Mediaite » Tim Tebow

James O’Keefe’s ‘Fake Tim Tebow’ Voter Fraud ‘Investigation’ Doesn’t Have A Prayer

Tommy Christopher — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:24:07 +0000

Conservative Project Veritas auteur James O’Keefe, last seen upsetting deceased veterans’ widows, has published a new undercover “investigation” that he claims shows “the ease in which individuals may register to vote for themselves or others without identification requirements of any kind” in Minnesota. Progressive blogger Brad Friedman explains why, even if true, it hardly matters. Mediaite explains that it isn’t even true.

In his latest video, O’Keefe operatives secretly tape Minnesota election workers explaining how they can register people like “Timothy Tebow” and “Thomas Brady” to vote by mail, without showing any ID, and how easy it is for someone to obtain an absentee ballot under false pretenses. If you can stand the idiotic smugness (heh, heh, Tim Tebow! Thomas Brady!), check it out, and pay attention to the questions O’Keefe’s operatives ask:

The premise of O’Keefe’s investigations into “voter fraud” is that it’s easy for someone to fraudulently register to vote, and consequently, to cast fraudulent votes. The idea is that the only way to preserve democracy is to enact strict voter ID laws that have the added benefit of disenfranchising millions of voters who tend to vote Democratic. The Brad Blog‘s Brad Friedman, who makes a habit of dismantling O’Keefe investigations, explains why, even if you accept everything O’Keefe’s video says as true, such laws wouldn’t help at all:

1) While one can indeed register to vote (in most places) without showing an ID via third party, what O’Keefe fails to mention in his video, is that the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002 already requires those who do not register in person to provide ID when voting for the first time at the polling place. In other words, if “Thomas Brady” registers to vote via the registration forms received via O’Keefe’s video, he would be required, by federal law, to show an ID the first time he votes in person at the polling place. That is already federal law. O’Keefe must have forgotten to mention that in his latest “Voter Fraud Investigation” video.

2) To work around the above point in order to commit voter fraud, one could, after committing a felony by fraudulently filling out a voter registration form, go ahead and commit another felony by voting via absentee ballot without having to show an ID, as also discussed in the video (at least in states which allow easy, “no-excuse” access for that type of voting.) It would, indeed, be possible, in this way, to commit voter fraud, if one wished to risk the very high penalties for committing yet another felony. What O’Keefe fails to mention in his video, however, is that the polling place Photo ID restrictions that Republicans have been pushing for, and which this video is obviously meant to support, would do nothing to prevent this absentee voter fraud!

Friedman explains that he’s “currently on the road and don’t have enough time for his idiocy as is,” so I generously made time for this idiocy, and found out that even O’Keefe’s absentee scenario is false. According to Minnesota election law, anyone registering by mail must either provide a verifiable driver’s license/state ID number, or the last four digits of their Social Security number. If those items don’t match state records, or if the registrant checks that third box, they are sent a notice informing them that they have to register using the same requirements as in-person registration. Those requirements are:

(1) presenting a driver’s license or Minnesota identification card issued pursuant to section 171.07;
(2) presenting any document approved by the secretary of state as proper identification;
(3) presenting one of the following:
(i) a current valid student identification card from a postsecondary educational institution in Minnesota, if a list of students from that institution has been prepared under section 135A.17 and certified to the county auditor in the manner provided in rules of the secretary of state; or
(ii) a current student fee statement that contains the student’s valid address in the precinct together with a picture identification card; or
(4) having a voter who is registered to vote in the precinct, or who is an employee employed by and working in a residential facility in the precinct and vouching for a resident in the facility, sign an oath in the presence of the election judge vouching that the voter or employee personally knows that the individual is a resident of the precinct.

So, if O’Keefe wants to register Tim Tebow to vote in Minnesota by mail, he needs to either create a CIA-worthy document trail for him, featuring a valid, verifiable state ID number or Social Security number. Otherwise, fake Tim needs to show ID, or get another registered voter in that precinct to swear (and sign) an oath before an election judge, under penalty of fine and imprisonment, attesting to the identity of the bogus Tebow. That’s quite a bit different from O’Keefe’s claim of “without identification requirements of any kind.”

The truth is, submitting fake voter information is easy, but successfully registering fake people is incredibly difficult, and casting fake votes is even harder. Doing either of them enough times to affect the outcome of an election is a near-impossibility, and certainly not worth the penalty.

Passing a law that imposes a requirement that many of your opponent’s supporters don’t meet, however, is effective, and when you get people to believe garbage like this, downright simple. It’s easy to vote for other people to go get something that you already have.

Watch Suzanne Malveaux Ask An Awkward Tim Tebow About His Love Life

Frances Martel — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:19:18 +0000

With the Super Bowl approaching, CNN took the opportunity to chat with the biggest star in the sport who won’t be playing tomorrow: Tim Tebow, who was gracious and sweet about people criticizing him but appeared a little less prepared to be asked on national television what he looks for in a potential mate. Host Suzanne Malveaux asked him about just about everything– politics, sports, future plans– but the most entertaining part of the interview came when a blushing Tebow found himself answering questions about his love life.

In some ways, the chat is a very good primer on how to completely disarm a guarded guest who already seems a little bit nervous about being on a serious news network (and with the news that he may be considering a run for office sometime in the future, the instinct to fear cable news is right on). The interview starts off on a giggly note, with Malveaux noting that “a lot of women are excited to see you in the studio, they are swooning,” but teasing that they’ll “get back to that later.” She then touches on a little bit of everything– Tebow’s role models, how confident he feels about his game play, what he thinks of Charles Barkley referring to his success as a “national nightmare.” For the record, Tebow really likes Barkley, and doesn’t seem to mind at all that he gets poked at by famous people. Malveaux also asks Tebow what it feels like to have your name be a verb, to which he responds that he’s just happy he has gotten people to think and talk about prayer. As for what exactly he’s praying about? “That I’ll never change or treat people differently,” he responds.

From prayer, Malveaux then asks about another aspect of his religious existence. “You’ve said you’re saving yourself for marriage… are you dating anybody? A lot of women in this studio want to know.” Tebow laughed and took it well, and answered plaining that the answer was no, “I’m just a little busy right now.” But in the event that he was thinking about dating someone, what does he look for? Fear not, Malveaux actually asked this and, for the record: “kindness and compassion and has an outgoing personality and somebody who is sweet,” which doesn’t really answer the question, so Malveaux trudged on, asking about personal vices. This resulted in an extended answer about his sordid love affair with ice cream, his biggest temptation.

Malveaux got him to answer a few questions about politics, too– though not what candidate he would vote for. He noted that he did follow politics “to be a good voter” and considered getting name-dropped in a Republican debate “a pretty big compliment.” But he, like many others, is an undecided voter, giving only this clue on who he likes: “a bunch of them are great guys and they handle themselves very well.”

Malveaux leaves the most important question in the interview for last: “Who is going to win the Super Bowl?” If you think Tebow gave a straight answer, you haven’t been paying attention (though he did acknowledge that he could speak from personal experience that that Tom Brady fellow is pretty good). The whole interview is upbeat and fairly challenging to Tebow without coming even close to being disrespectful, which is pretty rare when it comes to things involving or referencing Tim Tebow.

The interview via CNN below:

[h/t The Right Scoop]

Tim Tebow: Running For Office ‘Could Be Something In My Future’

Frances Martel — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 18:17:28 +0000

In a revelation that will surprise no one who can recall a time (last month) when he was talked about on cable news at least once an hour, football star Tim Tebow tells the Golf Channel that running for office may be in his future. In an interview with the network’s Dave Feherty, Tebow notes that “if it’s something I care about, possibly” he could see himself as a politician.

The item from Mike Allen’s Playbook, via Politico:

TIM TEBOW, ON POSSIBLE FUTURE IN POLITICS (to golf commentator Dave Feherty on a “Feherty Live” special from the Super Bowl, airing on the Golf Channel at 10 p.m. tonight): “I don’t know — it could be something in my future. If it’s something I care about, possibly.”

Tebow is only/already 24, so he technically has to wait a year to run for Congress. He has said in many interviews that football is only a conduit to helping people, so this makes perfect sense. And he’s already more popular than many other presidential candidates today.

The full interview airs on the Golf Channel (which is apparently covering football this weekend) tonight at 10 PM.

Virgins Love Mitt Romney And Other Highlights From Bill Maher’s GOP Voter PPP Poll

Frances Martel — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:18:03 +0000

It has been a bizarre Republican primary campaign, to say the least, and Bill Maher has finally taken understanding Republican voters into his own hands– scientifically, anyway. The Real Time host partnered up with Public Policy Polling to understand just what make Republican primary voters tick, and found a few surprising details: for one, Mitt Romney does best with virgins, and Rep. Ron Paul fans prefer Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow to Romney.

The poll– which was conducted by Public Policy Polling, not Bill Maher, though it appears he had a hand in the questions, to say the least– was conducted nationally among 1,071 Republicans and independents, and asked some fairly unconventional poll questions, most of the social variety. While the poll found that Republicans are less likely to vote for a gay candidate than the average voter (53% less likely compared to 44% for base voter pool), they were actually significantly less likely to vote for an openly atheist candidate than a gay one (69% less likely, rather than 60% for the base, which is remarkable in its own right). Of those supporting a candidate in the Republican primary, Rick Perry and Rick Santorum voters came out less likely to vote for a gay candidate than the others, with Rep. Ron Paul fans somewhat surprisingly in third.

Then there’s this salacious bit: “Romney is the favorite among virgins, getting 34% and the least favorite among the most sexually experienced, getting just 13%. So the more sex partners a Republican has had, the less likely they are to support Mitt Romney.” The breakdown of voters by sexual experience below:

And, of course, because this is Bill Maher, those polled were asked about their political preferences for Maher’s current obsession, Tim Tebow. The shocking part of this part of the poll? Voters supporting Ron Paul, Rick Perry, and other candidates (presumably Buddy Roemer and Fred Karger) would vote for Tim Tebow over Mitt Romney, meaning that there is a viable, slim as it may be, possibility of that vote consolidating into something serious should Tebow be eligible to run– and, as if Tebow being Tebow wasn’t enough to make that an unlikely possibility, his place of birth (the Philippines) puts his viability in danger as well, and at the very least generates a lot of potential “birther” fodder. The results of that poll below:

The full results of the Maher/PPP Poll here.

Slate Magazine Hangs Up And Listens To Logic

Panel Nerds — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:09:46 +0000

Who: Josh Levin, Mike Pesca and Stefan Fatsis, with guest- Nate Silver
What: Slate’s Hang Up and Listen, Live!
Where: City Winery
When: January 17, 2012
Thumbs: Up

“I don’t want it to sound like a tautology” isn’t the kind of concern audibly shared at most sports panels, but while explaining how bad defenses play bad defense leading to bad results on Slate‘s live “Hang Up and Listen” podcast, that was exactly what Mike Pesca was worried about. Rather than describe or comment on the action, their first discussion of the evening focused on whether the playoffs were too “irrational.” Logic and reason continued to play a significant role in their analysis. Stefan Fatsis sat at his laptop and quoted DVOA — Tim Tebow hadn’t just played another game, he’d widened his sample size — and Pesca railed against the “logical fallacies” in comparing arbitrary statistics.

All of that meshed perfectly with the addition of Nate Silver to the panel for an interview segment. Silver was choppier when discussing himself and his own progression, but became more animated and passionate when the discussion turned to his work with statistics and prediction models both in sports and politics. Just as Hang Up and Listen’s discussions shied away from stereotypical sports blowhard culture, Silver diverged from the pomposity of political punditry. Silver focused a great deal on explaining the limits of statistics, how important it is to know those limits exist, and accepting them. He cited his 2008 numbers which gave Hillary Clinton a 16% chance to win New Hampshire (as opposed to the 9% other polls were running.) On the one hand, he was 7 points higher than others; on the other hand, he had still only predicted a 16% chance.

The evening closed with a discussion on coaches. Here, too, the back and forth did not hinge on any particular coach, but asked the background question “Do coaches carry too much importance in our society?” Fatsis discussed his own experience coaching his daughter’s youth soccer team, and Josh Levin wondered whether college coaches were basking in the reflected veneer from youth coaches. Pesca called out football announcers for treating college coaches like ethical leaders, making explicit the division between Hang Up and Listen and mainstream sports coverage, a chasm that was implicit throughout the entire podcast taping.

What They Said

“They are, in audio form, what Slate aspires to be in print every day.”
- Slate’s Editor, David Plotz, introducing the live podcast.

“Some precedent is always broken, if you define things narrowly enough… eventually every player is a special snowflake”
- Nate Silver would have a problem with us claiming that this is the best Nate Silver quote to ever run second in the Panel Nerds’ “What They Said” section. In January.

“The enlightenment triumphed” – Josh Levin’s take on the Patriots sound defeat of the Tim Tebow led Denver Broncos
- Stefan Fatsis views Bill Belichick as a modern day Thomas Aquinas.

“You develop fluency… If you’ve learned Spanish, you should be able to learn Portugese.”
- Nate Silver’s analogy for how he used his baseball modeling in politics.

“It’s actually reasonable”
“No, it’s not. It would be reasonable if it were true”
– Stefan Fatsis and Mike Pesca debate the NFL’s explanation of the Greg Jennings non-fumble fumble.

What We Thought

The podcast did an excellent job of taking advantage of the live format, giving their live audience more than the people listening. For different segments, they had queued up video clips to show the crowd what they were referring to. The extra effort made being there more special.
Another thing that made being there more special is City Winery itself. We’d been there before, but we were again reminded how beautiful a space it is. If you’re in New York and have never been there, you should go.
As long time listeners of the podcast, we had imagined a mental picture of each correspondent. Incredibly, each member of the trio, matched our imagination and their roles on the podcast perfectly. Pesca and Fatsis faced each other, flanking Levin, seeming like a pocasting odd couple. Pesca, burlier, leaned back in his chair, freely sharing quips and jokes while Fatsis sat across from him, slighter, more serious, sitting at the front of his chair, with the kind of perfect posture from beginning to end that would make our mother proud.

PANEL RULES!
Some audience behavior seems to repeat itself panel after panel. We’ll be updating a running list of “PANEL RULES!” that will help ensure that you are not the dweeb of the Panel Nerds.
Panel Nerds don’t like…The Look Through
We’ve all been in conversation with someone in a crowd and we see their eyes search the room for other people to talk to rather than engage in the conversation at hand. Don’t ask the panelists if there are other Slate podcasters in the audience. Don’t look through them! Enjoy the podcasters sitting there in front of you.

Focus On The Family’s Tebow-Inspired John 3:16 Ad Prompts Question: Should Religion Be Kept Private?

Alex Alvarez — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:33:41 +0000

Tim Tebow, kind of religious. Were you aware of this? The Denver Broncos’ starting quarterback’s Christian faith has inspired many headlines and much debate and, now, it’s the subject of a new ad from the American evangelical Christian non-profit Focus on the Family. The commercial focuses specifically on one of Tebow’s favorite Biblical verses, John 3:16. (“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”)

Roman Catholic priest and author Father Jonathan Morris paid a visit to Fox News’ America’s Newsroom to weigh in on a discussion surrounding the ad: Should one’s faith be a mostly private issue?

RELATED: Leave To Tebow What is Tebow’s: Pundits Should Leave The Player Out Of Politics

“There’s a very strong trend, I would say, in the United States,” said Fr. Morris, “that suggests that separation of Church and State means you keep your religion in the church or in your home, but don’t have any public expression of this. Tim Tebow is not pushing his faith on anyone. He’s living his faith! He’s actually expressing what he believes.” It’s a nice change of pace, he added, from famous athletes shooting themselves in clubs or abusing dogs.

Have a look, via Fox News:

And here’s the ad they’re discussing:

Cokie Roberts On Tebow: God…Is Clearly Not A Broncos Fan

Josh Feldman — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:32:31 +0000

Have we not reached a place free of this yet? For some reason, George Stephanopoulos decided to talk about the notoriously Christian NFL player Tim Tebow on This Week today. He asked George Will how Tebow has become such a polarizing figure in not just sports, but somehow in politics as well. Will called Tebow “an exemplary gentleman” and said he was undeserving of the attacks against him.

Cokie Roberts jumped in, and first joked that God is probably not a big fan of the Denver Broncos, then launched into a strange story about Tebow’s team.

RELATED: Charles Krauthammer Gushes Over Tim Tebow: ‘I Love This Guy! I Love This Story!’

“His team is the Saints, and the archbishop said when the Saints were named the Saints, Archbishop Hannan was asked if that was disrespectful, and he said, ‘No, just remember that most saints are martyrs.’”

Peggy Noonan quickly moved on, claiming Tebow is “the most popular sports figure in America” today, and he’s not controversial among “regular Americans.” And then, unexplicably, ABC News Senior Political Correspondent Jonathan Karl launched into a breakdown of Tebow’s stats and how they stand up against other NFL players. But perhaps Paul Krugman made the wisest decision of anyone at the table: to not talk about a football player on a show that’s supposed to be about serious political subjects.

Watch the video below, courtesy of ABC:

Charles Krauthammer Gushes Over Tim Tebow: ‘I Love This Guy! I Love This Story!’

Frances Martel — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 18:50:58 +0000

There has been a lot of Tim Tebow discussion on cable news lately, most of it hovering around the faux-political issue of his religion and how he displays it on the field. This, however, is not one of those discussions: this is Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer, arguably the smartest pundit on TV, just giddily enjoying the delightful story of how Tebow even got to where he is today– and telling everyone else to cool it with the politics and religion stuff and just watch football.

RELATED: Krauthammer Deadpans: Pearl Harbor Does Not ‘Do Justice To The Grandness Of Newt’

On last night’s Special Report, the “Lightning Round” began with a quick talk about President Obama’s promise to consolidate the government in more economic ways. Eventually, they got to the most popular topic as per their online poll: Tim Tebow, Krauthammer’s pick for discussion. “I want to say how humbled I am by the support I got from the viewers, and want to congratulate my opponents for a clean campaign,” he joked, before getting to why he considered Tebow so important. “I love this guy! I love this story! and I think the best element of it is that the secular types are getting all in a twist about him– relax, enjoy!” he told detractors.

The panel then went around and discussed exactly why Tebow was so compelling– Nina Easton noted that Tebow brought sick children to his games and gave them his time and encouragement, for one– but the bottom line for Krauthammer was that the story was fun, and people allowed politics to get in the way of that.

Krauthammer is usually the columnist brought in to give specific insight on serious and complex political issues, where millions of lives or livelihoods are often on the line– things like US-Iranian conflict or what a President Gingrich would mean for America. There is a good argument for the FCC just coming down and putting a ban on the words “Tim Tebow” on cable news, but this is a marked exception from the politicization of the football player: it is a celebration of exactly what he is and wants to do with his life, independent of the usually tedious and confrontational issues that have cropped up peripherally to his success.

The clip via Fox News below:

Leave To Tebow What is Tebow’s: Pundits Should Leave The Player Out Of Politics

Frances Martel — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 17:04:23 +0000

Politics is a name game. It is about who you know– at least in the sense that knowing who the players are in this elaborate dance that defines how we govern ourselves is critical to successful analysis. There are many names, repeated ad nauseum as their character arcs develop in national politics and elevate them far beyond household name to A-block-on-every-show status. Most of these people are public servants, journalists, thinkers, or somehow or another sensible to be at the core of national political dialogue. And then there are anomalies like Tim Tebow, black holes of cable news time and energy that, through no fault of their own, become fault lines along our political geography.

RELATED: The Five’s Bob Beckel And Eric Bolling Go Off On Bill Maher For Tebow Christmas Tweet

Having to know and care about a young football player who is either good or bad, depending on what you read, was something of a shock when Tebow began to headline what feels like at least one segment an hour on most cable news channels, or popping up in headlines across blogs typically tailored to political media tastes. While the media’s Captains Obvious collectively began to ask things like “Why do we care about Tim Tebow’s religion?” I will readily admit I was still trying to figure out whether he was a freshman Tea Party Congressman or a controversial author, or maybe a Kardashian of some sort. By the time it became clear– whether I wanted it to be or not– who Tebow was and why sports fans got so excited about him from osmosis, it was still a complete mystery why he appeared to have taken over both Fox News and Bill Maher‘s Twitter account simultaneously, and why people kept abruptly kneeling to pray in videos and photos all over the place.

RELATED: Fox News’ Andy Levy On Bill Maher’s Tebow ‘Joke’: ‘Who Cares?’

But he had. Suddenly, Fox News was all over the harrowing tale of how some obnoxious teenagers were suspended from high school for “Tebowing” en masse instead of not crowding the hallway. The aforementioned Maher apparently spent his vacation time climbing up onto trees and Tebowing himself, perhaps to prove that God would not smite him for doing so after “joking” on Christmas Eve about Tebow’s defeat. Rick Perry declared himself the “Tim Tebow of the Iowa caucuses;” others argued that it was maybe Rep. Ron Paul, or Rep. Michele Bachmann (here is a chart to one can use to determine whether one is the “Tim Tebow of” something). “It’s hard to not see a bit of Sarah Palin in Tebow,” The Nation‘s David Zirin wrote on one of the many occasions he has gone after the quarterback. On another, he argued:

The right-wing strain of evangelical Christianity to which his family subscribes bleeds seamlessly into politics. Tebow proudly appeared, during the Super Bowl, in an anti-abortion commercial sponsored by Focus on the Family. FOF is an organization that believes in gay reparative therapy, ending women’s reproductive health, and organizing the far-right fringe of American politics.

The mockery of Tebow’s larger-than-life status on shows like SNL is natural and of a different breed than the attacks or exploitative praise coming from pundits. This is America and we have no sacred cows, with the exceptions of, maybe, Julia Roberts and Jon Stewart. That is why Hustler v. Falwell exists. And the more people believe in you– and people really believe in Tim Tebow– the larger the target on your back. But it is the artificial politicization of the player that appears on both sides of the political aisle to be hysterical and unfair. Tebow is a cultural icon, a pop confection– a symbol of the American “culture wars,” some may argue. But a political figure he is not.

NEXT PAGE: No, The Focus On The Family Ad Was Not Political

Risky Bets, Family Values, And The Politics Of Tebowing: A Chat With Fox’s Eric Bolling

Frances Martel — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:39:52 +0000

If you have turned on Fox News during any hour of the day in the past several months, you know who Eric Bolling is. The host of Fox Business’s Follow the Money and co-host of The Five can be seen on nearly every program– from Fox & Friends to filling in on The O’Reilly Factor, and his swing-for-the-fences opinions have made him as popular as he is controversial on the network. Bolling opens up to Mediaite about how he ended up in the cable news business, his favorite television moments, and what plans may be in store for the future.

Bolling was never a political personality by trade– in fact, if you ever caught him hosting Glenn Beck, you’d remember his first trade was as a professional baseball player for the Pittsburgh Pirates. An injury cut his athletic career short, and he eventually ended up on the trading floor of the New York Mercantile exchange. “I was competing with the big banks. Early on I saw it was oil company trading with investment bank on Wall Street, and I said, ‘There must be a way to compete with this,’” he notes, and found himself doing quite well in commodities trading. So well, in fact, that he caught the eye of a CNBC reporter on the trading floor, and the rest is essentially history. Bolling went on to help put together what is now CNBC’s Fast Money. His departure to Fox Business, he has recalled several times, was a decision made the same way every other single decision is made or conclusion arrived at: what the best thing would be for his son. Fox Business offered hours more compatible to quality time with the younger Bolling, and it wasn’t a difficult decision to make from there.

“I test everything with: How would this affect my 13-year-old when he becomes an adult?”

During his tenure at CNBC, he first developed a taste for challenging the norms. He fondly remembers his biggest challenge there, against Mad Money star Jim Cramer. “I was the guy that had all this trading experience… a lot of skin in the game. I heard Jim Cramer was getting a little upset with me because he was the big dog, he had Mad Money, he had this huge persona and whatnot, then I was starting to get some popularity. I like energy markets, I like metal markets, and I said, ‘you have to be careful with the financial markets.’ This is before the meltdown. So he booked himself on our show—now, we’d never had guests up until that point,” he explains. “So I hear he’s coming on and coming after me. And I did what I do best, I have a tendency to fight back and, sure enough, he came at me.” He went on to bet Cramer $50,000 on the air — for charity — that the financial markets would be in decline in the very near future. He won. “You talk about defining moments in life? That was my defining moment in TV. Everyone said ‘He knows what he’s talking about, in the markets.’”

Bolling does not feel that, in the political world, he has different responsibilities as far as what he says on air. “When you talk about financial news, you’re talking about peoples’ money,” he argues. “They listen to you, they take your advice… there are certain principles in life that work whether you’re talking baseball, whether you’re talking business, or you’re talking politics, and they happen to have all the same drivers.” For Bolling, that most important driver is the future he and the country leave to his son, Eric Chase. “I have a 13-year-old son, it scares me to think that he’s going to grow up in a situation where he may step into adulthood owing hundreds of thousands of dollars to the government, or China, or whomever.” He brings that to any and every program on which he appears. “It’s an interesting concept that I can take my business background and apply it to the politics of the day, and it works,” he notes. No matter what the issue, “I test everything with: How would this affect my 13-year-old when he becomes an adult? If you keep doing that and you stay true to it, then you’re not going to get in trouble.”

NEXT PAGE: Bolling on the Differences Between Hosting The Five And Follow the Money

Outrage Alert: Bill Maher Mocks Tim Tebow By ‘Treebowing’

Tommy Christopher — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:49:41 +0000

After successfully baiting conservatives with his profane Christmas Eve tweet, comedian and Real Time host Bill Maher continued his Twitter mockery of Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow, including sending Twitpics of himself “Tebowing” in front of a Kim Jong-Il lookalike, and striking the iconic pose in a tree, or “Treebowing.”

RELATED: Bill Maher’s Christmas Eve ‘Jesus F**ked Tim Tebow’ ‘Satan Is Tebowing’ Tweet Stirs Outrage

Considering the content of Maher’s yuletide Tebow tweet, this is all rather mild, but it should still have the desired effect of making people who already don’t watch HBO threaten to stop watching HBO.

Bill Maher’s status as deliberate provocateur is well-documented, and much of the criticism he receives is well-deserved, but in this case, Maher is actually being funny and making some legitimate observations. His Christmas Eve tweet enraged some Christians, one of whom responded by wishing Maher would burn in Hell, but that tweet, plus his subsequent lampooning of the “Tebowing” meme, aren’t necessarily anti-Christian.

While Bill Maher often engages in the kind of smug atheism that gives the group a bad name, his critique of Tebow is far from groundbreaking, and as I’ve said before, has some resonance from a Christian point of view. His latest series of tweets can be seen as an additional critique of the “Tebowing” meme, in which people mimic Tebow’s endzone pose, not as a religious expression, but as a jokey trend along the lines of “planking” or “owling.”

If you don’t understand these internet memes, don’t feel bad. My kids had to explain them to me. Suffice it to say that the “Tebowing” trend, at best, trivializes Tebow’s Christian beliefs, but in doing so, also accuses Tebow of the same. Sure, Tim Tebow has every right to thank God for his touchdowns, but others are also free to ask whether God is investing time and energy into getting him into the endzone, or as Maher’s original tweet suggests, forsakes Tebow whenever the Broncos lose.

Maher has also cannily (if profanely) observed that the Tebow worship that has swept much of the nation can easily veer dangerously close to idolatry.

That is not to say that Bill Maher isn’t ecstatic at the thought of all this Christian apoplexy over his Tebow campaign, but in this case, there’s a little more to it than that.

(h/t The Blaze)

Fox News’ Andy Levy On Bill Maher’s Tebow ‘Joke’: ‘Who Cares?’

Frances Martel — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 03:30:54 +0000

Earlier in the day, the cast of The Five made a fairly convincing case for caring about Bill Maher tweeting gross things about Tim Tebow and his religion over the weekend. On tonight’s Hannity, Andy Levy (typically of Red Eye) providing a fairly weighty counterpoint on the same issue: Maher, he suggested was “not a politician, he’s not running for office… who cares?”

RELATED: Bill Maher’s Christmas Eve ‘Jesus F**ked Tim Tebow’ ‘Satan Is Tebowing’ Tweet Stirs Outrage

Levy, along with Kerry Picket and Mo Elleithee joined Hannity host this week Mark Steyn on the “Great American Panel,” where the topic came up. Picket and Elleithee expressed their outrage at Maher’s “vile” tweet (a profane “joke” about Tebow’s football failures evoking Satan and Hitler), with the latter comparing it to “some of the evangelical preachers criticizing Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman for real criticism.” Levy was far cooler-headed on the matter.

“Bill Maher tweeted this for one reason and one reason only: to get a rise out of people. Why give him the satisfaction?” Levy argued, suggesting that “people need to stop being outraged at what comedians say” because “part of their job is to say things that are outrageous.” “He’s not a politician, he’s not running for office, he’s got a show on HBO and he’s a comedian– who cares?” he concluded.

Steyn agreed, except to add that, in a world of “politically correct comedy,” comedians have their feet held to the fire for far less outrageous offenses. Picket noted as well that there were comedians like Maher and, to some extent, Jon Stewart, who also wanted political influence, and when they demand to be taken seriously, they should be held to a different standard. “I think Jon Stewart is in a separate category than Bill Maher,” Levy responded. “For one, he’s funny.”

On the greater topic of Tebow’s religion, the panel agreed that a worrying aspect to the entire affair is that the odds of those who vehemently support or criticizing Tebow for what he does sticking to their positions should Tebow be Muslim instead of Christian are slim.

The segment via Fox News below:

The Five’s Bob Beckel And Eric Bolling Go Off On Bill Maher For Tebow Christmas Tweet

Frances Martel — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 00:48:21 +0000

Yesterday on The Five, Eric Bolling ran out of time for a segment on the single thing that angered him most over the weekend: Bill Maher‘s “joke” about footballer Tim Tebow being forsaken by Jesus over the weekend (it was a little more explicit than that). Bolling reacted to the disgusting display predictably, and was joined by the crew– including a particularly vocal Bob Beckel– in tearing Maher apart.

RELATED: Bill Maher’s Christmas Eve ‘Jesus F**ked Tim Tebow’ ‘Satan Is Tebowing’ Tweet Stirs Outrage

Bolling had already fairly strongly expressed his disgust with Maher for his Tebow tweet over the weekend, and so reiterated his point (summed up entirely in the hashtag #straighttohellBill) and tossed the story to Beckel. Despite being the only liberal on the panel, Beckel was in no mood to defend Maher, having previously been fairly clear that he found the entire media frenzy Tebow is somehow involved in distasteful. “I think it’s great you did it,” Beckel told Bolling, arguging that Maher’s tweet was particularly heinous given that Christmas was “a celebration of our Lord and Savior… I’ve used that word [the one in Maher's tweet] plenty of times, but not like this.”

He then took the opportunity to disown Maher for the entire political left wing. “You all say Maher is a liberal– Bill, you ain’t a liberal, we just sent you out of the barn,” concluding with a flourish, “I’m tired of defending this son of a bitch.”

Greg Gutfeld then weighed in on a different note, to offer an explanation for Maher’s hateful rhetoric. “Bill Maher hates Tebow because Tebow looks like Tebow, and Maher looks like a talking thumb with the face of an aardvark.” Kimberly Guilfoyle agreed that Tebow was “pretty beautiful.”

The Five is one of the few places in which Maher’s Twitter comments have been given this much press, likely because it appears all of the hosts have strong opinions about both Tim Tebow and Bill Maher. It is easy to look at this case and dismiss it because Maher has made a career out of putting offense over humor, of making it obvious that his priority is to say unpleasant things for the sake of seeing people revolted, instead of saying funny things to see people laugh.

He has said exactly two brilliant things in his entire career, and they are worth noting: that Newt Gingrich is “an idiot who has always been wrong about everything,” and that the American/Western conception of fundamental human rights is superior to any iteration of those rights in the past and in other political contexts. So yes, lightning can strike twice but, overwhelmingly, it is easy to ignore Maher’s insults thinly-veiled as jokes. The reason this case is particularly different– and why The Five‘s treatment of it is particularly respectable– is that it concerns a holiday sacred to many, and a cultural figure who has become the focus of a phenomenon way beyond his control. Maher’s tweet is an easy place to draw the line and say “this Tebow thing has gone too far.”

Tebow, as a person, is obviously highly religious, but he doesn’t appear to be doing any of the sanctimonious preaching that his detractors accuse him of. Go to YouTube and take a look at some of his interviews– even for someone removed from football, a few minutes listening to him speak make it fairly clear that the obnoxious monstrosity that is “Tebowing,” the phenomenon, has little to do with Tebow himself. To insult both him and the world’s largest religion on its second largest feast for a cheap laugh is what feeding the phenomenon without taking a look at the man at the center of it lends itself to. Turning Christianity into a marketing ploy– which is not the fault of Tim Tebow himself– is to disrespect the religion, and opens the door for characters like Maher to disrespect it without pushback. And if he can get away with it, we as a society are worse off for it. This is as good a signal as any that it’s time to give the Tebow/Christianity frenzy a good rest, and for the football world to take a look at Tebow outside of his prayer preferences.

The segment via Fox News below:

Bill Maher’s Christmas Eve ‘Jesus F**ked Tim Tebow’ ‘Satan Is Tebowing’ Tweet Stirs Outrage

Tommy Christopher — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 18:08:46 +0000

Stand-up comic and quasi-political commentator Bill Maher flexed some of his favorite comedic muscles in a Christmas Eve tweet that had it all: profanity, shock value, and Maher’s trademark blasphemy. Referring to the Denver Broncos’ crushing loss to the Buffalo Bills, Maher tweeted, “Wow, Jesus just fucked #TimTebow bad! And on Xmas Eve! Somewhere in hell Satan is tebowing, saying to Hitler ‘Hey, Buffalo’s killing them’”

According to The Blaze, there’s a predictable amount of outrage over this, but stripped of its shock value, Maher’s tweet is just a variation on a sharp, if well-worn, comedic criticism of athletes’ tendency toward ostentatious religious displays.

Although Maher is prone to mocking religion, in this case, his essential complaint ought to resonate with some believers, as well. When athletes credit God for their victories, many a comic has asked, does that mean He abandons them in moments of defeat? Are their opponents minions of Satan when they lose? My favorite is from Jeff Stilson:

I don’t watch football anymore, I gave that up. I got tired of the interviews after the games, because the winning players always give credit to God, and the losers blame themselves. You know, just once I’d like to hear a player say, ‘Yeah, we were in the game, until Jesus made me fumble. He hates our team.’

In fact, growing up in a fundamentalist Christian church, many of my elders expressed dismay at such displays, as they conflate heavenly faith with earthly reward, and can appear as prideful attempts to glorify the athlete’s piety, rather than God. Granted, none of them would have expressed this in the blunt fashion that Maher did, but anyone who is outraged by the shock window-dressing obviously hasn’t watched five minutes of Real Time.

Ironically, Fox’s Eric Bolling expressed his disapproval in the most Christian way imaginable(?): by wishing eternal torment and damnation on Maher:

Bill Maher is disgusting vile trash. I can’t even repeat what he just tweeted about Tebow..on Christmas Eve. #straighttohellBill

Kinda makes you wonder how Bolling would have reacted to this 2010 tweet from the Buffalo Bills’ Steve Johnson:

I PRAISE YOU 24/7!!!!!! AND THIS HOW YOU DO ME!!!!! YOU EXPECT ME TO LEARN FROM THIS??? HOW???!!! ILL NEVER FORGET THIS!! EVER!!! THX THO…

Fox News’ Bob Beckel: SNL’s Tim Tebow Sketch Was ‘Despicable’

Jon Bershad — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 23:28:07 +0000

This past weekend, Saturday Night Live wrapped up their show with a sketch showing Jesus Christ appearing in the Denver Broncos locker room to tell Tim Tebow that he loves him but maybe the guy could “turn it down a notch.” Pat Robertson has already rushed to call the sketch “anti-Christian bigotry” so, when The Five opened today’s show teasing a segment on the situation, we knew someone was going to be outraged. Would it be Catholic Kimberly Guilfoyle? The (huge) Tebow fan Eric Bolling? Nope. The offended one was actually lone-liberal Bob Beckel who called the sketch “despicable.”

RELATED: Pat Robertson Slams SNL: Tebow Skit Fueled By ‘Anti-Christian Bigotry’

“First of all, it’s despicable to display Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, like that on Saturday Night Live and they should be ashamed of themselves. And the fact that this keeps drawing attention to Tebow and Christianity and faith and Jesus and they make it into some sort of commercial operation…there’s nothing funny about that.”

Beckel has never made a secret of his strong Christian faith and, when the others acted surprised that he was upset, he pointed out that there was no reason for distinction between his liberalism and his religion.

It was interesting to see all the other hosts be so ok with the sketch, some even liking it. It’s nice to see conservative media figures treat SNL as what it is, a sketch comedy show, and not some sinister, left-wing propaganda, conspiracy machine. Good for them. Lets see how Greg Gutfeld wrapped the segment up.

“Compare the Right and Left impersonators on Saturday Night Live. They do an impeccable job of George W. Bush with Will Ferrell. Sarah Palin with Tina Fey, amazing. Fred Armisen’s Obama is dreadful. They purposefully do not go out of their way to impersonate Obama because they think it’s insulting.”

Oh, I see. The 36-year-old mainstream comedy show is purposefully airing an unfunny impression because they don’t want to hurt the President. Right…

Watch the clip from Fox News below:

Pat Robertson Slams SNL: Tebow Skit Fueled By ‘Anti-Christian Bigotry’

James Crugnale — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 21:35:51 +0000

Televangelist Pat Robertson was incensed by Saturday Night Live‘s parody of Denver Bronco’s quarterback Tim Tebow on Monday morning, calling it an attack on Christianity. “There’s an anti-Christian bigotry that is just disgusting and I think Saturday Night Live did a parody of that, had Jesus come in,” Robertson fumed. “If this had been a Muslim country and they had done that, and had Muhammad doing that stuff, you would have found bombs being thrown off!”

“And bodies on the street!” interjected co-anchor Terry Meeuwsen. “And bodies on the street!” Robertson repeated. “And we think it’s okay.”

RELATED: Jesus Politely Requests Tim Tebow ‘Take It Down A Notch’ On SNL

“Tebow is an example, and I think he is a wonderful human being,” Robertson said. “We need more religious faith in our society. We’re losing our moral compass in our nation and this man has been placed in a unique position and I applaud him. God bless him.”

Watch Robertson lambaste Saturday Night Live’s parody of Tim Tebow below via CBN:

Watch the SNL Tebow skit below:

(h/t Raw Story)
(h/t Right Wing Watch)

Sarah Palin: I’m Not Ready To Endorse A GOP Candidate ‘With The Field As It Stands’

James Crugnale — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 04:25:19 +0000

Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin spoke with Shannon Bream this afternoon on Fox News and said she was not yet prepared to endorse a candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. “You know, my endorsement is going to be with sincerity and enthusiasm and I’m just not there yet with the field as it stands,” Palin explained.

RELATED: Sarah Palin: Ron Paul ‘Is The One Americans Need To Listen To’ On Domestic Spending

“There is no need to endorse until that enthusiasm really is within me in my gut and I also believe that my endorsement and anybody else is really sometimes doesn’t amount to a hill of beans when you consider the independent thinking and the wisdom of the voters that they make up their own mind and personal endorsement doesn’t always, you know, it helps shape the race so I don’t put that at kind of creedence or credibility in my endorsement at all, but as soon as I feel that that person who understands the fiscal crisis especially that America faces and know has to do about it then i will feel that enthusiasm and I will endorse but i’m not ready yet.”

Bream asked Governor Palin if such a candidate existed in the field.

“I honestly don’t know yet,” Palin maintained.

Watch Palin hold back on making any endorsements for now below via Fox News:

Additionally, Palin gave props to Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow for his staunch Christianity. “He knows that Jesus is going to rock your world when you give it over to him and he is bold about it and knows that the son of God should be honored and praised and Tebow knows that and I respect it.”

Watch Palin’s comments on Tebow below:

CNN’s Howard Kurtz: Is Media Coverage Of Tim Tebow Too Focused On Religion?

Josh Feldman — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 18:48:58 +0000

Tim Tebow is a football player very well-known for his Christian beliefs. And recently, he has begun to get some flack in the media for silent prayers after scoring a touchdown and for other public displays of his faith. You’ll recall that he filmed an ad for Focus on the Family that took a very powerful stand against abortion that aired during the Super Bowl. On Reliable Sources today, Howard Kurtz examined media coverage of Tebow and how much of it was being influenced by religion as opposed to sports.

RELATED: Rick Perry Declares Himself ‘The Tim Tebow Of The Iowa Caucuses’

CBS sports writer Gregg Doyel admitted that Tebow’s situation is a unique one, but if religion was not involved he would just be another interesting football player. Dave Zirin, writer for Progressive, argued that Tebow has gotten a pass from the media for the most part. Zirin suggested Tebow’s Super Bowl ad made him into something more than a football player, and under normal circumstances a public figure who puts himself out there like Tebow has would be subject to much media scrutiny.

Doyel stated tongue-in-cheek that Tebow should focus more on morally acceptable behavior among football players like dogfighting or drunk driving, but admitted that he personally doesn’t see Tebow as someone he would want to be more like. Zirin admitted it was uncomfortable to see Tebow getting a pass while staging himself on the “right-wing edge of Evangelical politics.”

RELATED: Jesus Politely Requests Tim Tebow ‘Take It Down A Notch’ On SNL

Unlike Zirin, who is more concerned with Tebow’s politics, Doyel admitted he doesn’t care about someone’s politics if they happen to be a good football player. He suggested that most people who watch football don’t care what their favorite athletes have to say off the field, they just want to kick back and watch the game. And when Tebow starts talking about God and his Christian faith, it might make some people uncomfortable.

Watch the video below, courtesy of CNN:

Jesus Politely Requests Tim Tebow ‘Take It Down A Notch’ On SNL

Sarah Devlin — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 06:04:26 +0000

It was the last sketch of the night, but Tim Tebow finally made his highly anticipated appearance, closing out one of the most solid episodes of Saturday Night Live in recent memory. Taran Killam, playing Tebow (and helping to settle a bet on sister site Sportsgrid), was interrupted by his personal hero Jesus during a standard locker room pep talk. Jesus, played by Jason Sudeikis, was not as enamored with Tebow as Tebow was with him. “Do you read the playbook?” he asked. “The Bible is my playbook,” Tebow solemnly responded. “Yikes,” read Jesus’ expression.

Apparently, Jesus doesn’t think that Tebow is nearly the miracle worker that everyone else thinks he is — as it turns out, the Messiah actually prays to Broncos kicker Matt Prater. He also offered some encouragement for the team for their upcoming game against the Patriots, especially since he is of the opinion that Tom Brady is, if not the son of God, at least his nephew. “Oh, by the way,” Jesus said by way of parting, “Mormonism? All true. Every word. All right, peace.”

You can see the full sketch here via NBC:

Saturday Night Mystery: Who Will Play Tim Tebow On SNL Tonight?

Frances Martel — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 22:25:11 +0000

It seems that Tim Tebow, the football person who really likes to talk about God, has finally made it– he’s getting his own sketch on Saturday Night Live tonight, if this AP report on the program is any indication. The report, on tonight’s program hosted by SNL alum Jimmy Fallon and hosting musical guest Michael Bublé, reports that the studio was being prepared for a sketch mocking the over-the-top religious displays of the famous player.

The report notes that, following executive producer Lorne Michaels around the set, the topic of at least one sketch was fairly clear:

In the studio, a sketch was being blocked for the cameras: Denver Broncos quarterback (and famously devout Christian) Tim Tebow confronts Jesus in the locker room.

“It’s been rewritten since last night when we read it,” Michaels said. “We read 40-some-odd sketches yesterday, and narrowed them down to the pieces over there” — he pointed to a board with a tentative rundown — “and that’s about 15 minutes (too) long. By the time `(Weekend) Update’ gets done, the show will be maybe 25 minutes long, which is what we’ll go into dress rehearsal with.”

It is still a mystery who will take up the Tebow mantle on the SNL cast, if the sketch airs. Our sister site Sportsgrid predicts it’s either Jason Sudeikis (that’s “Mitt Romney” to most of you) or ~~“this guy”~~ amazing dancing Robyn aficionado/atrocious Jon Huntsman impressionist Taran Killam (and, if you can’t tell, your author’s favorite new cast member). But the odds that host Jimmy Fallon will play the role, if SNL isn’t planning on making him a recurring character, are just as likely.

Mediaite, as usual, will be up all night bringing you the best SNL clips as they air, so remember to give us a visit tonight if you’re not near a TV (or if you are and want to share comments on the sketches with other viewers).

Fox News’ Napolitano: Students Suspended For ‘Tebowing’ Would Have Been Protected If Bow Was To God

Nando Di Fino — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 16:30:55 +0000

Every time Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow scores a touchdown, he drops to one knee and bows his head to his hand, a phenomenon that has come to be known as “Tebowing.” It’s sparked a nationwide craze, much like the equally-annoying Planking movement from this summer. But a group of Long Island high schoolers have found out the hard way that Tebowing isn’t always without consequences.

According to Selim Algar and Leonard Greene of The New York Post, twin brothers Tyler and Connor Carroll were hit with one-day suspensions for organizing a Tebowing display in the school hallways:

Administrators said the weeklong “Tebowing” craze was a distraction and a hallway hazard after dozens of classmates followed their lead.

According to the Post, about 40 students participated in the Tebowing prank at its height of prankster popularity.

RELATED: This Exists: California Teen Caught In Chimney After Trying To Sneak In After Curfew

Judge Andrew Napolitano, Fox News Senior Judicial Analyst, joined America’s Newsroom to discuss the suspensions, and, after FNC showed a clip of Tyler Carrol, who is a football player, saying they did it to honor Tim Tebow, Napolitano explained that the twins would have benefited from changing their story ever-so slightly:

“If he had said we did this because we wanted to thank God for our victories, or pray to God for a victory, then the behavior would be almost absolutely protected under the First Amendment as the free exercise of religion.”

He went on to say that since they were just doing it as a prank, they had every right to be suspended.

Watch a clip of the brewing controversy below, courtesy of Fox News:

Rick Perry Declares Himself ‘The Tim Tebow Of The Iowa Caucuses’

James Crugnale — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 02:51:55 +0000

Rick Perry may have delivered the line of the night when he compared himself to Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow during Thursday’s Iowa debate, hosted by Fox News. Moderator Neil Cavuto asked the Texas governor about his lackluster debate skills and how he would fare going up against an accomplished debater in President Obama.

RELATED: Rick Perry On His Recent Gaffes: Voters ‘Aren’t Looking For A Robot’

“I want to share something with you, as each one of these debates — I’m kind of getting where I like these debates!” Perry exclaimed. “As a matter of fact, I hope Obama and I debate a lot. I’ll get there early! And we will get it on and we will talk about our differences which are great. I’ll talk about what we have done in the state of Texas and talk about passing a balanced budget amendment to the United States Congress. I’ll talk about having, the type of part-time Congress that I think Americans are ready for. You know, there are a lot of people out there, I understand it. There are a lot of folks that said Tim Tebow wasn’t going to be a very good NFL quarterback. There are people that stood up and said, ‘well, he doesn’t have the right throwing mechanisms, or he doesn’t — you know, he is not playing the game right.’ You know, he won two national championships and that looked pretty good. We’re the national champions in job creation back in Texas. But am I ready for the next level? Let me tell you, I hope I am the Tim Tebow of the Iowa caucuses!”

Watch Perry’s bold comparison below, via Fox News:

Bernie Goldberg Turns Tebow Discussion Into Soapbox On Religion: ‘Ridiculous To Think The Earth is 6,000 Years Old’

Nando Di Fino — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 21:25:46 +0000

Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow has gone meta. It’s no longer annoying for Tebow to praise Jesus after interviews, or take a knee after a touchdown as a tribute to God. It’s now become tedious to have to listen to commentators and analysts talk about how other people are annoyed over Tebow’s antics. Megyn Kelly brought in Fox News analyst Bernie Goldberg on Wednesday to talk about the phenomenon, and, while Goldberg made some solid points about the reaction, he managed to steer the interview a little bit off the rails at one point.

Goldberg took the opinion that Tebow is the most polarizing figure in the world of sports, “because he’s got a squeaky clean image,” and he’s not afraid to wear his faith on his sleeve. “What am I missing here?” Goldberg asked, after pointing out that Tebow didn’t kill dogs or run over innocent pedestrians while driving drunk. “Something is wrong with this picture, Megyn.”

Kelly mentioned that reaction to Tebow’s actions have elicited “anger and vitriol.” Goldberg took this opportunity to point out that there is intolerance on both sides, using the clever segue of bashing the beliefs of some Christians.

“It’s ridiculous to think that the Earth is 6,000 years old and that dinosaurs walked around at the same time as people did. It’s ridiculous. And if the Bible says so, the Bible is wrong. By the way, I’m going to get a thousand emails for what I just said. On the other side, the side always telling us how tolerant they are, are intolerant of people who profess their faith in a public way.”

Thank God — or someone/something/nothing at all — that Goldberg balanced that one out fairly. Because Kelly, who quickly put Goldberg back on track, had to ask him if a Muslim expressing his faith in a Tebow-esque way after scoring a touchdown would receive the same treatment.

RELATED: Bob Beckel Makes A Scathing Christian Case Against Tim Tebow On Hannity

“I have a feeling that the people who don’t like Tim Tebow doing it wouldn’t have a problem in our hyper-sensitive world if a Muslim did it. However, to be fair about this — I think a lot of people who see no problem with Tim Tebow doing it might have a problem if a Muslim did it. There’s intolerance and hypocrisy on both sides when it comes to religion.”

Watch the entire clip on Tebow’s inadvertent divisiveness below, courtesy of Fox News:

Bob Beckel Makes A Scathing Christian Case Against Tim Tebow On Hannity

Frances Martel — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 03:25:38 +0000

Football player Tim Tebow found himself the center of tonight’s conversation on Hannity‘s Great American Panel, but despite his football and Christian credentials– both things that make him a positive figure in Sean Hannity‘s eyes– he did not escape getting a tongue-lashing from someone in the panel: Bob Beckel, who found the conflation of faith and football “despicable.”

RELATED: Bill Maher Slams Religious Conservatives: ‘Who Needs The Government If You Have Jesus?’

The panel began with a discussion on Tebow’s image, in which panelist Rebecca St. James argued that he was a good role model, which actor Jay Thomas disagreed with: “I have no interest in my sons being like Tim Tebow.” The conversation then veered towards the benefits of premarital sex (St. James is an advocate of waiting until marriage; Thomas prefers to “test drive” his cars before buying them, if you know what he means), when Beckel burst into the conversation. “Back to Tebow for a minute– I find it despicable that they would put Jesus on the back of an NFL jersey… he is the one and the only one that matters in this world and the idea of bringing that to the level of the NFL,” he griped, adding that someone on The Five earlier today had claimed “Jesus must’ve been in the locker room with Tim Tebow, this is ridiculous.” The panel disagreed, with St. James reminding Beckel that Tebow was not the one putting “Jesus” on NFL jerseys, but fans. The conversation once again turning back to premarital sex, Beckel quipped, “Does anybody think Tim Tebow didn’t have sex [before joining the NFL]?”

Figuring out what was going on in this clip was a bit difficult for this blogger, as some of us who follow politics have a hard time understanding this Tim Tebow– he is not running for president and does something called “sports.” A more thorough analysis from our pals at Sportsgrid seem to suggest he is a football player whose only discernible characteristic as a football player are that he is a Christian, and this is the source of much of his popularity. He first made political headlines when his mother did a Focus on the Family ad expressing gratitude for his birth. Subsequently, he has become something of a lightning rod because some people claim he is a bad football player, while others chalk up the criticism to his over-the-top displays of faith. He also does something called “Tebowing,” which a quick Google search defines as “to get down on a knee and start praying, even if everyone else around you is doing something completely different” (in which case, my abuela has been “Tebowing” every time someone says something mean about the Pope since the mid-1970s).

RELATED: Tim Tebow, Formerly A Big Deal, Prepares To Become A Huge Deal

Beckel did neither tonight, however, which appears to break new ground in the debate on Tebow’s cultural significance in America. Instead of either defending his First Amendment rights or bashing his football skills, he turned to the idea that Tebow’s effusive expressions of faith are a major factor contributing to his price as a player– it makes him lucrative because it drives a certain type of individual to tune in and cheer for him, to buy tickets and memorabilia. And that, Beckel argues, is no different than profiting off of the faith itself. It is an argument far more akin to, say, the arguments against Rick Perry‘s “Strong” ad than anything sports-related– a plea to not use God in any of his forms for personal gain, rather than a ribbing for being obnoxious with displays of belief in a benign way. And as the most political argument made against Tebow so far, it may be the most effective in both grabbing people’s attention who would otherwise prefer not to know things about sports and the most effective argument against allowing Tebow to accrue capital with which to influence popular culture.

The segment via Fox News below:

Eric Bolling Can’t Fathom Why The Five Went Three Whole Segments Without Trashing Obama

Jon Bershad — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 23:49:08 +0000

If, during the day today, you’ve gone on any liberal blog, or comedy site, or Reddit, or Tumblr, or Twitter, or, well, basically any part of the Internet that isn’t actively owned by the Republican Party, chances are good that you’ve seen the Fox Business Network clip of Eric Bolling and Dan Gainor accusing The Muppets of promoting a liberal agenda. It’s not surprising why the clip has had such legs. First off, it’s funny. I mean, The Muppets? Really? More importantly though, it seems to play into every single negative assumption people have about Fox News. It’s practically a pre-written SNL segment.

However, if Bolling didn’t like looking like a parody of himself, he didn’t show it a few hours later on The Five when he began complaining that the show had gone too long without attacking President Obama.

The moment came during a segment on Newt Gingrich’s plan to let young children in poor areas take menial jobs. As the hosts were debating the merits of the plan, Bolling cut in, getting in a hilarious argument with Bob Beckel:

BOLLING: My point is, guys, why are we doing our third segment on beating up Newt Gingrich or trashing Donald Trump? Where’s the segment on Obama-

BECKEL: About every other segment on every other show is-

BOLLING: -Obama’s Socialist economy isn’t working. Where’s the segment on guns or unions?

BECKEL: You know, you’re in withdrawal. Eric, you know, there’s something called the Republican primary for the nomination and their isn’t one on the Democratic side.

BOLLING: I get it. But we’re 30 minutes into the show and I haven’t heard a word about how 48 million Americans-

BECKEL: Because you’re going through withdrawal. You’re like a heroin addict, is what your problem is.

This moment is similar to the moment from last August when Beckel and Greg Gutfeld jokingly admitted to pulling punches on Sarah Palin. For anyone who watches the show regularly, they’d understand what Bolling (especially in his new 11th Commandment-following ways) was attempting to get at. However, for anyone else, it seems mighty odd to see a Fox News host literally be counting the minutes since the show last did a “trash Obama” piece.

While this moment might not be as colorful as the Muppets segment, it’s possible that Fox News critics will find it even more damning.

And, if they don’t like that, they can also discuss the way Bolling closed the show in a Tim Tebow-emulating prayer. Seriously, look at Gutfeld’s expression in that picture. It’s amazing.

(Side note: In the clip, Gutfeld mentions The Wire. However, I believe he’s referring to Season Four and not Season Three. I correct him only because Season Four of The Wire is possibly the greatest single series of television ever produced and, if anyone reading this hasn’t watched it, you need to get on that right away)

Watch the clip from Fox News below:

Bill Maher Slams Religious Conservatives: ‘Who Needs The Government If You Have Jesus?’

Josh Feldman — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 03:31:25 +0000

In his last New Rule of the evening, Bill Maher argued that Christian populism and anti-intellectualism have been steadily growing in the Republican party, and that one of the core beliefs of the religious right in America today is that “knowing things has become an affront to the all-knowing.”

Maher decided if the Republican party wanted to nominate a devoutly Christian candidate, they might as well nominate Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow. Maher argued that on the football field Tebow was way in over his head, and rated his football abilities as sub-par, but it was Tebow’s Christian faith that was the main target of Maher’s jokes.

Tebow, apparently, used to write Bible verses in the charcoal under his eyes before a game, and Maher explained while some people would find the practice “creepy,” it’s the kind of thing Middle America would love him for. He described the “man crush” religious conservatives have on Tebow as “full-on gay.”

RELATED: Rep. Tom Price: ‘In God We Trust’ Resolution Passed Purely As Reminder To President Obama

And while perusing the heavy criticism of Tebow by sports writers, it occurred to Maher that they were saying the same things about the NFL player that he’s been saying about Herman Cain and the Republican party at large.

“Knowing things is seen as an affront to the all-knowing. And there’s nothing they hate more than secular eggheads trying to fix problems like poverty and health care. Honestly, doesn’t a lot of the tea party philosophy boil down to ‘Who needs the government when you have Jesus?’”

Maher noted that both Rick Perry and Herman Cain have gone after Mitt Romney‘s health care plan for not being able to “fit on an index card,” and suspected from all the attacks on Romney by the Christian right that it is a very distinct possibility that Romney might be smart.

Meanwhile, as Maher claims, Cain, Perry, and Michele Bachmann have all said that God encouraged them to run for president. But if all three of them were telling the truth, it’s clear from Maher’s perspective that God is just “fucking with two of them.”

Watch the video below, courtesy of HBO:

Going Rogue, Jr.? New Sarah Palin Biography Aimed At Tweens

Frances Martel — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 13:38:14 +0000

The life and times of Sarah Palin are about to get the middle school library treatment. Christian book publisher Zondervan is planning to add the former Alaska governor to their childhood biography series meant to feature role models “motivated primarily by their Christian faith,” announcing the release of “Speaking Up: The Sarah Palin Story” planned for September.

According to the New York Times, Palin will be joining Tim Tebow and Bono on the list of stars to be getting their own book from Zondervan, meant for ages nine through twelve. She was chosen because her story, according to the company’s acquisitions editor, was a positive example to kids:

“Kathleen Kerr, an acquisitions editor for Zondervan’s Zonderkidz division, said the subjects are prominent figures who children hear about in the news and role models for tweens who are ‘working for the betterment of the world in which we live and who are motivated primarily by their Christian faith.’ [...]

Kerr said the book begins with Palin’s childhood in Alaska and shows that ‘with guts, character, determination and unwavering faith in God, even an ordinary person can change the world.’”

One person in the Palin saga unlikely to make an appearance? Levi Johnston, as the company chose to skip any part of the Palin story that may not be suitable for children, instead focusing on her early years and climb to stardom.

[Photo via]

NBC’s Dick Ebersol Likens ESPN To TMZ For Posting Jerry Jones Video

Dan Fogarty — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 11:06:08 +0000

Dick Ebersol has angered ESPN executives for taking a public shot at the network’s decision to feature a video with a slurring Jerry Jones criticizing the professional prospects of college star Tim Tebow.

The video was originally obtained by Deadspin on April 13th.

Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, was shown in a bar telling fans that he couldn’t draft Tebow, because “he [Tebow] would never get on the field.” The grainy video was taken on a cell phone, and Jones was not aware he was being filmed.

Predictably, the video blew up. While it had everything necessary to make it the “viral sports video du jour,” it also contained elements that made it sexy in the eyes of the mainstream sports media. Its star, Jones, is the highest-profile owner in sports. It’s very possible he was drunk. And he’s criticizing Tebow, one of the most polarizing figures to be drafted into the NFL in years.

Still, ESPN would have been considered an unlikely source to feature the video. While the network is no longer confined to reporting on games themselves, something about the video seemed too nosy, too covert, too internety to run on SportsCenter. But that’s exactly what happened.

Now, fast forward to Monday night at the 31st annual Sports Emmys. NBC Sports Chair Dick Ebersol presented an award alongside Jones, and things got chippy. Courtesy of John Ourand, Sports Business Journal:

With many ESPN execs, including ESPN/ABC Sports President George Bodenheimer and Exec VP/Content John Skipper, in the audience watching, Ebersol took out a cell phone and pretended to record Jones. He then said, “I just wanted a call out to my friends at ESPN-TMZ.” At a party after the event, many ESPN execs were fuming at the remark.

While it’s not clear whether or not Ebersol’s comments came from a malicious place, according to Ourand, they were interpreted that way by ESPN executives. When we contacted ESPN for comment, they had none.

The network did an interview shortly after they featured the video (and before Ebersol’s shot) citing current controversies involving NFL personnel and alcohol as its reasons for deeming the story newsworthy. Pro Football Talk, a website owned by NBC Sports, also reported on the video after Deadspin broke the story.

Tim Tebow, Formerly A Big Deal, Prepares To Become A Huge Deal

Dan Fogarty — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 21:25:24 +0000

The Denver Broncos stunned the NFL last night by picking quarterback Tim Tebow 25th overall in the league’s draft.

Although Tebow has had a highly decorated college career (one of the highest, in fact), the majority of NFL scouts and coaches say that Tebow lacks the technical ability to become even a serviceable NFL quarterback. Their expectations for his career are, in general, quite low.

It’s a unique situation for a Heisman winner, who many consider to be the best college football player ever, to have his professional prospects cast in such a pessimistic light. Regardless, Denver coach Josh McDaniels stuck his neck out for Tebow, trading up to get him. Here was Tebow’s reaction to being drafted:

Now comes the hard part. Although Tebow was a great player in college, many scouts think his throwing motion needs to be rebuilt from the ground up in order to be effective in the NFL. Since throwing is obviously an essential component of playing quarterback in the NFL, one would believe that the Broncos greatly overestimated Tebow’s value.

Not according to Dan Shanoff, our resident Tebow expert, who thinks he is starting from the same place as any other young quarterback. “Given the complaints about his so-called limitations,” Shanoff said, “Tebow has as good of a chance to maximize his talents as a starting QB in the NFL as any prospect.”

Shanoff believes that Tim Tebow’s renowned work ethic will make up for his perceived deficiencies, and the tutelage of McDaniels, known for his ability to get the most out of young quarterbacks, will expedite his growth.

“The short answer,” he says, “is yes, he can be good. And given his resume, I would default that he will succeed, rather than fail.”

The verdict on Tim Tebow, pro football player, likely won’t be passed any time soon. But the ramifications of Tim Tebow, media phenomenon, are being felt right now.

Just ask Sam Bradford, the number one overall pick in the draft, who has been given a fraction of the attention Tebow has in the day following the draft. This is, conceivably, the first time the 25th pick in the draft has overshadowed the first. Such is the hype surrounding Tim Tebow, now officially a Huge Deal.

Hello, Sports Oscars! The NFL Draft Gets Ready For Prime Time

Dan Fogarty — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 21:12:18 +0000

The NFL Draft airs tonight on ESPN, and for the first time the opening round will be shown in prime time. As a part of their draft coverage, Sports Business Daily has a roundup of writers who think it will pull in some monster ratings.

Although many of these writers are operating on the premise that what they’re saying is some sort of earth-shattering prediction, it’s not. The NFL Draft will have huge ratings. It’s the NFL.

The timing of the event is a testament to the league’s dominance. Both the NBA and NHL have actual playoff games tonight, but that won’t matter, because more people will watch commissioner Roger Goodell read names off a list than actual games.

While the new schedule is a big change, it isn’t the only thing that will be different about this year’s draft:

Charles Coplin, the NFL programming vice president overseeing the show at Manhattan’s Radio City Music Hall, Tuesday said [Whoopi] Goldberg and actors Alyssa Milano, Josh Charles and Dan Lauria as well as weight loss guru Jillian Michaels will be working the draft’s first-ever red carpet for entrances shown live Thursday on ESPN and NFL Network (6 p.m. ET).

Red carpet, baby! But wait… Whoopi Goldberg? It may end up being worth it, if only for the fact that it’s fun to imagine the ESPN production meeting that ended with, “By god..get me Whoopi Goldberg.”

Meanwhile, the burning question for the draft itself is: Where does Tim Tebow end up? After going up and down on numerous draft boards, the only thing that is assured is that whoever gets him is not only drafting Tebow, but the massive amount of media attention that comes with him.