HBO’s ‘Newsroom’ Being Programmed by Soros-Funded Think Progress?

July 16, 2012 | Filed under Barack Obama,Categories,Culture Of Corruption,Democrats,Entertainment | Posted by Warner Todd Huston

Left-wingers are hailing HBO’s new series The Newsroom happily proclaiming it as The West Wing for the 2010s. Like The West Wing, this new show is penned by liberal activist and TV producer Aaron Sorkin. But, wait. Who is writing it? According to Sorkin’s writing team, it seems as though the George Soros-funded, extremist website Think Progress is doing the heavy lifting for team Sorkin.

The episode for Monday, July 9 was a Tea Party bashing extravaganza filled with all sorts of smears of Tea Partiers, of Rep. Michele Bachmann and all things conservative. During this same episode one of the characters favorably mentions Soros-funded Think Progress. This caused TP operative Adam Peck to take to his Twitter account to thank Sorkin and his writers for giving his website a plug.

In reply, the co-author of that night’s episode, Gideon Yago, replied to Peck’s Tweet saying that the website’s “reporting and archiving was vital to the research we did.”

I like how he put that. “Research.” In other words, they merely did a word search on the Think Progress website and that served as their “research.” The TV writers essentially allowed Think Progress to do the work for them.

This is how the Hollywood left operates. They simply look to groups like TP, Moveon.org, Markos Moulitasis of The Daily Kos, and other far left propagandists to find the meme they want to further and work to continue rolling the narrative along like good little co-conspirators. This is the sort of narrative farming that Andrew Breitbart spent his last years battling.

Now, conservatives have been scoffing at this new left-wing show, of course, just as they did The West Wing some ten years ago. There are some that are even a bit buoyed by the fact that this left-wing show has appeared on TV in our time. This line of thought goes that The Newsroom is a coping mechanism for the left because they know they are losing the battle for the hearts and minds of Americans.

What ever it is, one thing is sure. There is nothing new in Hollywood and The Newsroom is rehash of cold hash not to mention just one more outlet for the left-wing meme machine to push their tall tales in a (hopefully) vain attempt to win in the political arena today.

Shortlink:

Posted by Warner Todd Huston on July 16, 2012.
Filed under Barack Obama, Categories, Culture Of Corruption, Democrats, Entertainment.
Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago-based freelance writer, has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and is featured on many websites such as Andrew Breitbart's BigGovernment.com and BigJournalism.com, RightWingNews.com, CanadaFreePress.com, RightPundits.com, StoptheACLU.com, Human Events Magazine, among many, many others. Additionally, he has been a frequent guest on talk-radio programs to discuss his opinion editorials and current events.He has also written for several history magazines and appears in the new book "Americans on Politics, Policy and Pop Culture" which can be purchased on amazon.com. He is also the owner and operator of PubliusForum.com. Feel free to contact him with any comments or questions, EMAIL Warner Todd Huston: igcolonel .at. hotmail.com"The only end of writing is to enable the reader better to enjoy life, or better to endure it." --Samuel Johnson

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GarandFan
“There is nothing new in Hollywood”………..
Been that way for years. They are soooooooo “creative” there. As for the “research” – none was really needed. It fits in so neatly with all their per-conceived ideas and bias. I’ll be waiting to see how many on the left cite this show as a real ‘news source’. After all, how many on the left still think Palin said “I can see Russia from my house.”
- CK
  It’s not the fact Palin is so stupid she thinks her front porch looks upon the frozen tundra of Siberia…it’s the fact that she considered that adequate foreign relations experience to be the standby position for the most powerful office in the world that makes her dumb. Is your brain broken?
  - http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves
    That was Tina Fey.
    Who’s stupid again?
    - CK
      you people are retarded. You completely miss the point, as usual in a common sense statement. Of course I know that’s Tina Fey. Of course I know you CAN see Russia from AN ISLAND in the Aleutians. AGAIN…its not the fact she was wrong…or who said what on SNL…its the fact that that constitutes her experience on dealing with foreign governments. You seem more preoccupied with Tina Fey and SNL (theatre…not reality) than you do with actual real life.
      GarandFan…PRESIDENT Obama (have some respect for the office at least punk) has little experience on foreign relations, true, however, HIS VP pick was on the foreign relations committee. Palin couldn’t even finish a one term governorship without selling out to Fox.
      You people just see facts and look the other way. Is there bias in the media? Sure! Does that make me ignore ACTUAL recordings of things people ACTUALLY said? NO! You on the other hand ignore anything that doesn’t fit your picture, hence me needing to AGAIN repeat the point of Palin’s stupid comment and how nonsensical it is.
      - jim_m
        You completely miss the point dumbass. You repeat a made up lie like it was the truth because you believe everything the left wing media feeds you. Why should anyone take you seriously when you believe such crap?
      - Guest
        How can it be a lie when the show included video clips of Bachman, Palin, Limbaugh, Beck and Fox News anchors all repeating the same lie.
        And now you’re lying.
        What is it with the right that you can’t tell the truth anymore?
      - CK
        OH. MY. GOD. It must hurt to be that stupid. Do you have chronic migraines? You must be conservative. It’s ok, your brain is just trying to escape.
        Deny Deny Deny is their mantra when confronted with video evidence of their hero politician’s lies.
        Do you really believe ANY politician dem or rep, gives a shit about the American people when it comes down to their own personal gain? That’s cute. Kind of pathetic, but cute. Don’t pet the sheeple, they bite.
        I don’t fool myself in accepting the fact that this country has been sold out to global corps and both sides are responsible for that. This is what the baby boom generation has done to us.
      - jim_m
        I’m talking about the Tina Fey quote. Are you now going to insist that this was actually a Palin quote? Are you really that stupid? Even I gave you more credit than that.
      - Guest
        Oh I see – you’re lying so you can change the subject. Nice try.
  - http://www.rustedsky.net JLawson
    You do know that was Tina Fey playing Palin, don’t you? And that you CAN see Russia from the western end of the Aleutian island chain, which IS part of Alaska, and what she was referring to?
    If you don’t – I’d be a bit hesitant about calling others stupid.
    It’s easy to be contemptuous of Palin if all you’ve ever seen is the media portrayal of her by comedians playing at being newsmen. Take a look at the real person – not the caricature shoved out by folks with a political purpose.
    You might find you’re wrong about a lot of what you’ve been told to think. And then you might go – “If they’ll lie about this – what else would they lie about?”
    - CK
      Your so sure I’m being lied to, have you ever considered the idea maybe you are being lied to as well? Have you ever considered we might all be being lied to in order to distract us and pit us against each other while the elites rape, plunder, and destroy our country?
      - CK
        “In Washington, the view is that the banks are to be regulated, and my view is that Washington and the regulators are there to serve the banks,” he said.
        http://blog.al.com/sweethome/2010/12/spencer_bachus_finally_gets_hi.html
        There is a proven link between Koch Industries, Americans for Prosperity, and the Tea Party. I wont link any pages because I wont waste my time on things you wont read anyway. Do the research. Its all out there for you to read if you choose to.
        http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/20/us-obama-immigration-idUSTRE78J05720110920
        http://www.factcheck.org/2008/09/nra-targets-obama/
        Consider the idea that maybe your beloved right wing media arm may be sensationalizing and stoking fears to drive up viewership and ratings. It is, after all, your money they’re after. Before you say it, the left does it too. but in the case of gun rights, illegal immigration, and several other issues, the facts lay with Obama and his actions.
      - http://www.rustedsky.net JLawson
        On occasion – that’s why I’m very skeptical of the things I’m told.
        For example – you’re convinced that Palin’s one step above being a drooling idiot. Did you bother to actually examine her history, or read any of her works for yourself? Or are you just going with the ‘Everybody knows…’ that everybody knows?
        Challenge your assumptions.
        Question the authority figures you believe in. (And if you’re believing in the depths of wisdom presented by comedians… well, nevermind…)
        See if what they’re saying stands up to reality or not – and think for yourself.
        And for pity’s sake, please use proper punctuation. The best constructed argument presented poorly is worthless.
        I’ll routinely ignore folks who won’t use capitalization or punctuation. They might think it’s edgy to do so, railing against an unnessesary holdover from archaic rules and traditions. I look at it and go “If they can’t be bothered to even capitalize words – their logic is likely just as lazy.”
      - CK
        Please point out my grammatical errors that I might correct them.
        I’m not convinced that Palin is one step above a drooling idiot. She’s obviously an intelligent person to have deceived so many people into believing her message. You’re putting words in my mouth and misrepresenting what I say. That makes me not want to listen to your point of view about as much as my missing period, comma, etc do for your attention span concerning my arguments.
        I don’t consider her an idiot for making the statement. I consider her inexperienced in foreign relations and the fact that Russia is visible from Alaska has no bearing. Her point is worthless. Why do you continue to hold this position. Move on to another statment she’s made and we can debate that instead. It’s clear she lost this point in the mind of public opinion as most people never got the connection of a visible Russian territory and foreign relations experience.
      - CK
        statement*
        I’m sorry, I wouldn’t want you to ignore my valid points in light of my missing “e”.
      - CK
        Also, and I’m sorry to have to bring this up again, your post is missing several periods and at least one comma. I only spent 10 seconds proofing it. Maybe you could spend some time and correct your mistakes, that I might consider your argument more sound. Thanks.
      - http://www.rustedsky.net JLawson
        Correct your errors? No. You’re the one making them, you’re obviously smart enough to avoid them, so it’s your responsibility to do so – not mine.
        “I’m not convinced that Palin is one step above a drooling idiot.”
        Sigh.
        “It’s not the fact Palin is so stupid she thinks her front porch looks upon the
        frozen tundra of Siberia…”
        You lead with that – need I say more? We don’t know you, don’t really know your attitudes. Start off with that, continue with…
        “it’s the fact that she considered that adequate foreign relations experience to
        be the standby position for the most powerful office in the world that makes her dumb.”
        While ignoring that Obama had a hell of a lot less foreign relations experience, leadership experience, and business experience… while he was running for the most powerful office in the world.
        And let’s not talk about Biden, okay? Just because someone’s on a committee doesn’t guarantee they know what the hell they’re doing.
        You… really didn’t look at any of the candidates in ’08 in any depth, did you? Just trusted the Daily Show and SNL to sort things out for you?
        How’s that worked out for you so far? Aren’t you glad unemployment is so low, considering how high it was under Bush?
      - CK
        You make a lot of assumptions for such a grammatically correct intellectual.
      - http://www.rustedsky.net JLawson
        And you’re apparently a throwaway ID. Your disqus record speaks (or doesn’t) for itself.
        Have a nice day, Sparky.
      - CK
        Why would I register for a weak sauce blog forum such as this? I just appreciate the value of a good flame war here and there. You right wingers are easily provoked and, lets face it, lacking in the debate skills. You can’t even back down from a fucking Palin quote from years ago. It’s kind of pathetic how tightly you hold on.
      - http://www.rustedsky.net JLawson
        LOL. Try clicking on your profile picture next to your screen name. It’ll show your entire Disqus history – which is… 14 posts at this time, to this one entry, on this one blog.
        Why would you register for a ‘weak sauce’ blog such as this? Good question, sparky!
        Throwaway ID, as I said.
      - CK
        Yes, I have a normal life to get back to. I have a kid, a job I’ve held for 6 years and a wedding to plan. I am waiting for my factory to close in August so I can go back to school and retrain for a new career. I am part of the working poor of America right now. We used to be called the middle class. Registering for blogs is low on my priority list and posting to some conservative blog over 3000 times is a waste of time.
        I have one thing more important than all the blog posts in the world and that’s my vote. I just wish there was a single politician out there that deserved it.
      - CK
        Just because someone can see another country from their state doesn’t mean they know what the hell they’re doing.
      - http://www.rustedsky.net JLawson
        Which is why I read everything I could find on her, that wasn’t humor related.
      - CK
        And you came to the conclusion that she had enough experience dealing with foreign governments based on her proximity to Russia? You might want to reconsider your opinions.
      - CK
        By the way, you do realize that “…” is not correct usage of punctuation. If you wanted to preach adherence to archaic punctuation skills, you would have used a comma instead to create a pause in the sentence.
        I often don’t correct people on their literary skills in forums as it invites an investigation into my own work. You should pay heed spark-less.
      - CK
        Me – “Please point out my grammatical errors that I might correct them.” Seems pretty easy to figure out right? Even polite.
        You – “Correct your errors? No. You’re the one making them, you’re obviously smart enough to avoid them, so it’s your responsibility to do so – not mine.” Seems pretty aggressive. Also, note I never asked you to correct my errors, merely point them out.
        Its like talking to a brick wall and not nearly as fulfilling.
  - GarandFan
    And Barry has all that foreign relations experience? IS YOUR BRAIN BROKEN?
    - http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves
      It’s definitely the wrong color…
      - http://www.rustedsky.net JLawson
        Neon paisley, I think.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
Wow… Have you even watched The Newsroom or are you criticizing it for gaining popularity quickly?
- retired.military
  answer to first question yes. For about 10 min and I realized it was another hack left wing propaganda news sow.
  Answer to your 2nd question is no.
  - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
    10 minutes does not mean you watched a show. It means you missed the point of it to come to your own views of what you thought it was.
    - retired.military
      Jay
      I dont waste my time on trash. If it doenst hold my interest in 10 min than I dont bother with it. Sorry. I read numerous reviews afterwards and I can tell you it isnt my forte.
      - CK
        ‘Merica!
- warnertoddhuston
  Have you ever been shot? If not, how do you know it’s a bad thing?
  - Guest
    wow. scary…. that’s really how you think?
    So you haven’t watched it then, right?
    - http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves
      DERP!
      Project he much!
      DERP!
  - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
    That has to be the craziest retort I’ve ever seen. WTH, please come back to reality instead of whatever you feel is a valid point you are trying to make.
    - warnertoddhuston
      So, in other words, you are incapable of intellectual exercises? I figure. You ARE a liberal, after all.
      - http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves
        And referring to such as “brain dead liberals” is really repetitively redundant.
      - ryan a
        How exactly is that an “intellectual exercise”? Because of the ridiculously twisted logic? Sometimes, Warner, I think you’re better off just answering the question with a straight answer. If you watched the show, fine. If not, ok.
      - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
        WTH, I’m still waiting for you to actually have substance to your argument.
    - ryan a
      “That has to be the craziest retort I’ve ever seen.”
      Ya, that might be one for the record books.
    - herddog505
      Why? The argument from you is that WTH (and, by extension, many others here) cannot criticize “The Newsroom” because they haven’t seen it. This, of course, overlooks the fact that the show has been much ballyhooed and discussed, so it’s possible to know quite a lot about it without actually seeing it, just as one can know that being shot is a rather bad thing without having actually BEEN shot.
      But let’s get back to the original point: who is writing the show or influencing how it is written? Is it true, as WTH writes, that much of the material is coming from Think Progress? If so, what does that tell us about the show, its intent, and (perhaps) its honesty? And why SHOULD any conservative want to watch it?
      Here’s a quote from the show’s central character, the “moderate Republican” Will McAvoy:
      Yeah, just in case you accidentally wander into a voting booth one day, there are some things you should know, and one of them is that there is absolutely no evidence to support the statement that we’re the greatest country in the world. We’re seventh in literacy, twenty-seventh in math, twenty-second in science, forty-ninth in life expectancy, 178th in infant mortality, third in median household income, number four in labor force, and number four in exports. We lead the world in only three categories: number of incarcerated citizens per capita, number of adults who believe angels are real, and defense spending, where we spend more than the next twenty-six countries combined, twenty-five of whom are allies. None of this is the fault of a 20-year-old college student, but you, nonetheless, are without a doubt, a member of the WORST-period-GENERATION-period-EVER-period, so when you ask what makes us the greatest country in the world, I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about?
      “The Newsroom”
      episode 1:1 – “We Just Decided To” (2012)
      dir: Greg Mottola
      spoken by Jeff Daniels
      http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0308974/quotes
      Oh, yeah: that’s JUST the sort of thing that makes conservatives want to tune it.
      - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
        
        The argument from you is that WTH (and, by extension, many others here) cannot criticize “The Newsroom” because they haven’t seen it
        Because the retorts he’s referring to are based on facts from the time. He’s criticizing the show with little information. If you don’t like the show because “AARON SORKIN!”, fine. But to say that it’s a George Soros funded propaganda for that mystical left who’s comprised of Hollywood is beyond a stretch.
        so it’s possible to know quite a lot about it without actually seeing it, just as one can know that being shot is a rather bad thing without having actually BEEN shot.
        Like I said, I ask a valid question and the retort was ridiculous. It’s a childish gesture by someone who doesn’t want to actually try to debate. Perhaps you do, but WTH’s argument has been shown to be faulty and ignorant by how he doesn’t even try to comment on the issue at hand (the proposed Tea Party attacks). Those were brought up. No one is talking about those points because the argument is about his ridiculous ad hom.
        But let’s get back to the original point: who is writing the show or influencing how it is written? Is it true, as WTH writes, that much of the material is coming from Think Progress?
        Dunno, but is it accurate and based on facts? Journalism isn’t about a “he said, she said” detail. It’s about looking for the truth whether Obama is the victim of it or Bachmann. And as I researched it, it seems to show the exact point that Obama had nothing to do with guns in 2010 as the Tea Party began their obstructionism.
        If so, what does that tell us about the show, its intent—
        Let’s stop here. The show is about how Newsrooms like CNN, NBC, ABC, make stories within a fictional setting. But it’s also entertainment with a somewhat alternative spin on how the news is shown. Like the news or hate it, it’s still entertainment. I doubt that the show is aiming for honesty. But it seems to aim for accuracy in reporting which isn’t done by most conservative pundits (ie Fox News). My suggestion? Look at a full episode and see how you like it. See how it shows which stories become large and which are buried. Also, see how the Tea Party is shown in their statements. THEN make a decision on if you want to see what it’s about. Coming at it from second or third hand reporting doesn’t help you understand why people like or hate the show.
        Here’s a quote from the show’s central character, the “moderate Republican” Will McAvoy
        Yeah, that one really pissed me off because it was a softball question and it’s one of those things that are annoying about the show. I’m not saying all of it will fit your liking. But you should probably see it for yourself and come to your own conclusions instead of listening to others.
      - herddog505
        Jay – If you don’t like the show because “AARON SORKIN!”, fine. But to say that it’s a George Soros funded propaganda for that mystical left who’s comprised of Hollywood is beyond a stretch.
        WTH claims that the show’s writers are getting a lot of assistance from Media Matters, which is funded in part by George Soros. So, we have the potential that a “media watchdog group” with a political agenda is (ahem) helping write a TV program about the news. Imagine if the Koch Brothers helped bankroll a series about a fictional environmental organization and it was found out that the writers were getting help from the folks at Watt’s Up With That, The Heritage Foundation, and the American Petroleum Institute. Wouldn’t that make your spidey sense tingle just a little?
        Jay – The show is about how Newsrooms like CNN, NBC, ABC, make stories within a fictional setting.
        Oh, OF COURSE. And Gulliver’s Travels is an early example of the fantasy novel, Animal Farm is a fairy tale, and Atlas Shrugged is a fictional account of the railroad industry. Just like Swift, Orwell and Rand, Sorkin merely wants to entertain us and has no other agenda at all.
        Jay – My suggestion? Look at a full episode and see how you like it.
        First of all, I watch almost no TV. In fact, if not for my wife, I doubt I would watch a single episode of any current TV program.
        More importantly, I have read enough about this show to (ahem) strongly suspect that I’m not going to be pleased with what I see. If I want to be hectored by a main character who laments that the news industry is too “commercialized” and THAT’S why it stinks, I’ll tune into CNN, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, etc.* And, based on what your comrade Grumpy is crowing about, I can log into the DNC website and get exactly the same view on the Tea Party.
        Finally, we don’t get HBO and I’m not about to shell out to watch a program that doesn’t interest me in the first place on the off-chance that I won’t detest it. Though, I suppose, my wife would be happy because she could watch “Game of Thrones” and “True Blood”…
        ===
        (*) Let’s have a look at McAvoy’s apology to America, which seems to have given lefties a collective orgasm.
        Among other things, McAvoy says:
        I was an accomplice to a slow and repeated and unacknowledged and unamended train wreck of failures that have brought us to now. I’m a leader in an industry that miscalled election results, hyped up terror scares, ginned up controversy and failed to report on tectonic shifts in our country, from the collapse of the financial system to the truths about how strong we are to the dangers we actually face. I’m a leader in an industry that misdirected your attention with the dexterity of Harry Houdini, while sending hundreds of thousands of our bravest young men and women off to war without due diligence.
        Pure liberal boilerplate: terror scares are hyped up, we just “missed” the whole impending mortgage meltdown, the Iraq war was based on a lie (oh, if ONLY we hadn’t believed George Bush… and Bill Clinton… and Hillary Clinton… and the democrats in Congress…), etc.
        Another choice tidbit:
        [N]etwork newscasts, anchored through history by honest-to-God newsmen with names like Murrow and Reasoner and Huntley and Brinkley and Buckley and Cronkite and Rather and Russert…
        Oh, yes, they NEVER made sh*t up, slanted the news, ballyhooed some stories and covered up others, did they? And including Dan “Fake But Accurate” Rather amongst the giants of the news industry??? Are you f*cking kidding?
        But, to lefties, he IS a giant.
        This is great:
        It might come as a surprise to you that some of history’s greatest American journalists are working right now. Exceptional minds with years of experience and an unshakable devotion to reporting the news. But these voices are a small minority now and they don’t stand a chance against the circus when the circus comes to town. They’re over matched. I’m quitting the circus, switching teams. I’m going with the guys who are getting creamed. I’m moved. They still think they can win and I hope they can teach me a thing or two.
        If I was a newsman, I’d be looking to catch Sorkin in a dark alley: “How DARE you imply that I’m a commercialized hack and a sell-out, you sanctimonious prick???”
        I’m sure that they ALL think that THEY are the Davids, that THEY are doing – over the opposition of greedy corporate masters – REAL news, that THEY are the exceptional minds with years of experience who can teach us all a thing or two.
        Jebus, Major Charles Emerson Winchester III wasn’t this pompous.
        Finally:
        We are MacKenzie McHale and myself. Ms. McHale is our executive producer. She marshals the resources of over 100 reporters, producers, analysts and technicians and her credentials are readily available.
        Layers and layers of editors and fact-
        checkers…
        http://jasonkobely.com/2012/07/newsroom-103-transcript-will-apology-112th-congress/
      - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
        
        Imagine if the Koch Brothers helped bankroll a series about a fictional environmental organization and it was found out that the writers were getting help from the folks at Watt’s Up With That, The Heritage Foundation, and the American Petroleum Institute. Wouldn’t that make your spidey sense tingle just a little?
        Nope. They own an entire network already. It’s called Fox News. They extort and bribe politicians with their corporate speech. And they have a Supreme Court that doesn’t give a damn what people want by steamrolling 100 years of corporate laws that allowed a flood of billionaires to affect elections disproportionately. I know where this movie ends. The Gilded Age is calling for a sequel.
        Sorkin merely wants to entertain us and has no other agenda at all.
        Sure, he entertains. But see the show for yourself if you feel the news in it is inaccurate.
        Finally, we don’t get HBO and I’m not about to shell out to watch a program that doesn’t interest me in the first place on the off-chance that I won’t detest it. Though, I suppose, my wife would be happy because she could watch “Game of Thrones” and “True Blood”…
        Dude, it’s the digital age. I don’t get HBO either and I watched the first few episodes.
        Let’s have a look at McAvoy’s apology to America, which seems to have given lefties a collective orgasm.
        sigh
        It’s a monologue. It’s not meant to be accurate in all regards, it’s one of Sorkin’s most annoying habits in his shows (as I’ve heard). I didn’t like it because he softballed that with a character we don’t like and a student who should have asked a harder question. He made Will look stronger by knocking this out of the park and how he treats the female characters is rather insulting to them. I didn’t say I liked everything about the show. I just don’t think you can make an informed opinion off of third hand knowledge.
      - herddog505
        “Third hand knowledge”??? I’m reading the transcripts, for pity’s sake!
        So, no thanks: I’m not planning to see “The Newsroom”. Again, if I want that kind of lefty sanctimony, I’ll tune in the CNN. Or any of the other networks, for that matter.
      - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
        CNN is leftist? News to me. Coulda sworn that they were losing viewers as people get tired of their propagandist BS.
      - Guest
        The CNN website gets twice the traffic that the Fox website gets.
      - http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves
        DERP!
      - jim_m
        Yes, it’s their left wing propagandist BS that everyone except for fascist left wingers like you can see.
      - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
        Fascism is still on the right, Jimbo. There’s no such thing as left wing fascism.
      - jim_m
        Fascism bears more resemblance to today’s left than anything else. That is another area where you are woefully ignorant. Fascism has always borne elements of socialism and that is a left wing ideology.
        But I know that you are totally ignorant of what fascism is. Wasn’t it you that was arguing the other day that fascism was corporate control of the government?
        Of course you have also argued hat 0bama is a conservative so with such a warped and distorted world view it isn’t surprising tat you are utterly incoherent with most of your arguments as you have shown today with you denial of reality on Fast and Furious. You might as well dance on the graves of those murdered for the sake of you ideology. In fact, if it resulted in the gun control you so desire I’ll bet you would.
      - http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves
        Fascism was merely another child of the “modern” Echidna known as socialism. It’s attribution to the right is a testament to the infiltration of communist propaganda into the academe.
      - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
        
        Fascism bears more resemblance to today’s left than anything else.
        You have the epitome of fascist in Mitt Romney, who dodged the draft four times on his France mission…
        Who plays to both sides of the aisle in an argumet…
        Who makes money by socializing costs and privatizing the gains…
        Among a number of other problems with how he made money.
        And yet you can’t wrap your head around the concept of fascism where corporate control is usurped over the government? You truly think that some rabble rousing kids who are forced to pay over $1 trillion dollars for their debt are affecting the system far more than GE or Wells Fargo who are subsidized by the government and lobby the government to maintain the status quo?
        You truly are delusional.
        Fascism has always borne elements of socialism and that is a left wing ideology.
        Fascism at its core is corporatism. A belief that corporate profits are more important than human rights. Dunno where it came from socialism but do continue. Your one man fight against Socialism is amusing when you can’t grasp the concept of crony capitalism leading us to a fascist, totalitarian state.
        Wasn’t it you that was arguing the other day that fascism was corporate control of the government?
        Because that’s the correct definition of fascism.
        Of course you have also argued hat 0bama is a conservative so with such a warped and distorted world view it isn’t surprising tat you are utterly incoherent with most of your arguments as you have shown today with you denial of reality on Fast and Furious.
        Accuracy with F&F means looking at the evidence and quite frankly, you are willing to ignore all evidence that doesn’t support your view.
        Also, if Obama truly isn’t a conservative, why have I not heard one person take issue with his drone strikes, his non-prosecution of the bankers, or the other multitude of issues that most GOP members support? Corporate profits are through the roof, the public sector (you know, those teachers you hate?) is going down, and you’re STILL bitching about Obama being in the White House.
        It’s been three years dude. Get over it. I highly doubt Romney will get in with how effective those Bain attacks are coming in but I’ll be interested in seeing what happens this November.
      - http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves
        Except of course that the man who coined the term “fascism” was, in his own words, a “lifelong socialist” and the actual name of the other infamous sibling system. You merely choose to cleave to the Communists assertion of “no enemies to the left” in which you were indoctrinated, facts to the contrary notwithstanding.
      - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
        
        You merely choose to cleave to the Communists assertion of “no enemies to the left” in which you were indoctrinated, facts to the contrary notwithstanding.
        Nope. History shows that both parties of Germany and Italy were extremely right wing groups.
        How sad you haven’t learned the lessons of their approaches to politics.
      - http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves
        How sad you are incapable of escaping your indoctrination.
      - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
        Rodney, the only “indoctrination” is called History 101. It’s very easily looked at along with the lead ups to WWII that allowed Germany’s democracy to be usurped by a rightwing extremist group with dire consequences. It’s not my job to teach you when Wikipedia and common sense explain something you can’t grasp.
      - jim_m
        They were characterized as right wing in part in comparison to the communists and in part due to their nationalism. Their platforms were socialist.
        What exactly about the National socialist party do you find to not be socialist? You are a total dumbass, ignorant of history and denying the most obvious of facts right in front of your. Both Hitler and Mussolini identified themselves as socialists you are trying to call them free market capitalists, something they never were.
      - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
        
        What exactly about the National socialist party do you find to notbe socialist?
        The part where they were socialist? Yeah, that’s a lie. And you haven’t looked into how they attained power? It might be time for you to look into their history.
        Laws such as the “Show me your papers” laws, media consolidation, gradual increases in terror, sunset provisions, a homeland security bureau, and war mongering are authoritarian ideals.
        Funny how history repeats itself with one party doing its best to bring back the Middle Ages (hint: It ain’t the Democratic Party this time)
      - herddog505
        Um, yeah: their leftist propaganda BS.
      - jim_m
        Jay thinks that obama is a conservative so he probably does think that CNN is conservative. So that’s also why he thinks fascism is not from the left because he thinks that socialism is a conservative idea. He seems to spend most of his time gathering his info from the fever swamps in the DU and the Daily Kos. He thinks that the Koch brothers own FOX, last time I checked it was Rupert Murdoch who owned FOX.
      - jim_m
        They own an entire network already. It’s called Fox News
        Rupert Murdoch owns FOX you dipshit. If you wanted to prove that you are a complete idiot you have just succeeded. What’s next? The moon landing was a conspiracy? What a moron.
      - http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves
        Moron’s everywhere are insulted by the comparison.
      - Guest
        Just a second there…
        “Is it true, as WTH writes, that much of the material is coming from Think Progress? So, we have the potential that a “media watchdog group” with a political
        agenda is (ahem) helping write a TV program about the news.”
        Wow, such power. Alll WTH has to do si make up some fantasy and it becomes a “potential” reality?
        lol… That’s the way the right wing media works. Somebody makes up a fastasy reality and others buy into it — because the lie makes them feel good.
        hell, Rush Limbaugh makes a living doing exactly that – making up crap that conservatives want to believe.
      - http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves
        DERP!
      - Guest
        Yeah – facts and the truth are the last things that conservatives want to watch on tv. That’s why they choose Fox News, where the lies are as comfortable as that old flannel shirt. Lies you can believe in. Lies that make you feel good about yourself and your country… yes sirree. You wont find conservatives enjoying any fact-based rants that tell the truth about the US.
        Notice that the dog didn’t dispute any of the facts in the quoted dialog above – he just correctly pointed out that conservatives like himself could care less about facts and the truth.
      - http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves
        DERP! DERP!!
retired.military
In other news the sun rose in the east today.
Guest
I saw the show, and I recall two aspects of Tea Party bullshit that were uncovered and exposed.
The first was that Obama was out to “get your guns”, a lying right wing meme that was launched shortly after Obama took office. Must have been payback from the Tea Party to the NRA. Anyways, 100% false and on Newsroom they exposed the lie and presented the facts. Yes, reality has a left wing bias once again — and they showed how the right wing media lied to the american public.
The second was Obama’s 2010 trip to India, which the lying right said was going to cost $200 million. Glenn Beck actually called it $2 Billion. Total bulllshit.
They included clips of Sarah Palin telling the lie, Glenn Beck telling the lie, Fox Newscasters telling the lie, etc.
Seeing this post claim nonsense about left wing “memes” put it’s all in context. These weren’t left wing memes – these were factual exposes of right wing lies…
So there should be no surprise that the right winger who are smearing HBO don’t tell you what the Tea Party issues were that were raised in this most current episode — cause they are factual and expose the extent to which the right wing media and the right wing pundits just make up bullshit and look right into the TV cameras and lie.
There may have been other Tea Party related aspects but frankly I was laughing too hard to notice. It’s a great show, highly recommended.
Oh, and Todd’s headline… total bullshit. NEWSROOM is not being funded by Soros.
EDIT: I just remembered that Rush Limbaugh’s lies about Obama’s 2010 trip to India was also featured — again with a video clip of Rushbo flat out telling lies.
- Vagabond661
  What was the reason for fast and furious again?
  - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
    Lax laws from the NRA equate to the death of a border patrol agent because the US can’t get a database of gun sales then it was blamed on Obama.
    - Sky__Captain
      I realize this wasn’t on The Newsroom, but I must point out the NRA does not make laws.
      And it was the federal government under 0bama that conducted the Fast and Furious attempt to influence more restrictive gun laws passed.
      Of course, there was also no attempt during said operation to actually track the guns to create a database, either.
      That doesn’t matter to you though, does it? You just have some 0bama talking points to push.
      - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
        Look up Operation Gunrunner and tell me who started what program. The NRA lobbied to prevent laws to help the ATF far more than allowing better regulations (such as preventing the sale of Assault Rifles.) in our democracy.
      - jim_m
        Jay, you are only showing how ignorant you are about this issue. The info is out there if you have half a mind to go look it up. Fast & Furious was started by the Holder DOJ. It is solely the responsibility of this administration. The responsibility for the illegal gun sales is all on the ATF. The NRA has NOTHING to do with this scandal.
        The point of the operation was to provide an excuse for additional gun laws and ownership restrictions that would be based on the illegal sales that the government created. You are a total idiot and I suggest reading up on the issue before spewing your ignorant bullshit.
      - http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves
        Furthermore, Operation Gun Runner embedded RFID trackers in the weapons and shared information with Mexican authorities. At the first indication that RFID trackers were being disabled (and the ability to track weapons compromised) the program was shut down.
    - jim_m
      You dumbass. The ATF circumvented the existing laws to get those guns sold. FFL’s actually complained that they did not want to sell the guns and were ordered to by the ATF. We have enough gun laws, but your fascist government does not enforce them because they want an excuse to confiscate the guns entirely.
      - http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves
        You insult dumb asses everywhere.
      - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
        
        The ATF circumvented the existing laws to get those guns sold.
        Nope.
        For six years, due to Beltway politics, the bureau has gone without permanent leadership, neutered in its fight for funding and authority. The National Rifle Association has so successfully opposed a comprehensive electronic database of gun sales that the ATF’s congressional appropriation explicitly prohibits establishing one.
        FFL’s actually complained that they did not want to sell the guns and were ordered to by the ATF.
        But five law-enforcement agents directly involved in Fast and Furious tell Fortune that the ATF had no such tactic. They insist they never purposefully allowed guns to be illegally trafficked. Just the opposite: They say they seized weapons whenever they could but were hamstrung by prosecutors and weak laws, which stymied them at every turn.
        Try again Jim.
        We have enough gun laws, but your fascist government does not enforce them because they want an excuse to confiscate the guns entirely.
        Indeed, a six-month Fortune investigation reveals that the public case alleging that Voth and his colleagues walked guns is replete with distortions, errors, partial truths, and even some outright lies. Fortune reviewed more than 2,000 pages of confidential ATF documents and interviewed 39 people, including seven law-enforcement agents with direct knowledge of the case. Several, including Voth, are speaking out for the first time.
        Try again Jim.
      - http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves
        Please do show us where the current laws allow the ATF to force licensed resellers to sell multiple weapons to buyers the sellers have identified as straw buyers. Please cite the specific provisions of the laws which permit such exceptions.
      - jim_m
        Forget it Rodney. Jay, like grumpy, lives in a world where legal is defined by whatever advances the left wing agenda. There is nothing the dems can do that would ever be considered illegal.
        Jay will never acknowledge the murders of 300+ people. He will never admit that the laws were broken, because the reason for it was to advance some left wing purpose. There are no unethical means except means that are not used.
      - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
        Bullshit. Prove it with a link. Also, explain why there’s a need for guns when the drug war has killed over 40,000 Mexicans and increased demand for what the US is providing.
      - jim_m
        Look, I am not going to try to catch you up on over a year and a half of news. I have posted other links and you can look at those and get further links from them.
        As for why, the only explanation is that makes any sense is the suggestion that they wanted to be able to demonstrate that guns sold in the US were being used in the drug war and use that as an excuse for further gun laws, which happens to be what obama had already promised to do.
      - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
        So you’re believing in a witchhunt instead of facts. Beautiful.
    - Vagabond661
      Actually Jay it’s much simplier. The real reason was to [Executive Privilege]
      - jim_m
        Jay, Vagabond661 will give you the other 95% of his explanation when you lord and savior obama discloses the 95% of the documents he is hiding under executive privilege.
        And I will remind you now that obama’s claim to exec privilege is broader in scope that Nixon’s claim that the court struck down. If a GOP president claimed this kind of privilege the left would be (correctly) rioting in the streets. But of course you are too much of a hypocrite to actually enforce the laws fairly. Laws are only for enforcing on your enemies.
      - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
        
        Jay, Vagabond661 will give you the other 95% of his explanation when you lord and savior obama discloses the 95% of the documents he is hiding under executive privilege.
        Right, keep the Issa witchhunts going. Ace argument there, chief.
        And I will remind you now that obama’s claim to exec privilege is broader in scope that Nixon’s claim that the court struck down
        Right, his tapes which were produced just recently along with all of the corrupting practices he did to get elected under wraps. You might not want to bring up Nixon. He’s far worse even though there’s similarities between he and Obama.
        . If a GOP president claimed this kind of privilege the left would be (correctly) rioting in the streets.
        Bush did. 6 times. Since Reagan, every president has done it at least once. Where’s the riot?
        But of course you are too much of a hypocrite to actually enforce the laws fairly.
        Jim… Try again. You just make broad claims that have no basis in reality.
      - jim_m
        This is not a witch hunt. 300+ people are dead! The ATF broke the law. Whistle blowers have testified under oath and the DOJ is withholding evidence.
        The claim of exec privilege is inappropriate and legal scholars rfom both sides of the aisle have said so.
        Keep drinking your fascist kool aid. You would never tolerate this from anyone other than your fascist leader.
      - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
        
        300+ people are dead!
        WTF? When did one border patrol agent increase to 300?
        Whistle blowers have testified under oath and the DOJ is withholding evidence.
        Ha! Good one! A scorned employee that was a rogue is now a whistleblower. And you still feel that Bradley Manning and Daniel Ellsberg aren’t whistleblowers?
        You would never tolerate this from anyone other than your fascist leader.
        Like I said, this amuses me, but it’s never been true. I don’t like Obama and I’m not voting for him. It’s funny to see you try to pin me as an O-supporter though.
      - http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves
        What, the three hundred dead citizens of a friendly bordering nation don’t signify in @yahoo-IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY:disqus world? Glad I don’t hold life so cheap.
      - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
        [citation required]
      - jim_m
        Pull your head out of your ass and start learning about what has been going on for over a year and a half. http://erickbrockway.com/2012/06/23/watergate-with-300-dead-people-lying-on-the-ground-fast-and-furious-follow-the-ideology/
        You are a total ass arguing that this is nothing. You demonstrate how ignorant you are by denying the body count that has been in the news repeatedly.
        Follow the video from around 5:15 and on for an explanation of the murders and how racist you and your leftist friends are. You are apologizing and excusing mass murder. I suppose it’s just like your predecessors excusing the atrocities of slavery. Yeah, the dead from that were dark skinned too.
      - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
        Billy Whittle uses loaded language to make partisan points. There’s no news here, nor an explanation in how he calculated 300 people to be affected by the F&F program. You need better sources, Jim.
        His is a tainted example of right wing BS.
      - jim_m
        2 American law enforcement agents and over 300 Mexican nationals. But you won’t care about the Mexicans because they have brown skin.
      - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
        So a statement from the mother and father with a number that can not be verified is a citation now.
        *slow clap*
        Bravo Jim. You’re on your way to becoming a politician who cites sources without any verification at all.
    - herddog505
      So… Barry and The Bagman ran guns to Mexico to get people killed to convince everybody that we need some sort of national firearms sale database? Is that what you claim?
      - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
        
        So… Barry and The Bagman ran guns to Mexico to get people killed to convince everybody that we need some sort of national firearms sale database? Is that what you claim?
        herddog, you usually do a better job of understanding points made. This is not one of them. The NRA lobbies Republicans to keep gun laws lax and prevent the ATF from doing its job. Issa gets to go on his witchhunt while the Republicans look crazier by persecuting the Obama administration based on the laws they (didn’t) pass in regards to gun regulation.
      - herddog505
        Prevent the ATF doing it’s job??? Seriously???
        The ATF walked something like 2000 guns into Mexico. A couple of hundred people, including a UC Border Patrol officer, are dead because of that.
        Let’s look at what you’ve written again:
        Jay – Lax laws from the NRA equate to the death of a border patrol agent because the US can’t get a database of gun sales then it was blamed on Obama.
        Did the NRA run those guns to Mexico?
        No.
        Did the ATF allow those guns to be run to Mexico?
        Yes.
        Does a database of firearms sales have ANYTHING to do with this issue?
        No.
        Has Holder been (shall we say?) less than cooperative with the Congress in clearing this matter up?
        Yes.
        Can Holder even say who’s bright idea this was, or why it was done?
        No.
        I realize that you lefties have to blame SOMEBODY for this, but trying to pin Fast and Furious on the NRA is a stretch even for lefties.
        By the way: I’ve bought a firearm or two in my day, and I’m pretty sure that the ATF has no problem doing its job.
      - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
        
        The prosecutors walked something like 2000 guns into Mexico. A couple of hundred people, including a UC Border Patrol officer, are dead because of that.
        FTFY. But I dunno about the Mexican deaths so you may have to provide a source.
        Did the NRA run those guns to Mexico?
        They lobbied against more government regulations.
        Did the ATF allow those guns to be run to Mexico?
        Right… In Arizona… Do you even listen to your own logic?
        Does a database of firearms sales have ANYTHING to do with this issue?
        In regards to tracking the straw purchases? You’re denying that fact?
        Has Holder been (shall we say?) less than cooperative with the Congress in clearing this matter up?
        HAH! Nine meetings and they still charge him with contempt. Out of all the things they could have done, that was the saddest reason for a contempt charge I’ve ever seen (hint: witch hunt)
        Can Holder even say who’s bright idea this was, or why it was done?
        Better question, did he try to implement better policies to prevent this from happening again?
        Yes. So why ignore his policies?
        Oh, he’s not Republican.
      - jim_m
        You are an ignorant stooge. ATF agents have already testified before congress that the ATF walked the guns and no one else. ATF agents have testified before congress that the dealers protested against it. ATF agents have testified that they were never instructed to trace the guns. ATF agents have testified that their higher ups in DC were “delighted” when the guns started showing up at murder scenes.
      - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
        
        ATF agents have testified before congress that the dealers protested against it
        Right, having a dealer say the ATF was doing a good job then having Congress pressure him to change his testimony works wonders for your narrative.
        ATF agents have testified that their higher ups in DC were “delighted” when the guns started showing up at murder scenes.
        Ah, so the prosecutors that said they wouldn’t track the guns made ATF look bad. Mission accomplished for right wingers.
      - herddog505
        Last fall’s slaying of Mario Gonzalez, the brother of a Mexican state prosecutor, shocked people on both sides of the border. Sensational news reports revealed that cartel hit men had tortured Gonzalez, and forced him to make a videotaped “confession” that his high-powered sister was on the take.
        But American authorities concealed one disturbing fact about the case from their Mexican counterparts: U.S. federal agents had allowed AK-47 assault rifles later found in the killers’ arsenal to be smuggled across the border under the notorious Fast and Furious gun-trafficking program.
        U.S. officials also kept mum as other weapons linked to Fast and Furious turned up at dozens of additional Mexican crime scenes, with an unconfirmed toll of at least 150 people killed or wounded.
        http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexico-fast-furious-20110920,0,5544168.story
        Approximately 300 Mexicans have been killed or wounded by Fast and Furious guns, estimates former Mexican attorney general Victor Humberto Benitez Trevino.
        http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/fast-362495-furious-mexico.html
        There is also quite a recitation of other crime scenes where F&F guns have showed up.
        As for the rest of your answers, be honest and add “Carney” to your screen name. I have seldom seen such obfuscation, misdirection, and outright horsesh*t outside a WH press briefing. So, allow me to answer my own questions:
        No, the NRA didn’t run the guns to Mexico.
        Yes, the ATF did allow them to be run, apparently deliberately.
        No, a database has nothing to do with this case as the ATF allegedly already knew who the strawbuyers were.
        Yes, Holder has definitely been less than cooperative. He tried to push this off on Bush; that flopped. Now, he’s reduced to hiding behind executive priviledge about an operation that he CLAIMS he knew nothing about until it was well under way.
        Holder can’t (won’t) even say whose bright idea it was or why it was done. He just yaps about “botched operation” and lefties lap it up. Sergeant Schultz was a fount of knowledge compared to The Bagman.
        Finally, are you going to SERIOUSLY suggest that we judge The Bagman NOT on what he’s done, but rather on the semi-mystical things that you CLAIM he’s done (or will do, or might do, or is thinking about doing)??? How has he done anything, by the way? I thought that the nasty, all-powerful NRA was totally blocking him.
      - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
        Who the hell is Carney?
      - jim_m
        Jay,
        Are you really so ignorant that you have no idea that the President’s Press Secretary is Jay Canrey?
        Jeez you’re dumb!
      - herddog505
        And something else…
        If the guns just made it into Mexico despite the best efforts of valiant, brave, honorable but (dang it!) hobbled ATF agents, how were they able to match the serial numbers of the guns that were found at the scene where Terry was killed?
      - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
        The guns were found 3 days later. They had no way to search for the guns. You should know this.
      - herddog505
        Then how do they know they were F&F guns? Did the NRA put them there?
        The whole operation makes absolutely no sense. According to the article you cite, ATF KNEW the cartels were using straw buyers and they knew who many of them were… but (somehow) let the guns get through, anyway.
        As for a “witch hunt”, I think that it’s very reasonable to wonder if The Bagman is lying when he claims that he found out about F&F AFTER Barry did:
        ERIC HOLDER, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: I’m not sure of the exact date, but I probably heard about Fast and Furious for the first time over the last few weeks.
        (END VIDEO CLIP)
        [CNN's JOHN] KING: He says over the last few weeks.
        That is on May 3, 2011. Listen to this interview the president of the United States, not the attorney general, the president of the United States, had with CNN Espanol back in March.
        (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
        BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There have been problems, you know. I heard on the news about this story that — Fast and Furious, where allegedly guns were being run into Mexico, and ATF knew about it, but didn’t apprehend those who had sent it.
        Eric Holder has — the attorney general has been very clear that he knew nothing about this. We had assigned an I.G., inspector general, to investigate it. (END VIDEO CLIP)
        KING: It begs the question, how did the president know about this in March, and how did the president know the attorney general knew nothing about this in march, when the attorney general says in May he just learned about it a couple weeks ago?
        http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/10/13/obama_spoke_about_fast__furious_before_holder_claimed_he_knew.html
    - Conservachef
      Forbes link on F&F.
      Lax laws? What, like the laws gun dealers were ordered (by the govn’t) to ignore?
      And you’re right, why should we blame it on Obama; there’s no proof that he had anything to do with it. It’s not like he hid documents under “executive privilege,” right? Oh wait… And it’s not like Obama takes responsibility for folks working in the federal government, right? Oh wait…
      I’m not even going to address the ridiculous NRA comment. You are free to hate on them if you want. They (and I) think that there are more than enough gun laws on the books already, and if those were properly enforced, we wouldn’t need new ones.
      - Conservachef
        Wow, I didn’t realize I was almost a day late to the discussion…
- Vagabond661
  And what was that treaty with the UN all about again?
- Sky__Captain
  Given your history of posts, I would put little credibility to your views of The Newsroom’s lies.
  Oh, wait – make that NO credibility.
  And, DERP!
  - http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves
    Oh snap!
- retired.military
  ”
  I recall two aspects of Tea Party bullshit that were uncovered and exposed.”
  It is a FICTIONAL SHOW mr Chickenshit Buillshitter.
  I bet you believe THE WEST WING was a realistic depiction of how things are in the WH dont you.
  - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
    RM, sorry, but you just said you didn’t watch this up above. Now, you’re criticizing Grumpy for him stating how he watched the show. Which is it? Did you watch it to criticize or did you not watch it and want to claim that those facts weren’t made up? (BTW, it’s in episode 4 “I’ll fix it for you”)
    - retired.military
      Jay
      I criticize Grumpy for taking a made up show and trying to paint it as something which speaks the truth about the tea party. I am not part of the tea party but the BS which Grumpy spouts is ridiculous. I watched the show to see if it was something that may hold my interest. It didnt . I treat it as I do other shows. I could give you numerou s examples of shows which didnt get the 10 minutes that I gave this show.
      I didnt even read Grumpy’s whole statement. And it is because of the ridiculous crap he spouts why I didnt. If you want to get called a racist proclaim yourself a criticizer of Obama.
      - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
        Not good enough, RM. I’m not here to do you any favors on this one. He made two points about the show. Those points were in the episode I laid out.
        And I am a criticizer of Obama. I get criticized for being a leftist on this site all the time. Just because I criticize BOTH parties, it’s like I have to be someone that can’t think for themselves, I should just be a conservative that everyone agrees with. That doesn’t fly with me since the GOP is still a party that wants to ban critical thinking.
      - Sky__Captain
        And Goofy’s posts were about a fictional program apparently largely written by a left-wing group.
        So you’re supporting the points that put down a group of the opposite end of the spectrum. As this is little more than propaganda, I question your logic.
        I wouldn’t expect any criticism on this program of Nancy “the Sea Hag” Pelosi or “Dingy Harry Reid. Do you?
        Keep in mind that on many, many occasions Goofy has accused conservatives of rAAAAAcism for daring to oppose his Choom-Messiah.
      - Guest
        The Tea Party stories were not made up.
        Liars and the lies they tell, next time on “Meet the Wizbang Conservatives”.
        Even when the truth smacks them in the face they lie about it.
      - Sky__Captain
        Being obnoxious, aren’t we?
        DERP! -for-brains can’t handle it!
      - jim_m
        Links. prove it Mr Derp
      - Guest
        Watch the show, baby Jim.
        Here’s the link to subscribe to HBO. Once you subscribe you can watch past shows online.
        Watch the show then come back and apologize.
        http://www.hbo.com/
        You don’t have the guts to do it.
      - jim_m
        So you’ve got nothing. I don’t need o watch an HBO show to give me news about TEA Party events. You claim these things are real? Show me the links to real news. otherwise you are a lying scumbag. (but we already know that to be the case)
      - Guest
        and I don’t give a crap if you believe it or not. It’s the truth – I know it’s the truth, and what loud-mouthed asses like you believe or don’t believe matters less than nothing.
      - jim_m
        Grumpy self-identifies as being invincibly ignorant and disconnected with reality. LOL
      - http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves
        DERP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
      - 914
        Doesn’t take guts. Takes a lack of brain power as you’ve shown.
      - http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves
        DERP!
      - 914
        …
      - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
        
        So you’re supporting the points that put down a group of the opposite end of the spectrum.
        What the…? You’re not making any sense by such a narrow minded view. There’s no backhanded “supporting of a view” to put down anyone. It’s looking at the evidence (ie what Grumpy put up as well as the episode itself) and coming to a conclusion based off it. Why not make better arguments instead of pointing fingers?
        As this is little more than propaganda, I question your logic.
        Nope, I don’t deal in propaganda. Try watching the episode and then we’ll talk. Until then, you’re approaching this argument based off ignorance.
      - http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves
        The cognitive dissonance with this one is strong. Truthfulness, rather less so.
      - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
        This coming from Sir “Derps” a Lot…
        Do continue with your childish antics and don’t let me questioning others stop your from showing how childish your debate skills are.
      - 914
        DERP!!
      - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
        What a childish maneuver by someone who doesn’t bring anything to the conversation…
      - 914
        I didn’t maneuver?
        I typed ‘DERP!’
      - 914
        I’m glad you’ve finally come clean!!
      - retired.military
        Jay
        1. I dont give WAPO much credence as far as just about anything.
        2. I glanced through the rest of the GOP education platform and I didnt have much trouble with any of it.
        3. I am all for getting PC and multiculturalism crap out of education. Teach the kids Reading writing and ‘rithmetic. Leave all the other crap for outside the classroom. no wonder our schools are failing.
        4. stop teaching political idealogy in the classroom unless it is a class on political idealogy and not a class on science (global warming comes to mind).
        5. I believe the greatest threat to public schools is a parent being able to choose (ie school vouchers) where their children go to school.
      - SCSIwuzzy
        For point 3, at least leave the social studies to teh actual social studies courses. When I was getting my Sec Ed degree, I recall seeing “social lessons” showing up in things like math text books. I am OK with a math book showing how a tribe in say S America functions without arithmetic or algebra or how the ancient Egyptians used ropes and rods to substitute for geometry… but if it has nothing about actual math, keep it out of the math books.
        This is one of many reasons I left the Ed world
      - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay
        
        I glanced through the rest of the GOP education platform and I didnt have much trouble with any of it.
        I’ve lived in the state. It has massive problems. You’re glancing over them.
        3) I am all for getting PC and multiculturalism crap out of education. Teach the kids Reading writing and ‘rithmetic.
        Too bad that’s not happening due to Rick Perry being an idiot and the Texas Senate being horrible in passing legislation to benefit students.
        4. stop teaching political idealogy in the classroom unless it is a class on political idealogy and not a class on science (global warming comes to mind).
        It’s called social studies and foreign language. More kids should be learning it since Hispanic growth is exploding.
        I believe the greatest threat to public schools is a parent being able to choose (ie school vouchers) where their children go to school.
        When Louisiana and Indiana are the top schools in the US, let me know. Until then, the argument and the evidence is against your belief.
      - http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves
        I criticize DERP! for exuding Carbon Dioxide and demand he cease immediately for Gaia’s sake.
      - Guest
        It was true and accurate and had video clips of the Tea Party liars telling their lies.
      - http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves
        DERP!
        DERP!
        E
        E
        R
        R
        P
        P
        !
        !
  - Guest
    moron…
    - Sky__Captain
      Project much?
      Yes, you do!
      DERP!
    - jim_m
      moron…
      Grumpy self-identifies
    - http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves
      DERP!
      self assesses!
      DERP!
      moron!
      DERP!
    - retired.military
      Talking about yourself will get you nowhere Grumpy. Sorry I burst your bubble and told you the truth about the West Wing.
- LiberalNightmare
  >>Seeing this post claim nonsense about left wing “memes” put it’s all in
  context. These weren’t left wing memes – these were factual exposes of
  right wing lies…
  So factual that they had to be presented on a TV show about a newsroom, instead of an actual newsroom.
  - Guest
    It was accurate and backed up by video clips of Palin, Beck, Limbaugh et all lying through their teeth.
    But Soros must have found body double actors and shot them instead right, just after he photoshopped Obama a new birth certificate….
    - http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves
      DERP!
    - Sky__Captain
      Actually, he already has a Photoshopped birth certificate – supplied by the White House…
Guest
I can’t say I particularly like the show. Even if I happen to agree with a particular political viewpoint, I don’t need it hammered at me with the subtlety of a ton of anvils.
- Guest
  It’s no more preachy that West Wing was. It’s just the style they like to take in All George Soros funded television shows… lol..
Commander_Chico
Another Warner post where he’s complaining about other points of view. Hey, Warner, there’s still a First Amendment, get over it.
The show will succeed or not based on its Neilsen ratings and the demographics of its users. If it does well, it will be among the kind of affluent college-educated “liberals” who like to feel a part of something bigger and good about themselves.
This is the marketplace of ideas, and literally the advertising marketplace.
- http://www.rustedsky.net JLawson
  More like the marketplace of feelings – as you said.
  And if your self-esteem is based on being able to ‘feel a part of something bigger’ enhanced by a TV show about a fictional news room… then you’ve probably got more in common with Trekkies than you’d feel comfortable with.
  - http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves
    Trekkies everywhere are insulted.
    - http://www.rustedsky.net JLawson
      They’ll get over it.
  - Commander_Chico
    I could not take the earnestness of The West Wing, it was too sappy for me.
    I bet it is like Trek for a lot of yuppies – they fantasize about being in the White House or on TV putting things right.
    SWPL – Stuff White People Like. “White” being a particular type of white – no rednecks or goombas.
    - http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves
      Racial stereotype you much?
      - Commander_Chico
        You’re so cute when you’re politically correct.
      - http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves
        Does that shoe pinch your foot?
      - Guest
        Does that ass pinch your head?
      - 914
        DARP!!
      - http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves
        Snap! Again!
    - http://www.rustedsky.net JLawson
      The whole concept of fictional, overtly politically based television just doesn’t do anything for me. The real thing is bizarre enough.
      - Commander_Chico
        In a country of 300 million, not everyone wants porn and Pawn Stars. Some don’t have enough “drama” in their lives.
        Lots of people want their beliefs affirmed, no matter what they are. That is why there are Sorkin dramas, twenty preacher channels, and the Lifetime network.
      - http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves
        Projection can be an amusing thing to observe.
Pretzel__Logic
I watched the first one, it was ok, the second one started with their best explanation of the tea party which could only come from a ” i live in the liberal bubble ” lib- I tuned out right then. Its hard to stomach.
- http://www.rustedsky.net JLawson
  Remember when the liberals were touting themselves as the ‘reality-based’ community?
  Ever wonder just why they stopped pushing that particular idea?
  - http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves
    Because the “reality based community” was about as real as “reality TV” proved to be.
    - http://www.rustedsky.net JLawson
      Yeah. They couldn’t cope with ‘reality’ as it really is – so they constructed a collaborative fiction that the world was actually they way they wanted it to be.
      Reality disabused them of that notion…
      - Guest
        THey used clips of Bachman, Palin, Beck, Limbaugh, Fox News anchors — all lying – making up lies out of whole cloth.
      - http://www.rustedsky.net JLawson
        I was talking about the early 2000s, the progressive ‘reality-based community’.
        That label died out fairly fast.
914
Amoebas everywhere beware!! DERP needs a brain!!
jim_m
Jay,
I’m not searching through this ridiculous thread to find your comment.
If you need to read up on Fast and Furious, you can find posts going back to at least June 21, 2011. I suggest starting to use the search function in the upper right corner.
Or you could google “Fast and furious scandal” and get lots of interesting articles like these:(selected from the 12.5 million hits on Bing)
http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/10/fast_and_furious_scandal_cannot_be_contained.html
http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2011/09/28/fast-and-furious-just-might-be-president-obamas-watergate/
Or you could go here, from last October: http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/fast-and-furious-22-shocking-facts-about-the-scandal-that-could-bring-down-the-obama-administration
#1 During Operation Fast and Furious, ATF agents purposely allowed thousands of guns to be sold to individuals that they believed would get them into the hands of Mexican drug cartels.
#2 ATF agents were specifically ordered not to
intercept the guns before they crossed the border. The following is a
brief excerpt from a CBS News report that detailed the fierce objections that many ATF agents expressed when they were ordered to stand down….
On the phone, one Project Gunrunner source (who
didn’t want to be identified) told us just how many guns flooded the
black market under ATF’s watchful eye. “The numbers are over 2,500 on
that case by the way. That’s how many guns were sold – including some
50-calibers they let walk.”
50-caliber weapons are fearsome. For months, ATF agents followed
50-caliber Barrett rifles and other guns believed headed for the Mexican
border, but were ordered to let them go. One distraught agent was often
overheard on ATF radios begging and pleading to be allowed to intercept
transports. The answer: “Negative. Stand down.”
CBS News has been told at least 11 ATF agents and senior managers
voiced fierce opposition to the strategy. “It got ugly…” said one.
There was “screaming and yelling” says another. A third warned: “this is
crazy, somebody is gonna to get killed.”
#3 Operation Fast and Furious remained a secret
until the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry last December. Two
guns that were sold during Operation Fast and Furious were found at the scene of the murder.
#4 ATF Special Agent John Dodson was one of the
first to blow the whistle on Operation Fast and Furious. Dodson
explained to the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee on June
15, 2011 that many ATF agents were becoming extremely frustrated when
they were ordered to cut off surveillance on the weapons that were being
sold because they knew
“that just days after these purchases, the guns that we saw these
individuals buy would begin turning up at crime scenes in the United
States and Mexico.”
#5 It appears that Operation Fast and Furious began
some time around September 2009. At that time, the ATF began pressuring
gun shops near the border with Mexico to participate in a new covert
operation that was being set up. The gun store owners were told to help
the ATF get guns into the hands of people that would take them back to
the Mexican drug cartels.
The following description of the mechanics of Operation Fast and Furious comes from a recent Los Angeles Times article….
In the fall of 2009, ATF agents installed a secret
phone line and hidden cameras in a ceiling panel and wall at Andre
Howard’s Lone Wolf gun store. They gave him one basic instruction: Sell
guns to every illegal purchaser who walks through the door.
For 15 months, Howard did as he was told. To customers with
phony IDs or wads of cash he normally would have turned away, he sold
pistols, rifles and semiautomatics. He was assured by the ATF that they
would follow the guns, and that the surveillance would lead the agents
to the violent Mexican drug cartels on the Southwest border.
When Howard heard nothing about any arrests, he questioned the
agents. Keep selling, they told him. So hundreds of thousands of dollars
more in weapons, including .50-caliber sniper rifles, walked out of the
front door of his store in a Glendale, Ariz., strip mall.
#6 In some gun stores, cameras were set up so that
top ATF officials could actually watch these transactions take place.
Back in June, U.S. Representative Darrell Issa stated the following….
“Acting Director Melson was able to sit at his desk
in Washington and himself watch a live feed of straw buyers entering the
gun stores and purchasing dozens of AK-47 variants.”
#7 It has also come out that in some cases ATF
agents were actually the ones buying the guns and getting them into the
hands of Mexican drug cartels. The following is how author Michael A.
Walsh recently explained this in an article in the New York Post….
This just might be the smoking gun we’ve been waiting
for to break the festering “Fast and Furious” gun-running scandal wide
open: the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
apparently ordered one of its own agents to purchase firearms with
taxpayer money, and sell them directly to a Mexican drug cartel.
Let that sink in: After months of pretending that “Fast and
Furious” was a botched surveillance operation of illegal gun-running
spearheaded by the ATF and the US attorney’s office in Phoenix, it turns
out that the government itself was selling guns to the bad guys.
#8 According to the Los Angeles Times,
guns that were purchased during Operation Fast and Furious have “turned
up at dozens of additional Mexican crime scenes, with an unconfirmed
toll of at least 150 people killed or wounded.”
#9 Mexican authorities were never informed that thousands upon thousands of guns were being allowed into Mexico.
#10 Authorities in Mexico have asked the U.S.
government over and over to explain what in the world happened during
Operation Fast and Furious but they have not been given an adequate
answer. In fact, according to the Los Angeles Times, the Obama administration has not even responded to questions from the attorney general of Mexico….
Marisela Morales, Mexico’s attorney general and a
longtime favorite of American law enforcement agents in Mexico, told The
Times that she first learned about Fast and Furious from news reports.
And to this day, she said, U.S. officials have not briefed her on the
operation gone awry, nor have they apologized.
#11 U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has been withholding key documents
about Fast and Furious from Congress and has been consistently
stonewalling U.S. Representative Darrell Issa, U.S. Senator Chuck
Grassley and other members of Congress that have attempted to look into
this matter.
#12 The acting director of the ATF, Kenneth Melson,
had been cooperating with the investigation. At the end of August he
was suddenly transferred to the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Policy.
#13 Several other key officials that were heavily involved in Operation Fast and Furious actually got promoted.
#14 On May 3rd, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder
testified under oath in front of the House Judiciary Committee on
Operation Fast and Furious. During that testimony, Holder made the following statement….
“I probably heard about Fast and Furious for the first time over the last few weeks.”
#15 Since that time, a large amount of evidence has come out that Holder was not telling the truth. For example, a recent Fox News article discussed some of the very revealing memos about Fast and Furious that have been discovered recently….
However, newly discovered memos suggest otherwise.
For instance, one memo dated July 2010 shows Michael Walther, director
of the National Drug Intelligence Center, told Holder that straw buyers
in the Fast and Furious operation “are responsible for the purchase of
1,500 firearms that were then supplied to the Mexican drug trafficking
cartels.”
Other documents also indicate that Holder began receiving weekly
briefings on the program from the National Drug Intelligence Center
“beginning, at the latest, on July 5, 2010,”
#16 Holder now claims that he simply misunderstood the question. He now says that he had heard of Operation Fast and Furious previously but that he was not aware of the specific details.
#17 Emails exchanged between two Department of
Justice officials last October make it abundantly clear that high level
officials at the DOJ were very aware of what was going on…
Two Justice Department officials mulled it over in an
email exchange Oct. 18, 2010. “It’s a tricky case given the number of
guns that have walked but is a significant set of prosecutions,” says
Jason Weinstein, Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal
Division. Deputy Chief of the National Gang Unit James Trusty replies
“I’m not sure how much grief we get for ‘guns walking.’ It may be more
like, “Finally they’re going after people who sent guns down there.”
#18 House Republicans are now asking for a special prosecutor to be appointed
to investigate whether or not U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder lied to
Congress during his recent testimony in front of the House Judiciary
Committee on Operation Fast and Furious.
#19 U.S. Representative Darrell Issa believes that those involved in the Fast and Furious gun trafficking operation may have violated international arms trafficking agreements and could potentially face very serious criminal charges.
#20 U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley is absolutely convinced that a major coverup is going on….
“But I can tell you this. They’re doing everything
they can, in a fast and furious way, to cover up all the evidence or
stonewalling us. But here’s the issue, if he didn’t perjure himself and
didn’t know about it, the best way that they can help us, Congressman
Issa and me, is to just issue all the documents that we ask for and
those documents will prove one way or the other right or wrong.”
#21 Did Barack Obama ever know about Operation Fast
and Furious? He says that he did not authorize the program. On March
22, 2011 Obama made the following statement….
“I did not authorize [Fast and Furious]. Eric Holder,
the attorney general, did not authorize it. There may be a situation
here in which a serious mistake was made. If that’s the case, then we’ll
find — find out and we’ll hold somebody accountable.”
#22 CBS News investigative journalist Sharyl
Attkisson claimed on the Laura Ingraham show the other day that
officials in the Obama administration were literally screaming and yelling at her for aggressively investigating the Fast and Furious scandal….
Ingraham: So they were literally screaming at you?
Attkisson: Yes. Well the DOJ woman was just yelling at me. The guy
from the White House on Friday night literally screamed at me and cussed
at me. [Laura: Who was the person? Who was the person at Justice
screaming?] Eric Schultz. Oh, the person screaming was [DOJ spokeswoman]
Tracy Schmaler, she was yelling not screaming. And the person who
screamed at me was Eric Schultz at the White House.”
It should be noted that evidence has arisen to show that obama’s statement in #21 is false, that both he and Holder knew and were fully aware of the operation and it’s failure.
Sorry for the length Kevin.
- jim_m
  Jay,
  I am afraid that you are the one who is avoiding the facts. You are obviously ignorant about a scandal that has been going on since December of 2010. You are ignorant of the details and you are denying each and every fact.
  You are a strident ideologue, refusing to even examine the facts because you know that they will indercut your position.This scandal would have put a GOP admin in the trash because the MSM would have covered it, but they have been in full cover up mode with the admin the whole time.

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Comment Section Editors: Maggie Whitton, Rodney Graves

Emeritus: Jay Tea, Lorie Byrd, Kim Priestap, Paul, Mary Katherine Ham, Jim Addison, Alexander K. McClure, Cassy Fiano, Bill Jempty, John Stansbury, Rob Port

In Memorium: HughS

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