Reverend Al Sharpton Hypocritical In Talk Radio Censorship Debate

SHARPTON'S TWO FACES

'Spar' With One Host, Censor Another







Is Al Sharpton poised to become Obama's Talk Radio Czar? Given his increasingly aggressive crusade against Rush Limbaugh, it sure looks that way.

Like every Sharpton scheme, however, there is more to the story than meets the eye. While he's publicly called for outright censorship of Limbaugh, saying "federal" airwaves should be regulated for content, the reverend has painted an entirely different picture during an interview with Sean Hannity that aired earlier this week.


IMPORTANT: it should be clear that Hannity was simply extending Sharpton a professional courtesy call across the aisle during the latter's program anniversary. Sharpton is the sole hypocrite here.


Note the decisive distinction between the hard line taken during yesterday's Ed Show and his celebration of free and open debate during Monday's Al Sharpton Show:

Visit msnbc.com for Rachel's blunders, The ghost of Keith Olbermann, and the unwatched Hardball with Chris Matthews

Is this really about Rush's supposed "racism", or a personal vendetta against the most successful talk host of all time? Only Reverend Al knows the answer.

Lefty Effort To Disparage Conservative Talkers Falls Flat

BLAME IT ON CAIRO

'Progressive' Anti-Talker Smears Lost In News Cycle







Poor "progressives": they threw a Smear Conservatives party and no one showed up! Yes, "racism" charges levelled at key conservative talk hosts did generate quite a bit of coverage last week, but world events inconveniently got in the way.

Even as global dominoes continued to fall, our lefty friends didn't give up, however. Media Matters, libtalkers and smear sites all teamed up to accuse Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin, Glenn Beck and others of racism, possible misuse of charity funds and whatever else came to mind.

From the Thursday and Friday editions (respectively) of the Ed Schultz Show, these segments in particular caught our attention:

ERIC BOEHLERT - MEDIA MATTERS (05:24): Yeah, this is the Jewish Fund ["Funds," actually] for Justice organization that has been critical of Murdoch, er, Fox News and Beck in the past, but today they made a pretty big splash, full-page newspaper with 400 signatures, 400 signers, basically deploring, imploring Rupert Murdoch to get Roger Ailes to apologize for referring to anyone who has criticized Fox News and their Nazi obsession as being left-wing rabbis.

[...]

BOEHLERT (12:49, after saying 400 rabbis who signed newspaper ad represent "mainstream selection" of political views): But the fact is, as Media Matters has pointed out, you know, Glenn Beck has Jewish problems. He has a problem not only with these rabbis, but if you look at the people he attacks over and over again, these sort of villainous, all-powerful liberals who are trying to take down America, for some reason an awful lot of them are Jewish. And more and more people are sort of wishing up to that.

[...]

BOEHLERT (14:21): Well, it turns out, there was an article in the Wilmington newspaper last week, the town hasn't seen any money yet. None of the charities have seen any money. Beck raised $300,000 selling tickets in Wilmington, Ohio but no one has seen any money and when the newspaper called Beck producers, they couldn't get an answer.

SCHULTZ (15:25): Wow. Wow. That is unbelievable.

ED SCHULTZ (06:02, after also referring to nasty fax received by CA State Senator Leland Yee, D-San Francisco): Now this is proof positive that what we say on the air and how we say it affects the actions of other people. You can't dodge around this, this is a barrier that you're not going to be able to get around, righties.

[...]

SCHULTZ (06:14): I wonder if that fat slob right-wing talker at night is going to sue anybody over this [referring to Mark Levin]. I wonder if he's going to sue the state senator from California. Big shot, big attorney, fat slob in the evening that thinks he knows everything about cable! 'Course he doesn't have a show. I'm not even going to say his name because he doesn't even deserve it.

[...]

SCHULTZ (06:49): Fact of the matter is is that Limbaugh has stirred this up even further without recognizing his shortcomings of being an insensitive pig, what does he do? He goes on the offensive. What does his audience do? Well, one nut out there responded to it! So you can't get around it any more that, well, what they say on the air really doesn't inspire anybody whatsoever! It does, it has, this is proof positive. And I don't want to hear anybody say, we don't know whether this guy even listened to Limbaugh. Do you think he has now? Of course he has.

Yes, Beck has criticized some people who HAPPEN TO BE JEWISH! Now THAT'S bigotry at its most obvious.

The other talkers are clearly slobs and racists, especially when a random nut leaves a nasty voice mail or sends a fax and mentions a host's name.

Incredibly convincing, isn't it?

New Anti-Rush Smear Campaign Spreads Like Wildfire

TURBO-SMEAR

SF Left In Lightning-Fast Anti Limbaugh Campaign







Underscoring their Art Of The Smear mastery, Californian "progressives" have launched a lightning-fast anti-Rush Limbaugh campaign designed to stir up lefty rage.

Call it the Turbo-Smear.

Amazingly, Wednesday evening's sneak attack wasn't based on anything Limbaugh actually said, but a mysterious "fax" (remember those?) apparently sent to a liberal state senator's office. Using overtly racist language, the note threatens Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) with harm and mentions Rush by name.

Almost immediately, news media outlets in all parts of California and elsewhere across the nation seized upon the opportunity to smear Limbaugh without any verification of the note's authenticity. Many have reported the "Rush fan" allegation as fact without the slightest indication of who may have really sent it.

With a few hours of the first report, this "controversy" had already been picked up by the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Fresno Bee, Sacramento Bee, KGO, assorted free weekly throwaways in San Francisco, the Washington Post, NBC News local coverage and many more.


A curious mishmash of racist images and language, the letter seems strangely designed to place Limbaugh front and center in the resulting controversy. But why would someone with such extreme views use Rush's name in this way? As their own adherents provide a far more effective source of potential terror, real white supremacists don't need to hide behind talk show hosts.

It also conveniently misspells Yee's name throughout and uses an apparently anti-Asian derogatory term, "fish heads", that is probably unfamiliar to 99% of Americans.


Interestingly, Yee happens to be running for mayor of San Francisco this year, so a fresh injection of sympathetic publicity is just what the campaign strategists ordered. Earlier Wednesday, he'd already generated headlines with a plan to launch an ad boycott against Rush's program.

And there's also a convenient history of other faxes (WHO IN THE WORLD SENDS FAXES IN 2011? DID 1993 SOMEHOW MAKE A COMEBACK?) sent to Yee during similar political grandstanding stunts, including an anti-Palin campaign last year.


Clearly, Yee has much to gain by capitalizing on anti-conservative sentiments in San Francisco's insular, parochial political environment. It's the news media's ready-and-willing role in this turbo-smear campaign that is especially disturbing.


Yee image: SF Chronicle

Libtalker Compares Skin Tone Of Obama, Boehner

PIGMENT OF IMAGINATION

Libtalker: Boehner's Darker Than Obama







At a time when even relatively mundane observations by Rush Limbaugh regarding the Obamas are subjected to extreme media scrutiny, how is it okay for his liberal counterparts to make overtly race-based comments?

At best, they offer shallow (skin deep?) political analysis.

Once again, low ratings should not provide cover for extreme rhetoric and this should be no exception. Can you imagine the heat a conservative would receive for comparing Obama's skin tone to that of his opponents?

Right, it's a (botched) "joke", just like it ALWAYS is when our "progressive" friends go too far.

From today's Stephanie Miller Show:

CHRIS LAVOIE (PRODUCER) (1:11): I have that part where he (Obama) made the "boner" [John Boehner] cry.

STEPHANIE MILLER: I said it as a joke Hal [Sparks] I’m like I hope he says something about him working at a Tavern and becoming Speaker of the House so he cries.

LAVOIE: I think he [Obama] made a bet with Joe Biden

MILLER: I’m telling you what you got you saw that big piano key grin. Joe Biden I’m like I’m doing it dude.

SPARKS: I’m going to go for it

MILLER: Dude I’m totally doing it. I’ll just throw in the thing about a kid from Scranton to make it seem like not so obvious.

SPARKS: That was so good.

MILLER: And then the other big thing I noticed, I’m sorry cause you know you can’t help the visual. Okay boner [Boehner] is a darker color than the President.

SPARKS: Yeah!

MILLER: I’m just saying did anyone else notice. I’m like, that color is what?

LAVOIE: I tweeted last night that if he [Boehner] wore and avocado green tie, he would totally be a 1970’s kitchen.

MILLER: Ha ha ha ha ha. He [Boehner] looks linoleum.

LAVOIE: he does.

MILLER: Wow!

Even without the obvious racial element here, it's another example of childish "progressive" antics substituting for real political insight.

Libtalkers Claim Fox, Murdoch Responsible For Olbermann's Termination

RUPERT RUNS MSNBC!

Libtalk Spreads Absolutely Kooky Conspiracy Theory







Thanks to a hilarious conspiracy theory making the rounds on liberal talk radio programs this week, we now know that Rupert Murdoch has secret control over MSNBC via the Comcast takeover. Murdoch has used his new "power" to terminate Keith Olbermann, part of a sinister plan to destroy NBC's liberal talk network for good.

Yes, Murdoch apparently fired Olbermann years ago, but do they really think he oversees MSNBC's programming schedule?

Especially funny here: libtalker Stephanie Miller challenged by one of her own producers for spreading this silliness. From Tuesday's show:

STEPHANIE MILLER (30:05): Charles in Los Angeles, you’re on the Stephanie Miller Show, hey Charles.

CHARLES: Hey, well here’s the deal with Keith Olbermann. Go back to Rupert Murdoch, he wanted editorial control over MSNBC and so he was going to buy it himself, but then he knew there would be a lot of backlash him being Australian, already owning (Miller interrupts)

MILLER: Oh, Comcast right?

CHARLES: That’s it, though he had one of his former executives broker the deal with Comcast.

MILLER: You know what Charles, I heard this yesterday. No, I heard this yesterday Jim (Ward) this is part of the, like you said it’s not a conspiracy if it’s right out there that I think I heard this on Randi Rhodes, actually she was talking about how you know Comcast obviously there in business with Fox so he’s right, it’s not that obviously Rupert Murdoch now directly owns MSNBC, but he supplies a lot of the Fox supplies a lot of the programming, right, Chris (Lavoie) through Comcast?

MILLER: And makes a lot of money and so it is there is a thought are they trying to pull the tent pole out of msnbc because obviously they don’t want something that competes with Fox.

CHRIS LAVOIE (PRODUCER): What do you mean, supplies a lot of the programming on different channels like FX?

MILLER: On Comcast systems, there’s obviously a lot of Fox programming, right?

LAVOIE: Well yeah, but there’s also a lot of you know NBC Universal programming. I mean that’s Bravo and stations like that.

MILLER: I don’t know, I’m just saying I’m watching you, Rupert Murdoch.

LAVOIE: They (Fox) provide no more content than NBC Universal does.

MILLER: Hmm?

As "jumping the shark" has become overused, can anyone help us come up with a better way to describe this kind of complete credibility meltdown?

Some Liberals Not Jumping Aboard Obama's Happy Train

REJECTING SPUT-SCHTICK

Arianna Huffington Critical Of Obama's 'Success'







Obama's Happy Train has left the station, but not every lefty is enjoying the Sput-schtick.

Leading up to tonight's antique spacecraft-themed State Of The Union address, lefty Internet empress Arianna Huffington was unusually critical of the Bamster's record of "success" as portrayed by MSNBC's Rachel Maddow. Huffington used the most recent edition of Both Sides Now, co-hosted by Mary Matalin, to slam Obama's misplaced priorities regarding jobs and the economy.

Considering Huffington's reported recent participation in a secret White House meeting (which is said to have also featured Maddow), she's either playing hard-to-get or is genuinely upset. Even as Obama is supposedly moving away from hard-left positions, Arianna herself sounds oddly centrist here.

From the show, listen as Huffington and Matalin critique Maddow's emotional and especially partisan cheerleading:






Interestingly, HuffPo itself also doesn't seem particularly excited about the speech, either, but primarily because it wasn't "progressive" enough for their tastes.

Sorry, guys, the new "moderate" Obama is looking toward re-election and the far-left HuffPo/DailyKos base is in his way.

Rosie O'Donnell Addresses Parallels Between Rush Incident And Her Own

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT

Rosie & Friends: Why Can't Chinese Accent Be Imitated?





*** EQ EXCLUSIVE ***


With Rush Limbaugh under fire for mocking Chinese leader Jintao's speech, Hu better to consult than someone who's been there before?

While Rush's usual enemies quickly make "racist" denunciations, Rosie O'Donnell clearly still feels the sting from when the very same accusations were levelled at her in 2006. Both have generated international headlines.

After comparing sound clips from then and now, the Rosie Radio team wondered why most foreign tongues can be mocked without repercussions, but somehow Chinese is off-limits:





To Rosie & Friends, the issue comes down to intent: was either incident malicious? O'Donnell says she certainly meant no harm, Rush no doubt feels the same way.

When prominent figures from both left and right can so easily become entangled in these flaps, has political correctness reached a point of absolute absurdity in our society?

Interestingly, Barbra Streisand also made a crack this week about being invited to the Hu state dinner because "I once worked in a Chinese restaurant" that would further seem to have potential fallout.

Left Coast Libtalker Claims US Prisoners Are Mostly Political

HU KNEW?

Libtalker: America Worse On Human Rights Than China







Hu knew we all have it backwards: that America's the world's most notorious human rights abuser, not China?

Yes, harvesting organs from dissenters for fun and profit is nothing compared to incarcerating poor, defenseless gangbangers and drug dealers. Did you know they are actually political prisoners?

For your daily dose of Portland-style kookdom, we present deranged libtalker Thom Hartmann in a particularly dubious moment.

Listen as guest Victoria Jones of the Talk Radio News Service is not quite sure how to respond:

THOM HARTMANN (47:39): How do we, as the nation with more people in prison than any other nation in the world, including China, which has three times the population, lecture them on human rights?

I realize they've got a bunch of political prisoners in jail, but I would argue that, and I think some would argue that, many of the people in prison in the United States are arguably political prisoners, people who are there for minor drug violations that are the consequence of living in poverty where the only way you can make a living is by being an entrepreneur in the drug world.

Hu can rest easy knowing America's the REAL evil empire! Thanks for straightening that out, Thom.