Saturday, March 31, 2018

Respected professor blasts ´once-proud´ CNN in scathing op-ed: ´CNN lost its way´



CNN lost its way in struggle to find an audience  . . . "CNN wants to be “the most trusted name in news,” and likes to suggest it is on the objective, high road compared to more partisan competitors at MSNBC and Fox News Channel. News consumers who are political moderates or right-leaning, however, have a hard time buying that promotional line. CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta is working hard to be the Trump administration’s harshest antagonist. CNN provided massive airtime and follow-up analysis to former Trump campaign aide Sam Nunberg in early March. Almost three-fourths of CNN’s time over an eight hour period focused on Nunberg, who has since drifted into insignificance.

"CNN President Jeff Zucker blasted Fox News recently at a journalism conference in New York, calling his cable nemesis “a pure propaganda machine.” Fox News’s prime-time programming is no doubt opinion driven and broadly defends the White House, but Zucker’s ratings envy rant overlooks solid journalism being done at Fox by anchor/reporters such as Bret Baier, Shannon Bream, Shepherd Smith and others. Zucker would make better use of his time focusing on the content of his own channel." . . .


See the source image

By Brian Flood, Fox News  "Respected DePauw University professor Jeffrey McCall accused CNN of doubling down on sexual escapades in a piece that will surely draw the ire of the network’s president, Jeff Zucker.
"McCall penned an op-ed for The Hill Friday headlined, “CNN lost its way in struggle to find an audience,” and blasted the increasingly liberal network for its recent programming decisions, such as promoting the anti-Trump Chris Cuomo.
"McCall mocked CNN’s Anderson Cooper as seeking “to corner the market on interviewing shapely women who have been friendly with Trump” after the “AC 360” host sat down with both Playboy playmate Karen McDougal and porn actress Stormy Daniels.
“ 'CNN’s warped obsession with reporting about supposed adultery demonstrates a larger problem at the once-proud and groundbreaking channel,” McCall wrote.
"With a primetime lineup of Cuomo and Cooper, “CNN will have back-to-back evening anchors representing elite, east coast, powerful families,” McCall said." . . .



Katie Hopkins calls CNN the Clinton News Network  Watch the CNN anchor do her best to stick up for CNN instead of drawing out the opinions of their guest.

If we give immunity from criticism to children — such as David Hogg, et al. — then adults will rely on children to do what adults want done.

Althouse
Ann Althouse  "I don't know how much the post-Parkland protesters are acting directly from their own hearts — it's politically expedient to see them as saints! — but if they are protected from criticism, it creates a dangerous incentive to adults who want immunity from criticism.

"There are so many children around, and it is the way of the world for millennia to seize upon these handy little creatures — they're everywhere! — and use them to do the work adults want done. I'm not saying that's what's already happened with the post-Parkland protesters, just that the kid-gloves treatment of these vocal participants in the public dialogue sends a message to conniving adults that there's a special benefit to using children.

"There are consequences." . . .


Her legal career: . . . Since 1984, Althouse has taught federal jurisdictioncivil procedure, and constitutional law at the University of Wisconsin Law School, where she has been tenured since 1989.[1] She was a visiting professor at Brooklyn Law School for the 2007–08 academic year. A "leading light" in federal courts scholarship,[2] she has written extensively on federalism (her central thesis being the normative value of federalism in protecting individual rights), sovereign immunity and other legal issues. She is currently the Robert W. & Irma M. Arthur-Bascom Professor of Law at the University of Wisconsin Law School." . . .

Marjory Stoneman Douglas Teacher Says Many Students Feel They Are Misrepresented By Famous Classmates


Daily Caller  "America knows Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students through mainly a handful of pro-gun control activist students, but according to a faculty member of the school where the deadly shooting took place, many other students say the most visible activists do not represent them.


Hogg
“ 'I’ve had some students approach me privately to talk to me about it, but I should note that those student activists none of them were ever in any danger during this whole thing…none of them except for the one girl Samantha Fuentes,” the faculty member said, on the condition of anonymity, during an interview with NRATV that aired Friday on Dana Loesch’s “Relentless” program.

"The Stoneman Douglas staffer continued, “But I have students in my class that were shot, but you don’t see them. They have the most personal experience of anyone except for that one girl.”

"Stoneman Douglas students David Hogg, Emma Gonzales, and Cameron Kasky have been notable media representatives of their school and spoke at the “March for Our Lives” protest in Washington D.C. last Saturday, advocating for gun control policies." . . .  Photos added by TD

Also this:  Bataclan Survivor Accuses Protesting Parkland Students Of Treason
“As the survivor of a mass shooting I can tell you from first-hand experience that all of you protesting and taking days off from school insult the memory of those who were killed and abuse and insult me and every other lover of liberty by your every action,” Hughes said. . . .
I think the student-celebrities' shabby treatment of Sen. Rubio and Dana Loesch while CNN held their coats and enjoyed the thrill up their collective legs was repulsive. Add to that the power given them by propagandist media to ruin the careers of those who have courage enough to speak against the actions of these media-spoiled teenagers. TD

Via Instapundit


Update from Happy Hayride

What's more likely, that the Pope said there is no hell or that — regardless of what the Pope said — that there is a hell?


Ann Althouse  "I'm reading "Does Hell Exist? And Did the Pope Give an Answer?" (NYT). I've been writing about the reported news that the Pope said Hell does not exist, and I keep hearing that the Vatican has attempted to squelch the news, but I continue to believe the Pope said it. One reason I believe it is that Hell is such an implausible notion that I think an intelligent person, such as Pope Francis, is unlikely to believe it, though he might choose to keep quiet on the subject and not rock the boat the Vatican seems not to want rocked. Upon this not rocking of the boat, I will build my church. And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, because there is no hell, but let's tell them there is, because it will scare the wits out of them.

"I don't give a damn (not that there's any such thing) what "The Vatican" thinks, but I do care what Pope Francis said in his conversation with his friend, the 93-year-old Eugenio Scalfari. Scalfari is — as the NYT puts it — "an atheist, left-wing and anticlerical giant of Italian journalism." Scalfari has no audio recording or even jotted-down notes to back up his statement that Francis said, "A hell doesn’t exist."
“These are not interviews, these are meetings, I don’t take notes. It’s a chat[," said Scalfari]. While Mr. Scalfari said he remembered the pope saying hell did not exist, he allowed that “I can also make mistakes.”....
These cartoons about demons in Hell are funny as...well, you know. But the entire point of them is that the place is run by Satan and his demons when actually Scriptures speak of Hades as a place of torment for Satan and all his hordes who war against Heaven and the redemption Christ bought at the cross. TD


The Resurrection of Jesus: An Inconvenient Fact


Mike Konrad  "This Sunday, Christians around the world will celebrate Easter.  Some prefer to call it Resurrection Day.  Now most Christians – whether nominal or serious – just accept the holiday without much thought. But if they would examine the claims, most Christians would be shocked.

"The basic premise behind Christianity is that humanity, and also by extension the universe, is flawed – the theological term is fallen – so flawed that there is no way any human could set himself right with a just, perfect, and holy Creator.  If humanity is to be reconciled to the Creator, it must be the effort of the Creator Himself, since only the Creator is capable of effecting  such as massive work.
"Christianity's claim is that the Creator did come down to Earth, with the purpose of reconciling God to man, in the person of Jesus Christ, who is both man and God.  His human nature would be the Son of God through a virgin; his divine nature would be God incarnate.
"Jesus would absorb all the wrongs of mankind in Himself to clear out the account.  The classic wording for this is that He (Jesus) paid the penalty for our sins.  If one is more modern, and eschews the concept of retributive justice, then one could say Jesus absorbed within Himself all the consequences of man's wrongs, with the idea of setting it right.
"Now, the idea of suffering on someone else's behalf is not new, but Christianity takes the concept a large step forward and makes this claim: death would not be able to hold Jesus, and He would come out of the grave.  And this resurrection would be the signature that Christ indeed set things right between God and man.  Indeed, He would more than pay the price for man's transgressions." . . .
Read more...

Mike Konrad is the pen name of an American who wishes he had availed himself more fully of the opportunity to learn Spanish better in high school, lo those many decades ago.  He runs a website about the Arab community in South America at http://latinarabia.com.

Friday, March 30, 2018

Parkland Student Calls For Boycott Of MSNBC Advertisers After Former Contributor Attacks Him

Karma? 


Tony Branco

Daily Caller  "Parkland student David Hogg has led a boycott of advertisers on Laura Ingraham’s Fox News show after she criticized him for complaining about being rejected by certain colleges.
"Now, MSNBC may get the same treatment over a tweet from former contributor Kurt Eichenwald.
"Eichenwald attacked and insulted Parkland student Kyle Kashuv in a tweet: “You continue to disappoint.Trafficking in fantasies, fine. Your followers are infantile, your only form of debate is insult. And you wonder why I have no respect for you.”
"The attack came after Eichenwald called for civility in the gun control conversation and to keep the harassment of the kids out of it.

Advertiser Pulls Ads From MSNBC Over Eichenwald Tweet; NBC Says They Parted Ways Recently

. .  . "A boycott was quickly called for on MSNBC's advertisers, to which one company, Proactiv, announced they were pulling their advertisements from the network." . . .

Heaven Or Hell: Take Your Choice


"Last week, I was driving south from Hattiesburg to Biloxi on my way to spend a couple of days on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I decided to take a different route than my usual trek south on US Highway 49. Instead, I took Interstate 59 to MS Highway 53. About a mile or two after taking the exit, I came upon Juniper Grove Road. It led me to Juniper Grove Baptist Church, which sits in front of a graveyard where my cousin Theodore Gilmore Bilbo is buried. I decided to pull over and visit his gravesite, given that I had never been and that Bilbo is my most infamous relative. As I approached the church, I saw a sign that read, “Life has many choices. Eternity has 2. What is yours? Heaven or hell?' ” . . .
. . . 
"His tomb does not say it, but the full title of Bilbo’s 1946 book was, “Take Your Choice: Separation or Mongrelization.” In the book, Bilbo argued that the survival of our nation hinged upon whether we would be able to prevent the large scale mixing of the races. He feared that a breakdown of racial barriers would result in racial intermarrying, which, in turn, would produce a nation that was no longer black and white – but instead a nation of “mongrels.” He considered this to be a threat to the integrity of the white race. He also argued that it was a threat to the integrity of the black race. 

"You’ve probably heard such calls for racial purity before. Muhammad Ali would echo them years later – and would be given a pass by a fawning media willing to forgive anything he said after he refused service in the Vietnam War. But coming from Bilbo it was more dangerous. " . . .

Does the Pope Believe in Hell?

See the source imagePat Buchanan  "Pope Declares No Hell?" So ran the riveting headline on the Drudge Report of Holy Thursday.

"Drudge quoted this exchange, published in La Repubblica, between Pope Francis and his atheist friend, journalist Eugenio Scalfari.

"Scalfari: "What about bad souls? Where are they punished?"

"Bad souls "are not punished," Pope Francis is quoted, "those who do not repent and cannot therefore be forgiven disappear. There is no hell, there is the disappearance of sinful souls."

"On the first Holy Thursday, Judas betrayed Christ. And of Judas the Lord said, "Woe to that man by whom the Son of Man shall be betrayed; it were better for him if that man had never been born."

"Did the soul of Judas, and those of the monstrous evildoers of history, "just fade away," as General MacArthur said of old soldiers? If there is no hell, is not the greatest deterrent to the worst of sins removed?

"What did Christ die on the cross to save us from?*

"If Francis made such a statement, it would be rank heresy. " . . .Full article

*Emphasis added by TD. The Pope's position on Hell approaches that of Jehovah's Witnesses.  
What Do Jehovah's Witnesses Teach About Hell?

Make the Democrats pay for stalling Trump’s nominees

Power Line  "The Senate is sitting on 78 of President Trump’s nominees who have already been passed out of committee but can’t get a floor vote. Chuck Schumer and his loyal band of Democrats accomplish this obstruction by objecting to unanimous consent that a nomination be taken up. This triggers a motion for cloture which brings with it 30 hours of floor debate.


"The Wall Street Journal, in an editorial denouncing the Democrats’ practice, notes that cloture votes used to be almost unheard of for nominations other than judges. At this point in the past four presidencies combined, only 15 executive-branch nominees had been confirmed after cloture. In the current Congress, Democrats have already invoked cloture on more than 50 Trump nominees.
"Consequently, 43 percent of Trump’s nominees await confirmation, according to Sarah Huckabee Sanders. And there have been 102 fewer confirmations so far than in even the slowest recent administration.
"Why the Schumer stall? It’s not because Trump’s nominees are unqualified or too extreme. Last week, the Dems blocked Richard Grenell, who was nominated in September to be ambassador to Germany, a rather important post. Grenell is the longest-serving U.S. spokesman at the United Nations. He’s openly gay and has the backing of some liberal groups.
"The Democrats are blocking Grenell and so many others as part of their “resistance” to Trump. It’s that simple. As the Wall Street Journal puts it, “their goal is simply to slow the formation of a GOP government. . . .”
"What to do? Try to change the rules requiring 30 hours of floor debate, a move that should have been made months ago. " . . .

Laura Ingraham Show Loses Several Sponsors (So Far) For The Most Minor Of Offenses

RedState  
. . . "It wasn’t that bad.
"The danger here is twofold.
"First of all, it suggests that if you disagree with someone, particularly politically, you can weaponize social media to harmfully affect their livelihood.
"This isn’t a new thing, actually, but it is no more acceptable. It’s a form of bullying.
"Second of all – and possibly most important – a horrible lesson is being taught to kids like Hogg. They’re not being taught to face criticism or opposition head-on.
"Not everything is an offense that requires you lash out. Nor do you always get the results you expect.
"We’re in a post-maturity era, where perceived slights are taken so seriously that it becomes a national outrage.
"Speaking as someone who has issues with Ingraham’s slavish Trump defense, I can say I’m no fan, but she shouldn’t lose all her sponsors over tweeting out a story about Hogg’s stunted college ambitions.
"Ingraham has tweeted out an apology, in response.

Liberal silliness; 3/30/2018

Gonzo Overkill
The law has been credited with reducing chemicals that cause cancer and birth defects, such as lead in hair dyes, mercury in nasal sprays and arsenic in bottled water. But it’s also been widely criticized for abuses by lawyers shaking down businesses for quick settlements.
See the source image
Center for Consumer Freedom.

. . . "I favor changing the Second Amendment," King said. "Yeah, repeal it.""The former talk-show host added that he believes the Second Amendment was "poorly written."" 'You know who started the second amendment?" King then asked. "It was southern senators so they could ward off slave uprisings.""When TMZ pushed King on whether his claim is true, he told the interviewer to "read the history."" 'That's how the Second Amendment started," King said. "And the NRA is the worst.' "

 Chicago youth stage ‘die-in’ in City Hall to demand defunding of $95 mill cop academy, more community resources . . . "Today, members of the #NoCopAcademy — a movement led by Black youth in Chicago but fueled and organized by a group of multiracial youth— took over Chicago’s City Hall, 121 N. LaSalle Dr., to demand that the mayor invests in black and brown communities and resources for the youth." . . .

This is in no way a condoning of the shooting death of the young man shot because his cell phone was thought to be a gun. But I have to believe Black Lives Matter supporters chanting "Pigs in a blanket, fry 'em like bacon!", and the cold blooded murder of those five Dallas policemen has caused our police to assume the worst in encounters of this sort. 
What a choice to have to make: will I die and leave my family alone, or live to have my home and family threatened and hated by Democrat politicians, Beyonce', student activists and the non-Fox media?
The Tunnel Dweller

Sanctuary! SANCTUARY!


Political Cartoons by Steve Kelley