Free Republic

On October 13, 2009, (10/13 Sheriff's call reports) two small business owners arrived home after a 12-hour workday to find burglars rifling through their house and wearing their jewelry. At least one of the suspects was armed with a gun. The victims armed themselves with handguns and entered their home, confronting two or 3 suspected burglars. One burglar was killed and another wounded, with a possible third still at large. According to the Orlando Sentinel (Link to story), it seems that youths were just committing a harmless misdemeanor prank when they were attacked by two pistol-wielding vigilantes intent on killing...

The White House must be so proud. Following their lead, the state-run media is now boldly bashing FOX News, too. The former news magazine known as Newsweek is now calling FOX News “un-American.”

CNN’s Carol Costello began a new series on political talk radio on Monday’s American Morning, suggesting it was unfairly dominated by conservatives, and brought on a liberal psychiatrist who theorized that Rush Limbaugh has an audience because he’s “operating like the bully, and if you’re on the playground...you want to be...under the bully’s wing and go along with him and get...some power by proxy.” The correspondent’s report, which aired just before the bottom of the 7 am Eastern hour, was the first installment in a “special series on talk radio,” according to anchor John Roberts. Costello zeroed in on the...

Anita Dunn, a senior White House aide, has boasted of how Barack Obama's presidential campaign managed to "absolutely control" the press during the 2008 election. The top campaign strategist who has shot to attention recently as President Obama's main attack dog against Fox News, the conservative-leaning cable network, was speaking at a conference in the Dominican Republic in January. "Very rarely did we communicate through the press anything that we didn't absolutely control," she said. "One of the reasons we did so many of the David Plouffe [Mr Obama's campaign manager] videos was not just for our supporters, but also...

FIRST, “Saturday Night Live” parodies President Obama’s “achievements.” Then Mr. Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize, bringing yet more head-scratching. Clearly, the nation’s attention is focused squarely on a question few presidents want to answer just nine months into their term: What has your administration accomplished? I’ll leave foreign and military affairs to the Oslo Five and concentrate on domestic economics. The president’s critics complain that his only real accomplishment is the $787 billion stimulus bill — which they deride, somewhat contradictorily, as either budget-busting, ineffective or both. But is that all there is? I think not. STOPPING THE SLIDE...

Discerning television viewers may notice a recurrent theme on their favorite shows this week. The doctors on ABC's "Private Practice" give homeless teenagers free check-ups. On NBC's "30 Rock," page Kenneth Parcell tries to adopt all the dogs at an animal shelter. And two characters on CBS' "Numb3rs" talk about joining Big Brothers/Big Sisters. The outpouring of volunteerism is no coincidence. The storylines were developed for iParticipate, an industry-wide initiative aimed at urging viewers to give back to their communities. Spearheaded by the Entertainment Industry Foundation, one of Hollywood's major charitable organizations and the force behind last year's Stand Up...

Click here to read El Marco's report on Denver's Operation Can You Hear Us Now ABC and NBC News in Denver were surrounded by Tea Party protesters as part of anti-media rallies that took place in dozens of American cities on Saturday. There was almost a complete media block out of this event nationwide. El Marco dissects ABC News' fraudulent coverage in his latest photo expose. Instead of focusing their camera on Tea Party protesters (above) ABC News interviewed only these interlopers (below). An amazing story of news media malfeasance and blatant liberal bias.

<p>TEL AVIV – President Obama's presidential campaign focused on "making" the news media cover certain issues while rarely communicating anything to the press unless it was "controlled," White House Communications Director Anita Dunn disclosed to the Dominican government at a videotaped conference.</p>

I am not a Mark Kirk fan. For me he is and always has been far too "moderate" on social issues and his now (maybe) retracted Cap and Tax vote sticks in my craw pretty badly. But Steve Benen of the Washington Monthly blog Political Animal unfairly and illicitly slammed Kirk on something he said in an interview with The News Gazette of Danville, Illinois. Benen was ticked at Kirk's answer about the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy of the U.S. Military. In an effort to show all his LGBT, or BLGT, or BLT fans… whatever they call themselves this...

White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel Sunday made one of the most absurd comments to date about the Administration's fight with the Fox News Channel. In his "State of the Union" interview with CNN's John King, Emanuel said, "It's not a news organization so much as it has a perspective.

Once again, the nightly train wreck known as CNN Headline News "The Joy Behar Show" took another jab at conservatism, particularly Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh. Only this time, Behar threw in a couple of old standbys for whom lefties are fixated upon assaulting - former President George W. Bush and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Behar, on her Oct. 17 CNN HLN program, suggested to radio show talk host and former child-star actor Danny Bonaduce there was a trend - that people who have had struggles with chemical addictions are now outspoken, particularly those on the right that Behar...

When a UFO shaped helium balloon took off from Colorado, possibly harboring a 6-year-old boy, the broadcast and cable news organizations were transfixed. But when it turned out to be a possible "publicity stunt" the networks continued to give it enormous amounts of coverage. That's exactly the opposite of the way the networks covered made-up quotes attributed to conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh that had portrayed him as racist. ...more (w/video)...

Media Bias: Not long after pro football welcomed a convicted felon back on the playing field, Rush Limbaugh is dropped for his opinions from a group seeking to buy an NFL franchise. Won't someone throw a flag? When even Keith Olbermann says back off, you know the politically correct critics of the conservative icon and megaradio talk host's proposed part ownership of the St. Louis Rams are guilty of piling on. The prospect of the leading conservative voice in America participating in the purchase of a football team sent the liberal elites into cardiac arrest and into a frenzied campaign...

Let's face it. Fox News runs stories that the Obama administration would rather ignore - from the sleaziness and corruption in the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) to the bizarre views and actions of senior presidential appointees such as Van Jones and Kevin Jennings. Last weekend, the Obama administration declared war. "We're going to treat [Fox News] the way we would treat an opponent," said Anita Dunn, White House communications director. She claimed, "We don't need to pretend that this is the way that legitimate news organizations behave." The administration has begun using a government blog to...

This ought to get the folks at the left-wing noise machine all wound up. Fox News host Glenn Beck on his Oct. 14 show, after being a regular recipient of MSNBC host Keith Olbermann's "Worst Persons in the World" on his "Countdown" program, decided to have a little fun by mocking Olbermann and his MSNBC colleague Chris Matthews. Beck mocked Olbermann's "Shakespearean" performance he puts on nightly on his "Countdown" program and also mocked Chris Matthews for his February 2008 "Obama gave me a thrill up my leg" comments. ...more (w/video)...

Who’s behind the White House war on Fox News? By Michelle Malkin  •  October 14, 2009 05:06 AM President Obama with Anita Dunn, David Axelrod, Rahm Emanuel, and Robert Gibbs (via White House Flickr stream) My syndicated column today follows up on yesterday’s Fox News Derangement Syndrome post. Who has Obama stocked his communications shop with, you ask? Beltway flacks for corruptocrats. Meet some of the key people behind the White House war on Fox News. Birds of a feather…****Who’s behind the White House war on Fox News? by Michelle MakinCreators SyndicateCopyright 2009 White House interim communications director Anita Dunn assumed the...

MSNBC contributor Touré on Wednesday continued the network's vitriolic, slanderous attacks on Rush Limbaugh. Discussing the radio host’s bid to buy the St. Louis Rams, the cable commentator smeared, "Several NFL players have already said they would not play for Rush because they know he would love to say he owns a plantation full of black men." [Audio available here.] When Morning Meeting host Dylan Ratigan mock protested, "No, they don't know that," the one-named Touré reiterated, "They feel it." Ratigan gave in and played along, "Okay, they feel that." Despite calls from the Media Research Center, MSNBC has repeatedly...

Many "tea partiers" and 9-12 protesters were angered by the way the mainstream media misreported their big protest In Washington, DC held on September 12... This coming October 17, activists will be rallying outside their local elite newspaper and tv news outlets to protest media bias against conservative ideas....

Perhaps having a slot on Glenn Beck's former network wasn't enough for the newly minted host of CNN Headline News "The Joy Behar Show." Instead, she obviously finds bashing Beck is the way to reach her audience. For the fourth time in the 11 broadcasts of her show Behar, also a co-host of ABC's "The View," dedicated a portion of her Oct. 13 show to discussing Fox News host Glenn Beck. The segment included actress Lynda Carter, best known for her role as Wonder Woman on television, and who had once accused the "the right-wing of spreading hate." Leslie Sanchez,...

This came floating in the email a few days ago. Some good suggestions in this for those planning to participate in Operation Can You Hear Us Now From: xxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxTo: xxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxCc: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxDate: 10/10/2009 02:38 PMSubject: Good luck with Operation Can You Hear Us Now Fellow Patriots, You are one week from a major demonstration at hundreds of locations across this nation. I wish you the best, and I wanted to offer a few tactical suggestions for your demonstrations. First, make certain you can assemble a big crowd. If necessary, combine with other neighboring groups to get a more "overwhelming" crowd. Second,...

Increasingly, the Old Media appears to be engaged in satire and here is another story that could serve as an example of it. ABC News has published a purportedly serious story claiming that global warming "helps" the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan and terrorists all over the world. For ABC, writer Bill Blakemore makes the leap of logic that droughts and other climate situations in countries in which the U.S. Military is engaged is "man made." Speaking about military studies that have been conducted into how climate is affecting the military situation, Blakemore writes, "a number of U.S. intelligence...

March on the Media! Join the nation wide rally on Saturday, October 17, 2009 At Hawthorne Park (between E. Main St/Jackson St/ Biddle Rd.) Medford, Oregon Meet at noon and march to NBC affiliate Channel 5. Bring your signs....tell the media we KNOW they are just a propaganda arm, not reporting the news we need to know!

Why would President Obama openly challenge the highest rated news channel in existence? Obama's poll numbers are dropping, his policies are running into serious problems even though his own party has a super majority, and even his personal appeal has failed him. Many in the media are scratching their heads trying to figure out why a sitting President would do something so foolish. The answer is simple. Obama's stock and trade when he was a community organizer was peddling a victimization mentality that blames all manner of bogeymen but never looks at the culture of failure that created the conditions...

The irony in this story is so delicious, as NewsBusters' Noel Sheppard would probably describe it, that one must take a bit of time to savor it.Yesterday, Sheppard posted a story about White House communications director Anita Dunn whining at length on Howard Kurtz's "Reliable Sources" about how supposedly unfair Fox News is. Her appearance on that show was instigated by Dunn's complaints about White House coverage by Fox News in a Time magazine story by Michael Scherer. Among her attacks upon Fox News was the assertion that it wasn't a real news network "the way CNN is." Well, Michael...

It's obvious the Obama administration has a low regard for Fox News as a media outlet. Whether it has been President Barack Obama hinting at what he has thought about Fox News, the administration passing over Fox News in a recent round of Sunday morning interviews or as White House communications director Anita Dunn recently has done - just declare open season on the network. However Brit Hume, now a senior political analyst for Fox News and regarded as a veteran figure at the news organization, took the White House head on. In his "Brit Hume Commentary" segment on Fox...

“Lord, thank you for my enemies.” Thus began El Rushbo’s interview with NBC national correspondent Jamie Gangel. It is remarkable that, even when the media sit down with Limbaugh, they still find a way to be biased. To be fair, Gangel did not conduct the interview like Keith Olbermann might have. But there were a few points of interest which must be noted – and some even pointed out by Rush during the interview.

If there was any question which side of the ideological blogosphere a lot of the inside-the-beltway media establishment go to regularly, Politico may have just cleared that up. In an Oct. 11 Politico story headlined "Think Progress makes its mark," which was the top story on its Web site that evening, Daniel Libit paid reverence to the left-wing Center for American Progress' Think Progress blog. "Can a liberal blog launched in the midst of the Bush era - a blog that once obsessed over Alberto Gonzales, Donald Rumsfeld, Karl Rove and the outing of Valerie Plame - still make its...

The British paper The Guardian – which one would just dismiss as an irrelevant left-wing rag, except that it is the overwhelming paper of choice for British teachers and for news staff at the BBC, the world’s largest broadcasting network, who are “inspired” by Guardian stories on a daily basis in their broadcasts – is no friend of Israel and the Jews, as I have noted before. But now it has wiped Israel off the Nobel Prize map, much as Iranian despot Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would like to wipe Israel off the real map. To accompany their story about Barack Obama...

The British paper The Guardian - which one would just dismiss as an irrelevant left-wing rag, except that it is the overwhelming paper of choice for British teachers and for news staff at the BBC, the world's largest broadcasting network, who are "inspired" by Guardian stories on a daily basis in their broadcasts - is no friend of Israel and the Jews, as I have noted before. But now it has wiped Israel off the Nobel Prize map, much as Iranian despot Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would like to wipe Israel off the real map. To accompany their story about Barack Obama...

Global warming is helping America's sworn enemies al Qaeda as well as the Taliban in Afghanistan. So claimed ABCNews.com's "World News Webcast" Friday in a segment not only designed to increase America's fear of Al Gore's money-making bogeyman, but also give cover to President Obama as things in Afghanistan continue to spiral out of control. Talk about your amazingly convenient, two-fisted, win-win situations. ...more (w/video)...

Remember just a week ago when New York Times columnist David Brooks slammed the likes Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck? Naturally, that led to the left-wing noise machine, and the media which uses that message for show prep, to suggest there was a split in the conservative movement and therefore attempt to marginalize the conservative message. However, will they be so eager to echo the sentiment of David Brooks in the wake of President Barack Obama's Nobel Prize announcement? On PBS's Oct. 9 "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," the Times columnist had some disparaging words for Obama's award - despite a...

In another Obama loving column, Chicago Tribune writer Steve Chapman took pains to assure readers that Barack Obama is no socialist, calling the charge a "fabrication." To prove that Obama's attempted take over of the nation's healthcare and his actual take over of the financial and auto sectors isn't a step toward socialism, Chapman countered that President Bush, "a conservative hero," did it too. Obama, it's true, has done things that involve enlarging government -- bailing out banks, taking over General Motors, proposing a "public option" for health insurance and spending $787 billion to stimulate the economy. But it was...

It probably wasn't totally unexpected, since the tally of time the on-air talent at MSNBC spends on Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., increases with every broadcast hour. Bachmann, not one to hold back on expressing her opinions, has criticized MSNBC on not one, but two occasions recently. And one of those appearances, on Fox News' Oct. 7 "The O'Reilly Factor," she called her critics on the left-leaning network "personal stalkers, only they have TV shows." And that earned her the top spot on Olbermann's "Worst Person in the World" segment. "But our winner, Michele Bachmann," Olbermann said, referring to the first...

In case you missed it, conservative talker Rush Limbaugh will be expanding his resume - long-time political commentator, potential NFL owner and now Miss America pageant judge. On the Oct. 8 broadcast of Fox News "On the Record," host Greta Van Sustren revealed that Limbaugh would be one of the national judges for the 2010 Miss America Pageant, scheduled to be held in Las Vegas on Jan. 30, 2010. "Rush Limbaugh, he's the King of talk radio," Van Sustren said. "He's trying to buy the St. Louis Rams. Well chalk up one more thing - Miss America judge. You heard...

Remember how the left was up in arms about the possibility that conservative talker Rush Limbaugh might purchase the St. Louis Rams, especially from the left-wing noise machine and the pundits that echo its message? Well, in a curious turn of events on MSNBC's Oct. 8 "Countdown," host Keith Olbermann told his viewers that those who are opposing Limbaugh's bid for the Rams were the third worst people in the world on this particular day. ...more (w/video)...

NBC Correspondent Richard Engel is taking sides in the debate over what to do next in Afghanistan. Appearing on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” today, Engel declared, “I honestly think it’s probably time to start leaving the country. I really don’t see how this is going to end in anything but tears.” Engel’s comments -- which came in response to the simple question, “What did you see in Afghanistan?” – have become part of the political debate. In an interview today on CNN, Senator Russ Feingold repeatedly quoted Engel in a making the case for a timetable for withdrawing US troops. Engel...

Earlier this week the National Republican Congressional Committee released a statement on Nancy Pelosi's sudden departure from her insistence that the war in Afghanistan was the "real central front" in the war on terror: "If Nancy Pelosi’s failed economic policies are any indicator of the effect she may have on Afghanistan, taxpayers can only hope McChrystal is able to put her in her place." Nancy Pelosi and her fellow democrats responded like, well... liberals. They ignored the facts and made an emotional appeal. They ignored the first part of the statement, and played up the meaningless ending. In short, Pelosi...

Students from the Ron Clark Academy sing in support of President Obama's health care overhaul legislation - in the CNN studio, with lyrics displayed for viewers at the bottom of the screen. Singing to the tune of Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA," students from the Ron Clark Academy appeared in the CNN studio to perform in support of President Obama's health care initiatives. "Obama says everyone needs health care now," they sang. The performance, carried on CNN and complete with follow-along scrolling lyrics at the bottom of the television screen for viewers, appeared to echo an earlier indoctrination incident...

Over the past several days, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., has made a series appearances pushing for action against the disgraced organization ACORN. However, in an appearance on Fox News Oct. 7 "The O'Reilly Factor," host Bill O'Reilly asked Bachmann about a trend others have noticed - why do so many media figures on the left have such a fixation on criticizing her or former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin? "You are a pretty interesting politician, congresswoman," O'Reilly said. "You are second to Sarah Palin in far-left angst. You know, Sarah Palin leads the league, no doubt. But they're after you now....

Today’s screed by columnist Leonard Pitts has inspired a nelogism — Leonard Pitts is a Foxist. While Pitts’ thesis is that Fox News is not a credible news source, his column is an ill-disguised reaction to Fox News’ outing of the ACORN organization, which (objectively considered) tends to show that Fox News is a credible news source; but like racism and other forms of bigotry, Foxism exists apart from reality.

What happens when you have James Carville prodding Larry King to ask a "tough" question of outspoken Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann? You get a glimpse of what is really driving the movement questioning the legitimacy of President Barack Obama's birthplace. On CNN's Oct. 7 "Larry King Live," a persistent Carville would not let it go - that Bachmann was a part of the so-called "birther" movement - a tactic to frame her as "nutty." "Well, first of all, there are seven Republicans in the House that have ‘birther' legislation before in there," Carville said. "And one of the things that...

In the misty past of ten months ago, dissent was patriotic, mass protests were a sign of passionate civic engagement, and the greatest sin any politician could commit was questioning someone’s patriotism. But that was America, B.B.O. (Before Barack Obama). Now dissent is potential incitement, middle American protesters are Swastika-carrying yokels, and disagreeing with a president’s decision to put his hometown above the well-being of troops in Afghanistan demonstrates a “lack of patriotism.� On Friday’s edition of MSNBC’s “The Ed Show,� Ed Schultz blamed Chicago’s first-round rejection, not on Rio or behind-the-scenes maneuvering, but on American conservatives who questioned...

MSNBC’s Contessa Brewer on Wednesday angrily agreed with Democratic claims that the National Republican Congressional Committee made a sexist slam against Nancy Pelosi. Appearing on Morning Meeting, Brewer attacked the critique of the House Speaker as "not good" and a "poor move." [Audio available here.] After recounting how the GOP organization released a statement mocking the Democrat as "General Pelosi" and hoping that the top commander in Afghanistan will "put her in her place," a visibly annoyed Brewer complained, "Really? Put the first female Speaker of the House in her place? Not good." (Pelosi had given an interview in which...

We've already seen CNN's Paul Begala, affectionately referred to as "The Forehead" by Rush Limbaugh, and one ESPN personality, Fred Roggin, taking shots at Limbaugh on the heels of news of his interest in the National Football League's St. Louis Rams. But it was just a matter of time before the usual culprits on the left would attempt to make an issue of it, in what seems to be an effort to gin up some reason for the talk show host not to have an ownership stake in an NFL team. And, MSNBC's Ed Schultz isn't waiting for pointers from...

Army Col. Conrad Reynolds is one of several Republicans vying to take on Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D) for Arkansas’ Senate seat in 2010. Reynolds’ campaign issued a press release last week blasting Lincoln for a vote, and among those who received it was Greg Chance, the news director of an NPR affiliate based at Arkansas State University. It seems Chance attempted to forward the e-mail to Katie Laning Niebaum, Lincoln’s Washington-based communications director. In his forward, which HOH obtained, Chance mocked the press release and even the campaign’s logo, which features the Army colonel insignia. “There was another one from...

Army Col. Conrad Reynolds is one of several Republicans vying to take on Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D) for Arkansas’ Senate seat in 2010. Reynolds’ campaign issued a press release last week blasting Lincoln for a vote, and among those who received it was Greg Chance, the news director of an NPR affiliate based at Arkansas State University. It seems Chance attempted to forward the e-mail to Katie Laning Niebaum, Lincoln’s Washington-based communications director. In his forward, which HOH obtained, Chance mocked the press release and even the campaign’s logo, which features the Army colonel insignia. “There was another one from...

Over the past two years, MSNBC - the so-called "place for politics" has had a fascination with the congresswoman from Minnesota's Sixth District. And some of those attacks have been against her family, others borderline misogynistic. However, GOP Rep. Michelle Bachmann told a group of conservative bloggers at The Heritage Foundation on Oct. 6 she really wasn't concerned about MSNBC, and noted how poorly the network does in the ratings. "Quite honestly, I don't even know anything about MSNBC," Bachmann said. "It's not a network that I watch and most of the American people agree with that assessment. They aren't...

This is perhaps a pretty desperate way for MSNBC host Rachel Maddow to try to resonate with her liberal viewers. On her Oct. 6 show, Maddow specifically targeted Sens. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., and Jim DeMint, R-S.C. for pursuing foreign policy objectives that run counter to President Barack Obama's on the issues of global warming and Latin America relations. First she set her sights on Inhofe, who recently announced he would be making a trip to Copenhagen to offer an opposing U.S. perspective on the issue of global warming. Inhofe, who is the ranking Republican on the U.S. Senate Committee on...

Rarely does such an example appear brilliantly illustrating why Projection is one of the two official defense mechanisms of the Democrat Party (the other is Denial). The other day, NY Times editorialist (and, somehow, Economics Nobel Prize laureate) penned a piece accusing Republicans of automatically opposing any policy, action, or statement made by President Obama simply out of spite and he even claimed they would do so even at the expense of the good of the country. The piece starts: The Politics of SpiteOctober 5, 2009If Republicans think something might be good for the president, they’re against it whether or...

Here is video of CNN "fact-checking" SNL's Obama "do nothing" skit. CNN's Kareen Wynter reported "some observers say sure we are just talking comedy here, but on many points SNL couldn't have been more off the mark." CNN talked to Bill Adair who said "this is not a fair portrayal of how Obama's done, but it's comedy it doesn't have to be fair." (Video)