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I appeared on Silvio Canto Jr's talk show from Dallas.  It's here.

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

DECEMBER 5,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

TROUBLING – FROM BREITBART:   Americans with a “great deal of confidence” in the U.S. military dropped a staggering 11 percent from February under Commander in Chief Joe Biden, according to a survey released Friday by the Ronald Reagan Institute.  The Reagan National Defense Survey showed that the percentage of Americans having a great deal of trust and confidence in the U.S. military was only 45 percent — the first time that number has dropped below 50 percent since the survey was first conducted in 2018. It is also a steep drop from 56 percent in February 2021.  The institute said in its summary, “Almost a year into the Biden Administration and a few months removed from the Afghanistan withdrawal, the American people are equivocal and unsure about U.S. global leadership and military capabilities.”  The drop continues a trend — though not as precipitous — of declining American confidence in the U.S. military, which stood at 70 percent in 2018.  Our enemies are cheering. 

December 5, 2021       Permalink

THEY'VE HIT AN ICEBERG; LOWER THE BOATS – OVERNIGHT:  The stories keep pouring in about Kamala Harris, and they're not the kind of thing she'll want in her obit.  From The Daily Mail: 

Kamala Harris could lose even more staffers, a Saturday report revealed, after four of her aides departed in the matter for just two weeks amid rumors of turmoil in the West Wing.

People familiar with the conversations told Politico that even more ‘key members of Harris’s orbit’ are ‘eyeing the exits’ and have expressed interest in leaving less than a year into her vice presidency.

Among the four staffers departing Harris’ office are Symone Sanders, who as senior adviser and chief spokesperson is one of the vice president’s closest aides. Ashley Etienne, the office’s communications director, is also leaving.

Officials maintain Sanders and Etienne’s departures were long-planned and not evidence of the reported turmoil.

Peter Velz, director of press operations, and Vince Evans, deputy director of the Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs, have both told others in the vice president's office that they are also leaving, administration officials told the Washington Post.

Both are expected to remain in the administration or take jobs in close coordination with the White House.

Some Democratic allies have urged Harris to embrace the concept of a reset after a rocky first year as vice president, which has been riddled with project failures – like addressing the southern border crisis – and reports of tensions between her team and the president’s.

Harris’ staff are leaving because they're burned out, there are better opportunities elsewhere and they don't want to be permanently branded a 'Harris person,' according to Axios.

After the already announced departure of Harris' communications director Ashley Etienne, Politico reported Wednesday that chief spokesperson Symone Sanders is expected to leave by the end of the year.

COMMENT:  And Harris does not have the cushion of good poll numbers to fall back on.  She's polling at about 28% approval in most polls.  There's nothing on the horizon that would seem to offer her the chance of improving her standing with the public.

Already Washington is talking about ways to force her out of the vice presidency, or at least bar her from the Democratic Party's 2024 ticket. 

December 5, 2021       Permalink