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| Hugh Hewitt: Memo to Arianna: Stop being silly |
| 2010-02-08 |
| Yesterday's joint appearance with Arianna Huffington on CNN's "Reliable Sources," hosted by the estimable Howard Kurtz, gave me a chance to tell Arianna in person what most people think about her crusade against the Fox News Channel: It is silly. silly (sl) adj. sillier, silliest 1. Exhibiting a lack of wisdom or good sense; foolish. See Synonyms at foolish. Her focus on a word here and a phrase there is silly. 2. Lacking seriousness or responsibleness; frivolous: indulged in silly word play; silly pet names for each other. The warning that Glenn Beck or others are "inciting" the public and that this is dangerous is silly. 3. Semiconscious; dazed: knocked silly by the impact. The program also gave me the opportunity to say on television what I often say on radio: If I had it in my power, I'd give Keith Olbermann a 24/7 cable channel because he does more good for the center-right than almost anyone in America. counterproductive (ko̵unt′ər prə duk′tiv) adjective bringing about effects or results regarded as contrary to those intended His wild-eyed craziness combined with obvious lack of knowledge about so many things make him an advertisement for conservatism, and I really hope he survives his ratings plummet. lunatic (ln-tk) adj. 1. Suffering from lunacy; insane. 2. Of or for the insane. 3. Wildly or giddily foolish: a lunatic decision. 4. Characterized by lunacy or eccentricity. He's the perfect example of a prompter-dependant sports announcer-turned-political commentator who digs a hole for the Left every night. Long may he broadcast. incompetent Pronunciation: /(ˌ)in-ˈkäm-pə-tənt/ Function: adjective Etymology: Middle French incompétent, from in- + compétent competent Date: 1595 1 : not legally qualified 2 : inadequate to or unsuitable for a particular purpose 3 a : lacking the qualities needed for effective action b : unable to function properly But what I really enjoyed saying the most was the obvious: The Beltway-Manhattan media elite still cannot figure out Fox for the same reason they can't figure out Rush or Sarah Palin. gormless Pronunciation: /ˈgȯrm-ləs/ Function: adjective Etymology: alteration of English dial. gaumless, from gaum attention, understanding (from Middle English gome, from Old Norse gaum, gaumr) + -less Date: 1883 chiefly British : lacking intelligence : stupid They are elitists who long ago lost touch with the center of American opinion and who have no way of finding their way back again because they continue to staff up with a lethal (for ratings) combination of privileged execs, liberal-to-left-wing writers and producers, and know-nothing teleprompter readers. groupthink Pronunciation: /ˈgrüp-ˌthiŋk/ Function: noun Etymology: group + -think (as in doublethink) Date: 1952 : a pattern of thought characterized by self-deception, forced manufacture of consent, and conformity to group values and ethics What Roger Ailes has figured out that results in the cable ratings domination by Beck, "Special Report," Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly and Greta Van Susteren is not string theory. string theory (strĭng´ thē`ô`rŷ) n. 1. (Physics) A mathematical theory for describing the properties of fundamental particles, which represents the particles as one-dimensional string-like objects, which exist in the normal four dimensions of space-time plus additional dimensions, the total dimensions being ten, eleven, or twenty-six depending on the version of the theory. The properties of fundamental particles in string theory and their manner of interaction with each other depend upon the modes of vibration of the strings. The attractiveness of this theory rests in part on its ability to provide a unified treatment of gravity as well as the three other basic forces of nature, in a manner consistent with quantum mechanics. The great difficulty of doing the calculations required by the theory, however, has thus far (1999) made it impossible to calculate the observable properties, such as the mass, of known particles, such as the electron, proton, mesons, quarks, and neutron; thus there is as yet no experimental verification for the theory. The most popular version of the theory depends on a mathematical property called supersymmetry, and the theory derived form this principle is properly called superstring theory, a term which is often used interchangeably with string theory. It begins with respect for the audience as opposed to contempt, and then adds in good humor and balance. The "Special Report" panel is the best panel in the business because it always has at least one smart and well-read lefty on it. Hannity's Great American Panel is the same. fairness n. Synonyms: fair1, just1, equitable, impartial, unprejudiced, unbiased, objective, dispassionate These adjectives mean free from favoritism, self-interest, or preference in judgment. Fair is the most general: a fair referee; a fair deal. Just stresses conformity with what is legally or ethically right or proper: "a just and lasting peace" (Abraham Lincoln). Equitable implies justice dictated by reason, conscience, and a natural sense of what is fair: an equitable distribution of gifts among the children. Impartial emphasizes lack of favoritism: "the cold neutrality of an impartial judge" (Edmund Burke). Unprejudiced means without preconceived opinions or judgments: an unprejudiced evaluation of the proposal. Unbiased implies absence of a preference or partiality: gave an unbiased account of her family problems. Objective implies detachment that permits impersonal observation and judgment: an objective jury. Dispassionate means free from or unaffected by strong emotions: a dispassionate reporter. Rarely if ever will you find a Fox anchor using the term "tea bagger" because to do so is to insult the millions of activists involved in the past year of town halls, demonstrations and debates, but also those who know them and beyond that those who are interested in what they have to say. insult Pronunciation: /in-ˈsəlt/ Function: verb Etymology: Middle French or Latin; Middle French insulter, from Latin insultare, literally, to spring upon, from in- + saltare to leap -- more at saltation Date: 1540 intransitive verb archaic : to behave with pride or arrogance : vaunt transitive verb : to treat with insolence, indignity, or contempt : affront; also : to affect offensively or damagingly And you will find Fox covering the president's stumbles and the stories about the administration's rising tide of failure. The MSM has an enormous double standard -- imagine if Palin had mispronounced the word corpsman twice in her address Saturday night or her interview with Chris Wallace on Sunday morning -- and that double standard first astonishes and then offends. offend Pronunciation: ə-ˈfend Function: verb Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French offendre, from Latin offendere to strike against, offend, from ob- against + -fendere to strike -- more at ob-, defend Date: 14th century intransitive verb 1 a : to transgress the moral or divine law : sin 2 a : to cause difficulty, discomfort, or injury transitive verb 1 a : violate, transgress b : to cause pain to : hurt 2 obsolete : to cause to sin or fall 3 : to cause to feel vexation or resentment usually by violation of what is proper or fitting The refusal to cover comprehensively the president's year of serial pratfalls and his risible reflex to blame Bush confirmed for a vast segment of the American audience that the MSM remains just as in the tank for President Obama as it was for candidate Obama. When the networks cease to be infomercials for the president, they might win over some of Fox's broad and growing audience. pimp Pronunciation: /ˈpimp/ Function: noun Etymology: probably akin to British dial. pimp small bundle of sticks, Middle English pymple papule, German Pimpf young boy, kid, literally, little fart, Pumpf, Pumps fart Date: 1600 : a man who solicits clients for a prostitute There is no reason why MSMBC and CNN have to lag so far behind Fox. The audience is up for grabs every single night in America. There is no "brand loyalty" in the world of cable news. But to compete, you have to at least try to be fair and balanced. Or you at least have to be talented and smart. dumbass - Noun 1. a stupid person; these words are used to express a low opinion of someone's intelligence: blockhead, bonehead, dunce, dunderhead, fuckhead, hammerhead, knucklehead, loggerhead, lunkhead, muttonhead, numskull, shithead, dolt, dullard, pillock, poor fish, pudden-head, pudding head, stupe, stupid, stupid person - a person who is not very bright; "The economy, stupid!" |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #5 Arianna Huffington == Twit Why does anybody on the planet take her in any seriousness.... Hell, ARNOLD, wiped her right out of a special election in the LEFT COAST! She's a TWIT! End of Story!! |
| Posted by: 3dc 2010-02-08 23:04 |
| #4 Im just saying this article is chicken soup for my soul. |
| Posted by: GirlThursday 2010-02-08 21:58 |
| #3 But what I really enjoyed saying the most was the obvious: The Beltway-Manhattan media elite still cannot figure out Fox for the same reason they can't figure out Rush or Sarah Palin. If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle. - Sun Tzu |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2010-02-08 12:07 |
| #2 Meant more "D"s than "R"s |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2010-02-08 11:49 |
| #1 The way I see the cable news problem is as if someone went out and did a survey of people. They discover that 51% of the people are Democrats (this us just to get the point across the numbers aren't right, but just to illustrate there are more Rs than Ds). So every single one of them starts news operations that pander to people left of center. Now imagine someone doing a survey and found that 51% of the people prefer chicken to burgers and so 25 chicken joints open in your town. Also imagine that they all have exactly the same menu provided by Associated Chicken. Now imagine some wise individual opens a burger joint. You have 25 chicken joints competing for 51% and one burger joint that has 49% all to itself. CNN doesn't really compete with Fox, they compete for MSNBC and the network news audiences. Fox's market share don't like CNN and MSNBC's product. It insults them, it alienates them, calls them stupid. Ailes is a smart man. Arianna comes across as patronizing, condescending, self-promoting, and too clever by half. |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2010-02-08 11:48 |