Breaking? Study Finds Fox News Viewers Are The Most Misinformed

Jillian Rayfield | December 17, 2010, 9:16AM

To perhaps nobody's surprise, a study released this week finds that Fox News viewers are the most misinformed of any news consumers.

The University of Maryland study, called "Misinformation and the 2010 Election," looked at "variations in misinformation by exposure to news sources," among other things, and specifically newspapers and news magazines (in print and online), network TV news broadcasts, NPR and PBS, Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN.

The study found that daily Fox News viewers, regardless of political party, were "significantly" more likely than non-viewers to erroneously believe that:

• Most economists estimate the stimulus caused job losses (12 points more likely)
• Most economists have estimated the health care law will worsen the deficit (31 points)
• The economy is getting worse (26 points)
• Most scientists do not agree that climate change is occurring (30 points)
• The stimulus legislation did not include any tax cuts (14 points)
• Their own income taxes have gone up (14 points)
• The auto bailout only occurred under Obama (13 points)
• When TARP came up for a vote most Republicans opposed it (12 points)
• And that it is not clear that Obama was born in the United States (31 points)

The study also found that as exposure to Fox News increased, so did the misinformation.

But Fox News wasn't the only offender:

Daily consumers of MSNBC and public broadcasting (NPR and PBS) were higher (34 points and 25 points respectively) in believing that it was proven that the US Chamber of Commerce was spending money raised from foreign sources to support Republican candidates. Daily watchers of network TV news broadcasts were 12 points higher in believing that TARP was signed into law by President Obama, and 11 points higher in believing that most Republicans oppose TARP.

Read the full report here.

[Crack Down On This: A Catalog Of Fox's Mistakes]

The study was released in the wake of leaked memos that show Fox News D.C. Bureau Chief Bill Sammon instructing staffers to cast doubt on climate change, and to parrot GOP talking points on the health care debate.

Scarborough to DeMint & Kyl: remember your history & apologize to SenatorReid:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Republicans Say One Thing In Washington And Something Else At Home

December 16, 2010

Senate Republicans took a lot of heat yesterday for stuffing a bill with millions of their own earmarks, then trying to claim they oppose earmarks. but Republicans’ earmark hypocrisy is even starker when you compare what they are saying in Washington, DC to what they are saying to their constituents back home.

In D.C., DeMint Decries Earmarks: “Americans want Congress to shut down the earmark favor factory, and next week I believe House and Senate Republicans will unite to stop pork barrel spending…Instead of spending time chasing money for pet projects, lawmakers will be able to focus on balancing the budget, reforming the tax code and repealing the costly health care takeover.” [The Hill, 11/9/10]

…But In South Carolina, DeMint Defends Earmarks: “U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint said fellow senators are ‘playing politics’ in blocking his colleague's efforts to secure a $400,000 earmark to study deepening Charleston Harbor.” [Herald Online, 9/11/10]

In D.C. , Cornyn Poses As An Anti-Earmark Champion: “I believe the public discontent can be accurately sourced, and Congressional earmarking process has become a symbol for wasteful and undisciplined federal spending. Earlier this month, I joined a bipartisan group calling for a one year moratorium on all earmarks. That effort failed. We missed a major opportunity to show we are serious about tightening our Congressional belts during a difficult economic period.” [Everyone Loses in the Earmark Game, 3/31/08]

… But In Texas, Cornyn Downplays Significance Of His Earmark Opposition, Emphasizes That It’s Only Temporary:  Cornyn told the Dallas Morning Newsthat the earmark ban, “’basically is a timeout while we reassess this whole earmarking process, which has been in some instances abused,’ said Texas Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the GOP leadership… Cornyn, like some other moratorium supporters, said the policy should not and won't last indefinitely but agreed that for now, ‘it will have an impact on Texas, just as it will have an impact on the rest of the country.’” [Dallas Morning News, 11/26/10]? 

… And Requests Millions In Earmarks For FY2011. [Senator Cornyn FY2011 Appropriations Requests]

In D.C., Thune Lambasts Earmarks: “The bill is loaded up with pork projects, and it shouldn't get a vote.  The bill was crafted behind closed doors, and it hasn't gone through the proper oversight or the proper channels.” [Press Conference, 12/15/10]

In South Dakota, Thune Defends Pet Projects: “He has backed similar moratoriums in the past but the proposed 2011 spending bills Congress will consider in the coming weeks include almost 30 Thune-requested projects, such as money for highway projects, water systems and safety programs on Indian reservations… ‘If you include [South Dakota] projects like Lewis & Clark, you end up costing taxpayers much more in inflation and lost economic opportunities,’ Larson said Monday. ‘We applaud responsible efforts to rein in earmark spending, but if that effort wrongly includes authorized projects like Lewis & Clark, it's counterproductive.’ Thune agrees. ‘There are ways that you can do this that really legitimize Congress spending money, and one is authorized projects that went through the normal process and passed the House and the Senate,’ he said last week. ‘To me, that's a very different thing than an earmark that gets dropped into an appropriations bill in a conference committee that hasn't passed the House and the Senate.’” [Argus Leader, 11/16/10]

Straight Marine says DADT must go:

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2010

'We all bleed red, we all love our country, we are all Marines'

Posted by Joe Sudbay (DC) at 12/17/2010 10:23:00 AM 

Excellent op-ed in today's Washington Post from Marine Captain Nathan Cox. Definitely worth a read. Cox "respectfully disagrees" with General Amos. Every member of Congress who has been quoting Amos should read it. Here's the conculsion:

Repeal will of course have many effects. Gay and lesbian Marines who are now barred from discussing their identities honestly with their superiors, peers and subordinates would be able to do their jobs free from the nagging knowledge that they are being less than honest with their brothers and sisters in arms. It is difficult to see how this could do anything but improve their job performance. Gay and lesbian Marines have long fought and died for a country that refuses to acknowledge their existence. Some are certainly among the Marines who have passed through Bethesda Naval Hospital and rest in Arlington.

I believe the reluctance many Marines feel about repeal is based on the false stereotype, borne out of ignorance, that homosexuals don't do things like pull other Marines from burning vehicles. The truth is, they do it all the time. We simply don't know it because they can't tell us.

It is time for "don't ask, don't tell" to join our other mistakes in the dog-eared chapters of history textbooks. We all bleed red, we all love our country, we are all Marines. In the end, that's all that matters.

Related posts on AMERICAblog Gay:

• On DADT repeal: 'How the change affects the Marines is up to the leadership'
• Marine Commandant attacks DADT repeal - again, using much stronger language
• General Amos warns of predatory risk posed by gay Marines

Sen. Corker threatens START over DADT and DREAM

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2010

Posted by Joe Sudbay (DC) at 12/17/2010 03:54:00 PM 
 

Yep, the GOP games have begun in earnest. 

This afternoon, Senator Corker basically threatened to walk away from the START Treaty over "more campaign promise types of issues." Corker claims the votes on DADT and DREAM are "poisoning the well" and he basically threatened to stop movement on the START Treaty.

Via the ever vigilant Igor Volsky:

As Igor notes:

Corker’s description of DADT as “partisan” is surprising in light of the increasing Republican support for the measure. Republican Senators Susan Collins (ME), Olympia Snowe (ME), Scott Brown (MA) and Lisa Murkowski (AK) have pledged to vote for the stand-alone repeal bill.

Corker said he hopes saner minds prevail. Yeah, we're hoping that saner minds prevail.

Will Collins, Snowe, Brown and Murkowski play along with Corker or still vote for the standalone DADT bill.

Greg Sargent has more:

This isn't really a threat on Corker's part. Rather, he's saying -- in a more-in-sorrow-than-in-anger way -- that his GOP colleagues will be less likely to support START unless Reid drops his plan for DADT and DREAM votes right awa

Reid: 'We plan on considering the stand-alone bill,' but no time for games

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2010

Posted by Joe Sudbay (DC) at 12/16/2010 08:57:00 AM 
 

UPDATE @ 9:57 AM: When the Senate convened this morning, Majority Leader Reid made remarks about the upcoming schedule including this on DADT:

Yesterday, The House passed Don't Ask, Don't Tell and we're going to have to deal with that in some way"

How about by scheduling a vote and passing it? Seems like a good way to deal with it.
______________________ 
I've been hearing a lot of the coverage of the DADT vote last night. Reports on NPR and NBC indicate that there may not be time for the Senate to vote. That is not true.

Got this statement via email last night. The Majority Leader stated clearly taht the Senate will take up the DADT bill. But, there's no time for the usual GOP procedural games:

"This week, we have seen clear evidence that an overwhelming majority in Congress supports repeal of the discriminatory 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy. The House of Representatives sent a powerful message with its lopsided vote in favor of repeal. And Senator Snowe joined a growing chorus of Republicans in the Senate who support repeal.

"The time for action is now. We plan on considering the stand-alone bill to repeal 'Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell' which was sent over by the House.

"But let me be clear. We are very quickly running out of days in this Congress. The time for week-long negotiations on amendments and requests for days of debate is over. Republican Senators who favor repealing this discriminatory policy need to join with us now to stand against those who are trying to run out the clock on this Congress."

The GOP Senators who say they support repeal have to vote for repeal. Time is running out. No doubt, John McCain and Mitch McConnell will use all their tricks to thwart repeal. That can't happen. If we start hearing demands for amendments or a lengthy debate from any of the GOP repeal supporters, that signals trouble. It means McConnell is tightening his grip and wants to run out the clock and prevent an up-or-down vote

There is time to do the DADT vote. And, the Senate shouldn't go home til it gets done. 

Today, Senators will begin debate on the START Treaty. The treaty will get the 67 votes it needs to pass. Then, the Senate moves on to the Omnibus bill. Expect GOPers to play all kinds of games with that legislation, including a demand that the bill be read on the Senate floor. The Omnibus includes the funds to keep the government running (the current funding runs out tomorrow) -- and a whole lot of GOP earmarks. 

So, yeah, there's a lot of work to do, but there is time to do the DADT bill. We have until January 3rd if need be.

Related posts on AMERICAblog Gay:

• Reid: We'll vote on DADT, not sure if it will happen before Christmas
• Reid to Republicans: 'There's still Congress after Christmas'
• Big DADT update. Are Reid and Collins helping or hurting on DADT?

Jon Stewart with 9/11 First Responders React to the Senate Filibuster

 

by Chris in Paris on 12/17/2010 05:22:00 PM

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
9/11 First Responders React to the Senate Filibuster
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog</a> The Daily Show on Facebook

If you haven't yet watched this, carve out about eight minutes. Then send on to friends and family

Agent Murdered on U.S.-Mexico Borde

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On December 14, 2010, Border Patrol agent Brian Terry was shot and killed in Rio Rico, AZ. His murder is a stark reminder that our borders are not yet secure. This is a tragedy that deserves nothing less than the swiftest and strongest response. On December 15, Congresswoman Giffords appeared on Fox News' On the Record to speak with Greta Van Susteren about the need to secure our borders.

Issa, House GOP create new oversight sub-panels for TARP, stimulus

By Susan Crabtree - 12/17/10 05:24 PM ET

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the incoming chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is beefing up the panel in preparation for battle with the Obama administration next year.

Issa on Friday announced the addition of two new subcommittees, one focused on stimulus oversight and government spending and the other on government bailouts of public and private programs.

In all, the panel plans to have seven subcommittees compared to the five that existed before Issa took the helm, according to his spokesman Kurt Bardella, who said the focus and title of the five subcommittees that existed in previous Congresses also likely would change.

Adding more muscle to the committee is a sign of Issa’s aggressive plans. He has vowed to hold hundreds of hearings and launch new investigations into the bank bailouts, the stimulus funds and possibly the healthcare overhaul.

The announcement comes one day after Democrats elevated Rep. Elijiah Cummings (D-Md.), a shrewd but combative senior Democrat, to the ranking position on the committee, a decision aimed at countering Issa’a strong personality and plans to scrutinize all corners of the administration.

Issa often outmaneuvered and publicly shamed Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.), who chaired the committee for the last four years, during several high-profile controversies, including a probe into Countrywide’s mortgage VIP program. Democratic leaders earlier this week pushed Towns out of the position to make way for Cummings to move to the top spot.

At least one of the subcommittees will remain relatively the same in the Congress although its focus will broaden. The National Security and Foreign Affairs subcommittee will become the National Security, Homeland Defense and Foreign Operations subcommittee and will be chaired by Reps. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah).

Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) will chair the two new subcommittees, the Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight and Government Spending and the TARP, Financial Services and Bailouts of Public and Private Programs, respectively.

Issa said he tapped Chaffez, who was elected in 2008, because he has “redefined how how an incoming member to this committee can be effective and become an instrumental partner.”

“In a short amount of time, Jason has quickly become recognized as one of the smartest, dedicated and capable members of this body and I am thrilled that we ultimately were able to keep him on this Committee and in this crucial role,” he said in a statement.

Issa said he selected Jordan because “no one on our Committee understands better than Jim the connection between government regulation, government spending and the success of our economy.”

“The American people gave Congress a mandate to reduce the size of government waste, government spending and focus on job creation to grow our economy,” Issa said.  “Jim will be on the frontline of this Committee’s effort to oversee how taxpayer dollars are spent, improving government accountability and transparency while developing key initiatives to help move our economy forward.”

For his part, McHenry will focus on making the “federal bureaucracy more accountable for how it spends the American people’s money,” Issa said, noting that the panel would focus on making government more transparent and providing more answers on what led to the financial meltdown and how the country can avoid a similar collapse in the future.

THE LAUNCH OF A JOBS MOVEMENT

 

Greg Cotterill of Finger Lakes News Radio interviews MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan in Seneca Falls, NY after the cable network's live broadcast from the Seneca Falls Savings Bank on Wednesday, December 16, 2010.

 

posted by: Dylan Ratigan on December 17, 2010

Greg Cotterill interviews MSNBC’s Dylan Ratigan in Seneca Falls

Q: So Dylan, welcome to Seneca Falls.  I know you’ve been here on and off over the past few days.  How do you think the show went tonight?

A: It was fantastic.  It was just incredible to be able to be in a place that’s not only similar to my own hometown of Saranac Lake, but to be able to be in a small town like Seneca Falls that is so emblematic, I think, of America at it’s best…A historic location…A location that served as the founding location for the women’s suffrage movement, at a time when we need another movement in this country.  We really need this entire country to gather around a shared set of values that create good work for American people.

Q: And that’s what your Steel on Wheels Tour is all about?

A: The Steel on Wheels Tour, quite simply, is being launched to start a Jobs Movement in America…There is a huge group of us out there that want to see a jobs movement come together in this country and not just one that creates work, but one that creates meaningful work that solves our countries problems.

You know you’ve got a screwed up situation, when you have millions of people who don’t have jobs and a long list of problems like the ones that we have – from expensive health care to the importing of foreign energy.  Clearly there is an opportunity to innovate and invest in work for the unemployed that solves our problems, whether it is in the energy sector, the healthcare sector or many others that I surely cant even think of at this point.

Q: 15 miles away is Auburn, NY.  That’s where NUCOR Steel has a plant and a lot of people over there were probably watching today.

Nucor is one of those great America companies that represents our people at its best.  It represents a value system of meaningful work in this country…that is a combination of manufacturing and innovation….a lot of people may not understand how innovative a company Nucor Steel is and has been and how competitive that how company is because of their innovative culture and also because of their relatively unique management structure and the philosophy of “share the pain, share the gain” that goes from the top of that company to the bottom.

Dylan Ratigan Steel on Wheels

Steel on Wheels

The theme of the town hall is How to get America Working Again. Over the course of the past 19 months the unemployment rate in this country has lingered about 9%. Proving the idea that Americans need work and currently our government's main job should be to create these jobs.

Theme of Town Hall

The theme of the town hall is How to get America Working Again. Over the course of the past 19 months the unemployment rate in this country has lingered about 9%. Proving the idea that Americans need work and currently our government's main job should be to create these jobs.

1. Fair Trade Now:We must make trade fair by balancing our trade deficit.
2. Make Banking Lending to Businesses, Not Gambling or Buying Treasuries:With the consolidation of the banks due to deregulation; banks are not interested in lending to American businesses due to the fact that they will not make a profit.
3. Control Health Care Costs:Unlike America's foreign counterparts, US based companies are mandated to pay employee health care, which in turn results in the US having insufficient health care while spending 16% of GDP.
4. Reform the Tax Code:Use the tax code to promote US investment instead of rewarding overseas investment and aristocracy.

Panelists

DAN DIMICCO
Dan DiMicco is Chairman, President and Chief Executive Office of Nucor Corporation. A metallurgist by trade, Mr. DiMicco has brought his more than 30 years of steel industry experience to Nucor.

Dan DiMicco joined Nucor in 1982 and since then he has held various executive level jobs. Thus, allowing him to gain a deep understanding of Nucor's unique culture and values.

DUNCAN MOORE
Duncan Moore is an inventor by trade and currently runs the Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Rochester. Duncan's major areas of research are computer-aided design, medical optics and optical instrumentation, which are all extremely popular and important at the University of Rochester.

In addition, he was the associate director of technology policy during the Clinton White House and he currently interacts with scientists who create start-up companies.

ANDREW JENKS
When Andrew was 16, he founded the Hendrick Hudson Film Festival, which has since become one of the biggest high school film festivals in the United States. Currently, Jenks stars in a new docu-series, "The World of Jenks," which has become the highest rated series premier in MTV history.

"The World of Jenks" captures the filmmaker shadowing a stranger for seven days and living a completely different way of life from his own. He will walk the proverbial mile in someone else's shoes - whether that someone is a homeless person or a supermodel or anything in between. As a documentary filmmaker, Andrew will explore their lives, interact with their family, hang with their friends and generally see the world from their perspective. He will live with their decisions and question those decisions but ultimately live with the consequences.

CHRYSTIA FREELAND
In 2010 Chrystia Freeland joined Reuters as Global Editor-At-Large, she is responsible for planning and implementing Reuters editorial strategy. Chrystia came to Reuters from the Financial Times, where she was the US managing editor and helped the US Financial Times become the single largest edition.

Christian Leaders Criticize Kyl, DeMint For Christmas Remarks

Jillian Rayfield | December 17, 2010, 1:49PM

Sen. Jim DeMint and Jon Kyl would have you believe that its "sacrilegious" to hold so many votes around Christmas time. Not according to a number of Christian leaders, who harshly criticized the Republicans for invoking Christmas as an excuse to avoid votes.

As we reported, Kyl (AZ) said this week that it's "impossible" to get through the Democrats' full lame duck agenda "without disrespecting one of the two holiest of holidays for Christians and the families of all of the Senate." DeMint followed suit and called the "jamming" in the votes "sacrilegious."

Burns Strider, previously the Senior Advisor and Director of Faith Outreach to then-Sen.-Hillary Clinton, wrote on the Huffington Post: "While American troops will be working through the Christmas holidays, putting their lives on the line for our safety and while millions of Christians prepare to celebrate the birth of the "Prince of Peace," Senators Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Jim DeMint (R-SC) brazenly choose to distort and manipulate this most holy of days for their own political means."

Andrea Nill of Wonk Room reports that Pastor Troy Jackson, of the University Christian Church of Ohio, said he "didn't realize our elected officials had Christmas break like elementary and high school kids do."

And then there's Rev. Jerry Dykstra, Executive Director of the Christian Reformed Church in North America, who told Wonk Room: "Jesus, who was a high respecter of the Sabbath -- which was not simply a national or religious holiday, but was their day of complete rest in his own culture -- said that on the Sabbath we need to do what is right. If doing what is right means that we have to work through a Christmas holiday, then by all means we work through a Christmas holiday."

San Francisco Group Shows Support For WikiLeaks Founder

December 12, 2010 6:14 PM

Julian Assange headshot, founder and editor of the WikiLeaks website (AP)

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) — A small group demonstrated at the Golden Gate Bridge on Sunday in support of WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange.

Rene Davis is a member of Code Pink, an anti-war group. She said it’s important for the truth about key public policy to reach the light of day, no matter how it happens.

“I feel like we’ve been lied to from the inception of the wars against Iraq and Afghanistan,” she said. “Anybody who can expose some truth around that is who I want to hear from.”

KCBS’ Tim Ryan Reports:

San Francisco Group Shows Support For WikiLeaks Founder

John Stauffer of San Francisco said government secrets may not remain secret in this day of computer hacking and instant communication.

“It was absolutely incredible to see computer hackers all over the world, as soon as this broke, saying this is the right thing to do and we’re going to support it,” said Stauffer. “And the world saw it.”

Assange and WikiLeaks have released embarrassing memos about U.S. war planning and a myriad of other strategic topics. The Australian journalist remains jailed in London.

(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Fox News' Shep Smith Wallops GOPers For 9/11 Responders Bill:

 

 'It's Disgusting' (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | December 17, 2010, 6:04PM

Joining in on Jon Stewart's outrage over the failure of the 9/11 first responders bill today was Fox News' Shep Smith, who asked: "How do they sleep at night?"

Stewart devoted his whole show last night to gravely attacking Senate Republicans for voting against the bill, which would provide health care to the first responders on September 11.

Shep was equally incensed: "Who's going to hold these people's feet to the fire? We're able to put a 52-story building so far down there at Ground Zero, we're able to pay for tax cuts for billionaires who don't need them and it's not going to stimulate the economy. But we can't give health care to Ground Zero first responders who ran right into the fire?"

"It's disgusting," he continued. "It's a national disgrace, it's a shame and everybody who voted against it should have to stand up and account for himself or herself."

Chris Wallace agreed: "It's a national shame."

Watch:

How is Fox News Like the Communist Party?

By Jaeah Lee | Fri Dec. 17, 2010 1:33 PM PST

---

The publication of an email from Bill Sammon [1], managing editor of Fox News's Washington bureau, encouraging reporters to broadcast "wildly misleading [2]" claims about climate science reminds me of my other favorite news-spinner: the Chinese Communist Party [3] (CCP).
Sammon's email from December 8, 2009, which Media Matters revealed [2] to the public on Wednesday (h/t MoJo's Kate Sheppard [4]), is similar to an October 2009 email he wrote to Fox reporters [5] on covering health care legislation, excerpted below:

Subject: friendly reminder: let's not slip back into calling it the "public option"

1. Please use the term "government-run health insurance" or, when brevity is a concern, "government option," whenever possible.
2. When it is necessary to use the term "public option" (which is, after all, firmly ensconced in the nation's lexicon), use the qualifier "so-called," as in "the so-called public option."
3. Here's another way to phrase it: "The public option, which is the government-run plan."
4. When newsmakers and sources use the term "public option" in our stories, there's not a lot we can do about it, since quotes are of course sacrosanct.

Sammon is not the first nor only person who has sent out such directives (Iran [6], Burma [7]...) regarding wording of sensitive issues. One re-wording enthusiast of particular notoriety is the CCP, which routinely circulates instructions to the Chinese press, and which, in turn, journalists affectionately call "Directives from the Ministry of Truth [8]."

Recent examples [9] of new CCP directives [10] include:

• "The 2010 Nobel Prize Awards Ceremony will take place on December 10. All domestic media outlets are not permitted to report on this event."
• "From the Central Propaganda Bureau: It is not permitted to report on portions of WikiLeaks related to China."
• Any reporting on the high bridge structure incident in Nanjing must conform to standards. Reports cannot be lead stories that guide people to read about it. Reports cannot use the phrase "large bridge collapse." They can only use the phrase "steel structure side turned over." For the water pipe break, reports cannot say that it "burst": they can only say that its "side leaked."

Unlike the CCP, Fox News is privately incorporated and not affiliated with the government. But Sammon’s emails demonstrate that as in the CCP, Fox's "point-of-view" reporting derives from a top-down structure. When Chinese propaganda agencies hand down media directives, they do so in the name of protecting domestic stability; Fox News’s reasons for doing so are lost on me. As one source told Media Matters [11]:

"[There is] more pressure from Sammon to slant news to the right or to tell people how to report news, doing it in a more brutish way... A lot of the reporters are conservative and are glad to pick up news. But there is a point at which it is no longer reporting, but distorting things."

I'm not sure what's most troubling: that Sammon's email may have cemented public skepticism toward climate change [12] and subsidized health care [13]; that it obviously slants coverage while claiming objectivity; or most troubling of all, that Fox consistently ranks [14] at the top of cable news ratings. In China, more and more citizens are going out of their way to get uncensored, objective news [15], something they're achieving thanks to the advent of microblogs [16], social networking sites, and tools that help circumvent [17] the Great Firewall [18] of censorship. Alternative news-seeking is so prevalent that it's stirred up quite a debate within the CCP [19].
Here in the US, consumers have a range of news choices, but not all of them are created equal. A new study (PDF [20]) shows that people who watch Fox News daily are among the most misinformed, 60% of them falsely believing that "most scientists think climate change is not occurring" and 49% thinking Obama's raised their federal income taxes (he hasn't). But it's a free country, right? People can read whatever news they want, even if that source willfully misinforms them. The question is, whether that source should really be labeled as "news" if it's being deliberately manipulated to skew consumer's views.

Sen. Gillibrand on 9/11 Responders Bill:

 These Are Our Bravest, Now We Have to Stand by Them

DECEMBER 17, 2010 FOX NEWS  |  LINK TO ARTICLE

There’s new hope for a health care bill that would help 9/11 responders now suffering from ailments caused by the dust and smoke they were exposed to at Ground Zero. Senator Harry Reid is promising a revote on the $7 billion bill. NY Senator Kirsten Gillibrand joined Jon Scott to explain why it’s so important to get this passed.

'Don't ask, don't tell' repeal will clear Senate, Lieberman says

Posted at 6:00 AM ET, 12/17/2010

By Ed O'Keefe and Felicia Sonmez

UPDATED: 3:02 p.m.
With a key procedural vote scheduled for Saturday, Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) declared Friday that efforts to repeal the ban on gays serving openly in the military were "on the brink of victory."

Speaking at a news conference with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.) and several gay service veterans one day after Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) announced he would introduce the repeal effort for the third time this year, Lieberman said he expects the repeal to pass the Senate -- and to do so with wider support than had been anticipated.

"I continue to believe that we're going to end up with more support on the Republican side than the four that we've talked about," he said.

Republican Sens. Scott Brown (Mass.), Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Olympia J. Snowe (Maine) have announced in recent days that they will vote to let the repeal proceed.

Joining Lieberman at the event were four service veterans who were discharged under "don't ask, don't tell." The quartet planned a sit-in in the Senate visitors' gallery, where they expected to remain for as long as the Senate is in session until repeal of the law is passed.

Stacey Vasquez, a 12-year Army veteran who was discharged under "don't ask, don't tell," said at the event that she was anxious ahead of Saturday's vote.

"I'm nervous about what's going to happen tomorrow," Vasquez said. "I'm personally nervous because this isn't process and procedure to me. It's not just a vote. This is my life."
"This is what I was called to do; it's what I want to do; it's what I'm inspired to do," she added.

The Senate will hold a vote on Saturday to proceed to debate on a bill that would end the law, Reid has said. A final vote could come later that day or the next.

A bill that included language ending the ban failed last week to earn the 60 votes necessary. A similar attempt failed in September.

But now, a filibuster-proof majority appears tenable: Fifty-seven members of the Senate Democratic caucus support a bill to end the ban, as have the four Republicans. Other Republicans could join them on the final vote, aides said.

"I believe we have the votes," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Thursday.

Gay rights activists, caught off-guard Thursday by Reid's decision, also signaled optimism. "America is ready for a vote, and there's no need for any more waiting," said Fred Sainz, vice president of the Human Rights Campaign.

Activists had worried earlier Thursday that they might lose a "yes" vote when Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) announced plans to have surgery next week to treat early stage prostate cancer.

He will miss votes on Friday, Monday and Tuesday but will be available to vote all weekend. "Anything else he can make work, he will," said spokeswoman Jennifer Hoelzer.

Most Republican senators are expected to vote against the bill, preferring to consider the issue next year.

"We're in two wars, and I believe that right now would not be the right time to repeal it. That's my position, and I will hold it," Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Thursday night during a CNN interview.

When asked, McCain said his son, Jimmy, who served with the Marine Corps in Iraq, is opposed to ending the ban. "His words to me, as so many thousands of others' words have been to me, 'It isn't broke, don't fix it,'" McCain said, adding he is "reluctant" to discuss the personal opinions of his children.

McCain's daughter, Meghan, told MSNBC Wednesday that Congress should end the ban.

In a quiet show of support, dozens of service members discharged under "don't ask, don't tell" plan to sit in the Senate gallery on Friday as senators continue debating the New START treaty.

"Service members are making it absolutely clear that senators need to stay in town until repeal is passed," said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, the group organizing Friday's sit-in. "We simply cannot let the clock run out and lose this historic opportunity."