Thursday, December 21, 2006

On Tuesday's Grapevine, Brit Hume devotes a segment to an attempt to convey just how awesome things are in Iraq these days:

Huge Economic Growth

What country has seen a growth in its gross domestic project of 17 percent last year — and an estimated 13 percent this year? An increase in the number of registered companies of more than 400 percent and in salaries by 100 percent in three years? The answer — Iraq.

Newsweek magazine reports the economy in Iraq is "booming." And Newsweek acknowledges that this is getting little or no media exposure — writing — "there's a vibrancy at the grass roots that is invisible in most international coverage of Iraq." Speaking of Iraq — hundreds of people are lining up for what is becoming the hottest job opening in that country — executioner for Saddam Hussein. The Ledger reports people have sent messages through cabinet officials, government guards and clerical workers begging for the job. An advisor to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says picking a hangman will be very difficult "because so many people want revenge for the loss of their loved ones."

Another issue — where the execution will be held. One idea was to have it in Baghdad's largest sports arena. But most officials say it will probably happen at a specially built gallows at the American prison where Hussein is currently held — Camp Cropper. Hussein's death sentence is currently working its way through the appeals process.

Brit Hume's summary of the Newsweek piece, is, however, notably selective and one sided. To give just one example: while Hume reports a 17% increase in GDP for the year, he fails to note that another estimate cited in the Newsweek piece actually places GDP growth at a far less stunning 4%:

Estimates vary, but one from Global Insight puts GDP growth at 17 percent last year and projects 13 percent for 2006. The World Bank has it lower: at 4 percent this year. But, given all the attention paid to deteriorating security, the startling fact is that Iraq is growing at all.

Nor does Hume mention other aspects of the Newsweek peice, such as that much of the economy is built upon the spoils of government corruption, or that the economy would likely collapse without the presence of the country's greatest benefactor: the U.S.

Friday, Dec 1, 2001

Today's Grapevine is hosted by Chris Wallace, a Fox News "journalist" known mostly for his nakedly partisan interviews of prominent Democrats and his insistence that, contrary to all available evidence, he approaches his subjects in a fair and balanced manner. But on Brit Hume's Grapevine Wallace once again demonstrates how ideology trumps journalistic ethics at Fox News. In a segment headlined "Animal Rights Activists" Wallace claims:

Animal Rights Activists

There's at least one front in the war on terror — even the ACLU is backing. President Bush has signed a new law giving federal authorities expanded powers to prosecute animal rights activists—which the State Department warns are a more serious day-to-day threat than terrorists— for US companies overseas.

The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act will make it easier for the FBI to wiretap and prosecute animal rights activists who target researchers among others. Such harassment ranges— from late-night phone calls, to vandalism, assault, and even death threats.

The opening sentence "There's at least one front in the war on terror -even the ACLU is backing" is completely superfluous, given that the ACLU is never again mentioned in the segment. In fact, the statement is little more than an unashamedly partisan swipe at the civil rights organization, and a libeous one, too, given that no evidence is given to support Wallace's contention that the ACLU opposes the so-called "war on terror." Instead, it is simply taken as a given that the ACLU's opposition to measures that curtail the rights of U.S. citizens and foreign nationals on U.S. soil is part and parcel with opposition to the struggle against radical Islamic terrorism. For Wallace and Fox News, you either believe that the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are dispansable, or you're with the terrorists.

Next Wallace eagerly and enthusiastically promotes the ridiculous Fox News meme that there is an ongoing "war on Christmas." But this war is not only taking plce in the U.S. In fact, as it turns out, there's actually a global war on Christmas, as evidenced by:

Scary St. Nick?

And the "war on Christmas"— also goes on overseas. A ban on Saint Nicholas in Vienna's kindergartens is being enforced in response to pressure from Austria's growing Muslim population. City officials contend it's not about religion — that the sight of a large, bearded figure in school can frighten children. But one child psychiatrist says that's "total nonsense"— adding that Saint Nick is a "positive figure who encourages and rewards children."

Every year that I have walked this Earth, I have witnessed Christmas coming earlier and earlier, so that it has largely swallowed up Thanksgiving and is now even showing signs of encroaching on Halloween (and I'm not talking about Tim Burton's "Nightmare before Christmas," either). The economic inplications of the holiday season are enormous. I just recently learned, for instance, that the reason retailer refer to the Friday after Thankgiving as "black Friday" is because it is the frist day of the year that many businesses can actually report an operating profit, that is, their books are "in the black" for the first time that day. So the notion that the holiday season is in any danger is simply a laughable one. Of course, most Fox News commentators also seek to imply that the "war on Christams" is evidenced by the claimed fact that the holiday is becoming more secularized. However, one is left to wonder why it is a supposedly impartial news organization would report on this supposed secular turn as an alarming and corrosive development. That's not a fair and balanced perspective, but rather, a partisan, evangelical one. Ultimately, though, the fact that Fox has to go all the way to Vienna to dig up a newsworthy example demonstrates the extent to which this phoney war is manufactured, packaged and sold to the U.S. public exclusively by the conservative ideologues who run Fox News.

Nov. 15, 2006

The Memo

While this is not related exclusively to Brit Hume's "Grapevine", an internal Fox News memo, recently uncovered by the Huffington Post is germaine to any discussion of shows on the network. The memo itself, is a glaring indictment of the propagandistic, partisan nature of the network that laughably boasts "fair and balanced" as its motto. Written by Fox's vice-president of news, it lays out a strategy for undermining the recent Democratic electoral gains through news coverage designed to highlight statements by Iraqi insurgents' who "must be thrilled at the prospect of a Dem-controlled congress." Indeed, the memo commands Fox News staff to "be on the lookout" for any such statements, so that they might be included in network coverage, even as it seeks to reassure Fox staffers that the Democratic victory is "not the end of the world." The Huffinton Post has a fax of the entire memo on their site. As a bonus, Ill note that our very own sometime Grapevine host, Jim Angle, is mentioned specifically in the memo.

November 10. 2006

In today's Grapevine:

Having projected dissappointingly flat sales for the month of November, WalMart is pulling out all the stops on its Christmas marketing drive, blaring Christmas music 24/7, decorating its stores as gaudily as possible, and mounting Christmas count-down clocks on the walls to drive home the message to consumers that Christmas is on the way, sooner than you think, so you'd better buy, Buy, BUY, spend, Spend, SPEND, lest you get caught unprepared, with no present on hand for your own, disappointed, emotionally crippled, Tiny Tim on December 25th.

Brit Hume, of course, interprets this marketing decision as a triumph for good, traditional Christian values in the never-ending, ACLU-led War On Christmas:

"Holidays" Out, "Christmas" In

The folks at Wal-Mart are putting Christmas back into the holidays in a big way. Wal-Mart announced today that it will use "Merry Christmas" — "early and often" this season. Last year Wal-Mart and other retailers were boycotted by some groups because they downplayed Christmas in favor of a generic and politically correct "holiday" theme.

But a Wal-Mart spokeswoman says the company learned its lesson — and will have what's described as an "in-your-face" Christmas theme this year — featuring Christmas music over the loudspeakers and signs that count down the days until Christmas.

Oh yeah, and Muslim's want to cut your daughter's head off too, by the way.

Monday, Nov 6, 2006

Jim Angle Wants The Terrorists To Want The Democrats To Win

There can be no surer sign of political bias and hackery than when a so-called "reporter" runs a "terrorists want the Demcorats to win" story in the week before national elections. And Brit Hume, disingenuous spinmesiter extraordinarie, obliges us in Thursday's Grapevine with a story that's chock full of examples of terrorists wanting Democrats to win, culled from right-wing fringe publications such as World Net Daily:

"Greater Defeat Than Vietnam"

A report in the online publication World Net Daily says some leaders of terrorist organizations are openly encouraging Americans to vote for Democrats… in order to hasten a U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq.

Jihad Jaara — a senior member of the Palestinian Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade — says "of course Americans should vote Democrat." He went on to say a withdrawal from Iraq would mark the beginning of the collapse of what he called the U.S. "tyrant empire" — and would deal the US "a greater defeat than Vietnam."

Abu Ayman — a leader of Islamic jihad in Jenin — tells World Net Daily he is "emboldened" by Americans who compare Iraq to Vietnam. And the senior leader of that Palestinian group — says Democratic predictions that a withdrawal would end the insurgency are incorrect — and that a pullout would "prove the resistance is the most important tool — and that this tool works."

Curiously, the examples cited are all Palestinians. No word on why Iraqi insurgents and Al Quaeda representatives were not polled. However, given the polarizing effects of the U.S. occupation among all Arabs in the region, it's not implausible that Osama might be happy to see the Republicans retain power just a little bit longer... you know, to keep that recruiting drive running in high-gera for a few more years.

(Correction: though this post originally attributed this report to Brit Hume, after looking at the video, it appears that Jim Angle, Brit Hume's occasional Grapevine substitute host, presented the above report).

Wednesday, October 18

Tawdry Republicans

In today's Grapevine Brit Hume reports on the race for Texas State Comptroller:

"Two-Faced Hypocrite"

The race for state comptroller in Texas is getting down and dirty — and not in the usual way. Democratic candidate Fred Head is calling Republican rival Susan Combs a "two-faced hypocrite" for writing what he calls "a pornographic book."

The tome in question is a romance novel called "A Perfect Match" that Combs published in 1990. Head has posted excerpts of the book on his Web site that feature what the people who buy romance novels want them to feature — steamy romance.

All of this has enraged the 9,000 member Romance Writers of America — which is headquartered in and has many members from — Texas. One novelist wonders why Head posted parts of the book on his Web site if it is in fact pornography. Another says she's a Texan, a Christian, a grandmother who has written 46 novels — and a registered Democrat — but she's not voting for Fred Head.

But what Hume fails to mention is that in addition to the sort of steamy naughtiness that would make Scooter Libby blush (or maybe not), Comb's roman à l'eau de rose, is filled with indigestible prose that's almost as turgid as seasoned NSA super-spy Ross Harding's manhood at the moment in which he lowers himself upon NSA analyst Emily Brown "with devastating slowness" and an eye toward filling "the aching void at her center."

October 17, 2006

Wow, $750,000? That's a Lot of Money.

In today's Grapevine, Brit Hume writes about allegations of financial improprieties bedevilling Senate minority leader Harry Reid:

Holiday Cheer

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid is taking more heat today for his financial decisions. The Associated Press reports Reid used campaign donations to pay for holiday gifts for workers at his $750,000 Washington D.C. condo. Federal election law prohibits using campaign funds for any housing costs. Reid calls it a "clerical error" and is promising to reimburse his campaign.

Reid has also announced he is amending his ethics reports following an AP story that he did not properly account for a Las Vegas land deal that allowed him to collect more than a million dollars for property he had not personally owned in three years.

There are two figures quoted in the AP story (1) the relatively paltry sum of $3,300 which was sum total value of the Christmas bonuses in question, and (2) the princely sum of $750,000 which is the value of Reid's condominium, but which is completely irrelevant to the allegations of financial impropriety Hume is reporting on. So, which figure do you think Hume feels is most relevant, and most important for his viewers to mull over? And why do you think that is?

The answer to these questions is left as an exercise for the reader.