Fox Hunting Season

Barack Obama’s administration is handling their power and influence like a Chicago bully rather than like a United States President. And the White House’s bullying of Fox News is getting way out of hand. No surprise that Obama and his Chicago crew are not enamored with Fox News but they have crossed a line into very scary territory.

The White House war on Fox News seemed to take a new turn after Fox was the first, and for a while only, news media to show the public the disgraceful films of ACORN employees. Fox then had the audacity to run negative reports on Van Jones, a White House environmental adviser, one of many advisers who were never vetted. Therefore it came as a surprise to the WH to see that Fox discovered Jones had signed a statement indicating the government was involved in the 9-11 collapse of the Twin Towers. With Van Jones's quiet resignation, Fox is continuing to investigate other Czars and unvetted advisers. To add insult to injury, the MSM (mainstream media) are now paying more attention to the stories that Fox News breaks and quicker to go after the stories themselves.

To make matters worse Chris Wallace, the Fox Sunday New’s host, actually had the gall to have someone fact-check what the assistant secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs said. Chris Wallace explained “She criticized 'Fox News Sunday' last week for fact-checking -- fact-checking -- an administration official," Wallace said Sunday. "They didn't say that our fact-checking was wrong. They just said that we had dared to fact-check." Wow. What kind of people is Obama hiring? Isn’t shutting down the media that disagrees with you the first thing a dictator does?

Shortly after the fact-checking debacle, Obama, acting more like a spoilsport, then a President, announced that on a single Sunday morning he would be on every major network, including the Spanish network, but not on Wallace's Fox Sunday News show.

In the latest attack on Fox News, the White House senior advisor David Axelrod and White House Communications Director each separately reiterated the new Obama lie that Fox New is “not really a news station”. On Sunday, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanual provided a telling insight into what the core group running Obama’s presidency is thinking “It’s not so much a conflict with Fox News," Emanuel told CNN’s John King. "I suppose the way to look at it and the way … the president looks at it, we look at it is: It’s not a news organization so much as it has a perspective. And that’s a different take. And more importantly, is not have the CNNs and the others in the world basically be led in following Fox, as if what they’re trying to do is a legitimate news organization …”

Wow. They are afraid that the MSM networks, which basically glorify Obama’s presidency with no questions asked, might be influenced by Fox and who knows, the MSM then might even do a negative story. But the frightening part is that as in typical Chicago style politics, the chief of staff is warning the MSM that if they ever act like Fox News, which I guess means to stop deifying Obama, then the White House will go after them, too. As a further signal of how the White House treats their enemies; the number of interviews the President has granted to each network stands as: NBC-12, CBS-11, ABC-9, CNN-7 and Fox News just 2.

But the blatantly unfair treatment of Fox News by the White House has not gone unnoticed. First, ABC’s Jack Tapper asked the following of White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs “It’s escaped none of our notice that the White House has decided in the last few weeks to declare one of our sister organizations “not a news organization” and to tell the rest of us not to treat them like a news organization. Can you explain why it’s appropriate for the White House to decide that a news organization is not one.” Gibbs couldn't explain it. And even the venerable Helen Thomas, who is as liberal as they come, has chastised Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs, for trying to control and manipulate the media.

This week, however, the White House went too far. According to an article by the NY Times; The Obama administration on Thursday tried to make "pay czar" Kenneth Feinberg available for interviews to every member of the White House pool except Fox News. But to their suprise ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN all stood up to the White House’s and in a united front said either all of us, including Fox interviews Feinburg or else none of us will.

Perhaps the MSM finally remembered the Freedom of the Press and how the media is supposed to react to being manipulated even if the person manipulating them is ordered by Obama, himself. And how did Obama’s administration react to this surprising stand? By punishing all of the networks! They said that by not including the Fox network each journalist would only have two minutes for their interview instead of the five minutes as promised when they were excluding Fox. How childish can you get? And doesn't the President have more important issues to worry about, like two wars, increasing unemployment, etc. etc.

I am proud of the MSM for finally standing up to the White House’s strong arm tactics but saddened to discover that I couldn’t find a single MSM article about what happened except for the NY Times. Even if the MSM are afraid to admit they came to Fox’s aid, at least the big networks took a stance and did the right thing. And that’s a good start.

Beck and Call

The President recently started a war of words with Rush Limbaugh in which the liberals quickly jumped on Rush, too. Now Limbaugh is a big man in the GOP (pun intended) but I think the far left would be better served to stop another man – Glenn Beck. In the long run Glenn just might be more of a threat to the far left than anyone else in the Republican Party.

Although a professed libertarian, Beck’s ideology is pretty much in step with conservatives. For years he had a radio show plus a half hour show on CNN where he was one of the token conservatives. This year he moved from CNN to Fox where he easily fit in. In his first few months with Fox the ratings for his hour long show at 5pm EDT has been a huge hit with ever increasing viewership. Then a few weeks ago he hit on an idea or more like a philosophy to help people cope with the world today. And if you haven’t heard about it yet, you will. For this is literally sweeping the nation and growing by leaps and bounds.

Glenn Beck’s concept is succinctly outlined in the name: You Are Not Alone. No, this isn’t about ET but rather for the millions of people who feel unwelcome in today’s society, who feel that our government does not reflect who they are and that if you believe the media, no one shares their values anymore. In other words, Beck is filling the huge void in the GOP by helping the rank and file feel empowered.

The basis behind You Are Not Alone are Beck’s Nine Principles:

1. America is good.

2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life

3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.

4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.

5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.

6. I have a right to life, libery and the pursuit of happiness but there is no guarantee of equal results.

7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.

8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.

9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.

And his Twelve Values: Honesty, Reverence, Hope, Thrift, Humility, Charity, Sincerity, Moderation, Hard Work, Courage, Personal Responsibility, Gratitude.

Yesterday Beck kicked off what he called his 9.12 Project. This partly stands for his nine principles and 12 values. But it also symbolizes how most of the country reacted on the day after 9-11. As he put it, on 9-10 our heads were in the sand, on 9-11 we were scared and angry but on 9-12 people reacted as Americans always have by rising to the occasion and reaching out to help each other. Beck wants us to return to that kind of commitment based on the above values and principles. Anyone, regardless of race, religion or politics can be a part of this if they believe in seven of the nine principles.

Beck wanted this kickoff and the entire movement, in fact, to be a grassroots effort. So he asked his listeners to do a couple of things. First they could send in a picture of themselves. Unbeknownst to them, his show took some of the pictures and patched them together to make the picture on the right and found on: http://www.glennbeck.com/content/program/we-the-people.

Then he asked his audience to gather together to watch Beck’s show on Friday when he kicked off his movement. Oh my. I was completely in awe by the response. I don’t know the exact number but well over a hundred meetings were held throughout the country. Heck, there were easily five or six gatherings just in Central Florida. And I am sure Tampa wasn’t the only area where they were overwhelmed with over 1000 people wanting to attend so they had to find second and third sites to watch Beck’s show.

Glenn Beck has definitely tapped into the heart and soul of the American people with his principles and values. He not only is igniting the conservative base but he is also starting to draw fire from the far left and the media (yes some will say they are the same thing). They are still at the name calling stage but if Beck continues to attract more and more people than the media will get harsher.

This movement might fizzle out as swiftly as it was ignited. I hope not for it could become the next religious right or silent majority. A powerful group of citizens who could change America for the good by voting in men and women who believe and live these principles and value.