Tag: obama
Fox News Discovers Regulation Is Needed After Ohio Derailment

Fox News Discovers Regulation Is Needed After Ohio Derailment

Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade acknowledged on Thursday that federal regulations may be necessary to protect people and the environment, a rare admission on a network that has pushed for mass deregulation for decades. Kilmeade, who co-hosts Fox & Friends, made the comments while discussing the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment and its aftermath.

“I knew nothing about these derailment numbers,” Kilmeade said. “I'm stunned by it – that we have thousands of derailments all the time and how costly it is, and how they're not kept up and maybe the regulation needs to be there.”

Fox News has long vilified federal regulations as governmental overreach, and needless red tape that eats into corporate profits. In 2011, the network launchedRegulation Nation, a series that would “expose how excessive laws are drowning American businesses.” The series was the brainchild of then-Fox News President Roger Ailes, who said at the time that bureaucrats “draw up regulations to try to ruin your life.”

That same year, Fox News also waged a full-on war against the Environmental Protection Agency, and continues to argue against environmental regulations, including in its so-called straight news programs.

More recently, Fox News personalities and their guests have railed against federal regulations for the oil industry, argued that federal regulations are a way to divide families, blamed regulations that purport to limit police violence for resulting in the police killing of Tyre Nichols, and pushed for further deregulation of the cryptocurrency market, just to name a few examples. Fox News and other cable networks also largely ignored the Trump administration’s broad deregulatory agenda to benefit massive polluters in the early weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Television coverage of East Palestine was scant and decontextualized, including on Fox News, immediately after the derailment, with only three percent of coverage mentioning the decadeslong deregulatory push by the rail industry. The Obama administration attempted to make more effective train brakes mandatory following a series of derailments in 2014, which the industry fought against, effectively hollowing out the proposed rules. In 2018, the Trump administration completely repealed the regulations.

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

Abortion Issue Moves Swing Voters Toward Democrats — But How Much?

Abortion Issue Moves Swing Voters Toward Democrats — But How Much?

Seven or eight months ago, many Democratic strategists feared that the 2022 midterms would bring a massive red wave like the red waves that plagued President Bill Clinton in 1994 and President Barack Obama in 2010. But that was before the U.S. Supreme Court’s radical-right majority handed down its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and overturned Roe v. Wade after 49 years. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell still believes that Republicans are likely to “flip” the U.S. House of Representatives, but he considers the U.S. Senate a toss-up.

In an article published by the conservative website The Bulwark, Rich Thau (president of the research firm Engagious and a moderator for the Swing Voter Project) and Susie Pieper (an Engagious intern and student at Haverford College in the Philadelphia suburbs) examine the effect that the abortion issue could have with swing voters in the 2022 midterms. The Dobbs decision, according to Thau and Pieper, definitely helps Democrats among swing voters. But the burning question is: How much?

“An overwhelming majority of Americans oppose the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs, which overturned Roe v. Wade,” Thau and Pieper explain. “Concurrently, an overwhelming majority of Americans think abortion should be legal in at least some cases. But how will these views translate to voting behavior among swing voters? This month, as part of our Swing Voter Project, we asked focus groups of Trump-to-Biden voters across North Carolina what’s changed for them when it comes to their likely voting behavior in the wake of the Dobbs decision.”

Abortion rights, according to Thau and Pieper, are a high priority for the swing voters that the Swing Voter Project spoke to in North Carolina. But they have other priorities as well.

“Among eleven North Carolinian swing voters, nine said that Dobbs would be a top-three issue for them in the midterms, which seems significant,” Thau and Pieper report. “Except that issue matrixes are often complicated: Earlier in the same focus groups, we asked which one issue in the news concerns them the most — and only one said abortion. We have seen similar results in recent months, where abortion is a leading issue, but it competes with various others — such as inflation and gun violence — for the top concern.”

Alana, a 26-year-old swing voter from Dover, North Carolina, told researchers, “I was registered as a Republican. I still am right now, but I’ll be switching completely to Democrat. As I say, most Republicans are the reason why this happened, and I just can’t stand by and agree with something that has affected myself, my family, and friends so much. It’s just something that has upset me greatly.”

Abortion is clearly a major issue for Kayla, a 34-year-old swing voter from Mocksville, North Carolina who told researchers, “I was registered unaffiliated. I didn’t see myself as a Republican or a Democrat, but I would vote for a Republican if I thought that candidate had my views for the economy. But nah, I’m leaning left completely. And this is personal for me. So, I’m probably going to end up registering as a Democrat from here on out.”

The Swing Voter Project found that some of the swing voters were leaning towards pro-choice Democratic nominee Cheri Beasley in North Carolina’s 2022 U.S. Senate race. A Civitas/Cygnal poll released in late September found Beasley and Ted Budd, the Donald Trump-backed Republican nominee, in a virtual dead heat. However, Beasley trailed Budd by 3 percent in an Emerson College/The Hill poll released on September 20.

“We won’t know the electoral impact of Dobbs until the votes are counted,” Pieper and Pieper observe. “But this month’s focus group suggests that with swing voters, the issue salience is high and helpful to Democrats.”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

QAnon Psycho Rosanne Barr Gets Show On Fox Nation

QAnon Psycho Rosanne Barr Gets Show On Fox Nation

Comedian, racist, and QAnon conspiracy theory enthusiast Roseanne Barr is slated to produce and star in her own 2023 Fox Nation comedy special. The network’s decision to hire Barr continues the streaming service’s history of platforming conspiracy theorists and extremists.

In a statement to Deadline, Fox Nation President Jason Klarman said that the outlet is “thrilled” to add Barr to its entertainment catalog.

By enlisting Barr, Fox executives have decided to turn a blind eye to her embrace of QAnon and other conspiracy theories, as well as her racist, anti-Muslim, and antisemitic comments over the years. Barr’s history is on par with Fox News’ typical programming, however, which has spread conspiracy theories, white supremacy, and violent rhetoric.

Barr is also not the first QAnon adherent to be given their own slot on Fox Nation. Previously, conspiracy theorist Lara Logan and QAnon promoter Isaiah Washington were granted shows on the streaming service.

Here is a brief look at the comedian’s history of making extremist claims and pushing conspiracy theories:

Barr’s Embrace Of QAnon And Extremist Views

  • Barr’s ABC sitcom Roseanne was canceled in 2018 after she published racist tweets about former President Barack Obama’s senior adviser Valerie Jarrett.
  • Barr appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast in 2019 and promoted the QAnon conspiracy theory.


  • Barr previously tweeted the QAnon slogan, “WWG1WGA.”





  • Barr conducted an unhinged interview in 2021 with QAnon conspiracy theorist Bishop Larry Gaiters, who has claimed that President Joe Biden performed a “satanic sacrifice” of his own family to gain political influence.


  • Barr posted a video of herself watching a QAnon video in 2019.


  • Barr recorded QAnon videos with the late QAnon influencer Cirsten Weldon.
  • In May 2018, Barr tweeted that Americans should “unite against” CIA mind control program MK-Ultra. This is not the only time she has tweeted about the MK-Ultra conspiracy theory.

  • In 2015, Barr appeared on the Kremlin-controlled outlet RT (formerly Russia Today) to discuss MK-Ultra and mind control in Hollywood.
  • In 2009, Barr dressed as Adolf Hitler for the cover of satirical Jewish magazine, Heeb. It was reportedly her idea to dress as the dictator.
  • On her personal blog, Barr purported that Israel is a “Nazi state” and said, “The Jewish Soul is being tortured in Israel.” (Barr is reportedly Jewish.)
  • Barr also tweeted about “Jewish mind control” and promoted musician and Holocaust denier Gilad Atzmon on Twitter.
  • In 2013, Barr proclaimed that Islam is “rape pedo culture.”
  • In another 2013 tweet, Barr described Director of the Domestic Policy Council Susan Rice as “a man with big swinging ape balls."
  • In 2018, Barr suggested that Parkland school shooting survivor David Hogg gave a “Nazi salute” at a gun control rally.
  • Barr described Hillary Clinton as a “jew hater” and former Clinton 2016 campaign vice chair Huma Abedin as a “filthy nazi whore.”

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

Cornered Trump Is Bingeing On Conspiracy Theories And QAnon Threats

Cornered Trump Is Bingeing On Conspiracy Theories And QAnon Threats

Former President Donald Trump has a long history of promoting far-right conspiracy theories. During the Barack Obama years, he promoted the racist and totally baseless claim that then-President Obama was really born in Kenya — and after being sworn in as president in January 2017, he had no problem with Alex Jones’ Infowars being granted White House press credentials. Trump is the first president in U.S. history to be voted out of office only to spend month after month falsely claiming that the election was stolen from him through widespread voter fraud — a claim that has been repeatedly debunked.

But journalist Stuart A. Thompson, in an article published by the New York Times on September 2, warns that Trump’s fondness for outlandish conspiracy theories has grown even worse than it was when he was president.

“Mr. Trump has spent more than a decade on social media attacking enemies, cozying up to far-right ideas and sharing false information,” Thompson explains. “He used Twitter to perpetuate the lie that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States and later deemed one investigation after another partisan witch hunts. But, as his legal exposure intensifies over his handling of government documents, the former president this week crossed over to a more direct embrace of claims batted around the dark corners on the internet. His winks and nods to the far right became enthusiastic endorsements, and his flirtations with convoluted conspiratorial ideas became more overt.”

Thompson continues, “He shared a flurry of 61 posts written by Truth Social users, many of whom had ties to QAnon, an online conspiracy movement aligned with the former president. One post included ‘the storm,’ which QAnon followers use to describe the day when the movement’s enemies will be violently punished. The strategy partly mirrors Mr. Trump’s chaotic approach during moments of crisis, searching for a message to ignite supporters while shifting attention away from his controversies. But the posts this week appeared especially haphazard, opening a door to the former president’s thought process even as his legal team tries to craft a cogent defense against the Justice Department’s investigation.”

Trump was banned from Twitter following the January 6, 2021 insurrection, and Facebook has banned him as well. But launching his own Social Media platform, Social Media, has made it easy for Trump to promote conspiracy theories online as much as he wants, according to Thompson.

“Now, unshackled from mainstream rules and decorum, Mr. Trump speaks to a much smaller base of supporters — fewer than four million followers — using fiery rhetoric and echoing the conspiracy theories, such as QAnon, that remain popular on the platform,” Thompson observes. “The posts have alarmed disinformation experts, who fear that Mr. Trump’s incendiary remarks could further inflame political tensions. After the Mar-a-Lago search, an armed man tried to enter an FBI office and was killed by the police.”

Trump’s recent Truth Social posts, according to Thompson, “suggest that he is increasingly attuned to voices in far-right and fringe publications that are even friendlier to his cause” than Fox News.

“Some posts included content commonly found in the dark back channels of the internet, where QAnon conspiracy theorists cling to outlandish ideas about Satan-worshiping Democratic pedophiles and a nationwide cover-up of widespread voter fraud,” Thompson observes. “Mr. Trump shared content this week from at least 24 accounts tied to QAnon, according to an analysis by Alex Kaplan, a senior researcher at Media Matters for America, a progressive think tank.”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.