Trying to refute his guest's argument that "more guns equal less crime," CNN's Piers Morgan fell flat on his face on his Tuesday night show. When guest A.W.R. Hawkins cited Virginia as an example where violent crime fell in 2012 as gun sales increased, Morgan answered that "It's Virginia, the very state you just quoted to me actually has the highest murder rate in the country. According to 2009 statistics by the FBI." Morgan's assertion was entirely false, according to the FBI's 2009 report on crime. [Video below. Audio here .] The FBI's 2009 Crime In the United States report... continue reading
On Tuesday's PoliticsNation on MSNBC, host Al Sharpton griped about Bill O'Reilly labeling some welfare recipients as "parasites" as the FNC host complained about President Obama making it easier for people to take unfair advantage of the system. Without informing viewers that the FNC host was referring to a California beach bum who seemed disinterested in getting off welfare when he used the word "parasites," Sharpton whined about O'Reilly waging an "ugly war on food stamps," and "attacking the poor" in a "rant about people on food stamps." Sharpton began the segment: "Bill O'Reilly has gone back to one of... continue reading
Leading off Saturday's NBC Nightly News , fill-in anchor Kate Snow declared: "Healthy choices? Big challenges ahead for when the new health care law takes effect. Will you have to change your doctor?" However, in the report that followed, not one word was mentioned of President Obama's repeated promise that people would be able to keep their own doctor under the new law. [ Listen to the audio ] Introducing the segment, Snow reiterated: "When the Affordable Health Care Act goes into effect on October 1, a lot of Americans around retirement age will have some challenging choices to make... continue reading
While NBC's senior investigative correspondent Lisa Myers did a full report on Tuesday's Nightly News about ObamaCare causing cutbacks in worker hours across the country, Wednesday's Today couldn't find time to even mention the damage the law was inflicting. Instead, the morning show updated viewers on a rodeo clown that mocked President Obama at a state fair finally facing justice. [ Listen to the audio ] News reader Natalie Morales announced: "The rodeo clown who wore a President Obama mask during a performance at the Missouri State Fair has been banned for life. Fair officials say they're also reviewing their... continue reading
CBS This Morning and NBC's Today couldn't be bothered to give Jesse Jackson, Jr.'s political affiliation as they devoted just 35 seconds of air time on Wednesday to his upcoming sentencing. Both morning newscasts merely identified the onetime Democratic politician as a former congressman. The same morning, ABC's Good Morning America completely ignored the story about Jackson, who pled guilty in February 2013 to misusing campaign funds to buy big ticket items , such as a $43,000 Rolex watch, and Michael Jackson memorabilia. NBC news anchor Natalie Morales reported during her 18-second news brief on Today that the former representative... continue reading
CNN has yet to report another significant setback to Ob amaCare. The limits on out-of-pocket healthcare spending have been delayed a year but CNN has not mentioned the news. As the New York Times reported , "under a little-noticed federal ruling, feder al offici als have granted a one-year grace period to some insurers" before a "limit on out-of-pocket costs" kicks in. The result could be that insurers "set higher limits, or no limit at all on some costs, in 2014." Forbes contributor Avik Roy wrote that "According to the law, the limits on out-of-pocket costs for 2014 were $6,350... continue reading
Appearing as a guest on Monday's The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC, Washington Post political reporter Nia-Malika Henderson voiced agreement with comments by Hillary Clinton that a voting bill recently passed by the state legislature in North Carolina is "the greatest hits of voter suppression." Henderson: So I think Clinton is right. Clinton was giving a speech on voter suppression just as this bill was being signed into law. She called it the greatest hits of voter suppression. It's so vast and broad. And it really covers so many different types of people, students, African-Americans as well. The... continue reading
On Monday's All In show on MSNBC, host Chris Hayes fretted that "climate denialism" by the Republican party's "right-wing base" is preventing "meaningful climate policy" from being enacted. After showing clips of California Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher at a Tea Party event mocking global warming alarmists, Hayes described the conservative gathering as "the future of the earth in peril," and "the belly of the beast." Hayes: But the fear of a Tea Party primary challenge is endemic in the Republican party right now. And it's making meaningful climate policy, among other things, completely unachievable in Washington. So what you're seeing... continue reading
John Blackstone promoted Hillary Clinton's potential 2016 presidential run on Tuesday's CBS This Morning , and minimized the ongoing questions about her leadership before, during, and after the September 11, 2012 Islamist attack on the U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya. For opposition, Blackstone merely noted that " a new ad, just released by the GOP, criticizes Clinton's handling of the terrorist attack in Benghazi ", without further explaining the issue. The correspondent also buried the staunchly pro-abortion and partisan stance of Emily's List. He vaguely labeled the pro-Democratic PAC a " group that promotes women candidates ." Blackstone led his... continue reading
Appearing as a guest on Friday's PoliticsNation , Washington Post political reporter Nia-Malika Henderson declared that President Obama had "framed it very nicely" when he asserted that Republicans "want to shut down the government so that they can deny 30 million people health care." Henderson: This sort of brinkmanship, the public does not like. And this idea I think that Obama framed it very nicely today when he said that they want to shut down the government so that they can deny 30 million people health care. I thought it was a really nice framing and sets the Republicans up... continue reading