Fox attacks the environment; I do a poor job defending it

Videos for your viewing pleasure, if that's the word for it

Posted by David Roberts at 12:04 PM on 12 Jul 2007

Read more about: shameless self-promotion | climate | TV

Film director Robert Greenwald has been producing a series of videos exposing Fox News as a propaganda arm of the far right wing (is "exposing" the right word when everyone already knows it?), under the rubric Fox Attacks.

The latest in the series is Fox Attacks: The Environment, which is about Fox's hackery on the subject of global warming. Here it is:

Accompanying the video is a campaign by a grassroots coalition to spread the word about Fox's environmental hackery and to persuade Home Depot -- which claims to be a green company -- to withdraw its advertising from Fox. (You can sign a petition to that effect here.)

In related news, last night's Hannity & Colmes included a segment on -- what else? -- the hypocrisy of rich environmentalists. The guests were Some Guy from CEI and, er ... me. Video below the fold:

A bit of background: just before I went on, Hannity had all but forced Republican presidential contender Sam Brownback to pledge that he would be open to a pre-emptive strike on Iran. This left a rather sour taste in my mouth. And given that Hannity has basically no interest whatsoever in discussing anything of substance on climate change, I decided just to be a snarky jerk. I fear I came off rather unpleasantly. But in the grand scheme of things, I suppose it doesn't much matter. I only do this kind of stuff so I can tell my grandkids about it.

For story: Fox attacks the environment; I do a poor job defending it
19 Comments | Post a Comment

Dave,

Very impressive. You kicked ass. Why does anyone watch this crap? Maybe its fun watching five minutes of a host overtalking their guest's comments. There is absolutely no meaningful data exchanged on this ridiculous taking head show.

In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world

by biodiversivist at 12:56 PM on 12 Jul 2007

You've got me

Some people just like their lizard brain stimulated. It keeps troublesome facts and complications at bay.

grist.org

by David Roberts at 1:24 PM on 12 Jul 2007

Impressive

That's harder than it looks. You did a great job. Based on your write-up, I was half-expecting you to respond to the Al Gore-baiting with something along the lines of, "Why should anyone listen to your opinion on the war, Sean, when you spend most of the day blow drying your hair and reading from a teleprompter?"

But your answers were better.

www.terrapass.com/blog

by Adam Stein at 1:50 PM on 12 Jul 2007

"hoping against hope"

Don't worry, DR, you were great. There was no chance that Hannity was going to let you say very much, anyway, still less that you were going to change his mind. Good for you, though, that you endured it; it only adds to your street cred.

That was a nice shot, about people who lie to the public. Hopefully some others besides me appreciated it.

Not to be overlooked amidst all his insulting behavior is how Hannity slurred over the name "Grist magazine" when he introduced you.

As for the viewership, who knows what they came away with?

RFK Jr.'s rhetorical use of "traitor" and "treason" I for one find to be wholly acceptable and useful, as metaphor. Predictably it rang some bells on the right, and no doubt it is receiving some discussion in the blogs. But I doubt that that will turn out to be very important. Or at least I hope it will not.

On the other hand, Hannity's moral, "Nobody who flies in a Lear jet is going to tell me to walk to work," has already been around for a while, and apparently has legs, so to speak.

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

by caniscandida at 2:00 PM on 12 Jul 2007

Proud

I'm prouder than ever of our Dave. The point is that if everyone on earth flies on a private jet, I would still feel it's my moral imperative NOT to pollute the environment in such a way.

If two wrongs don't make a right, why do these commentators still use that tactic.

by Baby Boomer at 2:45 PM on 12 Jul 2007

nice job

I think you did well. Especially that remark to the CEI guy about talking points --- that really yanked his chain. Niiiiiiice!

by Andrew Dessler at 3:42 PM on 12 Jul 2007

Nice smirk

I like the grin you seem to have on your face (unless it's just a camera effect) when Hannity and the CEI guy were spouting off their rubbish - encapsulated just how laughable their arguments were much better than any words could have done.

I think you did a reasonable job, given that fox doesn't actually believe in debate, it believes in hiring people who can outshout the guests, and you didn't really let yourself be outshouted.

The private jet argument is, to a certain extent, a valid point. Nevertheless, two wrongs don't make a right certainly springs to mind. Or, for that matter, the following exchange:

"My doctor told me that if I fix up my diet, I may be able to live an extra ten years, and save my family from having to look after me so much."

"Oh, are you following his advice then?"

"No. He's overweight, so he can't be right."

And then there's such a thing as mitigation. Environmental activists who use their private jets to get around and spread awareness, have probably more of a right to use them than some git who makes a living making fun of people who know a lot more than he does on a channel not renowned for inspiring respect.

If I share initials with 'Global Warming', is that a sign?

by tico89 at 10:01 PM on 12 Jul 2007

All day ...

... I've been thinking of other, better things I should have said. (It doesn't help that they let me know I'd be on 3 hours before air time -- just enough time to shower and be nervous, not enough to prepare.) Here's one:

"Sean, this is just a game you play. RFK Jr. could pledge to ride a solar-powered scooter everywhere he goes for the rest of his life and you still wouldn't listen to him about global warming. You deny global warming because the movement that writes your checks has a vested financial interest in denying it. Why pretend it has anything to do with RFK Jr. or Gore?"

Sigh. Maybe next time. If they ever invite me back.

grist.org

by David Roberts at 10:15 PM on 12 Jul 2007

Your performance could hardly have been better.

Not being invited back would be a badge of honor. Nobody can hear you scream in a vacuum (especially an intellectual one).

In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world

by biodiversivist at 11:09 PM on 12 Jul 2007

why do it?

David

I think you held up well, given the circumstances.

But why put yourself into that freakshow where every question has been framed as a wedge? Where that bunch of sad jerks has all the control?

Analysed from a media psychology point of view, Fox is way scarier than anything Goebbels ever put together.

Stay outta there - don't give them legitimacy that they don't deserve!

Whiskerfish

by Whiskerfish at 12:55 AM on 13 Jul 2007

right, environmentalists=Nazis

Thanks, Whiskerfish, for reminding us of that rhetorical treasure, "We don't listen to Goebbels to explain the Third Reich to us, and so we should not listen to Al Gore to explain global warming to us."

Right, so who do we kill first? We are going to kill everybody eventually anyway, so let's at least do it in an orderly fashion, which means, All you victims get in line! Schnell!

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

by caniscandida at 2:44 AM on 13 Jul 2007

Well, not specifically environmental

But this is a pretty good documentrary on how FOX does things.

Although, what was this all about?
http://greyfalcon.net/murdoch
http://greyfalcon.net/murdoch2
http://greyfalcon.net/murdoch3

by GreyFlcn at 4:07 AM on 13 Jul 2007

Heh

A relevant article on this stuff

"If Only Gay Sex Caused Global Warming"

It explains how the mental architecture of the brain isn't that well equiped to deal with issues in the future.

That instead, people are more afraid of terrorists than they are of more realistic environmental threats.

So if only Doctor Evil gave us our chunk of global warming we've experienced so far, overnight.

Then all the sudden we'd be pulling out all the stops to counter his nefarious plans.

In the war of emotions, it's harder to connect to environmentalism.

by GreyFlcn at 4:24 AM on 13 Jul 2007

Great!!

Good work DR!

But we who constantly harrass you here on this blog have to take some of the credit. You have been tempered in the furnace. Hehehey.

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog

by amazingdrx at 5:32 AM on 13 Jul 2007

Don't feel bad Dave,

You were in a fist fight with a Pit Bull. No way you are going to look good (and you did not look bad)in such a format, because the format is designed to make anyone Hannity does not like, look bad. I would like to know. Has anyone Hannity opposes, ever gone on his show, and kicked his ass. If it did happen I am sure that the clips are buried deep in a secret vault.

Do you think for a second that if you stood any chance of delivering an ass whipping to Hannity they would have you on? You wouldn't even be allowed in the lobby.

Randy Cunningham

Randy Cunningham

by randino at 6:04 AM on 13 Jul 2007

Yeah

I would have preferred an electric car bit instead of driving bikes. Since that plays into their fears.

But frankly I like how you shut Hannity down on the market fundamentalism aspect.

Ironically, I've been finding that it's not Adam Smith which is responsible for market fundamentalism, but instead Fredrick Hayek, and later his student Milton Friedman.

Actually, Adam Smith actually believed that you should NOT privatize public goods, and that capitalism would only properly function given the assumption of corporate self responsibility.

by GreyFlcn at 6:10 AM on 13 Jul 2007

Maybe answer with a question

Like: "Who would you listen to? I've got some nice, non-threatening middle class people who can talk to you about Global Warming and the enironment. Are you interested?"

by Baby Boomer at 6:44 AM on 13 Jul 2007
[ Parent ]

Talking points

That "talking points" mention really enraged the CEI dude. Very funny.

Hannity is the real talker over of the group, just as O'Really(?) is on his show. DR was very polite, making our side look like the reasonable one.

But yeah, have that plugin hybrid retort ready next time DR. Instead of the "ride a bike" one.

And when Hannity says that Gore and RFK need to take a no private jet pledge. Just tell Hannity that he is funding TERRORISM with his oil use. What is worse hypocricy, hypocricy on terror or global warming? If he expects others to curtail their personal hypocricy, maybe he should start with his own hypocricy. ("maybe that would be more effective for you, Shaun?" ..thanks to Martin Short/Nathan Therm)

Shaun, buy an electric plugin hybrid vehicle (that sends far less cash to terror supporting nations like Saudi Arabia), or quit complaining about Al and Bob's hypocricy. Your hypocricy funds terror!!! Gasp!!!

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog

by amazingdrx at 7:02 AM on 13 Jul 2007

Go David

I have to give you credit going on a show where the host does not know what an opinion is. I cannot stand Hannity and I laugh that his 20 million dollar Learjet was paid for by the same people who do not listen to an opposing opinion.

Good going,

Cuz

by timman at 2:26 PM on 19 Jul 2007

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