It’s their world, the rest of us only get to live in it.

Wingularity, the – the point at which the insanity from the far right and those controlling the Republican Party [continues] to grow exponentially until it reaches an unsustainable weight and collapses upon itself. This is also known as the Purity Spiral, wherein the density of wingnut increases compared to mainstream conservatives to the point of pure wingnut. As the ratio rises, this creates a phenomenon wherein no logic or sanity can penetrate or escape. When rightwing argument has become completely inaccessible to the uninitiated, it has reached the Wingularity….

Today, via Twitter:

Rep. Vicky Hartzler ‏@RepHartzler

Going to be on Fox News to tonight at 8:00 p.m. w/ fellow freshmen as part of a Frank Luntz special. Tune in or record! 8:04 AM – 4 Jul 12

This Frank Luntz?:

AAPOR Finds Frank Luntz in Violation of Ethics Code

Wednesday, April 23, 1997 — The Executive Council of the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) announced Wednesday that a 14 month investigation found pollster Frank Luntz violated the Association’s Code of Professional Ethics and Practices.

AAPOR found Luntz, who heads the Luntz Research Companies in Arlington,Virginia, repeatedly refused to make public essential facts about his research on public attitudes about the Republicans’ “Contract with America.” In particular, the AAPOR inquiry focused on Luntz’s reporting, prior to the November elections in 1994, that his research showed at least 60 percent of the public favored each of the elements in the GOP “Contract.” When later asked to provide some basic facts about this research, Luntz refused.

[….]

Wingnut Event Horizon – An event that is always happening, yet never ever happens. Occasionally, a wingnut will say/write/blog/publish/fart something so ridiculous, so closed-minded, so full of hate and scorn, yet free from thought and consideration, that anyone hearing it will be forced to conclude that said wingnut will never again be taken seriously/linked to/have a Time article written about him. However, in a sick twisted perversion of the actual event horizon, no matter how far you walk from the Wingnut Event Horizon, they’re never any further away.

[emphasis added]

It’s not gonna happen.

There is no minimum safe distance from the right wingnut crazy train.

This had to have been staged by The Onion.

Karma is a bitch (via Political Carnival and TPM) when others are relentlessly on message:

“Reporter”: Well, you know, you say they’re in hiding. They’re not really in hiding. We kind of know where they are.

[voices: “Fox Lies. Fox Lies.”]

They’re in Illinois for most, the most part. They are just, at this point, wanting to make sure that this bill does not come to the floor in the Senate. However, in the House we have learned that in five minutes.

[voices: “Fox Lies. Fox Lies.”]

This is Fox business network. Just FYI.

In five, at five o’clock the bill will come to the floor in the House.

[voices: “Fox Lies. Fox Lies.”]

[sign: “Fox go report on sports/That’s the only thing you can’t twist”]

That means that they potentially could consider the bill, uh, but, what we believe the Democratic legislators in the House to do, is to, when it comes to the floor, amend the bill on multiple occasions such that they would head off a, a vote.

[voices: “Fox Lies. Fox Lies.”]

I want to show you, they got, uh, balloons headed up here in to the beautiful capitol rotunda as this protest shows no signs of abating.

[voices: “Fox Lies. Fox Lies.”]

Everyone making their viewpoints known. It’s always a fun time as democracy plays it’s way out.

[sign: “Fox Fascist/good for sports ONLY”]

“Anchor”: Well I tell you Jeff, those, uh, folks protesting Fox, uh, I’m wondering if they would prefer a state run television network providing all the coverage.  

[voice: “Fox Lies. Fox Lies.”]

“Reporter”: You know, I will say this, to be very honest with you, most of the protesters despite this gentleman here.

[voice: “Fox Lies. Fox Lies.”]

Most of the people have been fairly reasoned, calm, and willing to talk because, as you know, we have done our best to get everybody a voice here. Despite this guy. [voice: “Fox Lies. Fox Lies.”]. Do you have an opinion other than that? [voice: “Fox Lies. Fox Lies.”] Any [garble] answer? [voice: “Fox Lies. Fox Lies.”] No, that’s the only words you know. Very good. That’s the only two words he apparently knows.

“Anchor”: Jeff, one more thing, Jeff…

[voice: “Fox Lies. Fox Lies.”]

“Reporter”: Despite the rare person most of these people are here to make their viewpoint known about this bill, which of course, is the story that everyone here is about. [crosstalk]

[voice: “Fox Lies. You’re lying. You lied again. You lied again.”]

“Anchor”: Jeff.

“Reporter”: So, there you go.

“Anchor”: Thank you, sir, I appreciate it. [crosstalk]

“Reporter”: Despite, as I said, guys like this are few and far between [voice: “You work for Fox.”], fortunately, in the crowd.

“…This is Fox business network. Just FYI…”

Then why are you there and not covering the stock market? Just asking.

“…Well I tell you Jeff, those, uh, folks protesting Fox, uh, I’m wondering if they would prefer a state run television network providing all the coverage…”

Or, how about a publicly supported public broadcasting corporation that would have, you know, a well deserved reputation for doing actual accurate independent journalism? As opposed to the house organ for the right wingnut republican party…

Randy Turner at The Turner Report has a post up about focus group results released as part of the discovery in the Faux News Channel lawsuit against Robin Carnahan’s (D) 2010 senate campaign. There’s an interesting refrain about ACORN, showing that the rightwing’s assault based on fake charges and Congress’ capitulation with a bill of attainder did more damage than just shutting down the group which legitimately registered voters and provided other legitimate services.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Documents in Fox News lawsuit indicate why Robin Carnahan lost Senate election

Documents turned over to Fox News attorneys by a consulting firm provide evidence why Roy Blunt defeated Robin Carnahan in last year’s U. S. Senate race….

….Among the comments from people asked about their greatest concerns about Robin Carnahan:

-Why was she quiet about ACORN?….

-May have ignored problems with ACORN, whatever that is….

-She is too close to ACORN.

-I would want to know if there is any truth to those ACORN accusations….

-She supports ACORN.

-Too cheesy or fake with the farming. Too tied in with ACORN….

-She is too much a yes man for the president. She also caused too much money to given to the ACORN people.

-How closely is she tied to special interests like ACORN?….

-What is ACORN?….

Never mind that the rightwing and their Mighty Wurlitzer stooges beat their truthiness drum. As we can see, all they have to do is repeat the lie.

At Show Me Progress:

ACORN vindicated (March 2, 2010)

….Get that – the videos were “edited to meet their agenda.” In other words, these full-of-themselves rightwing echo chamber trainees, O’Keefe and  Giles, were running a scam.

The Brooklyn investigation is the third such to cast doubt on O’Keefe’s and Giles’ veracity. Investigations by the former Massachusetts Attorney, Scott Harshbarger, and the Congressional Research Service have found ACORN innocent of wrong doing….

At the Huffington Post:

John Atlas

Posted: June 15, 2010 02:41 AM

ACORN Vindicated of Wrongdoing by the Congressional Watchdog Office

On Monday, June 14, a preliminary probe by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)of ACORN has found no evidence the association or related organizations mishandled the $40 million in federal money they received in recent years.

A review of grants by nine federal agencies found no problems with ACORN’s grants. In my book Seeds of Change I document how ACORN, the largest most successful national anti poverty organization in America, was forced to close its door….

….In fact the staff in most of ACORN’s offices turned the pair away, reported the couple to the police, refused to provide them any aid, and in one case tried to convince the phony prostitute to get counseling. In no ACORN office did employees file any paperwork or do anything illegal on the duo’s behalf.

But Fox News broadcasted the deceptive tapes nearly around the clock for several days defaming ACORN….

[emphasis added]

Ironic, eh? And they have a plan.

Advertising on a vehicle in Warrensburg, Missouri.

Evidently, the Faux News Channel is:

…One thing is certain: CBS anchor Katie Couric has nothing to fear.

Ouch. Also.

More of the same about misinformation and the Faux News Channel.

On health care reform – via Think Progress and the Great Orange Satan:

First thoughts: Obama’s good, bad news

Posted: Wednesday, August 19, 2009 9:16 AM by Domenico Montanaro

….Here’s another way to look at the misinformation: In our poll, 72% of self-identified FOX News viewers believe the health-care plan will give coverage to illegal immigrants, 79% of them say it will lead to a government takeover, 69% think that it will use taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions, and 75% believe that it will allow the government to make decisions about when to stop providing care for the elderly. But it would be incorrect to suggest that this is ONLY coming from conservative viewers who tune in to FOX. In fact, 41% of CNN/MSNBC viewers believe the misinformation about illegal immigrants, 39% believe the government takeover stuff, 40% believe the abortion misperception, and 30% believe the stuff about pulling the plug on grandma. What’s more, a good chunk of folks who get their news from broadcast TV (NBC, ABC, CBS) believe these things, too. This is about credible messengers using the media to get some of this misinformation out there, not as much about the filter itself….

“…not as much about the filter itself…”

Au contraire, mes amis. Watching television news does make you stupid. It’s just that some networks make you more stupid than others.

That is now, this was then (September 13, 2007): Repeat it enough and some people will believe it’s true

…Program on International Policy Attitudes, October 2, 2003 [pdf]

….An analysis of those who were asked all of the key three perception questions does reveal a remarkable level of variation in the presence of misperceptions according to news source. Standing out in the analysis are Fox and NPR/PBS–but for opposite reasons. Fox was the news source whose viewers had the most misperceptions. NPR/PBS are notable because their viewers and listeners consistently held fewer misperceptions than respondents who obtained their information from other news sources.

The table below shows this clearly. Listed are the breakouts of the sample according to the frequency of the three key misperceptions (i.e. the beliefs that evidence of links between Iraq and al-Qaeda have been found, that WMD have been found in Iraq and that world public opinion approved of the US going to war with Iraq) and their primary news source. Fox News watchers were most likely to hold misperceptions-and were more than twice as likely than the next nearest network to hold all three misperceptions. In the audience for NPR/PBS, however, there was an overwhelming majority who did not have any of the three misperceptions, and hardly any had all three.

The sad part? Viewers of CBS had almost the same tendencies towards misperception as viewers of the Faux News Channel.

There you have it, watching certain cable television networks will make you really stupid.

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

The right is annihilating itself.

via Digby:

“…It’s keeping people alive….These are real lives at stake…”

The day I see a Nixon speechwriter express concern and compassion for the little people is the day we have an African American as president-elect. Oh wait…

“…Anyone? Anyone?…”