Cato Institute's Julian Sanchez Fisks Fox News's PATRIOT Act Report

The Cato Institute's Julian Sanchez has been following the debate on PATRIOT Act renewal, and has publicly despaired about the quality of coverage devoted to the matter:

It's nice to see that some media outlets are starting to pay attention to deliberation in the Senate over the reauthorization of expiring PATRIOT Act provisions. It's less nice when, as in this FOX News report, "paying attention" means "peddling outrageous falsehoods." To be sure, the issue can be dauntingly complicated, but these are enormous howlers that the most elementary fact checking ought to catch. Many of the false claims appear to echo this Wall Street Journal op-ed by former attorney general Michael Mukasey, which is similarly misleading.

Well, Sanchez went out and did something about it. Rather brilliantly, I might add! In a fantastic vlog, Sanchez offers up a critical fisking of a Fox News report that may lead one to "believe that Americans are going to have to make a choice between security and their civil liberties." Sanchez ably should assuage that fear, and replace it with the strong concern that Fox News literally does not have even the faintest grasp of the facts regarding the use of the various PATRIOT Act provisions. Says Sanchez: "There's folks on the left that would say that all of this is evidence that Fox News is lying to viewers. But I don't think that's true. There's so many weird mistakes in this report, so many strange, random inaccuracies that I think it shows they just don't know what they're talking about."

It goes without saying that this is a complicated subject matter. Yet Sanchez is able to break down the details and explain it all in a way that anyone can understand. It can be done! But you have to want to, don't you?

WATCH:

RELATED:
Misleading on PATRIOT Reauthorization [CATO@Liberty]

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Comments

[daveny]

HA! Awesome. I remember this guy from back when he was doing APDA debate on NYU's team.... nice to see those skills in use!

[DestinationsUnknown]

Murdoch/WSJ: Dumb it Down Mr. President!

Well well well.....

How is that going for you Murdoch?

[Miss Ann Thrope]

Um...shouldn't we actually be concerned that the Democrats ARE going to continue these provisions in the patriot act?! This act, including the 3 provisions focused on in the video above, infringe on the rights of the American people, and as much as assurances are given that they WON'T be used against the American people, the fact is they already are, and there is nothing in the act which prevents it from being used against the American people.

Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely - John Dalberg-Acton

[gnomic]

fox: lying or stupid? it is hard to tell. but I think both.

[maxfax]

Both is right.

[BeauRadley]

Yep both is definitely correct.

[yesyoucaned]

Hey liberals, it's me CATO. We have a lot in common you know? Why don't you come back to my site and we can share some koolaid together.

[BrentWI]

Hey Cons and neo-cons, it Fox News talking. Ignore the facts behind the curtains - we'll tell you all you need to know.

[realpolitic]

Imagine that! Fox News being totally wrong, totally sloppy, and penultimately biased. Fox is not even trying anymore because they know their listeners do not actively listen and are not critically minded enough to follow the facts. So they use the Glenn Beck-style of mentioning the word "freedom" whenever Republicans come up and "socialism" with Democrats. It works on every other segment they do. Since Fox has shilled so much nonsense they do not know how to report the news anymore.

[JohnSawyer]

"I think it shows they just don't know what they're talking about."

Why does Sanchez sound surprised? That's standard operating procedure at Fox News. They don't consider it's their job to get the facts right, since they think it would be less entertaining:

http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/11-the-media-can-legally-lie/

[LeLoup]

Is it any wonder Fox fear the revival of the Fairness Doctrine?

They are so fact-free driven, it's not even funny.

[consrfunny]

Wait, wait, I thought Faux News was the only fair and balanced news corp. and that they didn't lie.

[jennysez]

"Those willing to give up their civil rights in favor of security deserve neither"

Now...who said that? I'm pretty sure it was someone famous, probably a commienazisocialist

[KyleinWI]

Now take that thought and just don't apply it to our freedom socially., i.e the 4th. Meaning just becasue the government says there is a threat and scares us about that threat(terriosm, countries or drugs) that we should not give our rights to the state in order to "fell" secure. But also use that medically. Does that change any of our thinking process with the government healthcare reform looming. Are they scaring us, using medical terrorism, so that we give up certian rights in order to fell more secure with our healthcare?

Just a genral thought provocking question. Not try to start a debate.

Good day
Liberty will reign in America!

[BrentWI]

No debate required, as it wasn't thought provoking at all.

[ThermoChemist]

The very "patriotic" [sarc] Conservatives have their own "take on things":

Rush Limbaugh's maxim:
"Our civil liberties are worthless if we are dead!"

Senator John Cornyn's words of wisdom:
"None of your civil liberties matter much after you're dead."

They're willing to [indiscriminantly?] drop civil liberties at a whim..!?!
[use of "the Fear Card"; again]

[jackbutler5555]

Sorry, the GLBT posting is in the wrong blog.

[scjk67]

the Fixed News are at it again, with the lies and deception....jeebus, we where warned of Rupert Murdoch actions....... Rupert Murdch = anti Christ

[jackbutler5555]

More important than all the things GLBT want him to say and do is that he stay politically viable. In order to do that, he needs to make an objective assessment of the political consequences of doing what GLBT wants. Like many progressive elements without the political sophistication to calculate the possible consequences from an enduring perspective, GLBT simply says, "Do it. You're the President. You can do whatever you please."

If Obama in his need to appease his progressive support succumbs to their demands without this political calculation, the next President of the United States will be a Republican who will simply undo what the brave Ex-President Obama has done out of respect for the GLBT and the other progressives support in the last election. The next set of appointees to the Supreme Court could come from a Republican president. How sympathetic do you expect those appointees to progressive causes will be?

Have we not learned from our previous mistakes? We overreached; the electorate overreacted; and we went under water for eight years.

[Chazzam]

wrong blog

[ObamAtomic]

That AG Michael Mukasey and Alberto Gonzo,at this very moment some one must
be reading their Miranda Rights to them if the new AG want to follow the law.

[Carolyn LeBeauf]

Fox News reporters , all of them are liars, and too dumb to research facts, or understand them. Their sole purpose is to undermine OUR PRESIDENT and his policies. So what ever they say is ok with them, but they keep showing themselves whant fools they are and how dumb. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA is giving them nightmares and I am loving it. The Prez is just too smart for them. Notice hoe THE PREZ. just totally ignore them.

[KyleinWI]

Be honest there are a few good poeple at Fox.

I like Shep every now and then. But bar none the best is the Judge , judge napolitano is fair and honest and will speak truth to power. Watch his internet show produced by Fox, freedom watch. It deals for a whole 30 minutes on why pot should be legal. You may disagree with the Judge by you can not call him ignorant or dishonest. There is always a few good people fighting from within! In government and in the media!

Good day
"liberty will reign in America!"