Truth is often the first casualty in the land of the Fox-haters. But no one is more reluctant to traffic in reality-based facts than the Outfoxed gals.

And now for some pickings from the Grapevine. The Fox-haters' Grapevine, that is, where the branches are thick with thorns and the grapes taste decidedly sour. There are no dogs more obsessed with the Fox than our friends, the newshounds (another fine product of the Outfoxed mob). One of their favorite tricks is to pick out a sentence someone says on Fox, morph that into some sort of phony policy statement by the entire network, and then trumpet it with a HeadLie, like this:

Fox Cheers Knight-Ridder Sale - We Need "Fewer Players"
Jonathan Hoenig, one of the cast members on Fox's Saturday morning "business news" show, Cashin' In, was a guest today (March 13, 2006) on Your World w/Neil Cavuto.... He said, "The newspaper industry has gotten its head handed to it so, you know, Knight-Ridder; the industry needs to consolidate.

The truth? Hoenig was not a solo guest being interviewed. He was one of a panel of four (five if you count Mr Cavuto). The newsliars don't tell you that, or anything that anybody else said on the subject. If one person in a group of five says something, Presto! "Fox" has spoken. Here's another variation on the theme:

Brit Hume Distorts Hillary Clinton's Views on Immigration and Smears Democrats
On Special Report with Brit Hume last night, he introduced a segment during his "All Star" panel about Hillary Clinton's stance on illegal immigration. While neglecting to mention why she's against a particular bill, Hume claimed that Clinton and Democrats are simply against cracking down on illegal immigration.

The truth? That night Special Report devoted eight solid minutes to the bills: who was for them, who was against them, and why. The newspoodles skip all that, and cherry-pick one sentence that Brit Hume spoke to kickstart the panel discussion afterward. Dishonest? Of course: it's the newsmutts, after all. But nothing gets them as rabid as Mr Bill O'Reilly:

O'Reilly stands poised to rip apart anyone he thinks is speaking against him. Tonight his victim was Jeff Bruce, Dayton Daily News, for an editorial about Judge Connor in Ohio who O'Reilly has decided should be removed from the bench.... He not only showed a photo of Jeff Bruce but also his e-mail address urging people to get in touch with him. Of course now that people know what he looks like and where he works, it would be quite easy to reach out and contact Bruce in a variety of ways.

And one of cable's most reliable Fox-loathers was quick to join the echo chamber of outrage:

KEITH OLBERMANN: He gave out the email of this man Jeff Bruce on tv on Monday. This stuff's bordering on harassment now.

The truth? Jeff Bruce's email address sits right on his paper's website. So does his photograph. So Olbermann once again makes his hatred of Fox more important than journalistic ethics, while the curs (eager to rush to the defense of another serial child rapist) have been caught in another sleazy smear. But wait, there's more:

This morning Sean Hannity appeared on FOX & Friends ostensibly to bash immigrants but his real motive was to do damage control after he lost it big time during a call to the Brian Whitman Show on WABC Radio yesterday....
BALDWIN: OK. Listen, Sean, we're gonna end this right now
HANNITY (low voice, taunting): Why is your wife so pissed off at you, anyway?
...I think Baldwin left because of Hannity's nasty little dig about ex-wife Kim Basinger. The two have been embroiled in a nasty divorce.

The truth? Hannity said no such thing, and made no "nasty little dig", as the transcript and our clip both demonstrate. The incident so inflamed the bowsers that their dishonesty continued in yet another fraudulent attack:

Who Started the Name-Calling, Hannity?
Sean Hannity tried to spin his recent ambush of actor Alec Baldwin by appearing on Fox News' "Dayside" Monday (March 27, 2006) to give his version -- and his version only -- of what happened. Far be it from either of the "Dayside" co-hosts to contract the star of this trashy news network.

Huh? What does that mean, "contract the star"? Don't try to figure it out; it's doggie language. The pups continue:

Hannity said that he began the conversation with Baldwin on matters of substance and that Baldwin responded with name-calling. Unfortunately for Hannity, "Dayside" played enough of the exchange to demonstrate that Hannity started the name-calling, referring to Baldwin as a "reckless, irresponsible actor."

The truth? The transcript shows the Fox-haters are again barking with forked tongues:

HANNITY: Alec, I wanted to give you an official WABC welcome considering you were supposed to come on my program last week and you didn't show up. What happened?
BALDWIN: No, I wasn't supposed to come on your program, Sean Hannity.
HANNITY: No, actually you were supposed to come on the program because a deal was made with your agent that if you were going to come on with Brian, first you'd come on with me.
BALDWIN: I wouldn't dream of coming on your program, Sean Hannity. I'm here with Brian. I'm here with a really talented broadcaster.
HANNITY: [Crosstalk] that you are, you don't tell the truth.
BALDWIN: Why would I want to come on the show with a no-talent, former construction worker hack like you?

So why would the haters lie about this, when anyone can read the transcript and see hound mendacity exposed with a click of the mouse? A good question, but then one must remember that the newsyorkies are not above just making stuff up:

Today (March 18, 2006), "Rick and Bubba" appeared on Fox & Friends Weekend. During their appearance on Your World, no mention was made of the fact that News Corp. now "owns" Rick and Bubba... What a deal for News Corp. but what a scam for Fox's viewers. News Corp. promotes one of its properties - "Rick and Bubba" - without telling its audience that it's doing so. Meanwhile, "Rick and Bubba" kiss the ass of their new employer and say all the right things during their appearances.

The truth? Rick and Bubba are a radio team, syndicated to stations around the country. News Corp does not "own" them, News Corp is not their "employer", and they are not one of its "properties". "Rick and Bubba" is an independent radio program, syndicated by CRG Media. In other words, the entire newsliar report is based on a false premise.

Hardly anything new there. Nothing hurts the Fox-haters and their malevolent cause more than the sunlight of truth.