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September 30, 2009
WHITE HOUSE FACT-CHECKS BECK.... Like a variety of far-right activists, Fox News' Glenn Beck is attacking President Obama for his efforts to bring the 2016 Olympics to the United States (specifically, the president's adopted hometown of Chicago). On his program yesterday, Beck and his cohorts made a series of ridiculous claims, all of which were false, and all of which the White House felt compelled to knock down in a "reality check" item this afternoon. Beck claimed, for example:
In reality, Vancouver's Olympics won't begin until next year. Beck is so far gone, he apparently doesn't know what year it is. Beck's guest, Fox News contributor Pat Caddell, said:
This is apparently a reference to an August United We Serve/NEA conference call -- which Jarrett was not on. Caddell added:
In reality, Chicago, like many cities, has looked to cut costs, and has had exactly one reduced-service day this year. It will have two more later this year -- the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve.
In reality, the White House explained, Jarrett "divested all her investment real estate holdings upon entering government except for a single real estate holding that she was unable to sell. This single real estate investment has been determined by White House Counsel and the independent Office of Government Ethics to present no conflict of interest in performing her duties as a White House advisor. It has nothing to do with the Olympic bid." This obviously tells us more than the obvious (that Glenn Beck is comfortable with misleading his audience). The fact that the White House published the reality-check item suggests the administration is taking the effort to win the Olympics for the United States quite seriously -- the piece called it "a source of pride and unity for the country" -- and knows that Beck's nonsense is often taken seriously enough that it warrants correction. Update: An alert reader emails that I may have missed the key phrase. At the very end of the White House item, it reads, "For even more Fox lies..." In other words, the White House is not only accusing Glenn Beck of lying (which is warranted), it's also accusing the Republican cable news network of repeated and deliberate falsehoods (which is also warranted). —Steve Benen 4:45 PM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (35)
Comments
Beck asked, "Is it possible that [Valerie Jarrett] is going to benefit if the Olympics come to Chicago?" ckelly asked, "Is it possible that Cheney, Halliburton, Blackwater, and KBR are going to benefit if the US wages an illegal war against Iraq"? Posted by: ckelly on September 30, 2009 at 4:48 PM | PERMALINKWhat about Romney and Salt Lake? Isn't that one of his big selling points? He cleared a profit (not counting security costs.). I can't wait to Romney to jump on this bandwagon. It will be the true test of his ability to flipflop shamelessly. Posted by: Buffalonian on September 30, 2009 at 4:53 PM | PERMALINKI liked Robert Gibbs comment . "Who are they rooting for then Rio? Spain? or one of the other contenders? America first my ass Posted by: John R on September 30, 2009 at 4:53 PM | PERMALINKBut Beck et al will keep on making millions of dollars lying for a living. What does it say about us that liars aren't just tolerated, but become rich in our society? Posted by: Al Swearengen on September 30, 2009 at 4:56 PM | PERMALINKSeriously: the right is so crazy in their hatred of Obama that they're now against the Olympics? The Olympics are now some kind of anti-American collectivist plot? Seriously? Posted by: Tom on September 30, 2009 at 5:01 PM | PERMALINKWhile I applaud this push-back, one has to be careful picking a battle of words with a foe that has a 24 hour megaphone going. How Un-American. An American city of an American State in the American Union is actively seeking to attract the Olympics and the American President is doing what he can to support its bid and the right is up in arms. Why does Glenn Beck and Fox News hate America? Posted by: Flexible Patriot on September 30, 2009 at 5:12 PM | PERMALINKIt's a good thing that Reagan had very few connections to Los Angeles, otherwise, the 1984 games would have felt cheap. Posted by: Jay B. on September 30, 2009 at 5:18 PM | PERMALINKThe Olympics is a International Socialist Organization and Gays. Obama's Communist Chinese connections will no doubt order the committee to award the games to its budding communist allies. Posted by: TBone on September 30, 2009 at 5:21 PM | PERMALINKRomney strongly supports Obama's decision to go to Copenhagen. I think it was mentioned in passing on NBC last night and KSL also has a story. Posted by: freelunch on September 30, 2009 at 5:22 PM | PERMALINKIt's a good thing that Reagan had very few connections to Los Angeles, otherwise, the 1984 games would have felt cheap. I wonder if the IOC considered pulling the LA games after we boycotted the 1980 games. Posted by: freelunch on September 30, 2009 at 5:27 PM | PERMALINKAt some point shouldn't Fox at least lose its WH press passes? And its air broadcast rights, too? Posted by: bob h on September 30, 2009 at 5:28 PM | PERMALINKUtah invested millions up front for their Winter Olympics Park, while they were still in competition to be the host. They made every penny back, and many times more, and it's still making Utah money. Beck talks out of an improper speech orifice. Posted by: klevenstein on September 30, 2009 at 5:42 PM | PERMALINKCountry First! They just never said what country. Posted by: ckelly on September 30, 2009 at 5:47 PM | PERMALINKThanks for this post. I so enjoyed seeing that posting on the Except that it is such a serious issue that this propaganda arm of the right wing party persists with misleading the public, particularly seniors, it was so wonderful seeing that blog post as I struggled home from a long day at the office. Posted by: far thinker on September 30, 2009 at 5:59 PM | PERMALINKBeck is full of drek as usual, but really: cities often lose money long-term on the Olympics, and many citizens and in their governance regret doing so (true?) I still wish Obama luck on principle, and my sister and hubby will be glad and proud if Chicago gets the big nod. Posted by: N e i l B on September 30, 2009 at 6:01 PM | PERMALINKShilling for President Obama... I guess it's just another day in the life of this political blog. Posted by: John C on September 30, 2009 at 6:05 PM | PERMALINKJohn C, @ 18:05, Shredding President Obama... If that's your preferred daily fare, then, certainly, you have strayed onto a wrong political blog. Thanks for visiting though; hope you were wearing your hazmat suit. Posted by: exlibra on September 30, 2009 at 6:18 PM | PERMALINKSo what are you saying John C that this blog should be heaping praise on a lying sack of shit like Beck? Posted by: Gandalf on September 30, 2009 at 6:24 PM | PERMALINKBeck is so far gone, he apparently doesn't know what year it is. Um, 2010? Well, uh, he's clairvoyant! Yeah, that's it! Posted by: Quaker in a Basement on September 30, 2009 at 6:29 PM | PERMALINKAmazing -- Pat Caddell is now shilling for Fox News. He's really sunk. In 1972, when he was a college senior, he was McGovern's wunderkind. He put together Carter's out-of-nowhere run for the White House. In the 1980s, his 4-man firm did the polling and strategy for every important Democratic senatorial and gubernatorial candidate. Hart, Kennedy, Cuomo are ones that spring to mind. Yeah, Pat went off the deep end in the early 90s. The cause was always rumored to be a serious drug problem. He disappear off the radar when he left DC for Santa Monica and the movie business. Now he resurfaces on Fox. Wow. Beck is so far gone, he apparently doesn't know what year it is. Beck has acquired the same space-time continuum powers of Obama. Just as Obama travelled back in time to publish phony announcements of his birth in Honolulu, Beck has travelled to the future and seen the post-Olympics accounting report. Now if he'd only travel a bit too far back in time and get eaten by a T-rex the noise level at the Fox asylum would diminish a few decibels. Posted by: GringoNoraca on September 30, 2009 at 8:17 PM | PERMALINKFox: News at the Speed of Lies! Posted by: Senor Subagua on September 30, 2009 at 9:16 PM | PERMALINK"For even more Fox lies..." Fantastic. It's time to start calling it. The best defense . . . Posted by: Jon on September 30, 2009 at 10:05 PM | PERMALINKThis post is the perfect example of why Benen's inane thoughtless bashing of everything a wingnut says is asinine -- because every once in awhile, in stopped-clock fashion, the wingnut gets it right, and Benen comes off looking like just another ridiculous partisan parrot asshole. The Olympics are indeed going to be a financial disaster for Chicago, as every third party study has established. But, hey, the Dem pres likes it, so partisan pseudo-progs who never bother doing their effing homework or thinking for themselves like it too. Well, all you assholes who are blindly enabling Delay build this biggest monument to his own ego, are you going to help us in Chicago, Cook Co, and rest of Illinois pay for this disaster -- this ALL DEMOCRATIC DISASTER -- when the bill comes due? Yeah... I thought so. Useless effers. For those who are honestly interested in, ya know, some FACTS, first read Joravsky's take-down here and then go read the independent report here. So mad I can't even spell Daley right. Oh, and I just noticed that Joravsky has just published another and final open letter to the IOC which should be read. In the words of one alderman, who was forced by Daley to vote in favor of the games, if Chicago does get the games, "We're screwed." Calm down, Disputo; maybe Chicago won't get the games; after all, USA has had them several times already. Maybe Rio will get them this time. I'm sure Sanford (R-Appalachian Trail) would like that; Rio is so much closer to Argentina than South Carolina is... Posted by: exlibra on September 30, 2009 at 11:19 PM | PERMALINKOn the other hand... Who am I to tell you to cal down? So, go ahead, foam at the mouth (with Beck and Malkin for company), if it gives you relief... Posted by: exlibra on September 30, 2009 at 11:32 PM | PERMALINKFrequently we see Beck's worshipers raving about how well he researches what he talks about. The next time one of them opens his yap, it can be stuffed with Beck's unawareness that Vancouver hasn't yet held its Winter Olympics. And Keith Olbermann has already addressed klevenstein's observation that Beck talks out of an improper orifice. It seems that when Beck went for hemorrhoid surgery around a year ago, the doctors didn't completely close the incision and he is now using it to talk out of. Posted by: Texas Aggie on October 1, 2009 at 12:28 AM | PERMALINKI guess it's just another day in the life of this political blog. Yeah, and it's going to be until conservatives take back the Republican Party from the authoritarian neo-Confederate lunatics who currently run it. (I just love the fact that this guy considers citing the WH press sec pointing out Fox's lies as "shilling.") And of course, if Obama HADN'T gone to Copenhagen, they'd be slagging him for not doing all he could to get the Olympic games for an American venue. They'd probably also call him a particular weakling for not sticking up for his own hometown, much the way one of the Judiciary Committee members scolded Sonia Sotomayor for not voting with her fellow Puerto Rican judge on some case, and then went on to call her racist without missing a beat. Posted by: T-Rex on October 1, 2009 at 10:24 AM | PERMALINKMore on the Olympics boondoggle from a Chicago progressive. Come on folks, stop throwing us to the lions for the sake of national party unity. Posted by: Disputo on October 1, 2009 at 9:50 PM | PERMALINKSorry. Seize opportunity by the beard, for it is bald behind. Help me! Need information about: england. I found only this - penn state university online. Online university, each saferide health is religiously needed by an closed system. Online university, the e-learning degree-granting not together includes including fraternities, but then helps the site of the university and infantry can be considered toward higher funding students. Thanks :confused:. Titus from Tanzania. Posted by: Titus on March 2, 2010 at 11:49 PM | PERMALINKPost a comment
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