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Tag(s): FOX NEWS; Hate Speech; LGBT; Obama-Barack; Sexism
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September 9, 2008 at 11:57:52

Headlined on 9/9/08:
Fox News Attacks 'Lesbian Air America Host'

by Brent Budowsky Page 1 of 1 page(s)

www.opednews.com

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Fox News Attacks ‘Lesbian Air America Host’

Even by the low standards of the Republican News Network, this morning's attack on Rachel Maddow, on the Fox News network, as a "lesbian Air America host" was a despicable new low. Those words, an open appeal to bigotry and hate, said by an alleged media analyst named Tim Graham, were met with laughter and chortles by the Fox News team on air. This is sick and despicable stuff, even for Fox News.

Here is a message to Barack Obama: You need to spend more time fighting back against the lies and smears of a Swift Boat campaign more ugly than the campaign against John Kerry, and less time having sweet-talk meetings with Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes followed by professorial discourse with Bill O'Reilly. This is war, Barack, and you had better fight back.

The sickness and dementia of a purported news network airing with smug laughs and happy chortles a naked appeal to hatred and bigotry in this attack on "a lesbian Air America host" is a low that even a Republican cable organization like Fox should never stoop to.

Let’s see if the "Fox Democrats," such as Lanny Davis, Howard Wolfson and Susan Estrich, have the strength of principle to stand against this. One of them recently wrote of how proud he was that both parties nominated four great candidates. Is this Fox Democrat proud they nominated Sarah Palin? Is this a Democrat, a real Democrat? A Democrat proud that Republicans nominated Sarah Palin? Huh?

Let’s see if Democrats can summon the steel and will and fight to answer this campaign of personal destruction and let’s see if Barack Obama can toughen up his game, and play NFL Super Bowl football.

In the meantime, Fox News should be ashamed and embarrassed that they allow their shows to be used to attack "a lesbian Air America host.”

Sick is sick. Despicable is despicable. And this is sick and despicable. And each and every Republican and Fox News Democrat should say it.

Brent Budowsky is a regular columnist on thehill.com. He served as Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen, responsible for commerce and intelligence matters, including one of the core drafters of the CIA Identities Law. Served as Legislative Director to Congressman Bill Alexander, then Chief Deputy Whip, House of Representatives. Currently a member of the International Advisory Council of the Intelligence Summit. Left goverment in 1990 for marketing and public affairs business including major corporate entertainment and talent management.

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10 comments

In 2004, Rady Ananda joined the growing community of citizen journalists. Focused mainly on elections, her blogs also address religious, gender, sexual and racial equality, as well as environmental issues; and are sprinkled with book and film reviews on various topics. She spent most of her working life as a legal investigator for private lawyers, and five years as an editor. She currently serves as a senior editor at OpEdNews.

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Rady AnandaIn 2004, Rady Ananda joined the growing community of citizen journalists. Focused mainly on elections, her blogs also address religious, gender, sexual and racial equality, as well as environmental issues; and are sprinkled with book and film reviews on various topics. She spent most of her working life as a legal investigator for private lawyers, and five years as an editor. She currently serves as a senior editor at OpEdNews.

All material offered here is the property of Rady A...

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homophobia is a form of sexism

Comment from Ratings: Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Brent. That Fox News would exhibit sexism is not at all surprising. Based on your description of what happened, these comments and laughter rise to the level of hate speech.

Not only should Barack show a little spine, along with the Dems at Fox by objecting to this, but all those who believe in equality should call them to the floor for this - be they Dem, Repub or any other partisan.

they must have awfully tiny penises to mock someone based on her sexual preferences.

I know, I know, most people say that homophobes are really gay themselves, and that's probably true part of the time. My experience is that most homophobes are not well liked by the opposite sex, or have tiny penises, or some other failing that motivates them to mock people who are different from them.

she is too cute... !

by Rady Ananda (124 articles, 283 quicklinks, 36 diaries, 1061 comments) on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 12:01:37 PM

I'm an 81 year old widow, of close to eight years. Still have an active (and social activist) mind. With six offspring,I've spent a good part of my life so far, raising a family, and enjoying the fruits of their own families. Sixteen Grand kids and six Great, with two more due. My favorite quotation is 'Nothing By Chance.' It's from a book by Richard Bach. The signature at the bottom of my e-mail is "Walk in peace, balance and harmony."
Pat HerrickI'm an 81 year old widow, of close to eight years. Still have an active (and social activist) mind. With six offspring,I've spent a good part of my life so far, raising a family, and enjoying the fruits of their own families. Sixteen Grand kids and six Great, with two more due. My favorite quotation is 'Nothing By Chance.' It's from a book by Richard Bach. The signature at the bottom of my e-mail is "Walk in peace, balance and harmony."

Fox news attacks

You're saying there are Dems at Fox News???

by Pat Herrick (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 166 comments) on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 1:28:01 PM

Artist, Activist, Wife, Mother, Human Being
Cheryl AbrahamArtist, Activist, Wife, Mother, Human Being

Wouldn't expect anything less from Fox

But this will only have the opposite effect - it will BOOST Maddow's ratings instead of the other way around. How surprising it will be for the homophobes to find Rachel Maddow to be intelligent, sincere, and engaging rather than the scarey monster they suppose she might be.

In my experience homophobes are very, very curious creatures about homosexuality. It seems rather obvious why: "Thou dost protest too much". I never get angry when someone calls me a dumb blonde - after all, while I may often be dumb, I'm not blonde.

by Cheryl Abraham (13 articles, 2 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 206 comments) on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 12:36:23 PM

Amanda is a managing editor at OpEdNews and has worked with Rob Kall on the site since 2004. A retired research ethnographer specializing in organization and technological innovation and strategic business development, she now resides in Georgia where she builds and restores wooden and fiberglass boats with her husband, Tom, a retired electrical engineer. Amanda grew up in the Commonwealth of Kentucky on the 9AA that runs along the Ohio in an area that gave the world Larry Flynt, the Clooneys, R...

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Amanda LangAmanda is a managing editor at OpEdNews and has worked with Rob Kall on the site since 2004. A retired research ethnographer specializing in organization and technological innovation and strategic business development, she now resides in Georgia where she builds and restores wooden and fiberglass boats with her husband, Tom, a retired electrical engineer. Amanda grew up in the Commonwealth of Kentucky on the 9AA that runs along the Ohio in an area that gave the world Larry Flynt, the Clooneys, R...

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Sick and tired of charismatics!!!!!!!!

I am sick and tired of FOX and the conservative religious right running around pointing the finger and screaming "sinners" at others who do not hold their closed-minded, fundamentalist, hypocritical (remember Larry Craig and Ted Haggard) God/Devil mythology. These "charmistics" give Christianity in general a very bad name. Be on notice: The next person who comes to my door to tell me the wonders of their "make-believe" friend in order to save my "sinning" soul is going to get a shotgun up their righteous ass.

by Amanda Lang (23 articles, 13845 quicklinks, 431 diaries, 593 comments) on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 12:43:13 PM

Hans Bennett is a Philadelphia photojournalist mostly focusing on the movement to free Mumia Abu-Jamal and all political prisoners. An archive of his work is available at insubordination.blogspot.com and he is also co-founder of "Journalists for Mumia," created to challenge the long history of corporate media bias, whose website is: Abu-Jamal-News.com
Hans BennettHans Bennett is a Philadelphia photojournalist mostly focusing on the movement to free Mumia Abu-Jamal and all political prisoners. An archive of his work is available at insubordination.blogspot.com and he is also co-founder of "Journalists for Mumia," created to challenge the long history of corporate media bias, whose website is: Abu-Jamal-News.com

Terrible!...

...the degree to which FOX gets away with this, is an indicator of how much US mainstream society either agrees with FOX's bigotry, or is accepting of it as a 'legitimate opinion'.

After all, hatred and bigotry has always been promoted by the US Power Structure... At minimum, by creating scapegoats, it helps to distract for class warfare, which in the US has always been scandalous.

by Hans Bennett (19 articles, 81 quicklinks, 82 diaries, 145 comments) on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 2:59:45 PM

A retired sales ad marketing trainer, escapee from the automobile business, who reads vorciously and writes whenever possible. The rest of the available time is spent doing woodworking or cooking. Lives in central TX, where the weather is great and politics are dubious. Usually logical and sensible but can be very cranky when assaulted by anybody leaning too far to the right and doesn't know it.
Ivan HentschelA retired sales ad marketing trainer, escapee from the automobile business, who reads vorciously and writes whenever possible. The rest of the available time is spent doing woodworking or cooking. Lives in central TX, where the weather is great and politics are dubious. Usually logical and sensible but can be very cranky when assaulted by anybody leaning too far to the right and doesn't know it.

To be expected

Fox News exists for all of the people who think that CNN uses too many big words. Usually five letters is their limit, as in 'lesbo" but they still keep hoping someone at Fox will actually spit out the "n" word. But that is six characters and stretching things a bit.

by Ivan Hentschel (5 articles, 0 quicklinks, 8 diaries, 263 comments) on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 7:41:59 PM

Sandy Sand began her writing career while raising three children and doing public relations work for Women's American ORT (Organization for Rehabilitation through Training). That led to a job as a reporter for the San Fernando Valley Chronicle, a weekly publication in Canoga Park, California. In conjunction with the Chronicle, she broadcast a tri-weekly, 10-minute newscast for KGOE AM. Following the closure of the Chronicle, Sand became the editor of the Tolucan Times and Canyon Crier newspapers...

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Sandy SandSandy Sand began her writing career while raising three children and doing public relations work for Women's American ORT (Organization for Rehabilitation through Training). That led to a job as a reporter for the San Fernando Valley Chronicle, a weekly publication in Canoga Park, California. In conjunction with the Chronicle, she broadcast a tri-weekly, 10-minute newscast for KGOE AM. Following the closure of the Chronicle, Sand became the editor of the Tolucan Times and Canyon Crier newspapers...

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Ivan

You may have a point there. I'd call them dumbass nincompoops but there are too many letters and syllables in each word.

by Sandy Sand (165 articles, 0 quicklinks, 220 diaries, 1490 comments) on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 9:16:17 PM

Retired,
Age 60,
Golfer?,
doubleaglRetired,
Age 60,
Golfer?,

Fox News Comment

Fox Television News is a disgrace to humanity!!!

by doubleagl (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 5 comments) on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 9:34:15 PM

Actor, singer, composer, and progressive/liberal
Kerry PrepActor, singer, composer, and progressive/liberal

So that means.......

OK, so that means any day now FOX will be making the same references to Mary Cheney, Bay Buchanan, and Newt's lesbian sister in the same fashion.

Sounds good to me. After all, FOX is an equal-opportunity sexploiter!

-hamkap

by Kerry Prep (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 3 comments) on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 11:36:19 PM

Midwesterner, veteran of VietNam era naval service, I still feel an obligation to defend the Constitution against "all enemies, foreign and domestic."
John Sanchez Jr.Midwesterner, veteran of VietNam era naval service, I still feel an obligation to defend the Constitution against "all enemies, foreign and domestic."

The problem is,...

that they added up the I.Q.'s of every individual in Fox management, their on air "personalities" and writing staff and wrote the number on a white board (they wouldn't dare use a blackboard at Fox). Then they wrote Rachel Maddow's I.Q. to the right of the first number and noticed that it appeared to be a simple division problem.

Then they worked the problem and discovered that Rachel Maddow's I.Q. is evenly divisible by the sum of the Fox personnel I.Q. by a factor of 10,000. That's when they got scared and lashed out.

Don't be fooled by the slitherer's chortling either. Look at their face and you'll see that the gleeful expression extends only from their chin to the bottom of their nose, and even then they sometimes chortle through clenched teeth.

The eyes tell the story, though. There you will see the giveaway of the combination of fear, hatred and self loathing that shines through like a liar's trademark. The reason it shines through so brightly is that there is nothing else in their head to diminish the glare.

by John Sanchez Jr. (6 articles, 0 quicklinks, 12 diaries, 1266 comments) on Wednesday, September 10, 2008 at 8:31:54 AM