media matters
Midweek Politics with David Pakman: Aug. 25 2010
–Walid Shoebat, the former Palestinian terrorist who is against the building of the Ground Zero Mosque/Lower Manhattan Community Center, joins us live to discuss how close is too close for him, the background of Feisal Abdul Rauf, Arabic recordings, and more.
–Midweek Politics 5 years anniversary and iPad giveaway
–Concerns from the audience about Louis as sidekick and producer.
–Primary election results, including Kendrick Meek’s win in Florida, John McCain holding off JD Hayworth in Arizona, Ben Quayle winning, the Florida situation involving Mark Rubio and Charlie Crist, and the Alaska contest between Lisa Murkowski and Joe Miller.
–Now that President Obama has pulled enough troops out to get below the 50,000 mark, is this really the end of the Iraq war? What would it take for the US to go back in? Plus, John McCain says Bush deserves credit for the end of the war, and media coverage of the drawdown varied greatly depending on who was reporting.
–Fox News continues to dominate the cable news ratings, and we discuss why this might be, as well as go over the million dollar donation controversy from Fox News to the Republican Governors Association, including the ad that Media Matters wants to run on Fox News during The O’Reilly Factor.
–Exploring the connection between Fox News, News Corporation’s major shareholder Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, whose money was refused by Rudy Giuliani after 9/11, and the so-called Ground Zero Mosque.
–Doctor Laura and Al Sharpton followup, including why some listeners are calling David Pakman the racist.
–Sarah Palin “supports” Doctor Laura, and we try to figure out what that means, and why both Sarah and Laura seem to be very confused about the First Amendment.
–In a bizarre turn of events, the same Pat Buchanan who previously dabbled in Holocaust denial, complained of too many Jews on the Supreme Court, and claimed whites were losing their country to Hispanics, claims that Newt Gingrich went too far in his comment about Nazis when discussing the Ground Zero Mosque.
–Yet another act of domestic terrorism in the US, and we discuss why domestic right wing terror is presumed to be “lone gunmen” and “isolated incidents,” while individual foreigners committing similar acts are referred to as terrorists in the context of the Global War on Terror.
–Last week’s poll about the Ground Zero Mosque, a new poll about the “end” of the war in Iraq, plus emails about a racist real estate incident in Chicago, scammers on religious cable channel INSP, Alvin Greene, Ben Quayle, and more.
Email this pageMidweek Politics with David Pakman: Aug. 11 2010
–A recent birther poll shows over one in four Americans still think Barack Obama was not born in the United States, and Rush Limbaugh seems to be part of that bandwagon.
–An incredible interview from a listener about the birther Orly Taitz interview, professionalism, and more.
–We call Target for an interview to discuss their large donation to an anti-gay candidate, and do not get very far, but we play both the phone call to Target and the voicemail we received from Target spokesperson Jessica Carlson, as well as plenty of other information about anti-gay donations and opinions coming from the Target CEO, his family, and the Target executive staff.
–Rush Limbaugh and William Shatner debate healthcare in a bizarre interview, and we discuss whether morals can really be removed from the healthcare discussion.
–A hilarious Fox News style ambush gone wrong by Spencer Meads, who cannot seem to stop rubbing his nose, sniffing, and mumbling when confronted by Media Matters employee Ari Rabin-Havt while trying to talk about George Soros to Media Matters employees.
–Senator Ted Stevens is killed in a small plane crash in Alaska, and David Pakman worries about his upcoming small plane flight.
–JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater abandons his job by swearing at a passenger, grabbing a couple of beers, deploying the emergency exit chute, and sliding down it, and we wonder whether someone who cites carryon baggage as a pet peeve should really be working as a flight attendant.
–Sean Hannity suggests that to annoy liberals, he asks for two plastic bags at the supermarket, and Jedidiah Bila complains about the more expensive cost to supermarkets of phasing out plastic bags while not mentioning the additional cost of Hannity’s two bag plan.
–BP claims the oil spill is essentially almost all fixed up, saying three quarters of the oil and dispersants have been cleaned up, and we wonder if anybody believes that.
–Audience emails about the Terry Jones Koran-burning interview, Elisabeth Hasselbeck’s theory about women turning to lesbianism as they age, a racist email in response to a racist voicemail,and more, as well as new stations airing Midweek Politics.
GRITtv: The Right-wing Media Spin Cycle
From Media Matters For America, we have this new video on the way the right-wing media remains able to shape policy even while the Republican party's support plummets and Democrats maintain control of Congress. Eric Burns of Media Matters says, "People need to decide how long they will allow the policies of their country to be dictated by a media outlet accountable not to voters or constituents but to ratings."
GRITtv: Roberto Lovato on the Basta Dobbs Campaign
A push to force Lou Dobbs off the air was launched this week. Roberto Lovato, founding member of presente.org, talks about why Dobbs is the most dangerous man in America for Latinos. You can find out more about the campaign at bastadobbs.com. Media Matters has also launched an effort to force Dobbs to resign.
