On Tuesday's Piers Morgan Live , CNN's Christiane Amanpour claimed that states with strict gun laws have "lower gun crime" and argued for more gun control. By citing "states" she ignored cities like Chicago, which has strict gun laws along with alarming homicide numbers. " The fact of the matter is that in states inside the United States where there are tougher gun laws, there is lower gun crime ," Amanpour stated. She continued, referencing other countries: "in these other countries which have had their own massacres which then took these measures, there has been very little, if not any,... continue reading
CNN's Piers Morgan used the stabbing of 14 people at Lone Star College on Tuesday to argue that gun laws prevented what could have been a massacre. On Tuesday's Piers Morgan Live , Morgan hosted two students from the college who said they could have prevented the stabbing had they been allowed to carry guns; he replied that that would create "total Wild West madness" and argued that gun laws prevented the deaths of the students injured by stabbing: "You see my argument would be that far from – with respect, allowing all the students to carry guns, which I... continue reading
On Tuesday's World News and Wednesday's Good Morning Ameica , ABC's George Stephanopoulos and Jim Avila ballyhooed far-left magazine Mother Jones's secretly-recorded audio recording of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's strategy meeting with political advisers about potential opponent Ashley Judd. Stephanopoulos touted the " startling secret tape revealing how the Senate's top Republican was planning to go after...Judd if she ran against him." Avila played up McConnell's apparent " cutthroat attack on a Hollywood opponent " and the Republican's "private and politically-embarrassing strategy session ", all the while omitting left-of-center ideology of the publication that released the audio clip and... continue reading
ABC is really proud of its hoax "exclusive." Tuesday's N ightline and Wednesday's Good Morning America hyped an interview with the man who allegedly perpetrated an elaborate fiction, smearing Pastor Joel Osteen as renouncing his Christian faith. GMA's Elizabeth Vargas touted, " ...The hoaxer is explaining why he did it in an exclusive interview with ABC's David Wright ." [MP3 audio here .] George Stephanopoulos trumpeted, "Revealing overnight, why he went after Joel Osteen. An ABC news exclusive." The odd, sometimes bizarre answers of alleged hoaxer, Justin Tribble, didn't stop the network from airing the story. After David Wright wondered... continue reading
On Tuesday's The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell , MSNBC host O'Donnell fretted that people "suffer deprivations" in the United States because the U.S. is the "world's biggest tax haven" with a relatively low tax burden compared to other countries. After showing his viewers a chart recounting that the U.S. ranks 31st in the percentage of the economy the government collects in taxes, O'Donnell continued: The bad news is, because of that low tax burden, you are living in a country where good, deserving people who need government's help continue to suffer. They suffer deprivations that noneof the other countries... continue reading
On the eve of a proposed deal on a limited expansion of background checks for guy buyers, Tuesday's NBC Nightly News went after Republicans for opposing gun restrictions, with Capitol Hill correspondent Kelly O'Donnell proclaiming: "In a provocative move, more than a dozen Republicans are threatening to use Senate rules to block a vote on new gun restrictions....Sensing public disdain, a rift emerged among Republicans. A dozen now saying publicly they would not support a filibuster..." [ Listen to the audio ] In her report, O'Donnell cast GOP senators as the villains opposite family members of Newtown shooting victims: "The... continue reading
The journalists at Good Morning America on Wednesday could barely contain themselves, hailing the compromise over gun control legislation as a "major," "big, significant breakthrough." Guest host Elizabeth Vargas marveled, "Boy, is that big news." Yet, the reporters on NBC offered less effusive coverage. Today's Kristen Welker conceded, " Democrats had been hoping for background checks to be universal. They didn't get that. This is going to be a pared down, watered down version of background checks ." She asserted, "The deal is far less than the President was hoping for." In contrast, ABC's Jon Karl promoted, "And it is... continue reading
A Fox News reporter faces jail time for not giving up her sources in a story on the Aurora shooting, but CNN host Jake Tapper is the only anchor or reporter at the network to mention her plight. Fox News has reported on it, along with various online outlets; the networks have been silent . MSNBC's Joe Scarborough brought it up on Monday's Morning Joe . Tapper made the story part of the "Buried Lead" segment on his Monday show, "stories we don't think are getting enough attention." It certainly hasn't piqued the curiosity of anyone else at CNN, meriting... continue reading
Leading a panel discussion on Tuesday's NBC Today about the possibility of a professional athlete coming out as gay, frustrated co-host Matt Lauer implored: "It's interesting that in 2013, with attitudes towards homosexuality changing so dramatically in this country, there isn't a single major athlete in a major professional sport playing right now who has come out and said, 'I'm gay.' Why is that?...What is it going to take to change that and have someone come out and say it?" [ Listen to the audio ] Lauer made the same plea on Friday , lamenting that the unwillingness of athletes... continue reading
CNN's Carol Costello praised Sen. Rand Paul's "champ" filibuster effort to get information on drone use from the White House. Now that Republicans are promising to filibuster a gun control bill if it comes to the Senate floor, however, Costello was in disbelief on Tuesday. "Paul filibustered like a champ and got what he wanted, information on drones. This time, it's a little different. Republicans, including Paul, have vowed to filibuster away any debate on guns, as in we don't want to talk about guns, period," Costello dramatically uttered. She ludicrously asked if Sen. Paul would even answer his front... continue reading