This is no surprise to anyone. Not only do they hate gays, but they hate gays Obama has hired to work for him. Fox ”News” personalities, followed by other conservative media outlets and gay-bashing organizations, have launched a relentless assault against acknowledged homosexual Kevin Jennings, an official in the Department of Education. At issue, is an episode Jennings recounted in a book (available at Media Matters), in which he advised a 16-year-old student who thought he might be gay on an encounter with an older man he met at a bus station. This happened 21 years ago, when Jennings was a new teacher...

There is a lot going on, but Orly Taitz is as good a place to start as any. On October 5, 2009, Judge Carter in California was expected to rule on the government’s Motion to Dismiss. Instead, he adjourned in the afternoon saying he would make a decision in 1 day to 1 year. While the actual transcript is not available, someone who goes by the moniker “Waveydavey” at the blog that follows this and other birther cases, Native Born Citizen, attended and posted a summary. The judge tried many times to get Taitz to convince him that she had standing in the case. He dismissed various claims she made by applying...

In yet another rant on Fox “News” today, Glenn Beck lashed out at the media for what he views as persecution. He started by saying what we all know–”I’m not a journalist.” Then he claimed he was just “a dad, a private citizen trying to do the right thing.” Actually, Glenn, you are a public figure, not a private citizen. As for wanting people to lay off you because you are a “dad,” the last I heard, President Obama is a dad; and Michelle Obama, who Beck has also attacked, is a mother. Van Jones, who was far more of a private citizen than one could ever consider...

There’s so much stupidity out there in the past couple of days that it is hard to know where to start, but let’s begin with the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) decision to eliminate Chicago from consideration as a host for the 2016 summer Olympics. As everyone knows by now, President Obama joined his wife and Oprah Winfrey in Copenhagen to lobby the IOC to select Chicago. Because this was something Obama elected to do, the right wing felt the need to respond with criticism. They criticized the president for cronyism and they criticized Chicago. Sean Hannity, from Fox “News,” pointed...

I just discovered that the New York Times has a grammar blogger. Philip Corbett, deputy editor, offers useful advice for the grammatically challenged. Here he addresses an issue that often torments me–subject/verb agreement when using collective nouns: Q.From today’s Times online: A team of travel editors and writers from The New York Times uncover affordable places to stay, eat, drink and shop in the Caribbean. Explore all 13 islands. Times editors and writers should stay at home until they learn that a collective singular noun should be followed by the appropriate predicate, in this case: A team…uncovers....

Yesterday, the conservative, often controversial (and even more often debunked) media organization Newsmax published an article by John L. Perry that describes how a coup d’etat against President Obama might occur. Newsmax quickly disowned the article, removing it from its Website and issuing a statement (per Media Matters): In a blog posting to Newsmax John Perry wrote about a coup scenario involving the U.S. military. He clearly stated that he was not advocating such a scenario but simply describing one. After several reader complaints, Newsmax wanted to insure that this article was not misinterpreted. It was...

I am sure some people who visit this blog question whether I am overreacting or exaggerating the effect of what media groups like Fox “News” have wrought, so I thought I would go dumpster diving in Wingnutville and bring you a few examples of the insane paranoia and hatred that now reins (typos are not mine): sandy says: [A]nything that will get us out from under the mess we are in with Obama works for me. He has driven us deeper in dept than this country has ever seen. Taking from Peter to give to Paul has never worked. He’s a good talker and handles himself well, this is why the general public see’s him...

Fox “News” and other conservatives are STILL obsessing over this. By now, you have likely heard the whole story. Teachers at a Burlington Township New Jersey public school requested parental permission to have preschool students sing a song that praised President Obama during February’s Black History Month. A teacher recorded the children and, without the school’s permission, posted the video on YouTube. Conservatives unearthed the YouTube clip and went insane, screaming about “indoctrination.” Tucker “Bowtie” Carlson, a Fox “News” commentator, said it was like...