On Friday's Dylan Ratigan Show, MSNBC contributor Touré, who is also a 9/11 truther, wondered if Hurricane Irene is an example of global warming. He speculated, " When you talk about an unusual weather event happening in New York and this sort of thing, is this really evidence of global warming to see this sort of a massive storm happening here?" Touré is routinely featured on MSNBC, despite his tendency to tweet in support of 9/11 conspiracy theories. See below for examples: Van Jones was forced to resign partly bc questions the truth of 9/11 but that Pentagon attack is... continue reading
If only George W. Bush had ordered home delivery of some pizzas during Katrina. On Meet the Press , David Gregory relayed how, before the tropical storm arrived on Saturday, Newark Mayor Cory Booker delivered a few pizzas to a shelter, then Gregory marveled at the 'contrast...between President Bush regretting he had a flyover of the storm zone and here's Mayor Booker personally delivering pizzas.' Gregory soon cued up far-left guest Michael Eric Dyson with 'a larger point' of how 'we're having a big debate over the budget in this town, the federal budget and deficit, and also the need... continue reading
Teasing his Friday 3 p.m. ET hour show on MSNBC, anchor Martin Bashir proclaimed that he would have a special guest on to discuss incoming Hurricane Irene: "Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin joins us to explain what leaders must do to avoid the mistakes that were made six years ago." [ Audio available here ] Bashir was "delighted" to have Nagin on the program and began by asking about the response of political leaders to the storm: "Is it your view, sir, that they are handling preparations for this hurricane in the best way possible?" Bashir followed up by... continue reading
The New York Times' outgoing Executive Editor Bill Keller received some pushback on his recently posted column that demanded, in rather insulting fashion, that the media more aggressively question the religious views of the G.O.P. candidates. Times Watch and others noted that his paper was hardly a model of journalistic assertiveness during the spring of 2008, when Barack Obama endured political controversy over the racially inflammatory and conspiracy-minded Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's minister at Trinity United Church of Christ. Keller responded via Twitter on Friday morning: Yes, Dems should be asked about their faith (and influences) too. We were late... continue reading
On Thursday's The Ed Show, Ed Schultz warned all the senior citizens in his audience to not be charmed by Republican Senator Marco Rubio saving Nancy Reagan from a fall because, according to Schultz, the policies of the "pretty boy" will be "downright ugly." Teasing his Psycho Talk segment, Schultz told viewers that even though Rubio "got some good press this week for saving Nancy Reagan from a fall" to be wary of him because "when it comes to the rest of the American senior citizens, Rubio wants to leave them high and dry." The following is a complete transcript... continue reading
Despite the poor economy, MSNBC's Martin Bashir on Thursday saw only problems ahead for the 2012 GOP presidential candidates, grilling Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus. Singling out Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul, Bashir chided, " ...There are a large number of people in this country who find some of the beliefs and comments and commitments of these individuals to be, frankly, very, very difficult to accept. " After Priebus suggested that the presidential election would be decided on the economy, not on issues such as evolution, the cable anchor pushed, "So, simply dismissing [comments by Bachmann and Paul], I... continue reading
During Thursday's 12 p.m. ET hour on MSNBC, host Contessa Brewer, who is soon to be leaving the anchor chair, declared that moderate Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman was "trying to turn things around with a new take-no-prisoners strategy, calling out his conservative competitors for their far-right views." Brewer talked to Jacob Weisberg, editor-in-chief of the liberal Slate magazine, who wrote a fawning profile of Huntsman for Vogue magazine. She wondered: "Is Jon Huntsman sort of an anti-Republican?" Weisberg didn't agree with that description, but argued: "He's what used to be the mainstream of the party, he's the kind of... continue reading
Referencing Dick Cheney's revelation in his new memoir that he urged President Bush to bomb a Syrian nuclear reactor in 2007, CNN's Kyra Phillips posed this obnoxious question to her panel: "Was Cheney even more of a hawk than we gave him credit for?" The upcoming release of Cheney's memoir, "In My Time," should re-ignite the media's decade-long war on the former Vice President, as he himself has predicted that the book will have "heads exploding" in Washington. In the book he detailed a meeting in 2007 where he was the only one the room supporting the bombing of the... continue reading
According to Hardball guest host Ron Reagan, former Vice President Dick Cheney is a "war criminal" for endorsing waterboarding. On Thursday, the son of the former President attacked, " But the fact of the matter is...[Cheney's] a war criminal. Torture is a crime and this is a guy who can't travel to Europe anymore for fear of being- ending up in the Hague." Reagan was commenting on a new interview Cheney has given to NBC in which he reiterates support for waterboarding. The liberal anchor discussed the subject with Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune. Reagan reiterated, "...Any neutral reading... continue reading
Thursday's NBC Today previewed an upcoming Dateline interview with Dick Cheney about his new memoir and labeled the former Vice President "controversial" three times in less than a minute. Co-host Ann Curry proclaimed him to be "one of the most controversial figures of our time." [ Audio available here ] Turning to correspondent Jamie Gangel, who conducted the interview, Curry noted: "I understand that you asked the former Vice President, in a wide-ranging conversation, about one of the biggest controversies of his time in office and that's the so-called enhanced interrogation techniques?" Gangel described how Cheney's book was "filled with... continue reading