Tag: TV

O’Reilly Blunders, Unintentionally Ratchets Up Netroots Support for Sen. Clinton

Jon Ponder


Via: Blogometer: Howard Wolfson, spokesman for Sen. Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, went on Bill O’Reilly’s show Tuesday night to defend DailyKos from O’Reilly’s recent attacks. This line stands out:

Hey Bill: We’ve been attacking you for years, so, how about it? Show us some hate. It’s good for business.

Unfortunately with all due respect for you, the days where you can dictate where Senator Clinton and other Democrats go, who we talk to, are over.

Bill O’Reilly just can’t get it through his head that he is seen as such a bully that it actually helps his opponents when he attacks them. Just ask Al Franken, whose book, “Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them,” made millions more than it would have if Bill hadn’t sued over Franken’s depiction of him.

Or ask Keith Olbermann, whose almost daily attacks on O’Reilly as the “Worst Person in the World” have helped make “Countdown” the most popular live show on MSNBC.

Now O’Reilly has turned his guns on DailyKos, labeling it a “hate speech” site, a charge he bases on a few vile and nasty statements cherrypicked from the site’s comments section — one of the largest boards on the Internets. O’Reilly’s campaign against DailyKos has had some success. He forced JetBlue to reneg on its promised level of sponsorship for the upcoming YearlyKos conference. Now he’s trying to bully the presidential candidates into skipping the event.

Predictably (to everyone but Bill), his attacks on the Kos community have had the unintended consequence of improving Sen. Clinton’s popularity among the Netroots. Until now, conventional wisdom considered the online left to be a big obstacle for Clinton in the primaries because of her conservative positions.

That dynamic appears to be shifting — thanks entirely to Bill O’Reilly. As a DailyKos member put it:

[O’Reilly] thinks he’s destroying kos’ credibility when in fact what he is doing is causing all the candidates to stand behind the [YearlyKos] conference and the web site, and by Hillary being so up front in defending Daily Kos, he is helping people here who don’t like her start to rally around her.

Hey Bill: We’ve been attacking you for years (the cartoon of your big giant head with a loofah background is a little something we worked up in 2005) — so, how about it? Show us some hate. There’s some pretty salty stuff — and some of it is about you — in our comments section, so please feel free to call us a hate speech site. It’s good for business.

Olbermann Not Always an Uber-Good Guy

Buck Banks

Co-editor Jon thinks MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann is the cat’s pajamas. He’s fond of posting Olbermannic diatribes and lambastings and bully-pulpit blatherings of the increasingly distinguished-looking anchor of Count Down with Keith Olbermann. Jon even posted an angry seven-minute-plus Obermann oration today.

Now that one was a real tour de force, but as the folks at FishBowl NY note, Keith and Count Down don’t always take the high road:

Considering its “Nappy ‘Hos” history, MSNBC should’ve learned a lesson or two about off-handed, misogynistic remarks. Still, no one should be surprised — Olbermann and Countdown have done this kind of thing before. One example, as we reported way back in October, involved a pre-penitentiary Paris Hilton. At that time, it wasn’t the “A Slut and Battery” that drew our attention — it was what he said: “Paris Hilton claims she was punched in the face yesterday morning at a nightclub in Hollywood. [pause] ‘Course she’s had worse things happen to her face …”

Appears you can take the pundit out of the locker room, but you can’t take the locker room out of the pundit.

Why Fred Thompson’s Really Waiting to Announce

Trish

It’s all about bucks, baby.

Under the equal-time rule, if a network gives time to one political candidate, it is required to provide the same amount of airtime to his or her opponents. In other words, if Thompson appeared on a “Law & Order” episode for 10 minutes during prime time, NBC would have to give Thompson’s rivals for the Republican nomination 10 minutes of prime time each.

“The equal-time requirement applies when the person has legally qualified as an official candidate in a relevant state — for example, having his or her name formally approved to be on a state’s primary ballot — not merely when he/she declares his or her intent to run,” an NBC spokeswoman said. “If Fred Thompson formally announces his intention to run for president, NBC will not schedule any further repeats of ‘Law & Order’ featuring Mr. Thompson beyond those already scheduled, which conclude on Saturday, September 1st.”

Celebrity Dirt Goes Green

Trish

We welcome a new addition to our blogroll, er, sorry Jon, “web sites list.” This one was discovered by Buck during his live reporting from Florida’s “Serve to Preserve” global warming conference.

Ecorazzi bills itself as The Latest in Green Gossip, with current features on Rob Lowe’s testimony in Washington on behalf of hybrids, Courtney Cox’s line of global warming awareness t-shirts, and Madonna’s new movie on Malawi. At last, a way to waste time on celebrity scoop while feeling virtuous. Thanks, Ecorazzi!

Tune in Live Earth 7/7/07

Trish

Take a break from whatever you’re doing tomorrow and check out Live Earth, the international music event to combat global warming.

Live Earth is a 24-hour, 7-continent concert series taking place on 7/7/07 that will bring together more than 100 music artists and 2 billion people to trigger a global movement to solve the climate crisis.

Live Earth will reach this worldwide audience through an unprecedented global media architecture covering all media platforms – TV, radio, Internet and wireless channels…

Live Earth was founded by Kevin Wall, the Worldwide Executive Producer of Live 8, an event that brought together one of the largest audiences in history to combat poverty. Wall formed a partnership with Al Gore and the Alliance for Climate Protection to ensure that Live Earth inspires behavioral changes long after 7/7/07.

Live Earth will stage official concerts at Giants Stadium in New York; Wembley Stadium in London; Aussie Stadium in Sydney; Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro; the Coca-Cola Dome in Johannesburg; Makuhari Messe in Tokyo; the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai; and HSH Nordbank Arena in Hamburg.

Live Earth concerts will be broadcast to a live worldwide audience by MSN at www.LiveEarth.MSN.com.

The newest artist to be added to the list of performers is Yusuf, formerly known as Cat Stevens.

Cable Newsers Go Ga-Ga over Undetonated Car Bombs in London

Jon Ponder

Are you scared yet? As you have undoubtedly heard by now, a pair of car bombs were discovered in London yesterday. Authorities said both cars were Mercedes and the apparatus in both was the same: Canisters of propane and gasoline and nails. “These vehicles are clearly linked,” said a London police commissioner.

The thwarted terror attacks put the lie to the ridiculous theory that by attacking the terrorists “over there” (Iraq), we’re preventing them from attacking us “over here” — if “here” is defined as any English-speaking country that invaded Iraq.

MSNBC covered it extensively yesterday, giving it nearly the whole hour during its Tucker Carlson and Chris Matthews shows and their late afternoon repeats. The story continues to lead on both CNN and MSNBC this morning.

(As I write this, MSNBC is reporting that a burning Jeep Cherokee just burst through the doors at an airport in Scotland. One source says that one of two Asian men in the car was also on fire. Another source says there was only one man in the car and he was apprehended by police. Here’s a link to the story on CNN.)

On MSNBC’s “Countdown” last night, Keith Olbermann was having none of it. His guest for the segment was Larry Johnson, one of the former Republican CIA agents that Bush scared straight with the Iraq war and outing of secret agent Valerie Plame Wilson.

Johnson portrayed the would-be bombers as amateurs and doubted that the bombs could have caused the sort of catastrophic damage being hyped by the newsers. He also said that whether the would-be terrorists were Al Qaeda or just wanna-bes was nearly irrelevant.

In either case, and despite the fact the attacks were bungled, the attempts in London put the lie to the ridiculous theory that by attacking the terrorists “over there” (Iraq), we’re preventing them from attacking us “over here” — if “here” is defined as any English-speaking country that invaded Iraq.

Here’s a flavor what Johnson had to say about the thwarted bombings on his website, No Quarter:

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Chris Matthews’ New Man Crush: Fred ‘K Street’ Thompson

Jon Ponder

Left: Bush with pilot on aircraft carrier in 2003. Right: Fred Thompson, the former K Street lobbyist

Chris Matthews, the host of “Hardball” on MSNBC, has a bad habit of developing man-crushes on tough-acting politicians. He’s just getting over one of these affairs of the heart, and is showing signs that him may be ready to get back on the pony of love and ride.

“Can you smell the English leather on this guy, the Aqua Velva, the sort of mature man‘s shaving cream, or whatever, you know, after he shaved? Do you smell that sort of — a little bit of cigar smoke?”
— Chris Matthews

Like his former crush, the new one is a macho-acting Republican. And like the ex, he’s an obvious phony to anyone not smitten with him. Poor Chris. Here’s how he gushed over his new bff, the erstwhile presidential candidate, Fred Thompson:

MATTHEWS: Can you smell the English leather on this guy, the Aqua Velva, the sort of mature man‘s shaving cream, or whatever, you know, after he shaved? Do you smell that sort of — a little bit of cigar smoke? You know, whatever.

He has also recently flirted with Sen. John McCain, whose “jib” he said he liked (whereas about the New England preppie, Mitt Romney, Matthews said, “He’s got a nice chin, which I noticed.”)

Matthews’ long, lamented ex, of course, is Pres. George W. Bush. Here’s a snippet of Matthews’ perving on the president during the coverage of Bush’s landing on an aircraft carrier in a fighter jet, on May 1, 2003:

Here’s a president who’s really nonverbal. He’s like Eisenhower. He looks great in a military uniform. He looks great in that cowboy costume he wears when he goes West. I remember him standing at that fence with Colin Powell. Was [that] the best picture in the 2000 campaign?

And:

MATTHEWS: The president there — look at this guy! We’re watching him. He looks like he flew the plane. He only flew it as a passenger, but he’s flown —

[A PRO-BUSH PUNDIT]: He looks like a fighter pilot.

MATTHEWS: He looks for real. What is it about the commander in chief role, the hat that he does wear, that makes him — I mean, he seems like — he didn’t fight in a war, but he looks like he does.

But he wasn’t for real, and Matthews had his hopes crushed, and now it appears he’s about to make the same mistake.

Unfortunately, Fred Thompson is not the down-to-earth, Reaganesque figure he appears to be. In reality, he was a professional lobbyist for 18 years — twice as long as he served in the Senate.

It’s Not Paris, It’s the Stupid Media

Buck Banks

While we all sympathize with the incredible psychological pressure Paris Hilton must have been under while being unable to shave her legs for three days, we have to wonder if, besides Al Sharpton (and maybe Lindsay Lohan and Michelle Ritchie), anyone really has a good reason to care about the story.

This is news: There’s a G8 meeting under way, the president is hung over, Lebanon is burning, Putin’s getting all Cold War-ry on us and soldiers and civilians are dying in Iraq. Yet our cult of personality remains obsessed with the story of the poor little rich girl who thinks it’s okay to get drunk and drive a car again and again.

‘Are we just so pathetic and so lonely that we have to live life through people like Paris Hilton?’

TVNewser provides a log of the shallowness of cable television’s reportage of Hilton’s release from jail yesterday:

10:36 am, MSNBC: Chris Jansing asks the Village Voice’s Michael Musto: “You know everything there is to know about Paris Hilton. Does she have a medical condition?” “Yeah, she’s crazy,” he says…

11:01 am, FNC: Co-host E.D. Hill: “It is a great day in America if your name is Paris Hilton or you are an illegal alien. Today, we’ll tell you why…”

11:56 am, CNN: Immediately following an interview with General David Petraeus about Iraq, Heidi Collins says: “Well you know, we’ll always have Paris, but she won’t always have a cell…”

12:08 pm, MSNBC: The cabler reveals an animation titled “Paris Hilton Free,” complete with a bark from her dog Tinkerbell. “Paris Hilton’s long, grueling ordeal behind bars has come to an end,” Lisa Daniels mocks…

12:10 pm, FNC: Jon Scott’s attempt to transition from the G8 to Hollywood: “While the president is in Germany, the world’s attention is focused on Paris — Paris Hilton…”

12:22 pm, CNN International: “These are live pictures from our affiliate KTLA, helicopter pictures of the home of Paris Hilton… We’re watching that home. Lots of cars down there.” Co-anchor Stephen Frazier transitions: “Let’s turn now to Harvard…”

12:44pm, MSNBC: “It’s good to be rich and famous in America,” legal analyst Susan Filan concludes. “It is; I wish I was both,” Lisa Daniels responds…

1:38 pm, FNC: “This was not a good punishment for her,” a Live Desk panelist says. “The real punishment for Paris Hilton, I think, would be that the media gives her no coverage at all… That would be cruel and unusual punishment for her…”

1:54 pm, CNN: Kyra Phillips asks a guest: “Are we just so pathetic and so lonely that we have to live life through people like Paris Hilton?”

2:25 pm, MSNBC: After talking about immigration, Contessa Brewer asks political analyst Pat Buchanan: “I have got to ask you, is it fair that Paris Hilton is under house arrest?…”

4:09 pm, FNC: Neil Cavuto jokes: “Do you know if Paris sold stock today?” “I don’t know if she knows what stock is,” his guest responds.

O’Reilly Attacks an Evangelical – And Converts Me

Trish

Bill O’Reilly has done the impossible. He’s got me cheering for an evangelist who says homosexuals and people who don’t accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior are going to hell. Through the magic of O’Reilly’s utter foulness, I am now on the same team as Bill Keller, who according to the Tampa Tribune, “writes a daily devotional published on his Web site and e-mailed to more than 2 million subscribers. His live, call-in program is televised weeknights at 1 a.m. in the Tampa market.”

Keller: Going on O’Reilly “requires you are really prayed up surrendered”

Keller recently appeared on The O’Reilly Factor, taking the usual abuse and sanctimonious hot air from Bill, who tried to appear to be the voice of reason. The topic was Mitt Romney, whose faith Keller has consistently referred to as a cult (go Rev.!). His charge that a vote for Romney is a vote for Satan has Americans United for the Separation of Church and State asking the IRS to revoke Keller’s tax exemption.

Keller posted his reaction to being beaten up by O’Reilly on his web site, www.liveprayer.com. And he makes some good points. FOX, O’Reilly, and most of their viewers, he says, only pretend they love Jesus and the flag.

As “conservative friendly” and “Christian friendly” as FOX News tries to portray itself, it is still very much part of the world…Anyone who goes into that environment taking a Biblical position on the issues and telling people Jesus is the only way to be saved, immediately comes under intense fire. The world for the most part may believe in God, but they don’t honor Him, they clearly reject His Truth, and very few have really committed their hearts and lives to Jesus Christ.

In addition to speaking to an audience that for the most part rejects Biblical Truth, I was also dealing with exposing a satanically inspired cult that has done a masterful public relationship job of getting people, including many Christians, to believe they are “just another Christian church.” As I have stated often, the teachings and theology of the Mormon cult are completely inconsistent with Biblical Christianity…

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