Friday's All In with Chris Hayes exhibited host Hayes's latest example of fuzzy logic as he argued that paying people unemployment benefits, rather than encouraging them to go longer without taking a new job, actually encourages them to "get back to work." After applying loaded words and phrases like "unconscionably" and "screwing over millions of people" to Republican opposition to unemployment benefit extension, the MSNBC host played a clip of Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul arguing that unemployment benefits encourage people to remain unemployed longer, and then responded: Paul is, not to put too fine a point on it, full... continue reading
An illegal immigrant can now practice law in California, and CNN marginalized the controversy on Friday's New Day by giving new lawyer Sergio Garcia a soft interview with little voice from his critics. After reporting that the state's supreme court ruled in Garcia's favor, co-host John Berman congratulated Garcia and asked him to share "what this decision means to you, personally." CNN prodded him to expound on the importance of his victory. "[G]iven all the obstacles that you faced since coming to the U.S., getting your visa and being able to practice law after getting your degree here, why was... continue reading
Friday's CBS This Morning hyped the California Supreme Court's decision to allow the Golden State to issue law license to illegal immigrants. Substitute anchor Anthony Mason touted the " historic ruling that could give millions of undocumented workers new freedom ." Norah O'Donnell trumpeted how " supporters of undocumented immigrants are praising an unprecedented ruling ." O'Donnell later underlined "the decision that could... open new doors for millions ." John Blackstone featured two soundbites from the new lawyer – Sergio Garcia – whose parents "brought him here illegally from Mexico when he was 17 months old," but none from opponents... continue reading
MSNBC anchor Ed Schultz, who has previously frothed over "bastard," "slut," "dirthole " conservatives, on Thursday attacked Jake Tapper for offering a mild critique of liberal New York Mayor Bill de Blasio's inauguration. During the ceremony, speaker after speaker slammed the outgoing Michael Bloomberg, comparing the city under his tenure to a " plantation ." On his CNN program, Tapper pointed out that political leaders often use inaugurations to "reach out to critics, to reach out to those who maybe didn't vote for him. This was not that." This innocuous statement caused Schultz to mock, " If Jake Tapper thinks... continue reading
In a taped interview with former Maryland Republican Governor Bob Ehrlich aired on Friday's MSNBC Daily Rundown , host Chuck Todd scolded the GOP for supposedly not making "any progress" in reaching out to minorities and women since the 2012 election, citing the party's defeat in the 2013 Virginia governor's race: "You lost because the Democrats were able to essentially win social issues – used social issues as a wedge." [ Listen to the audio ] Ehrlich hit back: "But that's a euphemism, let's just call it what it is. It was scaring young women." Todd dismissed the accusation: "What... continue reading
Of the three major networks, only NBC ignored a major new study with a dire warning about ObamaCare: The President's health care law will likely make things worse in emergency rooms, not better. CBS investigated the story on Thursday's Evening News and Friday's This Morning . ABC allowed a mere 20 seconds on Good Morning America , but still beat NBC's silence. On Evening News , Sharyl Attkisson revealed, "Despite hopes that expanding Medicaid would decrease expensive and unnecessary hospital visits because the poor would have access to doctors and preventative care, today's study finds the opposite." Attkisson featured MIT... continue reading
As Colorado stores began legally selling marijuana to customers on Wednesday, CNN hyped the opening as "history being made" and an "amazing experience to be a part of and to witness." "[H]istory being made there in Colorado," noted New Day co-host Michaela Pereira on Thursday. Anchor Ashleigh Banfield excitedly reported that "some people have waited a lifetime and others have waited in line for hours in the cold just for a chance to legally buy some weed just to smoke for fun." [Video below the break. Audio here .] Correspondent Casey Wian hailed the "amazing" moment on Thursday morning: "Fredricka... continue reading
CBS stood out as the only Big Three network to devote full coverage to Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor's Tuesday night stay of the federal government's birth control/abortifacient mandate under ObamaCare. As of Thursday morning, CBS This Morning and CBS Evening News devoted three full reports and a news brief to the ruling against the controversial regulation. By contrast, NBC's morning and evening newscasts have only aired one news brief on Sotomayor's decision, and mentioned it in passing in two other reports on the Affordable Care Act. ABC has yet to report on the development on either Good Morning America... continue reading
On Monday's The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell , MSNBC's Richard Wolffe mocked NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre for asserting a year ago that "the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," by using the example of Antoinette Tuff, who last August heroically talked a gunman in a school into surrendering. Wolffe treated one exceptional and unlikely case as if it proved LaPierre wrong as he awarded Tuff the show's "person of the year" award. Wolffe: No, really, because when the NRA says the only thing that can stop... continue reading
Former Today co-hosts Bryant Gumbel and Jane Pauley shared in the NBC anchoring duties on Monday’s Today, and Gumbel naturally returned to Republican-bashing form. In a 7:30 am segment on the top news stories of 2013 as rated by users at Culturalist.com, when the government shutdown came up, Gumbel argued it’s a “false equivalency” to blame both parties for the shutdown when all the blame should be on Republicans: LAUER: At number five, the federal government shutdown. I think that was on most of our lists as well. GUMBEL: Yeah, but I called it the GOP shutdown. LAUER: I know... continue reading