Why the Discredited Right Still Sets the Agenda and Dominates the Debate

April 28, 2008
Why the Discredited Right Still Sets the Agenda and Dominates the Debate

These three factors have combined to allow the lunatic fringe that has taken over the Right to hijack our country, our democracy, and our Constitution. So that 28 percent of the population that continues to support George W. Bush no matter how many bodies pile up in Iraq, how many jobs disappear overseas, how many For Sale signs go up on their block, or how high gas prices get, continues to dominate our politics.

Let's take them one by one, starting with the media which remains hopelessly addicted to the false belief that in order to be fair and balanced every story needs to be given the "on the one hand... and on the other" treatment. But not every story has two sides -- and the truth is often to be found not in the middle but solidly on one side or the other.

The earth is not flat. Global warming is a fact. Evolution is a fact -- sorry Mike Huckabee. And not even Republicans still believe in the unfettered, free market. Look how they rushed to Big Government to save their beloved Bear Sterns.

Nor are there two sides to the proposition that Iraq is our generation's greatest foreign policy disaster. It is. Period. Full stop. Yet the same media that enabled the administration to sell us the multi-trillion dollar war are -- nearly six years later -- still pushing the Right's line that "the surge is working." Green Zone bombardments be damned.

Behind TV Analysts, Pentagon’s Hidden Hand

April 18, 2008
Behind TV Analysts, Pentagon’s Hidden Hand

To the public, these men are members of a familiar fraternity, presented tens of thousands of times on television and radio as "military analysts" whose long service has equipped them to give authoritative and unfettered judgments about the most pressing issues of the post-Sept. 11 world.

Hidden behind that appearance of objectivity, though, is a Pentagon information apparatus that has used those analysts in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the administration's wartime performance, an examination by The New York Times has found.

The effort, which began with the buildup to the Iraq war and continues to this day, has sought to exploit ideological and military allegiances, and also a powerful financial dynamic: Most of the analysts have ties to military contractors vested in the very war policies they are asked to assess on air.

The nexus of politics and terror

February 21, 2008
The nexus of politics and terror

Transcript: OLBERMANN: Our third story on the COUNTDOWN: The nexus of politics and terror, again. After several days in which he had kept his hysteria in check and the conservative bastions like Kato Institute and "The Washington Times" insisted he had credibility on this issue of Chicken Little. President Bush lost it anew this afternoon on his flight home from Liberia. It's the so-called Protect America Act which is not yet been renewed by the House because the president first refused a temporary extension of it and then, refused the permanent extension that does not include immunity for the telecom companies who helped him break the law. "If we do not give liability protection to those who are helping us, they won't help us," he said today. "And if they don't help us, there will be no program. And if there's no program, America is more vulnerable." Mr. Bush then presented two comparatively new "red herrings". "These companies are going to be subject to multi-billion dollar lawsuits by trial lawyers, plaintiffs' attorneys and it's going to drive them away from helping us—unless they get liability protection—prospective and retroactive." So, it's official, this is not just about laws they broke in the past, it's about laws they will break in the future. Plus: The suits against the telecoms where mostly by outfits like ACLU, with lawyers volunteering their time. So, you can drop that money-making crap, too.

FEMA's fake 'news conference'

October 26, 2007
FEMA's fake 'news conference'

On Tuesday, FEMA held what was called a "news briefing" on the California fires, but the questions asked did not come from reporters. They were asked instead by FEMA staffers.

"It is not a practice that we would employ here at the White House or that we -- we certainly don't condone it," Press Secretary Dana Perino said. "We didn't know about it beforehand. FEMA has issued an apology, saying that they had an error judgment when they were attempting to get out a lot of information to reporters, who were asking for answers to a variety of questions in regard to the wildfires in California. It's not something I would have condoned. And they, I'm sure, will not do it again."

FCC Proposes 'Fake News' Fine

September 25, 2007
FCC Proposes 'Fake News' Fine

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Communications Commission is proposing a $4,000 fine against Comcast Corp. for airing a pitch for a sleep aid without telling viewers that the spot was financed by the maker of the product.

The fine was in response to a complaint by the Center for Media and Democracy, a media watchdog group, which said it marks the first time a company has been sanctioned for airing a "video news release," a type of programming it dubs "fake news."

Media report "do-nothing" Congress, not GOP obstruction

July 27, 2007
Media report "do-nothing" Congress, not GOP obstruction

Several media outlets have reported recent claims by Senate Republicans, President Bush, and members of his administration that Democrats are currently presiding, or may soon preside, over a "do-nothing Congress" without challenging the claim in any way. These claims are apparently part of a strategy laid out in a "talking-points memorandum" reportedly "circulat[ed]" by Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) that advises Republicans to attack congressional Democrats for their supposed lack of legislative accomplishments. In fact, Republicans have blocked Senate action at an unprecedented rate -- apparently putting into action a strategy that Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott (R-MS) described as "obstructionist."