Here are today's news items from Media Matters for America, click on the title or 'read more' to read the entirety of each story.

Propaganda/Noise Machine

Big Story attack on Pelosi: "THE WAR ON ENGLISH!"
On The Big Story, a full-screen graphic appeared showing a picture of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the phrases "THE WAR ON ENGLISH!" "Just 'Say No' to America's Language" and "Why?" Throughout most of the segment, a graphic appeared in the lower right corner of the screen showing an image of Pelosi's face alternating with the phrase "SPEAK SPANISH." Read more

Dick Morris vouches for Novak: "He's never proven wrong. He's always right"
In a Hannity & Colmes discussion of Robert Novak's column claiming that "[a]gents of Sen. Hillary Clinton are spreading the word in Democratic circles that she has scandalous information" about Sen. Barack Obama, Dick Morris said of Novak: "I know that Robert Novak is almost never wrong," adding: "He's never proven wrong. He's always right." Media Matters for America has identified numerous instances in which Novak has been "proven wrong" -- by others, and by himself. Read more

On Fox, GOP strategist Conway asserted that "political correctness" could lead to "two planes crashing"
During an O'Reilly Factor discussion of a lawsuit over two employees fired for speaking Spanish in the workplace, Republican strategist Kellyanne Conway said: "[W]hat starts out as maybe the person doesn't speak English, getting -- putting mayonnaise instead of mustard as you requested on your sandwich is one day going to blossom into two air traffic controllers who don't speak great English because political correctness has made us appoint them to those positions. They're going to have two planes crashing in the sky." In fact, the federal law prohibiting workplace discrimination contains an exception for "instances where ... national origin is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary to the normal operation of that particular business or enterprise." Read more

NY Times ID'd former Republican aides attacking Senate rules in op-ed only as "lawyers and former Congressional aides"
A New York Times op-ed by Martin B. Gold and Dimple Gupta that criticized legislation changing Senate rules to "make[] it easier for last-minute proposals to be inserted into legislation behind closed doors" identified the writers only as "lawyers and former Congressional aides." In fact, both previously served as aides to Senate Republicans -- Gold for former Majority Leader Bill Frist and Gupta for Sen. Arlen Specter during Specter's tenure as chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Read more

Ignoring own history of smearing Gore, Matthews claimed "Gore got himself in those problem areas" and repeated smears
On Hardball, Chris Matthews stated: "Al Gore, he's the one who said he created the Internet. He's the one who put out the word that he was the subject or the role model for Love Story, that he pointed the country's attention to Love Canal. He stuck himself into that story." Matthews concluded: "Gore got himself in those problem areas by vanity and showing off and trying to make himself cool." Matthews' comments echoed debunked falsehoods that were spread by the media, and Matthews in particular, during the 2000 presidential campaign. Read more

2008 Elections

Ad placed on NRO for book on Bush "imperial presidency" falsely suggests it forecasts Hillary Clinton as "the most powerful president in American history"
A web advertisement placed on National Review Online for Charlie Savage's book, Takeover: The Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of American Democracy, asked: "Hillary Clinton: the most powerful president in American history... Will this be the surprise legacy of the Bush-Cheney years?" But Savage has not alleged -- either in the book or during discussions of it -- that Clinton, if elected, would use presidential powers expanded as a result of the precedents established under the Bush administration or attempt to expand presidential power even further. Read more

CNN's Beck falsely asserted that Novak "said it was an insider on the Clinton campaign"
On the November 19 edition of CNN Headline News' Glenn Beck, discussing Robert D. Novak's November 17 nationally syndicated column, in which he wrote that "[a]gents of Sen. Hillary [Rodham] Clinton [D-NY] are spreading the word in Democratic circles that she has scandalous information about her principal opponent for the party's presidential nomination, Sen. Barack Obama [D-IL], but has decided not to use it," host Glenn Beck asserted that Novak "said" his source "was an insider on the Clinton campaign." In fact, as Media Matters for America documented, during the November 19 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, Novak acknowledged that his purported "source" was not involved in the Clinton campaign, referring to that "source" as "a well-known Democrat, but neutral so far" who was "told by an agent of the Clinton campaign" about the "scandalous information." Novak said he "then checked with another source who is neutral and said he had heard the same thing from Clinton -- Clinton people." Read more

Blitzer referred to Giuliani as "Mr. 9-11," asked 9-11 Commission co-chair Kean: "Why McCain over Giuliani?"
In one of the teases announcing his interview with former 9-11 Commission co-chairman Tom Kean Sr., CNN's Wolf Blitzer referred to Rudy Giuliani as "the man known as America's Mayor." Blitzer said he interviewed Kean, who recently endorsed Sen. John McCain for president, to find out "why [Kean] didn't go with the candidate who's perhaps the most obvious 9-11 choice." Blitzer, who failed to challenge at least two of Kean's claims about Giuliani's 9-11 record during the interview, also called Giuliani "Mr. 9-11."
Read more

Gender Discrimination/Equality

On Your World, Mark Rudov falsely claimed "women are equal-opportunity domestic abusers"
On Fox News' Your World, author Marc Rudov claimed that "women are equal-opportunity domestic abusers" and asserted that the websites for the Department of Health & Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention feature statistics "showing women and men commit domestic violence equally." In fact, the CDC reports that "[e]ach year, women experience about 4.8 million intimate partner related physical assaults and rapes" while "[m]en are the victims of about 2.9 million intimate partner related physical assaults." Read more

Social Security

AP falsely claimed Social Security program "is forecast to run out of money around 2041"
In a November 19 Associated Press article, reporter Beth Fouhy wrote that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) "have traded barbs over" the Social Security program, which she identified as "the retirement program for seniors ... forecast to run out of money around 2041." Fouhy's assertion, however, is false -- as Media Matters for America has noted several times; while the most recent Social Security trustees' report forecasts that the Social Security trust fund will be exhausted by 2041, according to the same report, the program will not "run out of money" when the trust fund is depleted. Read more

Terrorism

Wash. Post "analysis" lists Osama bin Laden as a past -- not a present -- Bush "foil," despite U.S. failure to capture him
In a November 19 "analysis" of President Bush's current political standing, Washington Post staff writer Peter Baker asserted that "Bush ... does better when he has a foil to play off of," and specifically named Osama bin Laden, among others, as an example of a past Bush "foil." The article continued: "Through much of 2005 and 2006, as he cratered politically, Bush had no particularly prominent rival to contrast with." In fact, if bin Laden is no longer a Bush "foil," it is not because of any success on Bush's part in capturing him. Read more

War in Iraq

Big Story graphic on Iraq debate: "DEMS VOW MORE FAILURE"
On the November 19 edition of Fox News' The Big Story, during an interview with Frances Fragos Townsend, who had resigned that day from her position as White House homeland security adviser, co-host John Gibson asserted: "[W]e can't help but notice the news that the war is going better. We can't help notice that we haven't been attacked, and yet we see the Democrats in Congress continuing to try to surrender, if you will. The Democrats have vowed more failure." Gibson then asked Townsend, "Do you believe that 'stop the war' is a winner?" As Gibson asked the question, an on-screen graphic appeared featuring the Democratic Party logo, the phrase "DEMS VOW MORE FAILURE," and the question, "Is 'Stop the War' a Winner?" Read more

Media

On Hannity & Colmes, Morris touted Clinton film without bringing up his reported ties to it
On Hannity & Colmes, Dick Morris touted "a film coming out ... being produced by Citizens United ... that's probably going to come out early next year, maybe early January, I think," that will purportedly expose Hillary Clinton's "use of private detectives in the aggressive way that she's done." But during the segment, no one raised the issue of Morris' reported former role as a co-producer of the film with Republican activist and discredited former congressional staffer David Bossie, nor did anyone note that he will reportedly be an interview subject in it. Further, in a Newsmax column, Morris and Eileen McGann described Clinton as "the commander of the Clinton secret police" and called Clinton campaign communications director Howard Wolfson a "KGB enforcer look-alike." Read more

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