While Sean Hannity and others at Fox manipulate the news, MSNBC develops a Limbaugh hangup and CNN goes Twitter slap-happy. Ah, the wonders of news coverage in the mainstream media! Check out last night’s clip of “The Daily Show” and watch Jon Stewart dissect just how these anchors “report” the news.
Stephen Colbert, in a hilarious outfit, has taken his show to one of Saddam Hussein’s old palaces in Baghdad to entertain the men and women of the U.S military. Watch President Obama order Gen. Ray Odierno to give Colbert’s coif a military makeover. Update: Full videos added.
Satire from The Onion: “President Obama announced today he will drastically scale back his agenda for America after a visit to a Denny’s restaurant ... caused him to ‘completely reconsider what our nation is capable of achieving.’ ”
Two U.S. journalists have been sentenced to 12 years in a labor camp in North Korea for an unnamed “grave crime” and illegal entry into the country. The women were investigating the trafficking of women on the China-North Korea border for a story for Al Gore’s Current TV network when they were arrested in March.
Sixty-five years ago today, American, British and Canadian troops landed on the beaches of Normandy in what would lead to the Allied victory over Hitler in World War II. Here’s a glimpse of the D-Day commemoration.
You know you’re in for a spirited episode of “Left, Right & Center” when Truthdig’s own Robert Scheer drops a line like “Tony, you’re getting overly excited for NPR.”
On Wednesday, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow revealed the ties between Scott Roeder, Dr. George Tiller’s alleged assassin, and the extremist anti-abortion group Operation Rescue, and how Roeder repeatedly got away with violating federal laws protecting abortion clinics.
The verdict is in, folks: Dick Cheney has a major case of “Ballzheimer’s disease.” On Wednesday’s “Daily Show,” Jon Stewart recaps the former vice president’s recent public appearances, right up to the one where he blames Richard Clarke—the guy who was warning of imminent terrorist attacks on the U.S.—for 9/11.
Back in 2006, here’s what Bill O’Reilly had to say about the recently murdered Dr. George Tiller: “[I]f I could get my hands on Tiller—well, you know. Can’t be vigilantes. Can’t do that. It’s just a figure of speech. But despicable? Oh, my God. It doesn’t get worse. Does it get worse? No.”
“Freedom means freedom for everyone,” says Dick Cheney. Even the prince of darkness loves his gay daughter. But as long as we’re all getting freedom, can we have our habeas corpus back?
Stephen Colbert talks about Supreme Court nominee and “reverse racist” Sonia Sotomayor, who is trampling on the heroic life stories of the white male—many of whom are now asking their gardeners what their first names are. Check out this clip from last night’s “Colbert Report.”
Watch Tuesday’s news highlights, brought to you by Democracy Now! A couple of today’s golden nuggets include Jimmy Carter’s disagreement with President Obama’s refusal to release hundreds of prison detainee photos and a call from the former top coalition commander in Iraq, Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, for a truth commission to investigate abusive interrogation techniques.
To show public response other than the gleeful, hateful crap some right-wingers are spewing on Dr. George Tiller only hours after his assassination, here is how residents of Kansas—where the victim was from—are reacting to the abortion doctor’s murder during a Sunday church service.
At the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday, Bruno (Sacha Baron Cohen’s alter ego) used the power of gayness to drive homophobic rapper Eminem from the arena. Watch Slim Shady get acquainted with the fashionista’s “Hodensack.” Update: Was it staged?
The “Real Time” host takes exception to American exceptionalism, the idea that Americans are unique and superior despite a penchant for poisoning, imprisoning and killing each other just to make a buck.
Wanda Sykes tells Jay Leno what the media really mean when they wonder who the “real” Michelle Obama is. Watch her break down the media and the race issue on last night’s “Tonight Show.”
The anti-Proposition 8 protests were one form of gay rights activism taking place recently around Los Angeles, but a related issue was the subject of a rally led by former Lt. Dan Choi, a West Point graduate and Arab linguist who was discharged from the Army National Guard earlier this month for coming out publicly: Choi wanted to remind the visiting president about his pledge to end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
What was behind The Philadelphia Inquirer’s decision to give torture memo draftsman John Yoo a platform to air his views as a columnist? The paper’s publisher, Brian Tierney, endorses Yoo to WHYY’s “Radio Times” host Marty Moss-Coane, while fellow guest and Philadelphia Daily News journalist Will Bunch offers a different take on George W. Bush’s erstwhile legal adviser.
So, Rush Limbaugh’s got his knickers in a twist about Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, calling President Obama’s pick of a Latina an example of “reverse racism.” This clearly amuses MSNBC’s resident smartypants Rachel Maddow, who’s at the ready with a zinger or two for Limbaugh in this clip from Tuesday morning’s newscast.
Veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan spoke to lawmakers on Capitol Hill this month, giving eyewitness accounts of the horrors of war and the real practices of the military. Amy Goodman devoted Monday’s “Democracy Now!” episode to these testimonials for this Memorial Day. Listen to the soldiers’ stories here.
The “Real Time” host laments the ballot initiative, which, he says, has made his home state ungovernable: “This is why America’s founders wanted a representative democracy, because they knew if you gave the average guy the chance, he’d vote for a fantasy world with no taxes, free beer and vagina trees.”
Former Vice President Dick Cheney has been reasserting himself, for good or ill, in the public sphere this week. President Obama was ready with his own take on torture, aka “extreme interrogation” methods. Is this a media-enabled setup or a legitimate face-off between executive powers past and present?
The Wall Street Journal interviewed veteran actor Edward Asner on his role in Pixar’s new film “Up,” due in theaters May 29. “Because it involves humans, I’m most pleased to be in it,” Asner said. “I loved that it was about two human beings who love each other ... .”
Obama’s Thankless Thanksgiving
