1. Comment #78273 by Matt7895 on October 12, 2007 at 10:43 am

The time has come for Fox News to end. It just isn't funny anymore.

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2. Comment #78275 by oarwhat on October 12, 2007 at 10:50 am

Stomaching my way through a fox news broadcast of any length really makes me wonder why the ratings are so high for them. It does not leave a positive felling with me about our society.

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3. Comment #78276 by BaronOchs on October 12, 2007 at 10:50 am

Hey that religion correspondent plagiarised John Lennox . .about who am I and strychnine in your grandma's tea.

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4. Comment #78279 by Monosilabbiq on October 12, 2007 at 10:55 am

That was fairly bland reporting. Their bias was not hidden, totally open, and any thinking person would have picked up on it. But any news is good news. Even Fox News listeners have been given the details on where to find the radio broadcast.

It will be interesting to see how the programme does. Not purely in commercial terms, but in its ability to remain rational and topical. I would like to hear it and will look for the links on the internet.

Good luck Free Thought Radio!

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5. Comment #78282 by The Smart Patrol on October 12, 2007 at 11:05 am

If I ever feel downhearted and fed-up with the miserable Scottish climate, I can always thank my lucky stars that I don't have to turn on the television and get accosted with THAT utter tripe.

The bit about science not being able tell you about whether poisoning your grandmother is wrong was completely meaningless, because religion sure as hell doesn't tell you why it is wrong either. That smug grin on her face when she said it as well... so glad we in the UK don't have to put up with that crap.

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6. Comment #78285 by steveroot on October 12, 2007 at 11:10 am

Hey! I just found out that atheists think science proves there is no god! Wow!

... this gets the "Mr. Boffo- Unclear on the Concept" award.
Steve

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7. Comment #78288 by the great teapot on October 12, 2007 at 11:12 am

"people who don't believe in god believe that science proves there is no god and people who believe in god believe science proves there is a god"
Really.
What evidence are both sides forwarding. I'd love to see either.
Americans, they are so funny (said in my best homer simpson voice)

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8. Comment #78289 by AdrianB on October 12, 2007 at 11:15 am

Now is a good time to recommend Annie and Dan's programme. I never miss it, and podcast it.

The last programme with Hitchens is a good introduction for those that have never heard it.

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9. Comment #78290 by the great teapot on October 12, 2007 at 11:21 am

What a silly idea, a radio show that only appeals to 10% of the population. Who is going to listen to that. You can't even see any tits.

Other Comments by the great teapot

10. Comment #78292 by Steven Mading on October 12, 2007 at 11:22 am

Speaking of which, the FFRF has its annual convention this weekend, starting tonight.

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11. Comment #78295 by Alkal on October 12, 2007 at 11:32 am

What is that show again, maybe I can get soem theists to listen to it...

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12. Comment #78297 by Fanusi Khiyal on October 12, 2007 at 11:34 am

And people wonder why I drink. Who are these yahoos? I mean, what is the matter with these people?

This is, ha, beyond belief. Where do they get these fatuous platitudes from?

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13. Comment #78299 by the great teapot on October 12, 2007 at 11:35 am

Science can't answer those difficult questions in the same way that making stuff up can.
Three cheers for just making stuff up.
Let's not forget his equally successful twin brother just pulling stuff out your arse.

Other Comments by the great teapot

14. Comment #78300 by PlanetSweet on October 12, 2007 at 11:37 am

I feel that the Fox news broadcast went beyond bias and was close to ridicule. Something that I would not expect from a respectable news network.

I am a little offended to have my beliefs ridiculed in this way. Would I have to experience such ridicule from them if I followed any of the mainstream religions?

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15. Comment #78304 by philos on October 12, 2007 at 11:45 am

Oh, Air America will go bankrupt, again.

Like it did last year.

In other news, the dems try to pull a fast one again. Pathetic.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1907687/posts

http://michellemalkin.com/2007/10/08/graeme-frost-and-the-perils-of-democrat-poster-child-abuse/


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16. Comment #78306 by hopeful on October 12, 2007 at 11:52 am

They say any publicity is good publicity!

This is a big milestone for Free Thought Radio and congratulations to them.

They are doing a great job - particularly as Church/State watchdogs.

http://ffrf.org/
http://ffrf.org/radio/podcast/

I thoroughly recommend you check out their podcast archives - they have had some fascinating interviews, including Christopher Hitchens just recently and many others. Stand-outs for me were Darrell Lambert (expelled Scout) and Matthew LaClair (Kearney High School) and Robert Sapolsky.

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17. Comment #78308 by Angelic_Atheist on October 12, 2007 at 11:59 am

Thanks Fox News!! Last I heard of Freethought Radio was before Barker and Gaylor took over the name.

"Gonna be fun to watch, or listen....I wont be"
oops...LOL

I'm off to Air America to take a look ;)

Other Comments by Angelic_Atheist

18. Comment #78309 by Nick Good on October 12, 2007 at 12:00 pm

Bias but harmless enough, certainly no more bias than much on the Beeb or the Guardian.

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19. Comment #78312 by quill on October 12, 2007 at 12:04 pm

I think you people taking this as an opportunity to throw in some snide comment regarding Americans are behaving like children.

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20. Comment #78313 by rthille on October 12, 2007 at 12:05 pm

PlanetSweet, you seem to be confusing Fox News with a 'reputable news organization'

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21. Comment #78317 by the great teapot on October 12, 2007 at 12:18 pm

quill
You are misreading the tone of my comment.
It is only being playful, not snide.
Although if these people do seriously represent 90% of Americans, heaven help us.

Other Comments by the great teapot

22. Comment #78322 by cowalker on October 12, 2007 at 12:33 pm

I tend to think that talk radio programs for liberals/freethinkers will never be as successful as talk radio for the insanely "conservative" because liberals and freethinkers tend to have day jobs that are too demanding to allow them to listen to the radio.

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23. Comment #78326 by epeeist on October 12, 2007 at 12:40 pm

Comment #78290 by the great teapot

What a silly idea, a radio show that only appeals to 10% of the population. Who is going to listen to that. You can't even see any tits.

No, for that you have to peruse that other fountain of Murdoch quality - "The Sun"

Other Comments by epeeist

24. Comment #78331 by LoneStarTravis on October 12, 2007 at 12:50 pm

Science proves God's existence? But if there's proof then why is faith held in such veneration? If there is evidence for God's existence, then you can't have the faith he wants you to have. Uh oh. It seems poor Lauren Green has condemned herself to hell.

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25. Comment #78339 by tangerine_tree on October 12, 2007 at 1:02 pm

Science can't answer those difficult questions in the same way that making stuff up can

i love that!!

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26. Comment #78341 by Vendetta on October 12, 2007 at 1:13 pm

Here at work Fox News (or Fixed Noise as Keith Olbermann calls it) is on 2 televisions every second that we're open and the radio is tuned to the Bill O'Reilly & sean Hannity talk shows. This is what it's like living in Montana. Sigh...

Here's the thing with Fox News. Even though they half-heartedly try to promote themselves as a real news station (their motto is 'Fair and Balanced' LOL) they often come close to admitting that they are biased. It's ok if they're biased, though, because they always talk about the "Liberal Media" and so they have to be a little biased to combat the liberal bias they say exists everywhere else. While it's sickening to watch or listen to, it's an undeniably brilliant marketing ploy.

They've convinced a huge majority of people that get their news from television that other channels like NBC, CBS, and CNN (which they call the Communist News network) are all too liberal, so if you want news that isn't slanted to the left, tune into Fox News to get "Fair and Balanced" news. Get the real story in Bill O'Reilly's "No Spin Zone".

This is my take on the situation (warning - generalizations ahead...) The "Liberal media" label is an urban myth that Fox mentions many times every day. It's necessary to keep repeating this label to keep this idea present in the national discourse. This idea of a liberal media originated in the Vietnam era. The public was largely against the war (sound familiar?) and the media correctly reported these feelings with poll after poll. When the US pulled out of Vietnam, many republicans blamed the liberal media bias for losing the war. Since then, the republicans have been the party associated with having a strong military and the democrats have been seen as anti-war.

Republicans have used this perception in the recent elections to advertise their patriotism and insinuate that the democrats are weak. By not directly condemning republicans for making this insinuation, they have meekly proved that the republicans were right.

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27. Comment #78346 by Dog Boots on October 12, 2007 at 1:20 pm

tangerine_tree: Did you come up with that one yourself? Laughing. Out. Loud.

I guess there are still new and better ways of putting the same old truths out there. Mind if I use that?

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28. Comment #78348 by glittergulch on October 12, 2007 at 1:23 pm

Poor Lauren Green. This is almost too much for her little brain to process.

For those who missed her brilliant take on Kathy Griffin's "suck it, Jesus! This [Emmy} is my God now!" acceptance speech a little while ago, it's here:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,296683,00.html

To entice you to read it I'll paste one of her big conclusions:

"The freedoms we enjoy in this country to speak freely and to live freely are directly related to that man who died on a cross 2,000 years ago."

Oh boy!

Other Comments by glittergulch

29. Comment #78349 by ChrisMcL on October 12, 2007 at 1:25 pm

This is more likely a way to link Al Franken with "godlessness" than it is an attack on atheism.

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30. Comment #78351 by Vendetta on October 12, 2007 at 1:27 pm

Dog Boots, credit the Great Teapot for that quote. I like it, sounds like a t-shirt or bumper sticker.

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31. Comment #78352 by briancoughlanworldcitizen on October 12, 2007 at 1:29 pm

It can't imagine any European media outlet pandering to such tripe. Is it any wonder that the US is such a mess?

They really have become the new Soviet Union. I wonder if we'll see the whole sorry thing come apart at the seams? The economy seems very rocky at the moment, and US society seems incredibly polarised. Interesting times.

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32. Comment #78357 by glittergulch on October 12, 2007 at 1:40 pm

ChrisMcL: I was thinking that too, especially since (a) Al is no longer a part of AA and (b) he's running for Senate. Nice!

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33. Comment #78360 by CruciFiction on October 12, 2007 at 1:51 pm

That was just sleezy the way they linked Al Franken who is religious (Jewish), to atheism. They did so no doubt because Franken is running as a Democrat for US Senate in Minnesota. And so they want their small and simple minded FOX sheeple to come away thinking he's "godless scum".

But many thanks to FOX for the free nationwide advertising of FFRF's "Freethought Radio". It can only help.

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34. Comment #78362 by bluebird on October 12, 2007 at 2:02 pm

--"...people who believe in God believe science proves there is a God."--
Reminds me of this humorous bit from a while back:

http://www.richarddawkins.net/articleComments,985,God-Exists-A-Formula-Proves-it,KCTV5-News,page2



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35. Comment #78368 by thirdchimpanzee on October 12, 2007 at 2:30 pm

Thanks for the link glittergulch (Comment #78348) - and the contents bring up an interesting issue - the active reshaping of American history for partisan or religious affirmation. I think this is a quasi-religious phenomenon where the source documents are wilfully misconstrued to support present-day political or religious positions; the "founders" themselves are treated as demi-gods and the whole enterprise (America) has a "virgin birth". By the last remark I mean that we are supposed to overlook the obvious fact that the majority of colonists (not colonized - that would be the Native Americans) were only 1 or 2 generations removed from their British roots, and conducted themselves by and large as an extension of Britain, including a lively press and local legislatures. The fact that early designs for the new flag of the Republic included the Union Jack in the corner instead of the current stars attest to the complex attitudes of the colonist to the "mother country".

It's ironic that the right wing, in other situations (usually racist), are only too happy to play up the Anglo roots of America - but then imagine that 1776 saw the emergence of wholly new society. Rubbish, even the tale of Rip van Winkle describes a Dutchman going to sleep before the revolution, and waking up afterward finding little has changed.

The American revolution was important, but like 9/11 - not THAT important. Britain had a far greater global impact in the next Century than its erstwhile colony. In fact the American revolution was a very British kind of revolution - meaning half-hearted at best. The French at least recognised that slavery was incompatible with universal freedom. What the American revolution and founding was NOT was an exercise in theocracy - the freedoms the Fox bimbette Lauren Green attributes to "the man on the cross" are recognised by most American historians as originating in the British experience (where did Habeus Corpus come from?). My hero from that period is Tom Paine - the english atheist who correctly saw the rottenness of Britain, and hoped for a secular, truly free (i.e. no slavery) America. Although befriended by all the major players of the day (Franklin, Jefferson etc) - he has been practically written out of American history books because of his atheism, and the rather obvious discrepancies between his ideals and the tawdry half-revolution that occurred.

The US doesn't just suffer from a God delusion - too many of its inhabitants suffer an America delusion as well - something that is increasingly worrying to the rest of the world.

Other Comments by thirdchimpanzee

36. Comment #78371 by TheCelestialTeapot on October 12, 2007 at 2:49 pm

Wow! Seven minutes of crap reporting in which I learned nothing about anything. Either plug the show and tell someone when it is going to be on or do not have a segment on it at all. And as for their 3-7% that is a load of bullshit and it is about 12% or higher. So again, kiss my ass Fox news!

Other Comments by TheCelestialTeapot

37. Comment #78373 by chezzyd on October 12, 2007 at 2:50 pm

So science can tell us what will happen if we give someone poisoned tea but not whether it is morally wrong? Oh really? Well I don't remember reading anything in The Bible that was vaguely moral - in fact the Bible would likely be supportive of poisoning Granny - especially if she was a filthy infidel or didn't sacrifice enough goats.

Other Comments by chezzyd

38. Comment #78381 by Veronique on October 12, 2007 at 3:40 pm

34. Comment #78362 by bluebird

I clicked on your link, then onto the youtube link.

That video has been removed 'by the user' from youtube. Hahaha - he must have received some flak over it:-).

It's embarrassing for Australians to admit that Murdoch is one of theirs:-(. But much as his fingers are in our media pies, we don't want him back:-)

Cheers
V

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39. Comment #78384 by FreeThink25 on October 12, 2007 at 3:54 pm

I like how he asks if they expect some kind of response from Family Values Coalition or other groups. It's funny how the 90% fear the 5-7% so much they have to "respond"...or come up with 10 flea-circus response books to one of ours.

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40. Comment #78385 by glittergulch on October 12, 2007 at 3:56 pm

By the way, Franken did a great interview with Prof Dawkins a couple of years ago on his Air America show:
http://richarddawkins.net/article,76,Interview-at-Al-Franken-Show,Richard-Dawkins---Al-Franken

If that link is too long try this:
http://tinyurl.com/24vdyu

Other Comments by glittergulch

41. Comment #78406 by Lauregon on October 12, 2007 at 5:19 pm

FOXSnooze's vacuous spewing is at least as embarrassing to Americans Who Think as is leaving the restroom with your skirt tucked in your scanties and walking down the aisles of a supermarket.

Yapping, mush-witted, frigging cockapoos!

Other Comments by Lauregon

42. Comment #78407 by tangerine_tree on October 12, 2007 at 5:34 pm

Dog Boots
not my quote I'm afraid.

it was "the great teapot" in comment 13


kudos to him/her

Other Comments by tangerine_tree

43. Comment #78414 by drbreakfast on October 12, 2007 at 6:19 pm

28. Comment #78348 by glittergulch on October 12, 2007 at 1:23 pm
Poor Lauren Green. This is almost too much for her little brain to process.

For those who missed her brilliant take on Kathy Griffin's "suck it, Jesus! This [Emmy} is my God now!" acceptance speech a little while ago, it's here:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,296683,00.html

To entice you to read it I'll paste one of her big conclusions:

"The freedoms we enjoy in this country to speak freely and to live freely are directly related to that man who died on a cross 2,000 years ago."

Oh boy!
---------------------------------------------
Wow, I just read the Lauren Green piece. Astonishingly inaccurate in most of its factual (and even biblical) assertions. For example, her editorial:

"After several years of human failings, the church went through conflicts and quite a few unbiblical years — the crusades and the inquisition to name just two."

In fact Ms. Green, if you were even marginally familiar with Numbers, Deuteronomy, Leviticus, etc., you would realize that the Crusades WERE very biblical.

And that's the problem; so many of these faith heads truly haven't read The "Good" Book and apparently find such "niceties" such as Jesus "dying for our sins" as being meaningful. When in fact, the very core of Christian theology: God is schizophrenic (3 persons in 1, right?) commits suicide (as the "Son") so that he (as the "Father") can forgive humanity for all past, then present and future sins. Why is it that so few people can see that this "faith" is simply the ravings of primitive nuts?

Oh boy indeed.

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44. Comment #78415 by Henri Bergson on October 12, 2007 at 6:24 pm

Spastic Retards.

Why do we bother?

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45. Comment #78417 by scooternyc on October 12, 2007 at 6:35 pm

Interesting story from a station who employs misogynistic, homophobic types who get sued by former employees for salacious comments.

But then most fundamentalist christians are uptight about sex and live vicariously through the stories they report, which they say are the cause of debauchery of society - while they secretly enjoy the footage.

Heal thy self.

Other Comments by scooternyc

46. Comment #78427 by bouwe on October 12, 2007 at 8:19 pm

Tom Paine - the english atheist...

I thought Tom Paine was a deist. At least that was what I gathered from reading Age of Reason, though he may have self-identified as an atheist later on in his life. This was before Darwin, so a lot of freethinkers were deist as opposed to atheist because the argument from design still carried some weight (apparently). I vaguely recall Paine making disparaging comments on "atheists" in Age of Reason, which I found surprising at the time but which makes some sense in light of it being written before Darwin.

Pre-Darwinian Deist or atheist, not much difference in any case. Yeah, Paine is an absolute hero and I think it is a disgrace that he is not a household name for Americans in the same breath as, say, Benjamin Franklin.

I don't know if his works are a part of the syllabus in standard American History classes but they should be. Age of Reason should be on the "essential reading list" for American high school students.

Imagine the furore from fundies if their kids were required to read something like TGD -- I can't see the religious right allowing such a thing. However a text like "Age of Reason", as a part of "history class" would slip under the fundy radar and do a lot of good. "But daddy, I have to read it for my history class." Deluded Daddy: "Aw, I guess it is ok if it is History, considering our Great Christian Heritage and all," (appealing to his innate conservatism).

I think it would be a great thing if every high school student in America were taught about Tom Paine and were required to read Age of Reason. After all these years, still a necessary antidote for a young mind being force-fed the bible in his/her teenage years.

Other Comments by bouwe

47. Comment #78432 by Jolly Wally on October 12, 2007 at 9:00 pm

Meh.. I prefer to hear intelligent people speak.

Other Comments by Jolly Wally

48. Comment #78433 by thirdchimpanzee on October 12, 2007 at 9:13 pm

I'm sure you're right bouwe - its just that I recall that later politicians (1820's?) referring to Paine as an atheist. But you're absolutely right about Age of Reason in the classroom - there are many birds that could be slayed with that stone.

Other Comments by thirdchimpanzee

49. Comment #78436 by mr harry on October 12, 2007 at 9:44 pm

"Fair and Balanced"... as opposed to fair and unbalanced?

That reminds me of this excellent (and very funny) piece of satire.

http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=bill_oreilly

Other Comments by mr harry

50. Comment #78440 by Veronique on October 12, 2007 at 10:46 pm

49. Comment #78436 by mr harry

Thankyou so much for that link:-).

The smile on my face just kept getting broader. I have never come across Maddox before. I may check out some more.

Cheers
V

Other Comments by Veronique