Sorry

This feed does not validate.

In addition, interoperability with the widest range of feed readers could be improved by implementing the following recommendations.

Source: https://newsbusters.org/blog/feed

  1. <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
  2. <rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:foaf="http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/" xmlns:og="http://ogp.me/ns#" xmlns:rdfs="http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#" xmlns:schema="http://schema.org/" xmlns:sioc="http://rdfs.org/sioc/ns#" xmlns:sioct="http://rdfs.org/sioc/types#" xmlns:skos="http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#" version="2.0" xml:base="https://newsbusters.org/">
  3.  <channel>
  4.    <title>Newsbusters - Welcome to NewsBusters, a project of the Media Research Center (MRC), America’s leading media watchdog in documenting, exposing </title>
  5.    <link>https://newsbusters.org/</link>
  6.    <description/>
  7.    <language>en</language>
  8.    
  9.    <item>
  10.  <title>'No Evidence'! Dana Bash Yells at Gov. Kristi Noem Over Who's Behind the Trump Trial</title>
  11.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/tim-graham/2024/04/23/no-evidence-dana-bash-yells-gov-kristi-noem-over-whos-behind-trump</link>
  12.  <description> Gov. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) saddled up for another fight against CNN host Dana Bash on Sunday’s State of the Union. Two years ago, Bash pushed Noem around, insisting she support an abortion for a raped 10-year-old girl in Chicago. Noem kept attacking the rapist.
  13.  
  14. On Sunday, the combat resumed over the Trump trial in Manhattan. Bash kept pressing Noem about how she couldn’t possibly support Trump if he was convicted, and pulled out the usual “No Evidence” fussing when Noem attacked the Bidens.
  15.  
  16.  
  17. BASH: Prosecutors allege Donald Trump falsified business records to hide hush money payments weeks before the 2016 election. As I mentioned, he violated both state, tax and federal campaign finance laws. So, are you saying that, even if that's true, he shouldn't have been charged and that he's above the law?
  18.  
  19. NOEM: What I'm saying is that these prosecutors are using someone as -- whose testimony has been proven to be a liar. Michael Cohen has lied before Congress multiple times. That's their main witness. I would say that he certainly is not someone who can be trusted to do the right thing during this jury trial. They're also using a woman's testimony [Stormy Daniels] who signed a letter saying that this affair did not happen, that she has testified in the past that this never occurred.
  20.  
  21. And so now they're going forward with a case built on that and saying that, because Donald Trump paid his legal bills, that now he can be prosecuted for something that even the person that alleged it happened is saying did not happen.
  22.  
  23.  
  24. Noem added: "When I'm walking around this state and talking to people, talking to people across the country, they don't even know which trial this is. They're like, I don't remember which one this isn't about. Is this the one they're coming after him for this or this?"
  25.  
  26. Where Bash really got agitated and wouldn't let Noem finish a sentence is when the governor said "the Democrats and the activists are using this trial to derail him, to keep him in court, instead of out talking to Americans about what their real concerns are." She then interpreted that more narrowly as if only Biden was trying to derail Trump, when all the Democrats are, including the entire staff of CNN.
  27.  
  28.  
  29.  
  30.  
  31.  
  32.  
  33. NOEM:  And their real concerns are their everyday lives. They need a leader in the White House who gets up every day and puts them first and doesn't raise their taxes, doesn't overregulate them, take away their freedoms and give all our money to other countries, instead of making sure that we're taking care of America first and keeping us safe and secure.
  34.  
  35. BASH: I just want to say for the record there's absolutely no evidence that President Biden is involved in this. This is the case that is being brought in the state of New York by the Manhattan DA.
  36.  
  37. NOEM: And that's what I think is remarkable, is that, if you look at President Biden and what he's done and what his son has done, and the fact that...
  38.  
  39. BASH: That has nothing...
  40.  
  41. NOEM: ... they are not being prosecuted for some of their crimes...
  42.  
  43. BASH: That -- OK, that has -- that has nothing to do with this.
  44.  
  45. NOEM: ... that they have committed, it's really kind of unprecedented.
  46.  
  47. BASH: That has nothing to do with this.
  48.  
  49.  
  50. Bash finished with this: "But kind of big picture, Governor, if Donald Trump is convicted in this trial, will you still support him in November?"
  51.  
  52. PS: After Noem, Bash questioned Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-Ill.) and she was still on a "no evidence" kick as she typically pressed the Democrat from the left, that Biden was too weak in attacking Trump: 
  53.  
  54.  
  55. We, of course, have seen the split screen that we're going to continue to see, President Biden campaigning, former President Trump in court. Biden is deliberately avoiding talking about Trump's legal issues on the trail because he doesn't want to play into the claims that he's orchestrating the political prosecution, which I guess I should say again that there's no evidence of. But just as a political strategic matter, do you think ignoring it is a mistake, or should Biden be reminding voters at every turn that the Republican nominee is currently on -- involved in a criminal trial? 
  56. </description>
  57.  <pubDate>April 23rd, 2024 6:27 AM</pubDate>
  58.    <dc:creator>Tim Graham</dc:creator>
  59.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283854</guid>
  60.    </item>
  61. <item>
  62.  <title>CBS Manages Story On Sticker Shock With No Mention of Inflation, Biden</title>
  63.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/jorge-bonilla/2024/04/23/cbs-manages-story-sticker-shock-no-mention-inflation-biden</link>
  64.  <description>There is a reason we call them Regime Media: their propensity to file stories that protect President Joe Biden from any scrutiny whatsoever, and absolve him from responsibility over the present-day calamities. Case in point: the latest CBS Weekend News report on high car and insurance prices.
  65.  
  66. Watch as anchor Jericka Duncan introduces correspondent Jeff Nguyen’s report, wherein she assures viewers that Nguyen will explain why car prices are so doggone high: 
  67.  
  68.  
  69.  
  70.  
  71.  
  72.  
  73. JERICKA DUNCAN: Drivers are facing the worst sticker shock in a generation. Take used car prices. They now average $25,600. That's nearly 25% higher than five years ago. From loans to insurance, costs are soaring at every turn. In tonight's "Weekend journal" CBS's Jeff Nguyen in Los Angeles explains some of the reasons why.
  74.  
  75.  
  76. Alas, Nguyen didn’t really explain the reasons why. Instead, viewers were offered numbers as reasons. For example:
  77.  
  78.  
  79. JEFF NGUYEN: Last month the average price of a new car was just under $47,000. And the average new car payment was north of $700. Also in March, the average interest rate for a new car loan was more than 7%. Used, nearly 12%.
  80.  
  81.  
  82. Yes, but WHY are average new car prices under 47,000? Was there anything that happened over the past few years that might have affected the cost of raw materials? Say, disruptions in the supply chain and INFLATION? It’s inscrutable. Nguyen offers no answers. 
  83.  
  84. Likewise, WHY are interest rates higher than they were previously? Why did the Fed raise rates over the past few years? What unmentionable phenomenon were they trying to curtail by raising rates? Might this thing that Nguyen refuses to mention rhyme with schminflation? Maybe? Yes?
  85.  
  86. Really, Nguyen manages to burn 2-plus minutes without saying much. The profiled lesbian couple balks at a new $85,000 car and ends up buying two used cars. The insurance expert proffers that rates are higher because the cost of fixing a bumper increased tenfold due to all the sensors and whatnot. The dealership owner seems hopeful that incentives are coming back. But there is no WHY in all of that.
  87.  
  88. Nguyen never gives it up, even as he closes his report by mentioning that repossessions are up and citing high prices and interest rates as the primary culprits. But we know the game Nguyen has been playing all along: The Floor is Hot Lava, but with mentioning Biden, inflation, and Bidenomics instead of touching the floor.
  89.  
  90. This is how the media, in full Protect the Precious mode, manage to pull off a report on high prices and interest rates without ever mentioning inflation, or the president whose policies aggravated inflation and forced Fed rate increases. The title Regime Media is well-earned here.
  91.  
  92. Click “expand” to view the full transcript of the aforementioned report as aired on CBS Weekend News on Sunday, April 21st, 2024:
  93.  
  94.  
  95. JERICKA DUNCAN: Drivers are facing the worst sticker shock in a generation. Take used car prices. They now average $25,600. That's nearly 25% higher than five years ago. From loans to insurance, costs are soaring at every turn. In tonight's "Weekend journal" CBS's Jeff Nguyen in Los Angeles explains some of the reasons why.
  96.  
  97. KAREN HOOD: Here we go.
  98.  
  99. MARISSA HOOD: What do you think?
  100.  
  101. KAREN HOOD: There you go.
  102.  
  103. JEFF NGUYEN: Karen and Marissa Hood and baby Noah have been looking for a new car since January, only to find sticker shock.
  104.  
  105. KAREN HOOD: Now you're looking at the payments and it's just kind of crazy.
  106.  
  107. NGUYEN: Last month the average price of a new car was just under $47,000. And the average new car payment was north of $700. Also in March, the average interest rate for a new car loan was more than 7%. Used, nearly 12%. As for finding something affordable --
  108.  
  109. IVAN DRURY: 20,000 vehicles, dead. If you want a $20,000 vehicle, you're buying a used car.
  110.  
  111. NGUYEN: What will it take for prices to turn around?
  112.  
  113. DRURY: In the end, if consumers don't buy, prices will go down.
  114.  
  115. NGUYEN: Things may be turning around. Beau Boeckmann owns a car dealership group in Los Angeles where inventory has been sitting longer.
  116.  
  117. BEAU BOECKMANN: Now we’re getting incentives back. Most of our interest rates are between 2.9% and 0%.
  118.  
  119. NGUYEN: But then there’s the cost of insurance. The latest Consumer Price Index shows a 22% increase over last year.
  120.  
  121. Safety features, do they affect insurance rates?
  122.  
  123. JANET RUIZ: There's backup cameras, there's sensors. All these things cost quite a bit more to repair, so a bumper went from being a $1,000 repair to maybe a $10, $20,000 repair.
  124.  
  125. NGUYEN: The Hoods recently purchased a used Tesla. They're looking to add a three-year-old Ford Explorer, priced at $40,000.
  126.  
  127. MARISSA HOOD: We were looking at new cars and we realized that we could get two used cars.
  128.  
  129. NGUYEN: The New York Fed says auto loan delinquencies are at their highest level since 2008, because of higher prices and ballooning interest rates. Jeff Nguyen, CBS News, Los Angeles.
  130.  
  131.  
  132.  </description>
  133.  <pubDate>April 23rd, 2024 12:44 AM</pubDate>
  134.    <dc:creator>Jorge Bonilla</dc:creator>
  135.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283853</guid>
  136.    </item>
  137. <item>
  138.  <title>ABC World News Tonight SUPPRESSED Biden’s ‘Very Fine People’ Moment</title>
  139.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/jorge-bonilla/2024/04/22/abc-world-news-tonight-suppressed-bidens-very-fine-people-moment</link>
  140.  <description>All three major broadcast networks covered the ongoing violent antisemitic campus protests during their evening newscasts. Only one, ABC, omitted President Joe Biden’s statements granting moral equivalency both to the antisemitic protesters and to those who oppose them- his own “very fine people” moment.
  141.  
  142. Here are the remarks in question, as aired on the CBS Evening News- the only network to actually air them:
  143.  
  144.  
  145.  
  146.  
  147.  
  148.  
  149. MEG OLIVER: Late this afternoon, President Biden denounced antisemitism.
  150.  
  151. JOE BIDEN: I condemn the antisemitic protests, that’s why I’ve set up a program to deal with that. I also condemn those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians. 
  152.  
  153.  
  154. NBC Nightly News, for their part, did not directly air Biden’s remarks but ended their otherwise very balanced report with a recitation of Biden’s statements by correspondent Erin McLaughlin:
  155.  
  156.  
  157. HOLT: And Erin, tonight the White House is weighing in on all this.
  158.  
  159. MCLAUGHLIN: That's right, Lester. Tonight, President Biden saying he condemns both antisemitic protests and those who, quote, don't understand what's going on with the Palestinians.
  160.  
  161.  
  162. NBC’s report was the most extensive in featuring the concerns of Jewish students, a welcome correction from their weekend reporting. CBS, after not reporting on the protests at all during the weekend, corrected the course. 
  163.  
  164. This brings us back to ABC. Not only was their report on the protests the most ambiguous, but offered one glaring factual inaccuracy. The protests, contrary to what anchor David Muir said in his lead-in to Stephanie Ramos’ report, are NOT about the war in Gaza but about forcing Columbia and other universities to divest from Israel. It’s BDS on steroids.
  165.  
  166. And, here again, ABC emerges as the network likeliest to air a story in a light most favorable to President Joe Biden- He Who Must Be Protected. By condemning “those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians”, Biden granted moral equivalency to the antisemitic protesters. 
  167.  
  168. In a bizarro way, Biden gave a “very fine people on both sides” statement. This is all the more ironic given Biden’s performative condemnations of statements issued by former President Donald Trump in the wake of Charlottesville- which was also the caucus belli for Biden’s 2020 candidacy. In the coming days, expect the media to settle on ye olde “Republicans Pounce” or some variant thereof as they try to help Biden spin out of this. Contrary to media reports, Biden didn’t just condemn antisemitism. He bothsidesed it with terrorist sympathy. 
  169.  
  170. Click “expand” to view transcripts of the aforementioned reports as aired on their respective evening newscasts on Monday, April 22nd, 2024:
  171.  
  172. ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT:
  173.  
  174.  
  175. DAVID MUIR: Tonight, here in New York City, Columbia University increasing security as pro-Palestinian demonstrators rally against the Israel-Hamas war. The school switching to remote classes, and tonight, protests now spreading to campuses across the U.S. ABC's Stephanie Ramos at Columbia tonight.
  176.  
  177. STEPHANIE RAMOS: Tonight, college campuses scrambling to handle a growing pro-Palestinian protest movement. Columbia University is stepping up campus security and moving classes online. The school's president saying, "We need a reset to de-escalate the rancor." But today, fresh arrests and tensions boiling over on the first night of Passover. This Israeli assistant professor confronting university officials over being denied access to the main lawn, as school officials tried to separate protesters.
  178.  
  179. SHAI DAVIDAI: I am a professor here. I have every right to be everywhere on campus. You cannot let people that support Hamas on campus and me, a professor, not go on campus. Let me in now.
  180.  
  181. RAMOS: It comes after a campus rabbi urged students to stay home, saying the school and the NYPD cannot guarantee Jewish students' safety. New York Mayor Eric Adams saying he is horrified and disgusted with antisemitism spewed at and around Columbia's campus. Pointing to videos circulating online, showing a woman in front of pro-Israel protesters with a sign reading: "Al-Qasam's next targets," a reference to Hamas' military wing.
  182.  
  183. SHIRA: Made me sick hearing the things they were saying and doing. So, over this holiday, I kind of just want to try to avoid it as best as I can, for my own safety.
  184.  
  185. RAMOS: Many pro-Palestinian protesters insist their movement is peaceful.
  186.  
  187. MOHAMMAD KHALIL: Violence has no place on this movement. And we regret some of the incidents that has happened that were actually unassociated with this movement.
  188.  
  189. RAMOS: The protests calling for colleges to divest from companies with ties to Israel now spreading to other campuses. Today, at least 45 people arrested at Yale university. At NYU, a standoff with police, after protesters were told to vacate a campus plaza. 
  190.  
  191. Back here at Columbia University, students are still waiting to hear when they can return to in-person classes. New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who visited the campus today, calling on people to find their humanity and have conversations so they can understand different points of view. David?
  192.  
  193. MUIR: Stephanie Ramos reporting from Columbia for us again tonight. Stephanie, thank you.
  194.  
  195.  
  196. CBS EVENING NEWS:
  197.  
  198.  
  199. MAURICE DUBOIS: Now to those escalating protests on college campuses across the country. The president of Columbia University in New York taking the extraordinary step of moving classes online due to safety concerns for Jewish students. The White House condemning the unrest, calling it blatantly antisemitic and dangerous. CBS's Meg Oliver reports.
  200.  
  201. MEG OLIVER: Tension and concerns about safety continue to embroil Columbia University. With classes remote only, some Jewish students and faculty save the environment has only escalated.
  202.  
  203. STUDENT: The jewish students are petrified to go to campus.
  204.  
  205. OLIVER: For the past six days, hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators, including Jewish students, have occupied the school’s quad, demanding the school divest from companies funding Israel.
  206.  
  207. PROTESTER: Antisemitism is a huge problem in the United States, but anti-Zionism and antisemitism are two different things.
  208.  
  209. MEG OLIVER: Late this afternoon, President Biden denounced antisemitism.
  210.  
  211. JOE BIDEN: I condemn the antisemitic protests, that’s why I’ve set up a program to deal with that. I also condemn those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians. 
  212.  
  213. OLIVER: The protests have spread to multiple universities including the University of Michigan, MIT, NYU, and Emerson College in Boston. About 60 people have been arrested at Yale since the start of the protest. Orthodox Jew Sahar Tartak, the editor-in-chief of the Yale Free Press, says demonstrators surrounded her on campus while she was reporting over the weekend.
  214.  
  215. SAHAR TARTAK: So they started taunting me and giving me their middle finger and yelling in my face, and until one of them waved his Palestinian flag in my face and then jabbed me with it in my left eye.
  216.  
  217. OLIVER: With Passover starting at sundown, Columbia has more than doubled its security presence. The NYPD has also stepped up controls outside and for the foreseeable future, only students and staff are allowed on campus after scanning their ids. Maurice.
  218.  
  219. DUBOIS: Okay. Meg Oliver, thank you.
  220.  
  221.  
  222. NBC NIGHTLY NEWS:
  223.  
  224.  
  225. LESTER HOLT: Pro-Palestinian protests spreading to more college campuses across America tonight, prompting new restrictions and more arrests. Classes moving online at one major campus amid rising concerns over safety. Erin McLaughlin has late developments.
  226.  
  227. ERIN MCLAUGHLIN: Tonight, tension across major American college campuses.
  228.  
  229. NYPD: If you do not leave, you will be arrested.
  230.  
  231. MCLAUGHLIN: Students setting up encampments from the University of North Carolina to M.I.T. Harvard's Yard closed until Friday. All of it as fury over the Israel-Hamas war boils over. Students expressing fear for their personal safety and concern for antisemitic hate speech. Raising new questions about the line between hate speech and the First Amendment.
  232.  
  233. STUDENT: We're asking for the school to call for a cease-fire in Gaza.
  234.  
  235. MCLAUGHLIN: This morning, police say at least 45 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested at Yale University for violating Yale's policies and instructions. Police say they were later released. In a statement, the university adding that Yale does not tolerate behavior that threatened, harassed or intimidated others. Meanwhile, at Columbia today's classes were online only, with the university's president calling for a reset to de-escalate the rancor, while also adding more than 100 safety personnel to campus after more than 100 protesters were arrested last week. But with videos like this…
  236.  
  237. PROTESTER: WE ARE HAMAS!
  238.  
  239. MCLAUGHLIN: …emerging online, and another showing a young woman holding a sign pointing in the direction of Jewish students saying "Al Qassam's next targets”, Hamas's military wing, students Andrew Stein and Elisha Baker say they don't feel safe.
  240.  
  241. ANDREW STEIN: It was the most terrified I've probably been in my entire life.
  242.  
  243. MCLAUGHLIN: On Saturday night, Stein says he was on campus for a pro-Israel counterprotest when this happened. You see him in the white sweatshirt filming as a group of pro-Palestinian protesters yell expletives against Israel.
  244.  
  245. STEIN: They started saying in Arabic, “Hamas, Hamas, our beloved, please bomb Tel Aviv” and then they started saying “we're coming for you, those Zionists on this campus, like, get off campus”.
  246.  
  247. MCLAUGHLIN: Stein alleges the situation escalated.
  248.  
  249. STEIN: Me and my friend had water poured in our face. My friend was actually abused in the middle of campus.
  250.  
  251. MCLAUGHLIN: On campus Monday, faculty from Barnard and Columbia came out in support of the pro-Palestinian students who were arrested and suspended last week.
  252.  
  253. PROTESTER: We're calling for divestment. We're calling for a cease-fire.
  254.  
  255. MCLAUGHLIN: Students inside the encampment told NBC News they were unaware of any physical or verbal threats toward students on Saturday Night.
  256.  
  257. PROTESTER: Anyone who makes any threat to any Jewish student, we oppose you. We do not associate with you.
  258.  
  259. MCLAUGHLIN: Meanwhile, at Rutgers University, police announcing a man has been charged with a federal hate crime for breaking into the university's center for Islamic life and destroying property earlier this month. Tonight, on college campuses across the country, students saying they don't feel safe.
  260.  
  261. HOLT: And Erin, tonight the White House is weighing in on all this.
  262.  
  263. MCLAUGHLIN: That's right, Lester. Tonight, President Biden saying he condemns both antisemitic protests and those who, quote, don't understand what's going on with the Palestinians. Lester?
  264.  
  265. HOLT: Erin Mclaughlin tonight, thank you.
  266.  
  267.  
  268.  </description>
  269.  <pubDate>April 22nd, 2024 11:44 PM</pubDate>
  270.    <dc:creator>Jorge Bonilla</dc:creator>
  271.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283852</guid>
  272.    </item>
  273. <item>
  274.  <title>NewsBusters Podcast: Hillary Clinton Says Trump Wants to 'Kill His Opposition'</title>
  275.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/tim-graham/2024/04/22/newsbusters-podcast-hillary-clinton-says-trump-wants-kill-his</link>
  276.  <description> As pro-Biden media outlets argue that Donald Trump's criticism of his legal adversaries is endangering lives, Hillary Clinton claimed on a podcast that Trump would like to "kill his opposition," and the media find that's not dangerously suggestive. Democrats (like congressional candidate Nate McMurray in New York) tweeting "Die MAGA Die" shouldn't be questioned.
  277.  
  278. On a podcast with her old lawyer Marc Elias, Hillary said "Trump was like, you know, just gaga over Putin because Putin does what Trump would like to do: Kill his opposition, imprison his opposition, drive journalists and others into exile, rule without any check or balance." 
  279.  
  280. Where are the so-called "independent fact-checkers"? Because if we used the typical Daniel Dale/Politifact standard, you’d expect them to say there’s no evidence Donald Trump ever said “I’d love to kill my opposition like Putin does, but nobody will let me.” 
  281.  
  282. Maybe the media would get upset if a Republican tweeted "Die Hamas Die." That wouldn't be "mostly peaceful protest."  On the Left today, Hamas is viewed as more virtuous than people wearing red MAGA hats. On the Left, the American conservative is always the most evil enemy. No one on the Left is really an enemy, not compared to the domestic extremists on the right wing.
  283.  
  284. Meanwhile, the Meet the Press gang gang was a little happy on Sunday. Steve Kornacki announced Donald Trump does lead Joe Biden 46% to 44% in the latest NBC News poll, but the margin decreased from five points to two, and Trump is down two points when they add Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other third-party candidates. 
  285.  
  286. Even so, Andrea Mitchell was worrying out loud that "the problem for Joe Biden and the Democrats" is Trump's trial is "crowding out everything else." Biden can't tout his steel tariffs or his student-loan "relief" handouts (going against democratic norms to buy Democrat votes). As if the media can't help but overshadow Biden with all the Trump-trial obsession? 
  287.  
  288. Over on ABC, Politico's Jonathan Martin sounded a different note of panic: "I think if the election's about Trump, Biden's got a lot better chance." (That's the media's rationale for wall-to-wall coverage.) "Right now, Biden's problem is this election is about Joe Biden." Martin's lecturing the voters that they're focused on the wrong guy.
  289.  
  290. Enjoy the podcast below, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 
  291.  
  292.  
  293.  
  294. </description>
  295.  <pubDate>April 22nd, 2024 10:30 PM</pubDate>
  296.    <dc:creator>Tim Graham</dc:creator>
  297.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283847</guid>
  298.    </item>
  299. <item>
  300.  <title>Washington Examiner’s ‘Liberal Media Scream’ With the MRC’s Assessment</title>
  301.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/brent-baker/2024/04/22/washington-examiners-liberal-media-scream-mrcs-assessment</link>
  302.  <description> Since late January of 2012, the Washington Examiner’s Paul Bedard has once a week featured a “Mainstream Media Scream” selection in his “Washington Secrets” column. For each pick, usually posted online on Monday, I provide an explanation and recommend a “scream” rating (scale of one to five).
  303.  
  304. This post contains the “Liberal Media Screams” starting in January 2023.
  305.  
  306. &gt; For 2021 and 2022, for all of 2020. For all of 2019. For all of  2018. (Re-named “Liberal Media Scream” as of June 11, 2018.) “Mainstream Media Screams” for:
  307.  
  308. &gt; July-December 2017 posts; January through June 2017; July to December 2016; for January to June 2016; for July to December 2015; for January to June 2015. (2012-2014 are featured on MRC.org: For 2014; for June 17, 2013 through the end of 2013. And for January 31, 2012 through June 11, 2013.)
  309.  
  310.  
  311.  
  312. Check Bedard’s “Washington Secrets” blog for the latest choice and his other Washington insider posts. Each week, this page will be updated with Bedard’s latest example of the worst bias of the week.
  313.  
  314. (For more of the worst liberal media bias, browse the Media Research Center's Notable Quotables with compilations of the latest outrageous, sometimes humorous, quotes in the liberal media.)
  315.  
  316.  
  317.  
  318. ■ New on April 22: Liberal Media Scream: Historian Meacham says ‘patriotism’ demands Biden win
  319.  
  320. See the posting on the Washington Examiner's site where you can watch the video and read Baker's assessment. A week later, Bedard's article will be posted here.
  321.  
  322.  
  323.  
  324. ■ April 15: No Liberal Media Scream this week.
  325.  
  326.  
  327.  
  328. ■ April 8: Liberal Media Scream: Joy Reid wants prison, not airport, named for Trump
  329.  
  330. (Washington Examiner post)
  331.  
  332.  
  333. This week’s Liberal Media Scream revealed again just how easy it is to make cable TV hosts suffering from “Trump Derangement Syndrome” go nuts.
  334.  
  335. With Congress on Easter break, there wasn’t much Capitol Hill news last week. So when a report was posted about a GOP proposal to rename Dulles International Airport after former President Donald Trump, MSBNC turned all its guns on the idea.
  336.  
  337. On the ReidOut, host Joy Reid said it was bad enough that the “worst” airport in America is named after Eisenhower-era Secretary of State John Foster Dulles. “Let’s make it worse” by naming it for Trump, she said.
  338.  
  339. Instead, she suggested that Trump’s name be put on a Miami prison, a reference to the legal cases he faces, one in Florida.
  340.  
  341. She and her guests, including Ali Velshi and Fordham University professor Christina Greer, piled on. Greer even bashed Washington’s national airport being renamed after former President Ronald Reagan. Reid said, “Yeah, I just call it ‘DCA.'”
  342.  
  343. From Friday’s The ReidOut on MSNBC:
  344.  
  345. JOY REID: Let’s talk a little about this idea of renaming Dulles. Now, Dulles is not the best airport — it might be the worst airport in America. The Republicans are like, “Let’s name it after Donald Trump.” I love the fact that it’s named after one of the most diabolical secretaries of state who destroyed Iran and a bunch of Central America.
  346.  
  347. ALI VELSHI: But let’s make that worse.
  348.  
  349. REID: Let’s make it worse. Also, the Democrats have said, “Instead, let’s name a prison after Trump.” Thoughts? Thoughts? Thoughts? Name a prison in Miami?
  350.  
  351. VELSHI: That is a fantastic idea.
  352.  
  353. …
  354.  
  355. REID: I think this is a great opportunity for the nerds at the table just to talk about Allen Dulles and also his brother — it was John Foster Dulles, I think, and Allen Dulles, and both of them were involved in destroying Guatemala and Iran.
  356.  
  357. VELSHI: Yeah.
  358.  
  359. REID: So I feel like that’s important, and that’s given me the opportunity, so, thank you, Republicans.
  360.  
  361. CHRISTINA GREER: Well, I mean, we’ve — they’ve already renamed National, Reagan, which I refuse to call it.
  362.  
  363. REID: Yeah, I just call it “DCA.“
  364.  
  365.  
  366.  
  367.  
  368.  
  369. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explained our weekly pick: “Glad something about Trump made them laugh, a brief break from the usual full hour of irrational anger at any mention of anything Trump. Naturally, Reid couldn’t hide how her contempt for Republicans goes way beyond just Trump. It’s a disdain so deep she’s still mad about Ronald Reagan getting an airport named for him and the foreign policy of a president who left office more than 60 years ago.”
  370.  
  371. Rating: THREE out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  372.  
  373.  
  374.  
  375.  
  376. ■ April 1: Liberal Media Scream: Top editor joins CNN host in ripping MAGA with their ‘truth’
  377.  
  378. (Washington Examiner post)
  379.  
  380.  
  381. This week’s Liberal Media Scream is a rare but deserved five-screamer in which the editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer joins with a CNN host to condemn former President Donald Trump and his MAGA followers.
  382.  
  383. Appearing on CNN This Morning with Kasie Hunt, editor Chris Quinn explained why he wrote a weekend letter to readers about the paper’s anti-Trump coverage.
  384.  
  385. He said, “These are people that watch Fox News or Newsmax and they believe it because they — it appears credible. Then they come to our platforms and see the opposite and they’re conflicted because they like us. They read us for the sports coverage or the local news, or what have you.”
  386.  
  387. Quinn added, “This was for them. I had to, I owed them some sort of an explanation. And the reason it was so difficult is I don’t want to demean them. I don’t want to criticize them. But I can’t stray from the truth. The truth is this guy is a monster. He’s the worst president in history and many people understand that. Those who get their news from not credible sources believe what they’re hearing.”
  388.  
  389. Hunt said, “You said — another piece of this to your point of what the truth is, you said, ‘Trust your eyes. Trump, on Jan. 6, launched the most serious threat to our system of government since the Civil War. You know that. You saw it.’ And just before that you write, ‘This is not subjective. We all saw it. Plenty of leaders today try to convince the masses we did not see what we saw but our eyes don’t deceive us.'”
  390.  
  391. “And I think that this is the piece of it that gets me because I was there on that day and I looked out the window and I saw these people trying to attack the Capitol. And then, now, half of these political leaders are trying to say no, actually, that thing that you saw with your own eyes did not happen.”
  392.  
  393. From today’s CNN This Morning with Kasie Hunt:
  394.  
  395. KASIE HUNT: How to cover former President Donald Trump is — quite literally — one of the hardest, thorniest questions facing us as journalists. It is something that I think about quite literally every single day when I wake up to join all of you. And it is especially true in the wake of Jan. 6, which affected me both personally and professionally in addition to, of course, having enormous implications for our democracy. This is why this all stood out to me.
  396.  
  397. The Cleveland Plain Dealer decided they wanted to address this with their readers head-on over the weekend. The editor, Chris Quinn, writes this: “The north star here is truth. We tell the truth, even when it offends some of the people who pay us for information. The truth is that Donald Trump undermined faith in our elections in his false bid to retain the presidency. He sparked an insurrection intended to overthrow our government and keep himself in power. No president in our history has done worse.”
  398.  
  399. And joining me now is Chris Quinn. He is the editor of the Plain Dealer and Cleveland.com. Chris, thank you so much for being here. It’s an honor to have you.
  400.  
  401. CHRIS QUINN: Good morning.
  402.  
  403. HUNT: So I loved how you approached this because you started with your readers — with the people who write to you about this. Many of them, of course, are supporters of Donald Trump. And you write some of them are more thoughtful than others, shall I say.
  404.  
  405. But this is something that I have wrestled with because there are so many people in the country who support Donald Trump and many of them have reasons for doing that that have to do with the circumstances that they face. We don’t want to lose empathy for those people. We don’t want to not speak to those people. To be, you know, advocates and helpful in terms of providing those people with information.
  406.  
  407. But you sat down and you grappled with this question, and you tried to explain why you’re doing what you’re doing in the way that you’re doing it. Can you explain a little bit more of that to all of us right now?
  408.  
  409. QUINN: Yeah. This was a very challenging piece to write. It actually took me almost six months to get my thoughts together. I get two kinds of correspondence from Trump supporters and one is not nice. It’s very condescending and sneering. And I kind of chalk that up to people who had felt left out of society. Donald Trump gave them a club to participate in. And there’s nothing I can say or do to help them understand what we’re doing.
  410.  
  411. But the other half write me with great courtesy and implore me for an explanation. They say, “You are dismissing a large segment of the country when you say that Donald Trump is the monster you describe him as and I don’t see him that way. What do you say to me?”
  412.  
  413. These are people that watch Fox News or Newsmax and they believe it because they — it appears credible. Then they come to our platforms and see the opposite and they’re conflicted because they like us. They read us for the sports coverage or the local news, or what have you.
  414.  
  415. So this was for them. I had to, I owed them some sort of an explanation. And the reason it was so difficult is I don’t want to demean them. I don’t want to criticize them. But I can’t stray from the truth. The truth is this guy is a monster. He’s the worst president in history and many people understand that. Those who get their news from not credible sources believe what they’re hearing.
  416.  
  417. HUNT: Yeah. I will just say I think that the decline in our local media is a crisis for many, many reasons, but not least is that you, as a local paper, have a level of trust with people in your communities that is simply not possible to establish when you are a national news organization. And I think that really comes through in this piece that you wrote.
  418.  
  419. And you said — another piece of this to your point of what the truth is, you said, “Trust your eyes. Trump, on Jan. 6, launched the most serious threat to our system of government since the Civil War. You know that. You saw it.” And just before that you write, “This is not subjective. We all saw it. Plenty of leaders today try to convince the masses we did not see what we saw but our eyes don’t deceive us.”
  420.  
  421. And I think that this is the piece of it that gets me because I was there on that day and I looked out the window and I saw these people trying to attack the Capitol. And then, now, half of these political leaders are trying to say no, actually, that thing that you saw with your own eyes did not happen. Was it that that really was the thing that underscored this the most to you as well?
  422.  
  423. QUINN: Yeah. And look, it’s heartbreaking what you’re seeing today. I come from a state where we’ve had senators like George Voinovich and John Glenn — people who would never have stood by during these recent years and allowed what’s happened to happen.
  424.  
  425. And today, we have J.D. Vance and we might have Bernie Moreno, whose claim to fame is they want to be puppets for Donald Trump. And it’s not what we should be about.
  426.  
  427. And that’s why I referenced that New Yorker piece in what I wrote because the New Yorker had a book review that looked back and said the reason Hitler came to the fore wasn’t because a bunch of people went and voted to have a fascist leader. It was because the people in government, in trying to get power for themselves, appeased him and that allowed him to rise.
  428.  
  429. That’s what we have going on. Everybody knows what the truth is. The people in Congress were there. They were under threat from it. But for expedience, they’re denying it happened.
  430.  
  431. HUNT: Do you think that those people who are looking to enable Donald Trump, as you say, what is the — their level of culpability here? I mean, obviously, you talk about Trump, himself, and his, the actions that he takes and his role in trying to hang on to power. But these enablers, I mean, what responsibility do they bear?
  432.  
  433. QUINN: I think they have full responsibility. I think journalists who veer from the truth are going to end up having full responsibility.
  434.  
  435. Look, we’re a regional newsroom and we’re doing well. We’re actually one of the local newsrooms that’s kind of figured it out and we’re thriving and we’re not in any danger of going away. But we have our limited influence.
  436.  
  437. And so, we’re doing what we can. We’re, you know, we ask ourselves what’s the right thing to do here? The right thing to do is to call this out, not to say there’s two sides to Donald Trump. There aren’t two sides to Donald Trump. Anybody who has been watching and trying to discern what the truth is here knows that this guy tried to destroy our entire system of government and will do so again. Somebody has to say it.
  438.  
  439. I wish people like Dave Joyce, a congressman from Ohio who’s a good guy, would stand up and just denounce it. Because if you started to have a few people of good conscience do that, maybe we could stop this wave, which is frightening beyond belief.
  440.  
  441. HUNT: Well, I’m very grateful that you took the time to join us today, Chris, and I do commend reading this column. I will again say this is something I think about literally every single day because we do want to be a resource, a place for people who want to support Donald Trump or who feel dissatisfied with the system in their own lives. I just had to make sure that those ears are continuing to be open to us is a challenge that I grapple with every day. And I really appreciated reading this.
  442.  
  443.  
  444.  
  445.  
  446.  
  447. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “With his smug moral superiority, Quinn encapsulates everything that’s wrong with modern journalism. He’s decided what ‘the truth’ is and his readers better get on board. No wonder fewer and fewer are buying local newspapers. They’ve become just as insulting to their readers as the national media have been for decades. Incredulous that anyone could see Trump as a better president than Biden.”
  448.  
  449. Rating: FIVE out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  450.  
  451.  
  452.  
  453.  
  454. ■ March 25: Liberal Media Scream: Condescending ‘Really?’ to Rubio’s wish to be Trump VP
  455.  
  456. (Washington Examiner post)
  457.  
  458.  
  459. This week’s Liberal Media Scream reveals just how deep the disrespect for former President Donald Trump goes in the press, especially with those who have created a profitable side gig writing and talking about him.
  460.  
  461. In just one word, ABC’s Jonathan Karl heaved up a sanctimonious putdown of Trump and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) when the topic of the likely 2024 GOP presidential nominee’s pick for running mate was raised.
  462.  
  463. Rubio has said he would be honored to get the nod, as have about a dozen other leading Republicans. What’s more, Rubio would likely help Trump add to his coalition to create a potentially winning ticket.
  464.  
  465. But all Karl had to say was, “Really?”
  466.  
  467. It didn’t end there. As Rubio explained the problems President Joe Biden dumped on America, Karl couldn’t help but complain, “You’re not suggesting that’s all happening because of Biden?” Rubio affirmed, “Absolutely I am.”
  468.  
  469. Here’s the exchange on Sunday’s This Week on ABC:
  470.  
  471. JON KARL: There was some reporting this week that you are possibly under consideration to be Donald Trump’s running mate. I don’t put a lot of stock in this reporting right now. We’re early. But you said it would be “an honor” to be offered a spot on his ticket. Really?
  472.  
  473. SEN. MARCO RUBIO: Yeah, I think anyone who is offered the opportunity to serve this country as vice president should be honored by the opportunity to do it if you are in public service. I’m in the Senate because I want to serve the country. Being vice president is an important way to serve the country. But I’ve also been clear. I’ve never talked to Donald Trump. I’ve never talked to anybody on his team or family or inner circle about vice president. That’s a decision he’s going to make. He has plenty of really good people to pick from.
  474.  
  475. KARL: I mean, the reason why I asked is, I mean, look what happened to the last guy. I mean, a mob stormed the Capitol, literally calling to hang Mike Pence, and Trump defended those chants of “hang Mike Pence.”
  476.  
  477. RUBIO: I will tell you this, that when Donald Trump was president of the United States, this country was safer. It was more prosperous. We had relations, for example, in a part of the world that I care about called the Western Hemisphere that were very strong. We had a lot of good things done there. I think the country and the world was a better place when he was president, and I would love to see him return to the White House in comparison to the guy who’s there now, Joe Biden, who’s been a disaster economically.
  478.  
  479. Look at the world. Every single day, we wake up to a new crisis, to a new conflict. Everything has gone on fire since the time Joe Biden took over. Afghanistan’s gone down. Ukraine has been invaded. Now the Philippines and the Chinese are on the verge of something bad happening every single day. Not to mention the threats to Taiwan. And we have this blowup in Haiti going on in our very own hemisphere. We wake up every single day, terrorist attacks, 9 million people across the border. That’s what matters to me.
  480.  
  481. KARL: But, I mean, you’re not suggesting that’s all happening because of Biden?
  482.  
  483. RUBIO: Absolutely I am. Absolutely I’m suggesting it’s happening because of Biden. He’s president and his weakness and his —
  484.  
  485. KARL: It’s because of Biden that Russia invaded Ukraine?
  486.  
  487. RUBIO: Absolutely.
  488.  
  489. KARL: It’s because of Biden that Haiti?
  490.  
  491. RUBIO: Absolutely. I mean Putin is sitting there, saying these guys can’t even stand up to the Taliban and they have to fly people hanging off the wings of these airplanes. Now is the time to go.
  492.  
  493.  
  494.  
  495.  
  496.  
  497. Brent Baker, the vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “How arrogant and condescending for a broadcast network TV host to scoff at a U.S. senator for saying he’d be ‘honored’ to serve as the vice presidential candidate of his party. And then, to act astonished over a common Republican talking point about President Biden’s foreign policy failures shows Karl is little more than a liberal political operative in the guise of a journalist who is incredulous that anyone could see Trump as a better president than Biden.”
  498.  
  499. Rating: FOUR out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  500.  
  501.  
  502.  
  503.  
  504. ■ March 18: Liberal Media Scream: ‘Bloodbath’ is what media are doing to Trump
  505.  
  506. (Washington Examiner post)
  507.  
  508.  
  509. This week’s Liberal Media Scream focuses on the media and President Joe Biden’s distortion of former President Donald Trump’s warning of an economic “bloodbath” if he’s not returned to the White House to stop China’s dumping of autos in the U.S. under Biden.
  510.  
  511. The media, and now the Biden campaign, pulled the word out of a long Trump explanation at an Ohio political rally of auto sales to make it sound like he was calling for a civil war if he’s not elected.
  512.  
  513. It’s very similar to what the media did after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots and spelled out how they’d treat a President Trump if given a chance.
  514.  
  515. Leading that fake rant over the weekend was ABC and a guest on This Week, New York magazine’s Susan Glasser, formerly with the liberal-left Washington Post and Politico.
  516.  
  517. Without any sign of embarrassment for distorting Trump’s words, Glasser ranted on about how threatening Trump is.
  518.  
  519. In office, Trump did assail reporters for their “fake news” and overwhelming bias but also was the most accessible and talkative president during his one term. He followed an Obama-Biden administration that was condemned by journalists for avoiding reporters and using technology to go around the media.
  520.  
  521. Susan Glasser on Sunday’s This Week on ABC:
  522.  
  523. “Donald Trump, it seems to me, it’s very hard eight years into this. We still struggle with how to cover him as journalists, but in a way, the unhinged, rambling rants that you see from the former president of the United States are baked in, and I think, in a way, we are all desensitized and inured to the extraordinary, remarkable and very at times un-American and threatening things that the former president is saying.
  524.  
  525. “I’m not saying it’s easy to understand how to cover it, but I think we have to cover it when the former president, who’s already incited violence among his followers, says that there’s going to be a bloodbath after the election if he does not win. He is telling us what he is going to do. …
  526.  
  527. I’m sorry. I just have to say something. Like Donald Trump is attacking, in a broad-brush sense, the basic pillars of American democracy. Period. Full stop. If that’s not news to you. It’s not about tariffs. That’s not the reason why millions of Americans are supporting Donald Trump. Let’s be real about that.”
  528.  
  529.  
  530.  
  531.  
  532.  
  533. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “Yes, after eight years of constant hyperventilating by journalists, over supposed outrageous comments from Donald Trump, many have become ‘inured,’ but it’s not journalists. It’s the public to the media’s never-ending scare-mongering about Trump bringing an end to ‘the basic pillars of American democracy.’ Glasser’s answer: Double down and get more journalists to be even more aggressive in denouncing Trump. Good luck with that, convincing anyone who has already tuned out such vitriol.”
  534.  
  535. Rating: FOUR out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  536.  
  537.  
  538.  
  539.  
  540. ■ March 11: Liberal Media Scream: Hollywood freaks over Trump
  541.  
  542. (Washington Examiner post)
  543.  
  544.  
  545. Hollywood’s awards season has finally ended and in perfectly normal election-year fashion: Tinseltown freaking out over former President Donald Trump’s possible return to the White House.
  546.  
  547. Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel got a retort from Trump after he blasted the former president and his Republican allies. Kimmel responded, “Well, thank you, President Trump. Thank you for watching. I’m surprised you’re still — isn’t it past your jail time?”
  548.  
  549. But his shruggable performance was far outdone by the angry venting of actor Robert De Niro, who stepped up his attacks on Trump.
  550.  
  551. On Friday, De Niro pleased Bill Maher’s audience by blasting Trump. “Vote for Trump and you’ll get the nightmare. Vote for Biden and it will be back to normalcy,” he began.
  552.  
  553. To laughter and applause from Maher’s Los Angeles studio audience, De Niro marveled at how anyone could support Trump. He called the poll-leading former president “a total monster” who will install a “dictatorship.” More insults followed: “sociopathic, psychopathic, malignant narcissist,” as well as an “idiot” and “clown.”
  554.  
  555. From Friday’s Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO:
  556.  
  557. ROBERT DE NIRO: The bottom line is: It’s Biden vs. Trump. We want to live in a world that we want to live in and enjoy living in or live in a nightmare? Vote for Trump and you’ll get the nightmare. Vote for Biden and it will be back to normalcy. …
  558.  
  559. The guy is a total monster, and anybody, I don’t understand it. I guess they get behind the kind of logic: They want to f*** with people, screw them because they’re unhappy about something. He’s such a mean, nasty, hateful person. I’d never play him as an actor because I can’t see any good in him — nothing, nothing at all, nothing redeemable in him. Whoever the people are who want to vote for him, and they look like intelligent people around there, for some reason, it can’t be, it cannot be. If he wins the election, you won’t be on the show anymore. He’ll come looking for me. They’ll be things that happened that none of us can imagine. That’s what happens in that kind of a dictatorship — which is what he says. Let’s believe him. Take him at his word.
  560.  
  561. He’s a sociopathic, psychopathic, malignant narcissist. He is a dangerous person … the people who somehow think he’s going to be the answer to their prayers, whatever those are.
  562.  
  563. BILL MAHER: Did you know him as fellow New Yorkers?
  564.  
  565. DE NIRO: Never wanted to know him.
  566.  
  567. MAHER: Never wanted to, you must have crossed —
  568.  
  569. DE NIRO: He was an idiot. He was a clown. He was a clown in New York.
  570.  
  571.  
  572.  
  573.  
  574.  
  575. Brent Baker, the vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “Rants like this from pretentious Hollywood celebrities probably drive more to vote for Trump than dissuade anyone from supporting him. How many care about the all-too-predictable left-wing political views of lefties in Hollywood who always denounce the Republican candidate and advocate for the Democratic one? Not anyone who is drawn to Trump.”
  576.  
  577. Rating: FIVE out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  578.  
  579.  
  580.  
  581.  
  582. ■ March 4: Liberal Media Scream: Media role is reeducating you on greatness of Bidenomics
  583.  
  584. (Washington Examiner post)
  585.  
  586.  
  587. President Joe Biden has apparently realized that pitching “Bidenomics” is a loser politically, but his White House forgot to tell its media echo chamber.
  588.  
  589. According to an Issues &amp; Insights report, Biden has “ditched” the term, with the report noting Biden and his White House used the term 59 times last July. By last month, it got a mention just 10 times.
  590.  
  591. That makes sense since most polls show that the public viewed the term negatively because they feel that the economy is poor and that prices are unjustifiably high.
  592.  
  593. But the well-paid Washington media thinks the public is stupid and needs to be reeducated on just how great Bidenomics is for them.
  594.  
  595. For example, this week’s Liberal Media Scream features longtime editor and columnist Margaret Sullivan telling fellow anti-Trumper Christiane Amanpour that it’s up to them to make sure people understand the consequences of their wrong-headedness.
  596.  
  597. “You know,” Sullivan said on Amanpour’s show, “people think that the economy is not doing well. You know, do our public service mission, which is to make sure, as sure as we can, that we have an informed electorate. Whose fault is that? Well, it’s partly the fault of the media. And I think that that ought to be rectified.”
  598.  
  599. From Saturday’s The Amanpour Hour on CNN
  600.  
  601. CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: The horse race and an age-old dilemma. Why the obsession over Biden’s age misses the point.
  602.  
  603. MARGARET SULLIVAN, GUARDIAN: I wonder whether people are as aware of Trump’s authoritarian plans as they are of Biden’s age.
  604.  
  605. AMANPOUR: My next guest says enough is enough with the media’s hyperbolic herd mentality coverage of Biden’s age and competency. Critic, columnist, and academic Margaret Sullivan urges us to get real about the issues because this election is about much more than, quote, “chasing clicks.”
  606.  
  607. SULLIVAN: I think that the leaders of major American news organizations should have front and center in their minds, and be communicating to their staffs, that this is an extremely consequential election and we should be doing our public service role that it’s not so much about chasing the latest clicks and the latest horse race coverage but rather to make sure that we’re getting the stakes of the race across to people.
  608.  
  609. You know, people think that the economy is not doing well. You know, do our public service mission, which is to make sure, as sure as we can, that we have an informed electorate. Whose fault is that? Well, it’s partly the fault of the media. And I think that that ought to be rectified.
  610.  
  611.  
  612.  
  613.  
  614.  
  615. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “What Margaret Sullivan advocates is exactly why the media have lost all credibility and trust for most Americans. She’s decided Trump is too dangerous to be president, so journalists should throw away all standards of journalism by openly joining Team Biden to convince voters of Biden’s virtues while downplaying his negatives. And then journalists wonder why they are seen in such low esteem when they are little more than Democratic Party operatives.”
  616.  
  617. Rating: FOUR out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  618.  
  619.  
  620.  
  621.  
  622. ■ February 26: Liberal Media Scream: Trump Derangement Syndrome flies off the charts
  623.  
  624. (Washington Examiner post)
  625.  
  626.  
  627. The media have been on a rantfest lately, warning that former President Donald Trump will end democracy and execute his enemies.
  628.  
  629. Just consider what Bob Costas said over the weekend. “You have to be in the throes of some sort of toxic delusion in a toxic cult to believe that Donald Trump has ever been, in any sense, emotionally, psychologically, intellectually, or ethically fit to be president of the United States,” he said.
  630.  
  631. But that’s nothing compared to our Liberal Media Scream focus on Tom Schaller, the author of White Rural Rage: The Threat to American Democracy, who went further to attack the half of the nation that has supported Trump over the years.
  632.  
  633. White rural voters, he told MSNBC’s Morning Joe host Mika Brzezinski, “are the most racist, xenophobic, anti-immigrant, and anti-gay geodemographic group in the country. … They’re the most conspiracist group: QAnon support and subscribers, election denialism, COVID denialism and scientific skepticism, Obama birthism.” And that’s just the start of his five scream rant.
  634.  
  635. From Monday’s Morning Joe on MSNBC:
  636.  
  637. MIKA BRZEZINSKI: As we barrel toward a likely rematch of the 2020 election, one candidate continues to have a hold over white rural voters. But it’s not Joe Biden, seen here as a boy on the right side of your screen, who went to public school, is the son of a used car salesman, and was born to a middle-class family in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Instead, it is Trump, here on the left side, a private school-educated son of a New York City real estate tycoon who became a millionaire at 8 years old and didn’t have to serve because he claimed he had bone spurs in his little feet. So, why is it that Trump appeals so much to a group he couldn’t be more different from?
  638.  
  639. Joining us now, professor of political science at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Tom Schaller, and journalist and opinion writer Paul Waldman. Their new book out tomorrow is entitled, White Rural Rage: The Threat to American Democracy. Tom, I’ll start with you. Why are white rural voters a threat to democracy at this point? You would think, as we pointed out, looking at Joe Biden’s background and Donald Trump’s, that the opposite would be true.
  640.  
  641. TOM SCHALLER: “We lay out the fourfold interconnected threat that white rural voters pose to the country. First of all, we show 30 polls and national studies that demonstrate this. So we provide the receipts in Chapter 6. They are the most racist, xenophobic, anti-immigrant, and anti-gay geodemographic group in the country.
  642.  
  643. “Second, they’re the most conspiracist group: QAnon support and subscribers, election denialism, COVID denialism and scientific skepticism, Obama birthism. Third, anti-democratic sentiments. They don’t believe in an independent press — free speech. They’re most likely to say the president should be able to act unilaterally without checks from Congress or the courts or the bureaucracy. They’re also the most strongly white nationalist and white Christian nationalists. And fourth, they’re most likely to excuse or justify violence as acceptable alternative to peaceful public discourse…
  644.  
  645. “I think this is the disconnect, right? They’d rather channel their rage. I think what a lot of white rural Americans have decided is that their economic fortunes are decided by globalization and frankly, late-stage capitalism, which is eating up all the mom and pop stores and taking away the extractive industries, in coal and farming and so forth, so they might as well vote on their culture issues, they might as well vote on God, guns, and religion because they feel like neither party is going to deliver any material benefit.
  646.  
  647. “They’re not going to reverse the closure of rural pharmacies and rural hospitals and rural healthcare facilities, which are disappearing not because of communism and not because of socialism but because of capitalism, right? Rural pharmacies and hospitals are closing because they’re not moneymakers, and unless they’re part of a regional chain, they’re disappearing. So Trump comes in and says, let’s just hate on cities, let’s just hate on minorities, let’s hate on immigrants, and at least they can deliver on that. And so they’re not even voting in their material interest anymore, and that’s causing a further decay and decline of rural communities.”
  648.  
  649.  
  650.  
  651.  
  652.  
  653. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explained our weekly pick: “So, if a class of voters prefers a candidate you don’t like, it couldn’t be that they just have a differing opinion with which you can respectfully disagree. No, you must impugn and demean them to discredit their irrational preference for the candidate you condescendingly have decided is not in their best interest. And since this makes MSNBC viewers feel superior, you get a welcoming platform on the left-wing cable channel’s morning show.”
  654.  
  655. Rating: FIVE out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  656.  
  657.  
  658.  
  659.  
  660. ■ February 19: Liberal Media Scream: Colbert says Trump ‘going to prison’ better than sex
  661.  
  662. (Washington Examiner post)
  663.  
  664.  
  665. Remember when late-night comedy shows were funny instead of being populated by left-wing lecturers?
  666.  
  667. Case in point in our weekly Liberal Media Scream is Late Show host Stephen Colbert. Along with many people last week, he watched the televised testimony of Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis and her explanation of her affair with an attorney she put in charge of the election case against former President Donald Trump.
  668.  
  669. “How good was this sex? Good enough to risk democracy over?” he asked in his monologue.
  670.  
  671. Colbert then added, “You know what feels really good? Donald Trump going to prison. That — that, my friends — is what they call a real happy ending.”
  672.  
  673. From Thursday’s Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS:    
  674.  
  675. STEPHEN COLBERT: Now, I don’t know who’s telling the truth here yet, but I will say exchanging business cards isn’t exactly a meet cute. The movie’s not called When Harry Networked with Sally. Now, at one point, Willis had had enough and really laid into opposing counsel.
  676.  
  677. FANI WILLIS: You’re confused; you think I’m on trial. These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. I’m not on trial, no matter how hard you try to put me on trial.
  678.  
  679. COLBERT: Damn straight. Yeah. That’s right. That’s right. Here’s the thing. Yes, it’s true Donald Trump and his associates are on trial in this, one of the most important cases in the history of our republic. So, and, I’ve just got one follow-up question here: Given that if you are removed from the prosecution, it could delay this trial until after the election: How good was the sex? Good enough to risk democracy over? Because I’ve never had sex that good. You know what feels really good? Donald Trump going to prison. That — that, my friends — is what they call the real happy ending.
  680.  
  681.  
  682.  
  683.  
  684.  
  685. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “Liberals love to complain that Donald Trump has broken many norms, but prominent entertainment media figures like Colbert have destroyed late-night TV. It was a comedy refuge from hard-edged politics, but Colbert is using his show to advance left-wing talking points and push his hate of Trump and conservatives in the guise of comedy. It’s not funny, and a legend like Johnny Carson, whose political jokes were light-hearted and chided both sides, is rolling over in his grave.”
  686.  
  687. Rating: FIVE out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  688.  
  689.  
  690.  
  691.  
  692. ■ February 12: Liberal Media Scream: MSNBC host laughably says press against Biden
  693.  
  694. (Washington Examiner post)
  695.  
  696. This week’s Liberal Media Scream has LOL written all over it.
  697.  
  698. Imagine any cable news show host claiming that the media has a negative bias against President Joe Biden. LOL, right?
  699.  
  700. That’s what happened on Sunday’s Meet the Press when MSNBC host Jen Psaki said the media showed its bias when it simply repeated what the nearly 400-page report from special counsel Robert Hur said about the president’s foggy mind.
  701.  
  702. Psaki, who was Biden’s first White House press secretary, complained that the media should be attacking former President Donald Trump, not her former boss.
  703.  
  704. “If you’re sitting in the White House and on the campaign right now, you’re absolutely banging your head against the wall at the way that the Thursday report has been covered, given all of the things” Trump has said and done, she said.
  705.  
  706. From the roundtable on Sunday’s Meet the Press:
  707.  
  708. JEN PSAKI: If you’re sitting in the White House and on the campaign right now, you’re absolutely banging your head against the wall at the way that the Thursday report has been covered, given all of the things that have happened this week, including, and I know you asked Chris Christie about this, the fact that Donald Trump yesterday suggested that Vladimir Putin should have free rein in attacking NATO allies, and what do we see is wall-to-wall coverage of whether a guy who is four years older than his opponent is too old to be president.
  709.  
  710. KRISTEN WELKER: And we are going to get to NATO. Go ahead.
  711.  
  712. BRENDAN BUCK, former spokesman to ex-speaker Paul Ryan: Part of that job, to bring that to the front is, it’s the president’s job to bring that out and attack his opponent. I mean, the president is not taking the opportunity on Super Bowl Sunday. He’s not taking, really, any opportunities. And we hear, time and again —
  713.  
  714. PSAKI: First of all, that’s not true. It’s not being covered. He has traveled just as much as Donald Trump, as Barack Obama. It is hard to break through the cloud of Donald Trump in this media environment. That is true.
  715.  
  716.  
  717.  
  718.  
  719.  
  720. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “A media hostile to a liberal cause or Democratic politician is such a novelty that liberal political operatives like Jen Psaki just can’t comprehend it. After three-plus years of sycophantic coverage of Joe Biden, he gets a few days of negative coverage, and she lashes out at the media for daring to briefly act as real journalists. Welcome to the world endured every day for decades by conservatives and Republicans.”  
  721.  
  722. Rating: FOUR out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  723.  
  724.  
  725.  
  726. ■ February 5: Liberal Media Scream: Kristen Welker likes to lecture Republicans, too
  727.  
  728. (Washington Examiner post)
  729.  
  730.  
  731. This week’s Liberal Media Scream features a look at new Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker’s treatment of Republican leaders. And surprise — not — she continues to be just as biased as former host Chuck Todd.
  732.  
  733. First, she lectured House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on the border bill released by the Senate on Sunday. “You are now the speaker of the House. Do you not have a responsibility to your voters, to the people who put you in office, to address what you have called a crisis and catastrophe? Isn’t something better than nothing?” she said.
  734.  
  735. Then, she passed along the Democratic talking point that after three years of aggressively enacting open border policies, “Joe Biden said he would shut down the border.”
  736.  
  737. From Sunday’s Meet the Press on NBC:
  738.  
  739. KRISTEN WELKER: You have been calling for legislative change to actually deal with this problem. You are now the speaker of the House. Do you not have a responsibility to your voters, to the people who put you in office, to address what you have called a crisis and catastrophe? Isn’t something better than nothing?
  740.  
  741. SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON: Kristen, we did that. We did that nine months ago. And since we passed our measure in the House to solve this problem, and the reason we had to do it is because we saw that President Biden was not fulfilling his obligation under the law. That’s why it is such a failure of leadership, but we did our part. And by the way, since then, in the nine months since that bill sat on [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer’s desk, collecting dust, 1.8 million illegals have been allowed into this country, welcomed into the country, sent around the nation into every community — communities near everyone listening and watching this morning. And that is a catastrophe, and the American people know it, and that’s part of the reason that Joe Biden has the lowest approval rating of any president facing reelection.
  742.  
  743. WELKER: Even former President Trump, though, called for legislative change on this issue. You have one of the slimmest majorities in the House in history. Don’t you have to compromise to get something done? What you passed in the House can’t pass in the Senate, Mr. Speaker. You know that.
  744.  
  745. JOHNSON: We are willing to work. We are willing to work with the Senate. I am not disclosing that, and I’ve been very consistent for the hundred days that I’ve had the gavel. We are willing to work, but they have to be serious about it. If you only do a few of those components, you are not going to solve the problem, and Kristen, that is not a Republican talking point. That’s what the sheriffs at the border, the Border Patrol agents, the deputy chief of U.S. Border Patrol, a 33-year veteran of the agency, told us. He said that it’s as though we’re administering an open fire hydrant. He said, “I don’t need more buckets,” like the president has proposed. I need to stop the flow, and we know how to do that, but Joe Biden is unwilling to do it.
  746.  
  747. WELKER: Let me ask you about your decision, and by the way, Joe Biden said he would shut down the border. He’s calling for more funding. He’s calling for you to pass this legislation.
  748.  
  749.  
  750.  
  751.  
  752.  
  753. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “A perfect example of a so-called journalist serving as an advocate for Washington’s media-political establishment, demanding a recalcitrant conservative get in line and adopt the approved narrative.”
  754.  
  755. Rating: THREE out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  756.  
  757.  
  758.  
  759.  
  760. ■ January 29, 2024: No Liberal Media Scream this week.
  761.  
  762.  
  763.  
  764. ■ January 22, 2024: Liberal Media Scream: Washington Post’s Rubin wants Trump ‘fascists’ reeducated
  765.  
  766. (Washington Examiner post)
  767.  
  768.  
  769. This week’s Liberal Media Scream features popular Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin doubling down on her Never Trump campaign.
  770.  
  771. Appearing on the MSNBC weekend show Velshi exactly a year from Inauguration Day, the onetime conservative opinion writer said that the masses appearing at former President Donald Trump’s rallies “are part of a fascist cult.”
  772.  
  773. And, she added, “they’re impervious to any kind of data, any kind of information. But what you have to do, if you care about democracy, is mobilize the people who already know that he’s a danger and reaffirm and reeducate the people who are perhaps kind of flirting in the middle — they’re soft Republicans, they’re never Republicans — about the danger of going back to Trump.”
  774.  
  775. Rubin on MSNBC’s Velshi on Saturday:
  776.  
  777. “Why it’s perhaps important to go to one of these rallies is to understand why he does have supporters. These people are part of a fascist cult. And let’s be honest, there are a lot of them. But a lot of them doesn’t mean that they are behaving logically or rationally. To the contrary, we’ve seen in other fascist regimes that millions of people, sometimes even a majority of the country, becomes intoxicated with an authoritarian figure, and these people are utterly irrational. If you speak to some of them, they will spit back these bizarro conspiracy theories. They actually believe in all of the mumbo-jumbo that he tells them.
  778.  
  779. “So I think it would be a wake-up call about what these people are about, and, no, we’re not going to convince people who are part of the cult to switch. As you say, they’re impervious to any kind of data, any kind of information. But what you have to do, if you care about democracy, is mobilize the people who already know that he’s a danger and reaffirm and reeducate the people who are perhaps kind of flirting in the middle — they’re soft Republicans, they’re never Republicans — about the danger of going back to Trump. And I think that’s the job between now and November, and that’s the challenge for the Biden administration.”
  780.  
  781.  
  782.  
  783.  
  784.  
  785. Brent Baker, the vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “How condescending of Rubin to be so comfortable denigrating supporters of a presidential candidate she despises with one of the most vile insults. Just because she hates Trump doesn’t make those going to his rallies, the very embodiment of democracy in action, ‘fascists.’ Whatever happened to liberals wanting to expand participation in the democratic process?”
  786.  
  787. Rating: FOUR out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  788.  
  789.  
  790.  
  791.  
  792. ■ January 15, 2024: Liberal Media Scream: MSNBC’s Mika all in to help Biden’s reelection
  793.  
  794. (Washington Examiner post)
  795.  
  796.  
  797. This week’s Liberal Media Scream features Mika Brzezinski, the co-host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, fawning over first lady Jill Biden in a sign of where the cable network stands before the 2024 presidential primary season begins.
  798.  
  799. With easy questions quizzing Biden about her favorite emoji to dismissing chants of “Let’s go Brandon” that still follow the president, Brzezinski put on an able defense of the Biden White House.
  800.  
  801. Among the questions posed to the first lady was this: “The division in this country, the cruelty of MAGA Republicans against your family. Does any part of you once in a while think, ugh, maybe we bow out?”
  802.  
  803. The questions were part of Brzezinski’s Know Your Value “movement.” Our partners at the Media Research Center highlighted these from last Thursday’s show and today’s event at the White House:
  804.  
  805. MIKA BRZEZINSKI: You’ve been married to President Joe Biden for 46 years. There have been Senate races, three presidential campaigns, eight years of your husband serving as vice president. Unthinkable personal loss and challenge, and now democracy is on the ballot. What do you think when you hear people say, “Well, I just can’t vote for Joe Biden this election?” What is it that they may not know about him at this point, especially when the alternative seems to want to change this nation so radically?
  806.  
  807. BRZEZINSKI: Potentially another four years in the White House. With everything you do here, does yet another one give you any pause thinking of, like, the personal health and well-being for both of you? The division in this country, the cruelty of MAGA Republicans against your family. Does any part of you once in a while think, ugh, maybe we bow out?
  808.  
  809. BRZEZINSKI: How have you been coping personally with the onslaught of accusations against your husband and your family, including and especially Hunter, the focus of a House Oversight Committee hearing holding, holding him in contempt, obsessing over him, showing pictures of him during vulnerable moments in his battle with addiction on the floor of the House. This would crush any family.
  810.  
  811. BRZEZINSKI: What do you think when you hear Trump Republicans calling it “Biden crime family” or one congresswoman, “The Biden crime family sold out America,” Marjorie Taylor Greene, “He’s a liar, he’s mentally incompetent,” and let’s not even talk about what “Let’s go Brandon” means. But you have U.S. senators holding signs that say that.
  812.  
  813. ….BRZEZINSKI: Your favorite emoji?
  814.  
  815. JILL BIDEN: Oh, my gosh. The turquoise heart.
  816.  
  817. BRZEZINSKI: Turquoise heart?
  818.  
  819. BIDEN: Yeah.
  820.  
  821. BRZEZINSKI: I don’t have the turquoise heart on my phone. What does that mean?
  822.  
  823. BIDEN: It’s like the beach. It’s calm.
  824.  
  825. BRZEZINSKI: Oh, I like that.
  826.  
  827. BIDEN: Color of the sea.
  828.  
  829. BRZEZINSKI: Do I type out turquoise heart? Comfort food?
  830.  
  831. BIDEN: Oh, french fries.
  832.  
  833. BRZEZINSKI: Umm. Yeah, yeah.
  834.  
  835.  
  836.  
  837.  
  838.  
  839. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “Mika Brzezinski is all in on the reelection of Joe Biden. First lady Jill Biden picked well in selecting Brzezinski to interview her, confident she wouldn’t be challenged as they both could commiserate with how awful Trump is and how mean Republicans are to her family, topped by letting her tout the turquoise heart emoji. How informative.”
  840.  
  841. Rating: FOUR out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  842.  
  843.  
  844.  
  845.  
  846. ■ January 8, 2024: Liberal Media Scream: Stephanopoulos judges Trump an insurrectionist, unqualified for 2024
  847.  
  848. (Washington Examiner post)
  849.  
  850.  
  851. This week’s Liberal Media Scream is a five-screamer featuring an ABC host and former Clinton handler acting as judge, jury, and executioner of former President Donald Trump and his effort to remain on the 2024 primary ballots and let voters, not partisan state officials, decide his fate.
  852.  
  853. ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, on his Sunday show This Week, was quizzing his panel about the campaigns in some states to declare Trump ineligible for election because an official decided that the former president triggered a 14th Amendment ban on insurrectionists.
  854.  
  855. On his show, which occurred the day after the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, one of his panelists suggested the Supreme Court will decide Trump is guilty but that it will be up to Congress and not the states to erase the GOP front-runner’s name from the ballots.
  856.  
  857. “If you say he engaged in insurrection,” Stephanopoulos said, “I don’t see how you can escape the plain meaning of the 14th Amendment and say he’s qualified to run for office.”
  858.  
  859. Panelist Donna Brazile, an influential liberal and former acting Democratic Party chairwoman, told her host, “I totally agree with you, George.”
  860.  
  861. From the roundtable on Sunday’s This Week on ABC:
  862.  
  863. GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Sarah, what’s your guess on what the court does here?
  864.  
  865. SARAH ISGUR, SENIOR EDITOR OF THE DISPATCH: I think you’ll have the Supreme Court hold that he is not disqualified from being on the ballot. They’ll overturn the Colorado Supreme Court.
  866.  
  867. STEPHANOPOULOS: The question is, how will they do it though?
  868.  
  869. ISGUR: Correct. I think they’ll say that, in fact, the 14th Amendment makes clear it’s up to Congress. If Congress can requalify someone by a two-thirds vote, there’s no timeline on that. Which means that, you know, as one of the amicus briefs has pointed out, it’s really supposed to be post-elections about holding office, not running for office. And so I think they’ll say it’s really Congress’s job. The states can’t make up their own standard. Is it beyond a reasonable doubt? Is it more likely than not? Et cetera. What’s interesting to me will be whether or not the Supreme Court goes out of their way in order to get those three, Kagan, Sotomayor, Jackson votes, in saying, “Yes, it was an insurrection, and yes, he engaged in it, but it’s up to Congress.”
  870.  
  871. STEPHANOPOULOS: I don’t see how they can do that, Donna Brazile. If you say he engaged in insurrection, was the question I asked Nancy Pelosi, I don’t see how you can escape the plain meaning of the 14th Amendment and say he’s qualified to run for office.
  872.  
  873. DONNA BRAZILE: I totally agree with you, George.
  874.  
  875.  
  876.  
  877.  
  878.  
  879. Brent Baker, the vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “Another example of how Stephanopoulos remains a Democratic partisan first, a journalist a distant second. No true journalist would weigh in with a definitive conclusion on what the Supreme Court should do weeks before a ruling on such a contentious issue which divides Americans. Stephanopoulos has clearly put himself in the camp with those who want to deny the public’s ability to vote for whomever they prefer. So much for saving democracy from Trump when you want to subvert the process.”
  880.  
  881. Rating: FIVE out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  882.  
  883.  
  884.  
  885.  
  886. ■ December 25, 2023 and January 1, 2024: No Liberal Media Screams these weeks.
  887.  
  888.  
  889.  
  890. ■ December 18, 2023: Liberal Media Scream: Scaremonger Scarborough: Trump will ‘execute’ foes, crush ‘American experiment’
  891.  
  892. (Washington Examiner post)
  893.  
  894.  
  895. This week’s Liberal Media Scream features MSNBC Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough’s latest anti-Trump ranting.
  896.  
  897. The host, whose earlier claim that former President Donald Trump will “execute” foes should he be reelected won the Media Research Center’s “Worst Quote of the Year,” said on Monday that Trump would destroy America’s democracy, too.
  898.  
  899. “A year from now, it could be over, the American experiment at an end one year from now,” Scarborough said in comments we graded a rare five out of five “liberal media screams.”
  900.  
  901. His comments are clearly what the latest Rasmussen Reports survey was tapping into when it found that more voters than ever believe the left bias in the media has reached a new high. The comments also raise a question about what scaremongering liberal media figures will be saying in 11 months if Trump is on the verge of beating President Joe Biden.
  902.  
  903. Scarborough on Monday’s Morning Joe in a discussion with Politico’s Jonathan Lemire:
  904.  
  905. “One year from now, it could be over. American democracy could be over. Donald Trump, one year from now, could win. He’s told us what he is going to do. When I say American democracy is going to be over, I haven’t said this. Donald Trump is the guy who said it. He is the one talking about executing generals that are not loyal enough to him, a guy that’s talking about terminating the Constitution if it gets in the way of his power. He’s the guy that’s talking about taking off news networks he disagrees with. He’s the one talking about prosecuting and putting in jail people who disagree with him. He’s the one saying that.
  906.  
  907. “So, a year from now, it could be over, the American experiment at an end one year from now. So, let me ask you, with that being the case and with Joe Biden’s poll numbers getting worse, why is the White House going around singing, ‘Don’t worry, be happy’? Because that’s basically what they’re saying. Why does Joe Biden still have all of his campaign people inside the White House? When are they going to go out and start working on the campaign — not of his lifetime, of our lifetime? When are they going to start acting like American democracy is on the line and stop telling everybody to not worry?”
  908.  
  909.  
  910.  
  911.  
  912.  
  913. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explained our weekly pick: “Saying day after day after day the same over the top ‘the sky is falling’ warning to try to scare his viewers about Trump ending democracy is doing nothing but making Scarborough look every bit as unhinged as he wants people to see Trump. It may be catnip for MSNBC viewers, but Scarborough has become a parody of someone stuck inside a Trump Derangement Syndrome whirlwind unable to make cogent criticisms.”
  914.  
  915. Rating: FIVE out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  916.  
  917.  
  918.  
  919.  
  920. ■ December 11: Liberal Media Scream: PBS runs interference for Biden over Hunter scandals
  921.  
  922. (Washington Examiner post)
  923.  
  924.  
  925. This week’s Liberal Media Scream features the efforts of Public TV and a Washington Post columnist to deflect the latest criminal indictment of first son Hunter Biden away from President Joe Biden.
  926.  
  927. Following the tax charges filed by the Justice Department against Hunter Biden, the PBS NewsHour was eager to tell viewers on Friday that it saw no connection to the president.
  928.  
  929. Anchor Geoff Bennett started with the “context” that Hunter Biden “does not work in the White House for his father in the way that Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump did. And the indictment does not in any way implicate President Joe Biden.”
  930.  
  931. PBS guest Jonathan Capehart of the Washington Post also ran block for Biden. “For Republicans to try to make a connection between Hunter Biden and trying to say that, 'Well, if you’re going to go after Trump, well, why shouldn’t we go after Biden?' these are two completely different cases,” he lectured.
  932.  
  933. From Friday’s PBS NewsHour:
  934.  
  935. GEOFF BENNETT: So, let’s start with the latest legal trouble facing Hunter Biden, with the important context that Hunter Biden’s a private citizen. He is not seeking, nor has he ever held, public office. He does not work in the White House for his father in the way that Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump did. And the indictment does not in any way implicate President Joe Biden.
  936.  
  937. And yet this will certainly add to the problems, the political problems, facing this White House, as House Republicans, Jonathan, zero in on Hunter Biden’s business dealings as part of their own investigations.
  938.  
  939. JONATHAN CAPEHART: As part of their own investigations that have been going on for years now, and they’ve been using the president’s son, the president’s troubled son, to try to sully the president. And so far, they’ve come up with nothing, even though, next week, apparently, they’re going to be voting on, you know, to authorize an impeachment inquiry, trying to make connections that aren’t there.
  940.  
  941. Look, when you read the indictment, when you hear about the indictment, it’s bad. I mean, it’s not good. It’s not good at all. But we’re talking about someone, as you — I’m glad you put that proper context there. He’s an adult. He has not held office. He’s not sought office. He’s not working for his father.
  942.  
  943. The only thing is, is that he — his father is president of the United States. He’s being held accountable. And I take — I agree with [Hunter Biden’s lawyer] Abbe Lowell that, if his last name weren’t Biden, he probably wouldn’t even have these charges. They would have worked it out.
  944.  
  945. But he’s facing the consequences, and he’s going through the legal avenues that are afforded to him. And for Republicans to try to make a connection between Hunter Biden and trying to say that, 'Well, if you’re going to go after Trump, well, why shouldn’t we go after Biden?' these are two completely different cases.
  946.  
  947.  
  948.  
  949.  
  950.  
  951. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “You can almost feel through the screen how uncomfortable the PBS team was to even cover this story, but they realized they had to at least mention it, so they poured on the caveats so their audience wouldn’t be burdened with any information that might hurt their perception of President Biden. It’s the exact opposite tack they take with Donald Trump, where any allegations around him are amplified and discussed ad nauseam.”
  952.  
  953. Rating: THREE out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  954.  
  955.  
  956.  
  957.  
  958. ■ December 4: Liberal Media Scream: Media eagerly team with Liz Cheney to undermine Trump
  959.  
  960. (Washington Examiner post)
  961.  
  962.  
  963. This week’s Liberal Media Scream features the remarkable teaming of the media with conservative Republican former Rep. Liz Cheney to stop former President Donald Trump’s 2024 bid.
  964.  
  965. Repeating her success in winning Democrats to her cause after the Jan. 6 riots and in her No. 2 role on the House Jan. 6 panel, the media have eagerly opened its best shows for her to talk about her new book and campaign against Trump.
  966.  
  967. The media have helped to promote her book and provided top platforms, notably on CBS Sunday Morning, where she warned that “one of the things we see today is sort of a sleepwalking into dictatorship in the United States.”
  968.  
  969. In interviewing her about Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning, John Dickerson offered the perfect set-up question: “If a person is a member of Congress and they have sworn an oath to defend the Constitution, can they defend the Constitution and also endorse Donald Trump?”
  970.  
  971. Cheney replied: “You can’t be for Donald Trump and for the Constitution. You have to choose.”
  972.  
  973. The media's focus on the book has helped it into the No. 1 spot on Amazon on Monday, a day before it is released.
  974.  
  975. From Sunday’s CBS News Sunday Morning:
  976.  
  977. JOHN DICKERSON: After losing her 2022 Republican primary, Cheney traded the U.S. Capitol dome for the Thomas Jefferson-designed rotunda at the University of Virginia, where she has been lecturing on politics and writing a new book, Oath and Honor.
  978.  
  979. Let me ask you about that oath. If a person is a member of Congress and they have sworn an oath to defend the Constitution, can they defend the Constitution and also endorse Donald Trump?
  980.  
  981. LIZ CHENEY: No. It’s inconsistent.
  982.  
  983. DICKERSON: So, they’re breaking with their oath by saying they would like him to be the next president?
  984.  
  985. CHENEY: In my view, you know, fundamentally, there is a choice to be made. You can’t both be for Donald Trump and for the Constitution. You have to choose.
  986.  
  987. DICKERSON: It’s a lot of people who are choosing Donald Trump.
  988.  
  989. CHENEY: Yeah, it is.
  990.  
  991.  
  992.  
  993.  
  994.  
  995. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “Usually, to earn such a laudatory CBS News segment for your book, it must be published by CBS-owned Simon &amp; Schuster. But Dickerson and CBS are so enthralled with her quest to destroy Trump and anyone Trump-adjacent that despite having Little, Brown and Company as her publisher, they went into full promotion mode, cuing up her talking points with no pushback.”
  996.  
  997. Rating: FOUR out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  998.  
  999.  
  1000.  
  1001.  
  1002. ■ November 27: Liberal Media Scream: Post reporter says ‘sources’ fret public’s lack of credit for Biden ‘successes’
  1003.  
  1004. (Washington Examiner post)
  1005.  
  1006.  
  1007. For this week’s Liberal Media Scream, we have the latest example of a journalist inside the Beltway concerned that President Joe Biden just isn’t getting the credit he deserves for "Bidenomics," the Middle East crisis, or pretty much anything else.
  1008.  
  1009. Despite two years of polling that shows the public doesn’t buy the White House spin that their life is better under the Democratic administration, the Washington Post’s Leigh Ann Caldwell on Sunday’s Meet the Press cited “my sources” complaining that Biden is getting treated like the no-respect funnyman Rodney Dangerfield.
  1010.  
  1011. “My sources are saying President Biden doesn’t get a lot of credit, not only on this, but on a whole host of things,” she said in addressing the hostage releases over the weekend.
  1012.  
  1013. But maybe there's hope, she added, that Biden will get the credit she says he deserves if his team just sells it better. "They have a lot of work to do to once again, like I said, try to get credit for the successes that he’s had over the past two years which he keeps on getting blamed for everything bad that’s happened."
  1014.  
  1015. From Sunday’s Meet the Press:
  1016.  
  1017. KRISTEN WELKER: Leigh Ann, I want to start with you. This is a huge test for President Biden. And obviously now, the pressure’s on to release the Americans. How is this playing for him politically, do you think?
  1018.  
  1019. LEIGH ANN CALDWELL: Well, obviously it’ll be great if Americans are released with those hostages. But my sources are saying that President Biden also doesn’t get a lot of credit for his successes, not only on this, but on a whole host of things. So that does concern Democrats on Capitol Hill....
  1020.  
  1021. Yeah, Bidenomics has really been, become a negative word, especially among Democrats, because it’s not working. I was texting with some Democratic members of Congress last night just trying to get a read over the holiday weekend, what they’re hearing at home and what people are saying, and these members said that it is just not looking good for President Biden politically out there, that he would probably lose some swing states if the election were held today. So they have a lot of work to do to once again, like I said, try to get credit for the successes that he’s had over the past two years which he keeps on getting blamed for everything bad that’s happened.
  1022.  
  1023.  
  1024.  
  1025.  
  1026.  
  1027. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “Caldwell maintained Democrats ‘have a lot of work to do to once again, like I said, try to get credit for the successes’ President Biden has ‘had over the past two years,’ but she’s clearly just as invested as any liberal Democrat in advancing that narrative to help Biden. And in that interest, she reflects much of the press corps which want to influence the outcome, as proven by how complaints that Biden isn’t getting the credit he supposedly deserves have become a common media theme.”
  1028.  
  1029. Rating: THREE out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  1030.  
  1031.  
  1032.  
  1033.  
  1034. ■ November 20: Liberal Media Scream: ABC’s Jonathan Karl says he wrote book to warn voters away from Trump
  1035.  
  1036. (Washington Examiner post)
  1037.  
  1038.  
  1039. For this week’s Liberal Media Scream, we feature the latest example of the legacy media going from self-appointed instant fact-checkers on former President Donald Trump to out-and-out enemies.
  1040.  
  1041. The choice is ABC’s Jonathan Karl, who admitted that he wrote his latest book on Trump to warn America about him.
  1042.  
  1043. Asked on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS why Trump is leading the Republican nomination contest, Karl said that “superficially” there’s “a sense” that things were better during the Trump presidency. And, he added of his just-released Tired of Winning: Donald Trump and the End of the Grand Old Party, “that’s why I wrote this book.”
  1044.  
  1045. He explained that “if people are going to go into this next election thinking about that, they also need to be thinking, not just about what Trump was, but what he is now and what he is proposing and planning to do, what a second Trump administration would look like. And I don’t think people have come to terms with that at all.”
  1046.  
  1047. Karl on Thursday’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS:
  1048.  
  1049. “I think part of what’s happened is people look back. There’s anxiety in the country. People have economic anxiety. There’s discontent with Joe Biden and I think there’s some superficially a sense like ‘Look, if we could only go back to four years ago, the world was relatively at peace, inflation was low, everything was —’ I think there is some of that and that’s why I wrote this book because if people are going to go into this next election thinking about that, they also need to be thinking, not just about what Trump was, but what he is now and what he is proposing and planning to do, what a second Trump administration would look like. And I don’t think people have come to terms with that at all.”
  1050.  
  1051.  
  1052.  
  1053.  
  1054.  
  1055. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “Karl’s quest is the very definition of improper political advocacy by a journalist. His job is to report the news in an impartial manner, not jump into the fray when a candidate he hates gets popular, and write a book to convince voters they are making a bad choice. How could any Trump supporter, or any Republican, ever trust his reporting when they know he has a personal interest in directing the outcome?”
  1056.  
  1057. Rating: FOUR out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  1058.  
  1059.  
  1060.  
  1061.  
  1062. ■ November 13: Liberal Media Scream: CNN’s Hunt says no room for ‘happy and sunny’ in GOP
  1063.  
  1064. (Washington Examiner post)
  1065.  
  1066.  
  1067. For this week’s Liberal Media Scream, we feature the latest CNN absurdity, a blanket declaration that there is no place for happiness in the Republican Party.
  1068.  
  1069. The claim came today from CNN’s Kasie Hunt, who was giving her early morning assessment on the decision by Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) to drop out of the 2024 presidential race, joining former Vice President Mike Pence on the sidelines.
  1070.  
  1071. “There’s just no appetite in the Republican base right now for someone who’s happy and sunny,” she said, citing her election night sources.
  1072.  
  1073. Of course, many pollsters would suggest that there is just no appetite in the Republican base for anybody other than former President Donald Trump, and GOP voters seem to be pretty happy with that.
  1074.  
  1075. Hunt, CNN’s chief national affairs analyst, on Monday’s CNN This Morning:
  1076.  
  1077. “The noteworthy thing to me about this — I mean, look, I think it was pretty clear that Tim Scott’s campaign never took off the way, frankly, a lot of people in Washington thought that it might. He had, you know, all the ingredients to be really successful in the traditional Republican Party. He had a lot of backing. Honestly, he wasn’t public about it, but a lot of the people who have been working against Donald Trump for more traditional candidates like Mitt Romney were working on his operation trying to figure out how they could make that happen.
  1078.  
  1079. “But when I talked to sources, and I did a lot of this on election night last week, they keep saying to me that there’s just no appetite in the Republican base right now for someone who’s happy and sunny. They’re angry. The base is angry. And that’s a big part of why Donald Trump has had such a durable lead in this race because he campaigns in a much different way. Tim Scott tried to be the kind of ‘Morning in America’ Republican candidate, and it’s just not what people are into. So, you know, it does make sense. He saw the writing on the wall, especially about the fourth debate, and here we are.”
  1080.  
  1081.  
  1082.  
  1083.  
  1084.  
  1085. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “None of the GOP presidential candidates are coming close to Trump, so why the particular argument Tim Scott failed because he’s a ‘happy warrior’ and the electorate is motivated by anger? Trump fans would contend his rallies are peppered with funny lines and upbeat messaging about the basis for his movement, Make America Great Again, which in itself is a happy and aspirational quest for a return to the best of America.”
  1086.  
  1087. Rating: FOUR out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  1088.  
  1089.  
  1090.  
  1091.  
  1092. ■ November 6: Liberal Media Scream: CNN’s Zakaria says Biden better on border than Trump
  1093.  
  1094. (Washington Examiner post)
  1095.  
  1096.  
  1097. For this week’s Liberal Media Scream we feature the zaniest pro-White House spin yet on the historic border crisis caused by President Joe Biden’s policies.
  1098.  
  1099. While big city “sanctuary” mayors are crying uncle because the president’s policies are dumping in thousands of illegal immigrants without providing any money or help with housing, CNN’s Fareed Zakaria somehow thinks that the White House is handling the crisis well.
  1100.  
  1101. Biden is “actually not doing a bad job,” he said on Friday’s Real Time with Bill Maher. For proof, he cited the deportation of illegal immigrants, ignoring the enormous crowds of migrants waved into the U.S. every day and the high number of those who slip in undetected.
  1102.  
  1103. Zakaria on Friday’s Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO:
  1104.  
  1105. “Biden’s actually not doing a bad job, they have deported more people — if you think that’s right and I do because you want a system of laws, right? They have deported more people under the Biden administration than Trump did. They’ve been harder line. The problem for Biden is, and this is a problem for Democrats, you can’t take credit for it because then you’re going to outrage, the progressive wing is going to go nuts. And so, even the things he does, it’s like stealth enforcement. You can’t talk about it.”
  1106.  
  1107.  
  1108.  
  1109.  
  1110.  
  1111. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “Talk about missing the forest for the trees. The only reason the Biden administration deported anyone was because of the Trump-imposed Title 42 to deal with COVID, which stayed in place for more than two years of his administration until he ended it in May. In the fiscal year that ended September 30, 2.4 million people crossed the southern border, the highest number since records started being kept in 1960, and that was the third straight record year, all under Biden.”
  1112.  
  1113. Rating: FOUR out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  1114.  
  1115.  
  1116.  
  1117.  
  1118. ■ October 30: Liberal Media Scream: Speaker Johnson takes compare him to KKK and mass shooter
  1119.  
  1120. (Washington Examiner post)
  1121.  
  1122.  
  1123. We could see this coming from miles away.
  1124.  
  1125. For this week’s Liberal Media Scream, we feature the predictably sad reaction of the press to the unanimous Republican vote to confirm soft-spoken Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) as the 56th House speaker last week.
  1126.  
  1127. Outlet after outlet tried to portray the Bible-toting Johnson as out of touch with America, instead comparing him to a KKK leader. It’s surprising liberal media outlets didn’t identify him with his middle name, James Michael Johnson, like mass killers.
  1128.  
  1129. Even on CNN, analyst Gloria Borger conceded that the media was trying too hard to demonize the little-known lawmaker. It is “hard to demonize” him, she said, explaining, “He’s not the devil incarnate.”
  1130.  
  1131. But Bill Maher and his crew didn’t get the memo.
  1132.  
  1133. First, on his Friday show, Scott Galloway, a professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business, said to audience applause, “The reason this guy is speaker is none of us have the time to read his resume and realize he’s David Duke-lite.”
  1134.  
  1135. Maher pushed back on that characterization, but he offered his own invective, calling Johnson “a religious nut” before raising last week’s mass shooter of 18 in Maine: “Apparently he heard voices, and I thought, ‘Is he that different than Mike Johnson?’”
  1136.  
  1137. From Friday’s Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO and Max:
  1138.  
  1139. SCOTT GALLOWAY: The whole point here is that we separate church and state, that we believe in the peaceful transfer of power, and the reason this guy is speaker is none of us have the time to read his resume and realize he’s David Duke-lite.
  1140.  
  1141. BILL MAHER: Well, we do now. I don’t know if he’s David Duke-lite — I read today he has an adopted black son. I don’t think David Duke would do that, but he is a religious nut.
  1142. ....
  1143.  
  1144. MAHER: When you’re this much of a religious fanatic, there is no room for real democracy. That’s not what you believe in. He said it today: Look in the Bible — that’s my worldview. I was reading about this horrible shooting in Maine. We don’t know much about the guy yet, but apparently he heard voices, and I thought, ‘Is he that different than Mike Johnson?’ I mean, degree, yes, but it’s thinner than you think.
  1145.  
  1146.  
  1147.  
  1148.  
  1149.  
  1150. Brent Baker, the vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “What hypocrisy. You can’t decry how Donald Trump and MAGA have lowered discourse in America and undermined respect for democracy and then smear the incoming speaker of the House as no different than a racist Klan leader or a mass murderer. The comparisons are ridiculous and should be beneath anyone who considers themselves a serious political analyst.”
  1151.  
  1152. Rating: FIVE out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  1153.  
  1154.  
  1155.  
  1156.  
  1157. ■ October 23: Liberal Media Scream: Morning Joe warns of Trump retaliation just short of firing squads
  1158.  
  1159. (Washington Examiner post)
  1160.  
  1161.  
  1162. This week’s Liberal Media Scream features MSNBC host Joe Scarborough speculating on a second Trump White House, ranting that it will be one retaliation after another for slights he’s felt over the past eight years, starting with the media and courts.
  1163.  
  1164. On his show this morning, Scarborough compared Trump to hard-line Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. “He’s wiped out the judiciary, he’s wiped out the free press,” Scarborough charged.
  1165.  
  1166. There was no mention, of course, of how Trump made history as president with his appointments to federal courts, including three of the current U.S. Supreme Court justices, or that he was among the most accessible presidents in recent memory despite his verbal hits on the press.
  1167.  
  1168. But at least he offered that Trump won’t line up his enemies and shoot them.
  1169.  
  1170. Scarborough’s ruminations came during an interview with the Atlantic’s Anne Applebaum, who just wrote an article titled “Netanyahu’s Attack on Democracy Left Israel Unprepared.”
  1171.  
  1172. Joe Scarborough on Monday’s Morning Joe on MSNBC:
  1173.  
  1174. “I always tell people, if you want to see what Donald Trump is going to do if he gets reelected, don’t think about him lining up people against the wall and having them shot."
  1175.  
  1176. “Just see what [Viktor] Orban has done in Hungary where he’s bragged about having illiberal democracy, and he’s wiped out the judiciary, he’s wiped out the free press. And Anne [Applebaum], I suppose, that’s probably what Donald Trump will look for as a blueprint if he gets elected again.”
  1177.  
  1178.  
  1179.  
  1180.  
  1181.  
  1182. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “Left-wing paranoia perfectly encapsulated by Joe Scarborough. No matter how bad you think a second Trump presidency would be for the nation, the idea that just because he makes derogatory remarks about judges, prosecutors, and journalists means he wants to ‘wipe out’ the judiciary and free press, is ridiculous. And even if he were so inclined, the U.S. political system would never allow it, leaving Scarborough’s warning as little more than baseless scaremongering.”
  1183.  
  1184. Rating: FOUR out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  1185.  
  1186.  
  1187.  
  1188.  
  1189. ■ October 16: Liberal Media Scream: CBS anchor scoffs, ‘Indictment’ of Biden?
  1190.  
  1191. (Washington Examiner post)
  1192.  
  1193.  
  1194. This week’s Liberal Media Scream features the hypocrisy and bewildering ignorance of the media’s coverage of the classified documents cases both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump face.
  1195.  
  1196. On the hypocrisy front, consider all the hours of TV coverage Trump received for his handling of documents compared to Biden. Also, consider how much time the networks gave the extraordinary two days of questions Biden faced last weekend from the prosecutor: just 48 seconds.
  1197.  
  1198. Then watch as CBS Face the Nation moderator Margaret Brennan appears astonished that Biden’s case and charges are similar to Trump’s and that a House Republican chairman would even suggest that they should be handled the same way.
  1199.  
  1200. “Indictment?” she interjected when her guest, Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH), chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said, “President Biden needs the same consequence that they pursue with President Trump.”
  1201.  
  1202. From Sunday’s Face the Nation on CBS:
  1203.  
  1204. MARGARET BRENNAN: You were talking about classified documents mishandled by the current president, and you said that when it came to Biden and Trump, they’re both equally egregious with equal classification issues. This past week, President Biden was interviewed by special counsel Robert Hur. Will there be legal consequences? Will your committee do anything to act on this? I mean, what exactly do you mean equally egregious?
  1205.  
  1206. REP. MIKE TURNER: Well, when you look at the documents, both the classification level and the subject matter, both sides, Trump and Biden's documents, if they had been released in the public or gotten into the hands of nefarious parties, would be damaging to the United States national security. When I look at those documents, there are documents on both sides, equally egregious, that would have negative consequences to our means, methods, techniques, and our allies. Now, in this instance, I think President Biden needs the same consequence that they pursue with President Trump. The actions are the same. And in this instance, if you notice—
  1207.  
  1208. BRENNAN: Indictment?
  1209.  
  1210. TURNER: You’re getting leak after leak after leak on the Trump documents. You’re hearing nothing on the Biden documents. So you’re continuing to see the inequality that comes out of the Justice Department as there’s silence on the other side with respect to Biden’s. And by the way, he was a serial classified document hoarder. I reviewed documents that were from all the time that he’s been in government. This really is a very serious breach by President Biden.
  1211.  
  1212. BRENNAN: Just to be clear here, though, are you saying that President Biden had top secret and TS/SCI classification level documents in his personal home?
  1213.  
  1214. TURNER: That’s public already, Margaret, so I’m not confirming something that people don’t already know. That is correct.
  1215.  
  1216. BRENNAN: OK. So I think you’re saying that he should be indicted when you say treated the same?
  1217.  
  1218. TURNER: I think they need to be treated exactly the same. Now, they’re continuing their investigation with President Biden. I don’t think if President Biden in the end has been found to violate the law, and I believe from what I’ve seen that he has, that he should be treated any differently than Donald Trump. Why would he? Just because he’s president or because he’s a Democrat? And that’s how the Department of Justice has been acting. They need to be treated the same.
  1219.  
  1220.  
  1221.  
  1222.  
  1223.  
  1224. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “Brennan’s naivete about President Biden’s potential very serious misdeeds and seeming surprise that a veteran congressman would suggest he deserves to get treated just as harshly as former President Trump, reflects the larger disinterest in Biden’s behavior by the Trump-obsessed press corps. Indeed, special counsel Robert Hur interviewed Biden over two days last week, yet the ABC, CBS, and NBC evening newscasts offered a measly 48 seconds of coverage in total.”
  1225.  
  1226. Rating: FOUR out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  1227.  
  1228.  
  1229.  
  1230.  
  1231. ■ October 9: Liberal Media Scream: CBS touts waitress jobs as sign Bidenomics works
  1232.  
  1233. (Washington Examiner post)
  1234.  
  1235.  
  1236. This week’s Liberal Media Scream features the transparent effort by the media to prop up Bidenomics at a time when most people believe costs and expenses under President Joe Biden are way too high.
  1237.  
  1238. CBS led the way over the weekend when Face the Nation moderator Margaret Brennan said that a jobs report showing restaurant jobs up was proof Biden’s claims are right.
  1239.  
  1240. She cited it to counter claims from 2024 Republican presidential candidate Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) that the economy is not doing enough for people.
  1241.  
  1242. “That seems to undercut your argument that the economy’s broken,” Brennan said.
  1243.  
  1244. Scott slapped down that logic. He said, “Well, all you have to do is talk to the average American family and ask them what they feel — how they feel about Bidenomics. The answer is very simple. We’ve lost over $5,000 of spending power since January of 2021. We should always celebrate the creation of jobs, but we should never forget that we went 52 consecutive paychecks — 52 consecutive paychecks — with a loss of spending power.”
  1245.  
  1246. From Sunday’s Face the Nation on CBS:
  1247.  
  1248. MARGARET BRENNAN: On Friday, we spoke with Republican senator and presidential candidate Tim Scott from his home state of South Carolina. Our conversation began on the economy and the surprisingly robust September jobs report.
  1249.  
  1250. BRENNAN TO SEN. TIM SCOTT: Friday's jobs numbers shattered expectations. It showed some economic momentum. In fact, restaurant hospitality hiring is back to pre-pandemic levels. That seems to undercut your argument that the economy’s broken.
  1251.  
  1252. SCOTT: Well, all you have to do is talk to the average American family and ask them what they feel — how they feel about Bidenomics. The answer is very simple. We’ve lost over $5,000 of spending power since January of 2021. We should always celebrate the creation of jobs, but we should never forget that we went 52 consecutive paychecks — 52 consecutive paychecks — with a loss of spending power.
  1253.  
  1254. BRENNAN: And you blame political leadership, not the Federal Reserve?
  1255.  
  1256. SCOTT: Well, if you think about the fact that over the last, I guess, year and a half, we’ve seen 16% inflation since Joe Biden’s taken office, which led to 11 consecutive rate increases, that downward pressure on our economy certainly created cracks and fissures throughout the economy. That was caused by Joe Biden’s lack of leadership and understanding of how to create jobs in America.
  1257.  
  1258.  
  1259.  
  1260.  
  1261.  
  1262. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “Brennan put Democratic talking point spin ahead of reality in getting so excited about a jobs report largely built on gains in part-time employment and government jobs. Her priority was to undermine Scott’s very persuasive argument that Bidenomics is a disaster, something recognized by the vast majority of people outside of the media elite.”
  1263.  
  1264. Rating: THREE out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  1265.  
  1266.  
  1267.  
  1268.  
  1269. ■ October 2: Liberal Media Scream: MAGA just racists, says MSNBC regular
  1270.  
  1271. (Washington Examiner post)
  1272.  
  1273.  
  1274. This week’s Liberal Media Scream features the continued smearing of MAGA by MSNBC, this time including the broken-record claim that supporters of former President Donald Trump are racists.
  1275.  
  1276. Ignoring Trump’s support among black people, his friendships with notable African Americans, and his appointments of black people to top jobs during his administration, MSNBC let legal correspondent Elie Mystal rant that Trump is running for president again “on white grievance” and adding that “without racism, Trump is just dumber Chris Christie, all right?”
  1277.  
  1278. From Sunday night’s The Mehdi Hasan Show on MSNBC:
  1279.  
  1280. MEHDI HASAN: When you watch Donald Trump talking about “dampening the forest floor,” and then you look at polls that show him neck and neck with Biden or maybe in the lead by 10 points or 5 points over Biden, do you put your head in your hair in your hands?
  1281.  
  1282. ELIE MYSTAL: Look, Mehdi, not really. There is a recent poll, a study out of the University of Chicago that said the biggest indicator of whether or not you support Trump is whether or not you believe racism has been defeated, right? Whether or not you believe systemic racism doesn’t exist, whether or not you believe that what white people face more racism than people of color. Trump’s running on white grievance. It’s how he’s always been. It’s what he’s always done. And I feel like reducing it to racism always makes certain kinds of Democrats squeamish. We want there to be a bigger answer. We want to believe maybe Republicans actually think you should “dampen the forests.” We want to believe there is a reason. There’s nothing there there. All it is is white grievance. Without racism, Trump is just dumber Chris Christie, all right? And so, that is why he is where he is because he plays into the racism of his fans.
  1283.  
  1284.  
  1285.  
  1286.  
  1287.  
  1288. Brent Baker, the vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “How convenient it must be to be so comfortable dismissing the political choice of a large portion of the public by tarring them all as a bunch of racists. Saves time on having to actually address what failures of your side the top candidate on the other side is fulfilling. But stay in your bubble, Mr. Mystal, and you may very well be surprised when those polls, showing Trump beating Biden, come true.”
  1289.  
  1290. Rating: FOUR out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  1291.  
  1292.  
  1293.  
  1294.  
  1295. ■ September 25: No Liberal Media Scream this week.
  1296.  
  1297.  
  1298.  
  1299. ■ September 18: Liberal Media Scream: Meet the Press’s Kristen Welker debuts as Chuck Todd clone
  1300.  
  1301. (Washington Examiner post)
  1302.  
  1303.  
  1304. This week’s Liberal Media Scream features the debut of Kristen Welker as host of NBC’s Meet the Press. But other than a new face, there was no change from the lefty bias of the declining show’s MC.
  1305.  
  1306. To help Welker's first episode, former President Donald Trump agreed to appear. In return, he faced the usual liberal fact-checking interruptions, especially when answering questions about abortion.
  1307.  
  1308. Several times, Welker tried to quiet Trump’s charge that Democrats favor abortion right up to birth. “Democrats aren't saying that. Democrats are not saying that,” she said.
  1309.  
  1310. Her performance won failing grades from conservatives, who weren’t expecting a big shift from the bias of former host Chuck Todd.
  1311.  
  1312. Federalist Editor-in-Chief Mollie Hemingway was first out with an analysis headlined, "NBC’s Kristen Welker Lied Repeatedly About Democrats’ Extreme Abortion Position." “Kristen Welker brazenly and repeatedly lied in a bizarre, conspiracy-laden debate with former President Donald Trump on Sunday,” she wrote, adding, “Welker interrupted her own pre-taped debate with the president to insert her own ‘fact checks’ that were false or were not responsive to actual claims Trump made.”
  1313.  
  1314. From Sunday’s Meet the Press on NBC:
  1315.  
  1316. DONALD TRUMP: Roe v. Wade. For 52 years, people, including Democrats, wanted it to go back to states so that states could make it right. Roe v. Wade, I did something that nobody thought was possible, and Roe v. Wade was terminated and put back to the states. Now, people, pro-lifers, have the right to negotiate for the first time. They had no rights at all because the radical people on this are really the Democrats that say after five months, six months, seven months, eight months, and even after birth, you’re allowed to terminate the baby.
  1317.  
  1318. KRISTEN WELKER: Democrats aren't saying that. Democrats are not saying that. Does it bother you, though, that women say their lives are being put at risk? Do you feel you bear any responsibility because, as you say, you are responsible for having Roe v. Wade overturned?
  1319.  
  1320. TRUMP: What’s going to happen? It’s an issue that’s been going on for a long time. It’s a very polarizing issue. Because of what's been done and because of the fact we brought it back to the states, we're going to have people come together on this issue. They're gonna determine the time because nobody wants to see five, six, seven, eight, nine months. Nobody wants to see abortions when you have a baby in the womb. I said with Hillary Clinton when we had the debate, I made a statement: Rip the baby out of the womb in the ninth month, you're allowed to do that, and you shouldn't be allowed to do that.
  1321.  
  1322. WELKER: Again, no one is arguing for that, that's not a part of anyone's platform, Mr. President.
  1323.  
  1324. TRUMP: The Democrats are able to kill the baby after birth, and nobody wants that.
  1325.  
  1326. WELKER: Democrats don’t want that, either.
  1327.  
  1328.  
  1329.  
  1330.  
  1331.  
  1332. Kevin Tober, news analyst for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “Kristen Welker either never read the 2020 Democratic platform or she's purposefully trying to gaslight her viewers in the guise of a ‘fact check’ of Trump. The current platform of the Democratic Party poses no limits on abortions. Instead of pointing this fact out, Welker decided to scold Trump for telling the truth, which apparently isn't allowed on NBC. If this is what we can expect from Welker as the new moderator of Meet the Press, Chuck Todd might as well have stayed on as the moderator. Different anchor, same liberal media bias.”
  1333.  
  1334. Rating: FOUR out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  1335.  
  1336.  
  1337.  
  1338.  
  1339. ■ September 11: Liberal Media Scream: Chuck Todd puts self among the greats
  1340.  
  1341. (Washington Examiner post)
  1342.  
  1343.  
  1344. This week’s Liberal Media Scream features the departure of one of our favorite representatives of bias, Chuck Todd, the outgoing host of NBC’s Meet the Press.
  1345.  
  1346. Signing off from his daily and Sunday shows, Todd said he hoped he helped educate viewers on the issues of the day and that he would now turn more to nuance and bridging divides.
  1347.  
  1348. As he looks to his future as the network’s political analyst, he said he would follow the paths of two of the network’s past greats, David Brinkley and Tim Russert.
  1349.  
  1350. “I will continue, of course, to be a big part of NBC’s political coverage because, as Tom Brokaw said to me, ‘Look, some networks do some things well, but nobody does politics like NBC.’ And he was referring back all the way to David Brinkley. And that is sort of the tradition I’ve always said, from Brinkley to Russert, and that’s the stuff I want to carry on,” Todd said.
  1351.  
  1352. His final comments on both shows are in this clip:
  1353.  
  1354. Todd, at the end of Friday’s daily Meet the Press NOW on the NBC News NOW streaming channel:
  1355.  
  1356. “On my first day on the job on Meet the Press, I was handed an audience survey of Sunday show viewers. The No. 1 reason why folks decided to tune into any Sunday show, the No. 1 reason: to get educated. It wasn’t to find out if their side was winning or losing. They just wanted to know.”
  1357.  
  1358. “It’s that education piece I’m hanging my hat on for the rest of my professional life because one thing we all lament lately is the lack of knowledge and nuance in our politics. That’s a vacuum I hope to continue to fill, whether in a traditional news platform or other venues —documentaries, docudramas, or even too-close-to-the-truth fiction.”
  1359.  
  1360. “I’ll continue to be a big part of NBC News political coverage because no one in this business covers politics as well as NBC. Thanks for watching. I’ll see you down the road.”
  1361.  
  1362. Todd, wrapping up Meet the Press on NBC on Sunday morning:
  1363.  
  1364. “So, for nearly a decade, I’ve had the honor of helping to explain America to Washington and Washington to America, as Kristen [Welker] just quoted me about. And it’s that education piece that I’m hanging my hat on for the rest of my professional life. One thing we will lament — we all lament lately — is the lack of knowledge and nuance in our politics and citizenship. That’s a vacuum I hope to continue to fill, whether in our continued news coverage here at NBC or via other venues, like docuseries and docudramas, focused on bridging our divides, piercing these political bubbles. And I will continue, of course, to be a big part of NBC’s political coverage because, as Tom Brokaw said to me, ‘Look, some networks do some things well, but nobody does politics like NBC.’ And he was referring back all the way to David Brinkley. And that is sort of the tradition I’ve always said, from Brinkley to Russert, and that’s the stuff I want to carry on.”
  1365.  
  1366. “So that’s all for today. Thanks for watching and for so many years of loyalty to me and to this show. I’m happy to say my colleague, Kristen Welker, is going to be here next week because it doesn’t matter who sits in this chair. If it’s Sunday, it’s Meet the Press.”
  1367.  
  1368.  
  1369.  
  1370.  
  1371.  
  1372. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “Todd, pretentious to the end. In all his years hosting Meet the Press, he never showed much interest in bringing ‘nuance’ to his liberal agenda or ‘bridging’ divides or ‘piercing ... political bubbles,’ to say nothing of never matching the journalism of David Brinkley or Tim Russert. I watched David Brinkley and Tim Russert. Chuck Todd is no David Brinkley or Tim Russert.”
  1373.  
  1374. Rating: FOUR out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  1375.  
  1376.  
  1377.  
  1378.  
  1379. ■ September 4: Liberal Media Scream: Biden’s coverage ‘tougher than he deserves’
  1380.  
  1381. (Washington Examiner post)
  1382.  
  1383.  
  1384. This week’s Liberal Media Scream features the classic attitude of the Washington press corps toward Democratic presidents that originally got us working with the Media Research Center to highlight out-of-touch newsies.
  1385.  
  1386. It is the complaint that the press is too tough when, in fact, they have barely scratched the surface of what some critics believe to be a corrupt presidential operation dating back to President Joe Biden’s days as vice president under former President Barack Obama.
  1387.  
  1388. NBC’s Meet the Press featured Franklin Foer, an Atlantic writer who just released a bestselling book on the president titled The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden’s White House and the Struggle for America’s Future.
  1389.  
  1390. Foer told moderator Chuck Todd that “Trump caused the media to become so emotional, to get so engaged in covering all the high drama.”
  1391.  
  1392. And with Biden, he said, there has been a "desire on the part of the press to reassert its standards of objectivity.”
  1393.  
  1394. But, he added, Biden has continued to complain about his press, just like every other president. “He has been covered probably tougher than he deserves,” Foer said.
  1395.  
  1396. That line prompted our partner Brent Baker, the Media Research Center's vice president of research and publications, to grade it five out of five screams.
  1397.  
  1398. From Sunday’s Meet the Press on NBC:
  1399.  
  1400. CHUCK TODD: You write: “Biden considered his poor approval rating a failure of the media, which someone neglected to note all the ways in which his administration was superior to Trump’s. It was also a failure of his own White House to effectively communicate. He complained that there weren’t enough surrogates on television defending him.” I’m shocked to find out that a White House believes they have a communications problem, not a substance problem.
  1401.  
  1402. FRANKLIN FOER: Right. So I think that Biden has — of course, every president who suffers an upside-down approval rating is going to moan about the media, and I think that there is some truth to it in his case where Trump caused the media to become so emotional, to get so engaged in covering all of the high drama. And I think, with the Biden administration, there’s been this desire on the part of the press to reassert its standards of objectivity. So I think, on certain measures, he’s probably right. He has been covered probably tougher than he deserves. But it also —
  1403.  
  1404. TODD: There’s no curve? He’s not being graded on a curve?
  1405.  
  1406. FOER: No.
  1407.  
  1408. TODD: No.
  1409.  
  1410.  
  1411.  
  1412.  
  1413.  
  1414. Baker explains our weekly pick: “To channel what President Biden would say, ‘not a joke.’ Foer was seemingly quite serious. But it’s a ludicrous assessment to anyone but the most enthused Biden sycophants or Democratic partisans. To contend that Biden is the subject of media ‘objectivity’ and has received ‘tougher’ coverage than he ‘deserves,’ does not pass the laugh test.”
  1415.  
  1416. Rating: FIVE out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  1417.  
  1418.  
  1419.  
  1420.  
  1421. ■ August 28: Liberal Media Scream: Dour Dana bashes Ramaswamy over KKK reference
  1422.  
  1423. (Washington Examiner post)
  1424.  
  1425.  
  1426. This week’s Liberal Media Scream features CNN anchor Dana Bash repeatedly beating GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s comparison of liberal "Squad" member Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) to "a modern grand wizard of the KKK."
  1427.  
  1428. Over more than five minutes, the anchor harangued Ramaswamy, who said he made the comparison to spark a debate over the lawmaker’s suggestion that candidates of color should be in lockstep with liberals.
  1429.  
  1430. After four minutes of her bashing, an exasperated Ramaswamy said: “Dana, I think you’re doing, with due respect, what many in the media do, picking on some fringe comment in the context of a broader context that I was offering in a speech, avoiding the meat of the issue.”
  1431.  
  1432. Here’s a sampling from CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday:
  1433.  
  1434. DANA BASH: You took issue with comments from Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-MA). She reportedly said, quote, “we don’t need any more brown faces that don’t want to be a brown voice.” About that, you said, “These are the words of the modern grand wizards of the modern KKK.” You know, I’m sure, the KKK was responsible for more than a century’s worth of horrific lynchings, rapes, murders of black people. How in any way are the views you’re talking about comparable to the views and atrocities committed by the KKK?”
  1435.  
  1436. VIVEK RAMASWAMY: What I said is: The grand wizards of the KKK would be proud of what they would hear her say, because there’s nothing more racist than saying that your skin color predicts something about the content of your viewpoints or your ideas.
  1437.  
  1438. BASH: No, you didn’t just say that. You didn’t just say that they would be proud. You said, “These are the words of the modern grand wizards of the modern KKK.”
  1439.  
  1440. RAMASWAMY: It is the same spirit. You’re right about that, Dana. I think it is the same spirit to say that I can look at you and, based on just your skin color, that I know something about the content of your character, that I know something about the content of the viewpoints you’re allowed to express.
  1441.  
  1442. ....
  1443.  
  1444. BASH: But can you have an intellectually honest conversation when you accuse her of being a grand wizard of the KKK? Can you have that intellectually honest discussion with that kind of rhetoric?
  1445.  
  1446. ....
  1447.  
  1448. BASH: If you want to have an intellectual question, do you think that maybe comparing her to the grand wizard and the notion of what she said to being a modern leader of the KKK was maybe a step too far, or you stand by what you said?
  1449.  
  1450. ....
  1451.  
  1452. BASH: What I did was explain to our viewers that you were asked a question and you took it to a point where you called a sitting member of Congress who is black, who was having discussions about race, calling her the modern grand wizard of the KKK. And I’m just not sure how that’s open and honest discussion.        
  1453.  
  1454.  
  1455.  
  1456.  
  1457.  
  1458. Brent Baker, the vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “Bash’s constant harping was not good television. Ramaswamy explained his point and she should have moved on. But she so vehemently disagreed with him that she wouldn’t let go. In doing so, she helped prove Ramaswamy’s point about the elite who won’t countenance any contrary views on race relations, not even from the target of a racist attack.”
  1459.  
  1460. Rating: FOUR out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  1461.  
  1462.  
  1463.  
  1464.  
  1465. ■ August 21: No Liberal Media Scream this week
  1466.  
  1467.  
  1468.  
  1469. ■ August 14: Liberal Media Scream: Media rage at MAGA ‘alternative reality’
  1470.  
  1471. (Washington Examiner post)
  1472.  
  1473.  
  1474. This week’s Liberal Media Scream features the latest example of the sputtering anger Washington journalists have at the support former President Donald Trump has from his MAGA millions.
  1475.  
  1476. Appearing Sunday on ABC’s This Week, Susan Glasser, Washington reporter for the New Yorker and a veteran of the Washington Post and Politico, coughed up a word salad to the storyline that a growing list of indictments is good for Trump while the building criminal focus on first son Hunter Biden is bad for President Joe Biden.
  1477.  
  1478. From the roundtable on Sunday’s This Week on ABC:
  1479.  
  1480. Susan Glasser: “Part of this is the incredible distortion field where we are all somehow living in Donald Trump’s alternate reality, right? We are talking about, ‘Well, it’s a great benefit to him,’ according to, you know, the big story in the New York Times today that he’s been indicted criminally, what, three times — and it looks like a fourth coming up this week — because we’re living in this warped distortion field of a Republican primary in which Donald Trump is stampeding? It’s a minority of a minority in the country, and so then, you have something like these series of abortion rights referenda in the wake of the Roe v. Wade decision.
  1481.  
  1482. “And you realize that in this country, even in deep-red states, there are solid majorities that don’t think, you know, Donald Trump should be the president again, who defeated him in the popular vote in 2016 and in 2020, who support, by actually record numbers, abortion rights, and yet we live in this world where it’s somehow good that Donald Trump is a criminal defendant but somehow bad electorally for the president that his son is being investigated for something, that as far as we know, does not directly concern Joe Biden.”
  1483.  
  1484.  
  1485.  
  1486.  
  1487.  
  1488. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “What an incredible lack of inquisitiveness for a journalist. Glasser is living in her own ‘alternate reality,’ one inhabited by virtually all of her Washington press corps colleagues who are enraged by everything Trump but have put on blinders when it comes to President Joe Biden. They don’t want to give legitimacy to anything which could harm Biden’s reelection fortunes.”
  1489.  
  1490. Rating: FOUR out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  1491.  
  1492.  
  1493.  
  1494.  
  1495. ■ August 7: Liberal Media Scream: Joy Behar would exile Trump to Saudi Arabia
  1496.  
  1497. (Washington Examiner post)
  1498.  
  1499.  
  1500. This week’s Liberal Media Scream features the ladies of The View jumping to a whole new level of "Trump derangement syndrome" following the third criminal indictment of former President Donald Trump.
  1501.  
  1502. Led by Trump Hater in Chief Joy Behar, they talked up a plea deal that prosecutor Jack Smith could offer that sends the former president away for good — but not jail. Instead, and due to concerns that the Secret Service might not allow a former president to live in a jail cell if he’s convicted, Behar suggested exile in Saudi Arabia.
  1503.  
  1504. “Wouldn’t that be good?” she said to some audience laughter. “I don’t even care if he goes to jail. I don’t have it in my heart to punish the guy. I just want him to go away and stop ruining my country."
  1505.  
  1506. From Thursday’s The View on ABC:
  1507.  
  1508. JOY BEHAR: "Well, what about making a deal? What about, Sunny, if he makes a deal with [special counsel Jack] Smith?"
  1509.  
  1510. SUNNY HOSTIN: "Without jail time?"
  1511.  
  1512. BEHAR: "Without jail, and he says, “I’m going away and moving to Saudi Arabia”?
  1513.  
  1514. Wouldn’t that be good? Just go away. We don’t — I don’t even care if he goes to jail. I don’t have it in my heart to punish the guy. I just want him to go away and stop ruining my country."
  1515.  
  1516. HOSTIN: "I think there are certain prosecutors that would offer him a plea agreement without time if he would agree to never run for public office again anywhere."
  1517.  
  1518. BEHAR: "And go away. I don’t want to even see him in the Enquirer."
  1519.  
  1520.  
  1521.  
  1522.  
  1523.  
  1524. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “Presumably, The View does not air in Saudi Arabia, so this idea might have some appeal to Trump — and many of us — who wouldn’t mind never again hearing Joy Behar’s voice, but I’d recommend flipping this and exiling the entire crew of The View to Saudi Arabia so none of us have to hear their discombobulated daily rantings.”
  1525.  
  1526. Rating: FOUR out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  1527.  
  1528.  
  1529.  
  1530.  
  1531. ■ July 31: Liberal Media Scream: Chuck Todd still trying to downplay Hunter Biden scandals
  1532.  
  1533. (Washington Examiner post)
  1534.  
  1535.  
  1536. This week’s Liberal Media Scream features a Sunday network public affairs show host that President Joe Biden and his cronies are really going to miss when he finally leaves his perch.
  1537.  
  1538. It’s NBC Meet the Press host Chuck Todd, of course, playing “D” on the Hunter Biden scandals exploding in the news today.
  1539.  
  1540. On his Sunday show and while interviewing yet another Democratic politician, he sounded almost apologetic for having to address the first son who is facing tax and gun charges and has been linked to bribery allegations along with his father.
  1541.  
  1542. Said Todd to his guest, Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat from Biden’s home state of Delaware, “Republicans are gonna accuse” the president of misdeeds, “they’re going to make the accusation, whether they have the evidence or not,” because they “have an information ecosystem that helps amplify it.”
  1543.  
  1544. Todd recently announced that he was leaving his show in September to become the network's "long form" political analyst.
  1545.  
  1546. From Sunday’s Meet the Press on NBC:
  1547.  
  1548. CHUCK TODD: Let me start with the Hunter Biden situation and I understand that, you know, you believe this is all being emphasized due to politics, the Republican — the House Republicans are doing. Let me ask you this, do you think it would behoove the president for him to come out and say, “Hey, I had no business dealings with my son. My son’s issues are my son’s issues”? Do you think he needs to say that more directly because there’s a lot of people that believe something else happened here?
  1549.  
  1550. SEN. CHRIS COONS: Let’s be clear about that point, Chuck. There’s been a five-year investigation. Five years by a Trump-appointed U.S. attorney. This investigation started during the Trump administration and they’ve come forward with not one shred of evidence tying President Biden to any of this. I am encouraged that, in sharp contrast to President Trump, you’ve just detailed his mountain of legal problems where President Trump is fighting, and pushing back and obstructing, Hunter Biden’s come forward, taken responsibility, paid his late taxes. As you just discussed with Chuck Rosenberg, I think the hiccup in the Delaware District Courthouse will get ironed out pretty quickly and I don’t think President Biden needs to say anything more than he has.
  1551.  
  1552. TODD: House Republicans are gonna accuse him. They’re going to make the accusation —
  1553.  
  1554. COONS: They’re going [to] accuse him of all sorts of stuff.
  1555.  
  1556. TODD: — whether they have the evidence or not.
  1557.  
  1558. COONS: Correct.
  1559.  
  1560. TODD: The question — and they may have an information ecosystem that helps amplify it to a point where you don’t think he needs to just — “Hey, despite what you hear, just so you know, I don’t do business with my son or my brother"?
  1561.  
  1562. COONS: I think he’s been perfectly clear.
  1563.  
  1564.  
  1565.  
  1566.  
  1567.  
  1568. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “If only Chuck Todd had shown such reluctance to promote accusations against President Trump about ‘Russian collusion’ made by Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff and others, which turned out to be baseless, when they were on his program. We’d be in a whole different political-media environment. But no, Todd is only upset by publicity for revelations that may hurt the Democratic president, not the Republican one. And he wonders why so many see him as more of a liberal political operative than any kind of respectable journalist.”
  1569.  
  1570. Rating: FOUR out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  1571.  
  1572.  
  1573.  
  1574.  
  1575. ■ July 24: Liberal Media Scream: CBS pushes for Hunter Biden media cover-up
  1576.  
  1577. (Washington Examiner post)
  1578.  
  1579.  
  1580. This week’s Liberal Media Scream features the latest example of how the networks are covering up the escalating Hunter Biden sex, gun, drugs, and taxes scandal.
  1581.  
  1582. Not only have most ignored the scandal going all the way back to dissing reports on the first son’s laptop full of dirty deeds, but now some in the media are urging the GOP to “move on.”
  1583.  
  1584. Exhibit A is CBS Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan, who this weekend said the plea deal Hunter Biden has cut should be the trigger for Republicans to end their investigation into the president’s son.
  1585.  
  1586. Her guest, former federal prosecutor and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, dismissed her question. “No, I wouldn’t, Margaret, and here’s why. The conduct here by the U.S. attorney in Delaware and by the Justice Department just can’t be justified,” he said.
  1587.  
  1588. She also rolled out the standard Democratic talking point to make her case: “You know that the U.S. attorney in Delaware was appointed by former President Trump.” It’s typical for senators to suggest prosecutors in their state and U.S. Attorney David Weiss was endorsed by Delaware’s two Democratic senators at the time.
  1589.  
  1590. From Sunday’s Face the Nation on CBS:
  1591.  
  1592. MARGARET BRENNAN: There are so many legal issues in this campaign, and I want to ask you about one involving the president’s son Hunter Biden who’s going to appear in court this week to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and will enter into an agreement that could avert conviction on a gun-related charge. The deal has infuriated many congressional Republicans, who were holding their own hearings, and I wonder after this plea happens if you would advise your party to move on?
  1593.  
  1594. CHRIS CHRISTIE: No, I wouldn’t, Margaret, and here’s why. The conduct here by the U.S. attorney in Delaware and by the Justice Department just can’t be justified. It doesn’t take five years, Margaret. As you mentioned, I was the U.S. attorney in the fifth-largest office in the country for seven years during the Bush administration. It does not take five years to investigate two misdemeanor tax counts and to dismiss a gun charge, and we need to know what they were investigating and why these are the charges they concluded to. This is not just any person. This is the son of the president of the United States. And while justice needs to be equal, it needs to be equal, and it doesn’t appear to me that this is the way to do it. And I would say one thing on the gun charge. I mean, this is a case where Democrats yell and scream for more new gun laws in the country, and yet you hear no Democrat yelling about the fact that Hunter Biden intentionally lied on his gun permit application, mishandled the gun after he received it with a false permit application, and faces absolutely no penalty. Guess what? The guy who sponsored that law was his father, Sen. Joe Biden, and that charge carries a 10-year sentence, Margaret. We need to explain — they need to explain to the public why that was done.
  1595.  
  1596. So no, I don't think it’s time to move on.
  1597.  
  1598. BRENNAN: And you know that the U.S. attorney in Delaware was appointed by former President Trump.
  1599.  
  1600. CHRISTIE: Incompetent, Margaret. It doesn’t matter, Margaret. It doesn’t matter whether you’re appointed by a Republican or a Democrat, if your work appears to be incompetent and inexplicable, you need to explain it so we can have confidence in our justice system, and I don’t care whether Mr. Weiss is a Republican or a Democrat. He owes the American people an explanation.
  1601.  
  1602.  
  1603.  
  1604.  
  1605.  
  1606. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “It takes a lot of chutzpah for Brennan to suggest Republicans ‘move on’ from a topic the broadcast news networks and much of the rest of the news media have done all they can to avoid in their quest to protect President Biden. Numerous revelations about Hunter and his dad have gone unreported, or get one story on one night, and then nothing more. What kind of ‘journalist’ pushes for cover-up and suppression over pressing for more coverage three days after two IRS whistleblowers detailed federal efforts to benefit Hunter and not pursue leads which could hurt the president?”
  1607.  
  1608. Rating: FIVE out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  1609.  
  1610.  
  1611.  
  1612.  
  1613. ■ July 17: No Liberal Media Scream this week
  1614.  
  1615.  
  1616.  
  1617. ■ July 10: Liberal Media Scream: CNN’s Zakaria tells Biden, 'You've been a great president'
  1618.  
  1619. (Washington Examiner post)
  1620.  
  1621.  
  1622. This week’s Liberal Media Scream features a rare one-on-one interview of President Joe Biden and a hint of what it takes to get a sit-down with him.
  1623.  
  1624. In the case of CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, the payback came in a phrase of praise: “You've been a great president.”
  1625.  
  1626. The line was part of a long setup on his Sunday show to a question about some Democrats calling for Biden to step aside.
  1627.  
  1628. From Fareed Zakaria GPS:
  1629.  
  1630. Zakaria to Biden: “You've often said when people ask you about your age, just watch me. And I think a lot of people do watch you and are impressed, and they think you've been a great president. You've brought the economy back. You've restored relations with the world. But many of these people do say, and these are hardened supporters of yours, the next thing he should do is step aside and let another generation of Democrats take the baton.”
  1631.  
  1632.  
  1633.  
  1634.  
  1635.  
  1636. Kevin Tober, a news analyst &amp; staff writer at the Media Research Center’s NewsBusters, explains our weekly pick: “Zakaria displayed a masterclass in professional gaslighting Sunday when he told Biden that ‘a lot of people’ watch him and are ‘impressed.’ In reality, even many Democrats have expressed their concern about Biden's age and cognitive decline. Kissing Biden's ring is not ‘facts first’ despite what CNN wants you to think.”
  1637.  
  1638. Rating: FOUR out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  1639.  
  1640.  
  1641.  
  1642.  
  1643. ■ July 3: No Liberal Media Scream this week
  1644.  
  1645.  
  1646.  
  1647. ■ June 26: Liberal Media Scream: MSNBC historian declares GOP hopefuls insurrectionists
  1648.  
  1649. (Washington Examiner post)
  1650.  
  1651.  
  1652. This week’s Liberal Media Scream highlights the latest example of the conventional liberal media’s view that all Republicans are deplorable and, thus, dismissible.
  1653.  
  1654. MSNBC “historian” Jon Meacham, an author and former Newsweek Washington bureau chief, wrote off the large and historically diverse collection of Republican presidential candidates as insurrectionists and seditionists because all have been supportive at times of former President Donald Trump.
  1655.  
  1656. “We have a pretty clear choice in this political season. We can choose a constitutionalist, a party that has been pretty faithful to the Constitution, which is the party of the incumbent president, or we can favor a party that has been shockingly but persistently supportive of an insurrectionist or a seditionist,” he said on Friday’s Morning Joe show.
  1657.  
  1658. “It’s not simple, but it is straightforward. That’s the choice before the country,” said Meacham, who punctuated his analysis with declarations of “right?!”
  1659.  
  1660. From Friday’s Morning Joe on MSNBC:
  1661.  
  1662. JOE SCARBOROUGH: We were talking about the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court who, again, out of control, running roughshod over the will of the overwhelming majority of Americans. And now, we have this president, again, unprecedented, but here we are moving towards, I believe, I think, the most serious charges and the one that I think historians are going to be grappling with long after we are all gone. That is a president charged with conspiracy to commit sedition against the United States of America.
  1663.  
  1664. JON MEACHAM: You’re right, historians will be wrestling with it as we all do all the time. I think citizens have to wrestle with it now, right? This is, it’s so central, and I just really believe that we have a pretty clear choice in this political season. We can choose a constitutionalist, a party that has been pretty faithful to the Constitution, which is the party of the incumbent president, or we can favor a party that has been shockingly but persistently supportive of an insurrectionist or a seditionist.
  1665.  
  1666. That’s not a sentence we would have said about Eisenhower and Stevenson, right? That was not something that a lot of people grew up with. But it’s pretty vital. And yet that's the question: Is any policy so important that you would want to favor someone that you think is a vehicle for that policy, even if they don’t and have self-evidently tried to trash the Constitution of the United States? And we could go on, but that’s really kind of it. You know, it’s pretty basic. Do you want a constitutionalist or an insurrectionist?
  1667.  
  1668. Then we get into the, ‘But, but, but, taxes and judges.’ If we don’t have a Constitution, taxes and judges aren’t going to matter at all. That’s where we are, remarkably, right now. Again, we could go on, but I think it’s a fundamental question. People often say, you know, it’s simple. It’s not simple, but it is straightforward. That’s the choice before the country.
  1669.  
  1670.  
  1671.  
  1672.  
  1673.  
  1674. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “Meacham, in all his haughty glory, sees it as his role to declare every candidate in one party illegitimate presidential contenders because most of them refrain from denouncing the one candidate he really hates. Yet Meacham and Scarborough wonder why conservatives don’t heed their advice when they show such disdain for the choices made by those who don’t share their left-wing worldview.”
  1675.  
  1676. Rating: FOUR out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  1677.  
  1678.  
  1679.  
  1680.  
  1681. ■ June 19: Liberal Media Scream: CNN begs ‘older’ white people to step aside, give values up
  1682.  
  1683. (Washington Examiner post)
  1684.  
  1685.  
  1686. This week’s Liberal Media Scream features one of CNN’s liberal big shots decrying “older” white people in Southern states for trying to maintain values and traditions instead of giving up to the “new demography.”
  1687.  
  1688. Ron Brownstein, a CNN political analyst and Atlantic editor, argued it is longtime residents who are trying to impose their values in states such as Texas, not the other way around.
  1689.  
  1690. The discussion came Monday when CNN This Morning devoted a segment to how those in red states are “imposing” their values on the rest of the nation.
  1691.  
  1692. Not considered by the panel: how those in red states see themselves as simply pushing back at the imposition of left-wing LGBT Pride values that CNN euphemistically described as “inclusion.”
  1693.  
  1694. From CNN This Morning:
  1695.  
  1696. RON BROWNSTEIN: The attempt to kind of impose the values, and to force companies to toe the line of the values of one segment of society, really puts them in a hard place and, ultimately, they have to decide whether they’re going to embrace this changing, inclusive America, or whether they’re going to back down in the face of this kind of pressure.
  1697.  
  1698. CO-HOST ERICA HILL: This is going to feel like a rhetorical question, but I mean it very seriously, as from both a political and a business standpoint, as you’re looking at this, right, inclusion is good for business. How and where is exclusion good for business or for politics when you’re narrowing your pool?
  1699.  
  1700. BROWNSTEIN: Well, look, it’s very different between the red states and the blue and purple states. In the red states, you have Republican coalitions that are running state government with an electoral coalition that is fundamentally rooted in the parts of the state that are not changing, that are basically nonurban, older white voters. And they are using that to impose the values of that coalition on changing places before the new demography maybe changes the political balance in a place like Texas. So you see half the country moving in this direction. And these boycotts are kind of the business flank of that same effort that in many ways is attempting to reverse what has been six decades of nationalizing more rights and creating common rights that are available in every state.
  1701.  
  1702. I mean, we are moving back toward a pre-1960s world where your basic civil liberties depended much more on your ZIP code. And I think, look, that in some places, like the period before the Civil War, no institution was equally credible on both sides of the sectional divide. And these companies, much as they want to stay out of it, ultimately have to decide: Are they going to embrace the changing America, or are they going to embrace this effort to, in effect, “Make America Great Again” by going back to older rules and older values?
  1703.  
  1704.  
  1705.  
  1706.  
  1707.  
  1708. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “In being so concerned about conservatives ‘imposing’ their values on blue America, Brownstein is oblivious to how red-state America sees itself just pushing back against the Left’s values being pushed on them. But to Brownstein and CNN, the liberal blue America world is all that matters.”
  1709.  
  1710. Rating: THREE out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  1711.  
  1712.  
  1713.  
  1714.  
  1715. ■ June 12: Liberal Media Scream: New host Charles Barkley calls CNN ‘the Titanic’
  1716.  
  1717. (Washington Examiner post)
  1718.  
  1719.  
  1720. This week’s Liberal Media Scream features something we don’t hear often — a CNN host who admits the cable network is in serious trouble.
  1721.  
  1722. In this case, it is an incoming host and former NBA great Charles Barkley who is teaming up with CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King for a CNN prime-time show.
  1723.  
  1724. The show was mapped out by fired CNN chief Chris Licht, who said at the time that the show would begin in the fall.
  1725.  
  1726. Barkley is apparently a bit concerned about what he’s getting into. Talking hockey with NHL Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky, Barkley said, “Apparently, with this new talk show, I’m jumping on the Titanic.”
  1727.  
  1728. From the Saturday night NHL on TNT pregame Face Off show:
  1729.  
  1730. WAYNE GRETZKY: You don’t need to go take that news job. You can come on our show. You know more about hockey than we do. You don’t have to travel out of Atlanta.
  1731.  
  1732. CHARLES BARKLEY: Apparently, with this new talk show, I’m jumping on the Titanic. So it’s not — everybody keeps saying “abort,” “abort,” “abort!” So, you know what, I’m looking forward to it. Gayle is awesome.
  1733.  
  1734.  
  1735.  
  1736.  
  1737.  
  1738. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “The truth stumbles out spontaneously in the oddest of places. Barkley didn’t see that comment coming from Gretzky, so he blurted out the first thing he thought, which is the truth about the decline of CNN, before recovering with the more acceptable public stance of looking forward to the show. One suspects he’s having some second thoughts about agreeing to join CNN programming.”
  1739.  
  1740. Rating for telling the truth: FIVE out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  1741.  
  1742.  
  1743.  
  1744.  
  1745. ■ June 5: Liberal Media Scream: Chuck Todd says he’s a ‘real political journalist’
  1746.  
  1747. (Washington Examiner post)
  1748.  
  1749.  
  1750. This week’s Liberal Media Scream turns the spotlight to NBC’s Chuck Todd, who portrayed himself as a journalistic martyr in announcing that he will step down as host of Meet the Press later this year.
  1751.  
  1752. “Being a real political journalist isn’t about building a brand. It's about reporting what’s happening and explaining why it’s happening and letting the public absorb the facts,” he bragged Sunday.
  1753.  
  1754. “I take the attacks from partisans as compliments, and I take the compliments from partisans with a grain of salt,” said Todd, a favorite target of the Secrets' weekly Liberal Media Scream.
  1755.  
  1756. NBC said that Kristen Welker, NBC News's co-chief White House correspondent, will succeed him in what is a well-worn path to hosting Sunday public affairs shows.
  1757.  
  1758. Todd, on Sunday’s Meet the Press:
  1759.  
  1760. “I’ll be honest, though. I leave feeling concerned about this moment in history but reassured by the standards we've set here. We didn’t tolerate propagandists, and this network and program never will. But it doesn't mean sticking your head in the sand either. If you ignore reality, you’ll miss the big story. Being a real political journalist isn’t about building a brand. It's about reporting what’s happening and explaining why it’s happening and letting the public absorb the facts. If you do this job seeking popularity, you are doing this job incorrectly.
  1761.  
  1762. “I take the attacks from partisans as compliments, and I take the compliments from partisans with a grain of salt. The goal of this and every Meet the Press episode is to do all of the following in one informative hour: Make you mad, make you think, shake your head in disapproval, and nod your head in approval. If you do all of that in one hour of this show, we’ve done our jobs. So, again, this isn’t goodbye. But know this: No matter who sits in this chair, if it’s Sunday, it’s Meet the Press.”
  1763.  
  1764.  
  1765.  
  1766.  
  1767.  
  1768. Brent Baker, the vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “Arrogant until the end. No acknowledgment from Todd that he just might be biased in favor of the Left and against conservatives. Instead, he played the martyr card, portraying himself as the target of misguided criticism which only proves his integrity.”
  1769.  
  1770. Rating: THREE out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  1771.  
  1772.  
  1773.  
  1774.  
  1775. May 29: No Liberal Media Scream this week.
  1776.  
  1777.  
  1778.  
  1779. May 22: Liberal Media Scream: NBC’s Chuck Todd says only tax cheats oppose more IRS agents
  1780.  
  1781. (Washington Examiner post)
  1782.  
  1783.  
  1784. This week’s Liberal Media Scream shows exactly the difference between small-government conservatives and big-government liberals.
  1785.  
  1786. Imagine wanting 87,000 more Internal Revenue Service agents. Well, that’s not only what NBC Meet the Press host Chuck Todd said, but he sneered at those who don’t want them as likely tax cheats.
  1787.  
  1788. On his Sunday show, he took on the GOP plan to roll back the Biden administration’s request and said, “I have never understood the resistance of extra IRA agents — unless you knowingly cheat on your taxes.” His guest, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), replied, “That’s salacious and you know that.”
  1789.  
  1790. Donalds said that “when you have that many more agents, it’s not to go after the rich. It’s to go after the middle class.” Todd stood by his view that the honest have nothing to fear from more enforcement. “So if you’re paying what you are supposed to pay, then you should have nothing to fear,” he said.
  1791.  
  1792. The exchange on Sunday’s Meet the Press:
  1793.  
  1794. CHUCK TODD: But there’s one more thing House Republicans are asking for, which is they want fewer IRS agents. They want fewer attempts to try to properly get tax receipts into the federal government’s coffers. I have never understood the resistance of extra IRS agents — unless you knowingly cheat on your taxes.
  1795.  
  1796. REP. BYRON DONALDS: First of all, that’s salacious and you know that. Most Americans, by far, pay their taxes, and they do it honorably. What House Republicans, and frankly the Republican Party, is concerned about is having IRS agents go after middle-class families and small business owners. When you have that many more agents, it’s not to go after the rich. It’s to go after the middle class. That’s what it's for.
  1797.  
  1798. TODD: So if you’re paying what you are supposed to pay, then you should have nothing to fear.
  1799.  
  1800. DONALDS: You would make the assumption that IRS audits are up, that they’re putting out more liens on the American people. That’s not true. That data is not there. All Joe Biden is trying to do is find every possible nickel out of every couch from every American to pay for his radical spending. Why would we do that?
  1801.  
  1802.  
  1803.  
  1804.  
  1805.  
  1806. Brent Baker, the vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “How ridiculous. More people in any job that involves tracking the activities of others means at least some of those in their purview will get harassed. After all, the additional staff has to justify their existence. By Todd’s logic, minority communities have nothing to fear from dozens more police officers on patrol since only criminals have any reason to ‘fear’ more cops. But that’s not the view of Black Lives Matter activists. Yet, Todd and the media would never take on that premise.”
  1807.  
  1808. Rating: FOUR out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  1809.  
  1810.  
  1811.  
  1812.  
  1813. May 15: No Liberal Media Scream this week.
  1814.  
  1815.  
  1816.  
  1817. ■ May 8: Liberal Media Scream: Even if Trump loses, Washington Post editor sees America’s ‘dissolution’
  1818.  
  1819. (Washington Examiner post)
  1820.  
  1821.  
  1822. This week’s Liberal Media Scream demonstrates that anti-Trumpers have jumped off the deep end eight months before the first primary and caucus vote is cast in the 2024 race.
  1823.  
  1824. We feature Washington Post columnist and editor-at-large Robert Kagan, who has long criticized former President Donald Trump, once dubbing him a “Frankenstein monster.”
  1825.  
  1826. In his latest expression of "Trump derangement syndrome," he talked about Trump running again and how it will ruin the nation. But in this case, Trump doesn’t win but loses and claims fraud.
  1827.  
  1828. The result: America ends. “At that point, I think we face a very serious possibility of dissolution of the United States and secession,” the neoconservative Never Trumper said on the First Look podcast hosted by the Washington Post's Jonathan Capehart.
  1829.  
  1830. It even seemed too much for the host, who called Kagan’s take “a pretty apocalyptic view, and I’m laughing to keep from crying.”
  1831.  
  1832. From Friday’s First Look on Washington Post Live:
  1833.  
  1834. ROBERT KAGAN: If you look ahead a year, I think it’s very hard. I really don’t think most Americans — even attentive Americans — have really focused on the fact that a year from now, Donald Trump is going to be the strongest person in the country in some respects. Certainly, he’s going to dominate the Republican Party. At that point, he will be accumulating votes, which in this country is the ultimate certification of legitimacy. And so I think he’s going to be in an incredibly powerful position.
  1835.  
  1836. He’s going to make it clear to his supporters that if he loses, it can only be as a result of fraud. And therefore, I think the entire Republican Party is going to, if Trump loses, say that the election was fraudulent. And at that point, I think we face a very serious possibility of dissolution of the United States and secession. I know that that sounds extreme, but secession has been pretty common, what used to be a very common activity or at least, you know, in the first hundred years of our republic, and our country hasn’t changed that much. So, I think that’s what we’re looking at in the 2024 scenario right now.
  1837.  
  1838. JONATHAN CAPEHART: Danielle [Allen], do you share? I mean, that’s a pretty apocalyptic view, and I’m laughing to keep from crying, Bob, but—
  1839.  
  1840. KAGAN: For the first thing in the morning.
  1841.  
  1842.  
  1843.  
  1844.  
  1845.  
  1846. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “The ultimate in 'Trump derangement syndrome' scaremongering. It’s not good enough for former President Donald Trump to lose. Per Kagan, even if Trump loses, we’ll get an apocalyptic outcome. So, the only way for the U.S. to survive as a nation is for Trump to not even run. For someone who sees Trump as a destroyer of democracy, Kagan isn’t very confident in the strength of our democratic institutions.”
  1847.  
  1848. Rating: FIVE out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  1849.  
  1850.  
  1851.  
  1852.  
  1853. ■ May 1: Liberal Media Scream: Todd cues up Mayorkas to tout Biden as ‘incredibly sharp’
  1854.  
  1855. (Washington Examiner post)
  1856.  
  1857.  
  1858. This week’s Liberal Media Scream shows how the Washington political/media machine works when it comes to a matter both sides just don’t want to address fully, such as reports President Joe Biden doesn’t have the mental capacity or stamina to run for reelection or serve out a second term.
  1859.  
  1860. On Sunday’s Meet the Press, moderator Chuck Todd cued up Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to champion Biden as fully fit for reelection. Todd: “Is he up for a second term?” Mayorkas: “100%. Incredibly sharp, incredibly probing, incredible command of the details, probing on the details.”
  1861.  
  1862. Todd’s follow-up: “You have full confidence he can serve a second term?” Mayorkas repeated his 100% line, and then Todd wrapped up the segment without ever challenging the upbeat assurances from Mayorkas.
  1863.  
  1864. From Sunday’s Meet the Press on NBC:
  1865.  
  1866.  
  1867.  
  1868.  
  1869.  
  1870. CHUCK TODD: You’re in Cabinet meetings. There’s a lot of questions about President Biden and his ability to serve in a second term. You see him up close, face-to-face. What say you? Is he up, is he up for a second term?
  1871.  
  1872. ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS: Oh, Chuck, 100%. Incredibly sharp, incredibly probing, incredible command of the details, probing on the details, asking tough questions. Absolutely. I’m incredibly proud to serve in his administration. I am incredibly proud of the work that we have done across the board —
  1873.  
  1874. TODD: You have full confidence he can serve a second term?
  1875.  
  1876. MAYORKAS: 100%.
  1877.  
  1878. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “It’s the obtuse leading the blind. Everyone knows Joe Biden is as ‘incredibly smart’ as the border is secure, as Mayorkas has repeatedly assured. All but a few Biden sycophants know neither is true, yet Todd let Mayorkas get away with the laugh line.”
  1879.  
  1880. Rating: THREE out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  1881.  
  1882.  
  1883.  
  1884.  
  1885. ■ April 24: Liberal Media Scream: Government-funded PBS has Biden scandal, gaffe-free
  1886.  
  1887. (Washington Examiner post)
  1888.  
  1889.  
  1890. If ever there was an example that Twitter had it right when the social media giant slapped “government-funded” and “state-affiliated” on PBS and NPR, consider our Mainstream Media Scream example this week featuring politically delusional contributors David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart.
  1891.  
  1892. Imagine a conservative calling President Joe Biden a strong speaker who is gaffe- and scandal-free, ignoring his refusal to meet with the media, his weekly mistaken mumbles, and the investigations into the family finances or the historic crisis on the border.
  1893.  
  1894. Well, roll the tape from the Friday PBS NewsHour. There you will see Brooks cheering Biden’s reelection plans and saying that the president “gave a strong State of the Union,” and adding that “there hasn’t been any obvious gaffes, big scandals or anything like that.”
  1895.  
  1896. From Friday’s PBS NewsHour:
  1897.  
  1898. GEOFF BENNETT, ANCHOR: President Biden’s allies say the fact that he’s facing only token primary opposition from author Marianne Williamson and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. really is a show of strength for him.
  1899.  
  1900. DAVID BROOKS: Oh, for sure. I mean, there’s — in the polling, there’s still a lot of Democrats who think he should not run, but that’s mostly an age issue, not an ideology issue. But the midterm election sort of silenced all that. And he’s been looking strong. He gave a strong State of the Union. There hasn’t been any obvious gaffes, big scandals or anything like that.
  1901.  
  1902. And so there’s nothing — or, even ideologically, I’d say, over the two years so far, two and a bit, that he’s pretty well massaged the center-left fights that happen in the Democratic Party by doing things that some people, the centrists like, and some things that people on the Left like.
  1903.  
  1904. And so there’s no natural home for an opposition candidate, and everyone’s united by Donald Trump. And so, you know, I think what’s interesting about him, he’s been sounding pretty candidate-y for six months now. He’s been talking like, 'I really want to go after Trump.' And he’s been doing it.
  1905.  
  1906. You know, I think what has to concern the White House a little is they’ve had improving inflation, a lot of good domestic policy achievements, Republicans have staked out some pretty extreme ground on a lot of issues. And if you look at the polls, it’s still reasonably close. His approvals are still in 46s.
  1907.  
  1908. And it could be that we’re just in an extremely partisan, divided country, an extremely cynical country, where, on the national level, nobody — and this is global — no national leader gets popular anymore. No national leader gets to 55, because there’s so much cynicism across the Western world.
  1909.  
  1910.  
  1911.  
  1912.  
  1913.  
  1914. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “How surreal to visit the world of PBS News, where Joe Biden is ‘strong,’ has had ‘a lot of good domestic policy achievements’ and hasn’t had any ‘obvious gaffes’ or scandals. Biden is a ‘gaffe’ machine! As for scandals, hello Hunter Biden and Chinese money going to the Biden family, to say nothing of the ongoing scandal of the out-of-control border. Just because PBS ignores Biden’s confusion and malfeasance doesn’t mean he’s good at his job. But to PBS, this is analysis from the ‘conservative’ house analyst. No wonder conservative taxpayers are so annoyed about having to fund PBS.”
  1915.  
  1916. Rating: FOUR out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  1917.  
  1918.  
  1919.  
  1920.  
  1921. ■ April 17: Liberal Media Scream: ABC pundit says Republicans are the bossy ones
  1922.  
  1923. (Washington Examiner post)
  1924.  
  1925.  
  1926. This week’s Liberal Media Scream features an ABC News pundit ripping Republicans for pushing people around.
  1927.  
  1928. Jane Coaston, once with the New York Times, cited abortion in claiming Republicans are America’s busybodies, ignoring how the Democrats are engaged in a wide-ranging effort to force the country to accept electric cars, gas stoves, and kiddie transgender operations.
  1929.  
  1930. “I think the most important political priority for any political party is to not be the people telling people what to do,” she said.
  1931.  
  1932. Thankfully, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was sitting next to her on ABC’s This Week. He countered, “Democrats are going to have a hard time making that case when you look at public education and what their position is, which is, us and the teachers’ unions know what to tell your children and where they should go to school and how they should be taught.”
  1933.  
  1934. From the roundtable on Sunday’s This Week on ABC:
  1935.  
  1936. JANE COASTON: I think the most important political priority for any political party is to not be the people telling people what to do. For the last five years, we’ve heard from Republicans, especially even during COVID, about how freedom was going to reign and that they were just going to let people make decisions for themselves. They want to be the cool mom of politics. Well, that era has ended.
  1937.  
  1938. And I think that there’s a specific type of libertarianism that is very popular in America. Unlike the Libertarian Party. But there’s a specific type of, don’t tell me what to do, let me make my decisions. Let me make my decisions for my family, that is very politically profitable. And I think that if Democrats are able to say that we are the party that says you can make these decisions, you can make decisions for your family, your family can make decisions for themselves, I think that that will be politically profitable. And I think that for Republicans, it’s going to be challenging to try to sound simultaneously like cool mom and the Moral Majority that so many of us grew up with.
  1939.  
  1940. CHRIS CHRISTIE: Well, the Democratic Party is all for that on abortion, but they are against it when it comes to public education. When it comes to public education, people shouldn’t be able to make their own decisions, you shouldn't be able to have the ability to have your child go to parochial school if you can’t afford it, or to go to a charter school if they’re not available in your town. Or to be able to decide what your children should be able to learn about sexuality and at what age they should learn that. So the Democrats are going to have a hard time making that case when you look at public education and what their position is, which is us and the teachers’ unions know what to tell your children and where they should go to school and how they should be taught.
  1941.  
  1942.  
  1943.  
  1944.  
  1945.  
  1946. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “What a total lack of self-awareness. If you really think ‘the most important political priority for any political party is to not be the people telling people what to do,’ how can you be a Democrat, as Coaston obviously is, since telling people what to do is the fundamental passion of modern Democrats on everything from the kind of car you can drive to the type of stove you can put in your kitchen? As the famous line goes, where Democrats can be substituted for liberals, liberals don’t care what you do as long as it’s mandatory.’”
  1947.  
  1948. Rating: FOUR out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  1949.  
  1950.  
  1951.  
  1952.  
  1953. ■ April 10: Liberal Media Scream: Liberals can’t handle the truth
  1954.  
  1955. (Washington Examiner post)
  1956.  
  1957.  
  1958. This week’s Liberal Media Scream features the news industry’s knee-jerk reaction to the expulsion of two Tennessee Democrats from the legislature for violating floor rules in aggressively demanding gun control.
  1959.  
  1960. MSNBC political pundit Jon Meacham gets our spotlight for his rambling tie-in of abortion, gender, guns, and, of course, former President Donald Trump to the ouster of state Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson last week.
  1961.  
  1962. “These things are connected,” Meacham said in dismissing Republicans and blaming Trump in the latest example of the media’s Trump derangement syndrome. “It’s a reminder that what Trump has represented, which is this showmanship, this, ‘We’re going to own the libs,’ is actually of enormous real-world consequence, right? His reality show, which is about his attention and his fundraising and his ego and his narcissism, has an impact on how people live and how the vulnerable live.”
  1963.  
  1964. Our curator, Media Research Center’s Vice President Brent Baker, gave a rare five out of five “scream” rating and said the meandering performance showed that liberals can’t handle the truth.
  1965.  
  1966. “The Republicans in control of the Tennessee legislature were following the very rules of the state constitution in expelling the two Democrats, the kind of orderly process Meacham advocated but can’t accept when it reminds him of Trump-like wrath,” Baker said in his analysis.
  1967.  
  1968. Meacham on Monday’s Morning Joe on MSNBC:
  1969.  
  1970. I can’t help, just because of where I’m sitting in Nashville, to bring this up as well. You know, 14 days ago, the children, the teachers, the adults who were murdered at the Covenant School were getting ready for school at this hour. And I bring it up because there are — there’s the issue of reproductive health, there’s the issue of a wildly and, if I may, weirdly expansive view of the Second Amendment, there’s an anti-democratic, lowercase “D” movement because we have a supermajority here. Because Republicans can expel two members, they did.
  1971.  
  1972. And these things are connected. It’s a reminder — and imagine a world where we haven’t even mentioned the indictment of a former president and the potential indictments coming — it’s a reminder that what Trump has represented, which is this showmanship, this, “We’re going to own the libs,” is actually of enormous real-world consequence, right? His reality show, which is about his attention and his fundraising and his ego and his narcissism, has an impact on how people live and how the vulnerable live. And people who are vulnerable who don’t even know they’re vulnerable because they’re 9 years old and they’re going to school. And so, the right wing — and, Joe, you alluded to it, you grew up around this, you were elected — the right wing needs to be a fully functioning part of a two-party constitutional system. And they can believe what they want to believe about reproduction and about guns, and that’s all what they’re supposed to do. Then you take it to the people. And when you take it to the people, you then obey the result because that’s what we do. That’s what separates us from chaos.
  1973.  
  1974. Think about what the Right is doing here. They’re doing two things: They’re pushing, arguably, too far on these important issues, and then if they get a result they don’t like, they storm a capital, or they throw people out of a legislature. Seems to me you can have the first, but you can’t have the second, and if you insist on having both, then you are not part of this conversation, and we need a conversation that has people of good faith, whether you agree with them or not. These are difficult issues, right? I mean, the definition of life and the Roe system. This isn’t easy.
  1975.  
  1976. There are people of enormous goodwill, enormous goodwill, who differ from lots of folks that we’re talking to and about. But you take it to the system, you take it to the Constitution, and if there’s a decision, you respect it, and if the decision goes the other way, you work within channels. You don’t throw people out of legislative bodies.
  1977.  
  1978.  
  1979.  
  1980.  
  1981.  
  1982. Baker explains our weekly pick: “A classic example of Trump derangement syndrome, though this time in a droll and low-key manner, yet still an instance of how liberals in the media see everything through a Trump prism. The Republicans in control of the Tennessee legislature were following the very rules of the state constitution in expelling the two Democrats, the kind of orderly process Meacham advocated but can’t accept when it reminds him of Trump-like wrath.”
  1983.  
  1984. Rating: FIVE out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  1985.  
  1986.  
  1987.  
  1988.  
  1989. ■ April 3: Liberal Media Scream: 60 Minutes’ hate list against Marjorie Taylor Greene
  1990.  
  1991. (Washington Examiner post)
  1992.  
  1993.  
  1994. This week’s Liberal Media Scream features the acid 60 Minutes interview of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene by Lesley Stahl.
  1995.  
  1996. In it, the Georgia Republican pushed back hard against Stahl’s trolling interview that included a hater’s list of nasty comments thrown at the lawmaker ever since she first ran for the North Georgia House seat.
  1997.  
  1998. For her reporting project, Stahl went on social media to “look up” some of the comments. She read them to Greene, who shrugged, “Looks like the average troll in my Twitter feed, so I don’t really care.”
  1999.  
  2000. There was no mention in the televised story of the times Greene has been swatted in several cases where she was worried about becoming a so-called “death by police” victim.
  2001.  
  2002. Stahl also couldn’t resist the standard liberal media mantra on the necessity of raising taxes.
  2003.  
  2004. On the debt ceiling, Stahl asked, “Would you be willing to vote for compromise? In other words, raise some taxes?” Greene replied: “I don’t think we have a revenue problem in Washington. We have a spending problem.” Stahl sneered, “That’s glib. That’s glib.”
  2005.  
  2006. From Sunday’s 60 Minutes on CBS:
  2007.  
  2008. LESLEY STAHL: We looked up some words that have been said about you.
  2009.  
  2010. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE: OK.
  2011.  
  2012. STAHL: “Crazy,” “Q-clown,” “Looney Tune,” “unhinged,” “moron.” Pretty ugly stuff.
  2013.  
  2014. GREENE: Looks like the average troll in my Twitter feed, so I don’t really care.
  2015.  
  2016. STAHL: You’re used to it?
  2017.  
  2018. GREENE: I don’t let name-calling bother me or offend me. I just don’t.
  2019.  
  2020. .....
  2021.  
  2022. STAHL: Would you be willing to vote for compromise? In other words, raise some taxes?
  2023.  
  2024. GREENE: I don’t think we have a revenue problem in Washington. We have a spending problem.
  2025.  
  2026. STAHL: You know something? That’s glib. That’s glib. That, what does that mean? The two sides have to come together and hammer it out.
  2027.  
  2028. GREENE: Cut spending.
  2029.  
  2030. STAHL: Both sides.
  2031.  
  2032. GREENE: Both sides need to cut spending.
  2033.  
  2034. STAHL: Where do you want to cut it?
  2035.  
  2036. GREENE: COVID bailout money and a lot of  green energy spending.
  2037.  
  2038. STAHL: But are you willing to let us go into default?
  2039.  
  2040. GREENE: No. I’ve always said I wouldn’t do that.
  2041.  
  2042. STAHL: So, would you compromise?
  2043.  
  2044. GREENE: It depends.
  2045.  
  2046. STAHL: On taxes? You won’t.
  2047.  
  2048. GREENE: No, I’m not raising taxes.
  2049.  
  2050.  
  2051.  
  2052.  
  2053.  
  2054. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “The 60 Minutes story was unremarkable in many ways as Stahl painted, as you’d expect from the establishment media, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene as a crazy far-right extremist. But Stahl showed how she and CBS News consider the congresswoman first and foremost to be an impediment to their consistent demand that taxes must be raised. In that respect, to CBS she’s just as awful as any conservative who prefers cutting spending to raising taxes.”
  2055.  
  2056. Rating: FOUR out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  2057.  
  2058.  
  2059.  
  2060.  
  2061. ■ March 27: Liberal Media Scream: Jon Stewart says America all talk on ending discrimination
  2062.  
  2063. (Washington Examiner post)
  2064.  
  2065.  
  2066. This week’s Liberal Media Scream features liberal activist Jon Stewart claiming that efforts in America to embrace the diversity, equity, and inclusion movement are just an inch deep, a “salve” to make people feel good.
  2067.  
  2068. On CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS, the former host of the Daily Show on Comedy Central lumped critical race theory in with DEI and said that despite all the hand-wringing by many to change society’s views on discrimination, it’s mostly just talk.
  2069.  
  2070. He pointed to the National Football League as an example. The NFL has the so-called Rooney Rule, which requests that teams interview minorities when a top job comes open, nothing more.
  2071.  
  2072. “So here’s what we are going to do,” Stewart said. “We’re going to have to talk to one black guy. ‘Are we good? I think we’re good.’”
  2073.  
  2074. Jon Stewart on Sunday’s Fareed Zakaria GPS on CNN:
  2075.  
  2076. By the way, all these diversity initiatives and CRT and all those other things are only there because we refuse to actually fix the real problem. The diversity and equity initiatives are a salve. They are to pacify and mollify because we won’t actually do the real thing. We won’t actually dismantle the vestiges of all the systemic racism and all the systemic classism and all the systemic gender issues. We won’t actually dismantle that.
  2077.  
  2078. But what we will do is you can have an office in the building. And every few months, we’re going to have to sit and listen to you talk for, like, an hour. “And so we’re good, right?” Like, it’s a country that won’t face — I’ll explain it like, OK, the NFL, right? You know the Rooney Rule? The Rooney Rule in the NFL is because there are so few African American coaches, you have to at least interview, like, one of them. So that’s the rule now, instead of it’s the thing you put in place instead of looking at the owner’s box, and realizing, oh, right, that’s just the legacy of the economic segregation that’s been in our country since its founding.
  2079.  
  2080. So we’re never going to deal with that. So here’s what we are going to do. A diversity and equity initiative, we’re going to have to talk to one black guy. “Are we good? I think we’re good.” But that’s what I’m, what I’m trying to say is we don’t — the thing that they’re pointing at is the thing that’s in place because we won’t do the actual thing.
  2081.  
  2082.  
  2083.  
  2084.  
  2085.  
  2086. Brent Baker, the vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “To conservatives, DEI is undermining the American ideal of equal opportunity and replacing it with forced equal outcomes that exacerbate racial tensions. Stewart put himself clearly on the Left, contending DEI doesn’t go far enough but complaining it’s ‘in place because we won’t do the actual thing.’ Yet he never explains what that ‘actual thing’ would entail.”
  2087.  
  2088. Rating: THREE out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  2089.  
  2090.  
  2091.  
  2092.  
  2093. ■ March 20: Liberal Media Scream: Joy Reid coddles reporter fired for hostility to DeSantis
  2094.  
  2095. (Washington Examiner post)
  2096.  
  2097.  
  2098. This week’s Liberal Media Scream turns to the case of an Axios reporter who was fired for describing as “propaganda” a news release dished out by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
  2099.  
  2100. Instead of backing Axios in her interview with the reporter, MSNBC’s liberal host Joy Reid blamed DeSantis and gave the reporter a chance to blast Axios and claim that the likely Republican presidential candidate bullied Axios into action.
  2101.  
  2102. Reid said, “There is a bullying aspect and a lot of trolling" of those who work for DeSantis.
  2103.  
  2104. The Tampa-based journalist Ben Montgomery said on Reid’s show, “I feel like what Axios did to me has a chilling effect on the entire news media.”
  2105.  
  2106. Here’s what happened, according to the New York Post:
  2107.  
  2108. “Journalist Ben Montgomery was fired from the news outlet [Axios] after a staffer in the state Department of Education tweeted out a screenshot of him telling the department’s press office over email, ‘This is propaganda, not a press release’ in reply to a release that highlighted the GOP governor hosting a roundtable on ‘Exposing the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Scam in Higher Education.’”
  2109.  
  2110. Oh, and of course, he's thinking of cashing in with a book.
  2111.  
  2112. From the March 16 episode of The ReidOut on MSNBC:
  2113.  
  2114. BEN MONTGOMERY: So we have the Florida Department of Education, that’s kind of engaged in, in my view, campaigning for DeSantis for 2024 presidential campaign. So what they are doing is weaponizing these emails that we sometimes send and trying to make us look like lefty activists when really we’re just interested in them serving the people and being true public service and doing the right kind of work that the taxpayers are paying them for.
  2115.  
  2116. JOY REID: There is a bullying aspect and a lot of trolling. They do a lot of Twitter trolling. They tried to bully my dear friend and colleague Andrea Mitchell for asking a question not even to DeSantis, to the vice president, Kamala Harris. Did you experience, before this, any kind of bullying behavior from the DeSantis camp?
  2117.  
  2118. BEN MONTGOMERY: Look, I mostly write about fluffy kind of things. I cover the news, of course. I’ve been an investigative reporter for a long time but not with this administration. By and large I have not had the opportunity to really do any kind of depth, in-depth reporting on a DeSantis administration. I’m not a person that they should be afraid of, I don’t think.
  2119.  
  2120. I’m not writing about them every day. I’m not digging deep, in other words. So yeah, but this was propaganda and it was a waste of my time. That’s ultimately what I was saying to them. It’s wasting my time and it’s done in a clear vein of propaganda. This is objectionably propaganda.
  2121.  
  2122. And I read the whole thing because I give them the benefit of the doubt because they work for the people of Florida. And I want to do right by my readers. And so when this wastes my time and it’s just propaganda, I feel like I have a right to say so. And I feel like what Axios did to me has a chilling effect on the entire news media. It’s a very sad thing.
  2123.  
  2124. REID: Oh, it 100% does! It does show that bullying works. And that sends a message to every other journalist. You put up a sort of fun tweet after this all happened saying that you made a quiche. What are your next plans?
  2125.  
  2126. MONTGOMERY: I was talking to my agent today about whether there was a book in this, and maybe there is. Maybe it’s time that somebody isn’t afraid to stand up to DeSantis, write a true biography of him. So I might be the guy to do that. We’ll see.
  2127.  
  2128. REID: Yeah, good luck, he has his military records, people have lots and lots of questions. Maybe you can pull it off. Ben Montgomery, thank you man. Really appreciate you being here, and best of luck in whatever you do next.
  2129.  
  2130.  
  2131.  
  2132.  
  2133.  
  2134. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “Montgomery’s attitude betrayed as true what the DeSantis staff saw; he is, despite his denial, a ‘lefty activist,’ just one that a media outlet, in a rarity, held accountable. Reid, of course, saw it all through the prism of her hatred for all things DeSantis and thus treated him as the victim instead of as the one who violated the trust of his readers.”
  2135.  
  2136. Rating: THREE out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  2137.  
  2138.  
  2139.  
  2140.  
  2141. ■ March 13: Liberal Media Scream: MSNBC wants baseball out of Florida over DeSantis
  2142.  
  2143. (Washington Examiner post)
  2144.  
  2145.  
  2146. This week’s Liberal Media Scream features a new call from an MSNBC anchor for baseball to pull spring training out of Florida over some of the recent social policy moves by likely 2024 presidential candidate and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
  2147.  
  2148. Anchor Lindsey Reiser compared Florida under DeSantis to the days of Jim Crow as she featured Washington Post sports writer Kevin Blackistone, who had just published a column urging Major League Baseball to respond to “Ron DeSantis’s culture wars.”
  2149.  
  2150. She said: “You outlined Major League Baseball’s move out of Florida for spring training in yesteryear — late ‘40s, a state with some of the harshest Jim Crow laws as the league was introducing black players to the league.”
  2151.  
  2152. He responded that MLB has already shown a hand, moving the 2021 All-Star Game out of Georgia over voting reform laws that turned out to be a nonfactor in last year’s elections that saw record numbers of people at the polls.
  2153.  
  2154. Baseball, he said, “should express if it has some uncomfortableness with the things that are going on in the DeSantis campaign, in the way that he’s run the state of Florida, and in some of the other legislation that has been passed there that they should speak out.”
  2155.  
  2156. From MSNBC Reports in the 10 a.m. ET hour, on Friday:
  2157.  
  2158. LINDSEY REISER: Back in DeSantis’s home state, his fellow Republicans are pretty busy this week with lawmakers introducing three new bills that would expand on legislation that critics call the "Don’t Say Gay Law," another that would ban abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, and a proposal to require bloggers who write about Florida politics to register with the state. This all comes just over a month after Gov. DeSantis's decision to block AP African American Studies from Florida schools, but as Florida sees all kinds of controversy over those proposals, it’s also in the middle of a spring tradition with 15 Major League Baseball teams currently holding spring training and the league and players facing growing calls to speak out against those bills.
  2159.  
  2160. Joining me right now, ESPN panelist and sports commentary writer for the Washington Post, Kevin Blackistone. He’s out with a new piece called “Baseball can no longer ignore Ron DeSantis’s culture wars.” Kevin, thanks for being with us. I want to talk to you about the piece. You outlined Major League Baseball’s move out of Florida for spring training in yesteryear — late ‘40s, a state with some of the harshest Jim Crow laws as the league was introducing black players to the league. In 1947, again, Jackie Robinson joining the Brooklyn Dodgers, his team moving spring training to Havana, Cuba. That same year, the Cleveland Indians, the New York Giants moved spring training to Tucson.
  2161.  
  2162. KEVIN BLACKISTONE: So baseball reacted, right, and they started to depart from, or certain teams did, from Florida. And that really began the tradition of the Cactus League in Arizona. So that is the through line to what is going on now. And baseball has in the very recent past, right, in 2021, they moved the All-Star Game out of the state of Georgia in protest to some of the election laws that a lot of people in the state of Georgia felt were burdensome on black voters in particular and other people of color and people who were marginalized in that state.
  2163.  
  2164. So I just think that, you know, baseball has spoken out on these issues before, and I think it should express if it has some uncomfortableness with the things that are going on in the DeSantis campaign, in the way that he’s run the state of Florida, and in some of the other legislation that has been passed there that they should speak out.
  2165.  
  2166. You know, we talked about — and I know this network has — about the review of books for youth in the public schools in the state of Florida and some of those that have not yet been allowed back on the shelves. One of those books happens to be a book about Jackie Robinson, so think about the irony of that. They also temporarily suspended the distribution of books about Roberto Clemente and Hank Aaron, two of the great black stars of baseball.
  2167.  
  2168.  
  2169.  
  2170.  
  2171.  
  2172. Brent Baker, the vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “What an incredibly insidious historic precedent to cite, the Democratic Party’s century of enforcing segregation, as a rationale now for punishing the people of Florida over a disagreement with policies pushed by the Republican DeSantis. Nothing DeSantis has ever advocated comes close to the kind of racist, inhumane policies Florida enforced in the 1940s.”
  2173.  
  2174. Rating: FOUR out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  2175.  
  2176.  
  2177.  
  2178.  
  2179. ■ March 6: Liberal Media Scream: Whoopi cheers erasing history she’s ‘not in tune with’
  2180.  
  2181. (Washington Examiner post)
  2182.  
  2183.  
  2184. This week’s Liberal Media Scream features a feud on the Left about “woke” history rewriting between Bill Maher and Whoopi Goldberg.
  2185.  
  2186. The initial focus is Maher’s defense on CNN of former President Abraham Lincoln, who ended slavery, and an apparent reference to the Washington, D.C., Emancipation Memorial that featured what many believe is a thankful former slave at his feet.
  2187.  
  2188. “Abraham Lincoln was not a controversial figure among liberals. We liked him. Now they take his name off schools and tear down his statues. Really, Lincoln isn't good enough for you?” said Maher on CNN.
  2189.  
  2190. Enter Goldberg, a critic of the statue, who slammed the woke movement, claiming she and other black people have always been “woke” to undercurrents of racism.
  2191.  
  2192. “And this idea of woke, I'll say it again: Most of y'all were asleep,” she said on The View, drawing a look from co-host Joy Behar.
  2193.  
  2194. From ABC’s The View on Thursday:
  2195.  
  2196. WHOOPI GOLDBERG: Maher also had some criticism for the other side of the aisle, claiming the Left lost the definition of the term "woke." Huh? OK. Take a look.
  2197.  
  2198. BILL MAHER: Democrats sometimes can take it too far. You know, I would categorize liberal as different than woke. Woke, which started out as a good thing, alert to injustice — who could be against that? But it became sort of an eye roll because they love diversity except of ideas. Abraham Lincoln was not a controversial figure among liberals. We liked him. Now they take his name off schools and tear down his statues. Really, Lincoln isn’t good enough for you?
  2199.  
  2200. WHOOPI GOLDBERG: Well, that statue was not good enough. Because it showed a slave down at Lincoln’s feet. And if we’re tearing down statues that are really not in tune with where we are as a nation, or at least where we were a couple of months ago, yeah, you got to take it down. That’s why they removed stuff. That’s why people are moving stuff around. And this idea of woke, I’m going to say it again: Most of y’all were asleep.
  2201.  
  2202. JOY BEHAR: Who are you speaking to?
  2203.  
  2204. GOLDBERG: I’m talking to all those folks that use that word “woke” all the time. Y’all were asleep. We were never asleep. We had to stay awake watching you. So, you woke up and you thought, “Oh, my God, there’s lots of women running amok doing things they’re not supposed to be doing and drag queens everywhere and oh, my God, people of color!”
  2205.  
  2206. You know, you always talk about the snowflakes — look in the mirror. Y’all can’t seem to handle anything. You can’t seem to handle competition from Democrats to Republicans. You can’t seem to handle the discussions of why people feel the way they do. Your idea is to get rid of everything. So, stop calling us snowflakes.
  2207.  
  2208.  
  2209.  
  2210.  
  2211.  
  2212. Brent Baker, the vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “One wonders if Goldberg will be so pleased when the calls come to take down statues of Martin Luther King and remove his name from roads and schools. After all, like her argument with Lincoln, ‘he’s really not in tune with where we are as a nation’ since, by 2023 standards, he was homophobic and transphobic.”
  2213.  
  2214. Rating: FOUR out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  2215.  
  2216.  
  2217.  
  2218.  
  2219. ■ February 27: Liberal Media Scream: Hollywood says banning filming plastic bottles will save the world
  2220.  
  2221. (Washington Examiner post)
  2222.  
  2223.  
  2224. This week’s Liberal Media Scream is going a little off beat to highlight a new Hollywood claim that movie studios and actors are saving the world and the environment with an honor system to ban plastic bottles “on camera.”
  2225.  
  2226. It came from Fran Drescher, the president of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the star of The Nanny, a hit sitcom in the 1990s, as she addressed the SAG Awards show last night.
  2227.  
  2228. To a smattering of applause, Drescher said that Hollywood’s effort to stop showing plastic on camera was the industry’s biggest effort “to save the planet since World War II.”
  2229.  
  2230. Drescher, during the SAG Awards carried live Sunday night on Netflix’s channel on YouTube, said:
  2231.  
  2232. “I am very proud to say that SAG-AFTRA and MPAA has forged Green Council, the biggest joint effort of stars and studios to save the planet since World War II. Mission No. 1: an honor system to eliminate single-use plastic on camera, behind the scenes, and leverage star power to challenge audiences around the world to do the same. You may notice this year on your tables, they’re all glass bottles.”
  2233.  
  2234.  
  2235.  
  2236.  
  2237.  
  2238. Brent Baker, the vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “Nothing better encapsulates out-of-touch Hollywood celebrities than the hubris displayed by Drescher to describe actors not using single-use plastic on camera as key to the greatest effort ‘to save the planet since World War II.’ That’s ludicrous, and even her own union members realized that, hence the very minimal applause in the room. Many viewers watching at home were likely laughing at her absurdity. Perhaps she should be a little more concerned about her members demanding on-set trailers and private jets.”
  2239.  
  2240. Rating: FIVE out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  2241.  
  2242.  
  2243.  
  2244.  
  2245. ■ February 20: Liberal Media Scream: The View hits ‘Ron DeSaster,’ would ‘ban the alphabet’
  2246.  
  2247. (Washington Examiner post)
  2248.  
  2249. This week’s Liberal Media Scream features the hosts of ABC’s The View and their escalating screeching about Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and his efforts to have public school lessons conform with state law and what Sunshine State parents want.
  2250.  
  2251. Instead of a level-headed discussion about his efforts, the hosts attacked DeSantis as a right-wing social warrior who liberal Republican and never-Trumper Ana Navarro dubbed “Ron DeSaster.” The name-calling included unhinged charges that the governor is so anti-education that he would “ban the alphabet.”
  2252.  
  2253. The ranting followed moves by DeSantis to question a new College Board Advanced Placement class on black history. He and some other governors are concerned the liberal class plan teaches critical race theory and other lessons banned in the state.
  2254.  
  2255. “I think he’s going to ban the alphabet. Holy hell,” said Navarro.
  2256.  
  2257. From ABC’s The View on Thursday, Feb. 16:
  2258.  
  2259. ANA NAVARRO: What this is all about getting on Fox News. What this is all about is fanning the flames of grievance, of white grievance. What this is all about is manufacturing culture wars that do not exist so that he can come out like William Wallace, the guy in Braveheart — “Freedom!” Listen, I live in Florida. I live under Gov. Ron DeSaster!
  2260.  
  2261. SUNNY HOSTIN: You got to move, Ana.
  2262.  
  2263. NAVARRO: Every day, I wake up and wonder what he’s going to be. What’s the flavor du jour today? What’s he going to be against today? He’s against AP He’s against DEI — diversity, equity, and inclusion. He’s against [environmental, social, and governance] this week. He’s against electric stoves.
  2264.  
  2265. HOSTIN: Don’t say gay.
  2266.  
  2267. NAVARRO: He’s against LGBTQ. I think he’s going to ban the alphabet. Holy hell.
  2268.  
  2269. JOY BEHAR: These people, these fascists out there like DeSantis, they think that we’re just going to sit back and let them do whatever they want. No, we’re not. We’ve seen this movie before. OK? Those of us who lived in the '60s and '70s, we saw this movie. There were many, many fascist tactics coming down the pike from Nixon and the rest of these fascists; that’s what they are. And we protested and we protested, and we ended a war that was illegal. And we did stuff. And it’s happening again. That’s the good news.
  2270.  
  2271.  
  2272.  
  2273.  
  2274.  
  2275. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “The unhinged reaction to Ron DeSantis says something about who the left is most afraid of running for president. The stars of The View can’t have an honest discussion about his policies and ideas, so they rant and rave and call him a ‘fascist’ and make other ridiculous accusations. It may entertain liberal viewers, but it should be embarrassing to ABC News, which produces the daily gabfest.”
  2276.  
  2277. Rating: FIVE out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  2278.  
  2279.  
  2280.  
  2281. ■ February 13: Liberal Media Scream: Stephanopoulos demands GOP investigate Trump family
  2282.  
  2283. (Washington Examiner post)
  2284.  
  2285.  
  2286. Armed only with a Washington Post story about Saudi links to Kushner and Trump, Stephanopoulos asked Rep. James Comer (R-KY), chairman of the panel, “Will you be investigating that as well?”
  2287.  
  2288. Comer called for strict ethics disclosure laws, which Democrats have resisted, but that wasn’t good enough for the media star and former Clinton White House aide. “To be clear,” he said, “you believe that this should apply to Kushner and Trump as well as the Bidens at this point?”
  2289.  
  2290. The exchange on Sunday’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos on ABC:
  2291.  
  2292. GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Let me ask you more about your oversight responsibilities. You made it clear you are going to be looking at Hunter Biden and his financial entanglements with foreign countries including China. I want to put up a front-page story from the Washington Post this morning detailing Jared Kushner’s ties to the Saudis. “After helping the prince's rise, Trump and Kushner benefit from Saudi funds.” A $2 billion investment in Kushner’s funds from the Saudis. We know the president, former President Trump, has also received funds related to the Saudi golf tour. Sen. Ron Wyden says these entanglements deserve investigation. Will you be investigating that as well?
  2293.  
  2294. REP. JAMES COMER: I think everything’s on the table. Look, we’re investigating Joe Biden. We know that Joe Biden said during the presidential campaign that he had no knowledge of his son’s business interests. He wasn’t involved. He didn’t benefit from them. We have evidence that would suggest otherwise, and this is very concerning. ...
  2295.  
  2296. The Democrats complained about Kushner’s foreign dealings. Republicans are certainly complaining about the entire Biden family’s foreign business dealings. We need to know what is allowable and what isn’t allowable. We need to have strict ethics laws, and we need to significantly increase the disclosure laws in America. So I think this investigation is going to be very important to fix a problem before it gets out of hand.
  2297.  
  2298. STEPHANOPOULOS: But to be clear, you believe that this should apply to Kushner and Trump as well as the Bidens at this point?
  2299.  
  2300. COMER: I believe that when we talk about passing legislation to set a line as to where you can be with relatives of high-ranking government officials with respect to doing business with adversaries overseas, then it would apply to everyone. We need to fix this before it gets worse in the next administration.
  2301.  
  2302.  
  2303.  
  2304.  
  2305.  
  2306. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “If only the Washington press corps were as eager over the years to jump on stories about Hunter and Joe Biden getting money out of China as they have consistently been to promote every new allegation against anyone in Donald Trump’s orbit. It’s almost as if Stephanopoulos is trying to deflect from Joe Biden, to apply his own version of ‘both-siderism’ to undermine the impact of Congressman Comer’s upcoming hearings on the Bidens.”
  2307.  
  2308. Rating: THREE out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  2309.  
  2310.  
  2311.  
  2312.  
  2313. ■ February 6: Liberal Media Scream: Reporters beg for Biden to get ‘credit’
  2314.  
  2315. (Washington Examiner post)
  2316.  
  2317.  
  2318. This week’s Liberal Media Scream shows how desperate some in the media are for President Joe Biden to get “credit” for his efforts at a time when polls show that 62% do not believe the Democrat has accomplished much.
  2319.  
  2320. The top cheerleader is NBC reporter Andrea Mitchell who said on Meet the Press that the president isn’t getting the thanks he deserves.
  2321.  
  2322. “He’s not getting credit for the economy, and should be,” she told host Chuck Todd.
  2323.  
  2324. From Sunday’s Meet the Press on NBC:
  2325.  
  2326. ANDREA MITCHELL: And he’s not getting credit for the economy, and should be. Look at it, you know, I think the danger of recession is receding. It’s not altogether gone. We see a big jobs market. It’s a problem for Jay Powell [chairman of the Federal Reserve] because now they do have to keep tightening. But, you know, wage growth is moderating.
  2327.  
  2328. CHUCK TODD: I tell you, people don’t–
  2329.  
  2330. MITCHELL: Layoffs are only in a few sectors, they’re not universal.
  2331.  
  2332. TODD: There's no doubt–
  2333.  
  2334. AMY WALTER: Manufacturing is building.
  2335.  
  2336. TODD: –but people still feel like this economy’s just not–
  2337.  
  2338. MITCHELL: That’s right, because inflation’s stable.
  2339.  
  2340. TODD: It still feels wobbly.
  2341.  
  2342. CORNELL BELCHER: Mid-summer, mid-summer – let’s, let’s check in on that.
  2343.  
  2344. TODD: That’s fair.
  2345.  
  2346.  
  2347.  
  2348.  
  2349.  
  2350. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “How nice it must be to be a Democratic president so you have leading members of the Washington press corps spinning talking points in your favor, days before your big speech, about how you ‘should be’ getting more credit. Mitchell’s contentions about Biden’s record are better suited for someone from the White House press office than someone who is supposed to be a dispassionate journalist.”
  2351.  
  2352. Rating: THREE out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  2353.  
  2354.  
  2355.  
  2356.  
  2357. ■ January 30: Liberal Media Scream: Hammer time: Speaker McCarthy pounds media bias and double standards
  2358.  
  2359. (Washington Examiner post)
  2360.  
  2361.  
  2362. Last week, for example, when a reporter didn’t like McCarthy’s answer to a question, the speaker said: “Let me be very clear and respectful to you. You asked me a question. When I answer it, it's the answer to your question. You don't get to determine whether I answer your question or not, OK?”
  2363.  
  2364. Then, on Face the Nation, he bristled when host Margaret Brennan criticized his appointment of “election deniers” to committee posts. Noting that she didn’t complain when Democratic deniers of former President Donald Trump’s election got good committee seats, he said, “If you want to hold Republicans to that equation, why don’t you also hold Democrats?”
  2365.  
  2366. From Sunday’s interview on CBS’s Face the Nation:
  2367.  
  2368. Margaret Brennan: I want to ask you about some of the makeup of your caucus.
  2369.  
  2370. Speaker Kevin McCarthy: Yes.
  2371.  
  2372. Brennan: According to CBS records, 70% of the House GOP members denied the results of the 2020 election. You put many of them on very key committees: Intelligence, Homeland Security, Oversight. Why are you elevating people who are denying reality like that?
  2373.  
  2374. McCarthy: Well, if you look to the Democrats, their ranking member [Jamie] Raskin had the same thing, denied Trump or Bush was in there. Bennie Thompson —
  2375.  
  2376. Brennan: Did you see those numbers we just put up there? Seventy percent!
  2377.  
  2378. McCarthy: Did you also be fair and equal where you looked at Raskin did the same thing, Bennie Thompson, whose a ranking member and was a chair? These individuals were chair of the Democratic Party.
  2379.  
  2380. Brennan: I’m asking you, as leader of Kevin McCarthy’s House, why you made these choices? These were your choices.
  2381.  
  2382. McCarthy: Yeah, they're my choices, but they’re the conference choices. But I’m also asking you when you look to see just Republicans — Democrats have done the same thing. So maybe it’s not denying. Maybe it’s the only opportunity they have to have a question about what went on during the election. So if you want to hold Republicans to that equation, why don’t you also hold Democrats? Why don’t you hold Jamie Raskin? Why don’t you hold Bennie Thompson? When Democrats had appointed them to be chair, I never once heard you ask Nancy Pelosi or any Democrat that question when they were in power, in the majority. When they questioned —
  2383.  
  2384. Brennan: You’re talking about things going back to 2000, which was a time, I didn’t have this show back then, which is why I’m asking you now about your leadership.
  2385.  
  2386. McCarthy: No, no! They were in power last Congress. So why —
  2387.  
  2388. Brennan: You’re talking about questions from the 2000 election.
  2389.  
  2390. McCarthy: You’re asking me about questions that happened to another Congress.
  2391.  
  2392. Brennan: About these choices you just made, just made. This is your Congress.
  2393.  
  2394. McCarthy: These are members who just got elected by their constituents, and we put them into committees. And I’m proud to do it.
  2395.  
  2396.  
  2397.  
  2398.  
  2399.  
  2400. Brent Baker, the vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “It’s always refreshing to see a politician push back against a liberal media storyline the journalist presumes is beyond questioning, especially when the journalist is someone so oblivious as Brennan is to her bias.”
  2401.  
  2402. Rating: FIVE out of FIVE SCREAMS (CHEERS).
  2403.  
  2404.  
  2405.  
  2406.  
  2407. ■ January 23: Liberal Media Scream: MSNBC’s Joy Reid says DeSantis likes only ‘happy slaves’
  2408.  
  2409. (Washington Examiner post)
  2410.  
  2411.  
  2412. This week’s Liberal Media Scream highlights the latest cable TV attack on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s war on woke policies in what is likely to become a regular media pattern as the top Republican rival of former President Donald Trump steps closer to a 2024 bid.
  2413.  
  2414. The attack came from MSNBC’s Joy Reid, enraged that DeSantis scuttled a pilot AP black course in state schools. But it’s not that simple, despite her spin.
  2415.  
  2416. According to the DeSantis administration, the new course offered by College Board violates Florida's new anti-"woke" law because it is favorable to critical race theory.
  2417.  
  2418. “As submitted, the course is a vehicle for a political agenda and leaves large, ambiguous gaps that can be filled with additional ideological material, which we will not allow,” said Bryan Griffin, the governor’s press secretary. “As Governor DeSantis has stated, our classrooms will be a place for education, not indoctrination."
  2419.  
  2420. Reid, however, smeared DeSantis as a racist for his administration’s actions. “I’m not saying Ron DeSantis is racist, but to quote [former Tallahassee Mayor] Andrew Gillum, I think the racists might think he’s racist.”
  2421.  
  2422. She added that DeSantis wants only happy history taught in schools, “the history of slavery as happy slaves, good slave masters.”
  2423.  
  2424. Plus, watch as she twists the other AP history classes taught in Florida as she bashes the “book-banning wannabe president.”
  2425.  
  2426. From Thursday’s The ReidOut on MSNBC:
  2427.  
  2428. Joy Reid: The [Stop Woke Act] is aimed at eradicating the teaching of history, gender identity, and sexual orientation in favor of curriculum that centers and lionizes people who look like Ron DeSantis. Just take a look at what AP courses are deemed educationally valuable in the state of Florida per the book-banning wannabe president. European history, of course. Along with courses on the history and language of Italy, where DeSantis’s family hails from, Germany, and Japan, which happened to be the Axis countries the U.S. fought during World War II. Now, whether Ron would consider fascist Italy to have been a bad guy in that war, well, that’s up for debate. ...
  2429.  
  2430. So, what DeSantis is essentially saying is that the only valuable Advanced Placement class for a Florida student are classes that are about Europe or the other Axis countries. That’s it. African-American studies is not deemed valuable, and it’s not that he’s saying you can’t teach black history, but here’s the evidence. It’s how you teach black history that he’s got a problem with.
  2431.  
  2432. DeSantis, when he was a high school history teacher — this is the quote from one of his former students. He was a high school history teacher at a private school in Georgia. ‘Mr. DeSantis was mean to me and hostile toward me,’ said Miss Pompey, who graduated in 2003. ‘Not aggressively but passively because I was black.’ She recalled DeSantis teaching, this is the important part, Civil War history in a way that sounded to her like an attempt to justify slavery. So, when I add that to the fact he’s going after the National Hockey League because they dare to recruit nonblack people, essentially saying you may recruit white people and continue to keep a very white league white, but you may not try to recruit minorities. You know, I’m not saying Ron DeSantis is racist, but to quote Andrew Gillum, I think the racists might think he’s racist. ...
  2433.  
  2434. It’s the Daughters of the American Revolution, the pro-Confederate groups who insisted that we can only teach the history of slavery as happy slaves, good slave masters. If you’re doing that, I promise you an AP class that taught that, that slavery was good, because it seemed at least per his former students, Dr. [Steve] Gallon [member of the Miami-Dale school board] that he wanted to teach history of slavery as sort of gallant slave owners who were kind to their happy slaves.
  2435.  
  2436. He’s cool with that. And if the AP course said that, he’d be fine with it. I also think that you’ve seen the revelation of what this is really about. A guy named Stanley Kurtz claims he read the story, that he read the curriculum, and he said, ‘The larger danger here is that these courses, if they’re approved, will see the college board devise AP courses in women's studies, gender studies, transgender studies, Latino studies, environmental studies, a full panoply of polarized studies that have Balkanized and politicized higher education.’ Dr. Gallon, in your view, is this an attempt to shut down the teaching of not just black history but any history but the Hallmark card of white and European history?
  2437.  
  2438.  
  2439.  
  2440.  
  2441.  
  2442. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “Reid’s vitriol shows DeSantis must be succeeding in making inroads to undercut institutions, such as the education establishment, as vehicles for liberal indoctrination of students. So, DeSantis must be discredited with over-the-top invective before he gains any traction in a presidential race. But Reid’s hatred toward him will only elevate the admiration for him amongst conservatives and many independent voters.”
  2443.  
  2444. Rating: FOUR out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  2445.  
  2446.  
  2447.  
  2448.  
  2449. ■ January 16, 2023: Liberal Media Scream: In Chuck Todd’s ‘facts,’ Sen. Ron Johnson sees bias
  2450.  
  2451. (Washington Examiner post)
  2452.  
  2453.  
  2454. This week’s Liberal Media Scream raises an interesting question in today’s partisan Washington. Why do Republicans talk to liberal journalists if they know that they are going to be insulted?
  2455.  
  2456. That was the case Sunday on Chuck Todd’s Meet the Press when Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WY) appeared, knowing he was holding the short end of the stick no matter what he said. Johnson even said so: “This is pretty obvious to anybody watching this, is you don’t invite me on to interview me. You invite me on to argue with me.”
  2457.  
  2458. The host, of course, was having none of it. In between his favorite authority openings of “Look” and “So,” he got the last insult in when he said, “You can go back on your partisan cable cocoon and talk about media bias all you want. I understand it’s part of your identity.”
  2459.  
  2460. From Sunday’s Meet the Press:
  2461.  
  2462. CHUCK TODD: I’ll take it at your word that you’re ethically bothered by Hunter Biden. I’m curious, though. You seem to have a pattern.
  2463.  
  2464. SEN. RON JOHNSON (R-WI): Are you not? Are you not?
  2465.  
  2466. TODD: I’m a journalist. I have to deal in facts. I deal in facts, so senator, my question to you is, I have skepticism of both parties. I sit here with skepticism of a lot of people’s work.
  2467.  
  2468. JOHNSON: So do I.
  2469.  
  2470. TODD: And I’m curious, are you — were you at all concerned — your Senate Democrats want to investigate Jared Kushner’s loan from the Qatari government when he was working in the government, negotiating many things in the Middle East? Are you not concerned about that? I say that because it seems to me if you’re concerned about what Hunter Biden did, you should be equally outraged about what Jared Kushner did.
  2471.  
  2472. JOHNSON: I’m concerned about getting the truth. I don’t target individuals —
  2473.  
  2474. TODD: You don’t? You’re targeting Hunter Biden multiple times on this show, senator. You’re targeting an individual.
  2475.  
  2476. JOHNSON: Chuck, you know, part of the problem, and this is pretty obvious to anybody watching this is, you don’t invite me on to interview me. You invite me on to argue with me. I’m just trying to lay out the facts that certainly Sen. Grassley and I uncovered. They were suppressed. They were censored. They interfered in the 2020 election. Conservatives understand that. Unfortunately, liberals in the media don’t. And that’s part of the reasons our politics are inflamed is we do not have an unbiased media. We don’t. It’s unfortunate. I’m all for a free press, and it needs to be more unbiased.
  2477.  
  2478. TODD: Senator, look — go to partisan — Senator, look, we’re trying to do issues here and facts. Look, you can go back on your partisan cable cocoon and talk about media bias all you want. I understand it’s part of your identity.
  2479.  
  2480.  
  2481.  
  2482.  
  2483.  
  2484. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “Chuck Todd, in all his obnoxious glory. Kudos to Sen. Ron Johnson for taking on Todd’s obvious bias and hostility to the concerns of conservatives, even if he is obvious to his own ‘cocoon.’ Pot meet kettle.”
  2485.  
  2486. Rating: FIVE out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  2487.  
  2488.  
  2489.  
  2490.  
  2491. ■ January 9, 2023: Liberal Media Scream: James Comer nails Chuck Todd’s biased views
  2492.  
  2493. (Washington Examiner post)
  2494.  
  2495.  
  2496. This week’s Liberal Media Scream is the first proof that there is a new sheriff in town, a House GOP majority that is eager to point out the biased and often hypocritical views in the media.
  2497.  
  2498. In our spotlight is Rep. James Comer (R-KY), incoming chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, invited on to Chuck Todd’s NBC Sunday show, Meet the Press. He faced the typically biased questions and views of the host, such as when Todd suggested the GOP would be holding votes on legislation it knows President Joe Biden won’t sign, as if Democrats never held “show” votes.
  2499.  
  2500. Todd also sneered at Comer’s investigation agenda, suggesting it was just political theater.
  2501.  
  2502. But instead of taking it, the lawmaker pushed right back, calling out the biased media.
  2503.  
  2504. When Todd dismissed Republican plans to hold votes on term limits and a balanced budget as “show votes,” Comer countered, “A lot of times, as you know, Chuck, you have to take bills through numerous sessions of Congress before they finally become law.”
  2505.  
  2506. And when Todd hit GOP plans to probe the Biden administration as “more partisan than professional,” Comer said, “I think the only people that see this as a partisan investigation are the media and the hardcore Democrats.” And for good measure, he added, “Are you kidding me!”
  2507.  
  2508. Two of the exchanges from Sunday’s Meet the Press on NBC:
  2509.  
  2510. CHUCK TODD: I‘m curious, those two things you mention, those are show votes. They’re not going to pass. They have no chance of passing. Some of them might need to be constitutional amendments, and you know how arduous that process is. What’s the point of passing a bill that basically, you get to put a press release out on, but it doesn’t get enacted?
  2511.  
  2512. REP. JAMES COMER: A lot of times, as you know, Chuck, you have to take bills through numerous sessions of Congress before they finally become law.
  2513.  
  2514. TODD: Let me ask you this. You’re going to do a lot of oversight. You’re going to have a lot of subpoenas. Many people look at what you’re doing, and they see that it looks more partisan than professional. Tell me how you’re going to try to departisanize an investigation? Or do you expect it to be partisan?
  2515.  
  2516. COMER: Well, with all due respect, Chuck, I disagree with that. I think the only people that see this as a partisan investigation are the media and the hardcore Democrats. Look, at the same moment that the Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee released Donald Trump’s taxes, they then moments later turned around and said, “Comer’s investigation of the Biden family influence peddling is a revenge hearing.” I mean, are you kidding me?
  2517.  
  2518.  
  2519.  
  2520.  
  2521.  
  2522. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “Comer is off to a great start, recognizing the news media are his enemy just as much as Democrats. It was refreshing to hear an elevated Republican leader take on Todd for his multiple hypocrisies, suddenly concerned, now that Republicans are in charge in the House, about the partisanship of an investigation and the futility of votes on two conservative agenda items that will embarrass Democrats. As if Democrats have never had ‘show votes,’ to put Republicans in a bad light, which most journalists found admirable.”
  2523.  
  2524. Rating: FIVE out of FIVE SCREAMS (CHEERS.)
  2525.  
  2526.  
  2527.  
  2528.  
  2529. ■ January 2, 2023: Liberal Media Scream: MSNBC calls GOP the party of il Duce
  2530.  
  2531. (Washington Examiner post)
  2532.  
  2533.  
  2534. This week’s Liberal Media Scream features MSNBC doing its best to become the network of the crackpot Left, talking itself into irrelevance for just about everyone else.
  2535.  
  2536. Not satisfied with its record of attacking Republicans and conservatives as MAGA crazies, the cable channel rolled out a host and guest who dismissed the party as fascists. And not just simple fascists such as World War II-era Italian leader Benito Mussolini.
  2537.  
  2538. How about “neo-fascist,” “proto-fascist,” and “semi-fascist?” Now that’s got to hurt.
  2539.  
  2540. The name-calling came Saturday when Mehdi Hasan hosted Yale University philosophy professor Jason Stanley on Velshi on MSNBC.
  2541.  
  2542. Stanley, who authored a book titled How Fascism Works, warned, “I think ‘semi-fascism,’ ‘fascism,’ ‘neo-fascism,’ these are accurate descriptions. We need to drop talk of populism, drop these misleading descriptions that hide what we’re actually facing.”
  2543.  
  2544. From Saturday’s Velshi:
  2545.  
  2546. MEHDI HASAN: Jason, the GOP is back in power again, at least in the House of Representatives, which means there will be a fair bit of normalizing of them again by the media. In your view, is it fair to describe the modern GOP as ‘neo-fascist’ or ‘proto-fascist’ or, to quote Joe Biden on the MAGA movement, ‘semi-fascist?’
  2547.  
  2548. JASON STANLEY, Yale University: There’s certainly within the modern GOP, as the scapegoating of LGBT citizens demonstrates, a fascist movement rising. We — and, to talk about this as some kind of European thing is a confusion since fascism is Jim Crow with a foreign accent. So we have a native, we have multiple native far-right extremist movements: Christian Nationalism, we’ve got, sort of, heritage of Jim Crow. We’ve got an anti-democratic business establishment. And this is a structure, a grouping, that’s going to bring people to vote for an authoritarian party. And that’s what we have, that’s what the modern GOP is increasingly looking like — as Ruth [NYU history professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat] said, an anti-democratic party. I think ‘semi-fascism,’ ‘fascism,’ ‘neo-fascism,’ these are accurate descriptions. We need to drop talk of populism, drop these misleading descriptions that hide what we’re actually facing.
  2549.  
  2550.  
  2551.  
  2552.  
  2553.  
  2554. Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “Quite the multiple-choice, a range which says more about the narrow thinking of MSNBC hosts and guests trying to discredit Republicans than it does about anything to fear from Republicans. Hasan dreads ‘normalizing’ Republicans because it’s a lot easier to demonize them than to take on and seriously address views with which you disagree.”
  2555.  
  2556. Rating: FOUR out of FIVE SCREAMS.
  2557.  
  2558.  
  2559.  
  2560.  
  2561. &gt; Liberal Media Screams for 2021 and 2022
  2562.  
  2563. &gt; For all of 2020.
  2564.  
  2565. &gt; For all of 2019.
  2566.  
  2567. &gt; For all of 2018.
  2568.  
  2569. &gt; For July through December 2017.
  2570.  
  2571. &gt; For January through June 2017.
  2572.  
  2573. &gt; For July through December 2016.
  2574.  
  2575. &gt; For January through June 2016.
  2576.  
  2577. &gt; For July to December 2015.
  2578.  
  2579.  
  2580.  
  2581. </description>
  2582.  <pubDate>April 22nd, 2024 7:23 PM</pubDate>
  2583.    <dc:creator>Brent Baker</dc:creator>
  2584.    <guid isPermaLink="false">276694</guid>
  2585.    </item>
  2586. <item>
  2587.  <title>PBS Host Smears Republicans as ‘Influenced By Russia’ and Neo-Nazis</title>
  2588.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/nicholas-fondacaro/2024/04/22/pbs-host-smears-republicans-influenced-russia-and-neo-nazis</link>
  2589.  <description> PBS likes to pretend they have a conservative host on staff, but Firing Line’s Margaret Hoover is anything but. Between being married to Democratic congressional candidate John Avlon (also a former Republican for CNN) and her Monday comments on CNN News Central, Hoover proved it. And in those comments, she lashed out at one sitting Republican member of Congress and a famous YouTuber looking to unseat a Republican incumbent from the right.
  2590.  
  2591. Joining CNN host Kate Bolduan to speak about the House passing massive foreign aid packages and the fallout, Hoover lashed out at Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R) over her threat to remove Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) from that position:
  2592.  
  2593.  
  2594. HOOVER: Look, he didn't get it done to his point. And then to this question of whether Marjorie Taylor Greene is actually going to pull the trigger on this motion to vacate the threat.
  2595.  
  2596. BOLDUAN: What’s the threat? What's the lingering threat do, do you think?
  2597.  
  2598. HOOVER: Well look, she wants to have power and she's a chaos organizer. I mean, that's that's her end game. I mean, she just wanted to have power and be relevant.
  2599.  
  2600.  
  2601. But Hoover’s criticisms went too far when she claimed that Greene was “not here for public the policy” but rather “she's being influenced by Russia.” Without evidence, she asserted, “perhaps there's an argument there.”
  2602.  
  2603.  
  2604.  
  2605.  
  2606.  
  2607.  
  2608.  
  2609.  
  2610.  
  2611. With the topic shifted to Republicans who opposed Greene, Bolduan wanted to talk about embattled Republican incumbent Tony Gonzalez of Texas who was forced into a runoff against popular gun YouTuber Brandan Herrera. Hoover parroted a lie that Herrera was a “neo-Nazi”:
  2612.  
  2613.  
  2614. BOLDUAN: I'm wondering what the fight looks like. What's the “stand up and fight” look like from this, he [Rep. Tony Gonzalez (R-TX)] was suggesting kind of the more moderate Republicans who are serving in the House in an election year. What does that look like now in the six months to?
  2615.  
  2616. HOOVER: Well look, for Tony Gonzales, he's got he has a primary – a runoff election coming in several weeks against a Trump-endorsed neo-Nazi. He might – Meanwhile, he’s in the largest segment of the border. I mean, the only fight he cares about is the border question.
  2617.  
  2618.  
  2619. Not only was Herrera not endorsed by former President Trump, but one of the Gonzalez campaign talking points was that Herrera had mocked Trump’s youngest son Barron (which was false) in an apparent effort to get support from Trump voters. And while Hoover was trying to suggest a Trump endorsement of Herrera meant Gonzalez was ‘the good one’ in the race, Gonzalez was endorsed by Trump in the 2020 election.
  2620.  
  2621. On Hoover’s accusations of Herrera being a “neo-Nazi,” fact-checks of that claim came back as disinformation. That accusation stems from dishonest claims about his YouTube content. In addition to Gun Meme Reviews and gun safety videos, Herrera also makes videos that examine guns through a historical lens to talk about their manual of arms and what role their country of origin designed them for.
  2622.  
  2623. As part of that series, he’s reviewed a lot of firearms from WWII (you can probably see where this is going) and showed images of soldiers using their weapons as B-roll footage. In addition to highlighting guns used by American, British, and Soviet forces, he’s covered guns used by the Germans. Essentially, Herrera has been accused of using “Nazi images” in his videos in the same context that would allow the accusation to be leveled against the History Channel.
  2624.  
  2625. Hoover’s antics on CNN were another reason to defund PBS.
  2626.  
  2627. The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
  2628.  
  2629.  
  2630. CNN News Central
  2631. April 22, 2024
  2632. 7:54:54 a.m. Eastern
  2633.  
  2634. (…)
  2635.  
  2636. JIM MESSINA: And now we're saying to the rest of the world, look America can walk and chew a little gum at the same time.
  2637.  
  2638. KATE BOLDUAN: But what does it look like? I mean, it's like really gross, gross gum.
  2639.  
  2640. [Laughter]
  2641.  
  2642. MARGARET HOOVER: Well, the sausage making is never pretty, Kate. Look, he didn't get it done to his point. And then to this question of whether Marjorie Taylor Greene is actually going to pull the trigger on this motion to vacate the threat.
  2643.  
  2644. BOLDUAN: What’s the threat? What's the lingering threat do, do you think?
  2645.  
  2646. HOOVER: Well look, she wants to have power and she's a chaos organizer. I mean, that's that's her end game. I mean, she just wanted to have power and be relevant. She's not here for public the policy, although to the extent that she's being influenced by Russia to influence their public policy, perhaps there's an argument there.
  2647.  
  2648. (…)
  2649.  
  2650. 7:56:53 a.m. Eastern
  2651.  
  2652. BOLDUAN: I'm wondering what the fight looks like. What's the “stand up and fight” look like from this, he [Rep. Tony Gonzalez (R-TX)] was suggesting kind of the more moderate Republicans who are serving in the House in an election year. What does that look like now in the six months to?
  2653.  
  2654. HOOVER: Well look, for Tony Gonzales, he's got he has a primary – a runoff election coming in several weeks against a Trump-endorsed neo-Nazi. He might – Meanwhile, he’s in the largest segment of the border. I mean, the only fight he cares about is the border question.
  2655.  
  2656. (…)
  2657. </description>
  2658.  <pubDate>April 22nd, 2024 6:12 PM</pubDate>
  2659.    <dc:creator>Nicholas Fondacaro</dc:creator>
  2660.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283851</guid>
  2661.    </item>
  2662. <item>
  2663.  <title>SEE IT! Cruz Offers Thoughts on ‘Major Legislation’ Against TikTok</title>
  2664.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/free-speech/luis-cornelio/2024/04/22/see-it-cruz-offers-thoughts-major-legislation-against</link>
  2665.  <description> A Republican senator spoke out against Chinese influence on a major social media platform.
  2666.  
  2667. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) hailed House Republicans for passing a provision seeking to force TikTok’s infamous parent company, ByteDance, to divest its social media platform ownership.
  2668.  
  2669. Speaking on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures, hosted by Maria Bartiromo, Cruz called the bill “very important” and “a major step forward” to protect Americans from Chinese propaganda and potential espionage. 
  2670.  
  2671. “I have deep, deep concerns about TikTok, controlled by the Chinese communist government,” Cruz told Bartiromo, voicing his support for the TikTok ultimatum bill. 
  2672.  
  2673. The Texas senator accused the Chinese communist government of exploiting TikTok for the “surveillance and espionage of American citizens.” 
  2674.  
  2675. Expanding on his concerns, Cruz added: “They use it right now, aggressively, to push propaganda, anti-America propaganda, to our young people.”
  2676.  
  2677.  
  2678.  
  2679.  
  2680.  
  2681. Flashback! WATCH: Sen. Ted Cruz Blasts TikTok as Communist Chinese Gov’t ‘Espionage’ Tool
  2682.  
  2683. Cruz’s comments came a day after the Republican-led House of Representatives passed a massive $95 billion foreign aid package. The package includes a provision that gives the president the authority to compel ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok or else face a ban in the United States.
  2684.  
  2685. The bill is set to be passed by the Senate on Tuesday. President Joe Biden is also expected to sign the bill into law. The bill gives ByteDance 270 days to sell its ownership.
  2686.  
  2687. “This bill is a major step forward in that it forces China to divest of TikTok,” Cruz added, echoing the sentiments of the Media Research Center, which came in support of the initial TikTok bill in March.
  2688.  
  2689. You May Also Like: ‘Consistent from the Start’: Bozell Says TikTok Must Divest from Communist Chinese Gov’t
  2690.  
  2691. “It is absolutely correct and necessary for TikTok to divest itself of any control from the communist Chinese government in China if it wants to do business in the United States,” said MRC President and Founder Brent Bozell in a video statement. 
  2692.  
  2693. “I support this bill. I support reining in TikTok. I support stopping the communist Chinese from influencing the United States subversively,” Bozell added. 
  2694.  
  2695. In response to the ultimatum, TikTok has deployed a multi-million dollar marketing campaign in a failed attempt to persuade lawmakers against backing the legislation. 
  2696.  
  2697. Related: TikTok’s Last-Ditch Effort Amid US Ban: Recruiting Nuns, Veterans and Ranchers
  2698.  
  2699. Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on hate speech and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.</description>
  2700.  <pubDate>April 22nd, 2024 5:48 PM</pubDate>
  2701.    <dc:creator>Luis Cornelio</dc:creator>
  2702.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283850</guid>
  2703.    </item>
  2704. <item>
  2705.  <title>NYT Ignores Soros Influence in Coverage of Biden State Dep’t Sanctions on IDF</title>
  2706.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/business/tom-olohan/2024/04/22/nyt-ignores-soros-influence-coverage-biden-state-dept</link>
  2707.  <description> Yet another Soros-funded group just got caught trying to drive a wedge into the American-Israeli alliance, but The New York Times didn’t find any space to mention it in a news report. 
  2708.  
  2709. In an April 20 article, The New York Times covered potential U.S. State Department sanctions on the Israel Defense Forces’s Netzah Yehuda Battalion. In a post on X the next day, research institute NGO Monitor addressed crucial information ignored by The Times, blaming these possible sanctions on a “coordinated campaign” by the Soros-funded program Democracy for the Arab World Now founded by murdered Washington Post journalist and former Muslim Brotherhood member Jamal Khashoggi.
  2710.  
  2711. DAWN Executive Director Sarah Leah Whitson boasted that the program had worked hard to bring these sanctions about in a post on X. She also went after Secretary of State Antony Blinken for not acting sooner, saying that her organization “Submitted Leahy sanctions requests for 2 of the Israeli units that ⁦@SecBlinken has putzed and punted on.” Key employees of this organization have celebrated the decision on Al Jazeera and during an X space. 
  2712.  
  2713. In a post on the program’s Instagram account, Democracy for the Arab World Now pushed for Secretary Blinken to “Sanction Israeli security forces implicated in gross violations of human rights, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearance, torture, and rape, under the Leahy Law amendments to the Foreign Assistance Act.”
  2714.  
  2715. According to online records reviewed by MRC Business, Soros gave $525,000 to Democracy for the Arab World Now between 2020 and 2022, the year it was founded. Democracy for the Arab World Now is a program of the Dawn Foundation, which Soros gave $275,000 to in 2021.
  2716.  
  2717. Furthermore, in their frequently asked questions section, Democracy for the Arab World Now tells users who wish to donate anonymously, “You can donate to the MENA Now Fund of the Tides Foundation, which will then transfer the donation to DAWN without revealing your identity.” According to the Open Society Foundations’ website, Soros has given at least $15,013,960 to the Tides Foundation and $14 million to the Tides Center from 2016 to 2022. Additionally, Soros gave over  $34 million to Tides Advocacy from 2017 to 2022.
  2718.  
  2719. The Times didn’t mention Democracy in the Arab World Now, the Dawn Foundation or Soros’ contributions to either organization. This is particularly astonishing as The Times specifically mentioned the law that the Soros-funded project was lobbying for the IDF to be sanctioned under. “The possible imposition of sanctions against the Netzah Yehuda and other battalions would come under the so-called 1997 Leahy Law, which bans foreign military units accused of human rights violations from receiving U.S. aid or training,” The Times reported.
  2720.  
  2721. This major omission occurred in the same paper that infamously, and without ironclad evidence, accused the IDF of bombing Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, killing hundreds. This ultimately led to The Times posting an apology note admitting that the paper relied too heavily on the terrorist group Hamas. After repeated MRC reports calling out The Times and NewsGuard’s ratings of the leftist rag, the biased website ratings firm NewsGuard dropped The Times’s perfect rating to 87.5 on account of this flub. 
  2722.  
  2723. Conservatives are under attack. Contact The New York Times at 800-698-4637 and demand they report on Soros’s funding of anti-Israel causes.</description>
  2724.  <pubDate>April 22nd, 2024 5:44 PM</pubDate>
  2725.    <dc:creator>Tom Olohan</dc:creator>
  2726.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283849</guid>
  2727.    </item>
  2728. <item>
  2729.  <title>CNN Virtue Signals to Save Planet by Releasing Hysterical Letter: ‘To My Son, Born in the Climate Crisis’</title>
  2730.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/business/christian-baldwin/2024/04/22/cnn-virtue-signals-save-planet-releasing-hysterical</link>
  2731.  <description>CNN once again exposed that it is in fact an activist organization masquerading as a news outlet with a sappy piece on the “climate crisis.”
  2732.  
  2733.  
  2734.  
  2735. On April 22, CNN celebrated “Earth Day” with an editorial piece from chief climate correspondent Bill Weir. The piece is formatted as a letter to Weir’s four-year-old son. Within the first sentence, Weir’s language quickly devolves into hysterics about mass extinctions and the usual doomsday predictions.
  2736.  
  2737. For some context, Weir has a history as a natural observer, particularly of waterfowl. He used this critical expertise at then-President Barack Obama’s Second Inauguration, an event so momentous and ponderous that even the seagulls were “awed” according to Weir as if in the presence of a Saint Francis or the Infant Christ.  
  2738.  
  2739. “This is your fourth Earth Day, and so much has happened in your little lifespan that what started as an annual record of anger and regret has grown into a book full of hopeful solutions,” Weir began in his letter, in what sounds like an excerpt from a Greta Thunberg speech. 
  2740.  
  2741. The exaggeration continued. 
  2742.  
  2743. “There are still dark days to be sure, and since you love animals so much, I can’t bring myself to explain just how many of your favorites are on extinction’s brink,” Weir said, persisting in his overblown tirade. 
  2744.  
  2745. But not to worry, Weir found a way to deal with the lingering dread of a world still chock full of plastic straws and gas-powered stoves: Mister Rogers.    
  2746.  
  2747. “When disasters strike, I remember the advice of Mister Rogers, who taught me that every time there is a scary event on TV, ‘Look for the helpers. There are always helpers,’” Weir said, dispelling the inevitable sense of helplessness and abject fear that has no doubt gripped the reader when they ponder the sheer cruelty of the rapacious Colombian cattle rancher. The rancher is a beast who hacks away at the sacred heart of Mother Earth in order to make a pittance to feed his starving family. 
  2748.  
  2749. Weir went on to describe these heartless capitalists, exploiting the land to eat and take up Earth’s precious resources. He described the difficulty of local conservationists like Rosamira Guillen in getting the cooperation for conservation efforts from these villains. 
  2750.  
  2751. “But to connect enough fragmented habitat for the gene pool to thrive, she would need land,” Weir detailed. “And the cooperation of cattle ranchers who do not share her love for toy-sized primates.” 
  2752.  
  2753. Guillen further expounded on the difficulty of dealing with such a rabble. 
  2754.  
  2755. “‘In a country like Colombia, where there’s so many challenges, people don’t realize that if you screw up the forest we’re all going to be screwed,’" she allegedly said, lamenting the ignorance of such people. 
  2756.  
  2757. Despite such grimness and despicable evil, Weir ended with a message of hope for his son, cursed to be born in such a time of unremitting woe. 
  2758.  
  2759. “Still, River, when days get dark, and I feel the need to look for helpers, I sometimes flash to the series of fortunate events that gave almost 1,000 acres of forest to the titis – and I imagine all the spots that need similar love,” Weir advised. 
  2760.  
  2761. And in case this wasn’t enough incentive to put down that burger and go vegan, CNN also helpfully included an editorial note. 
  2762.  
  2763. “Rolex’s Perpetual Planet Initiative has partnered with CNN to drive awareness and education around key sustainability issues and inspire positive action,” the note informed.
  2764.  
  2765. Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on so-called hate speech and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us at the Media Research Center contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
  2766.  
  2767.  </description>
  2768.  <pubDate>April 22nd, 2024 5:19 PM</pubDate>
  2769.    <dc:creator>Christian Baldwin</dc:creator>
  2770.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283848</guid>
  2771.    </item>
  2772. <item>
  2773.  <title>MRC, Bozell Petition FCC Not to Create a ‘Special Soros Shortcut’</title>
  2774.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/business/mrc-staff/2024/04/22/mrc-bozell-petition-fcc-not-create-special-soros-shortcut</link>
  2775.  <description>
  2776.  
  2777.  
  2778.  
  2779. The Media Research Center wants the Federal Communications Commission to know: “The Communications Act does not contain a special Soros shortcut.”
  2780.  
  2781. Today, the Media Research Center (MRC) and its president, Brent Bozell, filed a formal petition to the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) requesting that the agency not fast-track George Soros’ scheme to take over radio behemoth Audacy, which owns the second largest number of broadcast radio stations in the country.
  2782.  
  2783. Leftist activist billionaire George Soros and his company Soros Fund Management have pushed for the FCC to approve their assignment applications to become the largest shareholder in Audacy. The Communications Act, however, requires the FCC first perform a “public interest” analysis before approving such an acquisition, particularly in a case like this one, where foreign ownership interests are involved. However, Soros has asked the FCC to disregard this congressionally-mandated procedure, saying the commission should use its byzantine “special warrant” process to sidestep proper review.
  2784.  
  2785. Soros Fund Management, made a move to spend $400 million to acquire 40 percent of Audacy’s shares, insisting that the “special warrant” process is necessary as Audacy has recently filed for bankruptcy. However, as Bozell stated succinctly on behalf of the MRC in the FCC petition, “The Soros filings fail to demonstrate that in this case any interest in the reasonably efficient emergence from bankruptcy cannot be accommodated while also assessing the foreign ownership interests at the same time.”  
  2786.  
  2787. Bozell pointed out that rather than being motivated by necessity, Soros groups are simply pushing to disregard the congressionally-mandated rules. Bozell explained: “[I]t appears that the Soros groups are simply trying to create an entirely new process or rule [to] … get special treatment when it comes to the [Communications Act] process.”
  2788.  
  2789. The New York Post previously reported that Soros’ attempted takeover of Audacy may mean the left-wing billionaire “was buying the stake to exert influence on public opinion in the months leading up to the 2024 presidential election.” Between 2016 and 2020, Soros gave over $130 million to other media organizations in order to push his left-wing agenda. He has also given extensively to the International Fact-Checking Network, which coordinates censorship efforts between various left-wing outlets such as The Washington Post and Meta platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp).
  2790.  
  2791. MRC Vice President for Free Speech America Dan Schneider cautioned that FCC commissioners sympathetic to Soros’ agenda might try to disregard the law to fast-track the Audacy acquisition.  Schneider warned: “Right now, the Democrats on the Commission are trying to grease the skids to allow George Soros and his son Alex to buy skads of radio stations all across America…right before the election. I don’t think that’s coincidental.” 
  2792.  
  2793. Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on so-called “hate speech” and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable</description>
  2794.  <pubDate>April 22nd, 2024 4:46 PM</pubDate>
  2795.    <dc:creator>MRC Staff</dc:creator>
  2796.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283846</guid>
  2797.    </item>
  2798. <item>
  2799.  <title>CBS Frets ‘Apparently Anti-Semitic Incidents’ at Columbia Marred ‘Peaceful Protests’</title>
  2800.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/curtis-houck/2024/04/22/cbs-frets-apparently-anti-semitic-incidents-columbia-marred</link>
  2801.  <description>CBS broke the ice Monday (after a footnote last week then silence) on the rampant anti-Semitism and terrorist sympathizing at Columbia University by pro-Hamas elements of the student body and like-minded fiends, but they went full-blown ‘fiery but mostly peaceful’ as CBS Mornings co-host and Democratic donor Gayle King fretted the “apparently anti-Semitic incidents” overshadowed “peaceful protests”.
  2802.  
  2803. CBS only spent 49 seconds in an extended news brief delivered by King, which began innocently enough: “Back here in New York, Columbia University has moved all classes on line today as pro-Palestinian demonstrations continue on and near the campus.”
  2804.  
  2805.  
  2806.  
  2807.  
  2808.  
  2809.  
  2810.  
  2811.  
  2812.  
  2813. King then did her best impression of CNN’s Omar Jimenez and MSNBC’s Ali Velshi: “Although there have been peaceful protests, a series of apparently anti-Semitic incidents near campus prompted one rabbi at the school to call for all Jewish students to leave. However, Jewish groups on campus pushed back on that saying students should stay.”
  2814.  
  2815. After reading an excerpt of a statement from White House social media troll Andrew Bates, King acknowledged Monday night marks the start of Passover and noted the heat Columbia’s president received from “both sides of the aisle...last week about anti-Semitism on college campuses”.
  2816.  
  2817. Even the chyron was harsher as it stated without a qualifer that “Anti-Semitic Incidents Occur[red] Amid Pro-Palestinian Demonstrations”.
  2818.  
  2819. In the “Eye Opener”, co-host Nate Burleson also downplayed the anti-Semitism: “Protests lead to charges of anti-Semitism on the campus of Columbia University as a crackdown fails to stop the demonstrations.”
  2820.  
  2821. In both cases, Burleson and King certainly wouldn’t have been as muted if those calling for harming Jews were uttered by middle-aged or elderly white males like in Charlottesville.
  2822.  
  2823. ABC continued its coverage with a 67-second segment on Good Morning America, starting with vague allusions by co-host Robin Roberts of “security concerns...at Columbia University amid the Israel/Hamas war.”
  2824.  
  2825. World News Now/America This Morning co-host Rhiannon Ally spoke of “growing concern about safety at the school, as protests stemming from that Israel/Hamas war intensify” and the remote learning day following “a fifth day yesterday of Columbia pro-Palestine students protesting.”
  2826.  
  2827. The so-called protests, she explained, have merely been aimed at having Columbia “divest its stocks, funds, and endowments from companies that they say profit from Israel’s violation of international law and Palestinian human rights.”
  2828.  
  2829. Ally never explained what the threats were to Jewish students, omitting shouts wanting an “intifada”, praising Hamas fighters Al-Qassam, calling for the restoration of Palestine (i.e. an ethnic cleansing of Jews), demanding Tel Aviv be burned to the ground, telling Jewish students to “go back to Poland”, or praising the “martyrs” who died slaughtering Jews on October 7.
  2830.  
  2831. NBC’s Today had the most time with a two-minute-and-49 second segment. After warning in a tease of “crisis on campus”, co-host Hoda Kotb downplayed the scene with more esoteric descriptions of “[p]ro-Palestinian protesters have been demonstrating on campus for days”.
  2832.  
  2833. Correspondent Erin McLaughin provided a little bit more detail (click “expand”):
  2834.  
  2835.  
  2836. MCLAUGHLIN: Last week, more than 100 protesters were arrested on campus and now a rabbi is urging Jewish students to return home as soon as possible citing concerns over their safety and classes today are happening virtually. All of this ahead of Passover, the Jewish holiday, which begins at sundown tonight.
  2837.  
  2838. PRO-HAMAS PROTESTERS: We will free Palestine!
  2839.  
  2840. MCLAUGHLIN: This morning, as demonstrations continue on university campuses, New York’s Columbia University announcing all classes will be held virtually today. University president Minouche Shafik issuing a statement saying “we need a reset...to deescalate the rancor” and the university announcing it is adding more security on campus, including 111 additional safety personnel. The move comes as a rabbi at Columbia is urging students to “return home as soon as possible.” Rabbi Eli Buechler. in a letter to Jewish students this weekend, going on to say, “no one should have to endure this level of hatred, let alone at school.”
  2841.  
  2842. PRO-HAMAS PROTESTERS: In-ti-fada!
  2843.  
  2844. MCLAUGHLIN: The campus tense amid demonstrations denouncing the Israel-Hamas war. New York Mayor Adams condemning video such as this, which he says shows a young woman with a sign pointing to Jewish students saying, Al Qassem’s next targets. Adams also pointing to one incident last week: a demonstrator chanting, “we are Hamas”. Shafik saying in her statement, “tensions have been exploited and amplified by individuals who are not affiliated with Columbia”.
  2845.  
  2846. BAUM: As a Jew, I no longer feel welcome, I no longer feel safe on campus, and I no longer feel like I belong.
  2847.  
  2848. SONYA POZNANSKY: To be honest, no, I think my safety has definitely been compromised in a lot of ways over the last few days.
  2849.  
  2850.  
  2851. McLaughlin concluded her report with press releases from the Columbia president and the White House, but proceeded them with some serious belly-aching from Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine:
  2852.  
  2853.  
  2854. Last night in a press release, Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine expressed frustration over, “inflammatory individuals who do not represent us”, adding the group rejects “any form of hate or bigotry.”
  2855.  
  2856.  
  2857. To see the relevant transcripts from April 22, click here (for ABC), here (for CBS), and here (for NBC).</description>
  2858.  <pubDate>April 22nd, 2024 3:48 PM</pubDate>
  2859.    <dc:creator>Curtis Houck</dc:creator>
  2860.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283845</guid>
  2861.    </item>
  2862. <item>
  2863.  <title>Networks Decry House Passing Bill to Protect America from China, TikTok</title>
  2864.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/nicholas-fondacaro/2024/04/22/networks-decry-house-passing-bill-protect-america-china</link>
  2865.  <description> The liberal broadcast networks of ABC, CBS, and NBC finally found something they disapproved of amid all the foreign aid packages passed by the House over the weekend: a bill that aimed to protect Americans from the influence of Chinese propaganda. During their Monday morning newscasts, each of the big three threw their own hissy fits about the bill that could “ban” TikTok in the U.S. if their China-owned parent company didn’t sell it off. And again, they omitted the TikTok users threatening to kill lawmakers.
  2866.  
  2867. “Meanwhile, a sweeping national security funding package that will provide aid to Ukraine and Israel and Taiwan as well also includes a possible ban on the popular app TikTok,” NBC Today co-anchor Craig Melvin announced at the top of the segment. “The social media platform could disappear from app stores nationwide unless its Chinese parent company sells it.”
  2868.  
  2869. Lauding how the Chinese propaganda and spy app had “become engrained in American culture,” NBC correspondent Emilie Ikeda began her report by touting how “some TikTok users using their platform as a call to action hoping to save the app…”
  2870.  
  2871. She fretted: “This morning, the fate of TikTok in a race against the clock. The House passing a bill that would force the app's Chinese parent company Byte Dance to sell the platform within a year to a new owner, up from the original six months, or face a national ban of the widely popular social media app with 170 million American users.”
  2872.  
  2873.  
  2874.  
  2875.  
  2876.  
  2877.  
  2878.  
  2879.  
  2880.  
  2881. Instead of mentioning how the app was responsible for harmful trends such as eating Tide Pods, cooking chicken in Nyquil, and promoting the writings of terrorist Osama Bin Laden, Ikeda blamed the bill for the “escalated” tensions between the U.S. and China. “On Friday, Apple said China ordered the company to remove Meta’s WhatsApp and Threads from its app store there,” she blamed U.S. lawmakers.
  2882.  
  2883. Over on ABC’s Good Morning America, correspondent Janai Norman mourned that the “clock could be ticking” for the “170 million users and countless of those who rely on TikTok for their livelihood now concerned their financial security could be at risk.”
  2884.  
  2885. Norman did throw those upset by the bill a lifeline. She cheered that if the bill became law it would be immediately challenged in court:
  2886.  
  2887.  
  2888. NORMAN: The Senate is expected to take up the legislation tomorrow, and if passed, President Biden has already indicated he will quickly sign it into law. But, not so fast! Experts say don't expect the app go away any time soon.
  2889.  
  2890. KATIE NOTOPOULOS (Business Insider, senior correspondent): It's not like the app is going to delete off your phone right away. It could be months. It could be years of wading through regulatory and legal hurdles to actually get this done.
  2891.  
  2892.  
  2893. CBS Mornings was dry in their reporting on the matter since they tucked the TikTok news into the end of a larger report about the foreign aid packages. “It has huge bipartisan support, but now that it is part of this foreign aid bill, it could move more quickly than the similar bill passed in March,” correspondent Scott MacFarlane warned.
  2894.  
  2895. None of the networks mentioned that members of Congress received death threats after TikTok told users to contact their representatives.
  2896.  
  2897. The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
  2898.  
  2899.  
  2900. ABC’s Good Morning America
  2901. April 22, 2024
  2902. 7:31:58 a.m. Eastern
  2903.  
  2904. ROBIN ROBERTS: Michael, the new fallout for TikTok after the House passed a bill over the weekend that could potentially ban the popular social media app within a year. Janai Norman is here with what this could mean for content creators and the more than 170 million users. Good morning, Janai.
  2905.  
  2906. JANAI NORMAN: Good morning, Robin. 170 million users and countless of those who rely on TikTok for their livelihood now concerned their financial security could be at risk. But for lawmaker, the concerns they say are about data security and personal information about all those millions of users.
  2907.  
  2908. [Cuts to video]
  2909.  
  2910. NORMAN: This morning the clock could be ticking for popular app, TikTok.
  2911.  
  2912. TIKTOK USER: Breaking news right now, the House of Representatives has officially passed another TikTok ban.
  2913.  
  2914. NORMAN: Over the weekend, the House of Representatives passing legislation that could see the app banned in the U.S. if Chinese owner Byte Dance doesn't sell within a year.
  2915.  
  2916. KATIE NOTOPOULOS (Business Insider, senior correspondent): The two options are sell to a U.S. owner or cease operating in the U.S.
  2917.  
  2918. NORMAN: An unprecedented move that sparked serious concerns for some content creators.
  2919.  
  2920. (…)
  2921.  
  2922. NORMAN: The Senate is expected to take up the legislation tomorrow, and if passed, President Biden has already indicated he will quickly sign it into law. But, not so fast! Experts say don't expect the app go away any time soon.
  2923.  
  2924. NOTOPOULOS: It's not like the app is going to delete off your phone right away. It could be months. It could be years of wading through regulatory and legal hurdles to actually get this done.
  2925.  
  2926. [Cuts back to live]
  2927.  
  2928. NORMAN: Right.  And so for now, TikTok is not for sale but if and when that bill passes, it would likely kick off a lengthy legal battle. So, Robin, Michael and George’s dance video on TikTok, good shape.
  2929.  
  2930.  
  2931.  
  2932. NBC’s Today
  2933. April 22, 2024
  2934. 8:04:24 a.m. Eastern
  2935.  
  2936. CRAIG MELVIN: Meanwhile, a sweeping national security funding package that will provide aid to Ukraine and Israel and Taiwan as well also includes a possible ban on the popular app TikTok. The social media platform could disappear from app stores nationwide unless its Chinese parent company sells it. NBC's Emilie Ikeda is here with more on this. Emilie, good morning.
  2937.  
  2938. EMILIE IKEDA: Hey, there. Good morning to you. This is likely the closest the U.S. has come to banning TikTok with Congress lumping the measure in the foreign aid bill, which is headed to a Senate that’s eager to send funding to our allies.
  2939.  
  2940. Now, some TikTok users using their platform as a call to action hoping to save the app that’s become engrained in American culture.
  2941.  
  2942. [Cuts to video]
  2943.  
  2944. This morning, the fate of TikTok in a race against the clock. The House passing a bill that would force the app's Chinese parent company Byte Dance to sell the platform within a year to a new owner, up from the original six months, or face a national ban of the widely popular social media app with 170 million American users.
  2945.  
  2946. (…)
  2947.  
  2948. IKEDA: The vote passing with the resounding 360 to 58, but online, some are rallying against the ban.
  2949.  
  2950. (…)
  2951.  
  2952. IKEDA: Urging their followers to take action.
  2953.  
  2954. (…)
  2955.  
  2956. [Cuts back to live]
  2957.  
  2958. IKEDA: And TikTok is already banned on federal government devices. And even the potential for a forced TikTok sale may have escalated the U.S.'s tense relationship with China. On Friday, Apple said China ordered the company to remove Meta’s WhatsApp and Threads from its app store there.
  2959. </description>
  2960.  <pubDate>April 22nd, 2024 2:46 PM</pubDate>
  2961.    <dc:creator>Nicholas Fondacaro</dc:creator>
  2962.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283844</guid>
  2963.    </item>
  2964. <item>
  2965.  <title>NYT’s Annie Karni Pouts Over Speaker Johnson Doing ‘What Passes for Brave in Today’s GOP’</title>
  2966.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/clay-waters/2024/04/22/nyts-annie-karni-pouts-over-speaker-johnson-doing-what-passes-brave</link>
  2967.  <description> Congressional correspondent Annie Karni got snarky against Republicans (and, perhaps, some of her fellow reporters?) in Sunday’s New York Times, after House Speaker Mike Johnson received some backhanded praise from some quarters of the media/Democratic alliance for pushing a military aid bill for Ukraine through: “Mike Johnson, Like Pence, Does What Passes for Brave in Today’s GOP: His Job.”
  2968.  
  2969.  
  2970. The accolades directed at Speaker Mike Johnson in recent days for finally defying the right wing of his party and allowing an aid bill for Ukraine to move through the House might have seemed a tad excessive.
  2971.  
  2972. After all, a speaker’s entire job is to move legislation through the House, and as Saturday’s vote to pass the bill demonstrated, the Ukraine measure had overwhelming support. But Mr. Johnson’s feat was not so different from that of another embattled Republican who faced a difficult choice under immense pressure from hard-right Republicans and was saluted as a hero for simply doing his job: former Vice President Mike Pence.
  2973.  
  2974. When Mr. Pence refused former President Donald J. Trump’s demands that he overturn the 2020 election results as he presided over the electoral vote count by Congress on Jan. 6, 2021 -- even as an angry mob with baseball bats and pepper spray invaded the Capitol and chanted “hang Mike Pence” -- the normally unremarkable act of performing the duties in a vice president’s job description was hailed as courageous.
  2975.  
  2976. Mr. Pence and now Mr. Johnson represent the most high-profile examples of a stark political reality: In today’s Republican Party, subsumed by Mr. Trump, taking the norm-preserving, consensus-driven path can spell the end of your political career.
  2977.  
  2978.  
  2979. Karni brought her paper’s hostile labeling pattern with her.
  2980.  
  2981.  
  2982. Mr. Johnson and Mr. Pence, both mild-mannered, extremely conservative evangelical Christians who have put their faith at the center of their politics, occupy a similar space in their party. They have both gone through contortions to accommodate Mr. Trump and the forces he unleashed in their party, which in turn have ultimately come after them….Mr. Pence has been offering Mr. Johnson private encouragement in recent weeks, as he faced growing discontent from the far right.
  2983.  
  2984.  
  2985. Karni saved space for Ukraine president and media hero Zelensky praising Johnson “for the decision that keeps history on the right track,” but instantly pivoted with “Not everyone was eager to pile on the kudos,” citing a Democrat who aired criticism precisely like Karni’s.
  2986.  
  2987.  
  2988. “I’m so glad Republicans finally realize the gravity of the situation and the urgency with which we must act,” Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the Rules Committee, said on Friday as the House was about to take a vote to clear the way for the bill. “But you don’t get an award around here for doing your damn job.”
  2989.  
  2990.  
  2991. Karni got the scoop from The View’s allegedly Republican co-host.
  2992.  
  2993.  
  2994. Alyssa Farah Griffin, a former top aide in the Trump administration, was lukewarm, at best, in her praise for Mr. Johnson, who she noted had dithered for months before moving ahead on Ukraine aid, even though it was clear there was a broad consensus that the aid was critical.
  2995.  
  2996. “It’s remarkable that this is being viewed as a brave or heroic move -- simply putting a bill on the House floor for a vote that has bipartisan support to pass,” she said. “In the period of time that Johnson waffled over whether to even allow a vote on it or not, Ukraine lost ground and Ukrainians were killed by Russians.”
  2997.  
  2998.  
  2999. Alyssa Farah served with Trump for almost his entire term, and then quickly became a high-paid host on The View. Why is she the "bravery" judge? But the Times just did a puff piece on her. 
  3000.  
  3001. Even after Johnson did what the Democrats (who waved Ukrainian flags on the House floor) wanted, Karni didn’t pause from her petulance.
  3002.  
  3003.  
  3004. Even after his impassioned comments, he hesitated before releasing the text of the bills, prompting Democrats to worry that his indecision and desire to appeal to the far right would again win out.
  3005. </description>
  3006.  <pubDate>April 22nd, 2024 12:37 PM</pubDate>
  3007.    <dc:creator>Clay Waters</dc:creator>
  3008.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283841</guid>
  3009.    </item>
  3010. <item>
  3011.  <title>CNN's Zakaria Nudges Michael Douglas to Tout Biden's Brain: ‘He’s Sharp As A Tack!’  </title>
  3012.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/tim-graham/2024/04/22/cnns-zakaria-nudges-michael-douglas-tout-bidens-brain-hes-sharp-tack</link>
  3013.  <description>On Sunday's CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS brought on 79-year-old actor Michael Douglas to plug his new Benjamin Franklin movie on Apple TV+. Zakaria nudged Douglas, a liberal Democrat, to vouch for Biden's mental acuity. From what he's heard, Douglas says Biden's "as sharp as a tack." Isn't that what all the Democrats say off the talking-points list? 
  3014.  
  3015.  
  3016.  
  3017.  
  3018.  
  3019.  
  3020.  
  3021.  
  3022. ZAKARIA: So you and Biden are about the same age. Are you one of those people who wished he had, bowed out and let the field choose somebody else? How do you think about that?
  3023.  
  3024. DOUGLAS: Well, I think that I walk a little similar to him. And the people that I’ve talked to and everybody that I have, say he’s sharp as a tack! He’s fine. We all have an issue with memories as we get older, we forget names. He’s overcome a stutter in his life. But let’s just say that his entire cabinet, including his vice president, everybody in his cabinet would be more than happy to work with him again in the next term. I cannot say that about the other candidate running because nobody in his cabinet from 2016 wants to be involved with him.
  3025.  
  3026.  
  3027. Can we be sure that nobody in Trump's first-term cabinet would come back? Fact-checkers? It's obviously much easier to be in Biden's cabinet when no one at CNN is trying to get you removed for being a Trump selection (and trying to ruin your post-Trump career on top). 
  3028.  
  3029. Zakaria then "went there" to where voters have concerns, that Biden won't be sharp as tack in 2026, or 2027. This answer may not have been what he wanted:  
  3030.  
  3031.  
  3032. ZAKARIA: Do you -- do you think when you -- you know, everyone says, yes, he is OK now, but -- you know, what's it going to be like the next four or five years? But you're -- you're going to work for the next four or five years. You're not retiring.
  3033. DOUGLAS: Well, I'm not. However, I will say we did Franklin in 2022. And after 165 days of shooting, for seven months, I haven't worked since. So, I took '23 off and we're going into '24. And I must say I'm enjoying the time off. And I think he'll be fine. Thank you very much.
  3034.  
  3035.  
  3036. In the first half of the interview, Douglas talked about his reading of philosophy and his "Jewish roots," but Zakaria didn't have any questions about the Islamists vs. Israel or anti-Semitism on campus. This was more like a Larry King celebrity interview.</description>
  3037.  <pubDate>April 22nd, 2024 10:38 AM</pubDate>
  3038.    <dc:creator>Tim Graham</dc:creator>
  3039.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283843</guid>
  3040.    </item>
  3041. <item>
  3042.  <title>Doocy SLAMS KJP Over Biden’s Latest Tall Tale: ‘Where Did the Cannibalism Come From?’</title>
  3043.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/curtis-houck/2024/04/22/doocy-slams-kjp-over-bidens-latest-tall-tale-where-did-cannibalism</link>
  3044.  <description>In case you missed it from Friday, Fox’s Peter Doocy clashed with the ever-inept Karine Jean-Pierre during the White House press briefing when Doocy called out the President for falsely claiming his uncle not only died during World War II, but was cannibalized in Papua New Guinea by blood-thirsty natives. Jean-Pierre ducked, attacking Doocy and invoking the dubious “suckers” and “losers” tall tale about Donald Trump from The Atlantic.
  3045.  
  3046. Doocy respectfully cut to the case: “Why is President Biden saying that his Uncle Bosie was eaten by cannibals?”
  3047.  
  3048.  
  3049.  
  3050.  
  3051.  
  3052.  
  3053.  
  3054.  
  3055.  
  3056. Jean-Pierre complained she already “answered this question yesterday” and “your network” even played “clips....about me answering this question” before claiming Doocy saw for himself if he was on the trip to Scranton that Biden “had an emotional and, um, I think a symbolic moment” in taking “an opportunity, as President, to honor his uncle’s service in uniform.”
  3057.  
  3058. “He had an opportunity...to speak to the bravery of his uncle and not just his uncle, but many U.S. service members that put their lives on the line on behalf of this country,” she added, with his uncle Ambrose Finneagan serving as an example “for honoring our sacred commitment to equip those — we stand — we sent to war and take care of them and their families when they come home.”
  3059.  
  3060. She then made it about Trump
  3061.  
  3062.  
  3063. [A]s he iterated, the last thing American veterans are — or the last thing Americans should be called or suckers and losers and — and that is — those types of words should not come from a commander in chief, as we have in the past. And we should actually be lifting up our American veterans and honoring them and that’s what you saw from this President.
  3064.  
  3065.  
  3066. Doocy said he felt the same about how veterans should be treated and that “Second Lieutenant Ambrose J. Finnegan was a war hero, but the Pentagon says, for unknown reasons, the plane was forced to ditch in the ocean and both engines failed at low out — altitude.”
  3067.  
  3068. He then ripped Biden for why then did he have to lie when his uncle was already a war hero: “Why is President Biden saying he was shot down? There’s no evidence of that. And why is he saying that his uncle was eaten by cannibals? That’s a bad way to go.”
  3069.  
  3070. Instead of conceding Biden lied or moving on, Jean-Pierre attacked Doocy by alleging he’s disrespectful of the dead: “[W]e should not make jokes about this.”
  3071.  
  3072. Doocy clapped back before letting Jean-Pierre drone on: “[I]t’s not. The President — Biden said with his own lips he was eaten by cannibals.”
  3073.  
  3074. “[N]o, no, I mean, your — your last line. It’s — it’s for a laugh. It’s for a funny — funny statement and he takes this very seriously. His uncle who served and protected this country lost his life serving and that should matter,” Jean-Pierre whined.
  3075.  
  3076. After she again deflected to Trump, Doocy tried one last time: “Where did the cannibalism come from?”
  3077.  
  3078. Jean-Pierre punted one last time, alleging Doocy “miss[ed] the point” and not recognizing Biden “lifts up American veterans” and “our U.S. service members.”
  3079.  
  3080. Doocy’s first question concerned the anti-Semitic, far-left terrorist sympathizers at Columbia University as a follow up to CNN’s Priscilla Alverez (click “expand”):
  3081.  
  3082.  
  3083. ALVAREZ: More than 100 people protesting the war in Gaza were cleared off the Columbia University campus yesterday and arrested. Is the President aware of these arrests? And what is his message to these protesters?
  3084.  
  3085. JEAN-PIERRE: So, just let me say at the top because I have to be mindful here. As you know, there is a — a — an investigation currently being led by the Department of Education. It’s an ongoing civil rights investigation of Columbia University, so I won’t speak to specifics about the protest here. There’s a couple things I do want to say — is that — is that we know this is a deeply painful moment for many communities impacted by this conflict. The President and our administration continues to speak out enforcely [sic] — forcefully condemn anti-Semitism and our administration is implementing the first ever national strategy to counter anti-Semitism. In recent months, we’ve seen a shocking rise in anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, in anti-Arab hate in the U.S. And around the world. He has also been clear that hate has no place in America, whether it is based on race, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability or any other form of hate, which is why there is no place for discrimination on college campuses or anywhere, anywhere in America. The President also believes that free speech debate and nondiscrimination on college campuses are important American values. When students are subject to hostile environments because of their faith or ethnicity, schools must act. Students must be safe to learn, and that’s where we stand on that one. [TO DOOCY] Go ahead.
  3086.  
  3087. DOOCY: And to just follow up on the protest. I get you don’t want to go into specifics, but what does the President think about young people in America, saying things like “we are all Hamas” and “long live Hamas”?
  3088.  
  3089. JEAN-PIERRE: Can —  I will say — look, this is a President that has been, uh, since he’s been in office, and the reason why he ran has been very clear about what he witnessed in Charlottesville. Let’s not forget what we saw the anti-Semitism, the bigotry, the hate that we saw in the streets of Charlottesville, which, as I just stated, was one of the reasons that he decided to run. And no president has taken more action to combat anti-Semitism than this President. And so you know, in our national strategy, we made clear that, when Jews are targeted because of their beliefs, because of their identity, or when Israel is singled out because of anti-Jewish hate — hatred, that is anti Semitism, and that is completely, completely unacceptable.
  3090.  
  3091.  
  3092. In contrast, the reporter who sat in the NPR seat hit from the left, giving oxygen to the notion that cracking down on these thugs are “threat to speech or assembly”.
  3093.  
  3094. Speaking of softballs, the AP’s Darlene Superville brought up gas prices and lobbed a softball that ran counter to the actual questions Fox Business’s Ed Lawrence asked a few days earlier:
  3095.  
  3096.  
  3097. Average gasoline prices have raised about 20 cents a gallon in the past month. Oil production — domestic oil production is down slightly from its recent peak and now we have the situation in the Middle East. How concerned is the administration about the combination of all of those things?
  3098.  
  3099.  
  3100. To see the relevant transcript from the April 19 briefing (including a softball from The Washington Post about Biden being “a student of history”), click here.</description>
  3101.  <pubDate>April 22nd, 2024 10:28 AM</pubDate>
  3102.    <dc:creator>Curtis Houck</dc:creator>
  3103.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283842</guid>
  3104.    </item>
  3105. <item>
  3106.  <title>MSNBC Blames TN Gun Laws for Shooting -- But Gunman Came from Illinois</title>
  3107.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/brad-wilmouth/2024/04/22/msnbc-blames-tn-gun-laws-shooting-gunman-came-illinois</link>
  3108.  <description>On this past weekend's The Saturday Show, MSNBC host Jonathan Capehart teamed up with anti-gun activist Dr. Jonathan Metzl to spread misinformation about the effects of gun laws as the two discussed his book on the 25th anniversary of the Columbine school shootings.
  3109.  
  3110. As the discussion turned to the 2018 attack on a Nashville Waffle House by 29-year-old Travis Reinking, Dr. Metzl reflexively blamed Tennessee's "pathologically loose gun laws" without divulging that the gunman had only somewhat recently moved into Tennessee from the blue state of Illinois. He soon complained about Tennessee expanding gun rights since the shooting:
  3111.  
  3112.  
  3113. And so, instead, what we've seen is a dramatic expansion in every kind of law that led to the shooting. People can carry guns without permits now. We're arming teachers, long guns to people with 18 and older, so we have this total disconnect between what people know we need as a society to keep our country safe and what the political process in its gerrymandered state right now is delivering which is, unfortunately, more of these horrific mass shootings.
  3114.  
  3115.  
  3116.  
  3117.  
  3118.  
  3119.  
  3120.  
  3121.  
  3122.  
  3123.  
  3124. It was not mentioned that Illinois police had confiscated several guns from Reinking after he showed signs of schizophrenia, but then gave them to his father who then returned them to his son later. One of those firearms was used in the Nashville attack after the gunman moved to the state. Reinking's father was also convicted in connection with giving his son's firearms back to him.
  3125.  
  3126. Capehart played the race card by hinting at the far-left liberal trope that the cops allowed Reinking to live because of he was white. "Dr. Metzl, a question occurs to me when we showed the Waffle House shooter. Was he taken alive after that -- that manhunt?" he played coy. Metzl obliged.
  3127.  
  3128. Then, without offering any evidence that other racial groups are treated differently, Metzl claimed that the Waffle House gunman was allowed to keep his guns because he is white:
  3129.  
  3130.  
  3131. Not only was he taken alive, what I show is there were five or six incidents before the shooting. He tried to jump the fence at the White House -- he came to the attention of the FBI -- he jumped naked into a pool and jumped out and shook his gun at people -- and so part of the story I ask in the book is, "What does it take to disarm a white man in America?" That's really the story of the book. And it turns out it's very hard because the laws -- the system -- people see a white man as a patriot. And, yes, he was taken alive after the shooting. He was not killed.
  3132.  
  3133.  
  3134. Back in February, Metzl made another appearance on the same show to promote his book, and, on that occasion, spread misinformation blaming the loosening of gun laws in Missouri around 2008 for an increase in homicides in that state:
  3135.  
  3136.  
  3137. Missouri had these pretty reasonable gun laws. I mean, there's a long history of gun ownership ... but until about 2008, believe it or not, you know, people would go to get a permit at the sheriff's office. ... And then they started overturning all the gun laws, overturning everything -- guns in parks, guns in bars, persons -- in 2021, made it almost a crime to even have cities mandate their own gun laws or enact federal -- any federal laws -- and what I saw was not just a rise in all kinds of gun injury and death gun, suicide gun, homicide -- all these things went up.
  3138.  
  3139.  
  3140.  
  3141.  
  3142.  
  3143.  
  3144.  
  3145.  
  3146.  
  3147.  
  3148. But, in fact, homicides in Missouri did not see a sustained increase until after 2014 when the Ferguson effect led to a surge in crime after the Mike Brown shooting in Ferguson, Missouri -- coinciding with a crime surge that was also seen across the country.
  3149.  
  3150. The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
  3151.  
  3152.  
  3153. MSNBC's The Saturday Show
  3154.  
  3155. April 20, 2024
  3156.  
  3157. 6:52 p.m. Eastern
  3158.  
  3159. JONATHAN CAPEHART: Dr. Metzl, your book takes a deep dive into the 2018 Waffle House shooting and how these mass shooters reveal a lot about the issues on race and mental health we continue to face in our country. Can you expand on that?
  3160.  
  3161. Dr. JONATHAN METZL, AUTHOR OF WHAT WE'VE BECOME: Yeah, my book, What We've Become, really takes a deep dive into that 2018 Waffle House shooting. It was a shooting where a naked white shooter went into a Waffle House in a part of Nashville where it was 2:30 in the morning full of young adults of color celebrating after the clubs closed. And it was many things -- it was a mental ill mass shooting -- it was a race shooting -- it was a sign of what happens in a state like Tennessee with our pathologically loose gun laws. In many ways, it's the same thing (similar to the Columbine school shootings from 25 years ago). Our town came together and said, "Enough is enough -- we're going to -- we're going to turn course -- this has shown us the worst of humanity, and now let's turn course."
  3162.  
  3163. I want to say there are a lot of people who are building from the horror of that moment -- people running for office. The mother of one of the victims of that shooting, Shaundelle Brooks, is running for state office in Tennessee. So there are many things that come out of the aftermath of the horror, but, again and again, it was a similar story, which was the people demanded some kind of action, but because Tennessee is a supermajority state, there was no pressure. Nobody was going to get pushed out of office or voted out of office.
  3164.  
  3165. And so, instead, what we've seen is a dramatic expansion in every kind of law that led to the shooting. People can carry guns without permits now. We're arming teachers, long guns to people with 18 and older, so we have this total disconnect between what people know we need as a society to keep our country safe and what the political process in its gerrymandered state right now is delivering which is, unfortunately, more of these horrific mass shootings.
  3166.  
  3167. CAPEHART: Dr. Metzl, question occurs to me when we showed the Waffle House shooter. Was he taken alive after that -- that manhunt?
  3168.  
  3169. Dr. METZL: Yeah, that's kind of the story I tell in the book. Not only was he taken alive, what I show is there were five or six incidents before the shooting. He tried to jump the fence at the White House -- he came to the attention of the FBI -- he jumped naked into a pool and jumped out and shook his gun at people -- and so part of the story I ask in the book is, "What does it take to disarm a white man in America?" That's really the story of the book. And it turns out it's very hard because the laws -- the system -- people see a white man as a patriot. And, yes, he was taken alive after the shooting. He was not killed.
  3170.  
  3171. CAPEHART: Dr. Jonathan Metzl, as always, thank you very much for coming -- for coming to the show.
  3172.  
  3173. (...)
  3174.  
  3175.  
  3176.  
  3177. MSNBC's The Saturday Show
  3178. February 17, 2024
  3179. 6:46 p.m. Eastern
  3180.  
  3181. JONATHAN CAPEHART: You wrote -- you focus on three states. One was Missouri Missouri's lax gun laws and what those lax gun laws did to Missouri. Real quickly, talk about that.
  3182.  
  3183. Dr. JONATHAN METZL, AUTHOR OF WHAT WE'VE BECOME: Well, I'm from Missouri -- I grew up in Kansas City -- my brothers and my dad were at the Super Bowl, you know. And so Kansas City is kind of home, and I know from this and from my own research that Missouri had these pretty reasonable gun laws. I mean, there's a long history of gun ownership -- of hunting -- of people caring about the 2nd Amendment -- but until about 2008, believe it or not, you know, people would go to get a permit at the sheriff's office. I interview people in my research -- it took about three seconds to get that. Nobody cared. And then they started overturning all the gun laws, overturning everything -- guns in parks, guns in bars, persons -- in 2021, made it almost a crime to even have cities mandate their own gun laws or enact federal -- any federal laws -- and what I saw was not just a rise in all kinds of gun injury and death gun, suicide gun, homicide -- all these things went up.
  3184.  
  3185. But the bigger issue for me was that it was the end of a kind of particular public space that people stopped congregating in places like Swope Park -- this park in the middle of the town -- and the public pools -- because everybody was so worried that they were going to get shot. And so there was injury and death, but there was also the end -- I mean, for me in Missouri, there was a Super Bowl parade pretty much every day -- it just never got on the news. But people -- it wasn't weird to go in a public space with people who were different than you. And that's what these gun -- these loose gun laws killed, was the sense of camaraderie and civic engagement.
  3186.  
  3187. CAPEHART: The name of the book is What We've Become: Living and Dying in a Country of Arms
  3188. </description>
  3189.  <pubDate>April 22nd, 2024 10:18 AM</pubDate>
  3190.    <dc:creator>Brad Wilmouth</dc:creator>
  3191.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283840</guid>
  3192.    </item>
  3193. <item>
  3194.  <title>NPR's 'Domestic Extremism' Reporter: Trump Could Cause Violence Against Jurors</title>
  3195.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/tim-graham/2024/04/21/nprs-domestic-extremism-reporter-trump-could-cause-violence-against</link>
  3196.  <description> One way the leftist media want to add juice to the Trump trial is to suggest the jurors will be threatened by Trump outbursts in court or on social media. On Friday’s All Things Considered, they brought in “NPR domestic extremism correspondent Odette Yousef” to spread the conspiracy theory that Trump messages will lead to violence. They really should be blunter, and just call her the Far Right warning correspondent.
  3197.  
  3198.  
  3199. AILSA CHANG: Odette, you've looked at what it can mean to serve on a jury for a Trump trial, like the safety concerns, the repercussions personally. Tell us what you're finding.
  3200.  
  3201. YOUSEF: So, Ailsa, the challenge here is that, you know, jurors need to feel that their privacy and safety are not at risk when they serve. But the court also needs to maintain some transparency to court proceedings so that there's public faith in the process. And finding that sweet spot is challenging, and it's been especially hard in the Trump trials. And that's because Donald Trump owns a social media platform, Ailsa. And so, you know, we've seen this pattern, a correlation, where, when he posts criticism about specific people or processes, what follows are threats.
  3202.  
  3203. And this has already been happening in this case. Judge Merchan's own daughter has been at the receiving end of harassment. And I've spoken to some people, including a former juror on a trial involving a Trump affiliate, who've been just stunned that there haven't been more protective measures set up at the outset of this trial, given what's happened in the past.
  3204.  
  3205.  
  3206. Notice the vagueness around “Merchan’s daughter,” who could be a minor, for all we know. NPR hasn’t mentioned Loren Merchan on air, and the only thing the shows up in NPR’s search engine is an online AP dispatch that underlines she’s a professional Democrat:
  3207.  
  3208.  
  3209. Loren Merchan is president of Authentic Campaigns, which has collected at least $70 million in payments from Democratic candidates and causes since she helped found the company in 2018, records show.
  3210.  
  3211. The firm's past clients include President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Senate Majority PAC, a big-spending political committee affiliated with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Senate Majority PAC has paid Authentic Campaigns $15.2 million, according to campaign finance disclosures.
  3212.  
  3213.  
  3214. Even AP tries to claim it’s a “daisy chain of innuendoes” to connect the judge to the daughter.
  3215.  
  3216. Yousef then turned to former Obama aide and CNN analyst Juliette Kayyem (but just like Merchan, NPR launders out the Democrat background). 
  3217.  
  3218.  
  3219. YOUSEF: She's a former national security official. She says at this point, courts should be expecting Trump to complain about the proceedings and that some of his followers may respond in violent ways.
  3220.  
  3221. JULIETTE KAYYEM: It feels like we're sort of sleepwalking into 2024. It's just our democratic institutions that used to have these norms, but, well, those norms no longer are holding. And we have to accept that and prepare with the expectation that violence or the threat of violence is going to be part of our democratic processes, at least for the short term.
  3222.  
  3223.  
  3224.  
  3225. Yesterday, I joined @NPR All Things Considered to discuss with Odette Yousef how we seem to be "sleepwalking" in 2024 as Trump continues with intimidation and threats of violence. How to keep jurors safe? Assume they are not. https://t.co/xpkCfP32Sy
  3226. — Juliette Kayyem (@juliettekayyem) April 20, 2024
  3227. This is how pro-Biden news outlets are "setting the table" for the trial. That Trump will inspire violence by objecting to the partisanship on display (including in the press). This is the media trying to create a "gag order" through intimidation:
  3228.  
  3229.  
  3230. CHANG: Well, I am curious, Odette -- if these so-called norms don't seem to be holding right now, how are you seeing that play out?
  3231.  
  3232. YOUSEF: You know, there was a policy paper, Ailsa, released earlier this year by the National Conference of State Court Administrators that identified juror safety and well-being among the top issues that need to be addressed these days. And that's not just for the Trump trials. You know, someone with the organization mentioned the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, Derek Chauvin's trial...
  3233.  
  3234. CHANG: Yeah.
  3235.  
  3236. YOUSEF: ...Trials of people in Trump's orbit. We are in a moment now in the U.S. where norms have shifted. People who are civically involved, whether it be in trials, in election administration, on school boards, you name it, are now increasingly targeted with violence or the threat of violence. And that's a reality that won't reverse itself overnight, and it chills democratic participation. So people who can should be thinking about safety of these people in ways they may not have had to consider before.
  3237. </description>
  3238.  <pubDate>April 21st, 2024 10:54 PM</pubDate>
  3239.    <dc:creator>Tim Graham</dc:creator>
  3240.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283838</guid>
  3241.    </item>
  3242. <item>
  3243.  <title>CBS Weekend News OMITS Latest Violent Campus Antisemitism</title>
  3244.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/jorge-bonilla/2024/04/21/cbs-weekend-news-omits-latest-violent-campus-antisemitism</link>
  3245.  <description>Weekend reporting of the latest round of anti-semitic protests, at Columbia University and elsewhere, yielded a mixed bag. ABC tried to bring balance to their reporting, NBC tilted heavily in favor of the protesters, and another, CBS, decided it was best not to report on the protests at all.
  3246.  
  3247. Here’s how ABC World News Tonight opened Sunday’s newscast:
  3248.  
  3249.  
  3250.  
  3251.  
  3252.  
  3253.  
  3254. LINSEY DAVIS: As we come on the air, New York authorities are issuing a warning ahead of Passover. Officials say the holiday, which begins tomorrow, may serve as a catalyst for extremist groups and individuals to commit acts of violence against Jewish faith-based communities. This comes as tensions are rising at Columbia University here in New York over the Israel-Hamas war. More than 100 people have been arrested in recent days. A rabbi at the school confirms to ABC News that he strongly recommended to Jewish students that they go home and not return to campus because of what he calls extreme anti-semitism at the school. A New York congresswoman is calling for the university's president to resign. And tonight, The White House is condemning calls for violence against Jewish students.
  3255.  
  3256.  
  3257. Linsey Davis’s frame was most representative of the report, which mentioned the call for Jewish students to go home, and the NYPD’s warning of further violence to potentially coincide with the Passover holiday. ABC here is further reinforcing Columbia’s stated commitment to ensuring the safety of its Jewish students.
  3258.  
  3259. NBC’s report was the mirror opposite, very heavily favoring the protesters. Here’s how correspondent George Solis began his report:
  3260.  
  3261.  
  3262. GEORGE SOLIS: In New York City, just outside the Gates of Columbia University, massive protests filling the streets. Pro-Palestinian demonstrations appearing to grow on this fourth day since students set up an encampment on campus that led police in riot gear to make more than 100 arrests at the request of the university president earlier this week. Students tell us despite the risk of suspension, having their I.D. badges turned off and losing access to housing here on campus, they've re-established this encampment demanding the university divest from Israel.
  3263.  
  3264.  
  3265. Solis’ report would go on to equate these protesters with those who protested the Vietnam War. And other than the one Jewish student featured, it was all protesters: from the organizers, to featuring imagery of flyers created by the pro-Hamas Students for Justice for Palestine, which hailed the barbaric attacks of October 7th as “a historic win for the Palestinian resistance”.
  3266.  
  3267. This was too much, apparently, for CBS- which found themselves unable to break away from such pressing matters as Taylor Swift’s latest album and Earth Day propaganda, and therefore unable to cover an anti-semitism (and tangentially anti-Americanism) currently festering at our universities.
  3268.  
  3269. Click “expand” to view the transcripts of the aforementioned reports as aired on their respective weekend newscasts:
  3270.  
  3271.  
  3272. ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT 
  3273.  
  3274. SUNDAY, APRIL 21st, 2024:
  3275.  
  3276. LINSEY DAVIS: As we come on the air, New York authorities are issuing a warning ahead of Passover. Officials say the holiday, which begins tomorrow, may serve as a catalyst for extremist groups and individuals to commit acts of violence against Jewish faith-based communities. This comes as tensions are rising at Columbia University here in New York over the Israel-Hamas war. More than 100 people have been arrested in recent days. A rabbi at the school confirms to ABC News that he strongly recommended to Jewish students that they go home and not return to campus because of what he calls extreme anti-semitism at the school. A New York congresswoman is calling for the university's president to resign. And tonight, The White House is condemning calls for violence against Jewish students. ABC's Reena Roy leads us off.
  3277.  
  3278. REENA ROY: Tonight, the NYPD issuing an alarming warning on the eve of Passover. Saying in a bulletin obtained by ABC News, that “extremist groups may view the holiday as an opportunity to perpetrate acts of violence or intimidation against Jewish faith-based communities”. Though the document cites no specific threats, it adds: "Jewish people and institutions continue to be the target of violent attacks, targeted harassment, hate crimes, and threats, especially since the onset of the Israel-Hamas war." It comes after a rabbi associated with New York City's Columbia University told Jewish students to go home this week, following pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus. Writing today in an email, "Columbia University's Public Safety and the NYPD cannot guarantee Jewish students' safety." Those protests began after the school's president was grilled on Capitol Hill about anti-semitism on campus.
  3279.  
  3280. U.S. REP. KEVIN KILEY: There's evidence of anti-semitism among professors on your faculty?
  3281.  
  3282. MINOUCHE SHAFIK: We have seen some cases and there have been consequences.
  3283.  
  3284. ROY: More than 100 demonstrators arrested on campus Thursday. The White House saying the Department of Education has launched an investigation into the incident.
  3285.  
  3286. KARINE JEAN_PIERRE: When students are subject to hostile environments because of their faith or ethnicity, schools must act. Students must be safe to learn.
  3287.  
  3288. ROY: And Linsey, tonight, Columbia is responding, saying that they are listening to concerns of Jewish students and providing them with additional support. Adding that students do have the right to protest, but not to disrupt campus life or intimidate others. Linsey.
  3289.  
  3290. DAVIS: And students at several universities are now planning rallies in support of those Columbia protesters. Reena, thank you.
  3291.  
  3292.  
  3293.  
  3294. NBC NIGHTLY NEWS
  3295.  
  3296. SATURDAY, APRIL 20th, 2024:
  3297.  
  3298. JOSE DIAZ-BALART: Protests are expanding to college campuses around the country over Israel's war in Gaza. And heightened tensions at Columbia University tonight, just days after police were called in to clear out a protest encampment on campus. George Solis is there. 
  3299.  
  3300. [ Chants ]
  3301.  
  3302. GEORGE SOLIS: In New York City, just outside the Gates of Columbia University, massive protests filling the streets. Pro-Palestinian demonstrations appearing to grow on this fourth day since students set up an encampment on campus that led police in riot gear to make more than 100 arrests at the request of the university president earlier this week. Students tell us despite the risk of suspension, having their I.D. badges turned off and losing access to housing here on campus, they've re-established this encampment demanding the university divest from Israel.
  3303.  
  3304. STUDENT: I was one of the students arrested, suspended by the university. All of these students know the risk, and they're showing up because they understand that in our numbers we have greater safety.
  3305.  
  3306. SOLIS: For some, the ongoing protests have led to discomfort even being on campus.
  3307.  
  3308. (JEWISH) STUDENT: They feel the campus is so toxic, so unwelcoming to Jewish students and people who diverge from this line. 
  3309.  
  3310. [ Chants ]
  3311.  
  3312. SOLIS: And demonstrations are now spreading. Overnight, hundreds of Yale students camped outside a dinner for the university president to protest the school's investment in military weapon manufacturers. At UNC-Chapel hill, students set up their own encampment in solidarity with the Columbia students who were arrested this week. All as the national pro-Palestinian student group is calling for action on campuses nationwide. 
  3313.  
  3314. [ Chants ] 
  3315.  
  3316. Universities have a long history of political demonstration. Columbia famously seeing buildings overtaken in 1968 by anti-Vietnam war demonstrators.
  3317.  
  3318. STUDENTS: Revolution!
  3319.  
  3320. SOLIS: Tonight's protest on campus and out in the streets, once again making their stance known on a war raging overseas.
  3321.  
  3322. STUDENT ORGANIZER: It's been six months and the protests have only been getting bigger. And it says so much about the hope of this movement.
  3323.  
  3324. DIAZ-BALART: George Solis joins us from outside Columbia University. George, what is the police presence there like tonight?
  3325.  
  3326. SOLIS: Yeah, Jose, there's a large police presence here on the periphery of the campus. You can see it right behind me where protests are still growing strong at this hour. What's unclear tonight is if police are going to go back on campus to disperse the groups of students gathered there tonight. Jose.
  3327.  
  3328. DIAZ-BALART: George Solis in New York. Thank you.
  3329.  
  3330.  
  3331.  </description>
  3332.  <pubDate>April 21st, 2024 9:07 PM</pubDate>
  3333.    <dc:creator>Jorge Bonilla</dc:creator>
  3334.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283839</guid>
  3335.    </item>
  3336. <item>
  3337.  <title>Politico’s J-Mart Laments: ‘If The Election’s About Biden, Trump’s Gonna Win’</title>
  3338.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/jorge-bonilla/2024/04/21/politicos-j-mart-laments-if-elections-about-biden-trumps-gonna</link>
  3339.  <description>Behold the latest installment of media types fretting over the current course of the presidential election. In this instance, Politico Senior Political Columnist Jonathan Martin lamenting that the current trajectory of the election, a referendum on President Joe Biden, augurs the reelection of former President Donald Trump on this week’s installment of ABC This Week.
  3340.  
  3341. Watch as J-Mart and host Jon Karl discuss the election’s current trajectory, as aired on ABC This Week on Sunday, April 21st, 2024:
  3342.  
  3343.  
  3344.  
  3345.  
  3346.  
  3347.  
  3348. REINCE PREIBUS: In 2016, it was 24/7 lousy press, good press, everything in between, Donald Trump. If you look at the press, 90% of it's about Trump, and he -- he went through the last three weeks with five rallies a day, and turned out one of the biggest upsets in modern history. When it's all about Trump, he's winning.
  3349.  
  3350. JONATHAN MARTIN: Yes. So I disagree with that.
  3351.  
  3352. JON KARL: FiveThirtyEight average has shown a bit of a movement towards Biden.
  3353.  
  3354. MARTIN: I think the opposite is true. I think if the election is about Biden…
  3355.  
  3356. (CROSSTALK) 
  3357.  
  3358. MARTIN: …Trump’s gonna win. I think if the election’s about Trump, Biden's got a lot better chance. And right now Biden's problem is: this election is about Joe Biden.
  3359.  
  3360. KARL: Yeah…
  3361.  
  3362. MARTIN: I mean, that’s the challenge, right?
  3363.  
  3364. KARL: Those are the kind of numbers that make Biden very nervous. So…
  3365.  
  3366. MARTIN: And Michigan…
  3367.  
  3368. KARL: …so, how does The White House feel…
  3369.  
  3370. MARTIN: And Michigan’s the most ominous number there.
  3371.  
  3372.  
  3373. Former RNC Chair Reince Priebus begins this segment by schooling the panel as to the effects of trying to drown Trump in free press, as was the case in 2016 when the media gave him over $5 billion in free media. And there are certainly many parallels with 2016 at play in the current cycle. This time, the endless Trump cycle centers around the various prosecutions against him in state and federal courts. But the polling that This Week’s panel was looking at seems to indicate that the negative coverage is not working out.
  3374.  
  3375. And this is where Jonathan Martin comes in and very plainly argues the case for the media to make the election about Donald Trump. The media NEED the election to be about Trump, otherwise Biden becomes the purest victim of his calamitous record. 
  3376.  
  3377. But polling shows that the public’s attention is fixed on other things such as the economy, inflation, and immigration- issues where Trump has consistently outperformed Biden. Polling further suggests that the media’s J6 fixations have very little resonance beyond the elite Acela bubble. 
  3378.  
  3379. Indeed, as Jonathan Martin notes, “Biden's problem is: this election is about Joe Biden.” Part of the story of the upcoming days is going to be centered around the media’s efforts to make the opposite come true. Just as in 2016.
  3380.  
  3381.  </description>
  3382.  <pubDate>April 21st, 2024 6:02 PM</pubDate>
  3383.    <dc:creator>Jorge Bonilla</dc:creator>
  3384.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283837</guid>
  3385.    </item>
  3386. <item>
  3387.  <title>Washington Post  Portrays Twitter-Hating Brazilian Judge as Disinformation Hero</title>
  3388.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/pj-gladnick/2024/04/21/washington-post-portrays-twitter-hating-brazilian-judge</link>
  3389.  <description> Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes is enraged that X (which will forever still be known as Twitter) allows the free flow of information because he labels some of it "disinformation" which he cannot tolerate. Therefore de Moraes has demanded that Twitter remove a number of accounts.
  3390.  
  3391. In the old obedient days of Twitter when the management treated "disinformation" (which is mostly information contrary to liberal views) to be one of the great sins of our world, they would have immediately acceded to the request. However  the new owner, Elon Musk, refused to take down the accounts which should make him a free speech hero. But in Friday's paper,  but to the Washington Post found the real hero in this matter is the authoritarian Brazilian Supreme Court Justice.
  3392.  
  3393. The Washington Post's no longer surprising support of censorship appeared on Thursday in "Having remade Twitter, Elon Musk takes his speech fight global" by the team of Elizabeth Dwoskin, Terrence McCoy and Marina Dias.
  3394.  
  3395.  
  3396. On one side, there’s Alexandre de Moraes, one of the world’s most aggressive prosecutors of disinformation. In recent years, as right-wing Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro and his supporters questioned the integrity of Brazil’s elections, Moraes was granted expanded powers to fight false claims online. As head of the country’s top elections court, he has issued arrest warrants against dozens of figures and demanded that social media companies take down scores of accounts.
  3397.  
  3398. Then there’s Musk, the combative tech billionaire who, since taking over Twitter, has loosened the platform’s restrictions on hateful content and allowed misinformation to flood the platform in the name of free speech. Their opposing worldviews exploded into public view this month, when Musk announced he would no longer countenance judicial orders from Moraes, who he said was breaking Brazilian law, and threatened to shutter the platform, now called X, in one of its most active markets.
  3399.  
  3400. Moraes, in response, said he was adding Musk as a target in his ongoing criminal investigation into political groups accused of using false information to attack democracy.
  3401.  
  3402.  
  3403. So guess who the Post castigates in this dispute?
  3404.  
  3405.  
  3406. Since declaring his independence from Moraes’s orders, Musk has met with Argentine President Javier Milei at a Tesla factory in Texas, been invited to a live online appearance with Bolsonaro and said he will meet soon with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. All are populists bolstered by online armies that have been accused of spreading disinformation.
  3407.  
  3408. ...Musk’s politics form “a connective tissue between these far-right figures and movements,” said Emerson Brooking, a disinformation researcher with the Digital Forensic Research Lab of the Atlantic Council. “He is globalizing America’s culture wars.”
  3409.  
  3410.  
  3411. The Post failed to note that the leftwing Atlantic Council is a think tank funded by George Soros which hyped the idea for the Biden Department of Homeland Security’s Disinformation Governance Board. Ironic since by their rules, the failure to mention this could be considered... disinformation. See how that works?
  3412.  
  3413. In stark contrast with their scary-music notes on Musk, the Post tone towards the censorship enforcing Brazilian justice is quite benign.
  3414.  
  3415.  
  3416. Musk remains a target of Moraes’s investigation, according to a Supreme Court official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under rules set by the court. That probe goes beyond X’s content moderation policies into whether Musk is part of an organized threat to the country’s democracy.
  3417.  
  3418. ...For more than a year leading up to the 2022 election, a polarizing choice between Bolsonaro and leftist former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Bolsonaristas pushed doubts about electronic voting systems in a strategy that mirrored Donald Trump’s unfounded accusations in 2020.
  3419.  
  3420. Before the vote, Moraes sought an expanded interpretation of the election court’s authority to investigate, censor and prosecute people suspected of undermining public institutions. The Supreme Court granted him the power to order the immediate removal of problematic content — and fine or suspend companies that did not comply.
  3421.  
  3422.  
  3423. Finally we have a member of the Soros-funded Atlantic Council whining about what he perceives as America, due largely to Musk, backing off a bit from censorship.
  3424.  
  3425.  
  3426. The country, said Brooking of the Atlantic Council, could become an important cause for right-wing groups worldwide, including in the United States in an election year in which tech companies have largely retreated from policing misinformation.
  3427. </description>
  3428.  <pubDate>April 21st, 2024 4:00 PM</pubDate>
  3429.    <dc:creator>P.J. Gladnick</dc:creator>
  3430.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283815</guid>
  3431.    </item>
  3432. <item>
  3433.  <title>‘THE TRUMP STORY’: NBC's Andrea Mitchell Frets Trump’s NYC Trial Is Crowding Biden Out</title>
  3434.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/jorge-bonilla/2024/04/21/trump-story-nbcs-andrea-mitchell-frets-trumps-nyc-trial-crowding</link>
  3435.  <description>During the weekly panel discussion on NBC’s Meet The Press, Chief Foreign Correspondent Andrea Mitchell fretted about the trial of former President Donald Trump overshadowing everything President Joe Biden is doing on the campaign trail, to the point of referring to the present media environment as “The Trump Story”.
  3436.  
  3437. Watch as Mitchell compares the current Trump cycle crowding Biden to the 2016 news environment crowding Hillary Clinton, as aired on NBC’s Meet The Press on Sunday, April 21st, 2024:
  3438.  
  3439.  
  3440.  
  3441.  
  3442.  
  3443.  
  3444.  
  3445.  
  3446.  
  3447.  
  3448. KRISTEN WELKER: Pick up on that point, because this is all going- against the backdrop of Donald Trump in court for his first criminal trial this week.
  3449.  
  3450. ANDREA MITCHELL: The fact is, we don't know how that is going to play. Up until now, these legal cases have only helped him fund-raising, made him- you know, tell people he’s the victim, energized his base. And so, he’s risen in the polls with every indictment. Now we’re going to see him really powerless. The judge has been very effective, and how they handle the gag order is yet to be seen. While Joe Biden is campaigning. The problem for Joe Biden and the Democrats is, it’s- Trump is crowding out -- the trial is crowding out everything else.
  3451.  
  3452. WELKER:  Mm-hmm.
  3453.  
  3454. MITCHELL:  So Joe Biden goes out and does policy things. The steel tariffs in Pennsylvania. Everything else that he’s doing- student loans, he’s breaking through a little bit. But everything else is crowded out. And it's The Trump Story. And that's what happened in 2016 to Hillary Clinton. And that could be replicated this year. I think it's really -- I think- the enthusiasm issue and the young voter issue is critical. And as long as this war in Gaza goes on, this is going to be a problem with young voters. Because they have an offramp. That offramp is RFK, Jr. And I know your poll shows that RFK, Jr. would hurt Trump more than Biden, hypothetically. And it's very early in polling, you know, to say who would-- But I think The White House -- I know The White House is more afraid of him. 
  3455.  
  3456. WELKER: It’s jittery.
  3457.  
  3458. MITCHELL: His family certainly is, because it was very hard for those siblings to come out and do that. They all did it because they think he really hurts them- Joe Biden- more than Donald Trump. 
  3459.  
  3460.  
  3461. Mitchell’s comparisons of the current Trump cycle to 2016 betray a fundamental lack of self-awareness. Donald Trump earned over $5 billion in free media throughout that cycle, largely because the media believed he’d be the easiest opponent en route to Hillary Clinton’s coronation. Mitchell’s portrayal of Clinton here is as a victim of history, and not as the failed beneficiary of the campaign to drown Trump in free media. This tracks with current coverage of President Biden as the purest victim of the calamities of the present day. Fast forward to 2024, and Mitchell fretting that the orchestrated effort to weaponize state and federal government against Trump, so as to secure a felony conviction against him ahead of the presidential election, is once and again overwhelming the news cycle and “crowding out” the Democrat that was supposed to benefit from these weaponized trials. 
  3462.  
  3463. The focus then shifts to the presence of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on multiple state ballots as an “offramp” for young voters disaffected over Biden’s handling of Gaza. Welker’s characterization of the Biden White House as “jittery’ is notable. Also notable is Mitchell’s inadvertent depiction of RFK’s candidacy as hurtful to the Kennedy family. If they really feel it hurts them, then it wasn’t so hard for them to come out and do the thing for Joe Biden. Mitchell stepped all over herself in that one sentence. 
  3464.  
  3465. More importantly, Mitchell revealed the extent to which the media- as Biden’s Praetorian Guard- are worried about the effects of current events on the election. </description>
  3466.  <pubDate>April 21st, 2024 3:51 PM</pubDate>
  3467.    <dc:creator>Jorge Bonilla</dc:creator>
  3468.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283836</guid>
  3469.    </item>
  3470. <item>
  3471.  <title>FLASHBACK: Media Seized on Elián Saga to Vilify Anti-Communists</title>
  3472.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/rich-noyes/2024/04/21/flashback-media-seized-elian-saga-vilify-anti-communists</link>
  3473.  <description> Twenty-four years ago tomorrow (April 22, 2000), Attorney General Janet Reno ordered gun-toting immigration officers to snatch six-year-old Elián Gonzalez from his Miami home in preparation for his return to communist Cuba after a lengthy diplomatic dispute.
  3474.  
  3475. Five months earlier, Elián was brought by his mother and her boyfriend in their attempt to flee Cuba by sea, hoping for a new life in the United States. Their boat lost power and sank, and Elián’s mother drowned along with most of the other passengers. The U.S. Coast Guard  brought him to Florida after he was found floating in an inner tube on November 25, 1999; the youngster was then sent to live with relatives in Miami, just as he would have if his mother had successfully completed her escape.
  3476.  
  3477. From the beginning, liberal journalists insisted there was nothing superior about living in the United States vs. the communist dictatorship in Cuba. On his December 6, 1999 Upfront program, for example, CNBC’s Geraldo Rivera argued the only problem was that Castro’s tyranny was “unpopular” with Americans. “You can hate Castro and hate his government,” Rivera lobbied, but then “every time you have an unpopular government that we object to, children can be snatched from that country....It’s just unconscionable....It’s politics, it stinks.”
  3478.  
  3479. During ABC’s round-the-clock New Year’s coverage on December 31, 1999, correspondent Cynthia McFadden in Havana related how in a visit to a Cuban school, the children “talked about... their fear of the United States... because it was a place where they kidnap children — a direct reference, of course to Elián Gonzalez.” Of course, there was no hint that the children McFadden spoke with were merely repeating the propaganda line fed to them by the government.
  3480.  
  3481. By April, it was obvious that the Clinton administration was going to find a way to send Elián back to the nation his mother fled. Journalists claimed that life in Castro’s Cuba might be better than life in America. “Elián might expect a nurturing life in Cuba, sheltered from the crime and social breakdown that would be part of his upbringing in Miami,” Newsweek’s Brook Larmer and John Leland argued in their magazine’s April 17, 2000 issue. “The boy will nestle again in a more peaceable society that treasures its children.”
  3482.  
  3483. “To be a poor child in Cuba may in many instances be better than being a poor child in Miami, and I’m not going to condemn their lifestyle so gratuitously,” their Newsweek colleague Eleanor Clift pronounced on the April 8 McLaughlin Group.
  3484.  
  3485. Pressed, Clift later doubled down, telling FNC’s Bill O’Reilly on May 1: “I can understand why a rational, loving father can believe that his child will be protected in a state where he doesn’t have to worry about going to school and being shot at, where drugs are not a big problem, where he has access to free medical care and where the literacy rate, I believe, is higher than this country’s.”
  3486.  
  3487. In an April 20 interview with Vice President Al Gore’s wife, Tipper, CNN host Larry King echoed the Castro regime’s anti-American talking points: “One of the things that Elián Gonzalez’s father said, that I guess would be hard to argue with, that his boy’s safer in a school in Havana than in a school in Miami. He would not be shot in a school in Havana. Good point?”
  3488.  
  3489. To her credit, Tipper Gore disagreed: “Well, I think that’s a, that’s a bit of a harsh point....”
  3490.  
  3491. As they peddled the idea that life under communism was grand, journalists also took nasty swipes at the anti-communist Cuban community in Miami. “Some suggested over the weekend that it’s wrong to expect Elián Gonzalez to live in a place that tolerates no dissent or freedom of political expression. They were talking about Miami....Another writer this weekend called it ‘an out of control banana republic within America,’” NBC’s Katie Couric jabbed as she opened the April 3 Today.
  3492.  
  3493. “In Miami, it’s impossible to overestimate how everything here is colored by a hatred of communism and Fidel Castro,” ABC’s John Quinones relayed the next day on World News Tonight. “It’s a community with very little tolerance for those who might disagree.”
  3494.  
  3495. “The ‘banana republic’ label sticking to Miami in the final throes of the Elián Gonzalez crisis is a source of snide humor for most Americans. But many younger Cuban-Americans are getting tired of the hard-line anti-Castro operatives who have helped manufacture that stereotype,” Time’s Tim Padgett echoed in his magazine’s April 17 edition.
  3496.  
  3497. The New York Times suggested it was old-fashioned to have a negative opinion of communist dictatorships. “Communism Still Looms as Evil to Miami Cubans,” the newspaper screamed in an April 11 headline.
  3498.  
  3499. On CBS’s The Early Show (April 14) , co-host Bryant Gumbel offered this slanted question to his network’s Cuba expert, Pamela Falk: “Cuban-Americans, Ms. Falk, have been quick to point fingers at Castro for exploiting the little boy. Are their actions any less reprehensible?”
  3500.  
  3501. Then on the Saturday before Easter, immigration officers raided the home of Elián’s Miami relatives to begin the process of returning the child to Cuba. Anchoring live coverage that morning (April 22), CBS anchor Dan Rather praised Janet Reno for ordering the assault: “In the end it worked. The child was gotten out safely.”
  3502.  
  3503. Rather also took the opportunity to vouch for the Cuban dictator’s good intentions: “There is no question that Castro feels a very deep and abiding connection to those Cubans who are still in Cuba....There’s little doubt in my mind that Fidel Castro was sincere when he said, ‘listen, we really want this child back here.’”
  3504.  
  3505. The heavy-handedness of the raid, typified by the picture of a fearful Elián being confronted by an armed immigration officer, was actually saluted by some in the press. “I gotta confess, that now-famous picture of a U.S. marshal in Miami pointing an automatic weapon toward Donato Dalrymple [the man holding Elián in the picture] and ordering him in the name of the U.S. government to turn over Elián Gonzalez warmed my heart,” New York Times columnist Tom Friedman cheered in his April 25 column headlined “Reno for President.”
  3506.  
  3507. According to Time’s Michael Duffy, the only valid criticism of Attorney General Janet Reno is that she waited too long to send in the soldiers. “I think any raid where no shots are fired and no one is hurt is a success,” Duffy affirmed on the April 28 edition of PBS’s Washington Week in Review. “I think where Reno is to blame is not that she should have talked longer or kept the negotiations going, but that she should have cut them off much sooner....She just should have stopped it earlier.”
  3508.  
  3509. Meanwhile, NBC’s Avila continued to reject the idea that Cuba was oppressed by communism. “The one thing that I’ve learned about Cubans in the many times that I have visited here in the last few years, is that it is mostly a nationalistic country, not primarily a communist country,” he naively insisted on MSNBC’s Imus in the Morning four days after the raid (April 26).
  3510.  
  3511. After two months living with his father as court challenges concluded, Elian and his father returned to Cuba in late June, 2000. The media continued to present the communist indoctrination that awaited him as normal. “The school system in Cuba teaches that communism is the way to succeed in life and it is the best system. Is that deprogramming or is that national heritage?” NBC’s Jim Avila wondered on CNBC’s Upfront Tonight on June 27.
  3512.  
  3513. “Elián will almost certainly rejoin the Pioneers as almost all Cuban children do. It’s very much like the Cub Scouts, camping trips and all, but with a socialist flavor and a revolutionary spin,” NBC’s Keith Morrison exclaimed on the June 28 Dateline.
  3514.  
  3515. All of that “education” has certainly had an impact: In March 2023, Elián Gonzalez was “elected” to Cuban National Assembly — which means he was selected by the communist party to run unopposed in his district. “At 29, he is a show pony for Cuba, just as many exiles feared,” the Miami Herald noted in a March 27 editorial. “The fight to claim Elián Gonzalez and give him a life in America was the last great battle between Castro, U.S. ‘imperialism’ and Miami exiles. And the dictator won.”
  3516.  
  3517. With a lot of help from a compliant news media.
  3518.  
  3519. For more examples from our flashback series, which we call the NewsBusters Time Machine, go here.                        
  3520.  </description>
  3521.  <pubDate>April 21st, 2024 10:11 AM</pubDate>
  3522.    <dc:creator>Rich Noyes</dc:creator>
  3523.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283801</guid>
  3524.    </item>
  3525. <item>
  3526.  <title>CNN's Jake Tapper Brings In 'Fact Checker' Daniel Dale to Knock Trump's Opinions</title>
  3527.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/tim-graham/2024/04/21/cnns-jake-tapper-brings-fact-checker-daniel-dale-knock-trumps</link>
  3528.  <description>CNN's resident "fact checker" Daniel Dale usually shows his face on air when CNN wants to attack Donald Trump. On Thursday's The Lead with Jake Tapper, Dale confessed that Trump's statements during jury selection were mostly just opinion, but he mocked the "false conspiracy theory" that President Biden had something to do with Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's prosecution, even though an Associate Attorney General joined Bragg's team. 
  3529.  
  3530.  
  3531.  
  3532.  
  3533.  
  3534.  
  3535. JAKE TAPPER: Daniel, we just heard a little speech from Mr. Trump. What did you make of it? Did he say anything that was not true?
  3536.  
  3537. DANIEL DALE: He did. I mean, it was mostly uncheckable, subjective opinion, but he did say a few things that weren’t quite right at very least. So he repeated his false conspiracy theory that essentially that Joe Biden is behind this case, which was brought by a locally elected [Democrat!] district attorney. He said Biden is behind it. He has his top people working with the DAs office to make sure everything goes right.
  3538.  
  3539. There is no basis for that. That appears to be a reference to a former Justice Department official who went to work for the DA’s office. But there’s no sign that was anything but his own employment decision. In fact, this former official, Matthew Colangelo, had previously been a colleague of DA Bragg, so he rejoined his old colleague.
  3540.  
  3541.  
  3542. At least CNN is mentioning Colangelo in passing. If this were a Trump Justice Department official arriving on a Biden prosecution, it would be a major scandal of partisanship. CNN would be aggressively digging for anonymous insiders to decry this plot.
  3543.  
  3544. Then the Canadian Trump-basher turned to the usual "no evidence" claims on the Biden impeachment inquiry:
  3545.  
  3546.  
  3547. DALE: He also claimed that Joe Biden is a crooked president should be on trial. I think that’s mostly opinion, but I think it’s worth noting, Jake, that we’ve had this extended Republican House investigation impeachment inquiry, no evidence of impeachable offenses, high crimes and misdemeanors, let alone criminal offenses.
  3548.  
  3549. And then I should note, as you did briefly, that, you know, he read this big pile of documents of articles citing headlines denouncing the case. I googled some of them as he was speaking, so he read one — talking about the whopping outrage in Trump’s indictment. Well, that’s harsh criticism. Where was it from?
  3550.  
  3551. A Fox News column. He mentioned the Daily Caller, another right wing publication. I googled another headline from the right wing National Review he mentioned. So there are some liberal scholars, legal experts, publications who have raised questions about this case. But that pile he showed was largely his usual friends, the usual suspects praising Trump, defending Trump in the conservative media.
  3552.  
  3553.  
  3554. Dale (and Tapper) weren't going to mention CNN's own legal analyst Elie Honig isn't impressed with Bragg's effort. This was for left-wing consumption, as in this headline at Mediaite: "CNN’s Daniel Dale Torpedoes Trump’s Attack On Biden — Rips Quoting ‘Usual Suspects’ Like Fox In Courthouse Rant."</description>
  3555.  <pubDate>April 21st, 2024 8:35 AM</pubDate>
  3556.    <dc:creator>Tim Graham</dc:creator>
  3557.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283835</guid>
  3558.    </item>
  3559. <item>
  3560.  <title>PBS 'Washington Week' Gang Hails Speaker Johnson Finding His 'Inner Reagan' on Ukraine</title>
  3561.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/clay-waters/2024/04/21/pbs-washington-week-gang-hails-speaker-johnson-finding-his-inner</link>
  3562.  <description> The latest, foreign-policy-facing episode of Washington Week with The Atlantic found the weekly journalistic roundtable quite comfortable with both American hard and soft power -- as long as President Biden and the Democrats hold the reins.
  3563.  
  3564. Jeffrey Goldberg, moderator of Washington Week and editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine, was joined by Eugene Daniels of Politico, Seung Min Kim of the Associated Press, Vivian Salama of The Wall Street Journal, and Graeme Wood of The Atlantic.
  3565.  
  3566. There was a scattering of hostile labeling, with three “far right” labels foisted on Republicans, including a "very raucous far right." PBS doesn't find "far left" for Ilhan Omar or Rashida Tlaib.
  3567.  
  3568. But most striking was the panel’s praise for previously mocked House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) for finding his (yes) “inner Reagan.” Now that the press has decided defending Ukraine against Putin’s Russia is vital, the 40th president’s reputation has shifted from warmonger to responsible internationalist.
  3569.  
  3570. Atlantic journalist Graeme Wood particularly loved Speaker Johnson finally “getting a grip on reality” on Ukraine, which in media terms meant Johnson turning away from his “hard-right” flank toward sweet reason – boosted by Democrats in Congress, who saved his speaker position -- by pushing an additional $60 billion in spending for military aid to Ukraine.
  3571.  
  3572. Goldberg set up a clip of Johnson arguing for military aid to Ukraine, even mentioning an "axis of evil" (remember those?) consisting of China, Iran, and Russia, but this time to media approval. When asked by host Goldberg whether what we’re seeing is “the true Mike Johnson,” Wood responded thusly.
  3573.  
  3574.  
  3575.  
  3576.  
  3577.  
  3578.  
  3579. Wood: I don’t know if it’s the true Mike Johnson. But having just been in Poland about a week ago, it seems to most polls and there are some parts of the world where the stakes are very high with these issues, that it’s a person, Mike Johnson, getting a grip on reality. I mean, Poles are seeing this as, arming Ukraine means stopping Kiev from falling and then stopping Russia from getting to the Polish border, which by the way, it’s been there before.
  3580.  
  3581.  
  3582. Knowing how public television has traditionally treated Ronald Reagan’s presidency, this exchange registered as ironic:
  3583.  
  3584.  
  3585. Jeffrey Goldberg: ….Vivian, let’s add onto that. Has Johnson found his inner Reagan? And is he strong enough to withstand what might be coming from the isolationist wing?
  3586.  
  3587. Vivian Salama: I think he would love to believe that he’s found his inner Reagan.
  3588.  
  3589. Goldberg: I mean, every Republican wants to find their inner Reagan, right?
  3590.  
  3591.  
  3592. And did the Democrats backing this package show their "inner Reagan" as well?
  3593.  
  3594. Later there was “optimism” Israeli’s embattled Netanyahu was listening to the wisdom of the American president and refraining from major countermeasures after Iran fired drones and missiles into Israel.
  3595.  
  3596.  
  3597. Goldberg: So, that brings me to this question about President Biden and his relationship with Prime Minister Netanyahu. It seems like there’s been a little bit of a reset in their relationship. And by that, I mean it seems as if Netanyahu is actually listening a bit to Joe Biden now, or is that -- am I over-indexing?
  3598.  
  3599. Wood: Yes, you might be a little bit too optimistic. But, you know, the hope was that during these last weeks, so much has changed, so much of the narrative could have changed, and it was a frozen and very bad narrative for a number of reasons in the Gaza War. But what can Netanyahu make of this? I mean, there are many Israelis who wish he would just disappear. But the next best thing would be for something in the frozen conflict, in the frozen situation to move….
  3600.  
  3601.  
  3602. Wood later admitted he wasn’t a Netanyahu fan: "We’ve got to understand, too, what type of pressure Netanyahu was under. I’ll speak with a rare note of sympathy with Bibi here, because if your country is attacked with 300 drones and ballistic missiles and you do nothing, I don’t think there’s any country that would allow an attack like that to go completely unanswered…."
  3603.  
  3604. Journalists are certainly more confident of projecting American might during Democratic administrations. Exporting United States military might to Ukraine and putting the diplomatic squeeze on an ally are now admirable traits. Strange days!
  3605.  
  3606. This sudden new respect for American military power was brought to you in part by Consumer Cellular, and taxpayers like you.
  3607.  
  3608. A transcript is available, click “Expand.”
  3609.  
  3610.  
  3611. PBS Washington Week with The Atlantic
  3612.  
  3613. 4/19/24
  3614.  
  3615. 8:02:01 p.m. (ET)
  3616.  
  3617. Jeffrey Goldberg: So, it seems that Mike Johnson, the unlikeliest speaker in recent memory, even Washington reporters who know everything admit that they hadn't heard of him before his selection, might not be falling off the tightrope quite yet. The far right of his party has predictably turned on him, but Donald Trump hasn't, so far at least, and neither have the Democrats.
  3618.  
  3619. Is Marjorie Taylor Greene inadvertently bringing back bipartisanship? I'll talk about this and the consequences for Ukraine and Israel funding with Eugene Daniels, a White House correspondent and co-author of Politico's playbook, Seung Min Kim is a White House reporter with the Associated Press, Vivian Salama is a national politics reporter for The Wall Street Journal, and Graeme Wood is my colleague and a staff writer at The Atlantic. Welcome, all.
  3620.  
  3621. Seung Min, you're in the hot seat. Just came from the White House. So, the House is poised to pass this $95 billion foreign aid package finally, and if the speaker gets this done, it's going to be with the help of the Democrats obviously, and his right most members, including Marjorie Taylor Greene, who may or may not be, for further discussion, the most powerful person on the Hill. They're pretty livid. So, what are the chances that Johnson gets this done, and in so doing, also subverts his speakership?
  3622.  
  3623. Seung Min Kim, White House Reporter, The Associated Press: The chances, on the one hand, the chances are good that the foreign aid package will pass the House tomorrow. On a procedural vote earlier today, you had 316 votes. That is far past the majority, helped with a lot of Democrats, like you said, and a significant portion of Republicans as well. And, you know, that will have to go back to the Senate, and then to the president's desk for it to be signed.
  3624.  
  3625. But the real question is what happens to Speaker Mike Johnson and his leadership position. What's been really interesting over the last couple of days is that it's not just Marjorie Taylor Greene anymore who's threatening to oust him from his speakership. The numbers, slowly, they are growing. You have two more House Republicans now on the record saying they would support him that what we call a motion to vacate, that maneuver, that mechanism that allows one person to oust a speaker. And why that matters --
  3626.  
  3627. Jeffrey Goldberg: The mechanism that was fatal to Kevin McCarthy.
  3628.  
  3629. Seung Min Kim: Definitely, yes, that mechanism.
  3630.  
  3631. And what's critical here is that the margins in the House are so narrow after there's one person leaving the house after this week and he will have just a one seat majority. That is almost untenable for any speaker to navigate, much less someone who is inexperienced and has a very raucous far right portion of the conference like Mike Johnson does.
  3632.  
  3633. Jeffrey Goldberg: Right. But I want to show you a chart from -- just to look at this. These are the last Republican speakers, and you see that it's not a job that lasts forever these days. Mike Johnson is at 178 days and counting.
  3634.  
  3635. I'm not asking Eugene for you to predict the future, although can you predict the future?
  3636.  
  3637. Daniels, White House Correspondent, Politico: No, not yet. I'm learning.
  3638.  
  3639. Jeffrey Goldberg: All right. I mean, what are the chances that he finds himself in really dire straits? And what are the chances that Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader, comes in to save him?
  3640.  
  3641. Eugene Daniels: That's the key to this, right? That the chances of whether or not he gets saved, it's all up to Hakeem Jeffries. If Hakeem Jeffries signals either in front of cameras or behind the scenes to Democrats that, hey, I will let you not come, you can leave, we want you to protect and defend him, Mike Johnson, in any kind of vote, then they will do that.
  3642.  
  3643. Jeffrey Goldberg: What's the Democratic interest in keeping Johnson in power?
  3644.  
  3645. Eugene Daniels: The reason that they are, the people that are interested in it, is, one, they're worried about who would come next, right? If Marjorie Taylor Greene, if you're not far right enough for her, people are worried about who's coming next.
  3646.  
  3647. And also, he's doing something that Kevin McCarthy did not do. He's acting in good faith with the Democrats at this point, right? The way that he's negotiating and trying to get these bills to the floor is something that they wanted from Kevin McCarthy. He would not do. Also, Kevin McCarthy was kind of bad mouthing Democrats on air a day after. They saved his bill, and so they were upset about that. They said, you know, we're not saving you, you're on your own.
  3648.  
  3649. Jeffrey Goldberg: Right.
  3650.  
  3651. Eugene Daniels: So, they're not getting that from Johnson.
  3652.  
  3653. Jeffrey Goldberg: Johnson is kind of cool, understated approach is working.
  3654.  
  3655. Eugene Daniels: It's working. It's working.
  3656.  
  3657. Jeffrey Goldberg: Yes. Vivian, do you have any thoughts on, on whether he can maneuver this Ukraine bill to passage and maintain his job?
  3658.  
  3659. Vivian Salama, National Politics Reporter, The Wall Street Journal: It's looking increasingly likely that he will get the Ukraine bill over the finish line. Now, whether or not he maintains his job is another story.
  3660.  
  3661. Remember, Ukraine was at one point a largely bipartisan issue. Most people in Congress on both sides of the aisle supported some sort of U.S. aid package. However, it has become increasingly a political flashpoint. And there is one person that has driven a lot of that rhetoric, and that is Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, where he made it increasingly become a political issue, where he would say, why are we giving billions of dollars to Ukraine? You know, the country is falling apart. We have problems at the border. And so that has grown.
  3662.  
  3663. And we've seen then the hardliners in the Republican Party pushing back on Ukraine aid. And that's where we are. It is not a substantive issue here. It is a political issue. And now you see Donald Trump coming along and saying, well, okay, we can give them aid in the form of a loan and everything has changed suddenly.
  3664.  
  3665. Jeffrey Goldberg: I want to get to Trump. Before we get to Trump, I want to -- so NewsHour's Amna Nawaz earlier this week interviewed President Zelenskyy in Kyiv, and he made his feelings about all of this quite clear. Listen to this one segment.
  3666.  
  3667. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President: We wanted another way to get this money last year, but for today, it doesn't matter. We need to survive and we need to defend our people. And that's why your decision, the ball is on your field, yes? Please, just make decision.
  3668.  
  3669. Jeffrey Goldberg: So, I'm not, I'm not saying that what I'm going to play you now is a direct consequence of PBS' global reach, but, Speaker Johnson causation, correlation, we can have that debate later, but Zelenskyy's plea, it seems as if, you know, that kind of thinking that Zelenskyy is talking about there kind of moved Speaker Johnson.
  3670.  
  3671. Listen to this. This is kind of an extended riff by Johnson on Ukraine, in which he sounds like an old style Reagan Republican.
  3672.  
  3673. Listen, listen to this.
  3674.  
  3675. Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA): I think providing lethal aid to Ukraine right now is critically important. I really do. I really do believe the intel and the briefings that we've gotten.
  3676.  
  3677. I believe Xi and Vladimir Putin and Iran really are an axis of evil. I think they're in coordination on this. I think that Vladimir Putin would continue to march through Europe if he were allowed.
  3678.  
  3679. To put it bluntly, I would rather send bullets to Ukraine than American boys. My son is going to begin in the Naval Academy this fall. This is a live fire exercise for me, as it is so many American families. This is not a game. It's not a joke. We can't play politics with this.
  3680.  
  3681. And I'm willing to take personal risk for that, because we have to do the right thing, and history will judge us.
  3682.  
  3683. Jeffrey Goldberg: Graeme, this is pretty remarkable given where Johnson was in the sort of Trumpian quasi isolationist framework. Are we seeing something very unusual? Is this the true Mike Johnson?
  3684.  
  3685. Graeme Wood, Staff Writer, The Atlantic: I don't know if it's the true Mike Johnson. But having just been in Poland about a week ago, it seems to most Poles and there're some parts of the world where the stakes are very high with these issues, that it's a person, Mike Johnson, getting a grip on reality.
  3686.  
  3687. I mean, polls are seeing this as arming Ukraine means stopping Kyiv from falling, and then stopping Russia from getting to the Polish border, which, by the way, it's been there before. So it's a matter of someone who -- you know, maybe he has to satisfy Marjorie Taylor Greene, maybe not. These are political questions that are, that are unfamiliar to parts of the world where they're wondering about their future independence and prosperity.
  3688.  
  3689. Jeffrey Goldberg: Right. I would love as an exercise to try to explain Marjorie Taylor Greene's politics to the prime minister of Poland, but that we'll do that on another show.
  3690.  
  3691. But, Vivian, come, come, let's add onto that. Has Johnson found his inner Reagan? And is he strong enough to withstand what might be coming from the isolationist wing?
  3692.  
  3693. Vivian Salama: I think he would love to believe that he's found his inner Reagan.
  3694.  
  3695. Jeffrey Goldberg: I mean, every Republican wants to find their inner Reagan, right? Yes.
  3696.  
  3697. Vivian Salama: And one of the things that I've heard a lot from folks on the Hill is that a lot of this is he's driven by faith, that he believes because of his faith that it is imperative upon the United States, it's incumbent upon the United States to help allies, including the Ukrainians who are on the frontline of this war, whether or not --
  3698.  
  3699. Jeffrey Goldberg: So, why did we wait so long?
  3700.  
  3701. Vivian Salama: Well, that's just the issue. There's so much political headwind and it's taken so much time for the party to sort of coalesce around this concept that we have to do this. And it was -- as a standalone issue, I don't know if Ukraine aid would have passed, but we're lumping it in with other issues, support for Israel, support for Taiwan. And so it pads it with those issues that do have more bipartisan support at the moment and can sort of get through the house a lot quicker.
  3702.  
  3703. Also remember there was a lot of pushback on border security that Republicans wanted to basically get a win by adding border security and linking it to Ukraine aid. And that is largely what slowed down the passage of this. And so this has been a major issue.
  3704.  
  3705. Eugene Daniels: It's his faith, but there's also like a practical aspect of this. He said, I believe the intel, he gets a lot more access to information as speaker than he did as a kind of a rank and file backbencher in the House.
  3706.  
  3707. So, he is getting information that he wasn't getting before. This is not the Mike Johnson that many of us did not know when you -- a few months ago, right?
  3708.  
  3709. Jeffrey Goldberg: Wait, I want to study that sentence. This is not the Mike Johnson that they didn't know.
  3710.  
  3711. Eugene Daniels: He's somebody we used to know. We know someone else.
  3712.  
  3713. Jeffrey Goldberg: Right.
  3714.  
  3715. Eugene Daniels: But like that is such a bit of integral part of understanding this change in him. He's in leadership. And there's a different way that you have to operate. His kind of dragging his feet, in my estimation, has always been -- he does have to make it look like he's not being pushed by Democrats to do anything. And a lot has changed in the months leading up to this.
  3716.  
  3717. Jeffrey Goldberg: Talk about that from the White House perspective. I mean, obviously, he's in leadership. He's getting intel. Now, obviously, if you're in the paranoid nether regions of American politics, you think, oh, then he's like being influenced by the deep state. But what he's getting is real time intelligence about the Ukrainian struggles, right?
  3718.  
  3719. Is this part of -- I mean, obviously, statutorily, you know, the speaker has to be involved in a lot of this, but is the White House cultivating Mike Johnson in a kind of way.
  3720.  
  3721. Seung Min Kim: Right. I mean, that was a huge part of the White House's strategy when it came to persuading Mike Johnson on the need for additional Ukraine aid. If you recall literally the day after he was elected speaker, they brought him to the situation room right away. This is where he met Jake Sullivan. He met other national security officials. He met President Biden and spoke to him briefly for the first time. And he was exposed to the kind of information that he did not have as a rank and file member.
  3722.  
  3723. He was then brought up for multiple meetings. He and National Security Committee chairman had regular briefings recently, obviously had multiple conversations. And that was part of the administration's strategy to convince him and give them real time, concrete information to try to persuade him that this is real, that his is a problem.
  3724.  
  3725. And what's been fascinating to watch when it comes to Mike Johnson is that you do see an evolution of someone understanding that you can't behave the way as a rank and file member than you would as a leader, and not only as a leader of a House Republican conference, but a leader as a Speaker of the House. Which is why you can go from someone who voted against Ukraine aid like Mike Johnson did to someone who was shepherding it through at the risk of his own job.
  3726.  
  3727. Vivian Salama: It wasn't just, by the way, the administration who's been lobbying him. Foreign leaders have been lining up to see Mike Johnson. I interviewed the Polish president just this week who had been in to see him a few weeks ago. And one by one, they'd all been going in saying, you do not understand what this threat means. Europe could fall. The Ukrainians have no more ammunition. We are literally at the brink.
  3728.  
  3729. And I think over time they have managed to get to him, especially people like President Duda of Poland, who's very persuasive. He's also an ally of Trump's and then speaks sort of that language.
  3730.  
  3731. Jeffrey Goldberg: Right. He's a kind of a populist.
  3732.  
  3733. Vivian Salama: He's considered right wing. And he appeals both to Trump. He did see Trump as well this week. But he also met with Mike Johnson. Others have as well.
  3734.  
  3735. And so, progressively, over time, I think those European leaders and parliamentarians, you know, foreign ministers, you name it, they have managed to really get to him and make him understand the stakes here.
  3736.  
  3737. Jeffrey Goldberg: Right. Graeme, this is the actual sort of largest question or most important question. What does this -- if this aid, and, obviously, it's a big package, Israel, Taiwan, but if this aid is freed up for Ukraine, tell us what that means on the battlefield.
  3738.  
  3739. Graeme Wood: Yes. So, these briefings are very sobering for one reason, which is anything could happen between now and the end of the year. And that could mean the collapse of the Ukrainian frontline. The collapse of the Ukrainian frontline could mean the end of Ukraine as the state that we know it as. And once that happens, then that line starts moving and the political calculations of Europe change completely.
  3740.  
  3741. So, I think some of the conversations that can happen in Washington can be about, okay, maybe we lose Ukraine. But a complete geo strategic reset that could happen with the collapse of a frontline in Ukraine is an extremely sobering thought. And that's why I think it's been so urgent that these conversations happen with --
  3742.  
  3743. Jeffrey Goldberg: So, you think it's plausible that it's not just that Russia will solidify its position in Crimea and in the east. You think that without U.S. resupply, the frontline could actually collapse and Russia could do what it couldn't do two years ago?
  3744.  
  3745. Graeme Wood: Yes, that is plausible. It seems like right now the line could be frozen. But, you know, the way these things happen is slowly, slowly than all at once.
  3746.  
  3747. Jeffrey Goldberg: Like Afghanistan.
  3748.  
  3749. Graeme Wood: Yes. Things can happen so quickly that it would be pretty urgent to at least keep the line where it is.
  3750.  
  3751. Now, having a plan for it to actually resolve the war, of course, is what everyone would want. But the disaster, the catastrophe that would happen, if the line really collapsed, would be unthinkable.
  3752.  
  3753. Jeffrey Goldberg: Part of that catastrophe would be that Russia would then be in a better position to threaten actual NATO allies, and then we are required, by treaty, to come to their defense, as opposed to Ukraine, which is not in NATO.
  3754. </description>
  3755.  <pubDate>April 21st, 2024 6:23 AM</pubDate>
  3756.    <dc:creator>Clay Waters</dc:creator>
  3757.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283834</guid>
  3758.    </item>
  3759. <item>
  3760.  <title>So Sad! Brian Stelter, Post Reporter Can't Get Press Credentials from Trump Campaign</title>
  3761.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/tim-graham/2024/04/20/so-sad-brian-stelter-post-reporter-cant-get-press-credentials-trump</link>
  3762.  <description>Charlotte Klein at Vanity Fair was upset that the Trump campaign is “cutting off access” to reporters who are extremely hostile to Trump, including Brian Stelter (also of Vanity Fair) and Washington Post reporter Isaac Arnsdorf, whose new book is titled Finish What We Started: The MAGA Movement’s Ground War to End Democracy.
  3763.  
  3764. Klein protested the book “has been praised by two such members of that movement, Steve Bannon and John Fredericks, both of whom had Arnsdorf on their shows and recommended the book to their audiences.” That’s bizarre. By contrast, the Trump campaign took exception to the “End Democracy” hype.
  3765.  
  3766. Since February, Arnsdorf has not been permitted to enter campaign events as credentialed media. That doesn’t mean he can’t cover events. He just has to sit where regular folks do. Klein lamented "that requires getting to rallies much earlier, which could be a deal breaker for some journalists given their busy schedules." Cry a river.
  3767.  
  3768. “Nobody has been denied any access to our events,” Cheung said in a statement. “If reporters want to cover our events but are unable to secure a coveted press badge, they are more than welcome to apply for general admission tickets in order to experience our events."
  3769.  
  3770. Arnsdorf declined to comment on the situation, but a Post spokesperson said the paper “will continue to fairly, accurately and independently report on the presidential campaign.” They don’t sound fair, accurate, or independent. They sound like Democrat operatives. He's not alone:
  3771.  
  3772.  
  3773. In recent weeks, the campaign has taken similar punitive measures against other reporters, according to multiple sources familiar with the moves. An Axios reporter had their credentials approved for an event and then revoked the same day, following the publication of a story about the Trump-led Republican National Committee’s struggles in swing states. (An Axios spokesperson declined to comment.)
  3774.  
  3775. At least one other Post reporter was temporarily denied press credentials to multiple events after accurately reporting on Trump’s public statements. Most recently, Brian Stelter, a special correspondent for Vanity Fair, was denied press access to Trump’s rally in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania 
  3776.  
  3777.  
  3778.  
  3779. This is true and I know it firsthand — I applied for press credentials for Trump's most recent rally in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania and was rejected https://t.co/CpUHMb2WHy
  3780. — Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) April 19, 2024
  3781. Klein conceded that the Trump campaign’s press engagement has even earned it praise.
  3782.  
  3783.  
  3784. Some reporters have said they have in certain ways been easier to deal with than Joe Biden’s campaign, according to The New Yorker’s Clare Malone, who recently wrote a piece about Trump spokesman Steven Cheung headlined, “The Face of Donald Trump’s Deceptively Savvy Media Strategy.”
  3785.  
  3786.  
  3787. Still, some hostile reporters are still "unnerved by the retaliatory behavior" and what will happen next.
  3788.  
  3789.  
  3790. “This is the calm before the storm. Once there’s a press plane with 30 to 40 reporters flying around all the time, that’ll be when they’ll really have to deal with it,” the first political reporter told me. “Negative stories will be coming thick and fast and they haven’t had to deal with this since 2016; in 2020 they just had the White House pool. It’s only gonna get worse, I think.”
  3791. </description>
  3792.  <pubDate>April 20th, 2024 9:34 PM</pubDate>
  3793.    <dc:creator>Tim Graham</dc:creator>
  3794.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283833</guid>
  3795.    </item>
  3796. <item>
  3797.  <title>Thanks To One Dissenter, The Mask Drops At NPR</title>
  3798.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/jeffrey-lord/2024/04/20/thanks-one-dissenter-mask-drops-npr</link>
  3799.  <description> Without a doubt, many readers here at NewsBusters were mega-dittos fans of the late, great Rush Limbaugh. In today’s media world perhaps you listen to conservative talk radio hosts Sean Hannity or Rush’s successors Clay Travis and Buck Sexton, or Glenn Beck or Jesse Kelly. Or, indeed someone else, perhaps a local conservative host in your area.
  3800.  
  3801. But whomever you listen to from that list of conservative talkers, they all have one thing in common: their shows have sponsors from the private sector. 
  3802.  
  3803. And in no instance are those sponsors the American taxpayer. To a show, those sponsors are from the private sector, all busy selling their product (like Optima Tax Relief).
  3804.  
  3805. This is, of course, not true with National Public Radio. NPR is funded in part, whether you like it or not, by you. The American taxpayer. And it is no coincidence that the government-supported radio has a seriously liberal bent.
  3806.  
  3807. God bless America and free speech. But the decidedly obvious problem is that you are paying the bill - and the money is lifted right out of your wallet automatically, giving you absolutely zero choice in paying for what has morphed into left-wing propaganda radio.
  3808.  
  3809. Imagine taxpayer dollars going to subsidize Limbaugh or Levin. You don't have to wonder whether the Left would find that a horrible expenditure of tax dollars to promote one side of the fence.
  3810.  
  3811. Which makes the saga of longtime NPR editor Uri Berliner considerably interesting. A longtime editor at NPR, Berliner penned a lengthy article which not only startlingly admits to the problem but criticizes his bosses and colleagues for producing news every day from the liberal bubble.
  3812.  
  3813. Over at a site titled, yes, The Free Press, Berliner titled his piece this way: 
  3814.  
  3815.  
  3816. I’ve Been at NPR for 25 Years. Here’s How We Lost America’s Trust.
  3817.  
  3818.  
  3819. Let’s dip into some of the things this longtime NPR editor says.
  3820.  
  3821. First of all, Berliner describes himself, saying: 
  3822.  
  3823.  
  3824. You know the stereotype of the NPR listener: an EV-driving, Wordle-playing, tote bag–carrying coastal elite. It doesn’t precisely describe me, but it’s not far off. I’m Sarah Lawrence–educated, was raised by a lesbian peace activist mother, I drive a Subaru, and Spotify says my listening habits are most similar to people in Berkeley. 
  3825.  
  3826. I fit the NPR mold. I’ll cop to that.
  3827.  
  3828.  
  3829. Then he goes on to say:  
  3830.  
  3831.  
  3832. By 2023, the picture was completely different: only 11 percent described themselves as very or somewhat conservative, 21 percent as middle of the road, and 67 percent of listeners said they were very or somewhat liberal. We weren’t just losing conservatives; we were also losing moderates and traditional liberals. 
  3833.  
  3834. An open-minded spirit no longer exists within NPR, and now, predictably, we don’t have an audience that reflects America.
  3835.  
  3836.  
  3837. And how did this happen? Berliner goes on - but of course - this way, saying: 
  3838.  
  3839.  
  3840. Like many unfortunate things, the rise of advocacy took off with Donald Trump. As in many newsrooms, his election in 2016 was greeted at NPR with a mixture of disbelief, anger, and despair. (Just to note, I eagerly voted against Trump twice but felt we were obliged to cover him fairly.) But what began as tough, straightforward coverage of a belligerent, truth-impaired president veered toward efforts to damage or topple Trump’s presidency.
  3841.  
  3842.  
  3843. Berliner keeps going, listing notable stories from the last several years and the way they were handled by the decidedly left-wing NPR staff.
  3844.  
  3845. Trump-Russia collusion hoax? That was “catnip” and NPR took their guidance from the man Sean Hannity calls “the congenital liar (Rep.) Adam Schiff.”
  3846. The New York Post pre-2020 election scoop about Hunter Biden’s decidedly scandalous laptop? Says Berliner: 
  3847.  
  3848. The laptop was newsworthy. But the timeless journalistic instinct of following a hot story lead was being squelched. During a meeting with colleagues, I listened as one of NPR’s best and most fair-minded journalists said it was good we weren’t following the laptop story because it could help Trump.
  3849.  
  3850.  
  3851. The reality that the Covid pandemic came out of a lab leak in Wuhan, China? 
  3852.  
  3853. The lab leak theory came in for rough treatment almost immediately, dismissed as racist or a right-wing conspiracy theory. Anthony Fauci and former NIH head Francis Collins, representing the public health establishment, were its most notable critics. And that was enough for NPR. We became fervent members of Team Natural Origin, even declaring that the lab leak had been debunked by scientists. 
  3854.  
  3855. But that wasn’t the case.
  3856.  
  3857.  
  3858. Berliner keeps on going to give examples making his devastating case of left-wing bias at NPR. 
  3859.  
  3860. When George Floyd died, he writes that the message from the top of NPR was that. 
  3861.  
  3862.  
  3863. America’s infestation with systemic racism was loud and clear: it was a given. Our mission was to change it.
  3864.  
  3865.  
  3866. NPR, it was made clear, was all about diversity - diversity of skin color and gender. Berliner writes: 
  3867.  
  3868.  
  3869. But what’s notable is the extent to which people at every level of NPR have comfortably coalesced around the progressive worldview. 
  3870.  
  3871. And this, I believe, is the most damaging development at NPR: the absence of viewpoint diversity.
  3872.  
  3873.  
  3874. Now. Having spoken truth to power, you get one guess as to the newest headline about Mr. Berliner, this one from CBS:
  3875.  
  3876.  
  3877. “NPR suspends editor who accused the network of liberal bias”
  3878.  
  3879.  
  3880. And within a matter of hours, that headline was followed by this one at the New York Post. It read: 
  3881.  
  3882.  
  3883. NPR editor Uri Berliner resigns after bombshell expose reveals network’s pervasive left-wing bias
  3884.  
  3885.  
  3886. The Post story reported: 
  3887.  
  3888.  
  3889. NPR correspondent Uri Berliner, who was suspended without pay after calling out the radio broadcaster’s rampant liberal bias, resigned on Wednesday — and took a parting shot at the network’s controversial CEO.
  3890.  
  3891. 'I am resigning from NPR, a great American institution where I have worked for 25 years,' Berliner wrote on his X social media account on Wednesday. 'I respect the integrity of my colleagues and wish for NPR to thrive and do important journalism.'
  3892.  
  3893. Berliner added that he 'cannot work in a newsroom where I am disparaged by a new CEO whose divisive views confirm the very problems at NPR I cite in my Free Press essay.'
  3894.  
  3895.  
  3896. The “new CEO” of NPR that Berliner refers to is one Katherine Maher. And it took a bare blink of the eye for Maher to be revealed in past tweets as the personification of the Trump-hating, far-left mindset that consumes NPR.
  3897.  
  3898. So there you have it. You, the American taxpayer, are paying for NPR and its left-wing bias. And if you are working at NPR and protest that bias, you will be suspended without pay and then made so uncomfortable you are forced to resign.
  3899.  
  3900. The real problem? This is but one example of a journalistic outlet pretending to “just the facts” reporting. The fact that taxpayers have to pay for it is particularly insulting to Americans. And that is something that Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn is determined to change, sponsoring legislation to defund NPR. While over in the House the same move is being led by Indiana Congressman Jim Banks.
  3901.  
  3902. But make no mistake, there are plenty of so-called journalism outlets out there that pretend to straight-up reporting when, in fact, just like NPR, their newsrooms are under the iron-fisted control of left-wing activists.
  3903.  
  3904. And viewpoint diversity, as is true at NPR, is not to be tolerated.
  3905.  
  3906. At NPR, thanks to Uri Berliner -- at the cost of his job -- the mask of journalistic independence and objectivity has finally dropped. It's about time someone from the inside told the ugly truth about it.</description>
  3907.  <pubDate>April 20th, 2024 4:00 PM</pubDate>
  3908.    <dc:creator>Jeffrey Lord</dc:creator>
  3909.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283826</guid>
  3910.    </item>
  3911. <item>
  3912.  <title>CBS Travels To Britain To Attack Trump As 'Misogynistic, Racist'</title>
  3913.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/alex-christy/2024/04/20/cbs-travels-britain-attack-trump-misogynistic-racist</link>
  3914.  <description>As the presidential election kicks into high gear, CBS Saturday Morning hit the road to seek the opinions of a group of people who will have zero impact on the results: the British, and more specifically, Brits who think Donald Trump is a racist and a misogynist.
  3915.  
  3916. Michelle Miller kicked off the segment by reporting that “as Donald Trump has emerged as the likely Republican presidential nominee, Europe is increasingly watching with trepidation. The head of NATO says Trump is weakening the alliance, as president, Trump bristled at NATO allies, and now as a candidate has said he'd encourage Russia to do what it wants to a NATO country that isn't meeting its defense spending benchmarks. Holly Williams looks at how Europe and the U.K. are preparing for the possibility of a second Trump presidency.”
  3917.  
  3918.  
  3919.  
  3920.  
  3921.  
  3922.  
  3923.  
  3924.  
  3925.  
  3926. Miller was probably referring to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s February remarks where he warned that not explicitly promising to come to a NATO member’s aid weakens the alliance, but Miller was also cherry-picking. Stoltenberg has also repeatedly praised Trump’s ability to get the Europeans to increase their defense budgets while rebutting the hysterical claims from Trump’s critics that his election would be catastrophic for NATO.
  3927.  
  3928. As for Williams’s pre-recorded man on the street segment, it began with a woman claiming that “he needs to be civilized. You know, you don’t, mob rule shouldn't be allowed to do things like that.”
  3929.  
  3930. In a voiceover, Williams claimed that “in Europe, a second Trump presidency is viewed by many with fear and loathing.”
  3931.  
  3932. A second woman claimed of a second Trump term, “I think it will be absolutely horrendous. I think it will be dreadful,” while a third asked, “Why would anybody else vote for him again?”
  3933.  
  3934. Meanwhile, a man asserted, “He just seems to be relatively misogynistic, racist, and anti-immigration on the whole, which isn't great.”
  3935.  
  3936. Williams replied, “So, not a fan?” and the man affirmed that he was “not a fan.” Williams also recalled that “according to a recent poll, over 70 percent of people in the U.K. have an unfavorable view of Donald Trump.”
  3937.  
  3938. If viewers were hoping for a similar segment full of Israeli men and women on the street discussing their U.S. presidential preferences, CBS was not going to give it to them.
  3939.  
  3940. Here is a transcript for the April 20 show:
  3941.  
  3942.  
  3943. CBS Saturday Morning
  3944.  
  3945. 4/20/2024
  3946.  
  3947. 8:17 AM ET
  3948.  
  3949. MICHELLE MILLER: As Donald Trump has emerged as the likely Republican presidential nominee, Europe is increasingly watching with trepidation. The head of NATO says Trump is weakening the alliance, as president, Trump bristled at NATO allies, and now as a candidate has said he'd encourage Russia to do what it wants to a NATO country that isn't meeting its defense spending benchmarks. Holly Williams looks at how Europe and the U.K. are preparing for the possibility of a second Trump presidency.
  3950.  
  3951. WOMAN: He needs to be civilized. You know, you don’t, mob rule shouldn't be allowed to do things like that.
  3952.  
  3953. HOLLY WILLIAMS: In Europe a second Trump presidency is viewed by many with fear and loathing.
  3954.  
  3955. WOMAN 2: I think it will be absolutely horrendous. I think it will be dreadful.
  3956.  
  3957. WOMAN 3: With money, [unintelligible], everything, just, why would anybody else vote for him again?
  3958.  
  3959. MAN: He just seems to be relatively misogynistic, racist, and anti-immigration on the whole, which isn't great.
  3960.  
  3961. WILLIAMS: So, not a fan?
  3962.  
  3963. MAN: Not a fan.
  3964.  
  3965. WILLIAMS: According to a recent poll, over 70 percent of people in the U.K. have an unfavorable view of Donald Trump.
  3966. </description>
  3967.  <pubDate>April 20th, 2024 2:00 PM</pubDate>
  3968.    <dc:creator>Alex Christy</dc:creator>
  3969.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283832</guid>
  3970.    </item>
  3971. <item>
  3972.  <title>John Cleese on Cancel Culture: An ‘Organized … Totalitarian’ Movement</title>
  3973.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/christian-toto/2024/04/20/john-cleese-cancel-culture-organized-totalitarian-movement</link>
  3974.  <description>John Cleese is the master of both silly walks and sublime comedy takes.
  3975.  
  3976. The Monty Python veteran is as feisty as ever at 84, slashing those attempting to crush comedy that breaks any kind of so-called rule.
  3977.  
  3978. Cleese opened up to FIRE’s Greg Lukianoff about free speech, “The Life of Brian” and much more in a revealing chat. FIRE stands for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a group that often does what the ACLU once did – stands up for free speech.
  3979.  
  3980. The comic legend recalled the reaction his 1979 film “The Life of Brian” and today’s Cancel Culture movement. 
  3981.  
  3982.  
  3983.  
  3984.  
  3985.  
  3986.  
  3987.  
  3988.  
  3989.  
  3990. The former expressed itself in walkouts and furious letters tied to the rebellious comedy.
  3991.  
  3992. Now?
  3993.  
  3994. “It’s not just protest. It’s trying to get people fired,” Cleese said, calling the Cancel Culture movement both “organized” and “totalitarian” in nature.
  3995.  
  3996. It also stifles debate.
  3997.  
  3998. To prove it, he brought up how he tried, in vain, to invite 14 “extreme woke” experts to expound on Lukianoff’s book, “The Coddling of the American Mind,” on Cleese’s “The Dinosaur Show” program.
  3999.  
  4000. All 14 refused.
  4001.  
  4002. “One said, ‘the very fact that you’re going to discuss it is the problem,'” Cleese recalled. “In other words, ‘we have a set of ideas and if you don’t agree with us on everything you hate us and we’re gonna try to get you fired. Crazy.”
  4003.  
  4004.  
  4005.  
  4006.  
  4007.  
  4008.  
  4009.  
  4010.  
  4011.  
  4012. Cancel Culture doesn’t just get innocent people fired. It makes them less funny. The same applies to any artistic endeavor.
  4013.  
  4014. “The enemy of creativity is interruption,” Cleese told Lukianoff. “And interruptions can come from inside as well as outside. And if the moment you think of something you think, ‘ooh will that offend someone,’ you’ve interrupted yourself and it will stop the creative flow.”
  4015.  
  4016. Cleese shared a personal perspective on free speech and how it opened up his world over the decades.
  4017.  
  4018. “All moments in my life that have been important in forming my personality came when I suddenly had a realization that something I believed wasn’t the case,” he said. “You can’t do that if the people around you are saying you can’t think like that.”
  4019.  
  4020. Cleese holds out hope that Cancel Culture and the efforts to squelch speech won’t win in the end. He’s still not sure we’ve turned any corner on the woke movement, though.
  4021.  
  4022. “A lot of people are very frightened of getting fired, and that’s awful, getting fired,” he said. “There’s good and bad in all of us, and the moment you think you’re more perfect than you are, then that’s trouble … That’s why all this virtue signaling is so foolish now … they also need to know they have a nasty streak too.”</description>
  4023.  <pubDate>April 20th, 2024 1:30 PM</pubDate>
  4024.    <dc:creator>Christian Toto</dc:creator>
  4025.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283822</guid>
  4026.    </item>
  4027. <item>
  4028.  <title>Meacham Declares It 'A Patriotic Duty' To Vote For Biden</title>
  4029.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/alex-christy/2024/04/20/meacham-declares-it-patriotic-duty-vote-biden</link>
  4030.  <description>Presidential historian and frequent MSNBC talking head Jon Meacham traveled to HBO and Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday to wax poetic about “there is a patriotic duty” to vote for Joe Biden and that any Republican who votes for Donald Trump needs to stop and heed the words of George Washington.
  4031.  
  4032. Maher began by reporting, “Bill Barr says he's voting for Trump. He said, ‘I think it's my duty to pick the person that I would think would do the least harm to the country. The real danger to democracy is the progressive agenda. Trump may be playing Russian roulette, but a continuation of Biden is national suicide.’ I think this is sincere. I don't think he's posturing. I think this is what a good part of this country believes. Discuss.”
  4033.  
  4034.  
  4035.  
  4036.  
  4037. “There’s a patriotic duty to support President Biden against Donald Trump, for this reason: Patriotism is allegiance to an idea. It’s not just an allegiance to your own kind. That’s nationalism. Trump is a nationalist. Present Biden is a patriot” – Jon Meacham on #RealTime pic.twitter.com/TSj3BmLNh6
  4038. — Brent Baker 🇺🇦 🇮🇱 (@BrentHBaker) April 20, 2024
  4039.  
  4040.  
  4041. Meacham’s schtick is to wrap himself in the Constitution, which he immediately did, “It is what part of the country believes. It’s also-- a good part of the country is wrong about that, as a rational matter. Now, politics and rationality are not complete bedfellows, which is part of the reason for the Constitution, is that we’re going to give reason a chance to stand against passion.”
  4042.  
  4043. He further argued that “I believe, and I say it with care, that's become evident -- to me anyway -- that there is a patriotic duty to support President Biden against Donald Trump, for this reason: patriotism is allegiance to an idea. It's not just an allegiance to your own kind. That's nationalism. Trump is a nationalist. President Biden is a patriot, and I'm lucky, in that I don't have particular policy passions, particular issues. I want the constitutional order to continue to unfold and President Biden is devoted to that constitutional order.”
  4044.  
  4045. Meacham’s claims to not have “policy passions” says more about him than it does the people he’s criticizing. For them, policy questions can be moral ones, but Meacham put himself atop the moral pedestal, “Donald Trump is self-evidently not and I would say to my Republican friends -- and I live in Tennessee, so that's redundant -- that it is in fact a moral question and I was disappointed by what Barr said, you know, he was-- he got religion for a little while.”
  4046.  
  4047.  
  4048.  
  4049.  
  4050.  
  4051.  
  4052.  
  4053.  
  4054.  
  4055. Later, Meacham addressed those conservatives who may not like Trump, but who are also repulsed by Biden and told them to get over it because George Washington would demand it, “Well, what if—you know, if ifs and buts were candy and nuts, we’d all have a merry Christmas as we used to say. You know, but this is what we have, and to me, the interesting thing about the Republican Party is, if you are, in fact, going to put partisanship, as your central organizing principle, if reflexive partisanship is the most important thing -- I would argue that you need to read George Washington's farewell address, you need to read the Founders that otherwise, you know, they love.”
  4056.  
  4057. It’s not officially a Jon Meacham segment until he invokes Abraham Lincoln and this time Meacham used him to shame Barr:
  4058.  
  4059. The idea that President Biden is leading us to national suicide. I'm not sure what he's talking about, but Lincoln used that image in his first major speech in the 1830s. He said if we have a fall, it's not going to be from a foreign foe: It's going to be from someone internally rising up and mastering those passions and those passions about partisanship, that's what is ruining us.
  4060.  
  4061. The guy who admits to not having strong policy preferences should refrain from judging other people’s beliefs because at least they have beliefs.
  4062.  
  4063. Here is a transcript of the April 19 show:
  4064.  
  4065.  
  4066. HBO Real Time with Bill Maher
  4067.  
  4068. 4/19/2024
  4069.  
  4070. 10:23 PM ET
  4071.  
  4072. BILL MAHER: However, now Bill Barr says he's voting for Trump. He said, "I think it's my duty to pick the person that I would think would do the least harm to the country. The real danger to democracy is the progressive agenda. Trump may be playing Russian Roulette, but a continuation of Biden is national suicide." I think this is sincere. I don't think he's posturing. I think this is what a good part of this country believes. Discuss. 
  4073.  
  4074. JON MEACHAM: It is what part of the country believes. It’s also-- a good part of the country is wrong about that, as a rational matter. Now, politics and rationality are not complete bedfellows, which is part of the reason for the Constitution, is that we’re going to give reason a chance to stand against passion. What Barr is doing, and what so many—I sometimes think of them as the Peter Millar Republicans, right, these are Republicans who are not full MAGA people, they’re [unintelligible] types who don't want Democrats picking judges or setting tax rates. 
  4075.  
  4076. They talked themselves into this twice. In '16 and in '20 and then came the December and January of 2020 and 2021 and that point, I believe, and I say it with care, that's become evident -- to me anyway -- that there is a patriotic duty to support President Biden against Donald Trump, for this reason.
  4077.  
  4078. Patriotism is allegiance to an idea. It's not just an allegiance to your own kind. That's nationalism. Trump is a nationalist. President Biden is a patriot and I'm lucky, in that I don't have particular policy passions, particular issues. I want the constitutional order to continue to unfold and President Biden is devoted to that constitutional order. Donald Trump is self-evidently not and I would say to my Republican friends -- and I live in Tennessee, so that's redundant -- that it is in fact a moral question and I was disappointed by what Barr said, you know, he was-- he got religion for a little while. There is a line in Tom Sawyer where Twain says that an evangelist comes through town who was so good that even Huck Finn was saved until Tuesday.
  4079.  
  4080. You know, Bill Barr was saved until Tuesday.
  4081.  
  4082. JANE FURGUSON: I wonder, I mean, I do wonder, again, we’re talking as though this were an inevitability that it would be these two. I mean, more moderate conservatives who perhaps feel a little bit more homeless in the Republican Party might have been tempted to cross over in the voter base and they have now been presented with this choice, where it, you know, was never an inevitability that it would be these men and what if there’d been a different option within the Democratic Party?
  4083.  
  4084. MEACHAM: Well, what if—you know, if ifs ands or buts were candy and nuts, we’d all have a merry Christmas as we used to say.
  4085.  
  4086. You know, but this is what we have and to me, the interesting thing about the Republican Party is, if you are, in fact, going to put partisanship, as your central organizing principle, if reflexive partisanship is the most important thing -- I would argue that you need to read George Washington's farewell address, you need to read the Founders that otherwise, you know, they love.
  4087.  
  4088. You know, they love the Founders when they can move it around to agree with them. It's very clear that if party spirit became the organizing principle, that, that was going to be fatal to the Constitution, and it's very interesting when Barr said it's “suicide.” The idea that President Biden is leading us to national suicide. I'm not sure what he's talking about, but Lincoln used that image in his first major speech in the 1830s. He said if we have a fall, it's not going to be from a foreign foe: It's going to be from someone internally rising up and mastering those passions and those passions about partisanship, that's what is ruining us.
  4089. </description>
  4090.  <pubDate>April 20th, 2024 12:12 PM</pubDate>
  4091.    <dc:creator>Alex Christy</dc:creator>
  4092.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283831</guid>
  4093.    </item>
  4094. <item>
  4095.  <title>Hopelessly Woke NPR Places Trigger Warning on Declaration of Independence</title>
  4096.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/clay-waters/2024/04/20/hopelessly-woke-npr-places-trigger-warning-declaration-independence</link>
  4097.  <description>The hopeless wokeness of tax-funded National Public Radio has been confirmed by NPR senior business editor Uri Berliner, who started shockwaves with his Free Press essay “I’ve Been at NPR for 25 Years. Here’s How We Lost America’s Trust” providing chapter and verse of how NPR had been take over fully by the left, and as a result blowing several major stories like Russiagate, the Hunter Biden laptop, and dismissing the coronavirus lab leak theory. For his whistleblowing efforts, the veteran journalist Berliner was suspended from NPR for five days before resigning.
  4098.  
  4099. Demonstrating the totality of NPR bias, new chief executive Katherine Maher is in the spotlight after a series of bizarre tweets resurfaced in which she sounds like an Artificial Intelligence parody of a leftist media elitist, such as when she excused looting during the summer 2020 riots. Berliner targeted Maher directly on X: "I cannot work in a newsroom where I am disparaged by a new CEO whose divisive views confirm the very problems at NPR I cite in my Free Press essay."
  4100.  
  4101. One example of anti-American wokeness is the “editor’s note” NPR staff felt obliged to place on archived stories about its on-air reading every Independence Day of the Declaration of Independence in full, an honorable tradition apparently now consigned to the ash-heap of history.
  4102.  
  4103. Yes, one of America’s founding documents now requires a trigger warning, in the view of partially government funded radio (hat tip: Masks are bad, actually on X):
  4104.  
  4105.  
  4106. Editor's note on July 8, 2022: This story quotes the U.S. Declaration of Independence -- a document that contains offensive language about Native Americans, including a racial slur.
  4107.  
  4108.  
  4109. The transcripts of previous years of the annual reading now include the warning, relating to the Declaration’s reference to the “merciless Indian savages” purportedly whipped up by King George III of England to wage “domestic insurrections” on the rebellious colonists.
  4110.  
  4111. NewsBusters previously explored how NPR host Leila Fadel in 2022 preened about NPR’s “break with tradition” in no longer reading the document on air, so as to explore “what equality means” instead, with Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep and two liberal Harvard professors. Four days later, perhaps after an internal “struggle session,” the sad editor’s note appeared.</description>
  4112.  <pubDate>April 20th, 2024 11:01 AM</pubDate>
  4113.    <dc:creator>Clay Waters</dc:creator>
  4114.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283803</guid>
  4115.    </item>
  4116. <item>
  4117.  <title>PBS Mourns 'Far-Right' Influence on GOP While Encouraging Far-Left</title>
  4118.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/alex-christy/2024/04/20/pbs-mourns-far-right-influence-gop-while-encouraging-far-left</link>
  4119.  <description>It was a foreign policy-heavy edition of PBS NewsHour’s weekly Friday news recap segment with New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post associate editor Jonathan Capehart. Together with host William Brangham, the duo would claim that the “far-right” threatens to throw the GOP into chaos for its opposition to Ukraine aid, but not only did the far-left not receive any labeling for opposing Israel aid, but it also received encouragement to keep up the protesting.
  4120.  
  4121. Republicans and Ukraine were first up on the agenda and Brangham began by declaring, “Democrats helped Speaker [Mike] Johnson get a foreign aid package over a key hurdle, but he still faces backlash from far-right members in his own conference.”
  4122.  
  4123.  
  4124.  
  4125.  
  4126.  
  4127.  
  4128.  
  4129.  
  4130.  
  4131. Later, he asked Brooks if Democrats would save Johnson from a motion to vacate, “I mean, Lisa [Desjardins] was just reporting that she's got some off-the-record scuttlebutt that Johnson was offered some — if you bring these, we will protect you if it comes to that. Do you think that will actually materialize?
  4132.  
  4133. Brooks replied that he hoped they would, “It absolutely should, because when Johnson got the speakership, he had to make concessions to the further right. He had to put some of those people on the Rules Committee, which determines what comes up to a vote.”
  4134.  
  4135. He further added “And so I think it's very much in the Democrats interest to say, Johnson's our best shot right now at having a reasonable Congress for the rest of— the rest of this year. I'm looking at Chip Roy, who's on the Rules Committee, who voted against the Ukraine aid and who's one of the — I would say, one of the smartest people in House, and — but certainly on that far-right faction, one of the smartest people, I'm looking to see which way he goes.”
  4136.  
  4137. Brooks concluded by arguing that Democrats cannot claim that Ukraine aid is of vital importance and then put their political interests first, “Because I think he would carry a lot of votes, and that could threaten him. But if the Democrats don't hold up Johnson, I think they would be betraying the House, betraying the kind of thing that was accomplished today. And I think it would just be a gross mistake.
  4138.  
  4139. While some Republicans voted no on the rule because of Ukraine, some Democrats voted no because of Israel, but PBS doesn’t bring out terms such as “far-left” for them. Instead, Capehart offered up some words of encouragement, “But I would say to the people who are protesting and the young people who are upset, and all of the folks who are upset at the president and the administration for what they're doing, I keep thinking about the thing that President Obama used to say to criminal justice activists and others who were put — who were really upset with him for not doing lots — more things on criminal justice or racial issues.”
  4140.  
  4141. Capehart also claimed that Democrats can work with their extremists, “And he would say to them, ‘I need you to keep protesting on the outside, because that puts pressure on me on the inside to get something done' and I think that is what's happening.’”
  4142.  
  4143. Brangham agreed, “Which is famously what LBJ was being told by MLK, which is that he told him, keep the fire under my feet and thus I will deliver for you.”
  4144.  
  4145. Even Brooks was wishy-washy on the far-left. While not using ideological labeling, he did admit there are “hate-filled and bigoted” people at the Columbia protests, for example, but he respects the people who are “who are honestly appalled by what's going on there.”
  4146.  
  4147. Here is a transcript for the April 19 show:
  4148.  
  4149.  
  4150. PBS NewsHour
  4151.  
  4152. 4/19/2024
  4153.  
  4154. 7:32 PM ET 
  4155.  
  4156. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: As Lisa just reported, Democrats helped Speaker Johnson get a foreign aid package over a key hurdle, but he still faces backlash from far-right members in his own conference.
  4157.  
  4158. …
  4159.  
  4160.  I mean, Lisa was just reporting that she's got some off-the-record scuttlebutt that Johnson was offered some — if you bring these, we will protect you if it comes to that. Do you think that will actually materialize?
  4161.  
  4162. DAVID BROOKS:  It absolutely should, because when Johnson got the speakership, he had to make concessions to the further right. He had to put some of those people on the Rules Committee, which determines what comes up to a vote.
  4163.  
  4164. And so if I'm a Democrat, I'm thinking, well, the Republicans still do have the majority. So if it's not going to be Johnson, it's going to be somebody else. And it's going to be somebody else who makes even more concessions to the Marjorie Taylor Greenes of the world, and that will make my life worse as a Democrat.
  4165.  
  4166. And so I think it's very much in the Democrats interest to say, Johnson's our best shot right now at having a reasonable Congress for the rest of the rest of this year. I'm looking at Chip Roy, who's on the Rules Committee, who voted against the Ukraine aid and who's one of the — I would say, one of the smartest people in House, and — but certainly on that far-right faction, one of the smartest people, I'm looking to see which way he goes.
  4167.  
  4168. Because I think he would carry a lot of votes, and that could threaten him. But if the Democrats don't hold up Johnson, I think they would be betraying the House, betraying the kind of thing that was accomplished today. And I think it would just be a gross mistake.
  4169.  
  4170. …
  4171.  
  4172. JONATHAN CAPEHART: But I would say to the people who are protesting and the young people who are upset, and all of the folks who are upset at the president and the administration for what they're doing, I keep thinking about the thing that President Obama used to say to criminal justice activists and others who were put — who were really upset with him for not doing lots — more things on criminal justice or racial issues.
  4173.  
  4174. And he would say to them, “I need you to keep protesting on the outside, because that puts pressure on me on the inside to get something done” and I think that is what's happening.
  4175.  
  4176. BRANGHAM: Which is famously what LBJ was being told by MLK, which is that he told him, keep the fire under my feet and thus I will deliver for you.
  4177.  
  4178. CAPHEART: Right.
  4179. </description>
  4180.  <pubDate>April 20th, 2024 10:12 AM</pubDate>
  4181.    <dc:creator>Alex Christy</dc:creator>
  4182.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283830</guid>
  4183.    </item>
  4184. <item>
  4185.  <title>NewsBusters Podcast: A Fervent Obsession with Trump Trial Jury Selection</title>
  4186.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/tim-graham/2024/04/19/newsbusters-podcast-fervent-obsession-trump-trial-jury-selection</link>
  4187.  <description> The Manhattan trial of Donald Trump on "hush money" charges drew hundreds of minutes of TV obsession this week. The pro-Biden media is now enjoying talking about a “split screen” of Trump stuck in court on trial, President Biden on the campaign trail. ABC morning host Michael Strahan reported on Trump “test[ing] the patience of the judge while President Biden hits the campaign trails in a battleground state.”
  4188.  
  4189. Meanwhile, the impeachment of Homeland Security Mayorkas was briefly covered and derided as a partisan stunt. George Stephanopoulos called it a "partisan" impeachment, unlike his salesmanship for the Trump impeachments. 
  4190.  
  4191. Managing Editor Curtis Houck has the details and clips. Reporters from ABC's Mary Bruce to CBS's Nancy Cordes helpfully spun for Biden's campaign stops in Pennsylvania, where Biden said he's a Scranton guy who understands the middle class, while Trump is a clueless rich guy working for the rich guys.
  4192.  
  4193. This split screen is exactly what the Democrats want -- Trump pinned in the courtroom, Biden making weird clips in Wawa that are carefully staged to sell he's "with it." The music and lyrics suggest Trump has engaged in "hush money" payments to a porn star and is now caught in a "criminal fraud" trial, while Biden is the honest guy searching out the common man. It's not "news," it's messaging. They can't find time to cover Biden making bizarre gaffes like his implication that his Uncle Ambrose was eaten by cannibals when his plane crashed in World War II.
  4194.  
  4195. Rich Noyes posted a study on NewsBusters on Monday showing that ABC, CBS, and NBC usually avoid mentioning that Trump's prosecutors (like Alvin Bragg in this case, or Letitia James and Fani Willis in others) are elected Democrats seeking to build their brand by "getting Trump." NBC occasionally mentions the "D," but ABC and CBS seem allergic to it. Overall, 90 percent of stories have no party label. Instead, they just show Trump complaining it's "rigged," as that's an unfounded complaint about public-spirited nonpartisans who hold powerful people accountable.
  4196.  
  4197. Enjoy the podcast below, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 
  4198.  
  4199.  
  4200.  
  4201. </description>
  4202.  <pubDate>April 19th, 2024 10:10 PM</pubDate>
  4203.    <dc:creator>Tim Graham</dc:creator>
  4204.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283827</guid>
  4205.    </item>
  4206. <item>
  4207.  <title>PBS’s Pathetic O.J. Simpson Take: Outrage Over Racism, Not Denial of Justice</title>
  4208.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/clay-waters/2024/04/19/pbss-pathetic-oj-simpson-take-outrage-over-racism-not-denial</link>
  4209.  <description>PBS recruited the late football star and (acquitted) double murderer O.J. Simpson into the American race wars. On the April 11 PBS NewsHour had an odd take on the death of Simpson, whose televised trial captivated America 30 years ago, bringing in Dave Zirin, sports editor for the aging hard-left magazine The Nation. Together, he and NewsHour reporter William Brangham used the famous trial not as an example of justice denied, but to portray America as a historic haven of anti-black racism.
  4210.  
  4211. Reporter William Brangham took us down that bloody memory lane before pivoting to the racial import of the trial.
  4212.  
  4213.  
  4214. O.J. Simpson's trial and his initial acquittal was an enormous moment of reckoning for many, exposing another stark racial fissure in America, in particular, the chasm between how black and white Americans saw the police and the justice system. The trial also underscored glaring issues in how we view domestic violence, interracial marriage and the growing culture of media celebrity.
  4215.  
  4216.  
  4217. The NewsHour’s expert source was the sports editor for the hard-left magazine The Nation, who in a series of repellent columns since October 7 condemned Israel but not Hamas for war crimes. He used the Simpson case as a ready means to condemn America as racist, even though the case itself featured a black man acquitted of a murder charge of which he was almost surely guilty. There certainly would be no condemnation of the majority-black jury acquitting a black football star of a crime he almost certainly committed.
  4218.  
  4219.  
  4220.  
  4221.  
  4222. BRANGHAM: Dave Zirin wrote about all of this in a piece in The Nation today titled: "O.J. Simpson was a Rorschach test for America." And he joins me now. Dave Zirin, great to see you again on the NewsHour. You write in your piece -- quote -- "If anyone had illusions that the United States was in fact united, the O.J. Simpson trial and subsequent verdict quickly put an end to that." Remind us what the country experienced that day when that not guilty verdict came down.
  4223.  
  4224. DAVE ZIRIN: ….it exposed that when it comes to the United States of America, there really is nothing united about it. White people experience particularly the criminal justice system and police one way, and black people experience it in a different way. And out of that, you get a white opinion out of the O.J. Simpson verdict that this was one of the great injustices of the 20th century, that someone just got away literally with a double homicide. And then, on the other side, in black America, there was an overwhelming belief that the police were corrupt, that O.J. Simpson was railroaded, and that the entire situation stank so much of racism and tainted testimony that there is no way there should have been a conviction….
  4225.  
  4226.  
  4227. Brangham acceded to Zirin’s left-wing viewpoint: "And yet, as you also document in your piece, that, for so many black Americans, this happening in Los Angeles, coming a couple of years after Rodney King and all of the revelations of racism in the L.A. Police Department, just seemed like, as you're saying, the culmination, this sort of apex of racial animosity towards black people."
  4228.  
  4229. Zirin naturally agreed, bringing up the then-recent Rodney King beating and verdict.
  4230.  
  4231. Then Brangham chided O.J. Simpson, not for his crimes, both proven and alleged, but for having “sort of steadfastly refused to talk about what it was like to be a black man in America” before his trial.
  4232.  
  4233. This strange segment was brought to you in part by BDO.
  4234.  
  4235. A transcript is available, click “Expand.”
  4236.  
  4237.  
  4238. PBS NewsHour
  4239.  
  4240. 4/11/24
  4241.  
  4242. 7:15:01 p.m. (ET)
  4243.  
  4244. Geoff Bennett: O.J. Simpson, whose murder trial captivated international attention for months, died yesterday of cancer. His case dominated headlines during the '90s and was a prime example of people's fascination with celebrity and crime. But the trial was about much more than that, highlighting major fissures in America and one whose legacy is still discussed some decades later. William Brangham has our look.
  4245.  
  4246. William Brangham: He was a football Hall of Famer, one of the greatest running backs of his generation, who suffered a precipitous fall from grace.
  4247.  
  4248. O.J. Simpson's legacy would forever be tarnished by the 1994 murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. They were repeatedly stabbed to death at her Los Angeles home two years after the Simpsons divorced. O.J. Simpson was charged in their killings after blood was found in his home and on his car.
  4249.  
  4250. Millions of Americans sat glued to their televisions, watching as Simpson fled in a white Ford Bronco on the Southern California freeway. Police trailed him for 60 miles. He was eventually arrested and put on trial.
  4251.  
  4252. The country was similarly riveted by the nine-month-long televised proceedings, transfixed by the grisly details, allegations of domestic violence, and what would become iconic closing arguments.
  4253.  
  4254. Johnnie Cochran, Former Attorney For O.J. Simpson: If it doesn't fit, you must acquit.
  4255.  
  4256. William Brangham: It would eventually be dubbed the trial of the century.
  4257.  
  4258. Christopher Darden, Prosecutor: He was also one hell of a great football player, but he's still a murderer.
  4259.  
  4260. William Brangham: The case also further exposed the racism inside the Los Angeles police force. All along, Simpson maintained his innocence, and he was ultimately acquitted.
  4261.  
  4262. Woman: We, the jury, in the above-entitled action, find the Defendant, Orenthal James Simpson, not guilty of the crime of murder in violation of penal code section 187.
  4263.  
  4264. William Brangham: Two years later, a civil suit filed by the victims' families found Simpson liable for their deaths.
  4265.  
  4266. His assets were seized, and he was ordered to pay over $33 million in damages. They were never fully paid. It was all a stark contrast to his younger days. Hailed as one of the nation's top athletes, in the 1960s, Simpson was a decorated football star, an all-American at the University of Southern California. He was awarded the Heisman Trophy in 1968.
  4267.  
  4268. And the next year, he was the number one draft pick, taken by the Buffalo Bills, where he went on to play nine seasons and was a five-time All-Pro. Simpson parlayed his fame and trademark charm into a successful career on screen, most famously as the pitchman for Hertz rental cars in the 1970s. He went on to act on TV and in movies, like in the late 80s slapstick "The Naked Gun."
  4269.  
  4270. Well after the murder trials, Simpson had another run-in with the law. He was convicted of armed robbery and other felonies and served nine years in prison for stealing sports memorabilia in Las Vegas. He claimed the goods had originally been stolen from him.
  4271.  
  4272. O.J. Simpson, Former NFL Player: I have done my time. I'd just like to get back to my family and friends. And, believe it or not, I do have some real friends.
  4273.  
  4274. William Brangham: Simpson's family said he died Wednesday after battling prostate cancer. O.J. Simpson was 76 years old.
  4275.  
  4276. O.J. Simpson's trial and his initial acquittal was an enormous moment of reckoning for many, exposing another stark racial fissure in America, in particular, the chasm between how Black and white Americans saw the police and the justice system. The trial also underscored glaring issues in how we view domestic violence, interracial marriage and the growing culture of media celebrity. Dave Zirin wrote about all of this in a piece in "The Nation" today titled: "O.J. Simpson was a Rorschach test for America."
  4277.  
  4278. And he joins me now.
  4279.  
  4280. Dave Zirin, great to see you again on the "NewsHour."
  4281.  
  4282. You write in your piece — quote — "If anyone had illusions that the United States was in fact united, the O.J. Simpson trial and subsequent verdict quickly put an end to that."
  4283.  
  4284. Remind us what the country experienced that day when that not guilty verdict came down.
  4285.  
  4286. Dave Zirin, "The Nation": Wow, I remember it like it was yesterday. That's how powerful a moment it was in the American psyche.
  4287.  
  4288. And what it revealed is that this country could have one common experience, watching this trial, and draw entirely different conclusions from it.
  4289.  
  4290. And it exposed that when it comes to the United States of America, there really is nothing united about it. White people experience particularly the criminal justice system and police one way, and Black people experience it in a different way.
  4291.  
  4292. And out of that, you get a white opinion out of the O.J. Simpson verdict that this was one of the great injustices of the 20th century, that someone just got away literally with a double homicide.
  4293.  
  4294. And then, on the other side, in Black America, there was an overwhelming belief that the police were corrupt, that O.J. Simpson was railroaded, and that the entire situation stank so much of racism and tainted testimony that there is no way there should have been a conviction. And so, therefore, the jury's decision was just.
  4295.  
  4296. So, what it really revealed was that you can have a common experience, but, then, at the end of the day it's viewed an entirely different ways based upon the color of your skin.
  4297.  
  4298. William Brangham: Going back to that issue of how a lot of white Americans saw it, you write how O.J. being acquitted, to many, seemed like this is an example of a rich celebrity being able to buy and assemble this dream team that gets him past all of this evidence and gets him acquitted.
  4299.  
  4300. Do you think that is how a lot of people saw that?
  4301.  
  4302. Dave Zirin: Oh, at the time, the discussion about O.J.'s ability to hire this incredible dream team of attorneys led by the legendary Johnnie Cochran, not to mention people like F. Lee Bailey, Barry Scheck, a group of people who everybody knew in legal circles coming together, people said at the time, a lot of people, this is not justice.
  4303.  
  4304. Even Chris Rock had a line in his stand-up act that said, if O.J. Wasn't a rich celebrity with these lawyers, he'd be known as or Orenthal, the white lady killer. And that was a stark statement. But it was once something that was widely seen in the culture that, wow, if O.J. is found innocent, it'll be because he hired the best that money could buy.
  4305.  
  4306. William Brangham: And yet, as you also document in your piece, that, for so many Black Americans, this happening in Los Angeles, coming a couple of years after Rodney King and all of the revelations of racism in the L.A. Police Department, just seemed like, as you're saying, the culmination, this sort of apex of racial animosity towards Black people.
  4307.  
  4308. Dave Zirin: Absolutely. I mean, and the police chief, the former police chief by 1995, Daryl Gates, there was a very militarized approach to policing in what were called anti-gang initiatives in the Black community. And that led to a great deal of violence and a great deal of mistrust, which is why, after the Rodney King beating, nobody in L.A. really saw it as just a Rodney King story, but as emblematic of how Black people and brown people were treated by Daryl Gates' police department.
  4309.  
  4310. And that's just in 1992. So the city is actually still rebuilding by 1994, when the trial begins. And so it's not like it was some distant memory. It was part of a continuum for many people of a racist and out-of-control police department.
  4311.  
  4312. And then when there were revelations in the trial of legitimate police misconduct, that only sealed the deal for a lot of folks who thought to themselves, I'm not sure if O.J. Simpson can get a fair trial in the city and county of Los Angeles.
  4313.  
  4314. William Brangham: Right. And this all comes, as you also write that it's ironic, in a way, that O.J. Simpson was the vehicle through which we start to even see this in its sharpest form, because, all throughout his career, he sort of steadfastly refused to talk about what it was like to be a Black man in America.
  4315.  
  4316. Dave Zirin: Yes, O.J. consciously positioned himself commercially as somebody who would be different from civil rights figures at the intersection of sports and Black politics, people like Jim Brown, for example.
  4317.  
  4318. O.J. Simpson was not going to be that. He was not going to be somebody who raised a fist on the medal stand at any ceremony. He was going to be O.J. Simpson. Like he liked to say to reporters very famously: "I'm not Black. I'm O.J."
  4319.  
  4320. And positioning himself commercially that way meant that there was a great distance between O.J. Simpson and the Black community. But as was said quite often in 1995, when O.J. was arrested and put on trial, that was when he and a lot of other people discovered that he was, in fact, a Black man in the United States.
  4321.  
  4322. William Brangham: Dave Zirin of "The Nation," always great to talk to you. Thank you so much for talking with us.
  4323.  
  4324. Dave Zirin: Thank you for having me.
  4325. </description>
  4326.  <pubDate>April 19th, 2024 9:10 PM</pubDate>
  4327.    <dc:creator>Clay Waters</dc:creator>
  4328.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283757</guid>
  4329.    </item>
  4330. <item>
  4331.  <title>NBC's Alba Wrongly Hints Columbine Mass Shooters Bought Guns Legally</title>
  4332.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/brad-wilmouth/2024/04/19/nbcs-alba-wrongly-hints-columbine-mass-shooters-bought-guns</link>
  4333.  <description>In a few appearances on Thursday afternoon, NBC News White House correspondent Monica Alba helped spread misinformation about there being a link between gun shows and school shootings as she promoted President Joe Biden's latest push to require unlicensed gun dealers to do background checks on buyers.
  4334.  
  4335. MSNBC afternoon host Chris Jansing set up a segment on the issue and asked Alba to explain how the President's move was to "fill a loophole." "And, Chris, we know all too well there are horrible stories about shooters who maybe were denied the ability to purchase a gun at a sporting goods store, but then they were able to go online and buy one because it was an unauthorized retailer," she proclaimed.
  4336.  
  4337. What she refused to meantion was that firearms purchased online needed to be delivered to licenced firearms dealers, whereupon pick up, the purchaser would have a background check conducted.
  4338.  
  4339.  
  4340.  
  4341.  
  4342.  
  4343.  
  4344.  
  4345.  
  4346.  
  4347. Then, even though the gunman who attacked a school in Uvalde, Texas, in 2022 passed a background check to buy his gun, Alba misleadingly made it sound like the new background checks requirement was somehow relevant to this case as she continued: "So this is really the Biden White House trying to curb that, and it's something that specifically became a huge movement and moment for the White House to try to accomplish after the horrific school shooting in Uvalde. So this was something that the President vowed to do."
  4348.  
  4349. A bit later, Alba misleadingly suggested a background check requirement might have prevented the school shootings at Columbine 25 years ago:
  4350.  
  4351.  
  4352. And, again, Chris, we're talking about just next week it's going to be the 25th anniversary of the Columbine shooting, and those shooters were able to get those guns, again, through this unauthorized process which is known as the "gun show loophole." So it just really is a stark reminder of for how many years this has been such an issue. And the Biden administration says this is a step forward.
  4353.  
  4354.  
  4355. Alba then made a couple of appearances on Hallie Jackson's show on NBCNOW and made similar claims about the Columbine attackers. About 5:32 p.m. Eastern, she asserted:
  4356.  
  4357.  
  4358. And when you look at the two shooters in that case, they were able to purchase weapons because of the so-called "gun show loophole," and that means that even if maybe they went to try to get those guns from a sporting goods store or from a retailer, and maybe they would have been stopped there because they would have had to undergo a background check, then they were still able to go and get them from an unauthorized retailer which right now really is a sort of shadow market that exists online. It exists at these sort of flea markets. It exists at these sort of gun shows.
  4359.  
  4360.  
  4361.  
  4362.  
  4363.  
  4364.  
  4365.  
  4366.  
  4367.  
  4368.  
  4369. But, in fact, the two Columbine gunmen acquired their guns through circumstances that were already illegal. Both the individuals who supplied them with firearms knew that the gunmen were underage and intentionally bought the firearms for them, which meant it was an illegal straw purchase. Mark Manes was sentenced to six years in prison while Robyn Anderson, who provided two guns through an illegal straw purchase at a gun show, was not charged by prosecutors after she cooperated in the investigation.
  4370.  
  4371. Transcripts are below. Click "expand" to read:
  4372.  
  4373.  
  4374. MSNBC's Chris Jansing Reports
  4375. April 11, 2024
  4376. 2:05 p.m. Eastern
  4377.  
  4378. CHRIS JANSING: Now to Washington where the White House just approved the biggest expansion of gun background checks in decades. NBC's White House correspondent Monica Alba is following this for us. Monica, this is intended -- this rule -- to fill a loophole. Tell us about that.
  4379.  
  4380. MONICA ALBA, NBC WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, Chris. This is known as the so-called "gun show loophole." So while some retailers and stores that sell arms do have to do background checks, there is really this market for people who can sell guns out of their home or online who don't have to meet those requirements. So this new rule put in effect by the Biden administration which would start in about a month or so would effectively force anyone who is doing that to conduct a background check. And, Chris, we know all too well there are horrible stories about shooters who maybe were denied the ability to purchase a gun at a sporting goods store, but then they were able to go online and buy one because it was an unauthorized retailer.
  4381.  
  4382. So this is really the Biden White House trying to curb that, and it's something that specifically became a huge movement and moment for the White House to try to accomplish after the horrific school shooting in Uvalde. So this was something that the President vowed to do. And remember that when they were able to pass the bipartisan gun safety law that went into effect in 2022, this was a part of it. They said it's going to take some time to actually make this rule effective so that we can see now what's going to start to happen in the coming weeks. Now, it's possible this could face some legal challenges, but the administration believes that they can cite the 2022 law as a reason to uphold it.
  4383.  
  4384. And, again, Chris, we're talking about just next week it's going to be the 25th anniversary of the Columbine shooting, and those shooters were able to get those guns, again, through this unauthorized process which is known as the "gun show loophole." So it just really is a stark reminder of for how many years this has been such an issue. And the Biden administration says this is a step forward. It's something that they did pledge to do, but that they would like to do a lot more when it comes to gun violence prevention. And, of course, that's part of the President's pledge to also ban assault weapons which he has not been able to do so far in this Congress. 
  4385.  
  4386. (...)
  4387.  
  4388.  
  4389.  
  4390. NBCNOW's Hallie Jackson NOW
  4391. April 11, 2024
  4392. 5:31 p.m. Eastern
  4393.  
  4394. HALLIE JACKSON: Back here to Washington now, and the Biden administration tonight taking steps to make the biggest expansion in decades to federal background checks for buying guns. The Department of Justice submitting this nearly 500-page set of regulations that makes sellers -- that would make sellers run background checks on a potential buyer's criminal and mental health history. Now, here's why it's such a big deal. It could mean the end of a controversial so-called the "gun show loophole" which basically lets unlicensed private sellers in some states legally sell guns at gun shows, out of their houses, and through online platforms without putting buyers through the background check system. The new rules come from legislation that Congress passed back in June 2022 after the mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where 21 people were killed. Just this year -- just this year, rather, we've already seen more than 100 mass shootings -- each year before that, hundreds more. Monica Alba is joining us now. Big, big push here for the Biden administration to sort of regulate the so-called shadow market that's been growing fast. Talk us through it.
  4395.  
  4396. MONICA ALBA, NBC WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, Hallie, and it's so tragic when you think about mass shootings. The anniversary next week of Columbine is going to be here -- 25 years since that deadly shooting. And when you look at the two shooters in that case, they were able to purchase weapons because of the so-called "gun show loophole," and that means that even if maybe they went to try to get those guns from a sporting goods store or from a retailer, and maybe they would have been stopped there because they would have had to undergo a background check, then they were still able to go and get them from an unauthorized retailer which right now really is a sort of shadow market that exists online. It exists at these sort of flea markets. It exists at these sort of gun shows.
  4397.  
  4398. So this new rule which takes effect in about a month from now from the Biden administration would effectively tell these thousands or so who  are selling these kinds of firearms that you do have to be federally licensed, and you do have to conduct background checks on anybody who is attempting to purchase these kinds of weapons.
  4399.  
  4400. Now, this did come directly from the 2022 bipartisan gun safety law that the President was able to put into action, but he needed the DOJ to actually work on this rule specifically, but it was a major priority, and they feel like this will help. They do feel like there have been cases where specifically people have been denied the purchase of weapons in background checks, so if they can expand that to create a wider net, that that will all be incredibly helpful here.
  4401. </description>
  4402.  <pubDate>April 19th, 2024 7:42 PM</pubDate>
  4403.    <dc:creator>Brad Wilmouth</dc:creator>
  4404.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283716</guid>
  4405.    </item>
  4406. <item>
  4407.  <title>‘She Ought to Resign’: Hawley Targets Biden Cabinet Official Amid Stock Scandal</title>
  4408.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/business/tom-olohan/2024/04/19/she-ought-resign-hawley-targets-biden-cabinet-official-amid</link>
  4409.  <description> Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) called for Biden administration Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to resign following a testy Senate hearing. 
  4410.  
  4411. During the April 17 edition of Fox News’s Hannity, Hawley told host Sean Hannity, that Granholm lied to Congress and cannot be trusted to regulate American energy. “She did lie to Congress, what she said Sean, is that she sold all of her shares, that she didn't own any stock in companies she regulates — not true,” Hawley told Hannity, after being asked about Granholm’s stock scandal.
  4412.  
  4413. “She later then… came back and said, ‘Oops, oops, I made a mistake I owned a bunch of stock, in a bunch of companies including Ford,’ who the Energy Department obviously regulates and oversees,” Hawley stated. 
  4414.  
  4415. Expanding on his remarks, Hawley added: “And she now expects us to buy that. Listen, it is a fact, Sean, an independent watchdog has found that she violated the law nine separate times and yet here she is still running the Energy Department, still trading stocks.” 
  4416.  
  4417. Hawley went on to call for her resignation, exclaiming, “I don't believe a word she says, she ought to resign. It is a disgrace that she is sitting there making money on the stock market off companies that she regulates when she’s supposed to be making energy safe and cheap for the American people.” 
  4418.  
  4419.  
  4420.  
  4421.  
  4422.  
  4423. During the April 16 hearing when Hawley confronted Granholm, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) questioned Granholm on whether the Biden administration supports the radical goal of reaching “net zero,” or drastically reducing carbon emissions. American energy, transportation, agriculture and construction depend heavily on fossil fuels such as oil and coal and fossil fuel products such as plastic and artificial fertilizer.
  4424.  
  4425. Lee also drew an admission from Granholm that the Biden Administration is anti-energy. When Lee asked her if the Biden administration supports making the country net-zero, Granholm admitted that the Biden administration supports a transition to net-zero. Days later, Granholm crowed in a post on X about a 20-state project to “accelerate America’s net-zero transition by 2050.” 
  4426.  
  4427.  
  4428.  
  4429.  
  4430.  
  4431. Lee also grilled Granholm on the absurdity of running away from cheap sources of energy like coal, while energy demand is rapidly increasing. After mentioning how developments such as new data centers lead to rising demand, Lee said, “Demand is soaring and it’s soaring at the same time when the premature retirement of coal-fired power generation units is happening. And it's happening without replacement dispatchable generation capabilities.”
  4432.  
  4433. [SEE MORE: Biden Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm Dodges Question]
  4434.  
  4435. Conservatives are under attack! Contact ABC News at 818-460-7477, CBS News at 212-975-3247 and NBC News at 212-664-6192 and demand they hold Biden and his cronies accountable for attempting to restrict fossil fuel production and Americans’ choices.</description>
  4436.  <pubDate>April 19th, 2024 5:42 PM</pubDate>
  4437.    <dc:creator>Tom Olohan</dc:creator>
  4438.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283829</guid>
  4439.    </item>
  4440. <item>
  4441.  <title>WILD: ABC’s Moran Blames ‘Gravitational Pull of the Trump Melodrama’ for Self-Immolation</title>
  4442.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/curtis-houck/2024/04/19/wild-abcs-moran-blames-gravitational-pull-trump-melodrama-self</link>
  4443.  <description>Friday afternoon featured one of the more disturbing incidents one will ever see on live TV as, amid rolling coverage on cable news and streaming platforms of the Trump trial brought by far-left Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg, a man lit himself on fire in the so-called protest space outside the New York City courthouse.
  4444.  
  4445. On ABC News Live, longtime network correspondent Terry Moran invoked January 6 and repeatedly implied without evidence Trump and “the gravitational pull of the...melodrama” around him drove a disturbed person to harm themselves.
  4446.  
  4447.  
  4448.  
  4449.  
  4450.  
  4451.  
  4452.  
  4453.  
  4454.  
  4455. Investigative reporter Olivia Rubin was discussing the breaking news that a full jury had been selected for the trial ahead of Monday’s opening statements when a commotion broke out nearby with the man’s self-immolation.
  4456.  
  4457. After a shaken Rubin narrated the scene, Moran jumped in and, instead of stopping after coaching her along and reassuring her she was doing great, he put his foot in his mouth: “Let me just ask. It seems then, that the gravitational pull of the Trump melodrama that has gripped the nation since he came down the escalator has now, it appears, resulted in someone coming to that where protesters have gathered and lit himself on fire.”
  4458.  
  4459. Rubin politely but strongly pushed back on the veteran correspondent: “Well, we’ll have to see exactly what, you know, it ends up being. I think we all have been in scenarios where happens. Information unfolds later and it’s not exactly what we thought first. But certainly, there appears to have been some sort of demonstration...just outside of the courthouse.”
  4460.  
  4461. Rubin then continued to narrate the scene as the fire was extinguished and the man was placed on a stretcher. A few minutes later, Moran complimented Rubin for the “real smart caution” and acknowledged “[t]hat’s a big courthouse” with “a lot of cases going on.”
  4462.  
  4463. Just like before, Moran could have stopped there and stuck to what was known.
  4464.  
  4465. Alas, Moran couldn’t help himself and chalked this up to possibly an example of how “the Trump era” caused “feelings” to run “very, very high right across the political spectrum”.
  4466.  
  4467.  
  4468.  
  4469.  
  4470.  
  4471.  
  4472.  
  4473.  
  4474.  
  4475. He even invoked the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021:
  4476.  
  4477.  
  4478. Political violence has resulted from those high feelings, obviously, at the United States Capitol most — most intensely. But, as Olivia says, we don’t know right now and having covered a lot of trials, a lot of courthouses, it — there is a tremendous amount of misery that goes through the courthouse as human misery, people having the worst day of their lives, the worst experience of their lives, murder trials, people going bankrupt, divorce, child, all kinds of things that can send people into the depths of anguish. We don’t know why this man set himself on fire, but there it was in that park, once again, where the protests have been occurring. Protests we can expect continue. It’s an awful situation.
  4479.  
  4480.  
  4481. Moran couldn’t stop falling on his face. Yet again, he correctly said “caution is fully justified” about what led this person to take this sad step and “there have been a lot of people on the streets who have mental issues,” but tripled down on the blame-Trump route.
  4482.  
  4483. Along with arguing Trump coming “down that escalator in 2015 to announce his presidential campaign” had “changed American politics, raised it to a pitch of intensity,” Moran fretted “the — the style, the rhetoric, and the policies that — that he proposed is so different, so inspiring to some, so infuriating to others, that we are now as polarized the country as we ever have been.”
  4484.  
  4485.  
  4486.  
  4487.  
  4488.  
  4489.  
  4490.  
  4491.  
  4492.  
  4493. “And the emotions around politics are ratcheted up to something that we haven’t seen at least since the 1960s in this country, where there was, you know, a good deal of unrest and turmoil,” he added.
  4494.  
  4495. Eventually, he conceded that what we do know was “something awful has happened, something truly horrific and one has to — one has to have to pray for that for the person who is drawn to that extreme and has done that”.
  4496.  
  4497. To see the relevant transcript from April 19, click “expand.”
  4498.  
  4499.  
  4500. ABC News Live
  4501. April 19, 2024
  4502. 1:41 p.m. Eastern
  4503.  
  4504. TERRY MORAN: Let me just ask. It seems then, that the gravitational pull of the Trump melodrama that has gripped the nation since he came down the escalator has now, it appears, resulted in someone coming to that where protesters have gathered and lit himself on fire.
  4505.  
  4506. OLIVIA RUBIN: Well, we’ll have to see exactly what, you know, it ends up being. I think we all have been in scenarios where happens. Information unfolds later and it’s not exactly what we thought first. But certainly there appears to have been some sort of demonstration, potentially, just outside of the courthouse, if it’s unrelated, potentially, they’re bringing out a stretcher now that they have and they are lifting the man who is severely burned, Terry, and putting him onto the stretcher. They are bundling the ropes around him and it does seem like all of the fire is out now. I can’t see any flames and we could see the flames from where we were standing before and they are carrying him out on stretcher.
  4507.  
  4508. (....)
  4509.  
  4510. 1:42 p.m. Eastern
  4511.  
  4512. MORAN: Olivia offering, a real smart caution. That’s a big courthouse. A lot of cases going on in there. Obviously, in our justice system, there are plenty of issues and plenty of personal issues that people can get caught up in the justice system, that can — that can break them. And so, we don’t know that this incident police now apparently from our Aaron Katersky that a man lit himself on fire in the courthouse — just outside the courthouse where the trial of Donald Trump is going in the square with protesters, pro-Trump anti-Trump have been gathering. So, that is a ground that has seen some protest activity. But this — this incident, a man lighting himself on fire in front of that courthouse. Now, obviously, the Trump era has had feelings running very, very high right across the political spectrum. Political violence has resulted from those high feelings, obviously, at the United States Capitol most — most intensely. But, as Olivia says, we don’t know right now and having covered a lot of trials, a lot of courthouses, it — there is a tremendous amount of misery that goes through the courthouse as human misery, people having the worst day of their lives, the worst experience of their lives, murder trials, people going bankrupt, divorce, child, all kinds of things that can send people into the depths of anguish. We don’t know why this man set himself on fire, but there it was in that park, once again, where the protests have been occurring. Protests we can expect continue. It’s an awful situation.
  4513.  
  4514. (....)
  4515.  
  4516. 1:47 p.m. Eastern
  4517.  
  4518. MORAN: Alright, once again, that — that caution is fully justified, Aaron. That — that whatever we it may be, we don’t know yet. And courthouses and that one in particular, as you say there, there have been a lot people on the streets who have mental issues and gather there sometimes and there are a lot of things that happen in courthouses that can stress people to the point of breakdown. We don’t know what is going on, except that, as Olivia Rubin has pointed out, there was a man taken away in a stretcher, badly burned.
  4519.  
  4520. (....)
  4521.  
  4522. 1:50 p.m. Eastern
  4523.  
  4524. MORAN: But the Trump era, which is what we have been living in since he came down that escalator in 2015 to announce his presidential campaign and changed American politics, raised it to a pitch of intensity, the — the style, the rhetoric, and the policies that — that he proposed is so different, so inspiring to some, so infuriating to others, that we are now as polarized the country as we ever have been. And the emotions around politics are ratcheted up to something that we haven’t seen at least since the 1960s in this country, where there was, you know, a good deal of unrest and turmoil. But once again, just to underline, it does seem, from Olivia’s reporting, from what we have as well, that a man has set himself on fire in the park outside the courthouse where the hush money criminal trial of Donald Trump has been underway. The completed jury selection today and we don’t know if it’s this incident, this man setting himself fire is related to what was going on in the — in the courtroom where Donald Trump was sitting, watching the completion of jury selection or if this is someone with other issues — either in the courts or just in life — but clearly something awful has happened, something truly horrific and one has to — one has to have to pray for that for the person who is drawn to that extreme and has done that and is taken away. Police were on and very quickly put it and put the fire out on him. As Olivia saw and reported, and he was taken away in an ambulance to a hospital where he will get care.
  4525. </description>
  4526.  <pubDate>April 19th, 2024 5:25 PM</pubDate>
  4527.    <dc:creator>Curtis Houck</dc:creator>
  4528.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283828</guid>
  4529.    </item>
  4530. <item>
  4531.  <title>Morning Joe Hails Colleges Cracking Down on Pro-Hamas Protesters!</title>
  4532.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/mark-finkelstein/2024/04/19/morning-joe-hails-colleges-cracking-down-pro-hamas-protesters</link>
  4533.  <description> On Thursday, Morning Joe treated us to surprising praise for Speaker Mike Johnson -- albeit regarding his support for aid to Ukraine, something dear to Joe Scarborough.
  4534.  
  4535. Friday brought another surprise: tough talk about the pro-Hamas protesters wreaking havoc on American campuses, and praise for university administrators taking action to curb their excesses.
  4536.  
  4537. Thus, Joe Scarborough condemned students occupying the offices of college presidents, even suggesting that any president who tolerates that should "seek employment elsewhere." At one point, Scarborough even called protesters who blocked graduation speakers "brats."
  4538.  
  4539. Willie Geist spoke positively about the chancellor of his alma mater, Vanderbilt, who actually expelled three students who had occupied his office.
  4540.  
  4541.  
  4542.  
  4543.  
  4544.  
  4545. New York Times reporter Jeremy Peters has written an article on the matter: "Colleges Warn Student Demonstrators: Enough." As a panelist on Morning Joe, he criticized protesters at the University of Michigan, his alma mater, who had marred what was supposed to be a joyful event for outstanding students. He also acknowledged that college administrators have been slow in dealing with these problems. He cited the Trump years during which speakers who were conservative, or affiliated with Trump, were often canceled or shouted down. 
  4546. President Biden is reported to be "obsessed" with Morning Joe, so much so that he has made Scarborough a frequent phone buddy and informal adviser. But if Biden tuned in on Friday, he couldn't have been thrilled with the panel's take. Biden's already under pressure from the Pro-Hamas/River to the Sea wing of the Democrat party.  And now even the liberal media is starting to call for crackdowns on those protesters? Oy vey!
  4547.  
  4548. Here's the transcript.
  4549.  
  4550.  
  4551. MSNBC
  4552. Morning Joe 
  4553. 4/19/24
  4554. 6:47 am EDT
  4555.  
  4556. WILLIE GEIST: So Joe, yesterday, you saw another case, several in recent weeks, where heads of school, chancellors, administrators, have said, there is a line now between free speech. We've allowed you to protest, we've allowed you to go to certain places. We've opened dialogues on our  campus, given you a place to have these debates. 
  4557.  
  4558. But when it comes to harassment of Jewish students, when it comes to interrupting the operations of, say, a class, or a speaker, or people moving through the campus, we're now saying, you can't do that anymore.
  4559.  
  4560. JOE SCARBOROUGH: Yeah, exactly. Whether you're talking about the, the interruption of the functioning of the Golden Gate Bridge, or the normal functioning of Columbia University, you know, it's, it's too much. It's too much. You can have free speech without, again, stopping the normal functioning of these institutions. 
  4561.  
  4562. . . . 
  4563.  
  4564. And so, I'm glad the president of Columbia University has stepped forward. You know, some people may call allowing students to take over president's offices at Columbia in the 1960s a storied tradition. I don't. I call that anarchy. Like, if you're a president of the university and you're letting students take over your office, maybe, maybe you should seek employment elsewhere. 
  4565.  
  4566. Because I guarantee you there are a lot of parents that send their children to schools who don't want students running the place. They'd like grown-ups to run the place. And it looks like that's what's happening in Columbia.
  4567.  
  4568. GEIST: Yeah. I'll speak for -- you know, I went to Vanderbilt University. They've had a lot of this on their campus in recent weeks. And a group of students a couple of weeks ago pushed their way into Kirkland Hall, where the chancellor's office is. They pushed aside an unarmed security guard, they sat there for 20 hours doing exactly what you're talking about, Joe.
  4569.  
  4570. And Chancellor Diermeier, who runs Vanderbilt, ultimately said, okay, you're all suspended. And then one by one, reviewed their cases and expelled three of the students.
  4571.  
  4572. SCARBOROUGH: Good!
  4573.  
  4574. GEIST: And said, we've given you a place to have free speech. We've given you a place to protest. We've given you a place to voice your opinion. We've created symposiums where both sides of this discussion can be heard. You didn't participate in that, but you broke into our office and sat here. So now, three of you are no longer students of Vanderbilt University. And that was one of the first schools, actually, to do that, and I think you've seen more if it now since then. 
  4575.  
  4576. Jeremy Peters, the national reporter for the New York Times is writing about this. He's got new reporting on how those administrators are now responding to a surge in anti-Israel protests on campus. Also with us, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, Jonathan Greenblatt. His group is out with new data on antisemitic incidents in the United States in the last year. Good morning to you both.
  4577.  
  4578. Jeremy, I'll begin with you. It does seem to have been, just within the last couple of weeks even, a bit of a change in the approach that some, not all, that some leaders of campuses, of universities across the country, are taking with these protests. What did you find in your reporting?
  4579.  
  4580. JEREMY PETERS: That's exactly right, Willie. Schools have had enough. And Vanderbilt issued what are believed to be the first expulsions of student protesters related to demonstrations stemming from the October 7th Hamas attack on Israel.And from Vanderbilt to NYU, to Columbia, to the University of Michigan, to Pomona, schools are saying, basically, look, this is not about free speech. You have a right to speak up. You have a right to demonstrate. What you don't have is a right to harass and disrupt.
  4581.  
  4582. And that's what's really been impeding these universities core mission, which is to educate your students. And you can't have an environment that is constantly disrupted, where students are subject to harassment, where they're spit upon, where they're yelled at. 
  4583.  
  4584. Where graduation ceremonies, or like the incident I wrote about at my alma mater, the University of Michigan, this honors convocation that was supposed to be this kind of lovely, celebratory moment where kids who were the highest-achieving students are honored. Their parents and grandparents are there. And shat happened? It got disrupted and had to be shut down early because of pro-Palestinian protesters were standing up and shouting down speakers and unfurling banners.
  4585.  
  4586. And this is something I think universities have been slow to acknowledge. I mean, remember during the Trump years, universities really became this, this cauldron of protest activity, where this kind of overly censorious culture developed. Where if there was a speaker who was conservative, or aligned with Trump, instead of letting that person speak, a lot of times the speach would be canceled out of fear for the safety of that speaker. Or people would interrupt the speaker.
  4587.  
  4588. And now, you know, I think universities are saying, we didn't do enough to rein that in, but now they are.
  4589.  
  4590. SCARBOROUGH: And, you know, the thing is, that's happened over the past couple of years. But this has been a problem for a long time. I'll just say it, brats who are protesting when, say, Christine Lagarde tries to speak at a graduation, or Condi Rice tries to speak at a graduation, or I think even Christine Todd Whitman one time was canceled from speaking at the graduation! 
  4591.  
  4592. I gotta say, you're either the adult running the campus, or you're the child, that is incapable of controlling students. The students are there to learn. That means IIall the students are there to learn. Not just students who decide this one issue is the most important issue to them. And I certainly understand, if Gaza is the most important issue, especially to Palestinian students in America.
  4593.  
  4594. But it goes well beyond that. You can't shut down an entire campus.Your right to free speech doesn't mean your right to impinge upon everybody else's free speech and their ability to unction in a university setting.
  4595. </description>
  4596.  <pubDate>April 19th, 2024 4:20 PM</pubDate>
  4597.    <dc:creator>Mark Finkelstein</dc:creator>
  4598.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283823</guid>
  4599.    </item>
  4600. <item>
  4601.  <title>WashPost Promotes NPR Staffers Loathing Critics of Their 'Legendary' Network</title>
  4602.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/tim-graham/2024/04/19/washpost-promotes-npr-staffers-loathing-critics-their-legendary</link>
  4603.  <description>The Washington Post is covering NPR’s Uri Berliner controversy – now that he’s resigned. The front of Thursday’s Style section ran a story by media reporter Elahe Izadi with the usual framing of “conservative activists” vs. “public radio network.” As if this isn’t “right versus left.” This was the online headline:
  4604.  
  4605.  
  4606. Turmoil at NPR after editor rips network for political bias
  4607.  
  4608. The public-radio network is being targeted by conservative activists over the essay, which many staffers say is misleading and inaccurate.
  4609.  
  4610.  
  4611. Izadi and the Post suggested that your critique is self-discrediting if it can be cited by conservatives.
  4612.  
  4613.  
  4614. On its face, it seemed to confirm the worst suspicions held by NPR’s critics on the right: that the legendary media organization had an ideological, progressive agenda that dictates its journalism. [Imagine that!] The Free Press is an online publication started by journalist Bari Weiss, whose own resignation from the New York Times in 2020 was used by conservative politicians as evidence that the Times stifled certain ideas and ideologies…
  4615.  
  4616.  
  4617. Izadi’s story was stuffed with NPR reporters and executives huffing that they’re not putting out a slanted left-wing product. They’re an “independent” outlet doing “fact-based reporting.” Disagree with that? It’s a “bad-faith” argument. The liberal bubble is thick.
  4618.  
  4619.  
  4620. Several prominent NPR journalists countered that impression. “We have strong, heated editorial debates every day to try and get the most appropriate language and nuanced reporting in a landscape that is divisive and difficult to work in as a journalist,” Leila Fadel, host of Morning Edition, told The Post. “Media and free independent press are often under attack for the fact-based reporting that we do.” She called Berliner’s essay “a bad-faith effort” and a “factually inaccurate take on our work that was filled with omissions to back his arguments.”
  4621.  
  4622.  
  4623. "Errors and omissions" are a constant NPR-employee talking point, as in Steve Inskeep's blazing attack on Substack. Izadi didn’t come to conservative critics for rebuttal – like ask Leila about her puffball interview with Liz Cheney, promoting her claim that the current Republican Party is a "danger to the country."
  4624.  
  4625. But it grew worse: Ayesha Rascoe went for guilt by association, that any conservative critique of NPR is responsible for encouraging anonymous numbskulls on the internet:
  4626.  
  4627.  
  4628. No news organization is above reproach, Weekend Edition host Ayesha Rascoe told The Post, but someone should not “be able to tear down an entire organization’s work without any sort of response or context provided, or pushback.” There are many legitimate critiques to make of NPR’s coverage, she added, “but the way this has been done — it’s to invalidate all the work NPR does.”
  4629.  
  4630. …Rascoe, who, as a Black woman host for NPR, says she’s no stranger to online vitriol, but one message after Berliner’s essay labeled her as a “DEI hire” who has “never read a book in her life.”
  4631.  
  4632. “What stung about this one was it came on the basis of a supposed colleague’s op-ed,” whose words were “being used as fodder to attack me,” Rascoe said. “And my concern is not about me, but all the younger journalists who don’t have the platform I have and who will be attacked and their integrity questioned simply on the basis of who they are.”
  4633.  
  4634.  
  4635. Izadi's piece read like a long list of internal NPR complaints without any inkling of what all liberals know: NPR is a left-wing sandbox. It's "public," but it's owned by the Left. Berliner betrayed his colleagues by assailing its "legendary" status. </description>
  4636.  <pubDate>April 19th, 2024 2:55 PM</pubDate>
  4637.    <dc:creator>Tim Graham</dc:creator>
  4638.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283825</guid>
  4639.    </item>
  4640. <item>
  4641.  <title>Navarro Defends Menendez, Blames Wife, Argues ‘Costco Sells Gold Bars’</title>
  4642.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/nicholas-fondacaro/2024/04/19/navarro-defends-menendez-blames-wife-argues-costco-sells</link>
  4643.  <description> Faux-conservative ABC News co-host Ana Navarro was back to defending her close friend Democratic Senator Bob Menendez (NJ) from credible allegations of corruption on Friday’s edition of The View. Despite insisting she doesn’t “excuse him,” she was quite busy blaming Menendez’s wife for getting him into the situation that he was in, and seemingly tried to suggest he might have bought the gold bars hidden in his suit pockets at Costco. She also praised Democratic senators for not forcing him out of office.
  4644.  
  4645. At least Navarro started off by acknowledging she was not going to be operating with honesty and good faith on the issue. “And look, and every time we talk about this I always want to start by saying, I think I'm biased. I try to be objective but I've known Bob Menendez for almost 30 years. I’ve worked with him on countless issues, Cuba, Nicaragua, immigration, Central American free trade,” she admitted.
  4646.  
  4647. She immediately followed up by going after the credible allegations against him. “This Menendez that I read about here just does not jive, does not square away with the man I've known for all of this time. It's hard for me to understand all of these facts,” she decried.
  4648.  
  4649. One might argue that she admitted to possibly facilitating some of Menendez’s alleged corruption when she bragged: “I’ve went to him with 100 issues with very rich clients, he never ever did anything like this.”
  4650.  
  4651.  
  4652.  
  4653.  
  4654.  
  4655.  
  4656.  
  4657.  
  4658.  
  4659. Throughout the segment, Navarro tried to blame Menendez’s wife and argued that she and his other friends didn’t know who the woman was before he married her:
  4660.  
  4661.  
  4662. NAVARRO: And I will say this last thing, a lot of his friends, including me, when he saw this case, thought this is not the Bob we know. Who is this woman and how has this happened? I mean, she suddenly showed up like in the middle of COVID saying that she didn't know he was a senator.
  4663.  
  4664. SARA HAINES: At IHOP.
  4665.  
  4666. NAVARRO: At an IHOP.
  4667.  
  4668.  
  4669. “And I did tell you the first time I read about this case, I think this woman -- I think Bob was completely smitten, enamored. He was a lone wolf for a long time. This happened during COVID,” she defended him.
  4670.  
  4671. Navarro went on to praise Democratic senators for not forcing her friend out of office, citing the “reservoir of goodwill” Menendez had with them:
  4672.  
  4673. And I think part of the reason that he hasn't been made to resign, that Schumer haven't forced it, his colleagues haven't forced it, is because there is a reservoir of goodwill towards him and respect towards him that there wasn’t toward like a George Santos, for example. And also I think it's because he's up for re-election now this November. And so, it's not like he's got another four years to serve, right? And the case is coming up -- is coming up now.
  4674.  
  4675. On the flip side, she lashed out at Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman (D) for daring to demand her friend resign. “The difference with John Fetterman is that John Fetterman is new in the Senate. And so, he probably doesn't have the collegiality and friendship and history with Menendez that most of the others do,” she chided.
  4676.  
  4677. Near the end of the segment, Navarro inexplicably proclaimed: “I read that Costco sells gold bars and they're sold out.” It was unclear if she was suggesting that Menendez bought the gold bars at Costco or that gold bars were readily available thus it didn’t matter. Costco does not sell the 1-kilo bricks stamped “Swiss Bank Corporation” that Menendez squirreled away.
  4678.  
  4679. The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
  4680.  
  4681.  
  4682. ABC’s The View
  4683. April 19, 2024
  4684. 11:03:27 a.m. Eastern
  4685.  
  4686. (…)
  4687.  
  4688. ANA NAVARRO: His trial begins in a couple of weeks, I think, in two or three weeks. And look, and every time we talk about this I always want to start by saying, I think I'm biased. I try to be objective but I've known Bob Menendez for almost 30 years. I’ve worked with him on countless issues, Cuba, Nicaragua, immigration, Central American free trade.
  4689.  
  4690. This Menendez that I read about here just does not jive, does not square away with the man I've known for all of this time. It's hard for me to understand all of these facts. I’ve went to him with 100 issues with very rich clients, he never ever did anything like this.
  4691.  
  4692. And I will say this, and I don't excuse him, I don't justify him because Bob is one of the smartest people in Congress. It is a low bar but he really is one of the smartest people that I know, that I've worked with Congress.
  4693.  
  4694. I think there needs to be more regulation of family members lobbying because it's not just Bob Menendez's wife, it's siblings, it's spouses, it's all of this thing. And they do have an advantage that other people don't have and a lot of lobbying firms have them on the firm and they don't even work. They don't even show up. It’s just have the names.
  4695.  
  4696. The people of New Jersey are going to have a say on this. Bob has not said if he’s running again?
  4697.  
  4698. JOY BEHAR: Is he running again?
  4699.  
  4700. NAVARRO: He's not running as a Democrat. He hasn't said if he's running as an independent.
  4701.  
  4702. And I will say this last thing, a lot of his friends, including me, when he saw this case, thought this is not the Bob we know. Who is this woman and how has this happened? I mean, she suddenly showed up like in the middle of COVID saying that she didn't know he was a senator.
  4703.  
  4704. SARA HAINES: At IHOP.
  4705.  
  4706. NAVARRO: At an IHOP.
  4707.  
  4708. (…)
  4709.  
  4710. 11:07:06 a.m. Eastern
  4711.  
  4712. ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: He’d been charged previously and he did get off.
  4713.  
  4714. HAINES: In 2015.
  4715.  
  4716. FARAH GRIFFIN: He already had very similar charges that he was able to get by before he ever met the woman, so the fact that similar activity is taking place --
  4717.  
  4718. HAINES: She needs to be there too.
  4719.  
  4720. NAVARRO (interrupting): I’m actually very familiar with that first case. I knew both of them. I knew Dr. Melden because he was always with Bob. And, I mean, Bob’s a guy who's been in my house. I've been at his mom's funeral. I know him very well.
  4721.  
  4722. And I think part of the reason that he hasn't been made to resign, that Schumer haven't forced it, his colleagues haven't forced it, is because there is a reservoir of goodwill towards him and respect towards him that there wasn’t toward like a George Santos, for example. And also I think it's because he's up for re-election now this November. And so, it's not like he's got another four years to serve, right? And the case is coming up -- is coming up now.
  4723.  
  4724. This case to me feels different than the first case. And I did tell you the first time I read about this case, I think this woman -- I think Bob was completely smitten, enamored. He was a lone wolf for a long time. This happened during COVID. Again, I don't excuse him. He is a smart guy. He should have known better. He's not something stupid gullible ingenue.
  4725.  
  4726. SUNNY HOSTIN: The gold bars are a giveaway, right?
  4727.  
  4728. [Crosstalk]
  4729.  
  4730. HAINES: First time, shame on you; second time it's shame on me. In 2015, there was a close enough trial. If he’s coming back knowing, “Oh my gosh, I almost got caught” and he is so smart, dabbling in what he is dabbling in is dangerous and almost felt like he feels he was above it.
  4731.  
  4732. NAVARRO: It seems to me gold bars for a gold digger.
  4733.  
  4734. FARAH GRIFFIN: There are Democratic senator who’ve called for his resignation.
  4735.  
  4736. HAINES: Fetterman.
  4737.  
  4738. FARAH GRIFFIN: Including John Fetterman. So, I think the senator who served multiple times should stand on his own two feet, not blame the woman.
  4739.  
  4740. NAVARRO: The difference with John Fetterman is that John Fetterman is new in the Senate. And so, he probably doesn't have the collegiality and friendship and history with Menendez that most of the others do.
  4741.  
  4742. FARAH GRIFFIN: But that often blinds judgment.
  4743.  
  4744. HAINES: Gold bars and you’re hiding them in your suit pockets and you’re giving your wife a car and they have text messages. I’d say, collegiality aside, you've crossed over.
  4745.  
  4746. FARAH GRIFFIN: That's where the good old boys club gets in the way. It’s like, “oh, we like him. He’s such a such a nice guy.” Well, if he's committing crimes it doesn't really matter.
  4747.  
  4748. NAVARRO: Which is why I tell you I feel like I know that I'm biased. I like the guy and I keep hoping against hope there is some reasonable explanation. I hope -- Listen, I hope the truth comes out. You know, I read -- I read that Costco sells gold bars and they're sold out.
  4749.  
  4750. HOSTIN: Really?!
  4751.  
  4752. NAVARRO: Yes!
  4753.  
  4754. HAINES: You can buy gold bars?
  4755.  
  4756. HOSTIN: I don't know about some gold bars from Costco.
  4757.  
  4758. (…)
  4759. </description>
  4760.  <pubDate>April 19th, 2024 2:41 PM</pubDate>
  4761.    <dc:creator>Nicholas Fondacaro</dc:creator>
  4762.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283824</guid>
  4763.    </item>
  4764. <item>
  4765.  <title>WHAT GAFFES? Networks OMIT Biden Claim of Uncle Being Eaten By Cannibals</title>
  4766.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/jorge-bonilla/2024/04/19/what-gaffes-networks-omit-biden-claim-uncle-being-eaten-cannibals</link>
  4767.  <description>We regret to inform you that the Regime Media has done it again. None of the evening network newscasts covered President Joe Biden’s latest gaffe, wherein he claimed that his uncle was eaten by cannibals after crashing his military aircraft over Papua New Guinea during World War II while trying to attack former President Donald Trump.
  4768.  
  4769. Below is the statement in its full context, as aired on MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reports on Wednesday, April 17th, 2024 (click "expand" to view transcript):
  4770.  
  4771.  
  4772.  
  4773.  
  4774.  
  4775.  
  4776. JOE BIDEN: …and, when D-Day occurred, the next day, on Monday all four of my mother's brothers went down and volunteered to join the military. And four of them -- three of them made it. One was 4F- couldn't go. And, uh… Ambrose Finnegan- we called him Uncle Bosie- he was shot down. He was Army Air Corps. Before there was an Air Force. He flew single-engine planes. Reconnaissance flights over New Guinea.  He volunteered if someone couldn't make it. He got shot down in an area where there were a lot of cannibals. In New Guinea. At the time. They never recovered his body, but the government went back when I went down there and they checked and found parts of the plane and the like. And what I was thinking about when I was standing there was when Trump refused to go up to the memorial for veterans in Paris. And he said they were a bunch of suckers and losers. To me, that is such a disqualifying assertion made by a president. Suckers and losers. Guys who saved civilization in the 1940s. Suckers and losers. And I just wanted to go and- we have a tradition in our family that my grandfather started. When you visit a gravesite of a family member, it’s going to sound strange to you, but- you say three Hail Marys. That's what I was doing at the site. My grand- my uncle, Ambrose Finnegan, Uncle- Uncle Bosie, was a hell of a guy from what I- I never met him, obviously. But I just wanted to see where he was memorialized.
  4777.  
  4778.  
  4779. The gaffe in and of itself is Biden Normal at this point, but was notable enough to warrant fact-checks by both Politifact (“highly unlikely”) and Snopes (“False”). Snopes cited the AP’s own verification, which in turn cited the DoD’s POW/MIA Accounting Agency: 
  4780.  
  4781.  
  4782. According to the Pentagon’s Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Biden’s uncle, known by the family as “Bosie,” died on May 14, 1944, while a passenger on an Army Air Forces plane that, “for unknown reasons,” was forced to ditch in the Pacific Ocean off the northern coast of New Guinea. “Both engines failed at low altitude, and the aircraft’s nose hit the water hard,” the agency states in its listing of Finnegan. “Three men failed to emerge from the sinking wreck and were lost in the crash.”
  4783.  
  4784.  
  4785. In the face of such evidence the White House was left with little choice than to pretend Biden didn’t say what he said on national TV.
  4786.  
  4787.  
  4788. White House spokesman Andrew Bates did not address the discrepancy between the agency’s records and Biden’s account when he issued a statement on the matter.
  4789.  
  4790. “President Biden is proud of his uncle’s service in uniform,“ Bates said, adding Finnegan ”lost his life when the military aircraft he was on crashed in the Pacific after taking off near New Guinea.”
  4791.  
  4792. Biden “highlighted his uncle’s story as he made the case for honoring our ‘sacred commitment ... to equip those we send to war and take care of them and their families when they come home,’ and as he reiterated that the last thing American veterans are is ‘suckers’ or ‘losers.’”
  4793.  
  4794.  
  4795. None of this, or any mention whatsoever of a widely-debunked statement made by the President of the United States, made it to any of the three network evening newscasts. Even more galling is the realization, when viewing the video in its broader context, that poor old Uncle Bosie was just a narrative bridge on which Biden got to what he really wanted to do, which was to hit Trump on the equally dubious “suckers and losers”. Instead, viewers got an earful on such vital issues of the day as, for example, Caitlin Clark’s salary.  
  4796.  
  4797. On the one hand you have media omissions of actual statements made by Joe Biden, and on the other, you have outright fabrications based on partial statements stripped of their context when uttered by Donald Trump, such as the routine “Trump called immigrants animals” whenever Trump addresses MS-13 or other violent criminal aliens such as the killers of Laken Riley, for example. 
  4798.  
  4799. The title of “Regime Media” is well-earned here, and we note the media’s descent into terminal institutional corruption over just a few short cycles: going from “what about your gaffes?” to simply, “what gaffes?” </description>
  4800.  <pubDate>April 19th, 2024 12:29 PM</pubDate>
  4801.    <dc:creator>Jorge Bonilla</dc:creator>
  4802.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283821</guid>
  4803.    </item>
  4804. <item>
  4805.  <title>WATCH: Babylon Bee CEO Explains Why Experts Should NEVER Be Censors</title>
  4806.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/free-speech/catherine-salgado/2024/04/19/watch-babylon-bee-ceo-explains-why-experts-should</link>
  4807.  <description>The CEO of a popular satire site summed up exactly why no expert should ever have the ability to determine what free speech is allowed.
  4808.  
  4809. Private experts, Big Tech employees and government officials alike have all appointed themselves arbiters of what speech should be censored and what speech will be allowed. This anti-constitutional attitude is also totally out of touch with a basic fact, one which The Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon highlighted as a “knock-down argument” against censorship: experts can be wrong. Because of this fact, “dissent must not only be allowed, but encouraged,” Dillon posted on X (formerly Twitter) on April 17.
  4810.  
  4811. Dillon included a clip of his 2023 testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee besides his written comment. “Whenever we learn that censorship has blocked something true (like the Hunter Biden laptop story), we always hear the same excuse: ‘We censored it based on what we knew at the time,’” he wrote. But, according to Dillon, “This is not a defense of censorship. In fact, it's a knock-down argument against it.” Media Research Center poll data previously illustrated that censorship of the Hunter Biden scandal swayed the 2020 presidential election in then-candidate Joe Biden’s favor.
  4812.  
  4813.  
  4814.  
  4815.  
  4816.  
  4817.  
  4818.  
  4819. Related: ‘A Knock-Down Argument’: Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon Calls Out Hypocritical COVID-19 Censorship
  4820.  
  4821. Dillon explained further, “If knowledge changes over time, then the last thing we should ever do is pretend it doesn't by preemptively shutting down the debate.” He concluded, “If it's even possible that the ‘experts’ and authorities are wrong — and we know they often are — then dissent must not only be allowed, but encouraged.”
  4822.  
  4823. The X post also included a clip of Dillon, responding to a question about censors’ objectivity during the 2023 congressional hearing. 
  4824.  
  4825. In it, Dillon referred to censors’ supposed credibility as a “pretty good joke” and added, “In the whole fact-checking apparatus … there’s unbelievable hubris in the whole project. You know, this idea, especially when we’re talking about medical information too, I often hear people going back say, ‘Well, it was based on what we knew at the time.’” Again, Dillon emphasized, this simply highlights that one’s knowledge can alter over time. He then stated the “knock-down argument” against censorship which he also wrote in his post. Indeed, America has a First Amendment to protect free speech and open debate.
  4826.  
  4827. You May Also Like: WATCH: Babylon Bee CEO Calls Censorship ‘The Issue for Our Time’
  4828.  
  4829. The Babylon Bee is a member of the Free Speech Alliance.
  4830.  
  4831. Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on so-called hate speech and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.</description>
  4832.  <pubDate>April 19th, 2024 12:14 PM</pubDate>
  4833.    <dc:creator>Catherine Salgado</dc:creator>
  4834.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283820</guid>
  4835.    </item>
  4836. <item>
  4837.  <title>CNN Doesn't Challenge Iranian FM On His Embassy Hypocrisy</title>
  4838.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/alex-christy/2024/04/19/cnn-doesnt-challenge-iranian-fm-his-embassy-hypocrisy</link>
  4839.  <description>CNN’s Erin Burnett sat down with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Thursday's OutFront show to discuss the situation in the Middle East. During their conversation, Burnett did not call out Amir-Abdollahian for bear hugging the Vienna Convention, while Iran has violated it repeatedly over the past several decades.
  4840.  
  4841. Iran has spun its failed attack as large enough to send a message, but restrained enough to avoid a regional war, while warning that if Israel responded, it would respond more harshly, leading Burnett to ask, “So when you say the response will be at a maximum level, you also, I know, have warned Israel against crossing what you have used the words, quote-unquote, 'red lines.' What are those red lines, and what is a maximum level? You used, what, more than 300 drones, cruise missiles in that attack? What would escalate from there for you? What is a maximum level above that?”
  4842.  
  4843.  
  4844.  
  4845.  
  4846.  
  4847.  
  4848.  
  4849.  
  4850.  
  4851. By the end of the night, Burnett’s interview would mostly be out of date as Israel responded, but despite all of Tehran’s fiery rhetoric warning about such a response, it appears content to pretend it didn’t happen.
  4852.  
  4853. As for Amir-Abdollahian’s response, he declared that “Well, the red lines that they crossed, the red line that Israel crossed was the attack upon the embassy building of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Damascus, Syria. And during that attack, seven official military advisers carrying out a fight against terrorism were martyred through a missile attack of the regime of Israel. Vienna Conventions recognized -- Vienna Conventions were not respected, so red lines were crossed by the Israeli regime.”
  4854.  
  4855. Amir-Abdollahian’s would continue to ramble off what turned out to be empty threats and would repeatedly justify Iran’s attack as a legitimate defense after Israel violated its sovereignty by targeting its embassy.
  4856.  
  4857. While Burnett had no way of knowing for sure at the time that Amir-Abdollahian’s was bluffing, she did have a way of knowing recent history. Throughout the interview, Burnett would question him about escalation or the failed nature of Saturday’s salvo, but she never once brought up his hypocrisy. Donald Trump didn’t just wake up one day and decide to strike Qasem Soleimani, he did it in response to Iranian proxies attacking the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. On Friday, only one day before Iran’s reckless attack, the highest criminal court in Argentina ruled that Iran was responsible for the 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires. In 2011, there was the Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States. Somehow, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United States managed to respond by not spastically bombing Iran and somehow, Amir-Abdollahian was not questioned about it.
  4858.  
  4859. Here is a transcript for the April 18 show:
  4860.  
  4861.  
  4862. CNN Erin Burnett OutFront
  4863.  
  4864. 4/18/2024
  4865.  
  4866. 7:39 PM ET
  4867.  
  4868. ERIN BURNETT: So when you say the response will be at a maximum level, you also, I know, have warned Israel against crossing what you have used the words, quote-unquote, "red lines." What are those red lines, and what is a maximum level? You used, what, more than 300 drones, cruise missiles in that attack. What would escalate from there for you? What is a maximum level above that?
  4869.  
  4870. HOSSEIN AMIR-ABDOLLAHIAN (through translator): Well, the red lines that they crossed, the red line that Israel crossed, was the attack upon the embassy building of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Damascus, Syria.
  4871.  
  4872. And during that attack, seven official military advisers carrying out a fight against terrorism were martyred through a missile attack of the regime of Israel. Vienna Conventions recognized -- Vienna Conventions were not respected, so red lines were crossed by the Israeli regime.
  4873.  
  4874. However, in our attack, within the framework of legitimate defense, why do we call it carried out at a minimum? Because it was geared towards two military targets, one the Innova Team Air Base and the other one an intelligence and information centers from which attacks took place on our building. We did not target economic and financial centers, civilian centers, only the two locations from which F-35 aircraft were flown, took off from there, and targeted the embassy building in the Golan.
  4875.  
  4876. This was our minimum response. But in case of a repeated adventure-seeking and adventurism of the Israeli regime, what will our maximum response be? I can only say that it will be carried out at a maximum level, and it will be regretful for them. The details have been planned by the armed forces of my country. However, I do hope that Israel does not commit a grave error in calculus.
  4877. </description>
  4878.  <pubDate>April 19th, 2024 10:06 AM</pubDate>
  4879.    <dc:creator>Alex Christy</dc:creator>
  4880.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283819</guid>
  4881.    </item>
  4882. <item>
  4883.  <title>Column: Do Celebrities Have Deeper Liberal Thoughts? </title>
  4884.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/tim-graham/2024/04/19/column-do-celebrities-have-deeper-liberal-thoughts</link>
  4885.  <description>When Laura Ingraham wrote her book Shut Up and Sing in 2003, the Left didn’t read the book as much as overreact to the title. The title implied something important. While celebrities gain a “platform” they feel compelled to use, do their opinions reflect any expertise? Or is fame more important than logic?
  4886.  
  4887. Celebrities often lead with emotion, and expect to cause an emotional reaction. They don’t expect “independent fact-checkers” to examine their emotions.
  4888.  
  4889. Exhibit A is an April 15 interview of Hillary Clinton on The Kelly Clarkson Show. Pop singer Clarkson brought up an Arizona judge ruling that an abortion ban originally passed in 1864 could stand.
  4890.  
  4891. "Did you ever think in your lifetime we would see that happen?" Clarkson asked. "It's just insane to me the thinking that went on in 1864. It's a very different world. We know a lot more now. We are going backwards." Hillary agreed: “It is horrifying in every way.” She said “there’s a cruelty to it.”
  4892.  
  4893. No one gets to suggest that maybe there’s something cruel or horrifying about ripping apart the body of an unborn baby.
  4894.  
  4895. Clarkson said she was hospitalized both times she was pregnant. "I literally asked God, this is a real thing, to just take me and my son in the hospital for the second time, because I was like, 'It's the worst thing,'" she said, growing emotional. “It was my decision, and I’m so glad I did it. I love my babies, but to make someone... You don’t realize how hard it is. The fact that you would take that away from someone, that can literally kill them. The fact that if they’re raped by their family member and they have to — it’s just like insane to me.”
  4896.  
  4897. Emotion dominates, realities don’t intrude. Pregnancy from rape (especially from a family member) is uncommon. The abortion lobbyists always play up the rare cases, but the dead baby is the “solution” in every deadly “choice.”
  4898.  
  4899. On the same day, MSNBC host Jen Psaki played a preview of an upcoming interview with singer John Legend, who thinks his opinions match his stage name. Psaki was touting the man’s robotic repetition of every MSNBC and CNN pundit spinning against Trump.
  4900.  
  4901. “He is part of a two-tiered system of justice but not the way he thinks he is,” proclaimed Legend. “He is getting way more concessions than the average criminal defendant would get. He is getting delays, he's got access to all kinds of lawyers that are filing this and filing that, delaying every trial, and most people don't have access to that kind of lawyering, don’t have access to the kind of concessions the justice system will provide to you if you can afford it.”
  4902.  
  4903. Of course, Trump is a wealthy man who can afford a team of lawyers. So did O.J. Simpson. All of that resolutely ignores Trump is not “the average criminal defendant.” He’s a former president and the presumptive Republican nominee for president. I think we can guess in advance Psaki the Biden Press Secretary didn’t ask this crooner how many of these Trump prosecutions would be proceeding if Trump retired from politics in 2017, or why Trump was indicted for things when Biden wasn’t (like possessing classified documents).   
  4904.  
  4905. Celebrities can echo progressive pundits like Joyce Vance or Van Jones, but somehow their proclamations are especially deep thoughts. We love how they sing, so their political views resonate with a crackle. They are not smarter than the average voter, but they can expect no one will disturb their emanations with any fraction of opposition. Call it celebrity privilege.</description>
  4906.  <pubDate>April 19th, 2024 6:24 AM</pubDate>
  4907.    <dc:creator>Tim Graham</dc:creator>
  4908.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283816</guid>
  4909.    </item>
  4910. <item>
  4911.  <title>The Network Newscasts Cheer As The Kennedys Come To Biden’s Rescue</title>
  4912.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/jorge-bonilla/2024/04/19/network-newscasts-cheer-kennedys-come-bidens-rescue</link>
  4913.  <description>Each of the network evening newscasts delighted in reporting that the Camelot Cavalry, if you will, had come to the aid of President Joe Biden in Philadelphia. The Kennedy family joined Biden on stage to denounce their brother who is also running for president.
  4914.  
  4915. The rationale is that doing so, festooning Biden’s podium with Kennedys, will somehow deter Robert F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign. Here’s how NBC’s Gabe Gutierrez reported it:
  4916.  
  4917.  
  4918.  
  4919.  
  4920.  
  4921.  
  4922. GABE GUTIERREZ: Responding to his family's endorsement of his opponent today, RFK, Jr. posted on social media: "we are divided in our opinions but united in our love for each other”. The environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist first ran as a Democrat. Now, Kennedy's independent campaign is polling above 10% in a few key swing states where Biden is also trailing Trump. Democrats are aggressively attacking third-party candidates like Kennedy, whom they view as a threat to President Biden's re-election, people involved tell NBC News. 
  4923.  
  4924.  
  4925. This is why Biden needed help from the Kennedy clan- and it isn’t just Bobby Jr.’s polling in swing states but his getting on the ballot in Michigan that makes people nervous. You’ll recall that Michigan is where Biden was embarrassed with a significant number of “Uncommitted” votes during the Democrat primary due to his handling of the war in Gaza.
  4926.  
  4927. Gutierrez didn’t actually report about the Michigan ballot, but CBS’s Weijia Jiang and ABC’s Mary Bruce did, respectively. But that bit of newsmaking was lost among the Kennedy sycophancy and Biden apple-polishing.
  4928.  
  4929. Generally speaking, these reports shared common themes, to wit: RFK, Jr. is a conspiracy theorist, his family- the mythical Kennedy family- denounces him, and they do so to Defend Democracy, fully aware of What Is At Stake.  
  4930.  
  4931. Consider this exchange between Mary Bruce and RFK daughter Kerry Kennedy:
  4932.  
  4933.  
  4934. MARY BRUCE: I asked his sister Kerry Kennedy if her brother realizes the difference he could make in a close race. 
  4935.  
  4936. Do you think your brother understands how high those stakes are?
  4937.  
  4938. KERRY KENNEDY: You know, look. I think his understanding is not the point here. The point is the understanding of voters, and that's who really needs to understand that your vote counts.
  4939.  
  4940. BRUCE: What do you say to someone who knows your family, knows your father and what he stood for, your uncle, but is supporting your brother because of that legacy?
  4941.  
  4942. KERRY KENNEDY: Yeah, I'd say look closely at that legacy. Think about who Bobby Kennedy was, who my father was.
  4943.  
  4944.  
  4945. This is what the Regime Media is reduced to- egging on sibling rivalry in order to Protect the Precious. Weijia Jiang was no better, closing out her report with this weird take:
  4946.  
  4947.  
  4948. WEIJIA JIANG: Today, Kennedy tweeted about his family's decision saying, "I am pleased they are politically active, it’s a family tradition. He added they are divided in opinions but united in their love for each other, though there was clearly no love lost today in Philadelphia.
  4949.  
  4950.  
  4951. Expect more evocations of the Kennedy legacies now that the not-Bobby Jr. portions of the family have endorsed Joe Biden, and as Bobby Jr. continues to gain ballot access. Having first ignored him when he ran as a Democrat, the Regime Media will now aid efforts to destroy him. 
  4952.  
  4953. Click “expand” to view the full transcripts of the aforementioned reports as aired on their respective newscasts on Thursday, April 18th, 2024:
  4954.  
  4955. NBC NIGHTLY NEWS
  4956.  
  4957.  
  4958. LESTER HOLT: Let's turn to the 2024 presidential campaign. Today prominent members of the Kennedy family endorsed President Biden even though Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is running against him. Gabe Gutierrez reports.
  4959.  
  4960. GABE GUTIERREZ: Today, with his opponent stuck in court, President Biden on the attack in battleground Pennsylvania.
  4961.  
  4962. JOE BIDEN: The 2024 election is about two fundamentally different visions for America. DonalD Trump's vision is one of anger, hate, revenge, and retribution.
  4963.  
  4964. GUTIERREZ: The campaign touting the endorsement of 15 Kennedy family members even though one of their own, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Is running against him as an independent.
  4965.  
  4966. KERRY KENNEDY: The best way forward for America is to re-elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to four more years.
  4967.  
  4968. GUTIERREZ: Responding to his family's endorsement of his opponent today, RFK, Jr. posted on social media: "we are divided in our opinions but united in our love for each other”. The environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist first ran as a Democrat. Now, Kennedy's independent campaign is polling above 10% in a few key swing states where Biden is also trailing Trump. Democrats are aggressively attacking third-party candidates like Kennedy, whom they view as a threat to President Biden's re-election, people involved tell NBC News. Though it's not clear which candidate, President Biden or former President Trump, would lose more votes to RFK, Jr. Kennedy told NBC’s Vaughn Hillyard this in February:
  4969.  
  4970. ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR.: I hope to drive equal numbers from both of them. I think at this point I'm probably drawing more from President Trump.
  4971.  
  4972. GUTIERREZ: A source familiar with the Biden campaign’s planning says the Kennedy family endorsement was months in the making. Notably, they didn’t mention RFK, Jr’s name once at today’s event. Lester.
  4973.  
  4974. HOLT: Gabe Gutierrez, thank you.
  4975.  
  4976.  
  4977. CBS EVENING NEWS
  4978.  
  4979.  
  4980. NORAH O’DONNELL: Now to the 2024 presidential election and "America Decides." President Biden's campaign is increasingly concerned that the independent bid of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who promotes conspiracies, could hurt Biden's reelection efforts. So Biden appeared with Kennedy's family, who has denounced their brother's views and his candidacy. CBS's Weijia Jiang with news from the campaign trail.
  4981.  
  4982. WEIJIA JIANG: At a Biden campaign event in Philadelphia…
  4983.  
  4984. KERRY KENNEDY: The Kennedy family endorses Joe Biden for president. [Cheers and applause]
  4985.  
  4986. JIANG: 15 members of the Kennedy family, a political dynasty, threw support behind President Biden instead of their own relative, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
  4987.  
  4988. JOE BIDEN: I don't want to become emotional but what an incredible honor. To have the support of the Kennedy family.
  4989.  
  4990. JIANG: RFK Jr.’s sister, Kerry Kennedy, did not mention him by name, but she insisted the race is just between Biden and Donald Trump.
  4991.  
  4992. KERRY KENNEDY: A vote for Joe Biden is a vote for our democracy and our decency.
  4993.  
  4994. JIANG: RFK Jr. has sparked controversy with claims like vaccines cause autism in children, but his family's public endorsement of Biden signals how seriously Democrats are taking his run. So far, Kennedy has secured a spot on the ballot in Utah and Michigan. The Kennedy campaign and its supporters claim they have enough signatures to appear on nearly a dozen other states, including key battlegrounds. Donald Trump says RFK Jr. will be a spoiler for Biden.
  4995.  
  4996. DONALD TRUMP: I do believe that RFK Jr. will do very well, and I do believe he is going to take a lot of votes away from Crooked Joe Biden.
  4997.  
  4998. JIANG: Former Massachusetts congressman Joe Kennedy II said he would encourage his brother to drop out.
  4999.  
  5000. JOE KENNEDY II: We cannot do anything that in any way strips even one vote from President Biden.
  5001.  
  5002. JIANG: Today, Kennedy tweeted about his family's decision saying, "I am pleased they are politically active, it’s a family tradition. He added they are divided in opinions but united in their love for each other, though there was clearly no love lost today in Philadelphia. Norah.
  5003.  
  5004. O’DONNELL: Weijia Jiang. Thank you.
  5005.  
  5006.  
  5007. ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT
  5008.  
  5009.  
  5010. DAVID MUIR: We turn now to the race for president. Tonight, more than a dozen members of the Kennedy family have now endorsed President Biden, speaking out publicly today about their own brother, RFK Jr., who is running for president. They are concerned that their brother could take votes from Joe Biden, with the Kennedy name, in this very close election. RFK Jr. maintains he's no spoiler. Here's Mary Bruce.
  5011.  
  5012. MARY BRUCE: Tonight in Pennsylvania, members of the Kennedy family, including brothers and sisters of presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., throwing their support behind President Biden, concerned RFK Jr. will hand the White House back to Donald Trump.
  5013.  
  5014. KERRY KENNEDY: That's right. The Kennedy family endorses Joe Biden for president
  5015.  
  5016. BRUCE: The Kennedys worried RFK Jr. Will use his family name to win support from some Democrats in a tight race where every vote will count.
  5017.  
  5018. KERRY KENNEDY: We want to make crystal clear our feeling that the best way forward for America is to re-elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to four more years.
  5019.  
  5020. BRUCE: Biden, who recently welcomed the family to the White House, has called RFK Jr.'s father his political hero. His bust sits in the Oval Office.
  5021.  
  5022. BIDEN: Mom and dad, I hope you're listening. What an incredible honor.
  5023.  
  5024. BRUCE: RFK Jr., who has famously embraced conspiracy theories about vaccines, insists he's no spoiler.
  5025.  
  5026. ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR.: We know what President Trump and President Biden are going to do if they win this election. They are going to do exactly what they did before. Does anybody here want more of the same?
  5027.  
  5028. AUDIENCE: NOOOOOOOO!
  5029.  
  5030. BRUCE: I asked his sister Kerry Kennedy if her brother realizes the difference he could make in a close race. 
  5031.  
  5032. Do you think your brother understands how high those stakes are?
  5033.  
  5034. KERRY KENNEDY: You know, look. I think his understanding is not the point here. The point is the understanding of voters, and that's who really needs to understand that your vote counts.
  5035.  
  5036. BRUCE: What do you say to someone who knows your family, knows your father and what he stood for, your uncle, but is supporting your brother because of that legacy?
  5037.  
  5038. KERRY KENNEDY: Yeah, I'd say look closely at that legacy. Think about who Bobby Kennedy was, who my father was.
  5039.  
  5040. BRUCE: (UNINT)...of Robert F. Kennedy arguing that President Biden would carry on the family legacy better than her own brother, well aware that if people vote for RFK Jr. based on the family name, it could sway this race. And polling has shown that when his name is in the mix, it does make a difference. And tonight, we have learned that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will now also be on the ballot in the key state of Michigan, David.
  5041.  
  5042. MUIR: All right, Mary Bruce with us again tonight. Mary, thank you.
  5043.  
  5044.  
  5045.  </description>
  5046.  <pubDate>April 19th, 2024 12:57 AM</pubDate>
  5047.    <dc:creator>Jorge Bonilla</dc:creator>
  5048.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283817</guid>
  5049.    </item>
  5050. <item>
  5051.  <title>OJ Simpson Is Dead — Ron and Nicole Are Unavailable for Comment</title>
  5052.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/larry-elder/2024/04/18/oj-simpson-dead-ron-and-nicole-are-unavailable-comment</link>
  5053.  <description>As to the double murder case against O.J. Simpson, there was so much evidence that his guilt was obvious. This evidence included, but was not limited to, blood at the crime scene and on and in Simpson’s white Bronco; a bloody glove found at the crime scene and a matching glove found at Simpson’s home; a knit cap, with hair that resembled that of Simpson, found at the crime scene; footprints matching Simpson’s foot size found at the crime scene; blood found in Simpson’s home; blood on socks found in Simpson’s home; and the limo driver, scheduled to pick up Simpson on the night of the murder, buzzed Simpson’s intercom and got no response.
  5054.  
  5055. There was other evidence, including the infamous low-speed Bronco chase, not used against Simpson. Evidence was not used either because the prosecution elected not to use it, the judge refused to allow it, or certain things, like Simpson taking and flunking a polygraph, were inadmissible.
  5056.  
  5057. One piece of evidence not used was testimony from a witness named Jill Shively. On the night of June 12, 1994, Shively saw a white Bronco driving quickly and recklessly from near the scene of the crime and around the time of the crime. The driver of the Bronco nearly hit Shively’s car. When she learned about the murders, she called the police, described what happened, gave them the Bronco’s license plate and identified the driver as Simpson.
  5058.  
  5059. One would consider this a crucial piece of evidence placing Simpson near the crime scene on the night of the murders. Why did the prosecution choose not to use this eyewitness? Shively sold her story for $5,000 to one of the tabloids. Lead prosec utor Marcia Clark believed this tainted Shively’s credibility, and Clark decided against putting her on the stand to face cross-examination. Besides, the prosecution reasoned, there is so much evidence pointing to Simpson’s guilt, why bother with an iffy witness?
  5060.  
  5061. Simpson, without a lawyer present, was interviewed by the police the day after the murders. The detectives saw cuts on Simpson’s hands. Simpson claimed he sustained them “when I was rushing to get out of my house,” but in his pretrial deposition he claimed the cuts came from a glass he broke in anger when he heard about the death of his ex-wife.
  5062.  
  5063. The jury consisted of eight blacks. Given the jury’s unwillingness to apply reason and common sense, none of the evidence really mattered. Years after the trial, one of the jurors, a black woman named Carrie Bess, in an interview admitted she ignored the evidence.
  5064.  
  5065. Interviewer: Do you think there are members of the jury that voted to acquit O.J. because of Rodney King?
  5066.  
  5067. Bess: Yes.
  5068.  
  5069. Interviewer: You do?
  5070.  
  5071. Bess: Yes.
  5072.  
  5073. Interviewer: How many of you do you think felt that way?
  5074.  
  5075. Bess: Oh, probably 90% of them.
  5076.  
  5077. Interviewer: 90%. Did you feel that way?
  5078.  
  5079. Bess: Yes.
  5080.  
  5081. Interviewer: That was payback.
  5082.  
  5083. Bess: Uh-huh.
  5084.  
  5085. Interviewer: Do you think that’s right?
  5086.  
  5087. After that question, Bess just put up her hands and shrugged.
  5088.  
  5089. During the trial, an inner-city New Jersey high school teacher wrote an article called “Race, O.J., and My Kids.” It was published in a center-left magazine called The New Republic:
  5090.  
  5091. “No more than four of my 110 students (most of whom are black) think O.J. Simpson is definitely guilty and few are willing to admit the possibility that he might be. This faith in Simpson is strongest among black girls. ...
  5092.  
  5093. “One student suggested that Ron Goldman killed Nicole before killing himself and then throwing away the knife. Another believes the dog did it. Shenia suggested that Al Cowlings, Simpson’s best buddy, did it. Bryant believes the killer is O.J.’s son. Philip blames ‘that (gay) dude who wants to marry O.J.’; that would be Kato Kaelin, Simpson’s houseguest. ...
  5094.  
  5095. “Jon, a bright student, had his own scenario: O.J. was shaving and cut himself. Kato took the blood from the shaving cut, brought it to the crime scene and dumped it.”
  5096.  
  5097. What can one say other than this? O.J. Simpson has died. Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson were unavailable for comment.</description>
  5098.  <pubDate>April 18th, 2024 7:07 PM</pubDate>
  5099.    <dc:creator>Larry Elder</dc:creator>
  5100.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283814</guid>
  5101.    </item>
  5102. <item>
  5103.  <title>ABC News Refuses to Ask Granholm About Corruption Allegations, Ties to EV Companies</title>
  5104.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/nicholas-fondacaro/2024/04/18/abc-news-refuses-ask-granholm-about-corruption-allegations</link>
  5105.  <description> Earlier this week, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm was grilled in a Senate hearing about allegations of corruption after it was discovered that she had financial ties to some of the very electric vehicle companies she was tasked with regulating and forcing Americans to eventually buy. But none of that was addressed by ABC News in an interview conducted by The View cast on Thursday. Instead, America was treated to questions about how energy companies read meters, how stupid Trump voters were, and when she was running for president.
  5106.  
  5107. The first question out of the gate came from co-host Sara Haines, which only served to promote next week’s Earth Day celebrations and to give Granholm the opportunity to lecture about how to shrink their “carbon footprint”:
  5108.  
  5109.  
  5110. And as we're all gearing up to celebrate Earth Day, from your perspective, what is the single most important thing people watching – watching this right now can do to fight climate change and reduce or lower our own carbon footprint?
  5111.  
  5112.  
  5113. Granholm also used the question to promote the electric vehicles she had a financial stake in, before divesting in response to conservative media scrutiny and an ethics complaint being filed.
  5114.  
  5115. At no point did she receive any questions – let alone serious ones – about her financial ties or allegations of corruption and ethics violation. Instead, moderator Whoopi Goldberg asked about EVs in “the projects” and people without homes to charge them.
  5116.  
  5117.  
  5118.  
  5119.  
  5120.  
  5121.  
  5122.  
  5123.  
  5124.  
  5125. Goldberg also wanted Granholm to explain how her electricity company can read her meter:
  5126.  
  5127.  
  5128. People are getting … electric bills that are insane and I don't understand how you can – Because I watch these guys. And they come and look at the little thing going around then they read the number. How do you know $300 is on there? How do you know to charge me that?
  5129.  
  5130.  
  5131. Faux-conservative Alyssa Farah Griffin was as useless as ever since she didn’t grill Granholm either. Instead, she teed up the Secretary to blame the rise in gas prices on something other than President Biden. “Gas prices. They’re are somewhat on the rise, but they did go down significantly…What is the administration doing to lower those prices, and should we be worried about the conflict in the Middle East contributing?” she clownishly wondered.
  5132.  
  5133. For her part, co-host Joy Behar proclaimed President Biden “cares about his grandchildren” because he was “working very hard” to stop climate change, while former President Trump “couldn’t care less about his grandchildren” because he wanted to “drill, drill, drill” and pointed out that off-shore wind turbines were harming whales.
  5134.  
  5135. She panicked that “a new Washington Post poll shows that nearly half of Republicans now believe Trump that climate change is a hoax,” and wanted Granholm to answer: “How do we convince these people to start believing the truth?!”
  5136.  
  5137. Behar also asked one of the final questions, pushing Granholm to run for president. “Jennifer, when are you going to run for president?” she quipped.
  5138.  
  5139. The View’s refusal to hold Granholm to account was important to call out because the show is under the ABC News umbrella.
  5140.  
  5141. The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
  5142.  
  5143.  
  5144. ABC’s The View
  5145. April 18, 2024
  5146. 11:32:45 a.m. Eastern
  5147.  
  5148. WHOOPI GOLDBERG: Welcome back. Our ABC news series, The Power of Us: People, Climate, and Our Future is kicking off just in time for next week's Earth Day and joining us now to weigh in on hot topics from rising temperatures and gas prices to how we can all do our part to save the planet, please welcome U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm.
  5149.  
  5150. [Applause]
  5151.  
  5152. SECY. JENNIFER GRANHOLM (Department of Energy): Thank you so much.
  5153.  
  5154. GOLDBERG: Welcome. Sara.
  5155.  
  5156. SARA HAINES: Madam secretary, thanks for joining us.
  5157.  
  5158. GRANHOLM: Yes, of course.
  5159.  
  5160. HAINES: And as we're all gearing up to celebrate Earth Day, from your perspective, what is the single most important thing people watching – watching this right now can do to fight climate change and reduce or lower our own carbon footprint?
  5161.  
  5162. (…)
  5163.  
  5164. 11:35:02 a.m. Eastern
  5165.  
  5166. GOLDBERG: What if you live in the projects? What if you don't have a home, what do you –
  5167.  
  5168. (…)
  5169.  
  5170. 11:36:48 a.m. Eastern
  5171.  
  5172. BEHAR: Okay, so while President Biden who cares about his grandchildren –
  5173.  
  5174. GRANHOLM: Yes.
  5175.  
  5176. BEHAR: -- is working very hard on this as you just pointed out, he has record climate investments, former president -- can't even say it, former p – p – p[resident] Trump he says he would be a dictator on day one and drill, drill, drill! You know, he couldn't care less about his grandchildren and he spreads conspiracy theories that wind turbines are killing whales and causing cancer.
  5177.  
  5178. But here's the problem that makes me nuts. A new Washington Post poll shows that nearly half of Republicans now believe Trump that climate change is a hoax. How much more evidence do these people need when they see what goes on with hurricanes, et cetera, how do we convince these people to start believing the truth?!
  5179.  
  5180. (…)
  5181.  
  5182. 11:39:47 a.m. Eastern
  5183.  
  5184. GRANHOLM: Whoopi, you don’t look convinced.
  5185.  
  5186. GOLDBERG: I am convinced but I do have questions, because people are getting bills, energy bills.
  5187.  
  5188. HOSTIN: Electric bills.
  5189.  
  5190. GOLDBERG: Electric bills that are insane and I don't understand how you can – Because I watch these guys. And they come and look at the little thing going around then they read the number. How do you know $300 is on there?
  5191.  
  5192. [Laughter]
  5193.  
  5194. How do you know to charge me that?
  5195.  
  5196. HOSTIN: Good point!
  5197.  
  5198. (…)
  5199.  
  5200. 11:40:10 a.m. Eastern
  5201.  
  5202. ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: More specifically, I did want to ask, Madam Secretary, gas prices. They’re are somewhat on the rise, but they did go down significantly. We’re seeing them rise a bit. Former White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain had encouraged the President to focus on pocketbook issues to voters. What is the administration doing to lower those prices, and should we be worried about the conflict in the Middle East contributing?
  5203.  
  5204. GRANHOLM: Yeah, we should and thank you for raising that.
  5205.  
  5206. (…)
  5207.  
  5208. 11:41:22 a.m. Eastern
  5209.  
  5210. BEHAR: Jennifer, when are you going to run for president?
  5211.  
  5212. GRANHOLM: Oh, my lord. What were you saying?
  5213.  
  5214. HOSTIN: Shouldn't gas companies be better corporate citizens and lower the prices and stop gouging the American people?!
  5215.  
  5216. (…)
  5217. </description>
  5218.  <pubDate>April 18th, 2024 6:14 PM</pubDate>
  5219.    <dc:creator>Nicholas Fondacaro</dc:creator>
  5220.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283813</guid>
  5221.    </item>
  5222. <item>
  5223.  <title>First on MRC: Soros-Funded Groups Created Google Anti-Israel Demonstration</title>
  5224.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/business/tom-olohan/2024/04/18/first-mrc-soros-funded-groups-created-google-anti-israel</link>
  5225.  <description>First on MRC Business: A vicious anti-Israel group that occupied Google until their arrests was created by two organizations that Soros poured massive amounts of money into. 
  5226.  
  5227. No Tech for Apartheid, a tech worker campaign that frequently accuses Israel of “genocide,” occupied the Sunnyvale, California-based office of Google Cloud’s CEO for the crime of doing business with Israelis. No Tech for Apartheid refers to itself as a project of the anti-Israel groups Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and MPower Change. Strikingly, Soros’ Open Society Foundations’ gave at least $525,000 to JVP between 2017 and 2022, while also giving $350,000 to JVP Action, an affiliated 501(c)(4) “sister organization” of JVP. Soros gave at least $2,205,555 to MPower Change from its founding in 2016 to 2022. 
  5228.  
  5229. In response to the protests demanding that Google cancel a $1.22 billion contract with the Israeli government, the tech giant fired 28 of the participants. The footage of the protests and the arrests has gone viral on social media. No Tech for Apartheid posted an absurd thread on X, referring to Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian as “genocide profiteers.”
  5230.  
  5231.  
  5232. BREAKING: Google employees were arrested after occupying their boss's office for more than 8 hours to demand that the company sever ties with Israel.
  5233. WATCH: pic.twitter.com/W4WQO8NNgH
  5234. — Kassy Akiva (@KassyDillon) April 17, 2024
  5235. No Tech for Apartheid does not list any staffers. However, MPower Change does claim No Tech for Apartheid as one of their “campaigns” on their website. Anti-Israel radical Granate Kim, a former employee of JVP, is MPower Change’s current Campaign Director. 
  5236.  
  5237. Radical anti-Israel activist Linda Sarsour is the executive director and co-founder of MPower Change. Sarsour is famous for her radical hatred of Israel. According to the Committee For Accuracy in Middle East Reporting, Sarsour strongly opposes the existence of Israel. Sarsour is a supporter of the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement to impoverish, isolate and destroy Israel, the homeland of the Jewish People. Both Sarsour and MPower Change promote a radical anti-law enforcement agenda and viciously smear both American law enforcement and Israel as collaborating oppressive forces. 
  5238.  
  5239. MPower Change Action demonstrated this agenda not only by supporting “defunding” and “abolishing” the police but by endorsing two Soros-funded radical leftist prosecutors for reelection in 2023: Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano and Arlington County Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti. 
  5240.  
  5241. The other organization involved in No Tech for Apartheid’s creation, JVP, is also a vicious opponent of Israel. This was evident on JVP’s frequently asked questions page, where the organization makes several disturbing statements. For example, JVP not only refers to Israel’s efforts to end Hamas terrorism and rescue the hostages as a “genocide,” but also argues that Hamas attacks are justified so long as they have military targets: “An occupied people have a right to resist, including the use of force. But the targeting of civilians is not permitted.” 
  5242.  
  5243. JVP also refers to itself as “anti-Zionist.” JVP admits that they initially avoided this label as it "closed off conversation in the Jewish community," before ultimately caving to “Palestinian partners.” While admitting that they are in a “struggle against Zionism,” JVP defines the term to make clear what they are fighting against: “Zionism is a form of Jewish nationalism, and is the primary ideology that drove the establishment of Israel.” In other words, Soros is funding a group opposed to the existence of Israel. 
  5244.  
  5245. This organization also unequivocally supports the BDS movement, not just for Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria, but for all of Israel. JVP compares their fight to demonize Israel to the American Civil Rights movement and the fight against the slave trade. Furthermore, JVP backs a Palestinian “right of return” that would threaten Israel’s existence as a Jewish State. Every one of these awful details can be found on their FAQ page. 
  5246.  
  5247. Soros has a long track record of funding radical anti-Israel groups like MPower Change and JVP. After last year’s brutal terrorist attack on Israel, MRC President Brent Bozell and MRC Free Speech America Vice President Dan Schneider called Soros out for giving $550,000 to Pro-Hamas groups between 2017 and 2022 alone. 
  5248.  
  5249. Conservatives are under attack! Contact ABC News (818) 460-7477, CBS News (212) 975-3247 and NBC News (212) 664-6192 and demand they report on Soros’ comments and funding of anti-Israel causes.</description>
  5250.  <pubDate>April 18th, 2024 4:01 PM</pubDate>
  5251.    <dc:creator>Tom Olohan</dc:creator>
  5252.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283812</guid>
  5253.    </item>
  5254. <item>
  5255.  <title>All Talk No Game? Musk Caves After Pledging to Protect Free Speech</title>
  5256.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/free-speech/luis-cornelio/2024/04/18/all-talk-no-game-musk-caves-after-pledging-protect-0</link>
  5257.  <description> Tech mogul Elon Musk has folded in his so-called defense of free speech in his recent battle with a Brazilian court.
  5258.  
  5259. On Monday, Musk's attorneys informed Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes that social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) will comply with all of the censorship demands targeting accounts accused of spreading misinformation, according to Reuters.
  5260.  
  5261. "As already communicated to the federal police, X Brasil informs that all orders issued by this Supreme Court and the Superior Electoral Court will continue to be fully complied with by X Corp," Musk’s legal counsel reportedly wrote in the letter addressed to Moraes.
  5262.  
  5263. Musk’s compliance marks a stark departure from his vehement threats to ignore the orders. “We are lifting all restrictions,” Musk declared on April 6, accusing the Moraes of threatening X with fines and imprisonment. “As a result, we will probably lose all revenue in Brazil and have to shut down our office there. But principles matter more than profit.”
  5264.  
  5265. Related: UPDATE: Are You Paying Attention? Brazil Escalates Major Free Speech Assault
  5266.  
  5267. The battle between X and de Moraes stems from an inquiry by Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court that centers on the spread of what the government deemed to be misinformation amid federal elections. In court rulings, Moraes accused X of allowing some popular Brazil-based users to spread so-called misinformation. In turn, he demanded Musk censor them.
  5268.  
  5269. In court decisions, Moraes accused X of being a major driver of alleged misinformation and demanded Musk censor these users. Amid Musk’s initial refusal to comply with such demands, Moraes threatened to impose daily fines of $20,000 for each account not banned.
  5270.  
  5271. Last week, the Brazilian Superior Electoral Court declined to respond to MRC’s request for comment on Musk’s refusal to comply with the orders. Instead, a court spokesperson directed MRC to a criminal referral directing the county’s attorney general to investigate Musk for potential obstruction of justice.
  5272.  
  5273. Before Monday, Musk had hurled scathing comments at the Brazilian assault against its citizens’ free speech. “The severity of the censorship and the degree to which Brazil’s own laws are being broken, to the detriment of their own people, is the worst of any country in the world in which this platform operates,” he wrote on April 10.
  5274.  
  5275. Hours earlier that same day, Musk declared that X respected the Brazilian laws but said the company “must refuse” to comply with orders that break the law. His remarks likely refer to earlier characterizations of Morae’s orders as lacking legitimate legal basis. 
  5276.  
  5277.  
  5278. 𝕏 respects the laws of Brazil and all countries in which we operate.
  5279. When given an order to break the law, we must refuse. https://t.co/vLuFUP9gN8
  5280. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 10, 2024
  5281. Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on hate speech and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.</description>
  5282.  <pubDate>April 18th, 2024 3:46 PM</pubDate>
  5283.    <dc:creator>Luis Cornelio</dc:creator>
  5284.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283811</guid>
  5285.    </item>
  5286. <item>
  5287.  <title>‘What’s Their Mission?’ MRC’s Stephanie Hamill and Lara Trump Shred NPR Over Liberal Bias Bombshell </title>
  5288.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/culture/stephanie-hamill/2024/04/18/whats-their-mission-mrcs-stephanie-hamill-and-lara-trump</link>
  5289.  <description> Media Research Center (MRC) contributing writer Stephanie Hamill was a guest on “The Right View Podcast” with host Lara Trump and The Post Millennial’s Libby Emmons on Tuesday to discuss the growing scandal at NPR, among other topics. 
  5290.  
  5291. Uri Berliner, a senior editor for the public radio giant, resigned Wednesday after being suspended without pay after he publicly accused the broadcaster of left-wing bias.
  5292.  
  5293.  
  5294. My resignation letter to NPR CEO @krmaher pic.twitter.com/0hafVbcZAK
  5295. — Uri Berliner (@uberliner) April 17, 2024
  5296.  
  5297. During the segment, Trump read a few lines from a message that was sent by NPR's President and CEO Katherine Maher to staff that was shared online. In the message, Maher defended NPR’s "mission.” 
  5298.  
  5299.  
  5300. NPR's service to this aspirational mission was called in question this week, in two distinct ways. The first was a critique of the quality of our editorial process and the integrity of our journalists. The second was a criticism of our people on the basis of who we are.
  5301.  
  5302. Asking a question about whether we're living up to our mission should always be fair game: after all, journalism is nothing if not hard questions. Questioning whether our people are serving our mission with integrity, based on little more than the recognition of their identity, is profoundly disrespectful, hurtful, and demeaning. 
  5303.  
  5304.  
  5305. "What’s the mission?" said Trump. "If the mission is to thwart Donald Trump’s presidency, prevent him from becoming president again, and really just carry water for the Democratic Party, I guess they are right on message and right on mission." 
  5306.  
  5307. WATCH: 
  5308.  
  5309.  
  5310.  
  5311.  
  5312.  
  5313.  
  5314.  
  5315.  
  5316. </description>
  5317.  <pubDate>April 18th, 2024 3:28 PM</pubDate>
  5318.    <dc:creator>Stephanie Hamill</dc:creator>
  5319.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283809</guid>
  5320.    </item>
  5321. <item>
  5322.  <title>'They're the Commies!' ABC News Claims GOP 'In the Bed' With Russia</title>
  5323.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/nicholas-fondacaro/2024/04/18/theyre-commies-abc-news-claims-gop-bed-russia</link>
  5324.  <description> On Thursday, ABC News moderators Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar took to The View to spew disinformation about Republicans on national television during an election year. The lies included accusations of being “afraid of history,” being communist and “in the bed” with Russia, and wanting to make women property again.
  5325.  
  5326. Goldberg lashed out at “these little snowflaky people” and, without evidence, accused them of being “the ones that are afraid of information. They're the ones who are afraid of history.”
  5327.  
  5328. “It's not us,” she sneered. “It's y'all. Y'all are afraid that what's happening is happening without you and it shouldn't be, but you're letting it happen. You're letting all of these decisions be made without you being taken seriously! No one is taking you people seriously! And you should be worried about it.”
  5329.  
  5330. She was followed up by Behar, who seemingly longed for the return of the House Un-American Activities Committee of the Cold War era to “ruin” the lives of ALL Republicans by having them “blacklisted” from society:
  5331.  
  5332.  
  5333. BEHAR: Why are they in the bed with the Russians? I mean, we grew up in a time when if you were pro-Russian in any way you were hauled before the UAC Committee and your life was ruined and you were blacklisted. Now all of a sudden these people are all about the Russians.
  5334.  
  5335. HOSTIN: Trump.
  5336.  
  5337. BEHAR: I know, but why are Americans accepting that all of a sudden?
  5338.  
  5339.  
  5340.  
  5341.  
  5342.  
  5343.  
  5344.  
  5345.  
  5346.  
  5347.  
  5348. “They call the Democrats commies, they’re the commies!” she decried.
  5349.  
  5350. As usual, faux-conservative Alyssa Farah Griffin was absolutely useless and refused to push back on any of the false accusations her friends were leveling without evidence.
  5351.  
  5352. Further, Goldberg asserted it was “hard to figure [Republicans] out” and suggested “they’ve forgotten that we, the people, make the decisions about what goes on in this country” as if Republicans were not elected by the people.
  5353.  
  5354. Without evidence, Goldberg went on to insist that Republicans were trying to turn back the clock to make women property again:
  5355.  
  5356.  
  5357. I was listening to a book today, just talking about women's rights in the early part of this century, and, you know, women could do nothing. You had to be married or you didn't exist. Why would you want to go back to that? Why are we allowing -- This is the thing, I don't understand why we didn't get angrier sooner – and I know people are angry now because I hear it – but why are we going backwards in a way that is not good for the economy, it's not good for the country?
  5358.  
  5359.  
  5360. What made Goldberg’s claim even more ridiculous, was that she said she was learning about women’s rights “in the early part of this century.” We’re almost a quarter of the through the 21st century, which meant she was living in the past and didn’t know what century it was.
  5361.  
  5362. The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
  5363.  
  5364.  
  5365. ABC’s The View
  5366. April 18, 2024
  5367. 11:07:20 a.m. Eastern
  5368.  
  5369. (…)
  5370.  
  5371. WHOOPI GOLDBERG: You know what's offensive to me?
  5372.  
  5373. SUNNY HOSTIN: What, Whoopi?
  5374.  
  5375. GOLDBERG: I don't – These little snowflaky people, they're the people who said, you know, ‘Oh, you can't take it, huh? You can't take the heat?’ I'm discovering that most of the folks on the other side are the snowflakes, they're the ones that are afraid of information. They're the ones who are afraid of history. It's not us. It's y'all. Y'all are afraid that what's happening is happening without you and it shouldn't be, but you're letting it happen. You're letting all of these decisions be made without you being taken seriously! No one is taking you people seriously! And you should be worried about it.
  5376.  
  5377. JOY BEHAR: Why are they in the bed with the Russians? I mean, we grew up in a time when if you were pro-Russian in any way you were hauled before the UAC Committee and your life was ruined and you were blacklisted. Now all of a sudden these people are all about the Russians.
  5378.  
  5379. HOSTIN: Trump.
  5380.  
  5381. BEHAR: I know, but why are Americans accepting that all of a sudden? They call the Democrats commies, they’re the commies!
  5382.  
  5383. (…)
  5384.  
  5385. 11:08:50 a.m. Eastern
  5386.  
  5387. GOLDBERG: You know why it's so hard to figure the other side out? Because they’ve forgotten that we, the people, make the decisions about what goes on in this country. And every time they try to usurp it – You know.
  5388.  
  5389. I was listening to a book today, just talking about women's rights in the early part of this century, and, you know, women could do nothing. You had to be married or you didn't exist. Why would you want to go back to that? Why are we allowing -- This is the thing, I don't understand why we didn't get angrier sooner – and I know people are angry now because I hear it – but why are we going backwards in a way that is not good for the economy, it's not good for the country?
  5390.  
  5391. (…)
  5392. </description>
  5393.  <pubDate>April 18th, 2024 1:22 PM</pubDate>
  5394.    <dc:creator>Nicholas Fondacaro</dc:creator>
  5395.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283808</guid>
  5396.    </item>
  5397. <item>
  5398.  <title>'Credit Where Due'—Scarborough Lauds Reaganesque Speaker Johnson On Ukraine </title>
  5399.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/mark-finkelstein/2024/04/18/credit-where-due-scarborough-lauds-reaganesque-speaker-johnson</link>
  5400.  <description>
  5401. "Hear hear! Good on him. Credit where credit is due, and credit is definitely due with Speaker Johnson."  -- Joe Scarborough
  5402.  
  5403.  
  5404. It's often said that it can be a kiss of death for a politician to be praised by a political opponent. 
  5405.  
  5406. But that adage might not hold true in the case of Joe Scarborough's praise of Speaker Mike Johnson. Because on today's Morning Joe, Scarborough lauded Johnson not for agreeing with some liberal icon, but for upholding the principles of . . . Ronald Reagan.
  5407.  
  5408. Scarborough's commending of Johnson came in the context of the Speaker's advocacy of aid for Ukraine.  And in doing so, Johnson described himself as a Reagan Republican, a believer in peace through strength, wanting to send a message to adversaries like Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea, and seeing the US as the greatest country in the world.
  5409.  
  5410. Marjorie Taylor Greene and others will find a way to criticize Johnson's statement, but it's a tricky needle to thread. Does a Republican really want to speak out against Ronald Reagan?
  5411.  
  5412.  
  5413.  
  5414.  
  5415.  
  5416. Note: Speaking of Johnson's stance, Scarborough called himself a Baptist, and thus as someone who embraces conversions. He even quoted from the Just As I Am hymn.The irony was lost on Scarborough that he's had quite the conversion himself. Going from being a hardcore pro-life, pro-Second Amendment congressman from Florida's conservative panhandle, to decrying the overturning of Roe and beating the drums for more gun control.  Scarborough's conversion has been so complete that he's become a Biden phone buddy and informal adviser.
  5417. Just as you were, Joe Scarborough: please!
  5418.  
  5419. Here's the transcript.
  5420.  
  5421.  
  5422. MSNBC
  5423. Morning Joe
  5424. 4/18/24
  5425. 6:03 am EDT
  5426.  
  5427. JOE SCARBOROUGH: In a few minutes, Willie, we're going to be talking about Speaker Johnson and Ukraine.
  5428.  
  5429. I must say, he has had a conversion. You know, it's, it's like A Christmas Carol. That the ghost of the Republican party past came to visit him in the middle of the night and said to him, [imitates voice of Ronald Reagan] "Well," and he said,"Yes, sir."
  5430.  
  5431. MIKA BRZEZINSKI: No, I think --
  5432.  
  5433. SCARBOROUGH: No, listen. What do I say about conversions?
  5434.  
  5435. MIKA: I'll take 'em.
  5436.  
  5437. SCARBOROUGH: I'm a Baptist.
  5438.  
  5439. MIKA: Yeah.
  5440.  
  5441. SCARBOROUGH: We love deathbed conversions, we love midlife conversions. You want to convert? Just as I am, and waiting not, to cleanse my soul of one dark spot.
  5442.  
  5443. Well, okay, we'll take Speaker Johnson, who sounds like Ronald Reagan. And I will say, in defense of some of the leaders in that House GOP, like some of those leaders that run important committees. It sounds like they're actually concerned about China, Iran, and Russia!
  5444.  
  5445. WILLIE GEIST: And this might literally be a political deathbed conversion for Mike Johnson, as the threats to his job continue from that faction. But Joe, Speaker Johnson invoked Ronald Reagan's name --
  5446.  
  5447. SCARBOROUGH: Hear, hear.
  5448.  
  5449. GEIST: -- finally said it out loud. It's something we've been talking about for months now on this show: the party of Ronald Reagan turning its back on Ukraine in a fight against Russia. 
  5450.  
  5451. Speaker Johnson said yesterday, "I am a child of the '80s. I am a child of the Reagan era. We have to do what's right here. We have to give Ukraine what it needs."
  5452.  
  5453. Where was that over the last couple of months? Unclear. But he's come around. The question will be, have enoug hother Republicans come around to that position to clear this funding and get it to Ukraine? Perhaps as early as Saturday night, when Speaker Johnson says there will be a vote.
  5454.  
  5455. MIKA: Hope to see Democrats step up.
  5456.  
  5457. SCARBOROUGH: Maybe he'll go to the floor.
  5458.  
  5459. MIKA: No.
  5460.  
  5461. SCARBOROUGH: Maybe he'll say --
  5462.  
  5463. MIKA: Listen --
  5464.  
  5465. SCARBOROUGH: MTG, tear down that wall! I mean, there's so many options now.
  5466.  
  5467. MIKA: Yeah, there's a lot to say.
  5468.  
  5469. SCARBOROUGH: He can borrow so much from Ronald Reagan.
  5470.  
  5471. . . . 
  5472.  
  5473. MIKAL And despite the threats from his Republican colleagues, Johnson is pushing forward.
  5474.  
  5475. MIKE JOHNSON [speaking with Jake Tapper on CNN]: We're going to stand for freedom and make sure that Vladimir Putin doesn't March through Europe. We're an exceptional nation. We're the greatest nation on the planet, and we have to act like it. And we have to project to Putin and Xi and Iran and North Korea and anybody else that we will defend freedom. It doesn't mean boots on the ground. We're not the world's policemen, but we're going to do the right thing. And I think the Congress is going to take an important stand here.
  5476.  
  5477. JAKE TAPPER: Are you going to have to rely on Democrats to pass the rule in order to bring these bills to the floor, and also the legislation itself?
  5478.  
  5479. JOHNSON: Well, I hope not. I hope our Republican colleagues will stand together, stick together on this. I think we understand, look, I'm a child of the '80s. I regard myself as a Reagan Republican. I understand the concept of maintaining peace through strength. That's one of our guiding principles. It's a really important philosophy. And it's a big part of our party and our world view. And I think here is an opportunity to make that stand at a really critical time in world history.
  5480.  
  5481. SCARBOROUGH: I mean, this is like a movie for me. I went to sleep last night, and we were living in the age of Trump. And I woke up this morning, and now we're in the age of Reagan again. Listen to this. Peace through strength. Huh.
  5482.  
  5483. MIKA: That sounds good.
  5484.  
  5485. SCARBOROUGH: And you knowm, a couple days ago, I kind of got heated up about how Republicans hate on America so much. I was talking about how horrible America is. And I said America is the greatest country in the world. And they need to start saying it. Well, the Speaker said, "We're the greatest nation in the world." Good on him. Like, we don't hear this from Republicans. 
  5486.  
  5487. We certainly don't hear that we have to actually fund people who are fighting against Russian aggression much these days. Except from, again, those responsible leaders, whether you're talking about the chairman of the intel committee or the chairman of the foreign affairs committee, people who are actually talking like grown-ups.
  5488.  
  5489. But I've got to say, give credit where credit is due, and credit is definitely due with Speaker Johnson talking like a Reagan Republican, talking about the need to protect freedom in this fight between western democracy and what's going on in Russia.
  5490.  
  5491. </description>
  5492.  <pubDate>April 18th, 2024 1:21 PM</pubDate>
  5493.    <dc:creator>Mark Finkelstein</dc:creator>
  5494.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283799</guid>
  5495.    </item>
  5496. <item>
  5497.  <title>Editor’s Pick: National Review’s Geraghty Takes Blowtorch to NPR Over Berliner Debacle</title>
  5498.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/curtis-houck/2024/04/18/editors-pick-national-reviews-geraghty-takes-blowtorch-npr-over</link>
  5499.  <description> Writing Thursday morning over at National Review in the Morning Jolt newsletter, senior writer Jim Geraghty went postal on taxpayer-funded National Public Radio (NPR) over its handling of now-former senior business editor Uri Berliner’s bombshell essay for The Free Press meticulously dismantling NPR for its decades of liberal media bias.
  5500.  
  5501. Geraghty (correctly) stated it’s been “refreshingly honest” to see how “NPR responded to the revelations and accusations of 25-year veteran Uri Berliner” with “biased, one-sided, arrogant, and dismissive” condemnations of Berliner because “that’s exactly how NPR likes it” sinc ethey “didn’t get this way accidentally; this is what it wants to be.”
  5502.  
  5503. He acknowledged anyone who’s “been around long enough” has “seen this sort of journalistic story-cycle before” in which some sort of hubbub breaks out at a liberal media heavyweight, they claim to be sorrowful and have “strayed from its original mission to report the news”....and then nothing happens.
  5504.  
  5505. He went back through a slew of examples as way of saying “[t]here’s something a bit refreshing, if depressing, about the way NPR responded to” Berliner:
  5506.  
  5507.  
  5508. You can think back to Dan Rather and CBS News, or Eason Jordan and CNN, or Stephen Glass at the New Republic. Or, more recently, the staff panic and outrage that ousted James Bennet from the editorial page at the New York Times. Heck, you could go back to Janet Cooke and the Washington Post, or all the way back to Walter Duranty’s work for the New York Times in the Soviet Union, echoing the propaganda of Stalin.
  5509.  
  5510.  
  5511. “This time at NPR, there is no rubbing of the chin, furrowed brows, or begrudging concession that the critic has a point, and that they must do better. Nope, NPR’s management thinks they’re doing a terrific job, and they don’t see any reason to change. In their minds, the true villain of this story is Berliner,” he added with “former colleagues are similarly indignant that anybody could possibly doubt the quality of the work that they’re doing.”
  5512.  
  5513. After winding through NPR’s heavily slanted coverage of the coronavirus pandemic and the Hunter Biden laptop, Geraghty observed “NPR management” has clearly decided that, lacking any fear of cajoles from Republicans to defund them, they could treat Berliner’s concerns “the same way” they “treated the counterevidence for the Trump–Russia collusion narrative, or the Hunter Biden laptop, or the evidence pointing to a lab leak.”
  5514.  
  5515. To read Geraghty’s full story, click here.</description>
  5516.  <pubDate>April 18th, 2024 12:51 PM</pubDate>
  5517.    <dc:creator>Curtis Houck</dc:creator>
  5518.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283807</guid>
  5519.    </item>
  5520. <item>
  5521.  <title>Ruhle Claims High Gas Prices Are a Russo-Saudi Plot to Elect Trump</title>
  5522.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/alex-christy/2024/04/18/ruhle-claims-high-gas-prices-are-russo-saudi-plot-elect-trump</link>
  5523.  <description>With gas prices on the rise, MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle did what comes naturally to her: defending President Joe Biden. On Wednesday’s The 11th Hour Ruhle not only claimed that Biden has nothing to do with high gas prices, but he is being undermined by the Russians and the Saudis who are trying to get Donald Trump elected.
  5524.  
  5525. Ruhle kicked off the segment by declaring, “We know that inflation is driving Americans crazy. If you are unsure, just call your mother. For many, it is their biggest complaint right now and because President Biden is in the White House, he gets the blame. But over the last few months, one thing he has been pointing to is low gas prices. But unfortunately, if you look closer, recently, they have been steadily and quietly going up. Now, this is a common thing going into the summer. More people drive more. It pushes up demand. That is normal. But there are other reasons as well. Ones that might be more deliberate, even political. Like Saudi Arabia and Russia continuing to cut oil production until June and remember when production is down, prices go up.”
  5526.  
  5527.  
  5528.  
  5529.  
  5530.  
  5531.  
  5532.  
  5533.  
  5534.  
  5535. After one of her guests, Bulwark podcaster Tim Miller, also defended Biden by citing record levels of oil production, Ruhle turned to her other guest, former Bernie Sanders adviser Chuck Rocha, and asked, “Chuck, what do you think? These prices are not the fault of President Biden. Tim just laid it out, we’ve got the highest oil production in U.S. history and some overseas oil producers who would sure like to help DJT.”
  5536.  
  5537. Even if one grants Ruhle’s premise that Russia and Saudi Arabia are trying to get Trump elected (as opposed to Moscow cutting production to raise the price of oil to fund its war machine), Biden has not done anything to respond. In fact, he has done the opposite. It is now more expensive to get a drilling lease on federal lands thanks to last week’s new regulations that changed the royalty rate for the first time in a century.
  5538.  
  5539. As for Rocha, he naturally lamented that people will blame Biden “even if he has nothing to do and OPEC and Russia and all of these things have to do—they’re going to blame Joe Biden and the other side knows it.”
  5540.  
  5541. Ruhle’s claim that the Russians and the Saudis are trying to get Trump elected with their oil policies is not even original. In October 2022, Ruhle’s colleague Ali Velshi theorized that Moscow and Riyadh conspired to raise gas prices to help Republicans in that year’s midterms.
  5542.  
  5543. Here is a transcript for the April 17 show:
  5544.  
  5545.  
  5546. MSNBC The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle
  5547.  
  5548. 4/17/2024
  5549.  
  5550. 11:33 PM ET
  5551.  
  5552. STEPHANIE RUHLE: We know that inflation is driving Americans crazy. If you are unsure, just call your mother. For many, it is their biggest complaint right now and because President Biden is in the White House, he gets the blame. But over the last few months, one thing he has been pointing to is low gas prices. But unfortunately, if you look closer, recently, they have been steadily and quietly going up. Now, this is a common thing going into the summer. More people drive more. It pushes up demand. That is normal. But there are other reasons as well. Ones that might be more deliberate, even political. Like Saudi Arabia and Russia continuing to cut oil production until June and remember when production is down, prices go up. 
  5553.  
  5554. …
  5555.  
  5556. Chuck, what do you think? These prices are not the fault of President Biden. Tim just laid it out, we’ve got the highest oil production in U.S. history and some overseas oil producers who would sure like to help DJT.
  5557.  
  5558. CHUCK ROCHA: Let me be clear that the Republicans know how to use this and will use this against Joe Biden. One of the most brilliant, small political things I saw done that was very, very powerful, last year, when I went to the pump, there was a sticker of Joe Biden with a finger pointing “I did that.” They were sticking it on gasoline pumps saying he’s the reason the gas pump was so high. 
  5559.  
  5560. When I do focus groups all around the country, I'm still one of those old school political consultants who work on campaigns every single day, people talk about gas and groceries because no matter who you are, almost everybody in America, every week, has to buy gas and groceries and to your point, Steph, when it goes up just a little bit, they will blame the person in charge even if he has nothing to do and OPEC and Russia and all of these things have to do—they’re going to blame Joe Biden and the other side knows it.
  5561. </description>
  5562.  <pubDate>April 18th, 2024 12:00 PM</pubDate>
  5563.    <dc:creator>Alex Christy</dc:creator>
  5564.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283806</guid>
  5565.    </item>
  5566. <item>
  5567.  <title>Biden’s Kill Switch: The Growing Threat of Government Control of Your Car</title>
  5568.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/john-stossel/2024/04/18/bidens-kill-switch-growing-threat-government-control-your-car</link>
  5569.  <description>Soon the government might shut down your car.
  5570.  
  5571. President Joe Biden’s new infrastructure gives bureaucrats that power.
  5572.  
  5573. You probably didn’t hear about that because when media covered it, few mentioned the requirement that by 2026, every American car must “monitor” the driver, determine if he is impaired and, if so, “limit vehicle operation.”
  5574.  
  5575. Rep. Thomas Massie objected, complaining that the law makes government “judge, jury and executioner on such a fundamental right!”
  5576.  
  5577. Congress approved the law anyway.
  5578.  
  5579. A USA Today “fact check” told readers, don’t worry, “There’s no kill switch in Biden’s bill.”
  5580.  
  5581. “They didn’t read it, because it’s there!” says automotive engineer and former vintage race car driver Lauren Fix in my new video. The clause is buried under Section 24220 of the law.
  5582.  
  5583. USA Today’s “fact” check didn’t lie, exactly. It acknowledged that the law requires “new cars to have technology that identifies if a driver is impaired and prevents operation.” Apparently, they just didn’t like the term “kill switch.”
  5584.  
  5585. But it is a kill switch.
  5586.  
  5587. Mothers Against Drunk Driving wants that.
  5588.  
  5589. I say to Fix, “It would save lives.”
  5590.  
  5591. “Are you willing to give up every bit of control of your life?” she asks. “Once you give that up, you have no more freedom. This computer decides you can’t drive your vehicle. Great. Unless someone’s having a heart attack and trying to get to the hospital.”
  5592.  
  5593. The kill switch is just one of several ways the government proposes to control how we drive.
  5594.  
  5595. California lawmakers want new cars to have a speed governor that prevents you from going more than 10 miles per hour over the speed limit.
  5596.  
  5597. That would reduce speeding. But not being able to speed is dangerous, too, says Fix. If “something’s coming at you, you have to make an adjustment.”
  5598.  
  5599. New cars will have a special button on the dash. If you suddenly need to speed and manage to find the button when trying to drive out of some bad situation, and it lets you speed for 15 seconds.
  5600.  
  5601. For all these new safety devices to work, cars need to spy on drivers. Before I researched this, I didn’t realize that they already do.
  5602.  
  5603. The Mozilla Foundation reports that car makers “Collect things like your age, gender, ethnicity, driver’s license number, your purchase history and tendencies.” Nissan and Kia “collect information about your sex life.”
  5604.  
  5605. How? Cars aim video cameras at passengers. Other devices listen to conversations and intercept text messages.
  5606.  
  5607. Then, says Mozilla, 76% of the car companies “sell your data.”
  5608.  
  5609. “I just bought a new car,” I say to Fix. “Nobody told me about this.”
  5610.  
  5611. “Oh, it’s there,” she replies. “Buy a new car, you get that really long document. ... The small print says, ‘We’re collecting your data. We know everything you’re doing in your car, and we own (the data). There’s nothing you can do about it.’”
  5612.  
  5613. Finally, Biden’s infrastructure bill also includes a pilot program to tax you based on how far we drive. “A mileage charge seems fair,” I say to Fix. “You pay for your damage to the road.”
  5614.  
  5615. “Correct,” she replies. “But when you start allowing them to do this, they could say, ‘We don’t want you to buy a firearm.’ ... ‘We don’t want you to go to that destination. So we’re not going to let you start your car.’ It’s about control.”
  5616.  
  5617. I push back. “They’re not controlling me.”
  5618.  
  5619. “They can,” she replies. “Wait until you get a bill for your carbon footprint. ‘You’re at your maximum for carbon credits. We’re not going to let you drive today! Take the train. Take the electric bus.’”
  5620.  
  5621. “This is paranoia,” I suggest.
  5622.  
  5623. “Maybe,” says Fix. “But so far, everything that I’ve said about these things, each step keeps coming through.”</description>
  5624.  <pubDate>April 18th, 2024 10:38 AM</pubDate>
  5625.    <dc:creator>John Stossel</dc:creator>
  5626.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283802</guid>
  5627.    </item>
  5628. <item>
  5629.  <title>Colbert, Goodwin Fret Voting and Women's Rights 'Are Now Being Denied'</title>
  5630.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/alex-christy/2024/04/18/colbert-goodwin-fret-voting-and-womens-rights-are-now-being-denied</link>
  5631.  <description>Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin traveled to CBS and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Wednesday to promote her new book, which is part history, part memoir about her and her late husband’s experiences in the 1960s. For Goodwin and Colbert, the main takeaway was that the achievements of the 60s, such as civil rights, are currently under threat.
  5632.  
  5633. Goodwin’s husband Dick was an adviser to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson as well as Sen. Robert Kennedy, and she recalled to Colbert an episode of Johnson swimming naked in the White House swimming pool, “They get to the White House pool and Lyndon Johnson, naked, is swimming in the pool, up and down, paddling up and down the pool… he says, ‘come on in, boys’ and of course they have no bathing suits, so they strip. So, all of a sudden, three people are paddling around the pool and while they’re doing that, they hang onto the edge, and Johnson comes forth with a vision of what he wants that will eventually become the Great Society. It was incredible. Medicare, Medicaid, aid to education, immigration reform, civil rights, voting rights, NPR, PBS. It was amazing. Amazing.”
  5634.  
  5635.  
  5636.  
  5637.  
  5638.  
  5639.  
  5640.  
  5641.  
  5642.  
  5643. Of all the times to compare NPR to civil rights and voting rights, this is a particularly strange one. Colbert, however, was more interested in doom-mongering about Republicans:
  5644.  
  5645.  
  5646. Okay, so, there is the achievements of LBJ and the Great Society. For that matter, the New Frontier or for that matter, the New Deal, and though so many of them are actively being attempted to be dismantled right now, with some success, including the Voting Rights Act, what do you think, first of all, your husband, Dick, and as you reflect, what would you say is being lost in the dismantling of that vision? Because it was at a very important time, a time of great change in the United States and not everybody likes the changes that happened, but what do you think is being lost??
  5647.  
  5648.  
  5649. Goodwin not only agreed that voting rights are under siege, even though they aren’t, she added some further lamentations:
  5650.  
  5651.  
  5652. But what was so important about the 1960s and I would love young people to remember what it was like because young people felt power then by the conviction they can make a difference in what that meant was that tens of thousands of people were marching for civil rights, for ending segregation, for the voting rights, which is now being denied, for women's rights, which are now being denied, for gay rights, which are now being denied. The only way we are going to get them back is not by looking for heroes, not looking for leaders. We have to do it ourselves and you young people are so important in that goal. 
  5653.  
  5654.  
  5655. Nobody’s civil or voting rights are being taken away. Some people simply believe that civil rights should extended to everyone, even the unborn.
  5656.  
  5657. Here is a transcript for the April 17-taped show:
  5658.  
  5659.  
  5660. CBS The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
  5661.  
  5662. 4/18/2024
  5663.  
  5664. 12:29 PM ET
  5665.  
  5666. DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN:  They get to the White House pool and Lyndon Johnson, naked, is swimming in the pool, up and down, paddling up and down the pool.
  5667.  
  5668. STEPHEN COLBERT: Was this normal? Would this happen a lot?
  5669.  
  5670. GOODWIN: Yeah, it happened a lot. Wherever he was with his office and so they’re swimming and they’re standing there with their business suits on in their ties and he says, "come on in, boys" and of course they have no bathing suits, so they strip. So, all of a sudden, three people are paddling around the pool and while they’re doing that, they hang onto the edge, and Johnson comes forth with a vision of what he wants that will eventually become the Great Society. It was incredible. Medicare, Medicaid, aid to education, immigration reform, civil rights, voting rights, NPR, PBS. It was amazing. Amazing.
  5671.  
  5672. STEPHEN COLBERT: Okay, so, there is the achievements of LBJ and the Great Society. For that matter, the New Frontier or for that matter, the New Deal, and though so many of them are actively being attempted to be dismantled right now, with some success, including the Voting Rights Act, what do you think, first of all, your husband, Dick, and as you reflect, what would you say is being lost in the dismantling of that vision? Because it was at a very important time, a time of great change in the United States and not everybody likes the changes that happened, but what do you think is being lost?
  5673.  
  5674. GOODWIN: But what was so important about the 1960s and I would love young people to remember what it was like because young people felt power then by the conviction they can make a difference in what that meant was that tens of thousands of people were marching for civil rights, for ending segregation, for the voting rights, which is now being denied, for women's rights, which are now being denied, for gay rights, which are now being denied. The only way we are going to get them back is not by looking for heroes, not looking for leaders. We have to do it ourselves and you young people are so important in that goal. 
  5675.  
  5676. There’s something, you know, I was young in the 60s. It was a great feeling. I was at that March on Washington on August 28, 1963, Dick was there too, but we didn't meet because there 250,000 other people there. I wish I'd met him then, but nonetheless you felt -- I was carrying a sign “Catholics and Jews and Protestants unite for civil rights” and I felt like something was larger than myself and I hope that young people today can get that feeling, but we’re going to depend on you to march and demonstrate and protest because something bad is happening in our country and you can make it right. I really believe that.
  5677. </description>
  5678.  <pubDate>April 18th, 2024 10:04 AM</pubDate>
  5679.    <dc:creator>Alex Christy</dc:creator>
  5680.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283800</guid>
  5681.    </item>
  5682. <item>
  5683.  <title>'Family Guy' Mocks Jesus After Evangelical Refuses to Have Sex with Brian the Dog</title>
  5684.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/culture/elise-ehrhard/2024/04/18/family-guy-mocks-jesus-after-evangelical-refuses-have-sex</link>
  5685.  <description>Fox's Family Guy has been mocking Christianity since the early years of the show. Last night's episode turned Jesus into a vulgar comedian who mocks His mother's virginity.
  5686.  
  5687. In the episode, "Faith No More," Brian goes back in time to erase Christianity from existence after an attractive Evangelical Christian woman refuses to have sex with him. 
  5688.  
  5689. After being rejected by a veterinary nurse who is an Evangelical Christian, Brian comes home and rants to Stewie about Christianity. 
  5690.  
  5691.  
  5692.  
  5693.  
  5694.  
  5695.  
  5696. Brian: Christianity sucks. It's stupid, arbitrary nonsense. 
  5697.  
  5698. Stewie: You're horny and she wouldn't have sex with you. 
  5699.  
  5700. Brian: No. And I did everything right. I even researched abortion clinics in case the condom broke. 
  5701.  
  5702. Stewie: Yeah, no, I know. It's in your Twitter bio. 
  5703.  
  5704. Brian: Fine, but look around. So much of the division and hatred in today's society comes from Christianity. And it's so hypocritical. I mean, they all vote for Trump, even though he's divorced. 
  5705.  
  5706. Stewie: That's all you've got on Trump? 
  5707.  
  5708. Brian: Christianity is also anti-science, anti-freedom-- 
  5709.  
  5710. Stewie: Come on, it's not all bad. I mean, I have a Swarthy Men of Nazareth advent calendar with doors opening for all 25 days. Talk about the "Stars" of Bethlehem, hey, Bri? 
  5711.  
  5712. Brian: Whatever. Christianity is the worst thing that ever happened to this country. Or the world. 
  5713.  
  5714. Stewie: Well, perhaps. But it's been around for 2,000 years, so it's not like there's anything you can do about it. Well, I'm going to bed. I'll leave you to watch John Oliver and agree with yourself. 
  5715.  
  5716. Brian: Good. Love John Oliver. He's a louder Jon Stewart. 
  5717.  
  5718. John Oliver voice: Blimey, guv'na. Republicans are bollocks. 
  5719.  
  5720. Brian: God, the British are smart. But, man, if only could get rid of Christianity. If only I could go back in time. 
  5721.  
  5722.  
  5723. For all the blasphemy, this scene admittedly nails the selfishness of an abortion-loving leftist angry at a woman for not sleeping with him, while also accurately mocking John Oliver.
  5724.  
  5725. Brian hops into a time machine in Stewie's bedroom and travels to 30 AD in search of Jesus. He hopes to prevent Christ from accomplishing His mission on Earth. He asks some men on the street if they know Jesus.
  5726.  
  5727. "Jesus Christ, you mean the guy who showed his weiner on a dare at camp?" one of the men replies.
  5728.  
  5729. Brian finds Jesus and learns that the Son of God really wants to be a stand-up comedian instead of the Messiah. God the Father is portrayed as a controlling jerk. The dog convinces Jesus to reject his Father's plans and do stand-up instead.
  5730.  
  5731. Jesus' stand up routine includes sex jokes and also mocks the Virgin Mary.
  5732.  
  5733.  
  5734.  
  5735.  
  5736.  
  5737.  
  5738. Jesus: So, my dad's God. [Crowd cheering] Thank you, thank you. And growing up, he taught me all about carpentry. Yeah. Uh, I guess he thought teenage boys should spend more time rubbing wood. [Crowd laughs] And my mom's a virgin. That's fun. Uh, yeah, when I was a teenager, I had to give her the talk. 
  5739.  
  5740.  
  5741. Vulgarity is par for the course in any Family Guy episode involving Christianity. Past examples include sexualizing the Last Supper and calling God a "dick." This episode is in line with the series' regular obsession with degrading Christ.
  5742.  
  5743. When Brian and Stewie return to the present day, they learn Christianity no longer exists and everyone is Jewish. Brian is happy until sundown when the family shuts off their electronics and prepares to walk to the synagogue. Upset about Jewish religious rules, Brian and Stewie go back to the time machine. Stewie bribes Moses to not receive the Ten Commandments. 
  5744.  
  5745. The world is then devoid of religion. History shows that a world that rejects God morphs into Hell on Earth, but not in Seth MacFarlane's world.
  5746.  
  5747. "Finally, a world with no religion, no prejudices, no irrationalities. Just science-based reason," Brian declares.
  5748.  
  5749. Then God shows up as a delivery man and angrily beats up Brian and Stewie until they bring religion back. In the end, a bruised and battered Stewie and Brian are seen singing in church.
  5750.  
  5751. Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane is a vocal atheist. His series often uses religion, particularly Christianity, as a punching bag. "Faith No More" was just the latest example and will likely not be the last.</description>
  5752.  <pubDate>April 18th, 2024 9:19 AM</pubDate>
  5753.    <dc:creator>Elise Ehrhard</dc:creator>
  5754.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283795</guid>
  5755.    </item>
  5756. <item>
  5757.  <title>PBS: AZ Abortion Ban Dates to When Slavery Was Legal and Only White Men Could Vote</title>
  5758.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/clay-waters/2024/04/18/pbs-az-abortion-ban-dates-when-slavery-was-legal-and-only-white-men</link>
  5759.  <description>PBS took another bite out of the surprise decision that recently emerged out of Arizona’s Supreme Court, on the Saturday edition of PBS News Weekend, anchor John Yang really loaded the ideological dice in his introduction: “The near-total abortion ban that the Arizona Supreme Court revived this week dates back to when Arizona wasn’t a state yet, when slavery was legal, and when only white men had the vote. Many Republican officeholders and candidate scrambled to distance themselves from the law.”
  5760.  
  5761. Yang introduced PBS’s version of a Republican guest: “Barrett Marson is a Republican strategist based in Arizona….it’s a swing state in the presidential election. You got a toss-up Senate race, and you got a couple of congressional contests that are going to be very close. How is this, what happened this week, the Supreme Court decision, going to affect those races?”
  5762.  
  5763.  
  5764. Barrett Marson: ….I think last week, we were a lean-Trump state. And I think this week, we’re a lean-Biden state. I think Kari Lake is on the wrong end of this issue. And, in fact, you know, I think a lot of Republicans who have quite frankly championed this kind of thing for what two generations are finding themselves, at least in Arizona, on the wrong side of how voters feel about this issue.
  5765.  
  5766. Yang: Have the Democrats picked up on this? Are they pressing this?
  5767.  
  5768. Marson: I mean, that is what they are doing. 24/7. And rightly so, I mean, look, right now, you know, again, a week ago, I would have said the border and immigration and the economy and inflation, were absolutely not only the top two issues, but they were very much Republican issues. And now, I think abortion is the number one and prevailing issue. It is the issue that will take the oxygen out of the room for any other issue….
  5769.  
  5770.  
  5771. Yang likened the Republican Party’s current status on the abortion issue to being “sort of like the dog that caught the car? They don`t know what to do with it now?”
  5772.  
  5773. Marson again flashed pro-choice credentials: "[Arizona] will have an initiative on the ballot most likely, and that would allow abortion up to 24 weeks. And I think that will pass maybe now with 60-plus percent of the vote if, especially if it is a choice between zero abortions, and maybe something a little bit too far to the left but better something that’s legal than nothing."
  5774.  
  5775.  
  5776.  
  5777. When asked about Florida’s upcoming ballot initiative to preserve the abortion option, Marson embraced the idea of young people voting for Democrats:
  5778.  
  5779.  
  5780. Marson: Well Florida has been trending Republican, for sure. But again, this ballot initiative has the chance, both in Arizona and Florida, to bring out so many young people, so many first-time voters, and we don’t know whether they will stick around, you know, come out for the abortion initiative, but stick around for Joe Biden and Ruben Gallego and, you know, and Senate candidates and House candidates down the ballot. Certainly they’re going to come out for the abortion initiative, and it’ll be up to the Democratic candidates up and down the ballot to convince them to stick around and vote for them as well.
  5781.  
  5782.  
  5783. Last month Marson appeared on the NewsHour also to suggest moderate voters like himself could vote for Biden, which makes him PBS’s ideal “Republican strategist.”
  5784.  
  5785. This pro-abortion segment was brought to you in part by Certified Financial Planner.
  5786.  
  5787. A transcript is available, click “Expand.”
  5788.  
  5789.  
  5790. PBS NewsWeekend
  5791.  
  5792. 4/13/24
  5793.  
  5794. 7:05:51 p.m. (ET)
  5795.  
  5796. JOHN YANG: The near total abortion ban that the Arizona Supreme Court revived this week dates back to when Arizona wasn`t a state yet, when slavery was legal, and when only white men had the vote, many Republican officeholders and candidate scrambled to distance themselves from the law.
  5797.  
  5798. It underscores some of the political consequences of the U.S. Supreme Court`s decision to strike down the constitutional right to seek an abortion and leave it up to the states to decide whether to regulate it. Barrett Marson is a Republican strategist based in Arizona. And before we get going, Mr. Marson, something we should make clear to the viewers. You`re not working for any candidates on the ballot this fall.
  5799.  
  5800. BARRETT MARSON, Republican strategist: No, I am not. And thanks a lot for having me on, John.
  5801.  
  5802. JOHN YANG: Thanks. In Arizona, it`s a swing state in the presidential election. You got a toss-up Senate race, and you got a couple of congressional contests that are going to be very close. How is this what happened this week, the Supreme Court decision going to affect those races?
  5803.  
  5804. BARRETT MARSON: Well, I think you said it all in that sentence there except for that was what was last week. This week now, I don`t know if the Senate race is a toss-up anymore. I don`t know. You know, I think last week, we were a lien Trumps state. And I think this week, we`re a lien Biden state.
  5805.  
  5806. I think Kari Lake is on the wrong end of this issue. And, in fact, you know, I think a lot of Republicans who have quite frankly championed this kind of thing for what two generations are finding themselves, at least in Arizona, on the wrong side of how voters feel about this issue.
  5807.  
  5808. JOHN YANG: Have the Democrats picked up on this? Are they pressing this?
  5809.  
  5810. BARRETT MARSON: I mean, that is what they are doing. 24/7. And rightly so I mean, look, right now, you know, again, a week ago, I would have said the border and immigration and the economy and inflation, were absolutely not only the top two issues, but they were very much Republican issues.
  5811.  
  5812. And now, I think abortion is the number one and prevailing issue. It is the issue that will take the oxygen out of the room for any other issue. So you will see abortion be front and center in every time Democrats open their mouths on the campaign stump, and Republicans right now just don`t have an answer for that.
  5813.  
  5814. JOHN YANG: You mentioned Kari Lake, she`s running for Senate this time, two years ago, when she was running for governor, she called this a great law. And you`ve also mentioned other candidates and officeholders, who have been championing this law or this idea and now have to deal with it, how should they deal with it? How can they deal with it?
  5815.  
  5816. BARRETT MARSON: Well, look, it`s been dogma in the Republican Party for, you know, again, two generations, three generations. So I think, frankly, just own it. You know, talk about why you are pro-life, talk about the benefits, talk about the need, maybe for more of a social safety net, but talk about the benefits of being pro-life, because there is no really running away. And they`re, you know, otherwise, just like Kari Lake, you look like a massive flip flopper.
  5817.  
  5818. And you know, two years ago, she called this the model for other states. And now she`s talking about she`s pro-choice. So, you know, I think you should just a Republican candidate should just own this. They`ve been wanting to do this for a couple generations. They`ve done it, celebrate it and embrace it.
  5819.  
  5820. JOHN YANG: To that point, you also mentioned this has been Republican dogma. They got it. They got what they wanted when they were when Roe was overturned. Is this sort of like the dog that caught the car? They don`t know what to do with it now?
  5821.  
  5822. BARRETT MARSON: Well, it is certainly an Arizona where the electorate is at least willing to have some sort of legal abortion, whether it is we will have an initiative on the ballot most likely, and that would allow abortion up to 24 weeks.
  5823.  
  5824. And I think that will pass maybe now with 60 plus percent of the vote if especially if it is a choice between zero abortions, and maybe something a little bit too far to the left but better something that`s legal than nothing.
  5825.  
  5826. JOHN YANG: Florida, of course, finds itself in a similar situation their Supreme Court cleared the way for a six-week band to take effect at the beginning of May. They`ve got are likely to have a constitutional ballot initiative on their ballot as well. Is it going to have the same effect there? Or do you think it`s different?
  5827.  
  5828. BARRETT MARSON: Well, you know, Florida is a, you know, has been trending Republican, for sure. But again, this ballot initiative has the chance, both in Arizona and Florida, to bring out so many young people, so many first time voters, and we don`t know whether they will stick around, you know, come out for the abortion initiative, but stick around for Joe Biden and Ruben Gallego and, you know, and Senate candidates and House candidates down the ballot.
  5829.  
  5830. Certainly they`re going to come out for the abortion initiative, and it`ll be up to the Democratic candidates up and down the ballot to convince them to stick around and vote for them as well.
  5831.  
  5832. JOHN YANG: Republican strategist Barrett Marson, thank you very much.
  5833.  
  5834. BARRETT MARSON: Thank you.
  5835. </description>
  5836.  <pubDate>April 18th, 2024 7:30 AM</pubDate>
  5837.    <dc:creator>Clay Waters</dc:creator>
  5838.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283790</guid>
  5839.    </item>
  5840. <item>
  5841.  <title>CBS Evening News Frets Over Caitlin Clark’s Rookie Pay</title>
  5842.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/jorge-bonilla/2024/04/18/cbs-evening-news-frets-over-caitlin-clarks-rookie-pay</link>
  5843.  <description>The CBS Evening News has now entered into the national discussion over the disparity in pay between the NBA and the WNBA, bringing advocacy to the discussion of whether female athletes are automatically entitled to the same compensation as their male counterparts while ignoring market dynamics. 
  5844.  
  5845. Here is that report in its entirety, as aired on the CBS Evening News on Wednesday, April 17th, 2024 (click “expand” to view full transcript):
  5846.  
  5847.  
  5848.  
  5849.  
  5850.  
  5851.  
  5852. NORAH O’DONNELL: Basketball sensation Caitlin Clark has taken the women's game to new heights, but becoming the WNBA's top draft pick has brought attention to the pay disparity with the NBA. CBS's Jericka Duncan reports Clark held her first press conference today, where she talked about how the league can narrow the gap.
  5853.  
  5854. CAITLIN CLARK: This is a dream come true, like these are the moments you dream of. 
  5855.  
  5856. JERICKA DUNCAN: This could also be the moment the WNBA and women's professional sports has been waiting for. 
  5857.  
  5858. CLARK: I think the more eyeballs you can get on this league, you know, the better off this world is going to be. 
  5859.  
  5860. CATHY ENGLEBERT: The Indiana Fever select Caitlin Clark. 
  5861.  
  5862. DUNCAN: It was a ratings record when nearly 2.5 million people tuned in to watch as former Iowa guard Caitlin Clark was drafted by the Indiana Fever.  
  5863.  
  5864. When you look at the amount of revenue that the NBA is getting, they could move some of that money to the WNBA to invest.
  5865.  
  5866. A.J. ROSS: $76,000 is not enough for someone you are looking to be the face of the league going forward. No other professional sports league would do something like that, and it's a shame.
  5867.  
  5868. DUNCAN: The 22-year-old’s endorsement deals in college were worth more than $3 million. She'll now get a base salary as a rookie capped at $76,535. Last year's NBA number one draft pick, Victor Wembanyama, earned over $12 million. But the revenue from both leagues is not comparable. Last season, the WNBA brought in a reported $200 million… 
  5869.  
  5870. SPORTSCASTER: Ooh, look at this! 
  5871.  
  5872. DUNCAN: …while the NBA took in an estimated $10 billion. Clark's popularity could spark a change, enabling the player to get more revenue in their collective bargaining agreements and TV broadcast contracts. Both are up for renewal this year. 
  5873.  
  5874. CLARK: Obviously the new media rights deal, that can be negotiated, can be life changing for a lot of players in this league. 
  5875.  
  5876. DUNCAN: Which could be a welcome slam-dunk for everyone. Jericka Duncan, CBS News, New York.
  5877.  
  5878.  
  5879. It seems that the folks at the CBS Evening News could have benefitted from reading the related explainer on CBS News dot com, which dispels a lot of the pay gap propaganda swirling around this latest WNBA draft.
  5880.  
  5881. Today I learned, for example, that the WNBA regular season comprises fewer than half the games played by the NBA. 40 games to 82. Then there is the revenue disparity between leagues, which is why correspondent Jericka Duncan suggested the NBA simply redistribute some of its revenue to the WNBA- never mind that the league is already doing that.
  5882.  
  5883. Then there is the fretting that Clark lost her college endorsement deals. If true, this would suggest that Clark is getting no endorsement deals as a pro, which is simply not true. In fact, Clark is about to finalize an eight-figure endorsement deal from Nike. For those who are hard of math, that’s between $10,000,000 and $99,999,999. 
  5884.  
  5885. Then, there is upcoming collective bargaining, which sets pay based on such factors as revenue, attendance, and TV rights. And it was Clark herself who recognized this:
  5886.  
  5887.  
  5888. CLARK: Obviously the new media rights deal, that can be negotiated, can be life changing for a lot of players in this league. 
  5889.  
  5890.  
  5891. The tone and tenor of this reporting, generally, seems to evince an end of coercing the NBA, which has subsidized the WNBA for years, into coming up with an equal pay scheme not unlike what you see at USA Soccer. But these situations are entirely different from each other, and the WNBA is going to need time to build up before closing the pay gap. 
  5892.  
  5893. In the meantime, don’t worry about Caitlin Clark. She’s going to get paid well above and beyond the WNBA rookie salary.
  5894.  
  5895.  </description>
  5896.  <pubDate>April 18th, 2024 12:20 AM</pubDate>
  5897.    <dc:creator>Jorge Bonilla</dc:creator>
  5898.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283798</guid>
  5899.    </item>
  5900. <item>
  5901.  <title>REGIME MEDIA: ABC Pushes Biden Propaganda in Pennsylvania</title>
  5902.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/jorge-bonilla/2024/04/17/regime-media-abc-pushes-biden-propaganda-pennsylvania</link>
  5903.  <description>The Biden campaign benefitted from some premium apple-polishing via ABC Senior White House Correspondent Mary Bruce, who delivered a dispatch from Pennsylvania that could make Pyongyang blush.
  5904.  
  5905. Watch this recap of President Biden’s campaign activities in the Keystone State, which may well be reportable to the Federal Elections Commission as an in-kind corporate contribution, as aired in its entirety on ABC World News Tonight on Wednesday, April 17th, 2024:
  5906.  
  5907.  
  5908.  
  5909.  
  5910.  
  5911.  
  5912. DAVID MUIR: We turn now to the race for the White House. President Biden in his home state of Pennsylvania again tonight, a state he'll need to win this November. Biden aiming to draw the contrast between him and Donald Trump, who has spent much of this week in court. Here's Mary Bruce. 
  5913.  
  5914. MARY BRUCE: Tonight, fully aware that Donald Trump's attention is focused on his criminal trial in New York, President Biden lasering in on battleground Pennsylvania. Speaking to steelworkers, Biden touting his work on the economy and taking swipes at his opponent. 
  5915.  
  5916. JOE BIDEN: 492,000 new jobs so far in Pennsylvania alone. Under my predecessor, who's busy right now, Pennsylvania lost 275,000 jobs. I mean, let's look at the facts. On my watch, unemployment hasn't been this low or this long in 50 years. 
  5917.  
  5918. BRUCE: Biden's leaning into his working class roots on a three-day swing through this must-win state. Meeting construction workers in Pittsburgh, visiting his childhood home in Scranton, where he told voters he understands them in a way Trump never will. 
  5919.  
  5920. BIDEN: Donald Trump looks at the world differently than you and me. He wakes up in the morning in Mar-a-Lago thinking about himself. 
  5921.  
  5922. BRUCE: The president, well aware that the polls are tightening and that he is gaining ground, has spent more time in Pennsylvania than any other battleground. By our count, visiting the state more than 30 times since taking office. David.
  5923.  
  5924. MUIR: Mary Bruce, who was in Pennsylvania, now back in Washington for us. Mary, thank you.
  5925.  
  5926.  
  5927. First, there is the framing. Anchor David Muir taking the time to lay down several key points: Biden needs to win PA, Biden trying to make the contrast between himself and former President Donald Trump, and Trump was in court. Muir tries to slip in some campaign disinformation by smearing PA as the “home state” of longtime Delaware resident Joe Biden who represented Delaware in the Senate for 36 years. 
  5928.  
  5929. “Leaning into his working-class roots”, Bruce says, before casting Biden as First Empath. The “report” closes by noting that Biden is catching up in the polls and has visited the state many times.
  5930.  
  5931. But this dispatch was not without its own omissions.
  5932.  
  5933. Biden was actually met with protests in Pittsburgh, which included the chant of “hey hey, ho ho, Bidenomics has got to go”. This doesn’t appear to have been fit for publication at ABC News.
  5934.  
  5935.  
  5936. Protests outside Biden visit to US Steel building in Pittsburgh pic.twitter.com/jBf07UbLXH
  5937. — Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) April 17, 2024
  5938. Bruce referenced Biden’s visit to his childhood home and showed B-reel of Biden walking alongside some local children. However, Bruce failed to show the beginning of that staged walk- and Biden weirdly (if not creepily) and very tightly holding these kids’ hands.
  5939.  
  5940.  
  5941. Biden takes no questions as he shuffles out of his childhood home with a group of children after a highly choreographed, scripted stop pic.twitter.com/fR86XqAizf
  5942. — RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 16, 2024
  5943. That was weird. And the report was weird, too. Weirdly sycophantic. Whatever that was, it sure wasn't journalism.</description>
  5944.  <pubDate>April 17th, 2024 11:14 PM</pubDate>
  5945.    <dc:creator>Jorge Bonilla</dc:creator>
  5946.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283797</guid>
  5947.    </item>
  5948. <item>
  5949.  <title>NewsBusters Podcast: NPR Says Bye-Bye Berliner, Hello to Censoring CEO</title>
  5950.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/tim-graham/2024/04/17/newsbusters-podcast-npr-says-bye-bye-berliner-hello-censoring-ceo</link>
  5951.  <description>After stirring up a hornet's nest at NPR about a leftist tilt, senior editor Uri Berliner resigned Wednesday, but that doesn't mean NPR types can refute his argument on their seemingly inevitable insularity and intolerance. New CEO Katherine Maher insulted Berliner as attacking staffers for "who they are," when he was criticizing them for engaging in identity politics first, not journalism.
  5952.  
  5953. Berliner announced "I cannot work in a newsroom where I am disparaged by a new CEO whose divisive views confirm the very problems at NPR I cite in my essay at the Free Press." Maher's tweets show she supports race-based reparations, rioting, and the Black Lives Matter movement. She believes "America is addicted to white supremacy." She talks about "cis white mobility privilege" without smirking. She won't have children because "the planet is literally burning."
  5954.  
  5955. At NPR, these tweets are not disqualifying -- they're qualifying. Berliner warns against journalists identifying with a "tribe" -- race, gender, religion, or sexual preference. Maher embraces racial tribalism, beginning with a pledge to overcome her own white privilege.
  5956.  
  5957. We looked at campaign donation records and found Katherine Maher gave about $3,000 in campaign donations in the Trump years (all to Democrats). The one that resonated most was a 2020 contribution of $500 to "Fair Fight PAC," a charity of left-wing election denier Stacey Abrams of Georgia. Election denial is cool -- when Democrats do it.
  5958.  
  5959. In her previous job, Maher went hunting for "misinformation" was about stifling any information that seemed pleasing to her hate object, Donald Trump. At Wikipedia she refused to tolerate "misinformation" on COVID before they knew much about it. So much was unknown, and yet they had the arrogance to shut down narratives that they thought Trump would be pushing.
  5960.  
  5961. Enjoy the podcast below, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 
  5962.  
  5963.  
  5964.  
  5965. </description>
  5966.  <pubDate>April 17th, 2024 11:01 PM</pubDate>
  5967.    <dc:creator>Tim Graham</dc:creator>
  5968.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283796</guid>
  5969.    </item>
  5970. <item>
  5971.  <title>Metaphor Amnesia? Morning Joe Calls Trump an 'Animal,' Ready to 'Lash Out'</title>
  5972.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/mark-finkelstein/2024/04/17/metaphor-amnesia-morning-joe-calls-trump-animal-ready-lash-out</link>
  5973.  <description> When Donald Trump referred to the illegal immigrant accused of killing 22-year-old Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus as an "animal," the liberal media went aflame with outrage.
  5974. Thus on MSNBC, Joy Reid condemned Trump's "dehumanizing and degrading" language [see clip at 2:00.]
  5975. So, surely, no one on MSNBC would ever use the a-for-animal word in describing Donald Trump!
  5976. Oh, wait. On today's Morning Joe, Mara Gay, an MSNBC analyst and member of the editorial board of the New York Times, said of Trump:
  5977.  
  5978. "He's like a caged animal. And that's a dangerous situation. He's feeling very threatened. He's out of control. And so we do expect him to lash out."
  5979.  
  5980. Oh no! Not just an animal, but an out-of-control animal! Creating a "dangerous situation" in which "we expect him to lash out."
  5981. Yet for some reason, no one on the panel castigated Gay for her use of such "degrading and dehumanizing" language. Huh!
  5982. Remind me to tune into Joy Reid's show later. Surely she will apply the same standard to Trump critics as she did to Trump himself! Or not.
  5983.  
  5984.  
  5985.  
  5986.  
  5987.  
  5988. Notes:
  5989.  
  5990. Gay's calling Trump an "animal" was preceded by a discussion of Trump's reported lack of discipline. Jonathan Lemire noted one exception to that rule -- that in the days prior to the 2016 election, Trump was persuaded to stay off Twitter and stay on message, which helped him win the election. But Lemire managed to work in a dig, saying that in addition to Trump's discipline, what contributed to his victory was "an assist from FBI Director Comey." That was a reference to the letter Comey sent days before the allegation saying that some of Hillary's emails had come to light that were pertinent to the FBI's investigation. Some in the liberal media blame Hillary's loss on that letter. 
  5991. Scarborough admitted that, like Trump, he too finds it difficult to sit for hours on end, and that therefore "Mika lets me talk all the time to stay awake!" That might have been a peace offering from Joe toward Mika, who is reportedly fed up with his constant big-footing of her on the show. 
  5992. Amateur psychiatrist Mika diagnosed Trump with an "ADD mentality."
  5993. Here's the transcript.
  5994.  
  5995.  
  5996. MSNBC
  5997. Morning Joe
  5998. 4/17/24
  5999. 6:18 am EDT
  6000.  
  6001. JOE SCARBOROUGH: Jonathan Lemire, obviously you've been covering Donald Trump a very long time. You understand that his lack of discipline is legendary. His [in]ability to sit still, legendary. He wrote, even in "The Art of the Deal" that, basically, that he didn't have the discipline to sit down and make plans for a day. He just kind of showed up in the office, answered phones, moved around, did things.
  6002.  
  6003. Drudge puts it this way, "Don in Hell," [Mika laughs] with a picture of Donald Trump inside the courtroom. And for anybody that knows him, reported on him, that's been around him. The fact that this guy has to sit in a courtroom, six, seven, eight hours a day.
  6004.  
  6005. MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Oh, that's not good for him.
  6006.  
  6007. SCARBOROUGH: Required to. It's just, it's something he has never done his entire life.
  6008.  
  6009. JONATHAN LEMIRE: He has a legendary short attention span, ricocheting from one thought to the next, would always frustrate his business advisers, and certainly his White House staff. He's been, best I can tell, disciplined, only a handful of times in his life. Once, famously, in the last week or so of the 2016 election. The one time he was convinced to stay off Twitter, and he, mostly, stayed on message at rallies, and we know that helped him win there in those last few days—with an assist from FBI Director Comey. But that is certainly the exception rather than the rule. 
  6010.  
  6011. SCARBOROUGH: And I will just say, yeah, anybody sitting six, seven, eight hours. You know me: if I were sitting somewhere for eight hours, I would, I would be falling asleep. I would be --
  6012.  
  6013. MIKA: You can't even get through four! [A reference to the daily length of Morning Joe.]
  6014.  
  6015. SCARBOROUGH: I would be writing songs! Yeah, it's hard to even get through four, and Mika lets me talk all the time to stay awake! So I can't imagine: what a, what a physical toll for anybody.
  6016.  
  6017. MIKA: This is where also it helps to have real firsthand knowledge of Donald Trump over the course of over a decade. And the guy has no attention span. We've seen it up front, and how we've known people who've worked for him, and they have to work around this sort of ADD mentality that he has, and the need for attention. Constant attention. Making moments.
  6018.  
  6019. . . . 
  6020.  
  6021. MARA GAY: And you saw yesterday that the judge recognized that concern in admonishing him and saying, I'm not going to have, you know, mumblings in my courtroom that could intimidate potential jurors. So, obviously that is a concern shared by many. I do agree with George [Conway.] I think that his pr capabilities are going to be somewhat limited in New York City, or maybe it was Jon that mentioned that a moment ago. That's absolutely true. 
  6022.  
  6023. It's an ongoing concern. Because essentially, he's like a caged animal. And that's a dangerous situation. He's feeling very threatened. He's out of control. And so we do expect him to lash out. Anybody who has covered him over the past decade can expect that.
  6024. </description>
  6025.  <pubDate>April 17th, 2024 10:23 PM</pubDate>
  6026.    <dc:creator>Mark Finkelstein</dc:creator>
  6027.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283786</guid>
  6028.    </item>
  6029. <item>
  6030.  <title>NewsGuard Maintains NPR’s Perfect Rating Despite Berliner's Suspension, Resignation</title>
  6031.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/nicholas-fondacaro/2024/04/17/newsguard-maintains-nprs-perfect-rating-despite-berliner</link>
  6032.  <description> Last week, now-former NPR business editor Uri Berliner drew the ire of the station’s new, far-left CEO after he called out NPR for allowing the liberal worldview to dominate the newsroom. Berliner’s act of journalistic integrity ultimately cost him his job; he was suspended and ultimately resigned. But despite NPR’s retaliation against a whistleblower and others coming forward to corroborate Berliner’s claims, left-wing media rating organization NewsGuard maintained NPR’s perfect 100/100 rating.
  6033.  
  6034. In his essay for The Free Press, Berliner exposed NPR as a factory churning out content that catered to the liberal worldview: “There’s an unspoken consensus about the stories we should pursue and how they should be framed. It’s frictionless—one story after another about instances of supposed racism, transphobia, signs of the climate apocalypse, Israel doing something bad, and the dire threat of Republican policies. It’s almost like an assembly line.”
  6035.  
  6036. Earlier this week, Berliner was suspended without pay by the station under the guise of it being punishment for publishing something with another outlet without getting permission first (as if NPR would have allowed him to publish something critical out them to begin with). NPR did give permission for Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep to publish a Substack defending the station and attacking his long-time colleague.
  6037.  
  6038. Berliner subsequently resigned; posting his resignation letter on X. “I am resigning from NPR, a great American institution where I have worked for 25 years,” he wrote. “I don’t support calls to defund NPR. I respect the integrity of my colleagues and wish for NPR to thrive and do important journalism. But I cannot work in a newsroom where I am disparaged by a new CEO whose divisive views confirm the very problems at NPR I cite in my Free Press essay.”
  6039.  
  6040.  
  6041.  
  6042.  
  6043. My resignation letter to NPR CEO @krmaher pic.twitter.com/0hafVbcZAK
  6044. — Uri Berliner (@uberliner) April 17, 2024
  6045.  
  6046.  
  6047. Despite NPR seeking retribution against one of their journalists for publically blowing the whistle on how they were allowing their liberal bias to poison their newsroom, thus forcing said journalist to publically resign, NewsGuard has so far maintained NPR’s perfect 100/100 rating.
  6048.  
  6049. Berliner’s criticisms of NPR weren’t business or employment-related (such as pay or working conditions) and had everything to do with the politics influencing the news product the organization was putting out. And thus, was an issue NewsGuard should’ve been taking seriously, especially considering that Berliner was getting support from other former NPR staffers.
  6050.  
  6051. At this point, a lack of action by NewsGuard to downgrade NPR’s score appeared to be in defiance of the facts and in opposition to the support Berliner was receiving from many right-wingers.
  6052.  
  6053. As MRC Associate Editor for Business &amp; Free Speech America Joseph Vazquez noted in the 2023 study of NewsGuard’s rankings, the point of the whole system was for it to be used as a “cudgel” against right-leaning news organizations:
  6054.  
  6055.  
  6056. NewsGuard wields its ratings as a cudgel, attempting to scare away advertisers from doing business with media and organizations that have been accused of promoting so-called “misinformation” or wrongthink on a whole host of issues like abortion, climate change, COVID-19 and elections. In so doing, NewsGuard effectively strips media outlets with which it disagrees of their ad money, slowly bleeding out their coffers.
  6057.  
  6058.  
  6059. NewsGuard can reluctantly downgrade legacy liberal media outlets when they have terrible reporting held up under their nose. They recently downgraded The New York Times after the Media Research Center called them out multiple times.
  6060.  
  6061. They need to do the same now with NPR.</description>
  6062.  <pubDate>April 17th, 2024 5:00 PM</pubDate>
  6063.    <dc:creator>Nicholas Fondacaro</dc:creator>
  6064.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283794</guid>
  6065.    </item>
  6066. <item>
  6067.  <title>A Taxing Time...at Tax Time</title>
  6068.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/cal-thomas/2024/04/17/taxing-timeat-tax-time</link>
  6069.  <description>Was it as bad for you as it was for me? Sending Washington money we earn, but Washington doesn’t, I mean?
  6070.  
  6071. It’s not just being part of half the nation that pays taxes while the other half doesn’t that bothers me. It’s the waste and unnecessary programs and agencies that have long outlived whatever usefulness they once had (if they were ever necessary). And still President Biden wants to raise taxes even more without proposing a single dollar be cut to reduce our unsustainable $34 trillion debt.
  6072.  
  6073. As The Washington Times reported: “(Biden) wants to impose a 25% minimum tax on all income not currently taxed — including unrealized gains on assets — for Americans with a net worth of $100 million. Mr. Biden has also urged Congress to raise the corporate tax rate to 28% up from 21%.”
  6074.  
  6075. No American should be forced to endure the annual torture of compiling records and filling out tax returns. Many other nations have far simpler systems. Even the instructions for filling out forms for the IRS need instructions to understand. It is why so many must hire tax attorneys, who fulfill the role of language translators.
  6076.  
  6077. Just one example: Enter your gross farming and fishing income reported on Form 4835, line 7; Schedule K-1 (Form 1065), box 14, code B; Schedule K-1 (Form 1120-S), box 17, code AN; and Schedule K-1 (Form 1041), box 14, code F. See instructions.
  6078.  
  6079. Got it?
  6080.  
  6081. The Congressional Budget Office predicts the U.S. will add an average of $2 trillion in debt annually for the next decade. That’s more than$5 billion of debt daily for the next 10 years. We borrow more than$200 million every hour. That’s $3 million every minute, $60,000 every second.
  6082.  
  6083. If that’s not enough to make your blood boil, consider a tiny fraction of the misspending that occurs in Washington. For the past nine years, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has published a“Festivus Report” exposing outrageous examples of unnecessary federal spending. In his latest report he writes: “I am highlighting a whopping $900,000,000,000 of waste (emphasis his), including an NIH grant to study Russian cats walking on a treadmill, Barbies used as proof of ID for receiving COVID Paycheck Protection Program funds, $6 million to promote tourism in Egypt, and $200 million to ‘struggling artists’ like Post Malone, Chris Brown, and Lil Wayne. No matter how much money the government has already wasted, politicians keep demanding even more.”
  6084.  
  6085. There’s much more. Google Festivus Report and be aghast at what we are doing to ourselves. Ultimately, this is the fault of voters who won’t restrain politicians and don’t select people who will restore America’s financial future and balance the budget, as was so recently done during the administration of Bill Clinton.
  6086.  
  6087. If too many voters keep fueling the gravy train, the only option will be an Article V constitutional convention, provided by the Founders for such a moment we are now facing.
  6088.  
  6089. If a future Congress refuses to attack the debt an Article V constitutional convention will be the only way to balance the budget and return power to where the Founders originally intended it – to the people.
  6090.  
  6091. Nineteen of a required 34 states have already passed resolutions calling for a Convention of States. Other states have passed it in one legislative chamber, and still others have it under consideration.
  6092.  
  6093. Our current oppressive tax system can be analogized to Dracula, who is never satisfied with the blood he sucks out of one victim, but must constantly look for new sources to bite. We must drive a stake in the blood- sucking government’s heart, or we will end up driving one in ourselves and the country we have known and loved will be no more.</description>
  6094.  <pubDate>April 17th, 2024 4:07 PM</pubDate>
  6095.    <dc:creator>Cal Thomas</dc:creator>
  6096.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283793</guid>
  6097.    </item>
  6098. <item>
  6099.  <title>Bias Revealed? Guess Where the Trump Jurors Get Their News From</title>
  6100.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/free-speech/catherine-salgado/2024/04/17/bias-revealed-guess-where-trump-jurors-get-their</link>
  6101.  <description>Five Trump jurors reportedly get their news from a tech giant notorious for its leftist bias.
  6102.  
  6103. Fox News released information April 17 on the seven jurors chosen for former President Donald Trump’s supposed “hush money” criminal trial in New York. Answers provided by the jurors reveal five of them receive their news from Google News, which media ratings firm AllSides describes as “lean left.” Two of the jurors also find news on TikTok, the communist Chinese government-tied app currently under scrutiny as a national security risk.
  6104.  
  6105. While Fox noted that the jurors were asked questions about their opinion of Trump, they do not seem to have been screened for other types of bias. AllSides, based on independent review and community feedback, rates Google News “lean left” and explains that 63 percent of the tech giant’s news feed sources are leftist.
  6106.  
  6107. AllSides has apparently not rated TikTok’s news bias, but the app, which is owned by Chinese ByteDance, is certainly concerning from a national security standpoint. The U.S. House recently advanced legislation to force TikTok’s separation from ByteDance. This came not long before a Fortune interview of former employees revealed disturbingly close China ties from TikTok. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) owns a board seat and maintains a financial stake in TikTok’s parent ByteDance. MRC Free Speech America rated TikTok one of the top Big Tech censors of 2023.
  6108.  
  6109. Google might not have direct CCP ties, but its anti-freedom, biased record raises concerns. MRC Free Speech America did a series of bombshell studies exposing Google search results bias in favor of Democrats and against Republicans before the 2022 and 2024 elections. President Joe Biden was among the Democrat candidates favored, while Trump’s website was consistently suppressed. Most recently, a comprehensive MRC study exposed a whopping 41 times Google interfered in U.S. elections since 2008.
  6110.  
  6111. Such blatant bias against Trump and other Republicans and Democrats reinforces the argument that Google News is biased and unreliable. It is therefore concerning that five jurors in Trump’s trial source their news from Google.
  6112.  
  6113. Soros-tied Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg revived the charges against Trump of alleged “hush money” payments to a porn star despite evidence against the alleged crimes.
  6114.  
  6115. Conservatives are under attack. Contact Google at 650-253-0000 and demand it be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on so-called hate speech and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.</description>
  6116.  <pubDate>April 17th, 2024 3:34 PM</pubDate>
  6117.    <dc:creator>Catherine Salgado</dc:creator>
  6118.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283792</guid>
  6119.    </item>
  6120. <item>
  6121.  <title>PolitiFact Refuses To Give Rubio 'True' Rating For True Statement</title>
  6122.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/alex-christy/2024/04/17/politifact-refuses-give-rubio-true-rating-true-statement</link>
  6123.  <description>It is a time-honored tradition that during campaign season, politicians will defend themselves by claiming that “since I took office” such-and-such has happened or attack their opponents by arguing that “since so-and-so took office” this has happened, but when Florida Sen. Marco Rubio tried that tactic against President Biden and his inflation record, PolitiFact slapped him with a “half-true” rating despite admitting his numbers were completely true.
  6124.  
  6125. The specific claim Rubio made was that “It's very misleading when (President Biden) says (inflation) used to be at 9%. This is compounding. It’s not like it went down from 9% to 3%. This is building month after month. The better way to think about it is that it’s 18%, 19% over the last three years."
  6126.  
  6127. In the “if your time is short” summary at the top of his article, Louis Jacobson wrote, “Inflation compounds and it has risen by about 19% over the last three years.”
  6128.  
  6129. If that sounds like the shortest and easiest fact-check ever, Jacobson was there to say not so fast, “compared with February 2020, the month before the pandemic began, and also compared with one year ago, wages have increased faster than prices.”
  6130.  
  6131. Jacobson then spends several paragraphs expanding on these points. Sandwiched between two graphs on wages and inflation, Jacobson claims, “One is to compare today with February 2020, the last full month before the coronavirus pandemic hit. The pandemic represented such an economic upheaval that February 2020 is a plausible benchmark for a ‘normal’ economy.”
  6132.  
  6133. Not only is Jacobson coming up with a novel excuse to avoid giving Rubio a “true” rating, but his stance that the pandemic must be taken into account when fact-checking political talking points is not one that he holds with consistency. In December, Jacobson gave Biden a “mostly-true” rating for a claim he made about manufacturing jobs created during his tenure. In January, when Biden attacked Trump for job losses during his presidency, Jacobson wrote a lengthy explainer piece, noting Biden omitted the pandemic, but refused to bring out the truth-o-meter.
  6134.  
  6135. In the first three months of 2024, PolitiFact fact-checked Republicans 63 times while only giving out “true” or “mostly trues” 12.7 percent of the time. By contrast, Democrats were fact-checked 39 times and given “true” or “mostly true” ratings 56.4 percent of the time. Based on how they treat Rubio, Biden, and pandemic-related economic statistics, we can see how.</description>
  6136.  <pubDate>April 17th, 2024 3:15 PM</pubDate>
  6137.    <dc:creator>Alex Christy</dc:creator>
  6138.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283791</guid>
  6139.    </item>
  6140. <item>
  6141.  <title>‘Wonderfully Poetic’: Joy Reid Cheers 'My DEIs' for Prosecuting Trump</title>
  6142.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/nicholas-fondacaro/2024/04/17/wonderfully-poetic-joy-reid-cheers-my-deis-prosecuting-trump</link>
  6143.  <description> Elements of the liberal media don’t see the lawsuits and trials against former President Trump as just tools to score wins for their electoral politics, they also see them as tools to score wins for their racial politics as well. MSNBC host Joy Reid made that abundantly clear during the network’s Monday lovefest for the hush money trial in New York when she praised “my DEIs” for bringing so many charges against the former President.
  6144.  
  6145. Delving into her usual race-baiting, Reid described it as “wonderfully poetic” that black people were prosecuting Trump. Without evidence, she suggested that it would upset Trump and his inner circle because they supposedly didn’t want black people going to law school:
  6146.  
  6147.  
  6148. But for me, there is something wonderfully poetic about the fact that despite the fact that even if convicted, he's not going to go to prison. The first person to actually criminally prosecute Donald Trump is a black Harvard grad. The very kind of person that his former staff, the people who worked for him, Steven Miller et cetera, want to never be at Harvard Law School. But he was. And he came out and graduated and he's prosecuting you, Donald.
  6149.  
  6150.  
  6151. “And a black woman is doing the same exact thing in Georgia,” she boasted. “And a black woman forced you to pay a $175 million fine that's out now also in question because the people who put it up, that might not be legit.”
  6152.  
  6153.  
  6154.  
  6155.  
  6156.  
  6157.  
  6158.  
  6159.  
  6160.  
  6161. Reid was absolutely giddy that “Donald Trump is being held to account by the very multicultural, multiracial democracy that he's trying to dismantle.” She added that “there's something poetic and actually wonderful about that” and said it was proof of “something good about our country that we're still capable of having that happen.”
  6162.  
  6163. “Go, DEI! My DEIs are bringing it home on today!” she cheered, referring to left-wing diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
  6164.  
  6165. Just before lauding Trump’s prosecutors for their skin color, she compared Trump to one of his lawyer’s former clients, a mob boss:
  6166.  
  6167.  
  6168. But to the point that you all were just making, I mean, one of my favorite facts about one of Donald Trump's lawyers, Susan Necheles, is that one of her former clients was the notorious New York mobster Benny Eggs. And I will just assume and presume that old Benny Eggs was not attacking the judge. So, Donald Trump is at this point outdoing actual mobsters in his attacks on the judge's family, the daughter. And he's doing it to the point that Lawrence made.
  6169.  
  6170.  
  6171. “He knows he will never spend a day, a second, a moment in prison,” she decried.
  6172.  
  6173. The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
  6174.  
  6175.  
  6176. MSNBC’s Trump on Trial: New York v. Donald Trump
  6177. April 15, 2024
  6178. 7:44:32 p.m. Eastern
  6179.  
  6180. (…)
  6181.  
  6182. JOY REID: But to the point that you all were just making, I mean, one of my favorite facts about one of Donald Trump's lawyers, Susan Necheles, is that one of her former clients was the notorious New York mobster Benny Eggs. And I will just assume and presume that old Benny Eggs was not attacking the judge. So, Donald Trump is at this point outdoing actual mobsters in his attacks on the judge's family, the daughter. And he's doing it to the point that Lawrence made. He knows he will never spend a day, a second, a moment in prison.
  6183.  
  6184. But for me, there is something wonderfully poetic about the fact that despite the fact that even if convicted, he's not going to go to prison. The first person to actually criminally prosecute Donald Trump is a black Harvard grad. The very kind of person that his former staff, the people who worked for him, Steven Miller et cetera, want to never be at Harvard Law School. But he was.
  6185.  
  6186. And he came out and graduated and he's prosecuting you, Donald. And a black woman is doing the same exact thing in Georgia. And a black woman forced you to pay a $175 million fine that's out now also in question because the people who put it up, that might not be legit.
  6187.  
  6188. Donald Trump is being held to account by the very multicultural, multiracial democracy that he's trying to dismantle. And for me, there's something poetic and actually wonderful about that. It says something good about our country that we're still capable of having that happen. Go, DEI! My DEIs are bringing it home on today.
  6189.  
  6190. (…)
  6191. </description>
  6192.  <pubDate>April 17th, 2024 2:53 PM</pubDate>
  6193.    <dc:creator>Nicholas Fondacaro</dc:creator>
  6194.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283789</guid>
  6195.    </item>
  6196. <item>
  6197.  <title>Planned Parenthood Annual Report Celebrates Uptick in Baby Killing</title>
  6198.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/culture/tierin-rose-mandelburg/2024/04/17/planned-parenthood-annual-report-celebrates-uptick</link>
  6199.  <description> This is nothing to celebrate.
  6200.  
  6201. The abortion mill, Planned Parenthood, just released its 2022-2023 annual report. America’s largest abortion business proudly announced that it performed five percent more abortions in the last fiscal year than in the year prior.
  6202.  
  6203. The report titled “Above &amp; Beyond” started out with a nasty gram from Planned Parenthood’s CEO/President and the Board Chair.
  6204.  
  6205.  
  6206. It’s been nearly two years since the U.S. Supreme Court took away our right to control our own bodies and lives by overturning Roe v. Wade. Since then, more than 20 states have banned some or all abortions. Before that, the COVID-19 pandemic upended our health care system and ended far too many lives. For the health care providers and staff at Planned Parenthood’s nearly 600 health centers across the country, these have been the most trying of times.
  6207.  
  6208.  
  6209. OK drama!
  6210.  
  6211. In huge font on page seven, the group wrote that across its locations, it conducted 392,715 abortions … and those are only the reported ones.
  6212.  
  6213. “For Planned Parenthood health center staff, this was a year of moving mountains: finding appointments in other states and the resources to get patients there, building as much capacity as possible for abortion appointments, fulfilling increased demand in some places for birth control, and much more,” the authors wrote.
  6214.  
  6215. Planned Parenthood also raved about all the people it “helped” by paying for abortions and travel costs for abortions outside of a patient's residing state. Obviously the group considered abortion, the brutal destruction of innocent life, to be part of “health care.”
  6216.  
  6217. MRCTV reported on Planned Parenthood’s report from last year titled “Relentless” where the company boasted about the 375,155 children it killed via abortion.
  6218.  
  6219. This year’s pro-abort annual report facilitated a shared heartbreak by many pro-lifers across the country. 
  6220.  
  6221. “Planned Parenthood has released their latest annual report. They performed 5% more abortions relative to the previous year. Combine this with skyrocketing rates for abortion pill orders and understand that abortion is far from over after Roe v. Wade. We must abolish abortion," The Sentinel’s Ben Zeisloft wrote on X.
  6222.  
  6223. LifeNews.com noted that while abortions went up this last year,  prenatal services declined more that 67%. “These numbers are proof that Planned Parenthood is an abortion business, not a women’s health care clinic,” the group reported.
  6224.  
  6225. Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America noted how the report proves that Planned Parenthood abortions are the 4th leading cause of death in America and that “Pregnant women sold abortions 97% of the time at Planned Parenthood; one third of revenue comes from taxpayers.”
  6226.  
  6227. The report showed devastating numbers and was a heartbreaking glimpse into how pro-abort places like Planned Parenthood celebrate the death of babies.</description>
  6228.  <pubDate>April 17th, 2024 2:08 PM</pubDate>
  6229.    <dc:creator>Tierin-Rose Mandelburg</dc:creator>
  6230.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283788</guid>
  6231.    </item>
  6232. <item>
  6233.  <title>GAG: ABC’s Bruce Giddily Cheers Biden Being Able to Campaign as Trump’s on Trial</title>
  6234.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/curtis-houck/2024/04/17/gag-abcs-bruce-giddily-cheers-biden-being-able-campaign-trumps</link>
  6235.  <description>ABC’s Good Morning America and its chief White House correspondent/chief Biden apple polisher Mary Bruce were emanating warm fuzzies and weak knees on Wednesday over their allies in the New York legal system interfering in the 2024 presidential election, preventing former President Trump from campaigning five days a week and allowing their candidate — President Joe Biden — to have the country to himself.
  6236.  
  6237. Co-host Michael Strahan had a tease giving Team Biden what they want by boasting of Trump on day two of jury selection “test[ing] the patience of the judge while President Biden hits the campaign trails in a battleground state.”
  6238.  
  6239.  
  6240.  
  6241.  
  6242.  
  6243.  
  6244.  
  6245.  
  6246.  
  6247. Former Clinton official and fellow co-host George Stephanopulos later tossed to Bruce with more state-run phrasing: “While Donald Trump is tied up in court, President Biden has been on the campaign trail in battleground state of Pennsylvania.”
  6248.  
  6249. Even the chyron flashed their glee with the situation: “President Biden Hits the Campaign Trail; Slams Trump’s Values &amp; “Failed” Economic Policies in Pennsylvania”.
  6250.  
  6251. Bruce’s 51-second report was nauseatingly hacktastic and a fine audition to replace the ever-inept Karine Jean-Pierre as press secretary in a hypothetical second Biden term, starting with her gleeful proclamation about “Biden...trying to seize this moment and create a real splitscreen, leaning into his roots in Scranton, arguing he and Donald Trump have very different values.”
  6252.  
  6253. As usual, Bruce exhibited zero pushback and relayed Biden spin as news:
  6254.  
  6255.  
  6256. He said he understands the middle class in a way that Donald Trump simply never will, saying that Trump will always put the wealthy and himself first. While the President has been careful not to comment on details of Trump’s trial, he has been taking more swipes at his rival, joking about Trump’s legal debt and telling supporters here last night that he would never take advantage of a woman. Now, the President is spending three days in Pennsylvania this week. It is a battleground where he has spent the most time by our count, visiting 30 times since taking office. Michael, the President well aware this state is a must win.
  6257.  
  6258.  
  6259. Not to be left out, CBS Mornings had its own glorified press release with the Biden campaign stops woven into its report on day two of the Trump trial.
  6260.  
  6261. In the first “Eye Opener” co-host and Democratic donor Gayle King bragged about the jurors being tabbed “as President Biden campaigns in a very important swing state.”
  6262.  
  6263. Co-host Tony Dokoupil later touted the “two very different schedules for our presumptive presidential nominees as former President Donald Trump spends the week in New York in a courtroom for jury selection in his criminal trial” and “President Biden is on the campaign trail with multiple stops in Pennsylvania.”
  6264.  
  6265. Chief White House correspondent Nancy Cordes proclaimed that “the Biden campaign is clearly looking to play up this split-screen moment where you’ve got former President Trump holed up in a New York courtroom for much of the week, while President Biden is on the campaign trail here in the nation’s largest battleground state for three days this week.”
  6266.  
  6267. Later and after a creepy video of an enthused Biden walking and holding hands with a band of small children, Cordes bragged of “Biden popping into his childhood home Tuesday and stumping with supporters in Scranton” on the heels of “[n]ew fundraising figures show the Biden campaign brought in nearly double the Trump team’s haul in the first three months of the year”.
  6268.  
  6269. She continued with more propaganda (click “expand”):
  6270.  
  6271.  
  6272. CORDES: The Biden team has used some money to open 14 campaign offices across Pennsylvania and to hire two dozen staffers in the state since February.
  6273.  
  6274. BIDEN: We’ve opened more campaign offices because of you all than — he don’t — hasn’t opened any that I’m aware of. I’m not being facetious.
  6275.  
  6276. CORDES: President Biden is waking up here in Scranton today. He will then head to Pittsburgh where he’s expected to push for tariffs to triple on Chinese steel and aluminum. This as he works to line up union support.
  6277.  
  6278.  
  6279. To see the relevant transcripts from April 17, click “expand.”
  6280.  
  6281.  
  6282. ABC’s Good Morning America
  6283. April 17, 2024
  6284. 7:00 a.m. Eastern [TEASE]
  6285.  
  6286. [ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Trump on Trial; First Seven Jurors Selected]
  6287.  
  6288. MICHAEL STRAHAN: The first jurors have been selected in the criminal trial of Donald Trump. Trump on Trial. Seven jurors sworn in to hear the case against the former President. What we know about the three women and four men, including a nurse, teacher and two lawyers as Trump tests the patience of the judge while President Biden hits the campaign trails in a battleground state. 
  6289.  
  6290. (....)
  6291.  
  6292. 7:06 a.m. Eastern
  6293.  
  6294. [ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: New This Morning; President Biden Hits the Campaign Trail; Slams Trump’s Values &amp; “Failed” Economic Policies in Pennsylvania]
  6295.  
  6296. GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: While Donald Trump is tied up in court, President Biden has been on the campaign trail in battleground state of Pennsylvania. Mary Bruce is on the scene in Scranton. Good morning, Mary.
  6297.  
  6298. MARY BRUCE: Good morning, George. Well, President Biden is trying to seize this moment and create a real splitscreen, leaning into his roots in Scranton, arguing he and Donald Trump have very different values. He said he understands the middle class in a way that Donald Trump simply never will, saying that Trump will always put the wealthy and himself first. While the President has been careful not to comment on details of Trump’s trial, he has been taking more swipes at his rival, joking about Trump’s legal debt and telling supporters here last night that he would never take advantage of a woman. Now, the President is spending three days in Pennsylvania this week. It is a battleground where he has spent the most time by our count, visiting 30 times since taking office. Michael, the President well aware this state is a must win.
  6299.  
  6300. STRAHAN: Yeah, it is a must win there, Mary. Thank you very much for that.
  6301.  
  6302. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  6303.  
  6304. CBS Mornings
  6305. April 17, 2024
  6306. 7:00 a.m. Eastern [TEASE]
  6307.  
  6308. GAYLE KING: The first seven jurors have been picked in former President Trump’s criminal trial as President Biden campaigns in a very important swing state.
  6309.  
  6310. [ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Court and Campaigning]
  6311.  
  6312. PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: A guy came up to me and asked if I could help, drowning in debt. I said, I’m sorry, Donald, but I can’t help you. [LAUGHTER]
  6313.  
  6314. (....)
  6315.  
  6316. 7:04 a.m. Eastern
  6317.  
  6318. [ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Trial &amp; the Trial; Trump Sits for Jury Selection as Pres. Biden Campaigns in Pennsylvania]
  6319.  
  6320. TONY DOKOUPIL: Alright, we’re going to turn now to politics, as promised, and two very different schedules for our presumptive presidential nominees as former President Donald Trump spends the week in New York in a courtroom for jury selection in his criminal trial. President Biden is on the campaign trail with multiple stops in Pennsylvania. Nancy Cordes is out there as well, traveling with the President and joins us now from Biden’s hometown, Scranton, Pennsylvania. Nancy, good morning.
  6321.  
  6322. NANCY CORDES: Good morning, Tony. Yeah, the Biden campaign is clearly looking to play up this split-screen moment where you’ve got former President Trump holed up in a New York courtroom for much of the week, while President Biden is on the campaign trail here in the nation’s largest battleground state for three days this week.
  6323.  
  6324. (....)
  6325.  
  6326. 7:06 a.m. Eastern
  6327.  
  6328. CORDES: And while Trump has denied all the allegations, the trial will pull him off the campaign trail.
  6329.  
  6330. DONALD TRUMP: I should be right now in Pennsylvania.
  6331.  
  6332. BIDEN SUPORTERS: We want Joe!
  6333.  
  6334. CORDES: His rival is in Pennsylvania. President Biden popping into his childhood home Tuesday and stumping with supporters in Scranton.
  6335.  
  6336. BIDEN: When I look at the economy, I don’t see it through the eyes of Mar-a-Lago. I see it through the eyes of Scranton.
  6337.  
  6338. CORDES: New fundraising figures show the Biden campaign brought in nearly double the Trump team’s haul in the first three months of the year. The Biden team has used some money to open 14 campaign offices across Pennsylvania and to hire two dozen staffers in the state since February.
  6339.  
  6340. BIDEN: We’ve opened more campaign offices because of you all than — he don’t — hasn’t opened any that I’m aware of. I’m not being facetious.
  6341.  
  6342. CORDES: President Biden is waking up here in Scranton today. He will then head to Pittsburgh where he’s expected to push for tariffs to triple on Chinese steel and aluminum. This as he works to line up union support.
  6343.  
  6344. (....)
  6345.  
  6346. 8:00 a.m. Eastern
  6347.  
  6348. [ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Campaigning and Court]
  6349.  
  6350. DOKOUPIL: President Biden hits the campaign trail as former President Trump attends day two of his criminal trial in New York.
  6351.  
  6352. CORDES: The Biden campaign is clearly looking to play up this splitscreen moment.
  6353. </description>
  6354.  <pubDate>April 17th, 2024 2:01 PM</pubDate>
  6355.    <dc:creator>Curtis Houck</dc:creator>
  6356.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283787</guid>
  6357.    </item>
  6358. <item>
  6359.  <title>Kimmel Mocks Abolitionist As Out Of Touch Because He Was Pro-Life</title>
  6360.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/alex-christy/2024/04/17/kimmel-mocks-abolitionist-out-touch-because-he-was-pro-life</link>
  6361.  <description>ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel was supposed to have Vice President Kamala Harris join him on Tuesday for an interview that almost certainly would have focused on how supposedly horrible the Arizona Supreme Court is for allowing an 1864 pro-life law to be enforced. Harris couldn’t make it, but that didn’t stop him from arguing with the ghost of Justice William T. Howell, played by actor Nick Offerman, and not appreciating that Howell could view the abolition of slavery and abortion as logically consistent.
  6362.  
  6363. Kimmel began, “During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln hired a lawyer named William T. Howell to write the legal code for the new territory of Arizona. His job was to make sure that the new laws abolished slavery, which they did, but he also worked on a number of other laws, including a ban on abortion, which is the law the Supreme Court decided to uphold last week, 160 years later, and the person we have to think about that is Justice William T. Howell, who obviously is not with us anymore, but he is the person who -- what?”
  6364.  
  6365.  
  6366.  
  6367.  
  6368.  
  6369.  
  6370.  
  6371.  
  6372.  
  6373. A digitally imposed Offerman then appeared and, playing the role of Howell as if he were a boxer and people from the 1800s were all stupid, began by wondering, “Who dares sully the honor of I, Arizona Associate Justice William T. Howell, who wrote the law of which you jest.”
  6374.  
  6375. Kimmel almost certainly got the information for this sketch from a recent Washington Post article on Howell. Not only did Kimmel not see the connection between how slavers portrayed the slave and how pro-choicers portray the unborn, he also completely omitted that Howell also wrote in provisions for married women to own property.
  6376.  
  6377. Nevertheless, Kimmel and Offerman tried to portray Howell as an old-fashioned sexist, “Okay, well listen, Justice Howell, a lot of Americans, I don't know if you know this, are very angry that your law's taking away women's rights.”
  6378.  
  6379. Offerman tried to satirize pro-life arguments, but all he ended up doing was coming up with interesting euphemisms for genitals, “Well, if these women didn't want to be with child, why did they not sneeze after being pistoned with a fully engorged giggle stick? Why, tell me, did they not scrub their floral regions with barrel grease?”
  6380.  
  6381. Kimmel followed up, “Barrel grease? How did you become a judge?”
  6382.  
  6383. As a way to show how allegedly backwards the 1860s were, Offerman tried to joke that the way one became a lawyer in the 19th century had nothing to do with studying law, “I studied at a very prestigious law academy and was the pupil who shot the most nickels off a whore’s empty head. Does that satisfy your query, you godless spaghetti gobbler?”
  6384.  
  6385. The law may have been written 160 years ago, but that doesn’t mean that Kimmel and Offerman are 160 years more enlightened. If anything, they’re less enlightened.
  6386.  
  6387. Here is a transcript for the April 16 show:
  6388.  
  6389.  
  6390. ABC Jimmy Kimmel Live!
  6391.  
  6392. 4/16/2024
  6393.  
  6394. 11:46 PM ET
  6395.  
  6396. JIMMY KIMMEL: During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln hired a lawyer named William T. Howell to write the legal code for the new territory of Arizona. His job was to make sure that the new laws abolished slavery, which they did, but he also worked on a number of other laws, including a ban on abortion, which is the law the Supreme Court decided to uphold last week, 160 years later, and the person we have to think about that is Justice William T. Howell, who obviously is not with us anymore, but he is the person who -- what? 
  6397.  
  6398. NICK OFFERMAN [AS WILLIAM T. HOWELL's GHOST]: Who dares sully the honor of I, Arizona Associate Justice William T. Howell, who wrote the law of which you jest. 
  6399.  
  6400. KIMMEL: Um -- I do, I guess. 
  6401.  
  6402. OFFERMAN: Then prepare thyself for a spectral confrontation, you Italian consack. Pugilism. 
  6403.  
  6404. KIMMEL: Okay. 
  6405.  
  6406. OFFERMAN: Let that be a lesson to thee. 
  6407.  
  6408. KIMMEL: Okay, well listen, Justice Howell, a lot of Americans, I don't know if you know this, are very angry that your law's taking away women's rights. 
  6409.  
  6410. OFFERMAN: Well, if these women didn't want to be with child, why did they not sneeze after being pistoned with a fully engorged giggle stick? Why, tell me, did they not scrub their floral regions with barrel grease? 
  6411.  
  6412. KIMMEL: Barrel grease? How did you become a judge? 
  6413.  
  6414. OFFERMAN: I studied at a very prestigious law academy and was the pupil who shot the most nickels off a whore’s empty head. Does that satisfy your query, you godless spaghetti gobbler?
  6415.  
  6416. KIMMEL: No, that actually made no sense. Just like your law, which I think Arizona should nullify as soon as – 
  6417.  
  6418. OFFERMAN: Nullify? Nullify my law? 
  6419.  
  6420. KIMMEL: Yeah. 
  6421.  
  6422. OFFERMAN: Why, you soft-handed mug-eared fat kidneyed onion-eyed rattlesnake fang on the scrotum. You bacon-faced, pipkin-headed, brisket-beating, rump-fed, hand-sucked, caper merchant. 
  6423.  
  6424. KIMMEL: Okay, I don't even know even more. 
  6425.  
  6426. OFFERMAN: You scotch-fiddled, gore-bellied, fox-infested, son of a footless hedge pig. No! 
  6427. </description>
  6428.  <pubDate>April 17th, 2024 1:34 PM</pubDate>
  6429.    <dc:creator>Alex Christy</dc:creator>
  6430.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283785</guid>
  6431.    </item>
  6432. <item>
  6433.  <title>Kevin O'Leary Rips Biden Tax Agenda: ‘The More He Taxes, the Less Growth There Will Be’</title>
  6434.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/business/tom-olohan/2024/04/17/kevin-oleary-rips-biden-tax-agenda-more-he-taxes-less-growth</link>
  6435.  <description>Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary, aka “Mr. Wonderful” panned President Joe Biden’s new tax plan, suggesting that the president would damage the country in the same way that many Democrats have broken their states. 
  6436.  
  6437. O’Leary pointed out the negative impact of high taxes on states and countries during the April 16 edition of Fox News’s Your World with Neil Cavuto. “The minute you really start raising taxes and they become uncompetitive either at the state level, you see everybody leaving New York and going to Florida or to Texas,” O’Leary told anchor Neil Cavuto, before pointing out that the “same thing happens with countries.” O’Leary went on to say that higher taxes would stall the growth of the American economy: “So you got to be very careful. … I admire what [Biden] wants to do -- but the more he taxes, the less growth there will be and that is the risk.” 
  6438.  
  6439.  
  6440.  
  6441.  
  6442.  
  6443. In response to a question from Cavuto, O’Leary discussed how the entrepreneurs targeted by Biden’s tax proposal fuel economic growth, saying, “To get rich, they had to be wildly successful. Let's just take a Bezos or what’s happened with Elon Musk. They have created hundreds of thousands of jobs. They have created economies that are derivatives to the companies they’ve made. That’s the essence of success in the economy.” Cavuto went on to suggest that the left punishes this kind of success. 
  6444.  
  6445. O’Leary then criticized Democrats like Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), pointing out how their vision had led to migration out of their states into more business-friendly environments like Florida. “I used to live [In Massachusetts]. So did all my neighbors. Now we live here in Miami and we visit Massachusetts, because it's now Taxachusetts,” O’Leary said, before adding, “So I don’t think that works, as long as there another place to go. That is how America was formed: Taxation oppression by the British, and here we are. Let's remember that lesson.”
  6446.  
  6447. Biden stated his intent to raise taxes on both corporations and individuals in a “fact sheet” published on March 11. The president heavily criticizes former President Donald Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, while promising that his plan “[r]estores the top marginal tax rate to 39.6 percent for single filers making over $400,000 a year and married couples making more than $450,000 per year.” 
  6448.  
  6449. Due to inflation, $400,000 in March of 2024 only has the purchasing power of $317,440.42 in Jan. 2018 (the first month after the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” passed), according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics “inflation calculator” tool. 
  6450.  
  6451. Biden’s plan to raise taxes also includes an anti-energy provision. Although the president has repeatedly moved to limit drilling and made statements discouraging long-term investment in fossil fuels, he outrageously attacks oil and gas companies for failing “to invest in production.” In his “fact sheet,” Biden promises to end “tax breaks” and “tax subsidies” (Biden may be using these terms interchangeably) for the industry. 
  6452.  
  6453. Conservatives are under attack. Contact ABC News at (818) 460-7477, CBS News at (212) 975-3247 and NBC News at (212) 664-6192 and demand they tell the truth about the Bidenomics disaster.</description>
  6454.  <pubDate>April 17th, 2024 1:30 PM</pubDate>
  6455.    <dc:creator>Tom Olohan</dc:creator>
  6456.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283784</guid>
  6457.    </item>
  6458. <item>
  6459.  <title>MRC President Bozell to Patrick Bet-David: Google Is Picking Winners and Losers</title>
  6460.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/free-speech/luis-cornelio/2024/04/17/mrc-president-bozell-patrick-bet-david-google-picking</link>
  6461.  <description> Google is picking “winners and losers” in U.S. elections, Media Research Center President Brent Bozell told podcaster and entrepreneur Patrick Bet-David on Wednesday.
  6462.  
  6463. Bozell joined Bet-David’s blockbuster PBD Podcast to explain how Big Tech companies—particularly Google, one of the largest corporations in America—are interfering with U.S. elections to help the most left-wing candidates. The PBD Podcast has 1.7 million followers.
  6464.  
  6465. “You've got a real problem with Big Tech—in that Big Tech is not playing by the same rules,” Bozell said in the Wednesday morning interview, spanning nearly 40 minutes. “Corporations can't be involved in political action at the federal level. Yet, you've got Big Tech that is picking winners and losers in elections, and when they do it the way they're doing it, it becomes a very serious threat to democracy itself.”
  6466.  
  6467.  
  6468.  
  6469.  
  6470.  
  6471. Shortly thereafter, Bet-David asked Bozell about an MRC bombshell report that found at least 41 times Google meddled in American elections to help the most left-wing candidate since 2008, coinciding with the rise to power of former President Barack Obama.
  6472.  
  6473. Read the Bombshell Report: 41 Times Google Has Interfered in US Elections Since 2008
  6474.  
  6475. Explaining one of the report’s findings, Bozell recounted: “An example: Rick Santorum. There was a smear bomb put out on Rick Santorum. It was really, really ugly. It was vicious in the personal attack on him.”
  6476.  
  6477. Bozell’s remarks referred to what was also known as a “Google bomb,” which occurred when some users manipulated Google’s algorithms to associate certain websites with detrimental terms. When Santorum approached Google, the tech giant did not dismantle the “bomb.” Yet, the company glaringly took swift action when the Obama White House’s website was affected by a similar smear.
  6478.  
  6479. Later in his remarks, Bozell highlighted the high-profile censorship of two Democrats in past presidential elections. According to the MRC report, Google censored twice-failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2008 and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who unsuccessfully challenged President Joe Biden in the 2024 Democratic primary. In every instance, Google appeared to help the most left-wing candidates.
  6480.  
  6481. “They picked winners and losers in that, and they loved Hillary Clinton in 2016,” Bozell stated, referring to Google's shift from censoring Clinton in 2008 to supporting Clinton in 2016. “They didn't love her she ran in 2008, I guess it was, against Obama Obama. Obama was their guy.”
  6482.  
  6483. Related: Mum! Google Fails to Respond to Bozell’s Challenge, Does Not Refute Election Interference
  6484.  
  6485. Earlier in the podcast, Bozell also highlighted a separate bombshell report that unveiled Google had manipulated its search results to bury the campaign sites of Republican candidates in 10 of 12 key Senate races ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.
  6486.  
  6487. “What Google did deliberately was to put the Republicans at the bottom of page one or in the case of seven of the 12 Republican candidates for the Senate in these most contested races they put them on page two,” Bozell continued. “Less than 1% of the public ever goes to page two that's right so that's deliberate interference in a senate campaign where you're keeping information from the public or burying it so far deep they'll never go looking for it.”
  6488.  
  6489. Flashback! Google CAUGHT Manipulating Search, Buries GOP Campaign Sites in 83% of Top Senate Races
  6490.  
  6491. During his conversation with Bet-David, Bozell discussed more than just the MRC report on Google's interference in elections. He also touched on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which some judges have infamously interpreted as providing broad liability protections to social media platforms. 
  6492.  
  6493. Additionally, Bozell mentioned the MRC's exclusive CensorTrack.org database, which documents cases of Big Tech censorship. Citing CensorTrack.org, Bozell told Bet-David that in January 2022, YouTube censored the PBD Podcast over the publication of an interview with Dr. Robert Malone, one of the largest critics of global governments’ COVID-19 policies and mandates.
  6494.  
  6495. Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on hate speech and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.</description>
  6496.  <pubDate>April 17th, 2024 12:43 PM</pubDate>
  6497.    <dc:creator>Luis Cornelio</dc:creator>
  6498.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283783</guid>
  6499.    </item>
  6500. <item>
  6501.  <title>BREAKING: NPR Dissenter Uri Berliner Resigns After Suspension, Attacks</title>
  6502.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/tim-graham/2024/04/17/breaking-npr-dissenter-uri-berliner-resigns-after-suspension-attacks</link>
  6503.  <description> Shortly before 11 am on Wednesday, NPR senior business editor Uri Berliner resigned at about the time his suspension without pay was going to end.
  6504.  
  6505. The most important part was where he took on woke new NPR CEO Katherine Maher: "I cannot work in a newsroom where I am disparaged by a new CEO whose divisive views confirm the very problems at NPR I cite in my essay at The Free Press."
  6506.  
  6507. Maher's pom-pom memo to NPR staff (posted publicly on NPR.org) claimed Berliner (who wasn't named) was attacking NPR staff not for what they report, but "who they are."
  6508.  
  6509.  
  6510.  
  6511.  
  6512. My resignation letter to NPR CEO @krmaher pic.twitter.com/0hafVbcZAK
  6513. — Uri Berliner (@uberliner) April 17, 2024
  6514.  
  6515.  
  6516. While many of us thought Berliner's days were numbered when his essay was posted, it would be a test of NPR's intolerance to see if Berliner could remain. He could not. 
  6517.  
  6518. Earlier on Twitter/X, Berliner reposted this from the New York Times media reporter:
  6519.  
  6520.  
  6521.  
  6522.  
  6523. scoop: NPR's top editor said in a meeting with the new CEO and show hosts Wednesday that she didn't want to make Uri Berliner a "martyr."https://t.co/p6iJBXmVkL
  6524. We're told that everyone at the network is mindful of the disaster created by Juan Williams' firing in 2010.
  6525. — Ben Mullin (@BenMullin) April 11, 2024
  6526.  
  6527.  
  6528. "Martyr" is too strong a word, but it is an exhibit of their complete unwillingness to listen to a critique on fairness and balance and groupthink and wokeness. It begs for a congressional hearing with Berliner and with Maher, maybe shoulder to shoulder. 
  6529.  
  6530. And Berliner reposted this from former Bush staffer Peter Wehner:
  6531.  
  6532.  
  6533.  
  6534.  
  6535. People on the right who are praising NPR's Uri Berliner for his courage - and he is courageous to speak out - are in many cases the same people who have been too intimidated/cowardly to speak out against MAGA and the moral depravity of Donald Trump. Just sayin'.
  6536. — Peter Wehner (@Peter_Wehner) April 10, 2024
  6537.  
  6538.  
  6539. Berliner voted against Trump twice. But voting for Democrats isn't enough in this taxpayer-funded sandbox for leftists. You have to be in sync with all the leftist lingo and the interest groups that push it, from GLAAD to CAIR. </description>
  6540.  <pubDate>April 17th, 2024 11:35 AM</pubDate>
  6541.    <dc:creator>Tim Graham</dc:creator>
  6542.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283781</guid>
  6543.    </item>
  6544. <item>
  6545.  <title>ABC Mocks ‘Partisan’ Mayorkas Impeachment as ‘All for Show’ While CBS Lobs Softballs</title>
  6546.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/curtis-houck/2024/04/17/abc-mocks-partisan-mayorkas-impeachment-all-show-while-cbs-lobs</link>
  6547.  <description>On Wednesday ahead of the impending impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for his role in the Biden border crisis, ABC’s Good Morning America continued its wildly partisan dismissal of this entire episode while CBS Mornings lobbed softballs at him a network exclusive originally billed as a chance for him to sound competent on the issue of online child exploitation.
  6548.  
  6549. As they’ve been since the start of the impeachment push, ABC’s Good Morning America has led the way with snarky dismissals and partisan pontificating. Co-host and former Clinton tool George Stephanopoulos has been the ringleader.
  6550.  
  6551. Wednesday was no except as he didn’t even ask a question of chief congressional correspondent Rachel Scott, but instead belly-ached about how “the partisan House impeachment of Homeland Secretary Mayorkas is heading now to the Senate, but it’s all for show now.”
  6552.  
  6553.  
  6554. ABC’s George Stephanopoulos: “[T]he partisan House impeachment of Homeland Secretary Mayorkas is heading now to the Senate, but it’s all for show now.”@RachelVScott: “Yeah and this really could be over very quickly. Look, Republicans want a full trial. They impeached Secretary… pic.twitter.com/NMLgLBjPQb
  6555. — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) April 17, 2024
  6556. Also a liberal hack, Scott scoffed “this really could be over very quickly” even though “Republicans want a full trial” for Mayorkas’s “handling of the border, but it is Democrats who control the Senate.”
  6557.  
  6558. Showing her political allegiance, Scott stated as though it were a fact that Democrats “point out there is no evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors, that this is all over a policy dispute and they will be looking to dismiss these charges very quickly.”
  6559.  
  6560. Prior to the Mayorkas interview, CBS Mornings also had a partial and dry segment about the Mayorkas impeachment trial with co-host and Democratic donor Gayle King and congressional correspondent Nikole Killion (click “expand”):
  6561.  
  6562.  
  6563. KING: Nikole, before you go, listen, I know it’s a busy day there because we’ve got the impeachment trial of Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, begins in the Senate which, by the way, the secretary of state [sic] has just arrived. We’re talking about another topic, but we’ll certainly get to that. So, what can we expect on that front?
  6564.  
  6565. KILLION: Well, senators will be sworn in this afternoon for a trial. Tuesday, House impeachment managers walk the articles across the Capitol to the Senate. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was impeached by the House back in February. He is charged with refusal to comply with the law and breach of public trust for his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border. Senate Democrats want to dismiss this trial quickly, while most Republicans argue that it should be allowed to proceed. A DHS spokesperson has called the proceedings baseless.
  6566.  
  6567.  
  6568. Mayorkas surfaced for the start of the second half-hour and, after nearly seven minutes letting him conveniently seem wholly concerned about U.S. national security in a joint interview with a Meta executive on online child exploitation.
  6569.  
  6570. The remaining nearly three minutes (2:53) was split between his impeachment and the war in the Middle East (with Mayorkas offering a boilerplate answer giving equal weight to anti-Semitism and Islamophobia).
  6571.  
  6572. Co-host Tony Dokoupil didn’t focus on debating the merits of the impeachment and instead asked him “what’s on the table, what’s being discussed” “to stop the flow of people over the border” (click “expand”):
  6573.  
  6574.  
  6575. DOKOUPIL: Mr. Secretary, you’re here with us, but meanwhile in Washington there’s an effort to impeach you and it comes at the very same time that people are waiting on the Biden administration to issue some sort of an executive order to stop the flow of people over the border, maybe by changing the asylum laws. That’s the reporting anyway. What — what’s on the table, what’s being discussed, is that still even a possibility?
  6576.  
  6577. MAYORKAS: So, a couple — a couple thoughts. First of all, as they work on impeachment, I work in advancing the missions of the Department of Homeland Security. That’s what I’ve done throughout this process. We need Congress to pass the bipartisan legislation that a group of senators worked on. That is the enduring solution. We cannot resource ourselves, we need Congress to do so. We cannot change a broken immigration system, only Congress can do that.
  6578.  
  6579. KING: But — but how do you explain —
  6580.  
  6581. DOKOUPIL: But there is no executive order, so you’re pulling it off the table?
  6582.  
  6583. MAYORKAS: Oh, no. Not at all. You know, we — we — we explore options every single day. That’s the responsibility of good government. We are considering options. We have been throughout, but really, the enduring solution is legislation because executive actions invariably are challenged in the courts.
  6584.  
  6585.  
  6586. Like the loyal liberal apparatchik she is, King praised Mayorkas for “continu[ing] to do your job” despite the impeachment charges in what must “feel surreal” and “like you have on gasoline underwear” with “a lot of incoming” from Republicans he’s simultaneously “negotiating with” as they try to remove him.
  6587.  
  6588. “How do you balance that two, knowing that — how they feel about you and that they want you out,” King wondered, to which Mayorkas twice said it’s “precisely why I focus on the work.”
  6589.  
  6590. Gag.
  6591.  
  6592. NBC’s Today was actually the least objectionable of the three (aside from the fact it was only a 32-second partial segment) as Capitol Hill correspondent Ryan Nobles gave a sentence to each camp (click “expand”):
  6593.  
  6594.  
  6595. GUTHRIE: Let’s talk about another item. The House impeached Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas. The articles of impeachment — which are basically the charges — now go to the Senate for a trial, but what is expected to happen there?
  6596.  
  6597. NOBLES: Yeah, that’s right. The Senate today is expected to swear in senators as jurors, but it is expected to be an incredibly short trial against Mayorkas. Republicans say that he ignored the law and created chaos at the border, but Democrats argue that this is nothing more than a political stunt. They’re planning to dismiss or table the trial as soon as this week.
  6598.  
  6599.  
  6600. To see the relevant transcript from April 17, click “expand.”
  6601.  
  6602.  
  6603. ABC’s Good Morning America
  6604. April 17, 2024
  6605. 7:11 a.m. Eastern
  6606.  
  6607. GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: And, Rachel, the partisan House impeachment of Homeland Secretary Mayorkas is heading now to the Senate, but it’s all for show now. 
  6608.  
  6609. [ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: New This Morning; House Sends Mayorkas Impeachment Articles to Senate; Republican Senators Demanding Full-Scale Trial for DHS Secretary]
  6610.  
  6611. RACHEL SCOTT: Yeah and this really could be over very quickly. Look, Republicans want a full trial. They impeached Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over his handling of the border, but it is Democrats who control the Senate. And they point out there is no evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors, that this is all over a policy dispute and they will be looking to dismiss these charges very quickly, George.
  6612.  
  6613. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  6614.  
  6615. CBS Mornings
  6616. April 17, 2024
  6617. 7:08 a.m. Eastern
  6618.  
  6619. [ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Mayorkas Impeachment Trial; Homeland Security Sec’y Expected to Survive Senate Trial]
  6620.  
  6621. GAYLE KING: Nikole, before you go, listen, I know it’s a busy day there because we’ve got the impeachment trial of Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, begins in the Senate which, by the way, the secretary of state [sic] has just arrived. We’re talking about another topic, but we’ll certainly get to that. So, what can we expect on that front?
  6622.  
  6623. NIKOLE KILLION: Well, senators will be sworn in this afternoon for a trial. Tuesday, House impeachment managers walk the articles across the Capitol to the Senate. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was impeached by the House back in February. He is charged with refusal to comply with the law and breach of public trust for his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border. Senate Democrats want to dismiss this trial quickly, while most Republicans argue that it should be allowed to proceed. A DHS spokesperson has called the proceedings baseless. Gayle?
  6624.  
  6625. KING: All right. We’ll see how that plays out. Nikole, thank you very much. In our next half hour, homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas will be here in the studio to discuss his impeachment trial and the reason why he’s here — we booked him a while ago to talk about this — a big, new campaign to keep your kids safe online.
  6626.  
  6627. (....)
  6628.  
  6629. 7:31 a.m. Eastern
  6630.  
  6631. KING: We’re — we’re very glad to have you here. Nice to meet you, Antigone.
  6632.  
  6633. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS: Thank you.
  6634.  
  6635. KING: Especially for you, Secretary Mayorkas because, listen, you’re in the news, your ears must be burning because, even as we speak, they’re trying to impeach you on Capitol Hill. We’ll get to that in just a second.
  6636.  
  6637. (....)
  6638.  
  6639. 7:36 a.m. Eastern
  6640.  
  6641. [ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Mayorkas Impeachment Trial; DHS Sec’y on Impeachment Charges Brought by Republicans]
  6642.  
  6643. TONY DOKOUPIL: Mr. Secretary, you’re here with us, but meanwhile in Washington there’s an effort to impeach you and it comes at the very same time that people are waiting on the Biden administration to issue some sort of an executive order to stop the flow of people over the border, maybe by changing the asylum laws. That’s the reporting anyway. What — what’s on the table, what’s being discussed, is that still even a possibility?
  6644.  
  6645. MAYORKAS: So, a couple — a couple thoughts. First of all, as they work on impeachment, I work in advancing the missions of the Department of Homeland Security. That’s what I’ve done throughout this process. We need Congress to pass the bipartisan legislation that a group of senators worked on. That is the enduring solution. We cannot resource ourselves, we need Congress to do so. We cannot change a broken immigration system, only Congress can do that.
  6646.  
  6647. KING: But — but how do you explain —
  6648.  
  6649. DOKOUPIL: But there is no executive order, so you’re pulling it off the table?
  6650.  
  6651. MAYORKAS: Oh, no. Not at all. You know, we — we — we explore options every single day. That’s the responsibility of good government. We are considering options. We have been throughout, but really, the enduring solution is legislation because executive actions invariably are challenged in the courts.
  6652.  
  6653. KING: Yeah. You were making it clear, Mr. Secretary, you’re going to continue to do your job. But, I’m wondering personally, does this feel surreal? Do you feel like you have on gasoline underwear? Cause you a lot of incoming — you must feel — or do you feel like you’re sitting on the hot seat? Cause, on one hand, you’re negotiating with Republicans. And then, on the other hand, they’re trying to impeach you. How do you balance that two, knowing that — how they feel about you and that they want you out?
  6654.  
  6655. MAYORKAS: Gayle, that is precisely why I focus on the work.
  6656.  
  6657. KING: Mmmmm.
  6658.  
  6659. DOKOUPIL: Should we —
  6660.  
  6661. MAYORKAS: That is precisely why I focus on the work.
  6662.  
  6663. DOKOUPIL: — speaking of the broader mission separate from the border, we’ve got Israel and Iran now in a confrontation. I think a lot of people reasonably wonder whether what’s happening overseas may become a threat to the homeland.
  6664.  
  6665. KING: Yeah, yes.
  6666.  
  6667. DOKOUPIL: Is there an increased risk in America of some sort of attack tied to sympathies in the Middle East?
  6668.  
  6669. KING: Yes.
  6670.  
  6671. MAYORKAS: We have seen an increase in anti-Semitism. We have seen an increase in Islamaphobia following the October 7 terrorist attacks. There is no question, as Director Wray of the FBI and I have expressed publicly, we are in a heightened threat environment and what we worry about is an increase in what we call domestic violent extremism — the radicalization of individuals already here, driven to violence based on an ideology of hate.
  6672.  
  6673. DOKOUPIL: Credible threats right now as we speak?
  6674.  
  6675. MAYORKAS: We — I have no known credible threats at this time, but we are in a heightened threat environment.
  6676.  
  6677. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  6678.  
  6679. NBC’s Today
  6680. April 17, 2024
  6681. 7:14 a.m. Eastern
  6682.  
  6683. [ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Mayorkas Impeachment Heads to Senate]
  6684.  
  6685. SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Let’s talk about another item. The House impeached Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas. The articles of impeachment — which are basically the charges — now go to the Senate for a trial, but what is expected to happen there?
  6686.  
  6687. RYAN NOBLES: Yeah, that’s right. The Senate today is expected to swear in senators as jurors, but it is expected to be an incredibly short trial against Mayorkas. Republicans say that he ignored the law and created chaos at the border, but Democrats argue that this is nothing more than a political stunt. They’re planning to dismiss or table the trial as soon as this week.
  6688. </description>
  6689.  <pubDate>April 17th, 2024 11:30 AM</pubDate>
  6690.    <dc:creator>Curtis Houck</dc:creator>
  6691.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283782</guid>
  6692.    </item>
  6693. <item>
  6694.  <title>16-Year-Old Student SUSPENDED After Saying ‘Illegal Alien’ in English Class</title>
  6695.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/culture/tierin-rose-mandelburg/2024/04/17/16-year-old-student-suspended-after-saying-illegal</link>
  6696.  <description> Nope, we aren’t even kidding.
  6697.  
  6698. A 16-year-old student from North Carolina was suspended for three days last week after using the term “illegal alien” in his English class. The student used the phrase to gain a deeper understanding of an assignment and was penalized for it, The Carolina Journal reported.
  6699.  
  6700. The student’s mother, Leah McGhee, noted that the English teacher assigned numerous vocabulary words during class, one of which was “alien.” To gain clarity, McGhee’s child asked, “Like space aliens or illegal aliens without green cards?”
  6701.  
  6702. Perfectly valid question to ask for clarification if you ask me but, not everyone thought so. Apparently another student was offended by the McGhee child and threatened to fight him. The teacher called in the assistant principle and ultimately school staff decided that McGhee’s comment was “offensive and disrespectful to classmates who are hispanic.”
  6703.  
  6704. The child was suspended for three days but it appears that the one who threatened to fight him had no punishment or consequence. Additionally, as The Carolina Journal noted, this could damage McGhee’s record as he looks to apply to colleges and for scholarships.
  6705.  
  6706. “I didn’t make a statement directed towards anyone; I asked a question,” McGhee said. “I wasn’t speaking of Hispanics because everyone from other countries needs green cards, and the term ‘illegal alien’ is an actual term that I hear on the news and can find in the dictionary.”
  6707.  
  6708. The McGhee family is working with an attorney to rectify the situation but so far the assistant principal is refusing to remove the infraction on the student’s record.
  6709.  
  6710. “Because of his question, our son was disciplined and given THREE days OUT of school suspension for ‘racism,’” his mother wrote about the situation before adding, “He is devastated and concerned that the racism label on his school record will harm his future goal of receiving a track scholarship. We are concerned that he will fall behind in his classes due to being absent for three consecutive days.”
  6711.  
  6712. This is absolutely outrageous.
  6713.  
  6714. Even the State Senator Steve Jarvis (R-N.C) said, “I do not see that that would be an offensive statement, just in getting clarification” but the school has remained firm in its disciplinary action towards McGhee. The student handbook, as The Carolina Journal noted, says that “schools may place restrictions on a student’s right to free speech when the speech is obscene, abusive, promoting illegal drug use, or is reasonably expected to cause a substantial disruption to the school day.”
  6715.  
  6716. So using the word “illegal alien” to ask about illegal aliens is somehow offensive?
  6717.  
  6718. The public school system has become complete garbage.</description>
  6719.  <pubDate>April 17th, 2024 10:34 AM</pubDate>
  6720.    <dc:creator>Tierin-Rose Mandelburg</dc:creator>
  6721.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283780</guid>
  6722.    </item>
  6723. <item>
  6724.  <title>Daily Show Tortures Pinata To Cope With Trump Leading Latino Vote</title>
  6725.  <link>https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/alex-christy/2024/04/17/daily-show-tortures-pinata-cope-trump-leading-latino-vote</link>
  6726.  <description>Actor and alleged comedian John Leguizamo joined Tuesday’s edition of The Daily Show on Comedy Central to have a calm and rational, adult-like reaction to polling that shows Donald Trump leading among Latinos. Just kidding, he decided to torture a piñata while going off a profanity-ridden Spanish tirade.
  6727.  
  6728. Translated into English (hat tip to NewsBusters' Jorge Bonilla), as he mauled the poor piñata, Leguizamo ranted, "Shit, [bleep]dammit, triple son of a [bleep], mother[bleep], [unintelligible] bastard!"
  6729.  
  6730.  
  6731.  
  6732.  
  6733.  
  6734.  
  6735.  
  6736.  
  6737.  
  6738. After the torture session concluded, Leguizamo continued, “I’m sorry. Where was I? Oh, yeah, right. It looks like the Democrats are in trouble, and you might be thinking, how is this possible? Donald Trump is winning Latinos? ‘Build the wall’ Donald Trump? ‘Mass deportations’ Donald Trump? Guy who thinks Daddy Yankee is a baseball player Donald Trump? But the truth is, in 2024, Latino voters have something else on their minds.
  6739.  
  6740. Following a couple of news clips explaining that Latino voters are more worried about inflation than his race-based politics, Leguizamo claimed to understand, “That's right. For Latinos, this election is all about inflation! And that makes sense! Inflation is bad right now. They're going to have to change the name of the game show to The Price is [bleep] what-now?" And if your top concern is high prices, I get why you might lean Trump. People associate him with lower prices, even though he sells $400 sneakers that look like my cousin's Papo's teeth.”
  6741.  
  6742. However, “The problem is, when it comes to fixing inflation, this cuchifrito-looking mother[bleep] ain't got shit.”
  6743.  
  6744. After more news clips of Trump declaring his plan to reduce inflation includes additional oil drilling, Leguizamo reacted, “Well, you heard it here first, mi brothers: Trump's one and only plan to fix inflation is to drill for oil. But guess what: President Biden is already drilling more oil than anyone in history. More than Trump did when he was president!”
  6745.  
  6746. Of course, Biden is also trying to appease the environmentalists, which doesn’t help with prices, but Leguizamo would rather make a Stormy Daniels-sex joke than discuss that, “Now, you know, maybe Trump has discovered some new special drilling technique that no one else knows about. Maybe he drills the oil real hard for 30 seconds, and then makes it sign an NDA. Just saying.”
  6747.  
  6748. Somehow, it seems unlikely that going full Hulk on a party device and sex jokes are going to get people to change their voting preferences.
  6749.  
  6750. Here is a transcript for the April 16 show:
  6751.  
  6752.  
  6753. Comedy Central The Daily Show
  6754.  
  6755. 4/16/2024
  6756.  
  6757. 11:18 PM ET 
  6758.  
  6759. JOHN LEGUIZAMO: Excuse me for a second, please. [Speaking Spanish] I’m sorry. Where was I? Oh, yeah, right. It looks like the Democrats are in trouble, and you might be thinking, how is this possible? Donald Trump is winning Latinos? "Build the wall" Donald Trump? "Mass deportations" Donald Trump? Guy who thinks Daddy Yankee is a baseball player Donald Trump? But the truth is, in 2024, Latino voters have something else on their minds. 
  6760.  
  6761. …
  6762.  
  6763. That's right. For Latinos, this election is all about inflation! And that makes sense! Inflation is bad right now. They're going to have to change the name of the game show to The Price is [bleep] what-now?" And if your top concern is high prices, I get why you might lean Trump. People associate him with lower prices, even though he sells $400 sneakers that look like my cousin's Papo's teeth. The problem is, when it comes to fixing inflation, this cuchifrito-looking mother[bleep] ain't got shit. 
  6764.  
  6765. CNN TOWN HALL ATTENDEE: If elected president again, what is the first thing you would do to help bring down the cost to make things more affordable? 
  6766.  
  6767. DONALD TRUMP: Drill, baby, drill. 
  6768.  
  6769. MARIA BARTIROMO: Is your answer to getting inflation down, drill, drill, drill, independent oil? 
  6770.  
  6771. TRUMP: Well, among other things, it's drill, drill, drill, yes. 
  6772.  
  6773. BARTIROMO: What else? 
  6774.  
  6775. TRUMP: It's drill, drill, drill. 
  6776.  
  6777. BARTIROMO: What's your answer to getting inflation down? 
  6778.  
  6779. TRUMP: There is no else. You have to get the oil. 
  6780.  
  6781. LEGUIZAMO: Well, you heard it here first, mi brothers: Trump's one and only plan to fix inflation is to drill for oil. But guess what: President Biden is already drilling more oil than anyone in history. More than Trump did when he was president! Now, you know, maybe Trump has discovered some new special drilling technique that no one else knows about. Maybe he drills the oil real hard for 30 seconds, and then makes it sign an NDA. Just saying. 
  6782. </description>
  6783.  <pubDate>April 17th, 2024 10:05 AM</pubDate>
  6784.    <dc:creator>Alex Christy</dc:creator>
  6785.    <guid isPermaLink="false">283779</guid>
  6786.    </item>
  6787.  
  6788.  </channel>
  6789. </rss>
  6790.  

Home · About · News · Docs · Terms

 
Copyright © 2002-9 Sam Ruby, Mark Pilgrim, Joseph Walton, and Phil Ringnalda