When asked about "American values," a fascistsayswhat.
I'm confident Obama can win again in 2012. The GOP can't find anybody to lead them, and they're just going to keep throwing rocks. 2016 though. That's what I'm worried about. At this rate, all the money the GOP is trying to take away from PBS and NPR will soon be directed towards state television.
People like Glenn Beck, and really most Tea Partiers and Republicans these days, seem to confuse everything they hate as being one single entity. For example, I remember Ann Coulter arguing a long time ago that because liberals are nothing but a bunch of atheists, global warming is simply a replacement for religion for them. She doesn't seem to realize that not all liberals are atheists, and not all atheists are liberals. You see it in the rhetoric these people spew out every day -- comparing liberals to "communists" and "fascists," regardless of the fact that communism and fascism are polar opposites of each other. I don't know what the fuck is going on in their heads, that they're able to make such drastic logical leaps while still believing they're making sense. They've become complete masters at self-manipulation.
Case in point: Glenn Beck seems to have convinced himself that the brown Islamos are also communists. His evidence? There is none. He doesn't have any. He just says things and then they're true. The end. Even Bill "the moon proves the existence of God" O'Reilly tells him he has no evidence.
Oh, and guess what. You remember when the Iranians did their little Iranian thing a couple years ago, with the green an everything? As Glenn Beck brought up in that video, they're not dead yet. They're calling for a 'Day of Rage' on monday. I've been wondering what's been taking them so long.
It's still hard for me to believe. The most powerful nation in the Arab world (Iran isn't considered Arab I guess?) has been overthrown in a matter of weeks. This is the most significant event in the middle east in the last forty or fifty years.
Now the ball's up in the air. The military has control of the country. I'm not entirely convinced that the military is quite as 'good' as we've been led to believe though. Mubarak was a military man. The military benefited from his regime. For weeks, they just stood on the sidelines and allowed things to happen. I think they were watching. They realized which way the wind was blowing, and so they hopped onto the right train. And don't get me wrong, I'm sure we're going to see free elections. But behind the scenes, I'm fully expecting them not to easily give up all the power they've had for the past thirty years. I'm hopeful, but still a little worried.
Obama's response to Mubarak's resignation was fantastic, as expected.
Asked what most viewers and observers of Fox News would be surprised to learn about the controversial cable channel, a former insider from the world of Rupert Murdoch was quick with a response: “I don’t think people would believe it’s as concocted as it is; that stuff is just made up.”
[...]
“It is their M.O. to undermine the administration and to undermine Democrats,” says the source. “They’re a propaganda outfit but they call themselves news.”
[...]
Note the story here isn’t that Fox News leans right. Everyone knows the channel pushes a conservative-friendly version of the news. Everyone who’s been paying attention has known that since the channel’s inception more than a decade ago. The real story, and the real danger posed by the cable outlet, is that over time Fox News stopped simply leaning to the right and instead became an open and active political player, sort of one-part character assassin and one-part propagandist, depending on which party was in power. And that the operation thrives on fabrications and falsehoods.
“They say one thing and do another. They insist on maintaining this charade, this façade, that they’re balanced or that they’re not right-wing extreme propagandist,” says the source. But it’s all a well-orchestrated lie, according this former insider. It’s a lie that permeates the entire Fox News culture and one that staffers and producers have to learn quickly in order to survive professionally.
“You have to work there for a while to understand the nods and the winks,” says the source. “And God help you if you don’t because sooner or later you’re going to get burned.”
The source explains:
“Like any news channel there’s lot of room for non-news content. The content that wasn’t ‘news,’ they didn’t care what we did with as long as it was amusing or quirky or entertaining; as along as it brought in eyeballs. But anything—anything--that was a news story you had to understand what the spin should be on it. If it was a big enough story it was explained to you in the morning [editorial] meeting. If it wasn’t explained, it was up to you to know the conservative take on it. There’s a conservative take on every story no matter what it is. So you either get told what it is or you better intuitively know what it is.”
What if Fox News staffers aren’t instinctively conservative or don’t have an intuitive feeling for what the spin on a story should be? “My internal compass was to think like an intolerant meathead,” the source explains. “You could never error on the side of not being intolerant enough.”
The source recalls how Fox News changed over time:
“When I first got there back in the day, and I don’t know how they indoctrinate people now, but back in the day when they were “training” you, as it were, they would say, ‘Here’s how we’re different.’ They’d say if there is an execution of a condemned man at midnight and there are all the live truck outside the prison and all the lives shots. CNN would go, ‘Yes, tonight John Jackson, 25 of Mississippi, is going to die by lethal injection for the murder of two girls.’ MSNBC would say the same thing.
“We would come out and say, ‘Tonight, John Jackson who kidnapped an innocent two year old, raped her, sawed her head off and threw it in the school yard, is going to get the punishment that a jury of his peers thought he should get.’ And they say that’s the way we do it here. And you’re going , alright, it’s a bit of an extreme example but it’s something to think about. It’s not unreasonable.
"When you first get in they tell you we’re a bit of a counterpart to the screaming left wing lib media. So automatically you have to buy into the idea that the other media is howling left-wing. Don’t even start arguing that or you won’t even last your first day.
“For the first few years it was let’s take the conservative take on things. And then after a few years it evolved into, well it’s not just the conservative take on things, we’re going to take the Republican take on things which is not necessarily in lock step with the conservative point of view.
“And then two, three, five years into that it was, we’re taking the Bush line on things, which was different than the GOP. We were a Stalin-esque mouthpiece. It was just what Bush says goes on our channel. And by that point it was just totally dangerous. Hopefully most people understand how dangerous it is for a media outfit to be a straight, unfiltered mouthpiece for an unchecked president.”
It’s worth noting that Fox News employees, either current or former, rarely speak to the press, even anonymously. And it’s even rarer for Fox News sources to bad mouth Murdoch’s channel. That’s partly because of strict non-disclosure agreements that most exiting employees sign and which forbid them from discussing their former employer. But it also stems from a pervasive us-vs.-them attitude that permeates Fox News. It’s a siege mentality that network boss Roger Ailes encourages, and one that colors the coverage his team produces.
“It was a kick ass mentality too,” says the former Fox News insider. “It was relentless and it never went away. If one controversy faded, goddamn it they would find another one. They were in search of these points of friction real or imagined. And most of them were imagined or fabricated. You always have to seem to be under siege. You always have to seem like your values are under attack. The brain trust just knew instinctively which stories to do, like the War on Christmas.”
According to the insider, Ailes is obsessed with presenting a unified Fox News front to the outside world; an obsession that may explain Ailes’ refusal to publically criticize or even critique his own team regardless of how outlandish their on-air behavior. “There may be internal squabbles. But what [Ailes] continually preaches is never piss outside the tent,” says the source. “When he gets really crazy is when stuff leaks out the door. He goes mental on that. He can’t stand that. He says in a dynamic enterprise like a network newsroom there’s going to be in fighting and ego, but he says keep it in the house.”
It’s clear that Fox News has become a misleading, partisan outlet. But here’s what the source stresses: Fox News is designed to mislead its viewers and designed to engage in a purely political enterprise.
In 2010, all sorts of evidence tumbled out to confirm that fact, like the recently leaked emails from inside Fox News, in which a top editor instructed his newsroom staffers (not just the opinion show hosts) to slant the news when reporting on key stories such as climate change and health care reform.
Meanwhile, Media Matters revealed that during the 2009-2010 election cycle, dozens of Fox News personalities endorsed, raised money, or campaigned for Republican candidates or organizations in more than 600 instances. And in terms of free TV airtime that Fox News handed over to GOP hopefuls, Media Matters calculated the channel essentially donated $55 million worth of airtime to Republican presidential hopefuls last year who also collect Fox News paychecks.
And of course, that’s when Murdoch wasn’t writing $1 million checks in the hopes of electing more Republican politicians.
So, Fox News as a legitimate news outlet? The source laughs at the suggestion, and thinks much of the public, along with the Beltway press corps, has been duped by Murdoch’s marketing campaign over the years. “People assume you need a license to call yourself a news channel. You don’t. So because they call themselves Fox News, people probably give them a pass on a lot of things,” says the source.
The source continues: “I don’t think people understand that it’s an organization that’s built and functions by intimidation and bullying, and its goal is to prop up and support Republicans and the GOP and to knock down Democrats. People tend think that stuff that’s on TV is real, especially under the guise of news. You’d think that people would wise up, but they don’t.”
As for the press, the former Fox News employee gives reporters and pundits low grades for refusing, over the years, to call out Fox News for being the propaganda outlet that it so clearly is. The source suggests there are a variety of reasons for the newsroom timidity.
“They don’t have enough staff or enough balls or don’t have enough money or don’t have enough interest to spend the time it takes to expose Fox News. Or it’s not worth the trouble. If you take on Fox, they’ll kick you in the ass,” says the source. “I’m sure most [journalists] know that. It’s not worth being Swift Boated for your effort,” a reference to how Fox News traditionally attacks journalists who write, or are perceived to have written, anything negative things about the channel.
The former insider admits to being perplexed in late 2009 when the Obama White House called out Murdoch’s operation as not being a legitimate new source, only to have major Beltway media players rush to the aid of Fox News and admonish the White House for daring to criticize the cable channel.
“That blew me away,” says the source, who stresses the White House’s critique of Fox News “happens to be true.”
THERE IS NO SOURCE AND MEDIA MATTERS MADE IT UP BECAUSE THEY ARE EVIL RADICAL COMMUNISTS FOX NEWS TOLD ME THANK AMERICA'S CHRISTIAN GOD FOR FOX NEWS
This confirms something I've suspected for a long time. The people at Fox know they're biased, but they justify it in their heads because they're convinced everyone else in the news is an evil librul. They're just giving the other side! The true side! The right side! Watch how "left wing" our media is going to be by not reporting this.
A few days ago, I turned on Fox News to see how they were treating Egypt. I shit you not, as they were playing footage of the protests, they discussed nothing except the effect the unrest would have on the price of oil. I was able to find a clip. Surprisingly enough, this is not what I watched. They talked about the oil angle on more than one occasion. I turned it on again today. Same deal, except replace "oil" with "Pizza Hut." Really. They were interviewing the CEO of Pizza Hut while playing footage of the protests. He let us know that 30 restaurants in Egypt have unfortunately been closed :(. Later on tonight, at the same moment Rachel Maddow was interviewing Brian Williams live from Egypt as demonstrators were occasionally being shot at right behind him, I flipped to Fox News. They were interviewing Karl Rove.
I could go on a huge rant with lots of funny bad words like I normally do, but I don't need to, because this Media Matters piece summed everything up beautifully.
Oh sure, staffers and hosts working for Rupert Murdoch are doing their best to convey a sense of grave importance when discussing the historic turmoil playing out in Cairo and throughout Egypt. But you only have to watch Fox News for five or ten minutes to see their hearts just aren’t in the story. The usual Fox News juice is completely missing. There’s no swagger on-screen these days.
Instead, it’s like watching students hand in homework, or little kids eating their vegetables.
It’s true. Egypt is killing Fox News’ mojo.
Why? The short answer is Fox isn’t actually a news-gathering organization in the traditional sense in that it reacts and responds to breaking news around the world. Nor is it one strives to inform its viewers. It’s just not. Instead, Fox News is a political organization. Under Obama, Fox News exists in order to attack Democrats and to try to destroy the Obama presidency, while at the same time boosting Republicans. Period.
Here's a collection of hilarious recent moments from the Fox News family concerning the events of Egypt. Please remember that this is where most Americans get news.
Megyn Kelly thinks Obama could "go down in history as the president who lost Egypt."
Because Egypt was "ours" to begin with? Because we don't want a nation to follow America's example by throwing off a brutal tyrant?
Dick Morris thinks Obama "broke Egypt, and he now owns it."
Once again, how is democracy bad? Is democracy a factor that breaks nations? If Obama is somehow responsible for what happening in Egypt right now, then why aren't you praising him?
Karl Rove thinks Egyptians are more "Western," "secular" and "Christian" because they are "descended from Ramses and Cleopatra"
If I was being asked about a country I didn't know anything about, I would namedrop irrelevant cultural references too. I'm surprise Karl didn't tell Hannity that he needs to walk like an Egyptian.
Glenn Beck thinks this revolution "is being orchestrated by the Marxist Communists."
Not to be confused with the Marxist Socialists.
This is not a news organization. The purpose of a news organization is to do research and report the news. Fox has done zero research. They are asking no experts. It took them a fucking week to get a single reporter to Egypt. They have no idea what's happening. They don't know what they're doing. And Fox is the highest rated news channel in the United States. America gets its news from a bunch of blundering, egotistical morons who weren't aware that anything outside of the United States existed prior to this revolution. When that fact is thrust into their laps, they don't even try to pull their shit together. They just wing it and hope no one notices. The reason why the world hates is because this is how we act.
But unlike Fox News, I'd rather not have this blog filled with nothing but hate-filled dick waving. So here's a quick update about what's actually been happening in Egypt (hint: it doesn't involve communists). I almost wanted to split this up into two entries, but what the fuck.
Today was filled with the most violence we've seen in so far. Anti-Mubarak and Pro-Mubarak demonstrators squared off in Tahir Square, and for fifteen hours straight, they battled each other on and off as the military stood by and watched. And they used more than just sticks and rocks. Hundreds, if not thousands, of molotov cocktails were tossed, and small arms fire could be heard all day, and well into the night. Five people are reported to have been killed, and at least 800 were injured. Every single time there was a clash, the pro-Mubarak demonstrators were the ones who instigated it. There are a lot of rumors flying around saying they're being paid off by the government to stir shit up. Many may be police. There have been reports coming in all day of Mubarak supporters beating the shit out of journalists and smashing their cameras. Anderson Cooper's crew was attacked.
But it's not all violence. Because human beings are inherently good, there are always feel-good stories in these situations when you look hard enough. Muslims have been showing up to Christian churches during prayer services to protect them from violence, and Christians have been returning the favor during salah. This is why I'm not afraid of Egypt turning into the brutal theocracy Fox warns you about.
"I know it might not be safe, yet it's either we live together, or we die together, we are all Egyptians."
Such are the words one expects of great leaders on the battlefield, of politicians preparing a nation for war, of civic leaders rallying people for an inspiring cause.
But these are the words of Cherine Mohamed, a 50-year-old Egyptian housewife.
This is a perfect example of why you always need to do your own research instead of depending on a middle man. I had no idea who the Muslim Brotherhood was when these protests were starting. When I first started hearing their name, I didn't freak out and listen to what the teevee had to tell me. I went and read about them. They're a political party. They used to be pretty insane, but they reformed themselves a few decades ago, and they're now vehemently anti-violence. Al Qaeda hates them because they think they're too soft.
I'm not saying I trust the fuckers, I'm pretty sure they would try to put a theocracy in power, but they're sure as shit not terrorists. Regardless of what I think, Egypt has its own country and its own culture, and it's not my place to question the government they want for themselves as long it's nonviolent. And everything we've seen so far indicates that this revolution is very nonviolent and very modern, so the Muslim Brotherhood may not even get into power at all. But don't take my word for it, because I likely have my own agenda. Go read.
