On Friday's Real Time with Bill Maher, host Maher closed the last show of the season mocking Dr. Ben Carson and other "Jesus freaks" as he used a quote from Dr. Carson about "God's fingers" pushing him to the presidency, with the HBO host charging that God has been to blame for "every war in human history," including the Paris terrorist attacks.
Before giving his anti-religion commentary, Maher raised the issue of religion at the end of the show's regular "New Rules" segment as he took aim at Dr. Carson, calling him "Dr. Giggles," and a "dingdong." Maher:
Middle East
By Brad Wilmouth | November 21, 2015 | 2:57 PM EST
By Mark Finkelstein | November 21, 2015 | 12:17 PM EST
I turned on MSNBC this morning in the admittedly masochistic hope of seeing Melissa Harris-Perry, only to find Harry Smith--of all people--hosting continuing coverage of the Paris attacks and related issues.
After running clips of Ted Cruz, Ben Carson and Mike Huckabee questioning the admittance into the US of Syrian refugees, Smith immediately displayed on screen and read the passage of Matthew 25 that begins "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat . . . I was a stranger and you invited me in," etc. Smith then turned to the Rev. Jacqui Lewis, pastor of the hyper-liberal Middle Collegiate Church in NYC's East Village, and asked this hyper-leading question: "is this as important a piece of the New Testament as exists?" Surprise! Lewis agreed that it "absolutely" is.
By Tim Graham | November 21, 2015 | 7:41 AM EST
The Public Broadcasting Service isn’t really a representative of the Public, as everyone should know. It’s the defender of liberal elite opinion, no matter what the polls say. This week, the polls are stacking up against President Obama on his ISIS policy and his Syrian-refugee policy. But the PBS NewsHour stands with Obama and in horror at the current Republican Party.
Both liberal Mark Shields and fake-conservative David Brooks agreed Friday night that today’s GOP presidential candidate are horrendous, especially compared to how George W. Bush now looks like Abe Lincoln now on Islam.
By Matthew Balan | November 20, 2015 | 5:30 PM EST
On Friday's CNN Newsroom, Carol Costello badgered Democratic Rep. Kurt Schrader over his vote in favor of additional scrutiny for Syrian refugees applying to enter the U.S. Costello spotlighted how "some on Twitter have not been kind — calling you a traitor to Oregon and...xenophobic," and how "some say the intent of this bill is to really create so many checks that it will be impossible for any Syrian refugee to come into this country any time soon." She later touted how "some say that's just one part of what some call what's becoming a disturbing climate in America."
By Matthew Balan | November 20, 2015 | 1:01 PM EST
Friday's CBS This Morning hyped that "thousands on the government's terrorist watch list...bought firearms in the last decade...and all of the sales were legal." Nancy Cordes played up that a bill to "close that loophole" that has been introduced for eight straight years has "gone nowhere" due to opposition from the NRA and congressional Republicans. Cordes later hinted that House Speaker Paul Ryan and his GOP caucus had a double standard on national security, for opposing closing the "loophole," but supporting a bill to "beef up screening of Syrian refugees."
By Kyle Drennen | November 20, 2015 | 1:00 PM EST
On Friday, NBC’s Today lambasted Republicans for daring to oppose President Obama on the process of accepting Syrian refugees into the U.S. Co-host Savannah Guthrie proclaimed: “Defying the President, the House on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to impose stringent new screening rules.”
By Curtis Houck | November 20, 2015 | 12:25 PM EST
On the heels of news that he’s slipped to third place in the network late night comedy show ratings due to his alienation of right-leaning voters, Late Show host Stephen Colbert proved why it’s the case on Thursday as he accused Republicans of not being Christians for wanting to put a hold on the U.S. accepting Syrian refugees, contending it's comparable to the KKK as an example of Christians committing acts of terrorism.
By Curtis Houck | November 19, 2015 | 9:13 PM EST
NBC Nightly News lashed out at conservatives and Republicans on Thursday for creating an “ugly” and “angry debate” with President Obama over whether to accept Syrian refugees while gushing how Hillary Clinton was “[g]oing against the tide” of a bipartisan majority of voters and members of the House in backing the President.
By Matthew Balan | November 19, 2015 | 8:08 PM EST
Politico's Hadas Gold revealed on Thursday that CNN suspended correspondent Elise Labott for two weeks, after she decried the 289 to 137 vote on Syrian refugees by the House of Representatives: "House passes bill that could limit Syrian refugees. Statue of Liberty bows head in anguish".
By Tom Blumer | November 19, 2015 | 5:38 PM EST
Add what follows to the long list of items we should be reading about in wire service reports but instead must find in the editorial sections of the nation's two leading business newspapers.
An Islamist organization tied to the Muslim Brotherhood is involved in the screening potential Syrian refugees allegedly receive before being allowed to come to the United States. Investor's Business Daily revealed this information, which is in stark contrast what U.S. government officials are telling the nation, in a Tuesday evening editorial (bolds are mine):
By Matthew Balan | November 19, 2015 | 3:56 PM EST
CNN correspondent Elise Labott bemoaned that the House of Representatives voted to "to intensify security screenings of Syrian refugees and suspend Obama's program to admit 10,000 of them in the next year," as Reuters reported on Thursday. In a Thursday post on Twitter, Labott linked to her network's reporting on the 289 to 137 vote, and added her own over-the-top commentary: "House passes bill that could limit Syrian refugees. Statue of Liberty bows head in anguish".
By Matthew Balan | November 19, 2015 | 3:20 PM EST
On Wednesday's CNN Tonight, Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times and liberal analyst Rula Jebreal bewailed the latest poll that found that 53 percent are opposed to letting in 10,000 Syrian refugees. Kristof hyped that "this almost exactly matches up a poll in January 1939 of whether or not to admit 10,000 mostly Jewish children into the U.S.....in retrospect, we clearly acknowledge that was a shameful period in American history." Jebreal slammed this majority as "racist," and cried, "They're weaponizing fear! That poll reflects fear."