The Obfuscation Report

Bill O’Reilly’s and Fox News Responses to criticism of O’Reilly’s Sylvia’s Comments:

“"Rick," he said, "there was no racial intent in what I said. It was a benign program. We didn't receive one single complaint on any of our radio stations, this is a hatchet job by Media Matters.”

“This is nothing more than left-wing outlets stirring up false racism accusations for ratings. It's sad.' " According to the on-screen graphic, the statement was from Bill Shine, Fox News' senior vice president of programming.

During the September 25 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly advised listeners to tune in to his Fox News program for "a great segment tonight" on how "CNN has now entered the dark side with Media Matters." O'Reilly further claimed that CNN "will use the far-left assassins," and "will prop them up." Later in the broadcast, O'Reilly referred to "another attack on me by another far-left, loony, smear website that CNN picked up."

On the September 26 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, during a discussion of Fox News host Bill O'Reilly's controversial comments about a recent trip to Sylvia's restaurant in Harlem, co-host Brian Kilmeade said O'Reilly's remarks have "been blown out of proportion by a group called Media Matters," while co-host Steve Doocy asserted, "I was on The O'Reilly Factor last night doing the 'Culture Quiz,' and he [O'Reilly] told this story about how ... they're on this personal jihad, it seems, CNN and Media Matters, to destroy Bill O'Reilly."

Labels: Bill O'Reilly, Fox News, Racists

During the Fox network broadcast of the Emmy Awards this week, Actress Sally Field’s acceptance speech was censored because she used the word “goddamn.” “If mothers ruled the world,” Field said, “there would be no god-damned wars in the first place.” Robert Greenwald’s Brave New Films catches Fox News cable pundits using the word “goddamn” repeatedly on air. Watch it:

Labels: Fox News, Sally Field

Where's Cavuto's Headline:

NATION FACES RECORD HEAT WAVE: PROOF OF GLOBAL WARMING?

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Sure we've seen plenty of long stretches of hot weather here before, but in the 130 plus years of record keeping in Louisville, none have been sustained as long as the current one, making it "the longest heat wave of them all.”

It looked like Saturday was the day we would break the streak of days at or above 90 degrees. The streak had reached 19 the day before and was getting precariously close to the all-time record of 21 straight days last set way back during the “dust bowl era” in 1936. However, following the passage of a cool front, it appeared that temperatures would stay just shy of the 90-degree mark with forecasted highs only in the upper 80's on Saturday.

Despite the significantly cooler conditions though, somehow the official high temperature at the airport made it all the way up to 90 degrees by late Saturday afternoon. That, of course, kept the streak alive and pushed it to 20 days. With Sunday's high temperature weighing in at 96 degrees, the 71 year old record of "the longest heat wave" had finally met its match.

The Heat Wave of 2007 has already eclipsed many records. No less than 10 daily record temperatures have been reached since the first week of August. Five times now the mercury has topped out above 100 degrees including a mark of 105 degrees set last Thursday that tied the all-time highest temperature ever recorded during the month of August in Louisville!

Monday’s high topped out at a whopping 98 degrees, officially making the Heat Wave of 2007 "the longest heat wave of them all.” With temperatures forecasted to remain above 90 Tuesday through Saturday this week, the record won’t just be broken, but it might be smashed to bits! For some reason, this Heat Wave of 2007 seems to remind me a lot of the Barry Bonds home run chase… We all knew it would eventually happen, but no body really wanted it to. I mean, who really wants more 90 or 100-degree weather?

Well, we should be used to the heat by now and this week looks no different than the last three... more very hot and humid conditions on the way. In fact, with 100's a possibility again later this week, more records may be broken… Like the most 100-degree days during the month of August. We're at five on that one and the record is only six! Or the warmest August of all time? That's right, were on track for that one too.

If there is any consolation to all this unbearable heat, it’s that some day we'll look back and tell our kids about how we lived through "the longest heat wave of them all” during the summer of 2007. Or maybe we can just look forward to October?

Remember what Fox News Moron Neil Cavuto said when it was cold out?

Cavuto caption: "Nation in a Deep Freeze: What Global Warming?"

A segment on global warming on the January 17 edition of Fox News' Your World featured on-screen graphics that read: "Global Warming?" and "Nation in a Deep Freeze: What Global Warming?" Host Neil Cavuto began the segment by noting freezing temperatures in Texas, Arizona, and California and asking if these temperatures were "[p]roof that all this hype over global warming could be just that -- hype?"

As Media Matters for America has noted, weather in a portion of the United States is not indicative of whether the Earth is warming. As the National Climatic Data Center noted in its preliminary 2006 report, "[f]ollowing the warmest year on record for the globe in 2005, the annual global temperature for 2006 is expected to be sixth warmest since recordkeeping began in 1880." That report also noted that "the 2006 annual average temperature for the contiguous United States (based on preliminary data) will likely be 2 [degrees] F (1.1 [degrees] C) above the 20th Century mean, which would make 2006 the third warmest year on record."

The Your World segment featured commentary by Forbes editor in chief and former Republican presidential hopeful Steve Forbes, Forbes on Fox commentator Michele Steele, and Forbes Silicon Valley bureau chief Quentin Hardy.

From the January 17 edition of Fox News' Your World with Neil Cavuto:

CAVUTO: Twenty-four degrees in Fresno, 29 degrees in Phoenix, down to 9 degrees in Amarillo, Texas, and on and on. It is some of the coldest air in this part of the country in 20 years. Proof that all of this hype over global warming could be just that -- hype?

Nope, its just more proof that Neil Cavuto and Fox News are complete and utter fucking douchebags.

Labels: Fox News, Global Warming, Morons

Robert Greenwald’s Brave New Films has released a new video as part of its ongoing Fox Attacks series. “Fox Attacks: Iran” reveals the network’s efforts to beat the drums for a war against Iran. The ad shows Fox fear-mongering and inflating the threat much the way it did prior to the Iraq war. Watch the ad below, and take action here.

Labels: Fox News, Iran

Fox News today, right-wing radio host Mark Williams attacked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for her trip to Syria. He said that she was “in Syria lip-locking with the king of terrorists” because Democrats have failed to recognize that we “have been attacked by a seventh-century death cult known as Islam.”

Labels: Fox News, Fox News is a Joke, Mark Williams

by catherineD

These are questions from an October 2003 Debate in Detroit sponsored by Fox News and the Congressional Black Caucus.

Each candidate was asked four questions --- I've selected the worst of these, to show you something about the kind of questions Fox News asks. (Be sure not to miss Lieberman's.)

All of the questions asked were not skewed, but this actually makes things worse. Instead of smearing all of the candidates equally, among the major candidates: Lieberman was favored, Kerry and Edwards each received two decent questions, Dean received one decent question, and Clark received no decent questions. Yet the talking heads took no notice of this, instead blaming the candidates, as Fox manipulated our primary.

CLARK

I wonder if you could take a moment and explain to us why, at the end of your time as the supreme allied commander of NATO, you were not re-upped and why such folks as Retired General Hugh Shelton have suggested you were effectively fired for what he called character and integrity issues.

EDWARDS

Senator Edwards, the rap on you, you're a one-term senator. You are a trial lawyer and, therefore, you're supposed to be compromised by that somehow. The expectations for you were so high in the beginning that you were on the cover of Newsweek magazine, yet in the latest Newsweek poll out today, you're in the bottom of the pack.
What happened?

KUCINICH

Congressman Kucinich, you have proposed changing the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of Peace, but in a world in which our enemies are willing to kill themselves to kill us, is it not better that we stand and fight? And is it not better that we wage that battle on foreign shores and not here in America?

DEAN

We are attempting to imagine each of you in the White House in the Oval Office, and in that spirit, Governor Dean, I have this question for you.

You have been unstintingly critical of this war, yet, with all due respect, you have commanded nothing more than the Vermont National Guard. You did not serve in the military.

How would you, as president, be able to exert any credibility, any command over a post-war Pentagon?

KERRY

Senator Kerry, I want to direct the next question to you, in part because you voted for the Iraq resolution but have also opposed the $87 billion. To many, that speaks to an inconsistency that your candidacy has been criticized by, for having a difficult to explain position on the Iraq war.

Is it inconsistent for you to support the resolution and not the reconstruction money?

GEPHARDT

Congressman Gephardt, here in metro Detroit, we have one of the largest concentrations of Arab-Americans in this country. By and large, they love America. They're willing to die for this country.

But at the same time, some of them will tell you they do not see the world as we see it. In fact, in the eyes of some, groups like Hamas and Hezbollah are not terrorist groups, they are freedom fighters or defenders.

My question to you, would you be willing to negotiate with groups now labeled as terrorists if such an effort would end the suicide bombings in Israel and also possibly resolve the Middle East crisis?

SHARPTON

Reverend Sharpton, along the lines of budget politics, it's fairly evident that all of you up there would prefer to see the wealthiest Americans shoulder a greater part of the burden.

What sacrifice would you put upon averaging working families to carry their share of the burden in the coming Sharpton economy?

MOSELEY-BRAUN

Ambassador Braun, you've urged the current administration repeatedly to negotiate peace and to deal with other nations, and an opportunity for you, perhaps, to go back and clear the record over something in the past.

It has been reported repeatedly that in 1996, as a senator, against the wishes of the U.S. government, you visited Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha, someone who, at the time, was recognized worldwide as a murderous dictator.

How does that association play to your ability to be a peace- minded commander in chief?

LIEBERMAN

Senator Lieberman, you've certainly not called the positions that your rivals have taken on the war and on the funding unpatriotic, but you have called it inconsistent. You've suggested that it's weak and that it sends a duplicitous message to the world.

You've heard a variety of opinions expressed by your rivals. Why are they wrong?

link

Labels: Al Sharpton, congressional black caucus, debate, Dennis Kucinich, Dick Gephardt, Fox News, Fox News is a Joke, Howard Dean, Joe Lieberman, John Edwards, John Kerry, Wes Clark

March 8th, 2007 6:52 pm
Fox News Cancels Rocky's Debate With Sean Hannity

By Doug Ware / KUTV

SALT LAKE CITY - A scheduled showdown between Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson and conservative commentator Sean Hannity – to be televised nationally tonight – has been called off.

Mayor Anderson was supposed to appear on the Fox News Channel’s “Hannity & Colmes” political debate program on Thurs. night. However, the cable channel abruptly canceled the event – reportedly due to scheduling problems.

“We were contacted on Monday and they assured us that we were confirmed for the [show],” mayoral spokesman Patrick Thronson told KUTV.com. “We rearranged the mayor’s schedule so he could make it. It is very uncourteous of [Fox] to do this… given the amount of time we spent preparing for their program.”

Thronson said he was informed of the cancellation via voicemail message from Fox News producer Thomas Holmes, who claimed that he was not able to “fill out the segment” for Thursday’s program. However, Thronson said the producer gave little explanation as to what that meant.

However, Thronson said Holmes sounded as if it would be possible to have Mayor Anderson on the program at a future date.

Last week, Anderson traveled to Washington state to support a resolution aimed to impeach President Bush. Thursday, Mayor Anderson wondered whether his left-leaning viewpoint regarding this matter may have played a factor in the cancellation.

"I think Sean Hannity knows we have a strong case [for impeachment]," Mayor Anderson told 2News. "Now they call with some vague message... they are calling it off."

Mayor Anderson said his stance against the president is firm, logical and perhaps something that the conservative talk show host can't face during a live broadcast.

"This is a president who thinks he is above the law. He has taken on the role, basically, of a dictator. And I say that without exaggeration," the mayor said.

Now, Anderson is welcoming other national media venues to spread what he believes is the truth about President Bush.

"Bring me Rush Limbaugh. Bring me Michael Savage. You bring me the worst, the rudest, the most right-wing," he said. "We need to get this information out and it needs to get to the people who are actually listening."

Phone calls by KUTV.com to the Fox News Channel were not immediately returned.

Labels: Bury the truth, Fox News, Right Wing Media

Jury Convicts on 4 Counts, Seeing No Memory Lapse

The jury rejected claims of memory lapses by Vice President Dick Cheney’s ex-chief of staff.

Labels: Fox News, propaganda

The New York Times Alessandra Stanley

"Sometimes the humor is so heavy-handed that it seems almost like self-parody. "

Hollywood Reporter Barry Garron

"A look at the first episode suggests that, just as A.M. radio is the unassailable province of the right, TV might better be left to the left. "

Philadelphia Inquirer Jonathan Storm

"The 1/2 Hour News Hour is slow torture all by itself. "

Variety Brian Lowry

"As for Surnow, in a sense, he's added a program to his resume that neatly dovetails with "24" -- demonstrating that stiff, uninspired comedy isn't exactly torture; it's just not much fun. "

Boston Globe Joanna Weiss

"In truth, there's nothing wrong with partisan humor, as long as it's actually funny. But here, even the less-political jokes are hopelessly obvious or old. "

Chicago Tribune Maureen Ryan

"The humor is so predictable and so stale that it fails to produce any laughs. "

Orlando Sentinel Hal Boedeker

""Weekend Update" on its worst night isn't this bad. "

Slate Troy Patterson

"You couldn't skewer a cube of tofu with material this dull. "

The Onion A.V. Club Amelie Gillette

"It's even worse than anyone imagined."

Bob Cesca Huff Po -

"Then there's the unintentionally hilarious Republican racism in the show. The attempted joke in which the white male host compares Senator Obama to former Washington, DC mayor Marion Barry was weird and awful, especially considering the wide variety of, say, white politicians and public figures who have used cocaine. Like the president."

David Frum National Review Online

"Seriously: "The 1/2 Hour News Hour" is so unfunny as to be affirmatively insulting. Do the programmers at Fox really think that we their viewers are this dumb?"

Right Wing News:

"This show was not timely at all and at times you felt like their first priority was getting across a message, not making people laugh. Perhaps more importantly, this may be the least edgy show made since Leave it to Beaver. "


The Punisher

The funniest thing about the show is that a Fake News Channel (Fox News) now has a fake comedy show, complete with fake laughter. Oh momma I can feel you cryin'. And here I thought Bill O'Reilly and Hannity were the biggest jokes on Fox.

Labels: Fox News, Fox Reporters, Joke