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The Associated Press plays the race card

In this episode, our hero takes on the John Edwards scandal, opines disappointedly on his comestible catastrophe, is thoroughly disgusted at his home state of West Virginia's recent pandering to morons and wonders how a man with many many wives survives... First broadcast on Radio Six International on August 13th.

In this premiere episode for Radio Six International, our hero discusses... waaait for it... waaaaiiiiit for iiiiit.... the American Presidential Election! (well, YOU fill an hour.) Was Obama's trip to Europe and the middle east eclipsed, in the opinion of people who can actually vote for him, by McCain's podunk tour of the flyover states? He chastises the British media for their pronunciation of "Barrick" Obama. And write down the date! Spike says something complimentary about George Bush! This one's a keeper! There's the price of oil (be nice, this is a new audience, they've not heard this guff before) and could it be? Really? A politician doing something nice? Hmm... maybe, maybe not. Britain's Channel 4 incurs the wrath of the regulatory body for showing a skewed anti-global warming documentary, and what's the right way to respond to pokes and requests on Facebook? Speaking of, joineth thou the Rage Machine Facebook Group. NOW! RIGHT NOW! DO IT! http:/...

Media Bloggers Association President Robert Cox describes his meeting at AP, misinformation spread through multiple channels, and the state of the MBA.

Businesses need to adapt to changing times, not try to fight them. Technology tends to cut out the middleman. mode: at random news? life Today's Link: http://sometimesdaily.com/link/j

It’s finally over, in time for it all to start all over again. As Hillary scoops the Democratic nomination, Spike talks about…. what? Oh, he did? Obama? Really? B-but six months ago… Hmm. It’s finally over, in time for it all to start all over again. As OBAMA scoops the Democratic nomination, Spike talks about the primary as a whole and looks ahead to five more months of this guff, intensified. Well, at least he’ll have plenty to talk about, right? Questions: What links (never a frown with) Gordon Brown to scary mentalist Derren Brown, other than the name? Why is Google turning into an AOL/MySpace hybrid? How well does Tony Blair know his Bible? Who says Britain’s “moral vacuum” is turning formerly good Christians into Islamic fundamentalists, and why? And how does that relate to the apparently moribund world of local radio? What can stop kids smoking and drinking? Are internet users ruthless and selfish? And what’s WITH that slutty mermaid…? All the answers, and much more, are in these eighty action-packed minutes of Rage. Don’t forget to kee pin touch with comments/complaints/factoids/free porn at SpikeShow.com. Does you Facebook? Then join the Rage Machine Co-Conspirators’ Group. Invite a friend. Get that friend to invite a friend. Get that friend’s friend to invite a friend, and so on. It’s at http://facebook.spikeshow.com

Author: sew Added: Tue, 27 May 2008 16:22:38 -0800 Duration: 1371. TinEye Image Search Engine Startup Firm, 2. Microsoft Adds Microsoft Exchange Labs To Live@edu Package, 3. Google's Third Annual Innovation Open Web Developer Conference

Sorry about the repost. Something went wrong. Howwibly, howwibly wrong. If you listened with the embedded flash player, chances are everything worked out just fine. If you use the RSS feed, you’d’ve gotten a mashed-up, short show. Sorry about that. If I understood what happened, I’d be making real money with a real job in computers. Oh well. It’s fixed now, so enjoy it! If you have any problems listening, let me know at the usual address so I can fix them, because most of the time I have no idea… After a “bloody hell moment” through the week and major praise from major quarters over last week’s show, our hero gets back to ‘nobody listening and it being rubbish’ usual, discussing whether Barack Obama can moan, whine and bleat over his wife being criticised, whilst sending her out to public events to campaign for him – were her original comments misunderstood? Or should she have stood her ground? E-Mail Spike at the usual address if you have any thoughts on the case. D’y’think John McCain has any grounds for criticising O, over his lack of military service? And did the AP/MSNBC overstep journalistic boundaries be referring to McCain as a “war hero” in the article rather than a veteran? You might like to comment on that, too. TEN GRAND to renovate a kitchen? TEN GRAND?? You better believe it. That, and other taxpayer-paid revelations in the expense accounts of British MPs. Prime Minister (neverafrownwith) Gordon Brown is launching a new service with YouTube, whereby the lumpen proletariat can submit questions. Spizzike looks at a few quizzestions asked of G-Bizzle by the great, good and snappily dressed of Grizzeat Brizzitain. The heads of the five families were dragged up to capitol hill and grilled by Spike’s new sarcastic hero. All that, and a man who doesn’t want to make any money. But, according to an anti-NRA organisation, is quite happy for straw purchasers to. Ha ha ha ha!

After a “bloody hell moment” through the week and major praise from major quarters over last week’s show, our hero gets back to ‘nobody listening and it being rubbish’ usual, discussing whether Barack Obama can moan, whine and bleat over his wife being criticised, whilst sending her out to public events to campaign for him – were her original comments misunderstood? Or should she have stood her ground? E-Mail Spike at the usual address if you have any thoughts on the case. D’y’think John McCain has any grounds for criticising O, over his lack of military service? And did the AP/MSNBC overstep journalistic boundaries be referring to McCain as a “war hero” in the article rather than a veteran? You might like to comment on that, too. TEN GRAND to renovate a kitchen? TEN GRAND?? You better believe it. That, and other taxpayer-paid revelations in the expense accounts of British MPs. Prime Minister (neverafrownwith) Gordon Brown is launching a new service with YouTube, whereby the lumpen proletariat can submit questions. Spizzike looks at a few quizzestions asked of G-Bizzle by the great, good and snappily dressed of Grizzeat Brizzitain. The heads of the five families were dragged up to capitol hill and grilled by Spike’s new sarcastic hero. All that, and a man who doesn’t want to make any money. But, according to an anti-NRA organisation, is quite happy for straw purchasers to. Ha ha ha ha!

What a show! Paul Wheeler, longtime friend, defender and co-conspirator of our hero leaps on board the Rage Machine via the gift of Skype to talk about alllllll manner of goodness. They examine the Hillary/Obama race as it flowed through the Mountain State and question whether it should be renamed The Whitey State. Is Hillary’s desperation to hang on, despite all evidence that she should just give the hell up already, a possible boon to the Democratic party. come time for the race proper..? The lads also discuss whether PC gaming is dying, the Yahoo-Microsoft/Yahoo-Google mergers, whether it’s the ‘done thing’ to have child pornography on one’s ipod (or PDA) and leave it at an area Denny’s, the morality of upskirts, and there’s also a special appearance by an old friend (and, indeed, relative) to the Rage Machine as they fathom out an upcoming Rage Machine Movie special together. Follow Tall Paul at the following places: Destination Unknown: http://redzeppelin.wordpress.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/redzeppelin

A Justice Department team is scheduled to leave Iraq today, following their investigation into the 2006 death of an Iraqi guard. The guard was fatally shot by a contractor for Blackwater USA who now lives in Seattle. The trip represents a significant step in determining whether the former Blackwater employee will be charged. KUOW's Derek Wang spoke with Associated Press' Gene Johnson, who has been reporting on the story.

In this excitingly bland edition of the Rage Machine, our protagonist enjoys the sound of silence, the sound of text messages and the sound of porn for the blind. You read right. Porn for the blind. Also on the slate: how to annoy annoying teens, the death of ‘be kind, rewind’ and guess what…? NO POLITICS! Visit spikeshow.com for all the infotainment you’d ever need.

Sen. Obama apologizes for calling some rural voters "bitter."

Industrial designers and Closed-Loop manufacturing; Human and wildlife clashes in suburbs; Junkyard music.

Okay, we've had just about enough of AP entertainment editor Jesse Washington, who guarantees in the above video to give you "good bang for your buck" if you pass on exclusive information to the wire service. You remember Washington, right? "If Britney passed away, it’s easily one of the biggest stories in a long time," he told US when explaining why the AP had Britney Spears' obit ready. "If we wait an hour to have a really good obituary for someone like Heath Ledger, we're totally out of the game. And that’s not a place that I ever want to be," he said on NPR this weekend. We've got no problem with the AP canning Britney's obit (we wouldn't want them to be caught off guard like they were with Ledger's.) But this guy could use a handler. Or a muzzle, maybe? It's one thing to respond to press queries with a comment offering explanation. But Washington's remarks are a tetch tone-deaf. Or are they?Washington is the author of last year's No More Paris Hilton Coverage memo, and also tells the hobgobliny man interviewing him here that the AP is the place to go for celeb news. "If you want to know that it really happened, then you're going to have to go to AP," he says. "If we put it out, you can bet the house on it that it really happened." That's the kind of statement that's never going to come back and bite you in the ass! Speaking of Washington's ass, it was beaten badly about ten years ago by a Puff Daddy producer miffed over a piece Washington wrote for Blaze, a music mag he'd founded. Washington also wrote an editorial accusing Wyclef Jean of aiming a shotgun at him; Jean denied it and called the editorial a publicity stunt. A what? A publicity stunt, you know one of those things you do or say to get attention? Like, say, for a book you've got coming out next week from Simon Schuster called "Black Will Shoot," for example? Hey, if you did have such a book, now would be a great time for a string of said attention-getting stunts!

As Fred Thompson drops out of the republican race for the whitehouse, Spike talks about why it’s a good thing he’s gone and examines his frighteningly extremist record. Politics talk ends at 22 minutes and eight seconds in, by the way. That’s after Spike’s talk radio conscience weighs in. Spike will deal with “this much freaky and scary” when it comes to Google’s information gathering (and their ‘official blob’) but is well impressed that they’re splashing some cash on worthy causes and generating almost a third of their power through solar. All whilst Yahoo is going down the tubes. He suggests a new way to deal with the UK’s problem of the failures of private prisons, talks about prostitution and uses the phrase “here’s the rub” without tying it into anything sexual (shame!), a how-to guide for making a few extra bucks with your webcam, haggis and the lies of the guys who got attacked by a tiger.

After an entirely melodramatic introduction, a rundown of his merry maladies, and an earth-shattering announcement, Spike does exactly what he promises not to; talks about American politics. Not for long though. And he does pay a rare compliment to John McCain, so that alone is worth listening for, because it probably won’t happen again. British Prime Minister (Never A Frown With) Gordon Brown wants every Brit to be on the organ donor list by default – Spike, who currently has an uncle in need of a lung transplant, isn’t sure how he feels about it. The death penalty debate comes around again with the release of Ohio death row Scot Kenny Richie, why the people who spent the most on a Blu-Ray DVD player are getting the crappy end of the stick, the Oscars, fakey psychics and the answer to why American Idol isn’t selling records. All that, plus another appearance from Brendan The Iremonger (iremongerlives.blogspot.com) with his traditional Podcast-Within-A-Podcast which, this week, includes Brendan’s fine baritone singing voice belting out a verse of “Jobbie Circus” and plenty of feedback from the cheeky chappies in the peanut gallery.

In the first real Rage Machine of the year, Spike talks about the race for the Whitehouse; Hillary battles Obama battles Huckabee battles McCain battles gawd knows who next. Why is Hillary skeevy and untrustworthy? Why is John McCain skeevy and untrustworthy? Why did John Edwards and Mike Huckabee win Iowa but get trounced in New Hampshire? Spike, as usual, has all the answers. Because he’s awesome. Also! MPs in Britain – already paid extremely well – say that there’s no money to give to working stiffs living paycheck to paycheque, but are more than happy to awards themselves a 2% pay increase. You know, for all that good work they’ve been doing. Furtherwards of a talkingness on this feature-length edition, why you didn’t hear the two shows that happened last week, how Old Spike gave his son a fever blister from three and a half thousand miles away, the battle over the next home video format and other geekery, shenanigans, goings on, bedlam and “antics”. For a penny. All that and the podcast-within-a-podcast from Brendan the Iremonger (at iremongerlives.blogspot.com) and the real story of the Jobbie Circus, including the new anonymous website www.thejobbiecircus.com and Spike’s switch to Linux. Want to know what’s coming up on the next show? Watch the show’s topics evolve and get your two American cents (roughly four British pence at current exchange rates) in at the new Delicious page: http://del.icio.us/spikenesmith You know how to get in touch, doncha? TheRageMachine@gmail.com – and don’t forget to become a Facebook Fan of the Rage Machine here: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=8206375097

Following the January 3 Iowa caucuses, several media outlets, including the Associated Press, the New York Daily News, National Public Radio s Morning Edition, Newsday, Fox News The Live Desk with Martha MacCallum, Fox News America s Pulse, and the Chicago Tribune, reported that Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (AZ) "tied for third" with former Sen. Fred Thompson (TN). But if those outlets had applied the same standard they apparently used in reporting the Democratic caucus results, McCain would have come in fourth. According to the Republican Party of Iowa, McCain received 15,559 votes, or 13.11 percent of the overall vote in the Iowa Republican caucuses, while Thompson received 15,904 votes, or 13.40 percent of the overall vote, a difference of 0.29 percentage points. The Democratic Party of Iowa does not report raw totals of caucus-goers who voted for each candidate -- unlike the Iowa Republican Party -- instead, it reports percentages of "state delegate equivalents," the estimated percentage of delegates to the Iowa Democratic Party s state convention each candidate will receive. According to the official results, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) received 29.47 percent of "state delegate equivalents," finishing third, 0.28 percentage points below second place, and each of these news outlets reported that Clinton came in third. While CNN.com has estimated that McCain will have an equal number of Iowa delegates to the national Republican convention (as opposed to the state convention) as Thompson, and that Clinton is second in the number of estimated pledged Iowa delegates to the national Democratic convention (again as opposed to the state convention), neither party has yet selected any delegates to their national conventions. Neither the official Iowa Republican Party results page nor the official Democratic Party results page estimates how many delegates to the national convention each candidate will receive. From a January 4 AP report, "Republicans refocus efforts," by Glen Johnson: Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson finished Iowa tied for third with McCain, who largely skipped the caucus campaign, while Texas Rep. Ron Paul finished fifth but vowed to remain in the race. From a January 4 AP report, "Clinton unbowed by third-place finish," by Beth Fouhy: Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton, claiming to be unbowed by a third-place finish in the Iowa Democratic caucuses, hailed a "great night for Democrats" and said the strong turnout pointed to the sure election of a Democratic president in November. She said she would "keep pushing as hard as we can." From a January 4 New York Daily News article, "Huckabee clobbers Romney in Iowa," by Celeste Katz and David Saltonstall: Mike Huckabee, the former long-shot-preacher-turned- conservative-darling, ran away with the Republican Iowa caucus last night -- dealing a critical blow to rival Mitt Romney. With 86% of precincts reporting, Huckabee wielded a substantial 34% to 25% lead over Romney, while former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson and Arizona Sen. John McCain were tied for third at 13% each. The thrice-married, pro-choice Rudy Giuliani -- who pulled out of conservative Iowa early -- was trailing in sixth place at a dismal 3%, behind even the anti-tax, pro-pot libertarian Ron Paul at 10%. From a January 4 New York Daily News article, "Barack Obama wins the Iowa caucuses over Hillary Clinton, John Edwards," by Michael McAuliff, Michael Saul, and Jo Piazza: Clinton, the former First Lady who once looked ready to coast to a coronation, limped in a narrow third behind populist former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards. That means 70% of Democrats turned down the chance to restore the Clintons to the White House. From the January 4 edition of NPR s Morning Edition: MARA LIASSON (national political correspondent): Clinton, who finished third, called Obama to congratulate him, but she wasn t conceding the nomination -- not at all. [...] LIASSON: The Republican race now moves to New Hampshire, where Huckabee has next to no organization, but where Romney faces a strong challenge from John McCain, who tied for third place in Iowa with Fred Thompson. Ron Paul finished fifth and Rudy Giuliani sixth. From the January 4 Newsday article, "Huckabee sweeps Iowa in big upset GOP victory," by Tom Brune and Letta Tayler: Following Huckabee, Romney won 25 percent, Fred Thompson and McCain tied for third with 13 percent, Ron Paul won 10 percent and Giuliani won just 4 percent. From the January 4 Newsday article, "Obama rocks the political world," by Glenn Thrush: Barack Obama rocked the political world with a decisive victory in yesterday s Iowa caucus -- with Hillary Rodham Clinton finishing in third place fractionally behind John Edwards, a staggering blow to a candidate once viewed as her party s inevitable choice. From the January 4 edition of Fox News Live Desk with Martha MacCallum: MARTHA MacCALLUM (co-anchor): All right, let me bring in [Fox producer] Malini Bawa, who s been traveling with the McCain campaign. Malini, welcome, I know you re on the phone from New Hampshire. You know, what was his mood like? How is he holding up? What s he using -- what s he eating and drinking to fuel his way along here? BAWA: Well, his mood is definitely upbeat. You know, he was tied for third in Iowa, and Mitt Romney is, you know, [inaudible] -- well, maybe that s not the greatest position to be in, but McCain just -- since the beginning of December -- was fifth, sixth, single digit numbers in some of the polls, and here he is, tied for third with a team that didn t really spend much time or money in Iowa, so he s very happy with that. He s very happy with the way things look for him in New Hampshire. He was very, very upbeat riding over here to this event on the bus this morning and he said he s dedicated to the proposition that he s going to have a lot of fun for the next four or five days here in New Hampshire. [...] MacCALLUM: As we were just telling you, Senator John McCain is among the candidates who is back in New Hampshire today; his campaign energized after coming in third in the Iowa caucus last night, where he had not spent all that much time campaigning really. From the January 4 edition of Fox News America s Pulse: BRIGITTE QUINN (co-anchor): Hillary Clinton is hoping now to bounce back after coming in third behind Barack Obama and John Edwards in Iowa. She s dumping her usual speeches and taking questions on the campaign trail with just four days to go before the crucial New Hampshire primary. From the January 4 Chicago Tribune article, "Huckabee wins conservative test," by Rick Pearson: Romney, who in the final days sought to cast himself as an underdog in the contest, said, "I ve been pleased that I ve been able to make up ground and I intend to keep making up ground, not just here but across the country." Still, the defeat was a serious blow for Romney. In addition to giving Huckabee a win that could translate into the fundraising dollars necessary to project viability on a national scale, the caucus results provided an opening for a surging John McCain in New Hampshire s primary on Tuesday. With 93 percent of the state s 1,781 Republican precincts counted, Huckabee had 34 percent compared with Romney s 25 percent. McCain, an Arizona senator, and Fred Thompson, a former Tennessee senator, were tied for third with about 13 percent. From the January 4 Chicago Tribune article, "Obama, Huckabee strike first with Iowa victories," by Christi Parsons and John McCormick: Hillary Clinton Her third-place finish, just behind John Edwards, pierces her inevitability.

A two-man Rage Machine for the last feature-length show of the year, with Spike joined via the magic of Skype by Chimp Jones (of the internet’s “Chimpcasting” fame) to talk rubbidge. There’s belches by request and the shredder makes it’s debut, to deal with the news stories that don’t pass muster. The two talk about the “War on Christmas” and whether it’s anyone else’s business how one spends one’s festive season, and whether the lumpen prolitariat have sacrificed quality for quantity in media. There’s a thrilling second-hand story about the primary school event of the 1980s that attracted all and sundry to see “hands on the floor”, the future of sex, the future of TV and what the aliens will unearth in the ruins of the Earth. In the news, New Jersey gets sent to the shredder, why “values” are on the backburner for republicans and the bank whose half-million pay-it-forward PR campaign gets some rare praise from Spike. All that plus grand theft bike, christmas beer and “CSI: Furry Boot”. Happy Holidays!

A December 6 Associated Press article by reporter Glen Johnson uncritically reported Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney s complaint that a "religious test" to become president was "prohibited in the Constitution," without noting that Romney himself has repeatedly stated that Americans want a person of faith to lead them. The AP report -- which previewed Romney s then-upcoming December 6 "Faith in America" speech, in which Romney discussed how, in his words, his "own faith would inform his Presidency if he were elected" -- stated that "Romney, confronting voters skepticism about his Mormon faith, declared Thursday that as president he would serve no one religion, no one group, no one cause, and said calls for him to explain and justify his religious beliefs go against the profound wishes of the nation s founders." The article went on to quote Romney saying: "There are some who would have a presidential candidate describe and explain his church s distinctive doctrines. ... To do so would enable the very religious test the founders prohibited in the Constitution." But Romney has repeatedly said that he believes Americans "want a person of faith to lead them." For instance: Responding to Fox host Chris Wallace s assertion that "evangelicals ... say Mormonism is a cult," Romney asserted: "Well, I think people in this country want a person of faith to lead them as their governor, as their senator, as their president. I don t think most people care what brand of faith they have. ... Those things, I think, get swept away as people get to know the individual, understand their character, their vision, their values, and I think that s true regardless of a person s faith if they are a faithful person." [Fox Broadcasting Co. s Fox News Sunday, February 26, 2006] In response to Fox News host Sean Hannity s statement that "it seems like" the media "are creating for you a religious litmus test" by asking Romney about his Mormonism, Romney stated: "[F]rankly, the people I talk to, not necessarily the reporters, but the people I talk to in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina tell me time and again they want a person of faith to lead the country, but they don t particularly care what brand of faith it is so long as the person has American values. And if you look at my marriage, and you look at our family and our kids, and the values that we ve tried to instill in each one of our kids, you ll see that the values that I have are as American as any in this great country." [Fox News Hannity s W. Gardner Selby, Romney reportedly stated: "I don t think people know a lot about my faith. But what I learn as I go about the country is that people want a person of faith to lead the country, but they don t particularly care what brand of faith that is, so long as the values that person has are American values. ... Now, if people want to know more about my particular faith, they can contact my church." [Austin American-Statesman, November 22] By contrast, after Romney gave his speech, during the 10 a.m. ET hour of MSNBC Live, journalist Sally Quinn said of the speech: "I m really stunned because I think it was an obliteration of the idea of the separation of church and state. He eliminated anybody who was a doubter, an atheist, an agnostic, a seeker. It s like, if you believe in God or Christ, you re on my side. If not, you re not." From Johnson s December 6 AP report: Republican Mitt Romney, confronting voters skepticism about his Mormon faith, declared Thursday that as president he would "serve no one religion, no one group, no one cause," and said calls for him to explain and justify his religious beliefs go against the profound wishes of the nation s founders. At the same time, he decried those who would remove from public life "any acknowledgment of God," and he said that "during the holiday season, nativity scenes and menorahs should be welcome in our public places." In a speech prepared for delivery less than a month before the first nomination primaries, Romney said he shares "moral convictions" with Americans of all faiths, though surveys suggest up to half of likely voters have qualms about electing the first Mormon president. "There are some who would have a presidential candidate describe and explain his church s distinctive doctrines," Romney said. "To do so would enable the very religious test the founders prohibited in the Constitution. No candidate should become the spokesman for his faith. For if he becomes president, he will need the prayers of the people of all faiths." Excerpts from Romney s speech, which he was delivering at the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum at 10:30 a.m. EST, were released in advance by his campaign. From the 10 a.m. hour of the December 6 edition of MSNBC Live: CHRIS MATTHEWS (MSNBC host): For the first time in this campaign, and it s been a long campaign already, I ve heard greatness this morning. What I liked was his major statement here, not about his religious profession, but about his profession as to what America stands for. And he said the conviction of the inherent and inalienable worth of every life is still the most revolutionary political proposition ever advanced. That was at the heart of who we are. Sally, I ve got to give you a chance. QUINN: I have to say that I m really stunned because I think it was an obliteration of the idea of the separation of church and state. He eliminated anybody who was a doubter, an atheist, an agnostic, a seeker. It s like, if you believe in God or Christ, you re on my side. If not, you re not. MATTHEWS: Joe? JOE SCARBOROUGH (MSNBC host): I will say what I said at the top of this hour. I thought this was a great idea. He got to stand next to the president of the United States. He got to talk about his faith, and he hit this thing out of the park. [Republican presidential candidate] Mike Huckabee was concerned about this coming up. Like I said earlier, Huckabee said, "I wish I would have an hour." He hit this out of the park. It was a great morning for him, and, you know, throw any candidate into this briar patch. Mitt Romney did well. And good luck from this point forward trying to paint this man as some survivor of Jonestown. He is an accomplished governor. He was an accomplished businessman, an extraordinary businessman. And this, as we say in the South with evangelicals all around us, that dog just won t hunt anymore, and it won t.

Following the tidal wave of a request to get this week’s show podcasted (this one’s for you, Paul!) here is the pre-Halloween “really terrible week” catered-by-the-neighbours Rage Machine in which Spike remembers his dead friend, muses over why “trick or treat night” is on the 30th down his way – despite Halloween being on the 31st – and runs down the categories of ToTers, he talks about the “don’t tase me bro” guy, why Australian TV’s ‘worm’ is a good idea, and why a 100 year old mouldy orange is a rubbish museum exhibit. All with his mouth full of candy. You know the drill by now, right? Email TheRageMachine@gmail.com Send a voicemail through http://odeo.com/sendmeamessage/TheRageMachine Join the SNRM Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5266341551

Reports on CNN and in the Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times uncritically quoted White House spokeswoman Dana Perino s response to a question about an October 23 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) press conference, in which, as Washington Post columnist Al Kamen reported, "the questions were asked by FEMA staffers playing reporters." Perino said of the conference, "It is not a practice that we would employ here at the White House and we certainly don t condone it." But as Media Matters for America has documented, the Bush administration has a history of generating "fake" news. Several media reports uncritically included Perino s response to the press conference without noting past Bush administration scandals involving "fake" reporting: An October 26 Associated Press article led by uncritically noting that "[t]he White House scolded" FEMA, adding that Perino "said it was not appropriate that the questions were posed by agency staffers instead of reporters." An October 27 New York Times article stated that the conference "drew a rebuke from the White House and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff," adding that Perino said: "It s not something I would have condoned ... And they -- I m sure -- will not do it again." An October 27 Los Angeles Times article stated that "[t]he White House was not happy with FEMA s response," adding Perino s quote: "It is not a practice that we would employ here at the White House." An October 27 Washington Post article uncritically included Perino s quote: "White House press secretary Dana Perino said yesterday that it is not a practice that we would employ here at the White House. We certainly don t condone it. We didn t know about it beforehand. . . . They, I m sure, will not do it again. " In an October 29 Washington Post online discussion, staff writer and media critic Howard Kurtz wrote: "I don t think it s fair to blame the White House for this. Dana Perino made it quite clear that the White House did not approve of this make-believe event." Kurtz later noted Bush administration journalism scandals involving conservative columnist Armstrong Williams and "a couple of other commentators," but did not contrast these scandals with Perino s reported disapproval of the FEMA press conference. On the October 29 edition of CNN s The Situation Room, correspondent Jeanne Meserve reported that "[t]he White House distanced itself" from the FEMA conference and then aired Perino s quote. As Media Matters noted, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the Bush administration s use of video news releases (VNRs) -- video reports that appeared to be created by journalists instead of the government and, as The New York Times reported, many of which "were subsequently broadcast on local stations across the country without any acknowledgement of the government s role in their production" -- was in violation of federal law. A May 12, 2005, statement by GAO Managing Associate General Counsel Susan A. Poling noted: In the past year, GAO has issued two legal opinions on the production of video news releases (VNRs) that included prepackaged news stories by both the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). In both of these instances, we concluded that the agencies violated the federal government-wide prohibition on the use of appropriated funds for purposes of public