Bill Presses On: Remove Mississippi Star from Flag

Staying current? Current TV’s Full Court Press host Bill Press “[brought] his agenda for a liberal way” to yet another American icon, the U.S. flag yesterday. Two days before Americans celebrated D-Day, Press announced his “major crusade” to “junk the Star-Spangled Banner” as the national anthem (deriding it as “unsingable,” “an abomination,” and an embarrassment): Yesterday (day after D-Day anniversary), Press took aim at the “The Stars and the Stripes.” To whit, he sniped that Old Glory shines just a little too brightly: I.e., it has one too many stars.

In an interview with his friend Mediaite columnist Tommy Christopher via e-mail, Press declared that he “absolutely [did] not” have “any second thoughts about hating the anthem” and added that he thought it was a “horrible song” that was “militaristic” to boot. After a series of queries about the national anthem (e.g., rewriting “the home of the brave” to “a home of MANY brave”), Christopher asked, “What changes would you make to the actual flag?” Smugly, Press snarked, “Remove one star, for Mississippi.”

Perhaps, the talented former Crossfire co-anchor is simply trying to stoke the ratings for his new show by stirring up controversy. But, it seems somewhat strange for the talented former CNN Crossfire co-host who once deftly debated actual issues now to attack America’s revered symbols instead to stay current. Instead of “Pressing” on, perhaps, he should move on.

If not, Lady Liberty next, Bill?

Gutfeld & Five Gals: Slap Young “F U” Turk Back?

Greg: “Lots of lonely feminist bloggers are trying to ravish me.” Without referring to Young Turks co-host and Examiner.com writer Ana Kasparian by name, Five‘s co-anchor Greg Gutfeld appeared to slap her back yesterday for her caustic “F*** you” comment to him on her show the day before. And, his Five lady co-hosts Dana Perino and Kimberly Guilfoyle had his back.

As Mediaite‘s Tommy Christopher chronicled, Kasparian “took major exception” Tuesday to a Gutfeld joke on the Five last Friday that N.O.W. had outlived its usefulness because women “can shop” now. When she reviewed the Five snippet on her program Tuesday, Kasparian decried Gutfeld’s comment as “sexist” and then acerbically exclaimed, “F*** you!” Apparently, Gutfeld was listening, or perhaps, more likely, read Christopher’s piece (which included the YT vid).

During a Five segment yesterday on the Secret Service Columbian prostitute scandal, co-host Perino referred to the phrase, “Wheels up and rings off” that she (a former Bush White House Press Secretary) used to hear “when we would go on trips.”* In response, Gutfeld jested, “When I travel, I put my wedding ring on because…usually when I go to foreign countries, lots of lonely feminist bloggers are trying to ravish me: And, the only way I can fight them off is by [sic] to tell them that I’m married.” Offering her FNC colleague distaff support, Perino curtly commented, “And, they really don’t have a sense of humor, those ladies!” Joining in the seeming push-back on Kasparian, Guifoyle sneered, “Yeah, they’ve missed a few things recently.”

Rowr! Greg and his Five gal pals: no shrinking violets.

*The Five – 04/25/12 (@ 5:40 a.m. ET)

Piqued Fred Thompson: Huckabee Untruthful

“There’s not one shred of truth….just a rewriting of history.” A visibly miffed former Senator Fred Thompson (TN-R) appeared on Fox & Friends today to rebut his former 2008 GOP Presidential rival and FNC anchor Mike Huckabee‘s allegations yesterday.* Before he gave his side, F&FW producers ran a clip of Huckabee indicating that a feckless Thompson had stayed in the ’08 GOP Prez race at his “good friend” McCain’s urging so that Thompson would split the vote with Huckabee to deny him a South Carolina victory; that “many people in the McCain camp had confirmed” that fact; and that “it was very painful at the time.” When F&F co-anchor Steve Doocy asked Thompson for his response, he laughingly sniped, “What Mike just said is, is fine except for one thing: there’s not one shred of truth to it.”

Pressing Thompson, co-host Alisyn Camerota inquired, “So, Senator McCain never asked you to stay in the race?” Emphatically, Thompson answered, “Correct! Senator McCain and I never had a conversation about staying in the race, staying out of the race.” He continued, “If I’d wanted to hurt Huckabee, I would have stayed in…as we went down to Tennessee…or would have endorsed John before then.” More definitively, he declared, “We didn’t [even] have a conversation with the intermediaries….There was nothing said about that.”

Clearly still miffed, Thompson elaborated, “Mike, Mike’s been around long enough to know not to…inhale all of that stuff too deeply. And, when he says [that] several McCain people have come to him and verified it, I, I must say–you know, I have nothing at all against Mike Huckabee–I doubt that. I doubt that.”

Then, calling Huckabee “out on the carpet” before his clearly uncomfortable FNC colleagues (F&F co-hosts Aly, Steve, and Eric Bolling), Thompson concluded, “And, if they did…he should name the names. Now, it’s just a rewriting of history that’s unnecessary.”

Coming to Huckabee’s defense, Steve stammered, “Well, it, it, apparently, it’s his perception on what happened.” Chiming in, less than convincingly, a smiling Aly asserted, “Well, we appreciate you clarifying all of that.”

Perhaps, Aly. But, Governor Huckabee probably doesn’t.

Fox & Friends – 01/13/12 (@ 7:52 a.m. ET)

Update: For columnist Tommy Christopher‘s subsequent take and the vid clip in Mediaite, link here.

AM Adopts F&F’s Couch (But, Shep’s Commode?)

The De-Klein and Fall of American Morning in one day? Today AM co-hosts Christine Romans and Ali Velshi and their audience celebrated the long-awaited arrival of their cozy “curvy couch” (a la FNC’s Fox & Friends). However, regrettably, along with it came a real Fox News seat–the unflushed porcelain throne of Shepard Smith–still filled with the Ole Miss devotee’s disgusting dung, i.e., the offensive seven-year old Trampoline Bear video.

As AM began today, the camera panned over the comfy couch that AM co-host Kiran Chetry had apparently teased almost three months ago to Mediaite.com reporter Tommy Christopher. For far too long, the AM audience had suffered under the inane adage of former CNN chief Jon Klein that “couches/chairs sap energy.” However, today, his successor Ken Jautz clearly took yet another shackle off of his AM co-hosts to free them to be “more upbeat,” “more compelling…engaging, [and] sometimes more fun.” I.e., to sit down and talk to their AM audience as personal friends and family rather than stand and chat with them as casual acquaintances and customers.

Unfortunately, Ali and Christine spoiled the delightful debut of AM‘s divan with a gratuitously thrice-aired video of ugly, ursine plight. After running a headline news story about a little brown bear near some Albuquerque, New Mexico, apartments (that had to be sedated and then lowered by ropes into a bag), Christine gleefully commented, “That gives us, of course, an excuse to resurrect this oldie but goodie.”

Chiming in (a la Shep de Sade), Ali exclaimed, “I, I never get tired of this one. This is Missoula, Montana, a similar situation.” As the Trampoline Bear vid ran showing the black bear falling from the tree onto the trampoline, being hurled high into the air, plunging into the hard earth, and then crumpling under its own weight, Christine chortled, “Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!, and Ali cooed, “Ooh! Oww!”

Trying to assuage her horrified viewers, Christine hastily added, “He was fine! He was fine!” Then, as AM producers aired anew the repulsive footage, Ali baldly asserted, “I’d only show this to you again because he was fine.” Offering his personal color commentary as the bear took its crushing course into an unforgiving ground, Aly continued, “He bumps on the trampoline once and then [pause] off the trampoline.” Then, incredibly, the AM producers ran the video a third time for good–or, rather evil–measure.

About thirty minutes later, Christine and Aly cheerfully exhibited their Cyclopean couch to their viewers as they returned from break.** As the camera closed in on them, a blushing Christine chuckled and Aly announced, “We have our new couch!” Christine commented, “I like it.” Concurring, Ali replied, “I like this, too.”

So does the author. In fact, he suggested the couch about two and half years ago when Klein was in control. Bouquets, Jautz, for the welcome change.

But, brickbats, Ali and Christine, for adopting Shep’s used toilet. Flush his filth and clean CNN’s studio. And, apologize to your AM fans.

*American Morning – 05/16/11 (@ 7:10 a.m. ET)

**American Morning – 05/16/11 (@ 7:42 a.m. ET)

JD Says: Kiran Says

What really sparked John Roberts’ infamous rant against Kiran Chetry, his co-host on CNN’s American Morning? On September 8, 2010, JD infamously berated an off-camera Kiran during his interview with President Obama’s smirking senior advisor, David Axelrod. Carpe Diem reported the story that day; Mediaite ran with it (with vid) about a week later; consequently, other media outlets (e.g., Huffington Post, Gawker, and TV Guide) picked it up, and, subsequently, it went viral. However, no one reported what Kiran had done to set off JD’s rant.

This morning, JD (now FNC’s senior national correspondent) provided his version  of the “infamous incident” during a telephone interview with FBN’s Don Imus. Succinctly, Imus asked, “Was it your co-host, one? And what was she doing?” JD stuttered, “Well, well, well, that, that morning, I was wearing a particularly lovely shade of, of plum nail polish and there had been a chip that had developed in it when I had whacked my finger on the desk, and she was trying to fix the chip in my nail polish. Explaining his errant behavior, JD continued, “And, I thought that interviewing David Axelrod, that was not an appropriate time to be fixing my nail polish. So I just said, ‘Would you mind waiting until I’m [sic] done this and then you can go ahead.'” [Vid via Mediaite.]

However, Kiran gave a completely different story during her interview with Mediaite‘s Tommy Christopher on February 18. When Christopher rather reluctantly queried her about “that clip,” she stammered, “I was, oh, um, it was just, I think it was a little bit overblown:  This is why I love you bloggers because one moment in time gets, you know, immortalized forever.” Then, putting her hands over her computer keyboard as if reenacting the scene, Kiran continued, “But, we were dealing with some breaking news: he was doing an interview and I was typing. And, I guess that got a little annoying.” Later, Christopher confidently commented, “Well, I’m glad that we could set the record straight.”

But, did Christopher and Kiran really “set the record straight”? JD certainly does not seem to think so.

“MIA” Kiran: “Two Days!”

Mediaite.com’s Christopher: Two Stories! Did American Morning‘s Valentine, co-host Kiran Chetry, make Mediaite columnist Tommy Christopher go weak in the knees–or, perhaps, mushy in the mind? During this month of Amor, Christopher has penned two articles on Kiran and her  “unusually devoted fan base” (“who had a little panic attack” when she took an unannounced five-day vacation in the Dominican Republic barely a month after her former co-anchor John Roberts was axed on Christmas Eve). Even though Christopher got his conclusion right about Kiran, unfortunately, he got the facts wrong about her and her fans–twice.

In his first column (February 1), “Fans of CNN’s Kiran Chetry Rejoice! She Will Be Back on the Air Wednesday Morning (February 2),” Christopher rightly declared that the “real story…is [Kiran’s] dedicated fans.” However, he erroneously elaborated that they were so worried about Kiran after her “two-day absence” from American Morning that they spiked traffic to a “four-month-old post” so high that it hit the number 5 position on Mediaite in a “very unusual occurrence.” [Underscoring added for emphasis.] In awe, Christopher marveled, “Such grassroots fandom is the stuff that superstars are made of.”

In his followup piece, entitled “CNN’s Kiran Chetry Talks American Morning, John Roberts, and Journalism with Mediaite,” Christopher interviewed Kiran about the reaction of her “unusually devoted fan base” to her absence. Perhaps, hedging on her time away, he began, “Your fans, you took a few days off and your fans”: Before he could finish, Chetry inexplicably and incorrectly interjected, “Two days!” Echoing her error, Christopher continued, “Two days and your fans got all worried about you. How did that make you feel?…I’ve never seen that before.” Kiran answered that “it was very flattering that people wondered where I was” and that part of the interest probably pertained to John Robert’s recent low-key departure from AM.

As Kiran seemed to suggest, her American Morning fans probably did wonder where she was and were concerned that she may have been canned like Roberts as she frolicked in the Dominican Republic with her hubby Chris Knowles. Also, undoubtedly, Christopher was correct that Kiran has “super-devoted fans” who may “have had a little panic attack when she took…off.” However, they did not have that “little panic attack” Tuesday after Kiran had been off for only the second day in a row as Christopher claimed: rather, they grew concerned after she had been gone for five straight days. (Apparently, Christopher, did not realize that Kiran had also been off the Friday beforehand.)

Nevertheless, Christopher can not necessarily be blamed for being a bit discombobulated by the allure of AM‘s Aphrodite. Others, including Kiran’s former AM co-anchor John Roberts (twice), her current interim co-host T. J. Holmes, and her guest Richard Simmons have swooned in her presence. In fact, even the author from afar.

[Author’s aside: Kiran was off January 28-February 1. Kate Bouldan substituted for Kiran on January 28 (Friday); January 31 (Monday) and February 1 (Tuesday).]