Jon Stewart Apologies to Fox News - Kinda

Jon Stewart Apologizes to Fox News and Bernie Goldberg, but only because they're a terrible, cynical, disingenuous (NON) News Organization.



Goldberg attacks Stewart for not showing "Guts" if he's going to move from Comedy into Social Commentary (y'know like Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, Lewis Black, Chris Rock, Bill Maher or the Late George Carlin) and going after the guys on the Left as much as he does the guys on the Right. Never mind the fact that he already does that, he's in Comedy he's not pretending to give equal time (and then not do it - the way that Fox Does).


This is the same BS argument that fTucker Carlson gave him when he said that CNN's Crossfire was "hurting our Country" by failing to actually look at issues fairly, but instead just generate a lot of shouting and yelling at each other. All Heat and No Light - yet again, like Fox News.

In the end, Stewart Scores AGAIN leaving things at Dailyshow 3 (including his pointing out O'Reilly's hypocrisy on Protests) : Fox News : 0.





Vyan

Anderson Cooper PWNS Arizona State Birther

Wherein Anderson Cooper flays and fillets Arizona State Republican Rep Cecil Ash over his support for the new Birther Bill that has just passed the State Legislature.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Joining us now is Arizona Republican State Representative Cecil Ash, who voted for the measure.

Thanks very much for being with us.

Do you believe Barack Obama is an American born in Hawaii?

CECIL ASH (R), ARIZONA STATE REPRESENTATIVE: All the evidence I have seen is that he was born in Hawaii. I have seen a birth certificate on the Internet. Of course, you can't believe everything you see on the Internet. So, I have never personally investigated it or studied it.

COOPER: But, Oklahoma, it sounds like you're -- really saying you believe it, but you don't believe what you read on the Internet. So, you do believe he's an American, though?

ASH: Yes, I do.

COOPER: I mean, as you said, the certificate of live birth is available for anyone to see. It's been released. And, in Hawaii, there are only electronic records at this point, and the health department there has verified it. They have made public statements.

So, why vote for something which perpetuates these false Internet rumors?

ASH: Well, Anderson, I think there's been a lot of controversy over the issue. It's created a division among a lot of people in the United States. And, for better or worse, many people don't believe he is a U.S. citizen. They believe he has loyalties -- divided loyalties, I suppose you could say.

COOPER: Right, but those people are wrong. I mean, he is a U.S. citizen.

ASH: Well, you're telling me that he's wrong. I have never investigated that. If he is, then he has nothing to fear.

COOPER: But -- but, I mean, that -- the information is out there. It has been released. It has been shown. There are some people who don't believe it, but there are also some people who believe that the moon is made out of cheese. And you can say you have never investigated it, but I think you would probably say the moon is not made out of cheese.

ASH: Well, I certainly would.

But the reason I spoke up on this bill is simply because there is a lot of division in the country. And I believe this would put an end to any future controversy about a president's qualifications.

COOPER: You told our producer you voted for this because you get a lot of calls from constituents with questions based on things they have read on the Internet.

I mean, isn't it your job as a leader to actually lead, not to throw up your hands and say, well, who knows what's real or not on the Internet, to actually say, well, actually, you know, Hawaii has released this information, and it's factually correct?

ASH: Well, as I said, I haven't personally investigated that. But I -- I think that, if -- if...

COOPER: But, I mean, there's plenty of things you believe that you have not personally investigated.

ASH: That's true.

COOPER: Why, this, are you holding onto?

ASH: Well, what we're requiring here is for a -- a presidential candidate to demonstrate he is qualified.

And I don't think having any presidential candidate -- candidate show that he's qualified by demonstrating the requirements of the requirements, that there's any problem with that.

COOPER: You told my producer you thought the president spent a million dollars fighting the release of his birth certificate, and then that raised concerns for you.

(CROSSTALK)

ASH: That's what I have heard. As I said, it...

COOPER: Right. But that's not -- you know that's actually not true?

ASH: I -- I don't know that that's not true. As I said, I haven't studied it. You get a lot of information on the Internet. As you know, much of it is inaccurate.

This has not been a focus of my attention for the last two years. But I know it is a matter of -- of controversy for many people. And I looked at this as simply a -- a means to end that controversy.

COOPER: You -- you also said to our producer that the president identified himself as a foreigner on his college application.

ASH: Yes.

COOPER: You know that's not true, right?

ASH: I didn't know that that was not true.

COOPER: That's a story that was put out on April Fool's Day. It's a fake AP news story.

ASH: Like I said, I -- I'm reluctant to read anything I read on the Internet, including the evidence about his birth certificate.

This -- this is not the responsibility of the average citizen.

COOPER: So -- so -- so, the only -- the only way you will believe a birth certificate is if, what, you see it for yourself at the state office in Hawaii? I mean, to not believe anything that is put out by anyone, then how can you believe anything? I mean...

ASH: Well, it's -- it...

(LAUGHTER)

ASH: It's not my -- it's not my responsibility...

COOPER: Do you believe...

(CROSSTALK)

ASH: ... to check the qualifications.

When someone comes to be on the ballot in Arizona, it's not my responsibility to check those qualifications. It's the responsibility of the secretary of state.

And, so, all we said is, if -- if it's required that you be a natural-born citizen, he should determine that. Now, you -- you argue this in terms of what's happened to Barack Obama. I'm thinking in terms of the next nominees down the road.

COOPER: But this is all about Barack Obama. I mean, this is -- this is completely partisan, no?

ASH: Well -- well, that's why I spoke up on the bill. They were -- the other side, the Democrats, were saying this is racist; it's to embarrass Barack Obama.

And I spoke up to say, this is not a matter of race. It's not a racist issue. I'm merely voting for the -- as you call it, the birthers amendment.

COOPER: So, where was George Bush born?

ASH: I have no idea where George Bush was born.

COOPER: But you -- that wasn't a concern for you when he was in office?

ASH: The issue never came up.

COOPER: What about Bill Clinton? Where was he born?

ASH: I have no idea.

COOPER: So, all of a sudden, you're concerned about where the president of the United States is born, based on calls you're getting from constituents who are misinformed?

ASH: Actually, I did not get any calls from constituents until after this bill was passed.

But I don't think there's any harm in requiring someone to demonstrate that they meet the requirements for the position. Now, nobody can deny -- regardless of what you believe about President Obama, nobody can deny that there's been a controversy. You may deny...

COOPER: Well, yes, but there's controversy about everything. People -- and there -- but there are things called facts, and you know the facts. You are a leader. You know the facts.

Isn't it your job -- when a constituent calls and says, gosh, I'm reading all this stuff on the Internet that President Obama was a -- was foreign exchange student, to say, actually, no, he wasn't?

I mean, isn't it -- that your -- part of your job?

ASH: Look, President Obama is president now. For the future, this kind of controversy should not come up again, because they will have to establish that up front. And that will avoid this kind of controversy in the future.

COOPER: To your critics who will say that you and the other Republicans -- only Republicans voted for this -- are simply pandering to a misinformed electorate, that, rather than setting the record straight yourselves, you're just pandering. You're kind of throwing up your hands and saying, gosh, I don't know, there's a lot of stuff on the Internet, a lot of it seems controversial, we need this bill, rather than saying, actually, this information is false.

ASH: Well, I think our purpose was to avoid this kind of controversy in the future. And I think that's appropriate. That's our job as leaders is to eliminate the possibility of this kind of controversy in the future.

COOPER: State Representative Cecil Ash, I appreciate your time. Thank you, sir.

ASH: Thank you very much. Bye.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Contact Congress TODAY and Get them on Record about Non-Violence

I just got off the phone with the Offices of all three of my Congressmen (Women) Senator Boxer, Senator Fienstein and Rep Waters in order to ask them a very specific question...

Does the Congressperson Unequivocally Renounce and Denounce All Forms of Political Violence?

The Following are the Answers I Received

I just got off the phone with the Offices of all three of my Congressmen (Women) Senator Boxer, Senator Fienstein and Rep Waters in order to ask them a very specific question...

[b]Does the Congressperson Unequivocally Renounce and Denounce All Forms of Political Violence?[/b]

The Following are the Answers I Received
The reason i made this call was because of what day it is today, the 17th Anniversary of the Tragic End of the Waco Incident and the 15th Anniversary of the Bombing of the Oklahoma City Murrah Federal Building.

In recent weeks and months there has been a clear uptick in incidents of violence against the Government, threats and vile epithets against elected leaders.

We need to know where each and every one of our elected representatives stand this issue - oddly enough [i]their[/i] lives might depend on it in the end. The question isn't one about War, which some could argue is a form of Political Violence - but that's not the question I'm asking because that general occurs between nations, and could be more accurately described as [i]Diplomatic Violence[/i]. War is what happens when the negotiations and Diplomacy have completely failed. No, what I'm really talking about here is Terrorism and Intimidation. Domestic Terrorism and Intimidation, regardless of partisanship.

I did not address whether this violence is coming more from the left or the right giving examples such as the recent Death Threats against Speaker Pelosi as well as GOP Whip Cantor.

McVeigh's Truck Bomb didn't ask which political party you belonged too.

I didn't ask whether the Senators and Reps felt that Extreme Rhetoric from the Tea Parties was necessarily contributing to the increase in threats and actual violence, as that is a Free Speech Debate.

The question is simple:

[b]Does the Congressperson Unequivocally Renounce and Denounce All Forms of Political Violence?[/b]

The question isn't a trick, it's either "Yes" answer or "No, with qualifications/excuses..."

I first spoke with [b]Sen Boxer's Office[/b] and in pretty short order received an answer of "[b]YES[/b]" from the staffer on the phone. It was quick, it was painless, it was unequivocal.

I then called [b]Senator Feinstein's[/b] Office and asked the staffer on the phone referred to the Press Office where I repeated the question, with some background as to why I'm asking it - [i]On this day[/i] - including who I was and what I planned to do with the information (Post it here and on my Facebook). [b]They took my contact information and said they'd get back to me today with an Official Position.[/b]

In the midst of this back and forth I speculated with them on her answer as likely to be "Yes" considering the fact that Sen Feinstein was President of the San Francisco Supervisors Office when both Mayor Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk were brutally gunned down in the San Francisco City Hall by former Supervisor Dan White. She's the one who discovered Harvey's body.

Although that was years ago, I could understand why her office might want to be double certain about getting her answer right. We'll see what she says.

Lastly I called [b]Congressman Maxine Waters[/b] Office in DC, and received a busy signal. I then called her local office and after attempting to grapple with the question in her own opinion the staffer said "there might be some circumstances where..?" I asked "So that not an unequivocal "Yes' is it?" Ultimately like Fienstein's Office they suggested I talk to the Press Office in DC. A staffer picked up when I called back to DC the second time and I presented the question. Ultimate the answer was..

[b]"There are no circumstances where violence is called for"[/b] (which is admittedly a paraphrase, but I took as a "[b]Yes[/b]")

That answer didn't come from the Press Office, but I'll take it for now. I had short conversation after this point about various incidents which have occurred at the Capital, and after admitting that things had recently "calmed down" it was clear that their is an edge of fear on Capital Hill.

"We hope that Law Enforcement is able to protect us all, but all it takes is that one lone person that no one can predict..." he said.

Amen to that.

So while I'm waiting for the Call Back from Senator Fienstein I'm asking you all to do the same thing. Call your Representatives and Post Back their response to this question - I'll tally the answers and post them on the new [a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Democratic-Non-Violence-Project/116830241662091"]Democratic Non-Violence Facebook[/a] Page and shows what the results are.

Do our Reps Denounce All Political Violence, or do they make excuses when it's politically adventagious the way the [a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/4/15/857662/-Rep.-Steve-King-Blows-Up-over-his-Justification-of-IRS-Attack"]Rep. Steve King[/a] did when he was asked about the plane flying into the IRS office in Austin Texas? Or try to excuse the attack the way the [a href="http://thinkprogress.org/2010/02/18/scott-brown-terrorism-yawn/"]Senator Scott Brown[/a] did.


Let's put them on record people.

Senate [a href="http://senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm"]Contact Info[/a]

[a href="http://www.house.gov"]House.Gov[/a]

Jon Stewart fo Fox News: Go F*ck Yourselves!

In recent months Fox News has become the champion of the poor set-upon Average American Tea Bagger. They railed against the unfairness of "painting a broad brush", or "stereotyping" them as bigoted, angry, violent and racist. They defending them against the dread of "profiling"

But when it comes to stereotyping and profiling Liberals - not so much.



As documented by Rawstory:

A recent CBS/New York Times poll found that Tea Party members are better educated and more wealthy than the average American -- facts that Fox News was happy to report.

But Fox decided not report less attractive aspects of the same poll: 52 percent believed that too much has been made of the problems facing African-Americans and thirty percent think President Barack Obama was born in another country.

When it come to characterizing the entire Tea Party, Jon Stewart found himself in the odd position Thursday of agreeing with Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity and Bernie Goldberg.

Fox on the Tea Partiers...

"You cannot demonize any organization by the actions of a few in a demonstration," O'Reilly said on March 29.

"They are trying to marginalize them and smear a movement of great Americans that are expressing their views," Hannity said the same day.

"They're tarring the entire Tea Party movement and the Republican Party," Goldberg complained.

"Bernie Goldberg is right!" Stewart exclaimed. When it comes to generalizing, just "don't do it."

Fox on Liberals...

"The left in this country is invested in defeat in Iraq," said Cal Thomas.

"Liberals see just about everything through the prism of race," according to Goldberg.

"The left always paint Christians as hate mongers," Glenn Beck told O'Reilly.

To all this Stewart responded with "Go Fuck Yourselves!".

That CBS Poll also described Tea Partiers as....

More than half (54 percent) identify as Republicans, and another 41 percent say they are independents. Just five percent call themselves Democrats, compared to 31 percent of adults nationwide.

Nearly three in four describe themselves as conservative, and 39 percent call themselves very conservative. Sixty percent say they always or usually vote Republican. Forty percent say the United States needs a third party, while 52 percent say it does not.

Eighty-eight percent disapprove of President Obama's performance on the job, compared to 40 percent of Americans overall. While half of Americans approve of Mr. Obama's job performance, just seven percent of Tea Party supporters say he is doing a good job.

Asked to volunteer what they don't like about Mr. Obama, the top answer, offered by 19 percent of Tea Party supporters, was that they just don't like him. Eleven percent said he is turning the country more toward socialism, ten percent cited his health care reform efforts, and nine percent said he is dishonest.

Twenty-four percent of Tea Party supporters say it is sometimes justified to take violent action against the government. That compares to 16 percent of Americans overall who say violence against the government is sometimes justified.

But y'know these guy aren't potentially violent, y'know - only about twice as much as the general public is...

Here's another hypocrisy example feature Fox News Contributor Ann Coulter debating Aisha Tyler on CNN:



To Coulter the recent uptick in Political Violence is All Coming from the Left in support of this she has one example - the fight that occurred between members of SEIU and Tea Partier Kenneth Gadney during a ST. Louis Town Hall. I've seen the video of this and it's unclear exactly who attacked who and how this confrontation went down... but that not all that much when you contrast it to...

James Adkisson who shot and killed two people and wounder five others for the heinous crime of being Liberals.

The arrest of one man for Death Threats against Nancy Pelosi, and another for Death threats against Sen Patty Murray.

The Maine Right-Winger who planned to build a radiological dirty bomb.

James Von Brunn who shot and killed a guard at the Holocaust Museum.

Joe Stack who flew his plane into the Austin IRS Building.

The Hutaree Militia who had planned to kill police offices and judges.

Sometimes when something walks like a violent anti-American movement, and quacks like a violent anti-American movement, and TALKS like a violent anti-American movement... that's exactly what it is.

Vyan

Join the Democratic Non-Violence Project - where starting on Waco/Oklahoma City Day (April 19th) we put the question to members of Congress, do you unequivocally oppose All Forms of Domestic Political Violence.

Jon Stewart Shows how Fox News supports Nazis

Fox thinks President Obama's nuclear arms reduction summit logo looks like a the crescent found on the flags of many Islamic nations. Good thing they didn't look at South Carolina's flag or the state sovereignty/secession flag or they might think Obama was the leader of the Confederacy.

Rep. Steve King Blows Up over his Justification of IRS Attack

Confronted by a Thinkprogress Blogger today over his rationization and justification of the Suicide Plane Attack by Joseph Stack against the IRS - Rep. Steve King blows his top.



Here's the transcript of what Rep King say when confronted with this...

TP: Do you think this attack, this terrorist attack, was motivated at all by a lot of the anti-tax rhetoric that’s popular in America right now?

KING: I think if we’d abolished the IRS back when I first advocated it, he wouldn’t have a target for his airplane. And I’m still for abolishing the IRS, I’ve been for it for thirty years and I’m for a national sales tax. [...] It’s sad the incident in Texas happened, but by the same token, it’s an agency that is unnecessary and when the day comes when that is over and we abolish the IRS, it’s going to be a happy day for America.

TP: So some of his grievances were legitimate?

KING: I don’t know if his grievances were legitimate, I’ve read part of the material. I can tell you I’ve been audited by the IRS and I’ve had the sense of ‘why is the IRS in my kitchen.’ Why do they have their thumb in the middle of my back. ... It is intrusive and we can do a better job without them entirely.

When asked directly if he thought the anti-tax rhetoric of groups like the Tea Party were responsible for the attack - he essentially said they were, and that the IRS needs to be abolished, clearly justifying the attack against them.

That's what he said, there's no denying it. His first thought at the time wasn't to be concerned with IRS workers and the lives which were at risk - it's was his own political anti-Tax Agenda!

Now he was confronted with his own words and his response was this...

TP: It is tax day and you justified the murder of American federal employees at CPAC.

KING: Are you accusing me of that? Are you accusing me of that? Turn that camera off. I’m not going to have those allegations. You accuse me of murder. That is despicable behavior.

TP: I’m sorry — I did not say that, I did not say that.

KING: That is despicable behavior for any American on this earth to do such a thing.

TP: The camera is off –

KING: We are done.

He didn't accuse you of murder Congressman King, he simply quoted paraphrased you, and he did so accurately fairly. (ed. King had a perfect chance, both times - to make the distinction that he didn't like the IRS but wasn't endorsing murder - he didn't) You had a chance to denounce a murderer, you had a chance to make a statement against violence - you chose instead to come up with reasons for why that violence might be JUSTIFIED. Period. End of Story.

Y'know what's "despicable" Congressman King?

You are.

Vyan

Join the Democratic Non-Violence Project - where starting on Waco/Oklahoma City Day (April 19th) we put the question to members of Congress, do you unequivocally oppose All Forms of Domestic Political Violence or do you feel like Steve King that the IRS had it coming?

And for the Record:

Washington D.C.
1131 Longworth Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202.225.4426
Fax: 202.225.3193
http://steveking.house.gov /

Cavuto Confronts Coburn: Why so Mean to Poor Little Fox?

If there's one thing these FUXer's know how to do, it's whine and wimper when they get criticized like little prepubescent girls. Here Neil Cavuto asks Sen Tom Coburn why he said: "Don't be biased by Fox"?


After discussing Coburn's blocking of Unemployment Insurance, which he argues has to be "Paid For" even though Coburn didn't previously make this kind of argument when he voted for the $Trillion Bush Tax Cuts, Funding extensions for the unnecessary Iraq War or the $Trillion Medicare Part-D Prescription Drug Donut Hole, Cavuto finally gets to the point... Why did you single out Fox?

Unlike O'Reilly - who made worst persons for denying it - Fox actually did promulgate the LIE that people will be arrested if they refuse to purchase Health Insurance when in fact - there is no penalty.

SEC 5000A Subsection G (A) WAIVER OF CRIMINAL PENALTIES- In the case of any failure by a taxpayer to timely pay any penalty imposed by this section, such taxpayer shall not be subject to any criminal prosecution or penalty with respect to such failure.

At the end of this discussion Coburn actually makes a compelling argument that Conservatives need to fight for their convictions using the truth and facts, not lies and distortions. It's something that I think takes Cavuto back a bit, but it's something that needs to be said and repeated. The problem is that Conservatievs and Tea Partiers have dived so deeply into the Conspiracy Theory Woods with accusations that the President crafted th Nuclear Summit Logo to look like a Muslim Flag - instead of a like an ATOM - that's at this point they could find the truth with both hands and a GPS.

But I'm glad somebody gave them some Tough Love, they desperately need it.

Army Lt Col to be Court Martialed for being a Birther

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2010/04/13/2267021.aspx

Army doctor Lt. Col. Terry Lakin believes Obama does not meet the constitutional requirements to be president and commander-in-chief, because he believes (incorrectly) that Obama wasn't born in the United States.

Lakin refused this week to report to Fort Campbell, KY for deployment to Afghanistan, but instead showed up at the Pentagon, where he was confronted by his brigade Commander Col. Gordon Roberts, a Vietnam Medal of Honor recipient.

Lakin was informed by Roberts that he would face court martial, and his Pentagon building pass and government laptop computer were seized.

This Army Lt. Col has refused a lawful order to deploy to Afghanistan because of his belief that the order is invalid since Barack Obama has not - in his view - supplied sufficient evidence of his native birth in the United States.

Crazy and insane though this may seem, this view according to recent polls seems to be shared by as many as 45% of Republicans.

I've been over this myself in exhuastive detail and this claim is total bunk.

Copy Provided by Obama

Showing the Folds.

The Raised Seal

Close Up of City of Birth

Unredacted Certification Number

Birth Announcement from Local Honolulu Paper filed by Obama's Grand Parents

As FactCheck.org has pointed out the Certification of Live Birth that Obama providing during the Presidential Campaign is perfectly legitimate, and has been validated by state officials - furthermore copies of the much vaunted "Long Form" that these people are clamoring for are not available under State Law.

Per Fact Check.

The document is a "certification of birth," also known as a short-form birth certificate. The long form is drawn up by the hospital and includes additional information such as birth weight and parents' hometowns. The short form is printed by the state and draws from a database with fewer details. The Hawaii Department of Health's birth record request form does not give the option to request a photocopy of your long-form birth certificate, but their short form has enough information to be acceptable to the State Department. We tried to ask the Hawaii DOH why they only offer the short form, among other questions, but they have not given a response.

Under Hawaii State law the Short form is sufficient to prove citizenship and for example, obtain a passport, which Obama's mother must have done when she moved the family temporarily to Indonesia.

Per Hawaiian law, Statue 338.13, any certified copies of the original document can serve the same purpose as the original document.

"(b) Copies of the contents of any certificate on file in the department, certified by the department shall be considered for all purposes the same as the original, subject to the requirements of sections 338-16, 338-17, and 338-18."

Usually the certification is stamped and signed on the lower reverse side of the document and says "I certify this is a true copy or abstract of the record on file in the Hawaii State Department of Health."

The stamp and signature on the back of Obama's certified copy is here:

Signature on the Back

This copy is certified and VALID, the requirement stated by this Lt. Col for a "Doctor signed form" is not required by the Constitution. It's completely made up.

It's rather sad that this soldier (and doctor) has chosen to throw away his career ove a phantasm, but what's even worse is that when he loses his case - and he certainly WILL lose just like Orly Taitz did - the estimated 45% of Republicans who still believe this drivel aren't likely to see the truth, they're likely to believe this man to be some kind of Constitutional Martyr, when what truly he is - is deeply misguided and foolish.

Also I continue to wonder if these people would be making this demand of a President John McCain, particularly since he himself was born in Panama and only has citizenship through his parents.

Vyan