Archive for July, 2010
Detoxing from Fox
Regular readers of this site know that in 2004 I worked as a researcher on Robert Greenwald’s Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism and that I blogged at the NewsHounds until mid-December, 2008.
I spent the majority of that four-year period monitoring Fox’s “business news” honcho, Neil Cavuto.
Believe me, it was a potentially crazy-making endeavor.
I have been in a state of detoxification since, literally unable to watch more than a minute or two of Fox without hitting the roof; able to detect in a second or two what they’re propagandizing.
But I am happy to say that I hit a milestone today. I was putting up a post about Neil Cavuto a few minutes ago and I couldn’t remember how to spell Cavuto’s first name. “Neil” or “Neal?”
I had to Google it and when I did, I thought, wow, am I really doing this? Did I really forget?
And I did!
Woohoo!
Feels so good.
Goodbye kneel.
Al Gore Cleared in Sexual Assault Case
You won’t see this on Fox: Al Gore Cleared in Sexual Assault Case.
If you see a “fair and balanced” Fox “News” story about this, let me know. I’ll send you a free video of Outfoxed.
The Quintessential Republican, Circa 2010
The quintessential Republican, circa 2010:
This would be Basil Marceaux. He is a candidate in the primary for governor of Tennessee. A local television station gave all the candidates one minute to state their position and this clip is Marceaux’s one minute.
The short version: Everyone gets a gun. Sell the land to oil companies. Do away with traffic stops. Fly “the flag with three stripes.” Say the Pledge of Allegiance and pray every day.
Vote Taliban Republican!
Neil Cavuto Brings Donald Trump On to Talk About Tax Cuts for the Rich
Last Tuesday Fox’s Neil Cavuto brought bazillionaire Donald Trump on to talk about the Democrats’ push to let Bush’s tax cuts for the rich expire. One guess as to what Don had to say. Was he for it or against it?
He was/is against it, of course. He’s Donald freakin’ Trump. But, Cavuto knows his viewers are so stupid he can put Donald freakin’ Trump on and they’ll think they’re watching a “fair and balanced” guest, because they’re watching “fair and balanced” Fox.
Pathetic.
Cheeseburger in a Can
This can’t be good:
Cheeseburger in a Can:
Nothing could be easier to prepare: Just heat the can in a water bath, open the lid, and enjoy your delicious cheeseburger! Never before has it been easier to prepare a burger in the wilderness within such a short time.
The cheeseburger, which is marketed under the Trek‘n Eat label, guarantees unrestricted enjoyment in the mountains and in other extreme environments. People in the wilderness who rely on the experience of an expedition food specialist such as Trek‘n Eat in preparing their meals have more of life: more enjoyment, less weight to carry, and more time for doing other things. The canned burger has a shelf life of twelve months without requiring refrigeration.
No way this burger can be very good but hey, you never know. Back in the day, when I did a lot of camping and hiking, the pre-packaged camp food was indescribably awful. One would hope things have improved considerably. It looks good in the picture anyway (don’t they all?).
Deep Drilling Condoms Here
Love this:
Buy your lubricated oil spill condoms here. Helps to prevent a messy cleanup; great for containing your gusher and protecting your junk shot! They’re great for deep drilling, and they’ll help to prevent a blow-out! Not only that, but a portion of the proceeds go to helping clean-up the Gulf.
Democrats: Do. This. Every. Day.
This is Rep. Anthony Weiner, (D-NY), blasting Republicans, and specifically Peter King (R-N)Y yesterday, “who voted against a bill to provide $7.4 billion in aid to 9/11 first responders who became sick after the attacks [can you imagine?]. They complained that Democrats opted to bypass voting on amendments, opting instead for a process that sped up the vote but required a two-thirds majority.
“Weiner blew a fuse on the House floor when he heard his GOP colleagues complaining about procedure yesterday. In a dramatic one-and-a-half minute speech, Weiner hollered that Republicans were being cowardly by opposing the bill based on procedure.”
DEMOCRATS: IN THE FACE OF REPUBLICAN OBSTRUCTIONISM, YOU SHOULD DO THIS EVERY DAY, ALL DAY, and I’VE NEVER BEEN MORE SERIOUS!!
Act the fuck up. Make some damn noise. Grow a pair!!!!!!
“Jersey Shore Season” Trending Worldwide
OMG. “Jersey Shore Season” is the third top trend — worldwide — on Twitter:
The world is dumbed down — or not. Is this happening because President Obama was asked about Snooki on The View today. Think about it Boner — you want it.
Read it and weep.
Tweet of the Day
There’s a fair amount of talk out there today about how hey, maybe the BP oil spill wasn’t as bad as we thought. What’s next?
I Thought Republicans LOVED Small Business Owners
Not today: Senate Republicans Block Bill Supporting Small Businesses.
Republicans Despise the Unemployed
Today must be “diss the unemployed” day amongst Republican congressional candidates:
– GOP House Candidate: Extending Unemployment Insurance Benefits is “European.“
Oregon state representative Scott Bruun, a Republican, who is running to unseat Rep. Kurt Schrader, a Democrat:
“When we’re talking up over close to two years and longer with jobless benefits, I think we really start talking about a European style system and all the problems that that sort of system brings if you try to bring that sort of system to the United States.”
“We need sort of a new game plan going forward, a new accountability. Shame on our government, if you will, if the government is in a position where we’re encouraging people to stay out of the workplace longer.”
Michele Rolllins, a Republican Congressional candidate in Delaware:
“For someone who hasn’t worked in two years” it’s “pretty hard to get energized to go back and look for a job. I know this is a bad market and a very bad time. But you just cannot keep paying people, cannot keep taxing us to pay people to do nothing, because they will continue to do nothing for a very long time.”
What in the world is the strategy here?
Image of the Day
In the Constellation Cassiopeia
Tycho’s Supernova, the red circle visible in the upper left part of the image, is SN 1572 is a remnant of a star explosion is named after the astronomer Tycho Brahe, although he was not the only person to observe and record the supernova. When the supernova first appeared in November 1572, it was as bright as Venus and could be seen in the daytime. Over the next two years, the supernova dimmed until it could no longer be seen with the naked eye. In the 1950s, the remnants of the supernova could be seen again with the help of telescopes.
When the star exploded, it sent out a blast wave into the surrounding material, scooping up interstellar dust and gas as it went, like a snow plow. An expanding shock wave traveled into the surroundings and a reverse shock was driven back in toward the remnants of the star. Previous observations by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope indicate that the nature of the light that WISE sees from the supernova remnant is emission from dust heated by the shock wave.
To the right is a star-forming nebula of dust and gas, called S175. This cloud of material is about 3,500 light-years away and 35 light-years across. It is heated by radiation from the young, hot stars within it, and the dust within the cloud radiates infrared light.
(Via.)
Worldwide Cluster Bomb Ban Takes Effect Saturday
A worldwide ban on cluster bombs takes effect on Saturday but “holdouts include Russia, Israel and the U.S.“
Makes ya proud to be an American, huh?
Stay Classy, BP
BP Hires Prison Labor to Clean Up Spill While Coastal Residents Struggle.
In the first few days after BP’s Deepwater Horizon wellhead exploded, spewing crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, cleanup workers could be seen on Louisiana beaches wearing scarlet pants and white t-shirts with the words “Inmate Labor” printed in large red block letters. Coastal residents, many of whom had just seen their livelihoods disappear, expressed outrage at community meetings; why should BP be using cheap or free prison labor when so many people were desperate for work? The outfits disappeared overnight.
Work crews in Grand Isle, Louisiana, still stand out. In a region where nine out of ten residents are white, the cleanup workers are almost exclusively African-American men. The racialized nature of the cleanup is so conspicuous that Ben Jealous, the president of the NAACP, sent a public letter to BP CEO Tony Hayward on July 9, demanding to know why black people were over-represented in “the most physically difficult, lowest paying jobs, with the most significant exposure to toxins.”
GM Gives American Taxpayers the Big Ol’ Finger
General Motors received billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded bailout money. So now, some of the ah, geniuses, who wrecked the company and sucked the life out of the economy, are rolling out a new ad for the 2011 Buick “Regal,” touting the fact that it was “honed in Germany.“
Unbelievable. How tone-deaf can one company be? The folks at The Onion couldn’t make this stuff up.
Random Quote of the Day
Overheard at a local restaurant at lunch today: “The liver is the only organ that regenerates so God must want us to drink.”
Okey dokey.
BP Asks Taxpayers to Pay the Bill for Their Disaster
BP’s Latest Outrage: $9.9 Billion Tax Break for Spill Damages:
When BP announced creation of a $20 billion fund to clean up the Gulf of Mexico and compensate gulf coast residents for damages caused by the Deepwater Horizon disaster, it seemed as if the company was serious about promises to “make things right” after the worst oil spill in history.
This week however, BP signaled that it expects American taxpayers to share its burden. The firm announced it will take advantage of U.S. tax laws and claim a $9.9 billion tax credit against the $32 billion it says it has lost because of the spill.
As White House press secretary Robert Gibbs noted on Tuesday, the 35 percent tax credit on business losses that BP plans to exploit is a longstanding part of the tax code.
Still, said Common Cause president Bob Edgar, “BP’s use of the provision is disappointing – another example of the cut-costs-whatever-the-consequences mentality that appears to have led to the spill.
“And the availability of such a tax break is a sad illustration of the rewards that powerful corporate interests reap from their investments in our political system,” Edgar added.
But Washington’s answer to mind-blowing inequity isn’t to go after the corporations and to change the tax laws that give them such unfathomable benefits, it’s to go after the wait staff at your local restaurant and to cut their minimum wage.
Did You Hear About The Largest Oil Spill The Midwest Has Ever Seen?
Possibly the largest oil spill ever in the Midwest is taking place as we speak but gosh golly gee, guess the media is tired of talking about oil spills:
Local, state and federal authorities have been streaming into this tiny hamlet in Calhoun county since Monday to respond to what may be the largest oil leak ever in the state of Michigan — and possibly in the entire Midwest — in an oil pipeline owned by Enbridge Energy of Canada.
As in the early days of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, estimates of the amount of oil released vary, with the company claiming a lower number than the government.
Patrick Daniels, president and CEO of Enbridge, says 19,000 barrels, or about 789,000 gallons, of oil was released. But Rep. Mark Schauer (D-Bedford Township) says the Environmental Protection Agency estimates just under one million gallons of crude oil was sent spewing into Talmadge Creek and then into the Kalamazoo River.
How the “Vast Right Wing Conspiracy” Works
Obama went to New York today to tape an appearance on The View. The show will air tomorrow. Fast forward to tomorrow night and Elizabeth Hasslebeck, one of the View’s co-hosts, will be on Hannity to criticize what Obama said.
It’s a Lie That The Oil in the Gulf Has Magically Disappeared
Read Mac McClelland’s rant from this morning. She’s been in the Gulf for at least a month now and she knows what’s she’s talking about — the oil hasn’t gone away folks.
My favorite part:
I sent one text message to Bloomberg’s Lizzie O’Leary, who’s standing on Grand Isle, Louisiana, right now, asking how the beach looks. “Lower part past the barrier untouched with globs of oil that washed up last night,” she said. By “untouched,” she means by cleanup crews, and that “barrier” she’s talking about is the one the press isn’t allowed past. I sent another text to Drew Wheelan, who’s also in Southwestern Louisiana, doing bird surveys for the American Birding Association, asking him how big the biggest tar mat on Grand Terre—the scene of those now famous horrifying oiled-bird photos is. “20 feet by 15,” he said. “But bigger ones submerged slightly.”
If I managed to find that much oil with my BlackBerry without getting dressed or leaving the house, let’s hope Thad Allen, who is quoted in the article as saying, “What we’re trying to figure out is where is all the oil at and what can we do about it,” can locate some more with the staff and craft of the United States Coast Guard at his disposal. As for the reporter’s alarmingly unsubstantiated claim that “The beaches should be relatively painless to mop up,” I can’t even count the number of correspondents down here who’ve pointed out that digging a finger under the surface of supposedly clean sand turns up crude, or the number of cleanup workers who’ve said cleanup efforts are strictly cosmetic, or that no matter what they do the contamination just keeps bubbling up.
It’s BP’s job to whitewash this story and make it easier to indulge the desire to forget about the scope of the devastation, guys. Not the media’s.
Get Your @Reagan.com Email Address Today!
I think this is sad. A son exploiting his father to no end:
The United States Congress: A Wholly Owned Subsidiary
Democrats are fools not to pass the Disclose Act because without it, Americans will be subject to advertisements, robocalls and pamphlets pushing candidates who are essentially owned by corporations. There will be no requirement that we be told that the packet we get in the mail touting Joe Blow as a senator was paid for by oh, say, Aetna.
Five of the nation’s largest health insurers are in serious discussions about creating a new nonprofit group and bankrolling it to the tune of about $20 million to influence tight congressional races and boost the image of their industry.
Aetna Inc., Cigna Corp., Humana Inc., United HealthCare Inc. and WellPoint Inc. are weighing the new drive in part to shape the government regulations that will implement this year’s sweeping new health care legislation. Two lobbying sources familiar with talks underway by high-level insurance executives say that a decision to go forward with such an effort is likely to be made by at least four of the insurers—and possibly Cigna – in coming weeks.
The two sources tell the Center for Public Integrity they expect millions of dollars will be pumped into issue advertising in a number of races where candidates sympathetic to health industry concerns have a shot at winning.
“The objective is to make the House more accommodating to concerns that have been raised,” says one industry source. “They’re looking at toss-up candidates,” adding that the companies want to “focus resources to influence campaigns.”
Snooki!
Snooki, the dingbat from the Jersey Shore who, sadly, is one of the most famous people in the United States right now, rang the opening bell at the NASDAQ this morning.
There can be no clearer indication that celebrity = credibility.
That said, I have a friend who spent 30 years educating people about the cost of war.
25-years-ago my brother Eric rode his bicycle from Colorado to California (and back) to bring attention to the need for a sane energy policy.
The corporate media ignores the real heroes — the people who spend their lives in the trenches — and they make us believe that “Snooki” is ah, interesting.
She isn’t.
There are incredible people out there — you know them — who we never, ever hear about.
Humans Will Be Extinct in 100 Years
Sometimes I wonder what people are thinking these days when they decide to have a baby. Australian Professor Frank Fenner thinks the human race could be extinct in 100 years. Whether it is or not, no doubt there are extremely rough times ahead given over-population, water shortages, food shortages and climate change.
As the scientist who helped eradicate smallpox he certainly know a thing or two about extinction.
And now Professor Frank Fenner, emeritus professor of microbiology at the Australian National University, has predicted that the human race will be extinct within the next 100 years.
He has claimed that the human race will be unable to survive a population explosion and ‘unbridled consumption.’
Fenner told The Australian newspaper that ‘homo sapiens will become extinct, perhaps within 100 years.’
‘A lot of other animals will, too,’ he added.
‘It’s an irreversible situation. I think it’s too late. I try not to express that because people are trying to do something, but they keep putting it off.’
