Waterboarded Shock Jock Mancow: 'Absolutely Torture'

Says term 'hoax' used to throw off police, station management

(NEWSER) - Erich “Mancow” Muller is outraged by the Gawker report that he faked his own waterboarding, the Chicago Tribune reports. The right-wing shock jock defended himself last night on MSNBC's Countdown: “It’s like saying that Mike Tyson’s daughter didn’t really hang herself,” he said. He theorized that “dark forces” were seeking to discredit his conclusion that waterboarding is torture. More»

(NEWSER) - Erich “Mancow” Muller’s on-air waterboarding was a hoax, an anonymous tipster tells Gawker, forwarding a seemingly damning e-mail exchange between the shock jock’s publicist and a veterans group she was hoping could find a torturer. “It is going to have to look ‘real,’” wrote Jerry Springer alum Linda Shafran, “but of course would be simulated with Mancow acting like he is drowning. It will be a hoax but have to look real.” More»

"Sean, it is torture," wateboarded Mancow tells his buddy

(NEWSER) - Right-wing mouth Sean Hannity, who chickened out on a dare to be waterboarded for charity, still claims the procedure is not torture, says conservative shock jock Erich "Mancow" Muller, who discovered firsthand it "absolutely" is. Mancow again described his experience being waterboarded to Keith Olbermann last night as "horrific," despite Hannity's phonecall afterward reiterating his claim that it's still not torture. More»

Sandra Fluke 'slut' controversy hurts Rush's ratings—or does it?

(NEWSER) - Rush Limbaugh's ratings took a hit in certain key markets last month after the Sandra Fluke "slut" controversy , reports Politico . The shock jock's rating's fell 27% in the vital 25-54 demo in New York City, 40% in Seattle-Tacoma, 35% in Jacksonville, and 31% in Houston-Galveston. "Clearly Sandra Fluke isn't the only one who didn't like Rush calling her a 'slut' given how many viewers that comment incinerated," says a radio industry insider. More»

That torture is still being debated is Obama's fault, says Andrew Cohen

(NEWSER) - Just a day after Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann said they supported waterboarding , President Obama re-affirmed that the procedure is torture and "contrary to America's traditions," reports the AP . Obama and his administration have said that waterboarding is torture and illegal since taking office, but after several Republican candidates revived the subject in Saturday night's foreign policy debate, the president re-stated his position in a news conference at Hawaii's APEC meeting. More»