The Stupifying World of Fox News

So I was reading about the mainstream media's lack of coverage of Winter Soldier. In a way I was surprised, since the winter soldier testimonies were all over my feed reader, from Democracy Now to Common Dreams to The Real News. On the other hand, I guess it isn't so surprising after all.

I thought I'd check Google News, and indeed, the only coverage of Winter Soldier was from the independents and a few local papers. There were only 240 results. (As a comparison, just try searching for "American Idol" - nearly 14,000 results.)


So I thought, just for kicks, that I'd check to see if there was even a speck of coverage on CNN or FOX.


On Fox, the only results from 2008 was a story about Captain America, the ultra-patriotic comic book superhero.

Then I started browsing FOXNews.com. Why? Must have been momentarily possessed by a self-destructive devil. The subcategories under U.S. are all about fear and distraction. Crime, Sports, Education, Live Audio, War on Terror, Homeland Security, Law, Immigration, Natural Disasters, Sept. 11, U.S. Military. And who, oh who, can protect us from the brown hordes that threaten us (learn all about it under Immigration, September 11, Homeland Security, War on Terror)? And from our neighbours? And the damn planet? Then there's the "HOT TOPICS": FOX News Election Coverage, Celebrity Gossip, FOX Movietone News. Hmm, that's basically sports and entertainment. Even though sports and entertainment have their own top level categories. I guess the American economy is doing A-OK. I could feel my brain turning to mush already.

Next, I went to the videos, where I was treated to some interestig headlines:
Axis of Evil - Is there a connection between Iran and Al Qaeda in Iraq? The Axis of Evil is back? Ma, we better make ourselves a fallout shelter.
Man's World? - Can Hillary Clinton use business leadership skills to reach the White House? Everyone knows Hillary has bigger Kahunas than most men. She should really go home and bake a cake.
Damage Control? - Obama, church blame media for controversy over pastor's provocative comments But of course, that's just damage control, or maybe it's the liberal media's fault. Because everyone knows Fox is fair and balanced.
Losing His Religion? - Obama distances himself from controversial pastor Catch-22: if Obama distances himself from the pastor he's losing his religion, and if he doesn't, then he's racist.
Losing My Religion? - New poll suggests shrinking spiritualism in U.S. Must be Obama's fault.
Racism or Sexism? - Is racism or sexism the bigger problem? Because we must hierarchize, always. By the way, the host's answer was that people just need to stop whining.

Of course, it wasn't all bad. I did learn about panda porn.