The 2013 Misinforme​r of the Year is…


Media Matters for America
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Misinformer Of The Year: CBS News

MisinformerWhen it came time to decide the 2013 Media Matters Misinformer Of The Year, there was only one choice: CBS News. From 60 Minutes‘ failures on Benghazi, Social Security Disability, and the NSA to other network failures on pushing misleading Republican talking points, CBS News truly had a black eye in 2013. Eric Boehlert audits CBS’ grizzly 2013: http://mm4a.org/1fKEPZm

A Year On The Fringe

Alex JonesMatt Drudge wasn’t the only one to mainstream Alex Jones this year. CNN, Fox News and even the House of Representatives did the same, even as Jones pushed wild conspiracies (like how a government weather weapon may have been responsible for the devastating Oklahoma tornado). Ben Dimiero tours the year on the fringe: http://mm4a.org/19bOOTp

Priorities Reversed

Hands OffBeltway pundits far too often focus on the debt while sneering at the social safety net. Unemployment, food stamps, disability, Social Security, and Medicaid have all been attacked in 2013. Craig Harrington explains what the pundits are getting wrong: http://mm4a.org/1carqKn Related: One of the most common mistakes journalists make is conflating centrist policy with objectively good policy. But sometimes the center is wrong. Columbia Journalism Review‘s Brendan Nyhan explains what deficit hysteria misses: http://bit.ly/192SGck 

FEATURED VIDEO

KilmeadeFox regularly promotes Islamophobia, and 2013 was no different. We look back at the network’s hate in 2013: http://youtu.be/qVl3QrVVc0o

HELP US FIGHT BACK

MMFA We’re wrapping up our year-end fundraiser. Fighting conservative misinformation is a big job – and we can’t do it without you. Please support our work here: http://bit.ly/1h2JGpL

RECIDIVIST MISOGYNY

WomenIt seems conservative media can’t open their mouth without saying something horrible about women. Here are the worst of their moments in 2013, from “Abortion Barbie” to “something about the female brain.” http://mm4a.org/1ligoDZ

IMAGE OF THE WEEK

Death By Bicycle The Most Absurd Attacks On Clean Tech In 2013

The Week in Crazy … and a Reminder for 2014 Voters


This is a repost from June 2013 …

10 Crazy Things the Right Did … This Week

By  ThinkProgress War Room

Another week of the insane, inane, and outright offensive. Here’s your top ten:

  1. House Republicans pass plan to deport DREAMers. Just as the Senate is about to consider a bipartisan immigration reform plan, House Republicans, led by virulently anti-immigrant Rep. Steve King (R-IA), passed a mean-spirited plan to deport DREAMers. Boos filled the chamber as the vote was gaveled.
  2. GOP Senator says we can’t pass immigration reform because of government spying programs. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) used the revelations regarding the NSA’s spying programs as his latest excuse for not passing immigration reform.
  3. Republican-appointed federal judge says blacks and Hispanics are “predisposed to crime.” Judge Edith Jones, a member of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, a circuit overseeing a large number of death penalty cases, made her outrageous comments about minorities during a speech earlier this year. The judge, who has a long history of troubling behavior, added that the death penalty is a public service because it’s the only way an inmate can “make peace with God.”
  4. Congressman loses it on the House floor. Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-OK) lost it during a rant on the House floor during which he accused the president of “dishonesty, incompetence, vengefulness and lack of moral compass [that] lead many to suggest that he is not fit to lead.”
  5. Senator suggests porn is to blame for military sexual assaults. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), most recently known for being the chief opponent of immigration reform, suggested that porn is responsible for the epidemic of sexual assault plaguing the military.
  6. Republican governor schedules costly special election to lower Democratic turnout during the general election. Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) is far head in the polls in his bid for re-election, yet he appears to have scheduled a special election to fill the seat of recently deceased Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) to keep Democratic turnout low the day he and Republican state legislators will be on the ballot. The election will cost $12 MILLION or more and is taking place less than a month before the November general election.
  7. Fox Business refuses to run an ad critical of Fox contributors. After a spate of male Fox contributors made disparaging and sexist comments about female breadwinners, the group UltraViolet sought to run an ad on Fox Business critical of their comments. The network refused to air it.
  8. Anti-Obamacare states pass up billions in funds meant to help the poor get health insurance. The red states that are refusing to expand Medicaid under Obamacare are set to lose out on $8 BILLION in funding, which will cause them to leave an additional 3.6 MILLION Americans uninsured simply out of spite.
  9. Wall Street Journal editorial board member says bike share is a “totalitarian” plot. Dorothy Rabinowitz assailed the newly unveiled bike share plan being rolled out in New York City. She complained that the city’s best neighborhoods were being “begrimed” by the bikes put in place by “totalitarian” Mayor Michael Bloomberg. She also described the “bike lobby” as an “all-powerful enterprise.”
  10. Congressional inquisitor-in-chief goes overboard on CNN. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has been endlessly pursuing conspiracy theories and alleged Obama administration scandals for years, but he went more overboard than usual this week. During an appearance on CNN, Issa called White House Press Secretary Jay Carney “a paid liar.” Issa’s fellow Republicans reportedly told him to cool it following the incident.

BONUS: A Texas jury acquitted a man for the murder of a woman he hired as an escort, after his lawyers claimed he was authorized to use deadly force because she refused sex.

the Senate ~~ CONGRESS 12/26 ~~ the House


capitolsnowclosed

The Senate will meet for a pro forma session only with no business conducted at 11:45am on Friday, January 3, 2014.

Additionally, only if the Senate does not receive a message that the House has adopted S.Con.Res.30, the adjournment resolution, the Senate will meet on the following dates and times:

–          Tuesday, December 24th at noon

–          Friday, December 27th at noon and

–          Tuesday, December 31st at noon

Schedule for Monday, January 6, 2014

The Senate will convene at 2:00pm on Monday, January 6, 2014. Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S.1845, the Unemployment Insurance Extension Act with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

At 3:00pm, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to resume consideration of Executive Calendar #452, the nomination of Janet Yellen, of California, to be Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System with the time until 5:30pm equally divided and controlled in the usual form prior to a vote on confirmation of the Yellen nomination.

At 5:30pm, there will be 2 roll call votes:

–          Confirmation of the Yellen nomination and

–          Motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to S.1845, the Unemployment Extension Act.

     ====================================================

Last Floor Action:12/26
12:10:09 P.M. – The Speaker announced
that the House do now adjourn pursuant to S. Con. Res. 30. The next meeting is
scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on January 3, 2014.

Stop the big oil giveaway fueling our enemies.


Since General Clark‘s email, over 16,000 people have signed our letter to the Environmental Protection Agency calling on them to protect the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

The RFS is an important tool in reducing our dependence on foreign oil, and it’s critical that you add your name before we submit the signatures in January. You can do that here:

http://www.savetherfs.org/

Thanks for standing with the veterans, military family members, and VoteVets supporters who have already taken action on this important issue.

Jon Soltz
@JonSoltz
Iraq War Veteran and Chairman
VoteVets.org

VoteVets.org

Right now, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering gutting one of the most important policies put in place to limit the amount of fossil fuels we burn and lower our dependence on foreign oil.

It’s called the Renewable Fuel Standard and it ensures a minimum number of renewable fuels are used for transportation in the United States.

As veterans, military family members, and VoteVets supporters, we have a unique understanding about the cost of our dependence on foreign oil. It’s not just measured in the price at the pump, or a changing climate, but also in the lives lost and changed through deployments to protect the flow of oil in the Middle East.

VoteVets is participating in the Environmental Protection Agency’s public comment period on this issue. It ends in a few weeks, and we’d love it if you added your name to ours before we submit. You can do that here:

http://www.savetherfs.org/

This is an important issue and a very real chance for you to make a difference. The EPA traditionally takes these comments very seriously, but our voices are at risk of being drowned out by big oil interests running astroturf campaigns.

That’s why your petition signature is so important. I hope you’ll add your name to mine today.

All the best,

General (Ret.) Wesley Clark
Board Member, VoteVets.org

20 Years Later: Returning to FDA to Regulate Tobacco


 

Mitch Zeller became the director of FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) in March 2013, but he has been working on FDA-related issues for decades. In this webinar, he talks about his background and shares his thoughts on key opportunities for FDA to help reduce the health impact of tobacco use through product regulation.

The webinar will be moderated by Kathy Crosby, CTP’s director of Health Communication and Education, and will allow for questions and answers at the end of the presentation. To attend the online webinar, please book this date and time on your calendar now.

 

Visit our website to learn more about this webinar and find the log-in instructions. You can also find out how to send questions in advance via Twitter.