Our glorious free press

In sum, there is no media. It has ceased to exist, and the public plods on by assuming as true whatever the Pravda-like news outlets suppress and as false whatever they cover. Victor Davis Hanson(below)

Media Tailspin Continues As Trust Hits Record Lows: I&I/TIPP Poll

It’s hard to build trust when there are abundant signs that you are no longer trustworthy. Some big media, social media, and news sites are at least acknowledging criticism. But will that be enough?

. . .“Elon Musk, Twitter’s new owner and CEO, just dropped a bombshell that has no known parallel in American history: The Biden administration and the Democratic National Committee colluded with Twitter to swing the 2020 election to Joe Biden and his Democrats,” wrote William Sullivan on the American Thinker site.

"Musk himself ripped liberal news media for “deceiving the American public” and for “not being truthful” in ignoring the Hunter Biden laptop scandal, while journalist Matt Taibbi posted an epic thread on Twitter showing the evidence for Twitter’s electoral shenanigans.

"Not only did liberal journalists not congratulate Taibbi, they vilified him for speaking out.

"Here’s some of the other self-inflicted media misery:

• New CNN CEO Chris Licht laid off hundreds of people, and all but admitted his network’s political bias had gotten out of hand and vowed his network will pursue “truth” in the future.
• Disney, owner of several media properties along with its iconic theme parks, brought back former CEO Bob Iger following a series of movie flops and ongoing “woke” disputes that have dampened traffic at the company’s parks.
• Apple has been accused of helping the Chinese regime quell anti-government demonstrations by shutting down a key app used by many of the demonstrators.
• TikTok, the Chinese-owned social media site favored by younger users, has come under fire for its ties to China’s government and concerns that Xi Jinping’s regime could use the app to influence future elections.
• Facebook, likewise, has been harshly criticized for biasing social media mentions on its popular site and for letting government and law enforcement officials request censorship of posts via a special “portal.”. . .

Glenn Greenwald torches CNN’s ‘Twitter Files’ spin: ‘Like the rantings of any #Resistance maniac’   "Ever since “The Twitter Files” dropped on Friday, media firefighters have been working overtime to explain why there’s nothing to see there.

• Ben Collins’ pissiness over Matt Taibbi and Elon Musk’s ‘Twitter Files’ speaks volumes about modern MSM

How Corrupt is a Corrupt Media?  Victor Davis Hanson

The media has ceased to exist, and the public plods on by assuming as true whatever the media suppresses and as false whatever the media covers.

"The current “media”—loosely defined as the old major newspapers like the New York Times and Washington Post, the network news channels, MSNBC and CNN, PBS and NPR, the online news aggregators like Google, Apple, and Yahoo, and the social media giants like the old Twitter and Facebook—are corrupt. 

They have adopted in their news coverage a utilitarian view that noble progressive ends justify almost any unethical means to obtain them. The media is unapologetically fused with the Democratic Party, the bicoastal liberal elite, and the progressive agenda. 

"The result is that the public cannot trust that the news it hears or reads is either accurate or true. The news as presented by these outlets has been carefully filtered to suppress narratives deemed inconvenient or antithetical to the political objectives of these entities, while inflating themes deemed useful.". . .

The Morning Briefing: America's Lunatic Grandma Hillary Is Off Her Meds Again

You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!  

PJ Media

. . ."It would appear that the United States of America has angered whatever luck or karma gods are pulling the strings in the universe. How else does one explain the fact that Hillary Clinton will not go away?

"After the 2016 election, there was a reasonable expectation that Hillary would slink off in defeat and spend her days in Chappaqua exploring the bottoms of various box wines. She did that for a while, but then got out of the house to blame her loss on everything and everyone but herself. Because we’re unlucky, hacks in the mainstream media are always giving Mrs. Bill a camera to get in front of and grouse.

"For the last six years, each time Hillary resurfaces she reminds the American people that she is mentally unwell. When last we were subjected to the ravings of Granny Maojackets, she was insisting that the Republicans already have plans to steal the 2024 election.

"Hillary Clinton always seems to be in a constant state of one-person “hold my beer” where she’s trying to outdo herself. Her follow-up to her unhinged theory about the 2024 election is a real doozy.

"Catherine has the story:". . .

Catholic bishop calls Hillary Clinton an ‘evil woman’ over startling analogy of pro-lifers and war criminals  "Hillary Clinton goes on PBS and compares pro-lifers to the Iranian regime, the Taliban, and Russian soldiers raping Ukrainian women. Of course, Christiane Amanpour agrees, "This pushback on American women's rights at the same time as you're trying to figure a way forward." Alex Christy

What Does Free Speech Mean?

 

What Does Free Speech Mean? | United States Courts (uscourts.gov)

The First Amendment states, in relevant part, that: “Congress shall make no law...abridging freedom of speech.”

"Among other cherished values, the First Amendment protects freedom of speech. The U.S. Supreme Court often has struggled to determine what exactly constitutes protected speech. The following are examples of speech, both direct (words) and symbolic (actions), that the Court has decided are either entitled to First Amendment protections, or not.". . .

Freedom of speech includes the right:

• Not to speak (specifically, the right not to salute the flag).
  West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943).
• Of students to wear black armbands to school to protest a war (“Students do not shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate.”).
  Tinker v. Des Moines, 393 U.S. 503 (1969).
• To use certain offensive words and phrases to convey political messages.
  Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15 (1971).
• To contribute money (under certain circumstances) to political campaigns.
  Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 (1976).
• To advertise commercial products and professional services (with some restrictions).
  Virginia Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Consumer Council, 425 U.S. 748 (1976); Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, 433 U.S. 350 (1977).
• To engage in symbolic speech, (e.g., burning the flag in protest).
  Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989); United States v. Eichman, 496 U.S. 310 (1990).

Freedom of speech does not include the right:

• To incite imminent lawless action.
  Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444 (1969).
• To make or distribute obscene materials.
  Roth v. United States, 354 U.S. 476 (1957).
• To burn draft cards as an anti-war protest.
  United States v. O’Brien, 391 U.S. 367 (1968).
• To permit students to print articles in a school newspaper over the objections of the school administration. 
  Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, 484 U.S. 260 (1988).
• Of students to make an obscene speech at a school-sponsored event.
  Bethel School District #43 v. Fraser, 478 U.S. 675 (1986).
• Of students to advocate illegal drug use at a school-sponsored event.
  Morse v. Frederick, __ U.S. __ (2007). . . 

No ‘Tipping Point’ Yet. Will It Ever Come?

 Issues & Insights

First, the issue of the former president.  While Donald Trump’s endorsement in Republican primaries proved very helpful for getting into November, it was far less helpful for getting out of November. Did the red hat dry up the red wave?

"The “red wave” that many believed was going to ka-whoosh from Rhode Island to Seattle did not occur, with the evening turning out to be more of a red trickle – except, of course, in Florida which saw a red hurricane.

"But, at a national level, even the trickle was possibly just enough for the Republicans, who did manage to make Nancy Pelosi the ex-speaker of the House (again) and (maybe, pending Nevada and the runoff, of course, in Georgia) drive Kamala Harris even further into frustrated obscurity by taking away her tie-breaking ability.

"Closely watched “Republican pick-up” races like the second congressional district in Rhode Island, the third in Michigan, and the first in Indiana all stayed blue. True, the results were far far closer (New York was and Oregon is actually competitive, unheard of in years) than they had been in the past, but they were still a few points shy of victory.

"So the question is – with 75 % of voters saying the nation is on the wrong track, a floundering economy, and significant increases in crime – why did the wave fail to materialize?

"That answer will take days to answer in full, but some ideas may need closer inspection than others.". . .

. . ."Ron DeSantis, Mike DeWine, Brian Kemp, and Greg Abbott all won reelection easily. What they all have in common is actual governing ability, crossover appeal people skills, real human personalities, decent staffs, well-earned airs of trustworthiness, and first-rate political antennae. It is not impossible to learn what they are doing so right that they got re-elected so easily and build on that public image nationally."