Fox closes out decade by pushing debunked falsehoods
Fox News and its website The Fox Nation closed out 2009 by advancing debunked attacks on President Obama. Specifically, Fox News hosted Ann Coulter, who repeatedly made the false claim that Obama attended "madrassas" as a child, while The Fox Nation continued to promote Andrew Breitbart's story that "ACORN CEO Visited Obama White House Week Before Scandal Broke" days after it was reported that the "Bertha Lewis" who visited the White House was not, in fact, the Bertha Lewis who is the CEO of ACORN.
Coulter brings back 3-year-old madrassa lie on Fox News
Coulter: Obama "attended madrassas." On the December 28 edition of The O'Reilly Factor and the December 30 edition of Glenn Beck, Coulter repeatedly claimed that Obama "studied at madrassas" as a child, and suggested that such attendance made him "specially situated" to promote racial profiling. At no point did Eric Bolling, who was guest host of both programs, challenge or correct Coulter's falsehood.
Fox previously "clarif[ied]" its false report that Obama had attended madrassas. In January 2007, Fox & Friends' hosts advanced the right-wing falsehood that Obama had attended a madrassa in Indonesia as a child. Days later, co-host Steve Doocy "clarif[ied]" the report, stating that "Mr. Obama's people called and they said that that is absolutely false. They said the idea that Barack Obama went to a radical Muslim school is completely ridiculous. In his book it does say that he went to a mostly Muslim school but not to a madrassa." Indeed, CNN conclusively debunked the falsehood that the school Obama attended had been a "madrassa." Subsequently, John Moody, who was a Fox News executive at the time, reportedly said that the Fox News hosts who ran with the false story "violated one of our general rules, which is know what you are talking about. ... They reported information from a publication whose accuracy we didn't know."
Fox Nation still trumpeting Breitbart's ACORN story days after it is debunked
Big Government: "ACORN'S CEO was in the Residence at the White House." In a December 30 post titled "White House Visitors Log: ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis In Obama Residence Week Before Sting Videos Launched," Big Government contributor Publius, the pseudonym of the site's "Editorial Panel," claimed that the "Bertha E. Lewis" who recently released visitors logs indicate visited the White House on September 5 was ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis.
Ben Smith: Wrong Bertha Lewis. In a blog post the next day, Politico's Ben Smith reported that according to an "administration official," the "Bertha E. Lewis" who visited the White House was not the Bertha Lewis who is the CEO of ACORN. Moreover, Smith noted that the ACORN CEO's middle initial is "M," not "E."
Days after claim was debunked, Fox Nation still promoting Breitbart's story. On December 31, The Fox Nation promoted the Big Government post with the following image:
Fox Nation continued to promote the story through January 3.
Tacky and desperate fear mongering
There's no such thing, of course. Just like an English-speaking person using the term "madrassa" means a school that teaches radical Islam, not just a 'school' like what Obama attended in Indonesia, a suicide bomber has a particular meaning - and that meaning includes that the bomber intends to kill other people! There's no such thing as a homicide bomber. A bomber who doesn't kill himself (or risk killing himself) is a bomber. A person who risks killing himself and kills others is a suicide bomber.
Ann Coulter's use of 'madrassa' was solely to inflame listeners, and not to accurately describe where Obama went to school.
Faux News was so desperate to differentiate itself from the "liberal left" media establishment when discussing suicide bombings that it started using the "homicide bomber" label.
But what they did is take an extraordinary tactic and dumb it down to the more broad definition. In their effort to "stand out", apparently no one at the network took the time to actually think through the meaning of the phrase. I know, I'm shocked too...
Cheers
The reason they stopped using "suicide bomber" and started using "homicide bomber" is because they wanted to ensure that the guilty will be labeled as murderers. "Bomber" is the broad definition.
Language is a beautiful thing. We can use language to describe whatever we want. When DellDolly publishes the definitive collection of acceptable english language definitions for everything, including that the only thing we can call people who set off bombs is "bomber", I'll be happy to adopt your convention. What an dope!
Do you know that the IRA bombed things but they always warned in advance so no one would get killed? Should we distinguish them from the Kaczynski's of the world or is that unacceptable to you?
My point was to show that fox went to a broader definition from a narrow one just to try to be "different". It's common knowledge that suicide bombers intend to kill more than just themselves. If not, we should adopt a new definition: the homicide-suicide bomber... or is it suicide-homicide bomber?
Both terms are to long for must Fox Talking Heads to remember. Without using one of those evil Obama teleprompters.
Something shorter might work:
1.H.I.S. Bomber - Homicide Intended Suicide Bomber
or to be Hip- HIS-B
2.S.H.E. Bomber - Homicide Suicide Escapade Bomber
or to be Hip- SHE-B
FoxNews and others called suicide bombers 'homicide bombers' back a few years ago, back when the insurgents were really hurting a lot of people in Iraq.
They weren't trying to describe people who kill people with bombs versus people who bomb structures, not people.
Back during the IRA's heyday, those folks were still called "bombers". Not 'homicide bombers'. And no, they didn't always warn people in advance - that's more nonsense. There's no such thing as a 'homicide bomber'. FoxNews and the Bush White House tried unsuccessfully to float that belief. They failed.
FoxNews didn't go for a broader definition just to try to be 'different'. They did it in order to paint a more heinous portrait of the insurgents who were suicide bombers. They weren't content with the term 'insurgent'. They wanted them labeled terrorists - they wanted them bombed to oblivion. Our soldiers and our leaders eventually realized that most of the insurgents weren't terrorists at all, but were simply people trying to fight to get their country back and people taking advantage of the situation so they could accomplish some ethnic cleansing! They weren't trying to 'terrorize' us Americans!
It IS common knowledge that suicide bombers intend to kill more than just themselves. In fact, it's common knowledge that the reason there are suicide bombers is because simply leaving a bomb doesn't work near as well as bringing the bomb to the people on a person. Therefore, there's no reason to change the phrase describing the behavior that FoxNews was describing over the weekend from suicide bomber to homicide bomber - the bomber killed others along with himself, and so he was a suicide bomber.
Here's what the Urban Dictionary says about "homicide bomber".
Another name for a suicide bomber, coined by Fox News in their quest to become more "fair and balanced." Problem is, homicide bomber is redundant because any idiot who detonatnes any bomb that kills someone, regardless of if it is strapped to his/her body or not, is considered a homicide. The reason the other networks say suicide bomber is because the bomber blows themself up also.
And from USA Today, back in 2002....
According to the White House and Fox News Channel, he's a homicide bomber. CNN, MSNBC and the Big Three networks and the Associated Press say he's a suicide bomber.
"Our feeling was, if you set off a bomb and kill yourself, you're a suicide bomber," says Fox News producer Dennis Murray. "But if you kill others, you're a murderer. You committed a homicidal act, and 'homicide bomber' is a very good description of what you are."
CNN spokeswoman Christa Robinson says that the term 'homicide bomber' would only reflect that "you have killed other people -- like putting a bomb in a trash can which kills people -- but it doesn't reflect that you also killed yourself. We feel that 'suicide bomber' is much more descriptive and accurate."
Everyone understands and agrees that the word homicide exists in the English language.
Everyone understands and agrees that the word bomber exists in the English language.
Now, there is no grammatical rule that states that you cannot put those two words together to describe something. It's not like it's a split infinitive (which, by the way, is no longer considered bad grammar due to common use).
The fact that Faux News "made up" the phrase is irrelevant (besides, it didn't). The fact that it is not commonly used is irrelevant.
I am not defending Fox News! I'm making a case for the English language and its remarkable flexibility and adaptability. "Common use" means nothing regarding the language no matter how much you hate Fox.
DellDolly says: "They did it in order to paint a more heinous portrait of the insurgents who were suicide bombers"
I agree! But my original point was that they FAILED because "homicide bomber" is more general and a less descriptive (and less heinous) phrase for a person who straps a bomb on and detonates him/herself to kill others than the phrase "suicide bomber".
If you do not understand this then it is you who has no case here. No case of reasoned intellect.
One final point: Faux News did not coin the phrase.
Earliest Citation:
''We're working systematically very, very hard in arduous conditions,'' Killorin said. ''This is what we know. The man is in the area. We've confirmed that. Absolutely, we're very careful because this person is wanted for a homicide bombing.''
—Kathy Scruggs, "Manhunt for Rudolph expected to drag on," The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, July 22, 1998
Is there any other type than the one fox news pushes?
Starting today, let's refer to the mentally challenged among us as "Fox News Viewers".
That's an insult to the mentally challenged. I would suggest instead that "cranio-sphincterally oriented" would be a better descriptor to refer to "Fox News[sic] Viewers" (if you must refer to them.)
That's an insult to the mentally challenged. I would suggest instead that "cranio-sphincterally oriented" would be a better descriptor to refer to "Fox News[sic] Viewers" (if you must refer to them.)
Fox News Court Cast
Look at CNN, MSNBC, ABC. CBS, NBC, et al!
Let them speak out, speak their minds!
With a disclaimer! That is what George W. wanted in Freedom of Speech an Freedom of Press!
Not for FOX only, for all cable news!
I what to know if I am smelling a Rose, or Dung! In my news at 6/or all day long.
We are smarter than you think!
Just as we were unprepared for 9-11 we will be unprepared for the next coming calamity on our country. We are not be informed on worldwide news. We only hear bits and pieces and no one puts it all together so that we can really make a political difference for the safety of Americans. I'm afraid we have strayed so far it may be too late. What do you think?
Just as we were unprepared for 9-11 we will be unprepared for the next coming calamity on our country. We are not be informed on worldwide news. We only hear bits and pieces and no one puts it all together so that we can really make a political difference for the safety of Americans. I'm afraid we have strayed so far it may be too late. What do you think?