Sean Hannity, speaking with former Bush adviser Nicolle Wallace, made an absurdly ridiculous claim, which, of course, was not refuted by Wallace, nor anyone else at Fox News.

HANNITY: George Bush who you worked for did not play golf while this country was at war. He didn’t want the families of loved ones serving, well, that they may have lost the loved ones seeing him on a golf course.

WALLACE: Yes, I mean…

HANNITY: He seemed to be far more in touch.

Remember, “We must stop the terror. I call upon all nations to do everything they can to stop these terrorist killers. Thank you. Now watch this drive.” and all the time spent in Crawford?

It’s been suggested that it wasn’t the war that made Bush cut down on his golfing, but rather doctor’s orders. Of course, two months after Bush said he quit playing golf (2003) he spent Columbus Day playing with “three long-time buddies” and also attended a golf fundraiser for John McCain in 2008. Condoleezza Rice; however, didn’t give up her game – where was Hannity to call her out-of-touch in 2008?

Original Story

Brian Kilmeade of Fox & Friends made the following factually-challenged statement regarding economic growth and unemployment, both things he spun in George W. Bush’s favor…

KILMEADE: I did not think the President was going to do this. He said, let’s just remember what I got when I walked in the door. What I had is after eight years of tax cuts, unfunded prescription drug plans and two wars without financing, I found myself in a mountain of debt essentially. But what he also found was 50 plus months of economic growth going into that. He also found between 5 and 7 percent unemployment. President Bush had it under 5 percent during those times.

Reality called and left a message – economic growth and employment were both going down before Obama took office. Additionally, unemployment was at 7.7 in Jan ’09, not between 5 and 7 percent.

Economic Growth:

Unemployment:

Original Story

As reported yesterday, Sarah Palin will join Fox News Channel as a contributor. The news, today, is that the decision to use her to further polarize politics was intentional. Fox News Vice President of Programming, Bill Shine, has previously stated that Fox was the “voice of the opposition” to the Obama administration, and now admits that her “controversial”  statements are “probably going to help” them, and “[t]hat’s what people will want to watch.”

SHINE: With her hiring, Fox News gets a high-profile figure whose pronouncements on issues such as healthcare reform have helped drive contentious partisan debate — it was her Facebook post that first raised the term “death panels.”

“She is one of the most talked about and politically polarizing figures in the country,” said Bill Shine, the network’s executive vice president of programming. “First off, we hope she brings that.”

The VP of Programming has clearly dismissed responsibility and accuracy in reporting as long as their viewership is increased. By stating that he was “not concerned that Palin would make false assertions,” but rather welcoming the controversy, the “zero tolerance for on-screen errors” policy is, obviously, another Fox News lie.

According to PolitiFact.com, the following statements made by Palin have earned a “False” or “Pants on Fire” status – This is the kind of accuracy Fox News viewers should expect:

• Seniors and the disabled “will have to stand in front of Obama’s ‘death panel’ so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their ‘level of productivity in society,’ whether they are worthy of health care.” (Pants on Fire)
• Obama would “experiment with socialism.” (Pants on Fire)
• “The truth was revealed there in that report that showed there was no unlawful or unethical activity on my part.” (Pants on Fire)
• “Ronald Reagan faced an even worse recession” than the current one. (False)
• The McCain campaign “did not elaborate” on Obama’s ties to ACORN. (False)
• Says she couldn’t take stimulus money because it required “universal building codes.” (False)
• A provision in the health care reform bill for end-of-life counseling for seniors is not “entirely voluntary.” (False)
• Palin said stimulus money for weatherization required “universal energy building codes for Alaska, kind of a one-size-fits-all building code that isn’t going to work up there in Alaska.” (False)
• “We’re building a nearly $40-billion natural gas pipeline, which is North America’s largest and most expensive infrastructure project ever.” (False)
• “If an Iranian woman shows too much hair in public, she risks being beaten or killed.” (False)

Original Story

Fox News contributor Monica Crowley was a guest on The O’Reilly Factor, during which she stated, “[a]fter 9-11, President Bush and Vice President Cheney had a 100 percent perfect track record in keeping the homeland safe from an Islamic terrorist attack.”

The problem with that statement can be explained by the following incidents that took place after the events on 9/11.

2002 attack against El Al ticket counter at LAX. In July 2002, Hesham Mohamed Hadayet opened fire at an El Al Airlines ticket counter at Los Angeles International Airport, killing two people and wounding four others before being shot dead. A 2004 Justice Department report stated that Hadayet’s case had been “officially designated as an act of international terrorism.”

2006 UNC SUV attack. In March 2006, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill graduate Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar drove an SUV into an area of campus, striking nine pedestrians. According to reports, Taheri-azar said he acted because he wanted to “avenge the deaths or murders of Muslims around the world.” Taheri-azar also reportedly stated in a letter: “I was aiming to follow in the footsteps of one of my role models, Mohammad Atta, one of the 9/11/01 hijackers, who obtained a doctorate degree.”

2001 shoe bomber attempted attack. In June 2008, then-Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff described Reid’s December 2001 attempt “to blow up a trans-Atlantic plane with a shoe bomb” as an attempt to “carry out terrorist operations for Al-Qaeda.”

Of course, Crowley failed to mention the number of terrorist-related deaths in the U.S. that occurred in each President’s first year in office – Bush: 3000+/- on 9/11, Obama: 14 (1 in Little Rock, 13 at Fort Hood).

Original Story

Media Matters for America named Glenn Beck 2009′s Misinformer of the Year. Beck didn’t take too kindly to that title, so Media Matters has provided Glenn Beck with his own phone line to dispute the fact checking…

You can view the letter sent to Beck here. It includes the following list of falsehoods made by Beck over the last year:

• Beck falsely claimed “[o]nly 3 percent” of stimulus plan would be “spent in the next 12 months.”
• Beck aired false claim that a union only needs 30 percent support from employees to be “established.”
• Beck falsely claimed average UAW worker makes $154 per hour.
• Beck falsely asserted that U.S. does not fingerprint foreign visitors or collect rapists’ DNA.
• Beck falsely claimed Iowa marriage ruling “is actually about going into churches.”
• Beck echoes tired falsehood that ACORN received stimulus funds.
• Beck falsely claimed $1.4 million in stimulus spent on doors, which actually cost $246,100 to repair.
• Beck falsely claimed Obama said he doesn’t want health reform protesters to “do a lot of talking.”
• Beck reports fake murder story from ACORN video as fact.
• Beck, falsely claimed IPCC’s Latif has “pulled the rug out” from under climate change consensus.
• Beck falsely claimed Anita Dunn “worships” “her hero” Mao Zedong.
• Beck falsely accused Reid of lying about support for public option.
• Beck falsely claimed that under the Senate health care bill, “You don’t get a single benefit until 2014.”
• Reviving “born alive” falsehood, Beck claims Obama suggested it’s OK to “put a spike in the baby’s head.”
• Beck falsely claims no jobs are being “saved or created.”
• Beck falsely claimed Robert Creamer “stole” $2 million from banks.
• Beck led charge advancing “Lie of the Year” contender that Holdren supported forced abortions and sterilizations.

It’s been confirmed that Senator Al Franken (D-MN) was, in fact, instructed to enforce a rule that limits speeches to ten minutes. That didn’t stop Bill O’Reilly from spreading misinformation about Franken’s denial of Sen. Joe Lieberman’s (I-CT) request to continue speaking past the 10 minute mark.

O’REILLY: Franken, who was in a rotation presiding over the Senate, objected to Lieberman continuing his remarks in a stunning display of disrespect.

[...]

O’REILLY: But many others did take it personally, including John McCain.

McCAIN [clip]: I’ve been around here 20-some years. First time I’ve ever seen a member denied an extra minute or two to finish his remarks.

It was claimed that Franken’s enforcement of the rule was “disrespectful” and “unprecedented.” He also allowed Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) to claim that Franken was “[a]bsolutely not” telling the truth in regards to the instructions that Franken was following.

O’REILLY: Is Franken telling the truth?

DeMINT: Absolutely not. I can’t believe he’s throwing Harry Reid under the bus.

However, both Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Lieberman himself have confirmed that Franken was following instructions.

Additionally, Senator John McCain, who claimed that it was “unprecedented” actually imposed a similar limit in the past.

Original Story

Glenn Beck has repeatedly called progressive activist Robert Creamer an “unrepentant convicted felon,” but Beck conveniently ignores the facts and his own previous statement that make this assertion false.

BECK: But first I want to show you the latest video clip from Robert Creamer – thanks Kyle Olson and Andrew Breitbart from BigGovernment.com. They sent this in to us. He is the unrepentant convicted felon who wrote a book while in prison on how to achieve progressive goals.

[...]

BECK: Wow. Let that marinate for a second here, America. An unrepentant convicted felon is trying to help out for the fundamental transformation that Obama will bring home. Fundamental transformation – I know I have heard that someplace before. Where, where?

Robert Creamer has stated that his actions (federal bank fraud and tax charges) were “serious errors in judgement,” he was “foolish” and he pleaded “guilty.” Not only that, but he paid back the money he owed to the IRS. Also worth noting is Beck’s own admittance on December 8 that Creamer apologized.

BECK: Creamer apologized for his conduct, but claimed just to be overzealous while working for a good cause.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first smear – Beck has also compared Creamer to Bernie Madoff and a sexual predator. Beck also invented a conspiracy theory that the security breach at the November 24 White House State Dinner was intended to divert attention from Creamer.

Original Story

It’s been pointed out numerous times that Glenn Beck’s statement(s) about Van Jones being a “convicted felon” were false. It’s taken four months, but Glenn Beck has finally admitted that he was wrong – that Van Jones IS NOT a convicted felon as Beck previously stated – thus proving that Beck is a shoot first, research later and admit fault much much much later (if at a all) type of commentator.

Fox & Friends used a Rasmussen poll to show how people feel about scientists falsifying research to support Global Warming. Fox News then took the poll results, did some manipulation, and displayed the results… totaling 120%.

Apparently, the actual poll results were as follows: According to the poll, 35 percent thought it very likely, 24 percent somewhat likely, 21 percent not very likely, and 5 percent not likely at all (15 percent weren’t sure).

Fox News added the “very likely” and “somewhat likely” figures together, which total 59% and retained the “somewhat likely” label. They then included the 35% “very likely” in their graphic in addition to the new “somewhat likely” votes. The result shows a total of 120% and that doesn’t include the 15% who weren’t sure…

Original Story

When President Obama spoke at West Point about sending more troops to Afghanistan, there were several instances where he mentioned success. However, Fox & Friends would have you believe he didn’t:

DOOCY: Interestingly enough, of the 4,581 words in his speech, one word was missing. That word was “win.”

Similarly, The Fox Nation web site states that there was no mention of “victory.” Here’s a screenshot:

Here are a few examples from Obama’s speech that prove Steve Doocy and The Fox Nation wrong:

OBAMA: Good evening. To the United States Corps of Cadets, to the men and women of our Armed Services, and to my fellow Americans: I want to speak to you tonight about our effort in Afghanistan — the nature of our commitment there, the scope of our interests, and the strategy that my administration will pursue to bring this war to a successful conclusion. It’s an extraordinary honor for me to do so here at West Point — where so many men and women have prepared to stand up for our security, and to represent what is finest about our country.

[...]

OBAMA: Because this is an international effort, I’ve asked that our commitment be joined by contributions from our allies. Some have already provided additional troops, and we’re confident that there will be further contributions in the days and weeks ahead. Our friends have fought and bled and died alongside us in Afghanistan. And now, we must come together to end this war successfully. For what’s at stake is not simply a test of NATO’s credibility — what’s at stake is the security of our allies, and the common security of the world.

[...]

OBAMA: Third, we will act with the full recognition that our success in Afghanistan is inextricably linked to our partnership with Pakistan.

Obviously Fox News is playing a petty game of semantics. In the future, perhaps, the President and his speech writers should try and figure out what word Fox News will try to use against him and then whip out the ol’ thesaurus (i.e. Win – v.: finish first, succeed, achieve, be first, be victorious, beat, carry the day, come in first, conquer, edge, finish in front, finish off, gain, gain victory, overcome, overwhelm, prevail, run circles around, shut out, sink, take the prize, triumph, upset, walk away with, walk off with).

Or not… A better idea would be to send a thesaurus to Fox News so they can look up synonyms for “win,” or “victory,” and not keep making the same idiotic mistakes, like they did with Obama’s stance on terrorism.

Original Story

White House Press Secretary under George W. Bush and current Fox News contributor Dana Perino needs a history lesson on 9/11. While trying to classify the Ft. Hood shooting as a terrorist attack, Perino makes the crazy assertion that “we did not have a terrorist attack on our country during President Bush’s term.”

With the new “zero tolerance” policy for errors, Sean Hannity surely corrected Perino, right? Wrong.

PERINO: And we had a terrorist attack on our country. And we should call it what it is. Because we need to face up to it so that we can prevent it from happening again.

HANNITY: I agree with you. And why won’t they say what you just so simply said?

PERINO: They want to do all of their investigations. I don’t know. All of the thinking that goes into it. But we did not have a terrorist attack on our country during President Bush’s term. I hope they’re not looking at this politically. I do think we ought it to the American people to call it what it is.

While discussing Al Gore’s book, An Inconvenient Truth, with British filmmaker and climate change skeptic Phelim McAleer, the following inaccurate exchange took place:

HANNITY: Well, [Gore's] claiming that this court decision actually, you know, favored his point of view, that is absolutely false.

MCALEER: That is false.

HANNITY: Explain.

MCALEER: Well, the court case, it was a lengthy hearing, maybe a month of hearings, there was nine aspects of An Inconvenient Truth they looked at and they found nine significant errors or exaggerations.

Hannity’s “absolutely false” claim, obviously meaning that the court did not favor Gore’s point of view whatsoever, is incorrect. Justice Michael Burton, actually stated that it is substantially founded upon scientific research and fact.” And:

I have no doubt that Dr Stott, the Defendant’s expert, is right when he says that: “Al Gore’s presentation of the causes and likely effects of climate change in the film was broadly accurate.”

Original Story

It’s getting cliche to say another day, another Fox News “mistake,” but that’s what Fox News is claiming now that they’ve been caught, yet again, using old footage from past events in stories run for current events.

Just recently Jon Stewart aired part of a Sean Hannity report about the Bachmann rally in which FNC used footage from the 9/12 protest in Washington DC that helped them portray the event as having a larger attendance than it really did. Now, Fox News has been caught using year old election footage in a story about Sarah Palin’s book signing when Fox News host Gregg Jarrett stated that Palin is “continuing to draw huge crowds while she’s promoting her brand new book. Take a look at — these are some of the pictures just coming into us.”

Fox News claims that this is a “production error” and that “serious discipline action” will be taken. It’s rare that anyone at FNC will admit to any wrongdoing, but this is the second time in about a week that the same “mistake” has occurred. Keep in mind that Fox has gone to court to protect their right to lie. So, the chances that this was a mistake and that they even care are probably equal – slim to none.

Crooks and Liars’ John Amato is filing an FCC complaint against Fox News for its misleading segment. You, too, can contact the FCC.

Original Story

Update: A “production error” was made and the wrong video was used in this post. This has been corrected and “serious discipline action” will be taken – I’ll slap my own wrist. Thank you, I’ll be here all week…

Read More

Showing that the misinformation we’re used to seeing from Fox News starts at the top, Media Matters for America has put together the following list showing recent falsehoods from News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch.

• falsely characterized Sean Hannity as being an “academic”;

• falsely characterized Glenn Beck as being “purely Libertarian”;

• falsely claimed nobody on Fox News had ever compared Obama to Stalin (i.e. “No, no, no, not Stalin”);

• falsely suggested Fox News’ ratings shot up after its public dispute with the Obama administration began last month;

• falsely claimed that administration officials agree that Fox News has been “absolutely fair” in its White House reporting;

• falsely claimed the White House just doesn’t like “two of our [Fox News] commentators”;

• falsely claimed Fox News’ television competitors “only have Democrats” on to debate the issues;

• falsely claimed Obama had made a “very racist comment”; and

• falsely implied that The O’Reilly Factor, Your World With Neil Cavuto, and Fox & Friends, among others, are not “commentary” shows.

The Daily Show host Jon Stewart slams Sean Hannity for trying to dupe his viewers by showing footage of the crowds from the 9/12 Project event in Washington DC and saying it was from Rep. Michele Bachmann’s (R-MN) anti-health care reform protest. First, 9/12 supporters use attendance numbers from Obama’s Inauguration to inflate their own attendance, and now they’re using the actual 9/12 footage to inflate the numbers of the latest event.

Update: Sean Hannity has apologized. Did I just see something porcine go past my window?

HANNITY: Now on his program last night he mentioned that we had played some incorrect video on this program last week while talking about the Republican health care rally on Capitol Hill. He was correct. We screwed up. We aired some video of a rally in September, along with the video from the actual event. It was an inadvertent mistake, but a mistake nonetheless. So Mr. Stewart, you were right. We apologize. But by the way, I wanna thank you and all your writers for watching.

Translation: We inadvertently got caught.

Notice how he only apologized to Stewart? Where is the apology to his viewers? Perhaps his fans don’t expect one, because he is simply mirroring their own preconceived notions, right or wrong.