Once again, conservative Australian billionaire Rupert Murdoch is dong his best to help the Republican party, by using Fox News Channel to host a “comedy” show titled the “-Hour News Hour.”

Promoted by Republican radio propagandist Rush Limbaugh, the 1/2 Hour News Hour is anything but “fair and balanced.” Those paying attention realize what that Fox News tagline has been about all along: denying reality. That’s the Republican way, demonstrated by President Bush’s ongoing “leadership” regarding the war in Iraq.

In a single episode, this “comedy” show attacked U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, former President Bill Clinton, repeatedly maligned the American Civil Liberties Union, questioned the existence of global warming, trashed the reliability of hybrid automobiles, attacked the Fairness Doctrine – which mandated truly “fair and balanced” political news coverage – as an attempt to kill Republican talk radio, and questioned the motivations of celebrities who give to charitable causes.

This “comedy” news show also mocked the credentials of Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama. That would have been funny if they’d bothered to compare Obama’s credentials with those of President Bush. Then again, this isn’t supposed to be about comedy. It’s about anger and denial that conservative thought is a massive failure.

Mark Tardif, Waterville