Topic: Media Research Center
The Media Research Center continues to avoid scrutinizing -- let alone condemning -- Fox News personalities accused of sexual harassment, even as it obsesses over non-conservative harassers. Read more >>
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
NEW ARTICLE: Another Fox News-Shaped Blind Spot
Topic: Media Research Center The Media Research Center continues to avoid scrutinizing -- let alone condemning -- Fox News personalities accused of sexual harassment, even as it obsesses over non-conservative harassers. Read more >>
Posted by Terry K.
at 5:41 PM EST
WND Columnists Are Still On 'S***Hole' Patrol
Topic: WorldNetDaily A few weeks after President Trump made his alleged "shithole countries" remark, WorldNetDaily columnists are still trying to defend it, insisting that Trump's disparaging remark was accurate. Erik Rush served up his take in his Jan. 31 column:
Then, it's James Zumwalt's turn in a Feb. 4 column, arguing that we need shithole countries to appreciate America more:
If "our culture" includes the lies Zumwalt likes to tell, we'll pass.
Posted by Terry K.
at 1:07 AM EST
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
WND, CNS Credit God for Super Bowl Win
Topic: WorldNetDaily Donald Trump's election isn't the only thing WorldNetDaily is crediting God for. A Feb. 5 WND article expands that to the Philadelphia Eagles' Super Bowl win:
Embedded in the article was a link to a 2015 WND article featuring an unofficial chaplain for one NFL team insisting that God really does care who wins the Super Bowl: "If God knows that something going one way or another will bring him more glory or honor than another alternative, he has every reason to be involved in such a way that his name will be raised high." Meanwhile, CNSNews.com, which has a tradition of sorts in highlighting athletes who invoke God when they win -- or, in the case of Tim Tebow, even if they lose -- was on it when Eagles players did thaf very thing:
So intent is CNS on promoting heavily religious sports figures that it even did so for a Minnesota Vikings player after the team won a playoff game: "Vikings QB: ‘3rd Best Moment of My Life Behind Giving My Life to Jesus Christ and Marrying My Wife’."
Posted by Terry K.
at 7:37 PM EST
MRC Blogger Gets Vague About Why People Are Calling Tennis Player Alt-Right
Topic: NewsBusters The mysterious Jay Maxson tried to work up a little anger in a Jan. 24 MRC NewsBusters post:
Maxson, however, is a little on the vague side about exactly what Sandgren tweeted that made the media (correctly) think he's alt-right, stating only that his Twitter account had "numerous links to right-wing ideologues" and that he "had engaged with people spreading misinformation portraying Hillary Clinton as a Satan-worshiping occultist, and 'Pizzagate, a similarly baseless conspiracy theory hoax that Clinton was connected to a pizzeria child sex ring.'" In fact, Sandgren said in a tweet that he had read "everything" about Pizzagate and concluded: "It's sickening and the collective evidence is too much to ignore." And he went far beyond merely "engaging with" people spreading the occult stuff about Hillary (which may be the first time the MRC admitted something bad about Hillary is "misinformation"); he effectively endorsed it by claiming that people don't know what to do with it. Or they are concocting a way to make it sound not so bad." Instead of telling us the full details of Sandgren's tweets, Maxson whined that he was "ambushed" with questions about it and that one blogger "is now labeling Sandgren a 'Pizzagate Truther' and castigating him for believing in 'fake news.'"-- a contention Maxson never disputes.
Posted by Terry K.
at 1:08 AM EST
Monday, February 12, 2018
ConWebWatch at Salon
Topic: WorldNetDaily Salon's Matthew Sheffield has written an article on the financial problems facing right-wing websites, with a focus on the current "existential threat" at WorldNetDaily. ConWebWatch's work is linked to from thte article, and we are quoted. Read the article.
Posted by Terry K.
at 10:47 PM EST
CNS Finally Decides to Stop Censoring Story of WH Aide's Spousal Abuse
Topic: CNSNews.com CNSNews.com has not generally been interested in reporting on stories that don't reflect well on President Trump and his administration. For instance, it censored claims that Trump had an affair with porn star Stormy Daniels (the only mention is in a video clip reposted from sister website NewsBusters), and it has completely censored how casino mogul Steve Wynn resigned as finance chairman for the Republican National Committee after numerous allegations of sexual harassment were made public. The news of White House aide Rob Porter being allowed to work in a high-profile position in the Trump administration despite lacking a full security clearance because of allegations of domestic abuse by his two ex-wives seemed destined for censorship as well. But the story became too big to ignore, so on Feb. 9, a couple days late to the game, CNS' Susan Jones -- she of the copious pro-Trump stenography -- had to grudgingly write about it. So grudging was Jones, in fact, that she spent part of her article effectively complaining she was forced to write about it because the "liberal media" was on it first:
It's not just a theme -- it's a reality. And Jones trying to dismiss it as a "liberal media" narrative so that it doesn't interfere with her pro-Trump everything-is-awesome narrative doesn't make it go away.
Posted by Terry K.
at 1:19 PM EST
WND Cranks Out Puff Pieces on Devin Nunes (Also, Buy His WND-Published Book!)
Topic: WorldNetDaily WorldNetDaily has done puff pieces on other Trump administration officials, so why not the guy behind the infamous memo about the Trump-Russia investigation? Art Moore does the deed in a Feb. 1 article, with the added hook of a sales opportunity in the fact that WND published a book Nunes wrote in 2010:
WND editor Joseph Farah piled the sycophancy in his Feb. 7 column:
And, naturally, Farah plugs Nunes' book as well, and if you really loved WND, you'd buy one:
That probably won't be necessary. Given that we don't recall Nunes' book being that big of a seller when it first came out, Farah probably has plenty of them still in stock.
Posted by Terry K.
at 8:52 AM EST
Sunday, February 11, 2018
MRC's Houck Viciously Maims the Art of Headline-Writing
Topic: Media Research Center Curtis Houck is the Media Research Center's new king of nonsensically hyperbolic headlines. Last September, Houck huffed: "Ben Shapiro Eviscerates Jimmy Kimmel’s Health Care Tirades; ‘Egregious’ to Exploit His Son." Houck used the word "deranged" in a headline twice in three days, broken up by the use of the word "nutso." Houck's headline on Jan. 17 was "Limbaugh Torpedoes ‘Childish,’ ‘Unstable’ Liberal Media as ‘Unfit’ for ‘Their Constitutional Duties’." In a Jan. 26 item, Houck declared, "Haley Obliterates Sexist Michael Wolff’s ‘Disgusting,’ ‘Highly Offensive’ Rumors About Sleeping With Trump." Haley strongly rebutting the rumors is hardly an "obliteration," given that Wolff was still alive the last time we checked. For a Feb. 2 item, Houck's headline blared: "Blitzer Viciously Maims GOP Congressman Over Memo; It’s Your Fault ‘Putin Has Succeeded’." Yet that congressman was appearing from Salt Lake City, not in CNN's studio, so he couldnot possibly have been"viciously maimed" by Wolf Blitzer. Apparently, a conservative politician being asked challenging questions by a reporter is tantamount to "vicious maiming" in Houck's world. And on Feb. 8, Houck asserts, "Limbaugh Torpedoes CNN’s Brownstein, Lemon Over Their Supposed ‘Objective Journalism’." Apparently Limbaugh is Houck's go-to torpedoer. Houck is starting to sound like liberals who overenthusiastically touted clips from the Jon Stewart-era "Daily Show." But even Stewart made fun of that.
Posted by Terry K.
at 10:33 AM EST
WND Tries to Go the Big Damn Manly Route
Topic: WorldNetDaily One of the themes WorldNetDaily seems to be trying out in order to pull itself from the abyss is an attempt to be a more manlier website, whatever that is. Self-proclaimed specialist in "human paleopsychology" Kent Bailey -- who has penned previous WND columns touting Donald Trump's maniless (and whiteness) -- returned with a Jan. 19 column to talk up Trump's manliness once again:
As one might imagine, this quickly devolves into women he doesn't like: All but the most militant feminists will concede that the male mind was at the forefront of the slow and arduous trek from the earliest precultural stages of humanity to the first-world, highly technological civilizations of today, but it seems Modern Woman does not need us guys anymore. She is ready to take over. Just ask any Democrat. Modern Woman is “equal” to men in every respect – that is, except she cannot and really does not naturally want to compete head-to-head with men on a level playing field. She still wants and needs a residue of feminized and compliant men to fight the wars, keep the railroads running, police the streets and enforce silly and draconian PC “laws” that, ironically, go against male interests. That is, she is everyman’s “equal” as long as the entire American system is transformed into an awkward and gigantic “safe zone” where she can strut and act tough like Megyn Kelly did questioning Trump during the pre-election debates. The last thing Modern Woman wants is true “equality” vis-à-vis the male gender. There would be no women’s golf – just golf; no women’s tennis – just tennis; no women’s classes – just classes; no female Olympics – just Olympics; no women’s standards in the military – just standards; and so on. That would mean the elaborate and multifaceted protections women enjoy in American society would be nonexistent. As a proud father of a daughter and lucky husband of a beautiful and accomplished wife, I am all for fair and reasonable protections for women. In fact, my daughter and wife live in my personal zone of protection, and they love me for it. But unearned strutting privileges, pushing men out of society, or expecting them to simply move aside while you experiment with running the country is pure PC madness. Then, on Jan. 25, David Ruzicka informs us about the specific occasions, and only these occasions, when aman is permitted to cry, lest he huntyou down and make fun of you for it:
And mock he does later in the column, taking issue with Sen. Cory Booker saying he had "tears of rage" over Trump calling countries he didn't like "shithole countries." No emotionally stable man has “tears of rage” over a comment like the one in question. I’ve never even met a man who has had “tears of rage.” I could only find one example of “tears of rage” in recent history. After the abduction and murder of 6 six-year-old son, John Walsh wrote a book called, “Tears of Rage.” That crime is a reason for rage and tears. And he leveraged that rage to start a nationwide movement to track down over 1,000 fugitives through his TV show. Excellent man. But Booker hears of someone else calling a bad place a bad name, and he beats up a woman with his raging tears. I don’t believe him (He makes up whole people). And I can’t say enough bad about his fictitious tears. But you might think he’s being truthful – and in that case, his reaction is emotionally unstable. So fabricated or real, it’s a lose-lose for Booker. Then it's Jesse Lee Peterson's turn to tout how much of a man Trump supposedly is:
Yeah, he's totally bringing out the best in all those white nationalists. Showing how much Peterson is to totally in the throes of hero worship -- he once again calls Trump "The Great White Hope," still apparently oblivous to the insulting history of that term -- Peterson add: "President Trump is like a good father to the country. He does not accept excuses, only solutions. I love him for the fact he pays no mind to the phony accusations of 'racism,' 'sexism' or any other '-ism.' He stands on truth, despite enemies and haters, and sets a good example for all." Peterson doesn't explain how Trump "stands on truth" when he lies pretty much all the time.
Posted by Terry K.
at 2:03 AM EST
Saturday, February 10, 2018
CNS Lets Reagan Hagiographer Deny That Reagan Had Alzheimer's Symptoms While President
Topic: CNSNews.com As we've documented, the Media Research Center is weirdly sensitive about the idea that Ronald Reagan may have had early symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. That sensitivity has migrated over to the MRC's "news" division, CNSNews.com, which published a Jan. 25 column by Reagan hagiogrpher Craig Shirley trying to hammer the denial home.
Finally, we arrive at the real reason Shirley is writing this:
It's worth noting here that in December, Shirley declared that only conservatives should be allowed to write about conservative history: "This is what conservatives must jealously guard; the truth, our truth. And root out and eviscerate and disembowel liberals writing of our history." Got that? Shirley is conflating "the truth" with "our truth." We would venture to guess that where the two conflict, "our truth" would likely win out in Shirley's eyes.
Posted by Terry K.
at 9:40 AM EST
Newsmax's Hirsen Says Accused Sexual Harasser Losing His Job Is 'Tragic'
Topic: Newsmax Newsmax columnist James Hirsen is nothing if not a loyal right-winger, at least on thte sexual harassment front. He's still bashing Anita Hill after all these years, and he tried to slut-shame one of Roy Moore's accusers. Hirsen's sympathy for accused sexual harassers -- the conservative-leaning ones, anyway -- continues in a Feb. 6 tweet, in which he links to an NBC News tweet announcing that casino mogul Steve Wynn was stepping down from his casino company after multiple accusations of sexual harassment. (He had previously stepped down as finance chairman of the Republican National Committee when the allegations first surfaced.) Hirsen's added reaction: "This is tragic." Hirsen has yet to explain what he thinks is "tragic" about an accused sexual harasser losing his job.
Posted by Terry K.
at 12:42 AM EST
Friday, February 9, 2018
MRC's Graham Gives Pro-Trump Book A Positive Reception
Topic: Media Research Center After Michael Wolff's unflattering book about the Trump White House was published, the Media Research Center fired off a fusillade of posts denouncing it. By contrast, a book written by an employee of the MRC's favorite TV channel, Fox News, got a much more favorable reception. In a Jan. 24 post, the MRC's Tim Graham cheerfully touts Howard Kurtz's book "Media Madness" and his claim that reporting critical of President Trump has "radicalized" him. Graham did not raise the question of why eight years of anti-Obama reporting and commentary at Fox News somehow did not "radicalize" Kurtz. Graham did note that New York Times reporter Jonathan Martin challenged a claim Kurtz made about him in the book, then framed the possible false claim as just desserts:
Graham didn't identify Kurtz as a conservative, nor did he point out that Kurtz's publisher, Regnery, is in the business of publishing conservative books. And the book can certainly be criticized; Mediaite's Lloyd Grove points out that the book does have decided pro-Trump slant, that Kurtz is apparently close enough to Trump that the president calls him "Howie," and that Kurtz never bothered to talk to most of the journalists he spends his book atacking. A few days later, Graham attacked Washingotn Post media writer Margaret Sullivan for doing what he wouldn't -- acknowledge that Kurtz and his employer have a definite bias:
Pointing out the indisputable fact that Kurtz is toeing the pro-Trump party line of his employer in his book is a "shocking personal attack"on him"? Maybe Graham should just rename the MRC -- which uses much harsher language against the people it hates -- the Shocking Personal Attack Center.
Posted by Terry K.
at 3:02 PM EST
WND Calls Up Ex-Congressman To Rehash Old Clinton Derangement
Topic: WorldNetDaily WorldNetDaily was founded on Clinton derangement, and it's never ended there. That appears to be one reason why former congressman James Rogan -- one of the House Republicans who pushed for President Clinton's impeachment in 1998 -- has suddenly popped up to write some columns at WND. The other big reason: Rogan's a WND author, and WND has some books of his collecting dust in its warehouse that it would like to unload for some desperately needed cash. So revered is Rogan at WND that it bought the domain "RoganCollection.com" and pointed it to the page at WND's online store that lists the books he's written for it. He also has a new WND-published book coming out in May (if WND is still in existence then, that is). Iin his Jan. 20 column, Rogan rehashed all the old Clinton-bashing talking points from the '90s, insisting that Clinton's impeachment (the subject of Rogan's first WND-published book) mattered because "it wasn’t about sex – it was about the rule of law" and that "I still wonder why people back then didn’t care." Rogan gave no indication that he cares about the political abuses and personal scandals of the thrice-married adulterer and shady businessman currently occupying the White House. But then, he's rumored to be on the short list for a federal judicial appointment to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals , and he certainly doesn't want anything to get in the way of that. On Jan. 31, Rogan wrote a column lionizing Richard Nixon as "wholly gifted, wholly flawed, wholly undaunted – wholly American." Watergate merited mention for only half a sentence. Then, in his Feb. 7 column, Rogan praises Donald Trump -- you know, the guy who might appoint him to that cushy appeals court seat -- as a political populist in the vein of, um, George Wallace. Sadly, Rogan means this as a complement. To do that, of course, one has to whitewash, as it were, the history of Wallace, particularly as it relates to his 1968 presidential campaign, the subject of Rogan's upcoming (maybe) book. For instance, Rogan claims that "By 1968 Wallace had long since jettisoned his earlier segregationist message and instead focused on the populist themes he had used in 1964," but he also states that a key part of Wallace's platform was "states' rights" -- which, as any student of history knows, is a code word for segregation. But it appears Rogan is most pleased with Wallace for splitting the Democratic vote enough to cost Hubert Humphrey, "a diehard liberal and a recent Vietnam peace convert" the election and "put Richard Nixon (a moderate-conservative and a Vietnam War hawk) in the White House." These, it seems, are the kind of chits you call in when you're WND and can't actually afford to pay anyone for their content.
Posted by Terry K.
at 1:08 AM EST
Updated: Friday, February 9, 2018 1:11 AM EST
Thursday, February 8, 2018
Your Monthly CNS Stenography Tally
Topic: CNSNews.com Over the past year, we've identified several people and organizations for whom CNSNews.com will simply roll over and dutifully transcribe anything they have to say without any sort of substantive (or even, in most cases, non-substantive) fact-checking. Given that such stenography now makes up a significant percentage of CNS' content, it's worth taking monthly stock of it. Thus, here is our first monthly CNS stenography tally for 2018, covering thte month of January. Judicial Watch: 9
Mark Levin:9
Franklin Graham and Anne Graham Lotz: 6
White House press secretary: 14
Quite a tally already, and we're just one month into the year.
Posted by Terry K.
at 10:31 PM EST
WND's Faces Of 'Soft Terror' Are All Muslim, For Some Reason
Topic: WorldNetDaily Leo Hohmann may be gone from WorldNetDaily, but his Muslim-hating spirit lives on. An anonymous WND writer states in a Jan. 26 article, under the headline "The faces of everyday 'soft terror' in U.S.":
WND cites only three examples of this "soft terror," one of which didn't even take place in the U.S. -- all of whom, of course, are Muslim. Meanwhile, WND is much quieter about a much less soft former of terror on American soil. The Southern Poverty Law Center has counted 110 people killed or wounded by young male adherents to alt-right and white nationalist ideologies -- 60 of which were in 2017 alone. Among that count are the nine people murdered in a South Carolina church by Dylann Roof, whose white supremacist views echo those made by WND over the years. It's this kind of selective, hateful reporting that has WND on the brink of death right now.
Posted by Terry K.
at 3:23 PM EST
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