“It’s almost as laughable as accusing Fox News as being … news!”

The Fox News segment Kermit and Miss Piggy are responding to (in the video below) can be watched here, and you can see it’s a rather innocuous and perfectly valid discussion about the culture. As a response, and nearly a week after the segment aired, the Fox-hating entertainment media (which is all of them) viralized the clip, blew the controversy up into something it really wasn’t, and did so because they find it impossible to turn down an opportunity to prove they’re one of the minions in the club.

What effectively happened, though, is a week-old Fox Business segment was consequently amplified into the news narrative, which turned the new Muppet film into a political and partisan football. Only our wildly out-of-touch entertainment media minions would think this is a good thing, and as a consequence, a well-reviewed film that opened above expectations entered the divisive culture and political wars and didn’t do anywhere near as well at the box office as some had expected and hoped.

That, however, wasn’t the fault of the Muppets.That was the immature, clubby entertainment media. The video below, though, puts the Muppets themselves into this controversy, which will only further alienate a very large segment of their audience:

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You have to wonder if Steve Banen has children and, if so, how he might feel sitting in a theater that promoted the National Rifle Association, exposed the lie that is Global Warming, or mocked Barack Obama as the failure he is. Because, you know, Banen doesn’t see anything wrong with sucker punching parents with political messaging in films advertised as innocent children’s fare.

This, however, says it all:

For the record, I’ve never seen or read any of the entertainment these conservatives don’t like, so I’m not really in a position to defend the content. But when far-right Fox personalities perceive secret political messages from the Muppets, it’s a reminder that conservatives sometimes have too much time on their hands.

On principle, I guess, you can oppose conservatives warning parents about the content in movies. But it’s an indefensible principle.

Leftists hate that parents now have the information they need to go around Hollywood’s left-wing propaganda machine. That same hate drives their opposition to home schooling. It’s just a fact that the left wants our kids for those 180 days a year to brainwash them into the next generation’s Occupy Wall Street.

If you’ve been watching, the whole of the entertainment media is currently in full mockery mode over the controversy surrounding the new Muppet movie, but that’s just a symptom of their frustration and a desire to pretend they’re not frustrated. You see, the left feels entitled to the culture and, any loss of power or control freaks them out in the same way a single right-of-center cable news channel in a sea of liberalism freaks them out.

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Wouldn’t it be a hoot if those rascally Fox News types blasted the beloved Muppets as Communists?

Kermit the frog is green, not red, Bill O’Reilly!

The folks over at The Huffington Post turned a sensible critique of how the new “Muppets” movie maligns the oil industry into an attack on Fox News. And, wouldn’t you know it, a late night talker took the bait.

Conan O’Brien was only too happy to keep the dishonest story alive on last night’s episode of his TBS talker “Conan.”

Why not trot out a few late night gags rather than address the real issue – children’s movies repeatedly peddle left-of-center messages to viewers? And if you think that doesn’t have an impact, you haven’t been around a toddler recently. They absorb everything.

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What are we supposed to expect from an industry that defends and honors fugitive and admitted child rapist Roman Polanski?

If you can’t bring yourself to condemn someone who drugged and anally raped a 13 year-old girl, you are part of the problem.

Moreover, if you want to know how Hollywood feels about sex with children, you can start by watching their films.

Fox News:

If a spate of recent allegations proves true, Hollywood may have a hideous epidemic on its hands. The past two weeks have brought three separate reports of alleged child sexual abuse in the entertainment industry.

Martin Weiss, a 47-year-old Hollywood manager who represented child actors, was charged in Los Angeles on Dec. 1 with sexually abusing a former client. His accuser, who was under 12 years old during the time of the alleged abuse, reported to authorities that Weiss told him “what they were doing was common practice in the entertainment industry.” Weiss has pleaded not guilty.

On Nov. 21, Fernando Rivas, 59, an award-winning composer for “Sesame Street,” was arraigned on charges of coercing a child “to engage in sexually explicit conduct” in South Carolina. The Juilliard-trained composer was also charged with production and distribution of child pornography.

Registered sex offender Jason James Murphy, 35, worked as a casting agent in Hollywood for years before his past kidnapping and sexual abuse of a boy was revealed by the Los Angeles Times on Nov. 17. Murphy’s credits include placing young actors in kid-friendly fare like “Bad News Bears,” “The School of Rock,” “Cheaper by the Dozen 2” and the forthcoming “Three Stooges.”

Revelations of this sort come as no surprise to former child star Corey Feldman.

Feldman, 40, himself a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, unflinchingly warned of the world of pedophiles who are drawn to the entertainment industry last August. “I can tell you that the No. 1 problem in Hollywood was and is and always will be pedophilia,” Feldman told ABC’s Nightline. “That’s the biggest problem for children in this industry… It’s the big secret.”

Another child star from an earlier era agrees that Hollywood has long had a problem with pedophilia. “When I watched that interview, a whole series of names and faces from my history went zooming through my head,” Paul Peterson, 66, star of The Donna Reed Show, a sitcom popular in the 1950s and 60s, and president of A Minor Consideration, tells FOXNews.com. “Some of these people, who I know very well, are still in the game.”

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Oscar-winning film producer Harvey Weinstein entered Bill O’Reilly’s “No Spin Zone” last night, and the grouchy executive may still be spinning as you read this.

Weinstein was there to support some of his recent films, including the Oscar-bait biopic “My Week with Marilyn,” but the Fox News host opened with a salvo of political questions.

The longtime Democratic supporter took the bait, first waving away concern about President Barack Obama’s falling poll numbers – “they go up and down,” he says in a calm, dismissive tone – and then saying the president will breeze to re-election.

Then, the Obama worship really began in earnest.

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Big Media Earnings Set To ‘Decelerate Sharply’ In 2013 As TV Becomes A Zero-Sum Game

1. Digital platforms (like streaming) are hurting broadcast and cable networks:

As costs rise, TV producers can’t expect to keep generating more cash from licensing agreements with digital streaming providers such as Netflix and Amazon. “Netflix may become more conservative in pursuing future content deals” to steady itself — the company saw thousands of subscribers bolt following the decision in July to raise prices by 60% for those who want to continue to stream videos and rent DVDs. Even if streamers are willing to pay, programmers may want to back off. They’re starting to see evidence that digital platforms take viewers away from traditional broadcast and cable channels.

2. People are sick of paying for cable channels they don’t want:

Programmers also can’t count on cable and satellite distributors to bail them out with higher affiliate payments. They’re eager to maintain their own profit margins, and worry that if they pass higher costs along to consumers then it will drive away even more subscribers. That’s why they’re talking about dropping weak channels or offering customers low-cost packages that don’t include sports services. Owners of “must have” channels probably will still be able to get what they want[.]

And the only reason this bloodletting won’t occur until 2013 is due to the billions that will be spent on political advertising in 2012.

Bottom line: people are sick and tired of paying for programming they don’t watch and/or despise. Why am I paying for MSNBC? Why am I paying for LOGO, E!,  and OWN? I wouldn’t watch those channels on a bet. And to pay my satellite provider $50 a month just to watch Fox News and the occasional football game is outrageous.

My contract with Dish expires in 18 months. I intend to cancel it and get my entertainment from the Internet, Netflix Streaming, Blockbuster, and my embarrassingly large DVD collection. And if I have to wait a year to catch up on a season of “Mad Men” or another “zeitgeist” show, I’ll wait.

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The Fox News Channel offers a brisk alternative to mainstream news reportage, allowing conservatives the kind of voice they don’t get on CNN, MSNBC or the Big Three Networks.

Some would call that a measure of balance. Adam Levine, the lead singer of Maroon 5, thinks it’s letting evil infiltrate the airwaves.

The rocker wasn’t too pleased, apparently, to hear his band’s music recently on the cable news outlet, and he shared his outrage with his Twitter followers.

Via Adam Levine’s authorized Twitter account:

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Maybe Mark Ruffalo is spending too much time on movie sets these days.

The intense actor, best known for his work in ‘The Kids Are All Right’ and ‘You Can Count on Me,’ is under the delusion his fellow actors could lose gigs if they embrace liberal causes like Occupy Wall Street. He told The Hollywood Reporter that celebrities who show up at the protests in New York City could be putting their paychecks at risk:

Ruffalo suspects a large number of celebrities who privately support the Occupy Wall Street critique are wary of publicly expressing that sentiment. They are “afraid for their job, afraid to speak out, afraid they’re going to lose work.” Plus, he adds, “Who needs the headache of being attacked by Fox News or Rush Limbaugh?”

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All these millionaire celebrities running around begging to have their taxes raised are nothing more than hypocritical posers. How many pursue write-offs every year? How many donate the amount of money they say they want to pay in taxes to the Treasury — which is a very, very easy thing  to do.

Whatever happened to live the change you want?

Newsbusters:

As FNC’s Geraldo Rivera appeared in New York City for his Geraldo at Large show on Sunday night to give attention to the Occupy Wall Street protests, participant and music mogul Russell Simmons sparred with FBN’s Charles Payne after Simmons complained that his taxes were too low and claimed that his employees pay more taxes then he does.

When Payne jumped in to suggest, “you could have written an extra check,” Simmons shot back: “Why am I gonna write a, that’s a dumb thing.”

Payne mocked Simmons’s refusal by cracking, “Because you feel patriotic.”

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NBC Sports:

Though ESPN’s decision to yank Hank Williams, Jr. from the opening theme music to Monday Night Football initially seemed to be a one-week suspension, it’s a little more permanent than that.

OK, it’s a lot more permanent than that.

ESPN has parted ways with Williams. The network announced the decision on Thursday, via John Ourand of SportsBusiness Journal.

“We have decided to part ways with Hank Williams, Jr.,” ESPN said in a statement. “We appreciate his contributions over the past years. The success of Monday Night Football has always been about the games and that will continue.”‬‬

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Hank Williams Jr. was on “Fox and Friends” Monday morning and said this:

He was promptly sacked from last night’s broadcast of Monday Night Football:

Hank Williams, Jr., the voice famous for asking millions of football fans whether they’re ready for some football, has been pulled from tonight’s broadcast of “Monday Night Football” over a comment he made on Fox News this morning.

Williams, who sings the lead-in song to the game each week, criticized the president for his golf summit with House Speaker John Boehner this summer.

“It would be like Hitler playing golf with (Israeli leader) Benjamin Netanyahu,” Williams told “Fox & Friends.”

USA Today, among others, picked up the quote, speculating on whether the comparison would get Williams booted from the broadcast .

This afternoon, ESPN released a statement to the affirmative:

“While Hank Williams, Jr. is not an ESPN employee, we recognize that he is closely linked to our company through the open to Monday Night Football. We are extremely disappointed with his comments, and as a result we have decided to pull the open from tonight’s telecast.”

ESPN was fine when its Las Vegas radio affiliate joked about, and seemingly advocated for, the rape of Sarah Palin just a few weeks ago.

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Breaking News: Too much “Spongebob Squarepants” is bad for your kids. Yes, it’s true. The professionals have proven this.

Angeline Lillard and Jennifer Peterson from the University of Virginia’s department of psychology wanted to see “whether a fast paced television show immediately influences preschool-aged children’s executive function (eg. self-regulation, working memory).” The children who chose to watch “SpongeBob” instead of “Caillou” (a slow-paced cartoon on PBS meant for preschoolers) or drawing, performed poorly on tests, which included puzzles and counting backwards.

Of course Nickelodeon responded, and I agree with them. Why would these women choose “SpongeBob?” SpongeBob is not meant for preschoolers and therefore it’s not an appropriate show to use for a test. Plus the kids only saw nine minutes of the program. Shouldn’t they watch the entire episode? The researchers also polled the parents before and asked if their kids had a normal attention span. The Nickelodeon executive raises a good point when she wonders why any parent would admit their child doesn’t have a normal attention span. Honestly, I think I’d lie about that too.

Remember my post on “Sesame Street?” What’s the best way to push an agenda? CHILDREN. After all, how can you possibly argue when children are in danger? Dr. Dimitri Christakis says this study gives credence to the idea that media exposure is a public health issue. No, Doctor. Polio is a public health issue. Not “SpongeBob SquarePants.”

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Few things make us happier than “Factor” producer Jesse Watters, a video camera, and a hypocritical Obama-supporting celebrity:

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Anyone who thinks conservatives can’t rock it out has clearly not come across Jeremy Dodge – a conservative activist with attitude and an abundance of talent.  When Jeremy first joined BigDawg Music Mafia and shared his Tea Party hit I Am American and Stand Up, the fans couldn’t get enough.  The demand from fans for more has Jeremy back in the studio as we “speak” working on some new songs which will, no doubt, be every bit as kickin’ as his others.

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As with the majority of the conservative artists in the Tea Party movement, Jeremy has been traveling around the country performing on his own dime and as many fellow musicians know, studio time costs a pretty penny.  Jeremy has set up a project page where fans can participate in the production of his new songs by helping defray some of his costs, getting a few “thank you” goodies in return, and even a shout-out in his video.

Here’s what Jeremy has to say about how he got started in music and how he ended up using his talents to wake his fellow Americans up:

Nothing makes me happier than watching others treat Jon Stewart as the political, left-wing partisan that he is. This is EXACTLY how our side should be responding to Stewart: fighting back and giving as good as we get. Nothing less than our country is at stake, 2012 matters more than I can even begin to express, and Stewart has pretty much had free reign for years to define who in our political world is dumb, evil, racist, or all three — and it’s no coincidence that the dumb, evil racists are almost always Republican stars.

Yes, Stewart goes after Democrats. But only when they’re caught in a scandal that can’t be ignored or not being liberal enough. And Stewart almost never goes after Democrat stars in a way that undermines or negatively defines them. 

Jon Stewart is a left-wing hatchet man disguised as a satirist and that disguise is one of his most potent weapons. Below you’ll see Steven Crowder and Herman Cain do the honorable work of starting to pull that disguise off of him.

I’m especially happy to see Fox News no longer taking Stewart’s dishonest attacks lying down.  As Glenn Reynolds might say: More, please. Marginalizing and exposing Stewart for what he is, is (hyperbole warning!) good for America. 

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Stewart tries to inoculate himself from charges he’s obsessed by joking about being obsessed, but, uhm, yeah.

If Hollywood supporters of President Spread-The-Wealth — specifically Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire – allegedly participated in alleged high-stakes poker games and allegedly won alleged money, did any of them report their alleged winnings to the IRS? Or, if they were concerned about the alleged illegality of these alleged high-stakes poker games, did they blindly donate the appropriate tax-the-rich portion to the treasury?

Greg Pollowitz at NRO:

Interesting. Maybe the next time Maguire is in D.C. for a photo-op with President Obama, he can explain to the president why he’s exempt from paying his fair share of taxes on the winnings — you know, to spread the wealth — or stop by the I.R.S. and drop off a check. 

Fox News reports on other potential legal problems:

Aside from Maguire, RadarOnline reported that entertainment industry power players such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon also tried their hand in the high-stakes game, and that the illicit enterprise was still taking place in the home of a top Hollywood producer.

The Los Angeles Police Department did not immediately respond to our request for comment regarding whether or not an investigation was pending, however it seems these big names could all be in big trouble should legal proceedings escalate.

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Last night, Jon Stewart addressed the fact check of his claim that Fox News viewers are consistently the most misinformed about politics compared to the audiences of other news networks and shows– in “every poll,” he said. Though much of the conservative blogosphere went to town on that bunk claim right away, the backlash against Stewart found a rallying point in an article by the normally left-leaning Politifact:

So we have three Pew studies that superficially rank Fox viewers low on the well-informed list, but in several of the surveys, Fox isn’t the lowest, and other general-interest media outlets — such as network news shows, network morning shows and even the other cable news networks — often score similarly low. Meanwhile, particular Fox shows — such as The O’Reilly Factor and Sean Hannity’s show — actually score consistently well, occasionally even outpacing Stewart’s own audience.

Meanwhile, the other set of knowledge surveys, from worldpublicopinion.org, offer mixed support for Stewart. The 2003 survey strikes us as pretty solid, but the 2010 survey has been critiqued for its methodology.

The way Stewart phrased the comment, it’s not enough to show a sliver of evidence that Fox News’ audience is ill-informed. The evidence needs to support the view that the data shows they are “consistently” misinformed — a term he used not once but three times. It’s simply not true that “every poll” shows that result. So we rate his claim False.

Stewart’s response…

In short: “Yes, I lied, but look at how much Fox lies!”

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In the past I’ve made my distaste for MSM fact-checkers pretty clear. No one owns the truth, no one has the right to declare what is and isn’t true. Certainly, some things are objectively true, but too often these self-appointed MSM fact-checkers are used by others in the mainstream media as cover to pretend they’re objective as they intentionally and dishonestly taint our side as liars. See: panels, death.  As Mickey Kaus writes, Politifact “has no place in an open, honest democratic debate.” I couldn’t agree more. Furthermore, the more our side can work neutralize them prior to 2012, the safer our democracy will be.  What sites like these can be useful for, however, is a place for research and analysis that allows you to come to your own conclusion.

And so in the case of Jon Stewart’s repeated claims on last week’s Fox News Sunday that “every poll” proves that Fox News viewers are the “most consistently misinformed,” the Daily Show host was either misinformed himself or just making something up to save his uncharacteristically defensive ass from a near-trainwreck of an interview that likely did his brand little good:

On the June 19, 2011, edition of Fox News Sunday, comedian Jon Stewart — host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central — sat down for an interview with Chris Wallace. Many readers asked us to review one of his claims. …

So we have three Pew studies that superficially rank Fox viewers low on the well-informed list, but in several of the surveys, Fox isn’t the lowest, and other general-interest media outlets — such as network news shows, network morning shows and even the other cable news networks — often score similarly low. Meanwhile, particular Fox shows — such as The O’Reilly Factor and Sean Hannity’s show — actually score consistently well, occasionally even outpacing Stewart’s own audience.

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