society on July 27, 2007.

“With respect to the Supreme Court at least, I will recommend to my colleagues that we should not confirm any Bush nominee to the Supreme Court except in extraordinary circumstances.”

“I will do everything in my power to prevent one more ideological ally from joining (John) Roberts and (Samuel) Alito on the court,” Schumer later added.

CNS being a very biased "news" organization, Scheiner left out a couple things. First, he failed to note that Schumer's comments were effectively hypothetical since no further Supreme Court openings occured during the Bush administration.

Second Scheiner failed to mention the Republican response to Schumer's comments. From a July 2007 Politico article:

A White House spokeswoman, Dana Perino, said Schumer's comments show "a tremendous disrespect for the Constitution" by suggesting that the Senate not confirm nominees.

"This is the kind of blind obstruction that people have come to expect from Sen. Schumer," Perino said. "He has an alarming habit of attacking people whose character and position make them unwilling or unable to respond. That is the sign of a bully. If the past is any indication, I would bet that we would see a Democratic senatorial fundraising appeal in the next few days."

Somehow, we don't think Scheiner will remind Republicans that its current stance on opposing any and every Obama Supreme Court nomination in the next year was called "blind obstruction" and "disrespect for the Constitution" by Republicans.

NEW ARTICLE: Refined Race-Baiting At WorldNetDaily
Topic: WorldNetDaily
The lesson WND learned from Google threatening to cut off ad revenue over its obsession with "black mobs": Be a little less blatant about it. Read more >>

MRC-Mark Levin Business Arrangement/Love Affair Watch
Topic: Media Research Center

Last month, the Media Research Center was rushing to the defense of right-wing radio host (and friend of MRC chief Brent Bozell) Mark Levin over a mild swipe by a TV host. This month -- presumably brought on at least in part by the fact the MRC and Levin have a business arrangement to promote each other -- it's back to full-fledged drool mode.

Michael Morris devotes an entire Feb. 11 CNSNews.com blog post to telling us how "Westwood One just announced a 'lifetime extension' for 'The Mark Levin Show' hosted by nationally syndicated radio talk show host Mark Levin." Morris' only source is the press release issued by Levin and Westwood One, andhe makes sure to include the slobbering declaration that Levin is "one of the most important, popular, and trusted voices in radio."

But given that the MRC pretty much forbids criticism of Levin on his websites and aggressively attacks anyone else to dares to do so, rewriting a press release -- and the complete censorship of the MRC-Levin business arrangement -- was all one could hope for here.