“Treason” isn’t a word that should be tossed around lightly, but it might best describe what is happening on a near-daily basis on the Fox News Channel, whose motto is “fair and balanced” despite their Senior Vice President for Programming’s declaration that they are “the voice of the opposition” where the Obama administration is concerned.

 

For some time, it’s been clear to most rational Americans that Fox News commentators in general – and Glenn Beck in particular – are more entertainers than true believers in the stream of fear-mongering, fringe-friendly drivel they put forth each night. But at a certain point, one has to wonder where the line is crossed.

 

 

Several nights ago on THE O’REILLY FACTOR, Fox News contributor Monica Crowley accused the President of the United States of America of wanting to see its citizens die in order to forward his own agenda.

 

She said, in part, “I think President Obama is a true believer. What I mean by that is that he is a disciple of Saul Alinsky… who was a radical, who believed in the radical remaking of America by shattering its very foundations. I believe that President Obama… has taken that to heart.”

 

When host Bill O’Reilly said, “But he can’t want Americans to be killed!” Crowley countered with, “How else do you explain his incredibly flaccid reactions to… attacks against the United States?”

 

That’s right, a Fox News commentator suggested that President Obama wants citizens of this country to be killed by extremists as part of his “radical agenda.”

 

Ladies and gentlemen, the line has been crossed.

 

 

 

Since the election of Barrack Obama, we have seen Fox News commentators literally call our president a racist (“I’m not saying he doesn’t like white people, I’m saying he has a problem. This guy is, I believe, a racist.” – Glenn Beck), put aside that pesky “fair and balanced” thing in order to openly support the so-called “tea party” movement and help blatantly spread misinformation about everything from his status as an American citizen to his attempts to push for healthcare reform.

 

 

Funk & Wagnall’s standard dictionary defines “treason” as “betrayal of one’s sovereign or government” and “treasonable” action as anything “of, involving, or characteristic of treason.” So one has to ask: When does a supposed news organization go from taking full advantage of its First Amendment right of free speech to, in word and deed, taking part in actions that can be seen as “a betrayal of one’s government” and therefore treasonous?

 

If the charge seems a bit heavy handed, keep in mind that it is one the network itself has had no trouble using to suit its own purpose. For example, Beck – reacting to a rumor that had already been discredited by the White House – said that President Obama and his administration had behaved in a manner “that borders on treason.” In fact, not once, but three times within the hour, Beck used the term “treason” in conjunction with the White House.

 

Another definition of treason is “the offense of attempting by overt acts to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance.” So how is one to take it as anything but treason when O’Reilly boasts that, “The conservative media is winning now. They’re damaging the president of the United States.”

 

There is, of course, one way in which this could all be viewed as something other than treason on the part of Fox News, and that is if their allegiance is to a government other than the one we have here in the United States. But that would mean that in the childhood tradition of “he who smelt it dealt it”, Fox News has cleverly been accusing Obama and his administration of being Nazi capitalists when, in fact, it’s all part of their own wicked plot to usher in a fascist regime. So which is it, Fox? Are you traitors to your country… or the ultimate in subversive commies?

 

 

 

 

If you’re going to talk the talk, you’d best be prepared to walk the walk. But if, like Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity, you’re going to make a mockery of serious issues or, worse, make promises you have no intention of keeping, it’s time for us to stop listening to what you have to say.

Last week, during an interview with Charles Grodin, Hannity — who insists that waterboarding is not torture — declared almost glibly that he would willingly undergo the process, which is basically a simulated drowning. Further pressed by Grodin — and realizing he might well have gotten in over his head, so to speak — Hannity then sputtered, “I’ll do it for charity… I’ll do it for the troops’ families.”

Shortly thereafter, MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann offered to pony up $1,000 for every second that Hannity lasted while being waterboarded. Further, the host of Countdown said that he would double the total donation when, after being waterboarded, Hannity admitted to fearing for his life and conceded that the “enhanced interrogation technique” is, in fact, torture.

Of course, Hannity has completely ignored the offer, which has been repeated by Olbermann and covered by other news outlets since first it was put forth. 

Hannity recently declared that “journalism is dead in America but for Fox and talk radio and Matt Drudge.” Tthis is somewhat ironic coming from a man whose website features “Hannidate,” a “place where people of like conservative minds can come together to meet,” which seems to fall somewhat outside the scope of “journalism.” But in any case, if Hannity wanted to prove himself a true practitioner of the trade — or even a “political commentator” worth his salt — he needs to accept Olbermann’s challenge. 

Of course, that’s not about to happen.

 I make no bones about the fact that I watch Hannity and his fellow Fox bloviators for amusement and as a way of remaining up-to-date on those I consider my ideological enemies. And while I’ll defend to the death Hannity’s right to say anything he pleases, it’s also my right to try and convince others that as a public commentator, he should be held accountable for his words. So until Hannity either admits to being a coward, concedes waterboarding is torture or actually undergoes the process, it’s time for him to shut up… and us to tune out. Because there’s no point in listening to the words of a man who doesn’t have the courage of his supposed convictions.

Um, a few quick questions for all the folks out there planning to attend “tea parties” aimed at protesting tax rates on Wednesday, April 15th. Because as much as I love a good party, I’m having some trouble figuring this one out.

First, y’all do realize that you’ve been duped by Fox News Channel, right? They — with a little help from Newt Gingrich and a few other politicians — have whipped you into a pitchfork-toting, fire-breathing mob of angry villagers out to kill a monster that doesn’t really exist. None of the taxes that you are protesting actually will impact you. (I feel completely safe in saying that short of Glenn Beck and his fellow Fox “newscasters”, not a single person who makes over $500,000 a year — you know, the ones impacted by the taxes being discussed — will be out there partying with y’all.)

Which leads me to my next question: Do you even understand what the heck you’re supposedly protesting? You do realize that there has not been a single new Obama tax put into effect, right? And that when they are put into effect, most of them will help — not harm — the majority of you?

Oh, and do you get that this “tea party” has about as much to do with the original Boston tea party as the sun rising in the morning has to do with synchronized toilet flushing. That historic event was a spontaneous, grassroots movement protesting taxation without preresentation. This time around, the teabaggers have been courted and cajoled for months into an event that is approximately as spontaneous as a pregnancy.

The folks at Fox News should be ashamed of themselves for their grandstanding, pandering, rebel-rousing techniques which have mislead people into thinking that they are taking part in anything other than an even designed to give Hannity and company a full day in which to endlessly bash the leader of the free world. It’s shameful and disturbing… and absolutely everything we’ve come to expect from the network which has turned the phrase “fair and balance” into a punchline.

So wait, inclusion is now a bad thing?

It’s so tough to keep up!

Last night, Sean Hannity of Fox News Channel accused President Obama of saying that the United States “does not consider itself a Christian nation.” As this was reportedly said to residents of “a Muslim country”, Hannity treated this as the worst form of heresy imaginable.

Of course, what the president said and what Hannity reported him as having said were two different things. In reality, what Obama said was that “one of the great strengths of the United States is — although as I mentioned, we have a very large Christian population  — we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation, or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values.”

In other words, we are a nation of peole who have differing beliefs. This is something we have always prided ourselves on. What fascinated me about Hannity’s comments was that he opened the segment — and, indeed, his broadcast, by saying, “The president of the United States — your president — told an audience…”

Back up a second, sir. Unless I’m mistaken, you just proved my point. Because I, Mr. Hannity, am an athiest, and yet Barack Obama is my president as well as yours. Even if this country were made up of 95 percent Christians, that would not make us an exclusively Christian nation. And that, Mr. Hannity, is the point Obama was making. The fact that your network choses to run a banner across the bottom of the screen declaring the United States to be “The Fox Nation” does not mean that those who opt to get their news from other sources are not Americans, does it? (Then again, this is Fox News Channel we’re talking about, so they might actually try and claim that to be true.)

We are the United States and, as that name implies, we come together as a people despite our differences. It’s precisely this type of talk that creates an environment of separatism. And given the many crises facing our country, the last thing we need is to be torn apart by such ridiculousness when we should, in fact, be rallying as one to prove exactly what it is that makes us the greatest country in the world.