Via Media Matters:
Washington, DC - Today, after the mother of Gregory Giusti -- the man arrested for allegedly threatening Speaker Nancy Pelosi's life over health care reform -- stated that Fox News was a factor in her son's alleged actions, Media Matters for America released the following statement:
"The violent language and scare tactics we see on Fox News every day have real consequences," said Eric Burns, President of Media Matters. "This is a network that ran a 14-month campaign against health care reform, which left their viewers confused and angry. The question is, now that one of those viewers has allegedly threatened Speaker Pelosi's life over health care reform, is Fox News going to do anything about it?"
No, they're probably not going to do a thing about it - except proclaim they've been Victimized by the accusation that they trade in Hate Speech.
Every day, ALL DAY LONG, Fox News Contributors regularly spew Hate Speech against Democrats and Liberals, calling them "Appeasers" of Terrorism, "Anti-American", "Socialist", "Marxist", "Fascist", "Communist", "Kooks" and "Traitors" - simply because they believe that Government has a responsibility to protect the public not only from the threats of war and terrorism, but also the threats of disease, unfair discrimination, unsafe consumer products and corporate exploitation.
Creating protections against corporate malfeasance is not a "Government Takeover".
It's rather hard to take whines about being called "Tea Baggers" seriously after these people have engaged in vicious name-calling and lies for Years - and it's clear that it's had an effect. A bad one.
It would be fair to say that not all Baggers are potentially violent, but it would wrong to say that None of them are. All it takes are a FEW people for all Hell to Break lose.
All you have to do is look at the "Manifesto" of one Violent Fox News Fan, James Adkisson, who killed two and injured three others in the Unitarian Church in Knoxville TN.
"This was a symbolic killing. Who I wanted to kill was every Democrat in the Senate & House, the 100 people in Bernard Goldberg's book. I'd like to kill everyone in the mainstream media. But I know those people were inaccessible to me. I couldn't get to the generals & high ranking officers of the Marxist movement so I went after the foot soldiers, the chickenshit liberals that vote in these traitorous people. Someone had to get the ball rolling. I volunteered. I hope others do the same. It's the only way we can rid America of this cancerous pestilence."
"I thought I'd do something good for this Country Kill Democrats til the cops kill me....Liberals are a pest like termites. Millions of them Each little bite contributes to the downfall of this great nation. The only way we can rid ourselves of this evil is to kill them in the streets. Kill them where they gather. I'd like to encourage other like minded people to do what I've done. If life aint worth living anymore don't just kill yourself. do something for your Country before you go. Go Kill Liberals.
This isn't me saying this guy was influenced by Fox News, HE SAID he was directly influenced by Fox News before he went and killed two people. Did Fox take any responsibility then, no they tried to excuse his Hateful actions by claiming he didn't commit a Hate Crime.
Certainly Adkisson was just one lone nutball, and it's not like anything he's saying echoes things that have been said on Fox News - like say Glenn Beck fantasizing about putting poison in Nancy Pelosi's Wine.
BECK: So, Speaker Pelosi, I just wanted to -- you gonna drink your wine? Are you blind? Do those eyes not work? There you -- I want you to drink it now. Drink it. Drink it. Drink it.
I really just wanted to thank you for having me over here to wine country. You know, to be invited, I thought I had to be a major Democratic donor or a longtime friend of yours, which I'm not.
By the way, I put poison in your -- no, I -- I look forward to all the policy discussions that we're supposed to have -- you know, on health care, energy reform, and the economy. [Glenn Beck, 8/6/09]
This is what is supposed to pass for "humor" on Fox, and the fact that Death Threats are NOT Protected Free Speech doesn't even enter in their heads. Even jokes. Try joking about having BOMB IN YOUR PANTS next time you're on a plane and see what happens to you!
Yet when a guy flies a plane into the IRS Building in Austin Texas, Fox friendly Republicans like Steve King - look for excuses to justify it.
Fox isn't saying it's "Ok" to Kill Liberals - they just think it's incredibly funny.
More FOX Humor - a heckler tells Pelosi to "Burn in Hell", and the Fox and Friends just Yuck it up.
Beck on how "Dangerous" Pelosi is...
Beck lists Pelosi among California's "really dangerous people" that include communists, eco-terrorists, Black Panthers. Beck stated that "California has become quite a hotbed for all kinds of radicals -- communists, socialists, all in the 1960s, but they were here before -- progressives. Now, eco-terrorists, they're here. You have the Panthers formed here. Nancy Pelosi is here. A lot of really dangerous people in a state as volatile as this one, and it is on the edge." [Glenn Beck, 2/9/10]
But of course since she's such a "Dangerous, Radical, Communist" we all know that anything unpleasant or violent that may happen to Pelosi is clearly her own fault for flaunting her power, position and all that Radicalness all in front of people... the nerve of that woman.
Columnist Cal Thomas said, "When Nancy Pelosi went through those tea partiers, it was like -- what should we analogize this to? -- the march through Skokie, Illinois, by the Nazis. It was deliberately provocative. They wanted a reaction." [Fox News Watch, 3/27/10]
Yeah, they just wanted a reaction so they could play the "Race Card" once again. Don't they know that's so "played out" and overdone? According to Fox Racial Profiling is No problem at all, in fact - the people that need to be most worried about "Racism" are White Conservatives. They aren't the Bigots - Obama is.
Interesting that they find Racism so quickly by a Black Guy, but can't seem to find it at all when a White person does it - especially preachers like Pastor Hagee or more recently Franklin Graham.
Too Bad the FBI Keeps Track of these things.
An analysis of data for victims of single-bias hate crime incidents showed that:
* 51.0 percent were victimized because of the offender’s bias against a race.
* 17.9 percent were targeted because of a bias against a religious belief.
* 17.6 percent were victims because of a bias against a particular sexual orientation.
* 12.7 percent were targeted because of a bias against an ethnicity/national origin.
* 0.9 percent were victimized because of a bias against a disability. (Based on Table 1.)
Racial bias
More than half of the single-bias hate crimes were racially motivated. Of the 4,934 victims of these racial bias crimes:
* 72.9 percent were victims of an offender’s anti-black bias.
* 16.8 percent were victims because of an anti-white bias.
* 3.4 percent were targeted because of an anti-Asian/Pacific Islander bias.
* 1.3 percent were victims because of an anti-American Indian/Alaskan Native bias.
* 5.6 percent were victims because of a bias against a group of individuals in which more than one race was represented (anti-multiple races, group). (Based on Table 1.)
Religious bias
Of the 1,732 victims of anti-religious hate crimes:
* 66.1 percent were targeted because of an offender’s anti-Jewish bias.
* 7.5 percent were victims because of an anti-Islamic bias.
* 5.1 percent were victims because of an anti-Catholic bias.
* 3.6 percent were victims because of an anti-Protestant bias.
* 0.8 percent were targeted because of an anti-Atheist/Agnostic bias.
* 12.8 percent were victims because of a bias against other religions (anti-other religion).
* 4.0 percent were victims because of a bias against groups of individuals of varying religions (anti-multiple religions, group). (Based on Table 1.)
Seems to me the absolute last people that need to worry about being victimized by bigotry - are Fox News Viewers.
So has Fox ever acknowledged the link between their own Anti-Liberal/Democratic Rhetoric and Adkisson or Giusti? Not so much. Instead they attacked those who pointed out that similarity.
Goldberg: Screw them, they (Media Matters) are unimportant people who don't matter.
O'Reilly: I want to send them a cake, but I want something to be inside the cake, and I might be put in prison if that happens.
Goldberg: You should send them flowers, Black Dead Flowers.
So here O'Reilly threatens to send them a dangerously laced (Poisoned) cake... much like the serious of White powder that was sent to Jon Stewart, Keith Olbermann and Anthony Weiner's Office.
Ha ha.. that's so funny. Sending threatening, potentially poisoned letters - just like those that were sent to Pat Leahy and Tom Daschle which killed several Mail Workers - is hilarious.
It's also Terrorism. American on American Terrorism, and Fox News stands right at the center of it's Blackened Hateful Heart.
Update:And just today you had this:
ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- An Ohio man has been charged after authorities spotted him with a gun in a North Carolina airport parking lot as Air Force One was departing Sunday afternoon.
Joseph McVey, 23, is charged going armed in terror of the public, a misdemeanor, said Asheville Regional Airport Police Capt. Kevan Smith. Airport police saw McVey get out of a car about 2 p.m. in the rental car return lot and he had a gun, Smith said. He was taken into custody immediately and was being held at the Buncombe County jail.
Security was heightened at the airport because President Barack Obama was leaving after vacationing in the state, headed to the memorial service for the 29 West Virginia coal miners killed in an explosion. The suspect was nowhere near the president's plane and was in a public area.
How fast do you think Fox will fall all over itself defending and excusing this guy - while distancing themselves from his actions?
Vyan