SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET:

THE COLLAPSE OF JOURNALISM – FROM THE WASHINGTON FREE BEACON:   The reporter who first learned about Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky said on Thursday that NBC is sitting on the full tape of its initial interview with Bill Clinton rape accuser Juanita Broaddrick and should release it before the election.  Michael Isikoff, who was a leading reporter during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, said in a Thursday discussion that NBC should release a 17-year-old tape of an interview that it conducted with Broaddrick. Broaddrick has long claimed that the interview that NBC aired edited out her claim that Hillary Clinton was involved in quashing Broaddrick’s rape claims.  “NBC has the full tape of the original Lisa Myers interview,” Isikoff said during an online discussion on Sidewire.com. “NBC ought to check its archive and run the full interview. (AS long as they’re now culling their archives!)”  Isikoff worked as a national correspondent for NBC from 2010 to 2014. He says that NBC reporter Lisa Myers has confirmed Broaddrick’s claim that NBC edited out references that could have been damaging to Hillary Clinton.  What we're learning about the mainstream media during this campaign hardly gives us confidence that the First Amendment is working as intended.

DOES HIS BLACK LIFE MATTER? – FROM FOX:   A beloved peewee football coach walking to his car after practice was gunned down execution-style in front of his horrified team, according to reports Friday.  Dave Williams told a group of children to run when he saw men with guns walking towards him at Mills Pond Park in Fort Lauderdale Thursday night, WPLG-TV reported.  Fort Lauderdale police said the 43-year-old man died of multiple gunshot wounds. His killers fled.  “We don’t know if there (were) arguments,” detective Tracy Figone told the station.  Williams had just treated his team of 30 kids to cookies and Gatorade after the practice, the Sun-Sentinel reported.  “I just heard the shots, ran in that direction and found one of my coaches on the ground, fighting for his life,” Jamaal Gaines, president of the Fort Lauderdale Hurricanes youth football club, told the paper.  “It's shocking,” he added. “You think you hear fireworks, but you see people grabbing their kids and running.”  I wonder if any interest will be shown by the trendy TV outlets or by Black Lives Matter.  Don't hold your breath. 

THE SECRET WAR – FROM NBC NEWS:   The Obama administration is contemplating an unprecedented cyber covert action against Russia in retaliation for alleged Russian interference in the American presidential election, U.S. intelligence officials told NBC News.  Current and former officials with direct knowledge of the situation say the CIA has been asked to deliver options to the White House for a wide-ranging "clandestine" cyber operation designed to harass and "embarrass" the Kremlin leadership.  The sources did not elaborate on the exact measures the CIA was considering, but said the agency had already begun opening cyber doors, selecting targets and making other preparations for an operation. Former intelligence officers told NBC News that the agency had gathered reams of documents that could expose unsavory tactics by Russian President Vladimir Putin.  Vice President Joe Biden told "Meet the Press" moderator Chuck Todd on Friday that "we're sending a message" to Putin and that "it will be at the time of our choosing, and under the circumstances that will have the greatest impact."  Yeah, okay, but shouldn't this plan be kept secret?  Why is it all over the press?

October 14, 2016