Fox again lets GOP candidate plug his website on air

Hayworth's "recommendation" to Fox News viewers: "Go to the website JDForSenate.com." From the February 8 pointed viewers to his campaign website, solicited funds for his campaign, and also cited RedInvadesBlue.com, where, he said, "we have a money bomb right now that's hitting ... and you can help me fight back against the machine."

"Political analyst" Morris: "Please, please help" Brown. During the January 11 edition of Hannity, Fox News contributor Dick Morris urged viewers to "go to DickMorris.com ... to help elect Brown," because if "we win this fight, then there will never be another victory for Obama." DickMorris.com included a fundraising plea "to help us raise $300,000 for a last minute media buy to push Brown and the Republicans to victory"; Fox News executives allowed Morris to solicit funds for Republican efforts despite reportedly telling colleague Mike Huckabee to cease conflict-of-interest promotions that help his political action committee.

Fox plays GOP ad attacking Kirk's opponent, compares Kirk favorably to Brown. During its February 3 two weeks leading up to the November 3, 2009, elections, Conservative Party congressional candidate Doug Hoffman, New Jersey Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie, and Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell appeared on Fox News and its personalities' radio shows at least 16 times for live interviews lasting a total of 114 minutes and 36 seconds. Christie made at least five appearances totaling almost 37 minutes on Fox News and its personalities' radio shows; McDonnell made at least three appearances totaling 18 minutes; and Hoffman made at least seven appearances totaling almost 60 minutes.

Fox News hosts, political analysts spend Election Day celebrating and shilling for conservatives and GOPers. On November 4, 2009, numerous Fox News hosts and political analysts encouraged voters to donate to and volunteer and vote for GOP and conservative candidates, including Christie, McDonnell, and Hoffman. The Fox News personalities included Mike Huckabee, Sean Hannity, Karl Rove, Newt Gingrich, Tammy Bruce, and Eric Bolling.

Leading up to elections, Fox personalities promoted conservative and GOP candidates and helped fundraise for them. Fox News hosts and analysts offered support for McDonnell, Christie, and Hoffman and their fundraising efforts leading up to the elections. For example, on his November 2, 2009, Fox News show, Hannity told Hoffman, "I hope I'm on the air this time tomorrow night and I'll be able to declare you the winner." On November 3, 2009, on Twitter, Fox News contributor Karl Rove encouraged his followers to donate to the Republican Governors Association in order to help Christie's campaign. On two Fox News shows in October 2009, Huckabee directed viewers to "go to balancecutsave.com," urging them to sign a petition telling Congress to "balance the budget," "cut their spending," and "save American families"; however, balancecutsave.com redirected visitors to Huckabee's political action committee, which financially supports Republican candidates. Subsequently, Huck PAC apparently emailed petition signers -- who were required to provide an email address in order to sign the "balancecutsave" petition -- a "newsletter" urging political action on behalf of Republican-backed candidates Bob McDonnell, David Harmer, and Doug Hoffman.

Fox News operates as a conservative political organization

"Voice of the opposition": Fox News openly advocates against Democratic Congress, White House. Since Barack Obama's inauguration, Fox News has frequently engaged in political advocacy against the Democratic Congress and White House. Specifically, Fox News personalities have promoted and encouraged viewers to "join" tea party protests, Glenn Beck's organization The 9-12 Project and its September 12, 2009, "March on Washington," and town hall meetings; engaged in a witch hunt seeking to "get rid of" Obama administration officials and nominees; implored viewers to call Congress and the White House to protest Democratic policies; and celebrated "victor[ies]" when Democratic legislation has been stalled.

Research and communications arm: Fox News is home to GOP in exile. A revolving door exists between the Republican Party and Fox News Channel, with a number of former Bush administration officials, former and potentially future GOP presidential candidates, and Republican strategists on Fox's payroll and airwaves. A Media Matters review of Fox coverage from September 1, 2009, through October 25, 2009, revealed that these individuals, typically hosted alone or on unbalanced panels, often used their airtime to advance false and misleading claims about Democrats and progressives, as well as to fundraise, further demonstrating that Fox is effectively a conservative political organization and not a legitimate news outlet.

In her keynote speech at the Tea Party convention on Feb. 6, 2010, Sarah Palin mocked some of the spending in the massive economic stimulus championed by President Barack Obama."One state even spent a million bucks to put up signs that advertise that they were spending on the federal stimulus projects," Palin said. "Or as someone put it, this was a million dollar effort using your money to tell you it's spending your money. And it didn't create a single job."Many stimulus projects are simply wasteful, she said."And in the case of ...

Fox Nation claims Missouri Gov. Nixon "links Christians with violence"

Fox Nation asserts: "Another Obama Nominee Links Christians with Violence." The Fox Nation posted a picture of Nixon over the headline "Another Obama Nominee Links Christians with Violence":

Fox Nation linked to WND article headlined: "Obama's new pick: Gov. of state that linked Christians, violence." The Fox Nation post linked to a February 7 WND article that bore the headline: "Obama's new pick: Gov. of state that linked Christians, violence." The WND article asserted:

It was in 2009 when the MIAC [Missouri Information Analysis Center] issued a report that not only linked conservative groups to domestic terrorism and warned law enforcement to watch for vehicles with bumper stickers promoting Paul and Baldwin, it also warned police to watch out for individuals with "radical" ideologies based on Christian views, such as opposing illegal immigration, abortion and federal taxes.

In fact, neither Nixon nor MIAC "linked Christians with violence"

Report actually linked "members of the militia movement" to the ideology of "Christian Identity." The February 2009 MIAC Strategic Report titled "The Modern Militia Movement" did not mention "Christians" at all. Instead, it stated that "members of the militia movement often subscribe" to extremist movements, such as the "Christian Identity" sect:

Militia Trends:

Ideologies

Members of the militia movement often subscribe to the ideology of other right-wing extremist movements such as:

Christian Identity: Religious ideology popular in extreme right-wing circles. Adherents believe that whites of European decent can be traced back to the "Lost Tribes of Israel." Many consider Jews to be the Satanic offspring of Eve and the Serpent, while non-whites are "mud people" created before Adam and Eve.

MIAC language came from ADL, who identified Christian Identity a "racist and anti-Semitic religious sect." The language used to describe Christian Identity adherents in the MIAC report comes directly from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which states that Christian Identity is a "racist and anti-Semitic religious sect." ADL also says of Christian Identity adherents: "Overall level of criminal activity is high, ranging from hate crimes to acts of terrorism." From ADL:

Christian Identity

Origins: Mid-20th Century (origins date to mid-19th Century)
Background: A racist and anti-Semitic religious sect whose adherents believe that white people of European descent are the descendants of the "Lost Tribes" of ancient Israel.
Influential Personalities: Howard Rand, William Cameron, Wesley Swift, Bertrand Comparet, Richard Butler, William Potter Gale, James K. Warner, Sheldon Emry, Dave Barley, Pete Peters
Ideology: Anti-Semitic, racist, anti-government, conspiratorial
Outreach: Churches, pamphlets, tracts, books, shortwave radio, Web sites Estimated Size: 25,000 to 50,000
Criminal activity: Overall level of criminal activity is high, ranging from hate crimes to acts of terrorism

Christian Identity is a religious ideology popular in extreme right-wing circles. Adherents believe that whites of European descent can be traced back to the "Lost Tribes of Israel." Many consider Jews to be the Satanic offspring of Eve and the Serpent, while non-whites are "mud peoples" created before Adam and Eve. Its virulent racist and anti-Semitic beliefs are usually accompanied by extreme anti-government sentiments. Despite its small size, Christian Identity influences virtually all white supremacist and extreme anti-government movements. It has also informed criminal behavior ranging from hate crimes to acts of terrorism.

ADL has linked Christian Identity to multiple terrorist attacks. According to the ADL, "In the 1990s, Identity criminal activity continued apace, including efforts by an Oklahoma Identity minister, Willie Ray Lampley, to commit a series of bombings in the summer of 1995 in the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing by Timothy McVeigh." ADL also states:

In 1998, Eric Rudolph, who had been associated with Identity ministers such as Nord Davis and Dan Gayman, became a fugitive after allegedly bombing gay bars, the Atlanta Summer Olympics, and an abortion clinic. The following year, Buford Furrow, a former Aryan Nations security guard, went on a shooting spree at a Jewish Community Center in Los Angeles, wounding four children and an adult, and later killing a Filipino-American postal worker.

Report reportedly "developed" under GOP governor

Report was reportedly "developed" under previous the previous governor, a Republican. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch article:

It was in 2009 when the MIAC issued a report that not only linked conservative groups to domestic terrorism and warned law enforcement to watch for vehicles with bumper stickers promoting Paul and Baldwin, it also warned police to watch out for individuals with "radical" ideologies based on Christian views, such as opposing illegal immigration, abortion and federal taxes.

Report actually linked militia to "anti abortionist[s] like Olympic Park Bomber. The report actually states:

Members of the militia movement often subscribe to the ideology of other right-wing extremist movements such as:

[...]

Militant Abortion: Ant Abortionists have been known to take up arms in support of their belief. Eric Rudolph who was responsible for the Atlanta Olympic Park Bombing and abortion clinics was an anti abortionist.

Fox Nation previously suggested Obama nominee's criticism of Christian Identity referred to Christians

Fox Nation previously linked to a video of Erroll Southers, then the Obama administration nominee to be chief of the Transportation Security Administration, with the text, "The most threatening homegrown terror groups in the U.S. are 'Christian identity-oriented,' 'anti-government, anti-abortion,' 'survivalist,' 'white supremacist' groups." In fact, Southers was referring to members of the Christian Identity group.

From the February 8 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends:

PERINO: Well, and I -- and the administration continues to tout that during the Bush years, we prosecuted two terrorists, Moussaoui and Reid, like they want to do for Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. And I really want to take a moment just to put that in context. Moussaoui was arrested before 9-11. Reid was arrested six weeks after President Bush first gave the order to do enemy combatant status, and there wasn't a system in place. We're nine years later, and if the only thing they can look back on in the Bush administration to say that was done well was the prosecution of Richard Reid, I would be shocked if that was the case. I'm sure that is not what they believe. And I really think they ought to look at that before they claim that that was the best way to do it. Because I think, arguably, we could have done things better. We just didn't have the system yet. And it was right after 9-11.

Before Reid pleaded guilty, Bush placed hundreds of detainees in military custody

Order Perino referenced stated that military could hold detainees "outside or within the United States." Reid was captured in December 2001. Bush's November 13, 2001, "Military Order" explicitly stated that "Any individual subject to this order shall be ... detained at an appropriate location designated by the Secretary of Defense outside or within the United States." The order defined the term "individual subject to this order" as follows:

The term "individual subject to this order" shall mean any individual who is not a United States citizen with respect to whom I determine from time to time in writing that:

(1)  there is reason to believe that such individual, at the relevant times,

(i) is or was a member of the organization known as al Qaida;

(ii) has engaged in, aided or abetted, or conspired to commit, acts of international terrorism, or acts in preparation therefor, that have caused, threaten to cause, or have as their aim to cause, injury to or adverse effects on the United States, its citizens, national security, foreign policy, or economy; or

(iii) has knowingly harbored one or more individuals described in subparagraphs (i) or (ii) of subsection 2(a)(1) of this order;

and

(2)  it is in the interest of the United States that such individual be subject to this order.

Detainees held by the military as early as November 2001. Soon after the war in Afghanistan began in October 2001, the United States began holding detainees in military custody. For instance, in the 2006 case of Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, the Supreme Court majority opinion stated that in November 2001, the plaintiff in that case, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, "was captured by militia forces and turned over to the U. S. military."

Padilla transferred to military custody before Reid pleaded guilty in civilian court. Reid pleaded guilty on October 4, 2002, and was sentenced on January 30, 2003. Jose Padilla was initially held in the civilian court system after his arrest on a material witness charge and was transferred to military custody on June 9, 2002. (Padilla was later transferred back to civilian custody for trial after he appealed his detention to the Supreme Court for a second time.)

Hamdi held in military custody since early 2002. In addition to Padilla, Yaser Hamdi was held in military custody at Guantanamo Bay beginning in January 2002 and transferred to a military brig in South Carolina in April 2002.

Hundreds of detainees held in military custody at Guantanamo beginning in early 2002. In the 2004 case of Rasul v. Bush, Justice Stevens, writing for the majority, stated: "Petitioners in these cases are 2 Australian citizens and 12 Kuwaiti citizens who were captured abroad during hostilities between the United States and the Taliban. Since early 2002, the U.S. military has held them -- along with, according to the Government's estimate, approximately 640 other non-Americans captured abroad -- at the Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay."

Bush administration bragged about handling of Reid

Ashcroft: Reid case an example of "steady progress because of the combined and cooperative efforts of law enforcement and intelligence." From an August 25 speech by then-Attorney General John Ashcroft:

Around this nation, we can point to quiet, steady progress because of the combined and cooperative efforts of law enforcement and intelligence:

[...]

132 individuals have been convicted or pled guilty, including shoe-bomber Richard Reid, "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh, six members of the Buffalo cell, and two members of the Detroit cell

In an interview with FoxNews.com at the National Tea Party Convention on Feb. 6, 2010, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin reprised a Republican talking point from the 2008 presidential campaign by criticizing President Barack Obama for his lack of executive experience.Asked by FoxNews.com's Judd Berger whether she thought she's "more qualified to be president than President Obama," Palin referred to the debate over "experience" from the 2008 contest between Obama and her running mate, Arizona Sen. John McCain:"The whole qualification issue still perplexes me, because in the campaign we tried to bring attention to the fact ...

From the February 8 edition of Fox News' America's Newsroom:

GREGG JARRETT (co-host): Look, Steve, aren't those elements the kinds of things that Republicans normally embrace? And won't they be hard-pressed to object?

MOORE: Well, this package is certainly a lot better than the first one because it does involve some incentives for small businesses to hire, which I'm obviously very much in favor of. Two-thirds of all the jobs come from small businesses. The problem is, Gregg, at the very same time they're talking about new tax credits for small businesses to hire workers and so on -- by the way, which is something we tried in the 1970s; it didn't work too well -- the big problem here is that a lot of small businesses are looking ahead at what's going to happen next year with the big increases on tax increases when the Bush tax cuts go away. So I would be -- I think President Obama would be much better off just saying, look, we're just going to make sure that the tax rates that are in place right now don't go up because most of the businesses that get hammered by the tax increase next year will be the very same small businesses the president is trying to help in this package.

Obama's tax proposal would only raise taxes on fewer than 1.3 percent of those who claim small business income

Obama's proposal would end Bush tax cuts for individuals making over $200,000, families making over $250,000. The 2011 White House budget proposal states that "the President supports allowing those tax cuts that affect families earning more than $250,000 a year to expire and committing these resources to reducing the deficit instead. This step will have no effect on the 98 percent of all households who make less than $250,000." The budget plan lists several "Upper-Income Tax Provisions" that would roll back the Bush tax cuts for individuals with income greater than $200,000 and families with income greater than $250,000.

Fewer than 1.3 percent of those who claim small business income would be affected by expiration of Bush tax cuts to wealthy taxpayers. Despite Moore's claim that "most of the businesses" would "get hammered by the tax increase next year," according to the Tax Policy Center's table of 2009 tax returns that reported small-business income, 457,000 of those returns -- or 1.3 percent of them -- are in the top two income tax brackets, which include all filers with taxable incomes that would be affected by Obama's proposal to end those Bush tax cuts. 

Moore revives GOP talking point previously parroted by the media

Claim previously advanced during presidential campaign, again in early 2009. As Media Matters for America documented, in July 2008, several media outlets uncritically advanced Sen. John McCain false claim that "[i]f you are one of the 23 million small business owners in America who files as an individual rate payer, Senator Obama is going to raise your tax rates." In February and March 2009, several media figures adopted this false Republican talking point or allowed the falsehood to go unchallenged.

Right-wing media defend "busy mom" Palin's "crib note[s]" by claiming it's "folksy" and "down to earth"

Fox & Friends: Palin was "folksy," "down to earth," and "it's an exact opposite of reading off the teleprompter." On Fox News' Fox & Friends, after co-host Steve Doocy noted that the "left" was criticizing Palin for apparently using crib notes while she took a "shot at the guy who uses a teleprompter," co-host Gretchen Carlson replied, "I think she did it on purpose. Yeah, because I think it's an exact opposite of reading off the teleprompter. Reading off complete script written for you with every word in a sentence, and here she's just taking crib notes on her hand. It makes it look as if she can just talk off the cuff and that she just jotted down a few couple notes before she went off to give a big, long speech." Later, co-host Brian Kilmeade called it "folksy," and "down to earth." From the February 8 edition of Fox & Friends:

CARLSON: I think she did it on purpose.

DOOCY: You do?

CARLSON: I think she did it on purpose. Yeah, because I think it's an exact opposite of reading off the teleprompter. Reading off complete script written for you with every word in a sentence, and here she's just taking crib notes on her hand. It makes it look as if she can just talk off the cuff and that she just jotted down a few couple notes before she went off to give a big, long speech.

KILMEADE: I am jealous.

DOOCY: I think she did -- I think she did it because she probably does it a lot. I do that all the time.

KILMEADE: I personally am jealous, because I used to get in trouble if I wrote on my palms because my mom explained to me the ink would get through my pores and I would die. So I stopped doing that in the fifth grade.

DOOCY: Really?

KILMEADE: Why doesn't she just -- there's nothing wrong with if she had a card. Just jot a card down -- energy, taxes, hope, whatever it is. But -- then no one has a problem. But to sit there and look at -- do the interview and then look down at her hand, I think that is -- it's, like you said, Gretchen, before, folksy, absolutely. Down to earth. I can identify. But if you're going to write it on your hand, why not just say, staffer, can you hand me a card? And then it would have been OK.

CARLSON: Like I say, I think it was on purpose. But anyway, we may never know.

Gateway Pundit's Hoft: It's a "non-issue" for the "TelePrompter-less former Governor." On Gateway Pundit, blogger Jim Hoft wrote: "On Sunday the left went bonkers after they discovered that the TelePrompter-less former Governor Sarah Palin wrote notes on the palm of her left hand for her speech to the National Tea Party Convention in Nashville. The far left absolutely freaked over this non-issue rather than focus on her brilliant speech knocking the Obama Administration's horrid record on economics and national defense." 

NRO's Spruiell writes in defense of Palin: She "speaks from concise notes like everybody else. And, like other busy moms, she sometimes writes notes on her hand." Stephen Spruiell at the National Review Online blog The Corner wrote of the criticism: "On the left, where this opinion of Palin already prevails, anything which reinforces it will be picked up and cheerfully passed around. And, to the extent that anyone not on the left notices this giddy snobbery, it will play to Palin's strengths." He continued, "For example, one might say: 'Unlike the guy who needs a three thousand dollar teleprompter to get out of bed in the morning, Palin speaks from concise notes like everybody else. And, like other busy moms, she sometimes writes notes on her hand.' The comeback is so obvious that, again, I really can't figure out why Palin's detractors are bringing this up at all."

Perino claimed "one-way ticket" should have raised "red flags"

From the February 8 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends:

PERINO: [T]here were all these red flags that weren't raised when the underwear bomber came across, right? He bought all these -- he bought a one-way ticket, he then clammed up. Plus he was connected to Yemen and Nigeria and that should have been a clue. Plus they didn't call the CIA which is what they should have done.

But officials said Abdulmutallab bought a roundtrip ticket to Detroit

NCTC Director: "[T]he fact is not that he bought a one-way ticket; he bought a roundtrip ticket." During a January 20 Senate hearing on the Christmas Day attack, Michael Leiter, director of the National Counterterrorism Center corrected Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) claim that "I think everybody know the facts of the Christmas bomber: a person buys a ticket with cash -- one way ticket." Leiter stated, "I would correct the record on a couple of points. In fact, the fact is not that he bought a one-way ticket; he bought a roundtrip ticket. From the January 20 Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing:

MCCAIN: Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. I thank the witnesses and I thank them for their continued service to the country. I think everybody knows the facts of the Christmas bomber: a person buys a ticket with cash -- one-way ticket; his father has already warned the CIA; the series of missteps have taken place were led to this near tragedy. And I thank the witnesses for their candor in being forthcoming about these failures.

The president said, and I quote, on January 7th, "I repeatedly made it clear in public with the American people and in private with my national security team that I will hold my staff, our agencies and the people in them accountable when they've failed to perform their responsibilities at the highest level."

I'd like to ask all three witnesses: Who's been held accountable? I'll begin with you, Mr. Leiter. Has anybody been fired? Has anybody been transferred? Has anybody received a letter of admonition? Has anybody been put on leave? Go ahead.

LEITER: Senator, we are in fact conducting internal reviews to determine whether or not any of those should be pursued.

MCCAIN: And how long will those reviews take? It's fairly clear, the facts of what happened -- isn't it?

LEITER: Well, actually, I think many of the facts are clear. I would correct the record on a couple of points. In fact, the fact is not that he bought a one-way ticket; he bought a roundtrip ticket.

LA Times: Abdulmutallab "had purchased a round-trip ticket -- not a one- way fare, as has been widely reported," according to Obama administration. The Los Angeles Times reported on January 13, "The alleged Christmas Day airline bomber had purchased a round-trip ticket -- not a one- way fare, as has been widely reported -- the Obama administration told congressional aides in a closed briefing Tuesday." As Justin Elliot of Talking Points Memo noted on January 11, numerous media outlets reported that Abdulmutallab flew to the United States on a one-way ticket and the New York Times issued a correction on December 30.

Pete Williams: Abdulmutallab "bought his ticket for Detroit ... at the KLM office in Accra, paying $2,831 for a round-trip ticket." NBC's Pete Williams reported on January 5:

More is known, now, about what he was doing in the weeks before he came to the U.S. After going to Yemen early in Aug. 2009, he went to Ghana, arriving in the city of Accra on Dec. 9, according to the government there, on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Dubai that went through Addis Ababa. He bought his ticket for Detroit a week later at the KLM office in Accra, paying $2,831 for a round-trip ticket.

On Dec. 24, he flew from Accra to Lagos, on Virgin Nigerian Flight 804, on a one-way ticket. From there, he began the journey to Detroit, connecting through Amsterdam.

Fox & Friends hosts West to criticize Obama administration without noting he's a GOP congressional candidate

Kilmeade introduced West as a congressional candidate in Florida, did not note he is a Republican.Introducing West, Kilmeade said that West is "running for Congress in the 22nd congressional district here in Florida." At no point during the segment did Kilmeade note that West is a Republican congressional candidate. 

West criticized Obama administration's handling of Christmas Day bombing attempt. During the segment, West said, "When I look at what's going on right now with the Nigerian terrorist, it's almost like a Greek tragedy of epic proportion." West further stated that the Obama administration has "established a very dangerous paradigm with this Mirandizing" of terror suspects, "because now they're going to continue to come with more and more attacks, because we're -- they're coming here, and we're giving them lawyers." 

Kilmeade did not note that West reportedly resigned from the Army "after pleading guilty to assaulting an Iraqi detainee during interrogation"

Kilmeade did not note circumstances of West's "forced retirement." Introducing the segment, Kilmeade said of West: "One of the reasons you're such a great guest is because your personal enhanced interrogation tactic got you essentially a forced retirement and saved a lot of lives in Iraq." 

West reportedly resigned "after pleading guilty to assaulting an Iraqi detainee during interrogation."According to a December 13, 2003, CNN.com report, West admitted that he "threatened to kill" an Iraqi detainee in his custody, that he watched as "four of his soldiers from the 220th Field Artillery Battalion beat the detainee on the head and body," and that, according to military prosecutors, he "followed up on that threat" to kill the detainee by shooting a pistol near his head. A December 14, 2003, Boston Globe article further noted that a "disciplinary proceeding found that the actions by ... West were serious enough to 'merit a court-martial.' " From the Globe article:

An American officer has been stripped of his command after pleading guilty to assaulting an Iraqi detainee during interrogation, the military announced yesterday. A disciplinary proceeding found that the actions by Lieutenant Colonel Allen West were serious enough to "merit a court-martial." But the military said in a statement that mitigating circumstances -- specifically, the "stressful environment" of combat -- and West's distinguished service record prompted the Army to instead relieve West of his command, fine him $5,000, and order him back to the United States, where he will be allowed to retire.

"Frustration and anger overcame his professional ethics and personal values, and he performed what he knew to be illegal and immoral acts," said the statement issued by the Army's Fourth Infantry Division.

During a closed-door tribunal Friday in the town of Tikrit, West was found guilty of three counts of aggravated assault and a single count of communicating a threat. The ruling was issued after West pleaded guilty to misconduct.

He is the most senior officer to receive disciplinary action since the start of the war. West served as a battalion commander with the Fourth Infantry Division and was in charge of about 800 soldiers operating in one of the most dangerous regions in Iraq. For the past few months, he has been confined to the division's base in Tikrit.

The military said that during an interrogation of an Iraqi police officer Aug. 20 near the village of Taji, north of Baghdad, West fired his pistol near the head of the prisoner, threatened to kill him, and allowed his troops to beat the man. The detainee, Yahya Jhodri Hamoodi, was suspected of having knowledge of a planned attack on US troops in the Sunni Triangle, the region north and west of Baghdad that has been a hotbed of anti-US resistance. Scores of soldiers have been killed or wounded in bomb, rocket, and small-arms ambushes in the area.

West acknowledged last month before a military tribunal that his actions were wrong, but said that at the time of the incident he believed he was protecting the lives of his troops. "If it's about the lives of my men and their safety, I'd go through hell with a gasoline can," West said during the earlier proceeding.

The disciplinary action against West was ordered by General Raymond Odierno, commander of the Fourth Infantry Division.
The military said that through his actions against the detainee, West "disobeyed laws, ignored orders ... and mortgaged future discipline in his unit. Without discipline, there is no trust, no cohesion, and no higher purpose for which we fight."

But the military also stated, "while his crimes merit a court-martial, mitigating factors were considered, including the stressful environment  ...  and Lieutenant Colonel West's record as an officer and commander."

Wallace airs clip of Palin falsely claiming Obama was "pal[ling] around with terrorists"

From the February 7 transcript of Palin's October 4, 2008, speech in Englewood, Colorado, posted by the Times:

There is a lot of interest, I guess, in what I read and what I've read lately. Well, I was reading my copy of today's New York Times and I was interested to read about Barack's friends from Chicago.

I get to bring this up not to pick a fight, but it was there in the New York Times, so we are gonna talk about it. Turns out one of Barack's earliest supporters is a man who, according to the New York Times, and they are hardly ever wrong, was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that quote launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and US Capitol. Wow. These are the same guys who think patriotism is paying higher taxes.

This is not a man who sees America as you see it and how I see America. We see America as the greatest force for good in this world. If we can be that beacon of light and hope for others who seek freedom and democracy and can live in a country that would allow intolerance in the equal rights that again our military men and women fight for and die for for all of us. Our opponent though, is someone who sees America it seems as being so imperfect that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country?

The Times reported that "the two men do not appear to have been close." "A review of records of the schools project and interviews with a dozen people who know both men, suggest that Mr. Obama, 47, has played down his contacts with Mr. Ayers, 63. But the two men do not appear to have been close. Nor has Mr. Obama ever expressed sympathy for the radical views and actions of Mr. Ayers, whom he has called 'somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago, when I was 8.' " [The New York Times, 10/3/08]

CNN Fact Check: Palin statement "false." In an October 5, 2008, fact check, CNN's Political Ticker blog found Palin's statement "false," writing: "There is no indication that Ayers and Obama are now 'palling around,' or that they have had an ongoing relationship in the past three years. Also, there is nothing to suggest that Ayers is now involved in terrorist activity or that other Obama associates are."

From the February 7 edition of Fox News Sunday:

CHRIS WALLACE (HOST): Would you say you're more knowledgeable about domestic and foreign affairs now than you were two years ago?

PALIN: Well, I would hope so. Yes, I am. Two years ago, my engagement was on the state of Alaska, largest, most diverse state in the union. 20 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of energy coming from our state, desiring to and working towards ramping up that domestic energy production. That was my focus and now of course my focus has been enlarged. So I sure as heck better be more astute on these current events, national issues than I was two years ago.

Fact: In 2005, Alaska produced only 3.5 percent of U.S. domestic energy production

Responding to Palin's September 2008 statement that Alaska "produces nearly 20 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of energy," FactCheck.org wrote:

It's simply untrue that Alaska produces anything close to 20 percent of the U.S. "energy supply," a term that is generally defined as energy consumed. That category includes power produced in the U.S. by nuclear, coal, hydroelectric dams and other means - as well as all the oil imported into the country.

Palin would have been correct to say that Alaska produces just over 14 percent of all the oil produced in the U.S., leaving out imports and leaving out other forms of power. According to the federal government's Energy Information Administration, Alaskan wells produced 263.6 million barrels of oil in 2007, or 14.3 percent of the total U.S. production of 1.8 billion barrels.

But Alaskan production accounts for only 4.8 percent of all the crude oil and petroleum products supplied to the U.S. in 2007, counting both domestic production and imports from other nations. According to EIA, the total supply was just over 5.5 billion barrels in 2007.

Furthermore, Palin said "energy," not "oil," so she was actually much further off the mark. According to EIA, Alaska actually produced 2,417.1 trillion BTUs [British Thermal Units] of energy in 2005, the last year for which full state numbers are available. That's equal to just 3.5 percent of the country's domestic energy production.

And according to EIA analyst Paul Hess, that would calculate to only "2.4 percent of the 100,368.6 trillion BTUs the U.S. consumes."

Palin didn't make clear whether she was talking about Alaska's share of all the energy produced in the U.S. or all the energy consumed here. Either way, she was wrong.

Fact: As of 2007, Alaska's share of U.S. energy production declined to 2.9 percent

According to the Energy Information Administration, the state of Alaska produced 2,052 trillion BTUs of energy in 2007, 2.9 percent of total U.S. production. Further, the EIA calculated that Alaska ranked 11th in the country in total energy production.

CLAIM: Abdulmutallab "lawyered up and invoked our U.S. constitutional right to remain silent"

From Palin's February 7 National Tea Party Convention speech:

PALIN: What followed was equally disturbing after he was captured. He was questioned for only 50 minutes. We have a choice in how to do this. The choice was only question him for 50 minutes and then read his Miranda rights. The administration says then there are no downsides or upsides to treating terrorists like civilian criminal defendants. But a lot of us would beg to differ. For example, there are questions we would have liked this foreign terrorist to answer before he lawyered up and invoked our U.S. constitutional right to remain silent. [CNN Transcripts, 2/6/10]

REALITY: Administration source reportedly says Abdulmutallab currently "cooperating," officials say he provided intelligence after being Mirandized. Responding to Senate Intelligence Committee chairwoman Sen. Diane Feinstein in a February 2 hearing (accessed via the Nexis database), FBI Director Robert Mueller agreed that "Abdulmutallab has provided valuable information" and that "the interrogation continues despite the fact that he has been Mirandized." Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair testified in the same hearing: "There are decisions that have to be made in which you balance the requirement for intelligence with the requirement for a prosecution and the sorts of pressure that you bring onto the people that you arrest in either form. It's got to be a decision made at the time. And I think the balance struck in the Mutallab was a very -- was an understandable balance. We got good intelligence, we're getting more."  

Moreover, a February 2 Reuters article reported "a law enforcement official['s]" comment that "Abdulmutallab is talking and has been talking since last week providing useful, actionable and current intelligence that we've been actively following up on." The New York Times also reported:

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a jetliner bound for Detroit on Dec. 25, started talking to investigators after two of his family members arrived in the United States and helped earn his cooperation, a senior administration official said Tuesday evening.

Mr. Abdulmutallab, 23, began speaking to F.B.I. agents last week in Detroit and has not stopped, two government officials said. The officials declined to disclose what information was obtained from him, but said it was aiding in the investigation of the attempted terrorist attack.

"With the family, the F.B.I. approached the suspect," the senior administration official said, speaking to reporters at the White House on the condition of anonymity because of the pending legal case. "He has been cooperating for days." [New York Times, 2/2/10]

CLAIM: Abdulmutallab not interrogated about training and future plots

From Palin's February 7 National Tea Party Convention speech:

PALIN: There are questions that we would have liked answered before he lawyered up, like where exactly were you trained and by whom. You are bragging about all these other terrorists just like you, who are they? When and where will they try to strike next? [CNN Transcripts, 2/6/10]

REALITY: Interrogators reportedly sought and received such information from Abdulmutallab. Appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 20, FBI Director Robert Mueller testified that interrogators interviewed Abdulmutallab "to gain intelligence, intelligence about whether there's another bomb, whether other coconspirators, where'd he get the bomb" (accessed via Nexis). Also, Newsweek's Michael Isikoff reported on his blog:

While at the hospital, he was interrogated for "about an hour" by veteran FBI agents with the bureau's Joint Terrorist Task Force in Detroit. During that hour, one official said, the agents learned a wealth of information from Abdulmutallab about his connections to Al Qaeda; who he met with in Yemen; where he got the bomb that was sewn into his underwear; and "who trained him in Yemen." Added another official: "We got a lot of leads."

The Associated Press similarly reported: "Shortly after 3:30 p.m., FBI agents began interviewing the suspect in his hospital room, joined by a CBP officer and an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. The suspect spoke openly, said one official, talking in detail about what he'd done and the planning that went into the attack. Other counterterrorism officials speaking on condition of anonymity said it was during this questioning that he admitted he had been trained and instructed in the plot by al-Qaida operatives in Yemen."

CLAIM: Obama administration uses "words like 'overseas contingency operation' instead of the word 'war' "

From Palin's February 7 National Tea Party Convention speech:

PALIN: Let me say, too, it's not politicizing our security to discuss our concerns because Americans deserve to know the truth about the threats that we face and what the administration is or isn't doing about them. So let's talk about them. New terms used like "overseas contingency operation" instead of the word "war." That reflects a world view that is out of touch with the enemy that we face. We can't spin our way out of this threat. It is one thing to call a pay raise a job created or saved. It is quite another to call the devastation that a homicide bomber can inflict a "manmade disaster." I just say, come on, Washington, if no where else, national security, that is one place where you've got to call it like it is. [CNN Transcripts, 2/6/10]

REALITY: Obama has repeatedly used the word "war." President Obama used the word "war" at least seven times during his January 27 State of the Union speech. Moreover, following Obama's January 7 remarks on the attempted Christmas Day bombing of a Northwest Airlines flight -- remarks during which Obama stated, "We are at war. We are at war with al Qaeda" -- numerous conservative media figures falsely suggested that prior to that speech, Obama had not characterized the fight against terrorists as a war. In fact, in his inaugural address, Obama stated that "[o]ur nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred," and he has repeatedly discussed terrorism as the rationale for U.S. military action abroad.

CLAIM: "Our president spent a year reaching out to hostile regimes, writing personal letters to dangerous dictators"

From Palin's February 7 National Tea Party Convention speech:

PALIN: It's that same kind of misguided thinking that is seen throughout the administration's foreign policy decisions. Our president spent a year reaching out to hostile regimes, writing personal letters to dangerous dictators and apologizing for America, and what do we have to show for that? Here's what we have to show. North Korea tested nuclear weapons and longer-range ballistic missiles. [CNN Transcripts, 2/6/10]

REALITY: Bush, Clinton also wrote personal appeals to North Korean leader. A December 6, 2007, Associated Press article reported, "President Bush's personal letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, raising the possibility of normalized relations if he fully discloses his nuclear programs by year's end, is a turnabout for a president who has labeled the communist regime part of an 'axis of evil.' " AP further reported that the letter "reflected how U.S. policy toward the nation has shifted from the days when Bush shunned the dictator." Also, a May 27, 1999, Associated Press article reported, "North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Il, received a letter on Wednesday from President Clinton brought by a special envoy to the isolated Communist country, the official North Korean news agency reported. The envoy, William Perry, delivered the letter through Kim Yong Nam, head of North Korea's legislative Supreme People's Assembly, according to the Korean Central News Agency, which was monitored in Seoul."

In a video posted on YouTube on February 3, House Representative Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts) explains how the right wing media machine creates and spreads disinformation in an effort to smear the left. "Disinformation" should not be confused with "misinformation," the unintentional form of wrong information. Disinformation is produced by people who intend to mislead their audience.

Step 1: Fabricate the Lie

Frank tells how John Fund, an editorial writer for the Wall Street Journal, told a lie about him in November of last year: In a speech at a conservative function in Florida called "Restoration Weekend," Fund claimed that, after losing the special election in Massachusetts, Democrats Chuck Schumer and Barney Frank were going to propose a bill to create universal voter registration. Fund further stated that Democrats were going to add all welfare recipients and unemployed people to the voter rolls, and he called it "felon re-enfranchisement."

In reality, Frank explains, there was no such bill.

read more

President Barack Obama has proposed a boost for small businesses, but Sen. Judd Gregg isn't hot on the idea.In a hearing about the administration's latest budget, Gregg, a New Hampshire Republican, criticized the White House for proposing to use funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, an initiative originally intended to keep the banking system from collapsing, to help community banks lend to small businesses. Gregg said it violates TARP rules."The whole concept of the TARP was that as we recoup the money ... and as we recoup that money, we would use it to pay ...

Twice recently, President Barack Obama has slammed congressional Republicans for voting against his economic stimulus bill in February 2009 but later touting provisions of the bill that benefited their own constituents. During his Jan. 29, 2010, question-and-answer session with House Republican lawmakers in Baltimore, Obama brought up the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, as the stimulus is officially known: "There was an interesting headline in CNN today: 'Americans disapprove of stimulus, but like every policy in it.' And there was a poll that showed that if you broke it down into its component parts, 80 percent approved of the tax ...

Joining the chorus of critics of Washington's handling of the economy, Rep. Ron Paul used a Jan. 26, 2010, column on his Web site to criticize the Federal Reserve:"We have been on a disastrous course for a long time. The money supply has doubled in the last year, our debt is unsustainable, the value of the dollar is going to continue its drop, and those Americans who understand where we are headed feel helpless and held hostage by foolish policymakers in Washington," wrote Paul, a Texas Republican who ran for president in 2008.We were ...

Like Bill Murray in the classic film Groundhog Day, we are being forced to live this day over again.

read more

In remarks after unveiling his proposed 2011 budget on Feb. 1, President Barack Obama spoke of the need to rein in spending by cutting "what doesn't work to pay for what does." Obama boasted that the administration has gone through every department's spending "line by line" looking for "inefficiency, duplication and programs that have outlived their usefulness." Last year, he said, the administration found $17 billion in cuts; and "this year, we've already found $20 billion."And then Obama threw out a few "commonsense" examples:"We cut $115 million from a program that pays states to clean up ...

The military's controversial "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy is back in the spotlight after President Barack Obama pledged to repeal it in his State of the Union speech.On the campaign trail, Obama frequently attacked the policy, which prohibits gays and lesbians from openly serving in the military. His opponent Sen. John McCain signaled he was open to changing the policy, but made it conditional to what military leaders wanted. Here's what he had to say about the issue back in 2006:"I listen to people like Gen. Colin Powell, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs ...

The recent Massachusetts Senate election captivated Americans far beyond the Bay State. In that contest, Republican Scott Brown picked up a seat formerly held by the late Democratic giant Edward Kennedy. Brown's upset victory was aided by a wave of frustration over how Congress and President Barack Obama have been handling health care reform legislation.During the campaign, Brown said that if he was elected, he would become the 41st Republican senator, enabling the GOP to block the Democratic majority from reaching the 60-vote threshold required to pass key legislation, including a health care bill. The Senate has already ...

The political race between two doctors duking it out for the elective office of Parish Coroner in New Orleans has resulted in arguably the weirdest political campaign ad in history. The incumbent is Dr. Frank Minyard, who is running for a tenth term after serving 36 years in the office, and the challenger is Dr. Dwight McKenna, a convicted tax evader who spent nine months in federal prison for underreporting his income by $367,000 in 1992. Dr. McKenna has launched a campaign ad against Dr. Minyard that highlights a mini-scandal that occurred in the 1990s, after Minyard was sued for allegedly removing pieces of bone and corneas from bodies and sending them to transplant centers without permission. The ad portrays Dr. Minyard as a mad, Frankenstein-style doctor in surgeon's garb, complete with a bloody hand-print on the back of his white coat. He and his assistant, Igor, hover ghoulishly over a dead body that bears a toe tag that says "DOA" on one side and "For Sale" on the other. Dr. Minyard carelessly waves around what looks like a rubbery calf's liver, and tells Igor that they need to retrieve a heart, a spleen and a liver "for tonight's sale." Igor sneers, "Ye-s-s-s, Dr. Minyard," and a deep voice-over intones, "Say NO to Dr. Minyard, and YES to Dr. McKenna."

Only 12 days after his upset victory in Massachusetts, Republican Sen.-elect Scott Brown made his debut on the Sunday morning talk circuit.He talked about health care, the war in Afghanistan and deficit reduction in an interview with Barbara Walters on the Jan. 31, 2010 episode of This Week. Brown encouraged President Barack Obama to put a freeze on federal position hires and raises because, "as you know, federal employees are making twice as much as their private counterparts."Federal jobs don't exactly have a reputation for bringing in big bucks, so we were curious about ...

On his Fox News program on Jan. 29, 2010, Glenn Beck was providing a history lesson on progressives in U.S. politics when he made the point that the difference between progressives and the Founding Fathers is that the founders thought the United States "should be Switzerland. We should stay out of everybody's business, be friends with everybody.""I mean, if you're going to mess with us, we're going to pound you," Beck said. "Thomas Jefferson created the Marines for the Islamic pirates that were happening, right?" One of the panelists on the show agreed with him, and Beck continued: ...

read more