Guest Column: Reload FOX

By Michael Cannariato

I’ve spent hours watching FOX Noise since the Tucson murders and attempted assassination of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.).

When you’re retired, you can waste whole days if you’re not careful.

FOX Noise has its script set. The talking points have been issued. The message, delivered at least once every segment, is clear—“We don’t know what the assassin’s motive was, but its apparent it wasn’t political.”

Excuse me, and millions of Americans, for suspecting that an assassination attempt on a newly-re-elected congresswoman who was involved in the recent volatile campaign against Jesse Kelly, a 16MM machine gun-toting Tea Partier, might have something to do with politics.

The assassin is the only person responsible for the massacre in Tucson—not Gifford’s Tea Party proponent, or Sarah Palin, or FOX Noise.

I repeat, the assassin is the person responsible.

But what if a Hispanic would have shot an elected opponent of the new Arizona law, and then shot 19 others, killing six? What if a Democratic spokesperson attacking the Arizona law had targeted (with crossfire hairs, as in a rifle’s scope) the political defeat of the politician this person tried to execute?  Would FOX be as certain that the gunman wasn’t acting out of vitriol and angst against the Tea Party agenda, and that this was simply the madness of a pot-smoking loner?

I doubt it.

Within 12 hours, FOX would be calling for draconian government action regarding any suspicious immigrants.  Their entire slant would have been political well before they knew what this murderer’s motive was. But now, they caution us not to over-react against those who foster a climate of intolerance for any who politically disagree with them.

How tolerant of them.

How transparent of them.

How obvious of them.

Listen to the well-scripted mantra the FOX talking puppets follow.

“He’s a pot-smoking . . . loner; . . . he’s bizarre, “. . .  but since, (as FOX reported), among his favorite books beside Mein Kampf was the Communist Manifesto (no doubt, he likely didn’t read either one); the one thing that’s apparent early to FOX Noise is that this “wasn’t politically motivated.”

Brit Hume already predicted how the Left will try to make “political hay out of this. . .”

Hey, Brit, if this were a Hispanic attempting to assassinate a newly-elected Tea Party congressman in Arizona, FOX would make enough “political hay” out of it to fill all the barns in Montana.

FOX Noise has their work cut out for them these next few days.

Reload, FOX, and be careful not to be too obvious; don’t “shoot from the hip” these next few days. Maybe, just maybe, your partisan intolerance might be in the spotlight these next few weeks. Reload, FOX, and realize you need not be part of the problem. Instead, question politicians’ actions without questioning their patriotism. Do the hard work of investigative news at the expense of the vitriol and misrepresentation of the inflammatory less-than-accurate 7-second spout.

During such times as these, even Sarah Palin and FOX Noise can assume responsibility for redirecting the political dialogue away from how good Americans must think to what good Americans do.

But don’t bet on it.

From the Jan. 12-18, 2011 issue

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