Won't Someone Please Help this Poor Woman?

[paft.livejournal.com]

As an incurable bleeding-heart, I’m always on the lookout for someone suffering, and that includes people with whom I disagree. The sight of human pain should cause us all to put aside our differences. Megyn Kelly is suffering right here, on national television.

She’s thrown this Fox News Alert about presumably explosive remarks from Attorney General Eric Holder. “About the Boston bombings – which are already – making news,” she says haltingly, either reading from a teleprompter or repeating what’s coming through her earphone. “This is just coming in, we’re trying to turn the tape from you so you can hear it from the man himself,” she adds, rather hopefully.

Alas, the tape just can’t be “turned,” so Kelly is forced to tell us herself what Holder said.

“He promised to hold accountable those responsible for the bombing, but went on to say, ‘Just as we will pursue relentlessly anyone who would target our people or attempt to terrorize our cities, the Justice Department is firmly committed to protecting innocent people against misguided attempts at retaliation.’ And there’s more, let me bring in our panel.” She introduces Julian Epstein and Jay Sekulow, then continues looking down and slowly reading. “He went on – to say –

(Pause as she reads and the horrible realization dawns about the hay she’s expected to weave into righteously outraged gold)

– uh – to talk about – he didn’t mention the fact that these two are Muslim who have been killed or arrested in connection with Boston. But he went on to talk about how in the dozen years since 911 they’ve investigated more than 800 incidents involving threats, assaults, and acts of vandalism and violence targeting Muslims, Arabs, Sikhs, South Asians and others who are perceived to be members of these groups. ‘As Americans we must not allow any group to be stigmatized or alienated. We must not tolerate acts of hatred.’ And then he goes on to say, ‘Let us resolve once more to let our fellow citizens, meet fear with reason. This is how we will honor the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings. Let us strive to confront ignorance with information. Promote understanding, encourage open dialogue, divert suspicious or prejudiced gazes with outstretched hands.

Uh…

I do have to give the lady credit. She regains her equilibrium pretty quickly, brushes aside the fact that Holder just made a heartfelt, patriotic, and simple plea for tolerance, and starts pushing the idea that the “context” of the remarks makes them somehow inappropriate. By the time Julian Epstein opens his mouth to inject a little sanity into the discussion, she’s on the ball enough to talk over him and feign ignorance about the anti-Muslim backlash in the wake of the bombing.

But really, is it fair to force a human being to go through these motions before millions of viewers? Is it humane? Is Fox News becoming a reality show akin to Chopped, where professional cooks are given bizarre ingredients like Smuckers jam, fish sauce, and rancid calamari and forced – on camera – to turn them into allegedly delicious three course meals? It’s bad enough seeing some thirty-something food professional’s eyes go dead as he runs it all through a blender and dumps it on soba noodles topped with sprigs of cilantro. Can we look forward to seeing Fox Anchorwomen getting tossed the Niemoller Statement without warning, and being forced spin it as an apologia for Nazism?

It’s just not a pleasant thing to watch.

*

Comments

[telemann.livejournal.com]

Halting gulf drilling costs $8 billion a day in imports (http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/jun/03/sarah-palin/palin-claims-loss-gulf-oil-production-gulf-will-co/)

Democrats plan largest tax increase in history (http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2010/aug/04/sarah-palin/sarah-palin-said-democrats-planning-largest-tax/)

Obama voted present in the U.S. Senate often (http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2010/feb/08/sarah-palin/palin-says-obama-voted-present-us-senate-very-ofte/)

John Holdren proposed forced abortions and putting sterilants in drinking water (http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/jul/29/glenn-beck/glenn-beck-claims-science-czar-john-holdren-propos/)

Labor Union President Andy Stern is most frequent visitor at the White House (http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/dec/07/glenn-beck/beck-says-labor-leader-most-frequent-white-house-v/)

America is the only country with automatic citizenship upon birth

O’Reilly never called George Tiller a baby killer, only reporting what others called him (http://www.politifact.com/personalities/bill-oreilly/statements/byruling/false/)

Nobody at Fox News ever said you’re going to jail if you don’t buy health insurance (http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2010/apr/27/bill-oreilly/oreilly-says-no-one-fox-raised-issue-jail-time-not/)

[nairiporter.livejournal.com]

How dare you drop citations!

[merig00.livejournal.com]

Anyway, we have only two network news channels that report news. And of course Daily Show.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

No.

[merig00.livejournal.com]

Yes.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

I've disagreed, and given you reasons why. You can stop the flame baiting at anytime.

[merig00.livejournal.com]

See the breakdown in the original comment.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

See my response to the original comment you've made.

[enders-shadow.livejournal.com]

why would you get your news from such bad sources?

TV/cable news aint that good, no matter how you slice it.

and while opinion is just that, opinion, it can be an opinion about facts. i may not agree with bill oreilly or sean hannity, but, they could at least talk about an accurate version of reality (and yes, other opinion anchors make mistakes too, but the level and frequency of the FNC crowd is absurd.)

Watch Ann Coulter try and tell a Canadian that they fought in Vietnam, and when he corrects her, that Canada did not, she just says 'we will have to agree to disagree'
no, you skinny blond b****, thats a matter of fact, not of opinion.

[merig00.livejournal.com]

Most of the country gets their news from these sources.
And yes "TV/cable news aint that good, no matter how you slice it."

[paft.livejournal.com]

That doesn't make them reliable.

[merig00.livejournal.com]

And neither is print media nor the "fact checkers". What are we left with? Blogs and Daily Show?

[paft.livejournal.com]

All print media? All fact checkers?

What news source DO you consider reliable?

[merig00.livejournal.com]

Most of them or most of the time.

I try to keep up with a combination of all. Or at least try to separate them by topics they usually good at.

[enders-shadow.livejournal.com]

since so many get their news from it, isnt it all the more important that they get their basic facts right??

[merig00.livejournal.com]

Yes. But we both agree that they are not doing that. And don't get me wrong - I don't mind news channels having different views of facts. But that's as long as they get them right.

[enders-shadow.livejournal.com]

so it seems we agree, and it is unimportant if cable news is presenting itself as fact or opinion, so long as facts presented are correct.


can we cross reference this? who has, on air, offered more (verifiably) false facts, rachel maddow or glen beck?

[merig00.livejournal.com]

I like our little consensus here until you started comparing maddow and beck. Why not O'reilly and Matthews or Olbermann :)

[merig00.livejournal.com]

Edit: Since paft replied to my comment

I just wanted to point out that if Fox is devouring themselves then the rest of the network news channels are trying to beat Fox at that game.

The only people I like and sometimes watch on FNC are Bret Baier with his panel (charles krauthammer) and Greg Gutfeld.

[enders-shadow.livejournal.com]

Krauthammer is an insufferable ass, IMO.

Napolitano sometimes gets it, but he is also a (Ron, hopefully not Rand) Paulite. also, wasnt he fired?

and yes, other channels follow foxs lead, which is a bid problem

[paft.livejournal.com]

m: The only people I like and sometimes watch on FNC are Bret Baier with his panel (charles krauthammer) and Greg Gutfeld.

Greg Gutfeld?

Why, for God's sake?

http://torchwood-us.com/2010/11/16/“ain’t-he-cute”-part-ii-why-yes-mr-gutfeld-i-am-a-jerkophobe/

[merig00.livejournal.com]

I find him to be funny and entertaining.

[paft.livejournal.com]

Yeah, making fun of a wrongly executed man and saying you like sweatshops are real knee-slappers.

[paft.livejournal.com]

Wait. Suddenly your fondness for Gutfeld makes sense.

(On a Parkinsons' patient who was derided and pelted with dollar bills for quietly demonstrating in favor of increased government support for the disabled.)

"And yes I compare parkinson's patient demanding money for his treatment with arrogant philly hobos."

http://talk-politics.livejournal.com/446718.html?thread=32354814#t32354814

[404.livejournal.com]

Gotta respect you digging back three years for that, even if you are as wrong about it now as you were then.

It's like when people say they like Bill Maher, but then he puts his foot in his mouth.