Jon Stewart Deconstructs The Right's (and FOX NEWS') Relentless Reality Distortion Campaign

With his announced imminent departure from Comedy Central's Daily Show, Jon Stewart has stepped up his willingness to go just a bit further in his willingness to call a liar a liar, sans euphemism. Having been called a liar by FOX "News," Stewart returned the favor, and then deconstructs the tactics of the right, in their relentless campaign--not for unbiased truth--but for a rightward leaning spin everywhere.

[Video is below the fold, because I couldn't turn off the "autoplay" feature. . .]

Is MSNBC Shifting Away from Leaning Forward?

Television and radio are prone to sudden and dramatic shifts in schedule, in editorial tone, and even in complete formats. In the case of programming that caters specifically to liberals, these changes can often be almost inscrutable. For instance, though liberal talk radio has always had difficulty getting a

Keith Olbermann handing off to Rachel Maddow.
Those were the days.

market foothold for a variety of reasons, it has often been the case that a station (or chain of stations) will abandon the format for programming that gets worse ratings.

It's not hard to feel like there's something more at work than mere market forces sometimes. As a long-time consumer of liberal-oriented information (not to the exclusion of all else, mind you), I'm very, very, very familiar with this phenomenon. I had to chase The Randi Rhodes Show all over the internet, through two or three sudden complete disappearances, and finally her rather abrupt retirement. Other favorite hosts have come and gone with no word, and poor Stephanie Miller is now operating out of her house!

So, I rather scoff at the old "liberal media" trope. It's a moldy, lazy, inaccurate assessment of how things really are. So, if it is indeed true that MSNBC--struggling this year in the ratings--is about to abandon its liberal leanings, it won't surprise me much, though I'm not happy about it. For one thing, their biggest star is Rachel Maddow, whose eponymously named show is unlikely to shift focus without both irritating its host, and losing its audience. What she needs is a stronger lead-in, or a shift to 8:00 pm, putting her in the actual lead spot that Countdown with Keith Olbermann used to occupy.

I like Chris Hayes, but he's a bit dry, as is the curse of many a scholarly liberal (see: Thom Hartmann). And I like Lawrence O'Donnell, but he's better at his current spot. Still, I'd prefer either to a return of the likes of  Scarborough Country, Joe Scarborough's old gig before Morning Joe. By the way, can we talk about Scarborough for a second? His very presence as host of a three-hours-per-day show on MSNBC ought to single-handedly dispel any "MSNBC is the flip-side of FOX 'News'" comments. At least until Ronan Farrow or Joy Reid show up as hosts of the oddly named Fox & Friends. But I digress. . .

Frank's kid (I mean come on) is out at MSNBC,
at least as host of his own show.

If Rachel Maddow finds herself smack-dab in the middle of Right Wing World in a format shift, she'll balk, and probably walk. If they lose her, they might as well change the format of the channel to something completely different. There's very little chance MSNBC can compete with FOX as a cloned or "lite" version of that channel. They could instead go hard news--Maddow might even welcome that, and hell, they'd be unique if they did--but would ratings actually go up for that? Righties still wouldn't watch, because reality has that unfortunate "liberal bias" they don't have to worry about on FOX.

I don't envy the position Phil Griffin is in, being in charge of programming there, and undoubtedly with corporate overlords breathing down his neck to improve ratings. But quick fixes don't come easily, especially when you consider that the situation may correct itself with the political and news cycle and the 2016 election. Getting rid of Farrow and Reid can't hurt, and putting in Thomas Roberts again is actually heartening. He's newsy and known to be (gay) liberal, so he's a good blend without feeling traitorous to the audience. Some shuffling around with the schedule? Fine. A wholesale change in tone? A mistake with a capital "M." It all comes down to this, I think: Does Comcast care if MSNBC improves in the ratings, or are they trying to squelch their liberal leanings before a big election? After having seen Clear Channel's treatment of liberal formats on radio, I think that's the most germane question.

[Excerpt]

MSNBC Shifts Ronan Farrow, Joy-Ann Reid; Thomas Roberts Returns to Dayside

First on TVNewser: A year-old experiment at MSNBC is coming to an end. As TVNewser first told you earlier today, “The Reid Report” is being canceled, and we can now confirm that “Ronan Farrow Daily” is also being shelved. Both Reid and Farrow will take on new roles with the network. . .

Read more at: TV Newser
 

Right Wing Crank Brent Bozell Turns Out to be a Fraud

Yes, he always looks like that. Image from source, RawStory

Brent Bozell makes himself out to be the watchdog of the "liberal media," with his "Media Research Center" and its cranky blog, NewsBusters. Bozell has written about every hard-right topic, railed against the faintest whiff of liberal bias, complained about the gays and abortion and sexy times on the teevee machine. He's a prolific writer, with books and a newspaper column.

But then again, maybe not. Because it would seem that Bozell is something of a fraud. Much, most or maybe even all of Bozell's writings have actually been written by someone else. For years. How do you suppose NewsBusters will cover this one?

[Excerpt]

Papers dropping Brent Bozell after conservative media critic admits he didn’t write his columns
 
A longtime arch conservative crusader against feminism, secularism, marriage equality and other LGBT rights has been exposed as a figurehead whose books and columns were all written by an uncredited underling. According to Talking Points Memo, one widely-read Iowa newspaper dropped media commentator Brent Bozell’s column in the wake of his exposure and received not a single protest from any reader. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

CBO Report on ObamaCare Continues to be Misconstrued

Over the last couple of weeks, I'll admit to being a little less engaged than usual. I have paid a little less attention to the changing of the news cycle, having my attention pulled in other directions here at home. Even so, I caught that the CBO report on ObamaCare was initially (gleefully) reported by conservatives as a JOB KILLER!!! And almost immediately, the author of the thing said, no, Right Wing World had gotten it wrong. Again.

But here we were on Sunday morning, with the political shows all acting like the original storyline was the correct one. David Gregory used it in one of his "balanced" setups, as though the wrong conclusion was as equally likely as the real, intended one. Chris Wallace on FOX "News" Sunday lead with it, painting it as conclusively true, by the way he phrased it. I didn't have the stomach for the other networks' offerings.

But it looks like CNN may have gotten it right.

[Excerpt]

CNN breaks mold and tells truth about CBO report


 
It is a forgone conclusion that Fox News would misrepresent the latest CBO report. Sadly even Chuck Todd at MSNBC was less than clear in interpreting the report. He was more concerned with how it would be interpreted. He should have been more concerned with his free press journalistic duty. Inform the population objectively. . .

Read more at: DailyKos

Dipping a Toe into FOX News, It Hasn't Changed

FOX "News" has pretty much been banished in my household by the Other Half. I can get away with FOX "News" Sunday--since that is on regular FOX TV, I usually zip through it on DVR, and frequently turn it off before it even ends--but the likes of Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly are effectively banned.

Not that I ever liked them, oh no. I considered it opposition research; basically just a way to keep tabs on what the wacky Right Wing World is up to. Occasionally, when the Other Half is away, I'll sneak in a show, just to see what they're saying. Friday's experiment consisted of part of On the Record with Greta Van Whatsername and The O'Reilly Factor. On Greta's show, things were exactly as I remembered them: Greta running exceedingly rightward-canted segments, interviewing heavily-skewed rightward-canted panels, and short of a few leading questions, staying somewhat above the fray. I suspect that she's in it for the dough. But I was not hit with anything I wasn't expecting.

The Factor was a different story. Bill-O was away this week, so there was a blonde lady in his chair, and oh, what an unpleasant woman! The picture you see here is what she looked like through almost all of the episode, either a scowl-frown or a snarly smile. I'm wondering, "who is this woman?" Most of the blonde foxbots are a little more pleasant, even if they're basically chewing over the same material! And though O'Reilly's motto of "The No-Spin Zone" has always been as laughable as "Fair & Balanced," it would be a bald-faced lie, applied to this lady.

Monica Crowley is her name, I found out later. Virtually the entire show was about SCANDALS! Specifically, President Obama's second term scandals, such as they are. They're still peddling Benghazi, still harping on each of the scandal-ettes that have cropped up since, and hammering them home. To be fair, so was Greta, and based on the advertising on both shows, so is the rest of the network. Apparently, all the time. There was some push-back from the token "liberal" guests, but they were summarily dismissed, and the thick layer of contempt was practically visible. While I found Greta's show to be a bit groan-worthy, I found Crowley's version of The O'Reilly Factor to be so over-the-top, it was practically parody.

And while the Democrat the article below highlights was perhaps not the best defender the President could have had, I have to ask, who was he? Dick Harpootlian? Who? Yet, I'm sure he's held up as balance. Harrumph. Sure, this experiment was not on one of the FOX "News" hard news programs, but one of the opinion ones. I've found little difference in my sampling over the years. I can say this, I can't imagine--even if my sympathies were with conservatives--that I could enjoy watching this stuff all the time. It's no wonder tea baggers are always so frothing mad about something.

[Excerpt]
 
Monica Crowley Slams Dem. Activist: Obama Can’t Face Press Because That ‘Only Works If You’re Not Guilty’




O’Reilly Factor guest-host Monica Crowley fought with former South Carolina Democratic Chairman Dick Harpootlian Friday night over whether the mess of scandals around the Obama administration is destroying the president’s credibility or merely distracting the right from policy. . .

Read more at: Mediaite

Does Anybody take NewsBusters Seriously?

NewsBusters is an outlet of the "Media Research Council." Sounds legit.

When I scroll through the headlines at NewsBusters, I'm often a really bad audience for them. Far from being outraged, my response to most of them is, "Yeah. So?!?"

NewsBusters is a "media watchdog"-type website, but unlike a left-leaning counterpart like Media Matters for America, this right-leaning outfit is all about editorializing and faux outrage. They bristle at any perceived slight against conservatism, Republicans, or Christianity. And they get particularly riled if a news report is favorable to abortion rights, gay people or gun control. But it doesn't have to be from an actual news source. They get all up in the business of sex columnists like Dan Savage, talk show hosts like Stephanie Miller and Randi Rhodes, and virtually anyone who makes a big enough splash to get their notice.

Most liberals would consider a rip from NB to be a badge of honor. Because the write-ups are so drenched in right-wing-world bias, it's hilarious that the site is supposed to be ferreting out bias.

Just for fun, here are just a few headlines from this goofy site, with my comments.

Grammy Award-Winner Michael Bolton: 'I'd Walk Across the Country to Get Hillary Into Office'

This one shows the hilarity of what NewsBusters thinks is a news bias item. Michael Bolton is an entertainer. A largely non-influential entertainer at that. Who cares who Bolton supports politically, besides people interested in reading about it? What news was busted here?

Global Warming Skeptics Rebut Face the Nation Segment on Climate Change and Moore Tornado

In this item, NewsBusters provides a forum to "global warming skeptics"--known to most of us as crackpots--since Face the Nation didn't provide one for them. Which sounds a lot less like "news busting" to me, than trying to make your own news. And on this, they should be busted.

Brit Hume Hammers Juan Williams for Saying Eric Holder's the 'Exact Right Person' to Probe His Own Department

This is a weird one. NewsBusters is spending its "media watchdog" time to keep tabs on the opinion portion (not that it isn't all opinion) of FOX "News" Sunday, a decidedly conservative media outpost. This isn't news busting, it's highlighting the side of an argument they agree with! Talk about goofy.

NYT Feminists Still Giddy About Hillary's Chances In 2016: Any Gender Problems Have Been 'Wiped Out'

This is just one of those "yeah, so?" ones. Not at all controversial. Who cares?

NPR’s On the Media Show Mocks Glenn Beck and TheBlaze

First, On the Media sounds like less than a "hard news" show in the first place, but mocking Glenn Beck and his internet presence, The Blaze is the only rational thing you can do with the subject matter. It isn't just mock-worthy, it is itself a mockery.

So, I hereby prounonce NewsBusters busted. Their site is unworthy of notice.

Another Conservative "News" Network

Image from source, Daily Beast

I don't know which premise is more ridiculous, that MSNBC is more biased than FOX "News," or the idea that FOX is the only outlet for conservative views. First, MSNBC is counter-programming to the per-existent FOX, and you can't tell me that a channel with a former GOP Congressman running a daily 3-hour show is more left-leaning than FOX is right-leaning. And secondly, conservatives have virtually the entire AM-spectrum to themselves, with hundreds--if not thousands--of hours per week dedicated to arch conservative views.

So, in addition to Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Michael Savage and their countless compatriots and also-rans, there is FOX "News," FOX "Business," CNBC (c'mon, watch it some time), and a very skittish so-called "liberal media" terrified of being called that. You get MSNBC and CNN often putting "balance" into a story by trotting out the Family Research Council or American Family Institute for their counter opinion, even though those are hate groups. You've got Meet the Press, Face the Nation, FOX "News" Sunday, This Week, State of the Union and other national political talk fests, all of which are heavily skewed to the right (check their lineups). And the right needs yet another outlet? Okay then, go ahead and try it. I'd love for someone to take a bite out of FOX. But be warned. Ask Kelsey Grammer how his RightNetwork worked out.

[Excerpt]

One America News Network, New Conservative Cable Channel, Sets Launch

A new right-wing news and talk station is coming to cable boxes later this year, The Daily Beast has learned. The station, called One America News Network, is slated to announce its launch formally at the Conservative Political Action Conference, the annual gathering of conservatives, in Washington on Thursday. . .

Read More at: The Daily Beast

Steven Weber: The FOX "News" Disservice Industry

Image from FanPop

It's been a while since I've posted a piece by Steven Weber (blogger/actor/twitterer), a guy who feels like he's extracting ideas from my brain, and then putting them into much better--and funnier--words than I'm capable of. I've used a lot of words, some of them funny, to describe FOX "News," but Weber really has something with this piece.

[Excerpts]


Disservice Industry

A product is usually created to improve people's lives, otherwise, why buy it? I'm no genius, but I am an American and gosh-darnit I consume, so I know what I'm talking about. . . 

. . .But now see, where Fox News is concerned, there's a problem. It seems that what that particular product advertises right up front is at odds with the reality of what it does. And a lot of consumers buy it thinking they're going to get one thing but what they are really getting is something else entirely. . . 

 . . .But Fox News seems pretty light on the "news" part and awfully heavy on the "fox" part. . .

Read all of it at: Huffington Post

Mitch McConnell Wants Obama to Stop Picking on FOX "News"

Mitch is coming out of his shell. Image from Raw Story

Honestly. It's funny how conservatives like Mitch McConnell love their FOX "News" because it is fair and balanced. Why, it's the only news you can get that isn't liberally biased. Which is a little like saying that your kid is the only one in the parade marching in step.

[Excerpt]

McConnell: Obama unleashing ‘liberal thugs’ on Fox News 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Thursday painted conservatives as victims of President Barack Obama and other “liberal thugs.”

Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), McConnell said he always loved the event “because conservatives are just simply more fun” than liberals. . .

Read more at: The Raw Story

Roger Ailes Admits FOX "News" Has a Conservative Bias?

Ain't he somethin'? Image from source.

I'm shocked, shocked, I tells ya!

[Excerpt]

Roger Ailes Admits Fox ‘News’ Has Conservative Bias

. . .Recently, Fox News President, Roger Ailesz, a former Republican strategist and employee for the Nixon administration, was interviewed by reported Howard Kurtzz. During the interview, Ailes admitted the conservative spin from Fox News proving that the channel is anything but “Fair and Balanced”. . .

Read more at: Addicting Info

Former Gov. Jon Huntsman (R-Utah) Announces Presidential Bid

Image from source, New York Times

To read the excerpted piece below, you'd think that former Governor Jon Huntsman of Utah (Shhhh! He's not advertising that!) was a slick, ready-for-prime-time candidate. They acknowledge a certain lack of emotion (read: boring), but talk about stage craft, and polish. And maybe it was if you were on the ground, and ignored a few details. Like Huntsman's first name being spelled "John" on the press passes, or the framing used by most news cameras lopping off the top of the Statue of Liberty. Like a boat sitting right behind his head during the speech, to a breakdown of equipment, to almost sending the press corps to Saudi Arabia, to several other things.  First up, here is the official "mainstream media" account. Keep in mind, this is from the New York Times, allegedly as left-wing as FOX "News" is right-wing.

[Excerpt]

Huntsman Announces Run for President

JERSEY CITY – Jon M. Huntsman Jr., the former governor of Utah, officially announced he was running for president on Tuesday, telling an audience of supporters and reporters gathered at a park facing the Statue of Liberty that he would be a better leader than President Obama, for whom he served as the ambassador to China until recently. . .

Read more at: New York Times

Seems pretty fair, if potentially a bit glossy, and not too deep. For the "lame stream media," it doesn't seem at all like they're tarring and feathering the guy. But then there is my favorite, The Rachel Maddow Show, which is--according to the right-- a) just like the rest of the left-biased media on ABCBSNBCNN, or b) a foaming at the mouth, far-leftist lesbian-hosted hour of venomous hatred of all that is good and American. Personally, I found it more informative, much deeper, and far more entertaining. Rachel paints a far more accurate-sounding picture. Sure, she's a little gleeful in her ribbing of Huntsman, but I'm not hearing anything nasty, and nothing that sounds untrue.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Jon Stewart on FOX "News" Sunday

FOX "News" Sunday is easily the least of all the Sunday morning political chat fests, but due to is scheduling here in Las Vegas, usually is one of the two I regularly watch (along with NBC's Meet the Press). Chris Wallace is also the least of the hosts (narrowly edging out David Gregory), but when stacked up against the rest of the FOX "News" talent, is probably the best. Faint praise, I know. This point is made by Jon Stewart in the interview below. Stewart says--and I agree--that Wallace is most likely there to give the whole operation a sheen of respectibility, since without him, there wouldn't be any.

Stewart comes out swinging, gently, with humor. He punctuates that humor with some good solid points that FOX "News" viewers probably don't get to hear often.  And at times, he just plain comes out (justifiably) swinging. Wallace--even though probably the best reporter FOX has--tries to frame some "gotcha" questions, but Stewart comes up the winner. I think it's a great bit of video, and surely worth your time.

Arianna Huffington: Huffington Post Not a "Lefty" Site

Image from source, Raw Story

I get what Arianna Huffington is trying to do here. From her perspective, The Huffington Post is much more than a partisan internet outpost. Much of the content of the site has nothing whatsoever to do with politics. Much of the news there has more of an honest vibe than a lefty vibe (though there is significant overlap there, from this reader's perspective). To a righty, any news or information that does not have a rightward cant is ipso facto lefty. The reverse isn't exactly true, is it?

I think what she's trying to say, is that while the site may have selected stories that would appeal to a progressive audience, that the stories themselves were not written with bias. What I'm not so sure about, is if she's saying that henceforth HuffPo is going to change the way stories are selected.

Regardless, Huffington has a very narrow line to walk here. She's got to try to keep her current audience; largely progressives and liberals, and probably people who don't consider themselves to be politically affiliated at all. At the same time, she's trying to woo people who might've stayed away previously, because of the liberal label. To make her brand as inviting as possible, she's trying to assure us that there is no overwhelming political skew going on here.  So, I get what she's trying to do. But she's not pulling it off very well. Arianna is as in-your-face as a drag queen. . .there's just no way for her to come off subtle. She needs to borrow Stephen Colbert's line: the truth has a well-known liberal bias.

[Excerpt]

Arianna: The Huffington Post is not a ‘lefty’ publication anymore



In a recent interview with The New York Times, Arianna Huffington revealed a bit of news that's not likely to show up on The Huffington Post's front page any time soon: the site is no longer "lefty" in its political bent. . .
 
Read more at: The Raw Story

Jon Stewart: No Line Between Opinon and "Hard News" at FOX

Yeah, it's obvious, but can't be said often enough. And is rarely said better than by Jon Stewart. From the March 31 episode of The Daily Show.

FOX "News" Anchor Brett Baier on The Daily Show

The surprisingly zaftig looking Brett Baier was on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Thursday night. Stewart once again deftly handled the interview, prodding and poking in just the right places over the extreme bias of FOX News. And just as predictibly, Baier lamely dodged and deflected, and tried to draw a distinction between the FOX hard news and commentary programming.

The truth is much more blurry. While Baier's and Shepard Smith's programs may be the closest things FOX has to balanced news, they themselves push the FOX "News" right-wing agenda. The selection of stories, the points to punch up, the "experts" they interview, and the use of Frank Luntzian language (not to mention the in-house advertising during the shows) make the bias very clear.  For the best demonstration of this bias, watch America Live with Megyn Kelly, another allegedly "hard news" program. Inside of five minutes of America Live, you can point to at least three or four things that practically SHOUT their bias.

My question to Baier would echo Stewart when he said that he wasn't alone in his opinon. FOX "News" does not have a fringey reputation as a mouthpiece for the right. They've got a BOLD FACED ALL CAPS ITALIC reputation as such, and their only defenders are their employees and hard-right wingers.

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Michele Bachmann: Reporting What I Say is Biased!

"Does this outfit make me look
crazy?" From Wonkette

I'm posting an excerpt and link to the article below, not just because I think it's accurate and funny. But it also proves how uninspired I can be sometimes with this blog. I've been in publishing and/or graphic arts for thirty-plus years. You'd think I'd come up with something as clever as the picture at the left. But no, I just keep phoning it in, don't I? That picture right there is something I should have thought of and done.  I mean, Michele Bachmann is batshit crazy, and I know how to edit photos. I need to step up my game.
Anyway, enjoy!

[Excerpt]

Michele Bachmann: Reporting On Dumb Things I Say Proves Media Bias

Heartfelt chuckles and patronizing sighs were enjoyed by all when Michele Bachmann told a New Hampshire crowd on Saturday, “You’re the state where the shot was heard around the world at Lexington and Concord.” (New Hampshire is also the state where United States Marines “raised the flag at Iwo Jima.”). . .

Read more at: Wonkette

Media Matters Says it's Time to Drop FOX "News"

Hear, hear.



Found at: Joe.My.God.

I Learned Something from FOX "News"? Well, Sorta. . .

You know how every so often, I put FOX "News" on the teevee machine, just to see if they ever actually air "fair and balanced" news?  Well, I tried again today, and stumbled into some. Kinda.

I'm a graphic artist for a sign company, so it's my business to know about certain requirements and laws. So finding out on America Live (an odd name for a news show, by the way) that there is a federal mandate to change all street signs, was a bit surprising to me.  Now, of course host Megyn Kelly and her "reporter" approached the story as one more wacky thing the Democrats in Washington are foolishly spending money on. Nearly every story is broached that way on FOX "News."  And when you actually get beyond the headline, there is often some bumbling--and inexcusable--double-talk. When Kelly asked if this was Congress or the President mandating the change, the reporter had no idea.  NO IDEA.  I found out with a 30-second Google search.  Lame.

So what is the big street sign change?  They're all being changed to upper/lower case, from all caps.  This may sound silly, but it is true that upper/lower is easier and faster to read. Particularly when you get into very long words that have to be squashed to fit on a standard street sign.  Kelly and her reporter made (really, really lame) jokes about "Ooh yeah, those signs are so hard to read. They're all capitals! What does it say?"  But when you're talking about signs that must be read in seconds or even less, legibility is important.

Incidentally, Megyn Kelly just called John Roberts, "Chief Justice McDreamy." Unbelievable.  Anyway, here's a story on the change that contains more actual news (beyond the headline) than Kelly's entire program.

[Excerpt]


Sign names need to use uppercase, lowercase

Despite public confusion that arose from recent news reports on the issue, city crews will continue to replace street name signs to comply with Federal Highway Administration regulations that specify changes be in place by 2012.

The regulations, specified in the 2009 edition of the FHA's "Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways," call for new street name signs to have 6-inch lettering by Jan. 9, 2012. . .

Read more at: CJOnline

FOX "News": Still Not News

My DVR didn't catch last night's Real Time with Bill Maher, so I had to seek it out on the cable box, and was lucky enough to find it running in. . .well. . .real time this morning. After it was over, I wanted to just surf around the internets for a little while, so I needed to put the teevee machine on something that wouldn't distract me too much. FOX "News" fits the bill. It's good for little else, right?

Heh. Okay, so I'm doing this little experiment. Every so often, I'll stick it on FOX "News" at a time of day when they supposedly are doing "hard news," rather than news commentary. There is no such time of day, apparently. This morning, I landed on America's News HQ, which sounds like a news program. There were two blonde bombshell news readers talking about the GOP "Pledge to America." No, not really talking, pitching. They gave the conservative selling points of the pledge, and left it there, as though there was no counter-point.

Then, they moved on to other issues involving President Barack Obama and the 2010 election. There, they had no problem with counter-points! In fact--just like they do on Hannity, Glenn Beck, Huckabee, and The O'Reilly Factor--they had arguing pundits in split-screen to shout about it! Then they aired various clips of Democrats on the floors of Congress in moments of extreme agitation. . .various Democrats at various times, out of context. I didn't gather what story these clips were connected to, I think it was an attempt to show Democrats being crazy to counter-balance Christine O'Donnell.

Anyway, they managed to squeeze in a little bit of news, a flood, and the Iranian president (where they couldn't resist a little editorializing), but mostly my little experiment proved what it always does: FOX "News" is NOT news.

Sarah Palin's Advice to Christine O'Donnell: Speak Through FOX "News!"

Naturally.  Is there anyone left out there who would still argue that FOX "News" is not an organ of the Republican Party?