News Hounds

Fox Maltese Knight Peter Johnson Jr. Says ACLU Is Attacking Christianity

Reported by Priscilla - Tue 1:10 PM

The Christian right is always ready to invoke their First Amendment right of freedom of speech when it comes to their efforts to violate the First Amendment's guarantee of separation of church and state. And because the ACLU and other secular free speech advocates defend those who fight against the Christian right's attempts to blur that "wall of separation," these groups are loathed by the Christian right. As their mouthpiece, the 700 Club otherwise known as Fox News is their guardian angel. Thus, it was no surprise that Fox News Knight of Malta, Peter Johnson, Jr, would enter the jousting match involving a lawsuit, brought by the evil ACLU, against a school in Virginia that has posted the 10 Commandments as part of (wink, wink) a wall exhibit of "historical documents." But what was surprising is that yesterday's Fox & Friends segment, during which good Christians Peter Johnson, Jr. and Steve Doocy discussed this, was labeled as part of their "prescription for truth" series. The introductory graphic showed what looked like the Supreme Court building on top of a doctor's prescription notepad while triumphant Mannheim Steamroller type music played. Hmmm, is Fox now advertising its Christian propaganda as truth? If so, this truth certainly won't set you free!

OMG, Fox & Friends Visual Uses The H-Word Instead Of Christmas!

Reported by Priscilla - Tue 11:50 AM

I know that we have a separate thread devoted to Fox News transgressions regarding the dreaded word that dare not speak its name. You know, the secular obscenity that is used interchangeably with Christmas and which has been thoroughly anathematized by Bill O'Reilly. This really deserves its own pride of place.

Updated 11/29

Jon Stewart Roasts Fox Turkeys - Including Fr. Jonathan Morris!

Reported by Priscilla - Tue 11:07 AM

On last night's Daily Show, Jon Stewart took aim at the right wing Fox News enabled "outrage" over President Obama not having mentioned "God" in his You Tube Thanksgiving address - or, as Stewart expressed it, "Much Ado About Stuffing." Towards the end of the segment, our favorite (and only) official Fox News right wing spiritual advisor, Fr. Jonathan Morris, appeared during the part of his Fox & Friends interview when he was just oh-so-pissy about how Obama talked about reflecting on our good fortune rather than thanking supply-side Jesus for said good fortune. Stewart joked that the president doesn't have to obey a priest because Obama is a Muslim. And, taking a page from your humble correspondent, he opined that this is yet another opportunity for Fox to turn a holiday into a "Christian persecution, culture war type thing." And while yours truly has snarked about Fox News being America's Christian Newsroom, Stewart jokingly asked when Fox became the "700 Club." True that! You go Stewart!

Some Light Reading About Fox News On The Web

Reported by Aunty Em - Tue 8:00 AM

When surfing the net, it’s incredibly easy to find articles charging Fox “News” with bias for not being true to its “Fair and Balanced” slogan. Occasionally News Hounds finds these gems and pass the savings along to you!!! * Today News Hounds examines two recently published articles which our readers may have overlooked.

Herman Cain Affair No Biggie, Says Dick Morris

Reported by Ellen - Tue 1:10 AM

Dick Morris, the world’s most dubious pundit, visited Hannity last night (11/28/11) to discuss the 2012 presidential campaign and, of course, the latest Herman Cain sex scandal – a woman who said she had a 13-year extramarital affair with him. Morris didn’t just defend Cain – without mentioning that his campaign is Morris’ client – but Morris completely dismissed the allegations as not credible and inconsequential.

Singer Charlotte Church Says She Was Pressured To Sing For Free At Murdoch Wedding In Return For Favorable News Corp. Press Coverage

Reported by Ellen - Mon 6:04 PM

Hot on the heels of an Australian senator who says he was offered favorable News Corp. press coverage in return for a legislative vote News Corp. wanted, now comes former child singer Charlotte Church who testified that she was pressured to sing for free at Rupert Murdoch’s last wedding in return for favorable press coverage. Unfortunately, that deal did not pan out for her.

Fox News’ Trotta Calls Romney Ad “A Plain, Out and Out Lie”

Reported by Ellen - Mon 2:54 PM

Ruh-roh! There’s more civil war in the Republican trenches. This time, Liz Trotta has panned Mitt Romney’s recent campaign ad which deceptively quoted Obama as saying, “If we keep talking about the economy, we’re going to lose.” Trotta not only called the ad an “out and out lie,” she said “the worst part” was that even though the Romney campaign acknowledged the deceit, they staunchly defended it anyway. She also said the whole incident shows Romney is willing to do "anything" to get elected. By the way, Trotta's no liberal. You may recall she once joked about the assassination of then-candidate Barack Obama. So this segment - aired on Fox News, no less - tells you something about the kind of discord going on among conservatives these days.

Bill O'Reilly Thinks He's Winning War On Christmas?

Reported by Priscilla - Mon 12:43 PM

First of all, there is no "War on Christmas." Churches will continue to be full on Christmas Day and stores will continue to assault us with schmaltzy Christmas musak and bulky advertising supplements in our newspapers. And because there is no such "war," there has no cessation of hostilities and no peace treaties. The reality is that this is a bogus "war," concocted by Bill O'Reilly and Fox's John Gibson in order to create a divisive social wedge issue in which "traditionalist" Bill can act the moral scold and claim the moral high ground which is now manifesting itself in Bill's declaration that the "war" is being won because of him! If Fox's Dr. Ablow were to do a "virtual diagnosis," he might say that Bill is a paranoid narcissist who is delusional. But as Dr. Ablow isn't around, we can't say for sure. But we can say that Bill's claim about his influence in the "war," is based on the "post hoc ergo propter hoc" fallacy which is a Latin term meaning "after this, therefore because of this." It serves as the description for a fallacy "that one event causes another simply because the supposed cause occurred before the proposed effect." In other words, I watched Fr. Morris this morning after which I found my earrings that were missing. Mirabile Dictu, watching Fr. Morris brought me my earrings. You get the picture. Last week, Bill demonstrated, if not behavior out of the DSM IV, the above cited fallacy as he claimed, once again, that supposed "victories" in the bogus "war on Christmas" came as a result of his generalship.

Fox Priest, Fr. Jonathan Morris Thinks Obama Is A Godless Heathen

Reported by Priscilla - Mon 11:34 AM

Roger Ailes and the Christian right are very concerned about so called attempts to drive religion out of our "Christian Nation" by the forces of secular darkness. Chief among these forces, according to those who actually believe that there is a "war on Christians," is our Commander-in-Chief whose Christianity, along with his birth certificate, is suspect and very, very troubling. To provide an "imprimatur" for this meme, Roger Ailes has enlisted a "man of the cloth," Catholic priest Father Jonathan Morris who plays to a gullible Catholic audience who believe that "father knows best." Morris has gone from servicing the disgraced founder of the "Legion of Christ" to supplicating before the altar of Ailes for whom Morris' continued presence, including a weekly Fox & Friends appearance on "The Lord's Day," is a win-win. Not only does Morris validate right wing talking points; but he's doing a little informal political campaigning in order to dissuade Catholics voters from voting for Obama who is not exactly beloved by the very powerful American bishops. In advancing the Fox "controversy" about Obama not having selected a church, Morris has already impugned the president. Yesterday, he was back on his Sunday gig doing the same thing and in so doing providing validation for all those "Christians" who have their nice, clean panties in a bunch because the president did not mention "God" during his Thanksgiving address. Jesus is weeping. I guess in addition to being "Commander-in-Chief," Obama is supposed to be pastor-in-chief?

Shocking Racist Comments On FoxNews.Com Article About "Wyclef Jean's" Haiti Fund

Reported by Ellen - Sun 11:04 PM

FoxNews.com posted an article earlier today called, Questions Raised Over Allotment of Wyclef Jean's Haiti Fund. It's not clear to me what the point of the article is - other than to smear Jean - since it dredged up accusations against his management of the charity yet apparently didn't even try to get a response from him (the Miami Herald did). The accusations did seem serious and credible. But not until the second to last paragraph of the article - which you can only read by clicking through to the original article, posted on NYPost.com - are we told that Jean and most of the board during the period in question left the charity in 2010. But even with that provocation, the n-word-laden racial animosity in the comments are shocking. (H/T Ian S.)

The Fox News “Happy Holidays” Hypocrisy Thread – Constantly Updated With Your Help

Reported by Guest Blogger - Sun 1:03 PM

Every year at this time Fox News dusts off and cranks up its Phony War On Christmas machine. Between now and the holidays Christmas, Fox Faux Fury™ will increase exponentially in preparation for Baby Jesus’ Big Birthday Bash™. For the next month the so-called “news” network will go on its Christian Crusade against businesses that have the unmitigated audacity to be inclusive by saying “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” Make no mistake: The Fox “News” Phony War On Christmas is nothing more than a Real War On Other Cultures: all of those which don’t worship the Christ; despite the fact that He never said “Merry Christmas” in his lifetime. However, in the last number of years News Hounds has noticed that Fox “News” is selective in how it enforces this jihad. The network seems blind to how many of its own advertisers, segments on its own station, and/or articles on its own web sites, that eschew “Merry Christmas” for the far more benevolent “Happy Holiday.” News Hounds is here to stop that and ensure that everyone who uses “Happy Holidays” is noticed by Fox “News.” That’s where you come in, gentle readers: Since we can’t be everywhere—at all times—if you see someone getting away with “Happy Holidays,” it is your RELIGIOUS duty to report them to News Hounds so we can report them to Fox. Tell us the date, time, and a short description and we’ll attempt to verify. The best submission will win a midnite Mass date with Bill O'Reilly and some figgy pudding.

Cashin’ In Advances Misinformation About Fuel Efficiency Standards

Reported by Guest Blogger - Sat 4:57 PM

By Brian

On last Saturday’s Cashin’ In (11/20/11), one topic was the Obama Administration’s energy plans. Host Cheryl Casone "asked" News Hounds Top Dog Christian Dorsey, "Are we going in the wrong direction with regards to regulation, with regards to policy?"

Fox Disingenuously Turns To Obama-Basher Doug Schoen For “Democratic” View Of 2012 Campaign

Reported by Ellen - Sat 10:44 AM

In a discussion about the 2012 presidential campaign last night, On The Record turned to Democratic turncoat Doug Schoen, ostensibly to balance Republican Brad Blakeman. Of course, Blakeman was a strong advocate for his side. Schoen, on the other hand, used the occasion not just to knock President Obama but to rehash a recent editorial in the Wall Street Journal (like Fox, a subsidiary of News Corp.) arguing that Obama should not run at all for re-election. Schoen’s piece, co-authored with fellow Fox News "Democat" Pat Caddell, was nearly a week old so there was no way Fox producers didn’t know his sentiments – especially since he wrote a similar editorial in late 2010. In fact, guest host Shannon Bream made a point of bringing up Schoen’s editorial. If Fox really wanted balance in this segment, they would have found a real Democratic advocate.

Tamara Holder Smacks Down Hannity On Fast And Furious Witch Hunt

Reported by Ellen - Fri 11:30 PM

Sean Hannity usually chooses sycophants for the discussions that appear on his show as debates (though not always). But he clearly got more than he bargained for on the November 19, 2011 show when he hosted attorney and Fox News contributor Tamara Holder to discuss the Eric Holder witch hunt Fast and Furious controversy and Republicans' demand for the Attorney General's resignation..

Neil Cavuto Tries To Make Sure Ron Paul Won’t Run As A Third-Party Candidate

Reported by Guest Blogger - Fri 4:01 PM

By Brian

Ron Paul appeared on Your World Wednesday (11/23/11), ostensibly to discuss his 2012 presidential campaign and the debate the night before. But it soon became clear that host Neil Cavuto’s main concern was making sure Paul would not run as a third-party candidate.

Fox's Todd Starnes Agrees With Hate Group: Christianity Under Attack!

Reported by Priscilla - Fri 11:10 AM

As Jon Stewart once said, "conservative victimization is the true genius of what Fox News has accomplished." And there ain't no conservative victim like a Christian conservative victim, many of whom find fellowship on Fox & Friends. But it's just not Fox TV that is standing up for Jesus. Fox culture clubber and Jesus BFF, Todd Starnes, who has a Fox radio show and blog, provides a conduit for the slings and arrows of outrageous secularism which are shot on what seems to be an hourly basis into the minds and hearts of good Christian soldiers. Many of his columns deal with affronts to those who love Jesus such as the "Christian Baker Facing Boycott for Refusing to Bake Lesbian Cake." (Note - a lesbian cake is not a generic thing like a chocolate or wedding cake. In this case a Christian baker, after realizing that her customers were a lesbian couple, refused to do their wedding cake). Todd occasionally makes a pilgrimage over to Fox & Friends. His latest little stand up for Jesus routine, on yesterday's Fox & Friends, was about how the US Army has removed a great, big, Christian cross from the door of a military chapel in Afghanistan. Todd thinks that this is part of a nefarious and insidious effort to persecute Christians. Ain't no party like a persecuted Christian party and Fox is bringing it!

Megyn Kelly's Pepper Spray Thanksgiving

Reported by Ellen - Thu 3:33 PM

Even if you think you've heard enough about Megyn Kelly calling pepper spray "a food product, essentially," you've got to watch this hilarious video of Kelly's Pepper Spray Thanksgiving from Funny or Die.

Fox Nation’s Holiday Thoughts: Let’s Give Thanks For The One Percent

Reported by Ellen - Thu 2:10 PM

Even on Thanksgiving, Fox’s thoughts are not on solving our country’s problems and bringing us together as Americans but promoting its ideological agenda with divisiveness. Let’s be real. There’s no reason for blaring a headline saying, Let's Give Thanks For The One Percent, other than as an FU to the 99 Percent/Occupy movements.

Petition To Megyn Kelly To Eat Pepper Spray Now Has More Than 25,000 Signatures

Reported by Ellen - Thu 1:15 AM

As I posted yesterday, Fox News host Megyn Kelly has received some serious criticism for calling pepper spray, "a food product, essentially," during a discussion on The O'Reilly Factor about students getting pepper sprayed at UC Davis. Now a humorous petition has been started calling on her to eat or drink a dose on the air. (H/T AlterNet)

News Corporation Accused Of Trying To Bribe An Australian Senator

Reported by Ellen - Thu 12:59 AM

In yet another sign that News Corporation’s unethical and illegal behavior is not limited to newspapers in Great Britain, an Australian senator has come forward with a nine-page statement accusing an executive at the media conglomerate’s Australian arm of offering him favorable coverage if he voted against a particular piece of legislation the News Corp. division wanted defeated. After the senator voted the other way, he said he was suddenly unable to get anything published in the paper. Australian police are now investigating.