Lefty Filmmaker Michael Moore Links Boston Bombing to Tax Protests, ‘Patriots Day’

April 16, 2013 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Boston, Crime, Democrats/Leftists, Entertainment, Ethics, Government, Hollywood, Liberals, Michael Moore, Movies, Progressives, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Not long after the news of the bombing at the Boston Marathon broke, lefty filmmaker Michael Moore took to his Twitter feed and went right for blaming “patriots” and tax protestors for the bombing.
After a cryptic Tweet saying “2+2=,” Moore retweed a Tweet from Think Progress relating the phone number for those looking for missing loved ones in Boston. Then he Tweeted what is perhaps a clarification of his “2+2=” Tweet. In that Tweet, Moore said, “Tax Day. Patriots Day.”

Tax Day. Patriots Day.

— Michael Moore (@MMFlint) April 15, 2013

Is Michael Moore saying that this terrorist bombing during the Boston Marathon is a result of right-wing tax protesters and perpetrated by patriots? The inference is certainly clear.
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Hllywd Director Phil Lord: Jay Z and Beyonce ‘Look Like Dupes’ Over Cuba Trip

April 16, 2013 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Communism, Cuba, Democrats/Leftists, Entertainment, Ethics, Foreign Policy, Government, Corruption, Hollywood, Liberals, Movies, Music, Progressives, Socialism, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

More condemnation for the vacation trip to Cuba indulged by rapper Jay Z and gal-pal singer Beyonce, this time from Hollywood director Phil Lord–himself the son of a Cuban refugee. Lord thinks that the entertainers were “dupes” of the oppressive Cuban military, that they “don’t care” about the political gulags Cuban dictator Castro built, that they essentially mocked the thousands of Cubans that have been imprisoned and lost their lives in those prisons, and says the pair represent little else but “nihilism with a beat.”

Beyonce and Jay Z celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary in Havana, Cuba, apparently with the blessing of Barack Obama’s administration quite despite that the U.S. still has an official prohibition against Americans visiting the Island nation turned political prison.

Lord told the media that at first he thought that Jay Z and Beyonce just weren’t aware of the oppression of Cuban people. He gave them the benefit of the doubt that they just weren’t aware of the many artists that had been imprisoned and their art banned. But after Jay Z released his song that taunted people opposing Cuba, Lord realized that Shawn Corey “Jay Z” Carter knew exactly what he was doing that that made it all the worse.

The director of such films as 21 Jump Street and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is not alone in his condemnation of the Island hopping Carters. AJ Delgado also slammed Jay Z for the trip saying, “Beyoncé and Jay-Z not only legitimize and support the repressive regime, with both their presence and their cash, but turn a blind eye, cruelly, to the perils and languishing of the Cuban people.”
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Batgirl Comic Character Comes Out as Transgender

April 13, 2013 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Books, Comic Books, Democrats/Leftists, Entertainment, Ethics, Gay Marriage, Gays, Liberals, Magazines, Progressives, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

DC Comics’ Batgirl number 19 has a little bit more in store for its readers than just crime fighting. This month readers also get a bit of controversy with their womp-slam-bang as a character introduced in 2011 comes out as both transgender and bi-sexual.

After DC rebooted its franchise in 2011 in an attempt to reconcile its decades of loose character arcs and confusing back histories, Batgirl’s alter ego (Barbara Gordon) moved out of her father’s home (Batman’s Commissioner James Gordon) and moved in with a roommate named Alysia Yeoh.

Yeoh was presented as an Occupy Wall Street-styled female activist, bartender, and fine artist. She was of Singaporean descent and sported an undisclosed secret. This month’s issue reveals that secret. In a face-to-face discussion, Barbara Gordon and her roommate have a serious chat in which roommate Yeoh reveals that she is really a he and bi-sexual as well.

So, Batgirl number 19 marks the debut as the very first “real-world” transgendered character in all of mainstream comics. By “Real-world” that means a character that is merely transgendered in the “real-world” sense, not changed via some sort of superhero-styled transformation.

Over the last few years, the LGBTQ community has been favored with a plethora of gay characters in mainstream comics, of course. There are also a whole raft of gay and transgendered characters in comics from smaller, independent comics publishers as well as adult-oriented titles. But this marks as the first transgendered character to come to mainstream, superhero comics.
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CNN Looking to Re-Launch ‘Crossfire’

April 11, 2013 | Filed Under Cable, CNN, Journalism, Media, Media Bias, TV, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

In 1982, CNN debuted a current affairs debate show titled Crossfire. The show starred Tom Braden from the left and Pat Buchanan from the right in a raucous debate on the issues of the day. The show continued until 2005 when it was canceled. But now, CNN is hinting that it is considering a re-launch of the show.

Alex Weprin reported that CNN has not made any firm announcements, but that the cable news network is considering the idea. CNN is in the midst of a wide-ranging re-working of its programming as newly minted President Jeff Zuckerman tries to reverse years of failing ratings. Dominic Patten, however, claims his source says that CNN will re-launch the show in June, though he had no other information on hosts, times, or format.

The series originated from a Braden/Buchanan radio show which began in 1978 and over its twenty-three-year history, Crossfire had over a dozen co-hosts. The show was often criticized for its hard-charging style.

In fact, Crossfire ended only months after Comedy Central comedian Jon Stewart criticized the show for “hurting America” with its “miserable” example of public discourse.

Even though then, as now, Stewart indulged in the same “partisan hackery,” he exempted himself from any blame for “hurting America” claiming he’s “just a comedian.”

Nonetheless, Crossfire was canceled in 2005 after final conservative co-host Tucker Carlson left the network for a stint at MSNBC.
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Hypocrisy: Concert Rocks Fiscal Doomsaying White House

April 10, 2013 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Ethics, Government, Corruption, Jobs, Liberals, Music, President, Progressives, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

As President Obama is heard scolding Republicans on a near daily basis for forcing a sequester that is shutting down government and halting funding for things like White House tours, he and First Wife Michelle geared up Tuesday for a star-studded, soul music concert in the White House that featured such stars as Justin Timberlake, Queen Latifah, and the Reverend Al Green.

Only a few days before the big April 9 gala concert, President Obama was still warning of the evils of sequestration, but the purported “severe” cutbacks of government spending didn’t stop the President from enjoying a night of stirring soul music during the program titled, In Performance at the White House: Memphis Soul.

The First Lady kicked off the April 9 tribute to Soul with an hour-long, morning program held in the White House State Dining Room and billed as a “guidance” on the upcoming Memphis Soul performance at the White House. The event was held for students and music lovers and featured soul greats Sam Moore, Mavis Staples, Charlie Musselwhite, Ben Harper and also featuring pop star Justin Timberlake as panel members taking questions from the audience.
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Mark Levin On Fox’s Dana Perino: ‘I’m Sick Of The Preening, Elitist, Country Club Republicans!’

April 8, 2013 | Filed Under Congress, Conservatives, Elections, Ethics, Fox News, GOP, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Journalism, Media Bias, Radio, Republicans, Senate, TV, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

On April 2 on Fox News’ The Five, former George W. Bush press secretary Dana Perino criticized Doctor Ben Carson for appearing on too many conservative shows. This criticism sent talk show host Mark Levin into criticism of his own saying he was sick of these “preening, elitist, country club Republican(s).”

Ben Carson is the newest star in the conservative firmament and he’s now entering that spot in his debut onto the scene were pundits think they know better about how he should comport himself than he does. Thus, Perino’s advice for Carson is to stop doing TV and radio and “lay low” for a while.

Why? According to Perino it’s because doing conservative talk radio is bad for his image. Already Carson has “burned through so much of his credibility,” Perino claimed.
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Even Piers Morgan Criticizes Obama Over Lavish Vacation Spending

April 7, 2013 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Cable, CNN, Democrats/Leftists, Ethics, Government, Corruption, Journalism, Liberals, Media, Media Bias, President, Progressives, Taxes, TV, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

On Wednesday, April 3, President Obama announced he would be returning 5% of his paycheck to the federal treasury in a show of shared sacrifice with federal workers facing furloughs because of the sequester. The news came as he once again flew about the country pushing his anti-Second Amendment policies and only days after another lavish vacation indulged by the first family was in the news.

Morgan lambasted Obama’s attempt to spread the pain of austerity to his own household calling it a “pointless exercise” and despaired that the President wasn’t doing something more substantive.

Morgan railed saying, “if he gave up the vacations, which are costing the taxpayer hundreds of thousands of dollars, it might have more impact than five percent of $400,000.”

But even here Morgan soft-pedaled the money the American people have spent on Obama’s many vacations.
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MSNBC’s ‘The Cycle’ Announces Ari Melber as New Co-Host

April 7, 2013 | Filed Under Cable, Democrats/Leftists, Ethics, Journalism, Liberals, Media, Media Bias, MSNBC, Progressives, TV, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

MSNBC has been playing musical chairs with its on-air hosts and one move left talk show The Cycle without a steady co-host. Now that Salon senior political writer Steve Kornacki has been pegged to helm a new weekend morning show, MSNBC has announced that The Nation correspondent Ari Melber will take up Kornacki’s The Cycle co-hosting duties.

In an email exchange with The Hollywood Reporter, Melber praised his predecessor. “Steve is irreplaceable; he was erudite, unique and downright lovable, and it’s clear the MSNBC audience is excited to see him develop as a weekend host,” Melber said.

Melber has been a long-time guest appearing all across MSNBC programming and will also be writing a blog on politics, law and constitutional rights for MSNBC.com. He has also been a frequent guest host.
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CNN’s Ali Velshi Joins Al Jazeera America

April 7, 2013 | Filed Under Al-Jazeera, Anti-Americanism, Anti-Semitism, Cable, CNN, Democrats/Leftists, Entertainment, Ethics, Journalism, Liberals, Media, Media Bias, Progressives, TV, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Marking its first high profile hire, Al Jazeera has announced that it has hired CNN’s chief business correspondent, Ali Velshi, for its new Al Jazeera America cable network.

Al Jazeera America is preparing for a summer launch after having bought Al Gore’s Current TV network last December.

CNN President Jeff Zucker made the announcement in an April 3 staff meeting reporting that Velshi’s last day is April 5. Zucker assured staffers that the parting was amicable and that CNN was sorry to see him go.

“It’s been an amazing almost 12 years at CNN. Love it more today than I ever have, and CNN is going to be great under Jeff,” Velshi said. “I basically grew up here, so it’s sad to leave, but I’ve got a great opportunity to stretch some new muscles and grow something, and it appeals to my entrepreneurial side.”

That new opportunity turns out to be Al Jazeera. Upon Al Jazeera America’s launch this summer, Velshi will host an as yet un-named, “magazine-style,” half-hour weekend business program that is later planned to switch to weekdays.
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New York Investigating Anti-Fracking Lobbying by Yoko One, Mark Ruffalo, Robert De Niro

April 3, 2013 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Budget, Business, Capitalism, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Electric, Energy, Entertainment, Ethics, Fracking, Government, Government, Corruption, Hollywood, Liberals, Movies, Music, Natural Gas, New York, Oil, Progressives, TV, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

A formal complaint has been filed with a New York lobbying board to investigate whether Yoko Ono, Robert De Niro and nearly 200 other celebrities have violated state laws with their Artists Against Fracking activist group.

Celebrities are well known for dabbling in social activism whether what they have to say makes sense or not and the recent cause célèbre is the anti-fracking movement. Along with Yoko Ono, actors Mark Ruffalo and Robert De Niro, and ex-Beatle Paul McCartney, the movement has drawn the support of some 200 celebrities all donating time and money to stop efforts toward American energy independence.

The group has sponsored rallies and concerts and on it’s website the celebrity group urges visitors to “Tell Governor Cuomo Don’t Frack New York!”

Pushing the issue on a national TV audience, Ono and son Sean even appeared on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon to sing a somewhat ridiculous anti-fracking song at the end of January.
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Glenn Beck Goes ‘Wobbly’

April 3, 2013 | Filed Under Chuck Busch, Conservatives, Entertainment, Ethics, Fox News, Glenn Beck, GOP, Government, Corruption, Journalism, Media, Media Bias, Republicans, Rush Limbaugh, Talk Radio, TV | No Comments

-By Chuck Busch

To: Mr. Larry Klayman of Freedom Watch

I just received your recent newsletter in which you related what Glenn Beck said on his Internet Broadcast program concerning inane ideas about “surrender.” I was not aware of his statement as I make it a point to not tune into Glenn on the Internet or on his radio program. Initially, I thought he was doing a service by bringing out controversial information on little discussed subjects that all American’s should be aware of. However after a time, he lost believability, was let go by FOX News and his radio program dissolved into silliness. This is not a time for frivolity and jokes. It is time for a serious effort to educate a misguided populace.

I have been concerned for some time that the host of conservative commentators on radio and TV, with the exception of Rush Limbaugh, have become entirely too harsh and strident contributing to the characterization that conservatives are uncaring and cold-hearted. Anger (and we all have reason to be angry) is too strong of an emotion to sustain over the long term and it is Obama’s strategy to wear us out. Rather than engaging in a personal shouting match with our opponents, we need to meet the challenges to our liberties with a steadfastness, confidence and calmness that will convince people of the soundness of our arguments. The face of conservatism and the Republican Party must attract more listeners and entreat them to consider objectively the major issues of the day. Instead of people reacting to the personality of the talk show host, let them focus on the substance of the debate. (See article on Fox News programming by Michael Reagan titled “New Song, New Singers” March 21, 2013.)

I have already mentioned Rush Limbaugh who founded conservative talk radio and is, without doubt, the master of the trade. He has an uncanny way of being critical of the administration but doing it in a good-natured humorous manner. Ridicule can be a good weapon against these uptight liberals but only if used in a skillful way. Rush, in this post-election cycle, has also made it his objective to connect with the “low information voter” which is a brilliant strategy. The people must be convinced that the supposed benefits of a generous federal welfare state are not only corrupting, but are unsustainable and are not worth the lost of liberties that they entail. They must also learn that this administration does not have their best long-term interests are heart and it’s social and economic policies have produced this ongoing distress in all aspects of American life.
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Man Sells Autographed Jim Carrey Photo to Buy a Gun

March 28, 2013 | Filed Under 2nd Amendment, Anti-Americanism, Constitution, Democrats/Leftists, Ethics, Gun Control, Guns, Hollywood, Liberals, Movies, NRA, Progressives, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

**UPDATE**: Ebay yanks listing off the site. No explanation known.

An ebay user with user name astrobuzz is selling his autographed photo of Jim Carrey for a cause. As his auction title reads: “Selling a Jim Carrey Autographed 8X10 Photo So I Can Afford A Gun!”

In the auction description, Mr. Astrobuzz tells page visitors that he hopes to raise enough cash from selling the Carrey photo to buy a Glock G30S .45 ACP Pistol “to protect my family.”
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Report: BBC’s Doctor Who Staffers Used Show to Sexually Exploit Young Male Fans

March 28, 2013 | Filed Under BBC, Britain, Crime, Media, Media Bias, Sex Offenders/Rape, TV, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

In the wake of the Jimmy Savile sex abuse scandal, the British Broadcasting Service (BBC) is being hit with new allegations that behind the camera staffers–this time from the Doctor Who kiddy sci-fi show–sexually abused youngsters who visited the famed broadcasting studios.

First airing in the early 1960s, Doctor Who is Britain’s longest running science fiction TV series and was until recently was considered a kid’s show. The allegations are over events that took place in the 1980s.

In a new book on the life of Doctor Who producer John Nathan-Turner, fan writer Richard Marson claims that he was propositioned and assaulted by the producer when he was a teenaged visitor to the Doctor Who studios in 1984.
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VIDEO: Basketball’s Magic Johnson: ‘Obamacare is Working’

March 28, 2013 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Ethics, Government, Corruption, Journalism, Liberals, Media, Media Bias, MSNBC, Nanny State, President, Progressives, Sports, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Former NBA great Earvin “Magic” Johnson has seen Obamacare and has pronounced it good. According to Johnson, “a lot” of CEOs at hospitals have told him that Obamacare “is working.”

Johnson was invited on MSNBC to talk about the sport’s March Madness tournaments, but as the interview ended, he had an off topic and unsolicited assessment of Obamacare.

“Obamacare is working,” Johnson suddenly said. “I talk to a lot of CEOs of hospitals–it is working. And I’m glad Governor Scott down in Florida accepted Obamacare because it will work”

This is an interesting assessment seeing as how the President’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010–dubbed Obamacare–doesn’t really kick in fully until 2014. In fact, the current phase of the law, the Health Insurance Marketplace which was supposed to be ready by now, is being put off because of poor planning, confusion, and other problems among the various states.
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Law & Order: SVU’s ‘Legitimate Rape’ Episode

March 26, 2013 | Filed Under Crime, Entertainment, Media, Media Bias, NBC, Sex Offenders/Rape, TV, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

The next episode of NBC’s Law & Order: SVU will feature another story “ripped from the headlines.” This time, the show that mines controversy will tackle “legitimate rape” ala former Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin.

The promo for the episode clearly gives the gist of the show.

A woman (The Walking Dead’s Lauren Cohan) is raped by a co-worker (David Marciano, Homeland) but she decides to keep the child. The episode features the rapist being tried for the crime. An “expert” witness is then seen uttering the Akinesque line.

The voice over says: “Ripped from the headlines. Words that set off a national controversy.”

A character sitting in the witness box then says, “It’s nearly impossible for a victim of legitimate rape to become pregnant.” This is followed by looks of disgust by the two female lead detective characters sitting in the courtroom gallery.

Clearly the jury accepts the expert’s testimony hence all the grimacing by the show’s stars,
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Despite Wide Appeal to Middle America, Jay Leno Out at ‘Tonight’

March 26, 2013 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Conservatives, Democrats/Leftists, Entertainment, Government, Liberals, NBC, President, Progressives, TV, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Despite solid ratings and wide appeal to middle America, NBC is poised to replace Jay Leno with Jimmy Fallon as the host of the Tonight Show as Leno’s contract nears its end.

Leno was off the show for six months between 2009 to 2010 when Conan O’Brien briefly hosted the Tonight Show, but as the news breaks that he’s to be replaced, this time by Fallon, some news outlets are calling Leno the “conservative’s” TV host.

Politico reported on March 22 that the “Right bemoans possible Jay Leno exit,” and asks, “Could Jay Leno become a new conservative hero?”

Politico features a Tweet from Matt Drudge saying, “Left cheering Leno exit typical, he dared to entertain and offer jokes for the other 50% of country. Unacceptable in ‘New America’…”
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Fox News Mentions Me About Jay Leno Being Fired by NBC

March 25, 2013 | Filed Under Cable, Entertainment, Fox News, Journalism, NBC, TV, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Today at 11:45 AM, Fox Newser John Scott of Happening Now read my story posted to Breitbart’s BigHollywood.com. My piece was headlined, “Despite Wide Appeal to Middle America, Jay Leno Out at ‘Tonight’.”

Reno’s KJFK : Another Left Wing Talk Station Goes Dark

March 22, 2013 | Filed Under Democrats/Leftists, Entertainment, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Progressives, Talk Radio, Warner Todd Huston | 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Another in a long line of left-wing radio stations is going dark. KJFK of Reno, Nevada, will cease broadcasting after 8 years as a progressive talk radio station.

In a statement published on its website, KJFK–touted as “AM with IQ”–stayed on the air through the 2012 General Election despite operating “at a loss of thousands of dollars a month.”

Despite a “passionate audience,” KJFK claims that it was “never able to generate the revenue necessary to sustain” itself, and “simply cannot absorb the financial loss any longer.” Apparently “passion” doesn’t pay the bills.

The site notes that its homepage will soon be gone, replaced by links to the shows and hosts that it featured on the air. (Conservative radio host Tony Katz has a screen shot of the page saved at TonyKatz.com.)

Progressive talk radio finds audience building difficult and in closing down, KJFK joins a growing list of small radio stations that featured liberal or progressive programing. Only a few months ago, progressive radio station WVKO in central Ohio turned off its transmitters and Air America, the purported “answer” to Rush Limbaugh, failed in 2010.
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NBC Suits Criticize Jay Leno for Late Night Jokes

March 20, 2013 | Filed Under NBC, TV, TV News, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Host of the The Tonight Show, Jay Leno, has come under fire from NBC executives for making jokes about the network’s recent slide in the ratings during his monologues.

Reports suggest that Robert Greenblat, Chairman of Entertainment, fired off a series of emails slamming the late night comedian for daring to lampoon the ratings slide. Leno gave back as good as he got, insiders say, and bristled against the PC, company line criticism.

What offended Greenblat? On February 28, for instance, Leno kicked off his NBC ratings segment saying, “For the first time in history NBC is going to finish fifth in the ratings period. We are behind the Spanish-language network Univision — or as we call it here in Los Angeles: Cinco de Ratings.”

He went on to joke that, “It’s so bad, ‘The Biggest Loser’ isn’t just a TV show anymore; it’s our new motto.” And: “It’s so bad, NBC called Manti Te’o and asked him to bring in some imaginary viewers.”
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Matt Lauer to Replace Alex Trebek on ‘Jeopardy!’

March 20, 2013 | Filed Under Entertainment, NBC, TV, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Matt Lauer, co-host of NBC’s struggling morning news show, Today, may have a new job offer. Reports are the Lauer is being considered as a replacement for Alex Trebek as host of the long-running game show, Jeopardy!.

Trebek has suffered repeated health scares, recently suffering a second heart attack, and is expected to retire from his game show hosting duties sometime in the next few years.

Sources say that Sony Pictures, producers of the lucrative game show, have reached out to Lauer to replace Trebek starting in the 2016 season.

Lauer has experienced steeply falling popularity on the set of Today, after the mishandling of the firing of co-host Ann Curry–an action that many assume Lauer helped initiate. In 2012, Lauer’s “Q Score,” an industry measure of popularity, took a sharp dive.

NBC’s Today has also suffered in the ratings ever since.

Another name under consideration to replace Trebek is CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
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Russell Simmons Slams NRA’s New African American Spokesman

March 11, 2013 | Filed Under 2nd Amendment, Constitution, Democrats/Leftists, Entertainment, Ethics, Government, Guns, Liberals, Music, NRA, Progressives, Race, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

There is a new face on the pro-gun circuit. Mr. Colion Noir, a young African American who is conservative and pro-gun, is the National Rifle Association’s newest spokesman but apparently this has proven too much for rap and entertainment mogul Russell Simmons.

After seeing the NRA’s intro video of Noir’s upcoming NRA News show, Simmons took to Twitter to tell the gun group, “Dear @NRA, we don’t trust you. Sincerely, Black America.”

Simmons then wrote a longer attack at Globalgrind.com, saying that “black people ain’t got no time” for the NRA.
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Joy Behar Leaves ABC’s ‘The View’

March 11, 2013 | Filed Under ABC, Entertainment, TV, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Joy Behar, one of the original couch members of ABC’s late morning gabfest, The View, has confirmed that she is leaving the long-running show.

Billed as a comedienne when she first hit The View’s couch 16 and 1/2 years ago, Behar livened the show with her progressive perspective and sharp tongue.

Aside from Barbra Walters, the show’s originator, Behar is the show’s last remaining original cast member.

Behar will finish out this season before she moves of to “other things” that she has wanted to do.

“You reach a point when you say to yourself, ‘Do I want to keep doing this?’ There are other things on my plate I want to do–I’ve been writing a play, I’ve been neglecting my standup,” Behar said Thursday in an interview posted at Deadline.com.
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Iron Man 3 Trailer is Kick Azz

March 5, 2013 | Filed Under Comic Books, Entertainment, Hollywood, Movies, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

Now THAT is a good action trailer.

Bloomberg Businessweek Apologizes for ‘Racist’ Magazine Cover

March 5, 2013 | Filed Under Banks, Bloomberg, Budget, Business, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Ethics, Hispanics, Journalism, Liberals, Magazines, Media, Media Bias, New York City, Progressives, Race, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s media group has apologized for its February 21 cover of Bloomberg Businessweek over complaints that it used racist imagery to illustrate the feature story on the housing market.

With a title of “The Great American Housing Rebound: Flips. No-look bids. 300 percent returns. What could possibly go wrong?,” the cover illustration featured Latino and African American American caricatures awash in a sea of government money.

The image was criticized as racist by several organizations and media outlets.

Ryan Chittum of the Columbia Journalism Review praised Bloomberg Businessweek for being “edgier than its predecessor,” but went on to say that the February cover was over the line.

“The cover stands out for its cast of black and Hispanic caricatures with exaggerated features reminiscent of early 20th century race cartoons,” Chittum wrote. “Also, because there are only people of color in it, grabbing greedily for cash. It’s hard to imagine how this one made it through the editorial process.”
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Soledad O’Brien: Being Fired by CNN is a ‘Win-Win’

March 1, 2013 | Filed Under Cable, CNN, Democrats/Leftists, Journalism, Liberals, Media, Media Bias, Progressives, TV, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

CNN recently canceled Soledad O’Brien’s short-lived morning show, Starting Point, but the anchor is now saying she’s not at all unhappy about it.

“I think it has worked out best for everyone,” O’Brien told reporters.

The anchor reports that she realized she had creative differences with CNN’s new chief, Jeff Zucker, and complained that her show never got “a lot of support” from CNN executives during its one-year run.

This is a far different world than that when Starting Point debuted. Then Executive Vice President and Managing Editor of CNN Mark Whitaker said in a press release that the launch of O’Brien’s show was “an exciting time to be relaunching our morning show.”
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After Millions in Tax Breaks for Hollywood, DreamWorks’ Jeffery Katzenberg Kills 350 Jobs

February 28, 2013 | Filed Under Budget, Business, Capitalism, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Entertainment, Ethics, Government, Government, Corruption, Hollywood, Jobs, Liberals, Movies, Progressives, Stimulus, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Despite some $430 million in tax breaks for Hollywood in last year’s “fiscal cliff” deal, DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg has announced that he is cutting 350 people by the end of the year.

After the disappointing box office for DreamWorks’ latest film, The Rise of the Guardians, Katzenberg said that the $165 million loss made him “go back and rethink everything.”

“So it makes you go back and rethink everything, not just the fact that it didn’t work–certainly we spent a lot of time reflecting on that–but more importantly saying, ‘Let’s look at everything and say, ‘What could we be doing better, smarter, more effectively to really position the company in the best possible way gong forward?’ And that’s what we’ve done, and that’s what restructuring is all about,” Katzenberg told the Hollywood Reporter.
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Hurray for Washington!

February 27, 2013 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Business, Capitalism, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Entertainment, Ethics, Government, Corruption, Hollywood, Jobs, Liberals, Michelle Obama, Movies, President, Progressives, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Mary Theroux

But it’s OK. The Obamas make us feel good about ourselves, and, after all, that’s what Hollywood, er, Washington, is all about.

The culmination of last night’s Oscars broadcast with a Live! feed from the White House with Mrs. Obama (hangin’ with her military BFs) marks the official recognition of the Presidency as theater: like the old Western sets, no substance required.

From the very beginning, President Obama was elected based on his strong delivery of stirring words, “Hope and change,” with no serious vetting of his record or policies. Having been awarded the presidency, as the Oscars follow the Golden Globes, Mr. Obama was next awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, solely for his well-scripted promises for peace…

Read the rest at The Independent Institute.

Could CNBC Be Depriving Viewers of Vital Information?

February 23, 2013 | Filed Under Budget, Business, Cable, Capitalism, CNBC, Ethics, Fox Business Network, NBC, TV, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

There was once a day when particular media outlets were so dominant that they could essentially make the rules on who they permitted to appear with them whether in print, on the radio, or on TV. Those days are long gone, of course. So, why does CNBC still think it has the power to demand that guests appear solely on its network? And, in so doing is CNBC depriving its viewers of the vital financial information that they need to plan their business days?

CNBC is the most watched financial-centered cable news network, certainly. Though its younger competitor, Fox Business Network, has been making amazing inroads into CNBCs viewer base, the older network is still on top of the heap… for now.

But will that hold if CNBC’s booking practices stay as they are now? One might wonder.
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MSNBC: Why Not Let Sonia Sotomayor Become The Next Pope?

February 22, 2013 | Filed Under Abortion, Bible, Cable, Catholicism, Christianity, Democrats/Leftists, Ethics, Liberals, Progressives, TV, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

On a February 17 broadcast of MSNBC Live, panelist Chris Smith thought it would be a great idea to have U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor replace retiring Pope Benedict as head of the Catholic Church.

Smith, a contributing editor of New York magazine, thought Sotomayor would offer a “trifecta” of liberal attributes.

“Here’s a trifecta: Latin, female, American. It would do a lot of good. I mean it’s ridiculous, we’re talking about a religion here where women can’t even become priests… but it would speak to some of the issues about how the Church needs to open itself up,” Smith said.

Smith also offered another reason that Sotomayor would be a great Pope. It is because she is a Puerto Rican who lived in the Bronx and is “someone who lived in the real world.” Smith felt this “real world” life is something that “would be good for whoever is Pope.”

Smith was the only one that offered a “fantasy pick” for the new Pope. The other panelists picked current cardinals.
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NCIS: LA Paints Patriots as Terrorists

February 21, 2013 | Filed Under Democrats/Leftists, Hollywood, Liberals, Los Angeles, Progressives, Tea Party, Terrorism, TV, Warner Todd Huston | 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

The February 19 episode of CBS’ NCIS: Los Angeles offered a veritable smorgasbord of liberal tropes–Tea Party types portrayed as terrorists, private healthcare insurance companies slammed and a potpouri of anti-capitalist themes.

The episode started off in an interesting direction when the NCIS team came across the murder of a 1960s leftist radical who had been on the run from the feds for inadvertently killing a fellow terrorist. But it wasn’t long before the idea of a ’60s-era radical became an attack on all things conservative.

As the team members entered into their investigation, they discovered a tie to a local college professor. The team decided to go undercover and, as Agent Kensi Blye (Daniela Ruah) began to socialize with students, she found one planning an Occupy Wall Street protest on campus.

All the talk about Occupy was entirely positive, of course, but in one scene as the peaceful Occupy gathering was in full swing, a group of violent thugs dressed in red and sporting bandana masks burst onto the scene. The thugs, wielding bats, assaulted the peaceful Occupiers and destroyed their displays.
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