In the past few weeks Fox News has been on an all-consuming rant that defies logic and insults the intelligence of the American people. On an almost 24/7 basis, Fox has broadcast hundreds of false and disparaging reports with little substance and zero evidence. And all of this to vilify a respected man who has given much to his country.

Ben Gazzara was an actor best known for the 1960’s TV series “Run for Your Life.” He was also acclaimed in films such as “Husbands,” “Saint Jack,” and “They All Laughed.” He made 38 movies and worked with many of Hollywood’s biggest stars and directors. He was honored by prestigious nominations for Emmys and Golden Globes. He originated the role of Brick Pollitt in the Broadway production of “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof.” Gazzara passed away earlier this year of pancreatic cancer.

This makes it all the more curious why Fox News would embark on shrill campaign to stain the memory of this beloved American icon. They have featured hundreds of stories alleging malfeasance, deceit, and even treason. The reports were all aired amidst a backdrop of riots, terrorism, and flaming ruins. Somehow Fox even managed to persuade public figures (politicians, pundits, retired military, etc.) to appear and contribute to the smear campaign.

What could possible have driven Fox to attack this fine man so mercilessly/ It is disgraceful and unwarranted and…..

UPDATE: Apparently there has been a small misunderstanding. It seems that Fox News has been reporting on the Libyan town of Benghazi, not actor Ben Gazzara. So…..Never mind.

Actually, there are still some relevant insights in the commentary above. In fact, the entire first paragraph of this article applies perfectly to Fox’s irresponsible reporting on Benghazi. Let’s read it again:

In the past few weeks Fox News has been on an all-consuming rant that defies logic and insults the intelligence of the American people. On an almost 24/7 basis, Fox has broadcast hundreds of false and disparaging reports with little substance and zero evidence. And all of this to vilify a respected man who has given much to his country.

Alone in the media, Fox is trying to elevate a tragic, isolated event into a scandal of gargantuan proportions. They have devoted an inordinate amount of airtime to a story that lacks sufficient facts to draw a conclusion. And then Fox gets pissy because other media isn’t foolish enough to run the same phony story. What’s worse, Fox has shamelessly politicized the tragedy in order to damage President Obama in the midst of the closing days of a heated campaign. The families of the victims have spoken out explicitly requesting that their sorrows not be exploited for political gain:

Ambassador Chris Stevens’ father: “It would really be abhorrent to make this into a campaign issue.”

Navy SEAL Glen Doherty’s mother: “He shouldn’t make my son’s death part of his political agenda.”

Nevertheless, Fox News has jumped on every particle of news no matter how diaphanous. They sensationalize the most specious reports as if they were confirmed as fact. As an example, they trumpeted the release of State Department cables that referenced claims that Al Qaeda had taken responsibility for the Benghazi attacks. However, those cables were never meant to confirm such claims. They were merely reporting an uncorroborated Facebook posting that was later refuted by other agents of Al Qaeda. But for Fox, any nutty assertion on the Internet is golden and true, so long as it reflects badly on President Obama.

Another example is a report by Ed Klein, a thoroughly discredited Obama-hater who writes for the birther web site WorldNetDaily. Fox Nation featured the story this morning. Klein asserts that Hillary Clinton asked Obama for more security, and Obama said no.

There is not a single nugget of truth anywhere in the story. Klein claims that his source is a legal counsel to Sec. Clinton. Think about that claim. Klein expects us to believe that a representative of Clinton would give sensitive information to a known Obama adversary. Even more unbelievable, it is a legal representative who has ethical obligations not to disclose private information. So this source, according to Klein, has jeopardized not only his allegiance to his boss, but his future in the practice of law. It’s fair to say that this source, in all likelihood, does not exist.

Klein is notorious for making wildly absurd claims without any substantiation. His sources are never revealed or corroborated. Consequently, his writings are nothing more than fables by an overtly partisan, proven liar.

Unfortunately, we will probably have to endure continued false reporting from Fox as they brazenly exploit dead Americans in their effort to help push Romney into the White House. But I would bet that after the election, Fox will suddenly fail to find anything newsworthy about Benghazi – or Fast and Furious, or Solyndra, or any of the other fabricated controversies they have been slinging. The veracity of their reporting on Benghazi is just as blatantly untrue as if it were about Ben Gazzara (R.I.P).

Update: The brilliant Stephen Colbert has perfectly framed the absurdity of how Fox is handling this non-story:

