Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) appeared on CBS Face the Nation on Sunday morning and was met with a barrage of questions from host Bob Schieffer about his involvement in the government shutdown. Apart from being the victim of Schieffer’s accusations that the Tea Party senator was to blame for the shutdown, it also appears that Mr. Cruz was the victim of editing by CBS. Based on video from Senator Cruz’s YouTube page and what aired on Sunday’s Face the Nation broadcast, the senator’s comments surrounding President Obama’s “abuse of power” were edited from the program. Instead what aired was a... continue reading
On Thursday's Daily Show , comedian Jon Stewart – who is worth an estimated $80 million – mocked the irony of wealthy business leaders discussing income inequality at the recent World Economic Forum. "Alright so a group of world's wealthiest people get together in a secluded mountain enclave to discuss concerns over income inequality. Hmm," Stewart remarked. Perhaps Stewart missed the irony that he is TV's highest-paid host , according to Variety magazine, who is lecturing others about income inequality. Two weeks ago, he spent 9 minutes lampooning conservatives and Republicans on the issue. [Audio here .] Back on January... continue reading
In an exclusive report Thursday on al Qaeda's resurgence in Iraq, ABC's Martha Raddatz ignored President Obama's boast in 2012 that "al Qaeda is on the path to defeat." Raddatz's story aired on Thursday's ABC World News . In fact, the name "Obama" never came up in the story on Iraq falling apart. President Obama made his claim at the Democratic National Convention during the height of his re-election campaign. Raddatz's story painted a very different picture of al Qaeda, however, as anchor David Muir introduced it: "America's biggest enemy making its return tonight. And where? Iraq." "Now, with U.S... continue reading
For the second straight evening, NBC stuck with Chris Christie's "Bridge-gate" on Thursday as CBS and NBC haven't mentioned the story since Tuesday. And NBC's Nightly News tacked on a story about a dilapidated Trenton high school and connected its disrepair to Governor Christie. "For his part, Governor Christie tonight is responding to an issue that's been festering for years, right there in the shadow of New Jersey's state house," anchor Brian Williams noted of the school. Nowhere did NBC even wonder about the negligence of the city's Democratic Mayor Tony Mack, who currently is on trial for federal charges... continue reading
Carol Costello predictably carried water for the cultural left on Friday's CNN Newsroom during a segment about the firestorm over former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee's "Uncle Sugar" attack on Democrats. Costello trumpeted how " Democrats are quite gleeful " over Huckabee's remarks, and bemoaned conservatives' opposition to ObamaCare's contraception mandate: " I just can't believe we're still talking about birth control in 2014. It's just weird to me ." The anchor also glossed over the religious liberty component to the debate, and suggested that the GOP/conservatives should just drop the issue: [MP3 audio available here ; video below ] CAROL... continue reading
Appearing on the Wednesday, January 22, The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell , MSNBC.com Executive Editor Richard Wolffe asserted that Tea Partiers want someone to "be annoying and inflammatory" in responding to President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address as the group discussed the news that Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee will give a Tea Party response to the President. He also mocked Tea Partiers as "looking for a face, any face that can sound reasonable." The exchange began as MSNBC host O'Donnell posed: "Richard, I think the Senate would be surprised to learn that Mike Lee has been... continue reading
Chris Matthews played his favorite type of game on Thursday, using the comments of one Republican to generalize the entire conservative movement. This time, the Hardball host pounced on remarks by Mike Huckabee regarding the so-called "war on women." The former Republican presidential candidate said that Democrats "insult" women by suggesting that they are "helpless without Uncle Sugar coming in" to provide " prescription each month for birth control." From this, Matthews sneered, "And given that, what is it in the Republican DNA that makes them talk as if they've never talked with women?" He added, "Why do they speak... continue reading
While NBC and the rest of the media slammed Mitt Romney in 2012 for daring to voice security concerns about the London Olympics, Friday's Today show welcomed the former Republican nominee with open arms as a suddenly respected Olympic expert and urged him to scrutinize the safety of the upcoming winter games in Sochi, Russia. [ Listen to the audio ] NBC's stunning turnaround just happened to coincide with Romney no longer being a political threat to President Obama. After Romney mentioned security problems in London during an interview with Nightly News anchor Brian Williams in July of 2012, White... continue reading
The journalists at CBS This Morning on Friday appeared excited over the legalization of marijuana in Colorado, hyping the "cannabis capitalism" in the state and a new "pot tour" business that has sprouted up. Showing little skepticism, reporter Barry Petersen offered a light-hearted take: " Appropriately enough, the pot tour ends at a sub shop where Acapulco gold is a sandwich and they're ready to help with those marijuana munchies." [MP3 audio here .] Petersen narrated, "Call it cannabis capitalism, the latest leaf to sprout from legalized marijuana. Michael Eymer's pot tours costs $240 bucks a person." The journalist offered... continue reading
On the Thursday, January 23, PoliticsNation on MSNBC, host Al Sharpton characterized voter ID laws as a "poll tax" as he celebrated the 50th anniversary of the abolition of poll taxes with the 24th Amendment's passage. Even while acknowledging that the IDs are generally issued by states for free, Sharpton cited Attorney General Eric Holder and Georgia Democratic Rep. John Lewis in complaining that simply having to travel to obtain the free ID amounts to a tax. Sharpton began: Finally tonight, a milestone in the fight for justice. Today marks the 50th anniversary of the 24th Amendment to the U.S... continue reading