Faux "News" 3: Falling Out Of Favor With Trumpsters

[Cartmann99]

 

[Audrey2]

1 hour ago, Cartmann99 said:

 

So are we also going to prosecute the reindeer that ran over Grandma?

Seriously, Tucker, burning a Christmas tree is not a hate crime. While a tree might be a symbol of christmas, it's a secular symbol and not a religious symbol. And if you want to prosecute those burning Christmas trees, are you also going to prosecute those to burn up their Christmas tree after Christmas?

[Emma]

“Christmas” trees are totally pagan. WTF are they talking about?

[AnywhereButHere]

28 minutes ago, Emma said:

“Christmas” trees are totally pagan. WTF are they talking about?

I mean, it's nice to see Tucker being so inclusive and all... Someone should send him a note thanking him for his championship of religious diversity. His head might explode (much like the tree)! 😂

[GreyhoundFan]

Ainsely being Ainsely:

 

[Cartmann99]

 

[GreyhoundFan]

Good grief:

[Cartmann99]

Why would anybody make a special trip to see that tacky thing?

[Cartmann99]

Fox News Contributor Compares Christmas Tree Fire to Pearl Harbor

Quote

A day after Fox News’ artificial Christmas tree was set on fire, allegedly by a mentally ill homeless man, one of the network’s contributors on Thursday likened the torched holiday decoration to the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Following the arson attack on Fox News’ “All-American Christmas Tree” in the early hours of Wednesday morning, the network’s hosts have seemingly tried to outdo each other in describing the property damage in ever more dire terms.

While police have said the tree torching doesn’t appear to be politically motivated, that hasn’t stopped Fox personalities from labeling the fire a “hate crime,”—as well as an attack on Fox News, “America’s tree,” and Christianity.

But during the tree lighting ceremony for the rebuilt tree, which was carried live on Fox News’ highly rated late-afternoon show The Five, Fox News contributor Rev. Jacques DeGraff managed to outdo all of his network colleagues.

After the various hosts of the roundtable show made their remarks to the crowd, Fox News host Greg Gutfeld turned to DeGraff to say a few words to christen the new tree.

“Somebody asked me why are you here,” DeGraff bellowed. “I’m here because these colors do not run! Eighty years ago this week, they tried to extinguish the darkness in a place called Pearl Harbor. We didn’t fold then, and we will not fold now because we have come this far by faith!”

The attack on Pearl Harbor—which occurred on Dec. 7, 1941, and pushed America into World War II—killed 2,403 U.S. military personnel and an additional 68 civilians. There were no injuries, let alone deaths, involved in the tree at Fox News Square being set on fire.

Also, yes, DeGraff did say “extinguish the darkness.”

“In our tradition, we say, ‘This little light of mine,’” he added. “‘I’m going to let it shine!’ The red, the white, and the blue, and the light of America, we are going to let it shine.”

Continuing his prayer, DeGraff loudly declared that those gathered “have a faith that the fire cannot incinerate” and “bullies cannot frighten away.”

Drawing a loud roar of applause from the crowd, DeGraff ended his remarks by calling on God to “bless the greatest country on the planet,” prompting a stunned Cardinal Timothy Dolan—who also delivered a speech—to exclaim: “Way to go!”

Someone is going make bank selling t-shirts and sweatshirts with a picture of the burning tree, yesterday's date, and the slogan "Never Again!" to the adherents of Faux News Christianity.

[Cartmann99]

 

[47of74]

27 minutes ago, Cartmann99 said:

Fox News Contributor Compares Christmas Tree Fire to Pearl Harbor

Someone is going make bank selling t-shirts and sweatshirts with a picture of the burning tree, yesterday's date, and the slogan "Never Again!" to the adherents of Faux News Christianity.

He's not the only Faux News blowhole getting fucking stupid about the fire;

Quote

Throughout the day on Wednesday, a number of hosts, pundits and guests on Fox spoke at length about the tree fire, comparing it to other instances of vandalism in the country and tying it to rising crime rates over the last year. 

"The judge could have found a way to keep him locked up if he felt he was a threat to society," Brian Kilmeade, a host of "Fox & Friends," said on Thursday morning of Tamanaha, who has been released on bail. "Who says it's not a hate crime against us, against Fox News?" 

 

[Audrey2]

2 hours ago, 47of74 said:

He's not the only Faux News blowhole getting fucking stupid about the fire;

 

But have the guy who allegedly started the tree fire started it by shooting it and somehow causing it to catch fire that way then all would be forgiven and all we need to do is send thoughts and prayers.

[Botkinetti]

They must have been thrilled to have something new to blow out of all proportion and rail against. 

[47of74]

Meghan McCain hopped on the war on Christmas bandwagon. 

Quote

Meghan McCain got a reality check Wednesday after blasting out a not-so-hot take about the Fox News Christmas tree that went up in flames.

“I don’t want to hear anything about how radical some of you believe republicans to be when there are lunatics running around New York City setting Fox News Christmas tree on fire,” the conservative pundit wrote.

McCain deleted her tweet on Wednesday after critics observed she appeared to be conflating alleged arson of one tree with Republican extremism ― which, beyond the Jan. 6 insurrection led by a pro-Trump mob, has recently seen one sitting GOP lawmaker post an anime video depicting himself slashing Democrats and another suggest her Muslim colleague is a suicide bomber.

 

[47of74]

Something this made me think of too was the fire that destroyed St. Raphel's Cathedral in Madison, Wisconsin almost 17 years ago.  Was it some anti-Catholic extremist trying to stick it to the church?  Nope.  It was a mentally ill homeless guy.  Did the church go all out and start going on about how this was the devil at work, or an attack by activists?  No.  They waited until they knew what happened and didn't try to spin it in any way.  Say what y'all want about the Roman church and I can say a lot but they didn't do what Faux News did and try to whip up their parishioners into a frenzy. 

[GreyhoundFan]

This is a good one from the Washington Post: "‘We will not be defeated’: 36 hours of Fox News covering its own Christmas tree fire"

Quote

For more than 36 hours after a 50-foot-tall Christmas tree outside Fox News’s Manhattan headquarters was set on fire, the cable news channel covered the event as a major story worthy of intense reporting and heated commentary that frequently cast the bizarre crime as an example of growing lawlessness, left-wing violence, hostility toward religion or the chaos caused by underfunded police departments.

On Wednesday, every Fox News show referenced the attack on the company’s “All-American Christmas Tree,” a metal frame covered in branches and decorations — 10,000 glass ornaments, 100,000 lights — that took over 21 hours to assemble.

Police quickly arrested a 49-year-old man they described as homeless, and the city’s police commissioner offered mental illness as a possible motivation. From its early reports, though, Fox News’s on-air team framed the tree burning within the context of a broader story that has been a continuous theme on the network, particularly during the Biden administration: an argument that criminality is on the rise in the United States.

“As some progressives downplay and even deny the existence of a crime crisis, we’re seeing it firsthand in New York City, as it shows up on our very own doorstep,” co-host Todd Piro said during his 4 a.m. news hour Wednesday. “This is what happens when you have a lawless city.”

“If he was arrested last night, is he going to be still in jail today? Or will they release him?” co-host Carley Shimkus wondered aloud before expressing concern about what she called “crazy” bail-reform laws.

The popular “Fox & Friends” morning show led each of its three hours with updates on the tree, with co-host Steve Doocy’s brief attempts at levity (“It’s beginning to look a lot like arson,” he crooned) quickly slapped down by his colleague Ainsley Earhardt. “Who sets a Christmas tree on fire?” she asked. “So sad. No more music. No more tree. Infuriating. … It’s a tree that unites us, that brings us together. It’s about the Christmas spirit. It is about the holiday season. It’s about Jesus. It’s about Hanukkah. It is about everything we stand for as a country … It makes me so mad.”

“This city is so out-of-control,” fretted co-host Brian Kilmeade. “How soon till this psycho is out again to burn somebody else’s tree down, or grab some weapon and harass somebody in the subway? This is emblematic of crime that’s hitting in places you never would expect.”

Even as correspondent Lawrence Jones noted that the crime might have been random and not targeted at the network, Earhardt struck a defiant tone. “Someone did this to spoil our Christmas, but that’s not going to happen,” she declared, after the company announced plans for a replacement tree to be lit Thursday afternoon. “You can’t burn us down.”

Later Wednesday morning, anchor Dana Perino showed viewers a live shot of crews cleaning up the charred remains. “It was terrible to wake up to,” she said, but “we will not be defeated.” Fox News correspondent Eric Shawn reported from outside the building, explaining that the suspect would face charges including criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and arson.

“No one can burn down the spirit of Christmas, or destroy our resilience,” anchor Harris Faulkner said during the 11 a.m. hour. “A new tree is on the way. It will be brighter and more beautiful than ever.” At 2 p.m., anchor Sandra Smith showed video of the replacement tree being assembled.

A mug shot of the suspect, Craig Tamanaha, was displayed on screen multiple times throughout the day. “Fire bug little bastard,” declared host Lisa Kennedy Montgomery during the afternoon panel show “Outnumbered.” “Amen,” concurred co-host Emily Compagno.

Greg Gutfeld offered a somewhat nuanced view on the network’s 5 p.m. panel show, arguing that the incident “represents the kind of random violence that is fueled by mental illness that has become pretty much part of every day city life,” as well as proof that “we have abandoned the deranged.” But host Jeanine Pirro shut him down.

“Everybody wants to say, ‘Oh, they’re mentally ill, they’re crazy.’ I think they’re evil,” Pirro retorted. “The bottom line here is: the left is lying to us, and that’s why this is happening.”

At 7 p.m., host Tammy Bruce struck a cautionary note: “Don’t worry about us at Fox News,” she said. “We’re fine. We are rebuilding our tree. … But these are the benefits of being a major corporation. Most Americans don’t have this luxury.” As she spoke, an on-screen graphic read “THE LEFT WANTS YOU TO BE AFRAID.”

Was it a bit much? So argued Richard Goodstein, a Democratic strategist and frequent Fox News guest, during a Thursday-morning appearance during which he chided that Fox News should “put as much energy into decrying the anti-vaxxers,” noting the death toll from coronavirus.

“You don’t have your facts straight,” anchor Harris Faulkner shot back. “It’s not personal, but you made it personal.”

There was more tree talk through Wednesday night. Tucker Carlson led his 8 p.m. show with a declaration that “torching Christmas trees is an attack on Christianity” and argued that the Justice Department should inventory and classify such incidents as a hate crime, citing blazes in Chicago and Oakland. He described the suspect as “yet another criminal set free by left-wing ideologues to terrorize everyone else,” and criticized New York Times’ coverage of the fire. Whereas Sean Hannity an hour later linked the tree fire to “defund” movements advocating to redirect some police funding. “Unfortunately it’s one of many examples of just how weak, far-left crime policies are leaving so many cities less safe, less secure, all over the country.”

Geraldo Rivera turned up to call the suspect a “creep” and wondered if he intended to kill people. Kayleigh McEnany, the former Trump White House press secretary, called him a “craven, maniacal psychopath.” During his 11 p.m. comedy show, Gutfeld took a swipe at rival network CNN, joking that the tree “went up in smoke faster than Chris Cuomo’s career.”

But the on-air mood was grim again by Thursday morning, as the co-hosts of “Fox & Friends” reported that Tamanaha had been released pending a court date next month.

“No judge could find a way to keep this guy locked up. It’s unbelievable,” Kilmeade said Thursday. “He’s a threat to society. … Who says it’s not a hate crime against us? Against Fox News?”

 

[smittykins]

12 hours ago, Cartmann99 said:

 

She quoted the same Founding Fathers who decided that slaves were three-fifths of a person.

[Cartmann99]

1 hour ago, GreyhoundFan said:

Was it a bit much? So argued Richard Goodstein, a Democratic strategist and frequent Fox News guest, during a Thursday-morning appearance during which he chided that Fox News should “put as much energy into decrying the anti-vaxxers,” noting the death toll from coronavirus.

“You don’t have your facts straight,” anchor Harris Faulkner shot back. “It’s not personal, but you made it personal.”

The above exchange:

 

[AnywhereButHere]

2 hours ago, 47of74 said:

Meghan McCain hopped on the war on Christmas bandwagon. 

 

It's the time of year again when my company gives out gifts to the building staff. I'm responsible for buying the cards for said gifts. So once again it is time for my yearly rant regarding the "War on Christmas". Megan - are you listening? Once again, I have found myself sitting on the floor (and I am way too old for that) in my local CVS (after having been through two grocery stores and three other drugstores and freaking Amazon) digging through cards from their restock pile, because I cannot find enough gift cards that say Happy Holidays and do not mention Christmas. It's the season of giving, Megan. This means giving to everyone, not just those who are "Christian" enough for you. Some may not be Christian at all. Some of these people may be coworkers who are covering shifts for you, so that you can enjoy your Christmas with your family. These people all deserve a gift without having a holiday that doesn't pertain to them shoved down their throat. There are a few holidays this time of year, and getting a generic happy holidays card should not be a big ask. There is certainly no dearth of cards that say Merry Christmas, be they cute, funny, serious, religious. I found one generic holiday card. It has a penguin in a hat rolling a peppermint candy, and it has a cheesy, rhyming poem inside. It's childish and not entirely appropriate for grown adults, but it's what there was. If there is a war, you idiots are winning the card battle. So, Megan - the next one of you who comes at me with the war on Christmas shit - you are getting a Christmas tree shoved up your ass. 

Rant over. And thank you for coming to my talk. 

[Cartmann99]

 

[47of74]

I'd call Peter Doocy a fucking idiot but that would be insulting to fucking idiots.

 

[Cartmann99]

 

[SassyPants]

Good Lord the texts from all those FOX news allies from January 6th and DJT Jr to Mark Meadows asking him to intervene with Trump to STOP the activities at the capitol. 

[Cartmann99]

[Cartmann99]