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"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." - John 8:32
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Author:  Bob Webster
Bio: Bob Webster
Date:  October 12, 2011
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Topic category:  Government/Politics

Note to AP:  Hank WIlliams Jr., did NOT compare Obama to Hitler

The Associated Press (AP) is not known for being unbiased. A current AP story about Hank Williams, Jr.'s comment to FOXNews' "Fox & Friends" illustrates just how gross AP's bias can be.

In a story about Hank Williams Jr.’s latest song taking “Fox & Friends” and ESPN to task for mischaracterizing his remarks, the AP writer claims, “Williams compared President Barack Obama to Hitler in the Fox interview.”

Williams did no such thing.

Williams made an analogy, which, by definition is: “reasoning or explaining from parallel cases.”

Williams’ analogy suggested the parallel that House Majority Leader John Boehner and President Obama golfing together was as incongruous as Adolf Hitler and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu golfing together.

Was Williams comparing Obama with Hitler? No. He made the parallel case that golfing between strong political opponents such as Obama and Boehner was as incongruous as golfing between Hitler and Netanyahu. That’s what analogy does.

Writing in the Miami Herald in 2009, Leonard Pitts stated, "I am to dancing what Roseanne is to singing and Donald Duck to motivational speeches.” Did Pitts compare Roseanne to Donald Duck? No. He compared Roseanne’s singing to Donald Duck’s motivational speeches. That’s what analogy does.

Not only does the AP writer's claim that WIlliams compared Obama to Hitler demonstrate how biased AP is, it also illustrates the sorry state of affairs of public education in America. It is inconceivable that an educated person could misconstrue Williams' statement to arrive at the conclusion of the AP.

This leads to only three possibilities. That this AP writer must be (1) uneducated, (2) an educated imbecile, or (3) deliberately misrepresenting facts. None of these conclusions reflects well on the AP.

For ESPN to fire Williams over this silliness speaks volumes about the lack of integrity and/or intelligence of those responsible for ESPN's management. This is the second egregious decision of this type by ESPN. Of course, ESPN is free to hire or fire whomever they please. But the basis upon which they make such decisions reflects on ESPN. In this case, poorly.

I don't know what is going on at FOXNews, but, quite frankly, I'm not impressed with the new direction. Fox & Friends had better clean up its act. We do not need yet another smarmy morning news program.

And while I'm on the subject of FOXNews, it's time for a better motto than "Fair and Balanced." Little in life is "fair" and just how does one "balance" truth? With lies? The performance of Fox & Friends in the Hank Williams, Jr. incident is inexcusable.

Frankly, I’m interested in news, not the childish distortions of TV personalities. I'm interested in facts, not an AP writer’s opinions.

Stick to the facts, AP. Your readers are perfectly capable of forming their own opinions.

Bob Webster
WEBCommentary (Editor, Publisher)

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Biography - Bob Webster

Author of "Looking Out the Window", an evidence-based examination of the "climate change" issue, Bob Webster, is a 12th-generation descendent of both the Darte family (Connecticut, 1630s) and the Webster family (Massachusetts, 1630s). He is a descendant of Daniel Webster's father, Revolutionary War patriot Ebenezer Webster, who served with General Washington. Bob has always had a strong interest in early American history, our Constitution, U.S. politics, and law. Politically he is a constitutional republican with objectivist and libertarian roots. He has faith in the ultimate triumph of truth and reason over deception and emotion. He is a strong believer in our Constitution as written and views the abandonment of constitutional restraint by the regressive Progressive movement as a great danger to our Republic. His favorite novel is Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand and believes it should be required reading for all high school students so they can appreciate the cost of tolerating the growth of unconstitutional crushingly powerful central government. He strongly believes, as our Constitution enshrines, that the interests of the individual should be held superior to the interests of the state.

A lifelong interest in meteorology and climatology spurred his strong interest in science. Bob earned his degree in Mathematics at Virginia Tech, graduating in 1964.


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