Thursday, September 09, 2010

Media Matters Daily Summary 09-09-10

Media rife with anti-Muslim rhetoric in weeks leading up to 9-11 anniversary
As the nation prepares to mark the ninth anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, numerous media figures have propagated anti-Muslim rhetoric, often smearing Muslims as "terrorists," "jihadists," and "extremists," and dismissing Islam altogether as a "militant" and "anti-Semitic" faith. Read More

Fox promotes Boehner's falsehood that health care law will "bankrupt" the country
Fox News' Bill Hemmer uncritically repeated House Republican leader John Boehner's statement that he would repeal or block funding for health care reform before it "'bankrupts' the country." Hemmer ignored multiple Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reports stating that health care reform will actually reduce the federal deficit. Read More

Right-wing media concoct Clinton attack on Obama
Right-wing media omitted essential context from recent remarks made by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to falsely claim that she attacked President Obama's economic policies when she said, "I think that our rising debt levels poses a national security threat," and also to speculate that Clinton is planning to challenge Obama in 2012. In fact, Clinton's full remarks clearly condemned the policies of the Bush administration -- not Obama.
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If Rauf "threaten[ed] America," then so did Gen. Petraeus
The right-wing media is attacking Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf for saying that opposition to the Park51 project creates "danger from the radicals in the Muslim world to our national security," by claiming, among other things, that Rauf's comments amounted to "threaten[ing] America." But Rauf's comments echo those of national security experts, such as Gen. David Petraeus, who have warned of the security implications of anti-Muslim protests. Read More

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