Last night, Stephen Colbert showed how Fox & Friends was doing its best to defend its parent company from the growing hacking scandal, by throwing out other instances of hacking as if they were all the same.
Now thankfully, folks, there is a voice of reason out there: Fox & Friends' Steve Doocy, who last Friday blew the lid back onto this story with some PR guy who may or may not be employed by Rupert Murdoch. Jimmy, pinch me off a Dooce!
7/15/2011:
STEVE DOOCY: What do you make of this particular hacking scandal with News of the World?
BOB DILENSCHNEIDER: Well, the News of the World is a hacking scandal, it can't be denied. But, the issue is, why are so many people piling on at this point?
....
STEVE DOOCY: We've got some serious problems in this country right now. We are teetering on default. And what do they do? They talk about this!
....
BOB DILENSCHNEIDER: We know it's a hacking scandal. Shouldn't we get beyond it and really deal with the issue of hacking? I mean, Citicorp has been hacked into. Bank of America has been hacked into. ... Are they getting the same kind of attention for hacking that took place less than a year ago than that News Corp is getting today?
Right. Those banks' files were hacked, and News Corp hacked into people's phones. They're both victims of being in the same sentence with the word "hack". And focusing on Murdoch just obscures all the other big hacking news out there. Cold and flu season is coming, that's going to lead to hacking. Cab drivers used to be called hacks. Why does no one use that word anymore? And if you really want to talk about hacks, what about these people?
Where's that story?
Video and transcript below the fold.
Nation, we all know, it is no secret and I've said it many, many times, that the media is liberal. Notice how headlines always start on the left. And any time a conservative gets in trouble, like Rupert Murdoch, owner of News Corp, and rumor has it, the world's largest human zoo, the liberal media start circling. This is Blood in the Water.
SHARK: Shark shark, shark shark shark, shark.
Murdoch's British tabloid News of the World illegally hacked into the voicemails of celebrities, murder victims, and soldiers' families in a disgraceful invasion of privacy, or as the British say, "lorry". So Murdoch shut down News of the World, and for some reason, the media continues to talk about this piffle.
EARLY SHOW (7/18/2011): Former chief executive of News International, Rebekah Brooks, was arrested.
STEPHANIE GOSK (7/18/2011): There have been 10 arrests so far.
MSNBC (7/18/2011): There's an FBI investigation ongoing, the SEC may investigate, there's people calling for Murdoch to be up in front of Congress.
FOX NEWS (7/18/2011): The firestorm engulfing two of Britain's top cops, and still threatening even the Prime Minister David Cameron.
KYRA PHILLIPS (7/18/2011): ... head of Scotland Yard stepped down amid public outrage yesterday.
Big deal. Who cares if the head of Scotland Yard resigns? Why is Scotland Yard policing England anyway? Call me when the head of England Yard resigns. That's news.
Now thankfully, folks, there is a voice of reason out there: Fox & Friends' Steve Doocy, who last Friday blew the lid back onto this story with some PR guy who may or may not be employed by Rupert Murdoch. Jimmy, pinch me off a Dooce!
7/15/2011:
STEVE DOOCY: What do you make of this particular hacking scandal with News of the World?
BOB DILENSCHNEIDER: Well, the News of the World is a hacking scandal, it can't be denied. But, the issue is, why are so many people piling on at this point?
....
STEVE DOOCY: We've got some serious problems in this country right now. We are teetering on default. And what do they do? They talk about this!
....
BOB DILENSCHNEIDER: We know it's a hacking scandal. Shouldn't we get beyond it and really deal with the issue of hacking? I mean, Citicorp has been hacked into. Bank of America has been hacked into. ... Are they getting the same kind of attention for hacking that took place less than a year ago than that News Corp is getting today?
Right. Those banks' files were hacked, and News Corp hacked into people's phones. They're both victims of being in the same sentence with the word "hack". And focusing on Murdoch just obscures all the other big hacking news out there. Cold and flu season is coming, that's going to lead to hacking. Cab drivers used to be called hacks. Why does no one use that word anymore? And if you really want to talk about hacks, what about these people?
Where's that story?
So move on, dead-eyed media monsters, this story is done. We'll be right back.
Stephen also covered what we knew of this scandal on last Thursday's show as well. Last night, he also riffed on the new Sarah Palin movie, and then talked about who's donated to his new Super PAC, with their names appearing as a crawl at the bottom of the show. He then talked to both sides in the campaign finance debate, and hilariously showed how the guy who doesn't want transparency quotes the First Amendment "Congress shall make no law" to justify his point of view, but cannot recite what follows it.
Meanwhile, Jon last Thursday looked at the latest in the debt ceiling fight. Last night, he showed Rep. Shiela Jackson-Lee (D-TX) bringing the race card into the debt ceiling fight, and exposed the GOP for using the term "job creators" instead of the correct term: rich people. With all this obfuscation being thrown our way, Jason Jones then warned us America is about to hit our national bullshit ceiling, and default on reality.