Morning Greatness: Almost Every American Blames the Media for Political Strife

 American Greatness  

The study from Gallup and the Knight Foundation shows that a whopping 86 percent of Americans believe media outlets lean one way or another politically, with 49 percent saying there’s “a great deal” of bias while 37 percent say “a fair amount.”

A majority of Americans, 56 percent, say their go-to news source has some form of “bias,” with 20 percent acknowledging a “great deal” of bias at their preferred outlet while 36 percent saying “a fair amount” of bias is present.

"Most people are worried about the bias of other media outlets not the media they follow. So the dummies surfing the NYT tabloid every morning are worried about Fox News or Breitbart and the converse is true. But here’s the kicker: 84% say “the media is to blame for political division in this country.” And four out of five respondents said the media is “trying to persuade people to adopt a certain viewpoint.” There’s a word for that: propaganda!

"Is this accidental? Are the smart, corporate media shills just accidentally doing a bad job because they are dumb or lazy? The Gallup survey found “Americans perceive inaccurate news to be intentional — either because the reporter is misrepresenting the facts (54%) or making them up entirely (28%).”

"Are you surprised? I am not." . . .

Important:  

• Democrats Refuse to Condemn Antifa in Senate Hearing  
• Ted Cruz Blasts Democratic Subcommittee Members: ‘Not A Single One Dared To Criticize Antifa In Any Way’
• Communist BLM now threatening restaurant patrons on the street. Yeah, this will go over well in the suburbs. Dem Doom Coming in Nov
• ‘I’m leaving’: Mazie Hirono walks out of Antifa hearing in a huff, Ted Cruz confronts her

. . . Cruz slammed Democrats for not condemning Antifa riots, during which thugs burned down churches, torched federal courthouses, and beat up police officers and civilians.

"Hirono got upset because Cruz asked her to specifically disavow Antifa instead of spouting vague platitudes about opposing violence.

"Hirono said to Cruz: “Sometimes I don’t think you listen. How many times have I had to say that we all should be denouncing violent extremists of every stripe?”

"Cruz shot back: “Does that include Antifa?”

"Hirono ignored the question and replied: “I hope this is the end of this hearing, Mr. Chairman, and that we don’t have to listen to any more of your rhetorical speeches. Thank you very much. I’m leaving.”

"Keep in mind that Democrats like Mazie Hirono have repeatedly demanded that President Trump condemn every fringe extremist who commits any act that can be weaponized against the Right." . . .

Always Remember Joe Biden Misled Everyone About Wife's Death, Blamed Innocent Man for Years

He blamed an innocent man for years despite the fact that all of the evidence showed Dunn hadn’t done anything wrong. WJ

Truck driver's daughter says Biden called to apologize in 2009

Western Journalism   "When Joe Biden brought out the story of his confrontation with a gang member named “Corn Pop” during his time as a lifeguard at a Wilmington, Delaware, pool, it’s interesting how quickly Democratic leaders knew to come to his defense.
"There was a gang member in Baltimore with the moniker Corn Pop, they pointed out! The local NAACP chairman backed up his story! There was an obituary for a notorious dude who had that nickname! See, Biden’s not lying!
"There was a reason behind the decided quickness with which everyone rushed to Biden’s side: People don’t trust his version of events on pretty much anything. Biden’s campaign-trail anecdotes and stories don’t just have the tocsin of untruth about them. They’re sometimes painfully fake.
"The most obvious example of this is a fabricated story he told about a war hero that was, at best, a composite. At worst? The Washington Post may have described it best: “In the space of three minutes, Biden got the time period, the location, the heroic act, the type of medal, the military branch and the rank of the recipient wrong, as well as his own role in the ceremony.”
"Something like that is ultimately harmless, though. I know that may sound strange, but think about it: No one’s reputation has been denigrated.
"The same can’t be said for the sad case of Curtis C. Dunn.
"To be fair, Dunn was involved in what’s easily the most traumatic event of Biden’s life. In December of 1972, mere weeks after Biden was elected to the Senate for his first term in an upset victory, his first wife and daughter were killed in a car accident while Christmas shopping.
"Dunn was the truck driver who hit them. According to the Newark (Delaware) Post, Neilia Biden drove the car into the path of Dunn’s tractor-trailer for reasons unknown, perhaps having to do with her head being turned.

"Dunn apparently did everything possible to avoid a collision, according to reports, even overturning his truck in the process. He was also the first person to render assistance at the scene." . . .

News sites, including Katie Couric piled on

Driver In Biden Crash Wanted Name Cleared . . . "He grieved over that," Hamill said. "He was haunted and was tormented by that for years."
"Dunn died in 1999, but since then his family has endured widespread rumors and reports that he had been drinking just before the collision.
"At least twice, Biden himself has made public references to alcohol being involved in the crash. In 2007 Biden said the truck driver "allegedly ... drank his lunch." And multiple news outlets, including CBS News, have reported that Dunn was drunk.
"Hamill disputes that - saying her dad had not been drinking." . . .

MSNBC producer pens open letter on why she quit: Trump-obsessed network puts politics before science, stokes racial division

BPR  "Citing the “ratings scheme” and an obsession with Trump, among other things, an MSNBC producer who recently resigned from the network, penned an open letter on her personal website explaining her reasoning.
“ 'July 24th was my last day at MSNBC. I don’t know what I’m going to do next exactly but I simply couldn’t stay there anymore,” Ariana Pekary wrote. “My colleagues are very smart people with good intentions. The problem is the job itself. It forces skilled journalists to make bad decisions on a daily basis.”
"Citing her background in public radio, Pekary said she had not encountered decisions being predicated on how a topic or guest would rate before joining the network — she was a member of the MSNBC show “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell.' ” 
. . . 
"(Bari Weiss recently resigned as the New York Times op-ed staff editor, penning her own letter about being bullied by her colleagues in an “illiberal environment.”)
"“The longer I was at MSNBC, the more I saw such choices — it’s practically baked in to the editorial process – and those decisions affect news content every day,” Pekary said. “Likewise, it’s taboo to discuss how the ratings scheme distorts content, or it’s simply taken for granted, because everyone in the commercial broadcast news industry is doing the exact same thing.
"She said behind closed doors industry leaders will admit the damage that’s being done.
" ‘We are a cancer and there is no cure,’ a successful and insightful TV veteran said to me. ‘But if you could find a cure, it would change the world.'” Pekary wrote.
"The former producer said this cancer “stokes national division, even in the middle of a civil rights crisis.”
" 'The model blocks diversity of thought and content because the networks have incentive to amplify fringe voices and events, at the expense of others… all because it pumps up the ratings,” she wrote.
"In covering the pandemic, Pekary said network producers put politics before science, choosing to focus on Trump — make no mistake, she is not a fan, claiming the president is handling the crisis “poorly.”
" 'This cancer risks human lives, even in the middle of a pandemic. The primary focus quickly became what Donald Trump was doing (poorly) to address the crisis, rather than the science itself,” Pekary penned. “As new details have become available about antibodies, a vaccine, or how COVID actually spreads, producers still want to focus on the politics. Important facts or studies get buried.”
“This cancer risks our democracy, even in the middle of a presidential election,” she continued. “Any discussion about the election usually focuses on Donald Trump, not Joe Biden, a repeat offense from 2016 (Trump smothers out all other coverage). Also important is to ensure citizens can vote by mail this year, but I’ve watched that topic gets ignored or ‘killed’ numerous times.' ” . . . More...

Whatever happened to American journalism?

But they were just a merry caravan and did not attack this man in a hostile way. Just ask MSNBC

MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough Still Claims Portland Filled With ‘Peaceful Protesters’

Trump Launches Cancel Culture Ad: “I’m Afraid To Say This Out Loud”

Legal Insurrection
Seeking the “hidden vote” of centrists and conservatives who self-censor rather than be subjected to liberal retribution.

"The Trump campaign has released a TV ad that directly addresses what is commonly referred to as cancel culture, the silencing of people who fear retribution from liberals, like trying to get you fired.

"Polling backs up the effect. Polling shows that a majority of Americans, but particularly conservatives, fear expressing their views. The only people who are comfortable speaking out are people who are strongly liberal.

"Self-censoring, particularly by people who are centrist or right-of-center, is a political phenomenon that could have implications for the November 2020 election. Is there a “hidden Trump vote” as so many believe?

"I think there’s no doubt there is a hidden Trump vote, the question is how large it is. Anecdotally, I’ve encountered what I’ll call the “dancing around” interaction. Someone who doesn’t know whether you support Trump makes a mild statement or comment designed to smoke out whether you are with them. Only when the proverbial secret handshake is returned do they open up. Such anecdotes are real, but aren’t proof of a large hidden Trump vote.

"The Trump campaign obviously believes there is such a hidden vote, bullied into silence by cancel culture, because it just rolled out an ad running in states where voting starts early that addresses the issue:

President Trump’s campaign launched an ad blitz Monday to define Democrat Joseph R. Biden as a tool of the radical left, part of new campaign manager Bill Stepien’s urgent shift in strategy to refocus on states with expanded early voting.

 More...  Including these at just this site alone:

• White House video of America’s Frontline Doctors gets full cancel culture treatment
• Cancel Culture Mob Comes for Music Theory Prof at U. North Texas
• Louisville, KY: Cuban Community Rallies In Support Of Cuban Restaurant After BLM Issues “List of Demands”

New York's wealthy Upper East Side reports a shocking 286% increase in robberies - with armed gunmen holding up residents just feet from the homes of billionaires

UK Daily Mail  . . . "Last weekend, three teenagers held up man at gunpoint on the corner of East 65th St and Lexington Ave before making off with his wallet.

According to Fox New, financier Henry Kravis - who has a net worth north of $6.5 billion - lives just a 'stone's throw away'. 

The trio of thieves struck again a short time later on East 84th St and Fifth Ave, snatching a woman's cell phone. Billionaires John Paulson and Glenn Dubin reside close by. 

Cops later apprehend[ed] the teens - two aged 16 and one aged 17 - and seized a loaded gun. 

More...

It's all a matter of New York priorities:  Checkpoints will be set up at New York City's tunnels and bridges to trace travelers from 35 COVID hotspot states and enforce 14-day quarantine - and anyone who flouts it risks a $10,000 fine

Elsewhere in the Big Apple: Gang member carries out three shootings after being freed without bail: prosecutors

Maybe the suburbs are a winning issue after all

Image by Ghengis Gary.

Andrea Widburg . . . "Densely populated cities, however, are the lifeblood of the Democrat party.  It came as no surprise, therefore, that Obama created his Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing ("AFFH") regulation.  The AFFH allowed the Department of Housing and Urban Development to use federal funding to bully suburban communities into changing their zoning for cheaper, high-density housing.  In other words, the Obama administration told communities that had grown dependent on infusions of federal money (something applicable to both affluent and less affluent communities) that, if they wanted the money, they had to urbanize.  (You can learn more about the AFFH here.)

"In my pleasant suburban community, I knew plenty of Democrat moms who normally supported all of Obama's initiatives but who parted ways with him when it came to AFFH.  They'd paid good money to raise their children in spacious, safe communities that were near sophisticated cities (for the arts, you know) but not close enough to those cities to import urban problems.

. . . 

"The moms in my world fully understood that turning their suburban schools into copies of the urban schools they'd escaped would not only threaten their children, but also destroy the value of their houses.  Across suburban America, the houses are usually each family's biggest asset.

"Still, when Trump recently announced that he was revoking the AFFH, the chattering Democrat classes (along with NeverTrumps) immediately announced that doing so would not woo back the suburban moms who seem to dislike him.  Instead, the chatterers said, his plan would alienate those same moms because the move reeked of racism, and if there's one thing suburban moms hate, it's racism.  NPR, for example, was hot on the racism dog whistle angle:" . . .

Sen. Cotton Compares Jerry Nadler to Baghdad Bob

http://www.terrellaftermath.com/

Townhall   "Antifa, the supposedly anti-fascist political movement, is more known for wreaking violent havoc all over the country. They are believed to have lit some of the fires in Portland, OR this weekend, where the violence is so bad President Trump has had to deploy federal agents. And the police chief in Richmond, VA suspects antifa of being behind some of the destruction in the city this weekend. Their reputation is so terrifying that in May, Trump declared that his administration was going to label them as a terrorist group. And yet Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) continues to believe that they are a "myth.' "

"That's a myth that's being spread only in Washington, D.C.," Nadler claimed when confronted by writer Austen Fletcher this weekend.  Video here
"Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) was outraged by Nadler's cavalier attitude toward such an obviously dangerous group.

"Jerry Nadler denying that Antifa is in Portland is kind of like Baghdad Bob denying there were American tanks in Baghdad back in the day," Sen. Cotton said on Monday's "Fox & Friends."

"There's no question there are professional instigators and agitators on the streets in Portland that are trying to stir up violence," he added." . . .

"Jerry Nadler denying that Antifa is in Portland is kind of like Baghdad Bob denying there were American tanks in Baghdad back in the day," Sen. Cotton said on Monday's "Fox & Friends." . . .

Remember "Baghdad Bob"?

Revolutionary Communist Party Endorses Democrat Joe Biden For President

Joe Biden is too weak to be president and too weak to stand up to the radical left. He’s nothing more than an empty vessel for the extremist fringe of the Democrat Party, a terrifying cabal which now includes active communist leaders.

Ryan Saavedra 

"The founder and leader of the Revolutionary Communist Party USA announced on Monday that they were backing presumptive Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden for president. 
"Bob Avakian made the endorsement of Biden an email to supporters, saying, “Biden is not ‘better’ than Trump, in any meaningful way — except that he is not Trump and is not part of the move to consolidate and enforce fascist rule, with everything that means,” The Washington Times reported.
"Avakian continued, “To approach this election from the standpoint of which candidate is ‘better’ means failing to understand the truly profound stakes and potential consequences of what is involved. The fact is that there can be one — and only one — ‘good’ that can come out of this election: delivering a decisive defeat to Trump and the whole fascist regime.”
"The endorsement from the Revolutionary Communist Party is not the first far-left fringe endorsement that Biden has received.
"The Trump campaign responded to the the Revolutionary Communist Party’s endorsement of Biden by saying in a statement: . . .
. . . "Avakian’s endorsement further demonstrates that Joe Biden is an empty vessel for the radical left. Indeed, Biden is seriously considering communist Rep. Karen Bass to be his running mate. Bass praised Fidel Castro, traveled to Cuba many times as part of a radical communist revolutionary group that trained in terrorist tactics, and eulogized a Communist Party USA member as her “mentor” in 2017. This is who Biden may put a heartbeat away from the presidency." . . . More...

Just like Castro himself, Karen Bass claims she's 'not a communist' . . . "And that necessary trust went doubly so for the organization's leaders, which Bass was. What did they do on those illegal trips to Cuba? They heard indoctrination like this, according to Humberto Fontova:

“Your country must be DESTROYED! Your duty is to DESTROY YOUR COUNTRY!” (KGB/DGI instructions to their Venceremos Brigade recruits.) 

MSNBC Producer Quits, Calls Network 'Cancer' That’s Dividing Americans

. . . I appreciate Lara Logan’s statement recently concerning the silent majority:”They are not the silent majority, they are the completely overlooked stomped upon disregarded, ignored, swept aside patronized majority. Everywhere I go in this country, Democrat and Republican, people tell me they just want to hear the truth. . . . rljohnson1 comment to this article.

Neon Nettle

Former employee accuses network of amplifying 'fringe voices'

"A former producer for MSNBC explained why she quit her role in a scathing letter, calling the left-leaning anti-Trump TV network a “cancer” that is “stoking national division” among Americans.
"Ariana Pekary accused MSNBC of amplifying “fringe voices” while forcing “journalists to make bad decisions on a daily basis.”
"Pekary wrote on her personal website:

" 'July 24th was my last day at MSNBC. I don’t know what I’m going to do next exactly but I simply couldn’t stay there anymore.""My colleagues are very smart people with good intentions. The problem is the job itself. It forces skilled journalists to make bad decisions on a daily basis."

"Pekary also shared quotes of what people said to her during her years while working for MSNBC before pondering the harmful effect the network is having on society." . . . 

Ariana Pekary.

"You may not watch MSNBC but just know that this problem still affects you, too. All the commercial networks function the same – and no doubt that content seeps into your social media feed, one way or the other.
" 'It’s possible that I’m more sensitive to the editorial process due to my background in public radio, where no decision I ever witnessed was predicated on how a topic or guest would “rate.” The longer I was at MSNBC, the more I saw such choices — it’s practically baked in to the editorial process – and those decisions affect news content every day. Likewise, it’s taboo to discuss how the ratings scheme distorts content, or it’s simply taken for granted, because everyone in the commercial broadcast news industry is doing the exact same thing.
"But behind closed doors, industry leaders will admit the damage that’s being done.

“We are a cancer and there is no cure,” a successful and insightful TV veteran said to me. “But if you could find a cure, it would change the world.' ” . . .

Democratic Party Boosters Have Little to Offer

Albright’s persistence as a go-to media “expert” on international relations is befuddling given her own history as an integral part of the inept foreign policy promoted by the Clinton Administration. She and Bill Clinton became cheerleaders for an unnecessary Balkan war that still resonates and were responsible for what was possibly the greatest foreign policy blunder (with the possible exception of the Iraq War) since the Second World War. 

Philip M. Giraldi  . . . "Given that, you know you are in deep trouble as a nation when a major political party is so tone deaf as to persist in introducing spokesmen who suffer from serious negative perceptions to boost the chances of their current candidates for office. That is precisely what the Democratic Party has been doing when it keeps employing the Obamas and Clintons to promote the Democratic National Committee platform and its candidates for the November elections while also supporting the campaign of Honest Joe Biden.
"Reminding the national electorate of the legacies of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama guarantees that voters normally inclined to vote Republican or even independent will be energized and turn out in large numbers in spite of their disdain for Trump’s style. Hillary, after all, should still be in jail for her mishandling of classified information while Barack ought to be in prison for life for having given the orders to assassinate American citizens without due process while also using the intelligence and law enforcement agencies to undermine the Donald Trump campaign. Hillary and Barack were also complicit in unnecessary wars against Libya and Syria that have devastated both countries.
"Hillary is a co-founder of Onward Together, a Democratic Party front group that is affiliated to other activist organizations. In a recent e-mail she played the race card in a bid to solidify the black vote behind the Democratic Party, writing “Friend, George Floyd’s life mattered. Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor’s lives mattered. Black lives matter. Against a backdrop of a pandemic that has disproportionately ravaged communities of color, we are being painfully reminded right now that we are long overdue for honest reckoning and meaningful action to dismantle systemic racism.' ” . . .

Biden's search for Vice-President of color

http://www.terrellaftermath.com/

Harris talks ambition in women of color after personal attacks during Biden's VP 
search  "(CNN)Sen. Kamala Harris on Friday appeared to address the personal attacks on whether she would be a trustworthy partner to presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
"The criticisms of the California senator's ambition have come in the closing weeks of Biden's vice president search -- and have provoked complaints of sexism and racial bias.
" 'There will be a resistance to your ambition, there will be people who say to you, 'you are out of your lane,'" Harris said during a livestream conversation for the Black Girls Lead 2020 conference. "They are burdened by only having the capacity to see what has always been instead of what can be. But don't you let that burden you.' " . . .

EXCLUSIVE: Karen Bass Denies Links To Nation Of Islam, Despite Photos And Event Appearances, But Doesn’t Disavow Radical Group  "Rep. Karen Bass, a top contender to become presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s running mate, appeared at Nation of Islam events, posed for a picture with a top Nation of Islam official, and attended a forum in 2013 hosted by the organization’s official mouthpiece.

"Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan has referred to Jewish people as “satanic,” blamed them for the Holocaust and the Sept. 11, 2011 terrorist attacks, and once praised Adolf Hitler as a “very great man.” Farrakhan has also denounced interracial marriage, which he said has “mongrelized” the black race." . . .

Tony Branco

Susan Rice Emerges as Top VP Contender  . . . "Rice has some baggage sure to be pointed out by Republicans. She had a role in the failed Benghazi response that left four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador, dead.
"She also was implicated in the unmasking of Americans in intelligence reports during the presidential transition. Some of those Americans turned out to be Trump associates. Rice has denied any wrongdoing.
"Another wrinkle which is more likely to rankle Democrats: Rice has a conservative Republican son, Jake, who led the College Republicans at Stanford and reportedly pushed "Make Stanford Great Again."
"She wrote in her autobiography, she gets along well with Jake, but added, "it can be deeply painful to love someone so powerfully with whom I disagree so profoundly."

Obama turned Lewis funeral into an anti-Trump event

Even sadder than the politicized service was the applause from attendees

Cal Thomas

. . . "Someone should ask the former president if he approved of President Kennedy’s decision on May 21, 1961, to send 300 federal marshals to Montgomery, Alabama, to keep order after race riots broke out when then-Gov John Patterson said he could not guarantee the peace.
"Mr. Obama apparently ignored another historical event in which federal forces were used to achieve a civil rights goal. On Sept. 20, 1962, James Meredith attempted to register as a student at the University of Mississippi. The entrance was blocked and rioting erupted. Attorney General Robert Kennedy sent 500 U.S. Marshals to the school. President Kennedy sent military police, troops from the Mississippi National Guard and even U.S. Border Patrol officials.
"Is Mr. Obama OK with President Kennedy’s decision on June 11, 1963, to federalize Alabama National Guard troops to end then-Gov. George Wallace’s blockade of African-Americans attempting to enter the University of Alabama?
"On March 20, 1965, President Johnson federalized the Alabama National Guard to protect the civil rights March from Selma to Montgomery of which John Lewis was a notable part. Mr. Obama probably favors that decision. A reporter should ask him.
"Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas all had governors at the time who were Democrats and segregationists and yet today’s Democrats claim Mr. Trump is a racist.
"In his “eulogy,” Mr. Obama also mentioned mail-in ballots, the latest effort by Democrats (early voting and no required identification are other efforts) that many believe could open the door to voter fraud.
"One pastor at the Lewis funeral even reached back to the Reagan administration and erroneously blamed the 40th president for the poor housing conditions endured by some African-Americans.
"Democrats and their media allies consistently ignore the fact that Jim Crow Laws, the Ku Klux Klan and other immoralities were all led by Southern Democrats.
"John Lewis’ legacy and his brave fight for civil rights will always remain untarnished. But Lewis was also a partisan Democrat, who refused to attend President Trump’s inauguration in 2017 and believed to the end that the Russians helped Mr. Trump beat Hillary Clinton, though that would likely have required the infiltration of every precinct and voting machine in America, something not even Lewis claimed was possible.
"What was even sadder than the politicized funeral service was the applause from attendees, who apparently believe every word that comes from Mr. Obama’s mouth, though none of this kind of talk improves a single life. It makes one wonder why so many African-Americans continue to be loyal to the Democratic Party."
• Cal Thomas, a nationally syndicated columnist, is the author of “America’s Expiration Date: The Fall of Empires, Superpowers and the United States” (HarperCollins/Zondervan, January 2020.