Hateful Remarks, Indeed
In Mark Hyman’s most recent “Mailbag” segment, we have yet another example of the pathetic and intellectually bankrupt tricks he likes to pull in lieu of rational, enlightened discourse.
Reading some viewer responses about his ode to the Marine Corps on the occasion of its anniversary, Hyman says:And in a break with tradition, I will not air any of the negative
comments. There were some viewers who sent in hateful remarks regarding our
servicemen and women, illustrating that the Angry Left is alive and well, and
benefiting from the freedoms our military has helped preserve.
As we know, the “tradition” of reading opposing comments (note that Hyman refers to these as “negative” comments) is a rather pathetic one. But what Hyman pulls here is truly cowardly. Without actually quoting any of the supposedly “hateful” remarks and laying them at the feet of the “Angry Left,” Hyman engages in a sort of neo-McCarthyism that is indefensible, no matter how much one might agree with his political philosophy.
I strongly suspect that there were no such “hateful remarks,” at least none targeting people serving in the military. Had there been, Hyman would no doubt have gleefully produced them, since they would provide proof of what Hyman has alleged about those who disagree with him for so long.
I believe that since there wasn’t, Hyman lied in order to maliciously attack those who don’t happen to be of his political persuasion.
And this guy says the Left is angry?
And that’s The Counterpoint.
posted by Ted Remington @ 11:11 PM
14 comments
14 Comments:
Ted,
Amen!
There are so many right-wing voices and so many of them are untempered, spiteful, mean-spirited. The hypocrisy of a Bill O'Reilly, who castigates lefty media-watch groups while spewing out venom is truly disgusting.
It is almost as if they realize what a precarious perch they are hanging onto and need to lash out at all others, just as a squid squirts out its inky screen. And here, in Hyman's latest, we have to suffer his terrible bad fortune in reporting the phantom will of Mark's alleged oppressors.
Come on Mark, who owns 60 stations?
Where are the principled Republicans who will rise up and say "Stop it, Mark"? I know that there must be some.
True individuals like John McCain, Chuck Hagel, and Lindsay Graham (interestly, all who served in various milltary branches, Mark)give us some hope, when they speak their conscience, rather than spurious pablum from their party shills.
For that matter, WHERE ARE THE PRINCIPLED MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA?
Why aren't the anchorpersons and the high-profile reporters questioning the poor basic behavior of O'Reilly, Liddy, Limbaugh, Savage? All of these individuals will go to great lengths to castigate the social failings of certain minority groups. Yet unlike them, this crowd spreads their ill will across the nation.
Isn't it time for us all to speak up?
Mr. Hyman,
Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last?
There are so many left-wing voices and so many ar untempered, spiteful, mean-spirited. The hypocrisy of Dan Rather, who built a career out of castigating the GOP while spewing out little biased anecdotes was truly disgusting.
It is almost as if they realize what a precarious perch they are hanging onto and need to lash out at all others, like this forum exemplifies. And here in anonymous comments, we have to suffer from his terrible conviction that the right is somehow inherently evil.
Where are the principled liberals who will rise up and say "Stop it, Al Franken, stop it Howard Dean"? I know that there must be some.
Honorable individuals like Joe Lieberman give us some hope, when they speak their conscience, rather than spurious pablum from their party shills.
For that matter, WHERE ARE THE PRINCIPLED MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA?
Why aren't the anchorpersons and the high-profile reporters questioning the poor basic behavior of Katie Couric, Brian Williams, Air America? All of these individuals and entities will go to great lengths to castigate others holding opposing points of view, spin the truth, and distort reality.
Isn't it time for us to speak up?
Oh, by gosh... We have, Conservative outlets continue to gain in success, winning over the hearts and minds of the American public while liberal outlets fray in the wind.....
George Bush and the Republican Neo-Fascists running our country (into the ground), are spending BILLIONS of tax-payer dollars manufacturing and buying good press coverage in both Iraq and here in this country. Do you think Hyman and his ilk are giving it away for free? Just look a little deeper and you find that there is always a financial payoff for these destroyers of democracy.
Thanks, and keep bustin'Hyman.
Mike B. in SC
Anonymous,
1. Do you have proof that the Bush Administration is buying press coverage in Iraq? Sure it's the media issue of the day right now, but not even they have provided any proof. Why do you state it like it's a fact then?
2. Why do you pretend that an alternative point of view and contrary to your own is destructive to democracy when in fact it's the liberal rhetoric such as the many unsubstantiated lies waged against the President and the institutions of this country - are the destructive force? Here's a sampling of leftist lies which have absolutely no merit at all:
There is no connection between Iraq and al Qaeda
The U.S. funded the Taliban in the 1980s
Suitcase nukes are in place across America
Osama bin Laden was trained by the CIA
Halliburton made a fortune in Iraq
There were no Jews in the Word Trade Center on 9/11
The above lies, fabricated and perpetuated by the likes of you for selfish political gain is what is harmful to this country. Period.
Hey, Sick of Spin,
When will you provide your evidence against Ted Remington?
You accused him of political advocacy while at his University job.
Sick, you are very nimble at accusations, but very silent at providing data.
You have smeared Remington. He still allows you to rant.
Have YOU no shame?
Geez, Sick, your argumentation is a bit pathetic, to be kind. And your desire to defend right wing meanness is frightening.
Okay, so you mention Dan Rather as your sole example of "so many" left wing voices? Earth to Sick: Rather has retired, likely as a result of his partisanship.
Okay, here's NINE active, well-known and widely broadcast mouths that don't know common decency (plus one wannabee):
RUSH LIMBAUGH
on the kidnapping of of four Christian Peacemaker Teams activists in Iraq:
"I mean, these people are liberals, they're warped. Well, I mean, that's why there's -- I'm telling you, folks, there's a part of me that likes this."
On John Murtha: "just the useful idiot of the moment" and
"I don't think he ever has been a hawk"
On prisoner abusers: "I'm talking about people having a good time"
The "REVEREND" PAT ROBERSTON
who wants God to smite Dover, PA, let Al Quaida attack San Fransisco, and blamed gays and feminists for 9-11, etc., etc.
MICHAEL SAVAGE
"[Sen. Joe] McCarty was a 100% right... ...McCarthy was a hero"
or on Iraqi "detainees":
"I think a thousand of them held in the Iraqi prison should be given 24 hour -- a trial and executed."
or on prisoner abuse:
"I commend" prisoner abuse; "we need more"
ANN COULTER:
"We need to execute people like John Walker in order to physically intimidate liberals, by making them realize that they can be killed too. Otherwise they will turn out to be outright traitors."
On John Murther, who Darth Cheney called a "patriot":
"[Mutha] refuses to release his medical records showing he was entitled to his two Purple Hearts."
FOX'S JOHN GIBSON
(on religious tolerance and people with the "wrong" religion...
"I would think if somebody is going to be -- have to answer for following the wrong religion, they're not going to have to answer to me. We know who they're going to have to answer to."
"Cut his mike" BILL O'REILLY:
On the Iraqi people:
"we cannot intervene in the Muslim world ever again. What we can do is bomb the living daylights out of them."
On the poor (not exactly The Beatitides...)
"you gotta look people in the eye and tell 'em they're irresponsible and lazy. And who's gonna wanna do that? Because that's what poverty is, ladies and gentlemen. In this country, you can succeed if you get educated and work hard. Period. Period. "
On the ACLU, the favorite punching bag of right-wing extremists:
"I think they're a terrorist group. ... I think they're terrorists"
NEAL BOORTZ,
on the 49% of American voters who voted for John Kerry...
"Frankly I just cannot tell you which one presents the greater threat. One group of people: Osama bin Laden and his Islamic terrorists. The Islamic jihadists. The other group of people: those of you who would vote for John Kerry. And both groups present a threat to our safety and a threat to our future."
or, on looters in the U.S.:
"If they see someone looting, shoot him. They go up there, they just spray paint an "L" on him and get about their business, and then after everything is over they can go collect them all and bury them in a mass grave."
SEAN HANNITY:
"It doesn't say anywhere in the Constitution this idea of the separation of church and state."
On the Pledge of Allegiance, in which "under God" was added during the McCarthy era:
"Governor, why wouldn't anyone want to say the Pledge of Allegiance, unless they detested their own country or were ignorant of its greatness?"
on opposing George W. Bush:
"Is it that you hate this president or that you hate America? "
MARK HYMAN
..on The Rabid Right's favorite punching bag:
"A better name [for the ACLU] is the Anti-American Criminal Liberties Union."
..on Ted Remington and 3 other academics that Hyman smeared on 16 Feb 05:
"...can't hold a job in the real world"
"Fringe thinkers...just don't have a right to make a living off it at taxpayers' expense. And they shouldn't."
and Finally...
SICK OF SPIN
(New quotes arriving at this site soon!)
Yes SOS, we have proof of manipulation of the press in both Iraq and America. We also have evidence that Bush was set to bomb the Arab cable television network and was stopped by Tony Blair. You SOS refuse to see reality. You are living in denial, and I'm not talking about the river in Egypt. As soon as you realize that your are supporting the New Fascist would-be empire, the sooner you can start to deal with your problem.
Thanks,
Mike B. in SC
By the way SOS, a prerequisite for a democracy to function properly is an informed electorate. That requires a independent press that is free of government interference. George W. Bush and his Neo-Fascist cohorts have made an absolute mockery of that concept.
Thanks,
Mike B. in SC
Dear bloggites...
In an earlier entry, our beloved SOS accused Ted of inappropriately mixing his personal politics into his academic duties.
SOS either owes Ted an apology (for fabricating smears ala Hymen) or needs to show his supporting data.
SOS wastes a lot of pixels accusing others. In the interest of fairness (and simple civility) he should back up his accusations.
Other bloggers have asked this. So, SOS, put up or please just shut up!
Ted is awfully gracious letting SOS spew his stuff on this site. SOS, if he had any sense of fair play, should back up his fighting words.
Hey Sick,
You claim: "Oh, by gosh... We have, Conservative outlets [sic] continue to gain in success, winning over the hearts and minds of the American public while liberal outlets fray in the wind....."
As it turns out, Sick, FOX's share of the market is DECREASING, along will Bill O'Rreilly’s. Once again, your statement is untroubled by reality.
And so what your ilk has this vast array of Angry Blowhards?
The Party of Money simply has more bucks – a lot more bucks to buy up stations and lobbyists and politicians so that they can better spew their venom coast to coast.
And remember, Sick, John Kerry, a pretty weak candidate ("I actually voted for the war before I...") got HALF the popular vote against the all the incumbent benefits that Chimpy McFlightsuit had, in addition to the swiftboating and dirty tricks of Sinclair.
So, Sick, in reality, the only way the Republican Party holds on, it seems, is to buy up stations and networks and populate them with the biggest bunch of Loud and Angry White Men ever. The list posted above says it all. This is the biggest propaganda outfit this nation has ever seen. Ever.
So your group of standard bearers can piss people off, ruffle feathers, yell yell yell, endlessly question patriotism (BOY, that's impressive!), and other stupid things... that's the way to keep the base energized?
There's a word for that: pathetic.
So even with all this mega-watt broadcasting power, the "liberals" are doing quite well. Well, they haven't been rounded up into concentration camps....yet... I bet Ann Coulter or Savage or Boortz -- those erudite folks fo the Angry Hateful Right would love to see that. Heck, they're on record as wanting to kill liberals and whole societies, by gun or daisycutter. Isn't that special!
Sick, are these REALLY YOUR HEROS? If that's true, I guess I understand your disdain for everyone on this blog.
Odd isn't it, since you seem to need to abuse this blog.
I'm not a Democrat (I'm an Indie) but I'd sure enjoy being stuck in an elevator with a Democrats a whole lot more than having to listen to the ick of someone who thinks Hate Radio and TV is a good thing for our nation.
God save this country.
Wednesday, Nov 30
Nov. Ratings: The Program Ranker
It's program ranker time. FNC had 9 of the top 10 shows on cable news in November, with Bill O'Reilly averaging an impressive 2,552,000 viewers. H&C was #2, Greta was #3, Shep was #4 and Hume was #5.
CNN's Larry King was #7. He averaged 1,012,000 viewers in November. Notably, NewsNight with Aaron Brown averaged 795,000 viewers in November before it was yanked off the air; Anderson Cooper 360 averaged 632,000.
The #1 show on MSNBC was Countdown with Keith Olbermann. It averaged a strong 462,000 viewers for the month, beating HLN's top program, Nancy Grace. Hardball was MSNBC's #2 show, and Rita was #3.
Analyze the data yourself:
http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/original/nov05ranker.pdf
http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/ratings/nov_ratings_the_program_ranker_28814.asp
Dear Sick of Spin [sic],
Still spinning, I see.
I know this is somewhat off the topic, but you brought it up. I wonder if you could give me three examples "little biased anecdotes" that Dan Rather "spewed out" on the air during his years as the CBS Evening News anchor. Because I have to say, I can't recall ever seeing an anchorperson interrupt a news broadcast to share an anecdote. But you say he built his career doing so, so coming up with three should be really easy.
Bradley
Just so I'm clear-- conservatives are now admitting that O'Reilly's viewership is in the two million range? Because, of course, last year O'Reilly insisted that a WALL STREET JOURNAL story that said the Factor reached two million people was lying, and that he actually reached closer to five million people. But two million's the number now? We're admitting that? Okay, cool.
Also, I'm not sure that I'd be patting myself on the back over the dubious honor of having the highest ratings in cable news. With apologies to Dennis Miller, that's like being named validectorian of summer school. Yes, fine-- more people get information from O'Reilly than from Tucker Carlson or Larry King. So what? Intelligent people don't watch any of those shows-- we actually read.
Oddly enough, the highest rated show on cable news still doesn't crack Nielsen's top ten from cable shows in general, which is dominated by Sponge Bob, Law and Order reruns, and professional wrestling. So, yes, more people follow Bill O'Reilly than Keith Olberman. But even more people follow talking sponges and Ric Flair.
Bradley
Bradley,
What's a more basic point is Sick's inability to read other's blogger's comments. The earlier post said that O'Reilly's viewership was shrinking. That's a fact.
Sick's data do not address. They're irrelevant. Faced with an irrefutable fact, Sick spins.
It's also noteworthy that Sick has been asked on this blog at least five times (that's my count) to come clean on his accusation against Ted. Sick said in an earlier post that Ted was guilty of political activism in the classroom.
Sick, that's bull. Either produce the data or apologize for the personal smear.
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