VIDEO: GOP state lawmaker accused of plagiarizing Washington Times’ editorial

By GottaLaff

Could this be any more obvious?

Tsk tsk tsk. This can't end well.

But hey, they're just words, right? Wrong:

Rep. Matt Wingard [a state representative in Oregon], who has a degree in broadcast journalism, admitted on Monday that he lifted his speech from an editorial entitled "Osama and Obama on global warming," which sought to link Osama bin Laden's recent declaration on global warming to the US president's policies. [...]

Wingard reportedly also lifted several paragraphs from columnist Margaret Wente in Canada's Globe and Mail. [...]

[Kari] Chisholm [who published a story showing Wingard's speech to be almost exactly the same as the Washington Times editorial] added that copyright infringement is "hypocritical for a guy that goes on and on about property rights." In a follow-up story, Chisholm noted that "[t]his incident is especially damning for Wingard because he's a trained journalist."

Here's an idea: If you're going to call something a hoax, you might try avoiding your own first.

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil, print no evil

By GottaLaff

(click on image to enlarge)

The Washington Times is a conservative right-wing conservative wingie conservative newspaper owned by Reverend Sun Myung Moon. The image above is full-page anti-Obama birther ad that they ran. See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.... Print no evil. Oops, too late.

How many times can we post about our outrage over this kind of racist, vile schlockaganda?

The Birthers of a Nation:

As noted out by Think Progress, the ad makes little sense, besides being racially charged:

“The Center for American Progress’ Ian Millhiser points out that if this rule were actually applied to the presidency, every foreign nation would have the power to remove the President of the United States simply by granting the president citizenship.” [...]

The “advertorial” was taken out by Charles F. Kerchner, Jr., a plaintiff in a birther lawsuit, “Kerchner et al vs. Obama & Congress et al,” filed against President Obama in New Jersey.

Kerchner’s website, Protect our Liberty, is seeking donations to “remove the usurper.”

Two words: Orly TaitzFail. 'Nuff said.

Washington Times to shut down

By GottaLaff

The Washington Times may go online-only:

The Washington Times, a daily launched in 1982 by Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s Unification Church, is set to lay off much of its editorial and production staff tomorrow, according to reputable sources within the paper.

The struggling paper, which reportedly has lost billions of dollars in its 27 year history, may be on the verge of a shutdown within 60 days.

Rev. Moon's paper just cratered.

H/t: Babzter

Washington Times Op Ed Craptastic Fail

It's no fault of the president that he has no natural instinct or blood impulse for what the America of "the 57 states" is about. He was sired by a Kenyan father, born to a mother attracted to men of the Third World and reared by grandparents in Hawaii, a paradise far from the American mainstream.

A "mother attracted to men of the Third World"? WTF is that supposed to mean? Link here to the Media Matters take down, I won't elevate the Washington Times with a link. They may just be trolling for links considering the bottom seems to be falling out of the publication.

Congress flies tattered, neglected flags

Hmm, the Washington Times thought enough of this story to give it an EXCLUSIVE headline start. Of course these flags should be replaced asap (and put the blame where it belongs, on maintenance) but I wonder when they'll start reporting on Chuck Norris's new flag project? I emailed the author of this piece, we'll see what she has to say. (PS- check out the comments on what kind of people do this to a flag. Amazingly, breathtakingly obtuse)

...The flags - in various states of disrepair - were captured in photos and videos by The Washington Times as they rippled atop the Rayburn, Cannon and Longworth office buildings where the 435 members of the House of Representatives and their aides go to work each day. Congressional staffers and other passers-by didn't even notice the poor state of the Stars and Stripes until a reporter pointed it out.

"If you are going to fly it, then fly it properly and replace it when it's in the condition [like] the one I'm looking at right now,["] a woman on the Capitol grounds said about a flag over the Rayburn House Office Building.

Right-wing media continue to hint at anti-Obama violence

This makes my stomach hurt. On purpose people, on freaking purpose.

Think about the specifics of today's case. The Obama children, of course, are not actually mentioned in the news story. But somebody at the WashTimes thought it made perfect sense to insert the image of the underage White House occupants into a story about murdered kids in Chicago.

And no, this was not an example of an unfortunate juxtaposition, where the the Obama girls photo was actually part of another, more innocuous story and because of a layout quirk simply appeared near the murdered-kids story. Instead, the Obama girls photo was specifically selected to accompany the article.

Added- Many different ways here to contact the Times and demand an apology.

Rev. Moon uses big media to frame message. Why don't Dems?

By GottaLaff

Mark Karlin's gem-o'-the-day. Please go read it in full. I don't do it justice with mere excerpts:

In short, Moon, in essence, shells out hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars to use the Washington Times as a public relations vehicle for "framing" the GOP perspective. The Washington Times doesn't have the incendiary flamboyant impact of Rush Limbaugh, but it has played a vital role in moving the "frame" of what is considered "centrist" in the U.S. among D.C. insiders way to the right.

Just last week (March 23), it was announced that the Washington Times is going to launch a radio program:

The Washington Times is headed for radio [...] aimed at showcasing the paper's investigative reporting and accountability journalism.

The move is part of the paper's strategy to transform itself into a multimedia, multiplatform news company. [...]

"We believe this unique journalistic team, combined with radio’s ability to give the time and context needed to flesh out breaking stories, will make for a powerful winning combination in talk radio," said Mark Masters, CEO of Talk Radio Network. “Rather than commenting on yesterday’s news, this news show will have the capacity to make, break and drive the news cycle. Like 60 Minutes once did for TV, this show can do for radio. We are very excited and honored to embark in this partnership with The Washington Times investigative team

If you want a little insight into how the pieces of the right wing media echo chamber puzzle fit together, it is worth looking at some of the people under contract to Talk Radio Network: Michael Savage, Laura Ingraham, Rusty Humphries, Monica Crowley, and Tammy Bruce. Bruce most recently made an infamous remark calling the Obamas trash, and Tammy Bruce managed to insult the entire nation of Canada a couple of weeks ago, resulting in an unprecedented Ottawa call for an apology from FOX "News." [Laffy Note: TPC post here]

Talk Radio Network, on its website, describes the new radio venture with the Washington Times this way:

March 23, 2009 - TALK RADIO NETWORK, THE WASHINGTON TIMES TO LAUNCH INVESTIGATIVE RADIO SHOW NATIONALLY.

Talk Radio Network and The Washington Times are partnering to create a nationally syndicated, morning-drive radio show with an innovative new format aimed at showcasing investigative reporting, accountability journalism and live reporting directly from the Times' newsroom inside the nation's capital. The Washington Times Morning Show is set to launch later this spring.

When you read the term "investigative reporting" applied to the Washington Times, think about the Clinton impeachment. [...]

Meanwhile, wealthy liberal Democrats don't buy up or create large media outlets; they just support efforts to criticize the corporate press and the likes of Rev. Moon. [...]

You can win elections, but you can't make dramatic change unless you own part of the major media.

Rev. Moon understands that. Why can't wealthy Democrats?

Or is it because many of the wealthiest Democrats really don't want a change in the distribution of wealth in this nation?

Good question.

Washington Times Admits To "Breezy" Language in Michelle Obama Piece

By Paddy


I'm really surprised this got past me, but good on Citizen Jane for calling the Moonie Times on the carpet. Good article about the event here, Moonie Times version here.

We told you yesterday about the Emily's List petition to the "The Washington Times," about a "Times" story that referred to a Michelle Obama/ Jennifer Granholm event as a "girlie show" and an "estrogenfest." We also reached out to the "Times" to get their take on the story.

We just received a call from David Jones, the managing editor of "The Washington Times," who gave us the following comment:

"We think the story about Michelle Obama's efforts to campaign for women's votes was an important one and was fairly told, but some of the language that slipped through the editing process was too breezy and could be misconstrued as stereotyping.

"We have taken steps to make sure such language does not slip through in the future."