Kitchen sink: Fox's last-ditch effort to rally opposition to health care reform
With a possibile vote to finalize passage of health care reform approaching, Fox News has thrown everything but the kitchen sink to rally opposition, with guest host Laura Ingraham proclaiming, "Let's kill the bill." For example, Fox News personalities have portrayed the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office as unreliable, falsely claimed that a 2006 earthquake did not occur and attacked an 11-year-old and his family that support reform.
Fox News sets up oppo shop for the weekend
Ingraham on hosting for Fox News: "Let's kill the bill!" Fox News contributor Laura Ingraham posted the following message on her Twitter account: "I'll be hosting the O'Reilly Factor on Friday, 8pm eastern. Let's kill the bill!"
From Ingraham's March 19 post on her Twitter account:
Beck encourages viewers to hold candlelight vigil against health care reform. Glenn Beck asserted: "It is time that you have a candlelight vigil. You peacefully assemble in front of your Congressman's local doors. You go to his office locally, not to Washington. You gather your friends and you stand there, you sleep there. You make sure the press covers a peaceful assembly of people saying, 'We will remember your name 'til the end of time, sir.'" [Fox News' Glenn Beck, 3/15/10]
The Fox Nation highlights "call to arms" in opposition to health care reform. On March 18, The Fox Nation published a headline, "Alert: Jon Voight's Call to Arms - Come to D.C. Sat. to Oppose Obamacare."
Fox & Friends channels GOP on "facts that people need to know" about health care reform. Fox & Friends co-host Steve Doocy announced: "So the Republicans have put out some facts that people need to know about this." Fox News then displayed images under the heading, "GOP: What you need to know. Facts on the Dem health bill." Doocy continued: "For instance, they say, what they're not talking about is the fact that there's going to be a new Medicare tax on capital gains." [Fox News' Fox & Friends, 3/19/10]
Cavuto promotes weekend coverage tilted toward conservatives. Your World host Neil Cavuto has promoted his upcoming "Health Care Showdown: What's really up Doc?" coverage, which will air on Saturday, March 20. Cavuto will host conservative radio host Mark Levin, Rep. Jason Altimire (D-PA), Dom Imus, and Mike Huckabee. Cavuto also promoted Friday's Your World guests, including Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), conservative radio host and columnist Jeri Thompson, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), and Republican candidate for California governor Carly Fiorina.
Fox hosts Gene Simmons to bash health care and promote his insurance company. During Fox News' America Live, host Megyn Kelly hosted K.I.S.S. front man Gene Simmons to discuss health care. During his appearance, Simmons called health care reform "horrific" and promoted his life insurance company.
Fox News' weeklong assault: Distortions and falsehoods abound
Fox falsely attributes doctor survey to New England Journal of Medicine. Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck, Brian Kilmeade, Sean Hannity and Marc Siegel all pushed the false claim that a New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) survey found that 46 percent of primary care physicians would consider leaving their profession if health care reform legislation passes. In fact, NEJM says they didn't publish or conduct the 3-month-old email "survey," which was actually conducted by The Medicus Firm and published in an employment newsletter.
Fox News erases 2006 Hawaii earthquake to attack Obama. Responding to President Obama's statement during a Fox News interview that Hawaii "went through an earthquake" and could benefit from a health care reform provision that would help Louisiana cope with Medicaid shortfalls resulting from Hurricane Katrina, Doocy asked, "What Hawaiian earthquake?" In fact, as Fox News itself reported at the time, President Bush declared a "major disaster" after Hawaii was hit by a magnitude 6.7 earthquake in October 2006. [Fox News' Fox & Friends, 3/18/10]
Beck attacks family of 11-year-old who spoke about his mother's death at health care event. Following 11-year-old Marcelas Owens' appearance at a health care reform event to speak about his mother, who reportedly died after losing her health insurance, Beck asked, "Where was grandma" when Marcelas' mother was sick and attacked her work with the organization Washington Community Action Network, saying the group was "all about economic, racial, gender, and social justice for all," which he called, "pesky phrases." [Fox News' Glenn Beck, 3/15/10]
Fox calls CBO score untrustworthy. After the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the health care reform reconciliation package would reduce the deficit by $130 billion over 10 years, Fox News -- led by Beck, Hannity, Doocy, Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer and The Fox Nation -- attempted to portray the nonpartisan CBO as untrustworthy and unreliable. By contrast, after the CBO gave a "favorable" score to the GOP health care plan, Fox praised the office as "nonpartisan" and advanced false GOP claims about the CBO's findings.
Fox News suggests Dems were bought off to support health care reform. Dick Morris suggested that Obama "illegal[ly]" nominated Rep. Jim Matheson's (D-UT) brother Scott "to a judgeship with an implicit quid pro quo." Rep. Matheson's office and the White House have called the smear "ridiculous" and "absurd," former Bush-appointed judge Michael McConnell definitely debunked the smear and conservatives have stated that Scott Matheson is "plenty qualified for the job." Likewise, following Rep. Dennis Kucinich's (D-OH) appearance on Fox & Friends to discuss his decision to support the bill, Fox News displayed a graphic stating: "What was Kucinich promised? Congressman changed vote from no to yes."
Fox anchors falsely attack House rule as undemocratic. Fox News anchors, during their self-described daytime "news hours," repeatedly forwarded the false suggestion that by using a legislative procedure known as the "self-executing rule" to finalize health care reform in the House, Democrats would be passing health care reform "without actually voting for it." In fact, passing legislation by using the procedure would require a majority vote. Fox News contributor Newt Gingrich criticized the rule as "incredible" and "passing bills without voting on them," despite the fact that the Republican Party "set new records" for its use of the self-executing rule in the years following Gingrich's ascension as Speaker.
Grasping at straws: Fox News regurgitates tired health care falsehoods
Fox repeatedly inaccurately reported on abortion funding. Doocy, Hemmer, Kilmeade, Bill O'Reilly, Carl Cameron, Dana Perino and Greta Van Sustren pushed the debunked claim that the Senate health care reform bill contains language that would allow federal funding for abortion beyond what is currently allowed under federal law. In fact, the Senate bill -- which will be considered by the House -- prohibits health insurers from using federal subsidies to pay for abortion services restricted by current federal law.
Hemmer perpetuates debunked health care myth: "Could people be going to jail for not owning health insurance?" Hemmer revived the debunked myth that not buying health insurance "could lead to prison" and asked: "Could people be going to jail for not owning health insurance?" In fact, the penalty for failure to purchase insurance is a tax, not jail time, and willful failure to pay taxes of any sort can result in civil or criminal penalties.
Perino misleads on Medicare tax impact on small businesses. Guest hosting on Fox & Friends, Perino trumpeted the myth that a Medicare investment tax on those making more than $200,000 would affect most small business owners. In fact, fewer than 1.3 percent of small business owners would be affected by the tax.
"I'm melting. What a world." (apologies to Margaret Hamilton)
Why is nobody asking the "pro-life" phonies about this ?
Read Dogbreath's post above and think about it for a while. Don't listen to the scare tactics on the news.
Are Fox News' Christian conservative viewers aware that K.I.S.S. stands for "Knights In Satan's Service"?
Personally I always though their music was dumbed down pop-metal. I doubt they REALLY worship or serve Satan. It is however, ironic that the front-man for a band that made a fortune appealing to anti-conservatism during their heyday has become a part of the establishment he used to "rock out" against.
At best Gene Simmons is a minimally talented sell-out.
From the made up and ironic news department: Robert Plant and Jimmy Page speak out in favor of abstinence, Ozzy Osbourne sends millions of dollars to T.V. Evangelists,and Guns and Roses front-man Axl Rose learns humility.
DID I ONLY SEE THE JOKE.. HERE!
The caller who mentioned Hannity's list also said he had called all reps on the list (23 I believe) giving them all the same warning.
In other words, they're down to blatant lies and threats. The media have tricked wingnuts into calling politicians in other states who they wouldn't vote for if they could, and telling them they may lose the support they never had, or couldn't possibly have.
My other favorite caller was the guy whining about an imagined small increase in his taxes ( he didn't sound remotely employable, let alone wealthy) which he was going to protest by flying to a teabagger rally in D.C. He said that airbus had tix from Florida for $300, which he said was cheap.
Poor sucker. Probably blew a lot of the tax break he got this year going to scream about an increase that he dreamed up.
And speaking of Hannity stunts, it's that time of year. Here's a link to Hannity's Freedom Concerts this summer. Tickets start at more than eighty bucks each.
$80 for Charlie Daniels and that dead band, no way.
Sean and Ollie may not be in attendance this year. Seems that most of the money they collect goes for overhead.
-10% old people who just don't know any better?-
Wow, ageism is rearing its ugly head yet again! You REALLY think old people just dont know any better? Old people have been around the block a time or two. Most OLD people were here when the Japanese govt bombed Pearl Harbor; they lived through the Great Depression; they survived Prohibition; and they raised up a bunch of kids who are apparently spolied and think they know everything! Old people know more than you realize. Perhaps you are the one who does not know any better!
LOL!
Sorry, but older people are much more likely to fall for Fox propaganda because of age-old party affiliations. What's your excuse?
Never mind that Congress has no authority under the constitution to mandate someone buy healthcare coverage, they can only regulate interstate commerce. Health insurance is intrastate, and not buying healthcare coverage is not engaging in commerce, so they can't tax it (or, rather, the lack thereof).
...and how did MMfA "debunk" the abortion claim when the bill hadn't even been posted yet?
I think the fact that Ingraham, Hannity, O'Reilly, and Beck are commentators and not reporters is entirely lost. Commentators by definition publish opinions. It's their job. It's in their contract.
If you owe self-employment tax, and don't pay it, you can go to jail. You don't go to jail because you're self employed - you go to jail because you didn't pay taxes. If you get an early withdrawal from an IRA, and you don't pay the taxes owed on that early withdrawal, you could go to jail. You don't go to jail because you decided you needed those funds - it's because you didn't pay taxes owed.
So no, you don't go to jail because you didn't buy health insurance either!
The US courts have found that virtually everything in our nation is involved in interstate commerce, so that argument holds no weight.
And the core bill and the amendments to the core bill HAVE been posted. This argument is like saying that you want to read all the pages of a contract, including the addendums, before you sign it. So you do. Then the contract and addendums get stapled together, and you claim that you need to read it again. It hasn't changed the content of ANY of the pages, but since it's all together now, it has to be read again. That'd be stupid, and it's equally stupid to claim that we don't yet know what's in the bill now.
Commentators don't get to spout opinions which aren't supported by the facts unchallenged.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts!
Before you click on the link below - pick a number. Out of 300 million Americans, how many were prosecuted for tax fraud in FY 2009?
1,000,000
100,00
10,000
1,000
Here are statistics from the IRS on the number of investigations, convictions and sentencing.
To put this in perspective: You have a you have half as much chance of being hit by lightning than being prosecuted, much less imprisoned, for tax fraud.
FYI Medicare has a higher denial rate than any private insurance company.
Of course, most of us have realized that the whole time.
The facts about the bill are out there for everyone, and the fact that Stupak is either misinterpreting this, or just refusing to accept reality, shows me he's got an ulterior motive.
I can't decide if he just wants his name in the bill, if he's getting paid off so much that he'll just say anything, or if he just gets off by standing in the way of womens' rights....probably all of them...it's always MEN who have the most extreme positions on abortion...
Another thing, women wouldn't even KNOW they were pregnant if it weren't for technology...so, the idea of "life at conception" is somehow ironic to me considering the religious standpoint of it....maybe that's a stretch...
I just wonder why our educated, able-bodied men and women are basically sacrificed in 2 wars that haven't served to accomplish much, yet an extreme battle wages on to protect sex cells that hardly resemble a human being. It's just hypocritical in a religious and ethical way....that's all...I wonder who would pay for all the "saved" children who will never be adopted? Stupak won't pay for their food, shelter, clothing, or education...he won't pay for the baby delivery even....but he DOES want to make it a crime to control your own body.
It's just sick and sad to see philosophies of CENTURIES ago and religion being incorporated into politics and actually being taken seriously by anyone....
Theocracy is something Fox should enlighten their viewers about.
The hell with Hannity, Fox News, Republicans and conservatives:
These people have absolutely no interest or concerns for the millions of people who can now get affordable healthcare insurance coverage thanks to a government 'of the people', 'for the people' and 'by the people'.
How do Republicans and critics reconcile that this will not be lost on those who benefit? We are talking about millions of potential voters.
As we speak, most hypocritical white pundits are STILL criticizing, attacking and focusing on what may or may not happen to Democrats politically in November's election. In fact, they completely ignore the millions of people who will be affected by the historical legislation, nor do they pay tribute to the president's huge achievement on behalf of the American people. This means nothing to these losers.
Cynicism, HATE and lying is all that is left with the Party of no, conservative pundits and conservatives in general. Now that Healthcare has passed we should insist Rush Limbaugh make good on his threat to leave the country.
http://www.nwlc.org/pdf/DodgingMedicareTaxes.pdf