A Fox News reporter provided a vivid eyewitness account late Wednesday of an attack on a reporter by Montana Republican congressional candidate Greg Gianforte that led to him being cited for assault by the county sheriff and to lose his endorsements from two Montana newspapers ahead of the special election set for Thursday.
Both papers, the Missoulian and the Billings Gazette, issued scathing denunciations of Gianforte.
The alleged assault took place at Gianforte’s headquarters in Bozeman, where Fox’s Alicia Acuna and her crew were preparing a story to air on “Special Report with Bret Baier.”
As the crew was setting up, Gianforte was approached by the Guardian’s Ben Jacobs, who put a voice recorder “to Gianforte’s face and began asking if he had a response to the newly released Congressional Budget Office report on the American Health Care Act,” the Republican replacement for the Affordable Care Act, she wrote.
“Gianforte,” Acuna wrote, “told him he would get back to him later. Jacobs persisted with his question. Gianforte told him to talk to his press guy, Shane Scanlon.
“At that point,” she wrote, “Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him.”
Acuna and her crew “watched in disbelief as Gianforte then began punching the reporter. As Gianforte moved on top of Jacobs, he began yelling something to the effect of, ‘I’m sick and tired of this!’”
Gretchen Carlson awarded $20 million
Two months after former Fox & Friends co-host Gretchen Carlson accused Fox News’ then-Chairman Roger Ailes of sexual harassment, the network has agreed to pay Carlson $20 million and make a “highly unusual public apology,” NPR’s David Folkenflik reports.
News of the settlement was first reported Tuesday morning by Vanity Fair; a source with knowledge of the settlement then confirmed the deal to David, and the company later issued a statement about it.
“We sincerely regret and apologize for the fact that Gretchen was not treated with the respect and dignity that she and all of our colleagues deserve,” 21st Century Fox says in part of that statement.
In another development at Fox News, longtime anchor Greta Van Susteren is leaving the network. The departure is immediate — she will not host tonight’s edition of her 7 p.m. ET show. As David notes, Van Susteren “had initially dismissed” the seriousness of Carlson’s allegations.
As for Carlson, she tweeted this morning, “I’m ready to move on to the next chapter in my life.”
I would be moving on in style with 20 million bucks!
So does this mean that the T & A show on Faux News will be over or will things go back to business as usual?
Faux News: sex-fueled, Playboy Mansion-like cult?
NEW YORK—Fox News responded to sexual harassment charges levied against the network by former Fox News host Andrea Tantaros Monday by arguing in a court filing that the broadcaster is “not a victim” but rather “an opportunist.”
Tantaros last week filed her lawsuit against the network, former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes and other Fox executives.
The charges came in the wake of an earlier suit filed in July by former Fox News broadcaster Gretchen Carlson, who alleged that the 76-year old Ailes decided not to renew her contract after she refused to have sex with him. Carlson also claimed that Ailes ignored her reports of “disparaging treatment in the newsroom.”
Ailes who has denied the charges, stepped down July 22 and left the conservative-leaning network with a $40 million severance package.
In her own suit, Tantaros said that “Fox News masquerades as defender of traditional family values, but behind the scenes, it operates like a sex-fueled, Playboy Mansion-like cult, steeped in intimidation, indecency, and misogyny.”
So let’s talk about Roger Ailes, now the dust has settled
I postponed this story as it was unraveling. It’s just wrong to show too much glee over someone getting their come-uppins. I always wondered about Gretchen. She’s a smart woman, Stanford grad and no one’s fool. So why did she perform like such a bimbo. Money? Perhaps. I never saw her solo show, just Fox and Friends in the morning. She absolutely was a bimbo.
Now other women have stepped forward, her case is even more validated. What will Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity have to say about all this? Will they stand by her or will they say she is flattering herself or that she “asked for it?”
O’Reilly himself has been accused of sexual harassment. He was sued. Very little is known about the outcome.
So where will Faux News go? Will it continue to be the bastion of ignorance that it always has been? Will it continue to attempt to bring down anyone moderate or liberal? Probably. Perhaps it would do a service and start presenting real conservative ideas rather than mind-sucking its listeners, including many seniors. Maybe it will stop becoming the tool of the GOP.
What do you think?
Jon Stewart does a Trump take-down
He’s back….at least temporarily!!!!
God, I have missed that man. I needed a Jon Stewart laugh, especially after that convention.
Speaking of which, I think Hillary should recruit Ivanka for her introduction. Ivanka is the most closeted Democrat I have ever hear….or rather not-so-closeted.
What will become of Faux News without Roger Ailes? Hats off to Gretchen Carlson for delivering the death-blow. Now I know why a smart woman, Valedictorian of her class, Stanford graduate, acted like such a bimbo.
Perhaps the biggest take-away from the skit:
“I saw a lot of people on the convention floor with their ‘Blue Lives Matter’ rhetoric who either remained silent or actively fought against the 9/11 first responders’ bill reauthorization,” he continued. “So I see you, and I see your bullshit,” (triggering CBS’s censors.)
Tell me again why we call it “Faux News”…
Wayne Simmons claimed to be something of an American James Bond, and if you watched TV or ran his name through Google, you’d have no reason to doubt him. In his public speaking engagements and frequent appearances on Fox News, the purported former CIA operative spoke authoritatively about terrorism and clandestine intelligence operations, which he claimed he helped run for nearly three decades.
Demonizing the Poor
I think the Foxies are confused. I believe the goal, in this case, is to feed hungry children. No one in America should be hungry.
It seems like too much talk and too much legislation is aimed at decreasing the number of people on food stamps not because America is more prosperous but because some people see think the poor are getting something for nothing. There is a general tendency, especially among the Faux News types, to stereotype those who receive food stamps as being lazy. Sure, some people are lazy. That adjective really doesn’t fit the majority of people who receive assistance.
Maybe it makes the accusers feel better to belittle those on assistance. I feel badly for those who don’t have enough to eat. There are all sorts of reasons why people don’t have enough food. Probably the most ubiquitous reason is that there is unemployment in the home. Others might have physical or emotional issues that make it impossible for them to work. Still others are in school, have huge child care bills, or are just down on their luck.
Perhaps its time to take some pride in America and rewrite the food stamp script. How about deciding, as a nation, that we have no hungry people? Hungry people don’t work well and they don’t learn well. Cutting off food stamps is simply mean and vindictive in most cases.
Good for President Obama for calling out Faux News. Faux News just has to have someone to hate.
Greta calls out men on “The Five” for sexist remarks
Greta Van Susteren was about as shocked as most viewers on Wednesday night after Fox News’ “The Five” co-hosts made incredibly sexist comments about the female F-16 squadron commander who led the operation against ISIS this week.
Maj. Mariam Al Mansouri, reportedly the first female pilot in the United Arab Emirates Air Force, headed the U.S.-Arab airstrikes on the Islamic State group.
But rather than praise Al Mansouri’s efforts, all Fox News’ Greg Gutfeld and Eric Bolling could do was crack sexist jokes.
“After she bombed it, she couldn’t park it,” Gutfeld said.
“Would that be considered boobs on the ground or no?” said Bolling.
Van Susteren, however, wasn’t laughing.
“Ouch!” the Fox News host said Wednesday night. “Oh, man, do you think the gents on ‘The Five’ — minus Bob — should get a do-over on that one?”
What on earth is the matter with these people? They need to be sent for sensitivity training and then put on 3 weeks of unpaid leave. Most people would be fired for some of the remarks.
Good for Greta for calling them out, especially since they are colleagues.
Gregg Jarrett: Ah how the mighty have fallen…..
Faux News anchor Gregg Jarrett has gotten himself in a little trouble in the fair city of Minneapolis. It seems that there was a little alleged bar misbehavior, according the Washington Post:
Fox News anchor Gregg Jarrett was arrested at a bar in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport for refusing to cooperate with airport police who were called about an intoxicated man at the grill, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Metropolitan Airports Commission spokesman Patrick Hogan told the newspaper that Jarrett was taken into custody about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Northern Lights Grill. Police said he seemed intoxicated, acted belligerent and refused to follow orders.
Jarrett, 59, was booked into Hennepin County Jail on a preliminary charge of obstructing the legal process by interfering with a peace officer, the Associated Press reported. His bond was set at $300.
According to Jarrett’s charge details, the reason for arrest was a tab charge. He posted bond and was released from custody early Thursday. His court date is June 6.
Faux News: Liar Liar Pants on FIRE!!
UFB! So it’s free to keep all the land open? Maybe the Faux and Friends would like to volunteer to fund the electric bills, the trash pick up, as well as grounds upkeep, toilet paper and soap, and house keeping bills? I guess in Fauxland, these things are all free.
The free lie wasn’t the biggest lie, however. The mother of all lies was told by Anna Kooiman last Saturday about the President. She repeated a satire saying the President Obama was paying for a Muslim center to remain open with his own money. How absurd! Liar Liar Pants on fire. The story was told in a satirical online website, National Report. Just one quick glance at the site tells you that it is satirical. It was like falling for something you read in The Onion.
Kooiman later retracted her statement in a twitter the next day and Faux News will retract the remarks this Saturday, October 12, after every dim-wit in America has heard it and repeated it. How irresponsible.
Lies and gossip are like feathers from a split pillow. You can never stuff them all back in. That’s the reason to be as accurate as possible and when you aren’t, quickly take corrective measures. We all make mistakes. Anna Kooiman shouldn’t have been so quick to repeat a rather unbelievable story without checking her sources.
Leave it to Fox News….
Leave it to Fox News to challenge an author’s right to write about a subject. Since when does one have to pass a religion test to be allowed to do scholastic work on a particular religion? To follow this logic would suggest that no Christian could author any commentary about King David or Abraham.
The anchor, Lauren Green, obviously had not read the book. She was rude. She challenged Reza Aslan’s credentials without any reason. She is the one who clearly had a bias.
Zealot: The life and times of Jesus of Nazareth sounds like an interesting read. I am not sure why the host considers spirited debate the correct way to interview guests. What’s wrong with this format? Why would anyone without an agenda even consider going on Faux News? Faux News certainly did a great deal to promote Reza Aslan’s book, albeit unintentional.
It now appears that most of the Fox News hosts consider rudeness and talking over people the order of the day and standard procedure for their broadcast standards.
Megyn Kelly Upbraids Rachel Maddow
Oh Megyn, give me a break. Rachel Maddow called it as she saw it, trying to explain why Justice Scalia would make such an offensive remark. It was Maddow’s right to call him a troll, as it was his right to have made offensive remarks.
Megan can be all offended if she wants. Her last line did bother me though. She said that the justices vote their consciences? Shouldn’t they be voting according to their understanding of the law? I know they are only human but surely interpreting according to the constitution has to be the goal.
Dick Morris: Fired for always being wrong?
Lawrence O’Donnell recounts Dick Morris’s finest moments as he swears that Dick Morris was fired by Fox News for never being right.
Dick Morris will appear on the Piers Morgan hour to explain why his contract with by Fox News was not renewed.
“His contract is up and we will not be renewing it, ” a Fox spokesperson
said.
According to newsmax.com:
The network did announce that former Bush White House adviser Karl Rove had been
renewed as a contributor. The network also signed on former Democratic
Congressman Dennis Kucinich as a contributor.
Bad News that just makes you smile
Fox News had its worst ratings since 2001 in January, according to the latest figures.
The network had a 12-year low in the coveted 25-54 demographic in primetime and fell to its lowest total day ratings since 2008, a press release from rival cable channel MSNBC stated on Tuesday.
And January marked the worst month ever for Fox’s “On the Record with Greta Van Susteren” among the 25-54 demo, as well as the channel’s lowest total viewership in the 10 p.m. hour since July 2008.
At MSNBC, the cable network saw its ratings go up 11 percent in the 25-54 demo compared to January 2012. And “The Rachel Maddow Show” topped CNN’s “Piers Morgan Tonight” this month, and also ranked number one among the 18-34 demo.
Fox News, meanwhile, had nine of the 10 top programs in January — Maddow’s show was the only non-Fox News program to enter the top 10, in the last slot, as the Huffington Post pointed out.
Palin and Fox News part company, $ listed as the cause
It appears that Sarah Palin’s rising star is crashing to earth. According to Thedailybeast.com:
Fox News offered Sarah Palin a new contract before she decided to part ways with the network where she has held forth as a commentator for the last three years.
However, it would be hard to describe it as a generous contract.
Palin was a hot property when Roger Ailes landed her in 2009, fresh off her colorful run for vice president, and paid her an annual salary of $1 million. Fox even built Palin a studio at her Wasilla home.
But relations cooled between the two sides, and Palin was appearing on Fox less often—complaining on Facebook one night during the Republican convention that the network had canceled her appearances.
