
Stephanopoulos Blames Budget Deficit On Bush
On Monday, President Obama announced that 2011's budget deficit is going to be an all-time high $1.65 trillion.
In an interview with Fox News's Bill O'Reilly later in the day, ABC's George Stephanopoulos predictably blamed the red ink on former President George W. Bush (video follows with transcript and commentary):
February 15th, 2011 10:23 AM
Open Thread: Obama's Horrendous Budget
President Obama made it perfectly clear with the budget proposal he submitted Monday that he has no interest in subordinating his agenda to the the country's long-term fiscal health and sustainability. Under the proposal, the federal government will add $26.3 trillion in new debt over the next ten years. Jake Tapper summed it up thusly: "The plan shows that Obama will not take the lead on any…
February 15th, 2011 9:33 AM

Ed Schultz Mangles Ratings Math Again, Complains About Being Bumped fo
Ed Schultz is not completely happy with his new 10 pm Eastern time slot. On his radio show Friday, he said to his Ed-heads: "Where is Ed Friday night? Well they’ve always run the prison junk on Friday night. You, you wouldn’t -- I’m telling you straight, that beats Fox News. Okay, that Lockup and that Jerry Behind Bars, or I don’t know, all that stuff. There is amazing amazing intrigue with…
February 15th, 2011 8:25 AM

Lawrence O'Donnell: 'Bill O'Reilly Has Most Gullible Audience in Telev
With his total number of viewers having declined by 45 percent since his premiere in the 8PM time slot, MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell appears to be taking a page from his predecessor Keith Olbermann's handbook.
On Monday's "The Last Word," the host did two segments about Fox News, the first included insults about Irish guys and Bill O'Reilly's "gullible" audience that ended with a school yard…
February 15th, 2011 12:58 AM

Lawrence O'Donnell Worries 'We Are So Free Ann Coulter Can Joke About
MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell on Monday expressed concern that someone like conservative author Ann Coulter has the "freedom" to make a joke about jailing journalists.
This was amazing expressed moments before "The Last Word" host applauded the free flow of information that enticed and united protesters to rebel in Egypt (video follows with transcript and commentary):
February 14th, 2011 11:43 PM

'Name That Party' Business As Usual: AP Report Fails to Tag Bell, Cal
Back in August and September, Lachlan Markay at NewsBusters did roundups of media infamy in connection with the exposure and subsequent arrests of eight officials and politicians associated with Bell, California. The cases involve abusively excessive salaries and benefits paid and allegedly kept secret from the city's residents.
During the August episode of media malfeasance when the story…
February 14th, 2011 11:35 PM
Bloomberg Businessweek Celebrates Valentine's Day with Adultery Cover
Financial magazine features story on 'genius' behind AshleyMadison.com, a website that says 'Life is short. Have an affair.'
February 14th, 2011 9:11 PM

Paul Krugman Ironically Asks 'How Can Voters Be So Ill Informed
In his lifetime, Princeton economics professor and Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman has published 20 books, over 200 papers, and since the year 2000 two columns a week at the New York Times.
Clearly without understanding the irony of his question, the man once accused by the Gray Lady's ombudsman of possessing a "disturbing habit of shaping, slicing and selectively citing numbers" asked his…
February 14th, 2011 8:54 PM
Looking Back at Recent Federal Spending, AP's Andrew Taylor Only Count
It's going to be a long year for those of us who review Associated Press reports Uncle Sam's finances for evidence of bias and ignorance. Sometimes it seems that it would be easier to highlight the rare examples of fairness and balance.
Take the first sentence of Andrew Taylor's report on President Obama's 2012 budget (please; that goes for his report and the budget). It, in combination with…
February 14th, 2011 8:39 PM

Chris Matthews Questions Sanity of 'Zany' CPAC Attendees
On Monday's Hardball Chris Matthews, who devoted much of last week's shows to Egypt, got caught up on some conservative bashing as he mocked those who attended CPAC as "zany" and likened the conference to a "carnival act." The MSNBC host, joined by fellow liberals David Corn of Mother Jones magazine and Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo, led the show by describing the event as a "right wing…
February 14th, 2011 6:21 PM

CNN's Chetry Tells Ron Paul: 'Freedom and Right to Life Don't Always G
On Monday's American Morning, CNN's Kiran Chetry indicated that individual liberty and the pro-life movement weren't compatible. During an interview of Congressman Ron Paul, Chetry stated, "Freedom to make your own decisions...giving people the ability to make their own decisions, and the right to life movement don't always go together."
The anchor interviewed the libertarian-leaning…
February 14th, 2011 5:45 PM
Harvard Professor Slams Obama's Handling of Egypt; 'Morning Joe' Panel
For about ten minutes on MSNBC Monday, Harvard History professor Niall Ferguson offered a articulate, detailed, and biting indictment of President Obama's handling of the crisis Egypt – and those disagreeing on the usually Obamaphilic "Morning Joe" panel could offer little of substance in response.
Co-host Mika Brzezinski began the segment reading Ferguson's latest column – which is the…
February 14th, 2011 5:44 PM
NPR Celebrates LGBT Valentine Cards 'For a Rainbow of Loves
NPR has a strange way of celebrating Valentine's Day. It's trying to "help" fans with corporate Valentines from NPR including this beauty: "You might have a face for radio, but I love you just the same."
Sounds like a one-way ticket to sleeping on the couch. It's less surprising that NPR would use Valentine's Day as another day to celebrate identity politics and social liberalism with a…
February 14th, 2011 5:09 PM
Only ABC Hits Obama on Lack of Substantial Cuts in New Budget; NBC, CB
Of the three morning shows on Monday, only ABC's Good Morning America aggressively pushed the Obama administration on a lack of substantial cuts in the 2012 budget. NBC's Today and CBS's Early Show either downplayed the issue or didn't fully explain the President's new spending.
ABC's Jake Tapper declared that Obama's plan "shows that the President will not take the lead in any aggressive…
February 14th, 2011 5:04 PM