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This week... News on Dominion Voting System's defamation case against Fox News indicating that neither Fox's hosts nor Rupert Murdoch believed Trump's claims of election fraud, with Tucker Carlson being captured in a text as saying, "I hate him passionately." Tennessee passes a drag show ban, because that's the biggest problem facing the state? The anti-LGBT bills come by way of Lt. Governor Randy McNally, who as it turns out has been commenting on social media about racy photos from a gay male influencer. And Now: Happy International Women's Day, From The Men Of Local News. It's as awkward as you think it is. Main story: TANF (on Youtube, 23 minutes), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. A lot of athletic (for some reason) celebrities are involved, but that obscures the fact hat the $77 million dollars that were misspent in Mississippi caused real harm. But Mississippi is far from alone in abusing the federal TANF program, with states ranging from using it for scolarships to well-to-do families to crisis pregnancy centers to literally nothing at all. Ugh. And Now: The Humble Beginnings of Rachael Ray. [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Mar 14, 2023 - 6 comments

Welcome back, John Oliver! This week... Fox News is being sued by Dominion Voting Systems for amplifying conspiracy theories involving them about Trump losing the election, revealing that privately, the people at Fox mocked Trump's lies. "Multiple Fox hosts seem to see telling the truth as a possible existential threat." The story after that was on the train derailment in East Palistine, Ohio and the burn from it, causing burning eyes and dead animals, despite not being termed a "high hazardous material train." And Now: Jim Cramer Will Not Shut Up About His Brioni Suits. Main story: Psychedelic drugs, like Psilocybin, LSD and MDMA, and their transformative use in therapy in treating conditions like depression and PTSD. The potential is vast, can we avoid stigma this time? And Now: A Retirement Tribute To NBC4 Washington's Beat Poet Pat Collins. [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Feb 22, 2023 - 4 comments

This week, again from the White Void of Sad Facts: the killings by police of Daunte Wright and Adam Toledo, kicking off yet another cycle of media condemnation, right-wing defense of police, and criticism of righteous anger from protestors. To attempt to change their part in this terrible cycle, LWT did short pieces on blissfully stupid topics (see inside). And Now: The Commercials On FOX News In The Middle Of The Night Know Exactly Who They're Talking To. Main story (21m): Personal bankruptcy, a resource employed by millions of people, and has been often unduly stigmatized. [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Apr 19, 2021 - 2 comments

This week, we launch right in with the main story: the misinformation on COVID-19 that's been going around, and the places people have been getting it from. On YouTube (21m). And Now: An All-Coronavirus Installment of Coming Up On "Inside Edition." Finally, talk-show host Wendy Williams and her at-home adventures. [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Apr 20, 2020 - 5 comments

This week: coming to you from the EMPTY WHITE VOID, Last Week Tonight, like many shows, is doing without a live audience for the length of the epidemic, not just to help slow transmission of Coronavirus but because their usual studios, CBS Broadcasting Center in New York, had confirmed cases. The whole show is about the pandemic, the media and Trump administration's handling of it, and what you personally can do to slow the spread of the disease, which includes not spreading stupid misinformation of the type being broadcast on Fox News. The show was unclear when the next episode would air. [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Mar 16, 2020 - 11 comments

That week....

• Violence marred the prior week, and Fox News went out of their way to position the attacks as "false flag" operations, supposedly stages by Democrats to make Republicans look bad. Geraldo Riviera "outsmarts himself" in making such allegations.
• Saudi Arabia continues to try to explain the disappearance, likely murder, of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, while President Trump and right-wing figures try to downplay the killing of an American resident.
• Main story: the role of state Attorneys General on our nation, their role in investigating wrongdoing, and the increasing degree to which the offices have become politicized. YouTube
• Special productions: A WWE commercial that properly notes the fact that it takes place in Saudi Arabia, and the problems that causes; a concert for bagpipes, accordion, theremin and recorder (multiple, played by young children) to annoy people to stepping away from their TV sets and actually researching their states' candidates for Attorney General. A good place to do that, they note, is at Vote411.org.

[more inside]
posted by JHarris on Nov 4, 2018 - 2 comments

Over the past 10,080 minutes....

• "President Trump, two words that continue to sound bad together, like 'Horse Pope,' or 'Dr. Oz.'" Trump meets with German Chancellor Angela Merkel for the first time, whom he denigrated often on the campaign trail. He refused to shake her hand, which was almost as weird as that hand-pull thing he does when he shakes hands.
• Trump also doubled-down on claims that Obama tapped his phones, claiming as a source a "talented legal mind" on Fox who turned out to be noted conspiracy theorist Judge Andrew Napolitano. Even Fox News backed away from the claim. Fareed Zakaria described Trump's behavior on CNN by using the word "bullshit" and variants of it several times.
• And Now: Morning News Shows Celebrating St. Patrick's Day Literally The Only Way They Know How.
• Main story: The Federal Budget and Trump's plans for it, which are predictably terrible.
• And Now: A Special St. Patrick's Day Moment From Fox & Friends.
• Finally... Bolivian Traffic Zebras. Bolivian Traffic Zebras. People in Zebra costumes helping traffic in Bolivia. Oliver asks, what situations wouldn't be made better by a helpful person in a zebra costume, and answers: nothing. To this end, LWT has posted green screen footage of a dancing zebra to their YouTube channel, for the use and wonder of all.

[more inside]
posted by JHarris on Mar 20, 2017 - 4 comments

So, what happened last week?

• President Trump continues to amplify unquestioningly whatever whimsical story was presented on Fox News, this time that Sweden is having problems with immigrants, which Sweden denies.
• The half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Kim Jong-nam (Wikipedia), was poisoned in an airport, by a woman who claims she was told to do it as part of a reality show.
• A Florida man plotted to have bombs placed in 10 Target stores in order to drive stock prices down.
• AND NOW: Fox & Friends is Painfully Aware of Who is Watching Them
• MAIN STORY: Russia, specifically Vladimir Putin (YouTube, 20m). Him, his regime, how he's profited, what happens to those who oppose him, and Trump's fascination for him. LWT produced a short dance number about him, refering to the Russian pop song praising Putin.

[more inside]
posted by JHarris on Feb 20, 2017 - 6 comments

The first episode of season four! And so let's get right on to THIS WEEK....

• The inauguration of Donald Trump, and his whirlwind of activity, which Oliver describes as "the tip of the shitberg."
• AND NOW: Donald Trump Can't Shake Hands Right.
• MAIN STORY: Trump vs. Truth (24m, NSFW). While just over a quarter of Obama's statements rated Mostly False or worse by Politifact.com, nearly 70% of Trumps rate so. In the process of covering this rich topic, we visit a Fox News commercial with a "cowboy," Breitbart, Alex Jones (apparently a primary source of information for him). They cover the history of the "three million voted illegally" lie from Twitter rando to President-Elect Trump to clueless person parroting it, creating a hideously self-reinforcing echo chamber that is currently driving policy in the United States.

At the end LWT, noting that Trump gets a disturbing amount of his news from certain programs, has put together a number of short commercial bits with useful information in them (like what the Nuclear Triad is, how the Unemployment Rate is derived, and "Tiffany"), and paid to put them into ad time in those shows. [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Feb 13, 2017 - 6 comments