Update (2/9): More on Hannity from Debbie Schlussel.
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I usually don’t get involved with other bloggers’ problems, but I’m making an exception today.
Debbie Schlussel is one of my favorite bloggers. A resident of Michigan, she does first-hand reporting on what’s going on with the large Muslim community in her area and publishes exclusives on her blog and in her column, which sometimes appears in the New York Post.
In her latest column, “An Ugly Invocation,†she wrote about Husham al-Husainy, a Muslim imam who delivered the invocation at the Democratic National Convention. Debbie has done extensive background research on this man and has even attended Islamic events undercover to expose al-Husainy’s terrorism-supporting views. More here.
For the past couple of days, Sean Hannity has been talking about this issue on “Hannity & Colmes.” Debbie has accused Hannity of citing her work without giving her credit. Since some of her information is exclusive, it’s obvious where he’s getting his information.
I don’t watch Hannity’s show or listen to him on the radio because I find him too frenetic (esp. when speaking to callers). That aside, if he’s “reporting†on al-Husainy and lifting material from Debbie’s exclusives without citing her work, it’s plagiarism.
Debbie has documented her attempts to get Hannity and his producer to clear up the whole thing by having her on the air to talk about and defend her work or at the very least, to credit her as a source. She writes (emphasis added):
The first night, Tuesday Night, I contacted Sean on his cellphone. He was, as usual, “too busy” and couldn’t be bothered to do the right thing. He admitted he knew he used my work uncredited, and I managed to get him to promise to have me on to discuss my original work, he said, “if we talk about this again on the show.” I also suggested having Al-Husainy, himself, on along with myself, since I’m only the single commentator who actually knows something–actually, a lot–about him. Sean promised that if they had the imam on, he and John Finley would have me on, too.
But, as is usual for Sean these days, he did not keep his word. Last night, not only did they rip my work off again, but they questioned it (without mentioning my name or allowing me to be on to defend it). Suddenly, Hannity was saying Al-Husainy “reportedly” was at pro-Hezbollah rallies, and Colmes claimed, “We’ve been unable to confirm that,” and questioned my New York Post column’s accuracy.
Well, that’s interesting to me–they never attempted to “confirm” this in the least. Since I’m the source of the info–I WAS THERE AT THOSE RALLIES and wrote about it in the New York Post column they ripped off–why didn’t they contact me? I have pictures, etc.
I can’t imagine how frustrating it must be to do all the leg work for a story, only to have someone, especially a fellow conservative, steal from you. Debbie isn’t making any headway with Hannity or the producer, so I wanted to raise awareness about what’s going on. As Debbie mentioned, conservatives supposedly are big property rights supporters. Well, intellectual property counts, too.
Sometimes the issue of whether someone plagiarized is fuzzy. Other times, it’s crystal clear. If Sean Hannity’s information about the terrorism-supporting imam was obtained from Debbie’s work, and if he didn’t cite Debbie’s work, it’s plagiarism.
Shame on you, Sean. But it’s not too late to make amends.
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I don’t listen to Hannity either. I find that all his responses are canned and it is way too much about himself. He doesn’t allow dialogue, just uses opposing callers as launching pads for his pre-shrinkwrapped rants.
This is disappointing. I don’t often get a chance to hear or watch Sean, but heretofore I’ve rather liked him and assumed he was upstanding. It’s sad to see him shying away from doing the right thing in this instance.
Hannity & Colmes is a rather vacuous program. Hannity is a conservative that is hard to bear. I usually tune him out.
This situation is a reminder for Christians: (Col 3:23-25) Don’t look for accolades from man but from the Lord. Sean will receive the consequences of what he is doing. To the one who knows right and does not do it, to him it is sin.
Well, I have to announce this somewhere:
I, Mad Mikey, invented (1) the question mark: ? and (2) the semi-colon: ;.
From now on, everyone must credit me when ever they are used.
Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,
Mad Mikey
Hmmm.
Frankly I’m very sorry for Debbie. Someone who does that much work on a subject deserves what accolades there are for it.
As for Hannity. The singular description I’d use is: insipid.
Generally when Hannity comes on, I switch to just about anything else.
#7 Mad Mikey, please provide the dates on which you allegedly invented these particular punctuation marks. If you can provide documentary proof of said invention, all the better.
I’ve about had it with Hannity. He really has nothing to say. Good looks can only take you so far. His plagarism is the last straw–no more Hannity in my house.
I call him Sean Vanity. He’s a mouthpiece for the Bush White House and I find him embarrassingly stupid as a True Conservative.
The fact that he’s not the brightest bulb in the chandelier would explain why he’d need to steal ideas and research from others.
The only radio Conservatives I take seriously are Michael Savage and Marc Levin. Savage in particular toes noone’s narrow party line!
As far s resisting islamic fascism is concerned there’s noone besides Savage and Levin who are outspoken as we all should be on that topic.
In my view there is no other topic at this time.
All our lives depend on this and it is shocking how trivial this is being treated by the MSM and our government.
Not to mention academia. The enmy already has taken that institution.
We have a long way to go. let’s roll!!
PS. I heard Debbie Schlussel today on the radio re. islamofascism and the threat it represents. She is the real deal and I am glad there are a few others who GET IT.
I suggest you comment at Debbie’s blog if you want to discuss that. Stick to the post’s topic, please. – Admin
I’ve got the show on right now. He just finished talking about that Muslim Imam again with some Demo-head and Daniel Pipes. He said that THEY will be on the show tonight… Hannity didn’t say much and just let Pipes and the Demo-head duke it out.
He mentioned something about having the Imam himself on. I’m not sure if that’s tonight or later, but nothing about Ms. Schlussel.
I should have clarified, I’ve got Hannity’s radio show on now and he mentioned THEY will be on the FoxNews show “Hannity and Colmes” tonight, no mention of Schlussel.
This happened to another blogger recently too. A guy (or group of guys) run a blog called the M-Zone which focuses on college football, especially the University of Michigan.
On their blog, they write a parody of the “Wunderlic Test” and ESPN radio host Colin Cowherd read it on the air without attribution. And when confronted about it, Cowherd half-heartedly apologized while complaining about the bloggers as a bunch of whiners who should “get over it.”
I just had to listen to the audio again to be sure. The Imam himself will be on the FoxNews show tonight. I did not hear any mention of Debbie.
#11
i listen to mark levin from time to time. his comments about the dems are hilarious and he is sharp of mind. the one thing i don’t like (maybe you’ll agree, maybe you won’t) is that he basically shouts down the libs and interrupts them constantly. it’s actually fun listening to them and their conspiracy theories. i understand he may not want to tie up the show by giving them airtime but…oh well. it’s his show and he can certainly run it as he sees fit.
Sean Hannity is the right’s gift to the left just as Amanda Marcotte is the Left’s gift to the Right. Both sides can point to the opposite example and say “THAT is what I hate about Conservatives/Liberals!”
And they would both be right.
Plese forgive me for this OT post, but why not allow comment on the Anna Nicole Smith post above? I find myself very sad. She was lambasted from every direction. Yah, maybe she wasn’t the poster child for a Christian life..I saw some of her shows and they were pretty terrible..but I wonder how I would hold up under all that stuff..and for some inexplicable reason I find myself in sorrow over her death..maybe it’s the part of me that isn’t perfect…
I stopped listening to Hannity too. He is nothing but a mouth piece for the Bush White house. Tony Snow/Sean Hannity= no difference. His monologue consists of “bad dems” and “good Bush” I say this as a conservative and not as a dem. Too bad I only have Michael Medvid as an alternative. It is better to turn the radio off. Also, his rudeness to anyone who doesn’t tell him he is a “Great American” (dems.) shows his lack of ability as a show host.
>>… for some inexplicable reason I find myself in sorrow over her death..maybe it’s the part of me that isn’t perfect…>>
I feel that way about the astronaut woman, too. I think it’s the sadness of seeing someone make bad decisions and throw their life away.
LaShawn, you are so correct (being PC and not using the dreaded “RIGHT” word) in calling Sean to account. Rush gives Debbie credit all the time, Sean should as well. Here’s what I sent to him;
“Sean, I think you have some explaining to do! Rush gives Debbie credit, why haven’t you? I know there are two sides to every story, so let’s hear your side to this one!
http://lashawnbarber.com/archives/2007/02/08/what-about-intellectual-property-rights-sean-hannity/trackback/
In the meantime, SHAME ON YOU!”
I’m a 24/7 member, so I’ll cc Rush on this too.
Thank you suek…I think you’re right.
I was utterly shocked to hear that Anna Nicole Smith has passed away! What is going to happen to her baby? Will they do DNA tests and let the natural father keep the baby?
My condolences to her family.
Hey,
What do you expect from a Long Island house painter that gets wet over riding in a private jet ?
Even if it is true that Sean, or the people who work for him, in researching Husham al-Husainy, read articles published by Debbie Schlussel and then repeated orally information contained within those articles without mentioning Debbie Schlussel, how exactly does this constitute plagiarism?
Please consider the following definition:
Plagiarism: Literary theft. Plagiarism occurs when a writer duplicates another writer’s language or ideas and then calls the work his or her own. Copyright laws protect writers’ words as their legal property. To avoid the charge of plagiarism, writers take care to credit those from whom they borrow and quote.
(plagiarism. Dictionary.com. The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/plagiarism)
Unless I am missing something, Sean Hannity is not an author. To my knowledge, he doesn’t write news articles, he is a TV and radio personality.
If I understand the charge being made, he is being accused of plagiarism (which is passing off someone else’s writing as your own) because his research (or the research of the people done by him) contained information written by someone else and he later DISCUSSED this information on TV and/or RADIO without naming all of the authors whose original research he may have discussed.
Is that about right? Well, plagiarism is a pretty harsh charge… so is libel, if the charge is false. As far as I know, TV/Radio personalities do not have to identify all the articles they may have read for a show prep in order to avoid being a plagiarist.
What this looks like to me is that Debbie did a lot of original work, and when a big name like Hannity picked up on the same story, this was her shot to get some air time. When Sean, or his producers, decided not to include her, sour grapes took hold and people started throwing around the P-word.
Sean is probably not the kind of guy who would sue over a false and defamatory charge being made about him… but I wouldn’t chance it if I were in her shoes.
It’s common for radio shows to say “a story…” without giving the source, but when a writer wants credit, they should give it to them! Hannity and his producer are being quite stubborn.
Did you edit this article to take out all the references to plagiarism? Suddenly this page is full of references to “intellectual property rights.”
No. This post remains as it was published yesterday morning. – Admin
“Hannity and his producer are being quite stubborn.” Maybe it is because ONE of the people whose research he MAY have used, “managed to get him to promise” something he didn’t want to do (I am just speculating).
Pretend just for one minute that you have the second biggest radio show in the USA and one of the most watched cable news shows in television. Then imagine how many people, from complete strangers to close friends, would be begging to be put on the air.
I don’t know Debbie, never heard of her before reading this page, but it seems like she is upset because she had a chance to get some national exposure and it didn’t pan out. Then, instead of being cool about it and thinking that maybe next time she’ll get her shot, she starts fussing about her work being stolen by Hannty and that he is a plagiarist, and that it isn’t fair, and that he is no good (I am inventing this, I don’t know that she actually said these things, but it is the impression I get from what I’ve read). How likely is it that by Attacking Sean and bead mouthing him that she is going to be more likely to be invited onto his show next time?
And all this time I was feeling guilty for being a conservative that cannot bring myself to become “Hannitized”. This is just another reason not to like him.
Feet of clay getting mud all over the place. I’m sorry to hear that Hannity is taking liberties (forgive me) with Debbie Schlussel’s work. I visit her site nearly every day, and she is a top notch investigator. Hannity should be ashamed, and really, this is beneath him. He should apologize, ask forgiveness,and invite Schlussel to appear on H/C thoroughly crediting her for her work.
A classy post, LaShawn. Thank you for stepping up and defending another person’s hard work being ripped off w/o attribution.
I agree with other posters about Hannity. He is Bush’s shill, and he is not too bright.
If Debbie Schlussel does not get satisfaction from Hannity or his producers, she should take it to Fox Corporate with lawyer in tow. Murdoch’s people are zealots about ensuring Fox is seen as standing on it’s merits, not stealing the work of others.
Ever notice how Rush always talks about his program being “show prep” for whoever follows?
I occasionally listen to six different hosts on the radio – Limbaugh, Beck, Ingraham, Hannity, Savage, and Levin. Of those, Hannity is the one that I generally change the station on the quickest. He just doesn’t have anything to say that I find interesting. A dullard.
But dullards can go quite far. Hannity has taken his 50 dollar hair cut and five dollar brain to the radio and Fox, plus he’s always hawking something, be it a book or a tour. And I don’t have a problem with any of that. But plagiarism isn’t what I’d call the act of a “great American”.
Once Debbie raised her objections, he should have corrected things at the beginning of his next show. But by avoiding her, lying to her, and giving her the runaround, he is showing his true colors.
Incidentally, here in Houston Rush just moved to another station. Hannity has to earn his listeners himself. I’d love to see the latest arbitron ratings!
Sean Hannity’s intellectual dishonesty is evident to anyone with a brain who listens to his show. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to find he’s stolen Debbie Schlussel’s work. By the way, far too many TV venues do this to print reporters and bloggers (The Wall Street Journal recently used one of my pranks on the undermannered — a loud cell phoners — as the lede to a story, and referred to me only as “a blogger.” I took it to the reporter’s editor — among others — and I do hope Schlussel takes it up Fox Corporate.)
PS How dumb is Sean Hannity to try to cross Schlussel — somebody who obviously isn’t exactly a pushover?! (See above. Add hubris.)
And, listen to his show — not as a Republican member of the team (too much of this on the right and left), but as a thinking person who appreciates the truth — versus lies and distortions. I need an airline barf bag to listen to Hannity for more than a minute.
Of course, I’m a true conservative — fiscally conservative and socially libertarian.
I like Sean Hannity. I like his guests. I like him better than Rush. I prefer him to his local competition (Marxist bent Reggie Bryant) and national competition (Michael Medved)on Philly radio, but what he has done is wrong. He should give Ms Shlussel proper credit. I watched his Fox TV program last night, and I don’t think he ever mentioned her name.
I like him, but Ms. Shlussel should legally take him to task.
Well if this doesn’t blow away any remaining faith in American news, nothing will.
LaShawn… by chance, did you ever check with Sean Hannity, to get his side of the story? Did you even try?
Another question: if this lady is so upset about supposed (I use that adjective, because it hasn’t been proven) plagiarism — and she’s a lawyer — why doesn’t she sue?
Could it be because she has no case?
This whole brouhaha is a great deal of hot air over relatively nothing, a commonplace occurence in journalism. And that’s IF the lady is being as absolutely truthful as everyone is just assuming her to be.
Folks, please — go on with other, more intellectually honest topics.
No, I haven’t contacted Hannity, and I qualified my comments: IF Hannity did A and B, then he’s guilty of C. I didn’t call him a thief. I said if he used Debbie’s material and didn’t credit Debbie, he’s a thief. And I don’t know how you figure this topic is less intellectually honest than any other. And I have to add that this is my blog, and I write about issues I consider important, whether commenters agree or not.
La Shawn asks good questions here, and it behooves Sean to squarely address them. Simple.
I think the word “plagiarism” may be a little distracting in this case. That word has specific legal and/or academic applications which do not seem relevant to the case.
The real issue is one of honor and fairness. Sean has made his reputation as a stand-up guy and he needs to acknowledge his use of Debbie Schlussel’s material. Having her on the show would be good, but maybe too much to ask. But a simple acknowledment of his sources is the least we should expect.
All of this is contingent, of course, on the truth of Schlussel’s alegations. La Shawn has noted above that she hasn’t contacted him directly, but there is no reason the rest of us can’t make the attempt. I have registered on the forums at hannity.com and will start a new thread on this subject. (I am currently stuck in email verification hell, but I’m sure that will be cleared up momentarily. If anyone else gets there first, feel free to start it.) If enough people are talking about this, the truth will become clear eventually.
No, LaShawn, you didn’t call him a thief. You devoted an entire blog to a lady who is calling him a thief, without even trying to get his side of the story.
I devoted a post to Hannity’s alleged use of Debbie’s work without crediting Debbie, not a blog. The blog is the entire site. A single entry is called a post. (Pet peeve sidebar). I’m familiar with Debbie’s work, and I trust that she represented the facts accurately on her blog, including what she said about Hannity admitting using her work uncredited. If you have further issues with Debbie’s credibility, go to her blog and take it up with her. I get the last word on this, so change to subject. – Admin
Wow….Hannity as shill for Bush? No! The mock horror! The mock horror! The guy must have a cochlear implant wired to pick up messages from Karl Rove’s office. I understand that partisans do what they must. In regards to comment # 29, as annoying as I find Debbie Schlussel at times, the woman knows her stuff in regards to the threat every American faces from radical Islam. She is not some nobody aching to put her face on TV.
As far as all these other journalism experts posting nonsense about standard practices…It’s one thing to “rip and read” news from the AP wire. That is the service they provide to newsrooms around the country. It’s altogether different if you use an investigative report without attribution.
What’s dangerous about someone like Hannity is that he has so many people fooled (a sizable portion of the conservative base), I wouldn’t be surprised if he ran for office and won.
Fooled? Oh, please. Not the old “hoodwinked conservatives who just need to see the shining liberal light” canard.
Redbeard,
If you think I’m full of beans about Hannity’s electability, watch what happpens with Romney next year. He’s an empty suit too. And, this has nothing to do with the “shining liberal light”. It has to do with whomever can rustle up bonifides that signify nothing. If you can stay on message, look good on TV and fight against imaginary forces of evil (pro-choicers, married gays, people who believe in evolution), you can win an election.
If you can stay on message, look good on TV and fight against imaginary forces of evil (pro-choicers, married gays, people who believe in evolution), you can win an election. -Angel
Where were you on November 7th? This characterization of a party held in thrall by supposed “right wing extremists” is a figment of the left’s imagination (with a lot of help from hysterical enditions from the media).
As for the rest…I have met a number of evangelical Christians since I moved to Texas. Upon “persistent” questioning and association I have discovered that the above depiction might be more accurately described as: those who believe in the fundamental right to life of the innocent, and those who believe that society has a vested interest in the promotion of two parent families with a man and a woman, and those who believe that children ought to hear a diverse expository on the beginning of life.
These folks don’t sound nearly as vicious, vacuous, or unhinged as Marcotte and her ilk.
“those who believe that children ought to hear a diverse expository on the beginning of life.”
You mean those that tell their kids that liberals are ‘godless’, evil, and ‘lie about evolution’, all such things described as being examples of ‘Satan’s work’?
Hardly a ‘diverse expository’? I mean c’mon…!
Jan,
How can that be a “figment of the left’s imagination” when all the would-be Republican contenders have to go hat in hand to places like Bob Jones University or Falwell’s Liberty U.? The same notion applies to liberals. The failure of the Clinton Presidency was not Monica-gate. It was his inability to focus and drive his agenda. The real fiction is the notion among conservatives that they are disenfranchised. Blogs and Fox News prove otherwise.
In any case, Hannity is a joke. You know what proves it? His Sunday night show presents a segment titled “Enemy of The State” without irony! Is hard-core conservatism just the flip side of hard-core fascism?
Anyway, people should be free to decide what works for them in their approach to life. If you want to believe man and dinosaur cavorted in the Grand Canyon a couple of thousand years ago, fine. Just don’t call it science. Secularism is what makes this country work where so many others have failed.
I don’t want to be off-topic so, in conclusion, Hannity is the definition of the Peter Principle. The danger is he has a major broadcast outlet from which to spew his silliness.
I have no respect for Hannity, before or after this event. At least Debbie Schussel has loads of *class*, something that Hannity could only dream of.
Next up, Hannity will expose the (traitor?) Julie Myers for her Mexican Eagle badge, over a YEAR after the event?
C’mon Hannity, let’s see you be original at least! Even if it means lying, you can DO it?
I have to agree with Angel regarding the propensity of people to fall for mold-injected phonies of both parties who really have no depth to them. I think Hannity is one of them. I don’t know about Romney as I am not too familiar with him (basically I have heard his name, not his beliefs).
I think it would do a conservative good to not do the Bob Jones pilgrimage, just as it would do libs good not to do the George Soros pilgrimage. Nothing good for America can come out of either of those camps.
I personally pray that this country can get rid of enough of the rancor and animosity between the libs and cons to address the issues that truly threaten both of us, our very survival, such as the threat from extremist terrorists. And yes, I mean the Islamic type, also the Arm of the Lord type too. There are plenty of loonies to go around and it only takes one blink of the eye to kill millions of Americans.
Wow. Sean Hannity says that cave men and dinosaurs cavorted together? I did not know that. Got an audio clip?
Eventually, I’m betting the ground swell on this will make it necessary for Sean Hannity to credit the original researcher on this story. Those interested in the topic are aware of Debbie & those who aren’t certainly will be once this story picks up speed.
I find it amazing that for WEEKS Sean bent over backward before swiping Billy Cunningham’s (Cincy talk show host) “Great American” tagline. Now, it’s like it’s a Sean Hannity original, but we know it isn’t. I hope that Debbie’s work doesn’t have a similar fate. She should certainly receive proper credit as this is much more important than some throw away tagline.
“You mean those that tell their kids that liberals are godless, evil, and lie about evolution, all such things described as being examples of Satans work?”
Talk about a caricature. I’ve been going to conservative evangelical churches for some time and have yet to hear that. I suspect you’re getting that talk from Ann Coulter, whom many of us regard as being over-the-top anyway.
These folks dont sound nearly as vicious, vacuous, or unhinged as Marcotte and her ilk.
Comment by jan 02.09.07 @ 11:27 pm
jan has it exactly right. Say what you will about the religious right(and I’ll agree they go too far sometimes), we aren’t foul-mouthed. There’s never any excuse for that sort of speech.
How can that be a “figment of the left’s imagination†-Angel
The so called choke-hold that evangelicals have on the political process is highly exaggerated and the results of the last election demonstrate that the Republican party is not in thrall to the far right. Perhaps they are not going to churches with “hat in hand” but rather going to share their commonalities of faith with their brothers/sisters in Christ.
There is a vast difference between positing a point of view, however unpalatable to some (enemies of the state by Hannity) and fascism which uses force.
You are free to believe man and dinosaur cavorted in the Grand Canyon – Angel
Angel, methinks you doth extrapolate too much, going from my very limited description of evangelicals on the right -“those who believe that children ought to hear a diverse expository on the beginning of life.â€- to what I believe.
Quite often you jump from a narrowly focused statement to a broadly sweeping judgement that has little or no basis in fact and is more a figment of your imagination.
#55 “Talk about a caricature.”
Be that as it may, aren’t those the things said very often on the most popular Conservative blogs today?
Tom, you say: “Say what you will about the religious right(and I’ll agree they go too far sometimes), we aren’t foul-mouthed?
Tom, I never called (’you’?/’they?) foul-mouthed, I’m sorry if that’s how you read it.
Be that as it may, arent those the things said very often on the most popular Conservative blogs today? – JohnD
Hmmmm…I am thinking of Powerline, TownHall, NationalReview, HumanEvents, and a few others and no, that is not what is said. To me, they are quite careful to draw a distinction between liberal ideas and liberals.
Jan,
Often, “a diverse expository on the beginning of life.” means the latest variant of Creationism. It is not science. But, even science has its’ limits in explaining our origins.
If you want to believe that a superior being blew the spark of life onto the soup of primitive organism we once were, fine. It’s not appropriate for a science class.
The difference between science and religion is when a scientist is asked a question that has no definitive answer he or she says, “I don’t know.” He or she does not ask us to make a leap of faith or turn to the Scriptures.
I believe we have a higher purpose. And, as an honest person who doesn’t pretend to have all the answers, I have to say I don’t know what that purpose is. Maybe there is something beyond this world or maybe this is it.
The bottom line is religion should be shared by a family in the church of their choice, not a classroom.
As far as the political groveling that Republican (and some Dems) engage in before religious groups…Keep in mind, politics is about power and money, pure and simple. Politicians enrich themselves and their friends. It’s up to us to enrich ourselves spiritually.
#58 “I am thinking of Powerline, TownHall, NationalReview, HumanEvents, and a few others and no, that is not what is said. To me, they are quite careful to draw a distinction between liberal ideas and liberals.”
Jan, with the greatest respect due, I wish it were true, but even the most cursory glance finds:
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/KevinMcCullough/2006/10/15/why_liberals_channel_lucifer
However, regardless of whether Townhall or or National Review et al fund/support Coulterspeak or not, my argument isn’t just with the tone of politival dialogue – but with the truth.
I do greatly respect Conservatives or Liberals (or inbetweenies) who call out their ‘own’ who tell untruths/hyperboles, and I know that Hannity and Schlussel have been called many times, but they never seem to apologize, and they never seem to retract falsities? At least not to my knowledge. Any evidence of this would be welcome.
As for popular Conservative bloggers drawing a distinction between liberal ideas and liberals…well, not often, in my experience, but I respect the fact that you do.
On a lighter note, I’m an independent who doesn’t claim to have all the answers, and learn more every day. I enjoy calling out liars and ‘hyperbolimiacs’ both ‘left’ and ‘right’. And they Do Not Like It. Well, they wouldn’t, would they? LOL.
Hannity, you are being called to task by your betters, let’s hope you don’t jump either the shark or Julie Myer’s ‘Mexican’ Eagle story.
Mr Hannity? What was that?
i think debbie is just trying to get some air time!if this had been someone else instead of sean hannity , it would not be a big deal, cause it happens all the time ,every day in all types of media.
furthermore , sean never claims that HE has come up with this info.
Boy, what a tempest in a teapot.
The fact that bloggers share information on a daily basis seems to be lost on most of the commenters here. The whole point of blogs is that we need an alternative to mainstream media so that we can hear other sides of a story. Now, when mainstream media finally shares a story from a blog, people aren’t happy with the fact that it’s being heard. No, we now have to have credit as well.
Ms. Schlussel has a history of using her legal status to bully those who cross her, and it’s not unheard of for her to practice that philosophy on fellow conservatives (just ask Misha at the Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler).
Blogging’s biggest treasure is that news is shared. Also – I didn’t know that news about something was considered intellectual property. For these reasons, I really can’t shed any tears over this.
TV (Harry)
I used to really like Sean Hannity, but over the past several months, He has gotten too cocky and arrogant for me.
JohnD;
I had never read a piece by McCullough before so I was interested to read the piece you cited. I can see why you might find it objectionable though I found it fairly innocuous, particularly given that his bio describes him as an evangelical commentator. Ergo, I would expect him to address good and evil.
To me, in this column he was primarily referencing a very common assertion by liberal spokespeople (his words) that good and evil have no place in public discourse even for such tragic policies as destroying unborn children.
I find it perfectly legitimate for a person of faith to find such a position to be “evil” which is quite different from asserting that all who are pro-abortion are defacto evil.
At the end of the day, while many on the left (particularly the far left) are infuriated by what they feel are religiously based judgementalism, they routinely judge people in the most vicious and harsh way. Try opposing AA or supporting tax cuts in a crowded room of Democrats. Trust me, the fur will fly and it won’t be pretty.
Thanks for your response Jan. With all the best will in the World, I’ve tried to see how I could have misunderstood your claim that ‘They’ (Townhall etc) do not fall into calling ‘liberals’ ‘evil’ and ‘Satan’s work’ .
I guess I was wrong because they actually used the word ‘Lucifer’this time? Not Satan? And ‘they’ do too *not* draw a line between ‘liberal ideas’ and ‘liberals’, as the title ably demonstrates.
Jan said:
“Try opposing AA or supporting tax cuts in a crowded room of Democrats. Trust me, the fur will fly and it won’t be pretty.”
There we agree, because I’m not defending ‘Democrats’, I’m questioning whether broad concepts such as ‘Liberals are evil’ and ‘the Theory of evolution is a false liberal religion’ are actually a ‘diverse expository’.
You claimed that you ‘do not see that’ said. I showed you that it is indeed said, so then you switched to defending *why* it is said. End of discussion I guess, I can’t/won’t switch like that.
How does one argue with people whose dialogue is built around slim variations of “You/They are evil/chanelling lucifer”.
Answer, one does not, and one cannot. As an agnostic/seeking Westerner who leans (by other’s definition) socially ‘left’, I get to be called ‘evil’ by both Muslims and Christians.
I will agree to disagree with you on this one Jan, I think that is for the best. At least we can discuss here like civil people without ‘Hannity’ wrestling the mic lest some ‘balance’ enters the discussion…
Regards,
John
Jan,
Is everything a “figment of imagination” as that seems to be your fall back response? Liberals get called evil all the time. Just a fact. I don’t doubt that Evangelicals believe in God. That’s not the issue. The issue is whether or not it is appropriate to use your religious beliefs to set public policy which would govern believers and non-believers. A strange phenomenon with Evangelicals is that they have segregated themselves from the culture to some degree with music, movies, books, and even video games. Yet, they still want to shape policy.
I still believe that religion has to be taken out of the equation. The religious right likes the idea of morality-based government until we start seeing things like sharia coming up in discussion. So, is religion in government okay as long as it is Christian?
I’m not picking on you, Jan. I just think you need to see clearly what the natural consequences of mixing religion and government could be.
John;
You do impress…:) First, let me state that I do not think that liberals are evil and a non-stop montage os such charges would be appalling, which is why I do not visit certain sites.
When I responded to your original claim which was: “aren’t those the things said very often on the most popular Conservative blogs today?” I had not ever read McCullough as I mentioned. I did acknowledge that I could see why you might be offended, so I need a teeny bit of credit there. Having said that, I do not think that the charge “very often” is accurate.
I guess I think that there is a big difference between what a religiously oriented writer addresses and one who is merely addressing politics, so his remarks seemed understandable in context, particularly when he was specifically addresssing the destruction of unborn children.
Then again, I lived in the Middle East for decades and learned to go with the flow. If a taxi driver stopped halfway to Dhahran to pray facing Mecca, so be it…I was just gonna be late with a smile.
I still maintain that comments such as “liberals are evil and/or the spawn of Satan” are not common in the mainstream blogosphere of the right while vulgar vitriol is the dish of the day in the mainstream blogosphere on the left which is why a Marcotte is hired by a wannabe president who didn’t forsee that folks would find her obscene venomous bigotry objectionable.
John;
I actually wrote a very nice response to your very nice response but it appears to have disappeared into the blogosphere soemwhere. Aaarrgghh!
You originally wrote; “aren’t those the things said very often on the most popular Conservative blogs today?” and I said no, as in not very often, but of course it does happen as there is no such thing as perfectly pristine in the real world of the blogosphere.
I did acknowledge that I could understand that McCullough’s piece would be objectionable to you, so may I have a teensy weensy bit of credit?
I personally did not find it objectionable in light of the context, but then again, I lived in the Middle East for many years and learned to live with the flow. Many a time, taxi drivers stopped enroute to my destination to get out of their vehicles and pray to Allah and I could but smile (and kick myself for not checking prayer times better).
my bad…
Why do I listen to Sean Hannity sometimes? Because most of the time he speaks my ideas. Same with Rush. Both guys are simply saying on the air what I have long believed.
And yes, I do disagree with both, from time to time.
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