I try to give Fox News a chance. I listen to it on a daily basis, just to see what they espouse. They never disappoint me in their obvious bias and misinformation.

Their obsession with “Benghazi” is a prime example. The claim is that the Obama administration was warned about an attack and did nothing. Over 1,000 Fox programs have dealt with this assertion. First, let’s agree that Benghazi was an outpost, not a diplomatic embassy. Second, let’s agree that there was protection (three soldiers and our diplomat died), albeit less protection than needed (in retrospect). Third, let’s agree that the unreliable CIA (when will people realize the CIA always lies — i.e., torture, WMD, the Gulf of Tonkin, NSA spying?) wrote the response to be delivered by the administration. Fourth, no one wants to defend inaction when action is required… except Fox News.

George Bush was pre-warned (on numerous occasions) about the attacks on 9/11. Most infamously was the Aug. 6, 2001, Presidential Daily Briefing memo entitled “Bin Laden determined to attack within the U.S.” Nothing was done, and nearly 3,000 citizens died and two unpaid wars waged. Did Fox News run 1,000 programs over the next couple years questioning this inaction and deriding Pres. Bush? No! Did Fox News suggest a conspiracy? No! Did Fox News suggest impeachment? No! Hmmmm, 3,000 deaths vs. four deaths. Seems unseemly. But this is what Fox News has become.

The Fox news coverage of economics is even more heavy-handed. George Bush inherited a yearly budget surplus of $130 billion in 2001. By 2004 that surplus became a yearly $410 billion deficit despite two stimulus bills (the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003). Did Fox News cover that? Barely. Remember, Congress was controlled by Republicans. AND Dick Cheney responded at the time that “President Reagan proved deficits don’t matter.” Deficits don’t matter was the Republican reply. Fox News concurred.

Further, the Bush administration had 38 months of job losses during his tenure. The Obama administration has had only 13 months of job losses (most of them during his first year due to the worst recession in history that he inherited). In Bush’s first term he had no net gain in employment; Obama had a net gain of 1.3 million jobs despite an inherited recession. Heck, Jimmy Carter created over three times as many jobs in four years as Bush did in eight years. Fox News won’t tell you this.

Fox News continues to report that tax cuts to the wealthy create jobs. There is no evidence whatsoever that this occurred. There is no evidence that tax cuts to the wealthy have done anything for job creation (nor any evidence that tax increases on the wealthy stifle job creation), but tax cuts have done lots for deficit creation (our revenue intake went from 20 percent of GDP in 2001 to 15 percent of GDP in 2005). Fox News will never tell you this. NEVER.

By the time Obama took office, we had lost 5 million jobs the previous year and the projected deficit for 2009 was $1.2 trillion. This is what he faced the day he took office. Before he ever had a chance to enact legislation, he was saddled with the largest deficit in history and the worst recession in history. Did Fox News report this? No! They blamed Obama and Democrats because the Congress was in Democratic control from January 2007 to inauguration day. 

Not one spending bill was passed by Democrats that was NOT filibustered by the Senate Republicans (who have filibustered more bills than almost ALL other Senates in our history), nor vetoed by Bush during that time. No Democratic bill increased spending without consent from Bush. But Fox News blames the Democrats.

Fox News reports that voter fraud is rampant. The fact is, between 2000 and 2010, there were 649 million votes cast in general elections, 47,000 UFO sightings, 441 Americans killed by lightning, and just 13 credible cases of in-person voter impersonation.

While defending its precedent-setting photo ID law before the Supreme Court, Indiana was unable to cite a single instance of voter impersonation in its entire history. The same is true for Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

Got that? It is 30 times more likely that a person will be killed by lightning than engage in voter fraud.

There is no rampant voter fraud. Will Fox News report these findings? No!

Fox News the leads the way with the Obamacare “will lead to higher costs and less medical care” mantra, as touted by congressional candidate Ryan Zinke on his site. Maybe you should use your MBA for actual research, my friend. That’s what I do with mine — research. You are dead wrong, Mr. Zinke. Costs are declining and coverage is increasing. FACT. 

I am a beneficiary of Obamacare. My insurance was unaffordable due to a pre-existing condition caused by HMO malfeasance in the 1970s. I was sent back to work repeatedly by the private sector insurance/doctor cabal with a serious condition that worsened due to their “maximizing profits.” The private sector caused my problem and now wants me to have no recourse. Hope my niece who survived leukemia doesn’t have the same problem you apparently endorse, never having a chance of affording insurance coverage. 

Get a clue, Zinke. You’re just another billionaire mouthpiece, nothing else. You walk the corporate line like a good soldier. You promote their further dominance in our daily lives by the policies you promote. Pollution is good (no government). Offshore tax avoidance is good (let others pay for infrastructure). Exploitation of foreign communist labor is good business (while paying taxes in China, but not here). Tax cuts to billionaires create jobs… ha ha ha ha. Show me the evidence. Fox News may want to hire you.

Fox News lies. They make a living out of lying. They know their listeners/watchers could give a damn about facts and evidence, but those people are very motivated by hatred. So Fox News propagates hatred rather than evidence. They have become a cult. The Fox News cult.

And this cult is difficult to avoid. I can’t even listen to my local rock ’n’ roll station without these hate-filled, incorrect, false allegations represented as truth. At least one local radio personality can’t go a day without aping this hatred, even though radio stations are required by law to “operate in the public interest.” Apparently this radio host thinks one-sided propaganda and false allegations are in the “public interest.” 

Try reading Adam Smith’s “The Wealth of Nations” or former Nixon aide Kevin Phillips’ “Wealth and Democracy” and “American Dynasty’” or former Reagan budget director David Stockman’s book that claims Bush’s policies bankrupted the country. Read opinions/books by Bruce Bartlett (a former Reagan aide) or Paul O’Neill (Bush’s former treasury secretary). Evidence is out there, but not on Fox News. Fox News lies for a living. And they have a cult following that defends them with intimidation, shouting down others, the displaying of weapons and repetitive deceit. I suggest those “cultists” buy their Nikes and wait for the next comet like a good cult should.

Jerry Straka is a resident of Whitefish.