News Hounds

O'Reilly Insists It's Not Torture

Reported by Deborah - Wed 5:59 PM

O'Reilly is on a campaign to convince viewers that the US does not do torture proclaiming on The Factor last night,

"Torture is taking my fingers off, disfiguring me, taking my eye out — not keeping me in a cold room and uncomfortable with blaring rock music."

Last night, O'Reilly was all worked up over the New York Times article claiming that the CIA was able to get valuable information from Abu Zubaydah, Al Qaeda personnel director, using "approved procedures" which included loud rock music in a cold room. Katherine Newell-Bierman Human Rights Watch, disagreed with O'Reilly's and experienced some of his special " approved procedures" reserved for wayward guests.

News Hound Demographic Results

Reported by Janie - Wed 12:07 PM

A few weeks ago, the News Hounds ran a poll to find out statistics about our readers that would assist us with advertising. We've reviewed the results, and after much curiosity from our readers, we are releasing the results of the poll. Please look below the fold to find these results.

Thanks to all that took the time to participate.

Hume and "Islamic Fascism"

Reported by Janie - Wed 10:44 AM

Senator Russ Feingold, along with various Muslim groups, have taken offense with the term "Islamic fascism" that the President and his Administration insist upon using (despite the fact it does not apply). During last night's (9/12) "Two Minutes of Hate" segment on "Special Report", host Brit Hume went after Feingold for his stance on the term, while once again protecting the President through his skillful use of spin.

How Fox News Creates a Biased Interview, in 12 Easy Steps

Reported by Judy - Wed 9:32 AM

Little things count. That's the philosophy that underlies the way Fox News sets up, manages, and conducts interviews to convey a message that invariably supports George Bush's agenda. The way the "Fox and Friends" Tuesday (Sept. 13, 2006) handled the issue of Bush's 9/11 anniversary speech contains several typical Fox News strategies.

Hannity & Colmes Guest Blames Bush Unpopularity On Hollywood Celebrities

Reported by Ellen - Wed 12:58 AM

Apparently still honoring the solemnity of the 9/11 anniversary, Sean Hannity and FOX News held its fire (somewhat) against Democrats last night on Hannity & Colmes (9/12/06). Instead, they went after their second-favorite target, Hollywood liberals. While conservatives like Ann Coulter can smear and insult Democrats to her heart’s content, any remark against Bush by an entertainer is worthy of an entire segment. Last night, there were two guests criticizing remarks by Sean Penn and Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines calling the president dumb. One of the guests insisted that the reason their remarks are important is, “It’s become second nature to say ‘Oh Bush is stupid’ because so many celebrities say it.” With video.

John Gibson sides with Republican in 1:1 debate, making it 2:1 defending Bush speech

Reported by Chrish - Tue 11:38 PM

What could have been a "fair and balanced" argument on The Big Story today 9/12/06 was skewed to the right by the supposedly impartial host's obvious agreement with Republican strategist Karen Hanretty. Democratic strategist and former Howard Dean campaign manager Joe Trippi held his own, repeating his point that Bush's use of his speech last night to put forth political talking points was "inappropriate."

Dick Durbin Appears on Fox and Makes Democrats Look Like Idiots

Reported by Melanie - Tue 7:22 PM

Dick Durbin (D-IL) was a guest today (September 12, 2006) on Your World w/Cavuto and I have no doubt that Democrats who saw him were screaming at their television sets by the time the segment was over. He was awful!

Durbin appeared to explain why "some Democrats" are upset that George Bush mentioned Iraq in his 9/11 anniversary speech last night.

Cavuto began by asking Durbin what he would say if Bush hadn't mentioned Iraq at all.

Attacking Democrats for Partisanship on 9/11

Reported by Janie - Tue 5:03 PM

During the 9/11 memoriam on "Special Report" last night (9/11), Fox News Correspondent Wendell Goler filed a generic report on the state of America in the 5 years following the September 11th attacks. Goler discussed how divided we've become in today's society - and pinned the blame on the shoulders of Democrats.

Brit Hume Using 9/11 Remembrance to Promote Ties to Iraq

Reported by Janie - Tue 4:50 PM

Much of yesterday's (9/11) "Special Report" centered around the 5th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. One segment, filed by Fox News Correspondent Mike Emmanuel, focused on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, but Hume's introduction once again led viewers to connect Iraq with 9/11.

Fox Guest Agrees That President's Speech On 9/11 Was Partisan When He Started Talking About Iraq & Saddam Hussein

Reported by Donna - Tue 4:31 PM

Last night the president was supposed to give a speech on the anniversary of 9/11. It may have started out that way but the President insisted on bringing Iraq and Saddam Hussein into the equation.

Fox News Airs 'Heresy' on War on Terror, Sort Of

Reported by Judy - Tue 9:22 AM

Fox News committed political heresy Tuesday (Sept. 12, 2006) by allowing a guest to question whether there are any true terrorist cells in the United States, but it did its best to undercut what the guest was saying with a series of biased banners. With Video.

Why Is FOX News Doing Republican Rehab For Bernard Kerik?

Reported by Ellen - Tue 1:58 AM

Once again, Bernard Kerik’s legal and ethical transgressions were swept under the rug by “real journalism, fair and balanced” FOX News. You may recall that Kerik recently pleaded guilty to accepting illegal gifts from a company associated with organized crime, a company that coincidentally was approved to construct a casino in New Jersey where a contact of Kerik’s played a key role in the approval. This is just the latest in a long string of questionable behavior by Kerik. But for the second time in a month, those lapses were overlooked while Kerik was given a pundit’s chair on Hannity & Colmes. He seems to have gotten the same hospitality on Your World yesterday, too.

Unmistakeable Bias And Divisive Partisanship On Hannity & Colmes’ 9/11 “Special”

Reported by Ellen - Tue 12:42 AM

Sean Hannity toned down his partisan rhetoric on last night’s (9/11/06) Hannity & Colmes “special” 9/11 commemoration but the pro-Bush, anti-Democratic bias was undeniable. As has become the norm when national policy is in the spotlight, all the guests were Republican and no critical analysis of Bush’s speech, which delayed the beginning of the show, nor any of his actions since 9/11, was offered. And despite the fact that just minutes before, President Bush had said our country “must put aside our differences, and work together to meet the test that history has given us,” Hannity couldn’t resist divisive partisanship, even on such a solemn occasion.

Exploiting 9/11

Reported by Chrish - Mon 10:46 PM

Tonight 9/11/06 on the Talking Points Memo Bill O'Reilly exploited the events of 9/11 to remind viewers to elect officials who have "specific plans and who are courageous enough to fight this brutal terror war" (and how many times have he and his coworkers said that Democrats "have no plan"?). He once again bemoaned that not enough people are sufficiently terrorized: "Most Americans are sitting the terror war out, thinking* it's not their problem. Tonight we'll prove them wrong."

*"Thinking" was the written word in the graphic; "believing" was the spoken word. For a "journalist" he's mighty cavalier about language.

O'Reilly Still Stuck On George Clooney

Reported by Deborah - Mon 9:36 PM

Bill O'Reilly takes a grudge seriously so even tonight, during the special 9/11 coverage on The Factor, he was compelled to remind everyone of last year's O'Reilly/Clooney feud .Terence Stamp, Charity Navigator, was on hand to evaluate performances of the 9/11 charities and O'Reilly showed a clip of Clooney taking a shot at FOX News and asked Stamp what he thought. 9/11/06

Be Very, Very Afraid but Remember, Bush has Made us Safer

Reported by Melanie - Mon 6:14 PM

Ed Koch, the former mayor of New York City, was a guest on Your World w/Cavuto today (September 11, 2006). Koch's appearance followed one by Bernard Kerik, who spoke about "the enemy we face," and Nathan Sharansky, who expanded on "the enemy we face." After Cavuto and his early guests wondered why "terror" doesn't poll as the issue Americans are most concerned about, as Cavuto claimed it should be, Koch, Fox's kind of Democrat, came on to tell us what a great job George Bush is doing keeping us safe.

McCain Kept Morphing Iraq With The War On Terror

Reported by Donna - Mon 1:42 PM

Today on Fox On Line with Bill Hemmer he spoke with Senator John McCain about the 5 year anniversary of 9/11, however, instead of concentrating on 9/11, McCain kept morphing it into the war in Iraq.

Hemmer Says Many Believe (Or Is That Some People?) Souls Of The Departed From 9/11 Speak To Us Through The Wind

Reported by Donna - Mon 1:27 PM

Today on Fox On Line with Bill Hemmer the show was devoted to 9/11, particularly the president's visit to Shanksville, PA, where he appeared live on video throughout the show. Hemmer spoke with several people throughout the show and he mused about 9/11 often.

He was speaking to a Republican strategist and a Democratic strategist when he went off on a memory of his about the wind on the first anniversary of 9/11.

Fox News Goes Easy on Bush's 'My Pet Goat' Moment

Reported by Judy - Mon 12:10 PM

Few Americans saw the video of George Bush sitting in a Florida classroom while the Twin Towers burned until Michael Moore had the courage to put it in a movie, but Fox News showed a portion of it Monday (September 11, 2006) while managing to surround it with enough Republican spin to try to make it into a courageous moment.

Outrageous Quote of the Week - Week of September 4th

Reported by Janie - Mon 11:25 AM

Convicted liar Ollie North was able to take 33% of last week's vote by offering the viewers of Fox the ultimate in fear-mongering - claiming a Democratic-controlled Congress would mean a nuclear attack on America:

"If we elect a Congress in this election on November 7 that is committed to being anti-war, get out now, withdraw America, then we’re in serious, serious trouble. This could be catastrophic. That’s exactly what happened in 1974, when the Congress re-elected decided to get out of Viet Nam. But in this case, it won’t be boat people, it will be nuclear weapons in the hands of fanatics.”

For this week's choice selection, take a peek below the fold!