Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Media Matters Daily Summary 05-12-09

Arlen Specter gets a taste of the GOP Noise Machine
After abandoning the Republican Party in favor of a new Democratic home, Pennsylvania's Arlen Specter experienced a handful of awkward moments that accompanied his aisle-crossing adventure. Specter's three decades' worth of Senate seniority were mostly stripped away by his new Democratic colleagues, and he seemed to momentarily forget that he was no longer supposed to (publicly) root for Norm Coleman in his never-ending appeals process in Minnesota. Read More

O'Reilly's Ark: Gay marriage could lead to goat, duck, dolphin, and turtle marriage
Bill O'Reilly again theorized that the legalization of gay marriage could lead to interspecies marriages, stating to Margaret Hoover, "[Y]ou would let everybody get married who want to get married. You want to marry a turtle, you can." O'Reilly has previously suggested that gay marriage could ultimately allow for a person to marry a goat, duck, or dolphin. Read More

On Fox, Rove gave false account of Blair's position on torture
Karl Rove falsely claimed Dennis Blair "acknowledges" that harsh interrogation techniques "allowed us to stop these attacks." In fact, Blair has said that the techniques yielded information that "provided a deeper understanding" of Al Qaeda, not that the information prevented any specific attacks. Read More

Media declare Gingrich GOP's "ideas man," ignore his frequent falsehoods
In designating Newt Gingrich the Republican Party's "ideas man" and suggesting that his ideas will rejuvenate the GOP, the media often ignore his frequent, and often egregious, falsehoods. Read More

Scarborough falsely claimed Blair said "he probably would have done" EITs
Joe Scarborough asserted that Dennis Blair said enhanced interrogation techniques "worked and he probably would have done it in 2002." In fact, Blair has stated, "I like to think I would not have approved those methods in the past." Read More

Gaffney warns: Obama "determined to unleash" Uighur detainees on US
The Washington Times' Frank Gaffney wrote of 17 Uighur detainees currently held at Guantánamo Bay: "There is another group of dangerous aliens Obama seems determined to unleash on the American people." However, the Bush administration reclassified those detainees as "no longer enemy combatants." Read More

Slippery Dope: O'Reilly, others on Fox News warn of "triads" with legalization of same-sex marriage
In recent days, Fox News hosts have repeatedly warned that the legalization of same-sex marriage could lead to the eventual legalization of polyamorous marriage. Read More

Is Philly Inquirer also OK with Yoo's hypocrisy?
In his May 10 column, reportedly the first in which he was identified as an Inquirer columnist, John Yoo denounced President Obama for citing empathy as a qualification he will seek in a Supreme Court nominee -- after Yoo lavished praise on Justice Clarence Thomas for displaying that very quality. Read More

Fox News pushes GOP horror story of Obama setting Gitmo terrorists loose in U.S.
Fox News hosts and contributors have repeatedly forwarded the Republican claim that the Obama administration intends to release terrorists held at Guantánamo Bay into the United States. However, the administration has explicitly stated that it does not intend to release terrorists into the U.S. Read More

Cable news networks find another opportunity to air racy photos
Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC used a press conference in which Carrie Prejean addressed the controversy over recently released photos of her as an opportunity to air photos showing a scantily clad Prejean, which she says were Photoshopped. Read More

Fox Nation headline claims "Stimulus Not Working," but link says "funds are not enough"
FoxNation.com featured the headline "States Say Stimulus Not Working," but the article to which the headline linked reported that "many states are finding that the funds are not enough and are moving to lay off thousands of public employees." Read More

MSNBC ignores Galen Institute's reported health care industry ties
MSNBC's Contessa Brewer hosted Galen Institute president Grace-Marie Turner to discuss a tax proposal to finance health care reform. But MSNBC did not note that Turner's group is reportedly funded in part by the pharmaceutical and medical industries, or that the group explicitly advocates free-market principles for the health care sector. Read More

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