Varney, S FOX BIZ

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see Dobbs for earlier

anti-commie

SEE ALT ENERGY BS

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MMA

Fox Business' Stuart Varney: The left wants to "stop the expansion of data centers, call a halt to AI development. ... Anything to turn back this new and dynamic force in our society. It's really an attack on American success."

07/13/26

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MMA

Fox used California's climate policies to deflect from gas price spike driven by Trump’s war on Iran

Special ProgramsClimate & Energy

Written by Evlondo Cooper

:{Published 03/23/26

Fox News and Fox Business coverage of rising gas prices nationwide has singled out California, blaming the state’s climate regulations for skyrocketing fuel costs while downplaying global oil shocks from the Trump administration’s war with Iran.

On February 28, the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, opening what has quickly become a large-scale and open-ended conflict, started without congressional authorization, that has been widely criticized as an illegal and unconstitutional war of aggression. The U.S. has joined Israel in targeting Iranian leadership as well as civilian and military infrastructure, while President Donald Trump has signaled an explicit willingness to pursue regime change. These attacks have triggered Iranian retaliation, including efforts to restrict transit through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical oil chokepoints, helping drive a sharp increase in global crude prices and U.S. gas costs.

Fox's coverage has largely echoed the Trump administration’s framing of the conflict and its economic fallout. Even when Fox has acknowledged that U.S. strikes on Iran have disrupted the global oil supply, that connection is not sustained. Instead, Fox’s coverage has dispersed attention about rising gas prices across a range of explanations, moving between domestic policy factors, claims that price increases will be temporary, and arguments that higher costs are a necessary “sacrifice.” Taken together, these talking points diffuse the link between Trump’s decision to launch the conflict against Iran and the resulting price spike, shifting scrutiny away from the source of the disruption.

However, the focus on California serves a distinct narrative function — by emphasizing the state’s climate regulations, Fox networks depict a global, war-driven supply shock through a familiar domestic political lens, recasting climate policy as part of the problem behind high gas prices rather than a solution to it.

Fox framed California’s high gas prices as a warning about Democratic climate policy during a war-driven price spike

Lying at the entrance to the Persian Gulf from the Sea of Oman, the Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important oil trade routes, carrying roughly one-fifth of global supply. As the conflict with Iran continues to escalate and shipping through the strait is disrupted, oil prices have soared above $100 per barrel and gas prices have risen sharply across the United States. Analysts have described the conflict as a major supply shock, and the International Energy Agency has called it the largest oil disruption in history.

Rather than linking rising prices to the disruption in global oil supply, segments on Fox News and Fox Business repeatedly shifted attention to California’s long-standing fuel costs, presenting them as evidence that Democratic climate policy is responsible for higher prices.

During the March 9 episode of Fox Business’ *Varney & Co.*, Stuart Varney, introducing Chevron executive Andy Walz, warned of an “economic collapse in California under Gov. [Gavin] Newsom’s climate policy.” Walz picked up the thread, claiming California could eliminate in-state refining and increase dependence on foreign fuel sources. He continued by describing the state as “heading down a path of relying on imports” and predicted that its climate policies could add another $1.20 per gallon to gas prices, which “hurts the people that can least afford it the most.”

On March 11, Fox Business’ *The Evening Edit* acknowledged rising global oil prices tied to the Iran war but pivoted to California, highlighting soaring in-state gas prices. The segment featured a clip from an earlier interview with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who assailed California's climate policies and concluded that the state has “restricted supply and killed their own economy.”

Later that day, Fox News @ Night reinforced the same frame, with guest and former Trump adviser May Mailman claiming that California's policies are designed “not just to make gas more expensive, it's to make gas unavailable. … So when President Trump says he's brought oil prices down, he has created the policies that have allowed energy dominance to thrive in this country.”

On March 14, Energy Secretary Chris Wright invoked the Defense Production Act to order the restoration of drilling operations off the California coast, describing the move as necessary to strengthen domestic supply and energy security. The order provided a new policy rationale for arguments already circulating on Fox.

On March 16, *The Big Money Show* broadened the argument beyond California, with co-host Dagen McDowell pointing to Democratic-led states more generally and claiming that gas taxes imposed “in the name of Mother Nature and climate” are driving up fuel costs for working Americans. On the March 17 episode of The Ingraham Angle, host Laura Ingraham opened an interview with Sable Offshore chairman and CEO Jim Flores by pointing out that California, under Republican leadership in the 1980s, produced “a million barrels a day.” Now, Flores claimed California's declining oil production was “the reason why Trump invoked the Defense Production Act … to make sure that our military is well-fueled.”

By March 18, the narrative framing had hardened further. During the March 18 episode of *The Evening Edit*, host Elizabeth MacDonald lamented that “gas is headed to $8 a gallon in parts of the state, … but now California Democrats are suing to stop the Trump White House from reopening a pipeline offshore from Santa Barbara.” Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) agreed with a statement from Wright that California had “strangled its own oil and gas production.” He continued, “We used to be a net exporter. We can produce all of our own oil and natural gas. We've chosen to shut them down, to regulate them out of business,” before concluding, “We clearly are a state in a downward spiral.”

That same framing persisted in the days that followed. During the March 21 episode of Fox Business' The Journal Editorial Report, host Paul Gigot acknowledged that the Iran war was disrupting global energy markets but quickly pivoted to California, telling viewers that gas prices are “much higher” in the state because “Gavin Newsom’s anti-fossil fuel policies make the state more dependent on foreign oil.”

This coverage treats California’s climate measures as unjustified drivers of higher prices, portraying the state as expensive, constrained, and vulnerable. In reality, California's gas prices are often higher than other states' because of policies aimed at cutting pollution, addressing climate change, and reducing reliance on volatile fossil fuel markets. But these regulations are not driving the current spike in gas prices, which follows weeks of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran that have disrupted the entire region. Oil markets responded. Prices followed. This is a global supply shock driven by war, not a sudden change in California policy.

Fox used California to redirect blame away from Trump’s war on Iran and U.S. reliance on the fossil fuel economy

Fox's focus on California gas prices comes as another long-running Fox narrative breaks down. For years, the network argued that U.S. “energy independence” would shield Americans from global oil shocks. The current spike, driven by disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz despite record domestic production, directly contradicts that claim. Rather than reckon with that failure, Fox has largely ditched the “energy independence” framing that was so central to its narrative explanation for price spikes under the Biden administration.

Now, the Trump administration’s decision to launch a new conflict in the Middle East becomes less central to how rising prices are understood on Fox, replaced by a familiar domestic argument about Democratic governance. However, this shift does more than redirect blame; it cuts against the reality that energy shocks like this one are a direct consequence of our reliance on fossil fuels and the vulnerable supply routes that sustain them. This is not an abstract risk — it is already happening now, and the global community is increasingly alarmed for the future.

By recasting a war-driven price spike as the product of climate policy, Fox turns that reality on its head, treating a crisis rooted in fossil fuel dependence as evidence against moving away from it.

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MMA

Murdoch media continues scapegoating renewable energy in New Jersey

Special ProgramsClimate & Energy

Written by Ilana Berger

Published 10/21/25

Right-wing media are pushing hard to disparage New Jersey’s renewable energy investments, which they misleadingly blame for high electricity rates.

In 2025, New Jersey’s wholesale electric bills rose dramatically, with average residential customers seeing bills climb by roughly 17-20% per month. Next year, ratepayers can likely expect another 1.5 - 5% increase on top of that.

Several factors are contributing to the rate hikes in New Jersey. They include increased demand for electricity to power new data centers and New Jersey grid operator PJM Interconnection’s reported failure to quickly connect renewable projects to the grid. But news outlets owned by the Murdoch family — Fox Business and the editorial boards of The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post — are pinning the blame for electricity costs on renewable energy, insisting that eliminating subsidies for renewable energy and building more fossil fuel infrastructure in the state are among the answers to New Jersey’s cost-of-living crisis.

The Trump administration has taken this approach as well, scrapping billions in renewable energy projects. Increasingly, the consequences consumers are already experiencing elsewhere reveal that a crusade against renewable energy is unlikely to benefit New Jersey or the country as a whole.

Electricity bills have spiked in New Jersey, a result of changes in the state’s energy market

• The rate hike has impacted customers of the regional transmission operator PJM Interconnection, which serves 13 states including New Jersey.Several factors — such as long waiting times for new projects to connect to the grid, growing energy demand, and fossil fuel projects becoming uneconomical and closing — led to tightened supply and caused a dramatic price spike. Regional Plan Association, [8/5/25; Inside Climate News, 8/18/25; Natural Resources Defense Council, 7/25/25]

• State policymakers are frustrated with long timelines for renewable energy projects that could help drive down costs.In late September, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said, “We need to move more quickly on energy-producing projects, and we’ve got to hold down costs. If PJM cannot do that, then Pennsylvania will look to go it alone.” Shapiro, along with 10 other governors from PJM’s member states, “are requesting more say in how PJM allocates its resources and brings generation online,” according to Grist. And according to The Gothamist, although “New Jersey currently has 33 large-scale, shovel-ready solar projects awaiting approval by PJM … many could take a year or 18 months longer to get approval.” Grist, [10/15/25; The Gothamist, 8/19/25]

Murdoch media outlets, hosts, and guests misleadingly blame climate-friendly policies for high energy prices

• Fox Business host Stuart Varney said he blames “green policies” for “skyrocketing electricity prices” in New Jersey.Fox Business, *Varney & Co.*, [10/16/25]

• Fox Business host Jackie DeAngelis claimed that “idiotic proposals” like “investing in renewables” have “taken these rates up,” mentioning New Jersey.DeAngelis continued, “People see what happens when you have President Trump in versus Joe Biden and your gas prices come down and how that feels. We are suffering from these higher electricity prices in blue states because at the helm the governors like Phil Murphy, like Kathy Hochul, they won't do what they need to do to bring those prices down.” Fox Business, *The Big Money Show,*[10/3/25]

• Varney said that Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli “has a plan to bring energy prices down” while guest Steve Forbes chided current New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s energy policies. Forbes said that popularity ratings are down for Murphy and New Jersey Democrats because “they won't build a pipeline from Pennsylvania, which has plenty of natural gas, which is low pollution, clean — they won't bring it in. And then windfarms — offshore, kill the whales, bring them onshore, you kill the birds. Not a good combination. And they call it pure energy — no, it's impure when you start with how they get those minerals out of the earth in Africa and elsewhere to make those windfarms.” Fox Business, *Varney & Co.*, [9/29/25]

• The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board complained about New Jersey that “as always, Democrats blame business” for rate hikes “rather than change their bad policies,” which include “requiring that 100% of state power come from ‘clean energy’ by 2035.’” The Wall Street Journal, [9/28/25]

• The New York Post Editorial Board said Democratic New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Sherrill’s plan to “tame costs” for residents includes “locking in pricey ‘clean energy’” and falsely claimed that “it’s precisely Democrats’ drive for zero emissions that has sent electric bills soaring.”The New York Post, [9/27/25; Regional Plan Association, 8/5/25]

The anti-renewable energy agenda right-wing media are promoting in New Jersey is playing out across the country, and many are questioning its logic

• After the Trump administration announced it was canceling $8 billion in renewable energy and clean tech projects, some Republicans expressed concerns about projects in their states.Politico spoke to several lawmakers in red states who said they did not know what would become of major energy projects under the cuts, or had contacted the administration for “restoration of those things.” Politico, [10/14/25]

• The governor of Utah recently spoke out against the Trump administration’s efforts to impede a massive solar project in Nevada.“This is how we lose the AI/energy arms race with China,” Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox wrote. He encouraged an “all-of-the-above approach to energy,” but emphasized that “incredible leaps in battery technology completely change the value proposition of solar in the right places.” According to Utility Dive, “The project’s National Environmental Policy Act status is listed as canceled on the Bureau of Land Management’s website.” The Interior Department denied cancelling the project, and said that applicants that were involved could eventually resubmit “individual proposals.“ Canary Media, 10/13/25; Utility Dive, [10/14/25; Twitter/X, 10/10/25]

• The New York Times Editorial Board explained that Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act will also likely drive up electricity prices. The Times pointed to an analysis from the consulting firm National Economic Research Associates, which found that the bill’s “ repeal of the tax credits alone may push electricity prices almost 10 percent higher than they would be otherwise by 2029.” The New York Times, [10/9/25]

• A recent Politico analysis found that “states that embrace renewable energy are far more likely to save money for electricity consumers than those relying on fossil fuels or nuclear power.” Looking at data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Politico found that most states that get a higher than average percentage of their electricity from renewable sources “had below-average electricity rates in June” and that “states that have been the quickest to add wind and solar generation to the grid have had lower power prices.” Politico, [10/7/25]

//

1. ### Fox Business viewers might not realize Trump's tariffs are massive taxes that have disrupted the economy

10/17/25 3:58 PM EDT

2. ### Media Matters weekly newsletter, October 10

10/10/25 10:57 AM EDT

3. ### Fox Business host Larry Kudlow urges Trump to seize on the shutdown to fire up to 500,000 more federal workers

10/07/25

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mma

Fox falsely linked Harris and Walz to socialism or communism over 460 times in just 50 days

Fox News and Fox Business figures have repeatedly and falsely linked VP Harris and Minnesota Gov. Walz to socialism and outright communism

Written by Harrison Ray

Research contributions from Tyler Monroe

Published 09/12/24 mma

• Fox News and Fox Business have falsely linked Vice President Kamala Harris, Gov. Tim Walz, their campaign, or their policies to socialism, communism, or Marxism at least 466 times since July 23, the day after Harris became the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee.

The obvious smears have been repeatedly debunked.

The attacks extended to Walz when Harris selected him as her running mate, with Fox connecting him to China to claim he’s a communist candidate. And the attacks ramped up significantly following an economic policy speech from Harris, with Fox repeatedly mischaracterizing her proposals.

• Fox News accounted for 263 of the claims while Fox Business accounted for 203.

Fox networks' hosts and anchors most often pushed the claims of socialism, led by Maria Bartiromo (32 claims), Sean Hannity (31), Elizabeth MacDonald (20), Larry Kudlow (19), Jesse Watters (17), and Stuart Varney (15).

Mornings with Maria Bartiromo (63) had the most claims of any individual program over the period, with Hannity (49), Kudlow (44), and The Evening Edit (40) close behind. Many of Fox News' so-called “news” programs also repeated the ginned up attack, with at least 52 claims over the period.

Fox News and Fox Business parroted the narrative on 49 of the 50 days reviewed by Media Matters.

• Fox's smears of Harris and her campaign ran the gamut, from comparing her to Fidel Castro and the Sandinistas to calling her a “dangerous Marxist,” and even absurdly proclaiming that “these two economically frankly illiterate radicals with a penchant for literal communism are promising to drive our economy right off the cliff.”

Former President Donald Trump repeated Fox's fabricated narrative during the September 10 presidential debate, falsely insisting, “She's a Marxist. Everybody knows she's a Marxist.”

• ## Methodology....

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mma 4 24

Fox News contributor compares policies to expand voter registration and access to 9/11

Fox's Liz Peek: “George [W.] Bush talked about a failure of imagination accounting for 9/11. This is Republicans’ failure of imagination.”

WRITTEN BY ERIC KLEEFELD

PUBLISHED 04/09/24

Fox News contributor Liz Peek wildly exaggerated the effects of a Biden administration executive order aimed at protecting voting rights and expanding voter registration and access — which, according to Peek’s telling, represents a looming political threat tantamount to the deadly terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

During a Fox Business appearance promoting her opinion piece on Fox Digital, Peek latched onto an executive order issued by President Joe Biden in March 2021 calling on federal agencies to “promote voter registration and voter participation” and to assist “in a manner consistent with all relevant State laws” with distributing and filling out voter registration and vote-by-mail application forms.

In Peek’s telling, this means federal employees would directly supervise people “filling out their early ballots,” seemingly in a nefarious plot to force them to vote for Biden. (In reality, the only references in the executive order to providing direct assistance to voters have to do with registration and application forms, not actual ballots.)

“And I think, again, you know, George [W.] Bush talked about a failure of imagination accounting for 9/11,” Peek said. “This is Republicans’ failure of imagination. Who could imagine that you’re going to have this number of people out there working on behalf of Joe Biden?”

In fact, Peek's misleading characterization of the Biden administration’s efforts to expand voter registration and access as threats to democracy inverts the reality in which presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s political allies, through an initiative called Project 2025, actually do intend to remodel the federal government into a right-wing political machine if he is elected again in November.

Video file

Video

CitationFrom the April 9, 2024, edition of Fox Business’ Varney & Co.

STUART VARNEY (HOST): Let’s get back to politics, and Liz Peek, still with us here in New York. The op-ed she just wrote, “Biden’s stealth but clever strategy to maintain control of the White House,” end quote. You say Biden’s going to do whatever it takes to win. Like what, Liz?

It’s a pretty — it’s actually an unbelievable thingLIZ PEEK (FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR): Well, we’ve seen that he’s willing to throw his opponent in jail. But beyond that, he has, he issued early in his presidency, like in March of 2021, an executive order that commands — commands — every single federal agency basically to loose their federal employees to register voters, and to use their agencies to promote voter registration, including assisting people filling out their early ballots, filling out their applications for early ballots, etc..

It has been challenged by some Pennsylvania lawmakers. It probably will be heard by the Supreme Court. Whether it’ll get there in time to stop this, I don’t know.

But, Stuart, there are 3 million federal employees. A report by a group of 50 left-leaning organizations reported that if this was done right, they could register over 3 million new voters. I mean, I don’t think Republicans have any idea what they’re up against. And I got to tell you with the Hatch Act, remember that, that was supposed to make electioneering illegal by federal employees, apparently that’s only if you’re in uniform or on duty. So all of these people — I mean, this is an incredible thing.

And I think, again, you know, George [W.] Bush talked about a failure of imagination accounting for 9/11. This is Republicans’ failure of imagination. Who could imagine that you’re going to have this number of people out there working on behalf of Joe Biden?

VARNEY: And they’ll go that far to win.

PEEK: Yeah.

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oct 2023an

fox Business host Stuart Varney confronted Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) after the congressman suggested he would vote to shut down the federal government.

"Well, reading between the lines, it sounds like you are a holdout again, and that you are quite prepared to shut the government down," Varney told Roy during a Monday interview. "You are, aren't you? Yes, you are."

"Well, let me just say, Stuart, the question here is, do you believe that we should continue to fund a United Nations that literally just stood with Hamas?" Roy asked. "Should we continue to fund a wide open border that is endangering my constituents, where people are dying from fentanyl?"

"No, I'm not going to blindly saddle up and say, sure, let me write another blank check for all of America to wonder what their leaders in Washington are doing," he continued.

Varney pushed back.

"But I do remember, was it three, four weeks ago?" the Fox Business host said. "House Republicans rejected a deal that Speaker McCarthy had worked out because they said it wasn't good enough, and we had three weeks where we didn't have a speaker, and the Republican Party was embarrassed up and down the wazoo throughout the entire country."

"Well, remember, Stuart, that I was a part of putting forward a proposal that would have reduced spending, secured our border, and kept the government going," Roy replied.

"Yeah, and you didn't have the votes for it," Varney shot back. "So what's the point? Now we have a speaker. What is the point? If you know you don't have the votes, so you shut down the government, we're embarrassed all over again."

Roy seemed irritated by the line of questioning.

"All right, Stuart, what do you want to do?" he wondered. "Sign up for the endless spending plan for our Democratic colleagues that's destroying our country."

"If that's what you want, then just bring Democrats on your show to continue to vomit out all of the ridiculous spending programs and my Republican colleagues who absolutely refuse to do their job and do what they said they would do," he added.

Watch the video from Fox Business below or at this link.

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mma 5 23

In a conspiracy theory-laden segment, Fox Business seemed to openly plagiarize a recent article from its corporate cousin, the New York Post, while praising “the top five anti-Soros political leaders” supposedly resisting billionaire George Soros, whose philanthropic and political donations have turned him into a boogeyman among right-wing media.

On the May 15 edition of Fox Business’ Varney & Co., host Stuart Varney and correspondent Ashley Webster discussed what Varney described as “a group of conservative leaders” who want to “limit George Soros' influence on politics” in their home countries. Webster then went on to praise four foreign leaders from conservative and right-wing populist political parties — Poland's Jarosław Kaczyński, Albania's Belind Këlliçi, Italy's Giorgia Meloni, and France's Bruno Retailleau — as well as Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, all of whom he described as “fighting back” against Soros.

Webster’s claims against Soros are reminiscent of the conspiratorial pablum continuously spewed by Soros-obsessed commentators in the United States. He remarked that the leaders say Soros seeks to “destabilize” countries from within by “promoting liberal values” and progressive prosecutors, and pushing "mass migration" to “undermine national sovereignty” — all concepts that have been endlessly promoted by Fox News and other right-wing outlets[ vid 5 15]

webster concluded his litany by brazenly declaring that Soros “believes that only by upending the status quo can a more perfect liberal, globalist society emerge.” The "globalist" modifier here is a now-notorious antisemitic reference casually employed by right-media media.

Bizarrely, the segment never mentioned the New York Post article from which it was clearly drawn (even repeating some exact language), even though the piece’s author, Miranda Devine, was the featured guest on the segment immediately preceding. Devine instead used her time to promote another obsession of right-wing fabulist media personalities: Hunter Biden’s laptop.

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mma 3 23 kill cit jrnl

Self-described “accidental journalist” Nick Sortor has become right-wing media's go-to source for commentary and information on what is happening in East Palestine, Ohio, after 38 train cars carrying toxic chemicals derailed near the town on February 3.

Over three weeks after the derailment, residents of East Palestine still have questions about whether it is safe to be in their homes or use tap water. Messaging from the state and federal government on the response efforts has been unclear and even contradictory at times, fueling conspiracy theories, such as the idea that the derailment was “planned.” The train owner, Norfolk Southern, may be trying to shirk accountability, after aggressively lobbying against railroad regulations that may have prevented the Ohio accident and others like it. This isn’t the company’s first large-scale accident.

In situations like this, independent or citizen journalists and even content creators with relevant expertise can serve as important checks for the government, corporations, and mainstream media.

But the right has utilized this type of journalism to legitimize extreme voices and harmful ideas. Anonymous internet vigilantes and so-called “citizen journalists” like discredited video artist James O’Keefe have capitalized on public distrust in the media to push their dangerous misinformation tactics. In January 2019, Gateway Pundit founder and“dumbest man on the internet” Jim Hoftannounced that his outlet would have a White House correspondent with the Trump administration. Now, young influencers like Sortor and independent journalist Savanah Hernandez are taking advantage of disinformation networks and the algorithms driving viral news on social media to fulfill a political agenda and fuel the right-wing outrage machine.

The right-wing media's go-to source on East Palestine is basically just a random guy who showed up in Ohio

Since his arrival in East Palestine, The Roundtable Show co-host Nick Sortor has conducted multiple high-profile interviews with large right-wing news outlets and even mainstream news.

Despite being referred to as a video journalist by multiple news outlets, according to his LinkedIn, Sortor does not have a background in media outside of his role on The Roundtable Show, which mostly discusses cryptocurrency, finance, and sometimes current events. Up until January 2023, though, he described himself as a “political operative.” 

While visiting East Palestine at the encouragement of his followers, Sortor captured an East Palestine resident throwing a rock into a clearly oil-sheened creek on video, citing it as proof that the water in the area was “extremely contaminated.” This was not a new or surprising finding. The Ohio EPA had said that some creeks near the derailment were in fact contaminated. The video went viral, staking Sortor’s claim to right-wing legitimacy and amassing over 10  million views. Since Sortor began covering the story, he has gained about 39,000 Twitter followers, nearly an 80% increase.

The video, along with some of Sortor’s other content, has been promoted by right-wing influencers such as conspiracy theorist, and Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk. On Truth Social, Donald Trump promoted his tweet announcing the former president’s visit to the town.

Sortor is not a resident of East Palestine or even Ohio. Based on a review of his recent content, he appears to have never before had an interest in environmental issues. And yet, he has been asked to issues he seemingly knows nothing about, making vague blanket statements instead of actually answering questions. On the February 14 segment ofTucker Carlson Tonight,Carlson asked Sortor whether the EPA was “tracking where this cloud of chemicals went? I mean it was a local problem, it became a regional problem. Do we have any information on the effects of those clouds of chemicals?” It’s astonishing that out of all the people Fox News could have chosen to answer this question, they chose someone with seemingly no knowledge of the subject. And in fact, Sorotor barely answered the question. “The EPA is not releasing a lot of the data that they've supposedly been collecting,” he replied.

Sortor was chosen as a convenient spokesperson not because of the quality of his coverage, but because of his political beliefs

Besides the viral video, it seems the only thing Sortor could have possibly added to East Palestine coverage would have been his credentials as a journalist, which don’t really exist. To right-wing media, seemingly the only credential that matters is that Sortor is a vocal critic of the Biden administration and an admirer of former President Donald Trump. 

In Sortor’s reporting, getting answers for the residents of East Palestine and confronting how the accident happened in the first place came second to attacking the Biden administration and praising Trump. In his interviews and on Twitter,Sortor barely touched on past rail deregulation, or what might be done in the future to prevent such an incident. Sortor is unabashedly MAGA, even using the disaster to encourage people to vote for Trump in 2024.

On top of that, Sortor baselessly claimed that the EPA is somehow allying with Norfolk Southern to bypass the concerns of East Palestine residents. “The government is doing everything they can to help Norfolk Southern get back to their normal operations,” he said on the February 15 segment ofOANN’s In Focus with Addison Smith. “Maybe the guilty party here (Norfolk Southern) will end up being the hero,” he said on the February 17 episode of The Charlie Kirk Show. Even according to pro-industry sources, this would not typically be the case. Doomberg, an energy and finance substack run by an anonymous group of “former industry executives” writes: “In our experience, the EPA would not look to minimize the severity of an industrial accident of this type. Quite the opposite.” The substack goes on to note that the agency would never “protect the very corporate interests they otherwise infuriate with their harsh oversight on a daily basis.” Of course, this doesn’t mean there aren’t problems withfederal agencies’ approach to handling this incident and concerns about what data has and hasn’t been shared publicly.

Infamous right-wing independent reporter flocks to East Palestine seeking viral content

Sortor was not the only independent journalist drawn to East Palestine. Right-wing influencer and TPUSA contributor Savanah Hernandez showed up to cover Trump’s visit to the town and to harang Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and other transportation department officials when they arrived on Thursday, February 23. Despite highlighting how the media has been ignoring East Palestine, Hernandez herself did not arrive until February 22, over two weeks after the derailment.

Hernandez has thus far dedicated her career to promoting conspiracy theories, having gotten her start on InfoWars with War Room host Owen Shroyer, who was notably named in defamation lawsuits filed by the families of Sandy Hook shooting victims. According to her website, Hernandez was working there at the time the lawsuits were filed.

She later moved on to traveling around the country mostly provoking left-wing activists to propel moral outrage. Hernandez prides herself on having been suspended or banned from Twitter three times and suspended from YouTube four times for violating community guidelines. Twitter CEO Elon Musk reinstated her Twitter account in November.

She is a virulent transphobe known for contributing to the of Lia Thomas, the first trans D-I athlete to win an NCAA title. A video of Hernandez attempting to humiliate some kids at D.C. pride for her viewers was taken down from Twitter but is now up again. She has promoted anti-vax misinformation and once held a “police lives matter” sign at a Black Lives Matter protest. She also took an interest in the World Economic Forum’s annual retreat, where she made it her mission to affirm the Great Reset conspiracy and push climate change denial. Rumble hosts all of Hernandez’s videos that have been removed from YouTube.

Hernandez brought her ill intentions to East Palestine. While participating in interviews on the ground, she repeatedly insisted that Trump was not motivated by publicity when he visited East Palestine. On the February 22 segment ofWar Room, she told Steve BannonthatTrump was a “true leader who cared about the American people actually here on the ground not for publicity, not for likes, not for followers, not for the cameras, but genuinely to just show the people that he cares.” She also made a similar point inThe Ingraham Angle on February 24.

Meanwhile, even some on Fox News have admitted that Trump’s visit was in many ways a publicity stunt. Initially,Fox Business host Stuart Varney actually agreed with Biden’s decision to visit Ukraine instead of Ohio.On theFebruary 21 segment of Varney & Co., he said, “I just don't think there's an equivalent between a train derailment in Ohio, awful as it was, and the development of maybe World War III in Europe. I mean, there's a complete difference, and our president should be over there.” Thenext day, he admitted that “the train disaster in Ohio has given Donald Trump a political opportunity and he's jumping on it … For Trump, this visit is a major campaign event. His rival, Ron Desantis, made a series of well-received appearances recently, now Trump wants to jump out in front, writing to the rescue of everyday Americans in need.” 

Aside from a video of her and another TPUSA reporter confronting a Norfolk Southern representative about what the company would be doing to help residents, Hernandez mostly neglected to mention Norfolk Southern’s role in the incident.

Despite taking credit for almost single-handedly bringing awareness to the issue, these citizen journalists provide almost no helpful information

Both the federal government and Northfolk South have handled the derailment poorly, potentially putting the future of East Palestine and residents of surrounding areas at risk to the effects of long-term chemical exposure. But information about exactly which questions have and haven’t been answered, exactly what we know and what we don’t know, are missing from the sensationalist coverage of right-wing citizen journalists. Listening to these interviews, the only information that one would glean is: Biden is bad, Trump is good, and people are angry. There is so much more to the story.

Particularly as the local news void grows, citizen journalists will seek to fill in the gaps. We’ve seen how it can be a useful resource for public officials and even professional newsrooms, and a force for grassroots democracy, particularly in shedding light on environmental injustice. That — not ill-informed right-wing commentary — is the kind of reporting that the people of East Palestine deserve.

Fox Business host gives Kayleigh McEnany a brutal reality check: ‘Biden won the debate’

Alex Henderson

 September 30, 2020

Following Trump's presidential debate with former Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday night, September 29, Fox Business host Stuart Varney was honest enough to admit that Biden won the debate. And he was clearly in disagreement with White House Press Secretary

==

aha: fox bizshows useful to feature econ BS deniers eg

Lomborg’s book was given a scathing review in The New York Times by Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz,noting the “many contradictions within the book” and taking to task his “underestimation of the damage associated with climate change.” (Indeed, during Lomborg’s appearances on both Varney & Co.and *Making Money with Charles Payne*, he did not once mention the cost of inaction on climate change, which is estimated to be many trillions of dollars -- much greater than actually taking action.) The Times’ review closed by saying “Lomborg’s work would be downright dangerous were it to succeed in persuading anyone that there was merit in its arguments.

https://www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-covid-19/fox-friends-agrees-trump-coronavirus-hoax

JEDEDIAH BILA (CO-HOST): I want to ask you, though, about the president. What can the president do at a time like this? Because obviously he has an interest in stabilizing the market. You see now if you take a look the Dow is down. The S&P [500] is down. It's very concerning to a lot of people out there. What should he be saying?

STUART VARNEY (FOX BUSINESS HOST): He should be reassuring the American people as he has been doing that this administration can take care of and contain this virus. Remember, no deaths. OK. We got new cases, but no deaths. We've quarantined people. We're testing people. That's what the president should be telling us, and he is telling us that.

Personally, I get really annoyed when I hear the Democrats, going after the president, try to make out that the virus is his fault. And they are doing it for electoral advantage and I think that is absolutely reprehensible. You need an opposition, you need to hold the president accountable. But what they are doing is denigrating the administration's efforts. Trying to tear down the president, not for the benefit of the country, but for their electoral benefit.

BILA: We actually have some sound --

DEAN CAIN (CO-HOST): Exactly.

BILA: -- related right to what you are saying.

CAIN: He spoke about this last night in Charleston, South Carolina.

[CLIP]

DONALD TRUMP (PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES): Politicizing the coronavirus.

...

You say how is President Trump doing? They go, "Oh, not good, not good." They have no clue. They don't have any clue. They can't even count their votes in Iowa. They can't even count.

...

[djt]: One of my people came up to me and said, "Mr. President, they tried to beat you on Russia, Russia, Russia. That didn't work out too well." They couldn't do it. They tried the impeachment hoax. They tried it over and over. They have been doing it since you got in. It's all turning. They lost. It's all turning. Think of it. Think of it. And this is their new hoax.

[END CLIP]

PETE HEGSETH (CO-HOST): He can't resist.

VARNEY: Look, I agree with that. Look, Russia, Russia, Russia. Impediment to justice. Impeachment, and now the virus. One thing after another to denigrate and slime our president. Utterly wrong.

HEGSETH: You see the misinformation, too. Democrats -- the AP had to fact check Democrats who were saying that the president's cut the CDC budget which it hasn't been reduced under the Trump presidency. They're seizing on anything.

VARNEY: And you have this irrational criticism of the president. [Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez], for example, denigrating Vice President [Mike] Pence who is in charge of the containment effort saying he is a science denier. Please. Come on.

BILA: Yeah. And the reality, I mean, the truth is --

VARNEY: And Senator [Elizabeth] Warren was talking about the mess of this containment effort. Excuse me, show me the mess.

BILA: Yeah.

VARNEY: I don't see any deaths. I see a good strong containment effort.

BILA: Yeah, the truth is, whatever the president would have done, the media would have been there to criticize him.

:{

}:

==

Fox Business host Stuart Varney says he's "a little worried" that teachers who donate to Bernie Sanders might be teaching kids socialism in school.

==

no lnx

Fox Business host Lou Dobbs: Man who plowed truck into ICE protesters was ‘well within his rights’

Lou Dobbs speaking at the 2015 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) ]

Written by Igor Derysh / Salon August 16, 2019

Fox Business host Lou Dobbs praised a corrections officer who intentionally plowed his truck into a crowd of protesters outside a Rhode Island ICE facility, saying the attack was justified.

A correctional officer at the Donald W. Wyatt PVT Detention Facility in Central Falls, Rhode Island, intentionally drove his pickup truck into protesters demonstrating against the detention of migrants by ICE on Wednesday, the Providence Journal reported. Capt. Thomas Woodworth was placed on administrative leave after protest organizers said a 64-year-old protester suffered internal bleeding and a broken leg in the attack and another protester was injured as well. Fellow corrections officers sprayed protesters with pepper spray, sending three other people to the hospital.

The protesters were part of the “Never Again” movement, a Jewish protest group that likens ICE detention facilities to the treatment of Jews during the Holocaust. The protesters had been organizing outside the Rhode Island facility since early July.

Video of the protests shows the black pickup truck accelerate toward protesters and stop suddenly just before hitting anyone. After demonstrators began to bang on the hood of his truck, the vehicle pushed forward again.

Several injured after driver plows truck into immigration protesters outside ICE facility in Rhode Island. https://t.co/KlhQXBlEaW pic.twitter.com/tizuWqlLmH

— ABC News (@ABC) August 15, 2019

Dobbs played an edited clip that cut out the part where Woodworth drove at the protesters and praised his actions.

LOL. Lou Dobbs recasts incident at RI immigrant detention facility as attack on truck driver by selectively slo-moing the footage and editing out the part when the ICE guard (now suspended) intentionally ran into/over demonstrators. cc: @NeverAgainActn @mollycrabapple pic.twitter.com/K0XfqLC3oY

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) August 16, 2019

“Protesters in Rhode Island harassing a federal detention worker last night,” said Dobbs, an ally and adviser of President Trump. “These demonstrators blocking an entrance to a facility holding illegal immigrants when the driver tried to pull into the parking lot, the protesters surrounded him, yelling, banging on the hood of the truck, blocking his entrance.”

Dobbs claimed the protesters “committed assault” by banging on the truck after Woodworth drove toward them.

Speaking to former acting ICE director Tom Homan, Dobbs said, “I know that it must just gladden your heart to see a bunch of demonstrators at an Immigration Customs Enforcement facility blocking the path of a guard and then complaining about the fact that he sought to do what is within his rights, which is to proceed to park his vehicle and go to work.”

Homan also attacked the protesters, wondering whether any of them “even got a job.”

Homan previously worked in the Trump administration and Dobbs has frequently consulted with the president. The Daily Beast reported last year thatDobbs has been “involved with some of the administration’s more sensitive discussions.” Trump has even put Dobbs on speakerphone during multiple Oval Office meetings so the Fox host could weigh in, according to the report, which added that Trump will occasionally “cut off an official so the Fox Business host can jump in.”

Dobbs is in some ways the godfather of what is now called Trumpism.

“He was Trump before Trump,” former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon told the Washington Post. “He has always sort of epitomized the intellectual foundation of the Trump movement on trade and immigration, even if he doesn’t get enough attention. He was more Breitbart than Breitbart, going back years.”

A spokesperson for Never Again accused Dobbs of creating “propaganda” to help “distort reality” to help justify the Trump administration’s “inhumanity.”

“Lou Dobbs just justified and promoted the car ramming that that caused one of our peaceful protesters to have serious injuries,” the group said. “This was an attack that could have (and has, as in Charlottesville) killed someone. Fox News is inciting violence.”

vehicles charlottesville, cda and now ICE jewish

Fox Business host Lou Dobbs: Man who plowed truck into ICE protesters was ‘well within his rights’

Igor Derysh / Salon

519 mma

Fox Business had an entire week of capitalism vs. socialism programming, and it was absurd. Large parts of it were just billionaires lecturing about how bad it would be to take on income inequality. At one point, actor Dean Cain absurdly claimed that "being politically connected ... doesn't work well in capitalism."

==

ref

https://www.mediamatters.org/research/2019/05/22/ever-heard-ussr-review-fox-business-capitalism-vs-socialism-week/223772

From  May 13-17, several shows on Fox Business joined in a week-long theme of “Capitalism vs. Socialism,” purporting to debate the merits and pitfalls of each economic system, which included a town hall on Thursday afternoon. Commentary during the themed segments was dominated by wealthy people arguing against strawman representations of socialism, condescendingly giving advice to the young socialists, defending income inequality as a good thing, tokenizing the suffering of Venezuela, and downplaying the economic struggles of poor Americans.

The week-long coverage came at a time when the American public is confused about what “socialism” is, in part because of decades of demonization of the term. And Fox Business didn’t do much to set the record straight.

[vid]

Misunderstanding socialism

Fox Business’ themed week was predominantly devoted to attacking socialism, despite a constantly changing definition of what commentators meant by “socialism.” Throughout the week, Fox figures and guests misleadingly characterized socialism as “participation trophies,” worker-run grifts, and a demand for identical salaries regardless of job or position.

• Actor Dean Cain described socialism as asking someone, “‘What do you want to do for a living?’ and if they give you an answer, tell them, ‘No, you’re going to be this instead.’ That’s what socialism is.”
• Cain also bragged that his son “is a true, true capitalist” who “didn’t want to get a participation trophy, he wanted to get a championship,” which is “what you get with capitalism.” Cain added that “capitalism breeds hard work,” whereas “socialism, you get what you demand and how much can I take, how much can I fleece the system.” Cain commented at the end of his appearance that "being politically connected ... doesn't work well in capitalism."
• Fox host Dagen McDowell cited “problems in public housing with children getting asthma here in New York or the Flint water crisis” as “problems created by government,” asking, “So how does more government fix those?” Progressive activist and author Nomiki Konst responded that “what you saw [in those two instances] was a conservative government create austerity,” which left residents with substandard public services in order to make wealthy people wealthier.
• Host Stuart Varney claimed, “You give power to the workers … and you starve investment capital because it will not go to investment; it will always go to the workers. And that way, you run down the subway system.” Varney offered no basis for arguing that laborers would hoard profits instead of investing in their work. In fact, an ongoing analysis from the National Center for Employee Ownership shows that stocks from companies at least partially owned by employees are consistently outperforming the S&P 500: “In its first year, the [Employee Ownership Index] had a 30.3 percent return as compared to the S&P’s 15.5 percent return. As of mid-January 2019, the relative return is 28 percent to 12 percent.”
• Varney bizarrely claimed, “Socialists always deprive companies of any kind of capital. All the money has to go to the workers, not to reinvestment in capital equipment. … So they don’t innovate; they don’t move forward. I think that’s the way it is.” Fox’s Jackie DeAngelis concurred, saying that “I think we answered the question” of whether or not the U.S. can “afford socialism.”
• DeAngelis suggested that socialism was to blame for Brexit, because the Eurozone debt crisis had “the weaker countries in the system … pulling down the stronger countries.” She did not explain the comment further, although on-screen graphics compared the national debts of France and Italy.
• Host Maria Bartiromo said to her guest Konst, “You just said a minute ago that it’s 1/10th of a percent at the top making all the money. So you must agree that everybody should make the same salary then.” Bartiromo also incorrectly insisted that Konst was “confusing capitalism and socialism” because she believes that every person should be “able to start their own business.”
• Retired billionaire Foster Friess used a $100 bill as a prop to explain how socialism in health care would mean that his money goes to the government and “I lose complete control of my medical care. So, that medical care is probably the most important thing to people.”The $100 bill served no actual purpose other than to give Friess something to hold while he made his comment.
• Bartiromo and Friess spent three minutes berating a socialist guest for supposedly believing that everyone should be paid the same regardless of their job, even though he repeatedly said that is not what he believes.
• DeAngelis suggested that the Affordable Care Act was proof that socialism doesn’t work.DeAngelis claimed that the conservative-rooted ACA was “the closest that we’ve even come to having the conversation, implementing the reforms” of socialism, but after the ACA passed, “people actually didn’t get what they wanted. They ended up paying more.”
• Bartiromo accused Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) of “taking advantage of people who really don’t understand” socialism.
• Mattie Duppler of the National Taxpayers Union bizarrely claimed, “Socialism at its core ... enriches politicians, which is why we hear politicians talk a lot about socialism.” For comparison, in 2015, more than 50% of all members of Congress in the capitalist United States were millionaires. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, “It would take the combined wealth of more than 18 American households to equal the value of a single federal lawmaker’s household.”
• Former Clinton adviser Mark Penn claimed that 18-29 year olds are “falling prey to socialist rhetoric” because of their “different lifestyle where they go from college to roommates, and they don’t have full responsibility for 10 or 12 years.”
• Fox’s Lisa Kennedy Montgomery presented a false binary choice between capitalism and “people in extreme poverty” to make the case “that things have gotten better” under capitalism. When New York City Democratic Socialists of America co-chair Bianca Cunningham replied that strong markets are “not translating to people’s actual material conditions,” Kennedy mocked her for using the term “living wage” and supporting a $15 minimum wage.
• Failed Federal Reserve Board nominee Herman Cain incorrectly claimed the USSR stood for “United Soviet Socialist Republic.” USSR actually stood for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

Claiming record income inequality is normal, even good

Fox Business hosts and guests readily argued that massive income inequality, rather than being an indictment of our economic system, is actually proof that capitalism works because the income gap is driven by the success of talented people. However, the income gap is driven by skyrocketing executive salaries regardless of ability, while workers’ real wages have essentially flatlined since 1978.

• Economist Alan Greenspan: “The basic problem of inequality is the fact that people are born that way. We’re all born differently.” While Greenspan acknowledged that income inequality is “unfortunate for the stability of the system,” he also said, “It’s very difficult to do all that much [to remedy it] because you’re fighting a fundamental issue, which is human nature. We are doing the best we can.”
• Friess: “We say we have a problem because of income inequality. If that’s the problem, then the American dream is a problem.”
• Friess: “We talk about these ‘cronies on top.’ Yeah, friends of ours, Barbara and Craig Barrett, have given millions of dollars” to schools. Friess insisted that critics needed to “look at the $413 billion of philanthropy from these ‘bad guys.’”
• PwC partner Mitch Roschelle claimed, “If we make the marginal tax rate 90%, we’re going to create more income inequality and not less.”
• Fox’s Charles Payne called what his guest termed “the pitfalls of capitalism” an example of “rich people problems to a degree, right, because … even the poorest Americans live so much better” than people in other countries.

Wealthy people lecturing the less fortunate

From downplaying homelessness to suggesting that popular support for socialism is a false flag, multiple wealthy commentators on Fox Business’ “Capitalism vs. Socialism” week inadvertently revealed their own ignorance and cognitive dissonance regarding the magnitude of the problems poor and working-class Americans face.

• American Enterprise Institute’s Arthur Brooks discussed the “moral case for the capitalist system” and initially said that capitalism has “a moral obligation” to end global poverty, but changed it mid-sentence to an “opportunity.”
• Cain said that he disagreed with the argument that there are people who “don’t have food to eat and they don’t have shelter,” because “some homeless people choose not to go to” shelters and food banks. When challenged on his premise, Cain angrily replied, “I grew up taking biscuits to school for lunch with no meat. So don’t talk to me about people coming to school who don’t have food and this and that. It’s available if they go out and work for it like everybody else works for it.”
• Billionaire John Catsimatidis suggested that the popular support for socialism is a false flag.Catsimatidis claimed, “Somebody is stirring the pot in our country and making these things happen. And we have to depend on the FBI or whoever to find out who is stirring this pot.” He also asked “who really funded” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and “how did they get into a position where they could be such large spokespeople for people that, who know if they really exist or don't exist.”
• Varney admitted that he “was a socialist” at one point, until “I started to make a lot of money” and realized “I really do work for this.” Varney explained: “I was a socialist, and I was always jealous about those people who made a lot of money. And then I started to make a lot of money, and I realized, you know, I really do work for this. And my brains, drive, talent, and ability should be rewarded. And they were rewarded. And I’m damned if I’m going to take half of it and give it to socialists.”
• Varney lectured an audience member that “my wealth, that I made by myself” benefitted his grandchildren, “and I’m not looking for anything off you.” When the audience member laughed at Varney’s commentary, he replied, “I don’t know what you’re laughing at young man, but you could learn something.”
• Payne introduced Thomas Peterffy, “the richest man in Florida, one of the richest people on the planet,” who said he is “very, very much afraid of socialism” because of “regulation.” Peterffy said: “My fear is that economic success is getting out of the reach of people … because there is more and more federal, state, and local regulation and it is becoming very, very difficult for somebody to start a business and to grow a business. So for that reason, people I think believe that they are doomed to not being successful in their lives and therefore they turn around and look at socialism.”
• The president’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, told Varney that under socialism, “the people who’d be hurt the most are lower-income earners” because wealthy people will simply leave the country.

Socialism stifles innovation

Fox Business figures focused heavily on capitalism driving innovation but managed to almost completely miss the human point that these big tech companies’ innovation are often powered by workers facing ruthless, evenlethal exploitation.

• McDowell claimed that the reason Americans “pay much higher drug prices than the rest of the world” is because “Americans are the ones footing the bill for all the innovation.” The word “profit” was not mentioned in McDowell’s comment, even though in the third quarter of 2018, 14 top pharmaceutical companies recorded over $29 billion in profits. However, McDowell did say that the exorbitant drug prices Americans pay are “basically helping cure the rest of the world of cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.”
• DeAngelis: Socialism has “this problem with stifling innovation that doesn’t allow the ball to more forward. And that it what this is all about, right? It’s growing America.” DeAngelis did not mention who exactly does the “growing” in “growing America.”
• Varney countered DeAngelis mentioning big technology companies as an example of pitfalls of capitalism by claiming the practices of such companies were actually “innovative [and] dynamic.” In response, DeAngelis walked back her claim. DeAngelis highlighted “anti-competitive practices” at Google and allegations that Amazon doesn’t pay its “fair share” of taxes as an example of capitalism’s excess. Varney replied that it was actually “a fine example of capitalism being innovative, dynamic, and a remarkable employer and creator of wealth,” and DeAngelis agreed, responding, “I think saying ‘capitalism gone wrong’ may be a little bit too strong.”
• DeAngelis claimed that by “stifling competition [and] stifling innovation,” socialism prevents people “from innovating in the proper ways.” She then asked Varney to "imagine a world where there’s no Microsoft” and other companies like it that "create billions and billions of dollars in revenue [and] hundreds of thousands of jobs.” DeAngelis also raised the spectre of “state-run oil companies” and said that “pharmaceutical breakthroughs” only happen in the U.S., and not anywhere else, because of capitalism.
• The Wall Street Journal’s James Freeman: “Inequality is part of what makes capitalism work. If there’s not a reward for doing more, … you don’t get those inventions.” Bartiromo concurred and questioned “how many great innovations have we seen coming out of Europe” -- the birthplace of Spotify, ASOS, Skype, and many other successful tech companies.

Venezuela

Despite American conservatives’ as the latest example of socialism run amok, the extreme human tragedy there is an exception to socialist policies, not the rule: Elsewhere in South America, socialists have held power in both stable and unstable countries with both large and small economies, and ruin did not follow -- in fact, several of them have thrived, including Bolivia, which, like Venezuela, also nationalized the country’s top industry under an authoritarian president.

• DeAngelis claimed that millennials support socialism only because they haven’t “seen it play out over time” and referenced Venezuela as one of the “extreme examples.”
• DeAngelis: “Why do we need to speculate what socialism would look like when we can actually just look around the world at examples. … Let’s start with Venezuela.”
• Catsimatidis: “We are fighting for the soul of America. … And to people that love socialism, you know what I said? ‘I’d buy you a one-way ticket to Venezuela. Enjoy it!’”
• Duppler: “Venezuela’s a perfect example” of “how socialism generally plays o

Fox News likes to tout the “hard news” side of its operation, setting up a false distinction between its right-wing prime-time hosts and its news anchors. A number of powerful people buy into this notion as well, touting the "vaunted" news division at Fox.

The notion is complete and utter nonsense. It's a total lie, propagated just to normalize Fox's lies. How bad is it? We reviewed Fox News and Fox Businessfor four months, and found that the news side pushed misinformation and lies every single day.

==

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trump whisperer

D&Silk 2x

https://www.alternet.org/trump-calls-google-search-rigged-after-watching-diamond-and-silk

Tuesday morning, President Donald Trump tweeted a bizarre attack on Google, calling their search results "RIGGED" and possibly "illegal" because "Google search results for 'Trump News' shows only the viewing/reporting of Fake New [sic] Media."

Google search results for “Trump News” shows only the viewing/reporting of Fake New Media. In other words, they have it RIGGED, for me & others, so that almost all stories & news is BAD. Fake CNN is prominent. Republican/Conservative & Fair Media is shut out. Illegal? 96% of...

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 28, 2018

....results on “Trump News” are from National Left-Wing Media, very dangerous. Google & others are suppressing voices of Conservatives and hiding information and news that is good. They are controlling what we can & cannot see. This is a very serious situation-will be addressed!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 28, 2018

It didn't take long for Media Matters For America's Matt Gertz to uncover what Trump was talking about: he had been watching a Fox Business interview between Lou Dobbs and right-wing YouTubers Lynette Hardaway and Rochelle Richardson, known by the stage names  "Diamond and Silk."

During the interview, the two accused Google of "tyranny" and "political lynching" for not showing a larger number of articles favorable to Trump. Hardaway warned that "somebody's going to have to step in and take a look at this here."

..During the segment, Diamond and Silk, identified as "President Trump's most loyal supporters," described this as "tyranny" and "a form of political lynching." pic.twitter.com/vHa9SJPKZp

Diamond adds that "somebody's going to have to step in and take a look at this here." Watching the program this morning, Trump tweets, "This is a very serious situation-will be addressed!" pic.twitter.com/YvydCbLvQG

5:07 AM - Aug 28, 2018

Diamond and Silk, who previously were caught lying under oath about a payment they received from the Trump campaign, become a GOP cause celebré after Facebook sent them anerroneous message deeming their content "unsafe." They have leveraged this into a sweeping conspiracy theory that big tech sites are silencing conservative content — which is debunked by hard data showing their Facebook engagements actually increased in the past year.

Likewise, there is no evidence whatsoever that Google is deliberately suppressing pro-Trump content. Nor, as Trump suggestions, is any algorithm a private tech platform uses to determine search results "illegal," as Google is a private company and there is no constitutional right to appear at the top of its search results.

Moreover, it is curious thatif the GOP is genuinely concerned that tech companies have too much power over what people see and hear, they do not push for tougher antitrust laws against the business practices that allow tech platforms to hold near-total monopolies — the few laws we have on the matter are swiftly being dismantled by the Supreme Court, and with the vote of Trump's own judicial picks.

None of this, however, has stopped the right-wing kangaroo courts against social media "censorship." And Trump's rant is just the latest example of how ubiquitous the false narrative has become.

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https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/fox-news-actually-apologizes-after-texas-congressman-goes-anti-semitic-rant

no lnx

Fox News actually apologizes after Texas congressman goes on anti-Semitic rant

In a truly tortured segue, Gohmert connected George Orwell to another George—Soros. Get it?

By Walter Einenkel / Daily Kos December 7, 2018, 6:20 AM GMT

Fox Business’s Stuart Varney, a man that somehow makes Piers Morgan sound less smarmy, had wildly dumb Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert on his show Thursday morning. Varney was hosting a segment about how the tech giant Google has been willing to be complicit in the Chinese government’s censorship of the internet in order to penetrate the Chinese marketplace. Attacking Google for its complete lack of ethics is totally warranted, but of course the reason that Fox News is attacking Google is in order to build the vilification of China, justifying Trump’s incoherent trade while attacking a company perceived as being “liberal.” Rep. Louie Gohmert is sort of like having a drug-fueled 1970s rock-and-roll legend on your show—sure they’re narcissistic and terribly erratic asshats, but they will likely make for some entertaining television.

Gohmert makes a clearly well-worn and on-brand right-wing conspiracy joke about George Orwell. He then explains how Google has “literally sold their souls” to China. Classic rock god antics! Literally! Of course, the problem with putting an erratic and unsophisticated mind and mouth in front of a microphone is that, so very frequently, they veer off into truly insane (and thinly-veiled) anti-Semitic conspiracy theory.

In a truly tortured segue, Gohmert connected George Orwell to another George—Soros. Get it?

Gohmert: You mention Orwell, it reminds me of another George, ah George Soros. Because Google is born in a free country and they go over and oppress others, help oppress others in another country. George Soros is supposed to be Jewish but you wouldn't know it from the damage he inflicted on Israel and the fact that he turned on fellow Jews & helped take the property that they owned.

Varney quickly moved on, probably afraid that Gohmert would pull out his Glenn Beck blackboard to begin drawing lines between Hitler, the Rothschilds, George Soros, and black ops helicopters. If Louie Gohmert has a “brand,” it’s called “Batshit Crazy.” But the awfulness of the claim, so grotesquely wedged into a conversation about China, clearly stuck in someone’s craw at Fox Business, and according to the Daily Beast, Varney made an on-air apology later in the segment.

In the following broadcast hour, Varney issued an on-air apology for Gohmert’s remarks: “Congressman Louie Gohmert, for some reason went out of his way to bring up George Soros and made unsubstantiated and false allegations against him. I want to make clear those views are not shared by me, this program or anyone at Fox Business.”

This isn’t the first, second, or last time he’s publicly promoted the abhorrent George Soros as a Nazi collaborator meme. But here’s a quick primer on George Soros:

When World War II began, and Jews were swept up into camps, with more than 6 million ending up systematically murdered by the Third Reich. George Soros was 9-year-old Jew living in Hungary with his family when the war began. Soros was 14 years old when the Nazis occupied Hungary, and his family forged false identification papers and split up, in order to escape being sent to a Nazi concentration camp. Soros and his father forged similar papers for other Hungarian Jews during that time, before leaving the country and relocating in England.

The erroneous meme about Soros that has taken off in right wing circles originated with Glenn Beck—back when he was the heinous Glenn Beck we all remember. An old 60 Minutes interview with Soros shows him explaining how, at 14—charged with pretending he was the Christian child of an Hungarian officer—he had to watch as Hungarian and Nazi officials stole away the property of Jewish citizens who had been sent to their likely deaths in concentration camps.

None of us can know how we would have responded under the kinds of circumstances people like George Soros were put in as children—and adults—during World War II. But I will bet you another blue wave in 2020 that at 14, Louie Gohmert would have sold his family to the devil to keep his hair.

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say wages up

Fox Business host Stuart Varney appeared on Fox & Friends to mislead viewers about economic growth under the Trump administration, claiming that, “wages [and] salaries are going up for the best increase in at least a decade,” and asserting that “if you have a skill that’s in demand … your wages, salaries are going up.”

From the August 20 edition of Fox News’ Fox & Friends:

"real cost of socialism" pix]

According to *The Washington Post*, however, any apparent increase in wages is being wiped out by a larger increase in inflation. Once inflation is taken into account, the average U.S. “real wage” is actually decreasing, falling to “$10.76 an hour last month, 2 cents down from where it was a year ago.” In addition to falling wage growth, workers must grapple with “with higher prices giving [them] less buying power than they had last summer,” according to The New York Times. The Times also reported on the concerning disparity between corporate profits and workers’ gains, noting, “Corporate profits have rarely swept up a bigger share of the nation’s wealth, and workers have rarely shared a smaller one.”

Varney’s claim that supposed wage growth is “the best increase in at least a decade” is misleading on two fronts: Average wages have fallen over the past year once inflation is accounted for, and wage growth is increasing at a slower rate than in November 2016, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s wage growth tracker.

Unfortunately, this is isn’t the first time that Fox has attempted to mislead the viewers about wage growth or theTrump economy.

==

MMA

​Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo glamorizes bulletproof backpacks and clothing for kids in back-to-school segment​

fox biz

Speed of Antarctic ice melt triples: Humans to blame?

Jun. 15, 2018 - 4:17 - ClmateDepot.com founder Marc Morano on a report claiming the speed at which Antarctic ice is melting has increased dramatically and the city of Berkeley declaring a climate emergency.

==

==

https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/watch-fox-business-ludicrously-attack-pope-francis-promoting-authoritarian

...VARNEY (HOST): I've got two problems with this. Number one, this document approved personally by the Pope, is part -- it came from the Catholic doctrine, (comma) the Vatican's office for Catholic doctrine. Do we now believe that authoritarian socialism is part of Catholic doctrine? I've got a problem with that. Number two, I don't want to see politics. When I go to church on a Sunday, and I'm a believer, I go -- I don't want to hear politics from the pulpit. I just don't want to hear it. So I'm like, save my soul, not my vote. 

:{

}:

ELIZABETH MACDONALD (FOX BUSINESS STOCKS EDITOR): And what did Jesus say, "render unto Caesar what is Caesar's," right?

...

==

==

11. Mark Steyn Invokes Image Of Terrorists “Sawing Bernie Sanders’ Head Off” ToAttack SandersForLinking Climate Change To Terrorism. On the November 16 edition of Fox Business’ Varney& Co., conservative pundit Mark Steyn mocked Sen. Bernie Sanders’ broadly accurate comments linking climate change to the rise of ISIS by declaring: “[ISIS leader] al-Baghdadi will be sawing Bernie Sanders’ head off, and he’ll be saying as his neck is being sliced, ‘If only we’d had an emissions trading scheme.'”

==

http://mediamatters.org/tags/varney-co

Fox Business Tries And Fails To Prove Climate Agenda Behind Report Linking Bacon To Cancer

Fox Correspondent: "Don't Believe Everything You Read ... When These Studies Come Out, It's Like, Frustrating"

Conservative Media Are Distorting China's Revised Coal Data To Undermine U.N. Climate Talks

==

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Varney

Stuart Varney (born July 7, 1948 in Derby, Derbyshire, England) is an English-American economic journalist who works for the Fox News Channel and the Fox Business Network. Varney joined Fox News in January 2004 as a business contributor on many shows, such as Your World with Neil Cavuto. He also occasionally serves as guest host for Your World and the shows on the The Cost of Freedom business block.

Contents

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• :{1:(style="display:table-cell"):}::{Background:(style="display:table-cell"):}:
• :{2:(style="display:table-cell"):}::{Fox Business Network:(style="display:table-cell"):}:
• :{3:(style="display:table-cell"):}::{Personal life:(style="display:table-cell"):}:
• :{4:(style="display:table-cell"):}::{References:(style="display:table-cell"):}:
• :{5:(style="display:table-cell"):}::{External links:(style="display:table-cell"):}:

Background

After secondary school, Varney spent a year working in Nairobi, Kenya, before graduating from the London School of Economics.^[2] After working as a reporter for Radio Hong Kong, he began his broadcast journalism career at KEMO-TV (now KOFY-TV) in San Francisco.^[3] He was then recruited to join the Manhattan bureau of the newly formed 24-hour news network CNN, which launched on June 1, 1980. He hosted the CNN shows Business Day, Business Asia,^[2][3] and Moneyline withWillow Bay. In 2001, he left CNN to host CNBC's "Wall Street Journal Editorial Board with Stuart Varney."^[2]

He joined the Fox News Channel's business team in January 2004, and joined Fox Business Network as an anchor when the network launched in October 2007.^[2]

Fox Business Network

Varney currently co-hosts "Varney & Co." on the Fox Business Network, which airs from 9:00 a.m. to 12 p.m. every weekday. The show is also co-hosted by Charles Payne, Tracy Byrnes and Chris Cotter. He is also a regular panel member on the Fox Business analysis and stock trade investment program Cashin' In.

Varney also serves as a business contributor and substitute host for FOX News Channel's (FNC) "Your World with Neil Cavuto." Since joining FNC's business team in 2004, Varney has contributed to the network's weekday and weekend business programming including: "Your World with Neil Cavuto," "Bulls & Bears," "Cavuto on Business" and "Cashin' In."

Prior to joining FNC, Varney served as the host of CNBC's "Wall Street Journal Editorial Board with Stuart Varney." Before that, he was a co-anchor of CNN's "Moneyline News Hour." Varney helped launch CNN's business news team in 1980 and hosted many of their financial programs including, "Your Money," "Business Day" and "Business Asia." His reporting and analysis of the stock market crash of 1987 helped earn CNN a Peabody Award for excellence in journalism.

In 2013 Varney generated controversy for his commentary on Pope Francis, who had criticized the wealth gap and denounced unfettered capitalism as a system which "rules rather than serves."^[4][5] Varney stated, "I go to church to save my soul. It’s got nothing to do with my vote. Pope Francis has linked the two. He has offered direct criticism of a specific political system. He has characterized, negatively, that system. I think he wants to influence my politics."^[6][7]

Personal life

Varney has lived in the United States since 1974. He lives in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey with his wife Deborah and their six children.^[2] On October 29, 2014, the New York Post reported that Varney was served with a divorce complaint by his wife of 21 years. The complaint alleges Varney conducted a nine-year affair with a woman from Orlando, Florida.^[8] In November 2015, Varney became an American citizen.^[9]

References

1. :{Jump up:(style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important"):}:^ "Oregon Magazine’s Man of the Year, and recipient of the Bottle of Hunt’s Ketchup Award is Stuart Varney of the FOX TV network.". Oregon Magazine. August 24, 2012. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
2. ^ :{Jump up to::(style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important"):}:^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Rohan, Virginia (May 12, 2010). "British voice of American business". The Record. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
3. ^ :{Jump up to::(style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important"):}:^a ^b "Stuart Varney". Fox News. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
4. :{Jump up:(style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important"):}:^ Love, Maryann Cusimano (November 21, 2014). "Five myths about Pope Francis". Washington Post. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
5. :{Jump up:(style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important"):}:^ "EVANGELII GAUDIUM". Holy See. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
6. :{Jump up:(style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important"):}:^ scarce (2013-11-27). "Stuart Varney Admonishes Pope Francis". Crooks and Liars.
7. :{Jump up:(style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important"):}:^ "Fox's Varney Attacks Pope Francis' Comments On Inequality As "Neo-Socialism:{":(style="padding-right:0.2em"):}:". Media Matters for America. December 3, 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
8. :{Jump up:(style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important"):}:^ Italiano, Laura (October 29, 2014). "Stuart Varney slammed with divorce complaint". New York Post. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
9. :{Jump up:(style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important"):}:^ https://twitter.com/Varneyco/status/666994555372224512

External links

• Bio on FoxBusiness.com
• Stuart Varney on Twitter
• Appearances on C-SPAN

==

Mark Steyn: Sanders' Comments About Climate Change Are "Insane" And Show A Level Of "Delusion And Denial."During the November 16 edition of Fox Business' Varney & Company Mark Steyn mocked Sanders' statements on climate change stating, "al-Baghdadi would be sawing Bernie Sanders' head off, and he'll be saying as his neck is being sliced, "If only we'd had an emissions trading scheme.'" Stein continued by calling Sanders' position "insane" and claiming it shows a level of "delusion and denial":

STUART VARNEY: Here's one for you. Bernie Sanders, well he's doubling down on his claim that there is a link between climate change and terrorism.

[...]

VARNEY: Alright Mark, climate change?

MARK STEYN: Yeah, he's brilliant that guy. I mean, al-Baghdadi will be sawing Bernie Sanders' head off, and he'll be saying as his neck is being sliced, 'If only we'd had an emissions trading scheme.' This is insane and it shows the level of delusion and denial among the Western political leadership.

VARNEY: Okay. Fox Business, *Varney & Company*, [11/16/15]

A new NASA study found that there has been a net increase in land ice in Antarctica in recent years, despite a decline in some parts of the continent. The study's lead author astutely predicted that climate science deniers would distort the study, even though it does nothing to contradict the scientific consensus on climate change or the fact that sea levels will continue to rise.

...

And Other Measurements Show Net Loss Of Antarctic Ice In Recent Years

NASA's Gavin Schmidt: "I Would Pin More Weight" To Recent Data From NASA GRACE Satellite "Than To This Latest Paper."VICE News reported:

Gavin Schmidt, who directs the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and was not affiliated with the study, said that data from a pair of satellites called GRACE, which measure gravity, actually points towards a net loss of ice on the Antarctic continent in more recent years.

Schmidt said that there are two methods for measuring the mass of an ice sheet. The first measures gravity, and the second measures the elevation of the top of the ice sheet. Both methods need to take different variables into account to be accurate. The method used in this most recent study measured the ice sheet's elevation, and the most recent time period it considered ended in 2008.

"I would pin more weight to the GRACE data than to this latest paper," Schmidt told VICE News. VICE News, [11/2/15]

Slate's Phil Plait: Since End Of Study Dataset In 2008, Antarctic Ice Loss HasGreatlyAccelerated.Slate science writer Phil Plait wrote:

A new study just published in the Journal of Glaciology is causing some buzz in climate circles, because it appears to claim that Antarctica -- long thought to be losing ice at extremely alarming rates -- is actually gaining ice. However, note the word "appear". The reality is more complicated, and in the end the important aspect of this is that the study only talks about part of Antarctica, and only used data up to 2008. Both of these points are critical.

[...]

They looked at data going from 1992 - 2008. Starting right around that time, mass loss due to melting ice in Antarctica (mostly in the west) has accelerated. It's actually been speeding up for some time, but in recent years it's really kicked in. Every year, about six billion more tons of ice are lost than the year before. In the past two decades, the loss rate has doubled.

This is enough to easily outpace the mass gained by snowfall over East Antarctica. Using data taken by the Grace satellites (which measure how mass underneath them changes over time), we know that overall, Antarctica is currently losing more than 130 billion tons of ice per year, and again, that number is increasing every year. Since 2002 it's lost about two trillion tons of ice. Slate, [11/3/15]

Study Author Was Right: Conservative Media Used Study To Deny Climate Science Consensus

Fox's Varney: Study Provides "Doubt" That "Global Warming Theories Are Going The Right Way."On the November 2 edition of Fox Business' Varney & Co., host Stuart Varney teased a segment on the NASA study by claiming it is "putting some doubt that some global warming theories are going the right way. That's NASA saying that." Varney later brought on Fox News contributor Stephen Moore, who complained that the media touts every "story that seems to validate global warming," while ignoring studies like the NASA study, which are an "indication that it's actually not happening." At the end of the segment, Moore joked that "this might be the start of another Ice Age." Fox Business, *Varney & Co.*, [11/2/15; 11/2/15]

Drudge Report HypedNASAStudy UnderneathHeadline AboutPutin Calling Global Warming "A Fraud."The Drudge Report, a highly trafficked conservative news aggregator, linked to the Christian Science Monitor's article on the NASA study with the headline "Antarctica gaining ice ..." The headline was placed beneath another headline that stated: "PUTIN: Global Warming 'A Fraud'..." (as well as a headline touting the baseless claim that the United Nations is planning to create a "climate justice" court):

Drudge Report Archives, [11/2/15; Media Matters,11/3/15]

LimbaughCriticized Media Outlet For ReportingThat Study Does Not Disprove Global Warming.On the November 2 edition of his show, Rush Limbaugh criticized the Christian Science Monitorfor reporting that the NASA study is not evidence that "global warming is over":

LIMBAUGH: Is global warming over? No, no, of course not. We're not supposed to assume that! We only assume when the ice is melting that there is global warming. But when the ice is expanding? No, no, no, no, no. That does not mean that there isn't any global warming! See how this works? Premiere Radio Networks, *The Rush Limbaugh Show*, [11/2/15;Christian Science Monitor,11/1/15]

American Thinker: "The Fraud Is Falling Apart."Conservative blog American Thinker published a blog post headlined: "Oh-oh! NASA study finds Antarctic ice cap growing." In it, American Thinker asserted that the global warming "fraud" is "falling apart." American Thinker, [11/2/15]

The Telegraph: Antarctic Ice Growing "Despite Fears Over Global Warming."The Telegraph reported: "Antarctica's ice floes have been found to be growing faster than they are shrinking despite fears over global warming." *The Telegraph*, [11/2/15]

The Daily Express: "What Global Warming?"The Daily Express published an article headlined, "What global warming? Antarctic ice is INCREASING by 135 billion tonnes a year, says NASA." The article asserted: "Global warming theories have been thrown into doubt after Nasa also claimed current horror predictions into future sea-level rises may not be as severe." *The Daily Express*, [11/2/15]

Newsmax: "NASA Debunks Global Warming." Right-wing website Newsmax published an article headlined: "NASA Debunks Global Warming: Ice Sheets Growing." Newsmax, [11/1/15]

Conservative Media Have History Of Distorting Scientific Research To Fit Deniers' Agenda.Over the past several years, scientists have frequently had to call out right-wing media for distorting their studies to promote climate science denial. [Media Ma

http://mediamatters.org/research/2015/11/04/nasa-scientist-warned-deniers-would-distort-his/206612

==

visit

STUART VARNEY: While the pope remains silent on the plight of many Christians in North Africa, yes he did, not a word about it really, he continues to criticize the U.S. and other wealthy nations about climate change. Come on in Father Jonathan Morris. Now Father, I know you're ready for me, you know what I'm going to say, what on earth is Pope Francis doing coming to this country, criticizing us, urging us towards a policy on climate change, and saying nothing about the slaughter of our fellow Christians in North Africa. Can you explain this to me, father?

FATHER JONATHAN MORRIS: Stuart, your selective hearing is absolutely astounding.

VARNEY: Wait a second Father, do you deny that Pope Francis spent the majority of his speech time this morning talking about climate change? Climate change, climate change, climate change. We must get on board with this. He became totally political, no?

MORRIS: Ok. He has no problem being political when he sees that there are major moral issues that need speaking to. But let me just finish real quickly what I started to say and that is this, what'd he talk about? He talked about religious freedom, he talked about people around the world that don't have religious freedom. He also talked about going back to the foundational principles of our country, he spoke about a lot of things, right? And yes, he did talk about global warming and let me tell you why. Because I don't think he agrees with a whole lot with President Obama on some of the other issues of abortion, of marriage et cetera. So he chose to go to those things that he agrees with with the president and says 'let's work together, let's work together.' And you know, I think he thinks talking about some of the other things, say abortion, is not going to do a whole lot of good in that particular context. We might hear about those other things more, he still hasn't talked to the joint session of Congress, to the United Nations, but what he's saying is people who disagree on some issues can work together on other issues. And yes, he does believe that global warming or climate change is a major moral issue, why, because he's believed the consensus of scientists, of public scientists.

VARNEY: He's in very, very deep water here because he has taken sides on the issue of policy. He's projecting one policy that he thinks is good.

[...]

MORRIS: What his job is to say, I believe this is a moral issue. Climate change is a moral issue because it's going to affect mostly the poor, mostly the poor, and therefore, United States of America, you are in a particular position of leadership, do something, because it will affect the poor.

==

2/15

Super Typhoon Haiyan was one of the strongest tropical cyclones in world history when it struck the Philippines on Nov. 7, killing as many as 10,000 people. Scientists have stated that intense tropical cyclones such as Haiyan are expected to become more frequent as the earth warms, although many caution against attributing Haiyan directly to climate change. Sea level rise due to climate change also worsens the deadly storm surge for tropical cyclones such as Haiyan and Hurricane Sandy.

In an apparent response to a question about the typhoon, Gravity co-star Clooney criticized those who ignore the vast majority of scientists on climate change:

Well it’s just a stupid argument. I mean, whether or not this particular storm is any one—if you have 99 percent of doctors who tell you ‘you are sick’ and one percent that says ‘ah, you’re fine,’ you probably want to hang out with, check it up for the 99. You know what I mean? I—the idea that we ignore that we are in some way involved in climate change is ridiculous. What’s the worst thing that happens? We clean up the earth a little bit? And you know, yeah, I find this to be the most ridiculous argument ever.

On Monday, Fox Business host Stuart Varney and Fox News’ senior meteorologist Janice Dean harangued Clooney for supposedly “us[ing] the tragedy to push his climate change agenda,” saying his statement was “irresponsible” and “foolish”—without ever airing or quoting what he actually said.

Dean also criticized Clooney for weighing in on climate change because he does not have a “seal of approval” from the American Meteorological Society (AMS), as she does. However, AMS officials have criticized broadcast meteorologists such as Dean for offering “nonscientific” opinions on climate change:

Increasing numbers of broadcast meteorologists, to whom the public looks for information and guidance on climate change and global warming, are not offering scientific information but rather, all too often, nonscientific personal opinions in the media, including personal blogs. Alarmingly, many weathercasters and certified broadcast meteorologists dismiss, in most cases without any sold scientific arguments, the conclusions of the National Research Council,Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and other peer-reviewed research.

Dean, who has no educational background in climate science (a field significantly different from weather forecasting), previously promoted the counter-scientific idea that the globe may be cooling based on a single year’s data in a FoxNews.com blog. Varney, the host of Fox Business’ Varney & Co., has also denied climate change in the past, calling it a “scientific conspiracy,” although in 2012 he acknowledged that a study provided “hard evidence” of climate change.

Fox Business was not the only one in the conservative media to jump on Clooney’s comments. The Blaze said that “left-wing” Clooney “used the deadly Super Typhoon to slam climate-change skeptics” (capitalization removed), citing the popular conservative aggregator Weasel Zippers, which called Clooney “ignorant and self-righteous.”

==

http://www.alternet.org/print/jon-stewart-fox-hosts-your-fcking-opinion-not-valid-scientific-fact

 ==

Jon Stewart Roasts Republicans Who Deny Climate Change

Editor Post | June 27, 2014  | 1 Comment

Read more at http://livinggreenmag.com/2014/06/27/video/jon-stewart-roasts-republicans-deny-climate-change/#gVyIU7TCTXgS5IqU.99

epa 4 admin: rmn, b1, b2, rr wm ruckles: no debate on real or we do it; CTW; boozman ark optometrist, zoo mjr; jeff sessions: co2 is plant food, not nox/sox; inhofe: nat'l elect mkt, BO's green dream; Deak Party Jam;

TUE JAN 07, 2014 AT 04:45 PM PST

Jon Stewart blasts climate change deniers at Fox News

byBruinKidFollow

Last night, Jon Stewart was back for his first show of 2014, and he blasted those on Fox News for being climate change deniers, and then talked with Jessica Williams about these denials.

Hey, you know what?  This is nice.  No name-calling, no left vs. right ideological bullshit, it's just the pleasure of watching news anchors slowly perish from hypothermia.

MELISSA FRANCIS (1/2/2014): All this snow, and still cries over global warming.

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.  Hold on there, but the weather where you are on a particular day doesn't... don't... don't do this, don't.

ERIC BOLLING (1/4/2014): We're having a hard time understand how global warming alarmists are still trying to push their radical position.

DANIEL HENNINGER (1/4/2014): Global warming, a phrase we're all familiar with, I think it's going to die this year ... given the kind of incredible cold weather we've had this weekend.

(disappointed audience laughter)

Right now there are parts of my body that are getting angry that I didn't even know could get angry.  (audience cheering and applause for earlier joke reference)  And it's... they're getting so angry right now that it's... I'm not going to tell you which part it is... it's my balls.  (audience laughter)  Right now, I have angry balls.  Oh my God, I think I just invented a new video game

(audience laughter)

"Are you kids playing Angry Balls?  Hey you kids!  Stop playing Angry Balls!"

Just when you think it's over, they pull you back in!

There you have it.  War on Christmas is over, the War on Carbon begins.  Global warming, just one more liberal conspiracy.  Because even though there is a great deal of scientific data establishing climate trends, even though many of the models of global warming predict more extremes of weather — not just warming — apparently decades of peer-reviewed scientific study can be, like a ficus plant, destroyed in one cold weekend.

STUART VARNEY (1/2/2014): Looks to me like we're looking at global cooling.  Forget this global warming.  That's just my opinion.

Yeah!  You're fucking opinion!  That's your opinion!  It means nothing!!  Sorry.  (yells at balls)  Guys, settle down!  (audience laughter)

What... it's your opinion!  "Yeah, based on its flavor, I think lead paint is good to drink.  That's my opinion.  Peeing into a fountain the same time as another person is a good way to switch souls with them.  My opinion!"

1/4/2014: DAN WEISS, CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: If 97 doctors told you that that lump on your lung was something to worry about, and 3 scientists — er, doctors — told you not to worry about it, are you going to listen to the 97, or the 3?  Sounds like you might listen to the 3, which would be sad.

ERIC BOLLING: Well, it really matters to me if the 97 were getting paid to tell me I had a lump on my lung, and it was bad.

(confused audience laughter)

You know, that is how doctors get paid, right?  You go to them, and then they charge you to diagnose and treat your problem.  Although, I think I've figured out where the lump is.  (looks at image of Eric Bolling)

All right, let's follow this climate science money.

ERIC BOLLING (1/4/2014): I gotta tell you, I think these scientists are laughing from their lavish laboratories, and their vacations up at the Arctic, in their nice boats that are well-equipped.

(shocked audience laughter)

This Arctic?  This lavish boat?

Yeah, that's the dream, man.  I remember thinking, when I get older, I'm gonna be taking one of them Arctic research cruises.  And monitor shit, 'cause all the ladies be like, "Damn, your readings are so accurate."  (audience laughter)

But I get it.  You can't trust these scientists, their judgment is clouded by money.  Why do you oppose these scientists?

NEIL CAVUTO (5/4/2013): I think it borders on lunacy that we commit billions — dare I say it, Charles — trillions of dollars to something that might not be.

STEVE FORBES (11/24/2012): This is simply another government attempt to extort money from businesses.

Ah, so the integrity and research of corporations saving millions of dollars by denying climate change is unimpeachable.  But keep an eye on those tricky global warming scientist thousand-aires.  I've never trusted them since I found out one of the elements on their Periodic Table — gold.  Pretty convenient!

Look, it seems like there's a simple way to solve this.  Just bring on someone whose opinion we all respect, and whose expertise in this field cannot be denied.

DONALD TRUMP (1/6/2014): This whole global warming hoax.

(Jon facepalms as audience bursts into laughter)

(in Jerry Lewis voice)  Nooooo!  Oh, the doctor is in!

DONALD TRUMP (1/6/2014): This winter is brutal!  I mean, I'm in New York right now, the airports were closed, everything's closed, it's freezing!

Oh!  So global warming must be a hoax.  Because, I mean, Mr. Trump would never conceal a bald-faced truth or go through any effort to hide when something's clearly receding over the years.  (scratches hair as audience laughs)

1/14 fox

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/01/07/1267926/-Jon-Stewart-blasts-climate-change-deniers-at-Fox-News

http://mediamatters.org/tags/stuart-varney

Fox Host Thinks Ice In Antarctica Shows "Global Cooling"

VIDEO ››› January 2, 2014 10:55 AM EST ››› MEDIA MATTERS STAFF

==

wiki

Stuart Varney (born July 7, 1949^[1] in Derby, Derbyshire, England) is a British economic journalist, and as of 2011, working for the Fox News Channel and the Fox Business Network. Varney joined Fox News in January, 2004 as a business contributor on many shows, such as Your World with Neil Cavuto. He also occasionally serves as guest host for Your World and the shows on the Cost of Freedom business block.

Varney graduated from the London School of Economics.^[1] He began his broadcast journalism career at KEMO-TV (nowKOFY-TV) in San Francisco.^[2] In 1980 he joined the Manhattan bureau of the newly founded CNN and hosted shows likeBusiness Day[disambiguation ^needed]^ and Business Asia^.[1][2]^ From 1999 to 2001, he hosted CNN’s Moneyline with Willow Bayand has also worked for CNBC. Varney is a regular panel member on the FOX business analysis and stock trade investment program Cashin' In.

Varney now hosts the show, "Varney & Co." on the Fox Business Network, which airs from 9:20 to 11 a.m. every weekday. Along with Varney, the show is also co-hosted by Charles Payne, Tracy Byrnes and Chris Cotter.

Varney generated controversy during the Tea Party-led lockout of 2013 by making inflammatory statements describing how he wanted to punish federal employees, describing how he was not sympathetic to the workers who were burdening him through his having to pay taxes for the service they provide. ^[3]^

In 2013 Varney became controversial for his commentary on Pope Francis, who made what Varney considered anti-free market statements.

Varney has lived in the United States since 1974. He previously lived in Wyckoff, New Jersey. He has lived in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey since 1994. He is married and has six children.^[1]

References

1. ^ :{Jump up to::(style="top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important"):}:^a ^b ^c ^d Rohan, Virginia (May 12, 2010). "British voice of American business". The Record. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
2. ^ :{Jump up to::(style="top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important"):}:^a ^b "Stuart Varney". Fox News. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
3. :{Jump up:(style="top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important"):}:^ "Fox's Varney on Furloughed Federal Employees: "I Want to Punish These People"". MediaMatters. Retrieved October 4, 2013.

External links

• Bio on FoxNews.com
• Bio on FoxBusiness.com
• Stuart Varney on Twitter

Categories: 

• 1949 births
• Living people
• American people of English descent
• American television reporters and correspondents
• American political pundits
• American broadcast news analysts
• Alumni of the London School of Economics
• English emigrants to the United States
• Fox Business Network
• People from Derby
• Hong Kong people
• Writers from San Francisco, California
• People from Franklin Lakes, New Jersey
• People from Wyckoff, New Jersey
• Fox News Channel people
• Conservatism in the United States