Remember a few weeks ago, when Fox News' "Fox & Friends" aired a ridiculously misleading on-air graphic about President Obama's jobs record? Today, they aired a sequel.
http://mediamatters.org/blog/2012/09/26/by-the-way-heres-another-dishonest-fox-news-gra/190141
In this visual, viewers are told government spending has soared over the last three years. This point might be more interesting, if only it were accurate.
Like the Fox graphic from two weeks ago, the network's graphics department got the politically-motived result they wanted by making another apples-to-oranges comparison. As Sahil Kapur explained:
In fact, the 2008 and 2009 figures reflect federal spending growth pegged to federal revenue, while the 2010-2013 figures counted spending growth as a share of the economy.
A more direct comparison is unremarkable. If Fox applied the same standard as they used for Bush, then 2010-2013 spending growth under Obama would average 7.9 percent, down from 10.1 in 2009, the year that Bush and Obama shared.
Exactly. But "government spending has fallen over the last three years" isn't the headline that advances Fox News' preferred narrative -- even though it's accurate -- so reality has to be manipulated into on-air graphics like these.
After the last incident, "Fox & Friends," to its credit, aired a correction. Let's hope they do the same in response to this nonsense tomorrow.
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They can air all the corrections they want- once the lie is out there, it's out there.
And for the poor people that rely on faux news, the fact that they'll end up believing is the wrong one. Nobody is going to pay attention to the correction.
This is sheer negligence and is basically blatantly peeing all over any sort of journalistic standard or ethic.
Didn't mean to duplicate your post! There were no comments when I came to the page. Have a vote from me! =)
Oh, breaking news. Fox is an arm of the GOP. What a penetrating story.
Try this: DCCC pulls ads on Larry Kissell, signalling lost cause. (Rollcall)
Keep your eye on the ball, not the propaganda noise machine. The fight is in the House.
If the GOP keeps the House, NOTHING will happen. More credit downgrades, no jobs bills. Nothing- then in 2016 they will paint the Dems as failures who led the country to ruin, and they will escape blame.
I thought that the GOP was now a subsidiary of Fox News.
So true bacon331 (a noted by David Frum after Fox News and affiliates fired him from the AEI).
JohnMesserly I hate to type this but even if Democrats win the House nothing will happen. They are not likely to have 60 seats in the Senate since there are 37 Republican Senators not up for re-election (and you know Utah, Wyoming, Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Nebraska) aren't very promising. So we can have everything blocked by the Republican House or everything blocked by a filibuster.
Yes I know a new Senate can change all the rules. This will happen the day Republicans have a majority. Nothing happening is really the best we can hope for (well nothing happening but global warming and the long term unemployed becoming unemployable and well the usual)
Corrections are for crap. The moment it aired, it became right wing gospel. That's why they do it.
Maybe this is off-topic, but why is FOX still a channel that has the blessing of the FCC via a license? They are the "propaganda" channel, and all they peddle are lies; at what point can their licenses be removed? I mean they are owned by Rupert Murdock that bastion of dishonesty - and wasn't he the subject of the British inquiry into his business practices - so why is he still allowed to operate with impunity here?!
What kind of parents did the Fox news channel have, broadcasting such lies under the banner fair and balanced news ?
What kind of children do they have, condoning blantant lies for their own goals and profits??
What kind of message are they giving to the Americans who are stupid enough to believe anything from FOX...
Where are the Family values they support? Lies are so common in every report of a Democratic Candidate! Then hide under the rug their Tea Party friends obvious gaff's..
Cable stations don't get a license from the FCC. Only over the air channels that are using our spectrum. And there is no standard for truthfulness anyhow.
While I believe that the record should always be corrected, this is kind of meh. People who get their facts from Fox and Friends are completely immune to facts or corrections of facts. That graphic in that environment does absolutely nothing to sway voters that are open to "reality" and a correction does nothing to sway voters that get their facts in that venue. People who watch Fox and Friends for news are looking for information that validates their world view. They deflect all other input.
Remember when Dick Cheney famously said "I only watch Fox News"? Now you have Mitt Romney gleefully skipping down the Fox echo chamber and attempting to shame the President with false information. Romney got exposed as just another misinformed Fox News follower and got publicly spanked for it. This could serve as a wake up call of sorts but it won't. Their closed loop system will prevent them from taking any blame and learning any lessons. Thus, Fox has taught their followers well about how to ignore information that does not "validate their world view" and how to "deflect all other input." We already had one Fox News presidency. I shudder at the thought of having to endure another.
"Government spending has fallen over the last three years" is not the same as government spending has risen more slowly over the last three years no matter which piece of produce you use as a comparison... Just sayin'
I have literally only seen the SNL parody of "Fox & Friends." Do they really roll the corrections in small type across the screen, too fast to read them all?
Funny how the Republicans conveniently forget that a significant portion of the deficit can still be attributed to the Bush years. We continued to "pay" for the war in Iraq, still "paying" for the war in Afghanistan, still "paying" for Medicare Advantage and more. I'd like to see what the deficit would be if we omitted ALL the things we are still "paying" for that started under Bush and just see for what Obama is ACTUALLY responsible.
It’s quite easy for all of us to chuckle and laugh at Mitt Romney and the circus sideshow that his campaign has become. But I think it is important for us to remain aware of the danger in taking such a lackadaisical and carefree attitude toward it all. We need to remind ourselves of what is truly occurring here, it’s not funny, it’s frightening.
Mitt Romney and a majority of the Republican Party are attempting to buy, lie and manipulate themselves into some of the most powerful positions in the world and under the noses of those that elect them and those they claim to serve faithfully. They are making a mockery of something they should be holding sacred. But the more the party spins out of control, the more the veil is lifted.
A mass majority of the party is clearly motivated by money and greed, power and control, America’s interests clearly take a backseat to their own. Seeing what they are willing to do to seek the prize, to hijack the country, we should all be terrified and a little less amused. This should be an incentive for all of us to go to the polls and clearly demonstrate we will not stand for this in America. How hypocritical is it of Romney's message to be "freedom", when that is exactly what they intend to steal from us all. Freedom of choice, freedom of expression, freedom to chase our own version in the American dream, etc...
Like a deer in headlights, let's become so mesmerized by the spectacle of it all that we forget to dodge the car. What's happening here is really scary. I am personal voting straight democrat this year.
I hear you, but pay close attention that you don't vote for a Democrat who is really a Republican masquerading as a Democrat. Know enough about your local- and state-level politicians not to be fooled.
Your right jupiter.
I've am waiting for one of the Republican candidates to come out strongly against Romney and the extreme GOP's in order to gain face.....
You know what disgusts me the most about Romney's campaign is it's real time predictability. They operate completely reactionary to mass media. If the media says there is infighting, the next thing you will see on TV is all the campaign heads standing together...if they say Romney is like a robot, you will see him immediately become more animated....Romney doesn't appeal to women, let's line women up behind him...etc...etc.. It's rather simple minded and a insult to the intelligence of the American people...but I guess when you view us all as the "47%" (he dismisses the 47% as almost contemptable, I wonder what percentage indifference and disdain would get to, I am guessing around 99%) then I am sure he believes most of us to be ignorant and in need of a savior anyway. It's all smoke and mirrors...
Two quotes come to mind:
"Political language...is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind."
- George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language,"
"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it."
- Joseph Goebbels
As to it being Fox & Friends, just look up last Thursday's SNL opener.
Ditto, I too am voting for a straight Democratic ticket this year for the first time in 32 years. I used to pride myself on being an Independent, always voting for the person and not the ideology (I've often voted for local Republicans) but the right has moved SO far right I can't identify with ANYTHING they are proposing. I truly cannot believe a word that comes out of any Republican's mouth and always check with independent sources to varify (or refute) what they are claiming. So far, at best, they spout twisted half-truths and, at worst, blatantly false accusations.
Voters need to remember, it's an election, not an auction.
Just because Romney and the Rryhythmetics engage in fuzzy Math, doesn't mean we can all play in their band of Math whizzes.
I am personal voting straight democrat this year.
That is the one thing that should strike fear into the heart of Karl Rove and others like him. They have created this monster that's going to wreak havoc in downstream ballots this fall. LMAO
Not to mention that Harry Truman wasn't President until April 12, 1945. Another swing and a miss. Also, I have to check but I believe government spending as a percent of GDP was considerably higher than they claim during the WWII.
I noticed that, too. I'm just surprised they went back that far for whatever reason. Would have been more like them to just put up a pic of St. Ronnie and slap up some NEGATIVE percentage to make him look even better.
What's going on here with the Romney campaign is nothing short of gaslightening and it is considered psychological abuse. Unfortunately, less informed Americans have already succumb to the nonsense and like a virus, they spread the disease of misinformation and ignorance.
When you really analyze this from a sociological standpoint, there isn’t a whole lot of
difference between Romney/the GOP and the people that produced the “Innocence
of Muslims” video. Both spread disinformation based on limited, misinformed, bigoted and from an agenda based perspective. Both have invoked violence or threats of violence through their attacks and disinformation campaigns.
Romney says Obama has apologized for American values and freedom of speech. He even goes as far as to rattle his saber against those he says threaten it abroad. But isn’t he playing both sides of the coin? He spreads lies and falsehoods, and when
teabaggers and right winged crazies act out attacking fellow Americans verbally, physically, etc. I don’t see Romney standing up with his “might”, “resolve” and “power” in defense of them. Romney is both the “producer” and the “extremists” within our own borders.
Mendaciously manipulating measures
of mammalian merit or detriment
makes many a man meanly muddled
in mindless misery!
Such seems to be FOX's systematic smears
smattering senselessly and sequestering
squeamish souls hoping to spoil sentient
choices on election day!
Ah, but what other dastardly deeds the ditzes
on FOX decide to dabble in will be their undoing
as we will with due diligence doom those dummies
to the dust bin of destiny! -Kevo
Following on @lwh-1657417's comment above (#12): the person pictured for 1943 and 1944 -- Harry S. Truman -- wasn't even president in those years. Is mention of FDR forbidden at Fox? Or is their staff so incompetent they can't find a picture of FDR?
It's difficult to say what the point is too. Are they faux concerned that we might be going back to a time when we actually paid for the wars we were involved in? In the Vietnam era the rates (From 1965-1976: $0-1,000 @ 14% to $200,000+ @ 70%) didn't change, but they didn't index for inflation either.
Y'know, since we've been in two wars for the last 11 years that were off budget for all but the last two or three years we're kind of behind on our instalment payments. Paying down that deficit they're so worried about is going to necessitate increasing government spending eventually.
This graphic is attributed to the WSJ. What does the Journal think about this??
I have written a white paper on the national debt and who is responsible for it. Since WWII Republicans have outspend Democrats by 2 to 1 even including the Obama years. Republicans when in charge of the White House and both Houses of Congress have never submitted a balanced budget, the Dems have. So which is the physically responsible party? Want facts about this stuff...http://cedarcomm.com/~stevelm1/USDebtSep2012.pdf
I gotta give it to you, that's an awesome report.
I would start another if I were you.
One that shows a history of policies that contributed to the debt, who voted for them, their amounts and totals based on party influence.
People understand the chronological history but they put blind blame on the Democrats when I know it is the GOP's policies that have caused the debt.
Remember to add residual spending (spending to fix failed GOP policies, like the bailouts and stimulus)
I would also include the income from the paid loans (Stimulus)
People used to pack a picnic lunch and go as a family to watch a hanging. Kids love to watch late night horror shows and the scream in their sleep. Hunters and fishermen will brave freezing temperature (braced against the chill with a little Wild Turkey?) for their sport and curse the weather when they need to rake leaves. Politicians beat the war drums in the name of peace.
All in all it seems FOX is hip to what their base enjoys.When all you have for the pot is a tired old bone then toss in some bark and roots and season generously remembering to stir with vigor.
My mother tells of the time she cooked for my dad and his family . She had never cooked biscuits with lard before(her family did not have hogs) so her biscuits were horrid. To her surprise no complaints were made and the biscuits were eaten. Later on she was told that dad's family had a rule--any complaint and the one complaining had to do the cooking until somebody else complained.
I guess I was going somewhere with this but danged if I know where.
No point needed with a anecdote as good as your mom's.
What coffee said. You're upped.
What is the Obama campaign doing about all these lies coming out of Romney's Campaign Television Network? (FOX)
IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when
all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can
wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in
lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too
good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and
not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And
treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth
you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the
things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with
worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of
pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never
breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and
sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when
there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings -
nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt
you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the
unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the
Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my
son!
They finally made the movie: ROMNEYSTEIN.
http://youtu.be/Yy0SR5VdDjA
I find it both interesting and telling that the mitt is a member of the 1% with a low tax rate (under 14%) and he fails to disclose how many people he has hired because of his low tax rate. Gosh, even he is unemployed although he will be okay if he never works for money again. That's and understatement and a perfect example of what exactly a job creator is not.
Our friends at FOX "News"(that bastion of freedom and liberty and Mom and apple pie and WHITE picket fences and all things slathered in "fairness and balancedness") are completely losing their minds (and granted, there's not much to lose...) over this election. Hannity's head practically imploded (can't explode... there's nothing in there to be forced out...unless we count hate, vitriol,etc...) during a segment the other night!
Keep watching as the great gnashing of teeth continues....gather ye pitchforks as ye may....
And that Monica Crowley is just flat bat-crap-crazy!! She was some assistant to Nixon in his later years...I'll bet even he was terrified of that lunatic!!!
Of course, Harry Truman wasn't even Vice President -- let alone President -- in 1943 and 1944. Also, there's something I feel like I should remember that was going on in 1943-45, something really big, that the government was spending money on. I'm sure it will come to me in a minute. . . .