Open Thread

NB Staff
August 5th, 2009 9:48 AM

CBS Finds U.S. 'Washed Its Hands Of' Iranian Allies Living in Iraq, Cr

On Wednesday's CBS Evening News, correspondent Lara Logan again highlighted the down side of an American troop withdrawal from Iraq as she focused attention on the plight of Iranian exiles living in Iraq who are now suffering from a violent crackdown by Iraqi police, having lost the protection the group had been receiving from U.S. troops. This group of Iranians, known as the MEK, have a history…
Brad Wilmouth
August 5th, 2009 5:24 AM

ABC: Town Hall Wrath at ObamaCare 'Appears to Be Orchestrated

ABC framed its Tuesday night story, on citizens using town hall forums held by Members of Congress to express opposition to ObamaCare, around undermining their credibility by asserting the reaction “appears to be orchestrated” and “organized” and thus is forcing the victimized “White House to push back” by “fighting Internet fire with fire.”  After anchor Charles Gibson insisted “some of that…
Brent Baker
August 5th, 2009 12:53 AM

'Why So Serious?' CNN's Moos Focuses on Left-Wing Reaction to Obama/Jo

CNN correspondent Jeanne Moos devoted an entire segment to the viral Obama as the Joker image on Tuesday’s Situation Room, and zeroed in on man-on-the-street reactions to it, all of whom expressed leftist horror at the picture. Moos herself suggested that “maybe it’s time to give the Joker joke a rest.” NewsBusters.org and Noel Sheppard's initial post about the posters made a brief appearance…
Matthew Balan
August 4th, 2009 8:11 PM

Matthews Joins Barbara Boxer in Dismissing 'Brooks Brothers' Protestor

Chris Matthews, on Tuesday's "Hardball," invited on California Senator Barbara Boxer to dismiss the increasing number of townhall protestors opposed to Obama's liberal agenda as the "angry, and "noisy," "well-dressed middle-class people in pinks and limes...Brooks Brothers Brigade." After playing brief clips from the townhall protests Matthews devoted the first half of his show to knocking down…
Geoffrey Dickens
August 4th, 2009 6:35 PM

Bill Press Thinks Recess Protests Will HELP Dems Pass ObamaCare

For Congress, the August recess almost always means a round of town hall meetings and other gatherings at which our elected officials get to hear from the citizenry on what they have done thus far in session.  This summer, for those Congressman and Senators voting for or supporting government-run ObamaCare, the cap-and-trade tax and regulatory regime, the $787 billion alleged "stimulus" package…
Seton Motley
August 4th, 2009 6:33 PM

CNN's Sanchez Admits to Erroneous 'Paraphrase' of John McCain

[Update, 6:45 pm Eastern: Video and audio clips from segments added.]CNN anchor Rick Sanchez concluded Tuesday’s Newsroom program with an admission of sorts about his misrepresentation on the previous day of John McCain’s words about the GOP’s outreach to Latinos: “I paraphrased to my colleague Roland Martin that McCain had said the party needs to recruit ‘competent’ Hispanics. I just want to be…
Matthew Balan
August 4th, 2009 5:37 PM

HuffPo Decries General Electric's Control of NBC, MSNBC ...But Only O

The Huffington Post is concerned all of a sudden that General Electric is engaging in top-down control of the news because they tried to stop Keith Olbermann’s attacks on Bill O’Reilly. The Post is right to be concerned about GE’s control, but they haven’t shown much interest in GE’s network push for green investments and carbon trading that will line their own pockets. As one of world leaders…
Mitchell Blatt
August 4th, 2009 5:35 PM

CBS Touts ‘Cash for Clunkers’ As ‘Great For the Environment

After depicting the ‘Cash for Clunkers’ car buying program as a "runaway success" on Friday, on Tuesday’s Early Show, correspondent Nancy Cordes argued: "The Department of Transportation says the program has been great for the environment. 80% of the clunkers have been pickups or SUVs, traded in for new cars with an average mileage nearly 10 miles per gallon higher."Following that declaration…
Kyle Drennen
August 4th, 2009 5:33 PM

AP Finally Discovers 'Head-Snapping' U.S. Receipts Dive, Still Underst

Well, it only took them about 3-1/2 months.Yours truly and others have since April noted a precipitous and likely historic dive in Uncle Sam's monthly collections. Year-over-year declines actually began last summer. The degree of monthly fall-offs has gotten "progressively" worse since then.Yesterday, the Associated Press finally went beyond blandly reciting year-to-date comparisons to note the…
Tom Blumer
August 4th, 2009 4:50 PM

MRC's Brent Bozell Featured in AP Video on Obama Tax Pledge

Yesterday afternoon a film crew from the Associated Press sat down to interview NewsBusters Publisher and Media Research Center President Brent Bozell for a story on how the Obama administration appears to be retreating from a campaign pledge to not raise taxes on Americans earning under $250,000 a year.Below is a transcript of the relevant portion. You can view the video here.MARK SMITH, AP…
NB Staff
August 4th, 2009 4:23 PM

Left-Wing Attack Machine Targets Glenn Beck's Advertisers

His show has usually been Fox News third-highest show, behind Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity. And since Fox News host Glenn Beck has come on the scene, he has been a thorn in the side of the left-wing machine. But his July 28 "Fox & Friends" criticism of President Barack Obama's comments on the racially-charged Cambridge, Mass. incident in which a local policeman arrested Harvard professor…
Jeff Poor
August 4th, 2009 3:05 PM

Don't Get Lower Back Pain In Britain

Tim Graham
August 4th, 2009 2:46 PM

Olbermann Slams Centrist Dems as 'Dogs,' Uses Kennedy Illness for Guil

On Monday's Countdown show, MSNBC host Keith Olbermann delivered a "Special Comment" lambasting members of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of centrist House Democrats because most of the group's members have pressured more liberal congressional Democrats compromise in their push for public health insurance. After reciting campaign contributions received by some Blue Dog members from the health…
Brad Wilmouth
August 4th, 2009 2:35 PM