Why Are Fox News Watchers Calling For Anchor Shepard Smith’s Head?

On Monday afternoon and then again on Tuesday, Shepard Smith was right there in his anchor chair at Fox News Channel’s top-rated Shepard Smith Reporting. So much for the rumors of his demise. Over the weekend, some Fox viewers were calling for the chief news anchor’s head over at the fair and balanced network.

Smith, who is also manager of the network’s breaking news division and has been with Fox since its inception in 1996, was frustrated last week at the never-ending news of Russian connections with members of the Trump administration, and the lack of answers forthcoming from the White House.

After it was learned on Thursday that fired national security advisor Michael Flynn had just registered as a foreign agent for Turkey, Smith’s exasperation overflowed when he bluntly blurted out that there was too much smoke, too much Russia, and too much lying going on.

That was apparently more than some Fox News supporters could bear, and now they are beating the drum to see Smith dismissed, spreading fake news that he had already been removed or was about to be removed.

Liberal Pundit Alan Colmes Has Passed Away at 66

Alan Colmes has passed away at the age of 66.

Anyone else remember “Hannity and Colmes,” the point-counterpoint debate-style talk show that aired in the evenings in the early days of Fox News when they presented pro and con sides of an issue? On the show that was on from 1996-2009, far right conservative Sean Hannity would square off against far left liberal Alan Colmes to discuss any- and everything political.

The show was entertaining and, while I normally did not agree with Colmes’ side of the discussion, he offered the other side of issues. However, it was kind of unsettling to see Hannity talk over Colmes as he responded, drilling into him when he tried to make a point. They finally parted ways, and Colmes went on to host a radio show for the Fox network while Hannity remained as the sole host of the TV show.

A little known fact is that Colmes’ sister-in-law was conservative commentator Monica Crowley who often appeared with Hannity and Colmes. His wife was Crawley’s sister, Dr. Jocelyn Crowley, who is a professor of public policy at Rutgers University.

No cause of death has been shared. RIP, Alan Colmes.

 

CNN hires Fox News personalities

Fox News anchor Kirsten Powers is leaving the network and heading to CNN as a political analysis. Powers, who will continue as a contributor for USA Today, will join the network immediately.

She follows former Fox News anchor Alisyn Camerota who joined CNN in July. Camerota had spent 16 years at Fox.

Besides Camerota, Powers will find another familiar face at her new network. Bob Beckel, who spent years as one of the co-hosts on Fox News’ afternoon program, “The Five,” joined CNN in October 2015.

It looks like Jeff Zucker, President of CNN Worldwide and formerly with NBC, is pulling in some more-balanced talent. Zucker had recognized that CNN was “a little too liberal” in the past and appears to be rectifying that problem, telling the Wall Street Journal:

“I think it was a legitimate criticism of CNN that it was a little too liberal,” Mr. Zucker said. “We have added many more middle-of-the-road conservative voices to an already strong stable of liberal voices. And I think that we are a much more-balanced network and, as a result, a much more inviting network to a segment of the audience that might not have otherwise been willing to come here.”

WSJ added:

After years of weak ratings, the network is nipping at the heels of Fox News, the longtime ratings leader in cable news, whose prime-time audience has grown 42% to 450,000 viewers, and is roughly doubling the audience of MSNBC, the weakest of the three major cable news channels. which is up 73% at 225,000.

The changes at CNN have been noticed so it will be interesting to see if Zucker is able to lure others from the Fox News stable of personalities.

Heightened concern regarding Muslim incident takes toll in Augusta County, closes schools

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Augusta County schools were unexpectedly locked down late Thursday after regular classes concluded, and all after-school activities were canceled including sports events and a holiday concert at Wilson Memorial High School. Parents received automated phone calls notifying that Friday classes, the last day before holiday break, were canceled.

The move came after the rural area located in the Shenandoah Valley of western Virginia unexpectedly found itself in the middle of a fire storm of controversy after a world geography class at Riverheads High School caused concern among some parents. Students were asked to participate in a calligraphy lesson writing the Muslim statement of faith, a lesson that has not settled well with some in the community. Conservative news outlets picked up on the controversy and news of it has spread across the country.

The Few. The Proud. The Marines.

By Lynn R. Mitchell

November 10, 1775. That was the birth date of the United States Marine Corps … 239 years of service to America … almost a year older than the United States of America herself. Today we honor all the men who have proudly served in this military branch including our own Daniel Cortez, one of the two military veterans who are contributors at LynnRMitchell.com.

New York Assemblyman, Fox News guest commentator, and Operation Iraqi Freedom Marine veteran Kieran Michael Lalor honored the USMC on this 239th birthday:

Fmr Mass. Sen. Scott Brown: American ISIS fighters should not return to U.S.

By Lynn R. Mitchell

This is filed under the category of leaders with common sense.

Former Massachusetts Senator and current GOP New Hampshire Senate nominee Scott Brown appeared on Fox News and asked if American citizens who fight for ISIS abroad be allowed to keep their passports. He responded, “Let’s keep them there with their new friends.”

He expanded on that: “They’re not coming back to the United States to buy a house with a white picket fence. They’re coming back to hurt and kill us and change our way of life… Let’s keep them there with their new friends.“

 

Augusta County’s ‘Chapstick Girl’ has gone viral, AP, Fox News calling – UPDATED: School board responds

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Ten-year-old Grace Karaffa’s common sense question asking why it is against Virginia’s Augusta County School Board rules to carry Chapstick to school has gone viral. Now Fox News has come calling.

Grace attended last week’s school board meeting armed with petitions that included over 200 signatures asking that they reconsider the rule prohibiting students from carrying lip balm to school. She has become the Shenandoah Valley’s “Chapstick Girl.”

I wrote earlier this week (see Grace Karaffa, 10, petitions Augusta School Board to allow Chapstick in schools):

Glenn Beck: ‘I said stupid things’

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Has Glenn Beck realized that anyone who doesn’t walk in lockstep gets turned on? He seems to have regrets about some things he said while at Fox News, according to  Alana Horowitz at Huffington Post (see Glenn Beck: I said ‘stupid things’ while at Fox News):