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You are here: Home / Politics / Media / How Dumb Is Fox News?

How Dumb Is Fox News?

by John Cole|  August 25, 20057:14 pm| 77 Comments

This post is in: Media, General Stupidity, Outrage

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The good news is I may not be getting dumber. The bad news is Fox News may be getting dumber. Apparently they allowed a terrorist’s address (including satellite photos and directions) to be announced to their viewers.

Small hitch. He moved.

THREE YEARS AGO.

Gary Farber has the gory details.

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Reader Interactions

77Comments

  1. 1.

    demimondian

    August 25, 2005 at 7:27 pm

    But you know that it isn’t Fox’s fault they published that information. They got it from…Google. Yeah, that’s right. It’s all Google’s Fault.

    Damn librul, no-do-evilers. Don’t even have the guts to be do-gooders.

  2. 2.

    Gary Farber

    August 25, 2005 at 7:30 pm

    “He moved….”

    It’s worth emphasizing, I think, that he moved three years ago and this happened last week. No correction made on air by Fox, either.

    Good thing they’re not part of the unreliable MSM, though.

    Thanks for the link, John.

  3. 3.

    jcricket

    August 25, 2005 at 7:35 pm

    Yes, and as Kevin Drum said earlier, if you have information about a terrorist’s location, CALL THE POLICE. You don’t air it on national TV and hope the police get there before the local thugs.

    Unless you’re John “5 to the head makes ’em real dead” Gibson

  4. 4.

    Mark-NC

    August 25, 2005 at 7:54 pm

    I was wondering why Fox didn’t go all the way and invite viewers to just go over and burn the house down – terrorists and all.

  5. 5.

    capelza

    August 25, 2005 at 7:55 pm

    Now if there ever was a reason to sue a business (like say, Fox and anyone else involved, this would be it.

    Fox should air a retraction loud and clear before some yahoo goes all Rambo on the family that currently and innocently resides there now…

  6. 6.

    Mike S

    August 25, 2005 at 7:59 pm

    FOX News. “We Report, You commit homicide.”

  7. 7.

    Blue Neponset

    August 25, 2005 at 7:59 pm

    This is from the website of the moron who gave out the address:

    As a former Justice Department prosecutor, John Loftus once held some of the highest security clearances in the world, with special access to NATO Cosmic, CIA codeword, and Top Secret Nuclear files.

    I guess you need double secret ‘ain’t I wicked cool’ access to peruse the phonebook.

  8. 8.

    Brad R.

    August 25, 2005 at 8:16 pm

    Apparently they allowed a terrorist’s address (including satellite photos and directions) to be announced to their viewers.

    Here’s what I don’t understand- if you had evidence that a terrorist lived at that address, WHY wouldn’t you tell the FBI or police before announcing it to the whole goddamn world?

  9. 9.

    Mark-NC

    August 25, 2005 at 8:37 pm

    Brad R:

    Because they are inciting public action.

    Can’t get that from quitely telling the FBI!

  10. 10.

    demimondian

    August 25, 2005 at 8:59 pm

    [I]f you had evidence that a terrorist lived at that address, WHY wouldn’t you tell the FBI or police before announcing it to the whole goddamn world?

    Because it’s good publicity, of course, and because the editors didn’t think through the consequences of falsely announcing the man’s residence.

    And, you know what? If the report said “Mr. Halil’s last confirmed address was [blah].” then I’m not sure that the Voricks (the new residents of the house) have a case. The statement, as made, might be true, so it isn’t slanderous, libellous, or defamatory. The Voricks’ attorney would have to work some kind of miracle to convince the judge to accept the interpretation that a reasonable man would conclude that Halil’s current address was the one listed before the statement would be actionable.

    Sometimes, the law just sucks.

  11. 11.

    morinao

    August 25, 2005 at 9:20 pm

    The Voricks’ attorney would have to work some kind of miracle to convince the judge to accept the interpretation that a reasonable man would conclude that Halil’s current address was the one listed before the statement would be actionable.

    The ongoing drive-by harassment and vandalism indicate that a number of people have indeed concluded that Halil’s current address was the one listed. So the attorney only has to convince the judge that a reasonable man should have predicted that people would believe the news report and be incited to act.

  12. 12.

    Gary Farber

    August 25, 2005 at 10:57 pm

    Ah, I see you decided to lend some gentle emphasis to the “3 years” part.

    :-)

  13. 13.

    Mr.Ortiz

    August 26, 2005 at 12:01 am

    One question: Where can I donate to this family’s legal fund?

  14. 14.

    Mark

    August 26, 2005 at 12:37 am

    Maybe I missed something, but is there any evidence that this guy is actually a terrorist, or is that just something out of John Loftus’ immagination? I read the LA Times story about this whole incident, and it sounds like the authorities aren’t too concerned about this Halil guy. It sounds like he’s an innocent victim too.

  15. 15.

    carpeicthus

    August 26, 2005 at 1:14 am

    Holy fuck. That’s the most horrid thing Fox has done all hour.

  16. 16.

    rafael

    August 26, 2005 at 1:59 am

    I think now the biggest group of people beating down their doors will be lawyers. And god, I hope they take a lot of money out of Fox’s pockets. Oh, someone should be fired too.

  17. 17.

    linda

    August 26, 2005 at 2:03 am

    for more fox hilarity, check out the video at crooksandliars. the falafelman comes close to popping a vein screaming at the publisher Joe McQuaid of the NH Union Leader.

    http://www.crooksandliars.com/

  18. 18.

    Far North

    August 26, 2005 at 4:02 am

    Can’t wait for Stormy and Darrel to spin this one.

  19. 19.

    Veeshir

    August 26, 2005 at 8:29 am

    The bad news is Fox News may be getting dumber.
    You say as if you are surprised. That’s pretty funny.
    Now I watch Foxnews more than any other news network, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think they’re nitwits just because they don’t believe I’m evil like all conservatives.
    They are still drawing from the same talent pool as the rest of the clueless media.
    I have an extremely low opinion of all journalists. Especially the on-air types who usually just read copy, and many don’t do that well.

  20. 20.

    Defense Guy

    August 26, 2005 at 9:00 am

    They are still drawing from the same talent pool as the rest of the clueless media.
    I have an extremely low opinion of all journalists. Especially the on-air types who usually just read copy, and many don’t do that well.

    Amen. I don’t think very many are earning their positions of trust and respect these days. With that said, FOX deserves a black eye for the potential harm done to the people living there. The right thing to so is ensure the news goes out of their screw up so some drunk jerk doesn’t end up on the front door of some random person.

    Hey FOX, get better fact checkers or interns or whatever you would normaly use to ensure the validity of the “truth” you are putting out there for us. Thanks so much.

  21. 21.

    DougJ

    August 26, 2005 at 9:45 am

    The other networks make mistakes all the time, but it never gets this kind of attention. But Fox makes one mistake and they’re the devil. Look, the guy had his heart in the right place, he was probably frustrated with lack of FBI action on what he viewed as important case, who knows, maybe he felt that the Gorelick wall between the intelligence services was preventing action, and he decided it was time to do something. He happened to have incorrect info and the family deserves an apology of course. But the war on terror will inconvenience people sometimes. It’s sad, but it’s a fact of life. Freedom is messy.

  22. 22.

    Defense Guy

    August 26, 2005 at 9:55 am

    DougJ

    This has nothing to do with Freedom or the fight to ensure it, both areas in which we are in general agreement. This is just laziness for which no party affiliation or bias is necessary, and the potential harm of this one is not hard to calculate. I would just as quickly slam any other news organization or individual for what is close to yelling fire when there is none. It is unnecessarily stupid from a group that should know better.

    Someone commented on the O’Reilly interview, which I watched. I like what he is trying to do on the child abuse/molestation, but shame isn’t the only tool to getting what you want. Bill should expand his arsenal and suck up the pride, because the issue is very worthwhile.

  23. 23.

    TallDave

    August 26, 2005 at 9:57 am

    That poor guy. They really need to issue a correction.

  24. 24.

    danelectro

    August 26, 2005 at 9:59 am

    he didn’t even know the guy hadn’t live there in three years, so how would he know what the fbi was doing about it? further since the the we don’t require charges or due process how does he know there was a lack of action at all?

    in addition to endangering a unlucky family, he might have blown the investigation entirely.

  25. 25.

    DougJ

    August 26, 2005 at 10:01 am

    Okay, okay, I’m wrong I guess. You’re right, DG, about O’Reilly. He’s an arrogant jerk sometimes, and it isn’t always clear he has the best interests of the nation at heart (though I do like his show for the most part).

  26. 26.

    Mr Furious

    August 26, 2005 at 10:06 am

    Even if the terrorist did still live there, why the fuck would he announce the address? Doesn’t Mr. Former DOJ Bad-Ass realize he might be jeopardizing an ongoing investigation? At the very least he (and FOX) are inciting a lynch mob.

    Everybody who touched that segment deserved to be canned.

    Oh, and make sure they give out DougJ’s address as part of correction that FOX should be running on the crawl at the bottom of the screen…

  27. 27.

    Defense Guy

    August 26, 2005 at 10:13 am

    Oh, and make sure they give out DougJ’s address as part of correction that FOX should be running on the crawl at the bottom of the screen…

    I’d at least give DougJ good odds on being armed and ready to defend himself should this have happened to him. I hope this same is true of the people living there now, for emergency purposes.

  28. 28.

    DougJ

    August 26, 2005 at 10:22 am

    I’d at least give DougJ good odds on being armed and ready to defend himself should this have happened to him.

    You got that right. I have to admit, though, that I’d feel pretty bad if ended up shooting someone who came by thinking I was terrorist. When I think about the possible end results of what happened here, it’s really pretty bad. There should be severe consequences for the people who made the decision to air this.

  29. 29.

    DougJ

    August 26, 2005 at 10:23 am

    Everybody who touched that segment deserved to be canned.

    I’m coming around to agreeing with this somewhat.

  30. 30.

    Jim Caputo

    August 26, 2005 at 10:48 am

    But the war on terror will inconvenience people sometimes.

    This wasn’t part of the “war on terror.” There’s been no request by the government that news media publish the addresses of suspected terrorists. This was an action that Faux News did entirely on its own with no government involvement. I hope that family sues their Faux balls off.

  31. 31.

    Geek, Esq.

    August 26, 2005 at 10:51 am

    Man, there must be about a thousand lawyers begging to represent these people.

  32. 32.

    Jim Caputo

    August 26, 2005 at 10:53 am

    I have to admit, though, that I’d feel pretty bad if ended up shooting someone who came by thinking I was terrorist.

    Let me be the first to say I’ll forgive you if you start shooting up people who take their cues from Faux News. And if you can wing a few Freepers in the process, I’ll tip my hat to ya.

  33. 33.

    Jim Caputo

    August 26, 2005 at 10:55 am

    I just noticed no one answered Cole’s question…

    How Dumb Is Fox News?

    Very. All the time.

  34. 34.

    DougJ

    August 26, 2005 at 11:10 am

    What does get me a little bit — and as I said earlier, what Fox did was wrong — is that people are acting like nothing has ever happened like this on a regular network. This sort of thing — maybe not exactly this, but things like it — happen all the time on NBC, CBS, etc. Can you say forged memos? If you think of the White House as president Bush’s house, the forged memos made a lot of people come by his house and bother him. So not all that different in a way, huh?

  35. 35.

    James C.

    August 26, 2005 at 11:15 am

    It’s good to see that all my old buddies from atrios and Daily Kos are now regular posters here. Good job, folks.

  36. 36.

    Mr Furious

    August 26, 2005 at 11:22 am

    FOX acted unconscionably by revealing that info even if it were accurate. As a former DOJ official who once held a variety of high-level security clearances, Loftus should have realized that revealing that info could have jeaopardized an ongoing investigation. And both he and FOX certainly should have realized at the very least they were jeopardizing the safety of that individual. The fact they were flat-out fucking WRONG and have endangered this family is fucking outrageous.

    Go read the LA Times article, it only gets worse…

    The Voricks said they had made several unsuccessful attempts to contact Fox News and Loftus by telephone and e-mail. They want a public apology and correction.

    Both have issued apologies — Fox in a one-line statement to the Los Angeles Times and Loftus in an e-mail to the family — after being contacted by the newspaper. The Voricks say they have yet to see or hear a correction.

    “John Loftus has been reprimanded for his careless error, and we sincerely apologize to the family,” said Fox spokeswoman Irena Brigante.

    Loftus also apologized and told The Times last week that “mistakes happen.”

    “I’m terribly sorry about that. I had no idea. That was the best information we had at the time,” he said.

    Loftus said he gave out the address to help local police, and insisted that Hilal, a Garden Grove grocery store owner, was a terrorist.

    “I thought it might help police in that area now that we have positively identified a terrorist living in [Orange County],” he said.

    Cathy Viray, an FBI spokeswoman in Los Angeles, said agents were looking into Loftus’ terrorist allegations but stopped short of calling it an investigation.

    Jesus. Hey douchebag, when you have a hot tip to help the police, pick up the fucking phone! This is worse than yelling “FIRE!” in a crowded theater, this is reckless endangerment. A one-line retraction in the paper? Not even close to good enough. FOX sould run a correction and retraction on the screen crawl, and post it prominantly on their website. This isn’t a run of the mill news typo. They deliberately released this info for no other reason than to “create” news and to stir up trouble for this Hilal guy. They were intentionally stoking their ignorant, hothead, paranoid, racist, jingo-addled audience. Well, they fucked up, and now they have a responsibility to help this family out. They should be providing private security for the family, that would be a start, and would actually “help the police” as well.

    I hope they were wrong about Hilal too, so he can sue the shit out of FOX along with the Voricks.

    Oh, and what did one of the braindead fucktard FOX viewers spray paint on the house? “TERRIST.” You couldn’t make that shit up…

  37. 37.

    capelza

    August 26, 2005 at 11:24 am

    Doug J, if you can’t see the difference between the memos and possiblt people protesting in front of the White House (which belongs to the American people anyway) and Fox broadcasting the address and SATELLITE PHOTOS of the house of someone who may or may not be a terrorist and who in fact had MOVED THREE YEARS before then well..words fail me. To use your analogy, it would be like CBS publishing the White House addy three years after Bush left office.

    It is the satellite photos that really get me…let’s make sure that everyone can find the house, just in case the address isn’t enough to find it.

  38. 38.

    DougJ

    August 26, 2005 at 11:26 am

    To use your analogy, it would be like CBS publishing the White House addy three years after Bush left office.

    They published them thirty years after they were allegedly “written”.

  39. 39.

    Mr Furious

    August 26, 2005 at 11:27 am

    Can you say forged memos? If you think of the White House as president Bush’s house, the forged memos made a lot of people come by his house and bother him. So not all that different in a way, huh?
    Can you say “Secret Service” or “public figure who ran for the office and is surrounded by a giant wrought iron fence, SWAT teams and the latest electronic surveillance available?”

    Um, innocent family minding thier own business vs. a true story about the POTUS with flawed evidence. Yeah, same fucking thing.

  40. 40.

    BinkyBoy

    August 26, 2005 at 11:32 am

    Not to change the subject off the interesting “questionable” memo’s, but:

    What if Fox News, a proven mouthpiece of the Republican party, began giving out the names/addresses and satelite photo’s of houses of anti-war liberals? What about suspected Communists?

    Joseph McCarthy would have been proud at what his loins have produced. Scientists probably took the Britany-sock out of McCarthy’s bedroom and spawned Fox news from its ample DNA.

  41. 41.

    Brian

    August 26, 2005 at 11:37 am

    DougJ:

    “What does get me a little bit—and as I said earlier, what Fox did was wrong—is that people are acting like nothing has ever happened like this on a regular network. This sort of thing—maybe not exactly this, but things like it—happen all the time on NBC, CBS, etc. Can you say forged memos? If you think of the White House as president Bush’s house, the forged memos made a lot of people come by his house and bother him. So not all that different in a way, huh?”

    I would like to add that when CBS did air the memoes, people DID demand Rather be fired, CBS be censured, etc. etc. etc. which is what people are demanding for Fox. As it should be. The lame “apology” Fox did is much, much less than what CBS ended up doing; however, Fox’s act has actually placed a family in some danger and should merit AT LEAST the same media saturation CBS did.

  42. 42.

    Tim F

    August 26, 2005 at 11:42 am

    Let’s say, by analogy, that DougJ is a dog humping my leg, where by ‘humping my leg’ I mean annoying me with stupid and inappropriate analogies. I’d definitely mace the dog and then sue the owner to have it neutered.

  43. 43.

    chadwig

    August 26, 2005 at 11:43 am

    DougJ I know you won’t, but if you want to see real documented news fuck-ups and lies, then you should check out Media Matters. Bill O’Leilly likes to call them “left wing” and “radical”, but you’ll notice he never takes up the specific issues they raise; because he can’t. They indict idiots like O’Leilly and LimpJaw by simply re-broadcasting their bullshit, and then contrasting it with the official record.

    Your limp contention that “well, the other networks fuck up too” is really a non-sequitor. Nobody claims those other networks aren’t useless fuck-ups like Faux. They all took the bait and helped push the whole Iraq debacle sled down the hill. MSM should be tuned out by all until they locate their ethics and meet a higher standard of achievement.

  44. 44.

    Sean P

    August 26, 2005 at 11:57 am

    John: I first heard about this story on a KTTV morning news report. KTTV is Los Angeles FOX affiliate. Looks like everybody’s hanging Fox out to dry on this one, and deservedly so.

    ps: The KTTV report indicated the home in question was vandalized by some genuis who spray painted “Terrist” on the stucco.

  45. 45.

    Rick

    August 26, 2005 at 12:19 pm

    They published them thirty years after they were allegedly “written”.

    Touche!

    Cordially…

  46. 46.

    pmm

    August 26, 2005 at 12:21 pm

    I don’t see how we can all castigate news organizations for running shoddy, counter-factual pieces if we don’t drop the hammer on Fox when it does it. Credibility ought to be the difference between a “good” news organization and a “bad” one–as a conservative, it does me no good if I can’t trust a news source, no matter how many flags they wave or Republicans they support. I seem to recall that Fox deigned to bring in the psychics for interviews during the Chandra Levy investigation…

    I have it on good information that the lady that lives down the street from me was a Nazi official in the 1940’s (she speaks with a German accent!) and I’m pretty sure that the local Chinese restaurant is run by witches. Who do I call to get on Fox & Friends?

    It pains me to say this, but Mr. Furious’s take is dead-on.

  47. 47.

    Vladi G

    August 26, 2005 at 12:26 pm

    As much as I hate to defend Fox, from the article, it didn’t look to me like they showed the satellite photos. I’m guessing the address was given out over the air, then people took that information and published the satellite photos on the web, which are available in a few places. From the article:

    Satellite photos of the house and directions to the residence were posted online.

    It doesn’t say who did it. I’m guessing it wasn’t Fox that did that. If someone knows otherwise, though, please correct me.

  48. 48.

    Pistol Pete

    August 26, 2005 at 12:36 pm

    As a conservative Republican, it took a little time but I too have tired of Fox News. I rarely see anything like “reporting” on the show. It’s largely opinion and, the bane of my existence, puff pieces on the tragedy of the day like the Aruba situation. How is that news? 1 girls goes AWOL on an island and Fox News redirects their entire programming to give it more time and attention that the real issues of the day. Egads. I’m done with the network.

  49. 49.

    Otto Man

    August 26, 2005 at 12:46 pm

    If you think of the White House as president Bush’s house, the forged memos made a lot of people come by his house and bother him. So not all that different in a way, huh?

    Right, because your average home has the same level of security as the White House.

    Do you really think Bush was out on the White House lawn himself chasing away protestors with a garden hose?

  50. 50.

    Bruce from Missouri

    August 26, 2005 at 12:49 pm

    ****Satellite photos of the house and directions to the residence were posted online.

    It doesn’t say who did it. I’m guessing it wasn’t Fox that did that. If someone knows otherwise, though, please correct me.****

    I think that was Little Green Footballs. To no ones surprise, I’m sure. Someone ought to post the directions to his house….

    Bruce

  51. 51.

    BinkyBoy

    August 26, 2005 at 12:57 pm

    Oh yes! Please let that be the case.

    For LGF to pull some idiotic stunt like this and get his ass sued off for it, mmmmmm, thats just like the cherry on top of the sundae.

    LGF’s new motto: Screwing up national security in our ruthless hunt for brown skinned terrorists.

  52. 52.

    Darrell

    August 26, 2005 at 1:21 pm

    What if Fox News, a proven mouthpiece of the Republican party, began giving out the names/addresses and satelite photo’s of houses of anti-war liberals? What about suspected Communists?

    Aren’t the leftists the ones most often guilty of that type of behavior? Outing gays who don’t tow the leftist party line.. Hello, Jeff Gannon. The despicable Left

  53. 53.

    Brian

    August 26, 2005 at 1:33 pm

    Fox News: We Report Wrongly, You Decide Wrongly

    There are several people who argue that Fox News is biased, just as many who argue CNN is biased. That’s a judgment call. However, no one who is sane can doubt that Fox News f*cked up BIG TIME here.

    (http://ownedbycats.blogspot.com/2005/08/fox-news-we-report-wrongly-you-decide.html)

    For some reason I can’t place a trackback, so I did it here.

  54. 54.

    Otto Man

    August 26, 2005 at 1:37 pm

    Aren’t the leftists the ones most often guilty of that type of behavior? Outing gays who don’t tow the leftist party line.. Hello, Jeff Gannon

    The guy was advertising his services as a man whore on the internet. By your logic, I outed the Chinese restaurant last night when I looked them up in the phone book and asked for a delivery.

  55. 55.

    capelza

    August 26, 2005 at 1:40 pm

    Hahahaha…Darrell…hahahahaha…Jeff Gannon of the websites like Hotmilitarystuds.com got “outed”? Putting nude pics of yourself in come hither positions and an erection to attract gay men is NOT usually the criteria for being in the closet.

    And yet, you miss the main point of this topic. In their rush to incite trouble for someone by posting their address, they didn’t even get it right and an innocent family is under seige…so that is acceptable?

  56. 56.

    Darrell

    August 26, 2005 at 1:52 pm

    The guy was advertising his services as a man whore on the internet

    You see, it’s not just the fringe extremists.. Much, probably most on the left feel that Gannon ‘had it coming’

    Sully nails it:

    Just ask yourself: if a Catholic conservative blogger had found out that a liberal-leaning pseudo-pundit/reporter was a gay sex worker, had outed the guy as gay and a “hooker,” published pictures of the guy naked, and demanded a response from a Democratic administration, do you think gay rights groups would be silent? They’d rightly be outraged. But the left can get away with anything, can’t they? Especially homophobia.

    Exactly

  57. 57.

    Vladi G

    August 26, 2005 at 1:59 pm

    By your logic, I outed the Chinese restaurant last night when I looked them up in the phone book and asked for a delivery.

    And I’ll bet a librul lefty leftist like you librul lefties out there think the Chinese restaurant “had it coming”, didn’t you?! You anti-Chinese racists lefty leftists!

  58. 58.

    capelza

    August 26, 2005 at 2:00 pm

    Darrell, that’s horseshit (pardon my language). Any liberal psuedo-pundit that is dumb enough to SELF-Publish to the whole world wide web his nekkid self would have it coming. I love how the rightie groups suddenly become so sensitive to the privacy of a homosexual because he was Scotty McClellan’s catcher…and before you even say it, Barney Frank should have known what that guy was doing in his home.

    Anyway, you have yet to answer how ANY of this relates to the fact that FOX, through it’s egregious behaviour, has inflicted a form of terror on an innocent family. I await your next deflection.

  59. 59.

    Darrell

    August 26, 2005 at 2:03 pm

    LGF’s new motto: Screwing up national security in our ruthless hunt for brown skinned terrorists.

    Note how the left injects race into everything.. as if it it’s racist to hunt terrorists. It’s how the left really thinks

    Back to thread topic: Fox News has an obligation to pro-actively and publicly correct their error on giving out that address, and they need to do it repeatedly.

  60. 60.

    DougJ

    August 26, 2005 at 2:04 pm

    There are several people who argue that Fox News is biased, just as many who argue CNN is biased. That’s a judgment call. However, no one who is sane can doubt that Fox News f*cked up BIG TIME here.

    Fair enough, I guess.

    Darrell: there’s one thing I’ve never been clear on in the Gannon case that maybe you can clear up for me. Presumably, prostitution is legal in the state where Jeff Gannon was practicing, as it is in Nevada? That’s the key thing for me, the people who outted Mr. Gannon called his activity criminal, but surely it wasn’t if he was openly advertising on the internet.

    My thinking is that if what Gannon was doing was illegal, then the liberals have a point, but as long as it is legal, it’s really none of their business. It’s the same as with all the librul whooping about Bill Bennet’s gambling and calling it “immoral”, etc. He was engaging in LEGAL gambling, which is hardly immoral. There are rule of law issues here the libruls need to consider before getting on their “moral” high horses.

  61. 61.

    DougJ

    August 26, 2005 at 2:04 pm

    Whoops, I screwed up block quoting there. Sorry.

  62. 62.

    Vladi G

    August 26, 2005 at 2:17 pm

    He was engaging in LEGAL gambling, which is hardly immoral.

    So legal=moral? Then you must have no moral issues with abortion, pornography, etc. Not what I’d expect from a wingnut like DougJ. Well, except for the pornography. But I wouldn’t expect him to admit that publicly.

  63. 63.

    capelza

    August 26, 2005 at 2:18 pm

    At the risk of a threadjack, DougJ, where did whoever was quoted in that get the idea that Gannon was working from Nevada?

  64. 64.

    DougJ

    August 26, 2005 at 2:25 pm

    I didn’t say he was working in Nevada. I just said I didn’t know if it was legal wherever he was working.

    Here’s a question for you libruls: if you Bill Moyers or Helen Thomas, totems of librul media world, turned out to have worked as prostitutes before becoming journalists (as Jeff Gannon did) would you think that should be broadcast all over the world, along with naked pictures and customer reviews of them? Would THAT be okay with you? If you answer “no”, then you must agree that this should have been done to Jeff Gannon.

  65. 65.

    capelza

    August 26, 2005 at 2:31 pm

    Gulp…the image of Helen Thomas ever having worked ad a prostitute is…well never mind.

    I think you might need to find more relevant examples, DougJ

  66. 66.

    tBone

    August 26, 2005 at 2:37 pm

    Would THAT be okay with you?

    No. No it wouldn’t.

    I wouldn’t have any objection to it on principle, mind you. I just wouldn’t want to have to scrub my eyeballs out of my skull with bleach if I accidentally caught a glimpse of a ho’ed up Helen Thomas or a leather daddy Bill Moyers.

    BTW, wasn’t Gannon still advertising his services even after he became a “journalist”?

  67. 67.

    Mr Furious

    August 26, 2005 at 2:46 pm

    Mark-NC Says:
    I was wondering why Fox didn’t go all the way and invite viewers to just go over and burn the house down – terrorists and all.

    They’re working on it. But it takes time to “fix” the intelligence on this house. Rumsfeld “knows where the terrorist activity is taking place—in the area around the kitchen table and basement stairs…” Once they get everybody on board they will send a bunch of poor, minority enlisted men over to burn it down for them. FOX and their viewers will just add a magnet of a burning house to their SUVs instead of actually doing anything themselves.

    Freedom isn’t free, people.

  68. 68.

    Otto Man

    August 26, 2005 at 2:48 pm

    Here’s a question for you libruls: if you Bill Moyers or Helen Thomas, totems of librul media world, turned out to have worked as prostitutes before becoming journalists (as Jeff Gannon did) would you think that should be broadcast all over the world, along with naked pictures and customer reviews of them? Would THAT be okay with you? If you answer “no”, then you must agree that this should have been done to Jeff Gannon.

    Were they working for media outlets created as shills for one party, and doing so under an assumed name? Yes? Then, sure, out them.

    But there’s no way I’m looking at the Thomas pictures.

  69. 69.

    DougJ

    August 26, 2005 at 3:10 pm

    I think you might need to find more relevant examples, DougJ

    How about Anderson Cooper and Paula Zahn?

  70. 70.

    capelza

    August 26, 2005 at 3:20 pm

    Okay, DougJ, more current and less heebie-inducing. It’s already pretty much acknowledged that Anderson Cooper is gay (damn, and he’s cute, too..but yawn). Paula Zahn is liberal????

    Did they still have their websites of their nekkid piccies up online when they instantly got press passes to the WH? If so, then hang ’em high…

  71. 71.

    DougJ

    August 26, 2005 at 3:24 pm

    Paula Zahn is liberal????

    I assume so. She’s on CNN. How about Elizabeth Shogren from NPR/PBS (hey, the Newshour is a good show and not as left-wing slanted as some people think)?

  72. 72.

    capelza

    August 26, 2005 at 3:31 pm

    I assume so. She’s on CNN. How about Elizabeth Shogren from NPR/PBS (hey, the Newshour is a good show and not as left-wing slanted as some people think)?

    Robert Novak is, wait, WAS on CNN too, does that make him a liberal? And please for the love of all that is holy, do not use his name and nekkid pics in the same sentence.

    I have to admit that I don’t listen to radio or get very good reception to our PBS station so I can’t speak to her. Is she HOT? :P

    Again, I’ll answer as I did in my previous post.

    Anyway…Fox needs to have one the those “Breaking News” banners across their screen apologising to the family, so all the “terrist” haters will know to stand down on this one.

  73. 73.

    Glenda

    August 26, 2005 at 4:04 pm

    Why do folks on BJ INSIST on continually feeding the DougJ Troll?

    :-(

  74. 74.

    Rocky Smith

    August 26, 2005 at 4:07 pm

    While FOX News should have vetted the story and should appologize, Loftus is not simply a Fox news employee. He is a free lancer who has appeared on many news outlets, including CNN. Is FOX biased toward the right? Of course! Is almost every other news outlet biased toward the left? Of course!

  75. 75.

    capelza

    August 26, 2005 at 4:27 pm

    Can they now change their “fair and balanced” to “search and destroy”?

    Rocky Smith, Loftus may be a freelancer, but Fox, by not lifting a public finger to rectify the situation is culpable.

    Has Fox done anything yet, while I wasn’t looking to help the situation? Besides the one line in the LA Times, a rag I can pretty much assume does have a wide readership with FOX viewers?

  76. 76.

    DougJ

    August 26, 2005 at 6:00 pm

    By your logic, I outed the Chinese restaurant last night when I looked them up in the phone book and asked for a delivery.

    And yet when Robert Novak “outed” Valerie Plame by looking in Who’s Who, it was a crime. Ah, the inconsistency of the librul mind.

  77. 77.

    Otto Man

    August 26, 2005 at 7:42 pm

    And yet when Robert Novak “outed” Valerie Plame by looking in Who’s Who, it was a crime.

    Do you think Who’s Who had a listing that said “Valerie Plame, secret CIA operative”?

    He got her maiden name from Who’s Who. That wasn’t a secret.

    He outed her as a CIA operative. That was a secret.

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