Media Matters Daily Summary

Here are today's news items from Media Matters for America, click on the title or 'read more' to read the entirety of each story. Mother links son's Pelosi death threats to Fox -- which has history of inflammatory remarks about Pelosi Eleanor Giusti, the mother of Gregory Giusti -- who was arrested after allegedly threatening the life of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her support of health care reform -- has stated that Fox News was a factor in her son's alleged actions. As Media Matters for America has documented, Fox News hosts and guests have a history of issuing inflammatory remarks about Pelosi, most notably Glenn Beck's discussion of "put[ting] poison" in her wine. Read More Rove rehashes tired claim that health care bill "only appears to be affordable on paper" In his Wall Street Journal column, Karl Rove advanced the claim that the health care legislation "only appears to be affordable on paper because it includes 10 years worth of revenue from huge tax increases and gigantic Medicare cuts to pay for six years of spending." But, in fact, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the Senate bill -- which the House passed -- will not only reduce budget deficits through 2019 but will continue to reduce deficits in the following decade. Read More Right-wing media rushed to politicize reports of an attempted shoe bomb attack Right-wing blogs seized on initial reports of an attempted shoe bombing on a domestic flight over Denver -- reports which later turned out to be inaccurate -- as an opportunity to politicize what they believed to be an attempted terrorist attack. Read More Blind eye: Fox touts poll showing Obama trailing tea parties, ignores contradictory result in its own poll Fox News highlighted a Rasmussen poll to suggest that the views of the American public were closer to the tea party movement than to President Obama, but in presenting findings of its own polling a few hours later, Fox News did not disclose that its poll undermined that suggestion. Indeed, the Fox News poll showed that Obama is viewed far more favorably than the "Tea Party Movement." Read More Beck tars Gingrich, Reagan, Bush as furthering "fascist," "radical" education agenda In promos for his forthcoming special with young conservatives, Glenn Beck states, "Is education a right or a privilege? You know what I think." Indeed, Beck has previously suggested that those who say education is a right are promoting "a radical agenda that makes people a slave to government." Those smeared by Beck's outrageous claim include Fox News colleague Newt Gingrich and former presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. Read More You can help support our work; become a volunteer media monitor, or donate to Media Matters for America.