Dixon Carter Lee
Headliner
- Joined
- Nov 22, 1999
- Posts
- 48,682
Someday I'm going to make a fortune starting a massive web site that archives everything the Drudge Report, Rush Limbaugh and Jean Dixon got wrong.
another attack
- Thread starter oakleyx4
- Start date
Dixon Carter Lee
Headliner
- Joined
- Nov 22, 1999
- Posts
- 48,682
By the way, nothing on The Drudge Report is "breaking news". Drudge doesn't actually do any "reporting". He doesn't call people. He has no sources. (For the the most part). All he does is scour the Internet for gossip and news.
In other words, he uses search engines and bookmarks like everyone else. He has absolutely no interest in "journalism" or the ethics of reporting the truth.
There is no "breaking news" oin the Drudge Report. He like the the Associated Press' bratty little sister who blabs whatever she thinks she heard on the extension phone.
In other words, he uses search engines and bookmarks like everyone else. He has absolutely no interest in "journalism" or the ethics of reporting the truth.
There is no "breaking news" oin the Drudge Report. He like the the Associated Press' bratty little sister who blabs whatever she thinks she heard on the extension phone.
G
Guest
Guest
Big Fat Lies
Media watchdog Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting spent two years listening to--and checking up on--Rush's claims. Below, a selection of the Big Blowhard's twistings of the truth.
A SPIN DOCTORATE IN REAGANOMICS
Limbaugh: "Don't let the liberals deceive you into believing that a decade of sustained growth without inflation in America (in the '80s) resulted in a bigger gap between the have and the have-nots. Figures compiled by the Congressional Budget Office dispel that myth" (Limbaugh, The Way Things Ought to Be, p. 70).
Reality: CBO numbers for after-tax incomes show that in 1980 the richest fifth of our country had eight times the income of the poorest fifth. By 1989, the ratio was more than 20-to-1.
MORE BOGUS ECONOMICS
Limbaugh: "The poorest people in America are better off than the mainstream families of Europe" (radio, 1993).
Reality: The poorest 20 percent of Americans can purchase an average of $5,433 worth of goods with their income. Meanwhile, in Germany, the average person can purchase $20,610 worth of goods; in France, $19,200; in Britain, $16,730 (World Development Report 1994, published by the World Bank).
MAKING ENDS MEET
Limbaugh: On the official poverty line: "$14,400 for a family of four. That's not so bad" (radio, Nov. 9, 1993).
Versus Limbaugh: A few months earlier, Limbaugh was talking about how tough it was to live on more than 10 times that: "I know families that make $180,000 a year and they don't consider themselves rich. Why, it costs them $20,000 a year to send their kids to school" (radio, Aug. 3, 1993).
A POOR EXCUSE
Limbaugh: "All of these rich guys--like the Kennedy family and Perot--pretending to live just like we do and pretending to understand our trials and tribulations and pretending to represent us, and they get away with this" (TV, Nov. 18, 1993).
Versus Limbaugh: Limbaugh's income was an estimated $25 million over the last two years (Forbes, Sept. 26, 1994).
THE MIS-STATE OF BLACK AMERICA
Limbaugh: "So many people are either refusing to recognize or unable to recognize the difference between blacks who riot and the majority of blacks in the American middle class. According to University of Chicago sociologist William Julius Wilson, of the 29 million blacks in America, the largest percentage--35 percent--are upper middle class, both professional (lawyer, doctor) and white collar; 32 percent are middle class; and 33 percent are considered poor" (Ought to Be, p. 224).
Reality: Wilson actually says that 20 percent of blacks are in the "professional middle class," which includes teachers and nurses, and that a further 15 percent are in "nonprofessional white-collar positions," such as secretarial or sales jobs. Limbaugh deceptively calls all these "upper middle class"--a description that hardly fits teachers, let alone salesclerks. The category Limbaugh calls "middle class" Wilson refers to as "working class," who he says are "vulnerable to job loss through economic restructuring" (Los Angeles Times, May 6, 1992).
MISSING THE FOREST FOR. . .MISSING THE FOREST
Limbaugh: "There are more acres of forestland in America today than when Columbus discovered the continent in 1492" (Limbaugh, See, I Told You So, p. 171).
Reality: Forestland in what are now the 50 states covered about 1 billion acres before European settlement, according to U.S. Forest Service historian Douglas MacCleery. Today, there are only 737 million acres of forestland, much of which lacks the ecological diversity of old-growth forest (the American Forestry Association).
FOLLOWING THE LEAD RODENT
Limbaugh: Frequently denies that he uses his show for political activism: "I have yet to encourage you people or urge you to call anybody. I don't do it. They think I'm the one doing it. That's fine. You don't need to be told when to call. They think you are a bunch of lemmings out there" (radio, June 28, 1993).
Reality: One hour later, he urged his followers into action against Clinton's tax package: "The people in the states where these Democratic senators are up for re-election in '94 have to let their feelings be known.. . .Let's say Herb Kohl is up in '94. You people in Wisconsin who don't like this bill, who don't like the tax increases, you let Herb Kohl know somehow."
TRUE RUSH
On "The Homeless Trap," a work of art that employs a large mousetraplike device and uses a bedroll as bait: "I've got this idea. Instead of one of these, have 1,000 of them. And use them as a solution--not as a piece of art. Just put these things all over the city and if they trap homeless people, use them" (TV, March 9, 1994).
"This is asinine! A Cesar Chavez Day in California? Wasn't he convicted of a crime?" (radio, 1994).
"I don't give a hoot that [Columbus] gave some Indians a disease that they didn't have immunity against" (Ought to Be, p. 45).
On the endangered northern spotted owl: "If the owl can't adapt to the superiority of humans, screw it" (Ought to Be, p. 162).
"The NAACP should have riot rehearsal. They should get a liquor store and practice robberies" (radio; reported in the Flush Rush Quarterly, January 1993).
On Tipper Gore's decision to give up her career for the sake of her marriage: "If you want a successful marriage, let your husband do what he wants to do.. . .You women don't realize how fortunate you are to be watching this show. I have just spelled out for you the key ingredient to a successful marriage" (TV, Feb. 23, 1994).
"I think this reason why girls don't do well on multiple choice tests goes all the way back to the Bible, all the way back to Genesis, Adam and Eve. God said, 'All right, Eve, multiple choice or multiple orgasms, what's it going to be?' We all know what was chosen" (TV, Feb. 23, 1994).
Excerpted from The Way Things Aren't: Rush Limbaugh's Reign of Error (N.Y.: The New Press, 1995). Written for FAIR by Steven Rendell, Jim Naureckas, and Jeff Cohen. Foreword by Molly Ivins, from which the essay at left was adapted for Mother Jones.
Media watchdog Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting spent two years listening to--and checking up on--Rush's claims. Below, a selection of the Big Blowhard's twistings of the truth.
A SPIN DOCTORATE IN REAGANOMICS
Limbaugh: "Don't let the liberals deceive you into believing that a decade of sustained growth without inflation in America (in the '80s) resulted in a bigger gap between the have and the have-nots. Figures compiled by the Congressional Budget Office dispel that myth" (Limbaugh, The Way Things Ought to Be, p. 70).
Reality: CBO numbers for after-tax incomes show that in 1980 the richest fifth of our country had eight times the income of the poorest fifth. By 1989, the ratio was more than 20-to-1.
MORE BOGUS ECONOMICS
Limbaugh: "The poorest people in America are better off than the mainstream families of Europe" (radio, 1993).
Reality: The poorest 20 percent of Americans can purchase an average of $5,433 worth of goods with their income. Meanwhile, in Germany, the average person can purchase $20,610 worth of goods; in France, $19,200; in Britain, $16,730 (World Development Report 1994, published by the World Bank).
MAKING ENDS MEET
Limbaugh: On the official poverty line: "$14,400 for a family of four. That's not so bad" (radio, Nov. 9, 1993).
Versus Limbaugh: A few months earlier, Limbaugh was talking about how tough it was to live on more than 10 times that: "I know families that make $180,000 a year and they don't consider themselves rich. Why, it costs them $20,000 a year to send their kids to school" (radio, Aug. 3, 1993).
A POOR EXCUSE
Limbaugh: "All of these rich guys--like the Kennedy family and Perot--pretending to live just like we do and pretending to understand our trials and tribulations and pretending to represent us, and they get away with this" (TV, Nov. 18, 1993).
Versus Limbaugh: Limbaugh's income was an estimated $25 million over the last two years (Forbes, Sept. 26, 1994).
THE MIS-STATE OF BLACK AMERICA
Limbaugh: "So many people are either refusing to recognize or unable to recognize the difference between blacks who riot and the majority of blacks in the American middle class. According to University of Chicago sociologist William Julius Wilson, of the 29 million blacks in America, the largest percentage--35 percent--are upper middle class, both professional (lawyer, doctor) and white collar; 32 percent are middle class; and 33 percent are considered poor" (Ought to Be, p. 224).
Reality: Wilson actually says that 20 percent of blacks are in the "professional middle class," which includes teachers and nurses, and that a further 15 percent are in "nonprofessional white-collar positions," such as secretarial or sales jobs. Limbaugh deceptively calls all these "upper middle class"--a description that hardly fits teachers, let alone salesclerks. The category Limbaugh calls "middle class" Wilson refers to as "working class," who he says are "vulnerable to job loss through economic restructuring" (Los Angeles Times, May 6, 1992).
MISSING THE FOREST FOR. . .MISSING THE FOREST
Limbaugh: "There are more acres of forestland in America today than when Columbus discovered the continent in 1492" (Limbaugh, See, I Told You So, p. 171).
Reality: Forestland in what are now the 50 states covered about 1 billion acres before European settlement, according to U.S. Forest Service historian Douglas MacCleery. Today, there are only 737 million acres of forestland, much of which lacks the ecological diversity of old-growth forest (the American Forestry Association).
FOLLOWING THE LEAD RODENT
Limbaugh: Frequently denies that he uses his show for political activism: "I have yet to encourage you people or urge you to call anybody. I don't do it. They think I'm the one doing it. That's fine. You don't need to be told when to call. They think you are a bunch of lemmings out there" (radio, June 28, 1993).
Reality: One hour later, he urged his followers into action against Clinton's tax package: "The people in the states where these Democratic senators are up for re-election in '94 have to let their feelings be known.. . .Let's say Herb Kohl is up in '94. You people in Wisconsin who don't like this bill, who don't like the tax increases, you let Herb Kohl know somehow."
TRUE RUSH
On "The Homeless Trap," a work of art that employs a large mousetraplike device and uses a bedroll as bait: "I've got this idea. Instead of one of these, have 1,000 of them. And use them as a solution--not as a piece of art. Just put these things all over the city and if they trap homeless people, use them" (TV, March 9, 1994).
"This is asinine! A Cesar Chavez Day in California? Wasn't he convicted of a crime?" (radio, 1994).
"I don't give a hoot that [Columbus] gave some Indians a disease that they didn't have immunity against" (Ought to Be, p. 45).
On the endangered northern spotted owl: "If the owl can't adapt to the superiority of humans, screw it" (Ought to Be, p. 162).
"The NAACP should have riot rehearsal. They should get a liquor store and practice robberies" (radio; reported in the Flush Rush Quarterly, January 1993).
On Tipper Gore's decision to give up her career for the sake of her marriage: "If you want a successful marriage, let your husband do what he wants to do.. . .You women don't realize how fortunate you are to be watching this show. I have just spelled out for you the key ingredient to a successful marriage" (TV, Feb. 23, 1994).
"I think this reason why girls don't do well on multiple choice tests goes all the way back to the Bible, all the way back to Genesis, Adam and Eve. God said, 'All right, Eve, multiple choice or multiple orgasms, what's it going to be?' We all know what was chosen" (TV, Feb. 23, 1994).
Excerpted from The Way Things Aren't: Rush Limbaugh's Reign of Error (N.Y.: The New Press, 1995). Written for FAIR by Steven Rendell, Jim Naureckas, and Jeff Cohen. Foreword by Molly Ivins, from which the essay at left was adapted for Mother Jones.
G
Guest
Guest
ACTION ALERT:
Irresistible Lies: Fox News on White House "Vandalism"
(Click here to read a response from Fox.)
May 21, 2001
During the White House transition in January, one story proved irresistible to many conservative pundits: Departing Clinton staffers had gone on a wild rampage and "trashed" or "vandalized" the White House, even looting Air Force One. Allegations of the Clinton aides' reckless destruction of public property swept through the media. For some, the story symbolized the difference between a morally compromised Clinton presidency and a more dignified, honorable Bush administration.
An official government investigation, however, reveals one major problem with these stories: They apparently never happened. According to statements from the General Services Administration that were reported on May 17, little if anything out of the ordinary occurred during the transition, and "the condition of the real property was consistent with what we would expect to encounter when tenants vacate office space after an extended occupancy."
Ironically, the investigation came in response to a request from Rep. Bob Barr (R.-Ga.), and many conservatives who had assumed that the wild rumors would be confirmed by an official inquiry. That wasn't the case. (The "looting" of Air Force One had also been denied months ago by officials at Andrews Air Force base -- Kansas City Star, 2/9/01).
Leading the cry against the trashing of the White House was the Fox News Channel. Virtually every major Fox personality reported it as fact, often expressing their own personal outrage. Guests on the channel chimed in, condemning the Clintons and their staffers. Consider the following reports:
--Brit Hume (1/25/01): "By the way, the reported vandalism in those White House offices now includes power and phone cords cut... trash dumped on floors, desk drawers emptied onto floors, pornographic pictures left in computer printers, scatological messages left on voice mail, and cabinets and drawers glued shut. And the Washington Times reports that the presidential 747 that flew Bill and Hillary Clinton to New York on inauguration day was stripped bare. The plane's porcelain, china... and silverware, and salt and pepper shakers, blankets and pillow cases, nearly all items bearing the presidential seal, were taken by Clinton staffers who went along for the ride. The Washington Times quoted a military steward as saying that even a supply of toothpaste was stolen from a compartment under a sink."
--Sean Hannity (1/26/01): "Look, we've had these reports, very disturbing reports -- and I have actually spoken to people that have confirmed a lot of the reports -- about the trashing of the White House. Pornographic materials left in the printers. They cut the phone lines. Lewd and crude messages on phone machines. Stripping of anything that was not bolted down on Air Force One. $200,000 in furniture taken out."
--Fred Barnes (1/27/01): "Now, you know what else helped Bush have such a good week? It was the contrast with the Clintons' sleazy departure from the White House, which is a hot story in itself.... You had the trashing of the White House itself. We don't know how much, but the typewriters, the voicemail, the graffiti on the walls and so on, reflecting, I think, a real bitterness that they should not have reflected, at least in that."
--Bill O'Reilly (1/26/01): "I mean, the price tag right now is about $200,000, so that's a felony right there."
--Oliver North, radio host (1/26/01, "Hannity & Colmes"): "There's an awful lot about this whole administration that never looked right to many of us. And of course, their closing act in this whole thing, which was basically trashing the White House, you know, pillaging what was available on Air Force One.... We should expect from white trash what they did at the White House."
--Tom Schatz, Citizens Against Government Waste ("O'Reilly Factor," 1/26/01): "They turned it into Animal House."
--Paula Zahn (1/26/01): "All right, but this is the White House, for God's sakes. We're not talking about people living in a fraternity."
--Sean Hannity on the Clintons (2/6/01): "I'd be more willing to cut them some slack and say it was an honest mistake and they weren't involved in the moving if Air Force One wasn't stripped, if they didn't trash the White House, if they didn't set up this -- the equivalent of a bridal registry, if he wasn't taking advantage of the taxpayers."
--Tony Snow (1/28/01): "When I first heard about reported vandalism by disgruntled Clinton-Gore staffers, I got a little bit steamed. I've got a certain affection for the White House, due in no small part to my own service there during the first Bush administration. So, inspired by my experience and fond memories, I dashed off an angry newspaper column about the incident. But then the Bush team did something very wise. It did nothing, and that was the right choice. Sometimes you have to look past little idiocies and outbursts, understanding that life's just too short to fret over such things."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"A little bit steamed" is putting it mildly: As the Kansas City Star reported (5/17/01), one of Snow's syndicated newspaper columns was nearly a case study in dishonest reporting. Snow wrote that the White House "was a wreck" and that Air Force One "looked as if it had been stripped by a skilled band of thieves -- or perhaps wrecked by a trailer park twister."
Fox's "The Edge with Paula Zahn" (5/18/01) covered the GSA investigation, though no mention was made concerning Fox's role in the story. The same was true for "Special Report with Brit Hume," which aired a brief report on the GSA's findings (5/18/01). Guest anchor Tony Snow could not have been less specific in his opening comments: "Remember those accusations in the media that outgoing Clinton administration staffers trashed the White House when they left? Well, now the General Services Administration says the stories weren't true."
His subsequent "correction" on Fox News Sunday (5/20/01) also avoided responsibility: "Even though I corrected myself three days later on this show, thus beating the GSA by four months, the ex-president's pals have a legitimate beef.... If there's a moral here, it's that we need to correct ourselves clearly to reassure one and all that we care about getting things right and, when possible, setting them right."
Snow somehow is under the impression that his statement on January 28 -- about how "you have to look past little idiocies" -- was a "correction," though he did not actually correct any of the information he had reported at all.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ACTION: Please contact Fox News Channel and encourage them to conduct a self-examination of why anonymous reports backed with no evidence became a major focus of their transition coverage.
CONTACT:
Fox New Channel
1211 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
Phone: 1-888-369-4762
comments@foxnews.com
Irresistible Lies: Fox News on White House "Vandalism"
(Click here to read a response from Fox.)
May 21, 2001
During the White House transition in January, one story proved irresistible to many conservative pundits: Departing Clinton staffers had gone on a wild rampage and "trashed" or "vandalized" the White House, even looting Air Force One. Allegations of the Clinton aides' reckless destruction of public property swept through the media. For some, the story symbolized the difference between a morally compromised Clinton presidency and a more dignified, honorable Bush administration.
An official government investigation, however, reveals one major problem with these stories: They apparently never happened. According to statements from the General Services Administration that were reported on May 17, little if anything out of the ordinary occurred during the transition, and "the condition of the real property was consistent with what we would expect to encounter when tenants vacate office space after an extended occupancy."
Ironically, the investigation came in response to a request from Rep. Bob Barr (R.-Ga.), and many conservatives who had assumed that the wild rumors would be confirmed by an official inquiry. That wasn't the case. (The "looting" of Air Force One had also been denied months ago by officials at Andrews Air Force base -- Kansas City Star, 2/9/01).
Leading the cry against the trashing of the White House was the Fox News Channel. Virtually every major Fox personality reported it as fact, often expressing their own personal outrage. Guests on the channel chimed in, condemning the Clintons and their staffers. Consider the following reports:
--Brit Hume (1/25/01): "By the way, the reported vandalism in those White House offices now includes power and phone cords cut... trash dumped on floors, desk drawers emptied onto floors, pornographic pictures left in computer printers, scatological messages left on voice mail, and cabinets and drawers glued shut. And the Washington Times reports that the presidential 747 that flew Bill and Hillary Clinton to New York on inauguration day was stripped bare. The plane's porcelain, china... and silverware, and salt and pepper shakers, blankets and pillow cases, nearly all items bearing the presidential seal, were taken by Clinton staffers who went along for the ride. The Washington Times quoted a military steward as saying that even a supply of toothpaste was stolen from a compartment under a sink."
--Sean Hannity (1/26/01): "Look, we've had these reports, very disturbing reports -- and I have actually spoken to people that have confirmed a lot of the reports -- about the trashing of the White House. Pornographic materials left in the printers. They cut the phone lines. Lewd and crude messages on phone machines. Stripping of anything that was not bolted down on Air Force One. $200,000 in furniture taken out."
--Fred Barnes (1/27/01): "Now, you know what else helped Bush have such a good week? It was the contrast with the Clintons' sleazy departure from the White House, which is a hot story in itself.... You had the trashing of the White House itself. We don't know how much, but the typewriters, the voicemail, the graffiti on the walls and so on, reflecting, I think, a real bitterness that they should not have reflected, at least in that."
--Bill O'Reilly (1/26/01): "I mean, the price tag right now is about $200,000, so that's a felony right there."
--Oliver North, radio host (1/26/01, "Hannity & Colmes"): "There's an awful lot about this whole administration that never looked right to many of us. And of course, their closing act in this whole thing, which was basically trashing the White House, you know, pillaging what was available on Air Force One.... We should expect from white trash what they did at the White House."
--Tom Schatz, Citizens Against Government Waste ("O'Reilly Factor," 1/26/01): "They turned it into Animal House."
--Paula Zahn (1/26/01): "All right, but this is the White House, for God's sakes. We're not talking about people living in a fraternity."
--Sean Hannity on the Clintons (2/6/01): "I'd be more willing to cut them some slack and say it was an honest mistake and they weren't involved in the moving if Air Force One wasn't stripped, if they didn't trash the White House, if they didn't set up this -- the equivalent of a bridal registry, if he wasn't taking advantage of the taxpayers."
--Tony Snow (1/28/01): "When I first heard about reported vandalism by disgruntled Clinton-Gore staffers, I got a little bit steamed. I've got a certain affection for the White House, due in no small part to my own service there during the first Bush administration. So, inspired by my experience and fond memories, I dashed off an angry newspaper column about the incident. But then the Bush team did something very wise. It did nothing, and that was the right choice. Sometimes you have to look past little idiocies and outbursts, understanding that life's just too short to fret over such things."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"A little bit steamed" is putting it mildly: As the Kansas City Star reported (5/17/01), one of Snow's syndicated newspaper columns was nearly a case study in dishonest reporting. Snow wrote that the White House "was a wreck" and that Air Force One "looked as if it had been stripped by a skilled band of thieves -- or perhaps wrecked by a trailer park twister."
Fox's "The Edge with Paula Zahn" (5/18/01) covered the GSA investigation, though no mention was made concerning Fox's role in the story. The same was true for "Special Report with Brit Hume," which aired a brief report on the GSA's findings (5/18/01). Guest anchor Tony Snow could not have been less specific in his opening comments: "Remember those accusations in the media that outgoing Clinton administration staffers trashed the White House when they left? Well, now the General Services Administration says the stories weren't true."
His subsequent "correction" on Fox News Sunday (5/20/01) also avoided responsibility: "Even though I corrected myself three days later on this show, thus beating the GSA by four months, the ex-president's pals have a legitimate beef.... If there's a moral here, it's that we need to correct ourselves clearly to reassure one and all that we care about getting things right and, when possible, setting them right."
Snow somehow is under the impression that his statement on January 28 -- about how "you have to look past little idiocies" -- was a "correction," though he did not actually correct any of the information he had reported at all.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ACTION: Please contact Fox News Channel and encourage them to conduct a self-examination of why anonymous reports backed with no evidence became a major focus of their transition coverage.
CONTACT:
Fox New Channel
1211 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
Phone: 1-888-369-4762
comments@foxnews.com
G
Guest
Guest
Big Fat Lies
Media watchdog Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting spent two years listening to--and checking up on--Rush's claims. Below, a selection of the Big Blowhard's twistings of the truth.
A SPIN DOCTORATE IN REAGANOMICS
Limbaugh: "Don't let the liberals deceive you into believing that a decade of sustained growth without inflation in America (in the '80s) resulted in a bigger gap between the have and the have-nots. Figures compiled by the Congressional Budget Office dispel that myth" (Limbaugh, The Way Things Ought to Be, p. 70).
Reality: CBO numbers for after-tax incomes show that in 1980 the richest fifth of our country had eight times the income of the poorest fifth. By 1989, the ratio was more than 20-to-1.
MORE BOGUS ECONOMICS
Limbaugh: "The poorest people in America are better off than the mainstream families of Europe" (radio, 1993).
Reality: The poorest 20 percent of Americans can purchase an average of $5,433 worth of goods with their income. Meanwhile, in Germany, the average person can purchase $20,610 worth of goods; in France, $19,200; in Britain, $16,730 (World Development Report 1994, published by the World Bank).
MAKING ENDS MEET
Limbaugh: On the official poverty line: "$14,400 for a family of four. That's not so bad" (radio, Nov. 9, 1993).
Versus Limbaugh: A few months earlier, Limbaugh was talking about how tough it was to live on more than 10 times that: "I know families that make $180,000 a year and they don't consider themselves rich. Why, it costs them $20,000 a year to send their kids to school" (radio, Aug. 3, 1993).
A POOR EXCUSE
Limbaugh: "All of these rich guys--like the Kennedy family and Perot--pretending to live just like we do and pretending to understand our trials and tribulations and pretending to represent us, and they get away with this" (TV, Nov. 18, 1993).
Versus Limbaugh: Limbaugh's income was an estimated $25 million over the last two years (Forbes, Sept. 26, 1994).
THE MIS-STATE OF BLACK AMERICA
Limbaugh: "So many people are either refusing to recognize or unable to recognize the difference between blacks who riot and the majority of blacks in the American middle class. According to University of Chicago sociologist William Julius Wilson, of the 29 million blacks in America, the largest percentage--35 percent--are upper middle class, both professional (lawyer, doctor) and white collar; 32 percent are middle class; and 33 percent are considered poor" (Ought to Be, p. 224).
Reality: Wilson actually says that 20 percent of blacks are in the "professional middle class," which includes teachers and nurses, and that a further 15 percent are in "nonprofessional white-collar positions," such as secretarial or sales jobs. Limbaugh deceptively calls all these "upper middle class"--a description that hardly fits teachers, let alone salesclerks. The category Limbaugh calls "middle class" Wilson refers to as "working class," who he says are "vulnerable to job loss through economic restructuring" (Los Angeles Times, May 6, 1992).
MISSING THE FOREST FOR. . .MISSING THE FOREST
Limbaugh: "There are more acres of forestland in America today than when Columbus discovered the continent in 1492" (Limbaugh, See, I Told You So, p. 171).
Reality: Forestland in what are now the 50 states covered about 1 billion acres before European settlement, according to U.S. Forest Service historian Douglas MacCleery. Today, there are only 737 million acres of forestland, much of which lacks the ecological diversity of old-growth forest (the American Forestry Association).
FOLLOWING THE LEAD RODENT
Limbaugh: Frequently denies that he uses his show for political activism: "I have yet to encourage you people or urge you to call anybody. I don't do it. They think I'm the one doing it. That's fine. You don't need to be told when to call. They think you are a bunch of lemmings out there" (radio, June 28, 1993).
Reality: One hour later, he urged his followers into action against Clinton's tax package: "The people in the states where these Democratic senators are up for re-election in '94 have to let their feelings be known.. . .Let's say Herb Kohl is up in '94. You people in Wisconsin who don't like this bill, who don't like the tax increases, you let Herb Kohl know somehow."
TRUE RUSH
On "The Homeless Trap," a work of art that employs a large mousetraplike device and uses a bedroll as bait: "I've got this idea. Instead of one of these, have 1,000 of them. And use them as a solution--not as a piece of art. Just put these things all over the city and if they trap homeless people, use them" (TV, March 9, 1994).
"This is asinine! A Cesar Chavez Day in California? Wasn't he convicted of a crime?" (radio, 1994).
"I don't give a hoot that [Columbus] gave some Indians a disease that they didn't have immunity against" (Ought to Be, p. 45).
On the endangered northern spotted owl: "If the owl can't adapt to the superiority of humans, screw it" (Ought to Be, p. 162).
"The NAACP should have riot rehearsal. They should get a liquor store and practice robberies" (radio; reported in the Flush Rush Quarterly, January 1993).
On Tipper Gore's decision to give up her career for the sake of her marriage: "If you want a successful marriage, let your husband do what he wants to do.. . .You women don't realize how fortunate you are to be watching this show. I have just spelled out for you the key ingredient to a successful marriage" (TV, Feb. 23, 1994).
"I think this reason why girls don't do well on multiple choice tests goes all the way back to the Bible, all the way back to Genesis, Adam and Eve. God said, 'All right, Eve, multiple choice or multiple orgasms, what's it going to be?' We all know what was chosen" (TV, Feb. 23, 1994).
Excerpted from The Way Things Aren't: Rush Limbaugh's Reign of Error (N.Y.: The New Press, 1995). Written for FAIR by Steven Rendell, Jim Naureckas, and Jeff Cohen. Foreword by Molly Ivins, from which the essay at left was adapted for Mother Jones.
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ACTION ALERT:
Irresistible Lies: Fox News on White House "Vandalism"
(Click here to read a response from Fox.)
May 21, 2001
During the White House transition in January, one story proved irresistible to many conservative pundits: Departing Clinton staffers had gone on a wild rampage and "trashed" or "vandalized" the White House, even looting Air Force One. Allegations of the Clinton aides' reckless destruction of public property swept through the media. For some, the story symbolized the difference between a morally compromised Clinton presidency and a more dignified, honorable Bush administration.
An official government investigation, however, reveals one major problem with these stories: They apparently never happened. According to statements from the General Services Administration that were reported on May 17, little if anything out of the ordinary occurred during the transition, and "the condition of the real property was consistent with what we would expect to encounter when tenants vacate office space after an extended occupancy."
Ironically, the investigation came in response to a request from Rep. Bob Barr (R.-Ga.), and many conservatives who had assumed that the wild rumors would be confirmed by an official inquiry. That wasn't the case. (The "looting" of Air Force One had also been denied months ago by officials at Andrews Air Force base -- Kansas City Star, 2/9/01).
Leading the cry against the trashing of the White House was the Fox News Channel. Virtually every major Fox personality reported it as fact, often expressing their own personal outrage. Guests on the channel chimed in, condemning the Clintons and their staffers. Consider the following reports:
--Brit Hume (1/25/01): "By the way, the reported vandalism in those White House offices now includes power and phone cords cut... trash dumped on floors, desk drawers emptied onto floors, pornographic pictures left in computer printers, scatological messages left on voice mail, and cabinets and drawers glued shut. And the Washington Times reports that the presidential 747 that flew Bill and Hillary Clinton to New York on inauguration day was stripped bare. The plane's porcelain, china... and silverware, and salt and pepper shakers, blankets and pillow cases, nearly all items bearing the presidential seal, were taken by Clinton staffers who went along for the ride. The Washington Times quoted a military steward as saying that even a supply of toothpaste was stolen from a compartment under a sink."
--Sean Hannity (1/26/01): "Look, we've had these reports, very disturbing reports -- and I have actually spoken to people that have confirmed a lot of the reports -- about the trashing of the White House. Pornographic materials left in the printers. They cut the phone lines. Lewd and crude messages on phone machines. Stripping of anything that was not bolted down on Air Force One. $200,000 in furniture taken out."
--Fred Barnes (1/27/01): "Now, you know what else helped Bush have such a good week? It was the contrast with the Clintons' sleazy departure from the White House, which is a hot story in itself.... You had the trashing of the White House itself. We don't know how much, but the typewriters, the voicemail, the graffiti on the walls and so on, reflecting, I think, a real bitterness that they should not have reflected, at least in that."
--Bill O'Reilly (1/26/01): "I mean, the price tag right now is about $200,000, so that's a felony right there."
--Oliver North, radio host (1/26/01, "Hannity & Colmes"): "There's an awful lot about this whole administration that never looked right to many of us. And of course, their closing act in this whole thing, which was basically trashing the White House, you know, pillaging what was available on Air Force One.... We should expect from white trash what they did at the White House."
--Tom Schatz, Citizens Against Government Waste ("O'Reilly Factor," 1/26/01): "They turned it into Animal House."
--Paula Zahn (1/26/01): "All right, but this is the White House, for God's sakes. We're not talking about people living in a fraternity."
--Sean Hannity on the Clintons (2/6/01): "I'd be more willing to cut them some slack and say it was an honest mistake and they weren't involved in the moving if Air Force One wasn't stripped, if they didn't trash the White House, if they didn't set up this -- the equivalent of a bridal registry, if he wasn't taking advantage of the taxpayers."
--Tony Snow (1/28/01): "When I first heard about reported vandalism by disgruntled Clinton-Gore staffers, I got a little bit steamed. I've got a certain affection for the White House, due in no small part to my own service there during the first Bush administration. So, inspired by my experience and fond memories, I dashed off an angry newspaper column about the incident. But then the Bush team did something very wise. It did nothing, and that was the right choice. Sometimes you have to look past little idiocies and outbursts, understanding that life's just too short to fret over such things."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"A little bit steamed" is putting it mildly: As the Kansas City Star reported (5/17/01), one of Snow's syndicated newspaper columns was nearly a case study in dishonest reporting. Snow wrote that the White House "was a wreck" and that Air Force One "looked as if it had been stripped by a skilled band of thieves -- or perhaps wrecked by a trailer park twister."
Fox's "The Edge with Paula Zahn" (5/18/01) covered the GSA investigation, though no mention was made concerning Fox's role in the story. The same was true for "Special Report with Brit Hume," which aired a brief report on the GSA's findings (5/18/01). Guest anchor Tony Snow could not have been less specific in his opening comments: "Remember those accusations in the media that outgoing Clinton administration staffers trashed the White House when they left? Well, now the General Services Administration says the stories weren't true."
His subsequent "correction" on Fox News Sunday (5/20/01) also avoided responsibility: "Even though I corrected myself three days later on this show, thus beating the GSA by four months, the ex-president's pals have a legitimate beef.... If there's a moral here, it's that we need to correct ourselves clearly to reassure one and all that we care about getting things right and, when possible, setting them right."
Snow somehow is under the impression that his statement on January 28 -- about how "you have to look past little idiocies" -- was a "correction," though he did not actually correct any of the information he had reported at all.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ACTION: Please contact Fox News Channel and encourage them to conduct a self-examination of why anonymous reports backed with no evidence became a major focus of their transition coverage.
CONTACT:
Fox New Channel
1211 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
Phone: 1-888-369-4762
comments@foxnews.com
Media watchdog Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting spent two years listening to--and checking up on--Rush's claims. Below, a selection of the Big Blowhard's twistings of the truth.
A SPIN DOCTORATE IN REAGANOMICS
Limbaugh: "Don't let the liberals deceive you into believing that a decade of sustained growth without inflation in America (in the '80s) resulted in a bigger gap between the have and the have-nots. Figures compiled by the Congressional Budget Office dispel that myth" (Limbaugh, The Way Things Ought to Be, p. 70).
Reality: CBO numbers for after-tax incomes show that in 1980 the richest fifth of our country had eight times the income of the poorest fifth. By 1989, the ratio was more than 20-to-1.
MORE BOGUS ECONOMICS
Limbaugh: "The poorest people in America are better off than the mainstream families of Europe" (radio, 1993).
Reality: The poorest 20 percent of Americans can purchase an average of $5,433 worth of goods with their income. Meanwhile, in Germany, the average person can purchase $20,610 worth of goods; in France, $19,200; in Britain, $16,730 (World Development Report 1994, published by the World Bank).
MAKING ENDS MEET
Limbaugh: On the official poverty line: "$14,400 for a family of four. That's not so bad" (radio, Nov. 9, 1993).
Versus Limbaugh: A few months earlier, Limbaugh was talking about how tough it was to live on more than 10 times that: "I know families that make $180,000 a year and they don't consider themselves rich. Why, it costs them $20,000 a year to send their kids to school" (radio, Aug. 3, 1993).
A POOR EXCUSE
Limbaugh: "All of these rich guys--like the Kennedy family and Perot--pretending to live just like we do and pretending to understand our trials and tribulations and pretending to represent us, and they get away with this" (TV, Nov. 18, 1993).
Versus Limbaugh: Limbaugh's income was an estimated $25 million over the last two years (Forbes, Sept. 26, 1994).
THE MIS-STATE OF BLACK AMERICA
Limbaugh: "So many people are either refusing to recognize or unable to recognize the difference between blacks who riot and the majority of blacks in the American middle class. According to University of Chicago sociologist William Julius Wilson, of the 29 million blacks in America, the largest percentage--35 percent--are upper middle class, both professional (lawyer, doctor) and white collar; 32 percent are middle class; and 33 percent are considered poor" (Ought to Be, p. 224).
Reality: Wilson actually says that 20 percent of blacks are in the "professional middle class," which includes teachers and nurses, and that a further 15 percent are in "nonprofessional white-collar positions," such as secretarial or sales jobs. Limbaugh deceptively calls all these "upper middle class"--a description that hardly fits teachers, let alone salesclerks. The category Limbaugh calls "middle class" Wilson refers to as "working class," who he says are "vulnerable to job loss through economic restructuring" (Los Angeles Times, May 6, 1992).
MISSING THE FOREST FOR. . .MISSING THE FOREST
Limbaugh: "There are more acres of forestland in America today than when Columbus discovered the continent in 1492" (Limbaugh, See, I Told You So, p. 171).
Reality: Forestland in what are now the 50 states covered about 1 billion acres before European settlement, according to U.S. Forest Service historian Douglas MacCleery. Today, there are only 737 million acres of forestland, much of which lacks the ecological diversity of old-growth forest (the American Forestry Association).
FOLLOWING THE LEAD RODENT
Limbaugh: Frequently denies that he uses his show for political activism: "I have yet to encourage you people or urge you to call anybody. I don't do it. They think I'm the one doing it. That's fine. You don't need to be told when to call. They think you are a bunch of lemmings out there" (radio, June 28, 1993).
Reality: One hour later, he urged his followers into action against Clinton's tax package: "The people in the states where these Democratic senators are up for re-election in '94 have to let their feelings be known.. . .Let's say Herb Kohl is up in '94. You people in Wisconsin who don't like this bill, who don't like the tax increases, you let Herb Kohl know somehow."
TRUE RUSH
On "The Homeless Trap," a work of art that employs a large mousetraplike device and uses a bedroll as bait: "I've got this idea. Instead of one of these, have 1,000 of them. And use them as a solution--not as a piece of art. Just put these things all over the city and if they trap homeless people, use them" (TV, March 9, 1994).
"This is asinine! A Cesar Chavez Day in California? Wasn't he convicted of a crime?" (radio, 1994).
"I don't give a hoot that [Columbus] gave some Indians a disease that they didn't have immunity against" (Ought to Be, p. 45).
On the endangered northern spotted owl: "If the owl can't adapt to the superiority of humans, screw it" (Ought to Be, p. 162).
"The NAACP should have riot rehearsal. They should get a liquor store and practice robberies" (radio; reported in the Flush Rush Quarterly, January 1993).
On Tipper Gore's decision to give up her career for the sake of her marriage: "If you want a successful marriage, let your husband do what he wants to do.. . .You women don't realize how fortunate you are to be watching this show. I have just spelled out for you the key ingredient to a successful marriage" (TV, Feb. 23, 1994).
"I think this reason why girls don't do well on multiple choice tests goes all the way back to the Bible, all the way back to Genesis, Adam and Eve. God said, 'All right, Eve, multiple choice or multiple orgasms, what's it going to be?' We all know what was chosen" (TV, Feb. 23, 1994).
Excerpted from The Way Things Aren't: Rush Limbaugh's Reign of Error (N.Y.: The New Press, 1995). Written for FAIR by Steven Rendell, Jim Naureckas, and Jeff Cohen. Foreword by Molly Ivins, from which the essay at left was adapted for Mother Jones.
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ACTION ALERT:
Irresistible Lies: Fox News on White House "Vandalism"
(Click here to read a response from Fox.)
May 21, 2001
During the White House transition in January, one story proved irresistible to many conservative pundits: Departing Clinton staffers had gone on a wild rampage and "trashed" or "vandalized" the White House, even looting Air Force One. Allegations of the Clinton aides' reckless destruction of public property swept through the media. For some, the story symbolized the difference between a morally compromised Clinton presidency and a more dignified, honorable Bush administration.
An official government investigation, however, reveals one major problem with these stories: They apparently never happened. According to statements from the General Services Administration that were reported on May 17, little if anything out of the ordinary occurred during the transition, and "the condition of the real property was consistent with what we would expect to encounter when tenants vacate office space after an extended occupancy."
Ironically, the investigation came in response to a request from Rep. Bob Barr (R.-Ga.), and many conservatives who had assumed that the wild rumors would be confirmed by an official inquiry. That wasn't the case. (The "looting" of Air Force One had also been denied months ago by officials at Andrews Air Force base -- Kansas City Star, 2/9/01).
Leading the cry against the trashing of the White House was the Fox News Channel. Virtually every major Fox personality reported it as fact, often expressing their own personal outrage. Guests on the channel chimed in, condemning the Clintons and their staffers. Consider the following reports:
--Brit Hume (1/25/01): "By the way, the reported vandalism in those White House offices now includes power and phone cords cut... trash dumped on floors, desk drawers emptied onto floors, pornographic pictures left in computer printers, scatological messages left on voice mail, and cabinets and drawers glued shut. And the Washington Times reports that the presidential 747 that flew Bill and Hillary Clinton to New York on inauguration day was stripped bare. The plane's porcelain, china... and silverware, and salt and pepper shakers, blankets and pillow cases, nearly all items bearing the presidential seal, were taken by Clinton staffers who went along for the ride. The Washington Times quoted a military steward as saying that even a supply of toothpaste was stolen from a compartment under a sink."
--Sean Hannity (1/26/01): "Look, we've had these reports, very disturbing reports -- and I have actually spoken to people that have confirmed a lot of the reports -- about the trashing of the White House. Pornographic materials left in the printers. They cut the phone lines. Lewd and crude messages on phone machines. Stripping of anything that was not bolted down on Air Force One. $200,000 in furniture taken out."
--Fred Barnes (1/27/01): "Now, you know what else helped Bush have such a good week? It was the contrast with the Clintons' sleazy departure from the White House, which is a hot story in itself.... You had the trashing of the White House itself. We don't know how much, but the typewriters, the voicemail, the graffiti on the walls and so on, reflecting, I think, a real bitterness that they should not have reflected, at least in that."
--Bill O'Reilly (1/26/01): "I mean, the price tag right now is about $200,000, so that's a felony right there."
--Oliver North, radio host (1/26/01, "Hannity & Colmes"): "There's an awful lot about this whole administration that never looked right to many of us. And of course, their closing act in this whole thing, which was basically trashing the White House, you know, pillaging what was available on Air Force One.... We should expect from white trash what they did at the White House."
--Tom Schatz, Citizens Against Government Waste ("O'Reilly Factor," 1/26/01): "They turned it into Animal House."
--Paula Zahn (1/26/01): "All right, but this is the White House, for God's sakes. We're not talking about people living in a fraternity."
--Sean Hannity on the Clintons (2/6/01): "I'd be more willing to cut them some slack and say it was an honest mistake and they weren't involved in the moving if Air Force One wasn't stripped, if they didn't trash the White House, if they didn't set up this -- the equivalent of a bridal registry, if he wasn't taking advantage of the taxpayers."
--Tony Snow (1/28/01): "When I first heard about reported vandalism by disgruntled Clinton-Gore staffers, I got a little bit steamed. I've got a certain affection for the White House, due in no small part to my own service there during the first Bush administration. So, inspired by my experience and fond memories, I dashed off an angry newspaper column about the incident. But then the Bush team did something very wise. It did nothing, and that was the right choice. Sometimes you have to look past little idiocies and outbursts, understanding that life's just too short to fret over such things."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"A little bit steamed" is putting it mildly: As the Kansas City Star reported (5/17/01), one of Snow's syndicated newspaper columns was nearly a case study in dishonest reporting. Snow wrote that the White House "was a wreck" and that Air Force One "looked as if it had been stripped by a skilled band of thieves -- or perhaps wrecked by a trailer park twister."
Fox's "The Edge with Paula Zahn" (5/18/01) covered the GSA investigation, though no mention was made concerning Fox's role in the story. The same was true for "Special Report with Brit Hume," which aired a brief report on the GSA's findings (5/18/01). Guest anchor Tony Snow could not have been less specific in his opening comments: "Remember those accusations in the media that outgoing Clinton administration staffers trashed the White House when they left? Well, now the General Services Administration says the stories weren't true."
His subsequent "correction" on Fox News Sunday (5/20/01) also avoided responsibility: "Even though I corrected myself three days later on this show, thus beating the GSA by four months, the ex-president's pals have a legitimate beef.... If there's a moral here, it's that we need to correct ourselves clearly to reassure one and all that we care about getting things right and, when possible, setting them right."
Snow somehow is under the impression that his statement on January 28 -- about how "you have to look past little idiocies" -- was a "correction," though he did not actually correct any of the information he had reported at all.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ACTION: Please contact Fox News Channel and encourage them to conduct a self-examination of why anonymous reports backed with no evidence became a major focus of their transition coverage.
CONTACT:
Fox New Channel
1211 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
Phone: 1-888-369-4762
comments@foxnews.com
I don't have time to read ALL of what is said here right now, so I don't know if this is a redundancy, but CNN just 'confirmed' that John Walker is the one who said that there has been a second round of attacks supposedly planned by the 'Al Queerduh' network to begin at the end of Ramadan, and that it is all that was said. No indication of the nature of the attacks was given by him.
No one knows if what he claims is the truth.
That is all from your local Starfish.
Over and out.
No one knows if what he claims is the truth.
That is all from your local Starfish.
Over and out.
christophe
back by popular demand
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2001
- Posts
- 9,377
The thought of a bioterrorist attack doesn't sit well with me, nor anyone for that matter. But what is a person to do? We can read theorize and debate the probabilities till we are all blue in the face, yet will this prevent such a thing...I think not!
It would be welcome news that such a cowardly act was prevented before it occured.
I do hope it is conjecture, and the result of poor reporting, but I am not about to alter my lifes plans and stay hiding in a hall closet, nor do I think most folks here will either.
It would be welcome news that such a cowardly act was prevented before it occured.
I do hope it is conjecture, and the result of poor reporting, but I am not about to alter my lifes plans and stay hiding in a hall closet, nor do I think most folks here will either.
Dillinger
Guerrilla Ontologist
- Joined
- Sep 19, 2000
- Posts
- 26,152
Well this is all over the news now... no doubt about what was said BUT... how credible is what John Walker, an "American" fighting for the Taliban, has to say? Meaning - how likely is it he really knows what the Al-Qaeda leadership has planned, if anything, and when?
"'These are tales told around the campfire,' said one U.S. official, adding the information is 'interesting' but hardly points conclusively to any action. The official likened Walker to a foot soldier talking about what a senior general has in mind -- saying the American was unlikely to know."
And, bottom line - there isn't anything we can do about it but worry and I do my best these days not to worry over things that are beyond my control. I'd advise the same - otherwise you're more likely to die of stress-related illness then any potential terrorist attack.
CNN Story - Sources: American Taliban fighter says new attack planned on U.S. -
http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/12/12/ret.walker.attack/index.html
"'These are tales told around the campfire,' said one U.S. official, adding the information is 'interesting' but hardly points conclusively to any action. The official likened Walker to a foot soldier talking about what a senior general has in mind -- saying the American was unlikely to know."
And, bottom line - there isn't anything we can do about it but worry and I do my best these days not to worry over things that are beyond my control. I'd advise the same - otherwise you're more likely to die of stress-related illness then any potential terrorist attack.
CNN Story - Sources: American Taliban fighter says new attack planned on U.S. -
http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/12/12/ret.walker.attack/index.html
Cheyenne
Ms. Smarty Pantsless
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2000
- Posts
- 59,554
Yup, all over the mainstream news. It was the topic of discussion on Larry King Live tonight. Exactly as Dilly says, the whole discussion on Larry King focused on how likely it was for someone at such a low level in the organization to know anything about a planned attack. The group's conclusion was not likely at all, BUT that doesn't mean we shouldn't consider the posibility. We just don't know.
paganangel
born wrong
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2001
- Posts
- 18,277
sorry oak
i actually thought you were someone else.
my bad.
i actually thought you were someone else.
my bad.
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