MRC Swings, Misses At Cassidy Hutchinson One Last Time Topic: Media Research Center
The Media Research Center's final shot at trying to besmirch the House committee that looked into the Capitol riot and the witnesses who testifed -- coming after its main attack on the final report -- came in a Dec. 21 post by P.J. Gladnick:
One can get an idea of just how weak the summary report released by the January 6 Committee is when even Bloomberg and Axios are throwing shade on the "star witness" of the hearings, Cassidy Hutchinson. Here is Bloomberg's very downbeat view on Tuesday on the credibility of Hutchinson as sadly written by Billy House in "Mystery of Trump’s Alleged Outburst on Jan. 6 Unsolved in Report."
[...]
So very weak second hand hearsay sauce from the "star witness" that runs counter to first hand testimony from two witnesses. You don't have to be a legal genius to figure out which account will have much more weight in court. Yet, the J6 Committee is still desperately clinging to the Hutchinson hearsay.
But the panel asserted in the summary of its 17-month investigation that it has “has significant concerns about the credibility” of Ornato’s testimony.
Again, corroborated by another witness so good luck of hanging your J6 hopes on the "star witness."
Gladnick is completely glossing over the role of Ornato here. As we documented, Hutchinson's account was relayed to her by Ornato -- but after first immediately vowing to testify before the committee, he and other Secret Service officials lawyered up and clammed up for a while. When Ornato did finally testify, he declared that he couldn't recall saying that. But Gladnick also hid the fact that the Bloomberg article also reported that the committee stated two other witnesses said Ornato told similar stories to them.
Gladnick also cited an Axios article and made a big deal about it stating that other witnesses "don't appear to corroborate the claim of a physical altercation," though he did quote Axios stating that the committee thought Ornato was "particularly unreliable." And he failed to note that Axios also reported that transcripts would be forthcoming to flesh out the report.
Nevertheless, Gladnick worked to portray Hutchinson, not Ornato, as the real liar: 'And, poof, the J6 Committee hopes for their 'star witness' appears to have gone up in smoke when even sympathetic journals such as Bloomberg and Axios see nothing there. ... It was testimony for the ages until soon afterwards when the 'star witness' credibility sank beneath the icy waves."
Meanwhile, the released transcripts showed not only that Ornato's memory of events repeatedly failed him, but also that Hutchinson was being pressured by Trump-linked lawyers she had been supplied to testify to having a similarly faulty memory and they were going to "take care" of her if she did (she eventually found non-Trump-linked legal representation and told the committee the truth).
Neither Gladnick nor anyone else at the MRC has referenced Hutchinson or her transcript since. Looks like we know whose credibility is actually sinking.
CNS Cranked Out Highly Biased Coverage Of Omnibus Bill Passage Topic: CNSNews.com
CNSNews.com's assault on the omnibus spending bill passed by Congress before Christmas kicked off with some stenography from Melanie Arter:
The Biden administration’s goal is to get as many illegal immigrants into the United States as possible, and the White House’s $3.5 billion funding request for the border will aid them in that goal, Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) said on Tuesday.
“Yes, of course, it's going to aid those people that are coming in because their goal is to get as many illegals as possible, and it's so frustrating as a member of Congress that sits in the Judiciary Committee, and we deal with immigration,” he told Fox Business’ “Mornings with Maria Bartiromo.”
Arter made no attempt to seek out an alternative view to such a ridiculous talking point. The usual biased attacks followed:
Craig Bannister touted an unscientific Twitter poll:
Tuesday night, Twitter Owner Elon Musk began running a poll on his giant social media platform, to see what people think of the $1.7 trillion spending bill being considered by Congress – the results are extremely lopsided.
‘Should Congress approve the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill?’ Musk’s poll asks.
In the end, more than seventy percent of the 3.1 million Twitter users who voted said “No,” while fewer than thirty percent said “Yes.”
Editor Terry Jeffrey cherry-picked a single item out of the bill as part of its waronNancyPelosi (though he's actually just parroting a Republican congressman who did the same):
The 4,155-page $1.7-trillion omnibus spending bill that the Senate approved today on a 68-29 vote includes language on page 610 that renames the federal building in San Francisco the “Speaker Nancy Pelosi Federal Building.”
Sec. 636 (a) of the bill states: “The Federal building located at 90 7th Street in San Francisco, California, shall be known and designated as the ‘Speaker Nancy Pelosi Federal Building.’
[...]
Sen. Mike Lee (R.-Utah) pointed out this fact in a speech on the Senate floor on Wednesday—noting that Scott Parkinson (who serves as vice president of government affairs at the Club for Growth) had originally noted this element of the massive bill in a tweet.
And this was all before the bill even passed the Senate. When it did, a Dec. 22 article by Micky Wootten made to list all 18 Republican senators who voted for it -- and posted a tweet from a Republican congressman listing them -- in an apparent form of Heathering. This was followed by even more Republican whining about the bill:
When the House passed the bill, Wootten served up another article prominently listing the nine Republican members who supported it.Arter followed with an article featuring a Republican congressman who "had plenty to say about the Democrats' omnibus spending plan, none of it good."
Notice something missing here? None of these articles featured a Democrat who said nice things about the bill -- which once again makes a mockery of CNS' mission statement to "fairly present all legitimate sides of a story." The first and only article CNS article that did that was an anonymously written Dec. 30 piece -- nine days after its omnibus coverage started -- complaining that "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif,) put out a statement on Thursday announcing that the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill that President Joe Biden signed into law that day would send $30 million to San Francisco for 'community projects' including $2 million for a center that serves 'LGBTQQ+ youth, especially trans and non-binary youth.'"
MRC Ratcheted Up Hatred Of Transgender People, Those Who Accept Them Topic: Media Research Center
The transphobes at the Media Research Center continued to rage at transgender people and appropriate medical care for them as 2022 wore on. Matt Philbin sneered in a Sept. 1 post:
Now this makes sense. With normal people fleeing California in their thousands, the state has come up with a brilliant plan to replace them: become a sanctuary state for transgender kids and the parents who enable their delusions.
According to a KCRA3 report, the state assembly passed a bill to make California “a haven for transgender youth facing discrimination in other states.” When the senate signs off on it, the state will “provide legal refuge to parents from other states who risk having their transgender children taken away or being criminally prosecuted if they support their children's access to gender-affirming procedures and other health care,” the report said.
In California, you’re not allowed to use plastic straws, drive inexpensive traditional cars or put a gas stove in your home, but you are encouraged to treat your child as a science experiment.
Another post that day, from Alex Christy, complained that MSNBC had on someone "to accuse red states who do not believe in providing “gender-affirming care” to minors of getting in the way of preventing youth suicides.
Curtis Houck complained in a Sept. 27 post that students and the Biden White House refused to take part in the right-wing anti-transgender narrative:
On Tuesday, far-left students in ultra-liberal areas of Virginia (and those looking to skip out on class) spilled out of their rooms and onto the streets in protest of Governor Glenn Youngkin’s (R-VA) new education policy on transgender students that ensures parents have a seat at the table.
But when it comes to the media coverage, the liberals in the journalism profession have decided that Youngkin’s policy “restrict[s] the rights of transgender students.”
USA Today reporter Cady Stanton whined that the policy dared to “put decisions on students’ identities and preferred names at school exclusively in the hands of their parents” and parroted claims from “students and parents” that “the changes put LGBTQ youth in danger because it bans they/them pronouns and allows students to be deadnamed or misgendered.”
Houck then declared that the children's rights and feelings don't matter because the only opinion that matters comes from a Republican governor:
But again, it has nothing to do with robbing students of any identity. Rather, it brings parents into the equation on something as monumental as altering their name and sexual makeup as well as protecting women’s sports by ensuring athletes remain with their actual gender.
Tierin-Rose Mandelburg, the MRC's chieftransphobe, was even more dismissive of the protesting students: "The thing is, kids don’t know anything. They can barely cook popcorn. How are they supposed to decide what freaking gender they are? Why can’t they just worry about passing a math test or studying for the SATs? And all the policy does is keep parents in the loop." She further whined: "These walkouts are meaningless. All they show is that each school with students participating in 'walkouts'has failed to teach basic biology. If students learned about the two and only two genders in school, this wouldn’t be happening."
Kevin Tober further defended Youngkin's anti-trans policies in an Oct. 9 post:
During an interview with Governor Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) on CNN's State of the Union, anchor Jake Tapper took issue with a new policy that requires students' bathrooms and sports teams to be based on a student's actual biological sex, not what they are pretending to be at that particular moment.
Tapper's concern was not for the girls who won't have to worry about having to share a locker room with delusional boys who pretend to be girls, but rather that this would make children who think they are the opposite sex, sad.
The leftist host failed to understand "how a one-size-fits-all ruling for all of Virginia follows those guidelines of parents have the right to make decisions and school shall respect parents," because "a school in rural southwest Virginia, they might look at this issue quite differently than across the river in Arlington."
Mandelburg raged against helping trans children in an Oct. 12 post, which she merged into her anti-abortion extremism:
Planned Parenthood has resorted to mutilating already born children after the possibility to kill unborn children has started to dwindle.
It may not make long-term business sense. The more people that destroy their sexual organs and systems, the fewer abortions for Planned Parenthood to perform -- and that's where the money is for that "women's healthcare" provider. But an abortion mill has to pay bills like anybody else, and Planned Parenthood never met an unholy abomination it couldn't get behind. So it's now offering “gender affirming” services. A cartoon advertisement promoting puberty-blockers for children has faced backlash on the internet … rightfully so.
[...]
Planned Parenthood is extremely clear about how it doesn’t value the life, health or safety of children both unborn and born alike. This is just the latest attempt to verify that anti-life stance.
Mandelburg raged even harder at President Biden for inviting to the White House someone whom she dismissed with the "trannie" slur in an Oct. 24 post:
Would Joe Biden invite a pro-gun, pro-life, heterosexual, Christian to the White House? As if. But a trannie? Put out the welcome mat! Biden sat down with six “change-makers” on issues that young people supposedly care about for a "NowThis" interview. One of his special guests was a biological male pretending to be a woman, there to talk about how young people need to vote in favor of transgender rights.
Dylan Mulvaney became famous this past year after documenting his transgender journey on the popular app for young people, TikTok. Mulvaney was at day 221 of “girlhood” when he met with Biden about struggles as a transgender person and the backlash he faced in the political climate of America today.
In the interview, Mulvaney asked Biden about his plans and beliefs regarding transgender people in America.
“Mr. President, this is my 221st day of publicly transitioning,” Mulvaney began.
“God love it,” Biden replied.
Yeah, not sure God is that down with it, Joe.
She slipped in her usual anti-abortion rage:
Biden just said that we need to speak out about the basic fundamental rights of all human beings. That’s really ironic coming from the man who is in active support of denying the MOST basic human right to the most vulnerable population in our society, LIFE! Biden has pushed for countless laws, talking points, and ideas regarding unlimited access to prohibiting innocent babies from receiving the most basic human right but is a huge advocate of trans people getting whatever they want.
Mandelburg, of course, cares nothing about the lives of people who are not heterosexual right-wingers like herself. She finished with one last tirade denmanding that people be afraid of transgender people:
Biden suggested that parents not “be afraid” of their kids becoming transgender. “Just because it’s different, there’s nothing to be fearful about,” he said.
Nothing to be fearful about, huh? Go ahead folks and get your little girl's boobs chopped off, put your six-year-old on puberty blockers, and feel free to help your son tuck his balls up so there's no bulge in his dresses.
Nothing to be fearful of whatsoever.
The NowThis interview panel also asked Biden about gun legislation, abortion access, the climate crisis, criminal legal reform, and economic instability.
The sad reality is that these are the kind of people Biden loves -- his base. The people who will encourage more and more young people to vote for him and his social justice warrior gang and Mulvaney was just a sick prop in helping accomplish that.
Mandelburg doesn't see transgender people as having humanity -- all she sees are "sick props." Which raises the question of who the real prop is here.
Jason Cohen -- who had written so much problematiccontent for the MRC that he hasn't been allowed to contribute since the beginning of December -- turned in a few anti-trans posts as well. A Nov. 3 post mocked transgender people for having possibly having issues with voting because the gender on their voter ID may not match their outward looks, calling pointing out this issue "such a predictable adherence to the social justice playbook."
A Nov. 11 post ranted that a trans female teacher with what he called a "blonde wig, giant fake breasts, and protruding nipples" would be allowed to continue to teach, huffing that doing so was "codified insanity" and "supports the self-expression of sick adults over the safety of students." Cohen didn't explain how dressing that way made anyone unsafe. Cohen spent a Nov. 15 post being squicked out that some transgender people want mixed genitals, calling it "devastating mental illness" then pretended to care about them: "People who receive this kind of surgery will likely continue needing surgery for the rest of their lives. It will limit and burden them. God forbid they end up regretting it and cannot reverse it."
CNSNews.com managing editor Michael W. Chapman wrote what is effectively a press release for a right-wing pro-Trump legal group in a Dec. 8 article:
The America First Legal Foundation filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the State Department seeking all records of what it asserts is the Biden administration's "practice of attacking the State of Israel's democracy through direct election interference" and "covert" activities.
In its Dec. 6 letter to the State Department, America First Legal says, "Without Congressional authorization, the Biden administration has continued the Obama administration’s policy and practice of attacking the State of Israel’s democracy through direct election interference, information actions, and covert financial and other activities."
"Most recently, the Biden administration dispatched the U.S. ambassador to demand the disenfranchisement of Israeli citizens who voted for the Religious Zionism party," reads the letter. "Learning of this action, the Religious Zionism party noted its 'appreciation for our US ally' but cautioned that 'the Biden administration should also respect Israeli democracy and not interfere in the establishment of an elected government."
The Religious Zionist party, which essentially is an orthodox Judaic party, very conservative, came in third place with 10.83% of the vote, gaining 14 seats in the Knesset. The party is headed by Bezalel Smotrich, who is married and has seven children.
Note that eupemistically vague description of the Religious Zionism Party as "essentially is an orthodox Judaic party, very conservative." In fact, it is a coalition of far-right parties cobbled together by Benjamin Netanyahu to help him win a majority. Further, Smotrich's status as a father is completely unrelated to his far-right activism, which involves living in an illegally built house in the occupied West Bank and who has incited hate against Arabs in Israel.
America First Legal's claim that the U.S. ambassador to Israel somehow demanded "the disenfranchisement of Israeli citizens who voted for the Religious Zionism party" -- which Chapman did not otherwise elaborate on -- is an apparent reference to a much more minor incident: the ambassador vaguely suggested that Smotrich shouldn't be appointed defense minister. (He was eventually named finance minister.)
Chapman went on to try and revive an old, bogus Obama-era controversy:
In 2015, the Obama administration interfered in Israeli elections to defeat Netanyahu and the Likud party.
As the Jerusalem Post reported in February 2015, "The Obama presidential election team has set up camp in Tel Aviv with the mission to defeat Netanyahu in our upcoming election.
"The “Anyone but Bibi” mission is headed by Jeremy Bird, Obama’s National Field Director in his successful presidential campaigns.
"Under Bird, a group called 'Victory 15' has been set up. It has recruited the young activists from Israel’s 2013 social protest movement and will man a massive social network and personal contact campaign to defeat Bibi.
"V15 is financed by an NGO called 'One Voice' whose motto is to be 'the voice of mainstream Israelis and Palestinians.' Research finds that One Voice is funded by John Kerry’s State Department.
"In its press release, V15 calls itself 'non partisan,' which is clearly a lie. Its aim is solely to defeat Bibi."
As we documented way back when WorldNetDaily tried to make this a thing, Bird was not working for Obama and had no connection with his administration, the OneVoice existed years before that election, a Senate report found that the grant money the group received from the State Department was not spent on its political activism, and there were no restrictions placed on the use of resources paid for by the grant once the grant agreement ended.
In other words, everything Bird and OneVoice did was completely legal -- not that Chapman will tell you that because he's pushing a right-wing narrative, not reporting facts. Some managing editor he is.
WND's Alexander Complains That Dubious Ariz. Election Fraud Lawsuit Got Tossed Topic: WorldNetDaily
We've documented how WorldNetDaily spent her time before the midterm elections laying the groundwork to claim election fraud if Republicans lost, then sprung the trap to push dubious claims of election fraud in Arizona, particularly in the governor's race lost by Republican Kari Lake. When Lake's lawsuit pushing those claims was quickly tossed out of court, Alexander devoted her Dec. 26 column to complaining about it:
The trial court judge in Kari Lake's election lawsuit predictably threw out her case on Saturday, putting on a sham trial that on the surface looked fair to the general public that doesn't know any better, but to legal minds was a travesty of justice. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson only gave Lake two days for a trial and issued his ruling immediately afterward, even though he could have taken several days, and it was one of the biggest, most important cases in the country. Legal experts believe his decision was ghostwritten; they suspect top left-wing attorneys like Marc Elias emailed him what to say.
The standard should have been whether voters were disenfranchised, not all the additional hoops Thompson added. If inner city blacks had been disenfranchised, Thompson would not have added all those extra requirements – he would have made the law fit. Robert Gouveia, a rare attorney who isn't afraid to speak up and who describes himself as watching prosecutors, judges and politicians, said the standard should have been whether there was voter suppression.
Instead, Thompson said Lake had to show an extremely vague, high bar in order to prevail, that an election official intentionally caused the printer changes in order to change the results of the election, and that it did affect the outcome. He explained away many of the disturbing election anomalies as accidents or mere coincidences. He ignored the vast majority of them; in a show of arrogance, his opinion was less than eight pages long.
Thompson completely ignored all the voters who saw the long lines and gave up trying to vote, as if they didn't count. Considering probably well over half of the voting locations in Maricopa County were affected, not to mention they were almost all in heavily Republican areas, this was no small disenfranchisement. Many voters have come forward and told how they were unable to vote for this reason or similar, such as a man who couldn't find parking in time due to the overcrowded parking lot.
At no point did Alexander quote anything from Thompson's ruling dismissing Lake's lawsuit, let alone specifically rebut any of them -- all she served up with more conspiracy-mongering. And she ended dramitically: "Voter disenfranchisement has become the most important issue facing Republicans today, and if not stopped, we will become a one-party nation."
(Lake retweeted Alexander's bizarre and potentially libelous claim that Thompson's decision was "ghostwritten" by "left-wing attorneys like Marc Elias" -- which Lake deleted shortly thereafter, presumably after realizing that insulting judges and falsely accusing them of ghostwriting opinions is perhaps not the best way to encourage one to rule in your favor.)
Alexander kept up the dubious election fraud narrative in her Jan. 2 column:
Distrust in the justice system over its refusal to stop voter disenfranchisement is spiraling after Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson dismissed Kari Lake's lawsuit challenging the results of Arizona's botched midterm election, where Democrat Katie Hobbs was declared the winner. Hobbs was losing in almost every MSM poll and didn't bother to debate Lake, prompting one of the most prominent progressive journalists in the state to denounce her hiding in her basement as "political malpractice." Hobbs was such an unremarkable candidate that she has only 177k Twitter followers to Lake's 834k followers, over 400% fewer.
The Republican Party has a 4% voter registration over Democrats in both Maricopa County and statewide. Despite this, 14% of voters supposedly flipped to oppose Arizona's top Trump candidates. Just like how no one believed Donald Trump lost the state in 2020, when he led Joe Biden 3 or 4 points going into the election, no one believes Hobbs really won. This is why instead of being happy and gloating at their win, the left is reacting with a bizarre level of intense anger toward the right.
Lake's team discovered that over 298,942 ballots delivered to third-party signature verification service Runbeck Election Services on Election Day had no chain of custody and provided this evidence to Thompson. A Runbeck employee stated there were at least 9,530 duplicate ballots printed and issued with no chain of custody. And two days after the election, 25,000 more ballots were found that lacked a chain of custody, totaling over 333,472 ballots. Under Arizona law here and here, every one of those constitutes a class 2 misdemeanor.
But as a fact-checker pointed out, one of Lake's own witnesses at the trial admitted during cross-examination that delivery receipt forms did exist and that she had seen them in photos -- meaning that chain of custody does exist even if she wasn't given physical copies of them.
Alexander then pushed another conspiracy theory:
The MSM is ignoring the prosecution threats county supervisors have received for merely considering conducting a hand count of the ballots. Mohave County Supervisor Ron Gould was threatened with a felony and jail. Hobbs threatened county attorneys into not doing their legal job of representing county supervisors like him. A.R.S. 13-1804, extortion theft, states that it is a class 4 felony to threaten to "Take or withhold action as a public servant or cause a public servant to take or withhold action."
Alexander didn't mention that Gould and Mohave County officials wer in the process of breaking Arizona law by refusing to certify the election by the state-mandated deadline.
Alexander concluded by touting Lake's desperate appeal of the court ruling:
All eyes are now on the Arizona Supreme Court and then the U.S. Supreme Court to see if they go along with the trial court judge and cover for the wrongdoing using a bogus technical excuse. In 2020, SCOTUS didn't provide reasons for rejecting certiorari on Trump's election lawsuit and others. The people need to watch both courts closely and hold them accountable if they do not correct this travesty of justice, by refusing to reelect the Arizona Supreme Court judges and creating awareness about the inaction of SCOTUS justices.
Clinging to never-proven or long-disproven conspiracy theories about election fraud shows why Alexander makes for a good WND columnist.
NEW ARTICLE: The MRC's Election of Failed Narratives Topic: Media Research Center
The Media Research Center pushed midterm stories of an assaulted GOP campaign worker (who was a white supremacist), high crime (which wasn't actually happening) and a candidate's Muslim faith being ignored (which the MRC did too). Read more>>
MRC Keeps Up Campaign Of Hate Against Drag Queens Topic: Media Research Center
The Media Research Center's campaign of hateagainst drag queens continued apace as 2022 wound down. The MRC's chief LGBTQ-basher, Tierin-Rose Mandelburg complained that right-wing hate for drag questions was called out, and she spent a Nov. 21 post trying to justify it:
Sometimes I wonder how many mental institutions have released their patients prematurely.
NBC News Reporter Brandy Zadrozny, joined MSNBC to speak about violence against LGBTQ people following the shooting at a gay bar in Colorado. Zadrozny claimed that "far-right conservatives" are the biggest threat to people like this ... and to children.
I keep forgetting that if you don’t kiss the floor that the gays and their tribe walk on, then you’re a bigot.
[...]
In truth, LGBTQ folk have no longer just decided to be gay for themselves and leave it at that. In recent years the left has been going after our kids to get them to be a part of their alphabet mafia and THAT’s why conservatives step in. THAT’s why conservatives are fighting like hell to protect the innocence that children should have. That goes for Critical Race Theory AND whatever else the progressive mob plans to indoctrinate kids with.
As if she's not trying to indoctrinate people with irrational hatred of people different from her. She continued to spew the rage of people who claim moral duperiority over others:
What she’s actually saying is that the people who are against 1st graders to pole dance, against dressing kids up in drag, against biological men dressing as women and performing provocative dances for tips, and against all of the other extreme, radical ideologies of the LGBTQ mob are the ones who are threatening kids.
People who are against this kind of behavior, aka people with a functioning brain and a moral compass, are the threat? That makes no sense. This lady has got to be kidding.
It is highly inappropriate for children to be exposed to provocative drag queens and their explicit content. Not to mention, schools shouldn’t be facilitating conversations or providing material or curriculum that confuses kids about their gender or about anything related to their sexuality. That's something that can be done based on a parent’s choice and at their own homes.
Yes, hate-based indocrination is exactly wehat she wants to impose on the world.
In light of the reported shooting at an "LGBTQ" club in Colorado Springs, Colorado in which five people were killed and 17 were injured, Monday night's The ReidOut on MSNBC sought to blame conservatives' fight to protect children from sexually inappropriate drag shows and other forms of grooming for inspiring the attack that occurred at that club, despite there being no word from authorities on a motive.
To make matters worse, host Joy Reid attempted to normalize "drag queen story hour" for children in which a man in a dress reads to children. Reid even aired footage of one of these sexually inappropriate shows that reportedly occurred at a New York Public Library. Any normal viewer who saw the footage Reid aired would realize how horrifying it was that the left wants children exposed to these events.
"I have been to one with kids there, with like kids there," Reid bragged referring to drag shows. "I want to show you guys what drag queen story hours look like because there was a drag show that was supposed to be at this club when this attack happened. I just want those who don't know what they look like to see what one looks like," Reid said before airing the clip of a man pretending to be a woman.
"It makes me sad," Reid said after airing the footage, "that that scares right-wing people so much that they would try to ban it or your governor sued people over it. And then people act surprised when there's violence against people who are trans and LGBTQ."
[...]
[Brandon Wolf of "radical LGBTQ activist group Equality Florida"] ended by accusing conservatives of causing the shooting at the nightclub by pushing back on the grooming of children: "these people should be absolutely ashamed of themselves that their rhetoric, that their vile language has turned into violence in a community that is now traumatized forever."
See how this works? They can put drag queens in your five-year-old's classroom but if you object, you are to blame for mass shootings at gay nightclubs.
Note that Tober never denounced the shooting.
A Dec, 5 post by Matt Philbin mocked drag queens for wanting to be a part of a Christmas parade:
For centuries, nothing has said “traditional Christmas” like twerking drag queens and Pride parades. Think of all those Currier and Ives lithographs of horse-drawn sleighs driven by guys in leather speedos, the Rockwell paintings of Santa dancing suggestively in a low-cut cocktail dress. Not to mention “Don we now our gay apparel.”
But, according to The Washington Post, in one small Texas town, some killjoy conservative Christians suggested that the Christmas parade was no place for a Pride float with dancing drag queens, complaining about a tradition that stretches all the way back to 2021.
The upshot is that the town of Taylor decided to have two Christmas parades: one for the crazy Christians and one for people who appreciate the traditional bump n’ grind. Call it Doomers versus Groomers.
[...]
The Post notes that “Instead of quelling debate, the dueling parades divided Taylor, sparking a war on words online that grew even more pointed in the aftermath of the November attack on an LGBTQ club in Colorado Springs.”
Sensing a theme?
That’s the narrative from The Post: Conservatives “target,” and daring to say you’re not dreaming of a pink Christmas is hate, and the LGBTQ and sometimes Y crowd is always a social media post away from being killed by rednecks and shut up bigot!
Philbin also failed to criticize anti-LGBT violence. One has no choice to believe that Philbin approves of such violence-inducing rhetoric, which makes it odd that he's so mad it's being called out since that's the result he wants.
Mandelburg used a Dec. 8 post to once again rant against Drag Queen Story Hour and help a right-wing actor play victim:
Each week another Drag Queen story hour is promoted in the media, when’s the last time you heard of a faith-based story hour?
Crickets.
Kirk Cameron, an actor and writer, has been denied by every single one of the 50 public libraries that he requested to read his faith-based book. Meanwhile, those same libraries not only promote Drag Queen story hour but celebrate LGBTQ centered books for children.
In an interview with Fox News, Cameron said that his new book celebrates faith, family and biblical wisdom. Unfortunately however, these values apparently are something that public libraries do not support.
[...]
So yes, your government funded public library now cares more about the LGBTQ agenda than about actual morality.
This is the sad but true reality of the priorities of the left. They act as though they like our kids but in reality, they just like the opportunity that public schools and libraries have to brainwash their innocent little minds.
Yet Mandelburg, like her colleagues, won't denounce anti-LGBT violence. What kind of message is taht sending to innocent children?
Mandelburg still had enough rage in reserve to lash out at another Drag Queen Story Hour event in a Dec. 15 post:
Some people set good goals and try to accomplish them. Those goals may include losing 10 pounds, maybe trying to secure a job, or working on their mental health.
Others set goals that are ridiculous. Like this one.
In St. Petersburg, Florida, a group of organizers set a goal to create the largest “drag queen story time” in hopes of earning a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records. The Blaze reported that the event - still to be held - will be full of political discussion, activism and, of course, drag queens reading to kids.
If you live in the area, don’t go.
According to the Florida Standard, organizers deemed the event “a fabulous family-friendly celebration of literacy.”
My cringe alert is on full-blast.
As is her sense of hate-filled performative outrage.The hate continued:
The thing is, regardless of what organizers think, drag, in and of itself, is not “family-friendly.” There is absolutely no need for kids eyes to be assaulted by men in skirts, fake eyelashes and prosthetic boobs. If that sight is scarring for most adults, imagine the damage it does to the minds of kids who can’t fully understand the delusion they're watching.
The event was canceled in 2021 due to COVID-19. Hopefully reality sets in and the event in ‘23 is canceled, too - or, at the very least, no kids will attend.
It's not scarring, apparently, to teach children to hate people different from them, which is the world Mandelburg wants.
Philbin returned for a Dec. 16 post to unironically complain that there's now a word to describe him and his fellow MRC drag-haters:
It can’t be easy being GLAAD these days. The groups and identities or sexualities or whatever they are this week that you claim to represent are anything but marginalized. They’re vastly over-represented in popular culture, coddled and celebrated by the media and one of the two major U.S. political parties, and the legal way has been made more than smooth for them.
So how do you make your coin? Pressuring movie studios to make sure that exactly 43.2% of characters are black lesbians in stable, loving relationships takes money. You have to be on the lookout for opportunities. Like “Dragphobia!”
Yes, dragphobia. Admittedly, it’s not terribly original, joining as it does homophobia and transphobia (I’m old enough to remember when a phobia was an irrational fear of something, not an aversion to sexual weirdness. But time marches on and the left degrades language.)
GLAAD is now sounding the dragphobia alarm because … well because this backward and hateful country has decided that it doesn’t like men in thongs shaking their asses at children, and some nut in North Carolina may or may not have shot up electrical substations to cut the power to an all-ages drag show.
Philbin went on to tacitly endorse anti-LGBT violence and the dragphobia he so vociferously spews:
Yep. GLAAD is having podcasts about it with actual drag queens and everything. "There is clear and present danger against our community and threats ... we really haven't seen it at this level in over a decade, if ever," one of them said.
That’s probably because drag queens haven’t been as acutely focused on grooming children as they are now. It wasn’t long ago, librarians and school officials and civic authorities instinctively knew that perverts shouldn’t interact with children.
Unfortunately, many no longer understand this simple truth, so there’s going to be resistance from parents and regular folks. There should be resistance. GLAAD can call it phobia and do its best to make normal people into the villains, but when you mess with people’s kids, you shouldn’t be shocked when people get angry.
Ah, yes the "groomer" smear. The MRC loves to spread it around, so diluting it to the point where merely acknowledging that LGBT exist makes you one.
Philbin did finally issue a wishy-washy, generalized and conditional criticism of violence: "Violence and intimidation is always wrong, and people are free to do what they want in private. But there is no right to sexualize other people’s children." He wouldn't specifically criticize anti-LGBT violence.
There needed to be a word to describe Philbin, Mandelburg and their co-workers. Philbin is complaining he's being accurately described -- which is unintentially hilarious on his part -- while creepily insisting his hate is virtuous.
Root Insists Election Was Stolen From Herschel Walker Topic: WorldNetDaily
Joseph Farah wasn't the only WorldNetDaily columnist who had a meltdown over Herschel Walker's (double) loss to Raphael Warnock in the Georgia Senate race, in both the general election and the runoff. Wayne Allyn Root began his Dec. 10 column declaring that the selectively released "Twitter files" by Elon Musk "shows the 2020 election was rigged and stolen – exactly as so many of us warned and reported, while being called 'election deniers' and 'conspiracy theorists.' In other words, I told you so. I was right from day one." He then segued to the Georgia election:
The Georgia U.S. Senate election is just the latest example. I predicted for two weeks beforehand that Herschel Walker didn't stand a chance of winning – because I believe Georgia is rigged, just like it was rigged in 2020 against Trump.
Sen. Raphael Warnock is literally a radical Marxist. He hates America. He allegedly abused his ex-wife. He defended the anti-American, racist and anti-Semitic rantings of Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
Yet we are to believe he defeated Herschel Walker in a Southern state, in an environment of the worst inflation, crime and open borders in our country's history – all produced directly by Democrats who aren't even as radical as Warnock. Really?
It all makes perfect sense, doesn't it? And I have a bridge to sell you, in Vegas, over the Atlantic Ocean. You're being gaslighted. This is all B.S.
[...]
By the way, does anyone ever bother to ask why Marxist Democrats like Warnock in Georgia have so much more money than our pro-business, capitalist candidates? Why did Warnock have $24 million just from 300,000-plus donors who claim to be "unemployed"? Does no one think that might be China's money illegally influencing a U.S. election? Is anyone investigating? Of course not. Every prosecutor in the USA is too busy framing Trump.
Root is referring to an unproven conspiracy theory -- which, of course, WND has dutifully parroted -- claiming that "campaign finance mules" have been donating to Warnock and other Democratic candidates despite their status being "unemployed."
Root went on to deny that Walker was a bad candidate and peddled more bogus election fraud conspiracy theories -- while, of course, saying nothing about Walker's record of domestic abuse and buying abortions for girlfriends:
I've heard the GOP excuses. Walker was "a bad candidate." But bad candidates don't matter if a state is rigged with mail-in ballots and ballot drop boxes; if Big Tech and social media filter the news feed so that all news is bad news for Republicans; and if those same companies ban, suspend and censor all conservative influencers in the leadup to the election upon orders from the government. Thanks to Elon Musk, we know they do. Bad candidates don't matter if the media ignore the corruption, crimes and communist views of Democrat candidates, or if you're able to raise $100 million from the Chinese Communist Party.
These are all the ways elections are rigged and stolen.
It's an exact repeat of 2020, and no one in GOP leadership says a thing. We are screwed in 2024. We cannot win, and the base knows it. You've allowed Democrats and China to steal our nation.
Root concluded by ranting: "We can smell a rat. We know a huge majority of Americans are voting Republican – but our votes no longer matter. The system is rigged. The fix is in. It's all pro wrestling now." And Root is doing his best to perpetuate that pro-wrestling feel.
Newsmax Fearmongers About Soros In Purchase of Spanish-Language Radio Stations Topic: Newsmax
Like the Media Research Center, Newsmax fearmongered about several Spanish-language radio stations being bought by a group of liberal-leaning investors with some backing from an financial firm tangentally tied to a fund management firm tied to George Soros. A June 3 article by Theodore Bunker announcing the deal was typical, putting "Soros-Backed Group" in the headline even though the article itself makes it clear he's not personally involved and that there are many investors -- "a group of investors led by Lakestar Finance, which is affiliated with Soros Fund Management, founded by George Soros, along with several individuals."
Tbhe fearmongering really kicked in after that. Nick Kotsoubinas wrotet in a June 8 article:
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is warning Miami residents that a George Soros-backed purchase of Spanish language radio stations is an attempt to capture Latin votes and sway listeners, Florida Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez told Newsmax.
The new Hispanic media company, Latino Media Network, announced Friday, it would obtain 18 Hispanic radio stations in 10 different markets, including one in Miami, which a George Soros-backed venture purchased from TelevisaUnivision in a $60 million deal, according to a press release from DeSantis' campaign.
Nuñez said in her "Eric Bolling: The Balance" appearance that people should ask themselves, "Is it a business proposition? Is it a business deal? No, it is specific radio stations that are known for having conservative viewpoints."
Their playbook, she said, is "to control the media, control the narrative, control the spin — and they think they can control the minds and hearts and the souls of voters."
None of the Newsmax-generated articles noted that some of the right-wing radio stations being bought -- particularly Radio Mambi in Miami -- are notorious for spreading disiinformation.
After the sale closed in November, Newsmax fretted even more. James Hirsen went the conspiracy theory route in his Nov. 28 column:
One of Soros’ latest designs has been to quietly move toward gaining control of a major conservative-leaning communications outlet serving the Spanish-speaking community.
With Democrats experiencing an unanticipated decline in support from Hispanic voters, it could be that Soros felt the need to step in and further manage the flow of news and information to the Spanish speaking voter contingency.
In any event, a media company was formed in June of 2022. The goal was to acquire a group of radio stations from TelevisaUnivision, including a flagship of conservative talk radio in Miami, Radio Mambí.
[...]
One other pertinent note: The media company's acquisition was financed by an investment entity affiliated with Soros.
Historically, Radio Mambi has been linked to the Cuban exile community. The Spanish language station had long been a unique source of content that was anti-communist, anti-Castro and pro-traditional values. What it will now become is left to the imagination.
In great part due to Soros' reputation, when news of the proposed acquisition emerged, people in South Florida became seriously concerned that the reliable flow of information from their beloved talk station was in jeopardy.
Hirsen then complained that conservatives about right-wing disinformation being spewed from right-wing Spanish-language radio was a ploy to silence dissent:
Those who were in support of the purchase brought up a familiar refrain that is used to justify speech suppression. They claimed that there is a pressing need to address “disinformation.”
Predictably, the FCC brushed aside the opposing arguments and approved the proposed sale.
Hirsen immediately undercut his own argument by nonting that some Radio Mambi people left to join a station purporting to have "a Spanish language conservative talk radio alternative to the Miami market" -- proving there's no "suppression" of right-wing Hispanic voices after all.
Similarly, a Dec. 21 article by Brian Pfail made a big deal out of some Radio Mambi personalities quitting the station:
The recent takeover by George Soros of 18 Hispanic radio stations, including Miami's flagship conservative Radio Mambí, has prompted three hosts to quit.
"This is going to be a failure — I am 100 percent sure of that," Venezuelan-born former Radio Mambí host Lourdes Ubieta told The New York Post. She quit the station after she learned of the takeover during the summer. "They did this to silence conservative Hispanic voices, but it's not going to work."
In June, the Soros-backed Latino Media Network bought Mambí, a prominent voice of anti-Communist Cuban exiles for decades, along with 17 other Spanish-language radio stations from TelevisaUnivision in a $60 million deal.
[...]
Ubieta and two other Radio Mambí hosts, including Dania Alexandrino and Nelson Rubio, have quit over the new management and are now at Americano Radio in Miami, which maintains it's the nation's first conservative Spanish network.
"They want to silence and censor Hispanic conservative voices. They have a way of telling Democrats are the party of minorities and the party of the poor," Alexandrino said to The Post. "They treat Hispanics like victims."
The fact that all three quickly got jobs at another right-wing station in the Miami seems to disprove that "Hispanic conservative voices" are being "censored." And Rubio in particular was named as among the greatest peddlers of disinformation on Radio Mambi.
Pfail then went on to quote the MRC's Jorge Bonilla pushing the partisan talking point that "there would be backlash from Hispanics as Democrats continue to lose support among Hispanics." Pfail did, however, also highlight critics who ppointed out the amount of disinformation on right-wing Hispanic radio and even linked to a Politico article pointing it out.
CNS' Jeffrey Again Complains That DC Suburbs -- Where He Lives And Works -- Are Among Nation's Wealthiest Topic: CNSNews.com
CNSNews.com editor Terry Jeffrey loves to bash the Washington, D.C., suburbs as being overly rich -- though he doesn't disclose that he lives and works in those self-same suburbs (the HQ for the Media Research Center is in Reston, Va., just west of D.C.) and, as an MRC executive, presumably gets paid well enough that he can afford to live quite comfortably there. Jeffrey took one of his regular swipes in an Oct. 5 column, which contained a bonus swipe at the suburbs of San Francisco, where longtime MRC target Nancy Pelosi is based:
If you want to live in one of the wealthiest communities in the United States of America, do not move to Manhattan or Palm Beach, Florida. Move instead to the suburbs or exurbs of San Francisco or Washington, D.C.
The Census Bureau this week released its data on the 2021 median household incomes for areas that have populations of 65,000 or more.
According to this data, taken from the bureau's American Community Survey, the five wealthiest counties in the United States were all situated near the nation's capital or the city by the bay.
Specifically, Loudoun County, Virginia, had the highest median household income ($153,506) of any county in the survey, and Santa Clara County, California, ($141,562) had the second highest.
Fairfax County, Virginia, ranked third with a median household income of $134,115; Howard County, Maryland, ranked fourth with a median household income of $133,267; and San Mateo County, California, ranked fifth with a median household income of $131,796.
But the trend did not stop there.
It turned out that 11 of the 20 richest counties, according to the Census Bureau's data, were located either near Washington, D.C., or near the Golden Gate.
[...]
Nationwide, the median household income in the United States in 2021 was $69,717, according to the Census Bureau.
That means the median household income in the Washington, D.C. exurb of Loudoun was more than twice the median household income nationwide.
In Fairfax County, part of which sits inside the Washington Beltway, the 2021 median household income of $134,115 was 1.9 times as great as the national median of $69,717.
Jeffrey didn't disclose that Reston, where the MRC's HQ is, is located in Fairfax County. Instead, he concluded by huffing, "The bottom line: We are living in a country where big government is even more lucrative than Big Tech."
Jeffrey repeated a similar attack in a Dec. 16 "news" article:
Four of the six richest counties in the United States in 2021—when measured by median household income--were located in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., according to newly released data from the Census Bureau’s Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates.
Loudoun County, Va., with a median household income of $153,716, ranked as the nation’s richest county in 2021.
Falls Church City, Va., which the Census Bureau counts as a county because it is an independent city, ranked second with a median household income of $142,430.
[...]
Fairfax County, Va., ranked fifth with a median household income of $133,845.
Again, Jeffrey didn't didn't disclose that he and his employer are contriubint to the thing he loves to complain about.
MRC Goes The Biden Whataboutism Route To Deflect From Santos' Lies Topic: Media Research Center
The first reference to Republican Rep. George Santos at the Media Research Center was an attack -- not over his being a serial liar, but over his failure to toe the ideological line and parrot right-wing anti-"big tech" narratives, as Catherine Salgado complained in a Nov. 15 post:
Newly elected GOP Rep.-elect George Devolder-Santos (NY) has already assured the nation that he is not much interested in investigating pro-censorship Big Tech, saying he doesn’t want to “waste time,” according to a recent news report.
Fox News co-anchor asked Santos, a “MAGA” Republican, about potential congressional investigations after Republicans presumably take control of the House in January.
Santos classified probes of issues including Big Tech – which has colluded with the government to censor Americans – as “hyperpartisan,” according to The Hill. Because apparently nothing is more partisan than free speech?
The future congressman’s assurance could please Big Tech as much as it seemed to please the leftist Daily Beast. But free speech will suffer if a Republican Congress agrees with Santos.
[...]
This milquetoast attitude is especially odd since Santos caused controversy by praising former President Donald Trump’s speech on Jan. 6, 2021, and reportedly making contributions to get Jan. 6 political prisoners out of jail.
Salgado concluded by huffily noting that "Santos made history by winning the first House race with two openly homosexual candidates." She clearly did not see that as a good thing.
When it was first revealed that key elements of Santos' claimed biography appear to have been made up, the MRC stayed silent, as if it wanted to huddle with its fellow right-wingers to plot out a strategy to respond. And on Dec. 27 -- eight days after the allegations against Santos first went public -- a post by Mark Finkelstein announced the strategy: Biden whataboutism!
MSNBC's Morning Joe delighted on Tuesday in the case of Republican Congressman-elect George Santos, who's now admitted telling a series of fraudulent tales about his biography to get elected in the Third District on Long Island.
That's shameless, and the voters have every right to be angry and want him to resign. But if multiple lies about one's background are cause for a politician to resign, when will Democrats and the liberal media be demanding that Joe Biden quit, and how soon should we expect Ol' Joe to announce his departure from the White House?
Let's take a walk down the long Memory Lane of some of Biden's lies, shall we?
[...]
As documented above, Joe Biden has told a multitude of lies about his background. But naturally, Morning Joe never made mention of Biden's history of lying—let alone suggest that he should resign. There were "lying liars" who are typical in myth-making, and then there's Santos.
To the contrary, the panel chatted about Biden's "playbook" of exposing Republicans, and Lemire said the Santos story "certainly feels like the further Trumpification of the Republican Party."
Tim Graham used the same strategy in the promotion for his Dec. 28 podcast:
This week, the media elites pounced on the finding that Congressman-elect George Santos (R-New York) lied about nearly everything on his political resume. Democrats and the media played up the need for Santos to resign in disgrace. Conservatives responded with Biden's many tall tales about his life. Just days ago, Biden claimed that as vice president, he presented a Purple Heart medal to his Uncle Frank....who died ten years before he took national office.
The major difference here is that Biden's been exaggerating about his life for 50 years, while Santos hasn't even taken office yet. What is "whataboutism" and why is it objectionable?
In the podcast itself, Graham first and foremost blamed "liberal" media outlets for not vetting Santos, though he did eventually concede that Republicans failed to vet him as well and that "everyone can shre in the blame for not vetting this man." Graham touted how it how "it was very easy for people to make a list of Biden whoppers," then whined about the same "liberal media" not being hard on Barack Obama (whining extensively that he created composite characters in his memoir), Elizabeth Warren and even John Kennedy for alleged whoppers. He then complained that his whataboutism on Santos was being called out, and defended it as a key MRC strategy:
I don't generally like this term -- it cuts too close. Comparing political behavior and how it's evaluated by the press is what we do here at NewsBusters. Part of the charge of whataboutism is saying, "Well, now you're misdirecting away from an infraction by talking about someone else who did something kinda similar." I can get were you'd say youre changing the subject -- how convenient. But many examples of this so-called whataboutism are a part of politics, of comparing and contrasting. Pro-Clinton Democrats engaged in a ton of whataboutism when he was president.
Graham then complained that the MRC was criticized for not immediately denouncing Santos:
Finally, I find it mildly annoying when leftists get on Twitter and suggest that we as media critics have yet to make political denunciations on a timeline like -- "I see you haven't condemned Santos yet," they might write, like it's a great hot take. Likes the most important thing for us to do on a story is not evaluate the story but we have to lead with "We hotly denounce George Santos' lies."Well, OK, we're not in favor of politicans lying. But our point here is to study how Santos is covered first and not to pronounce a verdict first. We're looking at patterns. We're saying, "this is the hot story, what other stories are they not doing?" Or, "notice how they're doing a story that pleases the Democrats more."
Graham might have a point if the MRC actually cared about legitimate "media research," but it doesn't -- it's a rapid-resonse political organization whose main goal is to drive right-wing political narratives in political conversation. Graham and the MRC want to drive those narratives in real time, so it's entirely appropriate to point out its days of silence on Santos while it devised an appropriate narrative.
P.J. Gladnick stuck with that narrative, serving up similar whataboutism in a Dec. 29 post:
The egg covering the face of poor Chris Hayes is the result of him sticking his foot into the controversy about the lies told by Congressman-elect George Santos versus what he called "normal" political lies told by Joe Biden. Here is Hayes' Tuesday tweet that caused a tidal wave of blowback mockery of the MSNBC host as to Biden's "normal" lies:
[...]
Unfortunately for Chris Hayes the mendacity record is not kind to Joe Biden especially as regards his failed 1988 presidential campaign which also included multiple allegations of plagiarism.
Finkelstein returned the same day to complain that it was pointed out how Republicans' failure to hold Donald Trump to account for his lies led to Santos:
Let's stipulate: George Santos running for Congress on a carpet of lies is beneath contempt. As Tulsi Gabbard, subbing for Tucker Carlson, said to him: "do you have no shame?"
But that doesn't mean that the Democrats, with a big helping hand from the liberal media, won't try to exploit the situation for their political gain.
And so it was that Morning Joe was only too glad to play its part today. The show invited on Democrat Congressman-elect Jared Moskowitz of Florida. Moskowitz has tweeted that, in contrast with Santos, he actually does have relatives who were victims of the Holocaust.
Moskowitz scalded Santos's lies about having Jewish relatives who escaped the Nazis as "the lowest form of humanity." Fair enough.
But Moskowitz then proceeded to try to turn the situation to his party's political advantage, predictably trying to blame Santos on Republicans in general, and Donald Trump in particular.
Moskowitz said that Santos's lies were:
"Not surprising, unfortunately, because this is what folks on his side of the aisle have learned. They have learned this from, you know, the leader of their party. That you can traffic in these lies and you can get away with it."
It remains to be seen whether either Trump or Santos will "get away" with things. But it's a certainty that the Democrats will try to milk the scandal for all its worth.
And Finkelstein played his part by unable to let his criticism of Santos stand without playing whataboutism for complaining that the criticism cuts a little too deep.
When a writer for the right-wing American Spectator bizarrely portrayed Santos' lies as some sort of "own the libs" moment -- which ignored the fact that he owned Republicans as well, who are now stuck with a congressman who has pretty much llied about everything -- Jeffrey Lord cheered the twisted logic inhis Dec. 31 column:
So whether intentional or not, Santos has effectively (and amusingly) set the liberal media up. He advertised himself -- without saying a word other than listing his bio “facts” - as one seriously woke guy. So the media gave him a pass.
He says he’s openly gay? To challenge him by noting he was previously married to a woman means you’re a bigot, so no challenge there. He worked at the woke investment company Goldman Sachs? Here’s a New York Post headline:
How Goldman Sachs exploits ‘woke values’ to pursue its own profit and power
If you’re appealing to a woke media, claiming a background at woke Goldman will be silently applauded. He’s woke just like one of us.
[...]
Whatever else comes of this episode with George Santos, one takeaway lesson is that the lib media is so woke at this point that they will even not do their due diligence on a Republican candidate if that candidate passes a woke test with flying colors.
Whether by design or sheer accident, it appears that most if not all of his phony resume advertised by George Santos fit the woke bill - and the media shrugged.
You can’t make it up. Unless you’re George Santos.
Unmentioned, of course, is that Santos owned Republicans as well, who embraced every lie Santos told because it wanted a Latino candidate who was still willing and eager to toe the Republican line. If Republicans can't be bothered to seriously vet their own candidates, why is it the media's responsibility to do so?
UPDATE: A Dec. 29 post by Bill D'Agostino dismissed the idea that Santos committed voter fraud by lying as "absurd" but also cheered that Santos' opponent was criticized for failing to do opposition research into Santos, as if GOP officials weren't also responsible for vetting their own candidates.
How Is WND's Moore Fearmongering About COVID Vaccines These Days? Topic: WorldNetDaily
WorldNetDaily is all about spreading fake news and conspiracy theories about COVID vaccines to make their readers afraid of medical treatment. How has it been doing that lately? Here are a few examples.
Top WND misinformer Art Moore wrote in a Nov. 30 article:
CDC data turned over by court order shows health-care workers and others who were first to get the mRNA COVID vaccines suffered an extraordinarily high rate of complications.
Among earliest populations to get vaccinated, the data withheld by the CDC showed 1 in 3 reported needing medical care, missing school or work, or the inability to "perform normal daily activities," Just the News reported.
The CDC collected the data through V-safe, described by the agency as a "smartphone-based tool that uses text messaging and web surveys to provide personalized health check-ins after you receive a COVID-19 vaccination."
The Informed Consent Action Network obtained the data through an ongoing Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the CDC.
Moore censored the fact that the ICAN is a leading anti-vaxxer group that spreads misinformation about vaccines of all kinds, so it clearly can't be trusted.
Moore ranted about the new COVID booster being approved for young children in a Dec. 8 article:
Americans clearly have become aware that COVID-19 poses little threat to most people while the mRNA vaccines don't prevent infection while evidence grows that they pose the risk of serious adverse events, including death, that have been downplayed or ignored by the government and medical establishment.
The evidence for that is the fact that, according to the CDC, less than 13% of Americans age 5 and older have received the new bivalent booster targeting the omicron subvariants.
Children are the most immune from COVID-19, with, statistically, virtually no chance of serious illness or death.
Nevertheless, the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved the bivalent mRNA booster for children aged 6 months to 4 years.
[...]
However, there is no clinical data supporting the efficacy of the bivalent booster. Federal regulators acknowledged they authorized the shot based on data from eight mice and other updated vaccines. And the safety data came from the old vaccines.
That's because the new boosters are virtually identical to the old ones aside for the addition of the second variant medicaton, and the original vaccine and boosters have proven safe despite all of WND's fearmongering.
Of the 68% of American adults who took a COVID-19 vaccine, 41% say they have suffered at least a minor side effect, according to a Rasmussen poll.
A total of 7% said they experienced a major side effect, which would amount to 12 million adults.
The survey of 1,000 U.S. adults – conducted Nov. 30-Dec. 1. – also found that 57% of U.S. adults were at least somewhat concerned that the vaccines many have major side effects, including 31% who were very concerned.
Rasmussen head pollster Mark Mitchell said in a video presentation on the survey that "the COVID pandemic was so politicized that, literally, the tribal party group that you belong to is essentially what dictates your views on the effectiveness of a vaccine."
Moore dodn't mention that Rasmussen's polls have a right-wing bias, or that actual medical exports show a much lower rate of side effects.
Moore complained about a new study in a Dec. 14 article:
If you decided to forgo an experimental vaccine that does not prevent contracting a disease with a survival rate of nearly 100% while posing the risk of severe harm or death, you fit the profile of a person who is much more likely to get into a car crash.
That's according to a study reported by Fortune that was published in December in The American Journal of Medicine.
Canadian researchers concluded that people who didn't receive the COVID-19 vaccine were 72% more likely to be involved in a severe traffic crash – meaning at least one person was transported to the hospital – than those who were vaccinated.
The authors – after examining government-held records of more than 11 million adults – theorize that people who don't comply with public health recommendations might also "neglect basic road safety guidelines."
The unvaccinated, the researchers suggest, might "ignore" the rules of the road because of their distrust of the government, a belief in freedom, "misconceptions" of daily risks, "faith in natural protection," "antipathy toward regulation," poverty, misinformation, a lack of resources and personal beliefs.
Moore failed to mention that more than one million Americans hae died from COVID , or that even if you survive getting it, you stil have a notable chance of having lingering symptoms for months (also known as long COVID).
Moore expressed glee in another article the same day, in which he got to parrot that dubious poll result:
Halfway through a $475 million Biden administration campaign promoting the new bivalent COVID booster, only about 1 of 9 Americans have chosen to get the jab.
The federal government has spend more taxpayer funds purchasing 171 million doses of the booster, which was granted emergency use authorization after a brief Pfizer trial involving eight mice and no humans.
About 68% of Americans age 5 and older received the initial round of the COVID vaccines, but only 13.5% have taken the booster, which targets omicron subvariants. A little more than 120 million does of the shot remain unused.
A recent Rasmussen poll found that of the American adults who took a COVID-19 vaccine, 41% said they had suffered at least a minor side effect. A total of 7% said they experienced a major side effect, which would amount to 12 million adults.
Moore also hyped his own favorite COVID misinformer: "Acclaimed cardiologist Dr. Peter McCullough was among the health scientists calling for the COVID-19 vaccines to be immediately withdrawn." WND has served as a primary conduit for McCullough'smedicalmisinformation.
MRC Even Attacks Twitter Founder For Not Adhering To Pro-Musk Narrative Topic: Media Research Center
The Media Research Center's insistence on lashing out at anyone who won't blindly adhere to the predetermined narratives promoted by Elon Musk and its fellow right-wingers regarding Twitter even extends to bashing Twitter's founder, Jack Dorsey. Catherine Salgado complained in a Dec. 15 post:
Twitter founder Jack Dorsey released his opinion of the Twitter Files exposing his platform’s biased censorship, admitting his serious failures around free speech, while still claiming a lack of “hidden agendas.”
Dorsey tweeted his take on the Twitter Files Dec. 13, claiming it was based on the “principles I've come to believe” due to his experiences founding and leading Twitter. He began with a list:
“1. Social media must be resilient to corporate and government control.
2. Only the original author may remove content they produce.
3. Moderation is best implemented by algorithmic choice.”
This seemingly anti-censorship list is ironic in light of Twitter Files revelations that Dorsey was part of the top censorship team at Twitter and was at least aware of the reasons for banning former President Donald Trump despite Trump not violating any platform rules. Dorsey did at least admit in a blog post that he had messed up—badly.
Salgao is being highly disingenuous in claiming that Trump never violated any Twitter rules -- a claim that came from a previous "Twitter files" release (which, of course, Salgado hyped). As a more honest media outlet noted, the discussion focused only the final two tweets Trump made before his suspension (he had repeatedly violated Twitter standards before but was given a pass because he was a public figure), and some Twitter officials thought there was a coded call to incitement in those tweets. And that file release omited the fact that Twitter had warned Trump immediate after the Capitol riot that further violations of its rules could result in a permanent ban.
Salgado continued her complaint:
Dorsey then specifically referred to Trump’s ban, saying Twitter “did the right thing for the public company business at the time, but the wrong thing for the internet and society.” But the former CEO did not admit the full scale of Twitter’s bias under his watch. He denied any “ill intent or hidden agendas.” MRC’s CensorTrack has years of records of Twitter’s biased censorship.
People need tools to resist an enforced media or government narrative, Dorsey said. “Allowing a government or a few corporations to own the public conversation is a path towards centralized control.”
But Dorsey did not expound upon Twitter’s secret coordination with the government to censor Americans.
CensorTrack is not a reliable tool because of its existence as a tool to further right-wing "censorship" narratives ahead of being a serious documentation system -- it's a partisan tool, not a research tool. And as we've pointed out, claiming the government engaged in "secret coordination with the government to censor Americans" is a conspiracy theory.
Salgado concluded:
Dorsey wrote that he knew people would distrust his recommendations based on his own record, and added that he wished he had made Twitter “uncomfortably transparent in all their actions.”
He then ended the piece by condemning attacks on former Twitter colleagues and promoting new technologies for social media.
Only time will tell if the anti-free speech trend on social media is reversible.
NEW ARTICLE: Hypocritically Hiding Herschel At CNS Topic: CNSNews.com
CNSNews.com was an early promoter of Herschel Walker's political ambitions and friendship with Donald Trump -- but it almost completely censored reports of abusive behavior and paying for abortions. Read more >>
MRC Lashes Out At All Who Won't Promote Musk's 'Twitter Files' -- Including The FBI Topic: Media Research Center
While it was cheering Elon Musk's censorship of journalists on Twitter, the Media Research Center was continuing its defense and hero worship of Musk and his release of selectively chosen internal files to hand-picked journalists. Tim Graham cranked up the MRC's defense of Musk in a Dec. 15 post lashing out at NPR for pointing out the biased nature of the document release:
Taxpayer-subsidized NPR had been aggressively ignoring the "Twitter Files" revelations, but when they finally acknowledged them on Tuesday's Morning Edition, the new information was described as an "attention-grabbing stunt," "not a bombshell," and an "ugly" spectacle causing threats of violence to Dr. Anthony Fauci and former Twitter "trust and safety" czar Yoel Roth.
The online headline was Elon Musk is using the Twitter Files to discredit foes and push conspiracy theories.
Morning co-host A Martinez said Musk and Twitter "released internal documents to a handpicked group of journalists who have been digging through them and posting excerpts on Twitter. But is this corporate transparency or just the latest attention-grabbing stunt by the billionaire CEO?"
Tech reporter Shannon Bond bizarrely claimed that Republicans are wrong to claim they were suppressed by Twitter's leftist executive clique:
Graham is never going to critiize the biased narrative Musk is feeding because it furthers the MRC's own narratives. And he offers no evidence that only consertvatives were "censored" by Twitter -- and he will never admit that Twitter's algorithm has always favored conservatives. Instead, he invited readers to harass NPR for pointing out inconvenient facts that he can't be bothered to disprove: "This report really reveals the NPR hostility to conservatives and how Twitter's 'a much less friendly place' for NPR types. Feel free to contact NPR's Public Editor and ask when they'll address their 2020 Hunter Biden mistakes."
Staying on message, a Dec. 17 post by Joseph Vazquez hyped the latest "Twitter files" release purporting to show "the leftist Big Tech platform’s extensive collaboration with Big Government on its bloated censorship operations," followed by a post from Alex Chrsty with the usual lament that "ABC, NBC, and CBS all ignored round six of the Twitter Files on their Saturday morning shows" because it instead reported on Musk's censorship of journalists, which he framed as "suspending several accounts for sharing information about his private jet and physical location," purportedly driven by an "alleged stalker video." As we've noted, Musk had previously vowed never to suspend the tracker account, and the alleged stalker never used the account (and was more interested in Musk's ex-gal pal and baby mama, Grimes, than Musk himself).
Meanwhile, the MRC was silent on the fact that even Musk supporters had criticized his suspensions of journlaists, or that Musk briefly killed Twitter Spaces, its grtoup-chat platform, after being unable to deal with questions fronm actual journalists about his censorship.
Vazquez served up more Musk stenography in a Dec. 20 post:
It turns out that not only did the Ministry of Truth brigade at the FBI push Twitter to censor the Hunter Biden laptop scandal, but it also reportedly paid the Big Tech platform millions of dollars.
Independent journalist Michael Shellenberger, who reported on the latest batch of Twitter files Dec. 19, noted that “The FBI’s influence campaign may have been helped by the fact that it was paying Twitter millions of dollars for its staff time.”
An associate of former Twitter Deputy General Counsel James Baker told him and former Twitter General Counsel Sean Edgett in a February 2021 email: “I am happy to report we have collected $3,415,323 since October 2019!” Baker was a prominent FBI figure that historically helped perpetuate the Russia-Trump collusion hoax.
Twitter owner Elon Musk about the implications of the funding: "Government paid Twitter millions of dollars to censor info from the public."
Musk is lying, and so is Vazquez by extension. Actualfact-checkers pointed out that the FBI paid Twitter to fulfill document requests, not to "censor" anyone.
The stenography, and complains thatthose outside the right-wing media bubble weren't engaging in the same stenography, continued:
Gabriela Pariseau positively framed how "over 57 percent of respondents answered yes" to Musk's poll question about whether he should remain as Twitter CEO, declining to point out that it's a very public rejection of how Musk has run the company and instead uncritically repeating his statement that “I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job!"
When the FBI accurately pointed out that "conspiracy theorists" are spreading the false narrative that the agency paid Twitter to "censor" people, the MRC got mad about that too. Kevin Tober whined about the FBI being "defiant" while praising Fox News for pushing the narrative:
On Wednesday afternoon, the FBI released a defiant statement which denied any wrongdoing that was detailed in the latest Twitter Files which were made public this week by journalist Michael Shellenberger, who revealed that the FBI and Twitter colluded to suppress the Hunter Biden laptop story. In the obnoxious statement, the FBI proved the contempt they have for average Americans concerned with tyrannical Big Tech censorship by calling them “conspiracy theorists.”
As they have with the Twitter Files, the three evening news broadcasts (ABC’s World News Tonight, CBS Evening News, & NBC Nightly News) ignored the FBI’s nasty statement. Instead, the three networks obsessed over local weather reports and former President Donald Trump’s taxes.
During Fox News Channel’s Special Report, correspondent Lucas Tomlinson reported how “FBI officials confirm the agency paid Twitter nearly $3.5 million. Money critics say was used to help suppress information, including The New York Post Hunter Biden laptop story.”
Tober called this "bias by omission," though he didn't explain how not reporting a false story could possibly be "bias."
Catherine Salgado similarly huffed in a Dec. 22 post:
Th FBI finally issued an official statement on revelations of its work with Big Tech to censor Americans in the Twitter Files. The explanation? The people reporting on the files are“conspiracy theorists.”
Recent installments of the Twitter Files revealed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) directly flagged content and accounts for Twitter to censor. But if you have a problem with documents exposing the federal government colluding with Big Tech to restrict free speech, then you are the problem, according to the FBI’s statement shared with Fox News. “It is unfortunate that conspiracy theorists and others are feeding the American public misinformation with the sole purpose of attempting to discredit the agency,” the FBI’s gaslighting statement railed.
[...]
Experts, including Heritage Foundation senior legal fellow Hans von Spakovsky, warned Fox that the FBI may have violated the First Amendment with its actions.
Von Spakovsky is not an "expert" -- he is a partisan activist who gets paid to peddle this bogus narrative -- meaning that he and Salgado, not the FBI, are the ones "gaslightling" people. And Salgado couldn't finish without pushing the bogus narrative again:
The FBI apparently sees no issue with its censorship efforts that were happening behind the scenes. “The men and women of the FBI work every day to protect the American public,” the FBI’s statement continued. It’s unclear how the FBI could try to gaslight the American people with a straight face given that the Twitter Files revealed that the Bureau paid the platform over $3.4 million through a “reimbursement” program for helping its censorship efforts. One of the Twitter accounts that the FBI flagged for the platform was the American-based, right-leaning Right Side Broadcasting Network.
Actually, Right Side Broadcasating is a highly biased, rabidly pro-Trump channel, and it's weird that Salgado made a big deal out of the fchannel being "American-based" -- as if the non-right-wing networks the MRC loves to bash are not. And Salgado censored the fact that there's no evidence that FBI ordered Twitter to "censor" anything.
And MRC boss Brent Bozell ran to Fox Business, where he knows his talking points will never be challenged, to add his two cents:
Locked and loaded Thursday morning on the Fox Business Network’s Varney & Co., Media Research Center Founder and President Brent Bozell told fill-in host David Asman that the FBI “disinformation” in a statement smearing the Twitter Files with it having been “none of [their] damn” business to suppress the New York Post’s Hunter Biden reporting.
Asman explained in the lead-in that the FBI responded to the Twitter Files by insisting they give “critical information to the private sector...to allow them to protect themselves” and that it’s “unfortunate that conspiracy theorists and others are feeding the American public misinformation for the sole purpose of attempting to discredit the agency.”
If Congress wanted to “do its job,”Bozell replied, they’d investigate Twitter and “look at that statement...because that was classic disinformation.”
Bozell then noted the importance of the FBI’s role in suppressing the spread of the original Post story in having allowed the media to steal the 2020 election:
That's yet another reference to the MRC's election fraud conspiracy theory fueled by polls it bought from Trump's 2020 election pollster and the polling firm founded by Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway. Of course, given the highly selective nature of the documents Musk has released, one can easily argue that he and Bozell are the ones spreading disinformation.
The Media Research Center's final shot at trying to besmirch the House committee that looked into the Capitol riot and the witnesses who testifed -- coming after its main attack on the final report -- came in a Dec. 21 post by P.J. Gladnick:
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