Fox Haters In-Depth: Smears, Lies, and Bigotry
Today's edition of Fox Haters Week in Review breaks from our usual format to focus on one egregious example of ignorance, intolerance, and dishonesty. The controversy over Notre Dame and Barack Obama has clearly brought out the worst in newshound Priscilla. Her headline blares:
Fox News Joins Randall Terry Inspired Crusade...She repeats that in the text, claiming Terry "joined up" with Fox News to "spin a story about a 'controversy'". Prissy presents zero evidence--nothing--that Randall Terry has any involvement or connection whatsoever with FNC's coverage. So why does his name even come up? Because Priscilla tossed him into the mix to engage in the time-honored smear: guilt by association.
Priscilla turns her attention to one of FNC's contributors, Fr Jonathan Morris:
Unlike other, appropriately secular media outlets, Fox even has a resident priest who contributes articles to the Fox website.
Let's pause for a moment to consider that. Before working for Fox, Fr Morris was a commentator on CNN and the BBC. Plus CNN has a contributor on its payroll who is an ordained minister. For years they employed a Reverend who hosted a weekly program! Does this mean CNN is not "appropriately secular"? Priscilla doesn't say.The treatment of Fr Morris by the newspoodles is also worth noting. Early in his association with Fox, there was little complaint by the mongrels over the fact that he wasn't "secular". In fact, when he took a position they liked, the bassets barked their approval:
Father Morris, who was extremely fired up on the topic, made an amazing point. I doubt we'll be seeing much more of him on Fox.Yes, their Nostradamus skills were up to their usual standards. So when Fr Morris was consistent and began to articulate Catholic positions the hounds didn't agree with, they quickly turned against him. And that meant it was time to roll out the personal attacks.
It began with the curiously repetitive description of Fr Morris as "baby-faced". Just what was that supposed to mean? Don't you know, this dangerous priest belongs to an "ultra-secret cult", i.e. a religious order (so secret that it advertises itself on a public website!). The mastiffs breathlessly detailed allegations against the man who founded the order in 1941. Yes, in 1941. Before Fr Morris was even born. The newspooches thought they could use this bit of 60-year-old innuendo to smear Fr Morris. In other words, guilt by association redux. Are you starting to understand the "baby-faced" references now? Well, in case you didn't connect the loathsome dots, the kennel dwellers certainly did:
- First, he's gay; second, he's lived the majority of his life living with nothing but men where women are treated as second class citizens by his chosen religion. and three, he's very insecure about his manhood so he has to belittle women in order to make his penis seem larger. he's the type of gay man that has known he was gay from birth and therefore has had no interest in even understanding women and their role in society....Edited By Siteowner
- Why is it surprising that FOX would have a pedophile priest as a news contributor?
Unsupported, undocumented allegations are a special feature of Prissy's prose:
It’s highly unlikely that you’ll see any commentary presenting a pro-choice argument on Fox News.Source? Evidence? Not required on Planet Priscilla. But wait, isn't this all about a segment presenting the arguments of pro-choice Phil Donahue? Oh, never mind that!
Prissy attempts to "correct" Martha MacCallum by stating:
Despite polling data that shows the Roman Catholic Church in decline...Actually, the link she cites focuses on one particular factor: people who change their religious affiliation, something that affects all denominations. If you look a little more carefully at what that website says, they don't confirm the "decline" claimed by Prissy but in fact disprove it:
Unlike Protestants, who have seen their ranks dwindle as a share of the population, the GSS findings suggest that the proportion of the adult population that identifies itself as Catholic has held fairly steady, at around 25%, in recent decades.This is consistent with the most recent ARIS survey reporting that Catholics have gained 11 million followers since 1990. So our favorite mongrel either didn't bother to read the site she linked to, or deliberately misrepresented what it says.
Priscilla wastes no time in throwing Martha MacCallum under the bus:
The segments that could be considered even handed were laced with commentary that revealed a bias on the part of the interviewer so “fair and balanced?’ – not so much.Does she cite evidence that MacCallum's questions were biased? Oh sure, but her examples prove to be that old staple of the anti-Fox terriers: doctored quotes!
Martha defended the church’s position: “The Catholic church needs to defend life from moment of conception.” (Hey Martha, how about social justice, immigration, and poverty issues which Obama and the Catholic Church agree on?)But Priscilla isn't telling the truth. Martha MacCallum didn't say that; Fr Morris said it (listen at -8:10). Taking his words and claiming MacCallum said them is a tried and true tactic to fabricate "bias" that isn't there. Then Prissy gives us another "quote" from MacCallum:
"What if you had an anti-Semitic speaker speak at a Jewish university? It goes against the central core of the most fundamental belief. The central core of Catholicism is a respect for life which isn't backing embryonic stem cell research while negating other areas of research. When you have a central core belief isn’t that wrong?"
Most people use quotation marks to present the verbatim words of a speaker. Priscilla and the newshounds use quotation marks as an invitation to creative writing. Compare that "quote" with MacCallum's actual words (starting at -4:15) and see for yourself. Also note the last sentence: according to Priscilla it ends with "isn't that wrong". Only it doesn't. Priscilla made it up! But hey, that's nothing new. By the way, Priscilla continues to cite this tissue of lies and counterfeit quotes as evidence of MacCallum's "bias"!Prissy has a few more poisoned arrows in her quiver. She writes of MacCallum:
She asked if this is something the school should do “given all the controversy over stem cell research which many Catholics are against (63% approve of) and the abortion issue.”First, this is yet another mangled quote, as MacCallum referred (at -9:59) to embryonic stem cell research. But what's the point of Priscilla interjecting the 63% statistic? MacCallum didn't say "most", she said "many", so that statistic shows her to be correct. And why is Prissy bringing up popularity polls regarding a matter of dogma? Is she so ignorant of Catholicism that she thinks it's some sort of a democracy? Does she know the meaning of the term "hierarchical"?
Then in a "comment" largely cribbed from that impartial, down-the-middle source for unbiased news, The American Prospect, Priscilla offers more insinuations unencumbered by any of those pesky things like evidence or documentation:
As noted in Posner's article, and not noted by Fox, “On campus, the editorial board of The Observer, the Notre Dame student newspaper, noted "a clear disconnect between alumni and the student body as a whole on this issue."Not noted by Fox? That's precisely where we heard it.
If Fox were “fair and balanced,” they would interview faculty and students at the university.You mean like here? And here?
Priscilla (still channeling American Prospect) tries to paint those who object to Obama's honorary degree as "extremist" groups by claiming that only "some Catholic Bishops" are involved. But she doesn't tell you that the body of US Bishops ruled on this issue five years ago:
The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.After all of Priscilla's fabrication, dishonesty, and rampant ignorance, her final coup de grace exposes the entire enterprise for what it is. She dismisses practicing Catholics who follow their Church's teachings (and consequently do not agree with her) as "a small, but loud, lunatic fringe". Lunatic fringe!? Do we detect a soupçon of anti-Catholic bigotry there? Could anyone possibly think this is part of a pattern by the biased bassets? Let's see...
Item: Newshounds complain that Laura Ingraham's Catholic religion prevents her from being objective.
Item: Priscilla (surprise!) ignorantly asserts that Bill O'Reilly "is the product of a Catholic education where sex was not discussed unless it was in the context of 'mortal sin'."
item: A video clip of a Catholic church slammed as "non-inclusive imagery".
Item: Tasteless lack of respect for the sacraments: "They also discussed the Catholic sacrament of communion - hands or mouth? (Please, don't go there.)"
Item: Headline accuses the Pope of being part of an "unholy trinity".
Item: The birth of Christ dismissed as just so much "nonsense".
Item: Newshound writer rants about the "depravity, collusion, corruption, toxic secrecy, favoritism, greed, pride and political machinations" of the Catholic Church.
Item: Newshounds repeatedly inject snide references to the Catholic faith of FNC personnel: "good Catholic" Hannity, "good Catholic" Ingraham, "good Catholic boy" O'Reilly. And regarding Cavuto: "Neil Cavuto is Catholic. I wonder if he thinks he's going to get into Heaven." Why do the newshounds single out Catholics in this fashion?
Anti-Christian, anti-Catholic bigots? The newshounds? How could anyone possibly come to that conclusion?
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