Jack Coleman's blog

It's not often Ed Schultz earns my respect, but he did with his apology  to Laura Ingraham on his MSNBC show Wednesday night, right before starting a week-long suspension.

Based on what Schultz said earlier that day on his radio show about maligning Ingraham on the program only 24 hours earlier as a "right-wing slut" and "talk slut," Schultz's mea culpa Wednesday evening was fully unexpected.

That afternoon on the radio, Schultz was defiant and defensive and claimed Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity have said things just as bad and not paid a price (audio here, video clip after page break) --

The potential for over-the-top advertising from Democrats to defend Medicare is definitely there, Rachel Maddow told her MSNBC audience Monday.

She should know, since her show of late is little more than a Medicare commercial for Democrats.

As she talked about the next day's special election in New York's 26th House district, Maddow described Jim Martin, chairman of the 60 Plus advocacy group, stumping for Republican candidate Jane Corwin (video after page break) --

Wow, talk about digging deep.

Then again, Rachel Maddow's critique of Congressman Paul Ryan's proposed reform of Medicare did extend beyond the word "kill." It also included the words "killed" and "killing."

Just how the GOP plan does this Maddow didn't say on her MSNBC show last night, what with inconvenient facts lying in wait to undermine her allegation of homicide.

She decided instead to repeat the same thing over and over, nine times in the first 11 minutes of the program,  as if repetition will make her wishes come true (video after page break) --

How sad indeed when liberals turn on one another, their nastiness quickly achieving critical mass.

Radio host and columnist David Sirota wasn't expecting a call from fellow liberal and MSNBC loose-cannon Ed Schultz on his radio show yesterday, broadcast out of AM 760 in Denver.

When word filtered back to Schultz that Sirota was badmouthing him for Schultz's criticism of "intellectual liberal hand-wringing" over the manner of bin Laden's death, Schultz decided to give Sirota a call.

The result, lasting barely more than two minutes, was decidedly unpretty (audio clip below page break) --

Liberals endlessly harp on what they perceive as conservatives' greed. What really sticks in their craw is conservatives' generosity.

An example of this occurred on Ed Schultz's radio show Monday with guest Robert Greenwald, a filmmaker specializing in left-wing agitprop at an outfit he modestly calls Brave New Films.

Greenwald was describing a website he recently created, Koch Brothers Exposed, about energy magnates David and Charles Koch. The site includes a video of protesters outside a Lincoln Center theater named after David Koch when he pledged $100 million for badly-needed renovations three years ago. The demonstrators staged a "renaming ceremony" demanding the theater shed Koch from its name.

So she insulted half her viewers, the straight ones anyway.

Deploying trademark saccharine smarm, Rachel Maddow last night rushed to defend Planned Parenthood from the predations of Indiana governor Mitch Daniels and like-minded Republicans in the legislature who have blocked federal funding to the abortion provider's clinics in their state.

In the process, Maddow used a surreal approach -- briefly converting her MSNBC studio to a "man cave" that looked like the sports den of a middle-class dad -- then talking down to the men in her audience as knuckle-draggers unable to comprehend beyond football and cars (video below page break) --

Interesting revelation at Huffington Post today about International Monetary Fund managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn facing charges stemming from an alleged sexual assault involving a hotel maid.

"Strauss-Kahn has blogged for HuffPost," the story reads, nine paragraphs deep. Well, that certainly catches a reader's attention.

Turns out the prominent French socialist has blogged at HuffPo at least a dozen times over the last eighteen months, including four posts this year. Most recently, on March 31, Strauss-Kahn wrote about China's economy and the international monetary system. All of his posts, linked here, have been on economics.

I've not been much of a fan of Time magazine for years, though I am again, if only briefly.

Fresh off Rachel Maddow's ludicrous claim that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was "not all that well known" until he was killed by the US military in 2006 and allegedly elevated in death beyond what he was in life, Time magazine published a special issue titled "The End of bin Laden."

The cover of the magazine, which can be seen here, shows an illustration of bin Laden crossed out with a prominent red "X" -- as in, buh bye.

Turns out this is only the fourth time in Time's history that the magazine has gone with the "X" cover. Prior to bin Laden's rude awakening by Navy SEALs, Time did this for only three other globally reviled figures: Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein -- and Zarqawi. (video after page break)

Libtalker Ed Schultz told his radio listeners Tuesday that he's a defendant in a federal lawsuit filed by an NBC engineer who alleges he helped get Schultz on television -- a man who Schultz claims has stalked Schultz and his wife.

Schultz began the second hour of his nationally syndicated radio show describing the lawsuit filed by Michael Queen, who is described in a press release issued by his lawyer as an NBC broadcast engineer, labor official and Schultz's "former partner." Schultz is labeled a "self-proclaimed champion of labor unions and workers' rights."

Queen is represented by attorney Mark Lane, author of two well-known books on the JFK assassination, "Rush to Judgment" and "Plausible Denial."

According to the press release, Queen approached the late NBC Washington bureau chief Tim Russert to suggest Schultz for a television show, followed by Queen suggesting this to Schultz in January 2008. The press release claims that "Meet the Press" and "Today" show director Max Schindler joined the effort, "only to quit shortly thereafter, citing ethical differences with Schultz." The press release further states (audio of Schultz remarks after page break) --

Ever notice how liberals trot out pseudo-profundities when talking about guns?

Latest example -- MSNBC's Rachel Maddow on her show Friday night, hanging out with Meghan McCain at the NRA convention in Pittsburgh.

NRA member McCain said that as a young woman and daughter of a prominent politician, she owns a gun to protect herself from those seeking harm (video linked here) --

I have to wonder if someone spiked that White House-brewed Kool Aid for MSNBC with hallucinogens.

Either that or the network's apologists suffer from pathological dishonesty.

How else to explain one of the most blatantly deceitful claims on MSNBC in memory, when Rachel Maddow on Wednesday dutifully cited the reasons why she agreed with Obama's decision against releasing photos of a deceased bin Laden.

After all, Maddow said, many Iraqis refused to believe that Saddam Hussein's sons were no longer alive after the US military released photos of them upon their deaths.

Not only that, Maddow argued, look at what happened after our military unveiled a photo of deceased terrorist Zarqawi (video after page break) --

Not bad, it took her a mere 18 months to grasp this.

On her MSNBC show Monday night, the first time it ran after the death of bin Laden, Rachel Maddow cited several post-9/11 examples of terrorism targeting Americans in the US -- including the attack at Fort Hood in November 2009.

"Since Sept. 11, the story of terrorism targeting the United States itself has mostly, thankfully, been the story of thwarted attacks," Maddow said, such as the so-called shoe bomber and underwear bomber, a plot to detonate explosives in the New York City subway system, the failed bombing of Times Square, and the so-called Dallas bomber who targeted former president George W. Bush.

"And then there was the mass-casualty shooting at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009, carried out by Major Nidal Hasan," Maddow said.

Quite a contrast with how Maddow described the incident on her show Nov. 12, 2009, fully a week after the carnage (video after page break) --

The Navy SEALs who killed bin Laden are being widely hailed as heroes -- in stark contrast to previous descriptions of them from liberals in the media.

It was not long ago, over in the wetlands of the left, that these courageous warriors were demeaned as little more than homicidal thugs acting at the behest of war criminal Dick Cheney.

Here's how Keith Olbermann, then at MSNBC, described claims made by New Yorker writer Seymour Hersh in 2009 (h/t, RealClearPolitics; video after page break) --

Brace yourself for a shock ... Oprah Winfrey, of all people .... she's one of them ...

At least if judged by the same jaundiced standard that Rachel Maddow applies to Newt Gingrich.

On her MSNBC show last night, Maddow criticized Gingrich for asking why Obama waited as long he did before releasing his birth certificate (video after page break) --

(Updated with video clips of Kenosha, Wisc., town hall forum provided by Congressman Ryan's press office; links to clips after end of post)

A British media outlet's profile of MSNBC's Rachel Maddow is generating considerable buzz for a specific remark she made, though another is equally curious.

In response to a question from The Guardian's Hadley Freeman, Maddow said gays in the media whom she did not identify should come out of the closet.

Here's how it was reported by Freeman --

Once again, a presumably simpatico guest on "The Rachel Maddow Show" undermined a claim she made on the same show.

This occurred twice in the same week back in March, as I described at the time. It happened again Friday night when Maddow talked about Republican congressmen facing constituents angered by the GOP budget plan. Maddow compared this to the contentious public forums on health reform in August 2009.

Here's what Maddow said about the Republican budget's effect on Medicare, followed by her guest claiming something altogether different (video after page break) --

Something tells me that future Huffington Post coverage of Rachel Maddow will be a tad less adulatory.

In a remark on her MSNBC show last night that has to be heard to be believed, Maddow mocked the influential liberal website for ... not being liberal. Seriously, Maddow really said this.

[video after page break]

MSNBC action hero Ed Schultz is really on a roll.

On his cable show Monday, Schultz claimed that federal tax revenue declined in the seven years following the start of the Bush tax cuts in 2001, a patently bogus assertion demolished by NewsBuster Noel Sheppard.

All of 24 hours later, Schultz stepped in it once more with his revisionist history of federal spending over the last two decades and was again eviscerated by Sheppard.

On his radio show yesterday, self-proclaimed working class hero Schultz showed that his shabby disregard for accuracy also extends to labor union laws, specifically those in Michigan. Here's what Schultz had to say (audio) --

You know the situation is serious when "even" an avowed socialist worries about government spending.

Here's a clip of Democrat congressman Peter Welch of Vermont on Ed Schultz's radio show Monday talking about the looming battle over the debt ceiling (audio) --

Details, details.

Wisconsin Democrat state senator Lena Taylor really hates those $142 million in tax credits for businesses and the wealthy passed by Gov. Scott Walker and fellow Republicans in the legislature.

So much so that Taylor couldn't elaborate on any when asked during Ed Schultz's radio show yesterday, a rebroadcast of the program from a theater in Madison, Wisc., on Wednesday (audio) --

Ed Schultz really hates hoggish behavior. Except when he's planning to engage in it.

On his radio show yesterday, Schultz trotted out his new label for Republicans, one that he clearly labored to create, and with Schultz providing helpful porcine sound effects at the unveiling (audio) (more audio clips after page break) --

At the start of each hour of his weekday radio broadcast, Ed Schultz touts his show as "where America comes to talk." Provided, of course, that you agree with Schultz. Otherwise, it's where Schultz comes to bail.

Nine times in less than three months, and twice in the last week, Schultz has abruptly hung up on callers who don't share his politics. And in the most recent example of this, on April 5, Schultz cited a patently bogus reason for why he did so. (audio) 

CALLER: You know, you asked the question earlier about, can the president spend money? No, he's already spent enough money as it is. And ...

SCHULTZ: No, that's not it, it's not whether he's spent enough money or not. He - cannot - spend - money. Not a dime. Thank you, Leonard.

Followed by Schultz saying this to the next caller, who asked Schultz not to hang up on him (more audio clips after page break) --

That's OK, he wasn't planning on any speaking gigs from AARP anyway.

As is his wont, libtalker Ed Schultz revealed his underlying opinion on a specific subject without even being aware he was doing it, this time on senior citizens.

Here's Schultz on his radio show yesterday with his warped take on elders, after initially referring to Republicans' proposed budget plan calling for broad spending cuts over the next decade (audio) --

Ed Schultz is so gungo ho for the Libyan war that he wants Obama to provide weapons to anti-Qadhafi forces -- without scrutinizing who gets them.

Seeing how Qadhafi's opponents in Libya could include al Qaeda and Hezbollah, according to the U.S. NATO commander, what could possibly go wrong?

Here's Schultz engaging in his singular brand of bellicosity while talking to a caller on his radio show yesterday, followed by an unintentionally hilarious remark by Democratic congressman Adam Smith later in the same show (audio) --

Never heard of liberal radio host Stephanie Miller? You're about to hear a reason why.

Here's an example of Miller sharing with her listeners earlier this week what she considers humorous. Before playing this, you may want to clear any children -- and pets -- out of earshot.

Audio clip after page break

Look at the bright side when it comes to Libya, Ed Schultz said yesterday, "we haven't invaded anybody."

Come to think of it, we have, Schultz quickly spun -- and I'm gung ho for the invasion!

Here is Schultz on his radio show Monday doing a pirouette worthy of Nureyev while defending President Obama's decision to intervene in Libya (audio) --

For a mercifully fleeting moment, Ed Schultz was considered a possible candidate for Senate.

It came in the wake of Sen. Byron Dorgan, Democrat of North Dakota, announcing in January 2010 that he would not seek re-election. Speculation briefly centered on Schultz running to succeed Dorgan until Schultz adamantly denied he had any intention of doing so.

On Friday, Schultz demonstrated why he is unfit for public office or anything resembling genuine power over other people. It came during a conversation with a caller to Schultz's radio show after the caller complained that "war criminals" in the Bush administration were "not held accountable" for their crimes  (audio) --

To tweak the punchline of an old joke -- what's this talk of invading, paleface?

Unleashing the bellicosity that's been kept corked since MSNBC put the kibosh on his "Psycho Talk" segments, Ed Schultz has weighed in at The Huffington Post in an op-ed titled "Why I Support President Obama's Decision to Invade Libya."

Psst, Ed -- we haven't invaded Libya, at least not yet. And I'd venture to say that most Americans don't expect we will, at least if Obama is to be believed. Remember how he said American troops would not be sent there? The president was pretty emphatic about it, as I recall. Agreed, it was all of eight days ago, distant enough that it slipped down your memory hole.

Somewhere the ghost of George Orwell cringes in recognition.

In her eagerness to please, Rachel Maddow occasionally collides headlong into immutable facts of economic reality. To wit, cutting taxes does not constitute new government spending, at least outside of doctrinaire Marxist analysis.

Here's MSNBC's Little Miss Sunshine giving her two-cents' worth on this Tuesday night (video below page break) --