Free Republic

Sen. John McCain has long presented himself as that rare bird in politics: an inveterate straight-shooter. But does campaign strain have McCain’s Straight Talk Express veering off course? A string of incidents stemming from the senator’s two presidential runs suggests he’s no less fallible than any other candidate — and just as capable of adjusting facts to suit his purpose. 1. Confederate Flag Over South Carolina Capitol, April 19, 2000 During the run-up to the South Carolina Republican primary in February 2000, McCain was asked whether he felt the Confederate flag should be removed from atop the statehouse. Non-truth: McCain...

Editor’s Note: This is the first in a three-part series focusing on misstatements, prevarications and falsehoods proclaimed by the three major presidential candidates. Sen. Hillary Clinton presents the image of a seasoned, ever-disciplined politician whose experience as first lady and a New York senator makes her ready to be commander-in-chief. But a series of misstatements — exaggerations, half-truths and lies — made by Clinton over the last 15 years have at times undermined her image and called her credibility into question -snip- 1. Travelgate, June 23, 2000 2. Iraq War Vote, Jan. 13, 2008 3. Sniper Fire, March 17, 2008...

Some supporters say Clinton, Obama had nothing to gain by appearing on Fox TV - Presidential candidates rarely turn down a network television interview, especially on a highly rated program. But some prominent liberals are wondering why Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama agreed this week to sit down for interviews on the Fox News Channel, for years the highest-rated cable news network and the bastion of conservative TV news analysis. The dilemma for the candidates: Is appearing on Fox a smart political move before Democratic primaries in two largely conservative states - Indiana and North Carolina - or...

For a moment, let's step away from the commentary, per se, and focus on the commentators. Liberals love to chide Fox News for its alleged conservative bias. So why don't we see, when it comes to being fair and balanced, how this morning's Fox News Sunday panel stacked up against that of its main competitor, Meet the Press? Here are the line-ups--you be the judge. MEET THE PRESS Host–Tim Russert Panel * David Broder–Washington Post columnist * John Dickerson–Slate * Gwen Ifill–PBS * Andrea Mitchell–NBC * Richard Wolffe–Newsweek

The study is based on 481 election stories that aired on the evening newscasts of ABC, CBS, NBC and "Special Report." The findings reveal that on-air evaluations of Clinton were negative nearly 60 percent of the time, while evaluations of Obama were positive 61 percent of the time. Among Republicans, Huckabee fared the best, while Rudy Giuliani and John McCain were given negative on-air evaluations more than 60 percent of the time.

The lefties at foxattacks.com are getting their minions to email/call the sponsors of FOX NEWS channel. They have a list of sponsors. Please contact these people and THANK THEM for advertising on FOX NEWS..... Lending Tree http://www.lendingtree.com/stm3/contactus/contactus-email.asp Time Warner Cable http://www.twcnc.com/template/contactus.cfm Duke Medicine dukemednews@contact.duke.edu Southern States VW thippo@ssvwofdurham.net Journey Church jimmy@takeajourney.org Bass Pro Shops Manager_Charlotte_NC@basspro.com Sprint investor.relations@sprint.com

Google News announced an "experimental" feature that will revolutionize Journalism As We Know It: Our long-term vision is that any participant will be able to send in their comments, and we'll show them next to the articles about the story. Comments will be published in full, without any edits, but marked as "comments" so readers know it's the individual's perspective, rather than part of a journalist's report.[W]e're hoping that by adding this feature, we can help enhance the news experience for readers, testing the hypothesis that - whether they're penguin researchers or presidential candidates - a personal view can sometimes...

The Bush Administration is commended for announcing that it would veto any legislation reinstating the so-called "Fairness Doctrine." The Administration's announcement came following media reports of support for reimposing the Fairness Doctrine by Senators Dianne Feinstein, Dick Durbin, Barbara Boxer, Hillary Clinton, and others. Rep. Maurice Hinchley (D-NY) intends to re-introduce legislation "to restore the Fairness Doctrine" in coming weeks. Hinchley's "Media Ownership Reform Act (H.R. 3302)," better known as MORA, had 16 co-sponsors in the 109th Congress, but got nowhere due to GOP control. "It's the 'Hush Rush' crowd at it again, and it has nothing to do with...

Having just authored a book called "Stop the Presses! The Inside Story of the New Media Revolution," I could hardly have asked for a more timely plug from BusinessWeek magazine. Its July 24 issue will feature a column titled "When Do You Stop The Presses?" – which, not surprisingly, by the time you read this, has been available online for a solid week. The column by Jon Fine asks the question: "Which major American newspaper should be the first to throw up its hands and stop publishing a print product?" Why is he asking? "This could be the worst year...

Nearly nine out of 10 journalists who made political donations gave to Democrats or left-wing groups, according to a bombshell new investigation into media bias - and perhaps the most shocking name on the list was the writer of "The Ethicist" column for The New York Times. The probe by MSNBC investigative reporter Bill Dedman revealed the names of 144 employees - reporters, editors, producers - from media organizations nationwide who have lined the candidates' pockets since '04. Underscoring the leftward tilt of the press, 125 of the workers, or 87 percent, ponied up only to Democrats and liberal causes,...

It was buried in the avalanche of coverage of the horrible shootings at Virginia Tech. But the Supreme Court's partial-birth ruling will likely have a much bigger impact on Campaign. The human toll is unfathomable. And the heartfelt debate triggered by the slaughter at Virginia Tech—over why America allows such easy access to guns, and how best to determine when a troubled student might turn into a psychopath—will rage on for years. But as a political matter, the killings in Blacksburg, Va., will likely have little impact—on the presidential campaign of 2008, at least. That race will, however, be affected...

Happy Birthday Jim! Thank you for FreeRepublic.com!!

His news feeds and air-conditioned studio were hundreds of miles away in New York. But Fox News Channel anchor Shepard Smith looked at ease perched on a platform before the pool at the Don Cesar Beach Resort and Spa in St. Pete Beach on Tuesday, stealing glances at a nearby BlackBerry and laptop computer while leading the 3 p.m. newscast, Studio B. “There was a time when covering news from a remote location was hard,” said Smith, dabbing a tissue at tiny trickles of sweat on his face. “Today, I’m not any more or less connected here, because of technology,...

BILL O'Reilly, Fox News's marquee commentator, is the cleanest-shaven man I've ever seen close up. His tough-guy face looks like it has been laser polished. His fast-talking, evangelical, overbearing persona reminds me of crusading journalist characters who featured, with ties unknotted at stressful moments, in movies made when radio was king. But the O'Reilly character would then have been played by Broderick Crawford, an actor who shaved, but only just. O'Reilly's polished face, immaculate grooming and machinegun talk epitomise the tightly choreographed, rough-with-the-smooth formula developed by Fox News (owned by News Corporation, which owns News Limited, publisher of The Australian),...

'I Can't Hate Them for What They Did,' Olaf Wiig Says Aug. 31, 2006 — - Despite being taken hostage at gunpoint in Gaza by a jihadist group and held captive for 13 days, Fox News cameraman Olaf Wiig says he can't condemn his captors. "It's really complex," Wiig said on "Good Morning America." "In some ways, I feel such sympathy for the Palestinian cause. You know, in my heart. You know, I can't hate them for what they did. I resent on behalf of my family what they did. But there's a funny bit of me that's sympathetic to...

This guy is on there now talking down the war effort. Talking down Rummy. Telling his guest (General) "this Administration wants Americans to believe Saddam was responsible for 9/11." This guy is so transparent. He's better off in "The Situation Room" with Blitzer and Cafferty. Touting the six retired Officers calling for Rummy's head. Shep is just trashing the effort. Drama Queen.

By Randy Hall and Marc Morano CNSNews.com Staff November 09, 2005 (CNSNews.com) - A Fox News Channel documentary on "global warming," set to air Sunday night, provides only the liberal take on the controversial issue and was approved after environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. reportedly "dragged" Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes to a lecture by former Vice President Al Gore, "kicking and screaming." Clay Rawson, the Fox News Channel producer of the hour-long special titled "The Heat Is On: The Case of Global Warming," told Cybercast News Service Wednesday that the project "was a little bit different for us. "Often...

Woo Hoo!!! The day has finally come! Fox News replaces ABC News radio for top of the hour news updates and special reports here on the 50,000 watt clear channel blow torch of the Rockies 850am KOA this coming Monday August 1st. This was mentioned by the folks here on Colorado Morning News this morning. === The Clear Channel press release from back in December 2004: Clear Channel Radio Names Fox News as Primary National News Provider to More Than 100 News/Talk Stations Service Includes Five-Minute Top-of-the-Hour Newscast, Nightly Signature Newscast and Dedicated 24/7 National News Coverage Deal Creates Direct...

Do you consider Newsmax and WorldNetDaily to be legitimate sources for the news?

I work for Fox News as a commentator. I say whatever I want. I'm the blonde on the left, figuratively and literally – the one who's usually smiling because it's television, not the Supreme Court or Congress, and I find civility more effective in any event. Besides, why shouldn't I be smiling? Prior to working for Fox, I worked for ABC and NBC, spent a lot of time at CNN and almost ended up at CBS. I worked for a bunch of local stations in Los Angeles and had a talk radio show at KABC for six years. Story Continues...

Howard Dean can’t catch a break. The guy talks about Republicans in precisely the same way other Democrats talk about Republicans, and everybody makes him out to be a raving Sterno bum. Hillary Clinton’s weekend remarks differed little in substance, tone or tenor from Dean’s recent complaints about the GOP, but she didn’t get skewered, except by right-wingers like me. She was feted as a future president. Dean’s most recent controversial outburst — that Republicans are a bunch of Christian white guys — took place at a San Francisco forum for minority activists and journalists. In his own way, Dean...

A New York Times editorial writer phoned to follow up on that paper's recent Page One article that charged I was "aggressively pressing public television" to reflect the political balance and diversity required by law. At one point she expressed concern the "Wall Street Journal Editorial Report" — a public television program launched in part to balance the advocacy journalism of Bill Moyers' "NOW" — would soon dominate airwaves in major markets. I explained there was no chance of that.

© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com When Bill O'Reilly got started with his Fox News Channel show a few years ago, he shot from the hip, called a spade a spade and generally seemed to be the kind of freewheeling, independent news guy for whom Americans had been waiting. He built up his audience, wrote best-selling books, launched a nationally syndicated newspaper column and tried to make it as a radio talk-show host as well. But, more and more lately, any time I turn on his show, I'm left scratching my head wondering what this man actually believes. And, more importantly, does he...

For the cable impaired here's the BEST NewMan in the Business! Transcripts are captured from the Closed Captioned source in the broadcast by use of the ATI All in WOnder 9600XT video card software as HTML. Be Optimistic and BELIEVE our Honest and Dignified President Bush will prevail on Nov 2th! G

With news organizations like CBS and ABC churning out almost twice as many negative stories about Bush than John Kerry, you may think that our media is biased against the incumbent. But the BBC (search) sees it exactly reversed. BBC World Service and Global News director Richard Sambrook was at Columbia University yesterday preaching to budding journalists about the U.S. media’s bias “in favor” of George Bush and the war in Iraq. He scolded the U.S. media for "wrapping themselves in the flag" and not asking the tough questions about the Bush administration's reasons for going to war in Iraq.

History has shown that the neutral position is the most dangerous position to take. Unfortunately for Bill O'Reilly, the host of Fox News' O'Reilly Factor and the target of sexual harassment lawsuit, his attempts at reasonableness are neither liberal enough for the hard left nor conservative enough for the solid right. Conservatives bite the hand that feeds them when they fail to recognize that O'Reilly, in his position as an independent moderate, provides the perfect doorway through which a maturing, political aficionado can pass as he discovers the dangerous liberal slant of the mainstream media. (Certainly, a budding neo-con does...

Even Fox is not "fair and balanced" - at least considering political donations made by the employees: "Totaling $25,383, a search of Fox News' contributions turned up donations to Bush and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, along with contributions to Howard Dean and the left-wing Emily's List. Kerry, Gephardt and Wesley Clark also showed up on the list. Of the $25,383 total, $4,930 went to Republicans candidates or committees." Which means that even people working for this bastion of shameless right-wing propaganda contribute four times as much to the Democrats as to the Republicans. But the other networks are worse:...

DAVID LANGWORTHY says there's a reason viewers are flocking to Fox News, and it has a lot to do with the 'mainstream' media's performance. In this season of polling numbers ad nauseam, several in particular jump out and grab you like a line from a swift boat veterans ad: They're the ones showing the remarkable ascendancy of Fox News as a source of information in the political world. This is truly consequential. A June 2004 survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press reports that since 2000, the number of Americans tuning into Fox News has...

Entertainment Weekly did a thing of fox news at both conventions, obviously mad about their success. They quoted Alan Colmes saying "We're in an entertainment medium. We're not doing rules of debate. We're putting on a show." This is what liberal critics of fox news have been saying about it. Someone should try to inform Sean Hannity of this.

We peasants might need John Kerry to translate the Economist's cover line -- "Je ne regrette rien." But the rest of the British newsweekly's special issue on the Bush presidency -- by far the best of the Bush cover packages appearing this convention week -- is in the smartest King's English. Unfortunately for Bush partisans, however, the Economist's assessment of Bush's first term does not constitute much of an endorsement for four more years of the same. In fact, the magazine -- no friend of Kerry, liberals or the welfare state -- opines in its editorial that more of the...

According to the Kerry for President campaign, News Corp. President and chief operating officer Peter Chernin has endorsed the Democratic presidential candidate. News Corp. owns Fox News Channel. That would put Chernin in the ranks of some other Kerry-supporting media executives, including Barry Diller, Kirk Kerkorian (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.) and Harvey and Robert Weinstein, who backed the release of Michael Moore's controversial anti-Bush documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11. The Chernin endorsement was among that of 200 business leaders announced Wendesday, with Chernin attending a Wall Street to Main Street summit held by Kerry in Iowa. The move didn't appear to surprise News Corp....

The offices of Robert Greenwald Productions occupy a slightly rundown, horseshoe-shaped building in Los Angeles, just down the street from Culver Studios, the legendary movie facility where ''Gone With the Wind'' and ''Citizen Kane'' were filmed. Back in the day, the R.G.P. building, then a motel, was used by studio executives for liaisons with starlets and mistresses. Though no longer a Hollywood love nest, it still has a whiff of the illicit about it -- and still operates in the shadow of several corporate studios. Robert Greenwald, a 58-year-old film producer and director with a number of commercially respectable B-list...

<p>The "red states," where Americans overwhelmingly voted for President Bush in 2000, are often derisively called "flyover country" by the liberal elites. Flying over the nation is the only experience many of these people -- particularly those in the Eastern media establishment -- have of the heartland of America.</p>

Fox News Sunday to go Nightline one better. In reaction to Nightline's Friday night recitation of the names of every serviceman killed in Iraq, which Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace regretted had failed to provide "a context of what they went halfway around the world to do," the next edition of his show, he announced Sunday, will feature "a list of what we've accomplished there through the blood, sweat and, yes, lives of our military. We think the point is not just that those hundreds of troops died but what they died for." Wrapping up a panel discussion on...

<p>WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- A member of the board of the National Press Foundation has resigned her position because of plans to present Fox News' Brit Hume with an award.</p> <p>Hume, the managing editor of Fox News and its chief Washington correspondent, was selected to receive the NPF's Taishoff Award as Broadcaster of the Year during a Feb. 19 awards dinner.</p>

<p>January 27, 2004 -- EXETER, N.H. - Wise-cracking funnyman Al Franken yesterday body-slammed a demonstrator to the ground after the man tried to shout down Gov. Howard Dean. The tussle left Franken's trademark thick-rim glasses broken, but he said he was not injured.</p>

Between approximately 5:20 pm West Coast Time and 5:28, Fox News ran what must have been an unbroken string of at least EIGHT spots for "fair and balanced, no-hype" Fox News in a row. Just wondering if it's only me.

Fox News has jumped even further out in front of once dominant CNN, grabbing an astonishing 53 percent increase in viewership and drubbing the rival cable news network's 24 percent increase. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Nielson ratings show that Fox's viewership last year jumped from 667,00 to 1,023,000 while CNN scored a mere increase of 129,000 viewers, from 536,000 to 665,000. MSNBC did even worse, getting a 22 percent increase, from 263,000 to 320,000. Fox's increase in Prime Time viewership was even more dramatic, leaping by a staggering 45 percent as against CNN's 22 percent and MSNBC's 23...

Columnists' Corner "Free Republic to Protest Rather “Fair and Balanced” Award" By Bob Johnson This Monday the Museum of Television and Radio will be honoring Dan Rather at the Beverly Hills Hotel for his life long commitment to fair and balanced news reporting. That’s right. To anyone familiar with the CBS Evening News, this might come as a surprise. For decades, anyone to the right of John Kennedy is firmly aware of Rather’s outright bias and left wing manipulation of the news. The suggestion is at best, comical. Of course, the Museum of Television and Film can honor anyone...

<p>NEW YORK — A federal judge on Friday denied Fox News Channel's request for an injunction to block humorist Al Franken's (search) new book, which uses the Fox slogan "fair and balanced."</p> <p>U.S. District Judge Denny Chin said Fox's claim was "without merit, both factually and legally."</p>

Scheer Version Make the Recall Count (Robert Scheer version) Republicans are running it as a shell game to distract from their misdeeds -- don't play along "Take him, he's yours." That was my initial response to the California recall, aimed at a conservative Democratic governor who often has betrayed the state's large progressive base of voters — the same folks who held their noses to elect and then reelect him. Nader Version Make the Recall Count (Ralph Nader Version) Californians have a real chance to snatch opportunity from a potential political debacle By Ralph Nader, Ralph Nader ran for president...

Brit Hume has the Voice. Perhaps you've heard it before. Deep and unwavering, at once assuring and assured, it instantly conveys authority. The Voice is one you might secretly long to hear from an airline pilot or surgeon. Hume is the chief Washington anchor for Fox News Channel, a calming presence for the cheeky ratings king of cable television news - a grown-up among fraternity boys.

SOURCES: FOX NEWS WINS WAR NIGHT; TOPS CNN IN RATINGS UPSET FOX NEWS TOOK THE CROWN WEDS NIGHT IN VIEWERSHIP, MAXING WITH AN 8.0 RATING... MORE... CNN MAX 6.9; MSNBC 4.3 DURING 10 PM ET HOUR, SOURCES TELL DRUDGE... /// FROM 8 TO 11 PM ET: FOX AVG 6.3 [5.1 MILLION VIEWERS] TO CNN'S 5.3 [4.5 MILLION] TO MSNBC'S 3.3 [2.6 MILLION]...

Last night Bill O'Reilly went over laws being passed in California by liberals that were out of control. He cited several liberal laws in California that were crazy. He said that he would "unleash" on the conservatives in the next day or so. My question is...what laws are we pushing for that Bill is opposed to? Exactly what is it conservatives are doing that deserves an "unleashing" from Bill? One thing is for certain with Bill though. If you don't appear on his program. You are either a liar or a crook! About the only thing that I can think...

An anniversary no one at CNN is ready to celebrate Sunday January 26, 2003 By DAVID BAUDER AP Television Writer NEW YORK (AP) This week marks an anniversary the people at CNN would prefer is observed quietly very quietly. It was one year ago that Fox News Channel first beat CNN in the ratings, toppling the network that invented cable news and had enjoyed a monopoly for most of its existence. The pecking order not only hasn't changed since then, Fox's lead is wider. This month's unexpected resignation of CNN Chairman Walter Isaacson and the exit of six correspondents has...

''They missed the course in college that said socialism failed,'' Ailes says of Fox's competitors. ``They all believed the same things, and they reinforced their views by going to Upper East Side cocktail parties where they heard Dan thinks this and Tina thinks that all the time.'' Don't look now, but ''the world's news leader,'' as CNN likes to brag about itself, is no longer America's news leader. Those brash, mouthy, skinkickers over at Fox News Channel are winning the ratings war and winning it decisively. Born barely five years ago to open jeering from the television industry -- Fox...

Imagine a group of individuals who decide that they don't want the so-called "anti-war movement" protesters' lies and hatred of the USA to go unanswered on April 20th. Now imagine that they decided to hold a rally of their own, on the same day that the commies and leftists want to take over our nation's Capital, and these patriotic Americans announce plans to hold a press conference regarding their rally. The press conference, hosted by members of the DC Chapter of Free Republic and Rally4America.org - and including several of the speakers at the upcoming rally, was held this morning...