They Distort, We Reply

While watching Fox & Friends this morning to see what the Three Stooges of Morning TV were up to ( my apologies to Larry, Moe, and Curly ------ Shemp, you can pound sand ) I noticed that Steve Doocy was practically creaming his pants claiming that 4000 people showed up at a book store in Grand Rapids to meet Palin. More on that inflated number later. But when I signed on this morning to check email and get my day started, I noticed this little gem:



For those of you that don't recognize it, that's footage from the 2008 McCain/Palin campaign and NOT a crowd outside Barnes and Nobel.

Think Progress has more.

And this isn't the first time that the "Fair and Balanced" network has been caught with their proverbial pants down. From the complaints about other networks having access to the White House, to Sean Hannity's program using 9/12 footage to promote Bachman's paultry "House Call" rally, to a variety of claims by Beck, Fox"News" is certainly letting the mask slip quite a bit this year.

Inadvertently On Purpose

After seeing the original clip and then watching Fox"News" personality Martha MacCallum "apologize", I was reminded of something my mother used to say to me as a kid:

Are you really sorry, or are you just sorry that you got caught?

Here's the original clip:



And here's where Fox's editors got their "quote":



And, finally, MacCallum's non-apologetic response.



Just another crystal-clear example that Fox is so eager to make a blisteringly partisan point that they will lie to their audience.

KFC In Iraq? Not Exactly, But It Makes For Good TV

It's almost a cartoonish vision, the idea of the indoctrination of the peoples of Iraq via American corporations.

A McDonalds in Anbar province, a Pizza Hut just outside the "Green Zone", a KFC in Fallujah.

That last one was actually reported on'Fox and Friends' the other morning:



From TPM Muckraker

The story seems to have popped up two weeks ago in a report by a Marine public information officer. Cpl. Chris T. Mann is a PIO for Regimental Combat Team 1, which is part of the 1st Marine Division. The following photo accompanied his post on the regimental website:

And the footage that Fox used can be traced back to a 5-minute clip at LiveLeak.com, which shows scenes of chicken frying amid assorted KFC-branded signage. Another marine, Public Affairs Chief Josh Higgins of Regimental Combat Team 1, referenced the same "KFC" in a recent article for the Greenville, TN, newspaper.

In an email Saturday, 1st Lt Brian Block, a media officer for Multi National Force - West, told me that Cpl. Mann would be out on a mission for the next couple of days. We've also called the number of the faux KFC itself, but no one at the restaurant seems to speak English.

All we know for sure right now is that the original Fox report -- that a KFC franchise opened in Fallujah -- was bogus.

Considering that KFC is a "publicly traded company", this shouldn't have been that difficult to confirm. If in fact this was a real KFC opening up, this would have been a huge story. But, then again, Fox rarely lets fact get in the way.

Oops, Probably Shouldn't Have Said That

Not that it was some "big secret" or anything, but The Bush Family loves Rush Limbaugh.

But, it appears that George H. W. let something slip on air during the verbal-circle-jerk that was Limbaugh's 20th anniversary broadcast:

BUSH 41: Well, yeah. I'm kind of on the sidelines, but I can't do golf and all that stuff anymore. But life is good. It's wonderful, and it's great having the family up here in Maine, and all is well. Do you see our man Ailes at all?

RUSH: Oh, yeah. I saw Roger at Tony Snow's funeral.

BUSH 41: Oh, did you?

RUSH: And a couple of times earlier this summer.

BUSH 41: Are we on the radio, are we?

RUSH: (laughing)

BUSH 41: I didn't know that. I'll clean up my act here. I'm glad they told me.

RUSH: Yeah, we're on the radio.

BUSH 41: It's wonderful talking to you, I'll tell you.

RUSH: Thank you, sir. Same here.

Who is "our man Ailes", you ask?

Well, he runs this place:



You know, Fox"News. That place that's never used White House talking points.

Yeah, no link between the two at all.

Fox"News" : We Don't Just Alter Facts Anymore

Was there ever a day when Rupert Murdock and Roger Ailes network was actually credible? Seriously, I don't think I'm the only person that has ever asked that question.

By default, morning-show programs on ANY channel aren't exactly designed to stimulate your neurons into firing to such a degree that you have a grande epiphony and then set out to make your world a better place. They are scripted, formatted, and put into place for the express purpose of being back-ground noise while you eat your cereal and read newspaper or this blog.

Enter in two of the "three stooges" of the morning-show circuit: Brian Kilmede and Steve Doocy ( Gretchen Carlson was absent this one, but there's plenty the airhead princess has done or yet to do to get called-on later ).

The two did a segment on "Fox and Friends" recently where they were speaking about Fox's, The Bush Administration's, and their frothing-at-the-mouth followers' favorite boogie-men ( and women ) The New York Times.


From Editor and Publisher and Editor and Publisher

On the July 2 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, co-hosts Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade labeled New York Times reporter Jacques Steinberg and editor Steven Reddicliffe "attack dogs," claiming that Steinberg's June 28 article on the "ominous trend" in Fox News' ratings was a "hit piece." During the segment, however, Fox News featured photos of Steinberg and Reddicliffe that appeared to have been digitally altered -- the journalists' teeth had been yellowed, their facial features exaggerated, and portions of Reddicliffe's hair moved further back on his head. Fox News gave no indication that the photos had been altered.

After putting up the photos of Steinberg and Reddicliffe, Fox & Friends also featured a photograph of Steinberg's face superimposed over that of a poodle, while Reddicliffe's face was superimposed over that of the man holding the poodle's leash.

Below is a screenshot of Fox & Friends featuring the photo it used of Steinberg, with the original photo on its left. Comparing the two photos, it appears that the following changes have been made: Steinberg's teeth have been yellowed, his nose and chin widened, and his ears made to protrude further.

On Wednesday morning's edition of Fox & Friends, co-hosts Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade aired the photos while discussing a piece in the June 28 edition of the New York Times. The piece pointed out what the newspaper called "ominous trends" in Fox News' ratings.

Neither Steinberg nor Reddicliffe were reachable for comment Wednesday. But Times Culture Editor Sam Sifton called the Fox photo work "disgusting," and the criticism of the paper's reporting "a specious and meritless claim."

"It wasn't a hit piece," Sifton told E&P. "It was straight news. This was a hit piece by Fox News. It is beneath comment." Asked if the paper planned to respond to Fox's actions, he said no: "It is fighting with a pig, everyone gets dirty and the pig likes it."

In his TV spot, Doocy called the Times report, written by Steinberg, a "hit piece" ordered up by Reddicliffe. The pair then made reference to Reddicliffe's tenure as editor of TV Guide owned by Fox News' parent company, News Corporation, which ended in 2002. Reddicliffe was hired by the Times in 2004.

Of course, to take anything that Fox does seriously is kind of a mistake in-and-of-itself. But, this is how the entire network operates. All their programs follow the same format - twist stories into such inrecognizable shapes that people are either confused or outraged. And if the outraged people say anything, just bring on 6 hard-line conservative guests and one milquetoast "liberal" guest. The later is beaten to a bloody, pulp to create the illusion of "power"

But, let's get back to the photoshop bit. Whom is the intended audience for this? Who is actually going to believe what is 'reported' about The Times? Do people actually believe they are being told the truth?

Truth-be-told, there is no intended audience. Not for "Fox and Friends", not for any program. It's all propoganda for people that already believe in every conservative meme there is.

Movies That Make You Think : V2.0

Take everything that you've heard about fuel efficiency in cars, how automotive manufacturers are workng on cars running off alternative fuels, the cost of oil, the cost of research and developing these vehicles of the future, of government, and of how we get our information - then watch this:

Who Killed The Electric Car

The Envy of Every Industrial, Capitalist Democracy

It's amazing how people - given the particular job duties that they are required to perform, how much money they make at said job, and how their willingness to perform these tasks increases their job security - will justify a bad situation. And they do it all with no verifiable facts and are rarely, if ever, questioned.

H/T to Newshounds for the video grab:



So let's examine what a 'great' economic state we are in.

As I've said before, I'm not an economist, but I know when I'm being fed a load of horse excrament. So, here are some facts for this chap that thinks the American economy is just spot-on fantastic as droves of people from the UK and Europe 'flee' to America to take a bite out of what we've got.

1- Unemployment:

THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: MAY 2008

The unemployment rate rose from 5.0 to 5.5 percent in May, and nonfarm
payroll employment continued to trend down (-49,000), the Bureau of Labor
Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. In May, employ-
ment continued to fall in construction, manufacturing, retail trade, and
temporary help services, while health care continued to add jobs. Average
hourly earnings rose by 5 cents, or 0.3 percent, over the month.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

The number of unemployed persons increased by 861,000 to 8.5 million in
May, after seasonal adjustment, and the unemployment rate rose by 0.5 per-
centage point to 5.5 percent. A year earlier, the number of unemployed per-
sons was 6.9 million, and the jobless rate was 4.5 percent. (See table A-1.)

The unemployment rates for adult men (4.9 percent), adult women (4.8 per-
cent), teenagers (18.7 percent), whites (4.9 percent), and blacks (9.7 per-
cent) rose in May. The jobless rate for Hispanics (6.9 percent) was unchanged.
The unemployment rate for Asians was 3.8 percent, not seasonally adjusted.
(See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

2 - An Economic Recession Started in March 2001

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The world's largest economy sank into a recession in March, ending 10 years of growth that was the longest expansion on record in the United States, a group of economists that dates U.S. business cycles said Monday.

The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), composed of academic economists from Harvard, Stanford and other universities, joined a chorus of economists and investors who were saying that a recession had already begun. The group posted its decision on its Web site.

It ruled that the long expansion ended in March and the nation's tenth recession since the end of World War II began at the same time. The declaration means the longest expansion lasted exactly 10 years. The previous record for uninterrupted economic growth was set in the 1960s, a period of eight years and 10 months lasting from February 1961 to December 1969.

3 - Bush's Tax Cuts Benefit A Small Percentage Of Americans

...Economists and tax analysts have long known that the biggest dollar value of Mr. Bush’s tax cuts goes to people at the very top income levels. One reason is that two of his signature measures, tax cuts on investment income and a steady reduction of estate taxes, overwhelmingly benefit the wealthiest households.

But the Congressional study offers additional insight because it incorporates information about what people paid in 2004, the first year in which taxpayers could take full advantage of the cuts on stock dividends and capital gains.

The study estimates that the effective federal income tax rate, which excludes payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare, declined modestly for people in the middle- and lower-income categories.

Families in the middle fifth of annual earnings, who had average incomes of $56,200 in 2004, saw their average effective tax rate edge down to 2.9 percent in 2004 from 5 percent in 2000. That translated to an average tax cut of $1,180 per household, but the tax rate actually increased slightly from 2003....

4 - The Dollar is the New Peso

It’s no secret that the dollar is on a downward spiral. Its value is dropping, and the Fed isn’t doing a whole lot to change that. As a result, a number of countries are considering a shift away from the dollar to preserve their assets. These are seven of the countries currently considering a move from the dollar, and how they’ll have an effect on its value and the US economy....

Countries are growing weary of losing money on the falling dollar. Many of them want to protect their financial interests, and a number of them want to end the US oversight that comes with using the dollar. Although it’s not clear how many of these countries will actually follow through on an abandonment of the dollar, it is clear that its status as a world currency is in trouble.

Obviously, an abandonment of the dollar is bad news for the currency. Simply put, as demand lessens, its value drops. Additionally, the revenue generated from the use of the dollar will be sorely missed if it’s lost. The dollar’s status as a cheaply-produced US export is a vital part of our economy. Losing this status could rock the financial lives of both Americans and the worldwide economy.

In the interest of fairness, it should be noted that the above statement appeared in November of last year.

And as far as the statement of people fleeing to come to America because of the economy.....

With a wheezing economy that’s struggling with housing and credit problems - as well as a weak dollar - it’s clear the United States won’t be in the investment spotlight this year.

But don’t despair. Because a trend that has long been talked about - economic decoupling - is finally starting to manifest itself as other world economies, particularly the so-called “BRIC” markets of Brazil, Russia, China and India, have continued to grow even as the U.S. economy has slowed. That means profit opportunities abound for U.S. investors, despite myriad messes on the home front that include a collapsed housing market, a mortgage crisis that turned into a five-alarm credit conflagration, and a plunging greenback that seems to have left its parachute on the airplane that it jumped from.

Some of the profit pathways to play:

- Investors can eschew the U.S. market completely, and pursue profits abroad.

- They can latch onto the U.S.-based members of the “Global Titans” club, companies with their headquarters in America that derive a hefty chunk of their profits from overseas markets.

- Or investors can ferret out U.S. investments that are either immune to some of this country’s current economic afflictions, or that are problem-plagued now, but a good bet for a turnaround later.

You're more often to hear that a fair tax system only "punishes" the successful. Well, that's a nice talking-point to stir-up your base with, but it's really nothing more than that. Sure, people that have worked hard their lives to get where they are deserve to have nice things. But, who's doing the talking here? Who(m) is truly afraid of being 'punished'? Are they talking about the man that struggled as a child in a poor neighborhood in Detroit, managed to go to a great college, became an award-winning chemist, and is now working on a cure for AIDs? Or, are they talking about a man who dropped-out of college, made sure they didn't have to be drafted to fight in Vietnam, and ended up hosting talk-radio show where they continually tell their audience that a fair tax punishes the successful?