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Tuesday, January 26, 2021
MRC's Houck Bids An Immature Farewell To CNN's Acosta
Topic: Media Research Center

The Media Research Center has suffered from a raging case of Acosta Derangement Syndrome for the duration of Donald Trump's presidency, unable to deal with CNN correspondent Jim Acosta's aggressive coverage of the Trump White House. When Acosta announced that he was leaving the White House beat at the end of Trump's presidency, it fell to the MRC's chief Acosta-hater, Curtis Houck, to serve up the sneering and immaturity that has been a hallmark of his "media criticism" of Acosta.

In a Jan. 11 post, Houck huffed, under a headline with the juvenile moniker "Fake News Jim":

On Monday morning, CNN and chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta announced that, having spewed four years of hatred against President Trump and his supporters and vanquished Trump from office, he’ll depart the White House beat. Instead, he’ll become chief domestic correspondent and become a weekend anchor for the Jeffrey Zucker-led circus.

We report, you decide on whether that’s a promotion or an admission of mission accomplished.

Houck cited no "fake news" that Acosta has supposedly reported during his time in the Trump White House.

Houck brought more sneering to a Jan. 20 post:

On Tuesday, CNN’s Jim Acosta spent his final day as chief White House correspondent reveling in having accomplished his life’s mission of celebrating himself and playing the role of general in helping to removing President Trump from office, a man he’s so deeply hated.

As Acosta and CNN shared on January 11, he’ll leave the White House beat to become a weekend anchor (presumably of CNN Newsroom) and take on the title of “chief domestic correspondent.”

Acosta was in a jovial mood, tweeting this caption alongside a selfie with NBC’s Peter Alexander: “Just a couple of guys covering the WH on the last full day of Trump admin. Think we will finally have time for that drink now @PeterAlexander?”

In another tweet, Acosta insinuated symbolism in the departure of the Orange Man: “Light rising from the National Mall behind the Trump WH where a final ‘lid’ for this president has been called.”

NewsBusters combed through our archives to find the 15 worst Acosta moments over the past four years. Trust us, this wasn’t easy and more than a few were left on the cutting room floor. But here there are, presented in chronological order.

It's never good or professional when your "media criticism" is motived by such deeply personal animus, but that has clearly been Houck's motivation for trying -- and failing -- to destroy Acosta. But his employer apparently thinks it's cute.


Posted by Terry K. at 9:25 PM EST
AIM Tried To Blame Media For Capitol Riot
Topic: Accuracy in Media

Accuracy in Media president Adam Guillette issued a statement after the Capitol riot that labored to blame the media for it:

On Wednesday, I was disgusted by the scenes I saw unfolding on television. I’m sure you felt the same way.

The individuals who broke into the Capitol are ultimately responsible for their own actions. We must continue to believe in personal responsibility.

That said, it is worth acknowledging the flames that our national media fanned all summer.

Mainstream media and social media influencers have normalized violence by redefining riots as “peaceful protests”. Celebrities even paid the bail money of rioters so that they could go out and commit more crimes. But that doesn’t mean you and I should ever stoop to their level.

President Donald Trump began his speech yesterday with a line that stood out to me:

“The media is the biggest problem we have in this country.”

I couldn’t agree more. 

The media should be exposed again, and again, and again. You and I must continue to hold them accountable for their unconscionable attempts to divide our nation.

We should do this not because we “hate” our enemies, but because we love our country.

Ah, but AIM and other right-wingers do hate their enemies, and they very much consider the non-right-wing media to be an "enemy."Their goal is not to improve the "liberal media"; it is to destroy it.

Guilllette is also dishonestly portraying all of the racial justice and police reform protests last summer as violent by falsely claiming the media portrayed violent riots as peaceful; in fact, the vast majority of protests were, in fact, peaceful.

It's also clear that Guillette and AIM will not hold Trump accountable for his role in instigating the riot -- after all, it's more important to them that Trump hates the non-right-wing media as much as they do.


Posted by Terry K. at 7:25 PM EST
WND Walks Back Fake-News Election Fraud Story It Published
Topic: WorldNetDaily

WorldNetDaily just keeps getting busted on the stories it publishes abourt purported election fraud. Bob Unruh wrote in a Dec. 29 article:

State lawmakers in Pennsylvania have discovered a serious problem with the 2020 presidential election.

There were more votes than voters.

In a report posted online, the lawmakers explain how they did extensive analysis of election data.

What they found were "troubling discrepancies between the numbers of total votes counted and the total number of voters who voted in the 2020 general election."

They now are questioning "how the results of the presidential election could possibly have been certified by Secretary of the Commonwealth Kathy Boockvar and Governor Tom Wolf."

The report explained, "A comparison of official county election results to the total number of voters who voted on November 3, 2020 as recorded by the Department of State shows that 6,962,607 total ballots were reported as being cast, while DoS/SURE system records indicate that only 6,760,230 total voters actually voted. Among the 6,962,607 total ballots cast, 6,931,060 total votes were counted in the presidential race, including all three candidates on the ballot and write-in candidates."

That results in a "difference" of 202,377 "more votes cast than voters voting," and with the 31,547 over- and under-votes, means "an alarming discrepancy of 170,830 votes, which is more than twice the reported statewide difference between the two major candidates for president of the United States."

This story went so badly that WND itself beat us to the punch and performed a walk-back on its own. Unruh's story now begins with an editor's note:

UPDATE Jan. 3, 2021: This story has been updated to include more information concerning a report alleging the certification of the Pennsylvania presidential vote was premature and in error amid claims there were thousands more ballots counted than there were voters who voted. According to a LeadStories fact check, the analysis, released by a handful of state Republican lawmakers, was based on partial data, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State. The number of voters used by the lawmakers did not include completed totals from several major counties. The agency defended its certification, stating: "State and federal judges have sifted through hundreds of pages of unsubstantiated and false allegations and found no evidence of fraud or illegal voting." The original headline for this story has been amended from "Pennsylvania lawmakers find there were more votes than voters" to "Did Pennsylvania lawmakers find more votes than voters?".

Later in the article is another note:

UPDATE: According to a LeadStories fact check, the analysis, released by a handful of state Republican lawmakers, was based on partial data, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State. The number of voters used by the lawmakers did not include completed totals from several major counties. The agency defended its certification, stating: "State and federal judges have sifted through hundreds of pages of unsubstantiated and false allegations and found no evidence of fraud or illegal voting."

That's brutal. Yet Unruh still has a job at WND despite making such an egregious and sloppy error.

The fact that WND published these kinds of articles without bothering to fact-check first not only makes them look bad, it makes one wonder about the viability of its new WND News Center, on both the soliciting-donations side and getting-others-to-publish-their-work side.


Posted by Terry K. at 1:29 PM EST
CNS Keeps Trying To Mainstream QAnon GOP Rep.
Topic: CNSNews.com

CNSNews.com is a huge fan of far-right Republican Rep.Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia -- so much so, in fact, that it keeps censoring for its readers just how far-right she is, and her support for the fringe QAnon conspiracy theory. CNS has continued to promote Greene:

  • A Dec. 16 article by Craig Bannister touted how Greene "says America is suffering from “a spiritual blinding” in which truth is denied and untruths are accepted as truths," adding that she "bills herself on Twitter as 'Christian, Wife, Mom, Small Business Owner, Proud American, 100% Pro-Life, Pro-Gun, Pro-Trump.'" He didn't mention that Greene accepts the untruth of QAnon as truth.
  • On Dec. 23, Bannister gushed that Greene took "a shot at the foreign pork in the COVID-19 stimulus relief bill," calling it "the biggest F you to the American people."
  • Bannister served up more gushing in a Jan. 4 article a proposal to use gender-neutral language: "Despite House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) desire to deny it, there are only two genders, new Congresswoman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said Monday, announcing that she will vote against Pelosi’s proposed rules change."

Susan Jones served up a more full-throated defense of Greene in a Jan. 13 article:

Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) told CNN on Wednesday that newly elected Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is among the "handful" of lawmakers who are "morally bankrupt," "depraved," and "dangerous."

Crow said House Democrats are looking at ways to "stop" Greene: "And whether this is an expulsion proceeding, a censure, you know, we can't let this stand," Crow said.

Crow was reacting to a tweet posted Monday night by Greene, a Trump supporter, who predicted that the latest impeachment effort would fail:

"President Trump will remain in office," Green tweeted overnight. "This Hail Mary attempt to remove him from the White House is an attack on every American who voted for him. Democrats must be held accountable for the political violence inspired by their rhetoric."

Twitter labeled the tweet, saying "Election officials have certified Joe Biden as the winner of the U.S. Presidential election."

In addition to censoring Greene's admiration for QAnon, Jones also omitted other relevant information for context, whereas Politico did not:

After Congress resumed its certification proceedings following the attack, Greene was one of the 147 congressional Republicans who still objected to the election results. She also drew criticism last week after video footage showed her, along with a handful of other House Republicans, refusing to wear a mask while sheltering with other lawmakers amid the violence. At least three House Democrats have since tested positive for Covid-19.

Greene, a freshman congresswoman elected last November, has previously endorsed elements of the dangerous QAnon conspiracy theory and made Islamophobic comments. She has won praise from Trump, who has called her a “future Republican star.”

The next day, Jones cheered that "Freshman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said on Wednesday she plan to file articles of impeachment against Democrat Joe Biden the day after he is sworn in as president," adding that "Greene is among President Trump’s strongest congressional supporters, and at least one Democrat has mentioned 'expulsion' as a way to 'stop' her." Again, Jones forgot to mention that Greene is a right-wing extremist who is an adherent to the QAnon conspiracy theory. (She also forgot to mention any cause Greene has for impeaching Biden.

We don't see how mainstreaming an conspiracy theory-obsessed extremist -- as CNS is trying to do with Greene -- is going to end well.


Posted by Terry K. at 12:26 AM EST
Updated: Tuesday, January 26, 2021 5:58 PM EST
Monday, January 25, 2021
MRC Stops Selling 2 Of 3 Election Fraud Conspiracy-Promoting Bumper Stickers
Topic: Media Research Center

Well, that didn't last long.

A week after we documented how the Media Research Center was selling bumper stickers perpetuating election fraud conspiracy theories, it is no longer selling two of them at its online store. Stickers stating "Biden Won ... And Pigs Fly" and "Roses Are Blue. Pigs Fly. And Biden Won" are no longer available on its CafePress-powered bumper sticker page.

It is, however, still selling a bumper sticker stating, "Biden 'Won' Because The Media Lied." That's related to the MRC's own related conspiracy theory that the "liberal media" deliberately manufactured polls before the election showing Biden with a big lead -- evidence of which it has never provided -- and that the media didn't act more like Fox News in covering Biden (as determined by Trump-linked pollsters).

So the MRC is trying to have it both ways -- pushing its own never-proven election fraud conspiracy theory while also claiming that it's not Trump's never-proven election fraud conspiracy theory. That's only a slightly less bad look than it had before.


Posted by Terry K. at 9:15 PM EST
Updated: Monday, January 25, 2021 9:20 PM EST
NEW ARTICLE: Spinning COVID At CNS
Topic: CNSNews.com
CNSNews.com spent much of 2020 trying its best to put a pro-Trump spin on coronavirus case and death numbers by attempting to downplay new surges of the virus. Read more >>

Posted by Terry K. at 4:42 PM EST
Newsmax Columnist Thinks 'Frail And Mendacious' Biden Will Be Forced Out
Topic: Newsmax

After all, it is difficult to know what is more implausibly far-fetched:

(a) that, as the Republicans claim, there was pervasive electoral fraud on a scale so massive that it determined — indeed, inverted — the outcome of the ballot; or (b) that, as the Democrats claim, as a lackluster and lackadaisical candidate, perceptibly frail and aging, Joe Biden genuinely managed to amass the highest number of votes ever in a presidential election, surpassing former U.S. President Barack Obama’s previous 2008 record by almost 12 million votes.

Making this latter scenario even more difficult to accept at face value is that Biden’s running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., was hardly an electrifying vote-getter, having being forced to drop out quite early on in her own party’s primaries for its choice of a presidential candidate.

Indeed, Biden’s choice of Harris as his prospective vice president was, in itself, more than a little incongruous, as she had viciously excoriated him during the primaries for his record on race relations, complicity with segregationists and sexual impropriety, adamantly proclaiming that she believed the women who had complained about his unwanted sexual advances.

Indeed, in light of his anemic, largely "no-show" election campaign, in which he studiously avoided articulating his position on a number of crucial issues, Biden’s apparent electoral achievement is even more bewildering.

[...]

The contour lines of an approaching scenario in which Biden, exposed as both frail and mendacious, is forced to step down and concede the presidency to Harris are gradually coming into focus.

With an ever-more critical press and an ever-more radical intra-party opposition, we may well be on the cusp of a new American (or rather un-American) revolution — a revolution in which a cardboard-cutout president is driven from office by people imbued with a political credo, forged by figures and ideas not only different from, but entirely contrary to, those that made America America.

It is indeed a scenario that risks transforming America into a de-Americanized post-America — an unrecognizable shadow of its former self.

That will be the terrible price the American electorate has inflicted on itself for submitting to the fit of puerile and petulant pique that molded its choice this November.

-- Martin Sherman, Jan. 2 Newsmax column


Posted by Terry K. at 1:54 PM EST
Disgraced Ex-Newsmax Columnist Resurfaces At WND
Topic: WorldNetDaily

The last time we checked in on Wayne Allyn Root, he was getting unceremoniusly dumped by Newsmax as a columnist and TV host for downplaying the coronavirus pandemic while also pushing a scammy coronavirus treatment so questionable that a state attorney general sent him a cease-and-desist order. Working his way down the ConWeb food chain, it's probably no surprise that he ended up at a place a little more tolerant of his shenanigans: WorldNetDaily.

WND had previously published Root off and on for years, and his last appearance had been in 2016. But starting Dec. 14, WND began publishing Root's weekly column. In his Dec. 21 column, Root had a meltdown over Dr. Anthony Fauci's call to restrict holiday gatherings to reduced the spread of coronavirus:

I have a message for Dr Fauci: "First, not just no. HELL NO. This is America. This is a free country. If we want to celebrate Christmas, we will. If we want to go to church, we will. If we want to spend the holidays with our children, we will. We're adults. We make our own decisions. This isn't a nanny state. It's not the Soviet Union. It's not Nazi Germany. We don't need government bureaucrats telling us what to do, how to live our lives or how to spend the holidays.

"Second, you're a typical Ivy League egghead. You're too smart for your own good. You have IQ but clearly no emotional intelligence. And certainly no common sense.

"Third, how can I say this nicely? SCREW YOU. I love my family. I love my children. I love Christmas. I don't know you. I don't owe you. And I don't answer to you."

 From there, Root gravitated toward election fraud conspiracy theories:

  • On Dec. 28, Root declared that "Democrats cheated and stole this election, without punishment (so far)" and that President Trump must come back now because "the 2024 election will not matter, simply because America won't exist in 2024 – not the America we know now. Democrats will destroy that America. Trust me, this will be a foreign country by 2024."
  • On Jan. 4, Root cited a guy he identified only as "Richie" whom he said had experience fixing horse races declare that the 2020 presidential election was "the greatest scam and steal in world history," adding, "He says anyone who denies this election was stolen is a criminal who was in on the scam, a bribed politician or bureaucrat who benefits from the scam, or a completely naive moron."

Root began his Jan. 11 column by complaining that he was the victim of media bias because "called for a Trump car parade to celebrate President Donald Trump and show the media how we felt about the obviously stolen election" in his hometown of Las Vegas and "was barely a mention on any local TV news program, no mention in the Vegas newspaper." Actually, the Las Vegas newspaper was owned at the time by conservative financier Sheldon Adelson, who would have no motivation to suppress such news. He went on to rant that "the jealous media and D.C. swamp conspired to demonize Trump and his supporters," adding: "These D.C. swamp insiders are all green with envy. They hate and resent Trump. They hate and resent the middle class and the Silent Majority for loving Trump. They hate their own base. Great job, guys. Now we hate you back."

On Jan. 18, Root played whataboutism on the Capitol riots:

Trump has had hundreds of rallies for six years now. Millions have attended, maybe 20 million-plus. And there's never been one window broken, one property damaged, one person shot, one police officer attacked. Yet after one incident in D.C., it's used as a trigger to ban and censor mention of the fact that the election was clearly stolen; to ban, censor and impeach President Trump; to ban and censor conservatives; and to label all 74 million Trump voters as "domestic terrorists."

There's the scam: Cover up hundreds of violent Antifa and Black Lives Matter incidents, and blow out of proportion this one incident of violence at a conservative event involving around 170 people out of 74 million, 170 who made a bad decision in the heat of the moment. That's assuming it wasn't Antifa causing the small amount of violence.

He then declared that "GOP leaders only represent the D.C. swamp. They don't represent 74 million Trump voters."

 


Posted by Terry K. at 9:00 AM EST
Updated: Monday, January 25, 2021 4:52 PM EST
Sunday, January 24, 2021
MRC Touts Levin Loudly Leaving Facebook
Topic: Media Research Center

The Media Research Center's Alec Schemmel served up more PR work for right-wing radio host Mark Levin in a Dec. 30 post:

Talk radio star Mark Levin told his social media audiences that he would be leaving Facebook.

“Please follow me at Parler as I will leave Facebook in 4 days for continuingly censoring me,” Levin said to his social media followers on Dec. 28. Levin then sent out absecond post the following day indicating to his followers that he would be leaving the platform “in a matter of hours.” He called Facebook “corrupt.”

The announcements came after Levin had already hinted at boycotting the social media giant. Since October Levin received three notifications from Facebook indicating his page had been given “reduced distribution and other restrictions,” which has crescendoed in him announcing his departure.

“I've been restricted and censored on Facebook. Please make sure you transition to Parler ASAP as I will be leaving Facebook probably by the end of the year,” Levin said on Nov. 18.

Schemmnel didn't tell you that the reason Facebook "restricted and censored" Levin was that he spread lies misinformation and refused to correct false claims. As we've documented, Levin spread a claim that originated on the conservative blog Hot Air that misquoted Joe Biden; Hot Air later corrected itself, but Levin never did. Levin also p[osted another claim about Biden that falsely listed the date in which a picture of him not wearing a mask took place.

Schemmel also censored the fact that Levin had been claiming for weeks he was leaving Facebook without bothering to list a date certain; it was only after Mediaite called him on it that he said he would leave at the end of the year -- which  occurred about a month before the Dec. 28 post that Schemmel cited.

Schemmel devoted two paragraphs to Levin touting his Parler page without disclosing that the MRC and Parler share a major funder in Rebekah Mercer, who also sits on the MRC's board.But Schemmel saved the kicker for his very last paragraph: "Levin has continued to post to his Facebook account following the announcement."

In other words, this is all performative PR. Just what you'd expect from an organization whose leader considers himself a close from of Levin.


Posted by Terry K. at 2:07 PM EST
CNS Gives Up On Reporting COVID Death Numbers
Topic: CNSNews.com

One of CNSNews.com reporter Susan Jones' main jobs over the past year has been to try and spin coronavirua infection and death rates in an apparent attempt to make President Trump look good by comparing more reent numbers to the original surge last March and April. But as the pandemic rose to new heights, Jones couldn't do that. So the spin in her Dec. 17 article was that, yes, more people are dying, but they're mostly old people so it's not that bad:

In the past week, Wednesday to Wednesday, another 14,527 people, at least, died of coronavirus in this country, according to the most recent data posted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As the table shows, the vast majority of those COVID-involved deaths -- 13,816 -- were in people age 55 or older, according to death certificates filed with CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.

From the very beginning of the pandemic, medical experts warned that the elderly and infirm were particularly vulnerable to the virus, and that continues to be the case.

Jones went on to condede that "the COVID death toll has been rising sharply since early October" andthat "the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging Americans to "act now" to slow the spread" as winter sets in and holiday gathering occur. Trtump's name did not appear at all.

But that, apparently, was all the honesty about coronavirus that CNS could handle, because that was the last of these type of articles that Jones has written. While Jones did take some time off around the holidays, she has been on the job since Jan. 13, and COVID number are apparently no longer her concern.

Perhaps the change in presidents will bring a new concern over the numbers -- after all, she can now spin them to blame Biden.


Posted by Terry K. at 11:54 AM EST
Saturday, January 23, 2021
Huh? MRC's Bozell Declares Serial Liar D'Souza 'Speaks The Truth'
Topic: Media Research Center

Media Research Center chief Brent Bozell is still spreading the lie that the election was stolen from Donald Trump, so it's clear he cares nothing about facts.We see this again in a Jan. 11 tweet in which Bozell promoted the new podcast by right-wing activist and convicted criminal Dinesh D'Souza by declaring: "The conservative movement needs story-telling. Dinesh is a master storyteller. He speaks the truth, and that's our strongest weapon. Arm yourself with it!"


Really? The guy who is so wrong so often about facts that college history professor Kevin Kruse effectively has an unpaid second job debunking D'Souza's bogus narratives "speaks the truth"? The guy who pleaded guilty to lying in the course of trying to make an illegal campaign donation? That guy?

It would appear so. This embrace of a documented liar shows you which way Bozell's moral compass is pointing these days.


Posted by Terry K. at 1:00 PM EST
Updated: Saturday, January 23, 2021 1:22 PM EST
WND's Brown Admits Biden Won, Stays Viable As An Activist
Topic: WorldNetDaily

In our last update on WorldNetDaily columnist Michael Brown, he was ever-so-slowly backing off his aggressive advocacy for President Trump as he pushed bogus claims that the election was stolen. Then the Jan. 6 Trump-inspired Capitol riot happened. That day, WND published a column by Brown that did not reference the riot but addressed the so-called prophecies by right-wing evangelical ministers claiming that Trump would be re-elected:

When it comes to the presidential elections, God never gave me any assurance that Trump would be reelected (although, as any of my readers would know, he was my preferred choice over Biden). Nor did the Lord ever give me any assurance that the prophets, who to a person proclaimed a Trump victory, were right.

That means that my faith will not be affected in the least with the anticipated inauguration of Joe Biden, although I will certainly be concerned with the direction he has pledged to take our country.

The Bible never told me (or you) that Trump (or any other presidential candidate) would be elected. And I can give a list of reasons why so many prophetic voices and Christian leaders could have been so wrong in their pro-Trump predictions. (We will certainly address that when the time is right.)

But my message to a watching world right now is simple: John 3:16 will remain true long after the Trump reelection prophecies are forgotten. Don't confuse what is written in the Word with some alleged prophetic words.

 On Jan. 11, Brown tried to justify his and evangelical Christians' support for Trump even as "things are ending very badly for Donald Trump's presidency and some of his close associates are abandoning him," while concluding some people did "compromise" their values:

So, on the one hand, Trump won some short-term victories and also appointed many lifetime judges. He did much good on the national and international scene. On the other hand, we are now left with a real, national mess, with the balance of power shifting dramatically left and with the country as a whole vulgarized in many ways by the Trump presidency.

[...]

We had absolutely nothing in common with the white supremacists and other fanatics who stormed the Capitol last week. We were not xenophobes or racists or misogynists. But we were staunchly opposed to where the radical left might take us, hence our vote for a very flawed man.

Many of us also hoped that some of the godly leaders who surrounded him would be able to help him make some deep, fundamental changes as they spoke into his life with clarity and truth. And so we cast our vote.

Did we sell our souls in doing so? Did we compromise our values in the process?

For many of us, the answer is no, and we don't need to go on an apology tour for our vote. Even if some of our friends were more prescient than we were, seeing that things would end badly, we acted with sincerity before God and man. And if in the years ahead, our worst fears are realized and our country lurches even further to the far left, we will remember why we voted as we did.

That being said, many of us did sell our souls and compromise our values. There is no doubt about it whatsoever.

We diminished the importance of a leader's character and integrity. We became apologists for the president's sins and shortcomings. We mirrored his worst characteristics. We justified the unjustifiable. We put our trust in a man to fight our political and cultural battles. We became better known as "the Trump people" than as "the Jesus people." The list goes on and on.

To the extent that applies to any of us, we need to do some serious, private soul-searching along with some honest, public repenting, not in reaction to the attacks from the left but out of reverence before God.

Either way we voted, however, the reputation of Jesus has been trashed before the nation. What can all of us do to see His name lifted up again?

Brown used his Jan. 13 column to try to carve a center path between "Never Trump" and "Forever Trump":

To the Never Trumpers, I say this: If you genuinely love America and you are people of real character, now is not the time to gloat or say, "I told you so." You should be grieving that the nation is in so much pain, and you should be doing your best to heal the wounds rather than pour salt into them. And if you feel your fellow conservatives erred in supporting Trump, then seek out healthy discussion and dialogue. Condescension is not called for.

To the Forever Trumpers, I say this: You cast your vote for him twice, and you are standing with him now that he is being impeached for a second time. You see how the left finally has its moment and is trying pounce and destroy, so this is not the time for you to abandon Trump's side. All that is understandable.

But either way, impeached or censured or not, he will be out office in one week. It's time to move on. There's no need for you to tether your future political hopes to him.

Brown showed he was moving on in his Jan. 15 column, cheering Biden's election because right-wing evangelicals need an enemy, and "an adversarial presence in the White House could be the best thing that happened to the Church of America in years."

Finally, Brown declared in his Jan. 20 column under the headline "Joe Biden is president – by the sovereign will of God."

As for the issue of voter fraud, there are clearheaded, well-informed conservatives who are sure there is nothing to the charge of massive voter fraud, and there are clearheaded, well-informed conservatives who hold to the opposite view.

For argument's sake, though, let's just say that massive voter fraud did take place. How could I possibly point to divine sovereignty if Biden was fraudulently elected? Wouldn't this make God complicit in fraud?

Actually, in my view, that's one of the things that would argue in favor of divine action rather than against it. In other words, if the only way Biden could be elected was by massive fraud and yet God did not cause the fraud to be revealed in a categorical and undeniable way, then He chose to allow it to happen.

After admitting that Trump channeled "dangerous emotions," Brown lectured on how to pray for (or is it against?) Biden:

I would encourage you, then to: 1) make a list of everything you fear could go wrong under the Biden-Harris leadership and pray for the opposite; 2) pray daily that the Lord would restrain those whose vision would destroy our nation; 3) pray that Biden and Harris would have life-changing encounters with the Lord; 4) if the Biden presidency is meant as divine chastisement, pray that we would understand where we need to repent so that mercy may be poured out; and 5) pray that, no matter what happens, Jesus would be glorified and His kingdom advanced on the earth.

So Brown gets to have it both ways: a flawed ally if Trump won, and an convenient bogeyman under Biden. And either way, he still gets to be an activist.


Posted by Terry K. at 12:11 PM EST
Updated: Saturday, January 23, 2021 12:14 PM EST
Friday, January 22, 2021
MRC Whined That Bidens Appeared On New Year's Eve Show
Topic: Media Research Center

How much does the Media Research Center hate Joe Biden? Lindsay Kornick devoted a Dec. 30 post to whining that Biden and his wife were making an appearance on a New Year's Eve program:

Millions of people still without jobs or locked in their homes can rest assure that the Bidens will have a fantastic New Year’s Eve. A recent announcement revealed that president-elect Joe Biden and his wife Dr. Jill Biden will join ABC’s New Year’s Eve special to give his last 2020 interview.

On the December 30 episode of Good Morning America, Ryan Seacrest announced the special guests expected to appear on 2020’s "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest" special on ABC. On a list including "everybody that has had a hit this year," he listed performers such as Lewis Capaldi, Doja Cat, Miley Cyrus, En Vogue, Billy Porter and Cindy Lauper. However, he also added the presentation will include “the last interview of the year with President-elect Biden and future first lady Dr. Jill Biden."

[...]

Ending a year of frightening pandemics and endless lockdowns, Joe Biden and his wife will apparently take their time to give a softball sit-down with partying celebrities as his “last interview of the year.” If that doesn’t represent the hypocrisy that was 2020, I don’t know what does. Considering how Biden treats reporters who dare ask him actual questions, it’s unlikely we’ll get hard-hitting news from this night.

The Times Square Alliance and Countdown Entertainment previously announced that there will be no in-person audience for this celebration noting that “[s]afety of New Yorkers and participants is the priority of Times Square New Year’s Eve 2021.” All performances will be virtual, and any gatherings seen will be heavily tested and masked. If this night is made up of an empty Times Square, social distanced performances, and pandering presidential interviews, it might be best just to skip to 2021 already.

Such petty and spiteful people.


Posted by Terry K. at 4:14 PM EST
Mychal Massie Meltdown Watch
Topic: WorldNetDaily

Influencing the world for worse is a distinction of which both Biden and Harris are wholly worthy. Biden has spent nearly five decades in political office with the summum bonum being the personal enrichment of his family, the best crack cocaine taxpayer money and Chinese/Ukraine money he could provide for his son, and the targeted imprisonment of the black youth Hillary Clinton called super-predators. Of course, Biden did engage in creepy behavior such as sniffing the hair of little girls, but "c'mon, man!" – that's just Joe.

As for Harris, she's representative of everything a decent parent would not want his daughter to be and everything a decent parent would not want his son to become involved with, must less marry and bring home. Harris lowered the bar for prostituting oneself to fame, fortune and political status. If the women of the Hollywood "Me Too" movement are to be believed, they were forced to be promiscuous in order get the best acting roles. Harris slept with married men because she is an amoral woman who delights and boasts of cheap, tawdry acts of sexual misconduct with such men.

Biden-Harris are co-conspirators in the global conspiracy to steal the presidency of the United States. It makes no difference what the media, RINOs and Democrats try to claim, there is no plausible way on earth that Biden-Harris legitimately defeated President Trump. This isn't sour grapes; it is fact.

Biden is a lecherous dolt with increasingly diminished cognitive ability, and Harris is more rabidly supportive of the systematic extermination of blacks than is Obama. Add to that the fact she has fewer morals than the Obama woman, and you have two people who perfectly represent what [Henry] Luce made clear.

-- Mychal Massie, Dec. 14 WorldNetDaily column

There's no demographic of people more bigoted and prejudiced than white liberals. To that I add, chief among them is Andrew Cuomo, Democratic governor of the morally bankrupt and near defunct state of New York.

Cuomo and his kind engage in the most rabid form of lies, bigotry and overt racism witnessed in the history of America, with impunity. They practice the same subjugation based upon color of skin as Democrats codified during Jim Crow. Even more reprehensible is the fact that they openly boast of it, and their lapdogs in the mainstream media then sing their praises.

During Jim Crow, white Democrats openly called blacks "niggers" and uneducated sub-humans incapable of thinking for themselves. That is exactly what Cuomo just did when he banned sales of the Confederate flag on so-called state property. That he also banned the swastika was nothing more than a blind intended to conceal his inherent racism.

[...]

The Confederate flag is part of the history of America, and I cannot overstate my contempt for those who seek to rewrite and bastardize history. Cuomo isn't showing respect for me or for any thinking Americans. I am black, and I can think for myself. I don't need some bigoted white commie liberal telling me how I should view said flag. Especially when his kind condemn me for adhering to the Word of God.

-- Mychal Massie, Dec. 21 WND column

America's God is no longer the Lord; America's god has descended to everything God Almighty condemns. Sexual sin on every quantifiable level is not only celebrated, but it is practiced openly without shame. Liars, thieves and the debauched are elevated to positions of admiration. They are heralded as models of citizenry. The so-called Christian church has been infested and infected with reprobates who practice the very behavior God abhors.

A nation whose governors boast that 100% of all baby-killing facilities are operating without interruption and where city governments vote unanimously to keep homosexual bathhouses open because they are deemed essential to the economy, and at the same time houses of worship are ordered closed, cannot be blessed by God.

A nation whose governors and mayors order the arrest of people for going to church, but keep liquor stores, cannabis stores and adult bookstores open cannot be blessed by God.

[...]

I wish I could point to a hopeful outcome for America, but from a biblical perspective I see none. I would be a liar if I tried to convince you of anything else.

-- Mychal Massie, Dec. 28 WND column

Censoring the truth, censoring personal opinions and attempts to control political discourse ad nauseam, are not the actions of truth-tellers. They are the actions of those who have throughout history feared the revealing of truth, because the free expression and exchange of same will always be the greatest threat to satanic indoctrination.

Start with homosexuality. If said were a normal sexual practice, the instant assault upon anyone who embraces facts over sexual perversion would not take place. Homosexuality is sexual sin, and the Word of God makes clear that refusing to repent and turn away from such practice ensures the most horrific of eternal outcomes.

Instead of, at the very least, allowing for differing opinion, those who embrace biblical truth are called "haters." This is a satanic enterprise intended to undermine the Word of God. It's easier to squelch truth when it's done under the guise of opposing hate. But as a born-again Christian minister, why is it wrong for me to stand on the tenets of my faith in the teaching of the Holy Bible and Jesus Christ?

 [...]

If Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton are such strong women, why was it necessary for Harris to sleep with a phalanx of married men to climb up the political ladder? Why was it necessary for Clinton to suffer a lifetime of public humiliation for the sake of political expediency? How comforting has it been for Clinton to endure a lifetime of public humiliation due to her husband, Bill, a violent sexual predator and serial sexual molester, in her pursuit of the political Holy Grail?

-- Mychal Massie, Jan. 4 WND column


Posted by Terry K. at 3:23 PM EST
CNS Unemployment Coverage Distortion Watch, Shocked Into Reality Edition
Topic: CNSNews.com

Another thing that appears to have gotten shocked into balance at CNSNews.com after the Trump-instigated Jan. 6 Capitol riot is its coverage of the unemployment numbers for the last full month of Donald Trump's presidency, which were released two days after the riot. Susan Jones served up the opposite of her usual pro-Trump rah-rah in her main article, which carried the unusually truthful (for CNS) headline "Final Employment Report of Trump Presidency Is Worse Than When He Started":

The final, lackluster jobs/employment report of Donald Trump's presidency shows the lingering effects of the year-long and continuing COVID pandemic.

The numbers released Friday by the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics are not as good as they have been under Donald Trump, nor are they better than they were when he took office in January 2017.

 [...]

Total nonfarm payroll employment declined by 140,000 in December -- no job gains. According to BLS, the decline in payroll employment reflects the recent increase in coronavirus cases and efforts to contain the pandemic.

The only sidebar this time was the usual one by editor Terry Jeffrey cheering that "The number of people employed by government in the United States dropped from 22,679,000 in December 2019 to 21,401,000 in December 2020, a decline of 1,278,000." While Jeffrey typically cheers declines in government employment, the accompanying chart shows what Jeffrey couldn't quite say out loud: that the decrease was driven by the pandemic.

A surprisingly downbeat end for coverage that for much of the past four years was filled with so much  Trump sycophancy.


Posted by Terry K. at 12:23 AM EST

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