News Hounds

Ann “Boombox” Coulter was back on Hannity & Colmes last night (4/28/08). Interestingly, her slots on the show have been moved back later and later, ever since she endorsed Hillary Clinton. So it was no surprise that she started to back off the endorsement and hinted, just as I had predicted, that she'd probably vote for John McCain after all. Then with slightly slurred speech, Boomie declared that the reason Democrats are favored over Republicans in 2008 is because George W. Bush has been so successful in the war on terror. Unbelievably, “Democrat” Doug Schoen agreed with her. With video.

I've listened to hours of accusations of anti-Americanism against Reverend Jeremiah Wright on FOX News. Yet there was Boomie Coulter, who can't seem to open her mouth without smearing a chunk of America, yet nobody on FOX ever bats an eyelash at her crazed vitriol.

Coulter did not come right out and admit that she was going to back off her publicity stunt of supporting Hillary Clinton but Boomie made it clear that a flip-flop is in the offing.

When asked by Alan Colmes whether she'd vote for Barack Obama if he's the Democratic nominee, Coulter replied, ...   more »

News Hounds

As expected, Bill O'Reily's Talking Points Memo last night 4/28/08 was all about Jeremiah Wright - his interview with Bill Moyers, and his speeches at the NAACP in Detroit and at the National Press Club event. Unlike Moyers, O'Reilly was sarcastic and caustic and unlike Wright, Billo was boring.
With video.

O'Reilly kept up the "Wright is anti-American" line. In all the coverage and Talking Points and discussions on the Factor I have not heard him inform his audience that Wright gave up his college deferment in 1961 and joined the military, first as a Marine and then in the Navy, serving six years in all.

Wright was shown saying: "This is not an attack on Jeremiah Wright; it has nothing to do with Senator Obama. This is an attack on the black church, launched by people who know nothing about the African-American religious tradition."

O'Reilly's interpretation: "If you criticize Wright, you criticize black church-goers. Therefore, you're a racist. How despicable is that?"

Nice "no spin."

O'Reilly made sarcastic and immature remarks about Bill Moyers' interview, chiding him for "exposing the gentle side of Reverend Wright." Of course that is verboten on FOX, where they want to continue ...   more »

Think Progress

Previewing his interview with the CEO of Sasol, a South African company that produces coal-based liquid fuels, chief business correspondent Ali Velshi on Friday admitted that there “are issues with coal,” but minimized its problems:

There are issues with coal. It’s not the cleanest thing in the world. You see the signs for clean coal, 99 percent clean. I’m not 99 percent clean when I get out of the shower. . . I just look clean.

Watch it:

The Wonk Room explains how far Velshi is from the truth when he talks about “99 percent clean” coal.

URL: Think Progress

Think Progress

The AP reports:

At least 44 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq in April, making it the deadliest month for U.S. forces since September.

The U.S. military said three soldiers were killed in eastern Baghdad by indirect fire, a reference to mortars or rockets. The statement did not give an exact location for the attack, but the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City has been the scene of intense fighting recently with Shiite militiamen.

A fourth U.S. soldier was killed by a shell in western Baghdad, the military said.

Atrios notes: “But they can stay there until people stop shooting at them so that there will come a time when they can stay there without people shooting at them.”

URL: Think Progress

Think Progress

Spencer Ackerman notes that during a State Department-sponsored conference today, department Counselor Eliot A. Cohen reported some unsettling news: The department has only two Pashto speakers currently in Afghanistan. Pashto is an official language in Afghanistan and spoken by roughly 35 percent of the population. Ackerman adds, “C’est la vie. Not like there’s a war on in Afghanistan or anything.”

URL: Think Progress

Media Matters for America

In a report that first aired during the 4 p.m. ET hour of the April 24 edition of CNN's The Situation Room, CNN congressional correspondent Dana Bash said of Sen. John McCain's recent visit to New Orleans, "[H]is carefully scripted imagery was interrupted by a voter's question about Pastor John Hagee, who endorsed McCain and says things like this." Bash then aired an audio clip from the April 22 edition of Salem Radio Network's The Dennis Prager Show, in which Hagee said, "What happened in New Orleans looked like the curse of God." However, Bash did not air the portion of Hagee's comments in which he reaffirmed his previous assertion that Hurricane Katrina was at least in part the result of "sin" that Hagee identified as "a massive homosexual rally" that was scheduled in New Orleans that week. Similarly, during the 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. ET hours of CNN's American Morning on April 25, co-hosts John Roberts and Kyra Phillips, respectively, noted that Hagee said that "Katrina was God's punishment for sinful behavior in New Orleans" without noting that among the "sinful behavior" Hagee was referring to was the gay pride parade. Bash's report ...   more »