Newsweek Religion Editor Chides Obama to Fight 'Mean Certainties of th

The "On Faith" page in Saturday's Washington Post contained an editorial from Newsweek religion editor Lisa Miller lamenting how Barack Obama has disappointed his liberal base by not being more vocal against "the mean certainties of the religious right." The headline was "Believers wonder: Where is the old Obama?" As if there aren't a lot of believers who never thought Obama was really into…
Tim Graham
August 14th, 2011 6:47 AM

Saturday Night Funny Video: Putting the Wrong Guest Expert on Air

Another entry in my semi-regular series of Saturday night humor postings for NewsBusters drawn from the clips Bret Baier runs at the end of FNC’s Special Report which he and his staff usually select from video montages picked up off the late night comedy shows. With few to draw on from the past week since Iowa coverage meant Baier only ran a humor clip on a couple of nights, for this one a…
Brent Baker
August 14th, 2011 1:58 AM

AP's Writeup on Castro's 85th Birthday Tags Him As 'Revolutionary Icon

Tuesday (at NewsBusters; at BizzyBlog), yours truly noted an email from the Associated Press's Images Group which encouraged subscribing outlets to use its "iconic images and videos" to promote the 85th birthday of Fidel Castro, the "Legendary Cuban revolutionary and longtime leader." Today, writing what may be the wire service's last calendar-driven excuse to heap praise on him while he is…
Tom Blumer
August 13th, 2011 10:59 PM

Who Can Claim NPR Is 'Neutral' and Builds Civil Discourse

At The Huffington Post, Canadian "Wikinomics" author Don Tapscott was pitching how public broadcasting in American is both "neutral" and maintains a civil discourse. Has Tapscott actually watched or listened to PBS or NPR? But there he is, crowing about "neutral" NPR: In the United States, many conservatives seek out right-wing news/advocacy organizations such as Fox News, RushLimbaugh.com or…
Tim Graham
August 13th, 2011 10:47 PM

All Left: NPR Publicizes Gay-Bert-and-Ernie Petition Lightly With Joke

Openly lesbian NPR arts reporter Neda Ulaby was given the assignment of making light news out of the gay-activism petition to get the Muppet characters Ernie and Bert married on "Sesame Street" on Friday night's All Things Considered. Her only sources for comment were a lesbian comedian and a liberal Time magazine TV critic. She did not interview the petition's author Lair Scott, who…
Tim Graham
August 13th, 2011 10:02 PM

Three Pages of Newsweek Flashed 'Meaty' Naked Paintings

Greg Pollowitz of National Review's Media Blog expressed the viewpoint of many in his disgust for Newsweek's nasty "Queen of Rage" cover of Michele Bachmann, and attacked the editor as a sleazeball: "In all honesty, Tina Brown, you are an incredible hack and should be ashamed of yourself. Why not just got for the full HuffPo and add nudity to Newsweek’s print edition?" Apologies to Greg! Tina…
Tim Graham
August 13th, 2011 8:47 PM

Open Thread: Bachmann Wins Iowa Straw Poll

Rep. Michele Bachmann has won the first official electoral contest of the 2012 presidential campaign: Michele Bachmann narrowly won the Iowa straw poll of Republicans on Saturday in the first big test of the 2012 presidential campaign, as Texas Governor Rick Perry formally launched a White House bid that could reshape the race. Bachmann, a representative from Minnesota, edged out Ron…
NB Staff
August 13th, 2011 7:45 PM

NYT's Timothy Egan Hits 'Biblical Bully,' Asks: 'Is God Listening to R

On MSNBC Friday afternoon, openly gay Washington Post editorial writer Jonathan Capehart (while substituting for host Martin Bashir) cited his newspaper competition to mock Gov. Rick Perry’s religious-right stances. “Timothy Egan has an interesting column in the New York Times,” he insisted, “that pointed out that when Rick Perry prays to God, they tend to not get answered. For example, he…
Tim Graham
August 13th, 2011 4:32 PM

NYT's Blow: Every Time Bachmann Said 'As President of the United State

"I must confess that every time Representative Michele Bachmann uttered the phrase 'as president of the United States' during Thursday's Republican presidential debate I blacked out a little bit, so I'm sure that I missed some things." So actually began a piece by New York Times columnist Charles Blow Saturday:
Noel Sheppard
August 13th, 2011 11:42 AM

NYT Editorial: GOP Caused Downgrade and 'Invited a Double-Dip Recessio

In the view of the New York Times, everything that ails our nation is caused by Republicans. Consider Saturday's editorial disgracefully titled "Magical Unrealism: In the Iowa Debate, Republicans Fled From the Truth About the Damage Caused by Their Party":
Noel Sheppard
August 13th, 2011 10:42 AM

CBS Looks at ‘Cost’ and ‘Tragedy’ of Rick Perry’s Refusal to

Friday night’s CBS Evening News examined Rick Perry’s record in Texas, citing his claims his policies led to job creation but then pivoting to how “Perry's bedrock pledge to never raise taxes also had a reckoning this year.” Reporter Wyatt Andrews relayed liberal claims that “with taxes not an option, the state cut deeply into health care and so deeply into education, some 49,000 teachers…
Brent Baker
August 13th, 2011 9:03 AM

Analysis: Average Teen Jobless Rate in D.C. is

An analysis based on U.S. Census Bureau data by the Employment Policies Institute (EPI) shows that the average unemployment rate for teens ages 16 to 19 in the District of Columbia was 50.1 percent as of June 2011. This corresponds with data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showing that for D.C. the annual average unemployment rate for teens in 2010 was 49.8 percent. Michael Saltsman…
Penny Starr
August 13th, 2011 8:31 AM

Bozell Column: Jesus Is Not a Serial Killer

This fall, the Showtime movie channel will air its sixth season of "Dexter," their show glorifying a just serial killer. They recently finished a fourth season of a show called "Californication," which debuted in 2007 with a dream sequence in which the lead character receives oral sex from a nun in a church. So it might seem surprising (or....perhaps not) that Showtime's new promotional package…
Brent Bozell
August 13th, 2011 8:04 AM

N.Y. Times (Sort of) Hails New 'Glee' Movie As 'Tutorial on Tolerance

The New York Times was torn in reviewing the new move “Glee: The 3D Concert Movie.” The liberal paper felt forced to admire its LGBT sermonizing. The headline was “A Tutorial on Tolerance, with Beats and Upbeats.” But it’s also just a concert film and merchandising opportunity for a TV show, so critic Stephen Holden began by calling it a “carbonated, low-calorie, vitamin-packed high-energy…
Tim Graham
August 13th, 2011 7:25 AM