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DECEMBER 7,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

A SIGN OF OUR TIMES – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:   A man was arrested after setting fire to a Christmas tree outside Midtown’s News Corporation building early Wednesday morning, police and sources said.  The holiday display was set ablaze shortly after midnight and the flames quickly spread up the tree in Fox Square outside the 6th Avenue building that houses Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post.  Photos from the scene show the fire charred most of the Christmas tree that was decked out in red, white and blue ornaments and topped with a red star.  The flames also damaged three other nearby trees decorated with Christmas lights.  Police closed off the surrounding streets as FDNY firefighters extinguished the blaze.  I want to know more about this.  What was the motivation of the arsonist?  You think we'll actually be told?  You think the outgoing mayor will care?  This kind of thing was virtually unheard of only a few years ago.

December 7, 2021       Permalink

A WELCOME CHANGE, OR JUST SURVIVAL TACTICS? – OVERNIGHT:    The Biden White House may be waking up to woke, and distancing itself from the real nuts of its own political party.  From Fox: 

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday distanced the Biden administration from recent comments made by progressives Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot over their responses to the uptick in organized smash-and-grab robberies in big cities.

Psaki was asked during her daily press briefing by Fox News’s Jacqui Heinrich to weigh in on comments by Ocasio-Cortez, who cast doubt on the existence of mass smash-and-grab robberies, and Lightfoot, who appeared to place part of the blame on retailers for not better protecting their merchandise.

"We don’t agree," Psaki responded bluntly, adding that the Biden administration has been working with the Justice Department and FBI in providing resources to boost local police departments.
"We have seen some of these extremely disturbing videos showing retail theft," Psaki continued.

"State and local leaders like Governor Gavin Newsom have identified this as a serious concern. We agree. That’s the reason why we have sent additional support from the FBI providing additional assistance. It’s one of the reasons why the president and members of our administration have been longtime advocates for supporting and funding the COPS program."

"I think his record speaks for itself on this," she added.

Ocasio-Cortez came under fire from Republicans and business owners after she cast doubt on whether rampant smash-and-grabs are actually occurring.

COMMENT:  Maybe the White House is finally learning that the Democratic Party is being sunk by left-wing idiots with the intellectual maturity of 12-year-olds.  If the party knows it has a problem, it might be able to solve it. If it doesn't solve it, we may see a third party, center-left, which operates like grown-ups.

December 7, 2021       Permalink

DECEMBER 6,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

MORE JOURNALISM DECLINE - OVERNIGHT - FROM NEWSBUSTERS:   There's no Republican who the haters at MSNBC won't mock, even in death. Extremist MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan on Sunday undermined Bob Dole, downplaying his World War II heroics because, at the end of his life, he identified himself as a Trump supporter.  Hasan, who has a Sunday night show on MSNBC and occasionally fills-in for other supposedly reputable programs, rewrote a New York Times tweet on the late Army vet who almost died under withering Nazi machine gun fire.  In a follow-up tweet, Hasan grumbled, “Dole was a World War 2 veteran and ran a non-crazy, non-far-right GOP presidential campaign in 1996.” The host appeared touchy about his attack, tweeting on Monday morning that his emphasis on Trump was only an example of independent journalism.  A simple review of Dole's career would have done the job.  When will "journalists" finally understand that their opinions are rarely of much interest?

December 6, 2021       Permalink 

THE COLLAPSE OF CNN – OVERNIGHT:  How could it be any different?  For years we have seen "the first name in news" deteriorate into a third-rate editorial page with only one subject, Donald Trump.  The idea of reporting the news without fear or favor just faded away.  Each day brings more news of CNN's self-written obituary.  From Fox: 

Jussie Smollett said he had correspondence with CNN's Don Lemon during the early parts of the Chicago Police Department’s (CPD) investigation into the alleged hate crime attack for which Smollett is currently on trial defending himself against allegations he faked the entire ordeal.

In his court testimony on Monday, Smollett, 39, said under oath that during the investigation, he received a text from the network’s Don Lemon — supposedly relaying information that the CPD didn’t believe his account of what happened, Fox News’s Matt Finn reported from the Windy City courthouse where prosecutors and Smollett’s defense team are at odds.

Reps for CNN and Lemon did not immediately respond to Fox News's request for comment.

Lemon told his viewers at the time that the story was "personal" since he and Smollett had been acquaintances and were in constant communication since the alleged incident and that Smollett told Lemon what he said had happened to him, which he admitted raised lots of questions.

He stressed that while Smollett is "innocent until proven guilty," he still "squandered the good will of a whole lot of people" if his story wasn’t true.

"He even lied to a lot of people… including me. And that’s not cool," Lemon said to his viewers. "He squandered the good will of very high-profile people who one day may be running this country like Kamala Harris and Cory Booker and people like President Trump."

Monday’s court testimony also saw Smollett testify that an interview he gave to "Good Morning America" was heavily edited.

"Every breath, every emotion is chopped so you really can’t understand it," Smollett said of the sit-down conversation.

According to Fox News’ Matt Finn, Smollett further pressed that he turned down an Alicia Keys invitation to perform on stage during the Grammys but ultimately declined because he wanted to perform as a singer and not as a singer who was beaten up.

COMMENT:     Lemon's involvement is unacceptable according to the reasonable expectations of professional journalism.  I cannot comment on the "Good Morning America" interview because I've never seen it, but we expect taped interviews to be edited in accordance with the highest standards of accuracy and completeness.  Poor or dishonest editing can destroy a story...or a person.

December 6, 2021       Permalink